How I Spent My Spring Break

Our niece Olivia came and spent her spring break with Chucks and me.

We had quite a lot of fun.

The first night Olivia went right to work on her art pieces to abandon in public places.

Here she is hard at work.

I am just going to list all the things we were able to cram into one week - so sad it is her last spring break before college.

It is hard to believe she is that old.

Artwork and quote by Olivia.

1. Went to Kroger's and The Fresh Market to load up on grain-free vegan food.  The diet we decided on for the week.  Also hot tea.  She had made me a believer in it.

2.  Found a Free Little Library kiosk in downtown.  I found a book to take and Olivia left several.

3.  Painted and played Group Love and Janis Joplin music very loud.  Added a little JT also.

 Artwork by Olivia

4. Walked several miles with the dogs.

5. Went to the gym for weights.  Olivia has a stress fracture in her foot and cannot run at this time.  She wears a very fashion-forward ortho boot!

6.  Ate at the New Moon.  She had coffee and I had hot apple cinnamon chai.

7.  Went thrifting.  Yes, I bought a carload.

Olivia's prepared artwork for abandonment.

8.  Went to the library twice to make sure we did not run out of books to read.

9.  Went to two bookstores.

10.  Ate and drank more hot tea.

11.  Olivia made herself concoctions of cocoa powder and peanut butter and cinnamon and yogurt.

12.  Ate sardines - she for the first time.  Don't even ask what she paired with the sardines!

13.  Played with the cats.

 Can you guess where her first piece was abandoned?

14.  Traveled to Columbia Museum of Art to see the Effect of the Jazz Age on Japanese culture.

15.  Ate at Good Life Cafe - all grain-free and vegan food.  Delicious!


16.  Made more art pieces to abandon.

Olivia created a journal of a cardboard chocolate wrapper, chalk paint, and paint sample pages.

I was in the middle of restocking my handmade tags so I chose a few to abandon.

I made the bird stamp from foam core.

We left haiku graffiti on the magnetic boards in the children's section of the museum.

Mine




Hers.

We abandoned our journal and journal tags in an old book store.











 



The store is a wonderful place to spend an afternoon.

I will post about it soon.







Yes, I noticed I quit numbering what we accomplished, but sometimes memories pile up and you want to just treasure them. 

I hope Olivia had as much fun as Chucks and I did!

We miss the nightly serenade of violin music as she practiced for her recital.

Next week it is Leia's turn.  We will be celebrating her birthday with one of our now-famous low country crawls.  She is already scouring the area around North Charleston and beyond for treasure places.

See y'all!

Use this discount code to receive 10% off your purchase at the Distressed Donna Etsy store:

DISTRESSEDDONNA14

SHOP HERE! 

Rainy Day Finds

 It was a rainy day with roads flooded.

I did my JOY entry for my art journal, but added nothing to my writing journal.

I needed some inspiration.

Where better to get inspiration than the SPCA Thrift Shop.

Not only did they have 50% off everything except furniture, but they had PUPPIES!!!

No, I didn't adopt a new puppy.  We are nursing Scout who had a serious leg surgery.  The two cats and Willie are jealous of all the attention he is getting.  

Like breakfast in bed.

BUT they do not have to wear THE CONE!

Escape, Distressed Donna, escape.

Leave Chucks with the animals and go.

Go to the thrift shop.

That's my inner voice.

So I obeyed.

The first thing I saw after snuggling with the puppies was this sex education book for children from 1930.

TITLE:  Growing Up

SUBTITLE:  The story of how we come alive, are born, and grow up.

AUTHOR:  Karl De Schweinitz

It was rather informative and would probably work with children today.

I loved the black and white photos.

Not going to tell you of what!

Another ironstone pitcher!

This one is not as large as last week's, but it is a Bel Air Ballerina China pitcher with a platinum band around the lip.

I had stopped looking for them and now there are pitchers everywhere!

Why would I buy these vases when I took a boxful to the thrift shop back in November?

Go see Jamie at Anderson and Grant to see what beauty she created with these vases.

I plan to do a variation of what she did for these forlorn and forgotten vases.

Actually the tall one was one I donated and so I bought it back.

I also bought back a book I had donated months ago, but not on purpose.

I must start a book journal to record the titles of the books I read.

Can one person juggle four journals and a blog?

There is something about these cotton spreads or tablecloths from India that call my name.

The patterns, the colors, the versatility.

This one is pale green with a navy floral pattern.

Did you notice the sheep candle holders?

No, not a thrift store purchase.  I bought these for myself for Christmas and paid real money for them.

SHHHH!  Don't tell Chucks.

He thinks we have always had them.

A flock of JOY right there on the table!




So just a few purchases, but treasures all.

And I snuggled with the puppies.

And I escaped from the house on a rainy day!

Thanks to all of you who have visited my new Etsy store.  Some of the treasures I find are finding themselves in the Distressed Donna Shop.  Come over and visit.

See y'all!

Scout snoozing off the pain meds after the vet had to saw off the top of his femoral joint.  We do not usually dress our dogs, but I did have to put his Santa tee on to cover the incision.  I rolled it up so everyone could see it.

I am not happy.  Not happy one little bit.  Stop taking photos of my CONE!

 

 

Be Inspired #173 at Common Ground 
Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage
Party Junk #222 at Funky Junk Interiors  
Junkin' Joe Linky Party at The Cottage Market  

Revisionary Life - Thrifty Life Thursday 

 

Be Loved

What a wonderful feeling to be loved.

Or to surround yourself with beloved treasures.

Regular readers know I follow no particular style of decorating.  I use only things that appealed to me and make me happy.

Chucks, too.

And our beloved animals don't really care as long as there are treats involved.

This heart box was a present from my mother years ago.

It says "A daughter is a joy".

Remember JOY is my 2014 word.

I thought the box would be a good starting point for decorating the cabinet in the living room.

Ta-da!

Finished already.

I did not take photos as I was  gathering and arranging and rearranging.

So just enjoy.

A trunk tray is the background. 

Notice the pairs and the pinks and the florals and the birds.

Well, just take the time to notice everything.

Pair of love birds.

Pair of beaded flowers.

Pair of pearl necklaces.

Pair of Chinese boxes.


You get the picture.

Jewelry in a small silver dish set in a sieve.

I had to crop this picture because I forgot to erase the price off the sieve handle.

It was 39 cents.

A pretty sugar dish with a missing lid is perfect for lace, pearl trim, and a measuring tape.

A snobby bird or one with high hopes?

A lady dances in front of a photo of her love.

It looks like he brought her flowers.

Well, we now know the bird was looking for amore.

Don't look now, but I see a Goodwill price on that bird!

A pair of sweet sisters in their tiaras.

One day while cleaning my booth, I overheard a conversation across the aisle.  A woman was commenting on the ugliest doll she had ever seen.

I had to go see what the ugliest doll ever seen looked like.

I instantly felt so sorry for her. 

She was a bit homely and loved almost to pieces.

She had been marked down several times.

Yes, I bought her to give her a new home.

She gets to come out of her box for a few weeks each year.

Then she is oh-so carefully packed away.

She be loved here.

As for my word of 2014, JOY,  I have been trying to give joy and find joy.

I have been keeping JOY in my art journal.

I have started a book of images that give me joy.

This morning I tipped the girl working the drive-through window $2 for having a pleasant voice over the speaker.

She was so surprised and said she did not know if she could accept a tip.

I told her I was not about to tell anyone.

So she smiled and thanked me.

Gave us both a little joy.

See y'all!

Carlene will be sharing Tuesday, January  14!

Hey, that is today - go over and see what Carlene has created. 

Junkin Jewels at Inspiration Cafe! 

 

 

Blissful Whites Wednesday at Timewashed 
Be Inspired #173 at Common Ground 
Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage 
Party Junk #222 at Funky Junk Interiors 
Junkin' Joe Linky Party at The Cottage Market 

Revisionary Life - Thrifty Life Thursday