Meet and Greet ME!

Jann at Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson is having a meet and greet through the blog world. She invited those of us that couldn't make it to her in-person meet and greet in her home in the Midwest to write a blog about ourselves, what we love and what makes us happy, so we could get to know each other better.

I decided to do mine in a pictorial view of what I love most. There is my faith and family and friends and then there are those things that are just ME...

First in my life....

Couldn't make it through a day without Him

 

My family...

My husband Frank, me, son Michael, daughter Jena

 

Daughter Candice

 

Grandson JC and Granddaughter Chloe

Granddaughter Cassidy







And friends....



Bonnie and I knit, chat and drink decaf together!
 

All 6 of us celebrate each others birthday together. We always
have the best time.

I love....


I have to have a container of my homemade snack around at all times!
Banana chips, mini chocolate chips, wasabi peas, coconut, raisins, peanuts

 

 

I love being by the water.

 

The Forsythia blooming in June makes my heart sing!



 



And the lilacs bring back happy thoughts of my
farmhouse in the apple orchard

 



This Orange Blossom in full bloom makes me happy

 



I love waking up to this view every summer morning....

 

And this in the winter.....

 

I am a true picker, junker, antique hunter





 

I buy it, sell it and decorate with it.

Decorating is a passion of mine.

I love coming home with a huge haul of goodies.

 

 

Baking is another passion of mine and I am not afraid to try

unique things. These are chocolate avocado cookies.

 

 

I used to craft in my 20's and am now just trying my hand at

DIY again.

 

 

I am currently focused on stenciling.

 

 

Fall is my favorite season and I love traveling to Naples, NY

to smell the concord grapes on the vine.

 

 

I love decorating for Christmas.

 



There is so much more but I will end with this last picture. You will just have to sign-up by email to get all my posts which include a little bit about me in each one! And click over to Jann's party where you might find other bloggers you know that you can get to know better.

 

 

I just love cats and this is my beautiful Maine Coon kitty

Miss Kitty.

She passed away in February and so I am looking forward

to this Fall when I will get another kitty.

 

 

AnnMarie xoxo

 

 

I am linking up with this fun blog party:

 

Meet and Greet Party

Show and Share

Roses of Inspiration

Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop



Vintage Finds Under the Tree

and oh, what a tree I found!

I couldn't believe my eyes when I walked into the three floor antique emporium and there it was. Red and fabulous! It only took two minutes to find someone to help me take all the ornaments off so that I could buy this tree.

Last year I decided that since I am such a vintage junkie, shouldn't my Christmas decorating be too? I started replacing my hum-drum newer Christmas decorations with vintage ones, wrestling with myself with each purchase whether to keep it or to sell it. This is the busiest time of year, right?  Let's just say last year I kept more than I listed to sell!

That is when I found this fabulous vintage silver tree (the sparkle is magic!). I already had all the old silver balls, angel ornaments and garland, bought at a garage sale that summer, just because.

And I found this one too....

But this post is not supposed to be about trees, it's supposed to be about the vintage finds under the tree!

My little town in Upstate NY is known for the four corner churches in the middle of  town. There is one huge, historic church on each of the four corners at the intersection of Main and Maple. Three of the four have rummage sales in the Fall. You can find me up near the front of the line to get in at each one of them.

For those that may not know, a rummage sale is where the church gathers donations from it's members and then sells them at ridiculously low prices. One church does not price anything and at checkout you are offered one low price to pay for all of your found treasures. With two sales down and the last one to go, I was there the first day, 5th in line. The ladies in front of me were a group of friends in their late 70's, chatting away. I plan on thrifting till then too!

The church had posted pictures online and one of them was of a Red Riding Hood cookie jar. I figured it would be reasonably priced, even though they go for $200+ online. I made a beeline for it and it was marked $50. A great price, but one I was not willing to pay that day. I made my way around and found some really great stuff.

I loved the candlewick tree skirt and the old wallpaper brushes in their original box. I thought the double boiler and the baby vase were too good to pass up and the black tin box turned out to be a great find. It dates to the late 1800's, early 1900's and was probably a document or deed box. I saw one at an antique shop with separate tins inside to hold spices.

Another flocked baby deer was a real keeper to go with my woodland scene on the top of my old cupboard.

I love the color of the two garden forks I got!

And the 1940's mint green baby seat was too chippy and unique to pass by.


I also could not leave Timothy Tortoise there, a McCoy cookie jar......

or this great Lincoln Beautyware chrome canister set.

I was very happy with my great finds and at how thrifty I was for the amount I spent. But I couldn't stop thinking about that Red Riding Hood cookie jar.

So the next morning was the last day of the sale and I was hoping for a discount on it. My husband tagged along because he likes to find thrifty things to give away at our community theatre. We walked in and were handed a large paper bag to fill for $2! I filled it with Jesus, Precious (the name of the print of the little girl), two nice books, a couple of small ceramic trees, two 1940's children's hangers, an Avon bubble bath ornament, and a hand crocheted shawl. My husband filled it the rest of the way with some vintage books and knick knacks. We split the $2. What a deal!

I almost forgot about the cookie jar because it wasn't even there. I had to ask and when I did I found out that the owner of it knew of it's value and did not want to sell it at half price on the last day so she took it back. Good for her because I might have gone for it at $25!

It was after this great two day rummage sale that I found my red vintage tree while out shopping with my friend Bonnie at some Holiday Open House events at local gift shops. We went to four open house's that day. I actually bought some stocking stuffers for my grandchildren but could not resist getting another baby doe, this one porcelain, made in Japan. I am keeping her and she has a place of honor on my parlor mantel...

I am 99.9% sure that I am keeping my red tree. But what to do with it? Decorate it with just white lights? Red lights? Or maybe it will be my new Victorian ornaments tree to replace my too small white one.

What do ya think?

AnnMarie xo

I am linking up with these great blog parties this week:

Thriftasaurus
Let's Talk Vintage
You're Gonna Love It Tuesday
Treasure Box Tuesday
Show and Share
Vintage Bliss Tuesday
Vintage Inspiration Party
Treasure Hunt Thursday
Home and Garden Thursday
Share Your Cup Thursday
Freedom Fridays with All My Bloggy Friends
Bouquet of Talent Linky Party
Feathered Nest Friday
Make It Monday
Show and Share