A Few Finds, Furniture, and a Face Lift Update.....

"It takes hands to build a house, but only hearts can build a home."

~Author Unknown~

Yesterday I had to run away from home for a little while to keep my sanity from all the sawing, hammering, ripping out, putting back, and mostly from the MESS! I called my friend Sweet P. totally prepared to bribe her with brownies, homemade no less, to let me come over for a while but she didn't answer. I was even ready to throw in vanilla ice cream, fudge sauce, AND nut topping just to escape, not that she needed bribing but a treat is twice as nice when shared with a special friend.I have to say that were she home and had I brought along a savory treat I would not have eaten even one bite, no way, no how. First, because I don't like chocolate and secondly because I had Gorgeous Grandson over the weekend. He kept running up to me and throwing his arms around my hips hugging me, he is only hip high after all, gazing up at me with his big blues eyes, smiling with his crooked grin, and saying, "Hi pumpkin." Now, I wasn't sure if he was just repeating a term of endearment I use with him or if he was referring to my nether regions! In any case I'd best not take any chances, so no sweets will be slipping trough these lips and adding to those hips!Today I am hiding out in the studio. See that lump behind the curtain? That is not Gorgeous Grandson playing peek-a-boo, it is me cowering in the closet trying to block out the screams. Right now there is a big muddy booted man sloshing in and out of my front door. I hear each squishing menacing step as he nears my bedroom door and then the screaming begins as every carpet fiber writhes in agony as mud is ground into it. Oh, wait a minute, I thought that scream was familiar, that wasn't the carpet, that was me.I cover my ears to block out the scratchy sound of wires being pulled through the walls. It sounds like the feet of a million little mice scurrying. The high pitched whine of the table saw and the thumps, bumps, and bangs coming from all directions has me surrounded and mostly I am sitting here thinking of the MESS.
The rhythmic pounding of the front steps being removed sounds like a heart beat. It really is a labor of love as Handy Hubby gives blood (there was a smashed finger!), sweat (the humidity is killer this week!), and tears (we laughed so hard we cried over the wasp incident!) to make our home not only beautiful but easier to maintain. I will cheerfully cook, clean, and be an extra set of helping hands when needed. So, if you wonder how the face lift here at the Quill is going, my house has never looked uglier or been dirtier! For someone who is a bit OCD in the clean and organized department this is making me nuts.As I said at the beginning of the post I did escape for a little while yesterday. I went to pick up an old chest Handy Hubby and I had seen that we thought might actually suit both of us. You might remember when we went to pick out an ottoman together and never came to an agreement. We both agree that this antique cedar chest on casters fits the space perfectly. We both love the rich tones of the wood, the fact that it can easily be moved, has storage, and is sturdy. I also picked up an inexpensive rug to use under the chest so the casters won't scratch the floors. Hmmm., perhaps I should have straightened up those sofa cushions before snapping that photo, too much trouble to retake and up load, what you see is what you get!Best of all I stopped at The Mall! Now don't be mistaken, this is not your typical clothing and shoe store kind of mall. It is a huge antique/flea market that you could spend days browsing in. I have a few occasions coming up in which I need gifts for and I love to find unusual items to present them in.

I found this darling little basket...An old hat covered in roses with yummy velvet ribbon trim...And an old purse, all of the items were only a couple of dollars each.Then there were three items that I bought for nostalgia. A Big Chief Writing Tablet, I used these in school when I was a little girl. If you had your cigar box full of pencils, scissor, and crayons and your Big Chief writing tablet you were set!Two Christmas Elves,(fifty cents each), who can resist these two cuties? My paternal grandmother had a collection of these and I have such fond memories of decorating and playing with them. The sight of them makes me smell frosted sprinkled sugar cookies which we always baked at Christmas.

I feel an art project coming on with these next items! A couple of Art Deco switch plate covers for a dollar each...A tarnished fifty cent frame, perfect for a collage...A darling little fifty cent hand painted black lacquer set of drawers that remind me of my mothers jewelry box...A tarnished sugar scoop...I have a couple more of these, I don't think they were in the photos of my studio though. I have ordered some German glass glitter and I want to use the scoops for holding the glitter while I am working. The scoop will make for easy sprinkling and it is just something pretty to use to boot.

Lastly, I found some rolls of old wall paper...Are they not pretty? Wait, what did that sticker say? FREE, seriously, for free! I admit I was greedy, I snapped them all up. However, I do plan to share, I won't keep it all to myself.

That kind of catches you up on the happenings here at the Quill. I hope you are all having a wonderful week, it is time for me to come out of the closet and return to clean up duty!

Blessings,
Miss Sandy

P.S. If you are wondering about the unrelated photos in this post, well, I just needed a little bit of pretty to soothe my frazzled nerves!