Hoot!

You'd think I was really into owls with all of today's finds but really I'm not. One sale we stopped at had tons and tons and tons of owl stuff. Probably hundreds! They were cheap enough that I couldn't resist a few items. Everything here was between 25 cents and $1. My favorite is the little wood owl with fondue picks. And I really like the reddish orange owl. He is actually a box (his head comes off) made in Japan in the 50s. My daughter had to have the sea shell covered owl for her shell collection.

"New" Living Room Light

I'm finally done updating my lighting! It is so hard to find interesting lights with multiple bulbs that work with low ceilings. I bought this fixture off of ebay for a little over $100 with shipping. I'm really liking it. It is in absolutely perfect condition and works well with my dining and entry lights. I don't think I ever posted my entry light but is nearly identical to the dining room light. It was made by the same manufacturer and is smaller and more oval instead of round.

I'm starting to get used to the mac. There are still some details with photo editing and general filing of documents that I still need to figure out but overall I like it. Honestly so far I don't see that it is really better than a PC, just a little different. Maybe that will change as I get more comfy with it.

Vintage Typewriter

I bought this cute little typewriter last week at a sale for $1. It is in perfect shape and I thought it might be fun to do some old fashioned typing. They actually had another similar one that was also $1 that was probably a little bit nicer model but not quite as cute. And since I don't even have a spot to put this one I passed on the other. I would love to have this sitting out on my slat bench all of the time but the kids would destroy it in no time flat.

My husband is off buying a new computer so it may be some time before I post again. We are switching to a Mac and I have no idea how long it will take me to figure all that out!

Auction Finds

I went to my first auction in two years a couple weekends ago. I have really missed going! Before I had kids I went practically every week. I've never been a big buyer but I really enjoy the atmosphere at auctions, even if I don't find anything I want. This was a large auction but there wasn't a whole lot I was interested in. I ended up spending a whopping $10. These two items are my favorite buys. The pen drawing/watercolor is an original piece of art by Myrton Purkiss. He was a very accomplished potter and his pottery sells for hundreds of dollars per piece. I have no idea how much this painting might be worth but I really love it! I'm sure it has to be worth more than the $2 I paid for the box lot it was in. I did have to reframe it but even with that it was really inexpensive.

My other "big" purchase was this little metal step stool. It cost me a whopping $3. It reminds me a little of a bug - I love it! And it is the perfect spot for a little someone to sit.

Vintage Costume Jewelry

I've bought a few pieces of costume jewelry lately. I really have no business buying ANY more jewelry but I just can't stop. It wouldn't be so bad if I actually wore jewelry but I only manage it on the rare occasion. Everything here was between $1 and $2 a piece. My favorite is the green gem bracelet. That I WILL wear (one of these days.) The necklaces all came from an estate sale that had an enormous pile of jewelry. It wasn't sorted at all and it was really hard to pick your way through it. I could have spent hours searching but since I had a 12 year old boy whining at the time and a 2 year old boy tying to escape I had to keep it short and only pulled out a few things. Probably just as well. The only signed piece is the silver necklace which is Monet.

Before and After Cork Lamp

I can hardly believe it but I actually finished making over my new cork lamp last night - the same day as I bought it! It is now sporting new wiring, a new socket, and a new shade from Target. My $10 lamp is now a $40 lamp but I don't care because I love it! No amount of convincing could get my husband to see it's awesomeness even after the makeover. Can't win all the time! I don't know if you can tell from the photos but the cream portions of the lamp are a natural stone and the black is painted cork. It is very tall and super heavy! I really like how the lamp and my new starburst clock look in the room. And the clock appears to keep perfect time. Hurray!

Thursday Finds

We hit four different sales this morning and scored some fun things. My favorites - a gigantic cork lamp ($10) and an awesome black and silver starburst clock ($5). I know what you are thinking - that lamp shade is barbaric! And you would be right. It is way huge and a little smelly. So I'll replace the shade and rewire the lamp and by the time I'm done I'll have been able to buy three new lamps at Target for less money. But hey, they wouldn't be nearly as cool! I totally lucked out on the clock. It was pretty much hidden behind some stuff at an estate sale. The seller didn't even remember having it!

At another estate sale I got great comments from the sellers on how well behaved my three kids were. They were so impressed they wanted to give me a Christmas stocking for each kid. They are home made out of red felt and are so sweet! It was one of those moments where you realize maybe you do know something about this parenting thing! I gotta admit - my kids are pretty awesome.

I found a bunch of retro plastic Christmas ornaments for a total of $2.25. I definitely need the plastic with Destructo around (he's not always so well behaved!) And one of my favoriet things is the tiny little bottle brush wreath with an angel. It's only about 2" across and cost me a whole dime.

I've been wanting some cute little towels for my hall bath so I splurged on this kitty cat set for $5. So cute! I hated to open the package but I did it anyway. They aren't doing much good in it! Other finds are a funny little pie bird for a dime and a cute little carved bird with googly eyes for 75 cents. I also bought some jewelry but I'll post that later. All around a great morning!