What the heck is this thing?

• What in tarnation is it? Awhile back, I bought it at a flea market for next to nothing. For the longest time, I proudly displayed four pillowcases (one hung in each hole), however I have decided to put the pillowcases back in the closet. Sometimes I sling a purse over the top, and I'm sure it would be good in a bathroom to hold a handtowel, but what else could it be?

I suppose you could glue round pieces of cork into the circles and have a very interesting cork board.

You could somehow place lace around the circles (perhaps with hot glue), and use it as a place to store earrings, but I don't really wear earrings.

If the circles moved, you could position them so you could put flower pots in it, but they won't budge. Who else has some cool ideas? Speak up, people! Let me know what you think.

My Chair Fetish

According to good buddy Merriam-Webster, a fetish is:

1a- an object (as a small stone carving of an animal) believed to have magical power to protect or aid its owner; broadly : a material object regarded with superstitious or extravagant trust or reverence
b- an object of irrational reverence or obsessive devotion

Yes, that's me. "Obsessive devotion." Why, oh why, do I love chairs so much? Big chairs, little chairs, wooden chairs, plastic chairs, metal chairs, upholstered chairs, chairs that match, and chairs that lack a partner. I love them all the same. Perhaps Dr. Seuss should have spun a little tale about chairs rather than his infamous "One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish." Don't you think, "One chair, two chairs, Red Chairs, Blue Chairs" just has a better ring to it?

Yes, I do have too much time on my hands.

My husband is very good about my garage saling habit, however he now expressly prohibits me from bringing home anything that remotely resembles a chair. Well, he isn't exactly that harsh, but you know what I mean. A few weekends ago I came really close to bringing home a chair. My friend and I were garage saling at a huge community yard sale, and the sales were wrapping up for the weekend. This one homeowner had already gone inside and called it a day. And there it was. It was wooden with a broken cane seat. It matched almost perfectly the chair that my grandma gave me to few years ago, right down to the broken cane seat. And best of all, it was free. At least, I figured it was free. It was just sitting out by the curb like trash. But I didn't take it, and now it's probably taking up space somewhere in some landfill. I'm pissed off just thinking about it. Hopefully someone nabbed it, even if that someone wasn't me. Here's mine holding some vintage tablecloths since people can't sit on its broken cane seat:





I don't own a pair of these chairs, however the idea behind them are so cool I wanted to add them to the list. Click on the chairs, and you can visit their website. They recycle video game consoles and somehow make chairs out of them!



This one was sold to me back in college by a friend. At the time, it was covered in ugly black vinyl, so I covered it with green velvety fabric that I bought back when I worked at Joanns (loved that employee discount!) The pillows and blanket were second-hand finds.


This chair is temporarily holding this Sheriff's hat that I got for Jason. Suffice it to say, as a child, Jason used to collect little police badges, and I thought this would make a nice addition to his collection! (Fifty cents at a garage sale, and this hat was mine!)


I bought these little charmers at three separate garage sales/flea markets. I can't believe I was lucky enough to find three of the same type of chair! Inconspicuously printed on the chair is "Made in Mexico" ... my guess is they were hand-painted.


This rocker was a college hand-me-down from a roommate. She didn't want it anymore and gave it to me when we graduated. I recovered it and paired it with this pillow I made.


These plastic chairs were originally green and red when I was given them by a college roommate's mother. I painted them white, distressed them, gave them leaf motif stamps, and then placed a seat cusion on them (where is the other seat cushion?!)


This chair is being put to good use to hold kindling for this summer's bonfires.


I got this little beauty at an antique store for ten bucks. It's tiny and cute. I wouldn't spend ten dollars for a chair anymore, but this was one of my first finds.


This little darling came from a garage sale for a buck or so. My children will make good use of it some day, but in the meantime I set stuffed animals on it.


These shabby chic chairs came from a thrift store years ago and cost ten bucks for the pair. When covered with the cushions I made to go with them, they are really comfy.


Here's a another garage sale find


This bentwood chair has a mate downstairs in the kitchen. Both came from garage sales.


Some don't care for these chairs, but at 1.50 for the pair at a garage sale back in college, I couldn't pass them up. I recovered them and painted them white and now they look like totally different chairs. My dentist's office has these same exact chairs.



You might think that's all I have *cackles with laughter*, but honey, this is just a mere drop in the bucket!

I Hate Gardening

That's right. Someone who's as frugal and eco-friendly as me, well you would think that I enjoy gardening. Growing your own foods so you don't have to rely on pre-packaged veges at the grocery store, that sounds like a "reducing" from the 3Rs if you ask me. Well the only thing I am growing is clover in the yard so I can feed it to my rabbit. And even that is a weed.

Notice the thistle weed on the right side of the picture and the baby redbud tree sapling on the left. That darn tree is always dropping its babies everywhere. I've never seen such an invasive tree before. It such a pain to go dig them up all the time. Oh well; at least it is pretty in the spring. I guess that makes it all worth it.

My husband is in charge of mowing, and I am supposed to be in charge of weeding the flower beds. It's a running joke around here that I am systematically eliminating the flower beds by turning them back into grass. The side of the house has a flower bed that used to be full of perrenials (which I do love the look of) but lately it's just been home to thistle weeds. I plowed it under, planted grass seed, and it is no longer my problem. Next job to tackles is the ginormous flower beds in the back yard that go around two sides of the sunroom. I always thought it would be nice to plant veges there, however it never happened. The only thing that grows there these days are weeds. That's right folks, I am a horrible gardener. I don't like the heat nor do I like the sun, and so being outside to pull weeds is utter torture.

This is about as close to gardening as I care to be-- sitting in the living room looking at pretty pictures from my favorite decorating magazines.

I do a little container gardening. I had an aloe plant, which I mistakenly thought might like to live in the sunroom. Oops. It's almost dead now. I also have a plant on the kitchen windowsill that's in pretty sad shape. I guess I lack the gene that causes the condition known as "green thumb." My aunt got all those genes.



I do like the look of terra cotta pots. I saw once in a magazine where they took the itty bitty ones and wired them together to form a wreath, which they hung on their gate. It was the most adorable thing I ever saw, not to mention a good way to repurpose something! I grab the little clay pots at garage sales whenever I see them, however so far I have not collected too many, so I can't make my wreath just yet.

In the meantime, here are two ladies who have made a version of the terra cotta wreath. I especially like the first one because it's a little bit fuller with more pots on it.


When you visit her site, you'll see that this woman is really into gardening. She has such fun, funky, and recycle-minded ideas!


This site isn't oriented toward gardening, but instead on Trash to Treasure. This is one of my favorite past times-- taking what someone else thinks is junk and revamping it into something beautiful and/or useful!

Cemeteries, A First Date, and Baby Names

My husband and I have been trying to get pregnant for seven months now. We'll find out within the next few days if we got pregnant this month. Every month about this time I begin to feel excited and wonder, "Did it happen for us this month?!" and so far, every month I have been met with bitter disappointment. We'll see.

As promised, I am going to discuss our chosen baby names, and let me know what you think. But in order for you to truly understand why we've picked the names we've picked, let me tell you a little about ourselves. My husband and I are avid historians. We knew we were meant for each other when we discovered our mutual love for cemeteries. We liked them for different reasons, but we enjoy visiting them all the same. I visit them to photograph tombstones, especially tombstones of my ancestors. I am a genealogist. I am not only addicted to sewing handbags and bargain hunting, but I also spend way too much time digging up dirt on my ancestors (figuratively speaking of course.... I'm not trying to imply that I am grave robbing my great-great-great grandparents).

So anyway, there we were, chatting to each other on yahoo personals, when he mentions that his grandpa lives in my hometown. A neat coincidence. Then he says he lives by a high school but he isn't sure which one, but that he does know there's a cemetery across the street. I know exactly which high school he was talking about. He was talking about MY high school. Out of the twenty-ish high schools in the county, his grandpa lives down the street from my high school. Another neat coincidence.

Anyway, that was the first time the word "cemetery" was mentioned between us. At that point, I didn't put two and two together that he actually enjoyed going to cemeteries. Eventually the cat was let out of the bag, and then we were in love. We went cemetery hopping on our first date, and actually found my great-great-great-great grandfather, Jonathan Shoemaker's, grave in the county over. He has a book that tells the location of every cemetery in the state, and he brought it with him that night. Sweetness. We went on to be married in the tiny chapel there at that cemetery where we went that first fateful night. Just like a fairy tale, isn't it? A dark, twisted one, albeit, but a fairy tale none-the-less.





So this brings us back to our baby names. Now that you can see what an avid genealogist I really am, you will truly appreciate the fact that we absolutely have to pick names of our ancestors. I will summon up a list here of all available names to use and will bold the ones I really like:

Females: Mary Lynne, Marilyn Elaine, Josephine Marguerite, Marie Adeline, Ella Rose, Anna Margaret, Elizabeth, Florence Mae, Almira/ Almyra, Catherine Ann, Emma Katherine, Celinda, Alice Ann, Hannah, Christiana, Eva, Susanna, Magdelna, Charlotte, Nancy, Mary Jane, Isabel, Linda Sue, Emma Jane, Mary Florence, Harriet Geralda, Nettie Maude, Olive Mae, Lova Marie, Beulah Ann, Anna Margaretha, Susan Mary, Mary Ann, Judia Elizabeth, Jennie, Edith Mae, Ruth Ann, Ursula, Mattie, Nancy Caroline, Sarah Salome, Hannah Mariah, Rachel, Eliza Ann, Abigail, Angela, Wanda Lee, Mildred Mae, Grace Estelle, Arvilla Mae, Della, Martha Ann, Rebecca, Penelope Alice, Sarah, Pherbia, Bertha Elva, Minnie, Harriet Louverna, Jemima, Miriam, Amanda Jane, Perlina, Rhoda, Lucinda, Melissa, Priscilla, Evaline, Mahala, Julia Ann, Polly Ann, Thankful, Rosa, and Juliette

Males: Michael Eugene, Larry Edwin, Leslie, Robert Martin, Bert Edward, William Arthur, Noah, Frederick Pierce, William Henry, Luther Marion, James Newton, William Benjamin, Wilburn Wilson, Robert E. Lee, Pierce Granville, Andrew Jackson, James, John, Jesse, Sampson, Chester, James Hiram Thomas, Joseph, Isaiah Preston, Samuel, Pyrrhus, Finley, Frederick Lambert, Asa, Thomas, Caleb, Stephen, Hewitt, Jordan, Isaac, Richard, Solomon, Allen, Mark, George, Tobias, Patrick, Abraham, Edwin Richard, Carlton Louis, Victor Lloyd, John Wesley, Corwin Otto, Charles William, Albert Ellsworth, Joseph Martin, James Garfield, Finley, Walter Louis, Franklin Herman, Alonzo Earl, Joel, Jacob, John Adam, Edwin Garrett, Franklin Pierce, Jeremiah, Jonathan, Daniel, Levi, Christian, Alfred Loren, Emanuel, Elias, Alexander, David, Amos, Jost, and Minus

And now, the four we have picked out: Joel Michael, Pierce Alexander, Charlotte Adeline, and Almyra Grace. Our last name is so common (Robinson) that I wanted to make their given names not-so-common so that in two hundred years when future genealogists are trying to locate us, they aren't drowning in a sea of John & Mary Robinsons. I would like to somehow incorporate Rose because not only was it my great-great grandma's middle name, but it also is surname on my husband's side. I might change Charlotte Adeline to Charlotte Rose, and take out Almyra only because I think there might be too many Rs when you say "Almyra Robinson" together without the middle name. Instead of Almyra then I could use Adeline as a first name. But then what to pair it with, because I don't know if "Adeline Grace" sounds good together. "Grace Adeline" sounds good, but I really want to use Adeline as the first name, not the middle name. Ok, enough talk from me. Let me know what you think!

Starting Fires

Waste not, want not... that's the motto I live by. Here are two good examples of just how to do that. Everyone knows that newspaper is good for starting fires, whether it be a summer evening bonfire, or lighting the fireplace on a chilly winter day. What you may not know is that there are ways to make your newspaper go farther. There are products on the market that will turn your newspaper into logs or bricks. As the Lehman's website states, "Tightly wrapped newspaper burns slowly and provides extended periods of heat." I don't own one personally, but I would highly recommend buying one from Lehman's if you plan on buying one, because Lehman's is based out of Amish country in Ohio. Check out these two websites for two different kinds of log rollers:

You can also roll a newspaper log without those fancy contraptions. I have tried it, with some success, however I found that you get a lot of ash from burning newspaper logs rather than wooden logs, and it works best if you use a combination of both real wood and newspaper logs. Here's how: Thoroughly wet each section of newspaper. Begin tightly rolling each section together; when half-rolled, place a new newspaper section onto the half-rolled sheet and continue rolling. Continue until the log reaches desired thickness. Tie with twine when done. Use only when completely dry (this will take awhile).

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A second way to "waste not, want not" when it comes starting fires is to make wax-dipped pinecones. First, amass a pile of large pine cones (we collected some in Hilton Head Island and some I purchased at garage sales or post-Christmas clearance sales).



In an empty coffee can, melt down pieces of wax from left-over candles. My friends now give me their candles that are too small to burn anymore. Carefully dip each pinecone in the melted wax and let cool and harden on wax paper. I found that this step works best when the wax isn't super-hot and instead is nearing a gel-like state and almost cool enough to harden. Otherwise the wax just drips right off and it won't stick to the pinecone. When finished, you have a very stylish, good-scented way to start a fire. Just toss it in with the wood and newspaper and light it.



I've also heard of taking dryer lint and place it into a paper egg carton. Top with melted wax and let cool. Cut apart each egg section and use just like you would use a pinecone. I'm sure this works equally well though I have not tried this idea yet.

Check out this website for more frugal fire-starting tips!

Cherries

I love cherry fabrics! This first one is a vintage dish towel... isn't it sweet?



This next one was a skirt that I got at a thrift store. I've cut it up to make a handbag out of it.... what else?



This vintage fabric belonged to my great-grandma. She sewed a lot, and after she passed away, I inherited all of her fabric.

Vintage tin canisters & and Eyeless Chicken

More second-hand finds, coming right up! These vintage canisters I've picked up at garage sales. None of them match, and that's exactly how I like it! Right now they're empty, but soon enough they'll be storing little things like batteries or change.














I love these little canisters. I want to fill them up with little bobbins, because I need to get some more and they will need a place to live.


These metal boxes came from various garage sales. The blue one I just got a few weeks ago. I think my friend thought I was crazy when I got it (for one dollar I might add) but after she saw how it fit in, she changed her mind. I did a little research, and the Johnson & Johnson product had something to do with dairy farming. Not what I would have expected, that's for sure.


What does this have to do with canisters? Absolutely nothing. My grandma gave me this vintage chicken, but its eyes must have fallen off at some point.