Town House Homestead Tuesday

Wow! Thanksgiving came and went so fast I hardly had time to think about it. It just fell into place and we had a total of eight for dinner. We had just the basics for our meal and the visit was fun. All three of my grandchildren at the same time. The only new cooking for me this year was home made cranberry sauce. I admit it, I always opened a small can because it doesn't get eaten in large quantities here. I canned the leftovers in eight ounce jars for use throughout the next year.

The week before Thanksgiving I went shopping for a chest freezer. After all the early black Friday  specials and discounts I settled on this 15cf  Whirlpool. It was delivered within three days and looks so wonderful in the newly renovated basement.

We took an afternoon and went to do some thrift shopping. We've been working so hard and hadn't been out to hunt for several long months. 

I never find footwear in my size, never mind new, but on this trip I found three new pair of size eight that came home with me. 

I found a couple of nice sheets, one is 100% cotton and the other is cotton/poly blend that I've added to my sewing fabric for future articles of clothing. I keep promising myself that I'll get to my sewing room. Mine is the third bedroom and the one in the renovated basement is my daughter's.

I enjoy finding vintage jars. I found these two for $1.50 and what makes them unusual is the fact that they are half gallon jars. I've seen plenty of gallon size, but these are short and stubby. I also found a set of eight vintage aluminum bell pans.

The best find was not by me, but I now own them. Emily (our special girl) found them while she was looking for some vintage items for a party she was having. For all you Pyrex lovers out there this is a set of twelve, four piece place settings of vintage Flamingo Pink dishes. The purchase price was $34.99. Our Christmas dinnerware came to us without asking. I have packed six place settings away and put six place settings in the cupboard. Most are in pristine condition. Two plates and two saucers seem to have been well used or the person who owned them may have replaced them at one time. All I know is that they are now ours and we can't wait for Christmas morning to enjoy them. It will be a "handle with care" kind of day with them. 

This is the holiday view out our kitchen window. Santa must be fifteen feet tall for me to see him so well, so far away. It feels so good to be in a home where there's something new every day and it's peaceful. Well, that's some of what's been happening at the new Town House Homestead. Stop by again for an update on our next adventure. Thank you for stopping by and have a great week. 

Thrift finds

The mission was to go to the thrift store and find one item to be used in an up cycle project. Many dollars and more than a few minutes later, the words from my daughter were "It's like Gramma's house got delivered to the thrift store and I couldn't resist". She was right and we left plenty behind for others but what wonderful fun and finds.

The first find was several cases of canning jars. We kept the pint size jars and my daughter's co-worker wanted the half pints. The timing of this find was perfect. These are two of the vintage table cloths that we chose. The blue with flowers was in almost perfect condition. The gingerbread print one needed, and still needs soaking, but the stains are coming out. 

We found two new vintage Vera table cloths and a vintage terry towel. It was hard choosing some items, but we've already sold one tablecloth.

Here we found some vintage 70s double knit fabric and some Christmas yard good. The bright pink and purple fabric is another tablecloth. There were boxes and boxes of fabric on bolts and yarn, but the baby yarn is all we got and it was only 99 cents. Not shown were some aqua soup/cereal bowls that immediately were cleaned and put to use in the kitchen and of course the original item we went for we did find plus a few more. We had promised ourselves not to bring a lot more home, but it was a great shopping trip and the items were fabulous. Thank you for stopping by for a visit and have a wonderful week. If you need some last minute items for holiday gift giving my daughter's store is having a 40% off sale so stop by and check it out. Here's the link and you can find the shop on my side bar. 

poetcharms.etsy.com

Thursday Threads

It seems that as the end of the year approaches and the holidays get closer and closer we take more time to do the things that "need" to be done and not the things we "want" to get done. As I'm maturing I am wanting to spend more time enjoying my sewing, cooking, gardening and learning. It's a different time and I have discovered what makes me feel alive. I don't need to compete with anyone. I need to let go and enjoy the world around me and be grateful for all things. I know that I'm not going to do everything perfectly and that too is alright. Nothing is a mistake. It's all a lesson. I am now taking the time to do those things that I want to do. 

I have many things that I want to sew. My daughter has mounds of fabric that are available to work with. I have some too, but her collection is larger and more vintage. I made this collection for our little space. I'm not quite ready for Christmas although I have been working on home made items all year for gifts. This is for Thanksgiving. More seasonal than themed. It's a table topper, four mug rugs and four napkins. Just a little something to dress up the counter for Thanksgiving and get a couple of yellow ware bowls out for goodies.

This project is a round table topper and two dinner size napkins along with two small mug rugs and two tea size napkins. All from about 1 1/4 yards of fabric, a package of bias tape, and some leftover pieces of cotton batting. 

I got my little sewing bag out and have started making folded stars for my daughters craft show that is held annually at her college. It's fun to have the little things to offer for sale to students on a budget and it uses up all the pieces and scraps from the sewing studio.

On the gardening side all that is growing now is a celery stump and green onions. They regrow well in water but after a while they wash out so I put the onions in soil and as soon as the celery gets stronger roots it will go in soil. We have so little light in the townhouse so having an herb garden inside has proven to be tough. I'll keep trying until I get it. The top of the refrigerator has become the best spot so far. We think about and are planning our next living space and one of the features is going to be large windows and just enough space to grow more of our own food.

To make ends meet I try to take advantage of free offers and coupons. This weeks freebies included a sample of Gevalia coffee that makes four cups, two samples of tums, two packages of Ovaltine, some granola and an oil hair treatment. The supermarket had a promotion and we got a free cake mix, 2 litre bottle of ginger ale, a loaf of Italian bread, 3#"s of potatoes, 3#"s of onions and 1# of carrots. I also cashed in a coupon for a free can of tuna fish. I'd rather be growing my own, but until the time is right this is what I'll take advantage of. I'm already thinking about next years canning and I hope I can take better advantage of the farm markets. I want to thank you for stopping by and visiting and I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

The latest thrifted finds.

Exciting vintage ephemera finds from last weeks hunt, but to start some vintage linen napkins.

A bit of a variety, but a bundle of spring joy. 

There was a wonderful pair of red, made in Japan, pillar candle holders and a package of vintage four inch red candles. Lots of Christmas finds this week.

There was this package of vintage ribbons from JCPenny and then some metallic honeycomb ribbons.

This is a large bundle of vintage Christmas cards, tags and foil decorations.

How about the bright colors in these vintage cards. There's birthday, Easter, gift cards and some are new in the box while others are used. Just couldn't resist these.

The best vintage Christmas card collection ever. These cards are as large as nine inches and are so colorful and festive. They are from the fifties and sixties. The quality of these cards amazes me. In this time when cards are not sent as often and mean so little and the art of communicating with them is almost gone, it is wonderful to remember a time when technology didn't rule. 

Thank you for stopping by and have a wonderful week everyone.

Linking to: We call it Junkin