Yummy Cappuccino

I'm not a real coffee lover every single day, but some of my favorite coffee beverages at Starbucks are cappuccinos, lattes, or my absolute favorite...White Chocolate mochas...oh my, and I'm not even coffee fiend, but those I love, the sweet ones! But those prices, I really don't like those prices at Starbucks. I mean, who can afford to pay that all the time? I just won't do it. With this economy of ours, I imagine that gourmet coffee may have to take a backseat for a lot of folks. So, what to do?? Remember this cute little cappuccino mug I found for $3 at the Goodwill in Lakeland with Kim? This little thing is so cool! If you decide you have to have one of these, I found one at an online store here. Sorry it's not $3!

And wow, does it really work for frothing up the milk. This is about 1/4 cup of milk that I microwaved for 30 seconds. A few pumps of the handle and.... Look at the foam....
And with the addition of a sweet little vintage cinnamon shaker from an antique store. Bye-bye Starbucks! Hello to home cappuccino, made by little ole' me, with a little help from my Italian Frasbosk cup.

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Blog Alert: Please visit Jillian at Blog Me Til Midnight. She is a homeschool mom who is doing a holocaust project with her sons and they are collecting stars from around the world. Please take a look here and think about adding to their collection. I know a lot of you crafty girls are great with the art and I 'm sure Jillian would appreciate all contributions to this worthy project. Email Jillian (jillianmcurtis@yahoo.com) if you'd like to participate and she will send you her address. Thanks!

Cahaba Heights Thrifting

What's Monday a.m. without a little report on thrifting & yardsales? Found this pretty blue/white platter while yardsaling for $1.50. It's going above one of the doorways in the master bedroom, to go along with the other blue/white things in there.
I was so excited! I actually got to trash-pick something this week. We don't have bulk trash day like some of you girls up north have in your areas, where people put out piles of old furniture & a big truck comes by & picks it up. We have to haul our big things to the dump down here, so I was pretty happy to see this cute little wicker stand on top of someone's trashcan when I went out walking on trash day last week. I promptly picked it up & kept on walking! I'm going to repair the back by adding some bamboo placemats or something that will fit the back. I can tack something on there & then repaint the whole thing. It's not in bad shape otherwise...and it was free, so I have nothing to lose by fixing it!
Found this pretty little glass jar for $1.00. It's made in France, so I'm going to find somewhere for it. It says le Parfait on the front.

This is a cute little iron aqua bird that I picked up at one of my thriftstores in town. I'll take you on a tour, so keep reading. I just think he is so cute & he was only $4.00 & of course, he's right at home with my other aqua pieces & seashells.
This little lime/cream teapot got my attention & was 1/2 price at $3.00. This is a neat little consignment shop that I've browsed in before & I love to go & check out their wares.
As you can see, my new shelf in the diningroom is well on its way to being completed (thanks to Debra!). I'll find one more shelf to go above this one & add on to it like I did the other side. I found this round scalloped big bowl at an estate sale last weekend for $3.00 & it looks perfect here.
I love the detail of the edging. When I want to use it, I'll just take it off the wall.

There's a really cute, chic area of town called Cahaba Heights that's known for its antique & thrift stores. A fun place to hang out & browse for treasures. This one is called The Cottage at Streetwise & it's part of the main building called Streetwise, a consignment store.
The cottage is overflow from the main building & is all consignment stuff, with lots of neat things outside too. Lots of garden ornaments & furniture too.
Love this front door.
Streetwise Consignment. This is where I found the iron bird & teapot. They have lots of interesting things in here. You could spend hours looking at everything.
Here's the frontporch of Streetwise.

And just down the street is Treasures, another neat little shop crammed with goodies.
Outside is a treasure trove of old collectibles like these cool old gliders. Wouldn't you love to have one of these in your yard?
Inside is a feast for the eyes.
Lots and lots of goodies!
Painted furniture & something for everyone.

Hope you enjoyed my tour of Cahaba Heights antiquing. If you've never been here, you're missing out on some fun. There are lots more shops too in this area, so you could definitely spend all day browsing & treasure hunting, so anyone in the Birmingham area, put this on your list!

Here are a few of my favorite things....

How could I let Valentines Day go by without showing you the beautiful roses that my sweet DH got me for VD! This is just one of the buds...we had a special lunch out & exchanged some nice little gifts & cards. Valentines is such a sweet holiday & reminds us to be thankful for the loved ones in our lives.







And to jump to another subject, I've been anxiously awaiting spring with the beginning of yardsales...anyone else with me on that? Thought I'd just show you all some of my favorite finds over the last few years. There are many, many things in my house that came from yardsales & every year I hit them fresh & new just to see what I can find. I know you all can relate to the "thrill of the hunt"!

This sweet little tray was picked up somewhere in Atlanta during my past yardsaling...I think I paid about $3 for it & when I saw it, I just had to have it. It's such a vintage looking piece with the fruits & the beautiful lime green color. The middle piece has a lid that comes off for serving dips or jellies. I haven't actually used it for serving, but it sits on my breakfast buffet...I just think it's the prettiest thing!






More vintage finds with the 2 European (Paris, perhaps?) prints. These were about $1 each and I've treasured them ever since. I have a thing for fleur-de-lis, as well as bunnies & have both sprinkled throughout my home.








Two chair prints called my name...I think these were $5 for the pair...how could you leave something as pretty as these & not take them home...I didn't!








Ahh, this vintage little lamp just needed a fresh new look with some leopard fabric on the lampshade...and a bit of floozy trim! This was maybe $2.00.















This little bunny print was $5....and looks right at home in my laundryroom. The Target bunny who looks like he's flying was one of my best finds yet. Did anyone else get one of these last year on clearance? I really lucked out & got the last one in the store for $7.50 & I was smilin' all the way out of the store. In fact, someone else had picked up the very last one after I had been told by another store that there were about 10 left at this particular store. I asked her where she found them...she pointed over a couple of aisles & there were none to be found. I almost thought I'd cry & told her that I had driven all the way over to find one...as I was walking away, she called me back & placed the bunny weathervane into my arms & said...take it! I said "Thank you so much" & ran to the cash register. My bunny collection is almost complete!

One more little guy, I found him last year yardsaling, for I think, $1. He was the perfect size for this little shelf in the laundryroom.


OK, if that doesn't get you in the mood for yardsaling, I just can't help you much! Please come back & share some of your finds with me. I always love a good thrifty find!

A few of my recent bargains.....

Those of you who know me very well, know that I love a bargain, so I thought I share a few of my most recent finds with you. Not decorating related, but fun finds nonetheless! I have needed new black & brown belts for my jeans (you know, those lower-rise that a regular belt won't work with?) & since I was at the America's Thrift Store last week, decided to look there first & see what I could find. Well, score I did...2 beautiful black belts & 1 brown one....Cole Haan, Levis, & Brighton. Name brands without the name brand cost...all 3 belts set me back less than $8.00. These belts are in terrific shape & will see me through many more years of wear. For those of you who haven't tried thrift shopping, give it a whirl. You just never know what you'll stumble across!

Oh, that animal print fabric that the belts are sitting on.....brand new Jones New York pants (with the tags still on) for $4.00 at another thrift store I visit on occasion. You just can't beat that! So, these are my pick-me-ups for January!