How to Spend a Pink Saturday...

 Piddling around

Definition:   To use triflingly; squander: piddle away one's time.

Like most everyone, Saturday is my favorite day of the week.  I can sleep in because the office is closed or I can get up early.  I can normally spend that day doing whatever I feel like doing.  I can have plans or have absolutely no plans whatsoever!



I normally spend some time reading blogs.....  Pink Saturday posts are a favorite.  Pippa and I enjoyed some this morning.  Someone posted about a Hello Kitty billfold.  We thought that was cute.






We needed to see what was going on with Hurricane Irene too though.  Pippa was quite concerned.

Yes, sweet little Pippa was worried about the little man on the beach and wondered if he was OK.  She wondered how he and the entire beach got inside the box on the desk.

We did a little facebook chatting and took my son to work.  I went grocery shopping and while I did that thought about actually cooking good things to eat this week.  I somehow avoided the parts of Walmart that didn't sell food!   

Check out this cute vintage Goodwill find from last weekend...... It sums up why I bought the rotisserie chicken and haven't cooked anything today.

Came home,  had lunch, took a little cat nap.  (Well, Pippa had a cat nap and I had person nap)  Then it was time to pick up my son from work.

After that, there was sweeping and vacumning to do.  Pippa wasn't much help with any of that.

I always think if my house is clean, maybe I will feel like taking pictures and blogging.  Does anyone else go through this, all conditions must be perfect dilemma that keeps me from blogging very often?

The light is so poor in my house (There's a wonderful shade tree out in front of my window) that I opened the door to add some natural light.

Pippa tried to make a break for it.  But she's too young yet to be allowed outside so that was short lived. 

It's also 100 degrees here today!!  It's awful!

Hurricanes are much worse than heat, of course and I hope our friends to the Northeast will come through the storm with minimal damage.  We are praying for them.

I wish Irene would have at least thought to send us a breeze though...


Well, this is probably one of the most random postings ever...

I finally got a few pink pictures....

 
I've been painting picture frames again.  The larger frame is an antique that once was my grandmother's.  The color of the frame was nearly black from years of dirt and smoke... just too much "patina" for me.  I like it light and bright.  I painted two of these larger antique frames and two of the smaller ones that I got on ebay.  

The print in the larger frame is from my days working at Victoria's Secret in the early 90's... Back when they were more about romance and Victoriana than supermodels and fashion shows...

I probably got it for 40% off of a 50% mark down with my discount... I loved working there.  

Being random again, I know.

Take a look at my kitchen window.... 

I purchased the dotted swiss lower tier curtains on etsy a while back and added the ball fringe.  I needed a valance though, and wanted something that would allow light into the kitchen but add color as well as have that vintage element.  

I've been collecting aprons since the early 90's.. Yes, I was vintage, when vintage wasn't cool.... ;-)


My doll of a friend, Jennifer Hayslip, recently posted here about her kitchen do-over.  Her use of vintage linens pinned up with clothes pins inspired me to hang some aprons up in the same way.

I LOVE the look!  Jennifer has such great taste and such originality.  If you don't know her blog, you are missing out.  Check it out!

 This spice rack and these bottles were thrift store finds that I added to my kitchen recently.  I'm planning to add little labels and make these bottles just for baking spices... Cinnamon, Cloves, Ginger, Allspice, Cream of Tartar, Nutmeg, etc.  It will be fun finding those...  I do love to bake.

One last pink thing I discovered lately....

I got a beautiful pair of pink rose throw pillows on Overstock.com.  Only $19.00 for the pair!    They are so well made and the material looks and feels like white linen.  Looks so beautiful and inviting in my old wicker chair. 


I'm off to do more piddling because the night is young....

Good evening from Georgia....

I am thinking about my East Coast friends and all of those people in the path of Hurricane Irene and hoping for the best outcome.

Pippa says bye-bye for now too!

xoxo,

Jennifer

Please check out the other Pink Saturday Participants at Beverly's How Sweet the Sound



I'm recycling this post for Share the Love Wednesday at Very Merry Vintage Style too!! 

Little Pippa

Little Pippa, a photo by Jennifer Grenko on Flickr.

This our newest kitty, Pippa. So named because she's a tiny pipsqueak!

She spends her time playing, play fighting, eating, drinking milk, sleeping and cuddling with us.  She looks deep into my eyes and then bites my nose.  Her purr sounds like a little motor.  I am very smitten with her.

She's trying really hard to make friends with Orangina.  The reigning Queen of the house is having a bit of a time adjusting to the upstart Princess Pippa who likes her tail and her food.

For Share the Love Wednesday.... at
Very Merry Vintage Style!

Sunday Finds and My Kitschy Kitchen...

I love my local Rescue Mission Thrift store!

They go around town picking up yard sale and estate sale left overs all day every Saturday, so naturally Sunday is the best day to visit them!


A few weeks ago I found this knick-knack shelf that I plan to paint.  I spent about $25 and it went to charity.... So it's win-win!

For some reason, I find the best wooden items in there.  Last week, I found an enormous shadow box in the shape of house with little rooms that I plan to decorate for Christmas.  No pics of that yet.

This bread box was found there too... I plan to paint it and add appliques to give it more of a vintage feel....

I want to share a few vignettes from my kitchen... 

I recently repainted all the woodwork and rearranged my vintage and kitschy collections...

The above is a vintage tea towel with a kitchen prayer that I love.  Someone else smartly added the pink fringe!


I love mint green.  It lends itself to all other pastels and to vintage decor so well!

 
I blogged once about how the apron in the above pic was the first apron in my collection and most favorite because my great grandmother made it! 

The cutest vignette in my home is this shelf in my kitchen... having such a small home, it's nice to have extra storage space wherever you can...so it's nearly up to the ceiling!

 
I keep my collection of vintage egg plates, serving pieces from my everyday dishes and whimsical pieces that I have collected up here.  I love the colorful mix.

If you look to the left of the picture above, you can see the anaglypta wallpaper that my extremely talented neighbor hung for me.  

Add to my list of projects that I am going to paint this wallpaper lavender.  

Could my kitchen be more adorable??? 

I hope you enjoyed it....

I am on my way to the Rescue Mission here in a minute!

I hope that God blesses you with something you really need this week.
  
My sister just found out today (Sunday is a business day in Afghanistan where she'll be working) that she is being offered a job after many months of unemployment and just in the "nick of time". 

Many prayers were said and we are all very relieved and thankful!  

Peace and blessings!

XoXo,


Jennifer

P.S.  I was in such a hurry to get to my favorite thrift store, the Macon Rescue Mission today, that I didn't finish my post.  

I had my eye on an entertainment center last week.  I didn't really expect it to be there but it was AND all  furniture was HALF OFF today only!  

I got a wooden entertainment center that I really like for $75.00!!  I am so excited that I am googling Annie Sloan chalk paint, furniture appliques and glass knobs to revamp it now!!

Have a great week!  


I am linking to Cindy's Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday.  Better late than never!

Wow! Have I Missed my Blog!

 Hi Everyone! 


For the past couple of months, I have been busier than usual.  Family stuff -  not fun or quality time, not vacations, just helping people out who have no one else to help them.

  I want to do it but it sometimes feels I have no time for me.  Even my lunch breaks are spent helping some days.  By the time I get home and finish working and helping, there's not that much of me left for me, you know?

Not having the time to work on projects or to even read many blogs has stifled most of my desire to be creative. 

Pinterest has kind of been a kind of God send.

All you have to do is look at pictures to become inspired! 

I love this vintage dress in aqua and the retro curls and the suitcase and the shoes and the purse and the word "Peppermint"...Oh my!


Pinterest is fun.  It's a fantasy world.


Look at the dinner table set for Christmas dinner in Pink!

Roses and Holly!  Gorgeous!

The house is quiet this morning and

Outside, it's overcast and cool.

Cool weather energizes me!

It has been so warm here until this weekend, finally a cool snap... It's only July, I know!

It helps to have things to look forward to as well.  So,

I have been making some of these and enjoying myself, while looking forward to Fall and cooler weather, Christmas and cold weather....

Nylon net fairyland trees are in my etsy shop again, and I am taking custom orders as well.

I've been blessed enough to have about 7 custom orders in the past month at a time when I really needed the money!

Now, I am about to "get down" with my trees, and see how creative and fanciful I can make them for Halloween and Christmas. 

The trees are mostly needlework and are so relaxing to make.  They're also so pretty to have around the house, 
even if it is July!

I hope everyone is having an especially wonderful summer!  

I have been keeping up with some of your blogs and your fabulous vacations!  

Come fall, I plan to see many of my blog friends who I miss SO much!

That's all for now and I will try not to be such a stranger!

xoxo,


Jennifer

Share the Love

Jumping into the "Share the Love" party over at

"Very Merry Vintage Style" today!

This is the love that I will share...

My son, Richard

 (Confirmation, Age 16)

He turns 18 in one week and he's graduating from high school in 9 days!

I can't believe how fast time flew since he was little!

It was yesterday he was in kindergarten and I was going to the first awards ceremony where he won "Computer Whiz Kid".

We had just moved into this house and he had just discovered Playstation. He spent many hours playing "Spyro the Dragon" back then and collecting Pokemon cards.

 (Last Memorial Day at Lane Orchards)

As the years went by, he traded video games for a guitar.

He was just named a Senior Superlative. I'm not sure exactly what it means, but it's an honor and I think it has to do with

good citizenship.

The nomination came from a teacher he has done many

hours of volunteer work with.

He helps coordinate Red Cross blood drives and does sound

work for school performances.

As a theatre student, he performed in plays for local

 school children.

Obviously, I am very proud of my son. He's grown into quite a young man. He's funny, talented, personable and polite,

both intellectual and spiritual.

 (preparing for Senior pics last fall)

As an only child in need of playmates, he never met a stranger and was never too shy to make friends easily.

Now he works part time and is saving to buy his first car. He's planning to major in music in college. He manages his own band and hosts their rehearsals in our basement.

I know he will excell at anything

he most loves doing!

I see how driven he is to become a musician and I am slightly jealous that I didn't want some of my dreams that much

 when I was his age!

But I want all of his dreams for him as much as he does...

Maybe more.

(Richard, after his performance as "Hamlet", age 13 and my sister, Janet) 

I know he'll be in this nest a while longer but I still miss the little boy who played with trains, read Harry Potter and rode his big wheel down the driveway as much as I enjoy knowing

the grown up version of him!

My Mom

It's pretty popular on Facebook to post a picture of your mom as your profile picture on Mother's day. Sadly, the only digital images I ever got of my mom were taken while she was really sick, right before she died.

My mother was a beauty. One day not too long ago, my sister said to me that our mom was really beautiful and that she and I were just pretty in comparison!

I decided to find whatever picture of my mom that I could for facebook that would show how lovely she was.

I found and "took a picture" of this picture since I have no scanner at home. This was taken by my dad and she was probably about 30 years old. Not a "stick" of makeup on! Beautiful black hair, eyes shining.

I'm not sure if my sister and I were even born when this was taken but this is how I will try to remember my mom, not as 72, not with cancer.

Happy Mother's Day Mom! I miss you! We love you!

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms I know!

Serendipitous Happenings!

Happiness is finding a poster print you love on Victorian Trading Company for about $5.00!

Sadness is realizing that it's a weird size so you can't just pick up any old frame for it, and a custom frame would be really expensive!

Happiness is finding out today that you have that size frame in your antiques booth and no one has bought it! Plus, it's a real Victorian antique frame!

I gave it a coat of heirloom white paint to cover the previous owner's shoddy (not shabby, but shoddy!) paint job. I decided that the spray paint was too shiny so I covered that with craft paint in Magnolia white. The glass got cleaned really well. 

Here is some of the detail of the frame.

I will probably take it to Michaels or another frame shop to add the backing and hanging hardware. The nails that came out of the back of the frame were 100 years old and I don't want to work with them!

I had to trim about 1/4 inch off each side of the print with my exacto knife. Now it fits perfectly and I can't wait to hang the picture!

This was a serendipitous happening! I love those!

About a year ago I found a vintage chandelier that I will hang in my dining room. As luck would have it, it was in a friend's antiques booth and the price was very reasonable so we both won!

The finish on the chandelier was black with gold trim but the details were gorgeous and it was covered with crystals.

I did not take a before pic but it was alot darker than I needed.

I have never painted a chandelier and whenever painting anything for the first time, I get nervous and this causes me to procrastinate!

I remembered this tutorial on Karla's Cottage. Karla Nathan can apparently paint anything easily and has many other tutorials on her blog that might be helpful if you are like me!

I had my helper!  Miss Orangina Kitty.

You can see her playing around in the background!

I used the oil based spray primer and once dry, I glazed. I ended up not liking my glaze choice. I covered the chandy with white craft paint. I like that it looks coated, like it's been painted before, like it's old!

Here is a picture taken while I am adding the final coat of white paint and then the polyurethane.

Once painted, the brassy details look lacy. Perfect!

BTW, I sold the chandelier that I am replacing this with on Craig's List Friday night, a first for me.  It worked out perfectly.  My son and I disconnected the old chandy and this one is waiting to go in it's place.

I'll be doing a dining room reveal post soon to show off my new romantic wallpaper and this chandelier! 

Hope everyone has a wonderful week of creativity and inspiration during this Easter Season!

xoxo!!

Jennifer

Linking to Cindy at My Romantic Home