just a few treasures ~ and the reason why

Remember how I used to frequently show you all my latest thrifting treasures?

Notice I haven't done that lately?

There's a good reason: I've only purchased a few goodies in 2-1/2 months!

Here's the few things I've found at Goodwill since the beginning of August.

(I found a beautiful light blue Laura Ashley cardigan and olive corduroy jacket

from the Gap at the local Savers right before it went out of business, but I 

normally don't take photos of clothes.)

I'm a big fan of Lisa Lill Studio handbags. She's a local Chicago designer.

This small velvet handbag will be perfect for dressier fall occasions. 

 I've been carrying this heavy cotton Lisa Lill bag this fall and love how it's

casual, sturdy, and pretty. I've gotten lots of compliments on it. There's nothing

like pretty bags ~ especially when they only cost $5!

 These lovely plates were only 99 cents each. They'll be pretty on the kitchen

table in the summer.

 Many years ago, my aunt gave me this August teacup for my birthday.

I was thrilled to find the matching plate last month!

 Of course, I couldn't pass up this cute, colorful kitty print. It's hanging in the 

main bath.

 Love these pretty teacups and saucers made by Grand Duchess Taste Setter

 by Sigma (Japan). 

 So...there's a reason I haven't been thrifting much. When you've lived in the same house

for over 24 years and you've raised two kids in that house, you accumulate a lot of stuff.

When my friend moved this summer, I saw how much stuff she had to (and wanted to) get

rid of. She said it was very freeing, and I believe it. I know how good it feels to get certain

spaces cleaned out and to let some of that clutter go. I was determined to stop bringing

in so much "stuff" and to continue decluttering ~ especially my messy basement. I just

donated 14 bags of miscellaneous household items, books, and clothing yesterday.

Here's the neighbor's maple tree today. Such beauty.

 Happy almost-weekend!

welcome to my office ~ little changes

After several years of just having blinds in my office, we finally got some curtains

hung! And by "we", I mean the husband. He's such a good guy. I would have no idea

how to do something like this. I never did claim to be the DIY type.  

 Granted, the curtains are nothing fancy. Just simple sheer panels from IKEA. I 

wanted this room to stay light, so I just chose to use one panel per window and pull

it to the side. It's far from perfect and they puddle on the floor, but I like the softness

they add to the room. And, obviously I don't stage photos, otherwise that lovely fan

would not be in the photo.
 

In this view, you can see both windows.

The red chair is a great napping spot for Zippo. Our family photo (last one taken

of the four of us in July 2009 before Phil {green striped shirt} passed away just two

months later) hangs in this room, which is the perfect spot ~ as this used to be Phil's

room. In fact, in person I don't actually call this room my office. We still call it 

"Phil's room".  The beautiful quilt belonged to an elderly friend of ours. He used

to sleep under it as a child at his aunt's house.

 

Another small change...  I moved a small drop leaf table beside the red chair to hold

 my laptop and a lamp.

The other side of the room has Phil's memory shelf, a bookcase, a bulletin

board, a basket of cookbooks, and my exercise stuff. It looks too busy and

cluttered like this, so I'm working on decluttering this area.

 

 Happy Monday ~ and thanks for visiting. 

Linking up with Cozy Little House Tweak it Tuesday.

ducks, cats, and decluttering

 A weird variety of topics, I know. 

The weather here has been unseasonably cool this week. Which is fine by me ~

it's been a nice break from the heat. Though Tuesday was too chilly. I think the 

high temp was only 60 degrees. I met a couple of friends for lunch at a restaurant

on the river. We thought we'd be enjoying a warm summer day on the patio. Ha! 

We were the only ones there. And we were wearing jackets. Crazy. 

 While we were enjoying our lunch, we had a visit from Mama Duck and her babies.

 The babies were so cute! They were still kind of fuzzy.

 Speaking of fuzzy, I haven't talked about my own fur babies, nor posted any

photos in a long time. Shame on me! Clementine loves to sit on the stack of

books on this chair in the living room. I love this shot I got of her in the sunbeam.

Clem is the kitty who showed up on my doorstep four years ago.

 The two boys - Zippo (front) and Monkey - are seen here, lounging on my bed.

Can you believe Zippo is 15 years old? He sure doesn't look like it, does he? He

is still very active, eats a healthy diet, and doesn't have any health problems. He 

does struggle a bit with climbing stairs though. Like most elderly cats, it's his back 

legs. They get arthritis. He is such a love...very snuggly. He sleeps with me every night. 

Monkey is a sweet cat, but a bit neurotic. He's afraid of strangers, every little noise, and

 doesn't like to be held. Oh - and he's Clementine's baby! When Clem showed up at our

 house, she was pregnant. She only had two babies and one was stillborn.

 

For whatever reason, Monkey loves to sleep in the wicker basket on top of the buffet.

Sometimes he puts his paws over his eyes during the day while he's sleeping.

A built-in eye mask?

 

I'm still working hard at decluttering "stuff" in the storage part of my basement!

This was all the stuff I donated the other day, including the bags you see on the floor.

 

 All that stuff took up eight paper grocery bags plus one big trash bag.

And there's still more to do! Feels so good to get rid of excess stuff.

Happy Thursday, everyone.

mission organization - before and after

 Well, here we are...a new year. I don't make resolutions or pick a word or mantra

for the year. I don't even necessarily make new goals at the first of the year. Instead,

I make goals for myself throughout the year.

One of the most positive things that happened to me last year - a huge change -

was leaving my job. Did you know I contemplated leaving that job for at

least two years?!

So, 2013 finds me settling into myself and let me tell you - it feels good.

I love being on my own schedule and being a full-time homemaker.

I have time to clean, organize, decorate, putter, get together with friends,

take more walks, work on art projects, read poetry, cook and bake, and

be of service to others in different ways (visiting the sick, making a meal,
helping with a home project, etc.)

I do keep my eyes open for job opportunities and I have applied for one job,

but haven't heard back from them. I'm trusting that these things are meant to be.

One thing I like to do in January to get a fresh start, is to declutter.

This morning, I started with a drawer in the buffet.

It held my camera, old eyeglasses, coupons, restaurant menus, 

bills, and the checkbook.

 

After:

I put the old eyeglasses in my car to bring to the Lion's eyeglass drop box.

I put all the rechargeable batteries in a little basket.

Weeded out all the expired coupons and restaurant menus that we don't

use - or don't need if the place has a web site.

In the bill and checkbook pile, I shredded old receipts and filed some bills that had been paid.

 In the kitchen, my baking cabinet was a fright.

On the bottom shelf, you'll see a plastic bag with biscuits and a large, gray

bag in the back left - which contains bagels. Why? And in the baking cabinet?!

Two of my kitties are very naughty and love to get into anything wrapped

in plastic or in a plastic bag. They both have a plastic fetish.

Seeing I can't leave anything in plastic on my kitchen counters, I have

to hide them! So, at the time I was lazy and threw the bread items

into the first available space.

After:

Baking cabinet is neat and organized and the bread items are in the freezer!

Now, on to the dreaded basement. I didn't work on this area today.

This clean-up was actually done a few days ago when Brian was home from

work and could help me out. We were packing up all the Christmas items

and getting rid of a lot of it, as we simply have too much and don't decorate

for Christmas as much as we used to.

The piles of stuff in the background is all stuff to donate!

 Brian loaded it all up into his car and took it all to Goodwill.

(Sorry for the quality of the basement pictures - there's hardly any natural light

down there so the pictures turn out fuzzy with my point-and-shoot camera.)

After:

Cleared out! (Except for all my books. Yes, I have a mini-library.)

Brian was saying that we needed a little sitting area in front of the 

bookcases. I agree it needs something, though we already have a sitting area down

here in the family room. I was thinking a little table and a couple of chairs.

It'd be a good place to sit at and look at books, or play some board games.

Here's another view so you can see most of the sitting area. 

 Tomorrow will bring a little more decluttering - another drawer in the buffet

and my pile of personal paperwork.

How are you starting 2013? Do you make resolutions or goals? 

Start new projects?