Mr. Sullivan Goes To The Spa!

My sweet little Sullivan had a nice "spa" day at the groomer's today. He had a bath, got his nails done, his teeth and ears cleaned and got a great hair cut which he badly needed ( he was quite a furry little beast). The groomer was afraid that he would be cold without his hair, so I bought him a fleece jacket as an early Christmas present. The groomer gave him a cute little Christmas-themed bandana too! Here he is modeling his new attire:

He really seemed to like his new jacket and didn't shiver when we came inside like he usually does when he's nakey dog, so I guess it was a good call on the groomer's part. He's such a little old man but he's still my baby! The little ones were cute when I brought him home. Jamison thought he was a different dog and Abigail followed him around saying, "Jacket off. Jacket off" because she is told to take hers off when she gets home. They think he looks pretty handsome and I think he does too! Thanks for stopping by! Hugs, Leena

Junk Gypsy Show On HGTV!

Tonight was the night! HGTV showcased the PREMIERE of "Junk Gypsies" starring our very own Junk Gypsy legends, Jolie and Amie! The show was fantastic and it was so inspiring to see two junk loving, creative women make it to the BIG screen! I was SO impressed by the show, that I left the following comment on their blog. If you're not familiar with these two mavens of upcycling, back road roaming, family nurturing and free-spirit style, or if you've never heard of Large Marge,  you NEED to run on over to their blog and take a peek - http://junkgypsyblog.com/concrete-tv-crews/

"Leena Lanteigne { 11.27.11 at 10:10 pm } Bravo! I’m applauding while I type LOL! I watched your show and it was SO NICE to see your beautiful faces, hear your voices, see your family members, the shops you’ve discovered in Texas and watch you work your magic to transform a plain room into a Junk Gypsy masterpiece! I loved the room and everything in it! Funny moment – when Jolie was stacking up the cans and talking about making a light fixture, I turned to my husband and said, “Is she gonna make a light or shoot them?” well by golly, ya did both! Cracked me up! Then, I almost died when y’all were talking about painting that fabulous aqua cabinet – NO!!! I love the color! I was hollering at the television! Amie and Jolie, the show was awesome! It was realistic, personable, informative and fun. I felt like I was right there – it wasn’t pretentious at all, which is what I love! I want to be able to relate my junking and creating to folks on tv and y’all nailed it! I even got to see Large Marge! LOL! Can’t wait until the full season starts. It just goes to show you that good, honest work, faith and family can conquer mountains and make dreams come true. Congrats on a HUGE success! Love ya! Leena"

Jolie & Amie

Photos Courtesy of http://junkgypsyblog.com/concrete-tv-crews/

So, you can see from my comment how much I LOVED the show! If you missed it, check the HGTV website and see if it will be repeated. The full season starts in March 2012!
Enjoy! Leena

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing everyone a joyous Thanksgiving filled with love, laughter, fun and food! May the coming year bring much happiness, health and good times with family and friends! Thank you for being here! Hugs, Leena

Another Curb Shoppin Tip

I forgot to include this in my post the other day. If you see a piece of furniture that isn't quite what you need, take a closer look at the hardware. You can find great knobs and drawer pulls on cast-offs. I once found a little desk, but it was melamine - not something I wanted to revamp. However, it DID have cut glass knobs on the drawers! I stood there and unscrewed those little gems and used them on another project. Considering they cost $3.99 each at the hardware store, finding a few of them freebie-style was awesome!

Giving Thanks

Today I am thankful for the beautiful breeze that is coming in my window, for it pushed the clouds away and the sun is shining brightly after days of heavy rain. Today I am thankful for all of my blogging and online friends who offer me support, encouragement and their inspiration. Today I am thankful for my "in person" friends, for even though I don't see them nearly as often as I'd like to, I keep them dearly in my heart. Today I am thankful that the local radio station has started its annual playing of Christmas music. Today I am thankful that although I didn't realize that I had two pairs of turquoise undies in with the whites before I added bleach to the load, instead of turning everything blue, the blue ones became tie-dyed (groovy!). Today I am thankful for the scented candles that lift my spirits and make everything smell yummy. Today I am thankful that, although I don't know all the answers yet, I am figuring out what most of the questions are. Today I am thankful for the sound of the wind chimes. Today I am thankful for today.

Wishing you a day full of wonderful things! xo, Leena

Never Say Never!

Have you ever found an item, either on the curb, at a yard sale or flea market and thought, "Gee, it'd be great if only that _________ wasn't missing/broken/etc"? I used to, until I turned my brain onto repurposing and revamping, giving new life back to an old object and re-loving it, even if it isn't perfect! Case in point; a while back, I found this beautiful dining room chair while out curb shopping. It had a gorgeous shield back, a nice wide seat that could be easily recovered, curvy legs and one arm...wait, ONE ARM? Yep, one arm. Seems that the other one was broken off. "No problem", I thought. "I'll just take the other arm off!" And that's exactly what I did. I took off the arm, filled the holes with wood putty, then sanded it down before painting and glazing with a gel stain. Meanwhile, the seat received a fetching and oh-so-fun leopard print fleece for. I loved it and apparently others did too as it sold almost immediately! Wish everything worked that way! LOL!



One-armed chair before



Becomes no-armed chair after!

  

Close-up of glaze in details

 I currently have another chair, a solid wood one with a pressed back that is missing one little curved piece that joins the back to the seat. When I found it, on the curb of course, there were two of them, but the one was completely taken apart. "Aha! Do you suppose that means it has that little part I need to replace the one that's missing on this chair?" You betcha! I actually found it on the ground next to the chairs! So, that one will get repaired and painted soon. One more - two identical chairs with rush seats. One has a few tears in the back corners of the seat, the other's seat is perfect but the dowels between the legs are sticking out for some reason. So, if I can't repair both, I will swap out the seats, do some refinishing, then offer it up for sale, while I use the not-so-perfect chair to hold a pot of flowers come next spring. This way, they both stay out of the landfill and serve a purpose - re-love it!

I have a bunch of furniture in my garage waiting to be painted and I'm really wanting to get it done so I can park my car back in there before the snow falls. I'll be posting pics as I go along! Thanks for stopping by - you know I love it when you do! Hugs,
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More November Thankfulness

Tonight, I am thankful for:
The smell of a neighbor's fireplace as it scents the air,
The crunch of the fallen leaves underneath my feet,
The joyful sound of my grand children giggling,

The soft, cuddly warmth of my faux mink blankie,

My dog Sullivan, who never leaves my side,

The soft breathing of my husband as he sleeps next to me, making me feel safe,

The friends whos faces I don't see, but whos hearts I read every day,

Our home which is not always perfect, but provides shelter and security,

The fact that I don't fit into any particular mold, thus allowing me to be me,

The memories of my mother and brother, which keep them constantly in my heart.

So many other things that will be continued.........goodnight!



Rose-Colored Cluckers

Most of the TV I watch these days is reality television. The shows, to me, are like twisted experiments in human psychology, and seeing what people will do under certain conditions is often shocking and humorous and always entertaining. One of my favorite shows is Storage Wars. If you're not familiar with this program, I'll fill you in. It chronicles the activities of five main "characters" as they interact with each other while bidding auction-style for the contents of abandoned storage lockers. Some play nice, some don't. The intriguing part is seeing what the coveted bin is hiding after purchase, as the participants are not allowed to preview before bidding. Most buyers run thrift-type stores and need the contents to turn a profit for their business. Barry, however, is more in it for the thrill of the hunt and for the chance to buy that one special item that is of great value. Not that the monetary worth is of much importance to him; he's more interested in collecting unique items.

Storage Wars on A&E

And you think YOU'VE got JUNK!

Barry is my favorite on the show and he's quite a character. He wears vintage-style clothing and drives vintage cars, some of which have been "Frankensteined" into odd automobiles that barely resemble their origins. Barry is the master of the bad joke, but his positive attitude and ability to get along with even the orneriest co-bidders, makes him a real treat to watch.

Barry

Awesome black car

Even MORE awesome pink and white car - love it!

The show is actually educational. You can learn a lot about antiques and oddities that are rescued from behind mattresses and boxes of,  for a lack of better words, stuff. For example, on a recent episode, Barry came upon three pairs of chicken sunglasses. Wait, chicken sunglasses? Chickens wear sunglasses? I've never heard of such a thing. And so the lesson begins. It seems that chickens are blood thirsty and if one gets a cut and scrape, the others will peck it to death, in an attempt to get to the blood. The lenses on the glasses are red, thus cancelling out the red of the blood and, therefor, keeping the chickens safe. If they can't see it, they don't peck at it. Apparently, these glasses were very popular with farmers who purchased millions of pairs of the groovy shades for their fowl in the 1950's and 60's. Sounds a bit gross, but the best part was seeing a chicken wearing a pair of these. When Barry went to a farmer's and they placed a pair onto a chicken's beak, I just about fell off the couch I was laughing so hard! See for yourself:

My future's so bright, I gotta wear shades!

So, if you're looking for something unusual, entertaining and educational to watch, give Storage Wars on A&E a try.Where else will you find a chicken wearing rose-colored glasses? Have a great day and thank you for stopping by! xoxo, Leena

Being Thankful In November

Today I am very thankful for my two grand babies! They are the loves of my life and bring me joy and laughter every day. Even though they have their "moments" once in a while, they are so cute, funny and loving that I can over-look those times. After all, they are just little ones and entitled to a fit once in a  while. The best part of my day, besides when my adorable husband gets home, is when Jamison and Abigail Rose get home from daycare, or school as Jamison likes to call it. He rings the bell over and over while peeking in the sidelights and giving me this enormous smile, until I come to answer the door, then he squeals, "Meemaw!" and gives me a BIG hug. Abigail follows behind with a huge grin on her face, shouts out her 21-month old version of Meemaw, and wraps her little arms around my legs. She really goes crazy when she sees "Geegaw" as she is totally in love with him and has to climb up on his lap and chat with him as soon as she gets home. Moments like this just melt my heart and make me smile from the inside out! I think that's plenty to be thankful for!
Thanks for stopping by! Hugs, Leena

Abigail Rose

Jamison

Funky Junk Interiors Fab Give-Away!

Funky Junk Interiors has teamed up with Katie's Rose Cottage to bring us blog addicts another fabulous give-away! $60 to spend at Katie's Rose Cottage - yeah baby! So many beautiful things to choose from! Click on the link to enter - I did! http://funkyjunkinteriors.blogspot.com/2011/11/katies-pays-visit-with-girlie-giveaway.html

Being Thankful Today

Even though the projects I planned and tried to do didn't quite work out so I now have to figure out re-do plans, and even though I had to go out today and every time I go out lately it rains (argh!) I am thankful that God has placed creativity in my heart and soul as a way to express myself and share with others, relieve my stress and brighten my days.

November - The Thankful Month

I am so thankful that God has given me my fabulous husband who is so very supportive while I follow my dreams. If I get discouraged, he always picks me up and things get better!

From My Front Porch To Yours Fab Give-Away!

Tis the season for fabulous give-aways and you won't want to miss this one! Head on over to From My Front Porch To Yours via the link below and enter to win a beautiful pocket watch necklace from Shabby Apple! It's gorgeous!!
http://frommyfrontporchtoyours.blogspot.com/2011/11/giveaway-time.html

Beautiful Give-Away from French Farmhouse 425!

Click the link below to find out  how you can enter to win two of these gorgeous linen ruffled Christmas stockings! I know I want them! Hugs, Leena

http://shabbyfrenchforme.blogspot.com/2011/11/ruffled-linens-giveaway-at-425.html

A Treat For Me!

While I was yammering on about my boots and flip flops, et. al., I forgot the really fun part of yesterday! I remembered that I had an unused balance on an old Home Goods gift card and since I was in the area, I decided to drop in and see what the store had to offer. Have you ever been to a Home Goods? The first time I went there, I was like a kid in a candy store. My mouth dropped open and I kept saying under my breath, over and over again as I walked the entire store at least twice, "Oh my!" I love that store but hadn't had the budget to shop recently, so knowing I had "free" money was a real treat! I didn't know what I would find, or if I would find anything, but it had to be something fun - no cookware or forks or anything utilitarian like that! Seeing as I have an addiction to pillows, I ultimately chose this:

It isn't going to stay on the couch as I have enough pillows on there already, with the ones that make up the back and my faux mink (fink?) ones, but it made a good place to take a picture (until I noticed once loading the pic that my husband had left his sweatshirt on my green chair). Big ones, little ones, they all make messes, don't they? Oh well, I have to remember that I don't live in a magazine and everything doesn't.....have to..... be... perfect. There, I said it. Oh, that hurt! Oh! And while I was looking for my Home Goods card, I found a Kirkland's card from last Christmas worth $25! Yeehaw baby! I'll save that trip for another day when I really need some fun. Thanks for reading! Hope you have a fantastic day! xoxo, Leena

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Flea Market Trixie Give-Away!

Be sure to check out Flea Market Trixie's current give-away for one of her beautiful chalkboard prints! She is so talented! Details: http://www.fleamarkettrixie.com/2011/11/chalkboard-print-giveaway.html

Bootie Call

If you've read my earlier posts, you know that I have a real problem with giving up my flip flops and wearing regular shoes when the weather turns cooler. I've been fairly lucky so far, in that the days have been warm enough for me to still don my foot favorites, unless it's raining, which is was today. So, since I had to go to a doctor's appointment and then run errands afterwards, I succumbed to wearing my tennis shoes, with socks (argh). Part of the problem is that shoes and socks make my feet hot and if my feet are hot, I'm not. I usually don't like being hot, unless I'm at the beach or sitting by a pool with a nice frozen drink in one hand and some favorite reading material in the other. Each store I went into today had their heat cranked up and was sweltering. OK, perhaps my internal thermometer is just a wee bit off due to this Mother Nature thing that women around my age so happily experience but whatever the cause, wearing the shoes and socks just made things worse. So, when I got home, the first thing I did was whip those things off my feet! As the sun and temperature started to go down, I started to get chilled, so I went for one of my favorite pairs of cool weather footwear - my leopard print bootie slippers! They're soft and comfy and cozy warm and just so much fun to wear! Take a look and see if they don't make you smile:

Quite a departure from my flip flops, but way cute! Hey, if I have to wear shoes, I might as well have a good time, right? Thanks for stopping by and remember: silly feet are happy feet! Hugs! Leena

Gardening Day

I had the best time today, working in my yard! I'd been waiting for the rain to stop and the grass to dry a bit, so that I could mow it, then discovered that I needed a new spark plug in my mower. Argh! So that was taken care of the other day and today it was time to mow. I couldn't believe how wet the grass and ground still were! The rain, rain, rain, snow, melting snow, rain seem to have added quite a bit of extra moisture to our landscape. Not a real problem. It just meant that I had to empty the mower bag about three times more than usual and that the grass took up a lot more room in my big garbage cans than I would have liked. The worst part is that they weigh a ton! Our trash service doesn't pick up lawn waste again until Thursday, so I hope it doesn't rain again in the meantime. If so, those cans will be impossible to roll down the street!

I actually filled both of my cans with more than mowed grass. I pulled weeds, dug out this annoying ornamental grass that had sent runners all over my flower bed, emptied the now frost-bitten plants (I spread the dirt in the beds) out of my many containers and picked up some leaves. I also dug a really big hole to transplant a hydrangea into and planned to lug a bunch of mulch from the side yard into all the beds. Needless to say, after several hours of working, I didn't get around to moving the plant or the mulch, but I still feel good about today's accomplishments. The weather was so perfect - blue, clear sky, autumn breeze, cool temperature, no humidity and lots of sun. Much better than the 100+ temperature and almost as high humidity days that I was working in about a month or so ago. That was no fun at all!

I get a big thrill out of being able to have a day like this mainly because I have a really bad back that restricts my participation in projects of this type at times. It takes me several times longer than it used to, to do things and I have to sit and rest my back every once in a while, but I'm a determined little bugger and keep going until I know I've pushed my spine to its limit. Then it's time for a nice glass of ice water, a warm shower and a little admiring of what I accomplished. Yep, it was a good day! Hope you had a great day too! xoxo, Leena

Creating Vintage Charm-It's Here!

I was SO excited yesterday when little Abigail got home! She and Jamison like to bring in the mail and she was carrying my copy of Creating Vintage Charm magazine! Of course, I immediately turned to the section featuring my pumpkin - I was just too elated to wait! This is the first time that any of my artwork or my shop has been published anywhere! Like I said before, I am truly humbled and honored. Thank you again Sonia! If you'd like to order your own copy, please see the link in my previous post. Hugs, Leena