Treasure Hunting

A few weeks ago, we went home to the great state of Mississippi where I was hoping to learn some upholstery skills, but went treasure hunting instead.

Daddy has an old dairy barn where he is desperately trying to clean out to make a woodworking shop. 

Middle showed up and, like me, needed some help with some chairs. 

Can you count the chairs in this picture?

As we waited, we started picking through as few things. 

and found a pair of hobnob lamps

a cool typewriter that I will display only in my house. Pinkie promise, mother! 

Old sewing supplies 

some cool doors and an octagon mirror ...

a old vanity that goes along with the octagon mirror.

My aunt's business correspondence books ... (love the font!)

Some cherished letters from World War I

and a souvenir from France sent to a wife in waiting from a soldier from afar.

as well as an old basket ...

A beautiful old chandy ...

 some dolls in an old trunk ...

and an old, dented pair of glasses that Middle had to model.

All in all, Middle got her chairs finished, we both got some loot, and Daddy did get a little of his shop cleaned out. 

I think this is a win/win situation except for Ken who just cringed when he found out all that I was bringing home! 

Have a Seat

I wrote about thrifting with my sister awhile back where I found a $5 chair and a $1 chair. 

I made my own chalk paint using a recipe from Iheartnaptime, 

I mixed two colors in order to make this smoky gray, and it worked out perfectly. I really liked using the chalk paint, and am still debating whether to continue to make my own or try some of the Annie Sloan paint. 

Like I said, I only paid $5 for this lovely cane chair. 

I love the little details! 

Chalk paint, as I am sure you know, is used on furniture to prevent you from having to sand. This paint attached itself beautifully to the chair. 

I did put a little bit of the vaseline before painting so that I could distress easier. 

Even though there is a little damage on the back, their was nothing a little paint and a pillow could do. 

It found a place in the corner of my living room ...

The other chair is one that I adore ...

I recovered it with a coffee sack that I had. 

I didn't really want to distress this one as much. 

Very cute! 

And yes, both chairs are safe to sit in, regardless of what Ken says. 

Out With the Old ... In With the New

We will be celebrating our 2 year anniversary at the end of the month, so that also means that in the past 2 years, we have been changing our 38 year old house into a home.

So can you guess how old our oven is? Yep that is right, it was one of those things original to the house without the character. It is also only 24 inches wide. Imagine my surprise the first time I realized this.

Well, the Habitat ReStore happens to be one of my favorite stores to browse. The first time we saw this beautiful convection oven it was only half off, but this time the 75% off caught my eye.

I could not dial Ken fast enough!

Like I said before our home is 38 years old, and we always go on a scavenger hunt when we replace things. Good thing it is always the last place we look.

It only took two tries to realize the power source was behind the drawers.

Please notice that one drawer is empty. That makes my husband proud, and makes me feel free! It is also useful for last minute cleaning before company comes!

I love my new convection oven! It not only cooks faster, it cooks more even, and I needed it because I did not want to clean my old one! Ha!

So what did we do with the old oven, you ask? Well we put it to the curb with its own personal ad:

Free Oven:

38 years old

Still works

24 inches wide

Take 5 minutes off cooking

Oven was going through a mid life crisis, and a new oven was needed!

I kid you not, someone picked up the oven in about 1 1/2 hours later. Curb stalker. Takes one to know one.

Can't wait to share all those recipes I have been saving!

Digging at Dirt Cheap: The Three Hour Tour!

1. You must go with people who like to dig for bargains. (I went with my fabulous mother-in-law and my creative sister)

2. You must have your own basket, because you will find a lot of stuff. You also need something to hold your purse so that you can dig for those bargains!

3. If you only find one, but need another, put it in the basket anyway. Show people along the way and continue digging. You will eventually find it! (We found 1 of these. Went back and found another!)

4. If time permits, go back and look again. I got several cotton napkins for $.05. Yes that is right! FIVE CENTS! Okay, I will take 60! I got some craft projects spinning in my head.

5. Enjoy yourself!

6. Laugh at the people who stare at your basket.

7. Go through your basket and take out what you don’t really need. (Keep those that you don’t really need right now, but maybe later!)

8. Continue digging!

9. Do a cartwheel when you find a Target chair at 80% off! (This was my bargain of the day! I was so excited! I carried it around with me. Almost put it back. My sister and mother in law talked me out of it. I decided to be brave and face the hubby - um, honey we needed another chair for our dinner party tonight, don’t you think? Well, he liked it enough to put it together for me. We really did need another chair! Talk about coincidence!)

(Love that profile!)

10. Plan on going back soon!

11. I must have an 11th one. It is a favorite number of mine! Post all of you pictures so that your friends will come and visit because they want to dig too!

Shabby Chic Kids Banner - $1.00

Target Pillow Case - $.25

Dwell Studios Round Table Cloth - $1.00 (Don’t tell my husband, but we don’t own a round table, but I could use this for something else.)

Napkins - $.05

Chair Covers $1.00

Chair - 80% off original price! $130 to $26!!! It is still on Target's website.

We had so much fun, and we really did spend 3 hours there! Nearly every thing that I got can be found at Target! I can't wait to go back!

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