Auction Fever

My daughter and I spent most of the day at one of my favorite auctions. My daughter came to look for items for her new dorm room. Vicky was also in attendance with her husband. The evening before, during the preview, I had spied a large, handpainted entertainment/armoire (approx. 4 ft. by 7") that I had seen before in showrooms at the "Mart" in Atlanta. I decided I would love to have, but felt it would be way out-of-bounds for my pocketbook.

Since it was "new" and a designer piece luck was with me. The first bid actually went all the way down to $25.00! Anyway in the end it was mine and even though it fits so well into an "Old World," Tuscan, or European theme, it might end up in our "formal" living room because its colors are perfect for that room as well as the new rooms. Once it makes it into the house from our Suburban (gas hog, but invaluable for hauling!) I will include a photo.

We also found a small, carved coffee table ($2.00 - probably from India) to go in front of the dorm room futon and a console cabinet ($4.00 - go along the wall to hold the dorm room TV, DVDs, etc. (How different dorm life is today!). We hadn't pulled the console away from the wall at the auction or tried to lift it. When my husband removed it from my car outside of our house I was able to see the back of it for the first time. It was a piece of Drexel Heritage furniture (and was extremely heavy). I then informed my daughter that we would not be painting it (it is a soft yellow with accents of blue/green, which actually fits with her Tri-Delta sorority colors) and that I would probably find a place for it at home in the future!

I found a great end table ($5.00) for the new great room (once the new sofa arrives) and a "pick out" group of 4 milk glass pieces, a white rippled milk glass "Silvercrest" Fenton vase and a Lenox tidbit dish for $5.00. Vicky and husband purchased a beautiful Sheraton, inlaid and burled server/hunt board for a family gift. She also picked up lovely china, rugs, compote, art glass cake stand, wrought iron lamp, small table/chest at great prices. We are both quite frugal and try to control "bidding fever" whenever we attend auctions! Watch out, because there is another auction at the same location next week and we are already getting excited!

Two nights ago, at Home Depot, we were able to find a porcelain tile for the new sunroom floor. It is a ceramic tile which replicates a brick herringbone design. The tile was on clearance and we pounced on it even though we just ordered the tile for the new bathroom and have that to put down as well.

Decisions, Decisions

Solistone "Jakarta Moon" Pebble Stone Tile

Botanica "Had To Have" Bag

Belgard "Mega Bergerac" Pavers

Close-Up of Mega Bergerac Pavers

Daltile Pattern for Remodeled Bathroom

Brancacci "Aria Ivory" Tile

What a long day we spent today. Starting out at 7:30 in the morning we began our quest. My daughter and I dropped my husband at work and then went to breakfast at Bagel City. Lots of goodies to choose from and very filling. Afterwards we made a quick trip to Home Goods and found two pillow shams to coordinate with the lovely ivory quilt/spread that I purchased two weeks ago for my son's redecorated bedroom.

Next, on to the Unique Thrift Store for their "Monday only" 25% off sale. We had only a limited amount of time but were able to find a great bath rug and assorted current magazines for me and a Ann Taylor Loft dress, American Eagle and Key West skirts for my daughter. We have decided that we will try to return on another Monday before she returns to school.

In the early afternoon we joined my husband and went to select tile for our remodeled bathroom on the first floor of our home. We decided upon a Daltile pattern called Brancacci in the Aria Ivory color for the room floor and walls of the new walk-in shower. We decided on a pebble tile from Solistone, "Jakarta Moon," for the floor of the shower. We will probably find a accent border to go around the inside wall of the shower.

After this, we then went to view and decide upon pavers for our new patio. We had decided to go with the Belgard brand, but needed to decide a specific design. Ultimately, we chose Mega Bergerac in the Fossil Beige color scheme. We will also need a small retaining wall around 3 sides of the pation which will more than likely be the "Celtik Wall" design in the same color scheme. Now we have to make a final decision on the layout of the patio and begin with the bed of stone dust, etc. that will be the base for the pavers.

We stopped at the Mall at Columbia (Maryland) for a brief period of shopping for "back to school" outfits and a quick lunch/dinner. I decided to buy a Vera Bradley bag in the Botanica pattern which I have admired for about two years and since they are retiring it I just had to have it. Back to Charles Town, dropped our daughter at home and then on to Home Depot for various and sundry things, including faux wood blinds for our son's room. By 9:30 we were finally back home and ready to drop! Of course the week is still young and there will be other places to go, I'm sure.

My Favorite Thing

One of my favorite bloggers, Cindy at My Romantic Home, is hosting a "My Favorite Things" weekend. It's such a great idea that I decided to join in!

Of course, the difficulty for me is making a decision as to what to choose! My post title should really read "My Favorite Thing....Today." And today, that would be the lovely milk-glass basket that I found at an auction last month. I bought it to use for a bridal shower because I have been collecting black and white dishes to use at the shower. Vintage milk glass pieces were perfect, although hard to find! I love the shape and the texture of the pattern of this basket and will use it in many different ways for years to come. In the top photo, you will see some of the other pieces that I have picked up this summer which I think fit together quite well.

I would have loved to find a three-tiered stand as beautiful as Cindy's to use at the shower, but I will have to be content with clear glass and silver plate....unless I have a magnificent thrift store experience within the next three weeks. I can only hope! I am thoroughly enjoying viewing other bloggers' favorite thing postings and will continue to check it as other people join in the fun.

Flower Color Change

Today I finally got around to changing the flowers in the urn that usually sits in the center of our great-room dining table. The spring arrangement had been bothering me for weeks but I had been unable to find "true red" silk flowers to accent the new look. Yesterday, at A.C. Moore, I found some red geraniums that were 70% off. They were in rather short stemmed bouquets, but I cut them apart and fastened them to longer stemmed flowers to make the red "pop" throughout the arrangement.

Now that I have finished this task, I have to find live flowers for the window baskets on the windows of the new addition. All spring and into the summer, we had lovely pansies which decided to die all at once about three weeks ago. Hopefully I will find temporary replacements that will survive the August heat until I am able to plant mums for the fall.

Works In Progress

Laundry room whites against Valspar "Bliss" blue

Laundry room white hutch against Valspar "Bliss" blue

Range hood chimney should be similar to fireplace chimney (not faux finished yet)

Range hood and chimney under construction

The photos above show some of the ungoing progress described in yesterday's post. Apologies for the lighting problems in some of the photos, but I didn't take the time to stage things or perfect lighting! I will post other photos as the work progresses and/or is completed.

The other day I visited a new (to me) thrift store in the Montgomery County, Maryland. It is the Unique Thrift Store. They had quite a collection of all kinds of items, from apparel to household. Some of the prices were way out of line (too high for "previously used") but there were many deals to be found. I was able to pick up bed dust ruffles (in wonderful condition) for $1.99 and below and a pair of red leather sandals (Moda-Spain, also in great condition) for $3.49! According to their advertising, on Mondays everything is 25% off. It will be added to my lists of stops for future trips, especially if I'm there on Monday.

At the end of that day, we ordered a new slipcovered sofa for the great room. In about 6-8 weeks, we will be able to do away with the sofa we have been using "temporarily," which survived 2 undergraduate and 2 law school years with our son...and I had found it at an auction when he first moved into an off campus apartment...so it has seen its day! I've always wanted a slipcovered sofa so that it can be cleaned and I will be able to change its look without purchasing an entirely new sofa. Hopefully once things calm down I will learn to make a decent looking slipcover!

Tasks Are Mounting

Black and White Checkerboard in Laundry Room

Valspar Billow Blue

Posting has become more difficult than I imagined during this summer. We are involved in lots of projects on our new addition as well as plans for our son's upcoming wedding. That does not even take into consideration trying to keep up with Ebay, Etsy, website, sewing and decorating projects and time spent with my daughter while she is home for the summer.

Updates: We have almost finished painting our great room, former kitchen and upstairs back hallway. I have used the "Tobacco Road" color that so many other bloggers have used and/or suggested. We love it. We have had to use a double tier scaffold and our "Little Giant" extension ladder to reach the many high places since the great room has the lofted ceiling. We have also been painting all of the trim (a soft, bright white) around the many windows, some that are about 2o-25 feet in the air, which is extremely tedious work. My husband has begun to build the stove hood/mantel/chimney over our new range (which will have to reach high into the air).

We installed black and white vinyl tiles in our new laundry/mud room. I was never able to find affordable porcelain tile in the black/white "faux" marble checkerboard look and went with the vinyl "peel and stick" tiles that we found at Lowe's, which were suggested in a former post at Southern Hospitality. I used a white-washed wooden hutch and three shelf units that were displays in our store for storage along the walls. I decided to paint them with a soft white semi-gloss paint so that they would be more striking and easier to keep clean. We are almost finished painting the walls a Valpar satin blue color, "Billow," which has turned out great, especially since the white furniture pieces and appliances, Closet Maid shelving and trim paints are great contrasts against it.

My husband has been trying to get control of a large portion of our backyard by tilling and re-seeding sections in hopes of at least installing the floor of our new patio, that will be outside of the french doors of the new sunroom. Of course, we are also trying to at least tape and prime the walls of the sunroom so that it may be used for the bridal shower at the end of August. We might be able to finish the window and door trims, but I doubt that I will be able to finish-paint them in time.

We are trying to at least install the new frameless glass shower stall in the former downstairs powder room, which we have gutted and enlarged a bit. Finding a porcelain/ceramic tile that I am happy with has been grueling. I am trying to stay away from too much gold and brown. Finding a "white" tile that incorporates some gray or gold tones has not been easy. I wanted to use 2" by 2" or 4" by 4" tiles inside of the shower but the cost is ridiculous. I have compromised with a 6" by 6" tile instead. We will re-position the toilet and old vanity so that they may be used until we continue the renovation as time permits.

Our son and fiance will be coming to stay with us the first of August. I have to finish small paint touch-ups and re-decorate his room during the next week. We have had major air conditioning problems in the older portion of our house up until two days ago and it has made working in his room insufferable up until now. Thankfully, they have made a "temporary fix" to the wiring of the system (disconnecting the heat...no heat come fall?) so that we can get through the rest of the summer. Why do I have the feeling that a new system may be on the horizon?????????

The bridal shower is scheduled for the end of August and the pressure of construction/decorating is mounting. Finally, both Vicky and I have been able to find "mother of the bride" (in her case) and "mother of the groom" (in my case) dresses for our upcoming fall weddings. We were down to the wire for ordering so that we will receive them in time for the weddings. In fact, this coming weekend is the first bridal shower for Julie, Vicky's daughter, so the time is flying fast!

Time to finish my tale and get back to work. Will update on shower preparation and recent thrifting "finds" tomorrow.

Happy 4th of July!