Creation Inspired Design

Early one morning last week my feet took a detour from ordinary life to dig toes into sand, slosh through gentle waves at the shoreline and bask in the early morning ambiance that can only be found oceanside.

Saturday Fun for $7.75

The need for a certain kind of casters got me out and about this past Saturday morning, as well as the desire to score some inexpensive hooks and cup pulls for a project I'm working on. Didn't find what I was looking for, but for $7.75 I snagged all these goodies and had a good time talking to some fun people along the way.

The Seed Co. Hanging Planter

Shhhh...don't say anything... it's a gift.

Good Medicine

Trouble in Paradise? 

Not exactly. Okay, just a little. I am a tad worn out from a weekend of junk sickness, junk upheaval and junk revival. Nothing a little time on the couch this evening won't cure. I hope.

Mob Rule

To drag home a few things and set them up against the wall here or there or inside the front door or piled up out back, stuffed in the trunk of the car or crammed into the garage storage space would be manageable in and of themselves, but get them all together and it turns into mob rule.

The individual has no rights under mob rule.

Whatever the collective decides, the individual becomes a slave to. Freedom finds itself on precarious footing.

Junk Eccentricity or Junk Insanity?

It was another intriguing Thursday morning trash day in our little waterside town. The battle of Me vs Me started before dawn while I still lie in bed thinking those interruptive thoughts that snatch my sleep because the subject matter is soooo weighty. 

Would I go hunting for junk that morning or not? That was the important question that separated me from my slumber in the dark. 

"There's no room for more stuff!", Rational-Practical-Would-Love-to-Sleep-Past-5:30-Me told Maniacal-Junk-Greedy Me. No need to go hunting. Settled. I turned over and nestled my head soundly back into my pillow, happy that another daily dilemma was wiped off the "worry chart" and I could sleep on until the next worry butt in to wake me. It was simple really. I couldn't go, for I am in danger of being run out of my own home by my kids who think a safe walking path and room to breath is of some import. Case closed.

Maniacal Junk-Greedy Me is persistent though, and drives a hard bargain. "We'll just drive a few streets and look! What if there's something out there?!" I lured myself with the promise of a possible discovery. By "SOMETHING", Junk-Greedy-Me means something that would be a heart breaker to see lost forever, whether we want it, need it, have room for it - or not. It's the principal of the thing, and for all of Junk-Greedy-Me's gimme-gimme, grabby hands, that Me's attitude is rooted in the past and aggravated by the present. My love for the past longs to fight a valiant battle to beat back the present's evil desire to suck all the treasured wood and metal relics down into the ashes of the earth and make a sort of historical compost out of them. Uh, uh!

The battle lines are drawn and so are our junk warrior weapons!

Shut off the alarm, fire up the coffee, rev up the engine, and we're off. 

Yes, Practical-Rational-Me is a pushover.

Plus my sleep was already ruined. Once I'm awake, I might as well get up and drive. I know I'll never fall back to sleep.

Specialty of the House

This post has been updated with the link to the recipe!

The shelf which serves as our kitchen window treatment, now has an accompanist, a new sign.

Retro Simple Life

It's getting hot around here now. While much of the country is just thawing out and inching toward Spring temperatures, the mercury is rising high here in South Florida. We need ice tea and AC.

Meanwhile, as I lamented the last of the coolish air, the search was on last week for something or other, I don't even remember what now, but this assortment of goodies ended up coming home with me. Most were 10¢ each. The big slotted spoon was 89¢, the tongs and the mold were 39¢. Some of these are for the assembled project for which I'm accumulating all the proper parts.

Quirky Giftwrap Fun

It all started with a mailbox that Kris over at Junk Chic Cottage sent me. She used hers as a planter. That reminded me to be on the lookout for other interesting objects that could be painted and used as containers and whatnot. When I get out on the hunt, I usually get distracted and forget what I'm looking for.

Not long after that, my neighbors were painting their house and threw away their mailbox, setting it by the road. So I snagged it as I took off to work. There was no immediate plan for it, but surely it could be painted and be put to good use for something in the near future.

Finding a Dream - The Story of A 1960's Era Console

Trying to stay away from Goodwill is easier said than done. But it's a must. Number one, the prices are double that of garage sales, sometimes more. Number two, I don't need any more stuff! Number three...

...This, the thing that Goodwill wrought.

The Mod Squad

Mod: popular, fashionable, modern - Yep. This fits the bill.

I've had my eyes peeled for one of these for a very long time. I passed up a cute blue one at a garage sale about a year ago because the woman was only willing to go down to $25.00. Being uber-cheap, that was too much for me. I hadn't seen another since...

...until last Saturday. 

Prescription for Full Recovery

Believe it or not, I do not spend every waking moment dragging junk home from curbside trash piles.

Occasionally, I get my "creative" on and work on a project or two. 

This week called for a little creativity. 

My dear friend Lynn was having surgery. 

Such an event called for something to take along when visiting her post surgery.

Ambiance is in The Eye of the Beholder

Last week flew by in a flutter of many things, not the least of which included junk.

 From the FREE to the pretty darn cheap, my life this week came with a heavy dose of grit, grime and things being crammed (and sometimes not - when they didn't fit) into the back seat of my car. The casters are now on the cable spool I found in the trash last week, and it's serving as an outdoor side table. At least something got done.