Friday Outing (Escape)

The past few days I have been itching to add to my Pyrex collection. It takes me (us) a while to get ready to venture out of the house so luckily I haven't been motivated to leave because the only place I would have gone was the antique mall and I know the Pyrex would be expensive. Well, I could be buying pricier things but I should say expensive for easy to find Pyrex. My garage sale ventures have also been limited meaning if baby wakes me up at a good time I can get out to a couple before Mark leaves for work. Today was such a day as she woke up at 6:45 so that gave us enough time to eat and check out the ads. I spied a church sale which is always good for some Pyrex and sure enough:

 $1.50 later I had my fix (cheaper than an antique mall!)

Though I am ashamed to admit that was not my favorite find. 

This $1 toilet lid clock was (unfortunately?) the highlight of my shopping excursion. 

But it matches my yellow walls perfectly and umm, compliments my 1915 clothes chute door nicely? Which reminds me, I don't think I ever posted pictures of my mostly finished bathroom!! Hmm, another blog post which has been at the back of my mind. Anyways, I'm sure Mark will be pleasantly surprised when he comes home and sees this lovely item hanging on the wall. I'm all over the classy decor with this one!

It's a Miracle!

It finally happened, nearly 8 months after an original closing date Frankie FINALLY was able to close on a house! Last January we found this really neat house seen here. That find was too easy so random unforeseen drama ensued which you can read about here. No one was ever able to track her down. The agent finally got a hold of her son who only said "I don't know anything about it." Hmm, despite being the 3rd party I can sense the family tension. There were so many neat pieces of furniture and features in that house it makes me sad to think about it still sitting there and falling into disrepair fast as the roof was showing its age.
Anyways, last May we came across a lovely Victorian which I wanted to buy, Mark said no so I talked Frankie into making an offer. He made a ridiculously low offer, they accepted and we have been patiently? waiting through several pushed back closing dates (it was a short sale) to get inside, scrub it down and move his Lego and G.I.Joe hoard out of my basement. I plan on helping him decorate (to my taste) and then when he is tired of it I will buy it from him and it will be all ready for me to move my stuff in. Mwahaha. Fortunately we seem to have about the same taste so he'll never realize whats happening...except I told him my plan already.

(assessor's website photo which is why it's tagged 2006)

Thanks to the addition off the back the garage is attached! Plus there is a cute little (what I envision as) a potting shed bumped off the side. He plans on painting the house something other than white which will bring out all of the different trim details.

I will start the tour with the  front door/entry.

The entry still has fancy crown molding. (The other ceilings have been lowered so we are unsure if the other rooms had/still have it)

The house has plenty of fancy light fixtures to satisfy my obsession and it begins in the entry. (You'll have to click to enlarge it and I'll have to see if I can get a better photo).

Fancy hat hooks also adorn the wall.

We went through the house to clear the clutter the previous owners left behind and this was the result (except for the baby and diaper bag). They also left all of their old cleaning supplies so that was nice along with a new door for the garage and tile for the upstairs bathroom.

A lot of it is going to the donation pile but there were a lot of fun crafty items my mom and I are going to divide. 

Ha! I don't know why he makes me laugh. I'm taking him if Frankie doesn't need him! 

The dining room and fixture in the living room are probably from the 50's when the house was renovated/added onto but I still think they are nifty. Note the cameo on the porcelain.

There are lots of antique wall sconces throughout. 

 Most of the doors have these spectacular Victorian door knobs.

The kitchen is/will be fantastic. The cupboards need some sprucing up but are nice, vintage and there are lots of them (there are more on other walls.)

 

I came across reproduction versions of these at Rejuvenation  and they were titled Whale Tales. Which apparently has another meaning involving something you see frequently on People of Walmart.

 

More cupboard space! This used to be the pantry? maid's room? but now it is a shortcut hallway to the "new" bathroom. I know I would be removing the doors and putting all of my vintage kitchen knick knacks on display in here.  

Another fancy fixture. Maybe the original dining room light which got moved to the smaller room due to the fact it only has 2 bulbs? It seems kind of big to be crammed back in this little room.

This is part of the remainder of the original back stair case. It was flipped with the basement stairs (you can see the original shadow on the wall to the left) so unfortunately it would be a pain to restore. It makes for 2 nice closets though.

Moving upstairs. This picture doesn't do these justice as they are about 4 ft wide. 

Original pedestal sink, medicine cabinet and claw foot tub.

AND he got an original toilet darn it!

The Art Deco fixture above the sink.

Cute linen area. The ceiling has been lowered so much that another cupboard is hiding over the ceiling tiles (the door is in the basement.)

Not only does he have one kitchen with nice retro cabinets but since the house used to be apartments, the upstairs kitchen also remains.

The countertops are a little dusty but look to be in good shape.

The upstairs half of the original back staircase.

And last but not least. Not only does he get a completely original 1910 bathroom, but since the house was added onto in the 50's, it also has a pink bathroom in the addition! The best of both eras!

We can't leave out the matching tub.All are in great shape - the tub just needs a good scrubbing. We found a new white toilet and pedestal sink in the basement so I think we just barely saved this bathroom from a generic fate.

One of these days...

One of these days I will help my mom with a garage sale and I will not bring home more/bigger things than I brought. I will blame Frankie this year because my garage sale boxes are stored at the back of my garage which is currently filled with his ever growing assortment of furniture for his house. I brought 3 boxes and got rid of probably 2 but what did I acquire?

At first I was doing good and had only snitched this squirrel and a bear planter which were in my mom's stash and some Tupperware from the neighbor. All have a practical use. Well, maybe not the squirrel.

When I got in trouble was when my mom's friend decided she was just going to throw her leftovers in the free box near the end of the day.

I had been successfully avoiding the purchase of her Melmac but I couldn't resist it any longer as soon as it was free. And a dishwashered piece of Pyrex. Still not too bad I guess but...

The worst thing I took, which is currently hiding in my "studio" area because I am even too embarrassed to let Mark see it -

A very beat up wagon wheel light fixture missing the shades. It is fortunately small and not a monster full sized one (I'm hoping I would have restrained myself if that was the case). Since it looks like it has been laying out in the yard, my current plan is to paint it red? or aqua? and hang it in my future laundry room.

I guess it could have been worse. Last year I brought home a chair.

Broken Sofa

The other night Mark and I were sitting on the couch when all of a sudden we heard a crack and then we were 6" lower. Yes, we broke the couch I salvaged from my grandparent's house.Come on! I know I've been drinking too much Coke lately but I didn't think I was substantial enough to break a piece of furniture!

I'm not sure how much more Mark can take before he takes me to Nebraska Furniture Mart and forces me to pick out a new couch. It was one thing to need new upholstery but the no leg thing kind of makes it an awkward seat.

I don't have a clue how to fix the leg. I'm hoping my dad does. A lot of glue and clamps?? Maybe a metal reinforcement through the center?? I'm thinking a pile of bricks underneath might be a classy solution. Even if it does get fixed Mark will never trust sitting on it again. But then maybe I can reupholster it without fear of it getting dirty within the week. Hmm...

Anthromorphic Weekend Finds

Once again I inadvertently had a theme going with my garage sale finds last weekend. First off I found this salt and pepper set which made me laugh.

It always makes me wonder what someone's thought process was while designing some of these crazy things. Really, who sat down and said "happy fruit artists wearing dresses will be an excellent theme for a salt and pepper set!"

I'm also always looking for odd 70's/80's hot pads I can use without guilt since I know they will get stained and dirty so I picked up this one up.

Yep, more smiling produce.

P.S. One advantage of having a husband who doesn't enjoy the world garage sales is he volunteers to stay home with the baby and tells me to have fun and get out of the house for a while. Score!

Free Changing Table/Dresser Makeover

The before shot of my inherited? saved from the dumpster? changing table/chest. It sat in my grandparent's basement forever, always with the guest sheets and misc. linens inside. My dad doesn't even remember where it came from as he said it was always sitting at their old house too. We were hoping someone else saw potential in it but $10 at the estate sale didn't sell it and none of us could stand to leave it in the house for the house flipper so my parents took it. It then ended up in my garage as I had mentioned maybe I could use it as a changing table. It was antiqued in the 70's and obviously needed fresh paint.

The handles are the best part because instead of going out and buying a set, my grandpa made them. They have a funky art deco look and after the chippy layers of paint were removed a smooth black paint remained. I wanted to somehow give them a Bakelite feel and already had picked up the orange paint at free paint day at our salvage store so the black paint was perfect.

 Well, it helped give them an aged/toned down look anyways, otherwise they would be bright "Jungle Orange". The white paint also came from free paint day and I lined the drawers with paper from the baby shower (everyone makes fun of me for my meticulous package opening but ha! it paid off)

 so the total cost of this project? $0! I guess I did pay .50 for the 4 baskets to help organize the drawers if that counts? and we may have also used up a couple chunks of sand paper.

Welcome Lucca!

My blog has been sparse lately due to our new family member!

Lucca was born on August 8th and I can't believe it has already been 3 weeks! Mark was home the first week and a half then my mom has been here. Since everyone has gone back to work/home I should have more free time? It's true, my mom was good at helping with the mundane chores but we also just found ourselves sitting around chatting most of the day so I didn't get to work on my list of ever growing projects which is my usual entertainment. Now that I can inhale toxic fumes once again I'm looking forward to some furniture projects I have accumulated and whatever else I can fit in between feeding and entertaining a new baby. I have to get her started early on the garage sales and painting so she can help and join in on my adventures!