Thursday, June 16, 2011

Thrifty Thursday!

I have a confession.  I love thrift stores.  I try to go multiple times a week just to feed my hoarding compulsion.  This week I almost broke the bank by spending a whole thirty dollars, but I got some fabulous things!


I got 3 large frames, a globe, stacks of vintage books (at .38 cents a piece), and lots of other things...

The tall Texan glasses are one of my favorite things from the day.  6 for $1.21!  I washed them about 4 times in scalding hot water and felt great about drinking out of them! (judge it if you will)  I also was able to pick up some vintage state plates.  It was a great day for state plates.  That almost never happens for me.

I saw state plates all the time before I started collecting them.   Now they are super elusive to me.  I don't know what I'm going to do with them, but I have stacks in my cabinet right now just waiting for the perfect place to be displayed.

Can't wait until next week!

Monday, February 14, 2011

Here we go...

Introducing the newest member of the Turner family....

Sullivan (Sully)

potty training her at night solidifies the fact that I never want children, but the way she sleeps makes you want to eat her up!


Thursday, February 10, 2011

overcrowding

This is my purse. 
It's nothing special.  In fact, there isn't much to say about it except it's heavy.  This is mostly because I have one of just about everything packed inside. This is what it looks like dumped out.
If you look closely you will see...
* tape (sometimes multiple sizes and colors)
* playing cards (5 decks to be exact)
* a train whistle
* a dish brush
* assorted vitamins and medicine
* tape measurers
* anti fungal cream (you just never know)
* camera & multiple accessories
* flashlight
* all sorts of "teacher tools" (scissors, pens, markers, glue sticks)
* a multi tool
* and on and on and on.

All of my life I have been waiting for someone to stop me on the street and ask me if I have a certain item on hand.  I feel confident that I would most certainly win some sort of magical prize..it hasn't happened yet, but I'm not giving up hope!

 Anyway, last Friday, I was trying to leave a store when I could not locate my keys anywhere.  I walked back up and down every isle praying that they would be easily found.  They weren't, and none of the employees were willing to help me.  At that point I was going to be forced to empty my bag at the register.  I started dumping everything out when I reached in and touched something warm and gooey....
A rotten banana.  It was a puzzeling & gruesome discovery...especially because I don't eat bananas.  I have no idea how long it had been in there, but I'm really glad I found it.  Oh, and my keys were in my pocket the entire time.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

A Christmas Parade

 Every December my family participates in a little Christmas parade.  The Miracles Christmas Parade is in it's 6th year of existence and is so much fun! All of our cousins who can come out to ride with us.  Most of the time the girls ride on the trailer while the guys are in the truck. 
 For some reason we are the only family that has a float. 
 We love it.  We sing, wave,wish everyone wish everyone a Merry Christmas, and try not to freeze.
Until next year, Merry (late) Christmas from the original family.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Connar's Grown Up Barbie Party

My youngest sister Connar graduated from high school in May. Time has flown by!
Calli and I threw a little vintage Barbie party for her and her friends. 

 Nothing says vintage Barbie like her silhouette, so we started there.  Calli made a giant Barbie canvas to go above the fireplace.   
We also screen printed Barbie onto tank tops and then added a bow for her pony tail which turned out super cute!
TJ Maxx had some vintage Barbie cards which turned into a fun garland to go over our pink crepe paper curtains.
We had a great time!  We made up a mad lib for Connar's life that all the girls filled out after they ate. If their predictions come true Connar could end up "flying Japanese kites in sweatbands" or "bird watching in Spanx." All wonderful aspirations. 
After we made all of the girls stand up and read their mad lib (yep, we're both teachers) the girls had fun in our own make shift photo booth. 
 After everyone left my mom, Calli, and I had a little fun of our own!
 I laughed harder than I had in a long time!

 It was a hit!  I can't wait to throw another party for her when she graduates from college!

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

The Ultimate Shed

When I bought my house the backyard looked terrible.  No blade of grass in sight, giant holes in the dirt, and rotten fruit on the ground.   It looked terrible, but what looked worse was the shed...

The people who lived here before me used their shed as a combination of junk storage and dog house.  It was dark and dank with mysterious spots rotting through the floor.  It was not the most inviting place. 
Plus, the dogs decided to eat the walls.  Which seems really appetizing and safe.
When I was looking for houses, I knew that I needed one with a shed of some sort for storage.  At that time I was an itinerant teacher and had to store all of my school stuff at home, and I had a ton of stuff.

For my birthday, my dad decided that he was going to "pimp out my shed".  I wasn't exactly sure what that meant, but he had been watching a lot of the DIY channel.

He started with the floors.  He had to rip out and replace the sub floors.  It was a big job.  I wasn't much help, but the acoustics were great so I did a lot of entertaining singing and dancing numbers.
Then we installed a new door, and put in new windows.  My dad made breaking through the sheet rock look super easy. 
 
Unfortunately, it wasn't.  I apparently didn't have the technique down because every time I would hit the wall the hammer would just bounce off.  I gave up pretty easily and went back to the entertaining. 
We finally got the wall out and the new window in.  I was constantly there with the camera.  My dad is just precious. He never even acted annoyed with my constant chatter. I guess being the father to four girls for close to 30 years has helped him be able to tune us out.  That or earplugs.


After that we started in on the ceiling.  I really wanted the ceiling to stay vaulted, so it didn't feel like a box.  It took us many nights of just staring up at the ceiling wondering how to do it.  It was a tall order, and a group challenge.  It turned out beautiful and made a world of difference though.  I sit in there and just look at it sometimes.


We then added electricity, redid the sheet rock, put new flooring in , and finally painted the outside and inside.  All hands were on deck.


And then we were finished (ish) with the actual structure.  The cabinets still needed put in, as well as,  my giant "workspace" countertop.


There are still touch ups to make, drawer pulls to add, and molding to finish.  It may get done...it may not.  I'm not worried about it.  Last night it looked like this...

I'm super happy with it the way that it is right now.  I know it sounds cheesy, but my shed is one of my very favorite places to be.  It turned out way girlier than I intended.  Almost everything in it means something to me.  I have notes from school parents, pictures from kids, homemade gifts from friends, and all kinds of other things filling my shelves.

I have paper chains, old mirrors, and a chair that takes me back to college.
This chair sat in the corner of my bedroom.  My friend, Allison, and I painted it eight years ago. On the front porch of our nasty college house.  There was a storm which caused spilled paint.  The rush to clean up the mess went on to cause a major wipeout.  I laugh every time I think about it.  I loved those days. In turn,  I love this chair.  It's where I sit and look at the ceiling.
 On the other side of the shed, I have yards of fabric that are waiting to be used for something.  They could be waiting for years. 
The stuff seems to keep multiplying.  Hopefully, I'll have some time to start making things soon.  But right now I am content to just look at it all.
I am super lucky to be able to have a place that I can go to if I want to sew, craft, or create.  But I'm even luckier that I have a dad & mom that put in so many hours of hard work in an effort to "pimp out my shed."

I just love it!