Friday Yardsales

Time for the neighborhood sales to begin around here.....and April will be a prime month too.

There really wasn't all that much at the sales to show you, nothing too exciting, like neat furniture or old vintage things, so here's a spring pic of blooming trees. This is a very nice neighborhood and Spring is here even if it was cloudy on this morning. I just love this time of year.

Blooms galore and nothing beats jumping out of bed, throwing on some sweats and hitting a big neighborhood sale! I didn't spend too much, but had fun.

So, of course I did manage to find a few little things to take home. Seashells and clothes were the finds of the day this time. This whole jar of shells was $2.

And all these in the bowl and out were 10 cents. I think I might have enough seashells for now.

Cute little bunny dish was 50 cents. You know I could not pass him up. He looks right at home with my Bordallo bunnies. This would be a great sugar dish.

I'm always on the lookout for more workout clothes since I seem to be in them most everyday. This nearly new sports bra was $1.00.

Parisian linen shirt was $1.00. See how much I like lime green, it's all over my closet too.

And another cute short-sleeved green top with a drawstring waist was $1.00. This one is by Ruff Hewn. These prices are better than shopping consignment.

I always need more sweatshirts. This pretty blue one by Russell was in great condition, is a soft heavyweight cotton and will be perfect with my yoga pants for $1.00.

I just love NOT paying retail!

So, I guess you've all noticed my new banner?! I'm proud to say that I did it myself. If you're looking for some free photo software to play around with, try Picasa and Photo Filtre. You can download both of them for free. I used Picasa for the collage of photos, then saved it and went to Photo Filtre for the borders and text. It was fun! I didn't have any idea what I was doing, but I played with it until it worked and I was happy with it. I think it's a fresh new look for my banner!

I can't wait to share what I did on Saturday with you. Just call me part-time floral design assistant!

Southwest Georgia Pound Cake

I decided to make strawberry shortcake for Easter and searched online at the Food Network for a pound cake recipe. I had some old cookbooks from my dad's church that I grew up in, but most of them called for Crisco and I'm just not a Crisco baker (sorry mom!). In fact, the one little can of Crisco I had in the pantry smelled rancid, so I had to throw it out. Do you cook with Crisco?? I grew up seeing Crisco in the pantry, but I just don't use it.

So, this one looked like it would be good....and oh my, is it ever! Do not pay attention to all the butter and sugar. If you are making pound cake, you just can't worry about the calories. It's a special treat after all.

Here's the link from Food Network and it's a Paula Deen recipe, so you know it's full of butter and totally delicious. The woman loves butter! You can click on the printable version and it prints out like a recipe card.

Southwest Georgia Pound Cake It has that crispy outside crust when it comes out of the oven.
With strawberries and whipped cream, it's sinfully delicious. The family loved it. Enjoy!!

Repaired Urn and Painted Mirror

I think I got this pretty urn several years ago at one of my favorite spots in Atlanta, House Parts, but don't really remember how much it was, probably $5 or so, since the handle was broken. I used it on top of a high shelf in my other house, but always thought I'd repair the handle eventually. I've never let a little thing like a broken handle stop me from buying something.
It's a large urn, about 18" tall and since I'm not all that crazy about the gold on it, decided it would be a good piece to paint white & use it in my diningroom. So, I bought some of that modeling clay at Hobby Lobby that air dries. Neat stuff! It worked great. I molded it by hand & tried to match the other handle as best I could. Let it dry for a good 2 days and then it was ready to paint.
This is just a can of creamy white paint from Lowes that I had on hand. Painted it with 2 coats of paint and it was as good as new. Got this mirror for my diningroom at Tuesday AM several years ago and I've enjoyed it for a long time, but decided that with my new light fixture in the DR, that I should change the finish on this mirror to a little darker tone. So, I used my Sophisticated Finishes and painted Blackened Bronze over the whole thing, then went back over & highlighted the raised areas with Blonde Bronze with a sea sponge. You can get these craft paints at Michaels. Use the 40% off coupon! You use a paint brush or sponge with them.
So, here's the diningroom with the newly painted mirror and the repaired urn sitting front and center. A fresh new arrangement for Spring.
Filled with some dried hydrangeas from my mom's garden and mine last year, I love how it looks. I added some pretty white marble stones that I picked up from Tuesday Morning and it's sitting on a silver tray.One new handle
Add some seashells for a fresh new look.
And the diningroom is ready for spring. I'm having fun with my new camera trying out all sort of new things, like not using the flash.

Ahhhh, nothing better than a finished project.

Just a little update on my decorating business venture. I'm still working on getting some new clients and that is going to be the biggest challenge, marketing myself. I've got some ideas on that and will keep moving ahead with it all. I knew this first year would be a learning experience and I think once I get some clients, it will grow with word of mouth. Thought you'd like to know how it's going.

Visiting with My Parents

My parents, Iris and Al, in the early 1950's. I love my parents to pieces and think I'm one of the most blessed people on earth, because of them. They are the salt of the earth. Good people who raised me and my sister right. I've told you before that I'm a preacher's kid. Dad has been retired for over 15 years now, but he was a pastor my whole life. My dad is 80 and my mom is turning 80 in May and they are in remarkably good health. This is what good living will do for you. They are children of the depression and it's still etched in their memories. I wonder how we would be if we had lived through that period of time in our country.
We spent about 2 and 1/2 days with my parents last week and I so enjoyed having them here. They usually make it over to Birmingham about once a year and we go over there many other times during the year. It was my turn to host and cook for them for a change, since my mom has cooked and cleaned up after me my entire life. They are truly the best parents ever! Mom looks great for 80 (in May) doesn't she? I hope those genes are passed down to me, cause I can hardly believe they are getting on up there that fast. That means that I am too and I'm sorta in denial about that. But the hot flashes that have recently started tell me a different story. We'll talk about that another day.

Daddy has always enjoyed working with his hands and last year I told him about a little project I'd like to get done under our deck, so he promised he would do it for me when they came over again. He's a good carpenter and has built many things for me. I try not to ask him to do anything that will be too hard for him now, but Mom will usually tell me if he's not up for something. I really wanted to put in a lattice wall on one end of the deck to hide the ugly A/C unit and create more of a room feeling under there.

That way, I can copy my friend's backyard and do this...a pretty patio under our deck and it will get rid of that mud problem I mentioned earlier. So, my dad (with hubby as helper) got it all done almost in one day and the weather cooperated. Finished it up with a little trim on the other side. Doesn't it look great?
Now, we will get busy and build that patio.
Very soon, I hope...no more mud! And we can enjoy this space and the swing. You can bet I'll show y'all when it's all done. While they were here, we took a drive out in the country, about 20 miles out past where we live to Wilsonville, AL. It's a pretty drive, so mom and dad really enjoyed it. My dad thought all the hills reminded him of NC. I ran out of stone-ground grits, so we went to the source in Wilsonville and I stocked up on grits, stone-ground white corn meal, as well as stone-ground wheat flour. We should be eating healthy now. This is a neat place to visit. They carry all sorts of feed for horses and cows, as well as being a hardware store. You AL girls need to visit here, it's a throw back to the old days.

Baby turkeys for sale, aren't they the cutest??
And Baby ducks, don't you just want to take one home?
As well as baby chicks...
Awwwww. They wouldn't let me touch them though. One of the guys in the store told my hubby that some mornings they come in and there are baby chicks running all over the store and they have to gather them up again.
You can start your own chicken farm with one of these. My niece, who is the only grandchild and 25, has been trying to talk my dad into getting some chickens for his backyard in GA. I don't think she'll win that one though. Mom called her and told her about the baby chicks. She wanted to know if we bought any. Dad's a gardener, not a chicken farmer. We were talking about how we used to have chickens back when we lived in the country when I was about 4 or 5. We would gather the eggs.

Good memories with the folks! They are dear to me. I'm realizing just how blessed I am when I talk to friends who have lost both parents. I'm so grateful for mine.

Good Friday, He is Risen!

Jesus Christ is risen today! Wishing you all a very Happy and Blessed Easter. This is such a wonderful time of year to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Easter is a time to reflect and rejoice, for our hope is in the fact that Jesus rose from the grave.
Luke 24: 4 & 5: And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, "Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when he was still in Galilee, saying, "The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and the third day rise again." And they remembered his words.

I'm cooking Easter dinner on Sunday for my hubby's family, so we are looking forward to a good family day with his mom, grandma, sister & niece.

Edited: I've added a few yardsale finds below.

Happy, Happy Easter!

(photos above: Crosses, Paper by Design; Sunrise, Jim Vail in Destin; Eggs, LaszlofromHalifax, all photos from Flicker.com)