Simplify #3

Not much 'simplifying' happening this week.  This nasty head cold knocked me for a loop. So there has been more reading, TV/Movie watching and sneezing then going through my stuff.

This is the thrift store pile waiting by the door for me to feel like loading it up taking to the store.  I will be glad when it is gone.

I did start going through boxes of paperwork, sorting and recycling.  Paperwork can pile up so fast its always a big job.  Maybe I can start doing it monthly so things don't pile up so much.

I have a few new items I've bought to spruce up my living room space.  I showed you this chair in my car, but here it is in my home!

I found this great chair at the thrift store and it is exactly what I've been looking for.  Small scale, nice neutral fabric, in great shape and it rocks and swivels!  It is in great shape, clean and only $35!

My blog friend Marigene saw this pillow on a website and sent me the link.  I knew I wanted it but pillows can be pretty pricey.  I found it on Amazon and it is a pillow cover and under $7.  How cute is that!! 

This one by the same company is perfect on my couch.  I have a love of Flamingo's and Dragonflies!  Amazon had lots of pillow covers at really low prices so it's now my go to place for them!  You can store covers so much easier then the complete pillow and just change them out for seasons or a new look!

This is my bedside table with my new diffuser.  It has helped with my cold so much.  Sara uses essential oils and brought me some to use and it has really helped my cold.  I am a believer for sure.

 Charlie is doing well.  He is eating a little better now but still super thin.  He is really enjoying laying on his towel in front of the window in the sun!  Warms those old bones I think.

Scout turned 9 mos old and is really starting to 'talk'.  She says Mama, Da, Tig and Gma!  She is such a sweet and happy little girl. 

Tiger is growing so fast!  He is going to be a tall kid for sure.  He really enjoys using his Lego's to create fun games! 

Not much else to share.

I am looking forward to getting well and getting out of the house soon! 

Wishing you JOY,

Linda

Pottery Finds!

My pottery collection is one of my favorites and back in the Fall I had some fun finds on Ebay!

This vase is so interesting!  I love the grey vase with the burgundy bird.  This McCoy piece was priced low and I was thrilled to add it to my collection! 

I've long wished for these next two items.  My friend and enabler Claudia (Mockingbird Hill Cottage) has a few of these on her piano and I always find my eye going to them.  Well I found two at separate times on Ebay and won them at low prices...happy dance!

The singing birds are just so sweet!

I love how these bookcase shelves turned out.

Claudia also has started sharing some of her Roseville pottery collection.  I thought the glazes were so pretty and that if I found a piece at a good price I might add it to my pottery collection.

While in Texas and waiting for someone to meet me at my brother's apartment, I saw a little antique store and stopped in.  These pretty Roseville candlesticks caught me eye and the price was $16 for the pair.  I believe it's the Apple Blossom pattern.

This piece was found on Ebay and no one else bid on it and so it came home to me.  I love the blue so much.  

This pattern is Water Lily, gorgeous!

Displayed together in the new secretary desk.

Pottery and Ebay can be addictive!  

I used some Christmas money to buy this beautiful piece.

This large console bowl in the Magnolia pattern.  Again an Ebay find that no one else bid on and I got for a great price (even with shipping).  I saw it listed for twice what I paid for it several times on Ebay.  (You all know I'm a bargain hunter right??)

So where am I putting all this new pottery?  

In the Secretary of course.

This is a work in progress.  Trying things out to see if I like how they are displayed and continuing to play with arrangements.  I love having another place to display my pottery.

With the doors closed

Pottery has long been a favorite collection and it's fun to see it growing with really special pieces.

Wishing you JOY,

Linda

Simplify #2

I got serious in the dish closet this week! 

This is how it looked at the beginning of the week

I got busy and it is now like this!

This still looks like a lot of dishes but lots of spaces are now empty and dishes that were elsewhere are now on the shelves

This really makes me happy!

I was able to find homes for some of my stuff

All of this is going to a friend who has a vintage booth. 

All of this was free for pick up and many of my friends took things. 

This bin full of dishes and other glass items is going to the thrift shop this week!  I would call that a successful week!

I still have this shelf to go through.  The three teapots are for sale, but so far no takers. 

I can't tell you how good this feels!  I'm trying to work one room at a time, but wanted to make a big dent in the dish closet this week...and I did! 

Now I'm working on the shelves in the living room and the dish hutch in there.  Lots of glassware has already been donated but I want to do another round of purging. 

One of the hardest things to edit are my 'collections'

Birds and Egg cups!

I started downsizing my egg cups.  I had even more then in this photo and I realized I didn't Love them all and they were crowded and not being enjoyed.  I gifted a few to friends and came down to these in the cubbies.

I mixed it with a few pieces of pottery that I love and now it's perfect.  I have a few more egg cups in the Paris cubbie and some blue and white on another shelf.  This way I can really enjoy them more.  The birds will be edited soon! 

So that is my week 2 of project Simplify! 

How did you do?

Wishing you JOY,

Linda

A Little Dream

Don't we all have 'something' we really want but for various reasons don't acquire?  Or maybe it's just me (smile).  Years ago I fell in love with a piece of furniture.  I know...furniture?  I was visiting a friends family in Boston and they had a secretary desk.  It was gorgeous, it was 'fancy' and unlike anything in my mid-century modern upbringing.  

It might have looked something like this! 

or even this.

So I get married and have children and my life is run by needs not wants.  I'm happy but I never forgot the gorgeousness of a secretary desk.  Years later I find a small desk at an estate sale, it's only $25 so I buy it an bring it home.

This is the best photo I could find of it...Just the desk part, no drawers or upper shelves.  Not REALLY what I wanted so when I moved I sold it.

A few months ago I'm looking at a local yard sale site and voila...there it is! 

It is still a 'want' and not a need, but I fall in love
The price is a bit high so I make an offer...accepted
but I can't pick it up without help...they deliver for $10 more.  So for $160 this gorgeous gal is mine!

The amazing drawers and hardware

Inside the desk

There isn't a backing on the shelves, but that is an easy fix...I am so happy I finally got this secretary desk!

She has moved near the window in the living room and now to fill her with treasures! 

Have you had a special 'something' you have dreamed of having and finally did?  I'm so glad my little dream came true.

Wishing you JOY,

Linda

Simplify!

Simplify

to make less complex or complicated, to make plainer or easier...simplify

2015 brought some major changes in my life.  Another grand child, an aging cat, the loss of my brother which had a huge impact on me.  My health and the health of my Mom.  All these things have overwhelmed me at times. 

Simplify is my word for 2016

I want to make my life simpler so I can enjoy it more.  The first step is my home.  It is cluttered and I am not able to keep it as clean as I would like because there is so much stuff in here.   I've been working on downsizing for a few years, but this year will see a major change.

Staring with my dish closet.  I am no longer doing tablescapes on a regular basis.  I have collected so much stuff that I can't use this extra closet for anything else.  Most of these items I haven't touched in two years!!  So out they go. 

Just look at it all!

I am going to do a weekly post on my journey to simplify my life.  I'm going to start with a huge purge of my dish closet.  

These sets of flatware will be going to the thrift shop today.  I enjoyed picking these sets up over the years at bargain prices, but I don't use them so out they go.

This box full also.  Yes I had way too many but it was fun to have all the different colors when setting tables.  Time to donate so someone can use these items and they can stop taking up space in my closet. 

I will be working on dishes this week and will have photos next Monday. 

Join me as I Simplify! 

Wishing you JOY,

Linda

Junkin Awards 2015

This is one of my favorite posts to write.  It is fun to look back and see what thrifty finds made me happy this past year.

Favorite Find in Green

This was an exciting find at Goodwill this year.  A Bordallo Pinheiro cabbage tureen for only $4.99.  I have fallen in love with this pattern from my friend Marigene's blog and to find this piece set off a (bargain) buying spree on Ebay I haven't shared yet but will soon.

Favorite Find in Red

I love this coffee mug and in fact I am drinking coffee from it as I write this post!  Found at a thrift store for .59 it is now a favorite mug.

Favorite Find in Blue

This beautiful bowl made by Federal glass was $3 and the blue bottle was .25 and both really made my day when I found them at a local thrift shop.

Favorite Find in Pink

Always a hard category to choose just one, this beautiful depression glass tray won hands down this year and only $2.99. 

Favorite Find in White

This McCoy pottery planter was a great find at $5 and really encouraged me to look for more pottery this year.

Favorite Find in Plates

Another Bordallo Pinheiro find this Lemon Leaf plate was only $1 and it is gorgeous!!

Favorite Find in Milk Glass

I still love my milk glass, but seldom find anything that I want to add to my collection.  This year I found these two pieces.  A plate and a little dish with the green inside.  The prices were so low I can't even tell you how much (under $1 for both).

Favorite Finds for Tiger/Scout

I found books, a shape sorter for Scout and these action figures for Tiger.  All were hits and most ended up at their house! 

Favorite Find in Pottery

This green planter for $1 found at the Habitat for Humanity thrift store, really made me happy.  I love the glaze on it and the unusual depth of the planter! 

Favorite Find Paris

As you know I didn't go to Paris again, but my eyes always are looking for Paris items.  This year I found a few new things but my favorite...

This photo of benches in front of the Eiffel Tower

It was only $1.99 and is going to be part of a gallery wall I am working on. 

Categories I'm retiring are:

Pyrex~I sold most of my collection this year, keeping only the pieces I love the most.

WLYS~I haven't gone to the World's Longest Yard Sale in a couple of years now so unless I hit the sale in 2016, this category is retired.

I hope you enjoyed my Junkin Awards.   I am downsizing a great deal now but I still enjoy finding those special little things for bargain prices! 

Wishing you JOY,

Linda

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