HUGE Announcement

Soooo......are you wondering what my huge announcement is??

I mean, I've announced losing my job.

I've announced I'm going back to school full time to become an Interior Designer...which by the way starts August 22nd!  More of that to come.

I've announced I'm becoming certified to be a Foster Parent.

What else could I possible drop on you??

Well.......on Monday, August 1st......I am FINALLY taking the plunge and opening a small booth space (actually, it's only a wall space to start) to sell my upcycled and hand crafted items!!!!  

I'm not sure what to call it....I guess Flea Market would be the best description.  But it has nicer booths, not all junk like most flea markets I go to.  The owners make sure the booths are maintained, not just stuff thrown in.  Lots of home decor, antiques, crafts, clothes, scrapbook supplies, and lots more.  I think its the right home for me...as I wasn't sure an antique store was.

I have been looking for a spot for close to a year that was reasonably priced, gets enough traffic, not terribly far from my home, where my items would seem at home.

The Emporium came highly recommended, so I went out to take a look and immediately knew it was exactly what I had been searching for!!

I talked to a couple vendors that have been there for several years and only had good things to say about it.  The large booths are full for now.  I went on the waiting list and figured a wall space would give me a feel for whether I want to take on a full booth when one opens up.  

The booth is at:

County Line Emporium

1285 N. State Rd 135

Greenwood, IN 46143

I'll post pictures when I get it all set up.  

I am SOOOOO stinkin' excited about this I just can't tell you!  I've mentioned before, I am taking my unemployment as an opportunity to explore all my dreams!!  This, I think, was the last one on the list. Well, an Etsy shop is on the list, but that's just sort of an extension of the retail space...in my mind anyway.  I didn't expect to do them all at once...but that's how I work.  Think, think, think, think, think some more.....flip it over, draw a chart....think some more......then.....JUMP IN with both feet! :)

So, there you have it....my HUGE news!!  

I hope you all have a great weekend!!  I will be finishing up some last minute projects. :)

Personal Gift

Last month was my birthday.

Everyone tells me I'm hard to buy for...which I never understand.  I think I'm fairly easy.  A candle or a magazine and I'm in heaven. :)

But this year I received a gift so personal and so wonderful I can't believe it's taken me this long to post about it.  

I'm a purse girl!!

The more unique the better for me.  I'm not into Coach or Dooney and Burke or any of those other big name brands.  I just want BIG, unique and fun. :)

I showed you before, here, the purse I had been carrying for the last year was this one I purchased off Etsy...which I have adored and has held up extremely well!

I was starting to get the itch for a new purse.  I mean, being the serious bag girl that I am, me carrying the same purse for an entire YEAR is really saying something about how much I loved my handmade bag.


So....after my long story before the story, LOL, let me share with you about my very personal gift I received for my birthday.


A new purse!!!

But not just any purse.  Nope. 


This purse was purchased at a Cancer fund raiser event.  As I just mentioned this weekend in my get-to-know-me award post....my mother died of breast cancer.  What I didn't mention is....my father also died of cancer.  And my step-mom was diagnosed with Stage ZERO breast cancer in January of this year.  (As a side note, it was caught SOOO early, they removed the lump, she did radiation, and has been given a clean bill of health since!!)

This purse is made of ALL recycled materials!!  Recycling is so near and dear to my heart.  I mentioned, here, a long time ago that I pay for curbside recycling and it has made my strong urge to be kind to our Earth so much easier.  It's also why I try to upcycle as much as I can.  I want to stop buying "Made in China" as much as possible and reuse items that might otherwise end up in a landfill.


This purse has old couch fabrics, drapery fabrics, the flowers are made from old sweaters and t-shirts, and the leaves are made from, get this, old dress slips!  I remember the days of wearing slips under your dress. Sad...but true.  LOL  There's even an old skinny tie from the 80's on the front. :)

This bag is handmade!  Being a crafter myself, I try to support other crafters as much as possible as well.  

And last but not least, the proceeds from purchases at the event, goes to the charity the event is being held for!!!  The company is called "Handbags for Healing".  The way I understand it is, they will set up a booth at charity fundraisers and give the proceeds to that charity.  So, it isn't any one charity...it can be a variety of charities.  How cool is that!  


One of the things I don't talk about here on the blog is how important my volunteer work is to me!!  Once a week, I spend 2 hours with the kids at a local Women/Children's homeless shelter.  And once a month, my daughter and I serve dinner there as well.  Those 2 hours with those precious children is the highlight of my week!!!  

That's what makes this gift the most personal gift I've ever received!  The person who got me this purse knew that each piece of this bags story was inline with my own story.


Don't get me wrong, I have received amazing gifts over the years, but everything about this bag is such a personal representation of ME!!  How sweet is that!!


I hope you are all having a great week!!  I have a huge announcement to make later this week....so stay tuned. :)

Blog Awards

I received a couple blog awards that I accepted way too long ago.

It's been SOOOO stinkin' hot here in Indy the last few days that I've been stuck inside, so I decided it was a good time to do some blog catch up.  And one of those things is accepting these gracious awards!!

Tracy at The 2010's Housewife gave me the Sunshine Award!!  Although it's taken me for.ev.er to accept, I absolutely appreciate her kindness in giving me this award!!

Here is what I found about The Sunshine Award.  

The Sunshine Award is awarded to bloggers whose positivity and creativity inspires others in the blog world. I'm happy to pass it on to a few of my favorite bloggers.

Here are the rules:

• Put the Logo on your sidebar, or within a post.
• Pass the award onto 12 Bloggers
• Link the nominees within your post.
• Let the nominees know they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
• Share the love and link to the person from whom you received this award

Soooo....without further ado. The 12 Bloggers I am passing this award onto are:

1.  Itsy Bits and Pieces
2.  Junkin' Junky
3.  Homework
4.  Home for 6
5.  Don't Disturb This Groove
6.  Chrissie's Collections
7.  The Polka Dot Cottage
8.  Keep'n The Sunny Side
9.  Modern Country Style
10.  Tattered Hydrangeas
11.  That's My Letter
12.  Beautiful Nest

Thank you so much Tracy for giving me this award!!  

You can visit Tracy's blog here:

*************************

Ok, the next one is just down right embarrassing to admit.....

Beth at My Serendipity gave me the Stylish Blogger Award in FEBRUARY!!

I'm SOOOO sorry Beth!  My daughter would tell you this is common for me.  I always have the best intentions, but I am extremely forgetful and then get too much on my plate, then my brain does a data dump....but thank goodness my email doesn't. ;) 

Anywho....it's really, really, REALLY late...but THANK YOU BETH!! :)

Ok..now for the rules.

I am supposed to list 7 things about myself to help you get to know me better. Then pass this award on to 15 inspiring other blogs..which is the difficult part! Not that there aren't 15 inspiring blogs that I follow but because there are sooooo many blogs I love and follow!

Now for the 7 totally random things about myself:

1.  I am completely addicted to magazines!  Home decor magazines that is.  I have them stashed all over my house....under the bed, in baskets, on shelves, etc.  "Do It Yourself" is my favorite, but I have PLENTY more.  And I actually know when my addiction started........

2.  My mom died of breast cancer when I was 10 years old.  My dad was quite the redneck who knew nothing about raising little girls...and my Granny didn't know much more.  Magazines like Cosmopolitan and Glamour became my go to for make-up, style, and all-things-girly tips.  I had years worth, lined in date order in my closet for as long as I can remember.  (Now you know why I'm so messed up! LOLOL) ;)

3.  I'd LOVE to be a writer someday!  I'd love to write for, I know you're going to be shocked, a design magazine. :)  I'd also love to write a comedy book about my crazy childhood.

4.  My favorite place in the entire world is the Amalfi Coast in Italy!!  

5.  Given the alternative, I'd rather sit by the pool than sit on the beach.  I hate the feeling of the sand on my skin...which is strange given I was born and raised in Florida!  My ultimate choice would be to sit by a pool while looking at the beach. :)

6.  I actually enjoy getting older.  For one, given my mom and dad's early deaths, I consider getting older a privilege.  I mean, consider the alternative...dying early?  I'll pass.  Two...as I age, I get more and more comfortable with who I am!  There is so much peace in that.   

7.  I love to bake!  I'm a marginal cook, but I'm a pretty awesome baker if I don't say so myself.  ;)  


And now to the most important part of this award....passing it along! :)


1.  Aja Lee's Sweet Life
2.  A. McInnis Artworks
3.  Bunch of Craft
4.  Cedar Hill Ranch
5.  Classic*Casual*Home
6.  Creating Balance
7.  Custom Comforts
8.  Mod Vintage Life
9.  A Pop of Pretty 
10.  Refunk My Junk
11.  Reloved Rubbish
12.  The Cottage Gals
13.  The Shabby Chick
14.  Then She Made...
15.  The Modern Cottage  



Again, thank you to those that honored me with these awards!  I truly do  appreciate it. :)  


I hope you will take some time to visit each of the nominated blogs...these are some of my favorite blogs.  

  

Entertainment Center Redo

Can I just say, this is a project that has been in the works for MONTHS!!

And I do literally mean months!  

It was still cold and possibly snow still on the ground when I bought this lovely 80's three piece entertainment center off Craigslist for $125.

Even though my house is small and I don't like clutter, I didn't have any display space either.  Nowhere to put my pretties.  Nowhere for the things I've collected over the years.  Nowhere I could change things up for my favorite seasons like Fall, Halloween and Christmas.   

I really wanted something that felt built in, but with the flexibility (meaning, nothing actually built in so when I change my mind 1000 times once in awhile, I'm not forced into anything because I do have some ever so slight tendencies to change my mind.) ;)

This is my beauty in her original state.

You can even see in the bottom right corner, I even had the huge 36", 500 lb, tube TV to go in it. 


Over the MONTHS that it sat in my living room, I slowly finished off a bookshelf.  Then a door.  Then MANY weeks later, another bookshelf, etc.  


The huge TV died shortly after I purchased this unit.  But luckily for me, I'm too poor to buy a big TV, so I got a flat screen that would fit inside.


Recently I finally got enough motivation to finish the middle piece!  


But I had a sudden epiphany!  With the whole upcoming foster care thing, I really felt like the computer should be in the living room so I could always monitor what was being looked at.


After moving every piece of furniture in the house around (that might be a slight exaggeration, but it felt like it) to get a feel for where to put the computer and the TV, that's where the epiphany came in.


I turned the center entertainment unit into a computer desk!!!

Yep!  I did!


And all by myself at that!  I'm pretty tickled with how it came out.


For now, I just have the leftover fabric from my no-sew curtains hanging on a tension rod to block all the "ugly stuff".  I plan to cut it to the right length and possibly add a ruffle to the bottom.  I don't know we'll see.

I did not have to buy a single thing to make the transition from entertainment center to desk.  I reused everything I could from the original unit.


I moved one of the shelves up to desk height...even using the cleats from the shelf.  And I used the molding from the bottom of the unit to cap off my desk front.

I painted it the same white as my kitchen cabinets and antiqued everything.


It was A LOT of work!  But it has so much function now and I just love that all the components are hidden and that my computer can be in the living room with style and without looking like an "office".

Now to find a chair...which will have the added bonus of extra seating in my living room!  :)

Frenchy Fabulousness!

Horton's French Flea Market was gorgeous!

Pattie from The Shabby Chick was awesome!  She's very genuine, funny and down to Earth.  I enjoyed meeting her daughter, Tia, her friends and their sweet   kids too! :)

I met several bloggers which was so much fun!!

I was absolutely in shock when I was looking at a booth and saw tags with this logo:

I got SUPER excited!!  I immediately turned around to the two ladies standing there and asked "Whose Unexpected Elegance?"

I've been following Angela at Unexpected Elegance since the very beginning of my blogging!!!  

Angela, Pattie, Me

And let me just tell you, she is an absolute doll!!  Truly, sweet and friendly!  I am so happy I had the chance to meet her!  :)  

I was so happy to meet her, I forgot to take any pictures of her booth.  

Anywho....as you already know, French Country or French Provincial is not my decorating style.  So as suspected, I wasn't overly tempted to buy a lot, but I was mostly just enamored by the creative displays.  

The booths were just amazing the way they were set up.  The vignettes were gorgeous!  

I think it takes a real talent to design these booths so magnificently.

So, with that I will just leave you with pictures I took at the show.

These pictures were specifically from a stunning booth, ReLoved Shambora Studios.

Oooo La-la!!

Ok, so french decor is not really my "thang".  But I sure do admire it!!  

I'm drawn to the romanticism of it!  The softness of it!

All that lace.  The neutrals.  The feminine.  The Parisian flare.  The grays.  The old and vintage.  Lavender scented sachets.

These are the things that come to my mind when I think French Provincial or French Country design.

I mean, what's not to love!

So, even though I don't decorate in that style, when Pattie from The Shabby Chic sent me an email a couple weeks ago asking if I was going to Horton's French Flea Market in Tipton, Indiana, my first response was "Why have I not heard of this!?!?!"  and my second response was "Heck YES!!!!"

I mean, I'm not passing up on an event, that one will be gorgeous and involves shopping!  

And two, allows me to meet Pattie whom I've communicated with since very early on in my blogging days!  And meeting a lot of other Indiana bloggers, who until I started jumping around to blogs that mentioned Horton's and other bloggers attending, I had no idea were even out there! :)

Like:

Donna at D Reyne's
Nicki at The Vintage Farmhouse

Cindy at The Bee Lady from Hilltop Farm

Rebecca at A Re-Purposed Life

Alee at Damask Designs

Several of these ladies are going to be vendors.  Yay!


So, if you live near, I'd love to meet you!  Pattie and I are meeting up EARLY Saturday morning (did I mention early? LOL) and I will be following her to Tipton.  You're more than welcome to join us! :)

I'm taking my camera, so I'll be sure to post pictures.