My New Baby!

hey y'all,

another looooong lag between posts and i'm terribly sorry for it. have missed bloggieland ... writing, reading, lurking.

this will be a quickie because i'm half-dead and have a full day of junking ahead of me tomorrow (yes, with the FAGs!). whoop!

thanks to everyone who came out last saturday to the american cancer society's relay for life garage sale, sponsored by the shine team realtors! i could not believe how many vendors there were in that huge building! we were packed!! the poor shoppers didn't have much room to mill around!

it was, in one word, AMAZING!! such a success! i sold tons of junk ... er ... lovely vintage treasures! what a blessing to unload all of that so i can buy more! heh heh

it was crowded and we were busy from 7am until after 2pm. wow. thanks to my helpers tara, jannetta, bonnie and matthew. couldn't have made it without yous guys!!

so much for making this a quickie, eh? i do tend to ramble. what i really wanted to share with you (see subject title) is my new baby! no, not the screaming, wetting, bawling kind. this one just sits there, is v. quiet and oh-so-lovely!

while on my wednesday junking rounds, i eyed this extraordinary piece at the AS IS lot of a local goodwill store. i made a beeline to it. i just KNEW someone was going to knock me down to get to it. but nope. not a soul around to fight with.

it's a 1925 brunswick panatrope with radiola ... minus the radiola equipment ... but the chest/cabinet is gorgeous, is it not?!

had to go inside to get a price check on it and all the while, i was deathly afraid someone was going to get it first. after several attempts, i finally got an employee to walk out with me and give me a price.

she inspected it, checked her clipboard multiple times and couldn't seem to find it on the list. finally. FINALLY. she said, "well, i'll take $6 for it. it doesn't have the insides to it, or i would've charged you more."

i do believe my heart went into a mild tachycardic arrhythmia. whaaa?! $6 is all she wants?! i heard myself say, "i'll take it!" and i don't remember a thing until after matt and i hauled it home in the truck later that afternoon.

i am in love. truly. who cares that its innards are missing?! i mean, yeah, of course it'd be a hellavu lot more valuable if the stereo/radio equipment was there and working. but it's still a lovely antique and i love it!

happy junkin' this weekend, y'all. hoping to capture some bluebonnet pics this time.

love and hugs,
terrylee

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.)

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

hey y'all,

i fiddled with this dang slideshow much, much longer than i intended. it was meant to be a quicker, easier project than uploading individual pics to my blog. huh. that didn't happen.

anyhow, i wanted to show you some of my christmas decor around the house. not much different than last year, save for the cmas tree itself. it's old and small, something i bought a few years ago in my futile attempt to scale down cmas decor. i keep the white lights on it and the ornies too. just cover it up with a large trash bag and toss it in the garage until next year. however, last year i found an old silver tree at the goodwill, and i just had to use it. not this year, though. back to simplicity, ease and a little peace.

hope you enjoy the slideshow. pictures speak a thousand words, so i'll be quiet. but first (heh heh), i'd like to say that i really wanted music with this slideshow. in particular, the song, "my favorite things". instead, i'm embedding another video with lovely julie andrews singing it for you. click play and then WATCH my slideshow. get it? got it? good! :)

love and hugs and a v. merry christmas to y'all,
terrylee

 

Junkin': Live!

hey y'all,

okay, not actually "live"; more like videotaped. and i'm thinkin' that word is antiquated (nevermind erroneous) because you don't really use tape anymore. what do you call it?!

nonsense. that's what.

thanks to all four of you (two in the comment section, one in email and one to my face) for your feedback on my video blog debut. due to the overwhelming response (haha), i have decided to continue (at least for now) with video-blogging. do they call that a vlog? i don't know.

i guess i'm getting lazy(er) in my old age. i do enjoy hacking away at the keyboard but it's much easier to blah blah blah straight from my mouth. less interference (hands, keyboard, computer hiccups), too.

don't worry (as IF), i'll still be writing most of my blogs. and if i use video, it will be in shorter, smaller pieces. easier to swallow that way.

these two semi-shorts are from my junkin' adventure yesterday. yes, an odd thursday out. the cove bargain barn is open on thursdays now ... and i not-so-braved the heat for the sake of treasure hunting.

enjoy and have a great weekend. be safe out on the junkin' trails!

love and hugs,
terry lee

We Need a Little Pink-mas!

hey y'all!

against my better judgment, i went out into the wild world of holy holiday hell, also known as The Mall. okay, it really wasn't all that bad because we (the FAGs) were there to see a movie ... after a little treasure hunting at the temple GW bargain barn (let me add here that it's an honest-to-goodness building with heating. not an actual barn like some of the others).

anyways, we all left the barn with trinkets, treasures and geegaws galore in our arms, happy but hungry. so after a not-so-quick discussion (!!) about where to eat, factoring in the time before the movie started, we finally landed ourselves at fuddruckers, inside The Mall.

eat. eat. eat. as i said earlier, we were hungry. hamburgers and fries around the table, except for tara (honorary FAG for the day) who ordered a healthy (!!) grilled chicken salad. hmmmph.

got to the movie in plenty o' time. that means early enough to have our choice of seats. now let me explain something. when we go to the movies, it's quite the ordeal. it's imperative that we arrive early so as to procure the "rail seats". and by rail seats i mean the ones on the front row of the upper section which have the rails in front of them. that way, we have something on which to prop our feet.

i mean, do you know how uncomfy it is not to prop your legs up during the movie?? and have you noticed how the people in front of you get real touchy if you use the back of their seats?! sheesh.

so we walk in (okay, with some slightly contraband snacks stashed away in our satchels ... shhh!!!) and to our surprise, this theater has no. rail. seats!! that's The Mall for you.

anyway, we adapt because we are the FAGs and settle in for the show.

an hour and a half later, i wake up and it's time to go home. heh heh. nah, not really. the movie was cute. honestly. but i was mighty tired after rummaging through the bargain barn bins and then eating a big ol' bacon cheeseburger with fries. oh, and a white chocolate chip macadamia nut cookie. and sweet iced tea. for the uninitiated, this is also known as fuddruckers world's greatest deal meal.

as a going-home treat, we drove through mickey d's and ordered small milkshakes for the four of us. it was, as always, a special time of sharing laughs, tears and love among good friends. good times ... good times. a very special future christmas memory for me. thanks, girls.

love and hugs,
terry lee
tara and jannetta at fuddruckers

bonnie and tara ... the light was too bright for bonnie. heh heh

The Mall's cmas tree and santa area. looks like loads of fun.

boop boop de boop! betty reigns supreme over the soda fountain at fuddruckers

the official FAG ring photo. FAGs RULE!

okay, here are my GW barn treasure finds ... first up, a sweeeeet pink blingy necklace for a whopping 50 cents!


gorgeous rose-trimmed plates!



four killer melmac saucers with pink roses on them. oh. my. gawd.

this sweet thing smells heavenly!! a cake candle that i got for 50 cents (this was found at a yard sale about a month ago)

but this lil lovely was at the barn, for a quarter. lovely blingy votive holder

okay, hang on tight 'cause i'm switching gears now. wanted to share a couple of my recent projects. y'all remember this old thing? ugh. found it at a yard sale for $1. i knew it had potential. it's very heavy and ornate. hated hated hated that icky red velvet center piece.

ta da! here's the re-do. painted the frame antique white, decoupaged victorian-esque pics on the background, covered the red velvet with some pink material and then blinged it all up. i rather like it now.

a close up of one of the small frames

i ditched the lil picture in this frame (didn't like it) and used this one instead (found on the interwebs).

i made this lil collage for my daughter tara. she really does dream in pink! :-)

she loved it.

just three things

hey y'all!

sooo much to blog about, so little time. and i'm not even "working"! whaaa?! you think i lie around the house all day, eating bon-bons and watching the telly?

not so, gentle readers.

aside from home-schooling my son (!!!), i also have many blogs that i must visit each day (am frickin' addicted to cakewrecks !). Not to mention the sundry other household chores that belong to the everyday housewife. ah, such are the dreams!

but umm, what i wanted to say is that there are several things on my mind right now ... a few of which i can and shall share with you now.

numero uno: I GOT AN IPHONE LAST WEEK!!!!!!. ohmygawd, people. this little gadget is amazing! and honestly, it's a freaking full-time job. so much to learn about this yummy little piece of tech candy!!

can you tell i love it? most of us never could've imagined the internet (a series of tubes), much less this thing, which can do almost everything except make your bed and do the laundry.

but my dear hubby already does all that for me. yes, ladies. it's true (don't hate me because i'm beautiful, hate me because i have a better hubby ... hahaha).

numero dos: once upon a time, long, long ago, in another world, there lived a young princess, her husband and their two very young babes. though they were living in a middle-class neighborhood in a modest three bedroom house, they were having great difficulties due to economic and financial strains.

the princess was attending college to become a nurse and her husband was relying on sales commissions to provide for his family. there were many days when the young princess feared for her children's well-being because there might not be food on the table (or in the bottle) for them.

as it happens, circumstances improved for the princess and her family ... and they moved on to bigger and better things. but for the rest of her life, tragically, the princess would be plagued with horrific nightmares about that house in which they lived.

nearly 25 years passed and many, many changes occurred in the princess' life. but she never forgot that house. one day, the princess' daughter noticed that the house was vacant and had a "for rent" sign in front of it. the daughter longed to visit her first childhood home, having many happy memories of living there.

the princess was gobsmacked. "happy memories? but we were so poor! i worried every day about feeding you! it was an awful time in our lives! how could you have happy memories?!"

the daughter replied, "but i don't remember any of that. i remember having wonderful birthday parties there ... and the teddy bear birthday cake you made for me! playing in the backyard with my brother ... that tiny blueberry muffin doll and all my care bears! and swimming in our little pool while you watched us from the porch. i didn't know about anything else."

the princess knew two things at that moment: her daughter would see her childhood home again. and she was ready to face the demons of her past. maybe this would quieten, if not quell her chronic nightmares.

a quick signature and photo ID secured the house key. her daughter opened the door and walked in first. the princess followed, taking in deep breaths. "it's just a house. it can't hurt you now," she silently reminded herself.

the princess and her daughter walked from room to room, amazed at how much time had passed since they had lived within those walls. so much had changed, yet so much was the same. memories evoked, tears shed, demons exorcised and laughter shared, the princess and her daughter were better for having come to this place.

pictures below.

numero tres: JUNKING this weekend! the friends of the library had their annual rummage sale at the community center on saturday. despite the pouring (or was it drizzling, benjamin?) rain, hubs and i schlepped out to the sale. at the very unprincess-like hour of 8:00am.

now, if you've been following my blog for a while, you might remember that i attended this sale last year. and i must say, it was better last year. however, i did find a few cute little things that i couldn't live without.

we also trekked over to cove's GW bargain barn, against hubby's wishes and better judgment. it was still raining. and i picked up a few things there also. so in spite of the weather, i did manage to slake my thirst for junk with the few pieces that i found.

enjoy the rain, my fellow central texans. we sure needed it! the rest of yous guys, i don't know what your weather is. but i bet i could find out on my iphone! :-)

love and hugs,
terry lee

oh yes, she did. took pics of the new iphone!

pink cover, of course! isn't it wonderful?

lovely pink wallpaper flower too!


i'm rather intrigued with the juxtaposition of technology and my vintage dinner ware!

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daughter (tara) in front of the house of her first 6 years

tara in the living room

backyard memories

hallway of house ... love the old phone nook in the wall. this isn't so scary. it's just a house, chock full of memories.

tara standing in her very first bedroom (nursery)

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precious linen piece with chicks and eggs embroidery. LOVE it. 25 cents from the library rummage sale.


close up of sweet chicks


found this little wall shelf at the barn. loved the details of the design. will get painted pink or antique white, of course. also got the two little saucers at the library sale. 25 cents each.


this isn't an old shelf ... in fact i think it had a ross sticker on it ... but i really liked the shape and size. will paint it out pink or country white and display some of my vintage plates on it. behind the shelf is a sweet small piece of luggage from the barn. it'll get painted too.


this adorable little hanger (you can't tell in the pic, but it's pretty small)was FREE at the library rummage sale. i've no idea why ... the guy just said i could have it with the rest of my items. probably my "cute little baby face" made him say it.

too cute pink purse with lots of blingy appeal. love it. 75 cents at barn.


this purse really caught my eye. love the denim and floral print, the fringes and fru fru. i'm pretty sure it was handmade. the name "jan" was stitched on the inside (sorry jan, i'm keepin' it!) :-) 75 cents, bargain barn.