Do You Need a New Pair of Wellies?

Do you wear between a women's 5 and a 6.5/7?
Do you want to spend under $30?
Do you have a Marshall's store nearby?

Then you may be in luck!

I was in a local Marshall's the other day and found these rubber boots in the children's section! They are youth sized.

I typically wear a women's 6/6.5, these are a youth 5. I thought the navy color with green trim was basic and fun. They also had a cool black and green tartan plaid, and a brown herringbone tweed. They have a good tread, hit upper calf and are wide enough to get jeans tucked in (I have pretty skinny legs, so most boots are loose around the calves on me.)

And they were $29! I was in need, they (the weather experts) say we are in for a pretty wet, snowy, stormy winter around here! 

By the way, have you ever had rubber wellies that get cloudy white/gray marks on them? Here is what I discovered it is (Hunter is a popular, yet expensive, brand of rubber wellies):

What is the white residue on my Hunter boots?
Occasionally, it is possible that white marks will appear on your Hunter rubber wellington boots. This is called 'blooming', it is your boots attempting to protect themselves from environmental damage.
Every Hunter rubber wellington boot is made from 100% natural ingredients and small amounts of wax are included in the rubber compound during the vulcanization process that is used to make each pair. When exposed to certain environmental factors, this wax can "bloom" to the surface and appear as white marks.
This is not a defect with the boots, and is completely natural. If this does happen, you can wipe this blooming clean with a warm, damp cloth. We recommend UV Tech* Spray which can be found at boating, hunting or fishing stores. 

Who knew?


Oh- and those wellies I got are magical! I purchased them and voila~ not a drop of rain in two days!

Hee hee!

p.s. I took the self-portrait of me and Abbie on my automatic setting. I realized that after being Abbie's puppy sitter for 12 years, I don't have a single picture of the two of us together!

~michelle~

Catching Up

It has been a very wet weekend here in the Pacific Northwest. I was feeling under the weather with my first cold of the season. So I think. Who knows with me- it could have been allergies or a migraine. I spent most of my weekend camped on the couch watching episodes of "The Event" and "Mad Men" On Demand.

One highlight of my weekend was that I received my necklace from Kristy at Sosobella Designs in the mail! I won the necklace from Robyn's giveaway on her blog Whimages.

Technically, I think the necklace was for a young girl, but I don't have children so I just had it made with my initial and my birthstone crystal, an amethyst.

I love it! You can head over to Sosobella Designs to see more of their amazing collection of jewelry!

Speaking of giveaways, fabulous Polly from Sassafrass Stuff won our giveaway a few weeks ago. Polly, your gift is finally on it's way, thank you for your patience and I hope you enjoy the pillow and vase!

I'm dog sitting for Abbie, a 14 year old black lab. I've known her for 12 of her 14 years.

Abbie had cancer several years ago and although very healthy now, she is physically showing her age. So we go on really short walks now. Sunday afternoon there was a break in the rain and we got out to see and smell the damp signs of fall.

There is a pear tree in Abbie's front yard.

Most of the ones that end up on the ground are quickly mushy and full of brown wormy holes. I am trying to decide what to do with the pears. I hope to pick a few that I can reach from the tree to bake a treat.

Any recommendations?

It felt great to get out for fresh air, but then I was ready for a nap!

I just love lazy weekends.

I hope you all had good ones!

~michelle~

Fall Harvest, Part Two

After we finished our day of garage-saling and fall-harvesting, we got everything unloaded and into the shop. We discovered that we had to do some major re-arrangin'! Funny how you think you're just going to "drop some things off".....nope! Always ends up being almost a major re-do to fit merchandise in!

Here are some pictures of how our vendor space looked after almost two hours of work (and we worked minus lattes- crazy!) last Saturday.

The industrial cart that sold the minute we wheeled it into the door....

  

Tara made these darling burlap pillows tied with pinecones and twine.....

 

 Orange lights entwined a branch on the latice

The other table Tara purchased, decked out with goods!

I am in love with this scale! Tara found it at the giant garage sale. I really wanted to buy it from her but just don't have the room in my kitchen and I don't really need it......

 

Seriously, I cringe every time I look at this photo! Nope, I am not a fan of spiders!

I don't think that crow is, either!

Old wooden cabinet drawers finding a new purpose.

 Old transfer ware just feels like fall!

 This turkey plate would be perfect for Thanksgiving!

  I love using leaves and sticks in our displays....

The scale again. I'm obsessed!  I love that it is from Montgomery Ward. I remember looking at that catalog when I was a little girl!  

I don't need it. 

I don't need it.

I don't need it!

 But I want it.

The spider and leaf garlands hang for now....but in a few more weeks, we'll be thinking about changing up All That Jazz for the holidays!! Hard to believe....

Have a fall~bulous week, friends!!

~michelle~

Fall Harvest, Part One

 

We had a whirlwind of a Saturday!

We met up at 9:45 and hit Starbucks for some fuel (thank you auntie Jeanette for the pumpkin spice latte and apple bran muffin!)

Then we set off for the giant garage sale. It was held at the fairgrounds. For a 1.00 entry fee, you got 8 buildings full, and I say FULL, of stuff! Antiques, primitive home, junk, housewares, more junk, crafts.....you name it, you probably could have found it there!

Tara scored this cute little white magazine rack. I think my mom had one similar to this, in a dark stain, when I was a kid.

My aunt is clutching her score of the day, a gorgeous cowhide rug. It was probably a 1/3 of the price it should have been.

Inside the buildings and barns, we shopped 'til we dropped. It was a matter of divide and conquer. At one booth I found a little faux cast iron urn sitting on a chair. I asked the woman how much it was and she told me that another gal was already getting it and would be right back for it. I kept looking around at other items in her booth and the woman said again, "I don't know where she is, she should be back soon." Then here she came- and it was Tara! That stinker! Like minds.......she also scooped up some great vintage glass Christmas balls at that booth as well.

Loading our treasures into the truck......we became quite proficient with a hand-truck. This industrial metal stand on wheels sold the minute we got it into the door of the shop!

That white chippy box? I bought two of them (they are bottomless) from a bee keeper and his son. I'm going to use them for display in All That Jazz Vintage.

 

After getting lunch, we hit two harvest sales. The first one was Pole Barn Primitives.

These ladies are only open 4 times a year and have the greatest things! Lots of rusty and chippy metals and woods.

I love old pails and water troughs!

 

I bought a white pumpkin and fall colored mums for my patio.

Tara bought this cute white table.

Love the patina on this old chair! The berries are fun, too.

The next stop was a similar harvest sale ran out of someone's home, The Country Shed. I did not take any pictures there but I got a great industrial white 3-shelved cart on wheels, gently rusted on the top, for $10! I am going to try to fit it someplace in my apartment.


After we left that harvest sale, our marathon day continued- we headed to the shop to unload and price our new treasures. Next time, I'll share photos of how it all turned out!!

~michelle~

Jazzin' It Up For Autumn!

I was so excited to add some fall goodies to the shop this weekend! I have been working hard on collecting and hand-crafting items that I think reflect the rustic elegance and country vibe of fall.

First, I have to tell you- I went to the farmer's market the other day and bought the most beautiful bouquets of flowers~ for $5 each! I had the vendor put together one grouping of just orange-colored dahlias. I've been seeing dahlias around the blogs and they are my new fave flower.

I moved the topiary off this little table and replaced it with a cork vase filled with orange dahlias on it....I love the pop of color with the green!

Aren't the colors on these flowers just YUMMY?

Oh goodness, what a difference flowers make! I put a few stems in the bathroom (sorry I didn't move my bathroom stuff when I took this photo.) Getting up and ready at 6:15 a.m. isn't so bad when I face fresh flowers in the morning!

I'm going to have to make fresh flowers a more frequent must-do for myself!

Okay, on to the goods!

My collection of treasures for the shop just end up piled up in my place until I can get them cleaned, painted, embellished, and tagged and priced.

Old book and basket......colorful faux foliage (hey, it doesn't make a mess!)

This little black table is tiny but soooooo adorable, I loved the details! I almost had to keep it for myself, but don't have a perfect place for it.

Framed bling crown....

 Three-bottle bud vase bound by galvanized metal....with twigs.

I did the burlap BOO signs in black and white. No that is not a ghostly apparition on the glass, just a reflection. Maybe............

I did a few with autumn quotes and pictures of black cats, too.

Saturday was SO busy but also so much fun......can't wait to catch you in my next post once I get the pictures downloaded. I hope you had a happy weekend!

~michelle~