thrifting!

I found a new-to-me thrift shop yesterday and I'm so glad I did! They had great stuff and their prices were really good (a.k.a. WAY cheaper than Value Village)!

I found this craft basket that'll come in super handy for storing all of my random junk. It's pretty big inside for holding stuff plus it has these little dividers that sit on top!

They had some really great art, too. Water colour... birds. So surprising, right?

You're going to think I'm nuts, but I freaking love this picture. That frame is amazing! I've never seen anything like it before. Well, I should say I do have plastic frames that are simliar, but I've never seen anything in this size. I've also never been all that interested in people-art, but I instantly fell in love with this lady. (Psst, it was $8)

A teak serving bowl (with legs) and a set (rectangle, pictured; square, and circle) of heat proof dishes in this cool vintage pattern. Since I don't have a microwave, I really appreciate having these dishes around now.

Pottery that was too cheap to pass up. Despite the lids, I'm classifying all of these as vases.

I also found two huge feather pillows for our new couch. Again the price was just so good (especially since I've been looking to buy pillow forms lately -- gah so expensive!) The fabric on them is... well, actually it's not that bad. It's a needlepoint-style lane of houses. I do kind of like it, but I don't like the colours (browns, golds, off-whites). Then I found this super bright pink fabric so I'm going to recover them with it!

I also scored a round side table that's perfect for the living room. I'll show you that one later since I also picked up an amazing clover-shaped coffee table a few weeks ago that desperately needs paint. I'll show the before and afters once I get them done!

Have you found anything fun lately?

summer seeds

I've been dying to tell you all about this! Stephanie from N.E.E.T. Magazine contacted me a while ago and asked if I'd like to be a part of the June issue! I think I about died from hyperventilation and then after I had several people pinch me, I got to work on a little feature similar to my spring seeds post but for seeds that will grow perfectly well in the summer!

I'm so thankful for the opportunity! I don't think I've gushed enough about N.E.E.T. Mag, but I'll say it again -- if you're not reading it, you should be!

Head on over to N.E.E.T. Magazine to check out my feature (and other fantastic articles and inspirations)!

it's june!

And it always makes me think of George.

I love the tree in the front. It's a snowbird hawthorn and it's blooming right now.

I don't know what tree we were supposed to get, but I pretty much dropped everything to bake chocolate chip cookies that day so I could bribe the landscape guys into getting a flowering tree.

It was totally worth it.

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My free printable June calendars are also available now!

crafty

foodie

outdoors

DIY: crocheted rag rug part 3

Changing colour by attaching a new piece of sheet yarn couldn't be easier!

Simply line up the edge of the sheet you were crocheting with, with the edge of the new sheet.

Then grab that needle and thread I told you to get (here), and join the two pieces with a quick stitch.

I use a blanket stitch, but you can use whatever stitch you feel most comfortable with.

I don't really knot it much more than just going through with the needle a couple of extra times at the beginning and the end of the stitch. I haven't found that they come apart, and I have put a smaller round through the washing machine a couple of times already.

Finally, continue on crocheting as if the new piece of sheet is part of the old piece. Go around as many times as you like with that colour and change again if you desire.

Next week will be the end of this series when I tell you how I finish up a rug.

If you need a refresher or if you missed them, read part one and two.

friday fixations: peony tulips

If you're a peony lover like I am, plant peony tulips so you can experience the ruffle of a peony well before they actually bloom. These look so much like real peonies that I'm never planting regular tulips again.

Also, if you happen to follow my twitter, you probably would have guessed that our basement flooded last night. Thankfully, we caught it early so the damage is pretty minimal, but our basement is a complete mess and there are four huge fans and a dehumidifier running like jet planes down there. So I'm truthfully more fixated on that today.

These things always happen on a Friday when you've got a million things to do, don't they? (I would have been completely fixated on the tulips today -- as I have been all week -- but they're really more to cheer me up now than anything.)