Pretty pieces at pretty prices...

Try saying that three times....I know you tried it. I did :) I just wanted to share some goodies I found last week while thrifting. I normally check out our only local thrift store in Jasper and the Goodwill that's about 15 minutes south of our town. Our local thrift store has GREAT prices as you will see below. Goodwill seems to have gone up on their prices, but you can still get a great deal here and there.

These are the goodies I found.

I am going to list the items and their prices.

Purchased at Goodwill:

"WELCOME" sign with hooks: $3.93

Stand with oval chalkboard: $1.91

Purchased at Jasper Thrift Store:

Ball Jars: 2 @ .50 cents each

Woven wood tray: .50

Vintage Pyrex Bowl: $1.00

Cherry Pie Plate: $1.00

Ironstone Saucers: 7 Saucers for $1.50

Ironstone cups (there are 6, but only one in the picture): .25 each

Ironstone Dinner Plate: .25

Cream colored letter holder: $3.00

The plate in the picture above is my absolute favorite ironstone pattern. I think it is Mccoy, but I'm not sure. If anyone knows who makes this pattern and what the name of the pattern is...I would love to know.

Thanks for visiting, have a lovely day.

Billie

Also, check out the link on the side bar to the fairfieldhouse for a really neat postcard exchange.

I dream of spring...

Yesterday was one of those very confusing days. You know, a day where you look outside, the sky is blue, the sun is shining, the birds are singing...and you think, ah...a warm day. Nope, didn't happen. It was one of those days where all of those wonderful things happen and then you open the door and it hits you.....the COLD. So, here are some inspiring rooms to give spring a little nudge.

Doesn't this kitchen scream: "SPRING". Imagine preparing a nice lunch.....

and then eating that nice lunch alfresco under

this beautiful wisteria covered arbor...

and then taking a longggggggg nap in this

cozy room with the windows open.

Ah....someday...soon, I hope. Have a lovely day.

Thanks for visiting.

~Billie

Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy

It's the little things that really count....surprises that you don't expect...you know what I mean. Ginger, who has an AMAZINGLY beautiful blog over at cottageonrosewood, put a really big smile on my face and just made me...well....HAPPY! She honored me with the Happy Award.

Ginger and I have a lot in common....we are both newbies in blog land, she loves her Daddy (who is super talented), ironstone is a passion for both of us, the list goes on... But, she is one of the amazing ladies who I have "met" since blogging who seems to have it all together and manages to raise 4 children along the way. Thank you to Ginger for being so sweet. So with out further ado, 10 things that make me HAPPY:

My amazing husband....who is also my very best friend.

My three amigos.

Living at Creeky Hollow Farm.

Fishing.

My Mama's cooking.....nobody does it like MAMA!!!!

Gardening.

Photo courtesy of Southern Living.

Playing poker....and of course, winning!

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.

Being near water...creeks, rivers and oceans all make me smile...

and mean another thing that makes me happy....fishing.

Junking...searching for more ironstone :)

And lastly, blogs. I have really enjoyed spending time exploring blog land.

There are so many lovely people and unique places to look for ideas, inspiration, and

all of life's little moments. I am honored to be a part of it all and really honored

to be a recipient of the Happy Award. Thanks again Ginger. Be sure to check

out her blog over at http://cottageonrosewood.blogspot.com

Thanks for stopping by. Have a lovely Monday.

~Billie

I have a stalking problem

I hope I'm not alone with this little problem of mine. I do love for my house to look nice and I do love to have nice pretties, but I do NOT like to spend lots of money on something that I know I will eventually find at a less expensive price. One day I walked into our local small town thrift store...which is one of the best ever....and I saw a beautiful cushioned rocking chair. This chair was $40, which by our thrift store prices is a bit steep. I was tempted to buy the chair on the spot, but then I thought I could give it a few days, and stalk it. You know what I mean...check back to see if the price had dropped. Lucky for me, stalking worked to my advantage. I ended up snagging the vintage orange velour covered cushioned chair for $8.00. Everyone in my home loves rocking in this chair...especially now that the orange is gone. I guess my mentality was that if the chair disappeared while I was stalking, it wasn't meant to come home with me. Good thing I stalked at just the right time :)

The stalkee (is that a word) in all of her orange glory.

After a little fabric makeover.

Thanks for stopping by...have a great day.

Billie

Eye Candy from a Kitchen

I love this kitchen. When we built our house, I tried to make the most of our small space. The kitchen was originally planned for 16 x 8 and ended up at 14 x 8 due to structural reasons. To say the least...it's much smaller than our last kitchen. I only put upper cabinets on two sides and I am really glad I did. The kitchen, although small in size, seems open and airy due to all of the windows. Anyway, this kitchen is great and shows that a small space can be big on charm and appeal. Enjoy....

I love the corner window and the stained wood ceiling.

Look at this AWESOME light fixture.

Check out these cool stools.

All images courtesy of MyHomeIdeas.com

Thanks for stopping by...have a great day...and try, try, try to stay warm. Brrr...it's cold outside.

Billie

All you need is...

LOVE

Photo courtesy of MyHomeIdeas.com

Wishing you lots of love, hugs, kisses, flowers, sweet treats,

and time spent with a special someone and family.

~Billie

New old coffee table

So, this is the post I originally planned for last week. I found this really neat table/box thing with cool hardware at a place in Jasper called Nan's Outback. Literally, the table was out back...on the ground, under a tent. I ended up grabbing her for $20. For Christmas, I had her by the front door with the lid open, garland draped around her, and an old sled set upright inside the box portion. It looked really festive. Then I got to thinking that it would make a nice coffee table. The only problem was that the green on the lid just didn't go with our home's interior. So....a little paint, a little helper, and a little time was all it took.

My $20 box table with cool hardware and chippy paint on the lower portion.

My little "helper".

My little helper hard at work...look at those strokes of genius.

The finished product. Notice we only painted the top and left

the chippy white paint on the bottom as I found it.

A new baby...

I had a post already planned for yesterday afternoon, but that must be postponed because we have some very exciting news at Creeky Hollow Farm. Lily had her first baby yesterday. I don't know if you have ever seen a baby goat, but they are the absolute cutest little things. We haven't given the little girl a name yet, but hopefully soon. Until then, here are a few pictures of our newest addition to the farm.

Billie

I love to repurpose

So, today's blog is about a big, tacky, black and gold mirror that years ago I loved. I say loved in past tense because my style has evolved greatly from those days. But, I can't manage to part with anything I think I may need in the future...which is just about everything. I wish I had a before picture of the mirror, but unfortunately I don't. In all of my excitement in repurposing, I completely forgot to take the before...so, you are just going to have to trust me on this one. The before was truly awful, but the mirror was huge and had great detail, so I knew I could make some quick changes to it and reuse it in the new house. All I did to prep the mirror was clean the frame really good, and tape off the actual mirror portion.

I used supplies that I had from building the house. Fortunately, we have lots of paint samples (thank you to my husband for being so patient in the paint department numerous times). I used a color from the Martha Stewart paint line called Forest Lichen, but I just had it matched in the Lowe's Valspar line. I used a foam brush to apply the paint to the mirror frame.

After I finished painting the frame with the Forest Lichen paint...the color was very pretty, but too perfect. So, I went to our stash of building supplies again, and grabbed a small can of the stain we used on the floors in the house. We tried multiple colors of stain before deciding on this one, so I have lots of small cans of stain. This one is called English Chestnut, and it's by Minwax. I grabbed a roll of paper towels and dabbed the towel in the can just a little...a little of this stuff goes a very, very long way. I wiped the stain on the mirror frame and then came back with another paper towel to tone it down a bit. I suggest wiping in one direction to keep the stain looking neat and not smeared all about.

I am very pleased with the end result and it didn't cost me a thing!!!! I set the mirror on our buffet and let it lean on the wall...I think it looks great. The lamps are from TJ Maxx.

I really wish I had a before picture...I'm sorry I don't. But, I promise I'll be better in the future. Although I do have one more transformation to share with you later in the week that I don't have a before for...but that will be it..I promise...unless I forget. :)

Thanks for stopping by...have a lovely week.

Billie

Whatcha got cookin'?

I love to cook. But, I also love to decorate. Sometimes the two can get in the way of each other. I love to have my pretties out so that I can admire them, but I try to keep the main parts of my counter space clear for food preparation. I wanted to share some pictures of my kitchen now that we have (mostly :)) moved in. My kitchen design involved lots of things, but one thing was mandatory. I had to have a place for the chop block and scales out of my Granny and Grandaddy's mom and pop store. My mother promised them to me a long time ago and I have anxiously awaited a kitchen where they could be front and center. The chop block even has the last roll of butcher paper that my Grandaddy used part of. I am very excited to have these family heirlooms in my home and I love sharing their history with my children, in-laws, and friends. There is a picture of my kitchen when the house was just finished in the previous post. I hope you enjoy the pictures. Thank you for stopping by!

Billie

This is a shelf made from heart-pine out of the old farmhouse.

It is above my stove and displays some of my ironstone collection.

Some more ironstone.

A little more ironstone...I know I have a problem :)

One of my prized possessions...the scale out of my Granny and Grandaddy's

mom and pop store.

Another of my prized possessions...the chop block from their store.

I would love to hear about any kitchen goodies you have that are near and dear to your heart.

TGIF

Thank goodness it's Friday!!!! The sun is shining and it is warming up outside...just a change in the weather puts a little pep in my step. I have so many projects I want to get done inside the house and out as well. I have major projects (installing some sort of shelving and hanging system in the closets) and minor projects (painting small pieces of furniture). But, the main project I really want to get done is my daughter's room. She turned two in December and because she can scale her crib rail before I get the light out and shut the door, I believe she is ready for a big girl bed. It's hard to part with her baby bed though. But I do have a good home to send it to...my sister found out she is expecting on Christmas day....what a wonderful Christmas gift! I want to take some before pictures of her room as it is now and then some after to share what I hope to accomplish. But until then, I will share some interior pictures of our farm house before we moved in. Thanks for stopping by and have a HAPPY FRIDAY!!

Billie

This is a picture looking across the dining room into the kitchen. The floors are shiny because they are still wet. The beams on the ceiling are from the old grist mill that was on this property and the wood shelf in the kitchen above the stove is made from heart pine out of the old house.

This is the fireplace in the family room. The mantle is wood from the old house and the rocks on the hearth are from the foundation of the old house.

This is a picture of our kitchen. We did pine bead joint on the ceiling throughout the entire house. I love the chandelier we chose for our kitchen. I applied all 61 crystals by hand :) But it turned out beautiful and is even prettier with the light on. Sorry for the dumpster outside the window...this was taken when construction was winding down.

New Beginnings

Let me start this post by saying my pictures are in reverse order. (I'm learning here :))

This is the entry into the laundry/pantry/mud room on the front porch. We chose colors that were on many farmhouses in our area. White with a sky blue ceiling...the blue is suppose to keep wasps, dirt dobbers and such away from the house.

This was the house just before the siding and roof went on. This is a view of the front porch.
This was during the final phase of framing.
This was the first day of framing...it's amazing what our framers were capable of. Mr. Jem (our lead framer) was amazing. That's me and Wyleigh Jane standing in a door frame. We opted to go with 10' ceilings and 8' doors in an effort to resemble an old farm house.

For the past few weeks I have been in a whirlwind....busy with the holidays, a wedding, a couple of birthdays, snow and ice (meaning school has been out :) ), and moving. But now..yes now...it is my time. I have looked forward to concentrating on our new home for some time. But before we get to all the good stuff, I have to start with the beginning...so you can see what got us to where we are now. Tomorrow I will start posting finished pictures of the interior. Thanks for stopping by.

Billie