An Awesome Thrift Find!

Hello All!

I saw this at the thrift store a couple weeks ago:

I liked it.  It reminded me of ocean waves.  It wasn't priced and I wasn't sure if someone would price it for me.  And, there weren't any discounts that day.  It hadn't occurred to me where I would put it, so I passed.  But it stayed on my mind.  It reminded me of the ocean--well, ocean waves...and the sea foam bubbles left on the sand.  I kept thinking of this poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.  In college, I did a paper on it and its meaning:

The tide rises, the tide falls,

The twilight darkens, the curlew calls;

Along the sea-sands damp and brown

The traveler hastens toward the town,

      And the tide rises, the tide falls.

Darkness settles on roofs and walls,

But the sea, the sea in the darkness calls;

The little waves, with their soft, white hands,

Efface the footprints in the sands,

      And the tide rises, the tide falls.

The morning breaks; the steeds in their stalls

Stamp and neigh, as the hostler calls;

The day returns, but nevermore

Returns the traveller to the shore,

      And the tide rises, the tide falls.

The poem is symbolic for the passage of time.  And while time passed, the thrift store priced the item ($200).  And while time passed, 50% off day rolled around.  And while time passed, I grew more and more fond of it.  So fond, in fact, I bought it :)

This wall in our bedroom has been calling for something.  It sat empty for awhile and then I tried out a few things--a console table, a large mirrored-frame mirror.  Meh.  Nothing felt right.  Ah,but this! This is what I've been waiting for .  It's marked--an Artmax room divider.

I showed it to a friend at work and the first thing she said was, "It looks like a mermaid!" Oh that's even better than waves.

Have a great week!



Master Bedroom and a few Thrifty Finds!

Hello All!  Sorry I have been MIA.  The month of September is the busy time at work and it just got the best of me this year!  Not to mention I got food poisoning and oh my gosh, was I sick!  After more than a whole week of feeling like I was being turned inside out, I was finally on the mend. AND then I got an upper respiratory infection - GOOD GRIEF!   So, I'm pretty sure I have met my quota for sick this year!!  UGH.   I am excited to be back in the land of the living and looking forward to sharing in my favorite link-up parties!

Dan and I finished our bedroom over Labor Day weekend (and we got in a mini-thrift too).  When we bought our house in 2005, we requested hardwood floors throughout the second floor.  It was an upgrade we were willing to pay for because Dan has allergies.  Unfortunately, during the final walk-through on the morning of our closing, we discovered carpeting had been installed instead.  We were told changing it out would delay our closing so we took the monetary adjustment and ran.  "We can always add it later," we said...and *7 years* later we did ;)  Here are the "before" pics:

Builder beige walls, beige carpet, beige drapes -- I don't know why this didn't seem so incredibly bland to me before :)  I did try to punch it up a bit with the black accents:  metal bed, curtain rods, cat on the nightstand...  Oh, and let's just talk about the big elephant in the room, shall we?  Literally.  The [HUGE] gorgeous 1930s? 1940s? buffet.  That was a thrift find from SALVO for $30.  Incredible, I know.  I love it and all its large-in-charge presence.  :)  

It needs a little love but until I know exactly what I'm doing, I'm afraid to touch it for fear of ruining it.  The striations in the wood is what sold me on it --ok, and the $30 price tag ;)

This is the corner of the room and where my vintage tub chair lives.  The fixture is from Goodwill ($5) and I am hopefully going to be able to paint it and make it into a chandy for Jenna.

And now...the AFTER:

The drapes need hemming and the bench legs need painting - are rooms ever totally finished?  We added crown molding, painted a "drama" wall behind the bed (Martha Stewart (for Glidden) Magnetite), painted the rest of the walls (below the crown molding) "Pebble Grey" by Glidden and "Lamb" by Glidden above the molding, painted the ceiling bright white by Behr and the flooring came from Lumber Liquidators (a laminate for 39 cents/sq ft!).  OH, and I recovered the bench with fabric I bought at Hobby Lobby.  I bought the bench at Marshall's about 3 years ago.  Here's what it looked like:

and now:

Do you see the cute little turquoise mirror above the tub chair?  That's a thrifty find ($2, GW) that I repainted with this:

Valspar Peacock outdoor spray paint

The small mercury glass votive cup was found at the GW Outlet.  Try as I might, I cannot get a good picture of my chandy now that it's hanging :(  But here she is:

See the ceiling medallion?  THRIFTED too :)

I have a couple fave finds I want to share as well.  I found these at the GW outlet where housewares are 59 cents a pound:

Three vintage Club aqua saucepans and matching lids - Sweet!  For the record, they were FILTHY.  I didn't know if I could salvage them but for the price, I decided to take a chance.  I have a feeling that's how I was able to score them - others must have passed - but thanks to Bar Keeper's Friend and Easy Off oven cleaner (used extremely carefully so as not to eat away the gorgeous enamel) they turned out sparkling :)  And finally,  these darling Hazel Atlas dessert cups in Florentine No. 2 pattern from GW at 99 cents/each:

A few months ago, I scored a Hazel Atlas sugar bowl (here).  I love the delicate floral pattern!  I'm linking up!

Kathe With an E, You're Gonna Love It Tuesday #24
Cap Creations, Thrifty Love
Southern Hospitality, Thrifty Treasures Party
What-About.co, Showoff Friday
What-about.co, Perpetual Parades, Favorite Thrifty Finds 
Sir Thrift A lot: Thriftosaurus
The Thrifty Groove:  Thrifty Things Friday

I hope you have a great (healthy!) week.  We are working on our master bathroom now and I am really excited to share that with you soon too :)