Early Bird Flea Finds Part 2

It's been so long since I have linked to How Sweet the Sound for Pink Saturday!

I planned to so many times but with all that's been going on I just couldn't.

Here's the rest of my flea market day...

I had my arms full when I saw this pink Cole Steel typewriter (made in Western Germany 1962). Price $10 steal of a deal!

It was the last thing I bought that day.

I thought it was kind of cute and maybe I would just sell it but once I got it home I started to really appreciate it.

I did a little research online and a guy in Australia has a blog with a picture of one, he restores typewriters and this is one he wants but the price has been too high! It's probably not worth as much because it has a few nicks but it seems to work properly.

I couldn't find a single one for sale online.

Now I'm getting fun ideas of how to display it, I've grown pretty attached to it.

I can never walk away from millinery hats or flowers and these were too cheap and so pretty.

Also the old twin bedspread with the pom pom fringe, pink piping and a pink ruffle. There are 2 pillow shams, I wish she had both bedspreads.

I remember a set like this when I was little on our twin beds.

It was $10 for spread and shams and I figured if I can't use the bedspread I can always harvest the materials.

That's it!

Now it's time to get back to packing. I caught a bad bug and was down in bed all day Friday, I won't be leaving Sunday as planned and I'm still weak today so I may not even be able to get going until Tuesday. Not too happy about that but there's nothing I can do about it.

Thanks for stopping!

I'll be back to posting sometime after I get back to Minnesota.

Linking to;

How Sweet the Sound for Pink Saturday

Early Bird Flea Finds Part 1

Okay, I did it...up at 4:30 am last Sunday and off to the flea market. I was there before 6 am.

It was slow going at first seeing as the vendors were just starting to set up but they kept rolling in  quicker than I could keep up. 

I piled all of this into my full size car, I always use a truck but I don't have one here...I actually had to stop looking because I knew what I had so far was going to be tight.

(I'm really going miss that view in the background)

The birdcage was a real surprise!

I walked past her booth twice and on the third pass I saw the cage and stand!

Tag says $25...is this for real?

The woman walked over to me and said that she wonders why no one has purchased it yet, then she offers it to me for $20...okay, it's coming home with me.

The first thing I found was the old Victorian plant stand.

It's rickety and needs gluing but I love it!

I thought the chair was pretty interesting too, it has a face in the upper back.

The 3 chippy white chairs were a steal at $25 for all 3!

The little table was $10 and will be perfect in the living room...I needed one small table and this just fits.

Eventually, next winter, I'll put this all together and hopefully post some finished rooms, right now everything is still terribly a bit unorganized.

Jar of buttons, bags of buttons, a lovely silver plated pitcher...5 bucks.

And I could not walk away from the casserole dish, it's never been used.

An old suitcase, the same vendor had packages of vintage seamed nylons for sale and I had to buy one pair just for fun.

Can't pass up Wyoming license plates and some rhinestone jewelry.

I just love this flea market, I never know what I'll find yet I always manage to find something that I've been looking for a long time (like the round birdcage with the stand and even better...it's white!) I always find at least one really good deal. It's just way too much fun and better than some other habits a person could have!

Stop back for part 2 on Friday night for Pink Saturday, I found the coolest vintage pink typewriter that I almost passed up. Now that I have done some research I think I may have really scored...and I love it.

Plus more pink finds!

Unfortunately it's time to head back to Minnesota.

This week has been about as perfect as can be, low 80's and a cool breeze, puffy clouds in the brilliant blue sky, flowers are blooming everywhere.

I will miss our beautiful view of the mountains and the valley below, the cardinals and quails, little antelope squirrels that trill so sweetly (I seriously thought they were birds at first!)

It's so quiet and peaceful here...no noise, just the birds singing.

I know it will be pretty back in Minnesota, I am fortunate to be able to enjoy two springs. 

Mr. Wild says the wrens are back and the trees are finally budding out....way late!

But it will be hard to drive away from here on Sunday morning, which, by the way, will be back into the 90's that day...I bet it hits 100 by the end of next week!

Thank you for stopping by!

Linking to;

 French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday

The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home

Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration Friday

Water and a Going Away Party!

What AM I doing!!!!

I'm staying longer to work on this plus as long as it keeps snowing in Minnesota...why not stay here!

 I began trying to repair the existing watering system but it was becoming hopeless. I'm replacing the entire thing plus adding a timer with 6 watering zones...below is the new system.

Mr. Wild put it together and shipped it to me, all I had to do is connect the wires to the timer and then start 'plugging' in the new tubing that feeds the plants. 600' feet of water tubing so far and about 40 bubbles later, I'm almost finished.  

Sounds confusing but it's really easy and oddly enough, I enjoy doing this. 

But this is my reward!

This pretty little Star Jasmine was almost dead. I was able to get water to it about a month ago and it has already doubled in size. The fragrance is out of this world. I plan to add more of these next winter.

And the Oleanders, pretty hardy but if you give them a little water they will thrive here and I love the vibrant colors.

I think this a sage, the bush is huge and loaded with purple flowers,

A poor struggling palm tree is shooting new leaves next to a Eucalyptus tree that had died back severely. They are both very happy now with plenty of water.

This doesn't look like much in the picture, it is a giant Rosemary bush about 3 feet wide, there is a steep slope behind it, it drapes about 4' down the hill. The fragrance was so pleasant while I was getting the water to it.

It bloomed all winter.

Then there are those that don't need added water, a pretty orange Cholla

A native Acacia

A yellow Prickly Pear.

The giant Saguaro Cactus are all full of buds, I hope I'm here long enough to see them bloom.

The woman who built this house, along with her mother, planted tons of beautiful plants. Then she sold the house when she took over her mothers home. The new owners didn't take care of anything for 11 years including cutting down some of the beautiful trees. To my surprise she still lives across the road and is happy to see that I'm taking care of it.

The watering system will be in and ready for next winter, I can finally visit the garden centers and bring home plants.

As difficult as it was, I completely stayed away from plant nurseries this winter for fear I would cave in and bring home one of everything.

Last night my neighbor Nancy invited the neighbor 'girls' Elaine, Susan and myself over for a little going away party for me! She made homemade enchiladas and a delicious salad, Susan brought homemade cookies.

This morning 3 of us went for a long hike in the desert.

I wish I had taken along my camera to get a picture of the 'girls' last night.

We have wonderful neighbors, they will all watch the house and check my watering system to be sure all is working well.

It's hard to leave, I'm enjoying it here so much and I'm still in awe and so thankful that we found such an awesome location with such great neighbors!

Tomorrow is flea market!!!! YeeHaw!

I will be there bright and early...like 5:30 AM! 

If I find anything good I'll try to post it.

Thanks for taking time to look at my blog!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Big Bertha & Little Bertha

Please excuse the poor picture but I finally did something with the old medical cabinet that I picked up a year ago. (It has nothing to do with Bertha yet)

It's missing 2 of it's 3 glass shelves and I planned to have 2 made, thus why it's been sitting empty. I recently came upon a lot of old bottles for a good price and thought they might look nice inside, seeing as it was originally a medical cabinet with all sorts of medical bottles, why not try it out!

I really like how they look, the light hits the glass bottles and makes them shine a little since there is glass on all 3 sides of the cabinet. Now I don't have the extra expense of having 2 more shelves made to fit.  I'd like to add a few more bottles to fill it up a little more.

The cabinet is rusty and crusty but that's the way I like it.

The green and lavender oddly shaped bottles to the lower right are arsenic bottles

And 2 more of my bargains at the flea market, the vaseline glass lamp with it's original shade $20 and the wood bird cage...no price on it so when I inquired, holding my breath and expecting a high price since I have seen the same exact cage only larger on Etsy, the woman tells me $15...Oh yes! And it's in perfect condition!

Now the reason for my title of Big Bertha & Little Bertha, meet Big Bertha!

This is an exceptional cactus that I have wanted for years. My favorite nursery, B & B cactus Gardens in Tucson, just happened to have a few in stock. They nicknamed it Big Bertha because the flowers are huge.

The blossoms measure 6 inches across and it is very fragrant, very sweet. It opens in the evening and each flower lasts only 24 hours. You can see a bud on the lower left which opened the following evening.

Below, the bud just as it begins to open.

(Tricholobivia hybrid)

And now for Little Bertha!

We have an outdoor Farmers Market and Artisans every Saturday morning.

Once in awhile there are a couple of vendors selling just stuff.

I saw this faded and dusty dressform, the woman said $25. I was being cheap I guess because I walked away thinking what do I need another dressform for and it's so faded and dirty.

I went back to her booth later and it was still there so I asked her if she could come down and she said how about $20 so I took it thinking I was being foolish spending 20 bucks on this. Well, I emailed my "expert vintage anything to do with sewing" friend Stephanie and she wrote back saying "WHAT???? And you walked away from it for $25!!! They sell here at flea market for no less than $165!!!!"

I emailed pictures to her and she said to leave the jersey cover off, dust her off and keep her!

I wrapped a piece of old lace around her neck where she is so faded, otherwise the jersey cover kept the rest of her from fading so badly.

So I'm thinking if I don't like this purple cover, Stephanie said I can also remove the material down to the cardboard and I could decoupage something over it. She gave me a ton of ideas so Yes, I'm keeping her and I named her Little Bertha since she is a small size.

Yesterday was 90 degrees! It's easier to take than I expected and since Mr. Wild said we just got 6 more inches of snow in Minnesota last night and that it looked like a blizzard and he could hardly get up the driveway....I'm thinking I'm staying a while longer. 

The mornings and evenings are like paradise here and no mosquitoes!!!

Thanks for stopping!

Linking to;

Coastal Charm for Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

Green Willow Pond for What We Accomplished Wednesday

Ivy and Elephants for What's It Wednesday

Timewashed for Blissful Whites Wednesday

Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration Friday

The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home

French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday

Crochet Ruffle Pillow

I actually finished a project! It feels so good...I need to do this more often! 

I found this pattern late last summer in Wyoming, crocheted most of it while there, brought it back to Minnesota and it just sat so I packed it up to bring to Arizona. I just finished it 2 nights ago and it will stay here. (It's a well traveled pillow!)

My friend Stephanie supplied the beautiful vintage rhinestone and mother of pearl buttons. Seriously...they made the pillow!

In the background is a quilt top I also just finished, all it needs is to be quilted.

The pattern was in the Autumn 2012 "Crochet!" magazine (called Elegant Ruffles Pillow). It is not available in stores any longer but if you are interested it's possible to contact the magazine for instructions.

The magazine did it in red but I opted for off white.

And more Mexican Bird of Paradise are blooming.

Things are blooming so fast, the average temperature is a dry 82 degrees already but it's comfortable.

Thanks for stopping!

Linking to;

Coastal Charm for Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

Timewashed for Blissful Whites Wednesday

Green Willow Pond for What We Accomplished Wednesday 

Ivy and Elephants for What's It Wednesday

From My Front Porch To Yours for Treasure Hunt Thursday

The Brambleberry Cottage for Time Travel Thursday

Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration Friday

The Charm Of Home for Home Sweet Home

French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday

Funky Junk Interiors for Party Junk

Sunrise Flea Market

One thing about Arizonans, they are up and out by the crack of dawn!

There is a flea market the first Sunday of every month. This was my 3rd time and I finally got it right (even though they advertise that it starts at 9 am I discovered people start shopping at sunrise). 

I got up at 5am, left the house a little after 5:30, arrived and was able to park in the shade just shortly after 6am. 

Maybe next winter I'll have more of these treasures I keep bringing home arranged and looking pretty.

I'm mainly working on the bedroom and the living room now. The kitchen will be the main project next winter. It's going to take at least two, maybe three more winters to make it feel like home plus I have to paint the outside of the house too!

Anyway...here are more of the 'goodies' I keep bringing home to decorate.

I was seriously planning to buy a reproduction Paul DeLongpre print and have it framed to hang over the head board of the bed.

I found a vintage print in a vintage frame and in excellent condition $15! 

I about fainted!

My stash of treasures, everything here was really cheap, about $10 on down to $1...the oval mirror on the stand is already in my closet on the chest of drawers.

I have a place for the transferware plate ($3) once I get a plate holder and the little oval picture of birch trees has already found a home.

I collect vaseline glass and I was lucky to find a few more pieces at a very good price.

The vendors are so willing to knock off a few dollars.

The Texas Ware bowl I'll use in the kitchen, a few pitchers that can always find a place to rest and a couple of old frames.

While I was taking pictures I thought I may as well show you the 2 sets I purchased a few weeks ago at an antique mall.

I wanted an outdoor couch for this giant front porch, 16' x 56', the rest of the porch that you don't see is pretty bare.

The couch and matching table is from the 1950's. The table and chairs are from the 1960's. The vendor had the cushions recovered and was kind enough to give me enough fabric to recover the 4 chairs.

Another big score was this tri fold mirror, I held my breath after I asked the woman the price until she said $15! What!!!!

I can never pass up sweet little birds when they are just a few dollars each

A little vintage shelf, I'd like to keep the living and dining rooms a little western/southwestern.

I couldn't walk away from this old oil painting a few weeks ago of a calming lake with birch trees...$12!

The fish was a bit more, someone wrote on the bottom Niagara Falls, Canada July 15, 1937

They both remind me of my Grandparents cabin on Bay Lake when I was a kid, I spent a lot of weekends there and have fond memories.

 And lastly, this huge basket that I picked up at the very first flea market, not sure what but something will fill it eventually.

The hedgehog cactus are starting to pop open...

Mexican Bird of Paradise starting to open...

 and new visitors keep showing up at the bird feeder, this is a Black Headed Grosbeak probably on his way north.

Thanks for stopping!

Linking to;

Coastal Charm for Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

From My Front Porch To Yours for Treasure Hunt Thursday

The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home

French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday

Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration Friday