Give it Away

My grandmothers were both givers.  They gave money, time, food.  They gave canned goods, crocheted doilies & handmade Christmas ornaments.  They gave plants, flowers, and instructions on how to care for them.  They gave sewing lessons (which I would kill to have again!), life lessons, hello hugs and goodnight kisses.  They gave mason jars for catching tadpoles in the pond and roly poly bugs in the azalea bushes.  They gave walks to the library and Saturday morning trips to yard sales.  They gave happiness, laughter, joy and memories without even realizing it.  They gave love.

Neither one was wealthy...not according to the world's definition at least.  But what they had, they gave.  And that made both of them, and the recipients of their giving, rich beyond measure.

For the Love of Plundering

"Granny, can we plunder?"  I can still hear us now.  My cousin & I were spending the night with our grandmother and wanted to plunder through her stuff.  And my, what stuff she had!!  There's no doubt that my love of plundering/junking/picking...whatever you want to call it...comes from her.  She is the one, after all, that introduced me to the art.

We would sit together on a Thursday or Friday evening and go through the newspaper, looking at the yard sale ads for the upcoming Saturday and circling the ones we wanted to hit.  Then early Saturday morning she would pick me up and off we'd go.  I didn't know any other young girls my age who were trading in their Saturday morning cartoons or the chance to sleep late for yard sales with their grandmother.  But I was...and I loved every second of it.

That's why I knew that she had some really good stuff to plunder through.  I had seen her bring it home and had been with her when she had bought a lot of it.  She had drawers and closets and trunks full of stuff.  But alas, as with any proud owner of stuff, she didn't want kids rifling through it, messing up the chaotic order she had it in, and likely losing or breaking something along the way.  The answer was always no, but we never stopped asking.  Every time we'd spend the night we'd ask again, hoping that maybe...just maybe...she'd break down and change her mind one day.  She never did.

So while I never got the chance to plunder through my grandmother's stuff, I got something greater.  I got to spend countless Saturday mornings with her, sharing something she loved, and learning the fine art of picking without even realizing it.  And to this day I can't go to a yard sale or an estate sale without thinking of her and wishing she was there with me...so we could plunder together.  

The Rebirth of A Chair

Remember this sad little thing?  I found her lying beside the road.  

Because she was broken, she had been thrown away.  Tossed out like garbage.  I saw her, turned around and went back to get her. This is how she was when I found her:

 She needed quite a bit of work, including having a new leg built for her.  No wonder I love her!! :)

Here she is in recovery:

And here she is whole again...

After a little extra TLC... she's smiling in the sunshine this morning!  

HAPPY MONDAY FRIENDS!! We had a great weekend of picking & are so excited to get a jump on this week's projects.  Here is just one of the things we brought back:  

  This will be perfect to top off an existing desk/buffet/sideboard/table, or can be used anywhere more storage is needed such as a bath or laundry room.  Here's a couple of inspirational pics we found online of other repurposed hutch tops:

 Added to the top of existing sofa table as a china hutch.  How stinking cute is that!?!  Of course, I'd have to paint it!! 

This is my favorite.  I absolutely love it in the laundry room!!  

We spent the day on the beach yesterday and got so much inspiration from the colors. The pastels and lightwashes of beachy tones just scream out to me.  Stay tuned to see what cool beach-inspired color combos we decide on!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA TUCKER!

Today is July 20, my Grandma Tucker's birthday. 

It's so hard to believe she's been gone for 15 years. I still miss her immensely.  She taught me so much about life and love and survival, but most of all she taught me about giving - even and especially when it may seem that you don't have anything to give.  She always shared what she had, no matter how little.  I never left her house without taking something home with me and she never left a church service without putting something extra - above and beyond her tithes - in the offering plate.  I see so much of her sweet and humble spirit in my daughter, and my son bears her name.  Oh how I wish they were able to know her.  

Her 93 years on this earth were far too short if you ask me, but her legacy lives on through so many of us...and we rejoice in the knowledge that we will see her again one day!

Happy Birthday Grandma Tucker (Willie Mae)

Chairs

I hate that I forgot to get a before shot of this one!  Tucker and I picked it up - yes, on the side of the road!! It is solid oak and was stained a dark stain.  The seat was gone.  I didn't remember to take a picture until it the seat was repaired and it was primed.  Now, to put my sewing skills (or really the lack thereof!!) to work and make a seat.  The fabric I choose will determine the paint color.  What do you think would look good? 

 This is another side of the road find.  Sweet little school chair, someone just threw it out because it was missing a leg!!  :(  You KNOW how I love things with missing legs.  Just ask BD!! Missing leg items are my FAVORITES - for obvious reasons!! A quick trip to the big orange box, and a little TLC and this sweet little thing will be ready for a new coat of paint and a new life!!  I'm thinking red for this one, just because I love a little red chair!! What about you? 

Yet another sewing project!! YIKES!! I think I can, I think I can, I think I can!!  Again, fabric choice will determine paint color.  Check back to see what I decided on.  

Now this little rocking chair I just LOVE!  The paint and fabric are old but I'm in love with the color.  Want to replace the fabric though because it's worn and dirty.  Cross your fingers that I can get the colors to match up closely enough so I can keep the original paint color!!  Heading to the fabric store tomorrow, after some early morning picking!! :)  

SOME BEFORES & A FEW AFTERS

 The shutter above and the legs below came together to make this black/white bench:  

Working on this old shutter now!  Stay tuned...

This is the chair that is now the planter.

 Just finished this little nightstand today.  Look for it in upcoming AFTERS!

Okay, I agree, this was a mess.  But I just can't leave anything on the side of the road!! The tabletop is cheap laminated mdf, but the legs were solid wood and in great shape!! Look for them to show up soon.

Can't WAIT to get started on this headboard project!! Yes, it too was a roadside find!!   

 Did I mention I found old wooden doors on the side of the road?  Possibly one of my favorite finds so far!!  There were three of them just waiting on me & Tucker to load them up and bring them home.  This one has been hand waxed and is sitting in my hallway right now just waiting to be hung!! Can you say LOVE!?!?!  

Okay, I know this picture is teeny tiny, but it was from an old phone & I can't figure out for the life of me how to make it larger.  This is the only piece in this post that I actually paid for!! And it was a whopping $12!!  My girlfriend thought I was crazy for making her turn around and going back to ask the man if he would sell it, but I don't think she thinks I'm that crazy anymore.  Here is it's after:

 Well worth $12, don't you think?  My favorite thing about it THEN was that all of the delicate trim pieces were still there and none of them were broken!  My favorite thing about it NOW is that the hardware on it is from my childhood dresser.  All together now...."Awwww..!!" :-)  It's BY FAR one of my FAVES!!!

Stay tuned for more Befores & Afters!! 

Boo Boos to Blessings

If you caught my Sweet Spot posting this morning, you heard, or actually you read, how my boo boos yesterday actually turned in to blessings.  If you haven't read it yet, here's the link:  www.lifeinmysweetspot.blogspot.com

And here are the results...

I started with this old chair that I found on the side of the road.  Yep, that's right!  I'm not above stopping my car, turning it around, and going back to pick up some roadside treasure!! Just ask my children - especially Tucker - he's usually the designated treasure picker upper helper!!  The seat in this chair was just a cheap mdf.  Not worth salvaging in my book, so I decided to use it in another way.  I'd seen several chairs turned into planters and had been itching to try one myself.  I figured this was the perfect opportunity.  

Mr. Blue Duck agreed!

Here's the end result after the "OOPS, it's oil base!" and then the later, "OOPS, I added too much white!"  Not bad, huh?  I wish the turquoisey-blue-green color showed up better in this picture.  It's really a pretty color.  Probably couldn't have made it that pretty if I had been trying for that color!!!

 And here she is all put together and prettified!! Yes, prettified is a word.  BD said so.

 BD gave his approval and informed me that it would look great next to the shutter-bench project we had completed a while back.  He was right!  This is why he's my right-hand man, I mean my right-wing duck! 

 BD invited Little Turtle, his BFF from the garden, to help with the inspection of this project.  At least that's what he said.  I think they were just missing each other and this was a good excuse to catch up.  

Little T works slow, but he's thorough!  

 I gave them both a break after working so hard and let them share some quality BFF time.  

Not sure if they realized it or not, but they had a spy eavesdropping on their conversation!!  Sure hope they weren't gossiping about the gnomes again! 

Meet Mr. Blue Duck

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know...the name lacks some originality.  But hey,
I call 'em like I see 'em!! :)

Mr. Blue Duck (BD to his fans) will be my sidekick on this journey.  His expertise of all things vintage, repurposed, upcycled, cool, quirky, and just plain ole f-u-n is sure to come in handy!  You may remember him from his days in my big backyard.  I'm happy to report that he has been promoted from garden guardian (say that three times fast!) to my wing man. (HA!)  Okay, so I may have shown some favoritism towards him because he's missing a leg and swims in circles like me...but the turtles and the gnomes left behind in the garden aren't complaining too much and haven't staged a revolt.  Yet.  

Come join BD & I as we explore and travel down this backroad and see where it leads us!!  Who knows ...we may even let the turtles and the gnome leave their posts in the garden and join us on a trip or two! :)

Welcome to my new home.  I hope you'll find it interesting and will enjoy yourself as you come to visit.  I plan to keep living Life in My Sweet Spot and will still post on it from time to time, but this is where i intend to share.  Myself, my loves, my passions, my projects, my inspirations.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!