WAR EAGLE!

We are an Auburn family- DH and I went there, 2 oldest sons and future DIL are recent graduates, son #3 is headed that way and son#4 does not realize there are any other options! Although I do not get involved in the politics of football- coaching and tailgating are big stuff in our little town which boarders Auburn! So I wish the new coach and his team the best this season!!! WAR EAGLE!!!

Alabama Bloggers are having a contest for bragging rights so I'm casting my vote!

Wordless Wednesday

The Wedding

I took a friend of mine on a little road trip this week. We went shopping in Georgia to look for a dress for me to wear to THE WEDDING!!! Son #2 finally popped the question this spring and she accepted!!! The wedding is in December. Here is the beautiful (I may be a little prejudiced) couple.....

The bride has everything under control, she is very organized. I am not so much.... I was stressed about my dress....I'm not easy to fit...I didn't want to look like the Groom's Granny or a little kid ( remember I am a size 2).....I wanted it to be simple and elegant.....and comfortable....and not beige.....blue would be nice...

I tried one store by myself.....They did not laugh at all my issues....they basically ignored me...said "there's the rack".....I left....I wanted a little special treatment!

So we loaded up and went out of town. They were so nice and listened to my list of demands.....and went about the business of making my dream come true. They had suggestions and were excited and I found it! THE DRESS!!! I feel so much better!

With that taken care of we spent the day shopping for my friend's pregnant daughter-in-law.....and her future grandchild....yes, I am jealous......

Thrifty Thursday

Last week I had to pay myself to go to the grocery store! I promised to go to Kroger and in return I could have 45 minutes in Mission Thrift! We were out of everything, the refrigerator was empty and my coupons were not organized. I should have paid myself more for that trip!!!

! My first finds were these little needlepoint pillows. I guess they hang from doorknobs or hooks. I can never turn these little faces down!

Next were these dishes by Adams English Ironstone. A platter $3.99, sugar bowl $2.99, 9 plates $4.99 and 9 bread and butter plates $3.99. Good thing I still had some of my yard sale money left. I passed up the cups and saucers. I really don't use them and they were more expensive. They usually tape a cup and saucer together to sell. I would have bought a few if they did that. The 10 saucers were taped together and each cup was $1 so I would have to spend $15 more. I looked up the prices on ebay and Replacements.com so I know they are worth it. I just could not talk myself into it!

The name of the pattern is Veruschka.


These little odds and ends found their way home with me, too. More white ironstone for my imaginary dining room! And I have no idea why I bought the Currier and Ives dishes......maybe because I have blue and white dishes in my bedroom and bathroom.....maybe because I just liked them.....

Don't forget to stop by our hostess Leigh's place to see some other Thrifty Treasures!

Thrifty Thursday

This week for Thrifty Thursday I'll share my treasures from the World's Longest Yard Sale! I still can't believe that I came home with money in my pocket! I blame that on the overwhelming number of yard sales and the incredible heat! I have second guessed myself on a couple of things I passed up. You must buy things when you see them...there is no going back!!!

The little lamp table has found a temporary home in the parlor along with the tole tray. It will need a redo at some point and will go to the dining room (if I ever get to move back in there!)

I don't know how old these Valentines are, but they are so sweet! I especially like the way one of them is decorated on the front and back.

Two tin toy Wizard of Oz plates and a McDonald's witch doll will go on my Oz Christmas tree.

I could not believe the number of tables of new socks, especially around Fort Payne. I gave up and bought Youngest Son some. We came across the Hosiery Museum in Fort Payne(while we might have been a little lost) so there must be some sock factories around there!

We also came across some big tubs and tables of Crocs for $10. Both of us got some of them.

I love the color of this suitcase, but it turns out that my tower of suitcases is so tall that I will have to move my artwork if I add this to the stack. I'll have to find another place for it until the tower moves back to the dining room!

We met some very colorful characters out on the trail and they all had a story to tell. A has a soft heart and would get caught up in their tales while I wandered away. If she could not break off the conversation I would have to go back for her! We heard the stories of the wealthy Corvette collector who does this for fun and the wife that got deported! The chances of getting a reduced price go up when you take the time to be friendly! We counted our blessings when we saw some of the homes along the path and people (who in spite of heath issues) were out in that heat! We counted our blessings when we found an actual bathroom and McDonald's! We really counted our blessings when we found our way home after killing 2 GPS systems! And I know our husbands missed us!


Be sure to go by Leigh's place to see the other Thrifty Thursday stories!

And check out A's loot here!

The World's Longest Yard Sale

I learned that it is best to go to this event with no expectations of finding a certain thing. It is all serendipity! You find unexpected things in unexpected places while chatting with unique people! I did want a table to put a lamp on- it was the first thing I bought!

A and I drove up to Gadsden, AL on Friday morning. It took about 2 and 1/2 hours with our trusty GPS guiding the way! The GPS died then. But, we were good because we found the start of the trail! I didn't carry my big camera so all pictures are from my phone. I didn't take that many pictures because it was all so overwhelming ! Overall it was VERY HOT! I live in Alabama...I know hot ...I love hot...but this was the hottest I've ever been! We laughed a lot-just fun girl time! It was wall to wall yard sales in Gadsden. We had to pick and choose, because you could not do it all. We learned to drive by and scan for places with parking, several booths that we could walk to, and vintage stuff rather than new or stuff that we just sold at our own yard sales!

The route was not marked as well as it could have been, we got lost a couple times and the 2nd GPS was not that helpful. It just wanted us on more direct routes!!! GPS #2 died the second day!

We got a little worried about lodging for the night since we were going through small towns (no hotels, McDonald's, few gas stations) so we decided to hit the highway. We also found that hotels along the interstate had no vacancies! Headed up to Chattanooga, TN and luckily A's hubby was able to get reservations for us in a beautiful Marriott in Downtown Chattanooga that was right where the Yard sale route cuts through town! We got cooled down, fed and clean so we felt human again!

Saturday we were up early and hit the road going back South. We drove through Lookout Mountain where the yard sales were few and far between until we got back in Alabama. The scenery was beautiful! We learned how to pump gas the old fashioned way and how to find bathrooms rather than port-a-potties! Thanks go out to the volunteer fire departments along the way who opened their bathrooms!
Our final misadventure was a missed exit on the way home. We were talking away when we noticed the Georgia state line! So we took a little detour through Roopville, GA to get back to I85 then back home!

A bought more than I did, I'll have to get some pictures of her stuff! I am proud that I did bargain down some prices, although she became very skilled at it! I will write more about how we counted our blessings along the way and met some colorful people later!

Here is a picture of my junk....more later!

Thrifty Thursday

I should be double posting tonight because this is really a Thrifty Tablescape, but I'm running short of time so I'll just do Thrifty Thursday hosted by Leigh of Bloggeritaville!

I love jadeite! About the same time I discovered it the prices went sky high because Martha Stewart also loves it! So, I have picked up a piece here and there when I found it reasonable. Last weekend at a yard sale I added one more cereal bowl. The patterns don't have to be the same, but most of mine are Jane Ray.

These are my newest white ironstone plates. I've been looking for some simple white ironstone for a while. I found 6 of these at my favorite Angel's Antiques a couple of weeks ago for $1 each. They are Johnson Brothers Athena. Quite the bargain!

Layered with the Jadeite and topped with little shell plates from TJMaxx.

I pulled out some thrift store napkins to add some color and tie into my bowl of apples in the center of the table.

The jadeite butter dish is not vintage, but it did come from Salvation Army for $2.50! And the bird votives are from Dollar Tree. They were brown before they had a run in with a can of spray paint!

Now, wish me luck, because I'm off this weekend to the World's Longest Yard Sale with my thrifting buddy! We've never done this before and are very excited to try our luck! I hope I'm back here next week with lots of treasure!