Thrift Find and Birds Nest

My friend Holly and I took off Thursday morning

 to make the thrift store rounds. 

I always look forward to our fun time together. 

This sweet little raised cloche was my favorite find. 

It was $5.99 and still wrapped and in the box from the Stokes store. 

A friend commented on my Facebook page that it looks

like the little bird is sitting on an Easter egg.  :)

This darling little nest was a gift from Holly.

  She crocheted it using hemp string,

 from a little hat pattern.  Genius, eh?

The perfect thing to put in my new Spring cloche!

"The beauty of winter, is that it makes you appreciate Spring."

L. M. Montgomery

Tanya

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Before & After ~ Easter Topiary

This week a thrift store in my area moved to a much bigger location.  I thought it would be supportive of me to "help them celebrate" their grand opening *wink*.  I took a quick run in one afternoon.  What a celebration.  The very spacious parking lot was full, and both sides of the four lane highway were lined with cars (including mine!)  I hurried inside and grabbed a shopping cart. This little "before and after" is one of my finds from that day.  

I spotted this cute little Easter topiary just as another lady picked it up off the shelf.  So I just waited patiently and she finally decided to put it back!  Swoosh!!!!  (That was me grabbing it quickly!) ;)  This topiary was too "bright" for my taste.  I was looking for a more muted look.  So the first thing I did was tear out all the bright green moss and silk flowers.  

That's better...but the pot was too bright as well.  I took it outside on the weekend.  It was -1 and sunny.  Too cold really for spray painting outside.  But I spray painted it anyway and took it back into the warm house to dry.  The pot looks white in this picture but it is actually a warmer ivory color.  

I'm getting there!  Then I took the glue gun and Spanish moss.  I just broke off small bunches of the moss and glued it in between the eggs, and at the base of the topiary branch.  

Oh, so much better!  Are you doing some Easter/Spring decorating?  I'm working on it now.  It makes my heart sing!  Such a very fun time to decorate.  

Wishing everyone a very Happy Spring!

Tanya

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Antiquing. . .

On Saturday morning, my daughter Nicole and I, along with Lisa and Mom, began our adventure in the gorgeous sunshine, along the coast of Nova Scotia. Our first stop was at the store I mentioned last time - Rural Roots. It is a thrift/2nd hand type store and we took our time browsing. There are lots of great things there.

We kept driving and stopped at every place that peeked our interest. The next few stops were antique shops. Lisa and I are going to take turns showing you our treasures! Since I (Tanya) am typing the post, and since I'm the oldest, I get to go first. ;0)



I have started gathering a few double egg cups. I am collecting some different colors and plan to use them on my Easter table once I get enough for everyone in my family. So far I have three. The double egg cup became popular in the 1930's. I always thought that the smaller bowl was for a chicken egg, and the larger bowl for a larger egg. (turkey or duck, I guess) However, I have since learned that the larger bowl was used for a soft-boiled egg that was shelled. It was chopped, mixed with salt and pepper and eaten with a fork or spoon. A boiled egg still in its shell was placed in the smaller section. The tip was sliced off, and then the egg was eaten from the shell. As a child, I used to eat eggs this way at my maternal grandmothers!



Isn't she beautiful? I always think of teacups as "she". They are so pretty and dainty. I love pretty teacups. . . but I don't like tea!! Weird eh?


There is a story behind this dish pattern. . . but I'm saving it for another day. I have had some of this pattern for several years. In May, I got quite a bit more of it at "The Red Barn" antiques. Now THAT is a barn full of antiques!!! I found these two plates on Saturday. It is so much fun to hunt down the pieces you are looking for.



Red is my favorite color. So it would only make sense that red transfer ware was one of my favorite dishes. This pattern is called "Rose Bouquet", and it is my very first piece. It is an inexpensive pattern, and one that I could gather fairly quickly. However, I have been thinking that I might like to gather a table setting of several different patterns, for that mix and match look.

I hope you aren't all asleep, because it's Lisa's turn now!!



I'm a dish hound. This one was just too unique to leave on the shelf. Jam, sugar, candies, earrings, change... the list could go on. Most of all, though, seeing it will make me smile as I think it's so pretty. That's the thing about dishes - there is always another one that is just so pretty!




I absolutely love Mercury Glass. These ornaments will match garland strands of Mercury Glass beads that my maternal grandparents got as a wedding gift on June 23rd, 1929! (Sorry, I'd show you that as well, but it's all packed away)







Saw these on my way out the door of one antique store. I have Victorian looking ornaments for my Christmas tree that are of people skating... with skates that resemble these. But the real reason I bought this pair is because my dad had an old pair of ice skates. We gave them away YEARS ago, and I would give anything to have them back. I've looked for replacements for a long time now... to no avail. So, these skates were bought in memory of my dad's skates. I think I'll stop looking now.



Nope. . . we didn't pick up this treasure, but can't you just imagine it sitting in the kitchen of a cozy old Nova Scotia farmhouse? I bet it has cooked many meals for a hardworking family. Lots of holiday dinners as well, and then heated up the water for the dishes after that!!



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