Just a few more things...

Garden and flowers are still growing like crazy. I am patiently waiting for the tomatoes to finally turn red. On just one plant, I have counted 21 green tomatoes. I can't remember what variety they are.

My other tomato plant is a golden pear/ cherry tomato. Actually is is more like a small tree, than a plant as it has gotten huge.

The lone pepper plant still just has ONE pepper. But it is getting bigger everyday.

The crookneck squash are doing well and there are several on that plant as well.

I thought I would also share a few of my flowers. My delphiniums really look great! I attribute that to lots of fertilizers. Delphiniums are heavy feeders.

The flowers in the hanging baskets and pots are doing quite nicely as well.  However, I am getting to that point in summer, where I am getting a bit tired of yard work.

And on another side note, I broke my promise to my hubby and picked up more furniture... I couldn't help myself.

I saw this dresser advertised on Craigslist for $15.00 and liked it! When I went to go see it and pick it up, the lady that was selling it said that she had a bookcase that I could have for free, if I wanted it.

Yeah, I like free!  Then when I came home, I found some loose change in one of the drawers of the dresser. So the bookcase and dresser ended up costing me a grand total of $14.83!  Not bad.

I did promise my husband I would get some projects completed soon! My goal is to have the bookcase, dresser, and this dresser :

completed in the next week or so.  I am having surgery in a couple of weeks and will be out of commission for doing big projects for awhile.

The dresser that is on casters has had all of the veneer stripped off of it, and I have primed it.

The bookcase is partially primed, and the newest white dresser, I am in the process of stripping the paint.

After getting them all primed, the hardest part is always trying to decide what color to paint them and if I should do some decoupaging or not.

I am going to have to think about that one a bit.

Mirror, Mirror On The Wall.

Once again, here is the mirror that I picked up at the Goodwill this past Monday for just $9.99. Heavy mirror, plastic frame.

A little bit of primer, some paint, and a bit of distressing, and it was good to go! I hung it in my dining room. It really opens things up quite a bit.

The chandelier shades, I started tweaking last night. I may have something ready to reveal there as well, soon!

But that's it for now.

Cost:

$9.99 for mirror.

Had primer, paint and sandpaper on hand.

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Debbiedoos Before and After Party.

Some More Bargains

Here are some more thrifty finds that I have picked up recently.

This mirrored silver tray - well, not REAL silver, I found at a garage sale a month or two ago for $1.00.  I cleaned it up and it makes a great centerpiece focal point on my dining room table.

The hydrangeas are from my garden, and the lead crystal bud vase was a wedding gift from a former university piano instructor that I had over 16 years ago.

Here it is with a different set of flowers.

My brother and father gave my mom different bouquets of flowers for her birthday this past weekend. When it was time to pack up and leave the rental vacation home, my mother put them all in one vase and gave them to me, since she still had around 15 hours of driving to do to get home, and I only had a few hours.  I have really been enjoying the bright colors.

Yesterday, on my way home from a Dr.'s appointment, my 9 year old and trusty thrifting sidekick wanted to stop at the Goodwill. She likes to look for clothes. Don't ask me why, she has a lot! However, that is her favorite thing to look for at garage sales and thrift stores.

I picked up this huge mirror for $9.99. 

I love how it is reflecting my apple tree in this picture.
The frame is plastic, but nothing that a little spray paint can't fix. There was another mirror next to it, same size and same style, but it  was white with some gold trim, and they wanted $20 for it.  It was a no brainer, get the cheaper one. It is pretty heavy and I have grand plans of mounting it on the wall in my dining room.  I have already primed and painted it, but am in the process of tweaking it. I hope to have it finished by tomorrow to show it to you.

I also picked up this cute little storage bin that can mount on a wall for only $2.99. I am going to paint it and hang it in my daughter's room and put books in it.  

I have realized that Mondays just might be the best time to hit the thrift stores as everyone was cleaning out their garages and donating over the weekend.  There was a lot of new inventory which I had not seen before.

Here is an awesome apothecary jar that I found at a garage sale two weeks ago for only $1.00.

I filled it with cotton balls and put it in my bathroom.

I always get a thrill when I find something cool for very little money.
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Back From a Blissful Vacation

Why does vacation always seem to go by so quickly? I just got back from a fun family reunion on the Oregon Coast with my parents, siblings and their families.  I thought I would share a few photos from my 4 days of bliss.

Here is the house we rented for the 23 of us.
 

The view from the balcony. I never got tired of just staring at the ocean.  Lucky for us, the weather cooperated and it was beautiful.

The super comfy bed and room that I stayed in.

The kitchen where lots of messes were made, calories eaten and many memories were made.

A shot of a suspension bridge that I crossed on a day hike with my family.

The view of a pier near one of the restaurants that we ate at.

 And best of all, spending time with the family enjoying the beautiful Pacific Ocean.

Can't wait to go back.

And it didn't cost a thing.

The good thing about all of those creative bloggers out there, is that you learn a few tricks and gain inspiration from others. I would like to say that I have some original ideas, but alas, not so many.

In my kitchen, for several years, I had a soap dispenser - a kitchen pump, from Kitchen aid that I loved. It was heavy duty, easy to use with the kids, and easy to clean.

A few months ago, I found that it was leaving puddles of soap on the counter top and realized that the silicon on the bottom was leaking in several spots. I tried to fix it, but it was just a no -go, so it go donated to the Good Will.

I then tried to locate another one just like it in town, but with not much luck. I was too cheap to spend the money to order one + shipping on the Internet.

So out of desperation,  I bought a clear soap dispenser out of the bath section at Walmart. It lasted a mere month before it fell into my sink and broke. I tried to Krazy Glue it back together, but it was a lost cause. So the big soap container sat on the counter for a few days. It was a bit harder for the kids to use, without that pump, and they ended up leaving a mess.

Then yesterday, I remembered all of those homemade Mason Jar soap dispensers that are circulating out in the crafting world, and thought about making one.

I got my supplies together, all of which I had on hand. The pump I had to dig out of the garbage and the original plastic bottle that it was attached to, a body wash, had been thrown in the recycling.

The jelly jar I had on hand, as well as the canning lid and ring.

This was SO EASY.

I used the largest drill bit that I had and drilled a hole into the lid. It still wasn't large enough to fit the pump through, so I took an Exacto knife and cut a larger "x" to accommodate the size. Then I cut the pump tube way down, so it would fit in the jelly jar. It was a tight fit, so there was no need to glue it.

Filled it with soap, and was good to go.

It's cute, functional, and best of all, I just used items that I already had on hand. It took just a few minutes to make.

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A Partridge... Not in a pear tree.

This one's for the birds.

Inspired by all of those lovely spray painted ceramic birds out there floating around in Blog land, I have been collecting a few birds here and there. It seems that there is no shortage of partridges... particularly this variety.

I paid .75 for both of these guys at a garage sale, brought them home, and with a little bit of spray paint, transformed them into this:

Then this partridge here,

Was transformed as well, into this bird here.

And as a brief side note, I thought I would talk about my tchotchkes in this corner.  The plate stand was $2.99 and came from the GoodWill a few years ago. The plates are from St. Vinny's and were only .49 each. The silver candlestick was $1.00 at a garage sale. The lead crystal candy dish was a wedding gift, from 16 years ago. That thing ALWAYS stays out, and typically is filled with candy or gum. Just ask any friend or family member that knows me. LOL. The Gorham Lead Crystal salt and pepper shakers were also a wedding gift. They are pretty, but I have never put salt and pepper in them. They came from a dear friend. The  floral "thing" came from Big Lots last year and was $5.00.  The candles I had on hand and the other candle holder came from Goodwill and was .50! The table my dad made for me several years ago. It was a honey oak color, and I painted it white a few months ago. 

O.K.... back to the birds.

I have no before pictures of this next guy, but he was also spray painted.

And this rather innocent looking owl was .75 at a thrift store and way too cute to paint. He didn't get painted. My youngest daughter, aged 9, is a crack up. We were at a local hardware store the other day and I was in the garden area. I saw a couple of very large plastic birds, one was a hawk and the other was an owl. They were ugly, tacky and meant to serve as a decoy to keep rodents and other pests away from your garden. Nonetheless, I was a bit intrigued by them, thought they were tacky as well and just picked the owl up to look at it.

My 9 year old piped right up. "No MORE birds Mom! We have all these birds in our house and they are just sitting there. Just sitting there staring at our guests. It's creepy."

I stifled a giggle and explained to her that I was NOT going to buy this bird.

She's not a fan of the birds I guess.

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Some Curb Appeal

I don't really have any new projects that are completed, although I did manage to clean out and organize my tool shed today. However, it is not worthy of taking a photo to plaster all over this blog. No, I decided to leave you with some nicer photos.

The beautiful plants and flowers that are growing in my front yard. This rudbeckia (black-eyed susan) was originally in the back yard, on the east side where it doesn't get much sun. Yes, I know, a poor choice. It didn't grow hardly at all last summer. I wisely dug it up an transplanted it two months ago, and I am so happy that I did.

Some of my Canna Lilies have begun to bloom. The canna lilies in the back of the house have yet to bloom, but I am delighted with these, as I just transplanted a few there this year. I have tried them throughout the yard and the canna lilies seem to prefer the east side of my house, or here along the North side of the front yard. They do not like the west or south. It is way too hot for them and their leaves seemed to burn. I ended up having to move a few to a new location.

 This is what it is like in the summer, if you walk up to my front door... yes, my newly painted front door, and the newly painted light fixture tucked up there by the brick.   Someday, the exterior of my house will be another color besides that shade of pink!  With the exception of the barberry bush, everything else, I have planted in the past two years since we have lived here.

 This area a long the short fence is a favorite for the neighborhood boys to run around, jump over, play pretend warfare and make me just plain angry. On the other side of the fence, which you cannot see,  I planted some kinnikinnik, which is native to this area. It is not doing so well, so I am going to dig it up and move it this fall... and plant some barberry bushes there instead. Yes, something nice and prickly that will discourage neighbor boys and girls from jumping over that little fence.

I love how this corner has come alive. The aster is just barely starting to bloom and there are a few tiny purple flowers on it.

 Hope you enjoyed seeing parts of my yard.