24 Olive Street

the kindness of strangers

Friday started off a bit rough for me. Something was said to me that was upsetting. Doesn't matter who or what, at this point it's not important.

So I set off on my way with Addie to hit some yard sales over in Idaho. Sometimes you just need a change of scenery!

I found a few things and just as I was about to head home I hit one more sale. It didn't look like much but I ended up finding a few treasures, like this basketball hoop for the kids...

My main goal when out thrifting/yard saleing/junkin' is to find treasures to repurpose/fix up/sell. But I always have a running list of the things I'm looking for either for the kids or myself.

They've been wanting a basketball hoop for a while. And while this is a 'mini' version it works just fine for now til I can get a bigger one. They spent lots of time playing over the weekend!

I also found something else at that sale that I didn't really 'need' but Addie seemed to enjoy it...

She loved sitting at this little wooden picnic table and since they weren't asking much I planned on buying it. But the lady who was selling it told me that she wanted me to have it and would not let me pay for it. Her and her husband were the sweetest, he even helped me load up the basketball hoop into my truck. Oh, and I also found another little granny cart to fix up for the Strawberry Festival :)

It's amazing what one small act of kindness can do. I tell ya, it totally changed my mood for the day :)

It's funny that I'm writing about this when just today, first thing this morning, I had to deal with some very grumpy people at the vet when I dropped my dog off for the 'ol snip snip...poor guy :( Apparently they either don't like kids or don't like little ones that can occasionally get upset because they both gave me the nastiest looks that I think I've ever gotten in my 11 1/2 yrs as a parent.

As we were leaving I made a point of saying to my kids (in a not so quiet voice) 'C'mon guys, let's go, we're getting the look of death from those people over there' while I stared them down. The reason I stared them down? Because they were spewing hate through their eyes the entire time I was walking out. My kids were not out of control, they weren't overly loud, my little one just got upset a couple times when she didn't get what she wanted...like when she wanted to go see Mr. T the tortoise :)

Gonna have to go get the scoop on those people from the vet when I go to pick up Tucker this afternoon :) haha

Some days I have no tolerance for overly rude people. Thank God for the good ones!

a 'new' old suitcase

One of my favorite things to find at yard sales, estate sales & thrift shops is old suitcases.

Problem is, most times they're very banged up & let's face it...stinky.

I have a couple blue ones I found last year & wanted to pretty them up for display at shows. So I said what the heck, if I ruin it it's not a big deal!

So I pulled out one of my favorite paint colors...and the paint went on wonderfully.

I also ripped out the insides. Since this suitcase is old it pulled out super easy.

After the paint dried I cut some fabric to go inside. I also added a layer of fusible fleece to the backside of the fabric. On the lid I simply added a layer to the top. In the bottom part of the suitcase I ran a piece of fabric around the sides, then added the bottom piece. I simply used a hot glue gun (high heat, not low) to hold the fabric in.

Isn't she pretty??!

And on the handle I Mod Podge'd some old dictionary paper.

I will probably also add some sealer to keep the outside from getting too banged up.

And now it's all prettied up for the show this weekend! Now I really want to redo the other suitcase I have :)

weekend happenings

So we had a semi-full weekend which included a sleepover, hockey game, freezer delivery, dog bath, cleaning, and junkin' :)

I hit a couple estate sales on Thursday & Friday & at first was only finding some little stuff.

I love crates. They call out to me :) So does old Pyrex, I don't care if it's worn. I still love it.

Maps are another one of my favorites cause you can do so much with them. Same with old postcards, greeting cards...esp if they have an old postmark on them!

Then I came upon one of my favorite finds...

I can't wait to paint this one! I'm thinking either white, beige or light yellow. I'm also thinking of taking the back of the hutch off and adding some kind of fabric backing to add some visual interest. You know I will share the results when I'm done!

Now if the weather would cooperate so I could actually go in the garage and paint something!!

We keep going back and forth between this:

And this:

I've been holding off on buying a heater for the garage but if I'm going to be ready for Junk Drunk (less than 2 mos away!) then I might not have a choice!

I'm so ready for spring! I don't mind the snow (kinda like it actually!) but I'm ready to get my garden going, open my windows & start doing more outside!

I have most of the seeds I want to plant & now I just need to figure out where I'm going to grow them...where a certain toddler won't get into them! I'm thinking of buying this greenhouse. It would only have to be in my house for a couple months so I think it would work really well.

Although, if you click on the link do you notice anything funny? Like, the dimensions?? Someone needs to tell them that ' means feet and " means inches! Yeah, I just notice stuff like that! lol

Saturday we went to a hockey game. It was a sort of belated birthday gift for my son. I told him he could have a party this year or we could go do something & he chose this. Good choice son :)

Addie enjoyed herself :) She was a bit cranky at times but I think she's teething...that's never fun for anyone!

And the Chiefs won 2-zip!

And my new freezer came on Sunday!

Woo hoo!!! Time to start stocking up on some freezer meals! My extra side by side fridge that we had in one of our previous homes just wasn't big enough. We had an upright freezer before we moved from GA but it was older and we were trying to lighten our load so we wouldn't have to pay too much in extra weight fees (I think we still ended up paying around $500 even after getting rid of stuff!)

Btw, did you know that Lowes delivery is always free?? I had no idea...guess it's been a while since I bought a major appliance!

I just placed an order for chicken with Zaycon Foods which I get to pick up in a few weeks. Then I will spend lots of time packaging it up into small portions & premade meals. Normally I only buy organic chicken but their website says that their chicken is hormone/additive free & I've heard it's pretty good so I'm giving it a try!

I've been trying a few new breakfast recipes (aren't I always??!). Made this pumpkin french toast this morning...

I wasn't sure how it would taste...I mean, I love pumpkin and I love french toast. But sometimes when you put stuff together it isn't always great. But this was! I got the idea from Meg Duerksen's blog and since I was only serving it to my kids I halved the recipe (I would do the whole thing if it were a weekend).

So here's my little alteration to the recipe:

1/2 loaf french bread

4 eggs

1 cup canned pumpkin (basically 1/2 can)

1 cup half and half (I prefer half and half for french toast, just gives it a better taste)

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp vanilla

brown sugar

I still baked it for 40 minutes. I noticed a couple people complaining in the comments and honestly I don't know what they did wrong. The only thing I can think is that they didn't use enough bread, didn't bake it long enough or didn't use a pan big enough and the layers were too thick & couldn't thoroughly cook. Mine was not mushy at all. I served it with some warm syrup and it was yummy!!

I also found a recipe for baked french toast sticks (recipe here) and those were a hit, too. Sometimes my kids don't like french toast because it can get a little soft but I think they really liked these because they were crispy.

And here's a yummy snack recipe - no bake energy bites

These are yummy. And healthy :)

I will leave you with one last pic...

Oh my gosh, that wrinkly face :)

Sometimes instead of buying dog toys I give Tucker one of the kids stuffed animals that they no longer want. This one is cracking me up because it 'talks'...and every so often he's carrying it around & you hear "Aflac! Aflac! AAAAFLAAAACCC!!!" hehe

Addie is napping so I'm gonna try & get some Project Life pics printed!

Happy Tuesday friends :)

friday

This is what we woke up to this morning.

Whoa! When did winter get here??

I love snow but I was unprepared for this. Not that it's a ton. The roads are just wet. But we were scrambling to find coats, gloves, boots, car scraper!

I figured we'd just get a dusting.

And I also figured I still had time to get the outside Christmas lights up before it got cold. Guess I was wrong! hehe

I hit an estate sale this morning. Thankfully there wasn't a ton of people there. So hard to move through a tiny house (because it's usually a tiny, old house) with a 17 month old!

Oh hey, Addie is 17 months old today!!

Anyway, picked up some vintage Christmas goodies.

They always make me feel so nostalgic :)

Several boxes of old ornaments. Gonna make a wreath out of these beauties!

I {heart} old Christmas lights.

Found 2 boxes. One didn't work. Bummer.

Found an old tree topper, too. Forgot to take a picture of it.

I just loved these boxes :)

I've been thinking about my December Daily for this year, pulling things together.

I'm hoping to work on the cover this weekend and at least cut the pages for the album. I'm using a 6x8 album from Simple Stories. I've found that that size works the best for me.

I would really love to use some of the October Afternoon Make It Merry line...but it's still not in yet and I can't wait around forever!

I wanted to work on some Project Life pages but ran out of printer ink. So either I need to run to the store or just upload a bunch to Costco. That's, I think, the most time consuming part of scrapbooking!

Looking forward to the long weekend. So thankful for our military & families who work so hard to keep us safe :)

friday

I love short weeks! Especially when you're getting used to a new routine.

The kids went back to school this week. It was pretty easy slipping back into the routine. Addie has adjusted well to getting up earlier...and is compensating with a longer morning nap. yey!! Especially considering she pretty much only takes one good nap a day.

Yes, 1 yr old and only 1 good nap a day.

{sigh}

So I take full advantage of that!

My son had a great first day. My daughter...not so much. It seems there's a kid in her class who was less than nice to her. I will save the words I would really like to use and let's just say this boy is a brat and leave it at that...shall we??

{double sigh}

But it's getting better and the teacher it seems has already recognized it...which in my book is half the battle already won.

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Speaking of the first day of school, it was also my birthday :) These pretty flowers came for me...

Aren't they gorgeous??!! Oh man, I could smell them even before the guy came up on my porch! And that sunflower is huge!!

I {heart} sunflowers

And my new love from Ephiphanie (from my hubby)...

{swoon}

Seriously, I haven't had something this nice since before I had kids!!

I've been drooling over these for a loooong time. The mustard colored one is my 2nd fave. I can fit my camera, lens, Fuji instax, video camera & wallet in there with a bit of room to spare!

Although, I will tell you, I don't think the colors on the website look the same in person. At least not with this one. Online it looks more blue but in person it's more green. Just an FYI.

But it doesn't matter to me, I still love it :)

So I guess this will carry me through the next 40 yrs. Right honey??!

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Moving on...

I hit up an estate sale out in Deer Park this morning. I was a little hesitant driving out there because the ad on Craigslist didn't look super promising.

I was wrong. Love when I'm wrong about that!

When the van is full...it's a good day junkin'!!

Some cute furniture pieces. About 10 gorgeous big frames (one I'm definitely keeping for myself...stay tuned on that one!)

That little nightstand reminds me of the dresser redo I did for my daughter's room a while back...

Now to find room in my garage...hopefully I can manage to do that before the hubby gets home ;)

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I managed to sneek in a tiny bit of crafty time to whip up these cute little tags...

I love cute packaging :) These will go on some goodies I'm taking up to my space at This Old House.

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My garden is slowly but surely coming along. I planted it about a month late. I think I might have a batch of Romas by this weekend. That means some canning!

I have quickly discovered that my twine 'trellises' do NOT work with these Roma tomatoes. These things are growing EVERYwhere. It's crazy! I definitely need to use something better next year...

But they're working perfectly for the 'regular' tomatoes...can't remember what I planted...

Olivia's flowers are loving where we planted them...

baby green pepper :)

I'm hoping to head up to Green Bluff this weekend & maybe get some peaches :)

TGIF!!!

found treasures

I've been promising that I'd share some of my yard sale finds so here are just a few of them :)

Vintage Star Wars trading cards. My daughter spotted these so she and my son split them up between the 2 of them. They're pretty cool...and gave me a good laugh!

Love old windows. I picked up 4 of these windows & I may or may not do something with one of them & sell the rest as is.

How neat are these old blankets?? The birdy one has some stains on it that I haven't been able to get out yet (bummer) but I plan on using it for my booth displays anyway. The black one I may have to keep for myself :)

You have to look closely in this next one cause there's a lot...

Now I yard sale for 2 reasons - to buy things to fix/repurpose/alter/resell and to find things for myself/my family. This was one of the hauls I got the other day, mostly to keep including jr golf clubs for the kids ($2), ball jars ($2), 2 basketballs (50 cents each), baseball bat (50 cents), sandbox with sand ($10), lamp ($2).

I'm of the thinking that you can never have too many baseballs, basketballs or golf balls when you have kids so if there's a good deal to be had I will always pick those items up at sales!

I was really excited when I found these:

I kind of have a vintage bottle addition. And a vintage crate addiction. Ok, I love it all! But these are cool!

You can bet that a few of these will be staying with me!

I {heart} vintage Christmas ornaments

Isn't this old stove adorable??! If I had a spot to put this I would definitely be keeping it!

These old children's books have great illustrations that I'll use for future projects. And that atlas has wonderful maps in it.

I went to an estate sale a few weeks back and there was an old shed out back full these wood scrap pieces. There was only about an hour left til the end of the sale and the ladies working there were so nice that they said I could take what I wanted for free (I think they were happy that I helped haul away some of it...less work for them!). Although I did put a lot of sweat into digging these out of that shed...it was hot that day! Not to mention the splinters (need to remember to bring gloves next time!) And in there I found some of these cool signs...

Made me wonder where these came from and if the owner used to make these signs.

I also found this ladder out in that shed...

I've found a few of these old wooden ladders so at least one of them will be used for displays of some of my items at shows.

This little dresser is in desperate need of a makeover...and some new knobs. Can't wait to redo it!

This was one of my absolute favorite finds...a huge stack of vintage postcards. And there are many of them that have been mailed with old postmarks on them. So cool!

And that's it! Well, that's not it...there's much more. But if I took pics of everything we'd be here all day!

estate sale score!

This morning we hit a pretty decent size estate sale. I scoped it out on Craig's List the other day and was excited since I saw many things in the photos that I wanted to get my hands on. These sales are always a bit tricky having a baby/toddler who doesn't walk yet because they're usually in an older home which usually means 'small'. So trying to maneuver around with an umbrella stroller & loot in hand is a challenge. But a challenge I'm always up for nonetheless!

Unfortunately we didn't get there til 10:30 (it started at 10) so I missed out on a few things I spotted online but I still managed to get some good loot including:

2 wooden crates, 2 wooden tool holder thingies, white weekender type suitcase (behind the crates in the pic), 4 vintage tupperware pieces, huge bag of silverware (for my hubby for work), 2 silver collanders, several vintage pillowcases/napkins/etc, vintage tape measure, 3 vintage books including one that has old Dick and Jane illustrations (that one will probably get used for the pics), silver tea holder, lots of old thread/bobbins/etc, a cool vintage bowl with orange polka dots on it (that one I will be keeping!), and I think that's it but I'm sure I'll find more when I empty it out!

And that cart is something I actually picked up at a yard sale last week for 3 bucks! My kids thought it funny that I was using something from another yard sale for this yard sale. hehe The last time I let one of those carts go I regretted it...so when I saw this one it was definitely coming home with me! Now I just need to make a cute liner or something for it :)

I'm still working on a post on some of my other finds but I thought I would share this for today.

Happy Thursday everyone!