Thrifty Thursday and Fabulous Friday Combo Day

Sometimes

I love shopping.

When one has enough money to provide the essentials it is fun to shop for silly stuff.

I always love bargain shopping!

BillHubby and I keep a running list of things we need and things we want.

I am so glad that we think on similar wavelengths. 

Last week we went out and about on a few missions.

We stopped at a few places in search of the perfect thermos jug so he can take coffee to work. 

The two travel mugs he was using are leaky and 

the second cup was lukewarm by the time he wanted to drink it.

There were stops at Dick's Sporting Goods, Target (Targhet if ya wanna get all fancy) and Orvis.

Can you believe there were no large thermoses at Dick's!? 

I mean it's a Sporting Goods store for heaven's sake! 

C'mon now.

Targhet had good prices.

But I convinced BillHubby to stop at Orvis. 

Orvis has really top of the line quality products. 

The clothes are fantastic.

The gear is reliable.

The prices are OUTRAGEOUS!!!!!

Isn't this bowl the cutest? 

This is the best type of squirrel. 

Adorable and non-trouble making.

This bowl would look so at home on a shelf in our home amidst my Raleigh, 

The City of Oaks, acorns and pics, right?

 

(See how small it is next to my hand?)

Um, yeah, I don't think so. 

(I really can't take him anywhere.)

After we took this picture we were swarmed with attentive sales folk. 

Guess they don't allow playing with the merch.

Stuffed shirts.

The nice lady showed us a Stanley thermos that would meet BillHubby's needs.

It was sturdy.

It was big.

It had a nice cup.

It was $45!

(Yes, that IS my shopping notebook. It's where I keep our running lists)

A few days later.

Targhet.

Picture taken to send to BillHubby so he can choose.

That Stanley, yeah the green one.

Yeah, the exact same one that Orvis was selling for $45.

$25

SOLD

I still think Orvis merchandise rocks. 

20 years ago I worked in a catalog return store. 

We carried L.L. Bean, J Crew, Orvis, Victoria's Secret and other catalog over run and returned merchandise.

I still have a wonderful Orvis Barn Coat and several J Crew Sweaters and Corduroy shirts. 

Those products have held up to the test of time.

Shopping around either in person or online is the only way to compare prices, products and save money.

BillHubby is happy to report that his new Stanley Thermos is exceeding his expectations in the transport and the keeping hot of his coffee!
FABULOUS!!!! 

Next Week: Local thrift shops that support other organizations and causes.

Weedy Wednesday

 Welcome to Weedy Wednesday!

I took a trip around my garden. 

Come along.

 

Just outside the fence on the partial rock wall. 

But who is that I spy?

  

Stanley spies him too.

 

Check out those claws!

 

 It's Mr. Red Eared Slider Turtle.

 Here's what Mr. Turtle was checking out.

 West End of the Garden

Kentucky Wonder Runner Beans

Cucumbers!!!

 East End of the Garden.

 By the front porch. Planted 5 years ago!

Bye- bye Mr. Turtle. 

Slide on back to the creek.

 

Come back Friday for Finished it Friday! 

 Many projects finally completed and gifted!

Introducing Rocky

BillHubby and I are happy to announce the addition of Rocky to our happy family! Kitteh and Stanley are less than excited but all are adjusting. Slowly.....

Rocky is the 8 year old nephew/cousin/somethin or another of our Petey.  Same wonderful breeders - Venture Bostons of 

Kings Mountain, NC.

Rocky's first humans were sad to part with him but their 5 year old's asthma dictates removing as many allergens as possible 

from their home.

Rocky attended his first social event - 

Siler City's (NC) 3rd Friday Art Walk. 

He flirted his way up and down the street and posed with us outside our friend, Dru's,  

Hotel Hadley Studios.

Rocky knows Art when he sees it!

 

 

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hotel Hadley Studios will host a very exciting 

contemporary fiber art show, 

April 15 - May 14, 2011.

 The opening reception will be 

April 15 from 6-9pm.

The featured artists will be:

Bren Ahearn

Mark Bieraugel

Heather Cameron

Jamie (“Mr. X Stitch”) Chalmers

Robyn Enz

Bridget Franckowiak

Shannon Genova (aka Giggly Mama)

Giddy Girlie

Tod Hensley

Bascom Hogue

Kathryn (Vegkat) Lollar

Rebecca Martz-Burley

Penny Nickels

Drucilla Pettibone

Carl Johan Rydell

Ellen “Left Eye” Schinderman

Alaina Varrone

Veronika von Allmen

Alexandra J. Walters

This exhibition was inspired by the work of Alexandra J. Walters.  

Curator Drucilla Pettibone has worked with both established and emerging fiber artists to put together this group exhibition which will showcase new work and explore issues of war and peace, gender and sexuality.

If you'll be in the area I hope you can stop by to see the thoughtful and thought provoking works the artists have created.

The show will be funded through donations via Kickstarter!

What Have You Been Doing?

I have days that I feel as if I have been so busy but that produce little in the way of "getting things done."
How about you?

I often find myself doing what I want to do rather than what I "need" to be doing.

Lately I have been re-inspired to embroider and cross-stitch.

It is so much more fun than doing the laundry or dusting.

 

I made this one up.

It's a fire in honor of our first ever Fire-Pit party back in December.

I'll show you when it's finished.

 

This is a Kristy Kizzee design. I won

Zombie Cross-Stitch kit by Erika Kern and Kristy Kizzee!

I'm stitching it with waste canvas on black fabric that will soon (hopefully) be a shirt for BillHubby.

I'm taking poetic license with the colors. I just started stitching again and didn't have all the absolute exact DMC flosses. And there's no way BillHubby is goin around 

with a blonde on his shirt!

Kristy's etsy shop - Bombastitch

The Fabulous mr x stitch's review of the kit I won!

The last couple of weeks have been stressful so I escaped into an old habit.

Backtracking a wee bit - in First Grade I determined that my crayons at school and those of my best friend should be arranged thusly - yellow, orange, blue, purple, red, green, brown and black.

I do not know why. 

I still arrange things in this order.

Since 1964!

Anyway, my doodles are most often a design surrounded by progressively bigger outlines of said doodle. If I use crayons or colored pencils or markers I always start with yellow and so on. (Oh please, someone analyze this for me!)

So this flower was born.

When I finished it the other day I felt so happy and cleansed of all 

that had been plaguing my brain.

I leave you with, as Jon Stewart says, 

"your moment of zen." 

Is there anything more peaceful than tired kittehs curled up for a nap?

Kitteh Kitteh Lovey and Stanley

P.S. Coming soon! Blogiversary and new etsy shop items!

P.P.S. Please go check out Jodi's Blog and her fab Giveaway!!!

VTT in my corner of Our Workroom/Den

Testing a new background and layout! All those little techie thingys make my brain hurt!!!

Happy VTT to you all!!!!

Last week I overwhelmed you with a whole room. I do get carried away sometimes!

This week I'll just show y'all the corner of our workroom/den that is mine.  More specifically - the stuff on my wall over my ginormous cutting table. (Yeah, go ahead and be jealous of my cutting table - heehee)

From left to right...........

Peaking from those 3 wide shelves of de-stash fabric - box that now contains only one of the original 45's of the  "Show Boat" soundtrack.

Lucky me, the remaining record is Ava Gardner singing "Bill."  The producers didn't want to use her voice even though they all agreed she sang beautifully.

A really, really old Ouija board from my great Grandparents House.  The pointer is missing so we can't conjure spirits or answers to our innermost questions ;-)

A closer view of my thimble collection and some old wooden spools, some with thread.

The lower half with more threads, a trinket from Washington, DC, tatting shuttles and a cute old bottle that held Violet perfume.

I love my "Ladies who Shop and Lunch" Coca-Cola ad.  The old magazine ad also mentions that the ladies outfits were made with Vogue sewing patterns!  Cool Clemson poster above.

 Just the other side of my cool scrap organizer I have another old magazine ad with Gene Tierney selling us Lux with Color Freshener! James Cagney pic from a now closed Applebee's restaurant, pennants from fav teams.  (My 1960's Wake Forest pennant is on another wall.)

My first Barbie clothing pattern. 

I have other patterns framed but those pics are far worse than this one!

Here we have my teachers, my Grand Mothers.

To the left there I am with Grandma Porter.  She was evidently the giver of the tools, hat and apron.

To the right is [Grand]Mama Holbrook and my Mom at the oft mentioned Great Grand Parents house.

Both Grands taught me about cooking and sewing and gardening and so much more.

I miss them, but the pictures (which I just slapped up on the wall behind a glass with thumbtacks)

remind me of their unconditional love and guidance.

Be sure to visit Suzanne's blog, ColoradoLady to find links to all the other VTT  posts.

Before you go, I added one thing to my De-stash along 2010 list!  I've been sewing others folks' stuff and haven't taken much time to do stuff for us.

AND

Here are our two new additions - I've adopted 2 feral neighborhood cats.

Kitteh Kitteh Lovey

She's a teeny (7 lbs) talker!  Skittish but comes when called and loves her catnip toys.

and

Stanley

He roams but we did manage to get him fixed last week.  Stanley likes to come in for short visits and loves to be rubbed and to purrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

No Grand daughter Aubree yet!!!  But soon!