Things: On My Mind and Around My House

hey y'all!

much, much too much on my mind today. and yet i feel the need to bloggity blog. so here i go.

i never really plan what i'm going to write ... it's usually just a stream of consciousness, if and until i get to some sort of point.

but there are a couple of things i want to write about before they fly out of my head and are gone. with. the. wind.

1. my dear friend sue at vintagesue recently held a blog give-away (drawing) ... and **I** won!!!! couldn't believe it! she had lots of entries and since i'm not known for my good luck (gloom, despair and agony on me), i never dreamed i'd be chosen. but i WAS! woohoo!!! what'd i win? don't know! but if it's coming from vintagesue, it'll be lovely vintage yumminess. i'll keep you posted!

2. my dear friend dana of dana's chicken scoop recently asked me to post some pictures of different vignettes around my house. honestly, i'm afraid she might be a tad delusional in thinking that A. i even have "vignettes" in my house ... and B. they're worthy of sharing with others. but since dana is such a sweetie pie with a heart of frickin' gold (oh, and she named one of her blonde chicks after me!) i am obliging her. thus the random photos throughout the post.

my mantel ... the white lights stay up year-round. one of my favorite things to look at
3. oh, and back to my dear friend sue. she also recently tagged me to post a list of "7 things you don't know about me". due to sheer laziness, post-holiday recovery and low hemoglobin, i've yet to make my list. until now! check it out below.

4. the girls and i went junkin' last weekend and hit an estate sale in temple, the goodwill bargain barn and the "garage sale" at the bell county expo. it was a cold, rainy, dreary day. but those two and all the junking brought lots and lots of sunshine and happiness my way. thanks for a great day!

terrific treasure pick, this vintage dresser was $28 and in dire need of a make-over. i spruced her up with a greenish color and topped her off with a killer vintage painting of luscious roses, salvaged from the goodwill barn for $2. gotta love junkin'!

laughter is great medicine. i take it as often as possible in large doses. love this sign as part of my bird vignette
5. i have totally forgotten to announce the winner of my v. own blog give-away contest from before the holidays! i asked for ideas for the acronym of LIFE. my sister (no nepotism was involved in this decision!!) belinda was the winner. her entry was: Literacy Is For Everyone. she's a librarian. huh. congrats, belinda! you won a delicious smelling candle which i've already given you! :)

6. all right. i guess that was more than a "couple" of things, but i hate to waste good blog space on just two things.

love and hugs,
terrylee

7 things about me (which i'm sure will thrill and excite you!)

1. i was born and have lived in the same central texas town for all of my almost 50 years.

2. i was named after my mother's "terri lee" doll, which was a popular brand of dolls in the 40s and 50s. oddly enough, the correct spelling of the doll didn't translate to my birth certificate.

3. i sang in the school choirs and took piano lessons from age 7 through high school. i really couldn't sing a lick, but because of my piano training, i was a fine musician and sight-reader.

4. i started college with the intent of becoming a teacher. after my first two babies were born, i decided to pursue nursing. i've been an RN for over 25 years.

5. i make the best darn cornbread dressing in the 48 contiguous states. actually, in all 50 states, but i just wanted to use the word contiguous.

6. whew. didn't imagine it'd be this difficult to think of 7 things about me. oh! i'm addicted to blistex ointment. but that's cheating because i've blogged about that before.

7. okay, i'll admit it. i suffer from the dreaded scarlett o'hara syndrome, and the middle child syndrome, which i believe are related. if i have to explain either of those, it'd only make my symptoms worse. so google it for yourself if you're really that curious. ;)

(and thus ends The List. thanks a LOT, sue. haha!)

sentimental old mirror, which hung over my childhood piano. i sat staring into it for hours as i hacked out scales and sonatas that'd make beethoven cringe ... if he could hear me (heh heh)

pretty as a picture. lamp is captured by a vintage frame ... one of my favorite corners.

ask not for whom the bell tolls ...

we all need to daydream more ...

vintage loveliness. i so wish i had the figure for this and the one below ... i'd wear vintage fru-fru poufiness all the time

vintage pink fru-fru to die for.

another favorite corner. can you have too many vintage rose paintings?!

fun and adorable. i'm the proud mama of this baby, which i picked for $5 at a yard sale. painted her pink and filled her head with baubles and beauties

my precious parents adorn the mirror above my piano now, along with vintage sheet music and assorted treasured pieces

sweet vintage gloves and vanity hand mirrors

i've always had a love/hate relationship with these shelves, which are next to my mantle and the back door. no matter what i put on them, it never felt right. a few years ago, i painted them pink. it helped ... but still i wasn't happy. this is the first time in my almost 20 year affair with these shelves that i am finally happy. i love the collections (old tins, old boxes, etc.)

The BIG Show!

hey y'all!

as i'm sitting here this gorgeous sunday morning, with my usual get-me-going cocktail of caffeine and motrin, i find myself still floating around in a dreamy fog of a post-junking high. come on. y'all know what i'm talkin' about.

saturday was an ohmygawd, over-stimulated kind of experience. The Girls and i went to the county-wide garage sale at the expo center in belton. this was the 17th annual sale to benefit the bell county museum.

we've attended in years past and we knew it was huge. over 100 vendors packed the exhibition hall (a HUGE barn-type building with concrete floors ... just awful on your feet and knees and back!) and thousands of junkers just like us. well, not just like us. we're special. heh heh

anyway, aside from the crowds (ack!!) ... oh, and a few cranky vendors ... we did all right. only once or twice did i feel the need to run out to my car for a xanax. but i didn't. mainly because we had to park a mile away. anyhow, i managed the irritating, agitating, always-in-my-personal-space-bubble crowd by keeping myself busy taking pictures, browsing tables from afar and some good old fashioned cussing. always good therapy. cussing, that is.

honestly, i started the day with the notion that i was not going to buy anything at the sale. only look. seriously. i had to clean out my front living room on friday night to make room for the new junk that i knew i'd find at the sale. i got so hot and bothered (not in the good way, either!) that i finally snapped.

"this is ridiculous! i don't have room for any more junk!" i screamed to no one in particular.

that's when i determined that i would. not. buy. anything. at. the. expo. sale!!

so to keep me honest, i shared my resolution with the FAGs on the drive over there.

you could have heard the proverbial pin drop.

"hello?? did y'all hear me??"

nothing. just the sound of silence (but my words like silent raindrops fell).

"i mean it. i'm sick of this! i've got to stop buying so much junk, no matter how much i love it!"

one of them ... i'm not sure which ... muttered a very quiet and drawn-out, "ooo-kaay."

hmmph. those rats didn't believe me. perhaps because of the three of us, i usually buy the most (or biggest pieces) and they get stuck squeezed into the backseat or in the front with crap piled on top of them. yes, i've offered my trunk space for them to lie in, but it's always packed too.

alrighty. back to The Sale.

first booth we looked at had some adorable linens and what-nots. nope. i don't need any more linens or what-nots. the helpful vendor, however, felt the need to inform me that the what-nots i was looking at were only $0.25. ouch! a cute turquoise bunny that doubled as a cotton ball dispenser was only 25 cents?! it'd be a sin not to get it!



i glanced over at bonnie and sure enough, she was watching. busy body. i simply carried on and bought a sweet lil vintage chenille rug from the same lady ... for 50 cents!



at some point, we lost jannetta in the crowd, but bon and i kept a similar pace and path. at the end of the first row of vendors i hit paydirt on all things shabby yet chic. wow. this vendor had the goods! i bought an old, sweet turquoise avon bottle and a gorgeous turquoise table cloth with pink flowers. $2 each.



"that's it, bonnie. i'm not buying any. thing. else! i've gotten a few really cute, inexpensive items and i'm done. stick a fork in me."

she nods and smiles.

we move on.

and then i see this:



and right behind it:



it's an aqua kinda day, what can i say? these are both painted in a pale shade of turquoise/aqua and i love them. and after all, i need a shelf thingy to display all my lovely cups! the vendor and i cut a deal as she slaps a sold sign on both pieces ... and she even babysits my bag of other purchases while we continue to shop. i'm hands-free once again!

by then, the concrete floor had gotten the better of me and so i took a break to people watch while The Others persevered. let me tell you, there were babies everywhere!

on daddy's shoulders

asleep on makeshift beds

baby dolls in vintage sleds

when people watching at an event such as this, there's always plenty of entertainment. these kind folks were dressed up in civil war era costumes. mercy me. having an inquiring mind, i bit.





they were gearing up for and promoting their upcoming battle of temple junction civil war reenactment. click the link to read more about it. if you're into all that.

i asked if they needed a scarlett o'hara-type character, ready to offer my services. i saw one of the ladies shaking her head like i was a nutjob. lookit. I'M not the one in civil war get-up at a garage sale. still, i promised a plug so there it was. do with it what you will.

this is something you see every weekend at garage sales, right?

of course. a deer head sitting in a scooter chair. makes sense to me. poor bambi's grandpa has serious mobility issues. no legs.

uh huh. i want a vintage bedpan. please!!

sign, sign, everywhere a sign. blockin' out the scenery, breakin' my mind. do this, don't do that, can't you read the sign?

by the way, long-haired freaky people need not apply. just sayin'.

i'd finally had my fill of freakness and got up to find The Girls. we were getting mighty hungry and tired. and at least one of us was on the cranky side.

as we were loading up the camry with our treasures (yes, mostly mine since i'm a liar and promise-breaker) we ran into none ... other ... than ... dear MARTA, from for the love of junk!

we compared notes on our purchases, snapped some shots of each other and did the best we could to catch up while fighting the wind and crowds. soooo good to see you marta!! thanks for the lovely pink linen you gave me (she bought two of the same ... and gave one to me, a fellow pink-lover).

lovely!



after a minor showdown at the fork in the road, we headed south to salado (instead of north to belton) for lunch. we landed at cowboy's bbq joint.

yum yum!! just remember to ask for the lean beef brisket! killer sour cream and cheese potatoes.

after filling up on bbq, the sides, bread, iced tea and cobbler (peach for me, blackberry for jannetta and bon) with bluebell (what else?!) ice cream on top ... we asked a waitress to take our group photo. this is what happens when i let them stand behind me. juveniles.



we thought we were headed home after lunch, but one cannot be in salado and not do a little shopping. salado market days were in session, so we stopped in and browsed a bit. i found this beautiful metal paris-themed piece for my front room. looks lovely behind the candelabra, no? it's not vintage (have seen these at hob-lob) but still.



old red ice chest in salado. this is like the one my parents had when i was a child ...

and thus concludes the latest of our grand FAG adventures. y'all enjoy spring break and keep your eyes peeled for those bluebonnets!

love and hugs!
terry lee

took a pic of this poster 'cause it caught my attention. when i saw the $1.00 price sticker, i had to bring it home!

Playoffs vs. Posting

hey y'all,

greetings and salutations! i'm writing this as dear hubby (and the rest of texas) watches the cowboys' playoff game. i can hear the announcers (blahblahdiddyblahblah) on TV and the crowd cheering like fools. ack!!!

i may have to finish this post later in the day when it's a little more quiet in the house. geeeez. oh gawd. something must've just happened because now the announcer is yelling.

sigh.

okay, i refuse to let this post be a play by play of the game.

my blog title is all things terry lee and i can assure you that football doesn't fall into that catagory.

anyways, yesterday i had the most marvelous opportunity to meet and spend time with my new blogging and email friend, dana of dana's chicken scoop. we met in belton for a little junkin' at nellie's and the expo's city-wide garage sale.



it was SUCH a treat to meet dana. she's an angel and we had a blast together. kindred souls for sure. we love junking and we not only have similar tastes and sensibilities, but the exact same taste in vintage lovelies.


{{ hubby yelling to the TV: "BOOM!! get up!!!" (whaa??!?!) }}


our first stop: nellies in downtown belton. our main goal was to head upstairs to visit cindy's booth. it's a good thing we didn't have any other goals because we went directly upstairs and stood at cindy's for about an hour and a half, chatting and oogling the pretties.

great booth, cindy!! if you're reading this and are in central texas, go. check. out. cindy's. booth!!! it's a must if you love all things vintage, sweet, lovely, pink. as an added incentive, she has a few things from vintagesue as well.

sweet cards/gift tags made by sue. love 'em!

{{ hubby: low, sad groan to the TV. (that may not be a good sign for the 'boys) }}

after lunch at a lil bbq joint in belton (which, btw, doesn't offer an awful lot on the culinary front), we trekked over to the expo center for the city-wide garage sale. not sure how or why they call it a garage sale, because it isn't. it's a lot of vendors set up in the assembly hall, hawking their collectibles, antiques, jewelry, vintage linens, etc.

sweet compilation of lovelies. esp that darling lady with the eyelashes ... $75. ouch.

i thought this looked cool. not a lover of orange, but still.

very cool. i love me some elvis.

had to take a pic of this, under the disapproving eyes of the vendor. too cool, a painting (print?) of the rat pack.

oh, this is prolly why the vendor was scrutinizing my behavior. ack!! $350!!!

suh-weeeeet lil pink vintage piggy!!! i took this pic for tara, lover of pigs.

this was interesting ... a vintage hat with dolls placed on it. hmmmm. you could wear it to sunday school, right?

plenty of dolls at this place. was a must to take a pic of my dear scarlett. fiddle dee dee. i love her so much!!

lovely pink rose dinnerware. gosh, this was a pretty set!

vintage barbie and ken, cruisin' on down the road in their orange whatchallit. the woman kept yakking about the car but it was all lost on me.


still. it was interesting and we both found some cute things:

an adorable, unusual lil dress form. she came home with me and is happy with her new friends.

i also got this GORGEOUS noritake rose platter for a song. very very happy to have it.

see the rusty ornamental iron piece hanging on the pink door? i picked that lil baby up for $5. i'm sure i'll put it somewhere else, but for now, that's where i hung it. love it.

close up of rusty, crusty iron piece. love the curlies on it!!

of all my treasures on saturday, this lil piece probably captured my heart the most. there's just something about a vintage pink bird (albeit an owl, which i've never been fond of) that gets me every time. doesn't she have the sweetest face?! it's a little pitcher. all of $3. love her!!

here's dana with one of her treasure finds: a vintage thermos that she plans to display on her picnic table. perfect! can't wait to see pics of it in its new home, dana!


{{ hubby is mighty quiet. crowd is screaming like maniacs. uh oh. vikings scored. }}


i had a great day of junking and am very pleased with the treasures i brought home. but most of all, i'm so pleased to have met dana and am thankful for our new friendship. thanks for a wonderful day of laughs and junkin', dana!


{{ hubby: "honey?! dallas got a field goal!"
me: "that's nice, dear." }}


hugs to all y'all,
terry lee

dana, the gift-giver, gave me this precious lil card/collage she made. i adore it dana! thanks so much!

dana also gave me this vintagesue collage. killer, as always!

{{ hubby just growled at the TV. hmmm.

announcer: "vikings lead by 11."

ouch. }}