I'm In Love With Ya Baby...

I just spent 5 days with one of the world's most handsome men.  Dark hair, dark eyes, soft skin, a perfect nose.  He's got it all.  All 7 pounds and 6 ounces of him.  

I'm in love with ya baby...

I've never witnessed a birth before.  All the details sound pretty gory, but the result is beautiful...absolutely beautiful.

See.  See what I mean?  Isn't he beautiful?

Brantly Ray Beavers.  My sister's first baby.  My first eye-witness account of a baby being born.  The first time I've ever driven 12 hours through the night.

Yep. 12. Solid. Hours.

And that was just the drive.  I caught an hour nap at the hospital, but didn't get real sleep until that night.  36 hours without sleep.  I love sleep.  I prefer nine hours every night. And I can sleep anywhere.  Especially in the car.  I can't travel for longer than 30 minutes without dozing off (in the passenger seat of course).

Am I crazy?  For sure. 

Was it worth it?  Hell yeah.

I wouldn't have done it any other way. 

Did I mention I have some amazing and incredible friends?  The night I left, at our weekly family supper, they put together a schedule so that I would have someone on the phone with me on the hour, every hour.

That's 11pm - 6am.  They didn't miss a beat either.  I really don't know how I would have made it non-stop without them.  Truly blessed.  Yes, I am.

Did I mention nobody in Georgia knew that I was coming?

I enjoy a good surprise.  I also enjoy doing things my own way.  I have a hint of stubborn in these bones.  But just a hint. I didn't tell anyone because I didn't want to be argued with.  Bottom line.  Who likes to argue?  

Snoozing on the hospital sofa...not for long though!

Anyways,

Not a soul knew.  And that made walking into Caitlin's hospital room at 7AM a very pleasant surprise. My mom cried. My sister was speechless and grinning from ear to ear. I felt very loved.  I am pretty sure they did too.

Back to the baby...

Oh, check out the cute dinosaur/dragon tails I made in action...so cute!  And a BIG hit!

What a wonderful week it was...sigh.   I can't wait to see that handsome man again.  I don't think I will be able to keep myself away!

Keep Posted,

the rave

I Found It!

Okay, so there's a common theme to my recent posts...I Made It & I Found It.  It's easy. And to the point.  

This past weekend I went thrifting with a couple of good friends and it was a great day!

Beautiful weather, cheap but awesome finds, not a care in the world. Mostly.

Don't know if you know, but

I LOVE PYREX!

Damage done: $5 for two

Cute little Amish people on a pyrex bowl, hm?....yes, please!

Next, and probably my most favorite deal of the day,

Vintage coin purse/wallet

Beautiful colors, multipurpose...

Going once....

 Going twice....

Sold!...to the obsessive compulsive shopper who likes to drag her friends along.... 50 cents!

Next up,

a framed sample of cross stitching.  

I love a country flair, I love embroidery of any kind, I love taking the time to create something from nothing.

I love this piece for all of those reasons! And it was $4.

I like to think about the person who took care to stitch each stitch.  I have no clue how old this is, but it says

"Let me live in the house by the side of the road and be a friend to man."

A simple mission is all I need.

Lastly,  a great find.  A rare find.

Nearly new. Kelly green. JCrew, skinny fit, cropped corduroys (Well, they're cropped on my at least, I think that's what the "S" means).

Buy these new and you'll drop about $80.

I got lucky. 5 Bucks.

They're a little snug, but stretchy enough to be okay.

Who knows, I might end up selling them.

I did get a few other things that I didn't take pics of.

A couple of Little Golden Books for my new nieces and nephews (10cents each).  A softball for Dustin (50 cents).  A nice dry-fit exercise shirt (25 cents).  And four bread pans ($1total) for my herb garden this spring! Oh, and a vintage mini-bundt cake pan ($2).  Not for baking, but for organizing or even starting some mini sunflower seeds and letting them grow inside before transferring them to deeper soil. 

Hope you've enjoyed my finds!  I will be creating an Etsy store soon for all of my finds that I have to detach myself from....I'll let you know more about that as it progresses!

Keep Posted!

the rave

I Made It...Part 2

I have been on a sewing frenzy lately.  It's kind of crazy, but I love it.  Just wanted to show off a few things I have finally finished.

My latest creation, thanks to Dana on dana-made-it.com.

It's her Andy Warhol dress...so cute. You should definitely give it a try!

I just used a tee shirt I bought at a thrift store for 25 pennies.  I don't even really know who the Jonas Brothers are, but I figured whatever little girl wears this probably will.

It should fit up to 12mos.

This is my very first adult sewing project!  I was so nervous, but I LOVE IT!

I bought the vintage fabric at a shop on South Street after deciding to brave the world of grown-up clothing.

I found a 99 cent pattern at Joann's and....

Voila!

Now I'm too school for cool!

Next, is another baby creation. Yea!

What little girl doesn't want a Tinkerbell tutu?

The Tinkerbell tutu part was kind of accidental though.  It was supposed to be more a skirt than a tutu. Oh well, still cute and super fun!

Here's the tutorial by Jennifer at A Happy Circus

Tell me you don't want one for yourself?!

It should fit a 20-22 inch waist.

That's all for now, know that I have more thing coming!

Keep Posted!

the rave

I Made It!

I have been meaning to post these for a week now.  I just completed three sewing projects and I think they are so cute!


1.  A Dinosaur Tail!

I made this for my nephew Miles.  I haven't mailed it out yet because I am thinking I will have a few nephews who will be wanting to join in on the fun!  To make you own check out the tutorial from Running with Scissors.  This was so easy to make.  It took me only 3 hours.

2.  Flannel, Hand-Embroidered Dress

I started making this over a year ago.  I just got tired of it, I think.  It was really pretty easy to make, the elastic around the arms was the trickiest part.  My favorite thing about it though is the embroidered birdies!  I think they are so cute!

I got the pattern for the dress from Leila and Ben and the pattern for the embroidery is from Jenny Hart's book Embroidered Effects.  It has a lot of really cool embroidery patterns that aren't too "granny-ish" and it's good for beginners to.  She explains things really well and has awesome diagrams.

3. Re-fashioned Cardigan with Rosettes

I didn't sew the cardigan, I just added the rosettes.

Here's what's funny about this:

The sweater was a hand-me-down from a Canadian friend of mine.  It fit great, the sleeves were long, the hem hit me at my hips.  It was great. 

Then it got washed. And dried.

No worries though.  Cropped cardi's are in style.  Three-quarter length sleeves, bottom hem at my natural waist.  Still very cute and my favorite sweater!

Then it got washed.  And dried.  Again.

Big problem.  I am not that small.  This is my favorite sweater.  What I am going to do?  I will not throw it away!  Then I got a really great idea after walking through Target's children's clothing department.  And....

Voila!

Check out this great tutorial at Little Birdie Secrets

I used hot glue to keep the rosettes in place and then hand sewed it to the sweater.  It took maybe 30 minutes. No lie.

I will tell you all about my Vermont ski trip on my next post later this week.

Keep Posted,

the rave

Thrift Store Finds

Dustin and I made a trip to our friendly, neighborhood thrift store this morning.  Downtown Lansdowne reminds me a little of my home town's main street.  Small, homey and full of cute little shops and businesses.  Unlike Chickamauga, Lansdowne has two or three little thrift stores that I LOVE!  They are within walking distance of our home which makes it really easy for me to stop and rummage through on a frequent basis.

I just wanted to share my cool finds from today and from a few weeks ago.  Hope you enjoy! Oh, I really love dishes and housewares, so you may pick up on this re-occuring theme.


First, I will begin by saying:  there was a sale.  A sale.  In a thrift store.  How does that work?

All clothing...fill a bag for $5. period.

I didn't get a whole lot, but I did score a Brooks Brothers navy blazer; originally it was $15.  I didn't fill my bag completely full and the sweet old man behind the counter wouldn't let me pay more than $3 for all the items in the bag.  I almost felt like I was stealing.  I almost begged him to let me pay the full five.  He said, "Don't tell me how to run my business".  My sheepish reply, "Yes, sir".

I couldn't find a label with the size, but it fits like a glove.

I think this would be great way to wear my blazer...jeans, white tee, blazer
Beautifully simple.

Just a comfy, hooded sweater.

Other things in my bag that I haven't shown:  red, skinny belt; some baby clothing items for my sisters.


Housewares...my fav!

1.  Vintage Petal Dishes
My Mamaw still has dishes just like theses.  Hers are solid white.  I pretty much squealed with joy when I spotted these little beauties tucked away on the wooden shelving.  I went back to a time when I was a child eating chocolate pudding or ice cream from theses babies!  Ah, nostalgia.  Hey, for 50 cents a piece, who cares!

The red matches my nail polish...we belong together.

2.  Solid Copper Mug

Dustin found this treasure...again 50 cent satisfaction.  

The bottom says, "West Bend Aluminum Co.  West Bend, Wis, USA SOLID COPPER"

How manly...made in the USA, Solid Copper, it dates back to 1955 and has something written in Greek on the front.

3.  A Vintage Fire King Planter

This was either 50cents or a dollar.  I love the milk glass look.  Also made in the USA and useful for almost anything.

 4.  Pretty China Pattern
An incomplete set, but that's how I prefer it.  I mean, I think it's more fun to have a mixed up collection of dishes, than all of the same kind.  Aren't these so pretty?  I think they are from the 70's.  Made in Spain by Pontesa.  The Castilian Collection, in the Toledo pattern.  Price tag: $3

A few weeks ago, at another local thrift, I found some really cool items, that I am debating on selling.  This store is a little more pricey than the one above, but they still have some pretty amazing deals.

First, I must say that I have been drooling over Pyrex nesting bowls for forever!

Can you believe that an entire set was only $2.50?  Nowadays, a full set of these beautiful bowls can cost anywhere from $60 - $120.  Consider yourself lucky if you find even one of these at a thrift store or yardsale.  I usually spot these in antique stores, for $20 each, if they're not in a set.  

Friends, I got lucky.

Granted, it's not a set and it's a later version of the nesting bowls, but I am on my way!

Did I mention that my grandmother owns a full set?  They were a wedding gift for her and my Pappy.  I am hoping that one day I inherit that set.  I will keep it forever and ever and pass it down for generations to come....smile.

Okay, I will make the last two quick....

Vintage Sears and Roebuck Percolator.  "Maid Of Honor" edition

Let's bring back the percolator....

Lastly, this item was not thrift store bought.  It was sort of inherited.  My step dad was cleaning out one of his rental properties and found this old industrial scale.  I thought it looked cool and vintage and he needed to get rid of it.  Instead of killing two birds with one stone, two birds were made happy with one worm...does that work? Whatever.

It was made in 1941and weighs up to 20lbs.  A simliar scale from this same company costs $80 - $200.  Great find.

There you have it.  What a wonderful day it has been!

Keep posted,

the rave