Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket

July 30, 2014

Estate sale finds from last week...

I managed to find one estate sale on the way home from work last Thursday and Chris hit another one on Friday.  These Chinese checker boards will eventually be added to my growing collection in my craft room.  
Most of the treasures we've been bringing home from estate sales lately are designated for the a-frame cottage.  Last week, I did manage to find a few things meant for future holiday crafting projects.

The graphics on the unused wrapping paper are pretty fun, especially when I paid .25 cents for the entire box!

Don't you love the little girl image on the pink wooden hanger?

I also grabbed the box of linens and Effanbee doll for $5.

One of the reasons I wanted the box of linens was for the deer embroidery piece.  It's now covering the top of our dresser in our master bedroom at the cottage.

One of my favorite finds, is this 1968 light-up lake scene picture frame. Chris got it for .50 cents and we found out it was manufactured in our local town of Grand Rapids, MI.

We'll be finding a special spot in the lower-level of the a-frame for it.   Totally tacky, but I love it so! I hope you are finding a few treasures of your own this week.

XOXO
   

July 28, 2014

Lower level sneak peek...

The chair and ottoman were twenty dollars from our local Goodwill.  
Chris spent last week rehabbing the lower level of the a frame while I was working.  It's amazing and I realize I'm super spoiled by Chris's talents.  As you can imagine, I'm having a hard time leaving there to go work during the week. Those three day weekends are pretty awesome. 
XOXO

July 24, 2014

Master bedroom reveal at the a-frame...

When we first took possession of the a-frame, the master bedroom had lovely floral wallpaper, smelly pink carpeting and several very LARGE spiderwebs.  
The carpeting was removed right away (along with the spider webs) and the floors were refinished back to their natural pine.
Chris and I both felt that with a small space and lots of wood, it would be nice to add some white in the room to lighten it up.
In a matter of two days, Chris removed the floral wallpaper and got creative with his table saw, beadboard and his paintbrush. 
My long-time followers probably recognize the miniature cabin collection.  I've been showing this on the blog for several years.  I'm still on the hunt for a few more log cabin syrup containers.
The long black and white prints that you see above our bed were photographs that we picked up at estate sale last winter.  
They are prints of a northern Michigan camp ground photographed in 1929.
The fishing poles were also estate sale finds, as well as the tennis rackets. 
The fishing basket, vintage frame, bookshelf and dresser were also picked up at various estate sales.

On Sunday, my mother gave me this handmade sailboat pillow.  She's such a talented seamstress.  Thank you, Mom.

We have a few more special items to hang on another wall, but the transformation of this room is amazing. 
 Thank you, Chris!  It's more than I could have asked for!
  

July 23, 2014

Last week's estate sale finds...

I can't take credit for most of these estate sale acquisitions. 
 My husband hit a fabulous estate sale last Friday morning while I was at work.
I'm so lucky that he enjoys estate sales as much as me (or maybe even MORE than me).
He's gotten to know several of the estate sale vendors on a first name basis and when Josie tags along, the cute factor doesn't hurt the negotiations.
These wooden stools look like they were made for our a-frame.
Don't they look perfect?
On Friday, I'll be sharing the master bedroom reveal of the a-frame.  Chris did a fantastic job.  If you are on instagram, you can get a sneak peek here.

Happy Wednesday.

I've never been so anxious for weekends!
 

July 21, 2014

Decorating with vintage water skis!


Last week, Chris took two of the vintage wooden water skis that he found in a barn at a recent estate sale and made a shelf to show-off a few special fishing-related collections.

 Several of the treasures that you see here, were originally in my grandfather's basement.

 They had been taking up residence in Chris's downstairs man-cave.

 I'm so glad to have a special place to feature them at the a-frame.
I hope you found some special treasures of your own this weekend. 
Updating Blogger via  my smart phone is driving me nuts.  You "may" have seen this post and then I took it back down until I was back home again from the cottage.  I can't believe it's Monday already. 
XOXO
  

July 18, 2014

Pink Sunrise

Doesn't the pink sunrise on the lake water look so lovely? 
We've had cooler mornings and the foggy mist has been absolutely magical.

Pinky swear.  No photo enhancing were done to these images.

 Our cottage deck basks in the morning sunrise and by the afternoon, it's cool and shady.

We are so very blessed.  Have a beautiful weekend.
    

July 17, 2014

A new social media addiction and cottage-warming present!

I'm blaming my daughter and Laurie (Magpie Ethel), but in case you're interested, I'm now on Instagram here. I still don't have internet at the cottage, but I do have fabulous cell phone coverage. Instagram is a great way to still get my social media/eye candy fix on the weekends using my smartphone.
When we removed the kitchen cupboards above the range at the a-frame, I knew that I'd need some kind of furniture to make up for lost storage.
We happened to have a small hutch that I was using in our master bathroom to store linens and it now resides at the cottage.  
When Laurie (Magpie Ethel) shared her vintage shelf edging paper on this post, I was completely honored that she sent me the apple blossom paper as a cottage-warming gift. 
Doesn't it look amazing in my hutch?
It adds the perfect vintage touch.  Thank you, Laurie.
I love having something special from you at our lake house.