Some Straw From My Nest

One of my favorite childhood memories with my grandma was scouring yard sales.  My mom has become quite the yard sale/thrift store shopper, too, and always brings me good quality finds (like a Waterford crystal angel one Christmas! Although she didn't know what Waterford crystal was ... love my mom!). Chris' mom finds so many amazing things at estate sales and on Craigslist. I'm definitely nowhere near Jenny's talent, but, basically, Macklemore's favorite shopping method is expected in my family. 

Right before Conor came, I was overcome with the need to pluck some thrift store finds and make a little nest. You know that this was pregnancy cray induced because I dread getting Ryan in and out of the car seat. If we went to the library, we also stopped at the big Goodwill in town. If we went to Meijer to grocery shop or to the mall, we would stop at the Goodwill on that side of town. If we went to Martin's to grocery shop, we would hit up Salvation Army or St. Vincent de Paul. Ryan thought I was real fun. Real fun, indeed. 

(I started typing this post way too long ago in the hopes of showing you my fall decor, but ... you know ... kids easily trump this silly blog and other thoughts that need to be click-clacked out trump autumn decorations. Now it is the day before Thanksgiving (!!) and there is a lot of snow on the ground so I think this is the last day I can publish this seasonal post.)

Want to see the stuff I procured + some other sweet sentimental items in my home? No? Don't ask, and you shall receive. 

1. Olive oil bottle for dish soap

I am not a neat freak, but since becoming a homemaker, I have realized that uncluttered kitchen counters really make me feel at peace. Too bad that peace is oh-so-fleeting because that clean kitchen only comes maaaaybe twice a month. Darn horizontal surfaces, you make it too easy for stacks to grow and grow and grow and well, you get the clutter. Seeing my dish soap out on the counter would annoy me, but so would bending down to get it from under the sink every time I did the dishes. 

Then, back when we went to Texas, I was washing dishes at Chris' grandparents house when I noticed that her dish soap was in a pretty glass bottle with a pourer on top. I think I talked about how amazing it was to everyone who did not care. Nope, I do not think my twelve year old brother-in-law cared about the dish soap dispenser, but his ears were not saved. Chris' uncle and aunt also had this beautiful sink set-up so I was really late to the party.

Finally, after a few unsuccessful thrift store sprees, I found a bottle for fifty cents. I already had the alcohol pourer (Chris' aunt said that the spout of an olive oil pourer is too narrow so the soap comes out too slowly). 

A month later, I still love it. Even with the alcohol pourer, it pours a bit slower than a regular dish soap bottle because it is so tall it takes a few seconds for the soap to travel to the pourer, but I do not care at all.

2. Door wreath for pantry door
You can see the pantry door in the photo above adding some seasonal pizazz to the land of non-perishables.
The wreath started out looking like this when I found it at Goodwill: 

And after a few dollar store leaves and some leftover fabric, it ended up like this:

  3. Wall decor inspired by a pillowcase

The cross is made a jarah wood from Australia, and it was a gift from the priest who blessed the house and baptized Conor. The pressed leaves came from one of the trees in our yard. I put some fall-colored fabric in an embroidery hoop and tacked on an incomplete doily I crocheted. The prayer cross stitch was actually the cross stitch I was working on while in labor with Conor. I found the top plate at a local secondhand store and the bottom plate I found at Goodwill. I love blue plates just like Tess! Our Lady of Guadalupe was a wedding present given to us!

  I spotted this pillowcase in between a few frayed and pilling blankets, and couldn't leave the store without it. With all of the clouds around during the winter, I wanted some to brighten up the kitchen. I added some other items to fill up the space. I love it, but it's probably a wall that only a mother would love.


4.Grandpa's ND flag

Fitting that when I came in to check on him napping after he threw a monstrous tantrum, he was sleeping like an angel toddler.

 
My dad and grandma gave me my grandpa's old ND flag when I graduated. I love that Ryan sleeps under it. 

5. Great Grandma's chicken

My hands down favorite gift from our wedding was this little chicken that was my Great Grandma Florentine Rose's (my middle name comes from her).  I cried when I opened it, and I never even knew her! My Great Aunt Eileen knew that I loved chickens so she gave me this from her mother's collection. Now it keeps me company in my kitchen! 

6. Spray painted goodies. 

John and Sherry are always giving perform spray-painting makeovers and so does Sheena so I couldn't help but see potential in this ugly looking large mirror I scored for almost $8.  

So one afternoon, I spray painted it gold, and our bedroom wall has been golden ever since. I was so excited about my naptime productivity that I even emailed Sheena right then because she so cared about my first ever spray-painting job. Ha.

Moments after my family left when the house was all spick and span: unmade bed, lots of toys, Ryan playing with a maxi pad

So there we go. Nothing Pinterest-y worthy, but I think it is an upgrade from my college decorating days when I was obsessed with push-pinning curtains to our walls and tying them back to create another "window" ... because everyone wants peer through curtains to look at cinder blocks. Sorry to my roomies.