Hideous Horses Before/After

My fellow blogger Gail at Little Beach Designs recently blogged about being embarrassed when she buys certain items from thrift stores with the plan to renovate them into something beautiful.  I couldn't agree with her more.  I do this often.  There's A LOT of ugly stuff out there that can be transformed into something quite lovely if you have a little imagination. . .and in my case, a can or two of  spray paint.

I found these ceramic horse bookends at a thrift store for just a couple dollars each.  I cleaned them up, gave them each a coat of Espresso spray paint, then a coat of Heirloom White spray paint.  I roughed them up a bit and applied some dark brown wood stain to give them an aged look. . .voila!  They sold quickly in my shop for 5 times what I paid for them.  The buyer was in another country and liked them so much she didn't mind paying the $30 it cost for shipping.  I took that as a huge compliment.



After (SOLD)

All Dressed Up and Someplace to Go

The first weekend in August was my husband Jason's annual Trader Joe's regional company party.  Our region (Northern Cal) holds its party every year in Sacramento, California.  Trader Joe's is very generous and provides a lovely hotel room for guests driving 30 or more miles to the event.  Although it's very hot this time of year, which isn't conducive to sight-seeing around our state's capital, it is a nice way to celebrate our 18th wedding anniversary (which was August 13) for free.  Attendance isn't mandatory and we actually haven't been to the party since 2009.   They have hosted the party at the same venue for the past 3 years, so we didn't really have the desire to spend the extra $$$ on the gas it takes to drive 3 hours if it wasn't something we haven't done before.  Well now that enough time has passed, it felt new to us even though it wasn't and we were definitely ready for a free night of fun on Trader Joe's. 

I won't bore you with too many pictures of the hotel but you can check out my previous post from 2009 if you're interested in seeing more.  It is quite luxurious.

We were lucky enough to get a corner room this time with fabulous views in two directions.  This is the view standing by the window looking back at the little entry way and the front door.  I love that there is a full length mirror at the very end.

 

 

 

Standing at the door.  Bathroom is on the left, main room on the right.

 

Since it is a corner room, there is an angled wall with the desk and swivel t.v. on it.  Great use of space.

I love having an excuse to get all dressed up. My everyday life just isn't this glamorous (click on the photo to zoom on the detail of the dress--it's metallic crochet).



All of my makeup (except lipstick) is Aromaleigh.

The one time a year (in this case three years) that Jason wears a suit.



 To show their appreciation for their managers' hard work, they host a cocktail/hors d'oeuvres hour prior to dinner, which includes free wine and beer (yay for free wine!).  The dinner is always elegant and delicious.  What's that you say?  You want to see pics of our food?  I knew it.  Here you go. . .

 

Just kidding.

And after dinner, if you're up for it, there is LOTS of dancing.  Sorry no pics of me boogie-ing down.  Mama gets a little crazy on the dance floor and I have a reputation to uphold (lol). 

Lucky us, the party is held in the hotel that our room is in so we can drag our tired butts right to bed without having to hail a cab in the wee hours.

 

And just a few more pics before I go. . .

 

 

I'm sharing my post at Not Dead Yet Style's:

Dress:  I.N.C. Metallic Crochet (look Ma, no spanx!)



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Adventures in Thrifting

You may already know that I loooove me some thrift store shopping.  I've done it for years.  I enjoy it even more than antique store shopping because the bargains are better even if the selection isn't.  There's no regularity to my thrifting.  I just get out and hunt whenever the feeling hits me.  It's more fun that way.  Yesterday after I picked up the boy from school, we popped by Sally's (aka Salvation Army) on our way home and I got quite a good haul all for under $20.  Some of it will be refurbished with paint, some will go into my etsy shop, and others I will keep.  Can you guess which?

And here is another little find I picked up from a prior thrifting trip for just $1.95.  I finally brought it in from the garage, wiped it down and used wood glue to better secure the legs to the seat.  The seat is a little warped but I think imperfection adds to the charm.  Up next, is a coat of paint (not sure if I'm going to use white or black--I'm leaning toward white) and maybe some French accents.  You'll have to check back to see how it turns out.

A recent thrift store find transformation. . .cheese dome turned cloche!

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The best etsy love EVER!

If you all don't know by now that I love wine, then you don't know me very well.  Let me introduce myself -- Hello my name is Robyn and I love wine!  Okay, now you know.  So now you also know that being featured in this "Feelin' Wine-y" treasury just made my day.  I've been contemplating over the past few months finding an old rake head and using it as a wine glass rack and lovelyadelaide has one featured in her wine-y treasury.  Should I buy it?  And look at that wine bottle chandelier.  Cute!

My featured item is a vintage wine connoisseur's book.  I can't believe I'm actually selling it in my store it's such a cool old book.  But personally, I prefer to drink wine than read about it so in the store it went.

If you haven't been shopping on Etsy, you should go check it out.  They only sell things that are handmade, vintage (1993 or older) or supplies that can be used to make something handmade.  No commercial crap like you find on ebay (sorry ebay, I used to love you).

 

'Feelin Wine-y' by lovelyadelaide

the accoutrements of wine and its delectable tasting.

15 wine bottle chandeli... jtedderdesign $350.00	Lovely Wood Handled Win... GreenGardenGal $22.00	Vintage Mid Century Sil... behindtheorang... $95.00	Antique French wine bot... MyFrenchAntiqu... $125.00
Vintage Liberty Cotton ... StarScarves $22.00	Custom Cabinet made ent... winecountrycra... $1600.00	Vintage Wine Connoisseu... BeauMarche $6.00	Wine Barrel Ring Hangin... winecountrycra... $40.00
Rake Head / Wine Glass ... assemblage333 $12.00	Recycled Wine Cork Cuff... MissCourageous $15.00	Chalk Board Wine Bottle... EllaCustomDesi... $20.00	Fabric Wine Bottle Bag-... simplydianedes... $7.00
Worthy Bag in Olive Gre... bayanhippo $42.00	NAPA VALLEY Train & Bus... TransitDesign $199.00	Notes by Jack London 10... PhotoAmato $25.00	California Wine Country... WildInspiratio... $25.00

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I got some Etsy love!

My shabby chic picture frame was featured in an Etsy treasury this week. It makes you feel so good when you are appreciate for something your own hands helped to create.

Click HERE to see more details about my frame.

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