Shared Treasures-Discount Decorating

I was “thrifting” yesterday despite the snow, then rain, then sleet. Pickings were pretty slim but I did buy a neat, scrolly iron wine rack & sweater for myself. I have to share some of my past finds though. I am in the process of redecorating a room around one! It is by far one of my favorite prizes-a queen size Waverly comforter in shades of mustard, coral, & teal. I bought it at the Salvation Army for $9.99. It was new & had never been used. I found a pair of matching coral linen pillows with cream embroidery at
Target for $8.99 each.

I got even luckier at JC Penney when I was shopping for curtains for my Mom & Dad. I found 100% silk plaid panels for 80% off of the original price + an additional discount for their newspaper ad. I saved almost $800.00. My room is really coming together-all I have to do is paint...ugh! I am thinking coral for the walls and ivory trim on the woodwork. Any suggestions?

Another find is this Flue Cover I bought at a co-op for $2.00 & the little twig chair it is sitting on at a yard sale for $2.00.

The crystal horn was a thrift shop find for $2.99.

Don't ya just love a bargain!

Tablescape Thursday-It's All About the Toile

BETWEEN NAPS ON THE PORCH: Pink Saturday and A New Tablescape Thursday Button-I am participating in my first Tablescape Thursday. It was a lot of fun creating my place setting-I rummaged through totes that have not seen the light of day for awhile and came up with the scalloped border Limoge plate. It is really lovely & unless you look very closely, you can't tell it has a chip on the bottom rim. Even though it isn't perfect, its charm has preserved it all these years. Dinner took on an air of elegance, even if it was just stuffed chicken breasts & mashed potatoes. Thank you Susan for the inspiration!

Tablescape Thursday-It's All about the Toile

It's All About the Toile-I just love toile-any design-any color-I am smitten! I just found this fabulous garnet-red tablecloth on sale for 75% off at Williams-Sonoma. It is the perfect backdrop for the garnet faux-silk placemats I bought at Target for 98 cents each-what a bargain! For my Tablescape Thursday, I chose a silverplate charger I bought as a set on eBay years ago as my first layer topped it with a vintage transferware plate in red-(I feel like I'm frosting a cake!), then a vintage Limoge plate I bought at a Flea Market & crowned it with another red transferware plate in a pattern I collect called Andalusia. The flatware is Milburn Rose, a pattern that dates circa 1930. It is my "Good Silver" I purchased at an antique shop shortly after I was married-(thank goodness for LayAway!) The knife is mother-of-pearl handled-(part of a set purchased on eBay). The little crystal votive is actually an individual salt dish. The napkin is also toile folded together with a damask in garnet. Isn't it romantic?

Mardi Gras

Don’t forget next week is “Fat Tuesday”- By definition, "Mardi Gras" (mär`dē grä) & "Mardi Gras Season", in English, refer to events of the Carnival celebrations, ending the day before Ash Wednesday. From the French "Mardi Gras" (literally translates to "Fat Tuesday"), the term has come to mean the whole period of activity related to those events, beyond just the single day, often called Mardi Gras Day or Fat Tuesday

Winter is back today after our brief flirtation with spring. This morning it snowed in big, fluffy flakes blanketing everything like a dusting of confectioners’ sugar. A lovely morning to sip a cup of tea & peruse the paper. By this afternoon the snow has vanished & it’s cold & damp. Rain is pouring from the downspouts & running down the roof. The sky is grey blanketed with clouds. I think I’ll pour another cup of tea….

The Victorian Garden Gourmet

A Mental Health Day

Ok, so I was supposed to be working but alas the fabric store was having a half-off sale-how could I say no!?! I have a sweet little French caned chair that is in dire need of a frouffy down cushion. I want to make-over my livingroom & this is a simple & inexpensive jumping-off point. So needless to say one of my favorite antique shops is right next to the fabric store which is right up the road from the pastry shop-it just kept snowballing! I bought a delicate little ribbon style fabric & a linen check-not sure if either will cushion the chair or just become cushions! I finished my afternoon off with a cappuccino & French pastry-naturally! But I behaved at the antique shop & didn't buy a thing-but tomorrow I go thrifting so maybe something will turn up!

I am parting with some of my transferware collection. As my husband says, I cannot keep it all. I have been sifting through the totes in the attic and have added some to my website. I have been collecting since I was ten-mostly blue but I have yellow, green, brown, mulberry, lavender, pink, red & bi-color. My most unusual is the yellow/brown bi-color. It is a Ridgway,one of my favorite manufacturer's. Yellow is a rare color. I have only ever found one in all my year's of collecting. I started my obsession at our local flea market. At the time you could find pieces for under a dollar especially if they had a chip or crack. A few years ago I bought a red & black plate for four dollars that I sold for over a hundred. Alas, those deals are few & far between. When I first started buying dishes I knew very little about them. I bought several books which have become well-worn reference books. One is Romantic Staffordshire Ceramics by Jeffrey B. Snyder. It is a handy guide for identifying many popular patterns & manufacturers.

This one is also a Ridgway, polychrome-(multi-color transfer) plate as is the green/brown & yellow/brown.

I have them everywhere throughout the house. I change them with my mood & color-scheme. I have also passed this "bug" to my neighbor. Beware-it is quite contagious, often spreading to other family members & friends! My neighbor's partial to lavender-my cousin to green! With all the varieties out there-the possibilities are endless!