Thrift Store Finds~decorating ideas~ and a great Recipe

I am in major decorating mode!  I feel like I am finally back to doing what I really love.  I think it started when a friend asked me to come help decorate her new home.  It was so fun, that when I left her house, I was inspired look at my home in new creative ways.

In process, I fell in love with the color blue.  All over again.  This time, in different shades of it.  If you follow my pinterest board, you will notice I have been pinning blue paints and fabrics like a mad woman!  I went to the fabric store and bought this fabric to make curtains for my kitchen windows.

I think the blue craze started when I stopped at the thrift store to look for wire baskets.  The only ones I found were used for their displays, and I couldn't talk them into selling them to me.  :)  I was about to leave, and then they told me that everything in the store was half off that day.  So, I turned right around, and decided to comb the store for bargains.  I found the vintage blue metal chair that you see above.  It was around $2.00.  Everything else I found was the same price or less!  Most averaging around $1.50.  I just realized I didn't get a picture of the vintage cutting board, and cute H& M skirts, but here are some other finds...

Keep an open mind here, I am going to upcycle this purse.  Wouldn't it look cute if I hot glued a little white ruffle or some cute trim over the silver brads under the zipper?  Then, I thought I could stencil the word POST, or something in charcoal paint to look like a vintage postal bag.  Do you have any other ideas or words or numbers that would be cute to stencil?

I don't really follow trends or know name brands of purses, but I thought this denim bag by thirty-one was really cute.  I was surprised when I looked it up on ebay, and found that they are selling for a decent amount of money.

And so is this one that I fell in love with.  It would make a really cute lunch bag for Grace, because the outside is easy to clean.

I just love the colors of this knitting needle case.  It was filled with yarn and knitting needles that I can pass on to Grace.

Next was this vintage, gray, metal file folder.  That thing is so heavy!  There is something about vintage office supplies that I just love.  I am using it to organize my paper and stationary.

 

I took the blue transferware plates down from this post.  I just didn't like all the blue and red together.  It looked too busy for me.  I gathered all of these plates from the yard sale that I hadn't found anything to do with yet, as well as some other odds and ends, and displayed the entire collection in my kitchen.

The white square medallion used to have a crystal door knob on it that I took off.  The cream hobnail plates were from my friend when I was helping her move.

And guess what the round wooden plaque like thing is with our monogram on it?  It was the bottom of one of those cheese plates with the glass lid that you see all the time at thrift stores!  I unscrewed the rubber legs on back, and hand painted the B.  Then I just put a sawtooth hanger on back.  :)  If you find one, you could even make it into this outdoor pendant I made!  I think the other wooden medallion was off of a piece of furniture...

I also found lots of picture frames, and a wire basket that I am thinking of using in a light fixture in the kid's bathroom.  

I'm glad I've got my creativity back on.  It feels good to be back decorating.  I've missed it...it's been way too long!  One more thing, do you like hummus?  Here's a great recipe I got from a friend.  I made it this week and love it.  It seems to taste even better after a day or two.  It's Sweet Potato Hummus.  Perfect with pita chips.  I just microwaved the sweet potato.  Also, pinch the skins off the chickpeas if you want it to be more smooth!  Have a great weekend.

Robyn