My blogaversary give-away countdown is about to end!

Today is the last Friday before my blogaversary on the 25th so this is the last gift in the tin. Although, I have managed to sneak in a couple of stowaways. ;o) I've had lots of fun selecting items from my collection for this giveaway. I'm already eager to have another one! Today, I am adding some adorable PINK piggie s&p shakers. I don't know the maker but they're vintage, have a "made in japan" sticker & are numbered w/ an H259 stamp. And aren't they just as cute as they can be?

Mr & Mrs Piggy are joining the vintage hankie, cherub, vintage earrings, bird soap, Lord's Prayer plate & red tole tray in the old tin. I have filled this old tin to maximum capacity w/ treasures for you.

I'll be turning off the comments feature Monday morning so that I can enter all the names into random.org ...good luck everybody!

Come w/ me to Beverly's @ How Sweet the Sound & see who else is in the pink today.
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I've closed comments because my blogaversary countdown is officially over. I'll draw a name on Wednesday & announce the winner.

A Thrifty Tablescape Thursday

Hello! Today, I'm combining 2 posts into one. For Tablescape Thursday, hosted by Susan @ Between Naps on the Porch, I'm sharing photos of our Valentine's dinner from last week-end. I was very pleased w/ this table but of course half-way through the meal, I wished I had used crystal votives instead of the red. Never fails...it's always something!!!! ;o) And then I'm also playing in a new meme hosted by Leigh @ Tales from Bloggeritaville ...Thrifty Thursday. I use a lot of thrifted finds in my tables so I thought it was OK to combine the 2 memes.

(click on any picture to enlarge)

You see that "bell cloche". Look a little closer....doesn't the knob on it look a bit familiar? Kinda like a vintage glass knob? That's because it is! I scored this wonderful candle basin (pretty sure it sat in something @ one time & was used as a candleholder) @ GW for $3. Brought it home & glued on one of my glass knobs & VOILA! a $30 cloche for $3. It's almost the exact same size & shape as the one Coleson broke too but I like this one sooo much better! The funny thing is, that very same day, I had stopped in @ Pier 1 to see if they had a bell cloche. Tar @ Confessions of a 40 Something Drama Queen had given me a heads up that she saw one there so I looked but no luck. Since I was out & about & near Goodwill, I stopped in to see what they had...they had me a bell jar! *grins*

I really do like this one sooo much better. I like that it is creative, functional & attractive but most of all, I like the fact that it was only $3! ;o)

An aerial shot. ..you can better see the quality of the crocheted lace tablecloth, another thrift store find.

The mirrored "placemat" is a candle base from Hobby Lobby...wait until they go into half off & they're like $4 a piece. The ruby red dinner plates & goblets were thrift store finds (I'm telling you...nearly everything in my house was bought second-hand)... I have never been able to determine the pattern or maker. The plates have a kind of hobnail detail to them on the underside.

The crystal salad plates were also a thrift store find. I can't remember who (sorry!) but someone from last week's TT inspired me to do the "key to my heart". I glued rhinestones onto heart ornaments & tied them & an old key onto a tag I printed & distressed.

Hubby & I spent Valentine's Day @ the cattlebarns flea market. It's open year-round, except when the rodeo is in town. And nope, you cannot smell the former tenants. ;o) Anyway, I bought a couple of vintage Valentine cards....this one under the cloche is one of them. It doesn't show in the pic but it has been glittered generously. Love the little doggie at their feet...just like us!

Hubby bought some sweet & spicy nuts for me cause he says I'm sweet & spicy *grins*....I put them in a cordial (King's Crown Thumbprint) & added a framed "I'm nuts about you" sentiment. I know, I know...corny but isn't Valentine's all about corny? Guess where I bought the Bombay picture frames. Yep, at a thrift store!

Dinner was marvelous! I love the food site Fine Dinings ...check it out, you'll be glad you did! Does this woman ever know how to present food! I decided that for Valentine's ,I would try out some of her recipes & see if they taste half as good as they look. For starters, we had Sweet Potato Slice with Shrimp and Garlic Cream Sauce Recipe . To be honest, I chose the recipe more because of the appearance & the heart shape I cut the sweet potato into, than I did for the expected taste. I figured as simple as the recipe was, that it wouldn't be that flavorful. I was wrong. There was a lot of flavor packed into these little bites!

Then we moved onto Cream Cheese Prosciutto Valentine. Loved the presentation of these & again, they were packed w/ flavor. These rectangle plates are one of the few, I've bought new. I got them @ Target.

For the entree, I wanted something fairly simple...last year's menu was very elaborate & time-consuming...but I still wanted elegant & delicious. I just discovered Boursin cheese (I know...where have I been?) so I chose her Stuffed Chicken Breast with Boursin Cheese & green bean bundles (I didn't follow her recipe for green bean bundles as I think the beans benefit from being cooked w/ the bacon grease).

Hubby is pretty accomplished at fruit carving so he had no problems w/ the tomato rose.

I had planned on making a mousse recipe of her's for dessert but we spent more time @the flea market than expected & instead of stressing on it, I decided to serve instant chocolate turtle pudding in white chocolate shells. Yep, you heard me, instant pudding .... and it was delicious! ;o)

We have Strawberry Champagne Soup w/ our dessert nearly every Valentine's...it goes sooo well w/ chocolate. I don't use a recipe, I just use pureed strawberries (you can either puree frozen or use the bar mix stuff), yogurt, a splash of OJ, a squeeze of lemon, mint, maybe sugar (taste test to see) & then add a bit of champagne right before serving. I stick the flutes in the freezer for about 30 minutes & then rim them w/ magic shell ice cream topping before filling w/ soup.

Can't wait to see all the other tables. More & more join us each week...last week there were over 60 tables on Susan's, Mr Linky!

And if you love thrift shopping as much as I do, follow me to Leigh's to see lots of thrift finds.

Outdoor Wednesday

Outdoor Wednesday is hosted by Susan @ A Southern Daydreamer. I thought for a while it had t be pictures of my garden etc but it doesn't. It just have to be a picture taken in the great outdoors.

For today's post, I wanted to share pictures of my Gizzy window-shopping w/ me in Red River, NM. The guys went fishing & me & my dog went shopping. ;o) Gizzy is such fun to take on trips, he's enthusiastic about everything! Here he is checking out the window display in this shop.

He looked & looked & then spotted a stuffed woodpecker. You can see it in the pic if you enlarge it. When he saw that woodpecker, he cried & created such a fuss that I took him inside & bought it for him. He carried that toy all the way down Main St. He'd drop it & look in the windows & pick it back up when we were on our way again.... to the delight & amusement of all the other shoppers. By the time we made it back to the hotel, that poor woodpecker looked like roadkill.



Here's my baby, in the car, on the way home from vacation...he's allllll tuckered out. I've had so many good times w/ this little dog. May God bless me w/ many more!


Be sure & visit Susan to see all the other Outdoor Wednesday posts, many are very interesting!

What's on your Walls Wednesday

Barb @ Grits & Glamour hosts Whats on Your Walls Wednesday. It's just a fun way to share what's on your walls.

I have a large collection of old, old sheet music...some of it framed, most of it from the early 1900's. Mostly I collect roses but I have Christmas, Easter, Halloween & other assorted covers too. I've also started a collection of some that feature Cinderella for my grandaughter. Caralyn. The graphics on some of these sheet music are works of art!

This was the first of my collection & the only one I bought already framed. When I bought it, it's "mat" was a piece of construction paper, I replaced it w/ the black & white toile. Then I got smart & decided to buy unframed pieces & do it all myslef. Isn't she lovely?


This one is my favorite out of the collection...all I want is a cottage, some roses & you. Too sweet!

This one is sooo me because I used to be wild, they call me Honey & I love roses. *grins*

One of the very few, not framed in an old frame. I wish it were. I guess I should reframe it soon.

Another one of my favorites!

The colors on some of these are wayy off. I have them in a bathroom w/ butter yelllow walls & even w/ additional lights, it washes everything into a golden shade. So if you see a bright glare on some of them, that's my attempt to cast off the gold tones.

Love this sweet one w/ the bird. I know, I know...I sound redundant. "I Love this one" & "I love that one" but I do...I love them all!

I have several more pieces that I don't have the room to display & frame. I guess I need to designate a whole wall to them & get them all out into the open. Won't you come w/ me to Barb's to see what everyone else has hanging. ;o)

3 or More Tuesday

Every Tuesday, Tam @ The Gypsy's Corner hosts a meme called 3 or More. It can be a collection or a vignette of 3 items, just about anything falls under the category. For today's post, I wanted to share my favorite Valentine items. My all-time favorites!


This is a Valentine given to me by my oldest grandson Connor when he was about 7. The boy has cars on the brain so if you get a picture w/ a truck on it, then you're something special. ;o)

This is an old candy box, given to me by hubby many years ago.

This tn candy box was my grandmother's. I don't know if the candy came from my grandfather or not, it may have come from one of her grands but I ADORE it.

Love these mugs. Every year, I unpack them & think "Oh I forgot about these!" I'm pretty sure someone made them in a ceramics class somewhere...there's a few flaws but it only adds to the charm, I think.

The 2 Valentin'es on teh left were my father-in-laws as a boy. The date reads 1945 on them. The patriotic & war-time theme dates them too though.

They're not my prettiest Valentine stuff but they are the dearest to my heart & they'll always be displayed w/ pride. Happy 3 or More Tuesday !

2nd Time Around Tuesday

Hello & welcome to Second Time Around Tuesday...hosted by Diane @ A Picture is Worth a 1000 Words. It used to be called Trash to Treasure but she changed the name because it's not really about make-overs but about second-hand finds & how we treasure them & use them. I have been garage sal'ing & flea-marketing for as long as I can remember....and oh how happy I was when I first discovered thrift shops, about 12 years ago. I could "garage sale" anytime I wanted! I didn't have to get up early & beat the crowds, I didn't have to waste much gas, I could go in any kind of weather... it was nirvana for someone like me.

I have always loved going through piles of old junk. Most of it I don't want but still think is pretty neat. And I almost always find a little sumthin' that calls my name & says "Can't I come home w/ you? Nobody else appreciates me & "gets" me like you do." *grins* Crazy as that sounds, there is an element of truth in it. Someone, somewhere has designated me the "Keeper of the Stuff". Again, I am aware of how crazy it sounds but I am only half-joking. I have found 3 napkins @ one thrift store & a a month later found the 4th at another thrift store. I have bought a crocheted doily, used it on the back of a chair, wished I had another for the other chair & again, found the mate a month later. This stuff is supposed to be w/ me. I know, I know...I can feel you all looking at me like I'm crazy, I get the same looks from my family. ;o)

Anyway, this was my haul from about a month ago...I'm always behind in posting my finds. It might have all been in one trip but most likely was at least 2...I keep my recent finds in a box & then take pictures of that week's haul.

(click on any picture to enlarge for details)

The wings y'all saw in my Valentine's decor.

Lovely watercolor of some sweet birds. I'll either reframe it or paint this one. And I scored 3 Pampered Chef bread tubes. They bake the bread in fancy shapes. Hubby had the idea to make pound cake in one, slice it & serve it w/ sliced ice cream frozen in the same shape. The man has been married to me for too long! *grins* There was a time when he would have thought I was silly for wanting to do something like that & here he is, coming up w/ these ideas all on his own.

Embroidered runner, crocheted doodads.

This little lamb has already been photographed...it must have found it's way back into the box. Camera hog! The little egg slicer was for hubby...he loves old kitchen gadgets. The gold tea cups I needed to go w/ my gold-rimmed china. This week, I found a nicer set of 8 though so these will be redonated w/out ever having used them. Good thing they were only $3, huh?

Now see...this is an example of what I mean. I found 6 of these tea cups & saucers . I already owned 6 dinner plates (also thrifted) in this pattern by J & G Meakin. The pattern is Sterling Renaissance, I love them & they're obviously, supposed to be w/ me. ;o)

Love the ironstone canisters! $3 a piece! Yes, I'm a price-dropper...but I can't help but brag about my bargains.

And I forgot to get a close-up of it but in the first pic, you'll see a white picture frame. I printed off a letter C, distressed the paper w/ a bit of distress ink & slapped it in the frame. Not bad for a $2 investment, huh? You'll see more of my finds in the future...nearly everything in my home was bought second-hand. Seriously, almost everything in it... I'm proud of that!

Are you a thrift junkie too? Then come w/ me to Diane's to see everybody else's treasured finds.