Thrifty Thursday and some Great Give-away Wins!

Hi all. 

I want to share with you today some of my great give-away wins from recent months and a few cool thrifty treasures.  (Well to me anyway)

I was the lucky winner of a $25 gift certificate to T.J. Maxx  from Tracy @ Ms. Bake-it.

It took me forever to decide, probably because it was a freebie. 

I had planned on getting an outdoor item but everything I had previously wanted was gone.  

But then, I saw this cute little cottage.   I just love it and it has a place for a little tea candle inside.

And.......since I had money left over.........................

 

I bought this cute little black summer top.  I love it!  Thanks Tracy!

You helped my summer wardrobe and it needed help!

Today, this cute little metal tray with the rooster motif was in my mail.

Dawn @ Cottage State of Mind had a give-away.   And here's the kicker!  When the give-away was over, she announced that she was sending everyone who entered a gift!  Now how cool and how generous is that!

Thanks Dawn!

The little tray is just so charming.

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And on to a give-away I won way back in February.  It just has taken me a long time to figure out how I wanted to do it.  You see, I won a Blog Book from Lori @  Family Trees May contain Nuts.

I had it kind of worked out and then I had my emergency gall bladder surgery and recovery.

So recently, I went back to the site and reworked it.

And here are a few pages to give you an idea to how it looks.

It's pretty darn cool!   Thanks Lori!

And now to a few thrifty treasures!

This old chair was only a buck at an auction.  I spray painted it apple green and I love the look!   And if it sits outside and gets more weathered who cares, it was only a buck!

And I found this old metal doll house popular in the 1950's and 60's at a garage sale for $5!

It needs a little rehab but I think it would be fun to look for the old plastic doll furniture that was popular then.

Have a great 4th of July Everyone!

Cindy

 I am joining Leigh @ Tales of Bloggeritaville for Thrifty Thursday.

Check it out!

Upcoming CSN Review and Kransa Kake !

I feel pretty excited about getting to do a review for CSN stores. See that cute dining room table above.  It's called Carolina Cottage Prairie table and you can find it here at dining room tables.   It's only 299.99 plus free shipping!   Got to love that! 

In early May, I had a give-away sponsored by CSN stores.  They generously sent one of my readers this very beautiful , Evening Sun Pfaltzgraff 20 piece set of china.

And I also have my eye on their baby store.  With my daughter expecting, check out this beautiful bassinet!

I really love this one!!!

I am going to be reviewing some of their cookware.   Who knows, maybe it will make me a better cook!

And speaking of good cooks, I want to show you the Norwegian Wedding Cake that was served at my In-laws recent 60th wedding anniversary party.

Isn't that pretty?

It's called Kransa Kake and it's a traditional Scandinavian Ceremony Cake.

My in-laws are both 100% Norwegian ancestry.

In fact, my MIL's Mother came over to this country through Ellis Island when she was a wee girl of 7.

That was in the early 1900's .  My in-laws spoke Norwegian until they started school at the age of 6.

My FIL is still quite fluent.

 

The Kransa Kake is very good and has a hint of almond to it.

Of course there were traditional cakes served as well.

And here is my sweet MIL, (wearing the corsage) being greeted by a friend.

Thanks for coming by everyone and I hope your having a lovely summer day!

Cindy

Homemade Patriotic Place-mats for the red, white and blue!

Hi friends!  I wanted to share with you my homemade patriotic place-mats.  They were pretty easy and a lot of fun to make.  I saw them in Midwest Living and I thought I would give them a whirl.  I had some left over burlap from a previous project and  I  just used a store bought place-mat as my pattern.  I simply folded over the edges, pinned and used a zig-zag stitch.

 I  cut two back pockets from an old pair of jeans of mine and sewed these on as well.  I  already had the red fabric with the little stars.   I cut a star for each patch and tacked them on.  I used the rest of the red material to  make two napkins.  Very easy !

Then I went down into our dungeon  basement and dug out an old basket I've had for years.  I bought a 4 pk of flags and a few faux flowers and created a centerpiece.  I spent $3 for the flowers and $3 for the flags and a few other decorations.

I set my outdoor bistro set with my Liberty Blue plates.

And these little red and white ones that I found at Wal-Mart for 1.50 a piece.

And I topped the red and white one's with the blue star bowls that I found last year on clearance for a .25 a piece.  Yeah!  Love those after holiday sales!

A 4th of July table for two!

These were so easy to make!  And you don't need much in the way of sewing skills.  In fact, you could probably use fabric glue since burlap and denim are such sturdy fabrics.
 I hope you all had a lovely summer week-end.   We celebrated my in-laws 60th Wedding Anniversary today with a party at a local park.  It was so nice, with a lot of family and friends in attendance.  And  I was thinking how many people will ever get to celebrate a 60th Wedding Anniversary. 
Well that's about it for me, thanks for coming by.

Cindy


I am joining Susan @  Between Naps on the Porch for Tablescape Thursday.
 Sally @ Smiling Sally for Blue Monday

  And  Marty @ A Stroll thru Life for Tabletop Tuesday.
And a new one for me. Jamie @ Craft.
Thanks Ladies!.

Sisterhood Sorority Rush!

I'm joining my good friend Karen, from Some Days are Diamonds for the first ever Sorority Rush Party.
I've had the pleasure of meeting Karen in real life and she is just the neatest lady.  So when your finished here, go visit her blog and check out the other links.

I am not a real paper crafty person but I did manage to make a little hangy thing. And that's what it will be called, the little hangy Sisterhood thing.

 This picture of me is from another blog party that I was recently part of it.  Sheila, from Note Songs, who also has a Sorority Rush post had us take pictures of ourselves looking into a mirror.   I live way up North, in the State of Wisconsin and I am anxious to meet my other blog sorority sisters.

And today, I was lucky enough to meet one of my sorority blogger sisters!   Keetha, whose blog is called

The Eclectic Company and her sister Pam came to visit. Keetha has long been a blogger buddy of mine.  She was born and raised in Wisconsin and now resides in Indiana.  But her heart belongs to the Badger State!

We met for lunch and then Keetha and Pam followed me out to my house.  I so hope they didn't get lost on their way back to Eau Claire, I kind of live in the boonies.   We had such a lovely time visiting.  Keetha and her sister Pam are both warm and sweet and a lot of fun!   I am pretty sure Keetha will have more to share on her blog. 

So as you can see, blogger sisterhood is real!  And this Sorority Party of Karen's is such a lovely idea.

Go Karen!!!

I hope to get to visit you all over the next several days.

Thanks for coming by,

 Cindy

Outdoor Wednesday/ Blooming flowers and an Announcement.

 Hi all.  I am joining Susan @ A Southern Daydreamer for Outdoor Wednesday.  Thank-you for all the kind words you left regarding my brother and his wife.  The fire is still raging.  However, today the winds were to die down a bit and no one has lost their home.   Although my brother thinks it will be several more days until they are allowed back into their homes. 
But today, I wanted to share some of my blooming things.  We are like the opposite of my brother right now.  We've had plenty of rain and our fire danger is very low.  Yesterday was warm and muggy and more thunderstorms are predicted at least for this morning.

And my announcement?   I am going to be a Grandma for the first time!  My daughter Katie is expecting and she is due the first week of October.  The pic below was taken about a month ago.  Her belly has grown quite a bit in the last month and she is having a baby girl! 

I am very excited and looking forward to this amazing experience!

Thanks for coming by!

Cindy

Flagstaff, AZ Fire.

Hey Everyone,

Please keep my brother Tom and his wife Kathy, in your thoughts and prayers.

They were evacuated yesterday morning from their home outside of Flagstaff, AZ. The fire is within a half mile of their home and is 0 percent contained.  My brother watched as is exploded yesterday.  It has already burned over 5000 acres and today is going to be windy and high's near 90.   I talked to my brother this morning.  They are staying in a hotel and although he seemed pretty calm his wife is not.

I guess the scene is really scary. 

Take Care,

Cindy

It's a Porch Party!!!

Welcome Everyone!  Today I am joining Rhondi at Rose Colored Glasses for a  first day of summer Porch Party.   My porch is small but I think it is colorful and cozy.

My hubby and I use it all the time and especially now when we are having such gorgeous summer days!

 Last summer, I painted this old bench red and use it for displaying some flower pots and my lantern.

I  recently found this old wicker plant stand at a garage sale and spray painted it apple green~  I really like this shade and their is some of that same green in my rug.

My Mom bought us these wind chimes for Christmas one year.  They are a very nice set that are acoustically wonderful.  Out in the country, no one cares if your wind chimes are dancing in the wind

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Over here I have a tea-cup filled with petunias.  I bought the little chair when we were in Galena, Illinois.

Front door, painted apple red.

Sorry for the shadows.

Front porch view.

Vintage luncheon cloth I found for $3.

I love the embroidered flowers on this vintage cloth.

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Table set for two with Myott Finlandia.

All of the dishes were found at garage sales or E-Bay.

We have a pair of old wicker chairs .

Hubby's going to fix these up a little more this summer.

Flowers, fountain, tea-pot and basket for a little vignette.

I served my in-laws lunch today out here.  It was fun!

Lily patiently waiting for us.

After lunch, we can sit under the tree and watch the deer.

However, if they start eating my flowers their in big trouble!

LOL!

Thanks for coming by today.

Cindy

I am also joining Sally @ Smiling Sally for Blue Monday.

And Susan @ Between Naps on the Porch for Met. Monday.

And Marty @ A Stroll Thru Life for Tabletop Tuesday.

And the Tablescaper for Summer Sundays!