Celebrated Our 25 Years At The Beach

When my husband and I started talking about what we wanted to do to celebrate our 25th anniversary, the usual things came up like, dinner and a movie out, just dinner out, have a party - the usual.

We decided to take a trip to the beach instead. From where we live it's about a 4-1/2 hour drive so it takes a little planning because it's the kind of trip that means making arrangements for a neighbor and family member to keep an eye on our house and critters.

Originally we had planned on just a couples get-a-way but, we really didn't want to leave our daughter home so we made reservations for 3 at a beach side hotel...and then along came hubby's mom, sisters and some of their families who were also able to get reservations.

The weather was wonderful, which isn't always the case on the Oregon Coast, but we got lucky. We had some enjoyable family time, fun in the sand and some great seafood. I can't think of any other way I would have rather spent our anniversary.

And in honor of our special occasion the nice people at the hotel

included this on their reader board.

The trip was actually a little before the day of our anniversary, so on that evening we opted to have a quiet dinner at home with my parents over and hubby barbecuing on the new grill that was my gift to him, which he loved.

And my gift from him...

He knows me so well, or should I say he picked up on the hints I had been dropping.
So I was delighted to get this...

Great Potting Bench

made from reclaimed lumber with an old rusty horse shoe as an accent.

(Pardon the extension cords, we have construction going on and the contractors have them everywhere)

It couldn't be more perfect for me...My dear hubby isn't one to build things so he found the potting bench at a nearby garden center and, it was made locally. He has good taste and knew just which one I would like. I look forward to using it when I plant flowers in the deck planters this season, and having a place to keep my small gardening hand tools will come in handy.

What kind of fun and creative space do you have for potting plants? Please share....

Have a great day!

Toodles

Kitchen Redo On A Budget - Phase One

In my wildest dreams I would live in a big old farm house with oodles of history, that I could peel back the layers and discover what it's all about, all the while slowly transforming it into a dream home.

My reality however is...

When hubby and I were married 25 years ago, this coming Tuesday - we bought our first home shortly after. We live in a rural area of the small town that we both grow up in, and over the years we've made a few minor changes like new carpet, flooring, paint, upgraded windows and doors those kinds of basic things.

Now back to that reality thing.

Our first and only home is a 1700 sq. ft. 3 bdrm, 2 bath double wide manufactured home. (Notice the way I say manufactured home instead of mobile home?) Hee Hee, makes it sound more important doesn't it? Either way it's home and I've never thought the way mobile or manufactured homes are stigmatized is fair.

While it is a well built house and has served us well over the years, it lacked personality and has always looked like well just a double wide from the late 1980's.

So fast forward and here I am determined to spruce it up a bit and give it a little pizazz on a DIY budget. Here are a few before shots...

The kitchen and dining room before I started with the most recent changes.

If I had before shots from when we purchased the house 24 years ago you would be able to see the wall paper that had a hideous mauve and blue fruit print on it. It was probably considered gorgeous back in the day of 1987.

What could be more lovely than the faux wood look cabinetry? The sage green wall color was due to my love of green phase, it was enjoyable for awhile and a huge improvement over that wallpaper - trust me. Formica counter tops and original stove, complete this lovely corner.

The same boring cabinets, flooring and counters, but we had upgraded the fridge, dishwasher,

light fixtures and faucet. 

Now for the positives of my kitchen...

It is spacious, although if it was just a little bigger I would love to have an island in the center. I have a nice amount of storage space, mostly because years ago I removed a countertop and shelf area that served no purpose and added a bank of vintage cabinetry I had convinced my dad to yard out of my childhood home before it was torn down.

That would be them to the right in the photo, with the missing doors on the bottom and chalkboard paint on two of the other doors...what was I thinking - "giggle"

So to date I have managed to...

Paint some of the walls a more neutral color called "Moccasin," and an accent color along the sink wall called "Acorn Yellow," but the name is deceiving, it's more of a yummy Pumpkin Spice color and then painted the trim white.

After lots of sanding, two coats of primer and two coats of paint in a warm medium brown color that reminds me of hot cocoa, the cabinets have a new lease on life and I prettied them up with brushed stainless hardware.

Before painting the cabinets I removed the section of shelving from over the snack bar area and placed it on the wall to extend the length of the cabinets into the dining room. Much better and a more open feeling.

The stove area with a new stove, overhead combo convection, microwave and fan in place of the old stove hood. Tiled back splash that has the Pumpkin Spice color in it and a pressed tin stainless panel behind the stove, definitely an improvement.

and that bank of old cabinets looks like they belong with their fresh coat of paint and new hardware, next to them I added a mini fridge for beverages and some open shelving for a little more storage.

 So now for the future plans...

That snack bar area will be raised up to counter top height, and have pendant lighting installed overhead, new counter tops of a natural stone, new flooring...I'm thinking a warm toned plank wood flooring. The new flooring will extend into the laundry room as well for a better visual flow.

In the dining room where the sliding glass door is now will be a gorgeous new double french door that leads out onto a deck where we BBQ and hang out often. It's one of my favorite places to sit with a cup of coffee and watch my horses graze in their pasture.

It's a definite labor of love, and even though my dream of an old farm house is still just that a dream...our double-wide is home. and home is what you make it, and honestly it would be hard to leave this place because we have a lot of ourselves invested in the things we've done over the last 24+ years to make this...HOME!

What labor of love do you have going on in your home?

I would love to hear any suggestions on decor choices for my kitchen that you may have as I get ready to start on Phase 2, so please do share.

See you again very soon!
Toodles

Woo Hoo Blogger Is Back!

That's right, and with fingers crossed I hope our dear Blogger guru's have been able to work out all the little bugs that were tormenting us all.

So for me today, I spent the day helping a dear sweet neighbor and her husband with a huge yard sale. The cash register was chaaaachiing-ing all day long. It was fun and I scored some fun, fun things, and what was I thinking, I didn't take my camera.

For my friends if you checked in since Blogger came back up, I'm so glad you stopped by. If you're visiting for the first time...welcome, please follow along and leave a comment.

I scored a couple of incredible old french doors that I'm thinking will become a headboard in our master bedroom, so stay tuned I will snap a few before pictures, and share the progress as we go along.

See you again very soon!
Toodles

Toodlefetties Love From Upcyclers

What an honor...

for my Toodlefetties Etsy Shop to be included in the Etsy team

Upcyclers Meet & Greet on the team blog today!

Upcyclers Member Meet & Greet

About the Upcyclers Team straight from their Etsy page.

Upcyclers are artisans who repurpose existing materials or post consumer waste to create fashion, art or products with a new value, purpose or aesthetic appeal, thereby reducing the consumption of raw materials, energy and resources that must be conserved for the environmental health of the planet.

And here are a few of the vintage Toodlefetties items that were included...

 Vintage Blue Glass Insulators 

 Vintage Cigarette Lighter & Case 

 Vintage Paperback Cookbook

This is a great team of people that are concerned about the health of our earth and you can find a wide variety of goodies made out of things that could be headed for the landfill or worse, just dumped somewhere and left to pollute the environment.

So why not create new, useful, artistic beautiful things is what I ask?

To quote Donna at Funky Junk Interiors...

 "But you see, the moral of my story in creating unique things is to invent new ways of doing things. Because if I invent, I grow."

Funky Junk Interiors 

 Just giver her button in my sidebar a click and pay her a visit, she is an amazing

example of creating a beautiful home by repurposing.

As for me...

being thrifty is just a part of life, and I love the history behind old forgotten items and wonder what stories could be behind them. Using those items in some other way is just one way of preserving them and keeping them from becoming waste.

Thank you Valerie and Team Upcyclers for the spotlight, I appreciate being included and enjoy being a part of a team of such amazing artisans and collectors.

Do you enjoy collecting vintage items or reinventing them into something else? Please share...

Have a great day!

~Toodles

Fabulous Mother's Day Weekend

Even though our weather continues to be frustrating and leave us craving warm temps. and sunshine, it turned out to be a great Mother's Day weekend.

Hubby's family was out of town so we will celebrate with his mom later this week, but we did have the opportunity to have a quiet little get together and BBQ with my parents.

 The gorgeous Rusty Roses from Hubby

decked out in a rusty vintage milk can

The beautiful red roses from my kiddo...

rusty old thermos, vintage canning jars, vintage flatware and a waterbath canning

rack made for a perfect centerpiece.

 ...and finally, even though it's still a little chilly

the Apple Blossoms are trying to show their pretty colors.

A fabulous weekend all around and the weatherman is calling for low 70's tomorrow, do we dare hope it will be true...well I know my fingers are crossed,

and itching to get out and dig in some dirt.

So I say, let's give the weather guy the benefit of the doubt and pray for...

 

Weather Clip Art

Sweet Annie Doll's Story

Annie Re-purposed and Ready For A Forever Home

Occasionally in my ventures searching for the perfect junk I come across things that I wouldn't normally give a second thought but every once in awhile...

Along comes a cute little doll like Annie... 

At the local thrift store, that is one of my favorite haunts, I discovered this sweet little Annie's feet sticking out of a box, don't ask me why she caught my attention because I'm still not sure. Especially when my interest is usually more junky things, like rusty metal goodies, parts and pieces of architectural elements or old tools...a doll just isn't normally something I would cart home.

When I pulled her out for a look, she was just so stinkin' cute...and I think she must have reminded me of the Raggedy Ann doll I kind of remember playing with as a kid...any way she beckoned for me to please take her home, the poor thing was in desperate need of some TLC.

So home she came with me to Toodlefetties Studio, and after a good cleaning, embellishments using old buttons, jewelry, and making her a cute little heart felt pillow...She is now ready for a forever home.

If you have an interest in adding sweet Miss Annie to your family,

pay her a visit in my Etsy shop where she is available for purchase.

Up cycled Annie Doll

Now to ponder what to do with this cool rusty gas can holder?
I'm thinking shelf in my house or flower window box outside....any thoughts?
Please share your ideas...

Have a great day!

~Toodles Teresa