Thrifting Thursday: Catching up with the Care Bears

My records indicate I’ve missed a couple of Thrifting Thursdays, so one is due. But today, I really don’t feel like doing a thrift heavy post. There’s been so much randomness happening lately, I’ve been having trouble keeping my jumbled mind on one topic. So how about a random post mixing in just a little thrift for sweetness?

A couple Tuesday’s ago (April 2nd) I turned 20+12, for those of you without a calculator handy, that’s 32. That means, I have been alive for 280,506 hours,  11,687 days, 1,669 weeks, 384 months, and 32 years, give or take a few nanoseconds.  That’s a lot of time to waste on Pinterest, blogging, photographing my beloved canines, and in general piddling around this little world of mine. And I wouldn’t give up any of my 1.01e+18 nanoseconds on this earth for another life.( Thank you Google for doing the math!)

So here’s what’s been happening in my little life as of late….

newpaint

Painting walls, more on that later. That one red wall in my kitchen was driving me nuts, now I have one wall painted one of these two colors.

messylivingroom

Reorganizing, our storage room or what others may call a spare room had to get cleaned out and fast for a special guest (Hi Mom!). Isn’t it crazy how much chaos occurs before the order can begin? And yes, that’s a twin mattress in my living room, blocking my TV. What better motivation to get things done than by blocking ones television.

myfamily

Things haven’t been all chaos in the month since I last blogged. There’s been some time spent on the couch. Relaxing.

popcorn

Eating some popcorn.

goldandbub

Hammin’ it up.

pancakeman

Enjoying the company of pancake man.

puddlepuppies

Having a drink because, everyone knows that puddle water tastes the best after leaping tall buildings.

jumpingannie

easter

I still can’t believe Easter has come and gone. Before we know it, we’ll be celebrating our mother’s and then our father’s, and then it’ll be time to pull out the red, white, and blue.

But in the meantime, there’s the memory of Easter and the enjoyment of the here and now. Which as it happens, it’s still spring time! Personally, my favorite season.

For Easter, I had the great pleasure of hosting my Mom for dinner. I pulled out all the pastel glassware I could find. Which happened to be the glasses, but the plates were white. That counts as pastel. Sorta..

easterdinner

She brought with her some beautiful tulips. My favorite flower.

eastertulips

cheerbear

A few days after Easter, I enjoyed my first glass of tea as a 32 year old from the most mature glass in the cupboard. Who says you have to stop drinking your favorite beverage from Care Bear glasses once your 30’s come along?

Not I, which is probably why I’m starting a little collection.

tenderheartandgrumpycarebear

So, I’ve got Cheer Bear (my personal fave) Tenderheart and Grumpy Bear.

cheerbearpizzahutglass

Originally offered by Pizza Hut in 1983 or ’84.

carebearpizzahutglasses

The entire set included six of the most popular Care Bears, the three that I’m missing, Funshine Bear, Good Luck Bear and Friend Bear. Plus, the three that I currently use whenever they are clean, Cheer Bear, Tenderheart, and Grumpy Bear.

These glasses bring back so many childhood memories….aww…yes…the glorious ’80’s. The decade of my childhood. It went by so fast.

Better remember not to blink now, or I’ll open my eyes and be in my 40’s!

blink

And on that note, I bid you adieu!

Spring has Sprung

Happy Spring everyone!!  As most of you know, today is the first day of spring, and honestly I couldn’t be happier about it. I am certainly not a winter girl, the cold short days really take their toll on me. But now that the days are getting longer, warmer and the opportunities to get out and play in the sunshine are more abundant, I can shake those winter blues like Annie shakes off the dead winter grass from her back. It’s quite exhilarating, shaking the winter blues that is, not shaking grass off my back.

With spring upon us, I’ve been enjoying a few spring-y touches around the house.

yellowdafodils

Daffodils, they’re so sunny and bright, they almost smile.

moredaffodils

They make me smile right back at them. I’ve also discovered glitter covered eggs from the dollar store.

glittereastereggs

They maybe a little tacky, but at least my table looks Easter-y.

Recently, I’ve been seeing my sweet momma a lot, and finally got to give her the Valentine’s gift I’d stitched up for her.

momandgoldie

The scarf came out huge, apparently I have gauge issues.

laughingmomandgoldie

But sweet momma tried it on, anyways. Under Goldie-dogs watchful gaze, of course.

Oh, and spring not only brings with it daffodils to my table and finally a grass free dog, but also new birds to my yard!

northernflicker

A male Northern Flicker Woodpecker.

northerflickwoodpecker

Guess the bugs living in between the stepping stones didn’t stand a chance. I couldn’t get a shot of him flying, so I borrowed a shot taken by Laura Meyers, who obviously has a quicker shutter finger than I do.

Via

Doesn’t this guy have a gorgeous undercarriage? The one munching on bugs in my backyard had more of an orange-y undercarriage than the one pictured above. But he still took my breath away. It’s not too often we get birds other than pigeons and doves hanging out back there.

Now that spring has sprung and the sun is shining brightly, I’ll be taking my leave out of doors. (And maybe cut back on my BBC viewing.)

Happy Spring Everyone!

Idea Stores

Absence certainly makes the heart grow fonder. I’ve really missed blogging these past couple of weeks, and I haven’t even been all that busy. Just lazy I suppose, at work there is not much time to blog, plus I really don’t know how ethical it is to use company time to do such things. Then when home time comes around, all I want to do is sit on the couch and attempt to watch TV, but instead I wake up 2 hours later to find the local news filling my head with current headlines. Let’s just say I’m tired.

But a couple of weeks ago I was able to drag myself off the couch, and visit a couple of my favorite “idea” stores. You know those kinds of stores where the merchandise is too pricey (at least for this cheapskate) to actually purchase anything, but instead steal their ideas and buy something similar at your favorite thrift or discount store.

Well, Potty Barn and Anthropologie are my idea stores. And here’s what I found:

anthropologiedisplay

I really don’t know what I like best about Anthropologie, the gorgeous smells or scrumptuous eye candy.

anthropologietable

I love this table, I don’t know if it was truly old, but those wheels are awesome.

anthropologiequilts

These quilts had me at, “Hey, I’m 100% cotton!” My favorite is the white ruffled one second from the bottom.

colorfulglasswareanthropologie

Have I mentioned all the eye candy that Anthropologie has to offer?

cornergalleryanthropologie

I loved this corner gallery. It might look odd in a main living area, but perhaps it would work in a bedroom?

glassthinganthropologie

And these weird little glass balls. I thought they were a light fixture at first, but I still like them. They bring a little shine into a space.

shinyglassandprettylampsanthropologie

Aren’t these  bright lamps the coolest?

moreowlcookiejarsanthropologie

Oh, and they had owls!

owlcookiejarsanthropologie

Lots of owls…

twinowlsanthropologie

weeniedogletterholderanthropologie

And not just owls, they also offered weenie dogs that would hold letters for you. I thought about buying this for my sister, but alas, $30 was too steep for my tight little wallet.

upholsteredchairanthropologie

This chair is so cute, I could see one of my thrifted chairs getting this treatment.

pillowascushionanthropologie

All I need now is a cute euro pillow. And some time away from the couch.

After indulging in all the eye candy that Anthropologie offered it was time to see what Pottery Barn had in store for me.

potterybarneastertable

I love their table settings at the Barn of Pottery. They’re a little too busy for my everyday life, but still fun to gaze upon. I did however, get some ideas for my own Easter table.

colorfulplatespotterybarn

A bunny holding colorful plates anyone?

potterybarnglittereggs

How about a cheese dome displaying pretty Easter eggs?

bunnynapkinpotterybarn

Or cute bunny napkins?

I also noticed a trend in both stores:

colorfulglassespotterybarn

bluebeveledfootedglassesanthropologie

Colored and textured glassware. Which I’m completely on board with, evidenced by my favorite colorful glasses purchases from one of my favorite thrift stores. You can read more about those here.

peachbeveledglasses

Normally, when visiting my idea stores, I just come away with ideas. But this time, I actually purchased something. My very first purchase from Anthropologie. It was like a little present to me and from me.

spoilsfromanthropologie

fancytape

All wrapped up with pretty tape! But what lay beyond that pretty tape?

candleanthropologie

Why, a yummy candle. I can’t remember what flavor it is, but I snatched it from the clearance section for $15. Now, every time I light my gifted to me candle, I pretend I’m walking around one of my favorite idea stores. Of course, then I wake up and realize I just fell asleep on the couch again.

Weekend Happenings: Zombie Apocalypse

Tuesday, where did Monday go? And why is Wednesday already tail gating me? Before I know it, heart day will be here and gone, and then it’ll be time to enjoy that marvelous long weekend! Or what others may call President’s Day. That’s the joy of being a public employee, the long weekends thanks to national holidays.

The point is, this week is just flying by, and it’s not just this week, it’s other weeks, time in general is flying by. As I’ve hit that 30-something mark, the days feel longer but the weeks feel shorter, my to-do list keeps growing, but the tasks never get done. Even right now, as I sit here writing this post there are a million, zillion, things that I know are not so patiently waiting for their turn at my attention. While I think of all the other things that need to be or want to be done.

Whew!

I think I just tuckered myself out thinking about it.

Maybe it’s time to stop, re-focus, and remember all the relaxation that happened over the past weekend.

albertsonscake

We had cake. No, it wasn’t a birthday or some other big event, it was simply Saturday. And the cake was on sale, why not? I should also mention, it was a mini cake. I LOVE cake, but I could never eat an entire standard sized sheet cake in one weekend. Well, I could, but by Monday I’d be waddling into the nearest Old Navy to buy bigger jeans. No thanks, I’ll stick to the mini cakes thankyouverymuch.

teamaker

And I finally got to break in a new tea maker. By the way, thanks Mom for the great gift that provides me with that sweet sweet caffeine!

Yes, I am so addicted to iced tea I can’t wait for the water to boil to make it the old fashioned way. And yes, this is my new tea maker, meaning that I have worn out another one. And yes, I buy home teeth whitening products in bulk, actually, I don’t, I’d rather live with slightly yellowed teeth than have the shade of blue teeth that Suze Orman has. No offense to those who whiten or to Ms. Orman! I love to watch the Can I Afford It segment on her show every Saturday. But it also makes me sad, because I realize I can’t afford it.                                                                              “It” meaning the newest toy I’ve had my eye on.

Where was I? Oh yeah, the weekend…

pinktulips

I picked out my Valentine tulips early this year. Apparently, the closer you get to heart day the more expensive flowers get.

lionbrandhomespunyarnOh, and the most exciting part of the weekend was stepping into Michael’s to find all Lion Brand yarn was 50% off!! I may have gone back a couple more times to stock up. Ya know, just in case there’s a zombie apocalypse that causes a yarn shortage. Since, I hear zombies love to knit and crochet in between eating people’s brains.

And finally, what weekend re-cap wouldn’t be complete without the obligatory dog picture?

goldie

Well, I’m off to check some items off my to-do list:

1. Make dining table pretty, bananas do not make an attractive center piece.

2. Sweep the crazy amounts of fur off of the floor

3. Hide hoard of yarn before zombie apocalypse happens

Thrifting Thursday: Husbands and Wives

Welcome to Thrifting Thursday, my personal celebration of what I like to call Friday Eve. Which normal people just call Thursday. How boring right? Shouldn’t the day before happy Friday be celebrated too? Unless of course you do some sort of shift work and your Friday is on a Tuesday in which case Monday would be your Friday eve and Friday would be your Monday so Thursday and Friday would be nothing to celebrate for you. Unless of course you absolutely love your job and can’t wait to jump into your work week. Then YAY for you!

But back to Thrifting Thursday….

Today is going to be one part talk-about-old-stuff and another part oh-yay-there’s-cookies! Confused yet? I think I’m still confused about the Friday on a Tuesday thing….

Anywho, here’s a picture to help illustrate this windy path I’ve set us down.

chocolatechipbars1

See that cute blue pedestal plate? Yeah, that’s the let’s-talk-about-old-stuff part of this post. The pedestal really isn’t all that old though, I just brought it home because it was cute and blue and cheap. Those a few of the criteria this girl can’t pass up when she’s sniffing around old junk shops. (I say sniffing, but in some of those places you really don’t wanna literally sniff too deeply. IfyaknowwhatImean)

You see that yummy magic deliciousness sitting upon my pretty blue pedestal plate? That’s the oh-yay-there’s-cookies part of the post.

marthastewartcookies1

These are cookie bars I made a while ago for a little office get together. I used Martha Stewarts  Cookie Bar Recipe. Which can be found here.

The cookies turned out OK, and honestly, I had no complaints from my co-workers. But the cookies just seemed a bit dry to me, I like my cookies to be gooey and soft. Maybe next time I won’t cook them as long. Most food stuffs I prepare end up being a little on the “well done” side. For instance, when I was making grilled cheese sandwiches for me and Bubba the other night, my sweet, gentle, and honest husband politely requested his sandwich lightly brunt instead of charred. I then promptly dropped his on the floor and let the dog lick it while he wasn’t looking. Ya know, being the sweet, gentle and PATIENT wife that I am.

How’s that for a random post about everything from Friday Eve, cookies, plates, and husbands and wives?

Weekend Happenings: The Business of Un-busyness

This past weekend was the complete opposite of busy, it was un-busy. Meaning that it wasn’t busy, but it wasn’t quiet or lazy either, just un-busy, pleasantly un-busy.

supervising

It was so un-busy, I took pictures of Bubba replacing the wipers on my car. While Goldie supervised of course.

sillymovies1

We watched a couple of our favorite silly movies. I had to get my Mixed Nuts annual viewing in, the third weekend in January is close enough to Christmas to still be watching Christmas movies right?

christmastreestillup1

I hope so, because if it’s OK to be watching Christmas movies, then it should be OK to still have ones Christmas tree still up.

christmasbox

Just so ya know though, I am working on taking down all the Christmas jolly’s. Although, if it’s still Christmas in my heart I should be able to keep the outward portrayal of all that cheer in my living room eh?

bhgandcrochet

Aside from watching Bubba replace my wipers, avoiding any type of household chore (like putting away my Christmas cheer), I also did some magazine reading and started a new crochet project. You’ll have more updates on that soon, the crocheting not magazine reading. That would be a pretty boring post wouldn’t? It would just be a picture of me, sitting on the couch reading a magazine.

Anywho,after this short review of my weekend it looks like things were more lazy and procrastination filled than they were un-busy.

But I think I’ll stick with un-busy.

What did you do this weekend? Get shiny new windshield wipers perhaps? Any Christmas tree-putting-away-avoidance?

Weekend Happenings: Wide Angles

YAY! We’ve made it to Wednesday or as I like to call it, Friday Eve Eve!

Even though I’m on the tail end of Wednesday, and well into the work week, I’ve still got the past weekend on my mind. In particular, a new toy that I received this weekend. It’s got me doing a little happy dance every time I think about it.

Amazon

A Sigma 10-20mm F/4-5.6 Wide angle lens for Canon. It’s something that my Bubba and I have been wanting ever since we purchased our first SLR on e-Bay two years ago. Coincidentally, this lens was also purchased on everyone’s favorite auction site as well, and a pretty good deal if I do say so myself. When it finally arrived in the mail on Saturday I felt like Ralphie when he finally got his official Red Ryder Carbine-Action 200-Shot Range Model Air Rifle with a compass in the stock and this thing that tells time. And I would have slept with the lens too, if I hadn’t been afraid of rolling over on it and breaking my precious. Sorry honey, but I take my toys very seriously.

Once we both hurriedly opened the box to reveal our newest prize, I quickly hooked it up to my camera and took some random shots.

viewfromthecouch

Never mind my abnormally large leg and the wonky vents on the ugly wall heater, apparently this lens distorts  certain items that happen to be at the edge of the shot. Or things have gotten distorted through editing and sizing down the original photo. Or there’s a worm hole hidden in my living room that could cause a rip through time and space. Or maybe it’s time to cut back on the Doctor Who re-runs. Also, don’t judge me for still having my Christmas decorations out, it’s still Christmas in my heart. And another thing, this is real life folks, no fluffing of the nest going on in this shot. Hence, the pile of coats on the rocker and various other piles of clutter here and there. We pile in this house, it’s how we organize.

teenyannie

I love this lens, it makes my backyard look HUGE! It also makes Annie-dog look so small and alone. On a side note, I think pea gravel will need to be put under the tree this spring, my poor grass is barely making it thanks to all the dog traffic and shade.

dukecity

I’ve discovered the wide angle lens captures so much more when shooting landscape shots.

sandiafoothills

cactussandiamountains

I have also discovered that New Mexico is pretty brown and crunchy during the winter months. Actually, it’s pretty brown and crunchy during the summer months too, but at least the weeds and cacti have a little more color to them.

bubandgoldie

bubandann

Oh, and the wide angle is perfect for portraits, especially when you want to capture the setting. Ya know, because our couch is picturesque.

Have you gotten any new toys you’er especially proud of recently? Or are you still battling with the remaining Christmas cheer around the house?

Thrifting Thursday: A turtle and a gingerbread man walk into a bakery…

What says Christmas more than a gingerbread man on a pretty plate, a glass turtle, one random Glade candle, and a dough bowl full of pumpkins and onions??

gingerbreadman

Not much I’d say. So far, this is my Christmas table. A little sad and so not very jolly, but at least there’s the lone gingerbread man. I named him Sam right before he met his fate with a glass of milk and my mouth. No, I didn’t bake him, I don’t have the kind of patience for gingerbread. I am still on the look out for a super easy and edible recipe. If you know of one, please share!

gingerbreadmanonpinkplate

But back to the cookie and the plate, mainly the plate. I love this plate, when I’m grabbing a snack I always grab for my pink ruffled plate. It kind of dresses up a not so fancy meal. Plus, it makes me happy.  Bubba picked the plate up at a nearby thrift store for less than a dollar, apparently it’s from Hazel Atlas and the pattern is called Pink Crinoline. This is the only piece I have from the collection, but if I ever come across more of the set, it’s certainly coming home with me.

anchorhockingturtle

And this turtle? My Bubba found him at the local Humane Society thrift store. He’s Anchor Hocking, and either from the late ’50’s or the late 70’s I couldn’t really tell from the patent I found online.

glassturtle

I think he’s meant to be a candy dish or similar, but I think he’d look cute as a trinket holder.

glassturtlebox

If I don’t get busy jolly-fying the house, I’ll be up chocolate creek without a popsicle stick! (Name that famous gingerbread man!)

Tablesetting Tuesday:Christmas Edition

With Christmas less than a week away, I am FINALLY in the mood to think about all things holiday. Which is odd for me, usually the tree is trimmed and most of my Christmas shopping is done the week after Thanksgiving. Not this year, I don’t have one present picked out and the tree has only been trimmed a couple of days. In fact, I’ve been tripping over a ridiculous number of those ugly red and green bins the past week in the hopes that having to walk around and over those things would force me to open them up and pull out all the sparkly goodness. The plan didn’t work, just a few minutes ago I pulled out the “special” items and  finally put the bins away. I guess the rest will have to wait for another year.

All that to say, I shot a Christmas themed table setting for you. It was a warm day outside, and I wasn’t up to moving the ugly red and green bins in the kitchen to make things a bit more presentable. So, how about a holiday meal in my backyard? Also, I realize it’s Wednesday, but Tablesetting Wednesday doesn’t quite have the same ring to it.

evergreeninmilkglass

The evergreen sprigs came from my Pinon tree out front, everything else I already had on hand. The vases I found at various thrift stores around town, the mercury glass candle holders came from a Joann’s that was shutting down, they were a quarter each. Now that’s something this sparkle loving cheapskate couldn’t resist.

christmasdinnerfortwoThe red and green plaid table cloth came from swanky Wal-Mart a few years ago after Christmas.

plaidchristmastableclothAgain, all dinnerware is pretty old, and came from several sources. I can’t really remember where it all came from. But I do remember the flatware and plates were Christmas gifts from my sweet Momma. Thanks Mom!

goldmercuryglassAnd another shot of my sparkle, also do you see someone photo bombing in the reflection? (How YOU doin’?)

So, how you fairing this holiday season? Is the tree up, have the stockings been hung with care?

How to Crochet the Lazy Girl Way

Lately I’ve been trying to be a little craftier, apparently idle hands are the devils playground. At least that’s what my grandmother used to tell me. So, I’ve taken up crocheting in the evenings while I watch re-runs of Friends and impatiently wait for Season 7 of Doctor Who to arrive on Netflix. Because ya know, I can’t spend the $14 to buy 6 episodes of my most recent television obsession, that would be too easy. Anyways, during my TV time the past couple of months I’ve been making this:

pinkcrochetbabyblanket

A baby blanket, a WHOLE baby blanket. That’s like 20 scarves all put together! I’m a beginner when it comes to crocheting or crochet?? What would be the proper terminology here? See? I’m that new I don’t even know the proper verb or pronoun whatever the correct terminology one would use in this situation. But I digress, I’m new to this craft and have only really mastered the single crochet, so that’s how this blanket was woven together (and love, woven with lots of love, you can’t have a handmade item NOT contain love!). Nothing but single crochet stitches and the chunkiest and softest yarn I could find, Bernat Baby Blanket, in Baby Pink. I found the cheapest selection at Wal-Mart, it was $2.97 for a 3.5 oz skein. Certain colors can be purchased in a huge 10.5 oz skein, which is what I did with another blanket I’m currently working on, but that’s another story.

singlecrochetblanketI LOVED working with this yarn, it’s the perfect material for a beginner like me who tends to be a bit fumbly with the crochet needle. By the way, I used an N needle with this super chunky yarn, so the project was super easy and super fast. If I had worked on it for more than an hour or two at a sitting and if I were more nimble in the fiber arts I bet this could have been churned out in  a lot less than a month and a 1/2.

But the one caveat I have about using this yarn is that it tends to be a little knotty, and I don’t mean it stole grapes from the grocery store for “tasting”. There were random knots within the skein, like they had knotted two different skeins together. Maybe it was just that I purchased my yarn from Wal-Mart, which sometimes doesn’t have the best quality of merchandise or maybe it’s just the nature of the product. By the way, I’m not slamming Wal-mart. They do tend to have the best deals on certain products. And yes, I realize there are lots of people out there who are very anti-WalMart, I can be one of those people at times, but I also like a good deal. Either way, the knots kind of annoyed me because it made the final product look a little messy. Or maybe it was just me making it messy with my beginner crochet-er ways.

bernartbabyblanketyarn

But all in all I am happy with the final product, and have happily wrapped and shipped this handmade gift to a friend of mine who is happily awaiting the arrival of her new baby girl in just a few short weeks.

packedandready

Have you started up a new hobby? Or have you mastered an old hobby? Any crochet tips from the pros out there??