Keep Smiling

Keep Smiling

Sunday, April 29, 2018

Grateful & Blessed



Sometimes the very simplest things
put a smile on my face.
I thought that I would use this post
to show you some of the thrift store finds
that I have been blessed to discover lately. 

This little cow with the cottage behind it
 and the milk bucket in front was a 
little 99 cent find :) 
The school house clock is one of my all
time favorite finds.  
$3 more than 30 years ago, and it still works. :)


Saturday we stopped by the Goodwill
and found this 50's cake saver.

 $6.00


A few weeks ago when I was in Medford, OR 
I purchased this old record album folder.


My plan is to use the circle holes to
frame old photographs of special people 
in my life.
Then write bits of history about each one
around the paper that frames it.
I think that if I use stamps 
and scrap-book papers, 
I will come up with something of a family treasure.



As we drove into the driveway,
I spied the front of the house and I have to say,
that I fell in love with our 
sweet little home, just a little bit more :)



Sweet Jesus, Thank You so much,
we love our little country home :)




These blue flowers where a gift 
from my friend and neighbor Shirley. 




She also gave me some sweet utensils


That decorate our kitchen walls.


Some of you may remember this milk bottle.
It was from one of my very first posts.
I cut it from a piece of plywood 
and painted it.
That was the day that I fell in love with
making signs :)


These two hen house relics 
are from past goodwill shopping.


Oh, and another thing to be grateful for . . .
Our lilacs are blooming and our yard smells like heaven.

Our little country cottage
is our heaven on earth :)

Keep Smiling!

Your blogging sister,
Connie :)

60 comments:

  1. Isn't it the best fun finding treasures for very little cost at a thrift shop. Your acquisitions are fabulous. Love the sweet hen teapot. Your home is lovely. Have a lovely week enjoying those Spring flowers.

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    1. I just came in from the potting shed, where I decided it was time to start my cucumber seed. I am so looking forward to gardening this year. Yard sales are a fun summer thing to do too :)

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  2. I remember when you first started blogging about your home. I have enjoyed your posts so much and your little home is so cute.

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    1. Thank you Betty . . . you are so sweet. We still feel so blessed to have moved here.

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  3. Love your finds. I had an album holder like that years ago. Neat idea for pics. Your house is adorable. Hugs, lj

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    1. Thank you so much. I'm a home body, so I always appreciate kind words about our home. There are not many words in the human language that are any lovelier than the word, "HOME".

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  4. Hi Connie, Yes, it certainly is! I love the 50's cake server. What a find! What a great idea for that photo album. I have a potato masher just like yours only mine was green. A lot of the paint has come off mine and the sieve on the wall I have with te thing to set it in and the wooden thing to use in to make the food come through. It was my Mom's. Smell the lilacs for me! Nancy

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    1. I wish that I could send you a big bouquet . . . they are so pretty this year and smell amazing :)

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  5. I absolutely love all of your finds. That sweet little cow and cake server are wonderful. I feel the same about my home. I love to come home to it, although I do wish it were all on one level. Your porch is so welcoming, I would love to sit and have a cup of tea or a cold glass of ice tea with you.
    Blessings,
    Betsy

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    1. It would be sweet sitting on the porch visiting with you . . . I'm sure we would have a lot to discuss and even a lot to laugh about. My sister-in-law and brother-in-law are also thinking about selling their home that they love, to buy a single story home. Stairs are not always your friend, although they can be good exercise.

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  6. Some wonderful photos here! My favorites are the tulips and the lilacs in the window. Wow!

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    1. I always love when I have flowers blooming outside that I can cut and bring into the house. I enjoy fresh cut flowers from the garden over store bought flowers :) When I was a little girl I was always picking my Momma bouquets of wildflowers.

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  7. By now you know how I love thrift store shopping so of course I admire all your finds!
    I think you have a great idea transforming the record album folder into a family heirloom. If anyone can do it it will be you. Have a lovely week ( that brings the merry month of May).

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    1. The merry month of May . . . doesn't that sound lovely. Thank you for your sweet compliment. I certainly hope that I can re-purpose that album into something interesting and fun :)

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  8. Some great finds! Funny how we have great memories of our 30-year old garage sale finds, but can't remember what we bought last week.

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    1. Oh you got me there . . . I'm the same way. Always forgetting something, LOL

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  9. You have found some really great treasures. That is a fantastic idea for that record album folder. Your yard looks so pretty with all those flowers blooming.

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    1. Thank you Ann . . . it's that time of the year when you look for yard sales and treasures everywhere. Sometimes the hunt is more fun than the find :)

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  10. What a joy to visit and feel the happiness and love you have for your cottage, we feel the same about ours. Great finds from the thrift shops over the years. I was so impressed with you idea for the record holder, fantastic.

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    1. I hope that I do it justice and make an album that will be treasured :) Home is a lovely word isn't it . . . so comforting :)

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  11. I don't blame you for smiling and counting your blessings when you drive up to your sweet home - it's beautiful! And you and your husband have done so much work with it...and your flowers and decor are all so pretty and homey and cozy - just the way I like homes, too. It has so much personality and warmth. You are an inspiration, sweet Connie. Thank you for blogging and sharing your home and life with us.

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    1. Melanie, I could so easily type that comment right back to you. I have found your home to be a delightful place where family is loved and memories are treasured. A place that is beautiful, but not a showcase but instead a place of love and comfort . . . Home . . . what a wonderful word :)

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  12. I just loved this post Connie..wish I could visit....your home is so relaxing looking....wonderful vintage finds too! Warm hugs!

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    1. I wish you could visit too . . . it would be nice to sit out on the front porch and talk about our blogging experiences. I would even let you try out my new hammock chair . . . once you try it, you'll want one too :)

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  13. Love all your blooms and finds I really love that Milk bottle you made super cool! See spring has made it there! I also love your country house, its absolutely wonderful. And I am super jealous of your lilacs they just don't grow here in SW Florida but I loved them back home in New England. Enjoy your Spring !

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    1. I tried over and over to grow lilacs at our old home. It's only about three miles from here, but I never could get them to grow. I was so excited when we moved here and I saw all the lilacs. I look so forward to them each year :)

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  14. Sweet home filled with delightful treasures. What a wonderful blessing for your family.

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  15. It is a bit of heaven on earth! I feel that way about our home as well. We are very blessed indeed! Love your found treasures. The record album will be darling when you get through with it. My Lilacs are just in bud. Can't wait for that heavenly scent!!
    hugs,
    Jann

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    1. They just fill the air with such a magnificent scent . . . I love this time of the year :) There is lots of work to do, and last night I was taking pain pills for my back, but it's worth it. My garden is starting to come together :)

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  16. you have a very distinctive style and a beautiful home. i love vintage treasures but i am trying to downsize. i admire your continued zest for decorating!!

    such a cozy porch - sweet colorful gardens too!!

    your scrapbook is a wonderful idea...i would love to see it when it is finished!!!

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    1. I'm sure that I will post it when it is finished, maybe even in-between start and finish. I also received a quilt top in the mail, that my sister-in-law's grandmother made maybe a long as a 100 years ago. I'm taking on the project of hand-quilting it for her, so lots of projects besides garden :)

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  17. You have so very mich to be grateful for and aren't you happy to actualy reaize how blessed you are. SO many do not appreciate their blessings. SO much happy in this post1 I love the idea for the record album holder...how cool! You are so creative. That cake holder is awesome and looks so shiny...like new! Your home is a happy one and so welcoming and beautiful. Enjoy your blessings my friend.

    Hugs, Vicky

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    1. I wake up every morning and thank God for a new day to enjoy His beautiful world. There is so much to be grateful for and all we have to do is stop and look around us, and then look at the average world citizen. It's too bad that the media fills us with stories and pictures of the rich and famous, the skinny and beautiful, and all the "things" that we need to make us happy. It just makes people strive to have more and be more, when most of us are just fine the way we are. We are blessed each day when we have clean fresh food to eat, a warm and cozy roof over our heads, clean clothes and a comfortable bed to crawl into each night. Some nights when I crawl into bed, I think about the fact that there are women my age sleeping in cardboard boxes and eating from trash cans. I know that for some it is the choices they made in life that put them there, but for some it is not their fault. So why am I this blessed and not them?
      Oh my, I do ramble on . . . sorry . . . that's just where my heart was taking me this morning :)

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  18. Hello you!!!Thanks for stopping by, and so glad you did. I have the same cake server, my husbands grandmother's. What great treasures you found, and love your garden and sweet precious home.

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    1. That is so cool that you have the same cake saver and know the age and family member that used it. I have been looking at reproductions on line and they are expensive. It pays to take your time and shop the thrift stores. Thanks so much for visiting, I do appreciate it :)

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  19. Hi Connie, I loved your comment on my blog about the Clipper Race Around the World and how your hubby might love to sail like that. Then, I knew you were serious when I saw your post on the canoe he and a friend are building. That man loves being out on the water! Now, this post is great … neat photos of your comfy country home! We do share one thing for sure … we are both collectors! And your collection is looking awesome! John

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    1. Hi John, we are both collectors, but your collections are Museum worthy. Mine are thrift shop and some antique shop worthy. Big difference, LOL. Wishing you a happy day:)

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  20. Everything is so nice.
    Great idea for the old album folder.

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    1. Thank you . . . it should be a fun project :)

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  21. Your home is filled with things that make your heart sing and that's just the way it should be. I love my home, too, and am so thankful for it and for the people who come visit and spend time with me. There is always something to be grateful for.

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    1. There certainly is and being blessed with a warm and cozy place to call home is one of them for sure.

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  22. I so enjoy seeing your beautiful spring flowers coming up, our lilac bush has a few buds but haven't popped yet. Isn't it wonderful to be so happy with your home and so thankful for all you have been blessed with. I do love your great old fashioned kitchen, great finds!!

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    1. Thank you . . . I love that kitchen too. When we first bought this place Steve wanted to gut the kitchen and redo the whole thing. I protested. All I wanted was new counter tops and a new sink, the old cupboards where wonderful to me and just needed a fresh coat of paint. I enjoy the vintage style of our home's kitchen and he does too now that he sees my vision for it :)

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  23. Your home is beautiful Connie, no wonder you are smitten :) I want to sit on your porch with you! You've really got quite a great sense of style with all of the colours and the cozy items you have in your home! I'm a little envious of your tulips and lilacs!!

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    1. I have tried to grow lilacs for years without succeed, then when we moved here and I saw all the mature lilac brushes I was in heaven. As for tulips I usually buy a couple bags every fall at Walmart and put them in the grow. I've done that for four years now and now I think I have enough, plus they do multiply. Tulips are the simplest flower to grow, ever :) Just remember in the fall to buy a bag of bulbs. It would be sweet sitting on the porch and enjoying a visit together, our weather has been beautiful lately. I would make tea and cake, unless you were planning on making a cheese cake from your marvelous homemade cheese, Yum :)

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    2. Cheesecake it is! :) Sweet tea for me if you have it! :)

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    3. LOL...honey, but honestly, pure maple syrup would be lovely!

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  24. Those are some wonderful finds!
    Be blessed!
    Laura of Harvest Lane Cottage

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    1. Hi Laura, thank you for stopping by to visit, it is always a pleasure.

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  25. To me it’s much more satisfying to acquire things through thrifting than it is to buy retail. You found items that fit your home and style perfectly. I know it was fun for you. The blue flowers are Grape Hyacinth I think. So pretty, as are your tulips. Your porch is so inviting. I hope you’re enjoying some relaxation in that lovely spot. Hugs.

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    1. There is a satisfaction in finding great thrift store finds and saving money, too. I don't like cookie cutter designs and it is easy to have your home filled with them if you don't break the chain and go original. Thrift stores are great for finding unique and magnificent items to decorate with, whether you use them as is, or up-cycle them :) Good to see you back blogging . . . if I would have known you were coming, "I'd of baked a cake" :)

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  26. It has taken me FOREVER to comment on this post! I loved all of your sweet finds.. and that record album is especially neat! My parents had those (and I probably did too) and what a great idea to use it for putting your precious photos inside and decorating the pages! You never cease to amaze me. Now I have to be on the lookout for one of these albums! Whenever I go into antique stores, I'm taken back to a simpler time.. the time when I was a little girl and my mom had so many wonderful little treasures.. she was such a collector.... and I see items that she actually owned.... and that I loved. It's hard not to keep buying them. Yes.. there are many things to be grateful for.. and some of them are our little treasures... they are like old friends, especially ones we've had for many years. Your flowers are so beautiful.. you are WAY AHEAD of us here in central Oregon as far as flowers blooming. There are very few here in Madras.. just the occasional daffodil or lone tulip. This surely must not be a flower loving town. My yard is very soon going to get a big dose of color! Have a nice weekend.. Marilyn

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    1. Enjoy those tulips when they bloom . . . it is the first sign that warm weather is right around the corner , sweet friend :)

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  27. I am simply in love with your blog. What a lovely home you have Connie. I feel the same way about our little home as well. I am so thankful for it. My only pray is that the farmer that sprays all around us goes ORGANIC or please let us move. LOL

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    1. I'm sorry to hear that you get sprayed all around your property. That could be a problem and one that you have no control over, other than move. We have never had a problem with the hay field across from us, but I think he uses steer manure. I can handle that smell, it just smells like country and only lasts a couple days. I haven't had anyone say that they love my blog in a long time, thank you . . . I needed that :)

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    2. We hope to sell in the future only because of the spraying. Which is sad I love the area and our house. But the farmer is here to stay. We used to live around cattle, I am like you I rather live by cattle then farmer's round-up spraying. You are so welcome.

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    3. Air quality is so important I can see where you are coming from. I makes me sad, because your place is gorgeous, it's so sad that you have that problem.

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  28. You do have such a sweet, sweet home, and your porch is very welcoming! What wonderful finds over the years - isn't that part of what makes thrift shopping so fun? We know the items have long histories before we get them, and then we add another 30 years :) That clock is just beautiful.

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