Cabbages & Cornstalks

What about this weather?!

We got some flurries & sleet on Halloween night ...
& now they are predicting is for a few inches this weekend!
Fall snow ... I think so.
Wow.
Ready or NOT, winter is coming early!

My to-do list for today now includes getting my porch & patio ready for all the cold & snow.
We haven't put away our big patio umbrella yet & my flower pots are still out.
In fact, I still have blooming flowers!
Ugg ... I don't think I am ready for this winter weather just yet.

Here are a few pictures of the pretty things we enjoyed on the porch this fall.

 

 Gunnar & Riley brought me home the corn stalks, complete with corn right on the cob!

That added a whole other level of fun, right?!

This was my first time to ever plant ornamental cabbages, but it will not be my last!

They are so beautiful & hardy.

 I planted a green one in one pot & a purple one in the other.

 I still have buds & blooms on my rose bush!

Winter, are you sure you wanna put a stop to all this?

On the door hangs this overloaded wreath.

I was super happy to find it at the flea market for $10.

Now, what you don't see is that I have a total of 14 pumpkins 

scattered here and there around the outside of the house.

James stopped in on last day at the pumpkin patch & they told him to take what he wanted ...

for free!
Gunnar & Abigail came over one evening & he said, "Mom, I love all your pumpkins!
I counted & you have 14!"
{I love that boy.}

I was so happy when he brought those home.

We are hosting Thanksgiving for my side of the family this year, so all this seasonal decor

will festively greet our guests on Thanksgiving Day.

So, today while we are getting things winterized, I'll snap a few pics of all the extra pumpkins

& I'll show you those tomorrow =)

Happy freezing cold fall, y'all.

Who doesn't love a good party?!
You can find me here linking up with these great blogs.
Monday          C.R.A.F.T      The Dedicated House  I Should Be Mopping the Floor
                  Between Naps on the Porch  The Modest Mom
Tuesday     A Delightsome Life   A Bowl Full of Lemons    Titus Tuesday      A Stroll Through Life
Wednesday   Raising Homemakers        Savvy Southern Style         Adorned From Above
                    The Thrifty Home   A Wise Woman Builds Her Home
Thursday    Between Naps on the Porch   Serving Joyfully     Lamberts Lately
Friday      Rooted in Thyme  The Thrifty Groove   Farm Blog Hop  Best of the Nest
               French Country Cottage  The Girl Creative
Sunday    Nifty Thrifty Things    Suburbsmama    Sew Many Ways

A Vintage Blue Housewarming Gift

I wanted to share this gorgeous vintage porcelain enamel pan with you since I bought it last summer,
but it got lost in the shuffle somewhere along the way.
Story of my blogging life.

However, I instantly thought of this blue lovely when I saw a link-up party called "Anything Blue Friday." 
{Be sure & stop in at The Dedicated House to look around!}

Isn't she PURTY ... just about perfect in my book.

And you know, as soon as I laid eyes on her, I knew she belonged to my sweet friend, Jenny.
{She's the one that gave me the Granola Munch recipe that I recently shared ...
be sure to check it out if you haven't yet.}
So I scooped it up & put it in my cart.

And you know where I bought this from?
The flea market.
Have you ever bought a gift for a friend at the flea market or the junk store?
My friend Jenny loves shopping at the thrift stores just like I do & she loves old things.
Yep, it just had her name on it.

I thought it had loads of character ... worn edges here & there.
It's worn clear through the white in one spot.

Here it is on my old vintage chair ...
These two have a lot in common.

I decided to send this to Jenny as a housewarming gift for the new house they had just purchased.
Thus began the hunt for what to put inside that would weather being shipped to Missouri.

I knew these red & white kitchen towels would make a striking combo & they did!

Jenny has a soft spot for drinking coffee, so adding the mug was an easy decision.

 
I tucked in a note & off it went to MO.

I LOVE giving gifts to people.
It just makes my heart happy & this one was especially fun.

I have pics of us together, but nothing recent -- so I thought I'd share this one of sweet Jenny & her daughter, Brooklyn.  Isn't this shot so fun?!

We visited the Stephens family in February & smiled when I saw how Jenny used this pan.
She has it in her bathroom, sitting on the top shelf of a little chippy roller cart.
It's filled with rolled washcloths.

Now, just for fun, since this post was inspired by BLUE,  here are some fun & interesting stuff about BLUE:

~ I personally like blue cause it's the color of the sky & the ocean ... I don't commonly
decorate with blue, but I do wear it {royal blue actually looks pretty nice on me}.

~ Blue is the overwhelming the “favorite color,” & is seen as trustworthy & dependable

~ President Martin VanBuren is credited with introducing blue into the decorating scheme
of the White House in 1837 and since then, there has been a “blue room” there.

~  Blue is the favored color choice for toothbrushes.  Ha.

~  Mosquitoes are attracted to the color blue twice as much as to any other color.  I'll remember this one!

~ Many common phrases include the word blue:

• out of the blue: unexpected
• True blue: to be loyal or faithful
• Once in a blue moon: an event that occurs infrequently
• Blue ribbon: first place; to describe something as being of the highest quality
• Blue blood: an aristocrat
• Blueprint: a detailed design of an object or idea
• Blue plate special: a special priced meal at a restaurant
• Feeling blue: to feel sad or unhappy

So, hope your skies are blue, but not your spirit!
Thanks for visiting Call Her Blessed & come back anytime.

Who doesn't love a good party?!
You can find me here linking up with these great blogs.
Monday     The Girl Creative     C.R.A.F.T     The Modest Mom
Tuesday     A Delightsome Life   A Bowl Full of Lemons    Titus Tuesday      A Stroll Through Life
Wednesday   Raising Homemakers        Savvy Southern Style         Adorned From Above
                  The Dedicated House   The Thrifty Home     A Wise Woman Builds Her Home
Thursday    Between Naps on the Porch   Serving Joyfully     Lamberts Lately
Friday      Rooted in Thyme  The Thrifty Groove   Farm Blog Hop    French Country Cottage
Sunday    Nifty Thrifty Things    Suburbsmama    Sew Many Ways

A Collage Wall to Change with the Seasons

In the spring,  I experimented with a new collage wall.
This is in my living room, just as you step in the front door -- on one side of the armoire.
I wanted to try a new look {for me} by utilizing most of the whole wall space, hanging things
higher & lower than I normally do.
Overall, I am quite pleased with it.
For some reason, I completely forgot to show you this wall right after I did it, so it's changed a bit now,
but this is how it looked when I first arranged it in the spring.
I have now changed out the nest that is hanging on the oval frame & I'll show you what I put
in it's place in a minute.

I didn't buy a single thing for this collage wall -- which has been my plan for a while now --
creatively making use of what I have instead of accumulating more 'stuff'.


This oval frame came from Goodwill & I sprayed painted it this creamy white.
I've had the bird's nest for years & just threaded a strip of burlap through the back in order to hang it.
This was one of my favorite 'spring' things in the house & I really hated to take it down.

This frame came from the flea market & had the polka dot scrap paper in it when I bought it ...
& it's remained there ever since.
A few years ago, I attached a black wooden letter 'P' to the front, but otherwise,
this frame is usually displayed as is.

Here is a look at the whole little corner.
The hook rack on the wall was hung several years ago as a functional piece for hats, jackets, & coats.
The lamp is old, old, old.
I think we got it right after we were married, so let's say it's at least 21 years old.
A spray painting of black updated the brass ... & I even spray painted the shade a few years back
& added the burlap accessory.
I think I am getting ready to replace the shade entirely,
along with replacing all the shades in the living room.
I'm wanting more of the drum-type shades, I think.

The basket is my least favorite part of this corner.
I'm thinking it needs to darker -- so maybe a coat of spray paint would help?
Either that or a new basket entirely.
It's functional though, holding all our throws & quilts.

As for the little green basket with coral flowers, that was a gift from my sweet friend, Jenny S.
It sat there during the spring for a little pop of color.


The antique ironing board ... well, I just haven't found the perfect spot for it,
so, for now, it's here.
It was my $10 flea market find.
In a booth just over from it was another one almost like it, selling for $100.
I think I got the better bargain ;)

When spring passed & summer began, I changed out the nest & in it's place I hung our family tree.
This was a handmade gift from my friend, Stacy H.
I love it so much.
I moved the oval frame to the other side, replacing one framed pic.

With fall quickly approaching, I'm sure this wall with have an update or two
to include something seasonal again.

That's the fun of a collage wall.
Once you get the main layout & components in place, it's easy to switch out a thing or two
for a new, fresh look.

Thanks for visiting, friends.

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Monday         Make It Yourself Monday        The Better Mom       C.R.A.F.T     
Tuesday    Domestically Divine     A Bowl Full of Lemons    Titus Tuesday      A Stroll Through Life
Wednesday   Raising Homemakers        Savvy Southern Style         Adorned From Above
                   Women Living Well    The Thrifty Home     A Wise Woman Builds Her Home
Thursday      The Shabby Creek Cottage     Serving Joyfully     Lamberts Lately
Friday    Happy-Go-Lucky     The Thrifty Groove      Farm Blog Hop
Sunday  Suburbsmama    Sew Many Ways

Living Room Odds & Ends

I get on a roll.
I'll be blogging away, showing how I've decorated one room or another
or where I've put my flea market finds ...
and then, just like that --
all the sudden,
I just putter to a stop.

I open up a folder of pictures on my laptop & I'm reminded of the little things here & there
that I took a pic of & never got around to showing all you good people.

So, I'm brushing the dust off that folder of pics to show you a few pretty things in my living room.

I bought this old chair at my favorite flea market.
I've almost forgotten how much I paid for it, but I'm thinking it was $6.

And my chippy old ladder.
I love this thing.
It was on my 'want' list for the longest time, til I finally found this one -- the right size & the right price.

 

And my bright, super fun & fresh green curtains.

 

I debated on these for several weeks before they made their way into my cart.

I can thank good ol' Lowe's for these pretties.

Now, here's where my my sad, oh so sad & lacking camera skills take center stage.

The light was coming through so bright that, well, I just couldn't seem to make the pic look nice at all.

But, you get the idea, right?

 

 

Just wanted to show ya how pretty the curtains look hanging at this window.
I have another double window at the front of the room, but same story ... bad photography.
I'll save myself the embarrassment ;)

Tomorrow, I'll show you my gallery wall.
I'll have to wait to then cause it's changed since I took the pic back in early spring.
I'll show you what it looked like then ... & now.
Better hurry though, huh, cause it's almost time to decorate for fall & the gallery wall
will get yet another little makeover.

Whew ... decorating for fall.
Are you kidding me?
Is it really almost time for that?!

Happy Monday, fellow blogger friends.
Hope it has treated you well.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Monday         Make It Yourself Monday        The Better Mom       C.R.A.F.T     
Tuesday    Domestically Divine     A Bowl Full of Lemons    Titus Tuesday      A Stroll Through Life
Wednesday   Raising Homemakers        Savvy Southern Style         Adorned From Above
                   Women Living Well    Southern Lovely     The Thrifty Home
Thursday      The Shabby Creek Cottage     Serving Joyfully     Lamberts Lately
Friday    Happy-Go-Lucky     The Thrifty Groove      Farm Blog Hop
Sunday  Suburbsmama    Sew Many Ways
 

Flea Market Finds

A few of my recent flea market finds~

I always love a good canning jar, right ...
but these are a brand new kind for me.

 Look at these unique lids!

 James said he'd seen these type of jars before, but I never have.

So, yes ... at $2 each, these 2 pretty little thangs found there way into my cart.
I can just imagine them filled with the layers of cookie ingredients ...
ya know, the sugars - brown & white, the flour, the chocolate chips, etc.
Wouldn't that be so pretty in these jars?
I thought they'd make great gifts.


I also picked up this lovely basket.
I don't use a lot of blue, but I do have it in the loft in our beachy South Carolina room.
I'm not exactly sure what I'll do with it, but for $6.99, it had to come home with me.
Oops...forgot to take of the price tag.

I see lots of projects using old vintage photos, but I've never had any to use.
This page of photos was $1.29.
Aren't the little kid ones are adorable?
Just always makes me sad when I see someone's family photos being sold at the flea market.

Not too bad for a quick stop at my favorite flea market.

Happy Thursday, y'all~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Monday         Make It Yourself Monday        The Better Mom       C.R.A.F.T
Tuesday    Domestically Divine     A Bowl Full of Lemons    Titus Tuesday      A Stroll Through Life
Wednesday   Raising Homemakers        Savvy Southern Style         Adorned From Above
                   Women Living Well    Southern Lovely     The Thrifty Home
Friday    Happy-Go-Lucky     The Thrifty Groove      Farm Blog Hop
Sunday  Suburbsmama    Sew Many Ways

In Ironstone Heaven

What?!

Is this ironstone that I see?

A whole box full of ironstone looking back at me?!

Talk about hitting the jackpot ... that's exactly how I felt!
The mother lode of ironstone.
Well, that's probably a bit of a stretch, but it is a nice haul of ironstone dishes!
And the best part about it:  almost all of it was FREE.
All because my friend, Aleisa & I had a random convo about ironstone.

Somehow or another, amidst my ramblings about this & that, I mentioned that my collection
of old creamy white dishes, pitchers, & platters is called ironstone ...
and how I've gotten all of it at Goodwill, flea markets, yard sales, & the like.

She proceeded to tell me that the dishes at the office she works at were ironstone ... a whole set.
She said they were nothing special, just plain white dishes that said Johnson Brothers Ironstone
on the bottom.

 

I shared with her that I had recently found some at GW, only 6 though, & how I was hoping 

to run across at least 2 more so I could have a complete set for our dining room table.

This would be my first set of plain white classic dishes.

Something great about plain white ... simple & goes with any decor.

Here's where the story gets all fun.
A few months pass & I get a call from Aleisa.
"Guess what," she says .... "My boss is throwing out all those plain white dishes & getting new!
I asked if I could have them for you ... & she said sure."

All because of random convo about ironstone.
{Did I mention how much I love my friend Aleisa?!}
Course, I give God credit for everything, so I see these as a 'desires of my heart' blessing.
All in all, I got an oval serving tray, an oval serving dish, a round serving bowl, 4 salad bowls,
9 saucers, & 7 plates!
What in the world?!
I am so happy about these!!

BUT, the story's not over.
2 days later, while the box of these freebie dishes were still in the back of my Suburban,
I stop in at Goodwill.

And for the grand ol' price of 49 cents, I find several pieces of Valley Forge Ironstone.

13 saucers, 9 little fruit bowls, & 1 soup bowl.

I couldn't believe how 'lucky' I was ;)
The only thing that would've sweetened the deal if they were half price that day
& I would've only paid a quarter.
Ha ... yes, I love a bargain.

Last but not least, only a couple days later, I stopped in at my fave flea market.
There I found this sweet little gravy bowl for one whole dollar.

It was almost as if the ironstone heavens opened up on me that week!

While I have several pitchers, this is my first gravy bowl.
I spotted one almost identical to this just a few booths over for $9.
Made me even happier about this one.

Where is my collection of ironstone displayed you ask?
Well, it's found a home on display in my china cabinet ... most of it anyway.
I've been collecting for a few years now & I've gotten enough pieces now that I am using them
here & there throughout the house.
There's a few pieces in the living room & the kitchen.

How 'bout this ... even though my china cabinet is in a difficult place to photograph
{and I'm admittedly not a very good photographer!}, I'll try & snap a few pics & show you
here in a day or two.
Will that work?

Until then, when you see a piece of ironstone, think of me, will ya?

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Happy Wednesday, y'all =)
Monday         Make It Yourself Monday        The Better Mom
Tuesday    Domestically Divine     A Bowl Full of Lemons    Titus Tuesday      A Stroll Through Life
Wednesday   Raising Homemakers        Savvy Southern Style         Adorned From Above
                   Women Living Well    Southern Lovely     The Thrifty Home
Friday    Happy-Go-Lucky     The Thrifty Groove      Farm Blog Hop
Sunday  Suburbsmama    Sew Many Ways