I love the mountains

Hi Ya'll! I'm back from vacation, and ready to share pictures of our adventures!
We drove out to Durango, and stayed at the Riverside Resort about 15 miles outside of the city, in the cutest little cabins. They were right on the Animas river, and were so peaceful.
Ours had a deck that overlooked the river, and a picnic table, with big trees over the top of us. Nice and quiet, just what I like!
You could walk down a steep embankment to get to the river below us, and wade in the shallow parts. Macie did, but she said it was cold!
The first day after we got there, we drove up the mountain, trying to find this particular lake that I had read about on the internet, called Potato or Spud Lake. We finally find the turnoff, and it turns into a dirt road right away. So we're driving down it, and it's getting worse, and worse, and we're in our family sedan, which is NOT made for 4x4 type trails, let me tell you. We tortured through it for close to a mile, (with 2 more to go!) and just couldn't do it any longer, so we had to turn back around, go through the same torture again for a mile to get out of there.
We ended up going back down, and finding Lake Haviland, which was right off the road, which allowed fishing. It was a beautiful small lake, and Macie and my hubbie had fun practicing casting and reeling. They didn't actually fish, they just go for fun.
These funny little sparrows kept landing right by us, catching these little winged bugs, several at a time. I think they were Fox sparrows.
After that we drove into Durango, to catch out Hummer 4x4 tour, which takes you up into La Plata canyon, all the way up to the top. This was a 4 hour ride, and was way rougher than I thought it would be, girls. I expected it would be dirt roads, and a little rough here and there, but I was sadly mistaken. the trail was full of huge rocks and ruts.
I have neck issues, and can't be jerked and thrown all over the place, and this is exactly how it was!
I had to end up sitting in the front with the tour guide, looking through a small windsheild and side window most of the trip. Expensive ride. Bummer.
At the top it was beautiful, though, and we had a wonderful sunny day. My daughter laughed and was just in total joy the whole time, so I guess it was worth it since she had a blast.
We also saw several cool waterfalls, from all the snowmelt up there.
Oh, and I saw my first Marmot. Looks like a beaver without the long flat tail.
When we came back down, I checked to make sure my neck could still turn, and we headed off to the Bar D Chuckwagon show and dinner.
This was really fun, eating a traditional cowboy dinner, complete with BBQ chicken, baked beans, baked potato, biscuits, chunky applesauce, and sweet spice bread. Oh, and all the lemonade and coffee you could drink. The show was pretty funny, too. There were 4 cowboys singing and bantering jokes. We laughed about a misfit Old McDonald's farm, including a dyslexic sheep (aab, aab,) a snake with a lisp (Hith, hith,) a stuttering cow (Mmmmm, Mmmmm).
The next day was devoted to Mesa Verde, and seeing the cliff dwellings left behind by the ancient Puebloans. I remember a little of going there when I was about 9 years old with my family.
We did three sites, two of which you had to get tickets for. The most strenuous was the Balcony House, in which you had to climb a 32 foot ladder to get into the dwellings, which was a little scary.
You stand at the bottom, ready to climb up, and all you can think is, don't fall, stupid, don't slip off and break your neck (although the day before's Hummer tour almost did!) Don't be the first in Mesa Verde's history to go flying off this thing, taking out everyone under you! Oh, and DON'T look down!Here's Macie crawling up out of one of the Kivas.


So we all make it up safely, and then soon after have to crawl through a very small long narrow tunnel. Some of the people who had at some point eaten too much Taco Bell in their lives barely shimmied through, let me tell you!
At the end of that tour, you had to climb up an open rock face hanging on to these rails secured(?) into the mountain, trying not to fall backwards or look down. Pretty crazy, that tour.
We all made it out alive, though, really!
The night time brought a nice campfire, and plenty of roasted marshmallow.

On the way home, we drove through Ouray, which was a pretty little town. Every time I saw an antique shop, and there were a few cool ones on your way into Montrose, I wanted so bad to stop and browse. We were all so tired and had such a long drive home, that we really couldn't, though.
There were so many awesome and beautiful areas where we were, that I wish we had more time to explore around, and of course, Durango had so many cool shops down in the historic distric to look at, but we just didn't have the time.
I took lots of fun pictures, which really pressures me to get them into a scrapbook soon. I only have 4,00 other pictures in line, waiting THEIR turn to be put into albums.
Tick tock, tick tock....

Happy Independence Day!

I thought I'd take a moment to wish all of you a very Happy Independence Day!
You know, we don't really ever say Independence day, we usually say the 4th of July. This weekend, let's remember what a blessing it is to live in this country, with all of it's freedoms and privileges.
My flag is proudly flying on our front porch this weekend. I love seeing all of the red, white and blue that pop out during our country's holidays.
Colorado has a ban on fireworks (dang it) but we still buy several fountains and those spinning bloom thingies. My daughter also picked some neon colored sparklers, and in honor of MY childhood, some snakes and glow worms. Big fun back in the 70's, let me tell ya!
I remember my brother, back when you could still purchase firework here, bringing home a large box of fireworks to shoot off. He was always nice enough to buy me some sparklers and snakes. Our church used to run a stand every year, and it was such fun to drive out into what was still partly rural, and look at all of the stuff.
We'll be headed on vacation, down to the SW corner of the state, to climb the Great sand dunes, and see Mesa Verde.
I'll post some fun pics when I get back next week.
Till then, have a great time doing what you love this summer!

Where has my yard sale mojo gone?

Yep, that's right. I've been searching for my yard sale Mojo all summer.
Maybe it's 'cause the season started out to cold and wet. Maybe it's 'cause I really haven't found the mother load of garage sales yet, and nothing to really get my blood flowing.
Yes, I've found small things here and there, but nothing of epic proportion.
However, instead of just giving up (Hey, I'm no quitter), I drag myself out of bed super early, get cleaned up, and hit the road first thing so I can hit alot of sales, before I have to be to work at 11.
I'm linking up with Southern Hospitality for her Thrifty Treasures party to share my finds this week, and a couple from last week. Go check out everyone's finds!
I found these heavy wrought iron shelf brackets at the first sale I stopped at, for a buck a piece. I don't know for sure how I'll use them, but hey, for that price, I'll figure it out.

The little wire trash can was only 50 cents. Cute for under our computer table.

On our way home from my daughter's swim class, I turn onto our street, and I see a yard sale sign pointing up to the top of our street. Hmmm, so close to home, might as well swing by real quick. I saw this bird cage, which I've been searching for, so that we can get a pair of zebra finches.
I'm way too cheap to spend $50 on a cage at the pet store, so I've been hunting for one.
How much did I pay for it???
It was FREE!
The guy said 5 bucks, and I'm thinking Super, but I put it back down to go look at the stuff on the grass, and then he said, "You can just take it".
Really? Allrighty then!
I also grabbed this old book, which I'd guess is from the 1920's.


The cover was missing, so they sold it to me for 50 cents. The pictures are to die for, and I'll create many cute projects with the pics inside.

Then I saw this computer chair. We've been using an oak mission style antique chair, which is nice to look at, but uncomfortable as heck, with no arms, and a hard seat.Yuck, ignore my messy computer desk, it is a WRECK!
I asked the guy again how much, and he said $5. Right on!
I sent my husband back up to get it in our other car.
OK, so I did get some cool bargains, didn't I?
Last week I found this blue shelf for Macie's room, which I'll paint either light green, or bubblegum pink. $3.

One out of the way sale I stopped at, which I'm glad I did, yielded a couple of sets of cute vintage pictures.
These are in the original frame with paper backing, and are really old. I seriously paid 75 cents a piece for these! They are hanging above my Stickley table that I DIDN'T paint black.
This set the lady said was in her bedroom when she was a child, and her sibling's rooms before that. I love them, don't you? I think I'll take them out of the icky frames they're in, and reframe with mats and hang them in my daughter's room. 50 cents for both. Oh yah!
I had also found a beautiful ceramic oval bowl at Goodwill a few weeks ago for $5 (It had the original TJ Maxx price tag on it of 24.99). It really needed something inside it. At the same sale I found the pictures at, I found packages of these wooden carved balls and natural elements for 50 cents. Perfect.
I created a little vignette with candles and my birdcage I found at a consignment store. What do you think? Does it need something more? It's placed up high, on top of a bookcase, so I really couldn't hang a picture behind it.

Oh, and my in-laws also gave me a large bird feeder, which I hung yesterday. I had a mommy chickadee visiting this morning, and she brought her three babies with her. Oh my gosh, they were so cute, splashing in the bath and chattering all morning in the trees.
OK, so whatever! I did OK this last week, but I still feel like something's missing. What is it? I don't know. I'll let you know when I find it.

Yard sale finds

Well, I didn't score big by any means today at yard sales, but sometimes it's still fun to find just a couple of little things that are way cool!
I found this little bird sitting on a shell for a quarter. I'm not sure what it will hold just yet. I think he needs a bit of whitewash to make him look cuter. What do you think?
Next was the vintage ceramic snowman. I am so in love with this little guy, let me tell you! He reminds me of what the snowman looked like in the original Frosty the Snowman book from the 1950's. He was 25 cents also.

Also is this little wooden primitive snowman for 25 cents.

Then this Martha Stewart organizing book full of great ideas for $1.00.

Oh, and this lamp for $2.00 was a great find. I don't know why, but I suddenly want lamps everywhere to add mood lighting throughout my house. This is the third one I've bought in 2 weeks! Of course, it needs a shade, pronto. Just one more project redo to make it my own. I love doing that!I think it will get a coat of white spray paint and live in Macie's room for awhile. Then I can steal her milkglass wall lamp with the crystals hanging from it, and use it in my room!
I also bought Macie a couple of activity books for when we go on our road trip in July to Mesa Verde. Those were 50 cents a piece.
How did you all do today? Let me know, so I can come and look!

How to cover a simple lampshade

Howdy all.
Before we get started, I just wanted to share with everyone the fact that I will NOT be painting the Stickley end table I scored at a yard sale last weekend. This baby is worth some money (not that I care, I wouldn't sell it, and it's not a family piece, but still!)
Actually, it looks good as it is in my living room, take a look. I love the darker finish on it, and the subtle sheen of the wood.
O.K. Here is the long awaited lampshade covering tutorial!
A friend at work loosely showed me how, and then I ran with it.
I have this cute vintage wall lamp in my kitchen, which adds that all important mood lighting at night, and it had a plain shade. Don't you just love the milkglass? I had only added some vintage yellow trim to the top and bottom. Fine for awhile. Then I got bored.
What if I added some material to it? Would it be too fussy?
Heck no, I love it!
Here's how to do your own:
You need-
Fabric of your choice
Large paper to draw a pattern on
Spray adhesive
Sharp scissors
Trim or ribbon
Get a piece of paper to make your pattern from, one long enough to acomodate rolling your lamp shade around. I used a roll of kids wrapping paper. The print on this paper is a little nauseating, but kids love it at birthday parties, so what can I say?
Start your pen at the seam point on your lampshade, so you can stop at the same place. Slowly move your lampshade by rolling it on the paper, following with your pen laying against the edge, making the line all the way around until you come back to the seam. Do the bottom first, then the top again.
I go slightly past the seam point, so I have a little extra overlap.
Don't worry if it's not perfect, it will be close enough.
Cut out your pattern, and then lay it against the shade to see how close you got it. Trim if necessary. Here's how it should look:
Lay this on your fabric of choice, which should be pressed first to remove any wrinkles, etc.
Pin in place, taking into account were the front will hit, so you can get any pattern on the fabric in the right place.
Cut out with sharp scissors, and remove pins. Place AGAIN on the shade, and trim again if needed. Don't get too over zealous on the trimming, as you can trim after it is adhered, too. Here's how my fabric looks when it's cut out. This is leftover fabric my MIL gave me from when she made my quilt. It's similar to the fabric from my new curtain panels, huh? This a a lighter weight fabric, unlike the heavier fabric fro my curtain panels. You want the light to come through.
Here's where the fun begins: Using spray adhesive for me was NOT fun! The can will say for a permanent fix, spray both the shade and the material. Do not do this! You will start to put it on (crookedly, trust me, it's tricky) and you will not be able to remove and reposition!
I sprayed a small section on the shade, started my positioning, and worked my way around from there. It will pull off and reposition, if you work in sections and have patience.
When I came around to the back, I simply folded the fabric over to give it a finished edge, and sprayed it into place to flatten it.
I finished it off with two different ribbons in my stash, and Wah Lah, it was done!
The lamp was originally gold, but I spray painted it with the Bronze spray paint I had used on two other lamps in my house.
I also found this little lamp at Goodwill about 2 weeks ago, with no shade, but I had an extra one that was just the right size, and was plain as could be. Perfect for some MORE of my leftover fabric from my curtain project. It just goes on and on, folks!
So cute! This one is also in my kitchen, on top of the microwave. Hope you all have fun covering your lampshades and adding personality to your homes. Good Luck!

Have a seat!

I'm participating in Metamorphisis Monday over at Between Naps on the Porch. Go on over and check it out!

I neglected to share with you my one find from Saturday's dismal yard sale day.
I took Macie to her swim class, and although the sun actually made an appearance through the clouds, the wind was cold, and seriously at hurricane level the whole time.
On the way home we decided to stop at a few yard sales, and just weren't seeing anything. We stopped at one, and it was a lady I knew from church. She had a little old wood bench sitting out on the driveway, marked $5. I asked if she would go less, and she said "How about 3?"
Cool, I'll recover it and repaint the bottom, and it'll be cute. Who knows where I'll put it, but I'm a sucker for old furniture with potential!
So I look closer, and it's kinda wobbly, and coming apart in one area, so she says, "Oh, you can just have it!"
Score!

Here are the before pics:

Yike- ees, I know! That orange red has GOT to GO!

So I take off the tacs, and pull up the old material, to reveal yucky foam padding on top of a top that is flat, and it looks like it originally was a small old childrens table. It had been patched with a piece of tin, and large head nails. I can see why it was covered the way it was, now. Interesting.
Not originally a bench at all, but someone had repurposed it into something else. Gotta love e'm.
I of course, painted it black, but let some of the red peep through here and there.
Oh, and if you're looking for the perfect black paint, Glidden makes a perfect one. I didn't see a black on any of the swatch samples, so I asked the guy at HomeDepot, and he said, "Oh ya, Glidden had a nice true black that I'll mix for you."

Does the top material look familiar? It's the leftover fabric from my curtain project. To see it, go here. I then finished it off with moss green ribbon trim, and used the original upholstery tacs to adhere it again.
I decided to place it below my Longerberger shelf I redid, along with the baskets with all of Macie's shoes by our back door, so she had a little place to sit where she could take off and put on her shoes.
Have you ever seen so many shoes for one little girl?
Yet, she'll ONLY wear her Crocs. Go figure!
Sorry I didn't have time to post also about my lamp shade tutorial, but I'll get to that on Thursday.

Stickley, anyone??

Hey ya'll. How was your yard saling adventures this morning?
Mine were nominal. For some reason, I was not in the mood to go. Blame it on Auntie "Flo" visiting this morning, and my usual weakness due to hormonal changes. I felt extra crabby, and not in the mood to browse or haggle.
There were three community sales in my area, but there was a lot of baby stuff and not much else.
I did grab this beautiful vintage end table. It's solid wood, and in perfect condition.
I asked the lady how much, and she said, "Oh, I don't know. It was my husband's mothers." (He looked to be in his mid 70's).
"Is $10 too much?"
Umm, NO!
Seeing as it has all the original labels inside the drawer, marking it as a piece of Stickley furniture!
My sister-in-law is an interior designer who works for Stickley, and their furniture is high end, nice stuff. I won't tell her I'm going to paint it black, and change out the drawer pull!

I love the thick wood turned legs on this!

How awesome is this going to be once I paint it black?

(Ignore the pink carpet in the picture. The former owners of our house were obviously very pink passionate people (ppp). The exterior of our house is also pink, Ukkk! ) Carpet shopping put us into sticker shock, so for now, we continue to live with it!
We've got swimming lessons tomorrow (if it ever stops raining), and maybe a few yard sales if I start feeling better. Have a super weekend, my friend!

Ain't no sunshine when Creepy comes

No, I haven't forgotten about my blog, I've been busy, and not feeling very creative.
Ever have one of those weeks (or more) where you just wanted to lay around and do nothing? Maybe grab a couch and some cheetos? Sleep in late? Lay around like a total scrub? That's been me.
I blame this blasted weather, with all the rain and constant overcast skies. I live in a state where we proudly proclaim that we get over 300+ days of sunshine a year. Ummm, not THIS year!
I need the sun, people. It's like a drug to me. The first thing I do when I get up is open up all the blinds and curtains, just to wake me up and start me on the cheerful path.
On Sunday this lil' fella came out of the clouds, and was right over my neighbor hood, hovering like the creepy windy thingy that he is.
Hail poured down like no tomorrow, ripping my poor little petunias to shreds.
Creepy (as I call it) moved about 2 miles east and touched down at our local outdoor mall, throwing stuff around and then it hit the brand new Lowe's that had just opened. Lot's of debri damage.
Freakin' weather.
I just want my sun and the windytornadoishcrappyovercastweatherwithstupidhail to end!

I decided to wait on showing you my lamp recovering project because someone else had a lampapalooza party (which was way cool) and it stole my thunder, so I'll be posting that next time.
Till then, wish me sunny days, puleeeze!

Seriously, what's with the rain?

I feel like we live in Seattle, what with all the rain and clouds hovering around constantly!

I found this comic that I save from long ago, which pretty much sums it up:

I've always felt a bond with Lucy Vanpelt. She's crabby, I'm crabby. She's bossy, I'm bossy. She is a fussbudget, I'm definately a fussbudget. She fell for a blonde piano player that completely ignored her. (Mine was a guitar player in a Rock band) but you get the point.

The sun promises to come out tomorrow. Until then, the crabbiness will linger around here....