28 September, 2011

Estate Sale, New England Style!

Recently, I flew to Boston to visit Andrea and Mark...
and of course, CAF, aka Caroline.
She's growing so quickly and I don't get to see her as often as I'd like.


She's very active and always exploring.

At the end of the day, she gets her bath and is ready for bed.


Her puppy, Bretten, skips the bath.
Directly to bed for her.


Anyways, I just had to share.
Now, the Estate Sale.
During the week I was there, a sign for an estate sale was posted on the telephone pole in front of their home.
It was at the old farmhouse behind their house. 
At one time, they owned all of the land around them.
Now there are houses and apartments that cover that land.
It started at 9am and I was the only one there!
Gorgeous old home and the family was so sweet!
I had $22 cash and this is what I walked away with.


Federal Style Convex Girandole Mirror
About 2 feet tall.
Wood.


Smaller one, thrown in for free.
You can see brush marks where the mirror finish was applied.


Amazing hand made table with the most delicate legs I've ever see.
And it survived in the barn for years.


Small alabaster or marble lamp.


Wood tray, about 2' wide.
Somewhere in the past there was an inlay in the center.
Andrea blacked it out with a sharpie and put their monogram in gold paint pen.
Here's the brass handles.



Finally, an oval side table with pretty tapered legs.



Can you believe I got all of these wonderful things for $22 !!
These are some of the things I had to leave behind with a heavy heart!
2 antique bear skins, if I had to guess I'd say one was a black bear and the other was a grizzly
antique beds and dressers
spinning wheels
6 antique small scaled windsor style chairs used daily in their kitchen
All these plus so much more.
And the really amazing part?
This was their second sale!
I'll remember this one for a very long time.

ann marie



Linking to...

19 September, 2011

$25 Guest Room Makeover!

I've got family coming into town and my Mother in Law will be staying with us.
And the guest room was looking sad and dingy.
Time for a facelift!


So, I had one day to do something about it.
Off to Lowes I went.
I bought a gallon of Olympic's One- a paint and primer combo.
$25



The existing color was quite a bit darker, but it took two quick coats and that was finished.
I also put a coat of paint on the baseboards and windows.
I shopped my home for the panels and whipped up a new Dust Ruffle with some Natural and Black Ticking I had on hand.



I need to dig up some shams or maybe a couple of vintage embroidered pillow cases,
 I know I have a stash of those hanging around too!




Not too bad for a day's work!
A big silver pitcher full of roses and I think mom will be very comfortable!

ann marie


06 September, 2011

Dog Door Days of Summer


This DIY project started with the adoption of this sweet little puppy.
Taylor's puppy.
Noble.
Or, Chernobyl, depending on how her day goes...
I work from home, and they live close by, so I volunteered to provide some doggy day care.
I, however, did not run this past my three "girls".


They were OK with it until Noble started to use their heads as a teething ring.
Rizzo and Wrigley are both around 8 years old and quickly put an end to all that nonsense.
Sophie, however, is a pushover.
She is probably the least dominate dog I know, which makes her such a sweetheart.
And a good teething ring.
By the time Noble went home each day, Sophie was a slobbered mess.
Noble also like to chew on sticks, big sticks that we have no idea how she gets them through the doggie door.
Then she would proceed to shred them all over the house.
Something had to be done.
We started with this kitchen door that led to Taylor's back yard.


A trip to Lowes and we were on our way.
They had this door on special last week for $128 , it usually sells for $188.
Doggy door for large doggy was around $75.
10% military discount on all that and we spent about $185.
It really was an easy project.
The new door fit into the old door's frame.


The template is included with the doggy door.
Drill a hole in each corner,


then cut on the lines with a jigsaw using a blade made to cut metal.
Our blade wasn't long enough to cut all the way through, so we had to do the same on the outside.
I think that actually made it easier.


A quick whack with a hammer was all that was needed at this point.


The door assembly is really easy too.
You mark where the screw will go through on all 4 corners, drill the hole and put it all together!
Now everyone's happy!


Well, almost everyone...


ann marie