First of all, make sure you check out my guest post over at Shabby Chic Cottage.  I contributed a project for the 12 Days of Handmade Christmas in July.  Hobby Lobby already had some Christmas decor out, so why can’t we on the blogs?   I do not let having guests stop me from hitting yard sales.  So, Saturday morning, I dragged my in-laws and two toddlers out with me “hunting for treasures.”  It was a hot day, so there weren’t many sales, but I did find some good things.  I bought an antique riding toy… …a pair of baby wooden shoe forms… …and silver plated creamer… …and two antique garden tools.  All for $17.00. Not a bad haul for a hot day.  It’s been a little quiet on my blog, because I had time to work on my living room sofa slipcover.  My MIL and I made one last push

My husband has had a lot going on lately and that means I was in desperate need of a break.  Yesterday, my husband stayed home with the kids and gave me the afternoon out.  Woo-hoo! While I was looking through the piles of junk at my favorite antique haunt, I had a thought that I needed to buy something for you!  My readers.  Well, for one lucky reader.  I’m creeping close to 2000 followers and that calls for a celebration and giveaway.  I decided I would put together “Miss Mustard Seed in a Box” for the winner.  Don’t get worried.  I’m not going to pop out of a large crate that’s delivered to your door step.  I’m going to put together a box of goodies that is very “me.”  Here’s a sneak peek of one of the items…  If you want a hint of what else might be included, you can

Yesterday, I shared some of my newly acquired yard sale and flea market finds and this vintage milk delivery box was among the deals.  It didn’t look like this when I bought it, though. The box was in excellent condition with a clean interior (it wan’t all rusted and nasty), but the paint advertising the dairy had worn off.  This box fit several categories that I look for in what I buy.  It has a story, it is multi-functional, and it’s great storage.  I can image one of these sitting on my front porch when my house was young (it was built in the 1940’s.)  I am not old enough to remember those days, but we did have bread, beer, and sodas delivered to our door when we lived in Germany.  I decided to use the blank front to my advantage and marry the vintage piece with a modern product.  Chalkboard paint

Well, it seems like an entire stash of antique doors is just not enough for me.  I had to buy one more today while I was out at yard sales today.  I picked up this split barn door (hardware and cobwebs included) for $5.00.  It is going to make a perfect closet door for my guest room.  Oh, my poor, poor hubby.  I also picked up an oar for a song.  It’s a little rough, but I am planning to sand down the blonde finish and put a rich coat of dark walnut on it.  I sold a vintage metal tool box almost exactly like this at Lucketts, so I jumped at the chance to buy another.  I love the color and chippy paint. I also found a couple more aqua beverage crates like one I sold at Lucketts.  And one of my favorite finds of the day was this

When I go shopping, I never know what I’m going to look for or what I’m going to find.  There are certain things I always gravitate towards, but I go with an open mind and I am often surprised at what I come home with.  These are some of the qualities that catch my eye… Pieces that were utilized in daily life.  I love elevating something that was functional to something that’s all about looks. I love things like fans, scales, clocks, linens, kitchen utensils…things that are humble. Things that are multi-functional.  Baskets, boxes, totes and platters can be used in so many practical ways and they look great, too. Things that were special.  I love christening gowns, not only for their detail and delicate beauty, but because they were worn on a very important day in a baby’s life.   I also look for trophies, letters, and other sentimental items and

…maybe not in the traditional sense, but I felt a little like one.  I just bought nine antique doors (several with hardware), an antique table with turned legs and casters, a stack of molding, and a few cabinet doors for $24.50.  Does that count as robbery? (I call it robbery when the movie theatre charges me $15.00 for a coke and popcorn.)  Here’s the thing.  These doors were trash to this guy, so we were both happy with the deal.  This tall, skinny pair of doors have a perfectly chippy light gray paint and they look great flanking my piano in the living room.  They set me back $1.00 for the pair.  I still need to clean them up and put a coat of poly on, but I couldn’t resist sitting them in their new home. We weren’t even sure if we could fit it all into one truck load.  See

I couldn’t resist checking out a Goodwill while I was in Florida.  The lure of never knowing what I am going to find was just too great.  What if a sweet old lady dropped off a stash of ironstone?  Or someone dropped off some cool farm junk?  Or I found something I’ve wanted for a while?  Well, yesterday, that happened.  Before I share that with you, I’ll show off a couple of my other buys.  I saw this petit cardboard globe on the shelf and thought it was cool but I set it back in it’s place.  Then, I noticed something.  This globe was not marked in English.  It was German (I grew up in Germany, so I recognized it immediately.)  Upon closer inspection I noticed Russia was the USSR…this globe was not only German, it was vintage.  At $1.99, it went in the cart. My second find was this pretty glass lamp.  One

First of all, I am pretty giddy today.  I woke up this morning, looked at one of my favorite blogs, Centsational Girl and guess what was there.  A post about me.  This is not a surprise to me, but it was still very exciting to see it there.   Kate has an awesome blog and impeccable taste.  Her posts are a daily read for me.  Thanks so much for the feature, Kate!  It’s truly an honor. I shared some of my flea market finds in my last post and I wanted to share a few more things that I’ve picked up on my trip.  Can you believe I bought these at Anthropologie?  It may not be a revelation to any of you ladies who live near a decent mall, but Anthropologie carries antiques in addition to all of the other cool stuff it sells.  I had never been in their store before and I