Time for AA

Here's how our trip to Allegan Antiques started out this sunny Sunday afternoon.  We weren't completely naughty today. We did attend church this morning and were really in no big rush to get there. We were taking out own sweet time heading south until the two lane country road turned to four and my driver (husband) decided to pass a car pulling a camper. Accelerating to a little above 55mph :) the only person he managed to pass was a state trouper. Ugh and double ugh.

His impeccable driving record tarnished just a bit. The cop was gracious and only marked him for 5 over but it still took a little wind out of our sails...(paying the ticket will mean purchasing a few less treasures today) but the show must go on and we weren't about to miss it.

All in all, it ended being a beautiful day for junking. Here's a few things today that caught my eye. Didn't purchase much, but once again I loved taking in all the sights, smells and sounds of the day!

My girls didn't think this should make the blog.  Every booth today wasn't necessarily PG.

And this was classic.  Ken pointed out to me that apparently this dealer was having a hard time letting go of this part of his collection. Either that, or a customer was bonding rather quickly with his new purchase.

We had us some great people-watchin' today for sure!

Stop by my booth at Not So Shabby this week. I did buy some Hudsonville Creamery metal wire baskets that make great storage totes for books, magazines, etc. I'm also bringing this cute apron that my mom has been making out of repurposed men's shirts! More to come.

All in all, it was a wonderful Sabbath in spite of husband's ticket. We took the cop's advice he gave us while pleasantly shaking Ken's hand...."Do me favor and have a better day" he said. 

And we did.

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Cell Phone Camera Pics-Round 2!

It's time to download the pictures from my cell phone again.  Here's a sampling of the collection of pics I've had on their for the last month or two.  Most are sofa styles that I was researching for a client of mine that is remodeling her bonus room/playroom for her kids.  Her style is quite contemporary and bright and it's been so fun to stretch myself a little and steer clear of the neutrals in favor of some bolder colors. 

I loved this one.  We didn't end up ordering this one, but a few months ago, I worked with another client who did.  Perfect for a small sun room, (which is where we found a spot for it). All of these are from UBU in Grandville at the Rivertown Mall.

This small scale sofa to the left,  with the chaise lounge would be a nice piece in a small den.  I like pairing these with a fun accent chair facing in across from it on a diagonal.

LOVe, LoVE, LovE this one.  I'm not usually a fan of nailhead trim, but this is so bling-a-licious!

This large sectional is the one we ordered in a dark chocolate brown with wacky and wild throw pillows in a burnt orange, rusty red, and lime green retro pattern. I'll take pictures of the room when we're finished with it. Don'tcha just wanna nap on this bad boy right now?

LOve this pillow too. I think I snapped this pic. at Target. I would've bought it if it were square.  Couldn't think of a client who needed a round one like this, but it's so cool!

Pillow from UBU. They had them with cream colored, light gold/tan and this coral colored flower.  Just a head's up...one of my clients found them $5 cheaper at Home and Co. downtown Holland. Not sure if they had all the same colors, but I loved the look.

I'm always taking pictures of lamps I see around town.  I think replacing lamps that are outdated in a room can be the biggest bang for your buck. I've been kinda obsessed with drum shades and unique lamp bases lately. Some of the best spots are UBU, Marshall's, TJ Maxx, Pier One, Hobby Lobby and Pottery Barn.

 These light blue glass ones I think were at TJ Maxx. (Note to self...write down where you find these items when taking photos).

These last few are from World Market....my other 'go to' store for nearly everything!  I especially like their 'French Laundry' looking items...muted greys, creams, tans and whites on pillows, linen upholstery, bedding, drapes and lamps.

Mix and Match shades at World Market too!  Bonus! You can't ever go wrong with a black base and burlap shade.  Goes with so many different decor styles.

How fun is this one below? It's hard to tell in the picture, but it's got a flat wooden base with a rectangular shade. A little modern, but could be cottage, contemporary or even traditional depending on what you have with it.

Random shots while browsing at UBU.

Love this table above. Thinking I might want to buy it for our basement.  This was World Market.

Just HAD to have this pillow.  LeBlanc was my maiden name, and well, you all know that I left my heart in Paris last year.  Found this same pillow at Meijer's and Marshall's. Noticed that my sister Holly had the same one when I stopped by her house the other day.

Spotted this rustic shelving unit at Hobby Lobby. I can picture it with some dark baskets on it or some wine bottles and wine glasses hanging from the top of one of the shelves.

And a few more random shots from my cell phone camera to prove that it's not all about things, but people in my life too.....

My daughter Kennedy singing a Taylor Swift song at Karaoke night in Florida at spring break this year.

My niece Danika on "D-day", (every Friday afternoon) with me picking tile at Lowe's for our basement remodel.

My family chillin' by the pool in Sarasota.

My parents dancing to a slow song at our resort-Spring Break. Precious.

My friend Melanie's hair color which I've been trying to copy for months now and can't get it right. (Sorry Mel...hope I didn't blog my way out of a future coffee day with you again, but you should see how dark my hair is right now). As of yesterday, I'm an auburn brunette!  Yikes!
I'm livin' by my motto I guess, "There's always room for change"!! :)

Til next time....

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Junk in the Trunk

Hey all you junkers out there....this one's for you! 

I know you're out there.  You tell me all the time when I bump into you that you've been anxious for this time of year to arrive.  You've patiently endured through a mild, but junk-less winter just like we have but alas....
The moment you've all been waiting for.....GARAGE SALE SEASON!!!!  ( Can I get an "Amen")?

This past weekend, my partner in crime (hubby) and I hit the streets. "Gas-a-chinos" in hand, high hopes in our hearts, and money in our pockets-we hit 'em hard.

Like an expectant mother giving birth, we knew we would eventually be rewarded for our efforts, but it was laborious (pun intended) for the first hour.  We misread our newspaper map, couldn't program the ipad gps, forgot to stop at the bank, and were already getting off to a late start. (Were we a little rusty at this already? I wondered).  I wanted to throw in the towel before we even hit our first sale, but -ever- the -optimist- hubby made me power through.  "It will be worth it", he said.

And worth it, it was. Here's our score for the day:

Oh, how I love my new longer, wider mini van with the 'stow-n-go" seats!

Our first stop was a neighborhood sale on the southside of Holland. You know we've been at this gig long enough when we've hit areas of town annually now and can tell you the type of decor the residents have at each house in the neighborhood.

I knew one was going to have some cool antiques but they were going to be slightly overpriced. I was right. They had four vintage old school wooden folding chairs but at $8/each I wasn't sure they'd sell unpainted and I didn't have the time or energy to motivate myself to paint them with the starting price of $32 (plus paint and labor) for the set. 

Another sale we hit in that 'hood was a living estate sale where I made off with these two retro floral patterned chairs.  The price was right and even if I don't reupholster them, some quirky junker (like myself) will find a spot for them.
They're mine for now.

In that same block of houses, sat a precious old man in the middle of his driveway that was scattered with junk...odds and end tools, plastic toys, old gas cans, etc.  Most of the junk was set on top of some square wooden crates.  I thought he was using the crates as tables, but turns out he was selling those as well.  I bought 7. 
I think I'll sell them to a future client as bookshelves.  Saw that idea on Pinterest and it rocked.

That was about all we found in that part of town, so off to the north side we ventured.  We weren't too disappointed with our treasures, but weren't amped up like we usually are after hitting several sales in a row, so we decide to make a detour to watch my youngest niece play soccer. After resting and chatting with my sis, I was charged up once again to tackle a few more sales.  It was nearing noon at this point, and any good garage sale-r knows that it can be slim pickin's in the afternoon, especially after many of the sales had already been opened a day or two before but on we went.

Walking up the drive, I almost feared for my life...the house and landscaping were beautiful but the driveway, house and interior was a helter-skelter mess. What good can come from this?

Wellllllll, as I tell my girls all the time, "Never judge a book by it's cover".  After cautiously digging through a few unorganized totes and bags, I discovered random, trendy items that were unused and fairly new. Here's a sampling:

I'm already stashing away lots of potential tag sale treasures and was excited to find wreath forms and some Christmas/Winter related items. We spent about an hour there unearthing some dusty, but interesting finds.  I also found two adorable tv trays (folding trays on legs) that need to be given some TLC but they were brand new.  I'll post those soon.
After germ -blasting our hands with anti-bacterial, and slamming a Diet Coke, we were off to the last sale of the day.  We didn't know how much umph we had left in us and both of us were getting hungry for lunch, but we headed down a two track road and ended up at an executive style home in the woods that was having a moving sale.  Everything was immaculate and priced modestly compared to the original price of the items, I'm sure.
Here's what we found there.

 And a special treat for my two girls at home that day:

They've been obsessed with mani's and pedi's lately.  This will be a fun Saturday morning treat for them while Dad and I are off junking.

All in all, our first day "back on the job" was a great success. I've already brought some of the items to my booth at Not So Shabby. The other items made their way up the attic steps and will be coming out to play on a rainy day.  Looking forward to a spring/summer filled with great weather, great finds, great prices and great company.

On that note...a shout out to my better half today in honor of our 18th anniversary yesterday.  I don't know of many other men who would love nothing better than to hit the road on a Saturday morning with a demanding wife who has made a job for herself sifting through other people's junk. He gets his hands dirty right along with me and never complains.  He always has the map clearly marked, cold Diet Cokes in the cooler, and an enthusiastic attitude.

"God blessed the broken road that lead me straight to you". Thanks for loving me in spite of the 'junk in my trunk'.

 

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