Shabby, Cottage Chair

I found the perfect shabby chippy chair at my favorite thrift. 

A fun spring green under the white. 

A wonderful red popping through as well. 

 

I took a quick pass around the store after dropping off a few things. 

I saw this cutie a couple of weeks ago and I talked myself out of it. 

I didn't need another chair. 

I have plenty of chairs.

 But chairs just seem to find their way into the back of my truck for some reason. 

I decided it would be the sweetest seat for my bathroom after the remodel.

At first I could visualize it in the finished space, but then as things started to come together I realized it wasn't meant to be.

This one is a little more casual than the space upstairs turned out to be.

It has been at the kitchen desk the last few weeks. 

The longer it sits here the more I am smitten.

I guess I will just have to keep looking for the perfect chair for the bathroom. 

Katie  
Linking with,
French Country Cottage  
Common Ground
The Charm of Home  
Funky Junk Interiors  
Between Naps on the Porch  
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia 

Making The Most Out Of Thrifted Wall Art

I know that if I wanted something new for the walls I could head to a big box decor shop. I would be okay with that if I absolutely loved the print but most of the time, I don't really want the same thing as everyone else. 

I remember the days when almost every young mom I knew had this Monet print, including me. 

 

It was available everywhere. 

As a newlywed, I was a little overwhelmed with the task of filling up the walls with artwork. I didn't want run of the mill but I couldn't afford to head to an art gallery either. 

I came up with sentimental and unique art for the walls by shopping for 
original paintings or vintage prints at antique malls, thrift stores and garage sales.

I think the most I have ever paid for a little oil painting was $20.00.

Most of them I picked up for just a few dollars. I try to stick to pastoral landscapes or paintings of flowers. These were usually done by amateur artists and very often they aren't valuable. They aren't always the best artwork but they can look cute in a grouping of similar subject matter. 

I have even been know to doctor a painting if it isn't muted enough. 

  Our daughter did this series of pears in art class when she was in school. We are blessed to have some of her paintings hanging in the house and at work.

My sister and her husband commissioned an art teacher to paint a custom piece from an antique photograph of his grandmother.

 The chest and the jewelry casket were hers. Love!

I'm at my sister's home this week so stay tuned for more of pictures of her lovely home.

I like to fill in with vintage prints. 

They weren't expensive in their day and they have an antique look due to the yellowing of the paper they were printed on. Most of these haven't survived the decades because they weren't expensive or precious so they were most likely just thrown away. 

I'm just captivated with their faded and aged charm.

New frame for vintage painting. $25.00

                       

When shopping the thrift, look past an ugly frame. 

Look past the ugly painting in a gorgeous frame. If the frame is a standard size you should be able to find a print or painting the same size to fit. Hopefully in the same pile of junky art if the junking angels are watching over you ;)  Keep a tape measure in your purse to mix and match frames and prints or paintings. Try to stick to a standard size. 
Keep in mind that antique sizes were different than they are today so you may have to trim a print.

I have yanked ugly, torn paintings out of frames and replaced them with mirrors.

 

Finally, not everything thing on your walls has to be a picture. Incorporate shelves, mirrors, trays, old windows, sconces etc to add interest and variety. 

Not every wall needs something on it. 

Having a blank wall or two allows the eye to rest. 

Put your best piece on the focal wall. What is the focal wall? The wall you see when you walk into the room. The paintings in the room should also be of a similar genre. Florals, landscapes, architecture, bird or botanical prints. They don't all have to be match-matchy but if you can stick to a style or genre.

I hope this helps in your quest to have walls of fabulous original and unique art.

I have picked up some cute pieces over years. 
My favorite is this garden wall painting that I found at a garage sale for $8.00. 

I had hoped it was from a famous artist and that I was housing a painting worth a half a million dollars but nothing came up when I Googled the artist.

Hope you have better luck!

Katie  
Linking with,
Savvy Southern Style   
From My Front Porch to Yours  
Feathered Nest Friday 

Ritz Cracker Pie

Do you ever have one of those days?

When we got the cabinets painted last fall I removed my recipes that were in a drawer. It was the trivet, pot holder and plug drawer. 

You know those plugs that go in coffee urns and electric skillets? 

I think my Apple Peeler/Corer/Slicer from Pampered Chef is also in that drawer.

 These recipes weren't the ones that I had taken the time to actually write on cards and put in my recipe box. 

These were the ones that were photocopied or written down on notebook paper. You know the recipes that you jot down because something at a potluck or gathering is just so good.

I had some good ones in there but I have hidden them from myself. 

I hate that. I spent about a half an hour trying to think through what I would have done with them. 

I should never move something when I am distracted by a big project.  I am sure in the rush of cleaning out the drawers so they could be painted I decided another spot would be better. I have had ample time in 20 years to come up with a better spot.  I should never make organizational decisions during a crunch time. 

T he pizza casserole recipe was in there. I wrote it down at PTA one night.  The best corn bread recipe ever was in that drawer too. 

Ai Yi Yi! (That is my new phrase by the way.)

W ell, that and another one I can't repeat on a G rated blog.

It was used when I was scraping popcorn off of the ceiling. 

It would definitely up my blog to a P.G. rating.  ;)

Anyway,

I was looking for a recipe for Bill's birthday/Father's Day lunch.

 I finally gave up and called his mom. 

She had to hunt down her copy but at least she had success.

 Ritz Cracker Pie

21 Ritz Crackers crushed

3 egg whites

1 cup sugar

1tsp. baking powder

1tsp. vanilla

1 cup chopped pecans

Beat egg whites until stiff.

Add sugar, vanilla and baking powder and beat well.

Fold in Ritz crackers and pecans.

Pour into greased pie pan.

  

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

Allow to cool.

Cover with whipped cream and sprinkle with grated chocolate. 

We prefer real whipped cream not the kind that comes in a tub or a can.

This is one of Bill's favorite pies. His mom made it for him when he was a kid.

This pie is lightly sweet, crunchy and chewy. 

If you like meringues and pecans, I think you will love it. 

I love that there is no pie crust to make. 

Do you know how to separate an egg?

Crack the egg.

Hold the egg upright and pull off the top half.

Carefully transfer the egg to the other half of the shell.

Transfer the egg back and forth until most of the white has dripped into your bowl.

My stepmom taught me this method and it never fails unless I am trying to take a picture at the same time. 

Ai Yi Yi!

I hope you had a wonderful Father's Day.

Happy Birthday, Honey.

Sprinkled with Ritz Crackers,

Katie  
Linking with,

Red and White Dishes.

One of the first things I wanted do with my summer was to go junking. 
I just haven't had much time to do that this spring. 
As soon as I was done at school I hit one of my favorite thrifts. 

I went out again the next morning. 

 Arlington Resale had 25 percent off everything in the store. :)

I was thrilled to find that the tablecloth was Williams Sonoma. 
It will go with some white napkins I found over the holidays. 

All this red inspired me to pull out my red dishes. 

When we had the kitchen cabinets painted last fall, I loaded them with my brown transferware.
The brown goes better with my collections of pumpkins, turkeys and gingerbread men. I meant to change things up in January, but I didn't feel like it. 

Transferware is wonderful to collect in a variety of colors.

A copper plate was used to print the design on tissue paper and the tissue paper was then laid on the clay. 

In my years of antiquing I've noticed that blue is the easiest color to find. 

 Mulberry (purple) is the most rare. 

The teacup is Mason's China. 
This pattern is gorgeous and very collectable. 
It's my favorite of all the red dishes but 
it's hard to find at a price I want to pay.

The larger plate is also Mason's.
The smaller plate is some hotel china that I found last summer at Goodwill. 

Only a few pieces of my red and white are
 vintage transferware. The rest is a mix of thrifty finds. The teapot is Old Britain Castles by Johnson Brothers. I picked up at an outlet store.

My cow pitchers make me think of my grandmother. Too cute.

I found the chicken at my favorite thrift.
The milk bottle was Pier 1 clearance. 
Red and white kitchens can be very kitsch or more elegant.
I like a mix of both. 

 I'm not sure when red and white kitchens were in favor but I have a feeling every generation has had a version of the red and white kitchen. Tomato red was popular in the 70's. The first house I lived in as an adult had tomato red laminate countertops. :) I wish I had a picture of those.
Two of Bill's little aunts had red and white kitchens. 
In fact Mason's was his little Aunt Louine's everyday china.

His Aunt Doris had a treasure trove of vintage red and white utensils, canisters and other items. She wasn't trying to decorate vintage. It was all original from when her house was built in the 1940's.

I found some super cute pins on Pinterest by searching for red and white kitchens. 
Some of them looked like Aunt Doris' old kitchen.

Having the white cabinets is fun because I can change my accent colors for the seasons.

I love, love the red in the white cabinets.

It's fun for summer.

and it just pops.

I love it!

Katie 
Linking with,
The Charm of Home  
Funky Junk Interiors