I was outside organizing my beads and getting them ready to be put into the cabinets I found at a moving sale. {You can also see the cabinetry painted and being put up here.} At the same time, I kept an eye on my cats. Gracie came along and hopped into this box and snoozed. She was happy and content to be outside and near me.
Gracie, November 3, 2014
Gracie being used as a desk as she did not want to move, November 3, 2014
Abby Gail came along a few hours later, November 3, 2014
Abby Gail (closeup), November 3, 2014
Knobs for Cabinets, November 4, 2014
I went shopping to replace some old yucky knobs on a couple of cabinets that we purchased from Habitat for Humanity Restore and found some. The pig is also a knob that I adored; but, did not buy.
Chessie in her favorite spot several days before her passing. November 8, 2014
Sporting a Smiley Bandage after Getting Blood Drawn by Vampires, November 10, 2014
What can I say? Even though it was silly, I felt good. Ha!
Abby Gail at a Gopher hole, November 11, 2014
Ugly Sweater Kit found at KOHL’s. November 13, 2014
No, I did not buy it. I was amazed that such a thing existed.
Abby Gail, November 21, 2014
My Childhood Home, November 30, 2014
Buttons inside my Mother’s Jars. December 3, 2014
I thought they would all fit inside one jar; but, the buttons overflowed. So, I ended up using two jars.
Beads inside some old baby jars given to me by a brother. December 6, 2014
Some Old Curtain Weights. December 9, 2014
I finally went through the overstuffed drawers in my Mother’s sewing cabinet. I snapped a picture of these because I had no clue to what they were. I discovered over the holidays that they were curtain weights.
Vacuum Cleaner. December 11, 2014
I have been wanting a new vacuum cleaner for eons and Target had a decent sale. Our Target was out of stock. But, on this day, I went shopping and came across a super Target and decided to swing by that store. I got the last one they had in stock. I had to snap a picture to send to Dan with a caption of “Do you hate me?”. HA!
THE END. NO MORE.
At least, for now.
Painted the Trim 1/19/2013
I actually painted the trim on the 18th; but, I forgot to take a picture for this day until the morning of the 19th. So, this picture is really for the 18th. Ha! And yes, I know it needs a little touch up here and there.
Trim is Up! 1/19/2013
Dan put up the trim that I painted and it looks mighty nice. The trim is slightly darker than the wall and I believe that is due to it being wood (different material from drywall). All in all, I am pleased with our efforts. Now, we just have to hang up some pictures and put the saucers back up on the wall. We have also moved onto the living room and hallway.
Yardsticks From a Flea Market 1/20/2013
I had a hankering to get out and go shopping for certain items such as a table or cabinet to use in the entry way and a new dresser for Dan. I did not want to buy anything new. I wanted to buy used and fix it up. So, we went to a couple of flea markets. However, I did not find anything that would do. Well, we stopped by an antique store that had the perfect old cabinet to use; but, they wanted too much money.
Anyway, we found these yardsticks at Bussey’s Flea Market in Schertz, Texas. This flea market is a good one to go to once in a blue moon. I have been collecting old yardsticks for eons; but, I have a two dollar limit per yardstick which makes it difficult to find any as a lot of places sell them for four dollars or more. I was thrilled when Dan spied these yardsticks and discovered they were two dollars each. Perfect!
By the way, the other place we went to was Flea Mart; but, it was horrid unless you love kitschy imports. I did not feel comfortable being there due to these times. So, we left before exploring the entire place.
Beads {Bracelets} 1/21/2013
I made quite a few bracelets over the years and these were dumped into a pile to snap some macro shots.
Tthe Kitchen Island is Freed! 1/22/2013
My sewing cabinet and cutting table was returned. The crate up in the top right is where the sewing machine lift is located. I am happy to be using the cutting table to put fabrics onto “bolts”. The kitchen island is now freed up to spread cooking supplies and whatnot.
Some recently fabrics I put onto “bolts” 1/24/2013
These are ancient fabrics I have no information on such as manufacturer and designer. They are quarter yards (nine inches wide) from a scrap bag bundle. For some odd reason, I thought these four fabrics would make wonderful four patches if cut up. What do you think?
PS I did not snap a picture for 1/23/2013 as that was a bad, bad day for me. I have decided from now on to just post pictures that I have taken and not mention any of the days that I either forgot to take a picture or was not doing well.
On Monday morning of our sixth day of vacation, we went shopping! We were on the hunt for some antique and quilt stores. We found several stores online that were nearby our hotel and mapped them out. We went to the furthest one out first, which was an antique store. It was loaded with junk and much to my disappointment, closed.
Dan saw a Bead shop on the way up to the antique store; so, when I saw the place on the way back, I told him to stop.
Like the good chauffeur and doting husband that he is, he did (stop).
I have a confession to make.
*takes a deep breath*
I’m a bead-aholic and I refuse to quit. Ha! However, I do try to be good about making purchases.
This shop is one of the coolest "dual" shops I’ve ever been in. You walk inside the door and on the left side is all leather and related merchandise – anything a leather worker would happen to want or need, he’d find it here (most likely). They had all kinds of stuff including tools, furs, fasteners, hardware and more. On the right is the bead shop. It is like they divided the humongous place down the middle, placed the registers smack dab in the center, decided who gets what side, and then worked in harmony forever. Ha! Both sides were decent sized “stores”.
Anyway, I quickly roamed amongst the leather and then made a beeline to the beads. They had tons of beads. I was in bead heaven. I roamed and looked over everything and found some decent bargains.
My Bead Purchases
I got creative with Dan’s help – we turned all the strings of beads I purchased into a framed flower for this picture. Isn’t it cute? I know. I know. Silly. Ha! The strands that form the petals were $2 each and the ones that form the stem and frame were $1 each. I thought I did very well considering these were nice glass beads.
And then, we continued on down to the quilt shops. We stopped by the Quilt Sampler first. This store has a very unassuming storefront. It wasn’t worth the effort of taking a picture. Don’t let unassuming or boring storefronts deceive you. This was one of the best shops I’ve entered in a long time. It was loaded to the rafters with merchandise, fabrics, and the like. I had a blast wandering the store. And yes, I bought stuff.
The Loot
The fabrics are Fat Quarters. (Check out Fat Quarters and Other Signs of Madness for a definition and a humorous blog post on the insanity of collecting Fat Quarters.) These fabrics were on sale – buy 5 for $1 each. How could a fabric-aholic pass this up? Especially when she still needs a few more faux plaids and stripes for a project she plans to do someday? Not! Resistance is futile! Ha!
I picked up the book and immediately loved some of the ideas. I quickly located my husband to show it to him. It is an expensive book. I didn’t want to get it if he didn’t think it was good (he’d be doing most of the work). When I returned to him, he said to go ahead and get it. Yeah!
While my husband was perusing the book, I finished up wandering the store. I came across a quilt top hanging on a wall that was made from a pattern called "Baby Charms" by Bean Counter Quilts. The quilt top they made was the larger version for a boy -- it was so darn cute. The pattern can be used for girls too. So, I decided to purchase the pattern. I hope to make a baby quilt someday soon. Mother’s Maxine quilt project comes first.
After I finished this shop, we went to another quilt shop called Merrily We Quilt Along which also had a unassuming storefront. In fact, we almost didn’t find it. This place practically had an entire tiny shopping strip. A portion of the store has a tea room. I didn’t find anything I absolutely must have. Personally, I liked the first quilt store we went to.
Then we decided to call it quits and go to lunch. We heard about Honey Heaven and the Bee-stro café while at the first Farmer’s Market we attended. I wanted to go there, mainly to see the live hive and to get some honey. So, we went there to have lunch. The storefront was unassuming.
What’s with the boring or unassuming storefront signs??? I don’t get it. It certainly isn't attracting customers. And, not worth taking pictures.
Dan had the BBQ Beef sandwich. Let me tell you upfront, I dislike beef for the most part. However, when I tried a little piece, I immediately liked it. It was tender and not chewy (which I hate). I told Dan if I could have Beef brisket like that, I’d eat it. He said it was delicious. I had a grilled honey mustard chicken breast sandwich, which was okay.
We then explored the store, which was in the back of the place. There is a LIVE beehive in the back of the store. It was AWESOME! You can see a small picture of hive in the “bee tour” section of the website. That picture doesn’t do it justice. The whole thing swivels and there is a PVC pipe which the bees travel through to get in and out of the place. This place can also be educational for young kids (adults too). I’ve always been fascinated with bees and hoped to have a hive or two or three someday. Heh. That will probably never happen. However, it did bring back memories of Daddy and his bees when I was a young kid.
I ended up purchasing two bottles of honey at what I thought was a reasonable price. So far, I like the honey. I mostly drizzle honey on top of a heel of bread with butter. Yum!
Why? Why did I do it? Why did I step inside Michaels yesterday? After I finished running errands, I decided to go inside that place and just look around for crafting ideas. I wasn’t going to get a single thing. Yeah right.
I have to admit that stepping inside the store made me feel like I was home – at peace. I really enjoyed roaming the place – it has changed a lot since I last stepped inside. The cross-stitch section is smaller; but, the beading section is larger and so much nicer. I didn’t pick up a single item.
Until, I saw the Clearance section. Great – just what I needed.
In case you don’t know it, I am a frugal gal. I am a devoted follower of Dave Ramsey’s “Total Money Makeover”. I do try to budget, use coupons, etc., & etc. I have a lot of self discipline in the area of spending. I rarely shop these days because I want to avoid temptations.
I have a confession. I absolutely LOVE clearance sections. I was moseying around up this particular aisle in Michaels and managed to resist all temptations. Until...
I came upon some beads. (The price was actually $1.99 - not $2.99) These weren’t you average el cheapo beads. I’m real picky when it comes to beads (and other crafting products). These were very nice…
How could I resist? What’s a girl to do?
I ended up getting ALL of these. Sigh.
