Weekend Adventures

Last Friday, I took off on an adventure to Saline, Michigan. My main destination was Baker's Nook. A friend from work makes amazing candy and chocolate covered cherries at Christmas time, and I wanted to try my hand at the chocolate covered cherries. I could have ordered the molds online, but would have had to pay shipping, and wouldn't have had a reason to explore a new area.

I stopped at a few thrift stores and an antique store on the way to Baker's Nook-which by the way, is an amazing shop!!! Not only do they sell everything you can imagine for baking and candy making, they are also a bakery (I think just wedding cakes and specialty cakes), so as soon as I stepped out of the car, I was enveloped in a dreamy baking cake smell-YUM!!!

I took my time and wandered around the shop for a while, not wanting to miss anything. The workers were really friendly and very helpful. I will definitely be going back!! Actually, I need to go back, because the chocolate covered cherry molds I bought are too small. I picked the small size, thinking the large would be too much chocolate.The small size isn't big enough for the chocolate, cherry and fondant-oops!

I found a few things at the Saline Goodwill store that I couldn't live without and a few more things at a big resale store called Nu 2 U. Both places are places I plan to return to some day when I'm back in the area. I enjoyed visiting both places.

I stopped at Treasure Mart in Ann Arbor on the way home. It was PACKED with people!! I've never seen so many people in there at one time! They had a bunch of Pyrex, Jadeite and even a few pieces of Fiesta, but nothing that I didn't already have.

On Thursday of this week, when I arrived at work, I saw a giant pink gift bag on my desk. Inside was a really sweet thank you note and 4 vintage dish towels and a vintage Arizona state tablecloth. It was a thank you present from some friends from church that I helped with setting up an estate sale for their dad.

On Friday, I set out for Novi with my youngest son. Our destination was One World Market-a Japanese grocery store. My oldest son got a rice cooker at Christmas and he and my youngest have been making sushi like crazy, so we wanted to see what kind of sushi making supplies they had. We went up and down every aisle and ended up buying some nori (seaweed sheets), chopsticks, wasabi powder and a couple of tiny trays of fresh sushi.

After that we went to one of our favorite fast food places-Culver's in Wixom. For two purposes, one to get a great burger and two, to see how far along construction is coming on the new Menard's.

We made a quick trip to Knightsbridge while we were in the area. There was only one other couple in the whole store while we were there. I got a kick out of watching my youngest wander around and every once in a while I heard, "that's so cool!" when he found something that was new to him or interesting. Out of both of my boys, I'd say he's the one who has the junkin gene-it's just not fully developed yet, but one day-I bet he'll be scrounging estate sales on a regular basis.

This morning I went to an estate sale in my own town. It was by my favorite estate sale company, and the online pictures showed some things that piqued my interest. I've been going to their sales for years.They are always very well organized and the prices are very fair.

I was thinking with the single digit temperatures and snowy roads that there wouldn't be very many people crazy enough to go to the sale. Boy, was I wrong! I got number 28. They said on their website that they were only allowing 15 people at a time in the house since it was so small. so after I got my number, I went back to my car to sit in the warmth until the first wave went in.

After a while, I wandered into the garage since it was open separately from the house.It was too packed to see much, so I went to the front door to wait. There was NO ONE in line. I stood there for a while and another couple came up behind me.They were number 26. Shortly thereafter, the door opened and the guy said he could take two. I asked him what number he was on and he didn't have a chance to answer, because the #26 people said they were going in and went on in.

After they were in, people started coming from their cars. Their numbers started at 17 and went  up. They were not happy and tried to get in, but the guy manning the door wouldn't let them in. They asked him what number they were on, and he told them he wasn't going by numbers any more just whoever was in line. Some people left because they were so angry. So when he opened the door again I was first in line, but I felt bad because a lot of people were there before me and had lower numbers, so I asked him if he was going by numbers again or if it was first in line.

He took one look at the group of freezing, irritated people and decided to go by numbers again, Good choice! He looked new to me, I have not seen him at any of their estate sales before. I tried to explain to the upset people in line that this company is usually very organized and very fair, but I think it fell on deaf ears.

Someone was there early handing out street numbers, but this company doesn't honor street numbers-they use their own numbers. Some of the car sitters got street numbers, but didn't know they wouldn't be honored. They sat in their cars until just a minute before the door opened, and when they got the the line, they were very angry to learn their number didn't count. They grumbled in the line for a while, and weren't interested when I explained about street numbers. They got so upset they just walked away, and said they'd never shop a sale from this company again.

Eventually I made it in, but all the things I'd seen in the online pictures was already snatched up. It was an interesting house. Very narrow and steep stairways, and very small rooms. The basement ceiling was so low, I had to duck! The furnace was so huge, three adults could have held hands in a circle and probably wouldn't have been able to reach all the way around it.

I did find a few things, that I could have lived without, but they were really cheap, and I can always find a use or place for them, so I bought them and came home. I'm almost thawed out-two hours later,

Here are some pics of the last couple of weeks of adventures...

 I got this at Nu2U-we are going to use it for our TEAM ZOE shirts for this year's spina bifida walk. 

 A refrigerated reach-in at One World Market. Notice the quail eggs on the right?

 The vintage tablecloth has flattened and bent silverware hooks sewn onto it. It was used as a curtain. At least they didn't make any holes in the tablecloth!! I got the tablecloth and hooks for less than the price of what the tablecloth is worth! The scrapbook punch is for my mom for her stained glass projects. 

 A Thirty One storage basket. I know they cost more than $2 when you buy them from their website.

 I bought this at Knightsbridge...and found out my wish list spreadsheet wasn't totally up to date-I already have this size. It's in better shape than this pic shows-my phone is having focusing issues.

 The base to this looks to have never been used.

 Purple, pink and gray-vintage tablecloth in great shape!

 A stack of vintage dish towels from the thank you gift. 

Vintage Arizona tablecloth. I think I'm going to keep my eyes open and try to collect one for each state. I'm sure it will take a long, long time because I am really cheap, and these tend to go for a lot!

I'm home for the rest of the day-although the sunshine and blue skies is tempting me to head out for some fun...

Good Times!

I haven't been in blogland for a while. I've been soaking up the good times with family and friends, and enjoying every minute.

We finally have a girl in the family! My youngest nephew got married a couple of weeks ago. He is in the Coast Guard so they will be moving to the west coast. I finally get a niece, and she's moving far away.

 My parents came into town twice in the past couple of weeks. Once for a family Christmas party and once for Christmas Eve and Day with us. Their trips are so short and the time goes by so fast...I wish they lived closer! I took my mom for a pedicure to thank her for taking care of my house the first couple of days when I had my surgery.

We found a new place that was wonderful!! It was clean and the staff was friendly and even though they were short-handed and swamped-they didn't cut corners or rush through.We will go back!

My mom brought her sewing machine and together, we pieced a large bag of hand-stitched quilt squares (that I got a couple of years ago at a garage sale) and I sewed them into a queen-size and a twin-size quilt tops. I haven't used a sewing machine for years, and highly doubted my ability to sew a straight line, (Are you surprised Auntie? I did it!!) but it all came back to me and we zipped them off in a few hours. I don't plan to finish the quilts-I like them just as they are and they look great in my old pie safe.

We had three squares left over. I need a creative idea for them...

My boys have been enjoying the time off from classes. They've been having friends over a lot! I've been enjoying the camaraderie and the laughs. I even got to play cards with them one night! It's so much fun to hear the laughter and shouts from the basement! Tonight, a couple of them tried their hand at sushi making. It started out a little rough, but by the end, I was helping, and the three of us ended up doing a pretty good job.

 Have you ever played Shanghai Rummy? It's a lot of fun and a great game for a crowd!

Making sushi with the sushezi. It really is easy and works great!

 The first one-it looked really rough!

 This one had salmon, tofu and crab.

 The final two rolls-not too shabby! 

Smoked salmon, cream cheese and cucumber.

Last Saturday, Mr. and I took a long adventure. We drove to Findlay,Ohio to Jeffries Antiques. I forgot it was Saturday. I was just feeling cabin fever, and wanting to get out of the house and see some vintage goodness. It was packed!!! I've never been there when it was so busy! I found a few things, and then we moved on to the Maumee Antique Mall. It too was very crowded but another fun place to wander through with lots to look at.

We stopped for lunch in Perrysburg and found a Chik-fil-a-YUMMM!!!

On the way home, I dropped him off at Cabela's and I took a quick trip to the Swan Creek Candle Outlet in Dundee. I love their antique shop in the basement and on the second floor. The selection is always good and the prices are great.

I've gone out to lunch with friends and caught up, and today I had a great lunch date with my cousins. The last few weeks have been full of laughter, love and great memories and I wouldn't have it any other way!!

I hope your last few weeks were rich in laughter, love and great memories too!!

These are my treasures from our treasure-hunting adventure...

I kept thinking I was reading the tag on this Texasware bowl wrong. It was priced at about a third of what they usually sell for. 

 This lovely bowl is about as close to mint as you can get!

 All of this was from Swan Creek. I LOVE the table!!! I'm looking forward to getting some material to go around it.

I think I'm becoming addicted to cobalt glass bottles. I can't get enough!

Here are some random shots...

 This was at Maumee...an old bed springs with Christmas lights-I LOVE this so much!!

 I need more corners in my house! I am addicted to corner cabinets!!!

 A beautiful sunrise on my way to work the other day. 

 The sweet little face that is always following me around and watching everything I do-I LOVE this girl!!

I only got a few Christmas decor shots-I got busy and forgot to snap pics of the rest.

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year with good health, lots of love, laughter and great memories!!

What a Week!

I survived my first week back at work, barely, but I survived. My first day back there was a funeral for a sweet friend's husband, who 8 weeks ago found out he had stage 4 cancer with basically no symptoms before the pain that sent him to the doctor. Everyone was touched by their life story and the kind, loving and giving man that he was. I never really knew him, other than passing in the hallways at church. His wife is a sweet, vivacious friend, that I've known for at least a decade.

Tuesday was a regular Tuesday, except we noticed our refrigerator seemed to not be cooling very well. Mr's ice cream was a little too soft. So we pulled everything out and put it into coolers and in the sunroom. Without the heat on, that room usually only gets a few degrees warmer that the outdoor temperature. Good thing this happened at this time of year rather than July!

 Wednesday we had a very emotional staff meeting/Bible study (more tears) and a  big event in the building that evening causing everyone in my area to be running in high gear.  During my lunch break on Wednesday, I went with a friend from work to her uncle's house to notarize paperwork for advance directives-he is in his last days, and he wanted to get everything in line for his family. He is such a sweet man, and his entire family, though I never met them before, were so sweet and kind. I know he's lived a long life and knows the Lord, but it still touches your heart to know he won't be here much longer.

Later that evening I went and watched my team play in the playoffs. We had three subs! One girl sat with me and watched because she injured her knee, another was in Hawaii and me-still recovering. They won three out of five matches and we finished in third place for this season. The next season starts as soon as school is back in session and runs through the end of April. I can't wait to get back to playing! We all went to dinner after the game to hang out one last time and had a fun time blabbing and catching up.

Thursday was the first day a repair person could make it to look at our fridge, and it wasn't good news. Our fridge that was brand new less than 3 years ago, is not repairable. We could have put $1100 into it, but the repairman said he would be back in a couple of months to do it again, because it was a design flaw in this particular model. So after work on Thursday, my oldest and I visited 5 places looking for our next fridge.

Thursday I also found out that I forgot to schedule our online payment of our credit card-I went through the process the week before, but must have forgot to click submit, because it was late! The suit that I hunted down for days and eventually had to order for my youngest for my nephew's wedding next Saturday came and the pants were too small!! I ended up having a mini meltdown/ pity party. I'm claiming an emotional week, just getting back from surgery (being less back to normal internally that I thought), and a hectic time of year-that's my story...and I'm sticking to it! :)

Friday, Mr and I went to three more places and finally found our next fridge at Lowe's-the third one we visited. You'd think they would all carry the same things right? I'm glad we went, because it turns out that they don't always have the same thing-especially when they are running sales. This particular store had 7 of this model in stock and my store (that is 4 miles away), and the next furthest store didn't have any.

Then I find my Nexus 7 tablet has died! I did some online troubleshooting, and tried all kinds of things, and got it to come back to life just long enough to set it up again, and it flickered and went out totally! It is less than 3 years old as well!! This week has been a week and a half!!

So, after that week, last night was spent relaxing with pizza, and vegging out in front of the tv, and a good night's sleep, we are getting ready for the new fridge to be delivered. It's smaller than the one we have now, by about 3 cubic feet (my guys tell me that amounts to 3 gallons of milk), but the design was right and the price was incredible. Plus slowly but surely, our two guys will be graduating college and moving out so we won't need so much fridge space.

Tonight we are going to dinner with Mr's coworkers in downtown Ann Arbor to Metzger's, it's a German restaurant, and we've never been there before. I'm looking forward to having a night out and getting away from the longest week ever!!

I did manage to find a great deal online this week, and it arrived yesterday. I wasn't planning on buying anything for my collection, being this close to Christmas, but it was such a great deal, that I couldn't pass it up! Now, I'm on the hunt for lids!

I hope you've had a better week than I've had, there was a bunch more, small things that added to the craziness of it all and I'm just glad it's over. I'm looking forward to a new week, and my parent's coming in on Friday, and going my nephew's wedding on Saturday!

Here's my deal of the week!

'Tis the Season!

Today was the day for Christmas Open Houses at a couple of local antique malls. It has become a tradition that Auntie and I go to the Williamston Antique open house every year. I can't remember when we started going, but it's been a long time! I remember in the beginning, my youngest son would love to tag along because of all of the free food they put out. Just thinking about that makes me smile!

We've brought people from work with us on different occasions, but mostly, it's just been her and I. We have a "route" that we always take when we visit, and we usually can get through pretty quickly. It was really packed with shoppers today, and with dealers. We got there early and were pleasantly surprised that they opened early and let everyone in.

We went to Mega Mall's open house after Williamston and we both found some treasures there as well. The two open houses couldn't be more different. Where Williamston has a huge spread of food as soon as you walk in the door and trays of finger desserts in a good portion of booths, Mega Mall has a tray of cookies with punch and coffee as you enter. Williamston has a store-wide discount of 20%, and Mega Mall allows vendors to set their own discount (or not). Even though they are different, they are both nice in their own way.

We even took a quick side-trip to The Little Red Schoolhouse today! It was a fun day. We caught up on what each other has been doing, and we hashed over life's little issues. It's always good to have a good friend to speak your mind to, in a judgement-free zone. You get things off your chest, find out if you are crazy, mean, harsh, or right on track...it's a good thing!!

I'm still smiling, thinking about Auntie finding a treasure at one of the malls today. I was a few feet ahead of her and I heard the intake of air and the little squeak of delight. You know that sound. We all have our own uniquely special squeak, or squeal of delight. I love it when it's me making the sound, but I think I enjoy it just as much when a friend finds something that makes her heart smile and that sound just slips out. My heart is smiling just thinking about it!

While I've been off work, I've been reading and pondering a little book that has just been incredible-in my opinion. I am really finding it speaking to me, and wanted to share the title so you can see if it's something you might be interested in. It's called the Gospel Primer by Milton Vincent. All I can say is WOW! It has really given me a lot to think about and ponder these last few weeks. It's one of those books you an go back to again and again. I've been marking it all up as I go through it, and when I'm done, I plan to go through it again right away.

I didn't get much today. I don't really need/want much any more. Most of my collections are either full or getting full. There are only very specific things left that I'm looking for.I have a huge pile of vintage Pyrex that I'm hoping to trade for a couple of garland snowflake 501's and a 502, or a butterprint 441 or 442-other than that, I'm out of room!!

Here are my treasures from the malls today...the biggest treasure is spending time with a good friend!

A very bright vintage tablecloth, a couple of bottle brush trees (to go into Mason jars with some fake snow), a Fiesta smiley luncheon plate (been on my wish list for a long time), and a yellow refrigerator dish. I actually almost bought the refrigerator dish a couple of weeks ago when Mr. and I visited Mega Mall, but decided to put it back. I'm glad I did, I got a 40% discount today!!

I was very happy to see a LOT of vintage Fiesta at Williamston! I saw THREE vintage relish trays! I've never seen so many at an antique mall before. Just seeing one around here is a big deal! With 20% off today, the prices were pretty reasonable, considering how much they sell for online.

I had a big find online last week. I finally got the center for my relish tray!! So now mine is complete!

I would have preferred to have a different color in the middle, but I'm glad to have it complete!

Here are some of the fun things I saw today:

 I was doing some serious drooling over this lovely vintage green carafe! It was way out of my price range, but it was gorgeous!!

 How fun is this tricycle!?!? I loved it! No place to put it, but I loved seeing it!

 This is the biggest head vase I have ever seen!!

 This is made out of glass baby food jars!

 I've never seen a suitcase mod podged before, I have some pins on my pinterest board with plans to do this some day, so I was super excited to see this in person today! I wouldn't rip the map up into pieces if I were to do it with a map, like this person did, but that's just my personal preference.

While we were at my parent's for Thanksgiving, my mom and I spent some time in her glass room working on fused glass, so when I saw this, I snapped a pic to send to her so she has another idea of a simple, cute ornament.

These four are things that I made. I made three more, but I gave them away already.

Tomorrow will be get the tree up, hang the outside lights and get stuff together to start cookies day-then back to work and most of my usual routine on Monday. Hope you have a great rest of the weekend!! Looking forward to seeing the treasures you find!! Happy Hunting!!!