Just Because

Quite a few years ago I really began to think about what I thought was funny.  What made me laugh.  And, more importantly, would what I laughed at, make God laugh too?

Makes you stop and think.  

It has helped that I've refereed fights between kids for lotsa years.  When you hear one say, "It was funny"  Or "I meant it as a joke"  "I was only kidding". My response would often be "Well, clearly, it wasn't funny or a joke to them."

I prayed way back then that God would instill in me a holy sense of humor.  I have really felt His grace in this request. We can pray for this for ourselves and for our children. And, for the whole world. :)

Yesterday

Our youngest has now received her first Holy Communion. :)  It wasn't all smooth sailing.  First of all, it was to be last Sunday with her class, but she was sick.  :(  We made some quick phone calls and cancelled the grand parents and siblings who were coming.

So, it was just us and two of her sisters to witness it at Mass yesterday, but that was fine.  The dress was a little tight, the church was a little cold, she was a bit nervous...but I was reminded how Jesus came to walk among us. To be one of us.  He knows we are human.  He knows how it is to be 8 and to be cold, uncomfortable, and nervous.

And, what can I be...but, humbled and oh so grateful.

Finding Treasures

I thought it would be fun to show you a few of the great items I picked up and some garage sales yesterday.  I'll spare you pictures of all the great shorts and tops for my girls. :)

This bench.  It will find a home in one of the garden areas. Pretty sweet, it is.

And, then there's that wonderful book, metal frame, iron vessel of some sort, and vintage aluminum hemming pins. Well, the words on them say "hemming bird" but they are like a clothes pin.

There are measuring marks on them.  I've never seen those before and I have a large collection of vintage aluminum ware and vintage sewing paraphernalia! Score!

And, of course you must have noticed the vintage fabric back there?!  In this Instagram photo you can also see the barkcloth that came in the box of fabric that I bought.

I was running in and out of the house painting the little girls' fingernails while I took these photos and forgot to put all the fabric in or take a close up of the hemmingbirds.  Oh my goodness!!!  I just now got the pun, like "hummingbird"!!  Oh boy, sometimes I'm slow!

From the top. 

Oh. And, there are these.  Big jar full!  

And, because I like to play with depth of field...another picture of this vintage goodness.  Plus the jar is large, old, and with a wide mouth! I love storing items in these jars.

Of course I had to buy this vintage recipe box full of hand written recipes!  Day 2 of their sale, it was half off.  I'm so happy no one on day 1 noticed this beauty!

And, because I like to play with cropping my photos differently, you get to see another picture now too.

Hand written recipes will be going by the wayside.

And, speaking of things of life going by the wayside....mending.  These were in the bottom of the box of fabric!  I love them!  These are keepers!

You can see a bit more of the awesome bench here too.

It's cloudy and rainy here today so I'm grateful I could go out yesterday to the sales.  Enjoy your weekend!

I'm linking up today with others who are sharing their love all things old:

Dagmar's Home

Beyond the Picket Fence

The Bedroom Makeover Part 3

Apparently I took this picture quickly.  How did I miss those tangled beads?!  And, to go back to retake the picture?  Pretty sure it's no longer picked up in there!

Well, I'm finally posting about my daughter's competed bedroom.  It's been done for some time...just didn't get the time to take pictures.  You can see the "before" and "in progress" pictures here and here.

All of the bedding and pillows were ordered from Target. And the sheer curtains from JC Penney's.

I think her choice of art over the bed is wonderful!!  She made the macrame wall hanging inspired by this post at A Beautiful Mess.

The antique iron bed was purchased and sandblasted and painted by us over 15 years ago.

Looking right: The shelves were ordered from Amazon and the desk and chair were purchased at auctions over the years.  The pillow in the chair was one of her first 4h sewing projects.

I love her arrangement of things.  Favorite books and awards.

She is a bit of a minimalist.  No extraneous knickknacks for her.

I embroidered the arrow for her on lovely fabric purchased here.  The free "Grace and Peace" print can be found here.

And, this wonderful printable pdf was purchased here. I posted how I hung some of our prints here.

It's all so cozy!!

And, the diffused sunlight is inviting!

We share a love of plants. :)

The other side of the room.  I love coat trees and found this one just for her room. We have five coat trees in our home.  I had a bent wood one in my room growing up, I had asked for one for Christmas when I was in Jr. High.  

Among all the lovely vintage and antique, sits the technology of today.

Looking back out the door you can see a glimpse of her weaving and the city skyline mosaic she made for 4h last year   We had just visited Chicago when she began the mosaic project and that was her inspiration.

I hope you enjoyed the little tour of her room! 

I'm linking up with Alice and Sundays At Home.

Friday Finds

I've been reading the Dairy of Sister Faustina in these past weeks.  Very slowly, as in a a page or two a night.  It's been a blessing.

Simply praying for "the world" has been on my heart lately and reading the diary has been an affirmation of this seemingly simple prayer.

It's been awhile, so I'm happy to link up with Kim Klassen again. :)

The Big Girl Room

Welcome to the "big girl room"!  I mentioned Monday, in the birthday party post, that I had taken a few pictures of our granddaughter's bedroom.  There is a tour of her nursery, aka The Baby Cave, in their old home here.

Look at that bed and bedding!  Both purchased off of Craig's List.  Wow.  That bed is so old and so beautiful!

Much of the decor came from her last room of course and now that she's out of the crib and in the bed, the art work above needs to be moved, but there may be some other tweaking going on yet so it's a work in progress.

The wall opposite the door when you walk in: an old movie poster, her silhouette we made here from a photograph I took of her, and her baptism dress.

A little closer...

She also framed a book page from a Madeline book that she thrifted and was in rough condition.

The once changing table/dresser is now just a dresser.  

The shelves from her old room made it over and continue to hold her books at easy reach!  There will hopefully be another set built to go in the new nursery.

A cozy reading and snuggling corner. :)

Truth be told, I wasn't so sure when I saw the walls painted such a bold color....but wow, the impact once it was all together is impressive! I just love it all!

Thanks for touring around with me in my granddaughter's room.  My daughter really has a knack for putting new, old, vintage, and thrifted together for one beautiful look!

A Birthday Party!

Our Granddaughter turned 3 this past week and we went yesterday to help celebrate.  What a cute family picture. :)

My daughter dressed up the dining room with just a few things.  Mostly purchased (Target!), but she did make the bow garland out of felt.  Very cute!

I thought this was so festive hanging from the light fixture.

Noisemakers?!  It was like New Year's Eve for a few minutes.  And, then the adults had had all the fun they could handle. Ha!

They moved into a new to them house, but almost 100 years old last summer.  I love the openness from the front living room, through a den to a back room which they are using as a toy room, to see into their backyard.  So open and spacious!  That's my youngest playing with the birthday girl and her new toys.

We always check out the renovations and decorating progress when we visit.

Our second granddaugher will be arriving in early August!!!  My daughter is painting this wall in the nursery and we decided it would make a great backdrop for photos!

Jump in daughter #2 and her boyfriend...let's get a picture!

I'll show you more of the nursery when it gets finished.  I think this wall is fantastic!  It's covering up an old paneled wall.

As I was taking pictures of the rooms upstairs to show you all later...my oldest girls decided to take a group selfie....a groupie, I guess.

Right before we left I got my little gals with the birthday girl for a quick picture.  

I'll show you my granddaughter's room and the master bedroom later.  Hopefully, this week yet.  We have a first communion coming up this Sunday!

If you like looking at party decorations:  

She turned one here.

She turned two here.

And, this was the baby shower three years ago here.

Have a great week!

106 Vintage: Vintage Store in Coleridge Nebraska

This past Saturday while on an Easter family visit we were able to go along with some of my family to visit Cammie Methany at 106 Vintage. You may be familiar with Cammie as a contributor to Flea Market Style Magazine.  She is also a regular vendor at Junk Bonanza. You can follow her on Facebook for shop updates and her show schedule.

What a treat to visit her store!

I think I'll start her shop tour from the top down.

I missed most of the historical information she gave my sister and brother in law, but I know that this used to be an opera house.

It ceased being an opera house and became a grocery store in the mid to late 1800s.

Cammie and her husband have restored a lot of building.  Look at the lights and ceiling!

GORGEOUS!

They discovered Fresco paintings hidden behind walls as they renovated!

Another one.

And another on the other side of the store.  Can you imagine Nebraska in the 1800s hiring artists to come to the plains to paint these?

Much to see.

You can see more of the paintings here too.  They go along the top of the walls. If you look in the way back you can see a door opening.  You'll see a picture of her lounge area in there in a bit.

Oh, hello Bonnie!

And, now to head down.  Loving those level shelves there on the right.  Yes, I have no fewer than 10 vintage levels in my garage just waiting to be shelves!

We were there after her Spring Market and I'm thinking there were more frames hanging here before.  But, I was taken with the the shapes and the empty spaces.  Now if you can't get to Coleridge, you better keep your eyes out for these little frames while you are out thrifting and fill a space with "framed space"!

I do not remember who is the company that makes all these fine bags she sells, but what a great selection!  They were all so well made from vintage fabrics.

A small collection of these would do well on a wall as art all by themselves too.

If only we all had room for old truck doors in our homes!  

A cozy nook.  Bed springs as a display board.  :)

Would be very cool in any reading nook.

Letters and numbers are so popular and they don't need to mean anything...they just sit being very cool.

Buntings can be added to your own shelves at home!

Hey, I have a similar stool!

Should I have warned you that there were going to be a lot of pictures?!

Cammie knows how to create vignettes....!

Vintage religious pieces and art...my favorite!

A closet of flannel. Plaid flannel.  This. is. me. 

I am wearing plaid flannel from a garage sale as I now type.

Oh, I do.

This is, isn't it?!

I really like the jewelry holders she sells.

Remember, anything can be a shelf....a wagon....a ski...part of a telephone pole....a suitcase...

This may be a refrigerator door.  Perfectly rusted.

From the back of the store now.

Because I love silhouettes.

From the 1880s! Nebraska didn't even become a state until 1867.

Here's the small lounge area I mentioned earlier.

More in the lounge area.  All for sale though.

Hmm...cart could be a sofa table or bedside table?  Plant stand?

This yard stick lamp shade was one of her Flea Market Style Magazine projects.

Only a couple more pictures...

I believe you would be impressed with the quality of these upcycled silverware jewelry pieces.  I was!

I'll leave you with this last silhouette and dreamy glimpse at treasures in her store!

Enjoy your Easter week!