organizing craft junk

I say junk, because that's what E would call it.

I would call it treasures.

Since we started on Parkers' room, we've been storing (hoarding) all of the stuff we don't know what to do with upstairs. 
Well, the time has come for us to clean out the upstairs  ... especially since our family will likely be staying at our house while we're at the hospital.


So we're trying to organize and clean. 
One thing I really need to organize is my craft & jewelry supplies.
I love the idea of using these old suitcases to store fabrics, scrapbook paper, and any other supplies you have!
Now all I need is a stack of old suitcases - for free.

use your words

That's a phrase I use a lot at work.


When your two and screaming, kicking, and maybe even hitting people - they call it the terrible twos.


When you're nine and still doing those things -they bring you to see a therapist like me.


"They" meaning the parents bring their kids in and want you (the therapist) to fix them.
Usually it's so much more about "fixing" the parents. 
And then the parents are confused about why I want to see them more than the kids.
Working in community mental health is never dull to say the least.


But anyways, when I work with the kids I teach them ways to talk about their feelings and use their words instead of - kicking, screaming, cussing, hitting, throwing things, ect.


So there's a tiny little bit about my job - which I just realized I hardly ever write about. 
Maybe I'll start writing about it more - leaving out identifying info of course.


All that to say ... I've been using my words at home ... in a different way.
I guess you could view it as a way of taking my work home with me.

A little while ago, the grandfather of a friend of ours passed away. When the family was getting his house ready to sell, they called about asked if we wanted to go through and see if there was anything I could use.


It was my dream. Pretty much an estate sale where everything was free.

I loaded up on doilies, vintage linens, a pair of brass deer that I'm going to spray paint white and use on our mantel for Christmas, vintage playing cards, vintage pyrex dishes, candles, a chair, and a scrabble game.


On a side note, the spider mums in the picture above are the best flowers ever! 
I bought them for $4.00 and they've lasted over 3 weeks. 


That's about all I have for now!
Hope you have a wonderful Tuesday :)

vintage buttons

These little beauties are my newest purchase for Stella Bella Boutique. 

Can you see their potential? I think they're absolutely adorable.

 I believe that I will make them into stud earrings.

I can't wait for them to arrive in my mailbox.

entering the world of unemployment: treasure hunt

Happy Monday bloggers!

Last night I stayed up until 2am reading this book. I just had to stay up and finish it. AMAZING. The plot and character development is fabulous. If you're looking for a good story that will also encourage you in your faith ... then look no further. 

And ... I didn't feel bad about staying up so late. Do you know why? Some of you already do. But, for those of you who don't, I will rub it in a little bit more ... this week started my three weeks of unemployment!!! 

I feel really excited about it because I'm not laid off or anything ... just between jobs. 

I am going to be home for a full week ... and then in Europe for two. Actually, E and I leave one week from today! And, as of last night, all of our b&b's are booked. Europe, here I come!

So today was my first day around the house. It started about amazing. I slept until like 10:00am. Then, I took a shower and used this new solid shampoo from lush. I bought it for our trip, thinking that it would be better to bring this little bar than like three travels bottels of shampoo. The lush lady assured me that with this particular one I wouldn't need to use conditioner. She said that it was a natural detangeler and extra moisturizing. I was super skeptical. I could just see myself getting of own the shower and cussing in my head and I painfully brushed out the knots. But ... she was right! No knots! Not even one. Seriously, you need to get this! Especially for traveling purposes. 

So then, I went and met my amazing friends Jen and Holly for a little lunch. 

After lunch I planned on stopping by the grocery (E and I are having friends over for dinner and grilling salmon ... yummmm), and then heading home to do something productive like clean the baseboards. 

Well ... I got distracted. You see, Lexington has recently opened a peddlers mall. I have been dreaming about going, however,  you never know what you'll get with those places. They can be 1. overpriced ... 2. full of weird crap like dream catchers ... 3. fill of treasures for reasonable prices ... or 4. full of treasures and weird crap. 

Well this one fell into the #4 category. However, the treasures outweighed the weirdness (no offense to those of you who like dream catchers). 

I hit the jackpot ... sorry E! I will refrain myself from going again soon. 

Here are some of the treasures that I found ... 

this lovely little side table

i think it makes the room a little more cozy

I don't really like that lamp, but it's all I have for now. I dressed it up for some clothes pins and pictures from Tahiti ... that made me like it a little but more.

 I also got this little tin. they had a million to choose from. it was so hard to decide. i wanted them all, but I also don't want to be the crazy pat rack.

next I picked up this sweet little stool. For now I will use it in my studio, but eventually I  want to use it as a bar stool when I kitchen is redone ... and has a island that needs a stool.

couldn't pass these up. way to cute. i think i'll put them on our bathroom shelves.

the poison-caution warning on this one reminded me of "It's a Wonderful Life."

the last little treasure I found was this vintage tub. i think I'll use it to hold toilet paper in our upstairs bath.

Although I never got around to cleaning the baseboards ...

I have done a few other productive things.

Like pulling weeds ... lots of them!

And, the lettuce & peas are coming up. 

I can't wait for fresh produce.

the girls have also loved me being home. more time for them to play outside ... and of course ... more time to eat sticks.

All of the bushes and trees are growing in so well. Yay ... no more viewing of the lovely chain linked fence.

Tomorrow I will clean the baseboards...

set for spring

Happy First Day of Spring! {only one day late}

Seeing that yesterday was the first day of Spring, I decided to decorate our kitchen table for the occasion. 

Another reason is that yesterday, my family came down to take E and I out for dinner in celebration of my birthday. Family visiting is always the kick in the butt that I need to finish last minute projects to our house. 

I found theses vintage Mason jars at Goodwill on Friday. With the 75 cent price tag, I couldn't pass them up! After brining them home, I went outside in search of something to fill them with. Most of my flowers are not blooming yet, but one tree right outside our door is. So, I chopped down a couple of branches and ta-da a free Spring floral arrangement! 

I also took a couple of black patio chairs and added them to the table for more seating. I'm not 100% sure how I feel about them. I think that I like the texture that it adds. I might keep them there.

Happy Spring to each of you! I hope that you were able to get out and enjoy the beautiful weather. 

This weekend I was able to take Addie and Stella to the dog park, each lunch downtown with E, go thrifting, finish last minute projects around the house, spend amazing quiet time with God reading 1 Kings, and celebrate my upcoming birthday with m family!

It was am amazing weekend :)

Since the sun was shining, I was also able to snap a couple pictures of the new jewelry pieces I am offering and a few pictures from inside our house. Enjoy! More to come soon!

and the winner is...

Hello Bloggers! Happy Friday night. 

I am here just in time for the Friday giveaway post.I have exactly one hour until it is officially Saturday!

This week's giveaway from Toon Design goes to LRW and BRITTANY!

Your lovely clutches should be arriving to your door soon.

I hope that each of you have a fabulous weekend. 

Tonight, I was able to host the first Stella Bella Boutique jewelry party. It was tons of fun and I was able t raise a lot of money for our Costa Rica trip. 

I also made a couple of really cute new pieces that I can't wait to share with you. I think that it's supposed to be sunny tomorrow - two days in a row - crazy huh?

I hope that I get to some more parties in the future!

I think that I am going to do a little thrifting tomorrow morning and then have dinner with some friends tomorrow night. I'll let you know if I find any treasures. I am really looking for some sort of small side table or plant stand that I could use as a night stand. Wish me luck!

I did discover a couple of fun online treasures over at Old Crow Farm. 

 

  

  

 

Here are a few of my favorites. I would love to somehow recreate the wire lamp.

Alright, I'm off to read and get some sleep. I hope that each of you enjoy your Saturday. I hope that the weather is lovely wherever you are!

refurbed fan

A couple of months ago I bought this fan at the local Habitat store. It was extremely grimy and nasty, but I saw right through it. I immediately fell in love & knew exactly what I would use it for.

Once the dresser was finished, then I knew that it was time.

A few other little treasures I've found {mostly from thrift shops}

  

Pretend that there is a cute little candlestick in here

 

  

Fun little bowl that I won on My Little Happy Place. Made from recycled magazines.

i need your help

Here's your mission ... if you know where to buy either of these things ... then comment and let me know! I am totally clueless as to where to find them, but with your help, I am sure that we can make it happen. Also, if months from now you see one of them and think "ohh Rachel was looking for something like this" ... then please let me know. I may still be looking. Tell all of your friends to be on the look out as well!

Assignment #1 - Vintage Lockers

I am in the process of dreaming up plans for our future kitchen. I want to use vintage lockers as our pantry, but I have no idea where to find them! Got any ideas?

Assignment #2 - Metal basket

What basket right? Click here to see what I am talking about. I don't want to be too picky, but I pretty much want the basket to look just like this. A couple of musts ... deep, rounded edges, and rectangular shape. I want to use this basket for the exact same purpose - a light! Isn't it super fun? I'm in love.

Thanks for your help bloggers. I truly appreciate each of you.