thrift shopping

finally had a day today to take a few pictures of some great pieces we've picked up lately...this rounds out our unfinished stock of furniture at (1) coffee table, (2) unique side tables, (1) french louis upholstered chair, (2) duncan phiffe style side chairs...hopefully, we will soon have time (and resources) to get a few items finished and listed on Etsy...

here they are, in their current state...

This chair was SUPER cheap at a thrift shop. The key thing typically is if the original needlepoint seat cover is gone, you can find them at VERY reasonable prices...other thing, we have found that the rear joint between the seat and the back/leg separates, but a little wood glue and some clamps fixes it...and the extra effort is well worth the price we find them at in this condition!

THIS WAS A FIND!

My mom and I went to the local old town street faire, in search of chairs and any other potential "junk" finds we might discover. I have NEVER seen this style of chair with the harp back for the price we did. It even has the burlap seat structure and the needlepoint pad still! However, it is in pretty bad shape and the wood on the legs and back is rather scratched (mostly surface and nothing we won't be able to buff out when we sand it to paint). But the condition of the wood and needlepoint could be the only reason we got such a good deal...typically with this back and the original seat- we find these for no less than $100.

I am so excited about these odd and tiny tables. I think they are so cute, but so unique... They are only about two feet tall!  But I HAD to pick them up. I have been striking out so much lately with only smooth furniture (which typically means it isn't too terrible old)...but these have such great carvings on the pedistal and the edge of the table top.  I am thinking they will end up antiqued or "shabby chic'd" because the design of them would pull it off very well. I also may simply paint one white to get rid of the image of the wood in peoples minds and list it as a pick your color type of thing...haven't decided yet...

More JAM!

Made alot more jam this week...

D and I went up to Apple Hill a week ago and enjoyed the fall feel of things...walked around a few of the different farms up there, we always enjoy High Hill Ranch, there are so many craft booths and whatnot...We took and drive and just took the day slow (which was wonderful!)

a cool selection of pumpkins that were all piled up

D, eating an apple fritter...of course :)

During our drive we did a little junking and found a chair that had the same Duncan Phiffe style that some of the ones we've found before had, so we picked that up! And then we stopped by Boa Vista Orchards and bought some produce and a 25lb box of canning pears!

So, yes, I've been making jam repeatedly over the last week. Raspberry pear jam...it's amazing!

It has such a thick but smooth texture (thanks to the pears), and the flavor is tart from the raspberries but because of the pears has a strawberry-like sweetness to it. It is SO good! My mom used to make this along with the apricot jam when we were younger, and I haven't had it in years!

a little bit of a pick-me-up

well, we've had a rough year...year-and-a-half...ok, it's been a rough THREE years...BUT! we are alive. we live in a beautiful spot in northern california that we both love. my husband (for the first time in years) says that despite alot of our stressors that are still present, he is really happy right now......wow, can't argue with that!

we got in a car accident the day before his birthday...we decided to go for a drive to relax and de-stress...and on our way out of town we were rear ended.  so much for relaxing!  we thought it was just damage to the bumper, but it actually crushed part of the frame rail on the passenger side also...so it totaled our hand-me-down that we were hoping to sell for a little bit of money so DH could look for an old jeep or chevy pickup that was in working order, but could become his project car. well, that seemed to be out of the question at this point. we were positive we wouldn't get enough out of it, that the insurance wouldn't cover our repairs, and that (obviously) we wouldn't be able to sell it either. yesterday, we received our settlement check for his little old corolla and it was towed away, and last night while searching Craigs List D found a CJ7 for the perfect price. we got up super early this morning drove down to the valley, we were the first ones there and told them we'd take it. 

you should have seen his proud face driving that thing home!  sure...there are a few little issues with it, and we need to clean it out and just do some maintenance on it, but for the price we got it...wow. it runs great, (sounds wonderful), and it is the perfect start...it even has a hard top so D won't freeze this winter! we are so excited. our agreement was that he could shop for a "project" if the amount we spent getting it to running order where anything we did beyond that could wait and was optional was no more than the amount we received from the insurance...and we got that.  it hasn't been messed with, (except for the silly gold miner hood ornament and the giant roll bar sticking out the front) -- so as he decides along the way to upgrade or refurbish or paint...etc...he is starting with a blank slate...

so excited, i grew up with my dad's toy being a '55 CJ5...he built and re-built and re-built that thing. it's beautiful, and the whole family has sentimental value for it. looking at it as we were finalizing the sale, it was hard to believe, we were getting our own......hopefully, this ends up being our family nostalgic vehicle!!!

...took this while D was looking around the inside...