Wednesday, June 29, 2011

A sweet dresser à la mode

Anyone know what à la mode means?

Because I wasn't quite sure until I just looked it up. 
I was pretty sure it had something to do with ice cream, which can never be a bad thing.

à la mode: fashionable or stylish
or
topped with ice cream.

I think it describes this sweet dresser perfectly.









 





 She's lightly distressed, has cute little wheels, hardware is original, painted in Manhattan Mist by Behr with detail work in Windsor Haze, also by Behr.

For more information look under the "For Sale" tab at the top of the page.

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Also, I'm SO flattered to be featured on TWO blogs today! 
You can check it out here and here!


Thank you to these awesome women for featuring me!

Monday, June 27, 2011

Farmer's Market

As I sit here typing this I am sincerly grateful that we survived this weekend. On Friday morning Rhett woke up with the stomach flu. Poor little man. When he get's sick we've had to take him to the hospital for an IV because he dehydrates easily so we were worried. Thankfully he seemed fine for most of the day, so we kept up a harried pace, trying to finish all the odds and ends we needed to get done for the market the next day. In the middle of all this we were told we had a tent to borrow, then that we didn't have one, then that we did and back and forth till we finally got our hands on one. Around 6PM we went to dinner with some friends and when we got home I promptly threw up my dinner and passed out on our bed for an hour.

All those aforementioned odds and ends equaled us being up till 1:30AM. Ugh. I don't know how I used to do that every night when I was still in school. And Rhett got sick again around 11PM that night.

We got up at 6AM and got everything loaded into the truck and headed over. We managed to get everything set up just in time to snap a few pictures and then it was BUSY!

Here are some pictures from before we got started.
(I apologize for the lack of quality of these pictures. We just had time to point and shoot and not mess with lighting etc. Better pictures will be coming tomorrow. :))










We have sales pending on booth dressers but other than that everything but the hutch sold! (!!!!) We met wonderful people, were blessed with great weather and Rhett waited till the end to get sick again as did I.

I am happy to report that this evening we are all feeling much better and none of us had to go get an IV this time. :) 

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

A "little women" inspired desk and chair

Remember these beauties?


Well here they are...even more beautiful than before.

Can I get a cat call?! :)












Oh oh oh how I love them!
Can't you just see Beth or Marmee from Little Women sitting there reading or writing?

I kind of broke one of my own rules that I shared on my post on priming.
I didn't prime the desk. 
The wood grain was so gorgeous that I just didn't want to lose it. 

Both the chair and the desk are painted in Behr's Manhattan Mist.
The seat of the chair is reupholstered in cream burlap and stenciled with silver amethyst.
And that same color is inside each of the drawers as a little surprise when you open them.
Hardware is original. 

She's coming with us to the farmer's market this weekend! 

For more info look under the "For Sale" tab at the top of the page.

Friday, June 17, 2011

Introducing the littlest handyman man at 551 East

A few weeks ago I introduced you my husband, Jake. I often feel a twinge of guilt when I say this is my blog or I restore furniture because he really helps me so much. We really love doing it together, (and he's gotten a little addicted to the power sander) so it's kind of a family affair.

So I wanted to introduce you to the third member here at 551 East!

This is Rhett.

He is 10 months old.



He's our little man and we just love him. :)

He loves blueberries, toilet paper, playing with the vacuum, playing in the car, all things dog, pushing his walker, taking showers, pointing, chatting it up with the baby in the mirror, and going to Home Depot. 

He dislikes having his diaper changed, when I turn the vacuum on, being told he can't eat too much dirt, and his car-seat. 


 He is our little handy man and we love working on our projects with him. 

Except when he get's really clingy and then it's hard to get much of anything done. :)


I'm excited as he gets older to teach him to do what I love doing.

Maybe we should get him his own little tool kit for his birthday . :)

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

How to Thrift

Thrifitng is a great way to find treasures: furniture, dishes, lamps, art, clothing, linens, etc. It's like a treasure hunt...sometimes enhanced with a little competition. When we are going out to garage sales, antique stores, or Goodwill/D.I., I always feel the need to jump out of  the car and run to the sale/store just to make sure no one else gets my treasures. I know that sounds a little crazy, but in my defense, most "thrift" finds aren't easy to refind once someone else has bought them. Does anyone else get like this?

Here are some of our recent finds!

Classically built desk



Children's Table

French sitting chair


Key hole chair (she goes with the desk)
All of these will be coming with us to the farmer's market!

Thrifting can take some time. Honestly, it can also be frustrating. I'm still learning how to "treasure hunt", where to go, how to barter. Here's some stuff I've learned and if you have any tips PLEASE share!!

{ Thrifting 101 }

1. Ask around for the best places. Thrifting can take a lot of time, so make sure you aren't going to places that don't have what you are looking for or aren't known for having quality items. Ask around or call the store ahead and ask what kind of items or styles they lean too and price ranges. Some thrift stores can be more expensive than others. And here is my 2 cents on garage sales. Like I said I'm still learning, but I have rarely had a great experience with them. I'm no pro and this is just my opinion, but if you're going to take the time to go thrift, most garage sales sell items that lean more toward junk than treasure so make sure you are yard selling in a good neighborhood/part of town for the most efficient t use of your time. And don't forget stores like D.I or Goodwill! I usually find great items there and the price on the sticker is often times negotiable. 

2. Decide what you are looking for. Most antique or thrift stores aren't set up like a regular stores. What I mean is that there usually isn't a chair section and a vases section etc. It can be really overwhelming if you don't have a plan ...but ...on the other hand, it's so fun to just go see what you find. So it's your decision. :)

3. Don't forget to look for other items.This will kind of contradict point #2, but always make sure to do a quick sweep of the whole place. You never know what you might find. :)

4. Before buying an item, take a good look at it. Obviously, what you're likely to find is used and probably kind of old. If you're planning on restoring it, make sure you can do the repairs that the item might need. 

5. Always see if you can get a lower price. This might be one of my favorite things about thrifitng. Prices usually aren't completely nonnegotiable so ask. Make sure your new offer is reasonable. The person selling it is also trying to get a good price. If you are buying several items, try grouping them for a lower total price.

Finally, some days are better to go than others. I like going on Mondays because people usually clear out their "junk" over the weekend and take it in then so there are often times new treasures. 

What tips do you have?!

And don't forget to enter/tell all your friends about the $25 cash giveaway! 
It ends today.

And thanks especially to all of you who have entered, commented, and spread the word!

Saturday, June 4, 2011