Teacup One from Grandma

My grandmother is nearing the end of her life so she has started to give us things that she wants us to have.  The last time I went to visit her, she told me to pick out 2 teacups...one for me and one for Cody.  Who are we kidding?  We all know they will both be mine!  

My grandma Noreen is a pure-blooded Irish woman.  Her mother gave her teacups all the time so she has a very large collection.  It was hard for me to pick only 2 because I love them all.  They are all beautiful and they all came from someone she loved. 

This is the first one I picked.  The soft aqua, pretty pink roses and silver scrolls are what got me.  I don't even mind the gold.  When I picked this one out, my grandma said it was her favorite set.  It was given to her by her mom when she was first married.  

I searched and searched for this pattern and didn't find a name for it.  I believe it is from the 1950's.  It is Paragon Fine Bone China made in England but that is pretty much all I know.  If you happen to know the name, please do tell me!

My grandma is a fighter and even when we think she is not going to make it, she always does.  She fell a little over 3 years ago and it has gone downhill from there.  She can't stand or sit up without help and she has lost control of most bodily functions.  I hate seeing her this way. 

She also has a piano and a hope chest that she is giving me but I have nowhere to put these things just yet.  I am looking forward to having more of her things one day. 

I will share the other teacup soon.  I am getting a nice little collection of special teacups going and I love it.  I think a tea party is in order soon! I am also going to need a beautiful china hutch to put all these pretties in.  For now, these are sitting in my white cabinet and I just couldn't resist snapping a picture of this teacup behind the chicken wire!

Linking up with: 

Homemaking Party
Tea Time Tuesday
Tuesday Cuppa Tea
Teacup Tuesday

Winter Carnival 2015

My mom's birthday was on Saturday so we all decided to take a trip up to McCall for the Winter Carnival.  We hadn't been in years and my mom was so excited to get to spend the day with her kids.  I am sad to report that the carnival was a bust.  There weren't very many sculptures and there were so many people you could hardly walk.  We did have fun just being together.  

This of course was my favorite sculpture for obvious reasons...it looks just like my camper but in snow!  This was the only one we got close to and took a picture with.  What a fun idea!  

There was a bear, a pine tree and even a fire pit made out of snow.  I made Cody come take a picture in front of it with me.  He is always a good sport for me! 

When we were walking back to our cars, there were 4 little deer in a field.  They were pretty tame and let me take their picture.  I have seen a million deer in my life but I am always captivated by them. 

We saw several more on the drive back to my parent's house.  We made dinner, played games, told stories of growing up together and then my sister, her husband, Cody and I went to the bar to sing karaoke.  Too bad the guy was sick, otherwise that little town wouldn't have known what hit them!  It was a great weekend even though I got no sleep. 

Here is a little Valentine's Day wreath that I made for my office door.  I bent a metal hanger into the shape of a heart, wrapped it in bubble wrap and pink ribbon and then made some flowers with felt, tied a big sparkly bow on it and hung it on the door.  It makes our office a little more festive and I used scraps so it didn't cost a dime! 

Vintage TV Tray Makeover & Arctic Boy Water Cooler Find

Remember my metal TV tray that I wanted to paint after finishing my aqua bar cart?  I had every intention of refinishing this tray a lot sooner than this, but it is finally done!  Here it is before.  I found only one similar online but there was no price.  It has been sitting outside all winter and was a rusty mess.

 Cody and I went to his shop and got to work yesterday.  My first job was to get all the rust scrubbed off.  Can you believe the rust that was pouring off this thing with every spray of the degreaser?  It was crazy.  There was even more than that after I sanded it.  

 In to the paint booth it went to get a coat of primer.  Cody even let me spray it!  Here we are all decked out in our spray masks in the paint booth.  Those masks are no fun and the paint booth gets really hot...it makes me admire Cody even more for the hard work he does everyday.

After the primer was dry we mixed up this sweet pink color.  We painted it white first because I wanted to adhere this doily onto it and spray the pink over it so it would look like it had a doily on it at all times.  Unfortunately, the air pressure was too high and it didn't work so we just painted the whole thing pink.  I still want to put a fake doily on it though...somehow! 

 Right now it is inside with some pretty Valentine's Day decorations on it, but soon enough it will be out on the patio being put to good use.  I am sure it will still be a few more months until it is warm enough to be enjoyed outside, so this will work for now.

 I have to say, being in on the whole process from start to finish makes me want to do even more projects like this with Cody at work.  I want to buy all the metal things and paint them!

Here is another fun vintage treasure that needs no refinishing whatsoever.  We found this in an old abandoned shed.  Why would anyone leave this?  I wasn't sure if it was really old or not because it has a plastic lining, but sure enough, it is vintage! 

Arctic Boy water coolers were used in the 50's and 60's.  The outside is a lovely galvanized metal and the inside is white plastic.  I won't be using it to cool any water, but I do think it would make a lovely planter.  As soon as the warm weather gets here, I can't wait to add some pretty bright flowers to put in it.   

Hope you all have a wonderful week!

DIY Showcase
Amaze Me Monday
Monday Link Party
Show & Share
Inspire Me Tuesday
Wow Us Wednesday
Vintage Inspiration Party
What's It Wednesday
Centerpiece Wednesday
Before & After Wednesday
Share Your Cup Thursday

Vintage Meets Work & Save Family Photos

It is fantastic when your love of vintage can come into play with your job.  We are exactly one month away from our Scholarship Gala and my centerpieces are ready to be assembled and put on display for everyone to see.  I can't show you yet what they will look like, but here are a few of the things that will be used in them.

 Seam binding!  It was so exciting when I got the go-ahead to order and use seam binding in my centerpieces.  My manager had never heard of it and when I showed it to her she said "How have I never heard of this stuff before?"  It will really "tie" all of our centerpieces together, if you know what I mean!

Vintage paper medallions!  We needed a way to incorporate book pages into our centerpieces as well as something to make table numbers.  This medallion was the perfect solution.  After 3 different attempts, I finally made one that was the perfect size.  And now I have to make 50 more! 

And vintage books!  I love book bundles but that isn't what we will be doing with them.  There are many little libraries on campus and instead of going out and buying a bunch, we will just borrow what we need.  I think we will be using around 175 books total.  Sounds like a heavy job to me!  I can't wait to show you the venue after we get it all set up.  I am really excited for my first gala and hope that it is a big success! 

I have shared this picture before of my dad, my aunt and my grandparents and now I am sharing it again.  I wanted to tell you about Save Family Photos.  It is this amazing site on Instagram and Facebook that shares vintage photos for others to see.  Today, this photo was featured and it means so much to me.  If you don't already follow them on Instagram or Facebook, I suggest you do.  They post vintage photos daily and they are so much fun to look at and hear the story behind them.  Go give them a like right now!

Dog Birthday Party

My friend Justin recently had a big party to celebrate his dog's 14th Birthday!  I went to the party and took some pictures with my phone so that I could share this handsome fella's 14th year.

I went to college with Justin and now we work together at that same college.  He works in Residence Life as a Hall Director in one of the dorms and Ranger is the most loved dorm dog there ever was.  All the residents came to celebrate Ranger on his big day!

 Here is the spread: Puppy Chow, Chex Mix, Crescent Wrapped Dogs and Pizza Bites.  The snacks were served in brand new dog bowls that were gifted to Ranger after the party.

 To drink was this refreshing "Toilet Water" served in a fancy silver bowl.  I have to say it was the best toilet water I have ever tasted...lol!

Lot's of pictures of Ranger were all over so everyone could see what a handsome boy he is.  He was definitely loving all the attention and love that day! 

There was even a bone shaped cake for everyone to enjoy.  Ranger even got a tiny piece of his own cake to try.  He scarfed it up super quick. 

I made Ranger some PupCakes of his very own.  My dogs couldn't make it to the party but they were really happy that I made these for Rangers because that meant that they got all the extras! 

Ranger could hardly wait to try his PupCakes and he loved them.  I think I may have to go into the dog treat baking business!  That is my friend Justin, we both love to plan parties and this one was no exception! 

 Happy 14th Birthday Ranger!  I hope you enjoyed your special day and know how special you are to so many people!

Top 10 Posts of 2014

It's always fun to go back and see which post was the most popular among your followers!  So here is a recap of some of my favorite posts that just happen to be your favorites too!

10. Winter Tablescape

9. Holy Sheet!

8. Monogram Spring Wreath

7. Vintage Melamine Easter Tablescape

6. Valentine's Day Decorating

5. What Color Should I Paint My Cart?

4. Aqua Cart Love

3. My Vintage Camper

2. Come Take a Tour Inside My Camper

1. Lovely Lilacs & Some Big News

It appears that I am a much better blogger in the first half of the year!  I hope to continue to post things that make you want to come take a look and leave a comment.  Thank you for another wonderful year of blogging and friendship!

Winter Survival Kit & gifts from friends

Winter is in full force here in Idaho.  We had an unusually warm November and December but  Old Man Winter made his way and it is cold!  Today's high is 18...if you ask me, if the temperature is  under freezing, it doesn't matter what the actual number is!  I decided to make some Winter Survival Kits for some special friends.  A quick trip to the Dollar Store and a few other stores and I was set.

I picked up this fun blue box that goes with my theme.  To it, I added warm socks, gloves, lotion, antibacterial gel and lip balm.  All things that will help you stay warm and keep your skin hydrated in this freezing cold weather.  This is such a fun gift to give someone in the month of January when there isn't too much exciting stuff going on. 

My sweet friend Jenny of Jenny's Heart and I had a little Christmas swap of our own.  We decided to do homemade treats and ornaments.  Here is what Jenny sent me.  I love the little snowmen and all the fun things she included.  What's missing is the delicious treats and the holiday velvet cake mix.  Cody always likes to see what I get and then take whatever he likes!  Thanks Jenny...I always love what you send and can't wait to swap with you again! 

My French loving friend Donna of My Shabby Chateau  sent me these sweet little Angel tags.  I just love these!  They have so many of my favorite things--angels, sheet music, French and glitter!  Thank you so much Donna, it was such a sweet surprise to receive these from you! 

I also wanted to share my simple winter mantle.  I love silver, white and aqua and my mantle looks gorgeous in these colors.  I will leave this up until the end of the month.   

I can't believe that 2015 is already here...time definitely flies when you are having fun.  Happy New Year everyone!

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