See The Beauty

  

Isn't it funny how sometimes you grow up with certain places you forget to see the beauty in them?

This is one of two of falls at our state park.

It looks like a lagoon in a movie scene.

It's not very big but, I remember swimming here when I was young. The water is always cool even in the middle of summer.

The way the water cascades down...the sunlight. It was beautiful. I've always loved it here but, noticed it's beauty today.

In times past if you were very still the little minnows would come and nibble  your toes.....talk about giggly girls!!!

                                                       I even saw beauty in a tree covered in moss.

God has surrounded us with beauty....I need to be more aware.....

and thankful. Sometimes I get so wrapped up in life I don't stop to look.

This was a day for appreciating nature!

                      I hope you can go outside and appreciate the beauty you've been blessed with!!!

Have a great weekend!

Been Framed?

Isn't it nice to be able to rearrange prints and frames.

Sometimes they just look as though they were meant to be!!!

A friend bought me this wonderful frame and the marriage certificate seems to fit it perfectly!

 This is the frame that (up until recently) held the marriage certificate. I think this print fits much better!

 Here is another of the prints I scored for $4.00!! Still can't believe I found these for such a great price!!! Aren't they darling?

 And this little guy!! I found him at Goodwill for $2.00. He will be covered soon....poor thing!!! I see a fresh coat of paint for the entire piece!! The mat is metal....I can't wait to finish.

Hope you are having a wonderful week....mine has been BUSY!!! Some days I would like to have a happy medium. I'm either too busy or not busy enough!!!!

More Fun Weekend Finds

I didn't realize how much I brought home. Isn't it funny you carry everything inside and it doesn't seem like you bought very much. Now, it looks as though I bought A LOT (after I said I was going to tone it down)!! Moving on.....
I bought both of these drawers for $3.00. One is real and one is fake....can you tell which is which?

Do you know what this is???? I had no clue but I knew what I wanted it for!!! It's used for canning food. I thought it would make a great plant stand!!!! For $.25 I didn't really think I could go wrong.

Other than the prints these were the finds of the day!!! I love this stuff!!! I sat in the car and looked at them over and over again. Does anyone else do that? You get so excited about "new toys" you ogle them in the car for miles down the road? I've been waiting to find a great deal on keys.....this entire lot of goodies was $1.00!!!

I love my pink for Christmas and it's somewhat hard to find.....this darling Santa had an original price tag of $25.00......I got him for $.25!!!! Not bad (Merry Christmas to me in July)!!!

Finally, (I'm sure you were wondering if it was ever going to end) this lovely candle holder was $1.00. I had found one at Hobby Lobby recently and wouldn't pay their price for it! This one will do just fine!

That concludes my goodies for the weekend. Thankfully I'm still on my yard sale high (isn't it terrible you get a rush from great bargains!) so, I've finished a few projects.

I'll be sharing them soon!!!

Fun Weekend Finds

I had a wonderful time out finding yard sales today!! I found some awesome deals!!!!

First I found these wonderful candle holders for $1.00 each. I love the way they sparkle in the sunlight (they look like disco lights)!!!

 This small planter was $.25 I wish I had known things were $.25 BEFORE I checked out I would have found more stuff!!!

 This cute basket was $1.00 I thought it would make a great basket for garden tools, especially paired with the cute $.25 table cloth.

 My obsession with vintage prints!!! I cannot tell you how much I love vintage prints!!! I drove 3 hours last year to find more prints and was devastated to find they were all destroyed by rain the year before!!! I wanted to scream out NOOOOOOOO in the middle of the flea market (but barely managed to contain myself....ha ha). I paid $3.00 for the ones at the flea market and found this one and two others today for $4.00 each.

 I thought this wooden ladder would be adorable painted white (of course) and placed outside with shelves. I always need more storage, even outdoors.

 This wonderful metal tray was $.25. I can't wait to paint it white and maybe put sheet music on it?? I'll have to weigh all of my options before I decide.

 These pillows were a steal....I got 5 pillows for $3.00. I may put slipcovers on them so I can use them for summer and winter. They are very pretty!!!

That's all for now. Believe it or not I have more to share!!!! I'm so excited about upcoming projects. I guess this will keep me busy for another couple of days! 

I hope you had good luck as well!!!! 



Major Graham Mansion

I discovered this house on the Internet while looking for things to do on a family outing. I couldn't wait to go visit a mansion!!!! I was so excited!!! This is what I saw!!! Isn't it beautiful!!!

This is the side view and actually what you walk upon. The white part is the original and the brick was added later.

I love the architecture!!!

 I like this view...the columns in the front are iron.

I expected it to look beautiful on the inside and I was disappointed!!! It's fallen in to disrepair. The wood work just doesn't shine.

 This was a "family outing" so there are lots of pics which include my family.

 The house is said to be haunted by several spirits. All I wanted to do was grab a hammer and Spackle knife and get to work!!!

 Is is just me or are you dying to splash a coat of paint on the walls???

 This was called the brides room.

 A bride would test her diamond ring out on the window to make certain it was real. If you look closely you can see there were lots of ladies trying the theory out.

 I also had to fight off the urge to hang pictures on the walls and accessorize. Can you imagine all the beautiful furniture you could fill these rooms with?

 Even the slave quarters were larger than my house!! (That's pretty sad)!

 This was the outdoor kitchen the slaves had to use in the summer to keep from heating up the main house. Imagine what a wonderful guest house it would make.

 Except for the laundry area. They would build a fire under this huge pot and launder their clothes in it......No thank you!!!!

Well, I was convinced I should move in and fix her up (although she's not for sale and not one offered to let me move in for free). I was ready to pack up and get to work. I knew I could fix her up and bring her back to her beautiful self...ghosts or not. My husband and children declined to ever spend one night there much less move in. I guess I'll sit and dream of what could have been!!!

Joining Cindy @ My Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday!!!!

Free Makeovers

 Here is day three of how curtains and accessories can change the look of a room. You may remember this look from winter. It's not that I had to have this color.....I found a killer deal on these curtains and loved them!!! I think they were $3.99 per pair!!! That's $8.00 to cover the entire window!!! They are really pretty although they didn't really fit my "white" theme. Just a few adjustments and ........

                                                 I used darker pictures, and candle sconces.

                                                                Darker accessories.

                                                         And a few antique pieces to finish the look.

Next are a set of curtains I adore. I bought this fabric and made the curtains to imitate curtains I found in a book. It was a huge sewing project (and my room looks NOTHING like the inspiration)!

                                            The brighter curtains needed brighter accessories.

I mixed the brighter shades with gold.

Now for the present look. I wanted a touch of elegance and thought "wow, with ALL of this junk stuff surely I have enough to achieve a look I'll love".

Sheer curtain panels all purchased from thrift store bag sales or yard sales.

                                        Have I found it? Candelabras...are always a favorite.
(this candelabra was $.25 at a yard sale recently, the mirror free from friend, the small candle lamp free, it belonged to my grandmother)

                                                  Sparkles and glass....yes, I'm liking that.
(Ice bucket $5.00, glass bottle $2.00, frames clearance from Dollar General complete with mats from Dollar Tree and prints from The Graphics Fairy).

                                           A different arrangement on the wall.

                                                             I may like this too!!!!
I wanted different....and it's different!!!! I used a shelf I recently purchased for $.50. Curtains panels were free from a friend. The shadow boxes were clearance finds at Family Dollar for $1.00. I painted them and changed the contents of the boxes. I also painted the frames. The tray was really inexpensive too.

I guess sometimes hoarding is not a bad thing. I've created looks for three days now for no money!!! That's right $0. You'll notice very few picutures of the floor (and none of the couch)....you wouldn't believe the mess I had!!!  It's nice to change things up....monthly, weekly, daily, or (as in my case) hourly if you want to!!!!
                                              Hope you are achieving great looks for less!!!!
                                                              Have a great weekend!!!!

Linking up with Cindy @ My Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday!!!!!