Thrifty Finds

What a fun week I've had thrifting.  I am always forgetting about the Assistance League Of Austins thrift store and this week when I remembered to go to their Wednesday sale – it was filled with all sorts of fun things.

   

I love old games and found three great ones.  Bingo! Always a fav to have on hand for art.  Keep 1/2 the cards and some for the store!

This little IQ game is just so pretty with the old marbled white plastic and red pegs.

Four books of birds of America and a Fortune Telling birthday book.

Three for our store and one to keep.

This is for the store also…a  1971 Jim Beam Texas Jackrabbit bottle.  It's just sooo cute!

What will a quarter buy there?  Lots and lots of old ric rac and some turquoise ribbon of which you can never have too much!   A darling '50s housewife picture for a display at  the store $2   ( and she looks like Betty Draper herself!)  Cute flatware - $2.  And a handwarmer???? my husband wanted this!

 

Cute blocks that I plan to alter…4/$1!

Pretty old postcards  .50! And the cutest tea party game – I'm not sure what I'll do with it yet but it's adorable.

And for Pink Saturday  - my splurge. …..this pink plastic bank was at the Austin Antique Mall.  I thought it would look so cute in my upstairs attic bedroom but thought nahhh – until I saw the back!

From my hometown McAllen there was my old telephone exchange Murry 6!  My number was MU6-4448 – no area codes then….or zipcodes either or even zones!  Five bucks for a piece of my past? Priceless!

 

So do any of you hail back to the dark ages when we had telephone exchanges with names? Like MUrry, STerling, or DUdley?  Imagine – a whole family had the same, single telephone number and you always knew where to find the phone  because it was – get this - connected to the wall and the battery never went dead because….there was no battery!!!! Ahhh – the good old days….but thinking back we also didn't have air conditoning etc so nevermind – I like 2010 just fine! 

I'm joining:

Claudia for Friday Finding Beauty and

Cindy for Show and Tell Friday and

Beverly for Pink Saturday and what the heck maybe that Thrifty Thursday meme!

xoxo Nancy

Madmen Words To Live By

 Shahdaroba by Roy Orbison….Play it – it's SWELL!

Shahdaroba means the future is much better than the past.

(Excellent words to live by don't you think? Thanks to Tracey at Notes From A Cottage Industry for hosting )

Are you guys planning on watching Mad Men? Well get out your girdles and pointy bras and come on over to my house for a highball.  You say you're pregnant??? No  problem – this is the '60s and pregnant or not we all seemed to smoke and drink!!

So let's fly back to the '60s – the Captain has turned off the no smoking sign and of course we're dressed to kill for air travel.  (See…I found an old picture of me!)

We women knew our place in a man's world.  We littered after a picnic, drove gas guzzling cars and let our kids play with plastic dry cleaning bags!  Yes, all of these little scenes show up in Mad Men.

Can't help it – it's my favorite show right now and season four starts Sunday night on AMC.  Last season ended with the haunting melody Shahdaroba sung by Roy Orbison sending Betty to Las Vegas for a divorce (When a dream dies/ And the heart cries….) and a hope of better days in season four for Don. (The future is much better than the past) You can feel the saxophoned countermelody in the pit of your stomach. 

So? How's that for Words To Live By???

Be there or be square!  xoxo Nancy

How To Get Rid Of Stickers!

Stickers!!! They're not just for matting sheltie fur anymore!  Lillie Louise is always getting in a sticker patch by the fence.  Thank goodness someone told me about putting baby powder on them.  Yep, word to the wise – if your pooch gets stickers in her fur just sprinkle on baby powder and they slide right out.

But that's not why we're gathered here today.  I'm showing and telling some fascinating aspect of my life so I thought I'd show you my aprons I made for

Mary Ann's itty bitty book club. I'm making two sets of twelve to send to her and will get back the cutest little apron book you ever saw. 

For this Apron book I decided to use what I've got and I've got a million stickers.  Do you ever use them anymore?  I don't very often so I was trying to make them not so flat.  They make cute little dangly charms. Stuck on cardstock and then "popped up" they look pretty cute also.

There's not a lot of pink in these but there's always a little – it's only fitting…don't you think?

I made 12 blue and green aprons with old paper and trims from Big Lots and some of these stickers are probably 12 years old now!

And twelve on tan cardstock. 

Besides a teatime theme I seem to have going on there is some sage advice….

got that straight now?  Now go take a nap – ignore the housework and enjoy the moon!

Today I'm joining:

Claudia at Dipity Rd for Friday Finding Beauty, Cindy at My Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday, and Beverly at How Sweet The Sound for Pink Saturday!

A New Pink Caddy

You guys remember my old Pink Caddy don't you?  Guess what?  I got a new Pink Caddy and I took her for a spin.

Want to ride along?  Let's go for a drive down River Road in New Braunfels.

 

It's a fabulous drive just feet away from the Guadalupe.

Wouldn't it be fun to just……

camp here?

Just weeks ago the water was about as high as these trees.

Going over the first bridge.

Past some caves……

I'm not a spelunker – how 'bout you? No?  Okay,

let's keep driving

These cars are flood victims – just scrunched metal.  Beauty can be deadly sometimes.

Looks like a street party waiting to happen.

 

But we're almost to our destination.

Rio Linda Lodge.  You've seen a lot of beauty for Friday Finding Beauty but here at last is my New

Pink Caddy.

Isn't she a beauty?  We're here to spruce up the lodge for the next visitors.

I, along with my two cabin maid helpers – Jeff and Mike - am taking care  of the lodge and two cabins while my ex best friend dear friend Barbara is out of the country on a trip to Spain.  

 

Yes, friends – I made this bed in the master bedroom

and this one in the guest room….

 

and this one on the sleeping porch

and for good measure this one on the reading porch!

Such a lovely place right on the river – your own private Island –

just walk outside to go next door to the cabins to

make this bed….

and another one just like it!  And for good measure leave linens for 3 hide a beds!

I don't know about you but my back is killing me!  And I'm not liking this new Pink Caddy so much anymore! So……I….

am hanging up my feather duster and keepin' the old Pink Caddy!

Happy Pink Saturday!  Go visit Beverly at How Sweet The Sound if you're not too tired and also stop by to see Claudia at Dipity Road for Friday Finding Beauty…

xoxo Cabin Maid Nancy

Show and Tell Friday

A few weeks ago at Paper Cowgirl I missed most of Vendor's Night because I had a table myself.  But I was able to find this adorable necklace. 

with the cutest message:

Made by Jennifer Babcock from Covered in Glitter.   I was tickled to buy it from her!  And then I found this cute old jewelry box.

I simply cannot resist old vintage plastic anything…or big chunky necklaces that say….

Giggle!

I'm joining Cindy at My Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday .  Thanks Cindy!

xoxo Giggling Nancy