Wordless Wednesday... Deer at Candy's House

Wordless Wednesday...

Sometimes I Wish...

Sometimes I Wish....

that there was one for everybody...

that strawberries and watermelons grew in my garden year-round...

that Christmas lights stayed up right through the 4th of July...

that the well never would run dry...

that grandchildren always lived near the farmhouse...

that chocolate had zero calories...

that "Peace on Earth" wasn't just something that we said...but something that we did...

that my New Year Resolutions would be wishes that always came true...

Wishing you a very-very Happy New Year...

Welcome Autumn... Harvest Table

Looking around Blogland at all the pretty tablescapes and center pieces has made me want to decorate my big farmhouse harvest table for Autumn... my favorite time of year.

I started simple enough, with the burlap table scarf that stays on my table year-round..

Then I found this pretty table scarf (for a much shorter table) at Marshall's for $9.99... I love the sparkle and the embroidered leaves...

and it looks just perfect laid on top of my burlap don't cha think?!
I pilfered from my stash of previous years Halloween and Thanksgiving decorations to find more items to add to my table decor.

  The two large pumpkins were displayed in my booth at Blue Hills a few years ago.  The faux fruit rests in another bowl in my kitchen year round.

A couple of years ago, while looking for a dough bowl, I found a set of 3 rustic wooden nesting bowls for $12.99 at a resale shop. It wasn't the dough bowl I longed for, but they serve the purpose.

 

The chippy candle sticks came from Glory B's in Geronimo, Texas $8.99 for the set...   and the little vintage birdie Salt and Pepper... a gift from a dear friend for mother's day a few years ago...

The white pillar candles were fine, but every time I looked at them I kept thinking ... pumpkin!  So a weekend trip to Target yielded 2 pumpkin candles for $2.49 each... marked down because they were the last two... I don't know, but I liked the price... I also found two more small rustic pumpkins at Target to add to the mix, I couldn't believe they were only $1 each!

and voila'!

 

Welcome Autumn...

 

Now if we could just get a little of that cooler weather

down here in French Lique...


this week I'm joining...

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
and
Show and Tell Friday


Planning Perfection and Kitchen Bling

My blogging friend Joan noticed my Vintage Depression Glass Cabinet Pulls
when I posted about my canning jar light pendants last week.
She wondered where I had purchased them,
and if they were in fact,
Vintage...
 

I promised her I would reveal my secrets about the handles this week...
so Joan..
this one is for you!
 

 

These pretty gems are actually called Glass Bridge Drawer Pulls; the color is Green Depression Glass and they have Nickle Bolts with Flush Connectors.
I love the Flush Connectors.
They give the inside cabinet door a finished look rather than having a bolt sticking out an inch with a nut screwed down against the cabinet door.

 

I painted the inside of the cabinets behind the glass doors the Feldspar green color...

Are they Vintage?

 

About 7 years ago, at an estate auction, I purchased a "box lot" for $5.  The box lot was full of old and somewhat rusty kitchen gadgets. 
At the bottom of the box, wrapped in an old dish towel, I found
6-Green Depression Glass Bridge Pulls, circa 1940. 
They were the color of old Coke bottles
and I instantly fell in love with them.
 

and the old style wavy glass in the doors is new, but was as close to the old vintage wavy glass as I could find... but much less fragile...

Those glass pulls, "found" 7-years ago, were the thing that my entire kitchen plan evolved from. 
Green is my favorite color... and I love cottage style... so went my planning for the perfect kitchen... but it takes time,
and my old brown and harvest gold 1970's kitchen had a long way to go...
 so did finding the additional pretty glass pulls that I would need.
 

this photo makes the pulls look lime green... all the pulls are the same Coke bottle green..
it's just the camera flash playing tricks on the bling!

I am a Polish farmers wife and thus... a frugal wife.  Yes, I could have gone out and bought the rest of the 32 pulls that I needed... you can find them new from $7 to $20 each on the internet... though they're not quite as heavy or substantial as the vintage ones...
but that would have cost somewhere between $200 and $600. 
Since I'd basically paid less than $1 each for the first 6-pulls...
I went on the hunt...
It took me almost 5-years... (I'm also a patient woman)...
and I ended up spending less than $100 total for all 32-pulls. 

I found an additional 20-pulls in a close-out bin at Restoration Hardware Outlet Store in San Marcos, Texas, marked down to $2.99 each.  (I ended up with 2 sales people digging through every bin with me to locate the 20 they had!)

Then I found 6-more Vintage pulls on eBay for $24 plus $6 shipping.
 

 

So, as I was planning my perfect kitchen renovation, I was looking for pretty kitchen bling... and I found it at the bottom of a box... wrapped in an old dish towel... forgotten... Funny how things often come to you that way.

and so...

some are Vintage and some are not...

you can hardly tell which is which...

 

these pretty corbels from the Curious Boys in Seguin, Texas

Next up... paint and architectural detail, inspiration provided by

Sarah's Summer House renovation...

and here's a hint....

pretty, vintage, painted perfect blue...

 

PS... in case you've been wondering...

my upper cabinets are painted Pot of Cream white and the bottom cabinets are painted Feldspar green; both colors by Behr at Home Depot.

 

this week I'm linking to

Mod Mix Monday...

Knick of Time Tuesday...

Vintage Thingie Thursday...
Vintage Inspiration Friday...

 

Blue Ball Canning Jar Pendants

It's been a while since I posted anything... but here I am again. We're still working on our kitchen reno, and that is what today's post is about... the lighting.

I found an idea on Pinterest and knew I had to have it in my kitchen! We had purchased very inexpensive pendant lighting on ebay... each fixture about $12 which included shipping. I knew the lampshades wouldn't stay, at least not in their original condition, but I wasn't sure which direction I wanted to go. We've renovated our old dark farmhouse kitchen into a pretty country cottage style, and I love it... but where to go with this lighting?

Note to Photographer...er... self:  check out the background mess before taking the photo.

 

You can see the vintage fixture in the middle of the kitchen, and I added a pretty little  vintage looking chandelier over the kitchen sink.  The contemporary pendants were okay... but not quite right...

 

 

though they did provide the much needed light
over the breakfast bar area...
and then there was this...

 

 

Posted on A Thrifted Market on Sept 3, 2012...

I knew I had to do it... and good thing was, I already had

a really nice blue canning jar collection...

but how to hang them?

 

 

Then I found these from Etsy seller Liz at Tremendous Treasures...

 

 

I used the holding ring from the pendant fixtures to determine what size hole to cut in the Frog screen and colored it in with a Sharpie marker...

 

 

I pulled the screens out of the jar rings, but figured out pretty quickly that wasn't going to work for cutting... OUCH!  So, I put them back in and then got my Ricky to do all the wire cutting...

 

 

I was hanging them as quickly as Ricky cut the holes... this one shows a pint size jar... but I decided to go bigger!

 

and make sure all the dirty dishes are in the dish washer before taking another photo...

 

The quart size jars worked perfectly!  I just love my new vintage canning jar pendants.  They look so pretty in my cottage farmhouse kitchen.

 

now that's more like it!

 

I'm still playing with light bulbs... but I love these... I really-really do!

Tell me what you think?

 

I'm joining Blue Monday at Sally's, because I think these pretty blue Ball canning jar pendants are the perfect blue bling for Monday!

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday at Costal Charm 'cause this is a Nifty-Thrifty idea!

Knick of Time Tuesday since my vintage Ball canning jars are what makes this project sing!

Found... the Perfect Office Chair

I was reading a post by Angelo Surmelis on his Angelo Home Blog today, and fell in love with his Sutton Chair in Black/Grey/Cream Paisley... so of course I set out to find out how much and where to buy... via Google... thank you Google...

I found it at Amazon.com, $329.16

but I also found this...

Angelo Home Sutton Chair in Lemongrass Paisley... $279.00

LOVE!

The chair is for my home office... redecorated 2009 in Black and White with soft yellow walls...

so when I saw the Lemongrass Paisley... I knew that THIS IS THE PERFECT CHAIR... for me...

Now... if you've never checked out Angelo's Home Blog... do yourself a favor...

I can hardly wait to get my perfect chair...

down here in French Lique!

I'm joining Cindy for Show and Tell Friday... drop by and see who else is joining in!

and Mellow Yellow Monday... I love YELLOW!

"I Do's" and they did... plus... Candy's new BFF...

Friday was a work day... We arrived at Candy's Ranchette about 10 am, after a hardy breakfast together on the Wimberley Square... and Candy put my Ricky to work on wiring her plank "I Do" sign together...

Then Candy invited her new BFF, Ricky, to the side porch for more wire work... wiring together her tower of rusty pails for plant display...

I love these... the photo doesn't do the idea justice...

We were decorating for the rehersal dinner, to be held at Old Glory Ranch Friday evening... Candy, Ricky and I hung a frame on the old hitchin' post for photo opps... Ricky and I gave it a test run... icky and sweaty... he loved me anyway...

I love this "Tomorrow I Do" banner Candy made from burlap and linen... and hung from the fireplace at Old Glory Ranch...

Candy's (painting) & Ricky's (wiring) sign...

hung from the rafters and draped with gauzy cloth...

We thought the drape across the bench looked like where

the bride's wedding dress might have ended up...

"If you're asking if I love you... the answer is... I Do!"

and me and Ricky... we cleaned up pretty good...

and had a wonderful time getting ready to send the young couple off...

into marital bliss... just like...

down here in French Lique...

ps... I know Candy will share some wonderful photos with you soon... as soon as she recovers for the past 6-months of wedding planning and executing...

Pink Peonies for Mother's Day...

Happy Mother's Day to all my favorite Mom's... you know who you are!

My favorite spring flowers... the Peony...

from Dixie...

down here in French Lique...

I've got a brand new pair of rollerskates... who's got the key?

When my dear Ricky was a boy, his family didn't have lots of money. They were country folk (still are), and they were frugal. Dad worked in a brewery in San Antonio; Mom stayed home with the 6 children and ran the farm... There wasn't a lot of time for goofing off and playing...

The older boys, Ricky was second oldest, spent most of their free time in the fields...

But there was lots of love, and sometimes.... time to play... which brings me to my favorite "Ricky's Childhood" story, as told to me by me sweet husband... and verified by his older brother...

The Christmas Skates

Early 1960's, Ricky and his brother received a joint Christmas gift.  A pair of silver roller skates.  They were, of course, meant to be shared... so share they did...

Ricky took the left skate... his brother took the right ... and so...

and of course I had to bring these home from the booth of two of my favorite boys...
The Curious Boys of Seguin, Texas... Thanks Boys!

neither learned to skate on two skates... each learned to skate on just one...

Welcome to my world...

down here in French Lique...

Cool Shadows at Carolyn Westbrook Home, Zapp Hall

I was looking through my photos taken earlier this month at Zapp Hall, and ran across this one. Taken at Carolyn Westbrook's booth, this chair simply called to me... I loved the crisp greens Carolyn was showing... and the fluffy cushions were perfect combined with the vintage iron chair painted bright green... and don't you love that paisley pillow!

Carolyn Westbrook Home at Zapp Hall, Warrenton, Texas

and the perfect "Shadow Shot" for Shadow Shot Sunday...

Cool Shade

Cool Shadows

Down Here in French Lique...

Blog Party at Zapp Hall....

Many gathered for Theresa Cano's Bi-Annual Blog Party at Zapp Hall... The theme... wear your crown...

some came crowned and adorned... and some... not so much...

Theresa and Candy were all dolled up...

Candy and Dixie (that's me!) celebrated in tattered vintage style...
at our favorite site this year... Rodeo Royalty Road Show's Indian Summer Tepee...

Bedazzled Cowgirl hats were all the rage!...

Old friends got a chance to mingle...

and meander amongst the junk treasures...

Candy met with the queen... Rodeo Royalty queen that is...

and yes folks... she was the winner... all decked out from head to toe...

rusty spring crown adorned with beads and bangles...

and wearing a much sought after lace tablecloth robe...

don't you just love this rusty adornment!

all tied up with ribbons and bows...

and Theresa's crowning glory... which was my personal favorite...

Thank you Theresa for being the best Hostess ever...

at our favorite party of the season...

so... until next fall...

our adventure over...

it's back to the real work-a-day world...

leather briefcases and low heel pumps...

Down here in French Lique... sigh...