Sumner, Washington: Where even the Salvation Army has antiques

While my mom was here a few weekends ago I took a day off work to prowl around some places we hadn't been before. Of course we went up into Tacoma to check out their REstore but didn't really find anything (and I must say, my Olympia REstore is way better priced).

We did find a quilt shop (recommended by my mother-in-law who always finds a new shop when she visits). The Quilt Barn in Puyallup has an excellent selection of batiks and patterns (I was able to get some more fabric for our m. bedroom quilt but still haven't settled on a pattern).

Of course I would say the highlight was visiting Sumner, Washington and the highlight of highlights being Today's Country Store. As soon as you walk into the store you feel a sense of home, happiness and slightly extravagant decorating wash over you. Their displays are artfully arranged and so well thought out I found myself staring, mouth slightly agape, wanting to box up the whole store and take it home. Unfortunately I didn't walk away with anything (I am trying really hard to only buy things right now that benefit the building process) but my mother found three amazing finds for less than $100!

This antique paper cutter now sits on the edge of her island
(which really is a salvaged bowling alley, complete with the lane dots and everything).

Vintage oar (they're going to become hand rails for her walkway down to the front half of the house).
And yes, that's one of her outside cat's Dog Cat (DC) for short.

The vintage electricians tool chest now houses all her paints
(she is a beyond talented toll painter.  I'll have to share some of her work).

One more shot, she made all the miniature quilts on the wall behind her.

So the one thing I really am in the market for is a buffet that we can turn into the sink for the bathroom. The Salvation Army down the street had quite a few nice selections all for under $100 so I think we will definitely be going back. And of course, when it's time to feather my nest I will be returning to Today's Country Store. If you go, don't forget to go in the back where they have vintage-y garden things just as nicely displayed. I now officially want a vintage wagon (Radio Flyer) and vintage-y bicycle with great big basket on it. If this gardening thing doesn't start panning out I'm going to settle on decorating my life with rusty metal.

Chandeliers belong in kitchens and bathrooms ...

And anywhere else you can sneak one in! A few weeks ago Mr. Nick and I were up at one of our rental properties to turn a unit after a tenant moved out. Of course this always means multiple trips to Home Depot which inevitably leads to me wandering around with stars in my eyes dreaming of the future. Very rarely does my husband humor me as I chatter away about claw foot bathtubs and faucets that look like water pumps but thankfully, for me, he decided to humor me this time.

And I am now the proud owner of the Maria Theresa Hampton Bay 6 light chandelier. And let me tell you, it is gorgeous. Definitely not at all reminiscent of the $99 price tag it carried.

Originally we were just going to put it on our list as an item to come back for but when I started looking in the shelves there were none available for purchase. Then, on a trip to another Home Depot it wasn't even displayed. When chatting with my mother about this she very quickly reminded me of Home Depot's awesome return policy and of the fact that sometimes, when you go back to buy something, it may not be there anymore. So that was enough. Mr. Nick agreed without much of a fuss at all and put the chandelier on order. It took over a week to arrive but now it's here in this teeny tiny box (obviously this is one of those, some assembly required situations). The box actually works out perfect for us though because we're not quite ready. A recent search of three more Home Depot's in the area has only solidified my choice, the chandelier is no longer on display in our area (they even sold someone the sample). So the lesson learned is, when in doubt buy it, you can always return it later.

And I leave you with a couple of ways my mom and I have used chandeliers in our past decorating. Enjoy!

This is my old guest room. The bed, curtains and chandelier came from Ikea. The lamp shade is from Marshalls. The throw is a gift from my best friend (a TJ Maxx purchase) and the framed little prints are greeting cards from Cincinnati, The bed was originally a yellow which caused me to walk right past it but my mom (again!) reminded me that things can be painted. Speaking of painting. She did the treatment on the wall using a mix of regular and metallic paint, a stencil and a plastic bag. She is sooo talented I know! We only had $300 to decorate this room, which is photographing larger than it actually is, so we were pretty happy with it.

A closer look at the painting while Sasha and Fat Pip enjoy a friendly brawl.

This is part of my mom's bathroom ... it's all vintage and I love it.
She lives in a Lindal Cedar Home so everything has the deep rich mahogany trim.

And in case you wanted to see more of her bathroom. Mr. Nick made this fireplace out of MDF. I'll have to do some close-up photos of it when I'm there next ... she LOVES daisies so he worked them into the design pattern.

Make your own custom pillows!

I'm excited to add the first video to the DIY section. First, I think it's important to note I am not a professional. But, I was raised by an incredibly talented woman (my mother, duh) who believed in letting kids be creative and I guess along the way I learned just enough to be dangerous.

The boring pillow (I say pillow because we only kept one out when we put everything in storage, I'm not sure what the thinking was there) that came with our sofa has been driving me nuts for awhile now so I decided to do something about it.

The cats were created by turning photos I had of our cats into silhouettes (with photoshop). Can you guess who the tubby one in the middle is?

Hope you like it, I'm very happy with the finished product.

Click here to go to the tutorial ...

Antique tripod and level: A diamond in the rough

This weekend we made the quick drive North to Tacoma to check out the biggest swap meet in the Pacific Northwest...or at least that's what the website said. We didn't go with high hopes, which is a good thing, since they would have been dashed very quickly.

The swap meet is at the site of the old Starlite drive in movie theater, in fact the big screen is still up in the giant fenced in area. Parking is free and admission is just $1 each.

Inside most of the booths focus on clothes, hats, car radios and used tools. Sprinkled throughout are food stands where we were able to grab a humongous bag of duros doused in hot sauce for just $1.50. The predominant language in the market is Spanish leaving it to feel a lot like the markets we have woven through in the Yucatan and in Nicaragua. Nick tried to get a cheap fitted baseball cap for $3.00 but they didn't have his size...this would have been a similar problem had we decided to spring for the snakeskin and crocodile cowboy boots with matching belt.

We did see a couple of Stihl chansaws, but not well taken care of and not priced all that great. Nick found his almost brand new farm boss on craigslist for just $250 and we saw no deals of that caliber. The tools were also very beat up and mostly mismatched odds and ends.

So, was the trip worth it? Absolutely! (But just barely). In the last row we came across this beauty, an antique level (although it can't be to antique since the level came in a plastic case). I had been looking for one ever since I saw how they can be turned into floor lamps while trowling around an upscale antique store in Seattle. The lamp I found in Seattle was $375, something I was absolutely not willing to pay. It took some convincing of Nick that we "needed" to purchase this tripod and level but he finally came through when I reminded him that Obachan had given me some money for my birthday AND when he realized that it works!

Nick happened to be wearing one of his Goodwill shirts that said "Cascade Christian Ahtletics" which the booth guy gave us a $10 discount for. Paired with his awesome bartering skills we got this $60 tripod and level for just $40!

I know it's going to take a little bit of effort to turn it into a lamp but I'm not worried about that as I'm pretty comfortable with wiring things. Of course, I'll have to wait to take it out of commission until Nick is done using it...ahhhhh...compromise.

Photo Credit: I jumped out and took this photo right before Nick had a chance to drive away...a fun game that he just looooves to play.

A historical find...Dorothy comes home

I'm pretty excited about my latest salvage find, although this would probably be classified more on the unnecessary side of things, I couldn't resist! I loved her as soon as I saw her (she's over 3 feet tall) and then when I got home and started researching who she was I love her even more.

First, what is it? Apparently up until the 1960s the English churches allowed people to rub the brass tomb plates in order to create wax impressions which they then mounted.

Second, who was she? Dorothy Wadham (1534-1618). When her husband, Nicholas Wadham died he left everything  to her (despite her being a, gasp, woman). His sole wishes were to found a college in Oxford, England. Dorothy, being the strong independent woman I'm sure she was, did just that. "She fought all the claims of Nicholas's relations, lobbied at court, negotiated the purchase of a site and drew up the college statutes" (History of Wadham). Within four years of his death Dorothy had started a college from scratch, even hiring the cook herself. 2010 marks Wadham College's 400th Anniversary.

Now this is obviously not a situation I want to duplicate entirely (I'd rather have a "Notebook" style death where Nick and I pass peacefully in each others arms at the ripe old age of 100 or more) I think it's so important for women to continually find inspiration in the strength of other women.

I'm lucky enough to have married a man who values me as an equal team-member, able to pull my own weight, while still making me feel beautiful and loved. Hopefully I'll never be in Dorothy's shoes, fighting to fulfill my husband's wishes, but I like to think that if I was, my Nick would definitely trust I was up for the challenge.