Closet Clean Up

So there I sat, on my big fat butt.
Pinning away on Pinterest.

Do you pin?
I'm sure you do.
All the cool kids are doing it.
You can check out my pin boards
iffen you'd like to.
I have a link over on the
right side bar--->
Anywho, there I sat, thinking to myself,
"Self, you really need to get off your fat butt and do SOMETHING!"

Since the first of the year I have been meaning to clean out
my closet.
I had even purchased some cute storage cubes, on clearance of course,
from Walmart that I could use to
organize my stuff.

So, three months later, I finally had had enough of thinking about
the mess that was my closet, sadly put my laptop away
(bye bye Pinterest, for now)
and got to it!

This is what I started with

And, the most embarrassing photo...yes, that's a cobweb.
And it wasn't the only one!
Seriously!  Who has cobwebs hanging in their closet?
Um...me

Nice closeup for your viewing pleasure

I was ruthless.
I made up my mind to get rid of everything that I
either didn't fit into (who am I kidding?  The days of fitting into a size 8 were long behind me),
didn't love, or had hated but felt some weird emotional attachment to.

 

The cute storage cubes came three to a package and were clearanced at $3.00 a pack!
$1.00 each! I only bought two packages and now wish I had gotten more of them!

You see that?  That's the floor!  I haven't seen that in months at least a year!

And, no more cobwebs!

Proof of what all came out.

An hour later I had six trash bags loaded and ready to take to Goodwill.
Heck, I take enough out of that place, it was time to give some back, right?
And look at all of that empty space!
You know what that means right?
I already have a date with Ms K to go shopping!
I mean take a good look.
I have absolutely nothing to wear!

I will be linking up here on Friday March 30th

How Green Does Your Grass Grow?

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Scotts® for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.
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I can tell you honestly, we will be looking at purchasing this spreader system once the snow melts!

Forget-Me-Not

One of my father's favorite things was birds and birdhouses.  Late last Fall he began asking for unfinished birdhouses so that he could decorate them.  He used paint pens to color them and also hot glued craft items to them. He said it helped to forget about the pain, even if just for a little while. My cousins would also bring him  bird related items including faux birds.  Even staff members starting keeping their eye out for things they could bring to him.

When we cleared out dad's room I brought the birds and houses home with me.  I intend to clear coat the houses and put them out in my garden this Spring. 

With dad's love of birds in mind I put this table together in his memory.

I started with a yellow table cloth and a green, yellow and white crochet piece from Mr. B's mother.

For each place setting I used a green charger, a large plate from Ikea, a thrifted plate with flowers and another small salad plate, also thrifted, that has bird houses on it.

The dinner plate is from J&G Meakin and the pattern is named, Forget-Me-Not, so perfect for this table.

I used dad's decorated bird houses on the table as well as some of his bird collection as well as some of our own. You see, Mr. B & I also collect birds.

I took all of the remaining flowers from the arrangements we had received when dad passed and put them into a large vase. 

Three of the place settings have a green wine goblet from Dollar Tree and a water goblet.  Dad's place, at the head of the table, has a water goblet and a large beer mug.  Dad was not a wine drinker.  Give him a cheap cold beer any day :)

 

I think dad would have liked sitting at this table. I think he would be pleased to see that his art is being showcased.  I imagine him sitting back, enjoying a cheap cold beer, watching all of the birds as they surround him with their songs.

Estate Sale Finds

Thank you all for being so patient and sticking around in my absence!
The last few months, and weeks in particular,
have been a bit rough
but I promise,
I am back!

As I have mentioned before, I get email alerts
from Estatesale.net
letting me know
of upcoming estate sales in our area.

Imagine my delight when I received an email
recently that stated a sale that included
over 800 pieces of Candlewick glass!
Yes, you read that right....OVER  800 PIECES!

Even though it was across town, I HAD to go, right?
Even Mr. B was excited about this sale.

The sale started on a Friday but we weren't able to go
until Saturday morning.
I was so afraid they might of already sold it all
but Mr. B was pretty sure I am
the only Candlewick freak in a 1000 mile radius.

He was wrong!
There were other Candlewick collectors there.
Some with the resource "bible" of
Candlewick collecting in hand
(I had left mine in the car).

Luckily, there were still plenty of pieces left to drool ogle at.

There were glasses and sherbets of all sizes

 Countless amounts of the Hazel Atlas snack trays and cups

Plates and bowls

Salt and peppers, condiment dishes, serving pieces, the list goes on and on

It seems the lady of the house
had hoped to, one day, open a
bed and breakfast.
She was going to use only Candlewick pieces for all the meals and table decor.
I wish I could have met her.
I am sure we could have talked for hours
about our shared obsession hobby!

The pricing was very reasonable.
I had a budget in mind
and had already decided the pieces I really wanted to get
to add to my collection.
That's not to say there weren't pieces I really really wanted to get
(see the pair of vases?  The cake plate? The wavy tidbit plates? Swoon!).
But, just like on Ebay, they were out of my price range.

I was able to get 4 fruit bowls at $5.00 each

One of the bowls still has the original Imperial Candlewick label attached

I added 4 cups and saucers to my collection at $5.00 for each set

 The cups have the familiar question mark handle

I have been wanting to get some salad plates and was able to score 4 for $8.00 each

And lastly, 4 small dessert plates at $5.00 each

I don't believe any of the pieces have ever been used.
Not a scratch from forks or knifes on any of them.
Had I tried to pick these up from Ebay
I would have had to pay shipping charges
as well as hope they were in
as perfect condition as these.

So, you might ask, am I done collecting Candlewick?
Gosh, I don't know.
I mean, I am not even close to
being able to boast about
having over 800 pieces...yet!