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