Such a deal...say it with me...such a deal (don't forget the accent!).  I must admit to being a bit behind on sharing...I was suffering from a House addiction...yes, we discovered it on cable tv while staying at a hotel when visiting Kimi...on the way home from Kimi we detoured to the library to pick up all the seasons and the rest is history...sad, even a pit pathetic, but true...I still can't wait to see what happened this last ever, in the history of the universe season.  Hey wait, technically I get credit for the above confessoin...renting DVDs from the library is free...so quite a deal, except that maybe with season 7, I was unable to renew since someone had it on hold,so I kept it a few days to finish watching...but that was just maybe.  Not only have I digressed, I hopped full on the tangent train...

Ok, I'm back...

Last week I went out for Saturday morning treasure hunting fun.  The only one who wanted to come with was JoJo, he was also the only one not invited.   The plan was look for signs, follow signs, find awesome treasures.  I was happy with my plan.  I found an estate sale with stuff all over the driveway, no, not on tables on the driveway, on the actual driveway.   I was looking around, checking out the weird guy tool things, the orthopedic cane collection, the adult portable potty chair with handles that enable you to go to the bathroom in any room of the house, a life size, upright cow dressed in a Little House on the Prairie dress that you put over your vacumn to hide it right in plain sight.  Apparently the cow was actually free to a good home.  It was tempting...but all thoughts of having my very own vacumn cow disapeared when I looked down and saw a Longenberger basket...ok, act calm...shuffle, shuffle, side step, act casual, swoop down, grab and hug to my bossom...wow, yep it is one..."excuse me, I was wondering, how much is this basket?"  I didn't hold much hope on price, even though it was on the ground, it was freakin' gorgeous!  One of the fall ones.  "Oh, that's a Longenberger basket, how about $3, it has the matching liner"?  I sort of choked, but held onto my coolness...I'll take it...I found another one and asked about it.  "How about $2?"  Ok, now I need to start my official pile. And this one?  "Oh, that is a special Christmas one with both the liner and plastic liner, how about $5?"  SOLD!  I found 5 baskets and ended up spending a grand total of $14!  Wow!!!  Didn't I tell you...Such a deal...

For Mother's Day I had this thought to make a mini Fairy Garden for my mom and my Aunt...no, not Auntie Dot...I am not allowed to give Auntie Dot plants ever, ever again!  It is amazing the problems I caused by giving her one small, rather tiny, doesn't need much care, will just look pretty and make you happy plant.  Auntie Dot is a formidable Southern woman in her 90's...last year I gave her a small planter I had planted for her (I by passed the actual giving to her by putting it directly in the sun, in a perfect location, on her balcony), she then spent most of her time and energy moving it around, watering it, worrying about watering it, worrying about if it was in enough sun, not enough sun, was it too cold?  Hot?  Lonely?  She took on full responsibility and hauled this planter around the balcony and in and out of her home.  Eventually, for some unknown reason, the hearty, doesn't need much care, doesn't like alot of water  plant died.  She then hauled the planter around so that she could return it to me.  I love her dearly, but I do not want to love her to death via a plant.  This Mother's Day I gave her a bouquet of tulips.  She seemed happy with the bouquet of tulips, are they roses?  Are you sure they are not roses?  They look like large roses that I gave her.

I stopped by the nursery full of amazing plants, picked out 3 cell packs and stood in line behind all the wagons full of plants.  Let them stare, I had a plan!   It was so much fun making the gardens and envisioning them putting the mini garden in the midst of their larger garden, where gentle people carrying parasols, strolling through the gardens, would discover the fairy and her world.   What?  Like you don't talk to your plants.  An added bonus was getting to use my previously rescued, professional, potter's bench.  It truly made all the difference.  Mom and my Aunt loved their gardens.

I am now on the hunt for some gentle people and a parasol.  I have high hopes...'tis the season of deals!

Of course there is more...

Yes, you are correct...how could I go to a really cool, wait for all year, rummage sale and only leave with one box?  Not to mention the quest I was on for dishes, cups and saucers for the wedding.  Well I couldn't!  Don't worry...I found this cup and saucer set...can you believe 14, yes fourteen!  It sounds even more impressive when 14 is spelled out!  They are quite pretty and as you can see I spent more quality time with the lady in the yellow smock, her stickers and magic marker...they were marked $10 but got the box for $6!!!  Again using my amazing bargining skills and the fact that it was the second day of the sale and I was there with my mom and a shopping cart...oh, did I forget to mention the shopping cart?  Yes, we completed our look with a much desired shopping cart.  When we walked in, someone gave it to us, apparently we look like the type that would need a shopping cart...how right they were!  We loaded up these 2 treasure boxes and on our merry way we went, off to find even more treasure to load into our cart with the squeaky, broken wheel, continually saying "excuse me" & continually being ignored, all in an attempt to get to the next table, 2.5 feet away...now don't you go thinking it was easy!  Having a shopping cart is alot of responsibility, it doesn't matter that it is large, slightly broken and hard to maunevue, everyone wants one (que  Van Haylen in the background)  you have to deal with shopping cart envy. We were now on the defense from the lady that wanted the Brady Bunch dishes, the lady that wanted the cart, random dive bombing people trying to see if they wanted what was in the cart and my new bff, the lady in the yellow smock with her marker and stickers in the front pocket.  We finally did make it out with all our treasures intact.  Yes, there were more, but those will have to wait for another day, I think this all you can handle right now.

Dishes + Good Deal = True Love!

I love dishes...alot...I heart dishes...I had an idea last year to collect misc. dishes to use for a friend's wedding...then I went to a wedding where they did this...their plan was even better then I had thought of and it was wonderful, truly wonderful...so I have been searching for dishes, which has fed my love (close to a fetish) of dishes even more, now I have an excuse to search, find, bargin, stack and admire...I found this box of dishes at a church rumage sale...fine, you are right, they are not for the wedding...they are for my kitchen...can you believe how cool they are??  Set of 12!!!  Brady Bunch green, all sorts of pieces, Martha Stewart would be proud of the place settings I could create, I just may invite her for an outdoor event...the box was marked $10, after a small amount of bargining the official lady wearing a yellow smock, armed with stickers and a marker said I could have this treasure trove for $7 and put the official sticker on the box...while this was going on I know someone was stalking MY dishes, they were just waiting to see if I would walk away, pacing and staring, not a chance!  These bad boys were mine, all mine hahahaha...perhaps the evil laugh is what had her writing out that sticker so quickly...whatever...I came home with the box and am figuring out the most perfect spot to put them, I can't wait to use them...btw, others who live here may not be quite as excited...apparently there actually was a time when dishes were made that can not go in the dishwasher...oh well, I still love them and I know they love me!

Sometimes you already have the best deal...

Love, love, love when something wonderful is growing in your gardens, you bring some inside and still have plenty left outside so you don't look sad and scavengered.  When I was out front digging I heard these lily of the valley calling me, tiny but mighty...delicate, yet so very fragrant,  it's amazing how much energy can be in a such small package...makes me wonder if I know anyone like that?  I do have to admit they are a favorite!  I don't want to hear about how lily of the valley grow like weeds,  or that along with the nice fairies it will also attrack the mean, gang land fairies from the hood that just want to fight, smoke the stems, run amuk and ruin the neighborhood. That just makes me like them more!  An old fashioned perennial I don't have to do the dance of growth for, worry about if the neighbor's dogs have been "visiting" them too much, if they might have been slightly run over during the winter or  if they will be making an appearance each year!  Early in the spring they are first to arrive and bring friends, if I move them, they go with a smile and invite even more friends...what more could I ask for in a flower?  I am giving them a 2 green thumbs up!  Best of all, they were free!

In the beginning...

Ok, so it's not the beginning and not the first time...yesterday I was driving with my mom and we were talking about how we have not found anything exciting in our neighborhood garbage lately.  Perhaps others were beating us to it.  Yes, we do talk about things like that.  I dropped her off and drove 2 houses and there it was, this way cool thing that I decided immediately was a potter's bench for my gardens.  Of course I stopped and attempted to move into mom's car.  Oh, I forgot to mention, her car was packed to top with wood and other exciting items, including a mini fridge.  I thought that I could just stick it into the passenger's door and make it around the block to my house, but no such luck.  I called my parent's house and dad answered.  He is always amazed how we need to talk 4 minutes after last conversation.  I said dad, I need your help, I am 2 houses down in the street with really cool thing...he said, I don't know them, here's your mother...so mom and I abandoned her car and carried this back to her driveway where I left it to pick up later.  Isn't it perfect?  Can't you just see plants, clay pots, metal coffee pots??  I can and it looks awesome!