Mr. & Mrs. Fox

When my husband and I were first married we lived in the DC area.  On the weekends we liked to drive around seeing the different sights.  There was one little down in Virginia that we especially loved to drive through.  I especially loved seeing this one house that had these statutes of Mr. & Mrs. Fox sitting on their front porch steps.  I knew that when we bought a house that I wanted to have my own Mr. & Mrs. Fox statues sitting on my front porch.  We lived in the DC area for around 4 years before moving back to West Virginia.  It was our 5th Anniversary when my husband said let's see if we can find a Mr. & Mrs. Fox statute for your present.  I went to a lawn statue place to see if they had them.  They didn't.  I was so disappointed.  My husband took me back and asked if we could have them special ordered.  Sure enough they were able to do that.  So we special ordered them.  The picture they had of them they were wearing pink and just looked strange.  I told them they were supposed to look like the Hunt Club type of theme.  They are a play on the people in the Hunt Club that rides the horses and they let a fox out that they chase down.  The fox chase is what it's called.  The foxes are supposed to be in disguise by wearing the same hunt clothes as the hunters.  I think it's cute and just love them.  I told them how to paint them and they turned out great.

Here's a picture of them with my young lady when she was around 2 years old.  I have them sitting on the corner stone that came from the old barn that was on our property.  The years went by and the weather beat them pretty hard.  The paint kept chipping away and they just looked pitiful.  The statue places that I bought them from is no longer in business.  I decided it was time to paint them myself.  I am very pleased with how they turned out.  I bought the outdoor paint at Hobby Lobby in the little bottles where you buy regular crafting paint.  I scraped off as much of the flaking paint as I could.  It took me a little longer to paint them than I thought it would because of the different angles and trying to get them as perfect as I could.  Once I got them painted the way I liked them my Young Man carried them to their corner stone bench for me.  They are very heavy.  He then spayed them with a sealer so they will look good for a long time. 
 

Granny's Bird

Back in November I was told I could walk through my Granny's house and pick out anything I wanted.  I brought home this bird wall vase.  Once I got it home I knew immediately where I was going to put it.  I had bought this bird picture at an antique store a few years ago.  I knew Granny's bird wall vase would look perfect with it.  It makes me happy to see it hanging on my wall.

Angela

Granny's Dolls

Granny's Dolls

My Granny was a super talented woman!  When I was a kid she made all of her grandchildren Raggedy Ann Dolls.  The third one from the right was my first one that she made me.  I remember playing with her all the time when I was a kid.  She made the biggest one probably a few years later.  I was probably 12 or so when she made the matching set.  People used to buy them from her.  I remember her making them and mailing them out of state.  

When I was in my 20's Granny made the dolls in the first picture.  I got the ones in the picture from her house back in November.  I took this picture before I washed them.  They came out really clean.  I have a few that she gave me back then that I have upstairs in my sewing room.  I just love them.  They are true Treasures! 

Angela 

Granny's Things

Sometime in November my Aunt told me that my Uncle had moved out of my Granny's house to another place and asked if I wanted any of my Granny's things.  Of course I did!  Granny went to Heaven in 2012.  She was 89 years old.  I have a lot of great memories that I cherish of spending time with Granny throughout my life. 

When I was going through Granny's house I seen this old ash tray and stand.  I remember it from my childhood.  I remember seeing it in her living room as well as on her front porch.  I just had to have it.  I don't smoke, but I figured I could find something to make it usable again.  

This is what I came up with.  I put some dirt in it and some chickens and hens.  I love how it looks.  I'm debating on spraying the stand with a gold paint.  What do you think?  Should I leave it or paint it?  Granny would be happy that I have found a use for it. 

Angela

Bathroom Remodel

 During Christmas Vacation we decided it was time to start the remodel of our master bathroom.  We built our house around 19 years ago.  In that time we haven't re-painted the bathroom at all.  This is as close as a before picture as I am going to have because my husband started taking stuff out of there before I thought he was going to and therefore I didn't get a good before picture.  The vanity in the picture above was purchased at 84 Lumber when we were building our house.  I had stopped in to look at something for the house and seen they had a few vanities on clearance.  I paid $75 for that vanity.  They delivered it that day when they brought some more of the lumber or something for our house. 

 It didn't take my husband and young man very long to get everything out of the bathroom.      

 We have needed to replace the flooring in our bathroom for a good 9 years!  That is how long it has had a hole in the floor.  My young man when he was 4 put some tape on it to fix it for me!  lol  Somewhere I'm sure I have a picture of that! 

 Flooring has came a long way since we built our house.  It is much thicker and more durable than one would imagine.  Our old floor was paper thin.  This new floor is cushion thick feeling.  I know most people like the real tile floor.  I personally don't.  I've lived with it in other places.  I didn't like it at all.  I don't like standing on it.  I don't like cleaning it.  When we stay at a hotel I always put a towel down on the floor because I do not like to stand on it.  Yep, I'm that crazy!  But, I do like the look of it so I picked out something as close to looking real as you could, but without all of the work that one has to do to install real tile.  With this flooring all we had to do was cut it to fit and lay it down.  It did not need to be glued or anything.  Nice!  Quick!  Easy! 

 We also decided it was time to get a new toilet.  The old one was leaking around the bottom at times.  It also was starting to stain from the iron in our well water.  I also wanted to replace it because we had replaced the toilet in our half bathroom a few years ago and I liked the height of it better. Looking at that picture above makes the bathroom look really small.  I believe the actual measurement is 9x12.  We did paint the bathroom a light sand color.  I like it, but I am so used to everything being all white that I kind of miss the all white look we had before.  I can not stand the smell of paint so I'm not going to be re-painting it anytime soon.  I actually have gotten really sick from a sinus infection which I believe was because of smelling all of the different smells associated with remodeling the bathroom which is one of the reasons why we have been putting it off. 

 We also bought a new light.  I loved the light that the old one put out, but I was ready for a new look in there.  This light puts out enough light, but it's not as bright as the old light.  

We are not finished with the complete remodel though.  We can not seem to find a new vanity that we like that is even near the quality of our old vanity.  We are still trying to decided on whether or not to replace it.  When we built the house we matched everything in our bathroom to go with that vanity.  The doors and trim are that same color oak.  The new modern look goes away from the real wood colors and you can mostly find gray, black or white.  We are going to replace the top.  We can't order that until we know for sure what we want to do about the vanity.  We did buy a new faucet, but that won't be installed until we get the new top.  Once I get it completely finished I'll share some more pictures then.  Everything has been put back together though.  

All in all I am happy with the new look.

Angela

More Dishes of Granny's

 This is the other set of dishes that I got at my uncle's house that belonged to my Granny.  I don't think that she ever used these dishes at all.  They appear to be brand new to me.  I do remember talking to her almost 20 years ago about wanting some white dishes with gold trim.  I'm pretty sure that she bought them around that time.  Granny loved pretty things, but she never used them.  I will use them at the next family get together at my house in honor of my Granny. 

 This set of dishes has 8 dinner plates, 8 salad or dessert plates, 8 cups and saucers and I think I'm missing a few of the bowls.  

 It took a lot of time to wash all of these dishes by hand!  I didn't want to put them in the dishwasher yet.  I'm not sure if I will ever put them in the dishwasher even though they say they are dishwasher safe on the bottom.

I have no idea about the company that made these dishes.  As most of you know I'm not a fan of things made in China, but I'll have to overlook that because these were Granny's dishes.

Angela

My Granny's Dishes

 A few weeks ago I went to my uncle's house to get some dishes that he didn't want that belonged to my Granny.  I didn't know what they were going to look like when I went to get them.  To my surprise there were a lot of these white with gold trim dishes.  There were 2 different sets.  I am showing the oldest set in this post.  My mom doesn't remember these dishes so we don't know where Granny got them from or when she got them.

 They do show a little wear just from where some of the gold is coming off, but they are still a very beautiful set of dishes.

This set is so old that they do not have any markings on the bottom of any of the dishes.  If anyone has any idea of where they came from I'd appreciate it if you would comment and let me know what you think.  

Angela

Happy Mother's Day to Me!

 I absolutely love peacocks!  When I seen these dishes with peacocks on them I knew they were meant to be mine.  They are so beautiful! 

 They also had the smaller salad plates so I bought them also.  They didn't have 8 plates so I figured I could always have the kids eat from the smaller plates if I use these for family dinners.  Who am I kidding?  I'm going to use these as every day dishes!  Life is too short to not enjoy the best of the best.  Just last night I went to my Granny's house to get some dishes that my uncle said were my moms.  Mom don't remember them and I don't remember them.  They aren't fancy or nothing, but they are something that my Granny had in a cabinet in the basement.  I don't think she ever used them. 

 I just love them!  I bought 2 different types of bowls that they had and matching cups.

I absolutely love them and decided that they would be my Mother's Day present to myself!  hehehe

Angela

My Angel Tree ~ Part 2

 This sweet Angel is made from stained glass and wires with a pearl for her head.  She is really pretty and I bought her at the thrift store. 

 The blue Angel was given to me by my mom.  It belonged to her grand mother.  It is very old.

 This Angel belonged to my great grand mother also.  My mom gave it to me 23 years ago. 

 I've had this Angel since I was a teenager.  She used to have a music box in her, but it fell out so I thought she would look great on the Angel tree.

 When I took the pictures of these two Angels I didn't have the stars that go on the lights which really make the tree pop.

 I found this Angel at the thrift store.  I only paid a quarter for her.  I had seen a group of 4 at an antique store the week before.  They wanted $10 for 4.  She is Home Interior.  

 I kept passing this little beauty up each time I went to the thrift store until this Thursday when I decided that she has to come home with me.  She is so happy that she is loved once again.  She needs a little repair work, but you can not see it with her on the tree. 

 This stained glass Angel was another thrift store find.  I had to have it! 

Last, but not least is a snowflake that we made.  I know it's not an Angel, but I think it looks great on the Angel tree.  This year I'm the homeroom mom for my Little Man's class.  I made these with his class last week.  You'll never guess what they are made from!  Clothespins!  You take a clothespin apart, turn it around and glue the smooth sides together.  Then you take 8 of them and glue those together.  Paint them white and put some glue and sugar glitter on them.  The kids loved them.  I want to make some more! 

Angela

My Angel Tree ~ Part 1

 This year I decided that I really wanted to put up two Christmas trees.  My husband being the sweet man that he is moved the couch down and brought down several boxes that contained the two different Christmas trees that we have stored in the attic.  Usually we put our Christmas tree in the dining room because there really isn't much room for a tree in the living room.  My husband moved the couch down so I can have my new creation in the living room.  I really wanted to make an Angel Tree! 

 I already had a few Angels, but I found a few more at a local thrift store this year.  The price was right so I bought a few more to fill up my Angel tree.

 The Angel on top has been with me for many years.  We bought it probably 22 years ago.  She has graced our Christmas trees for many years. 

 I found this sweet Angel at the thrift store.  Isn't she gorgeous!

 I've had this one for a few years now.  She is so beautiful with her feathery skirt. 

 My mom gave me this gold Angel many years ago.  

 I bought this sweet Angel at the thrift store this year.

 I found this beauty at an antique store and had to have her!  It was love at first sight!  

 I bought these at the thrift store.

I have a few more that I'll post in another post so you can pull up the pictures easier.

Angela

Christmas Amusement Park 2014

 As I've mentioned before, I've been collecting little houses and things for the past 23 years.  Not everything will fit on my kitchen table!  I hate not putting out things just because I don't have room for them so I decided this year we would use my Little Man's coffee table I bought him to use for a Lego table and turn it in to the Christmas Amusement Park scene you see above.

 I gave my Little Man a few things and this is how he arranged them.  The house with the lighthouse tower is something he found at a local thrift store for $4 so I had to buy it for him.

 The skating rink is something my mom gave me for Christmas around 23 years ago.  It has been a long time since I've had it out because it is a large piece and I didn't have room for it with my village.  Plus I didn't want it to get messed up with little hands!  It is much safer now having it out now that my Little Man is 10!

My Little Man loves lighthouses so this was the perfect set up for him with all of the different lighthouses.  My husband bought me the one in the back probably 20 years ago. The red and white one in the front has Santa in his sleigh that goes around it and plays music.  My dad gave that to my Young Lady when she was little.

Angela