March 19, 2014

It just keeps getting better. . .

 
I finally made a decision, and oiling the piece won over painting it. I gave it a good soaking of tung oil.
I wanted it to be taller but didn’t want to alter either of the pieces. So. . . enter the divided wood box.

 
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It gave it the little bit of height it needed. And a place to display a few more things as well.
I have a few of these divided boxes, they have a lot of uses. This is just one of many.

 
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I’m happy with my decision not to paint it. The dark patina shows off the yellow ware and ironstone perfectly.

 
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I want to show off the fresh cotton I got from a fellow blogger. I have always admired cotton, but here in Montana, I just never see it. Wheat and clover yes, cotton no.
 
 
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Thanks Mindy ! ! !
 
I want to say, I really enjoy reading all of your comments. You are all so kind. I truly do appreciate each and every one of you. You make *playing house* fun. . . .
 
happy Spring to all. . .
 
~d

March 15, 2014

A pair made for each other

Don’t you just love it when things come together?  My favorite pickin buddy and I went shoppin yesterday, a long over due girls day. We both found a lot of cool treasures. She found a beautiful quilt and with all her dickerin talent she talked the lady down to $20.00. At the same shop I found another wood dough bowl (Munising again) for a mere 12 bucks ! Wood dough bowls are just falling onto my path these days.
Among some other really awesome finds, I found this primitive commode (that’s what the tag said). I bought it to use as a night stand, but after I got it home and in it’s intended place, I quickly changed my mind.

 
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You might remember this church cupboard from a earlier post. As you may have expected, I’ve used it in several areas since.

 
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Well, I think I finally found it’s final resting place! The two pieces just go together so well.

 
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When I first spotted the *commode* my thought was to paint it. . . white. But when I saw the two pieces together I changed my mind. .. I think. . . I’m still teetering on the idea.
I put it I my dining room, which is more primitive than the other rooms.
What would you do. . .? Leave it or paint it? I’ve always been of the belief, if you don’t *love it* the way it is, and have a different vision, go for it. But in this case, for the first time, I’m torn. If I paint it, do I paint the inside as well? Do I leave doors and inside natural? I will, for sure, leave the top natural, that I do know.
I finally have a place to display my wood bowls (providing my collection stops here)

 
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Just drool over this incredible hardware. . .

 
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And the time~worn patina.
It does need a good oiling. Which I will do, IF I decide not to paint it. IF I DO paint it, I will  leave the top natural wood and stain/oil it.
 
UPDATE. . . (I didn’t publish this post right away)
I have lived with it for a few weeks now, and I thought something would have happened {Pinterest, blogs, input from friends}to help me decide whether or not to paint it. As of late. . . still no decision.
 
I’m kind of anxious to see how this all pans out, at this point I have no idea.
 
Hope everyone is having a great start to the weekend, it’s sunny, warm and spring is in the air here in Montana. . . .
 
~d

February 23, 2014

A few random things

I’ve had this wing back chair for quite awhile. I got it from a local 2nd hand store. It has/had a gaudy mauve fabric on it. I fell in love with the style, size and price. I intended on buying a slip cover for it, but I haven’t found one I like. They are either too fussy, wrong color or just plain boring. So, I decided to make my own. 2 canvas drop cloths, 3 days and a few glasses of wine later I had a slip for the chair. I put it on and didn’t love the look of it so I turned it wrong side out and. . . .I Love it. A little shabby, a bit raggy. . . it’s perfect.
 
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In this photo, you can see a close up of the frayed seams. And. . .
a glimpse of a new dough bowl.
 
I placed a bid on E-bay, the auction didn’t end for 7 days. I forgot all about it. Then I get an e~mail telling me to enjoy my new *Munising wood bowl* The best part is I bid $4.99 and it was free shipping!  I love it when that happens, never to me.This beaut is over 15" wide! I was lucky to get 3 dough bowls from 3 different places in 3 days. . . (read on)
 
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I think the bottom is as pretty as the inside. . . AND. . . .
from here we go to my new grain sack table runner. . .
 
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Oh, I almost forgot. . . another dough bowl. . . I found this at an estate sale Friday, it was 3 bucks. . . I’m pretty sure it was the only antique at the sale and they didn’t know what it was. It really has a hand~made look to it and I love the handles.
Back to the grain sack. . .another E-Bay find. Not as lucky as far as price goes, but it was a 3 yard length, no stains or rips, free shipping and less than 50 bucks. I didn’t expect it to fit so well on my table. It hangs over the ends of my 6’ farm table. Perfect !
 
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And. . . the last dough bowl. . . here’s what it looked like when I found it at Good Will. . . the yellow tag says $8.99. Whoever painted the butterflies on it also signed and dated it. . . ??? Isn't that special. It’s a Marquette, which is nice too.
 
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and here it is after a good sanding and a coat of Annie Sloan’s brown wax.
 
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The wood berry basket is an Etsy find from Mum’s Cottage. I have had it in my cart for forever, I finally gave in.
She added 8 small strawberry baskets, they weren’t included in the sale. . . such nice gesture.
 
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I realized there are a few other things I bought a while back I didn’t show. So my next story will include some of them. Have a good week.

 
 
I have a Facebook page (I can’t manage to get the icon/link on here) it’s called Real Simple Style as well. . . check it out!

(I don't know what's going on with Blogger, but for some reason I can't get all my font the same size
uggggg)
 
~d

February 15, 2014

Winter blues ~

 
I am sooooo over winter. We are having some pretty awesome weather, temperature wise, but there's still a ton of snow.
 
These are the kind of blues I like.
 
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Don’t ya just love this vintage metal laundry basket? It’s one of the several things I got on a *pickin trip* last summer. My friend met an old gentleman in one of our local antique malls. They chatted for a bit, then he told her he had 3 buildings of stuff he wanted to get rid of. . . say no more. . .!
When one goes on excursions like that, one never knows if the seller is motivated to sell or if they think what they have is worth a fortune. In this case he was motivated and only charged us what he paid for each item. Not only did we score, but we’ve been back a few times, so he is willing to dicker with us.
 
I found a dealer that makes several trip a year to France and brings back awesome grain sacks. He knows I LOVE them and also knows I will by the imperfect ones. He sells them for 20 bucks and less. He’s also willing to give discounts for multiple purchases. . . my kind a dealer :)
 
 
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I cannot, will not and have not cut a grain sack to make a cushion cover or pillow. I just can't bring myself to do it. I do, however, stuff a body pillow in them and use them that way. This one, *US*, will go on our bed.
 
 
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This is a plate I found in one of my stashes. I got it when we were going thru my Gramma’s stuff after she died. It’s from Norway, dated 1901, 2 years before she was born. It’s signed and has something printed on it in Norwegian. Her parents migrated here from Norway in 1900. After my Grampa died she took a trip to Norway. It was the highlight of her life. She always stayed in touch with her cousins, aunts and uncles, so this was a chance to meet them for the first time. A few of them came here to visit while she was still alive.
This was a gift from one of them.
 
 
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Yip, the winter blues have taken on a whole new meaning. And, I think I like it.
 
 
 
~d

February 14, 2014

Love is all we need. . .

 
Happy Valentines Day !

 
I knew I wanted to post something for Valentines Day. . . I don’t decorate for the *Love Day*. So I shopped my house for things to use in this post. I didn’t realize I had so many red things. I even had red raspberries with fresh cream for breakfast. . . I did snap a few pictures, it was so pretty, but lets just say I’m not a food stylist.
 
I have been on a grain sack kick lately. But my most recent purchases have been mostly blue. I do have a lot of red ones, though. As well as quite a few red and white linen towels.
 
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I just love this old safety pin I got from Gigi at the ocean, an Etsy shop. I plan on making a pillow sham and closing it with this sweet little gem. (I faked it in the picture). The perfect heart to share with you on Valentines Day.
 
 
 
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And, here’s some shots of my paper whites. They finally opened. Although they didn’t show their sweetness at Christmas time, I love that they are teasing me with a promise of spring.
 
 
 
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Valentines Day means spring is on it’s way.
 
Enjoy your sweetie on this *Love~ly* day.
 
Have a happy weekend. . .   ~d

January 27, 2014

Living room redo (part 2)

 
It was a go fast weekend. My husband came home, which always makes the rest of my world come to a stop.  I miss him so much when he’s gone. I try to do a little something special for him when he comes home.  This time it was homemade sticky buns. He sacrifices so much to do what he does. He lives in a camper, works in the brutal cold temps in North Dakota, drives 4 hours to come home. When he gets here we spend most of the time getting him stocked up on necessities, doing his laundry, and there’s usually a much needed haircut. But we always make and take time to do something fun. Sometimes it’s just sleeping in, having a few friends over, or just relaxing,which he doesn’t do near enough.  He never knows what he’s going to find when he walks thru door. New furniture arrangement, a new treasure, different colored walls. He’s pretty good about it, but does feel the need to make a snide comment. .  . always. . .
This time was no exception. He was pleased I used his deer horns in the living room, I knew he would be.
 
 
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To keep with the simple, less country look, I switched out the cupboard with one I had in the guest room. The other one had open shelves and took a lot to fill it up. The *full* look is what I wanted to change. As much as I love my old quilt collection, it’s more appropriate in the guest room.
The old school house picture is very special to me. It's the school house my Gramma went to when she was a child, then taught school there after she married my Grampa. Her students were her own kids as well as the neighbors kids. You may remember from this post. here
 
This is reflection I see when I set in my chair across the room.
 
 
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This old heater isn’t original to the house, it was given to me by a friend who saved it from a house that was being demolished. According to my husband and other family members there used to be one just like it that was replaced when Grampa put in hot water heat.
 
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I’ve said it before, but I mean it. . . my mantle is so hard to photograph. It looks like a big white elephant in pictures. It looks a lot better in real life. I do have plans to give it a face lift. I want to add some trim to disguise the round corners, beef up the mantel with some old barn wood,  and replace the cracked tiles in the firebox.  The family seems to have a problem when I make changes to the house. I do understand their desire to keep it the same, but sometimes things just have to change. So. when I do tackle the project I’m not going to demolish the fireplace or change it in any way. I’ll just make it so it slides up to the existing one.
 
 
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This old ironstone pitcher came from my mum. I remember going with my dad to buy this for her for Christmas. It came with a very large basin. They aren’t a set. The basin is a different color of white and has a design on the inside. They are both Homer Laughlin ironstone. I just love the greige color and the simplicity of this pitcher. My mum tried to give it to me a few different times but I wasn’t interested. . . when I went there for Thanksgiving I asked her where it was. . . she had put it in storage !!. . . it came home with me. To this day I don’t know why my dad bought it for her. She never was into antiques. Guess he knew it would be mine someday.
 
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The 5 gallon Redwing crock was also given to me by my mom. It was her Grammas. She remembers her Gramma making pickles and sauerkraut in it. She’s the one that broke the lid, so she says.
 
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Well, that’s a wrap for the living room (for now).
 
There’s a corner on the other side of the doorway beside the fireplace where the TV sets. I have tried and tried to get a good photo of it. It ain’t happenin. I know TV’s are a big part of our lives, I love ALL of mine. But. . . I wait for sunny days to take pictures, when that happens there’s also a big glare on the TV that just ruins the whole picture. I rarely see TV’s. Whether in blogs, in magazines or even on Pinterest. Now I know why. . . they just aren’t very pretty.
 
I try to arrange my rooms so the sofa and TV are at an angle. I do this so I don’t have to struggle with what to put above them. . . this arrangement works. .  . 
Okay. . . I’ll show it anyway. . . but only because it gives the real feel of the room. Pardon the glare. . .
 
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My failed attempt to hide the big black box. 
 
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This ended up being a lot longer than I planned. Thanks for taggin along, if you’re still here.
As always, I truly appreciate each and every one of you. My blog is getting a lot of traffic and I owe it to all of you for your pins, shares and comments. . . I feel the love. . .
 
happy day. . .   d