Lighting Win

OK, I think I officially have 27 blog posts stuck in my brain from the past month but transferring them from my brain to the computer seems to be the tricky part. I'll start with my successful lighting story from last weekend and see what else I can do! There is a light outside on the porch but this has been the scene inside the porch since we moved in. I never think about the lack of a light until I am trying to match a pair of shoes for work at 5:45 am.

 

I also took an uninteresting light fixture from my parent's garage sale pile, probably 2 years ago, for this spot. It was a 10 min. project after all so when does one have time for those!?

(pile of uninteresting light parts)

 

Plus, when is a 10 minute project actually 10 minutes? I figured we would get up there and find the wires were dead requiring us to somehow fish a new set of wires through the ceiling. Also, this is not centered due to the bathroom addition so if we were going to put that effort in we might as well move the location. Miraculously the wires worked and it did take about 10 minutes. Well, a little longer because the fixture was freshened up with a little spray painting. And I think my dad had to run to the hardware store to get something probably just because what project is complete without an inconvenient trip to the hardware store?

 

No, I didn't check to see if my $5 shade from the last posting fit. I figured this was still too much in the outside elements and it would fade or (the more likely scenario) a guy would come through swinging a ladder and knock the shade across the porch.

Unproductive and Productive Busyness

Whew, I think I've had about 5 minutes to think about my poor neglected blog these past few weeks! We had a garage sale, which always takes way more time than it should and then we left for Minnesota the next day to visit friends and family.

The garage sale was a success as I got rid of an old porch swing from my garage and a bunch of boxes of stuff. I'm not saying I made a lot of money but it's satisfying to know the corner of my garage is lighter and my once enjoyed items are now being enjoyed by someone else.

I also didn't snitch too much from my mom's contributions. I did take this interesting milk glass pyrex-esque bowl with a hard to see raised pattern. There are no markings and I did do some quick online searches but I didn't find anything about makers, pattern etc.

I enjoyed Minnesota but our thrifting was disappointing. Of course, my mom and I are forced to squeeze in the thrifting between events with others on the trip so we didn't go at the most opportune times. I also have restrained myself from buying any brown or green 70's Pyrex which means I don't find anything for that collection! I guess I could have actually spent money for some at antique shops but what is the fun in that?? Though most of the 70's stuff had big prices anyways. Value Village had an Early American mixing bowl set for $15 a piece?

I did get probably $75 worth of toys for $10 for little one's birthday (I can't believe she's already 1!) so that gives me extra money to spend on something fun. Well, fun for me!

Light Globe Replacement Fail

While browsing our salvage store I came across this for $5.

I have no clue how old it is but it is hand painted/stenciled and is made of a really soft, satin glass so it has to be older? 1915 old? I highly doubt it but I thought it was pretty. What could I do with it? Ah, the upstairs hallway!

 

This is the current hallway light:

(apart from the removal of 1992 wallpaper, I have done nothing to the hall yet so the paint splatters are not me! The dust and ugly cat art...is me..)

 

The fixture is original but the globe looks like something one would find at Menard's for $3 so I've been keeping an eye open for something with more character. I excitedly came home and took down this fixture. The new fixture looked so pretty with the gold paint from previous, previous owner's remodel which I am planning on doing a variation of (eventually) to freshen it up.

OK, you know from the title everything was going too smoothly here. No, I didn't break it! But I did fail to realize the neck around the "new" globe is 1/4 of an inch too big for the fixture. Drat! Well, to look at the positive, I did get that giant dead moth out of  the globe which had been bothering me.



What is missing from this scene (apart from any sort of landscaping)

Saturday morning I was staring blankly out the back window like I usually do while getting some water for my oatmeal when I noticed my car looked different.

Why is my license plate missing!!?? It is true, out of all of the neighbor's cars sitting out in the driveways, ours was the lucky one to get the license plates stolen. The funny part is the back bolt is very rusty so they literally had to rip the plate off leaving the corner and after all of that effort the plates expire this month so they aren't going to get too much use out of them.

This incident prompted a project I had on the list but it just was never a priority.

A very boring yet practical sensor light. Woohoo! Now if someone sneaks onto my drive they should be flooded with light.

 

They already had regular floodlights up before so it took longer to figure out which breaker turned off the garage than it did to change out the fixture.

I'm not sure why they didn't install sensor lights originally except I suppose the sensor lights would have been $15 more than just the plain fixtures.

I don't think I even need to justify this one

I've been known to bring home items found on the curb/in the alley. This, my non-scavenging husband who grew up shopping at K-Mart, really doesn't understand so I usually don't say anything or I pretend to feel guilty about bringing a "new" unnecessary discarded item into our home if/when he does notice it. This time I didn't apologize as I proudly held up my new treasure and he asked "Why? What do you need that for!?" Sometimes I wish I had married someone who shares my enthusiasm in my finds but this might require me to share my décor space with potential items he likes and I don't so I'm OK with his criticism which quickly dissolves to indifference.
Our rear neighbors have been cleaning house, trying to get finish up some last minute remodels and clearing out the garage before they put their house on the market. I've been perusing their trash but I get the feeling they are more the granite and greige type. I did find an almost new grill, which I later spotted at Lowe's for $100 and a cute 70's bike has also made it into my garage. Otherwise the items in the trash have been cheapy 70's cabinets, ugly bathroom sinks and lots of scrap wood so when I spotted this shimmering in the sunlight as I walked into my kitchen I was shocked. Is it? No, it couldn't be but I quickly checked to make sure the baby was secure, threw on my flip flops, ventured across the alley and sure enough:

A sparkling starburst clock was begging me to rescue it from the trash pile.

I really need to figure out a way to show scale on these photos (apart from actually having a real spot to hang it so I can take a far away shot with other items for perspective, haha) but it is only slightly smaller than my other starburst clock seen here.

I would like to included a disclaimer for anyone who may be disgusted - the neighbors have been lining useable items behind their garage in hopes of people taking stuff and I have spotted other neighbors browsing the lumber out there so I am not alone and I'm not digging through their black trash bags! (though maybe I should be...)

French Pyrex and Chocolate

I don't usually do food posts. Heaven knows there are enough food blogs not to mention I mostly eat pizza and spaghetti so the variety would be lacking.
Last weekend I was scouring that estate sale for some interesting Pyrex. I discovered her stash in the basement store room and there was a lot but it was all crystal. How boring! I did pick through it and found this set.

as modeled by Cammie and some stray baby toys.

 

I'm guessing it's not that old, 70's/80's? Though I forget that's getting to be 30+ years old now!

 

This is the side which caught my attention as they are made in France. That and the handles are funky. I didn't find out much about my new set with a quick internet search...probably because they are boring crystal!

 

 

I wanted to break in my new dishes and decided to try my hand  at a brownie recipe I pinned on Pinterest last week which replaced the flour with black beans. Hmm, veggies in with dessert? The recipe I used is found here: http://honestcooking.com/flourless-chocolate-chip-brownies/ and I am sure there are others out there. One commenter marveled it still tasted like chocolate. Yeah, probably as it still has butter, sugar and cocoa powder! With that being said, I'm sure the calories are still up there but hey, you're getting some fiber out of the deal.

 

Well, it looks like the picture on the recipe's site so that is a good start. (I posed it in front of my counter display to provide some eye candy for those of you who don't care about my brownies)

 

and a texture shot. The texture also looks similar to their photos though I think I needed a bigger brownie for the final product photo.

 

They don't have a horrible flavor and they look relatively normal but they have kind of a gelatinous? texture and I'm having issues getting over this. The husband had half of one, first thinking they were dark chocolate which he doesn't like but I think the texture got him too because he didn't eat any more after finding out what was "wrong" with them. I probably won't be making brownies with beans in them again despite the fact it is a good idea to sneak some veggies into dessert. 

What is that "old person" smell?

Whew, I managed to escape the house for a bit this last weekend with my parents though our time was cut short by rain and thunder. The estate sale we ended up going to had the strongest "old person" smell happening that I have ever experienced. I had to air out the stuff I bought there and I can still catch whiffs of it nearly a week later. What is that smell anyways? My grandparent's house didn't smell like that and they were in their 90's/100's so it's not something which automatically happens at a certain age. The estate sale house was clean so it doesn't seem to be a dirty smell per say.

Anyways, I did go a little crazy and ended up spending $7 during this shopping spree. I think sometimes my husband wishes my shopping sprees were simply clothing from the mall

because then he wouldn't come home in June to find this hanging on the door!

He knows I have problem with kitschy Christmas deer so nothing shocks him anymore. (did it ever? I'm not really sure.)

I'm not a big fan of candles since they are a little touchy. I felt sorry for these guys lying on the basement floor (along with the kitschy deer) and I guess they have survived this long.  They are tagged Gurly Candle Co. on the bottom along with the original price. I know I've seen some floating around at my grandma's, mom's and I think I have a few somewhere so I believe they are pretty sturdy and should stay safe in my buffet drawer. I haven't seen the church before with the tiny choir boy.

I did get a few things I don't feel obligated to put away for most of the year. This gal is now the perkiest World's Fair souvenir I own. So many are kitschy yet drab - see examples behind her.