Let's go shopping

It is so much fun to find a fun item at the Thrift store, at a reasonable price.

I have seen these little shopping carts at other retail stores.

Their price was never too bad, but not low enough for me to make a purchase.

But last weekend I grabbed this one up for a hefty $2.  Filled it with the fruit of the season :-)

Yay!!

Thrifty Things Friday

Smokies

Outdoor Wednesday

Happy Companions

My hubby has become my partner in treasure hunting.  So when we recently made a trip to Georgia, he was happy to tag along with me to the Antique malls and warehouses.

While we were browsing around, he picked up this saucer.........

and said..........

"if this had a cup it would be a real pretty set."

To which I replied.............

"you know I have an orphan cup at home that looks very similar."

The funny thing is, I bought the pretty teacup when we visited Racine Wisconsin several years ago.  There was an antique shop in the basement of an old church.  The lonely teacup was a bargain for $1.

I am happy to say that even though the Bavarian China cup and the Noritake saucer are not made by the same company, they make a great marriage and are happy companions.

Which I love, by the way.

Tea Time Tuesday

Make It Pretty Monday

A Return to Loveliness

Tea Cup Tuesday

Tuesday Cuppa Tea
Inspire Me Tuesday

Sunday Morning

Antique finds

Last week my hubby and I took a few days to drive up into North Georgia in search of changing leaves.  Even though we did not travel very far north, we found areas that were just starting their autumn show.

I loved this old cabin hiding behind shedding trees.

We also visited some very fun Antique malls, as there are lots of them along the way.

Last spring I found an old red tool box, that has graced my dining room table all summer.  When I first brought it home, I debated whether to paint it white.  So when I came across this box, it said "take me home"!

My hubby says it is green, but it really is an off white shade.  Perfect for the hydrangeas I recently purchased.

On a side road, we came upon Bowman, where there were several antique shops nestled in this little town.  My hubby collects clocks, so when he found this one, he was enamoured.

Let me tell you, this thing weighs a ton.  It is marble, and it appears to have some concrete inside the casing, I guess to hold the marble in place.  We could not find anything like it in our clock book or on any websites, but we are still looking.  

It was a fun trip, and we are hoping to go again.  Maybe a little further north next time :-)

Vintage Thingie Thursday

Thrifty Things Friday

We Call It Olde

Outdoor Wednesday

Outdoor  Wednesday

Warm and Natural

As the days are getting shorter, the evenings are getting cooler.  I love to warm up the house with color.

 The Leaf plates are a pretty way to serve salads.

Sunday Morning

Pumpkin and Chocolate!

Sweet Martha!  Don't you just love to find a recipe that says....... make me??  Well Miss Stewart shared this yummy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars.  Now if you are a chocoholic, this is for you!  (I could not even get a picture before they were devouring these bars)

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon pumpkin-pie spice
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
1 package (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking pan and set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

2. With a stand or electric mixer, cream butter and sugar on medium-high speed until smooth; beat in egg and vanilla until combined. Add pumpkin puree and mix well. The mixture will look somewhat curdled. Reduce speed to low, and mix in dry ingredients until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips.

3. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan. Bake bars for 35-40 minutes or until edges begin to pull away from sides of pan and a toothpick inserted in center comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached.

4. Cool bars completely in pan. Cut into squares and serve.

Foody Friday

Spruce them up

Many years ago, I met a lady who replenished plants in office buildings.  She would take the old ones out, and put new ones in.  She gave me a hint to help spruce up a living plant.

She would take mayonnaise......

A Pink Tea for Autumn

Sandi at Rose Chintz Cottage is hosting A Pink Tea today.

 My home is all dressed for Fall.

Sunday Morning

Anything Blue and Pink

In Florida we enjoy balmy weather almost year round.  So an outdoor wedding is often delightful and beautiful.

Anything Blue Friday, is also Anything Pink this week!  Please stop by and visit the other Blue and Pink pretties.

Anything Blue (and Pink) Friday

Pink Saturday

Outdoor Wednesday

On our way home from our trip up north this summer, we stayed at a new hotel next to an undeveloped field.  I was trying to capture the sunset when all of a sudden these birds started flying all about.  I am not sure what kind of birds they were, but after many attempts I finally captured this frame with my little point and shoot camera.

Outdoor Wednesday

Dressing the Fall table

As the seasons change, so do the decorations in our home.  My daughter loves for us to "dress" our table.  I thought I would share a few of the Fall theme tables we have done in the past.

Thank you for letting me share some of my virtual Fall parties from over the years.

Make It Pretty Monday

A Return to Loveliness

HOME
Fall into Fall

Cottage Style Party
Open House Party
Seasonal  Sunday

The Arch

During our travels this summer, we drove past the St Louis Arch.  What an amazing monument!

"St. Louis was founded by traders moving north and south on the river, by explorers and frontier families from the eastern states pushing restlessly west. It is a place that is neither northern nor southern, neither eastern nor western, but the one place that combines traits of all. It has been influenced by descendants of European colonists, by thousands of years of rich Native American culture which predated it and surrounded it, and by standing on the shadow line between the slave states and the free states. It has been both a destination and a gateway to other lands.

This is the place where a nation reached the great river and halted, staring across the water into wide, wild lands. In St. Louis, the United States ended and the wild began. So it was here that the citizens of the young United States streamed across and into the western territories, first with Lewis and Clark and then with countless others. It all began from a wide bend on the continent’s mightiest river. This is where the United States discovered America. This is the Core of Discovery."  (Source)

Anything Blue Friday

Outdoor Wednesday

October was a beautiful month at Green Gables, when the birches in the hollow turned as golden as sunshine and the maples behind the orchard were royal crimson and the wild cherry trees along the lane put on the loveliest shades of dark red and bronzy green, while the fields sunned themselves in the aftermaths. Anne reveled in the world of color about her.... "I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers. It would be terrible if we just skipped from September to November, wouldn't it?..." ~Lucy Maud Montgomery

Outdoor Wednesday