Clarinda Cottage

 

I have been fascinated with garage sales, flea markets and especially junk that is sitting by the curb since about the age of ten. While riding my bike around our neighborhood (when I was about 10!) one day I noticed that people were piling stuff by the curbs. It didn’t take long for me to figure out that these were cast-offs and would be in a landfill by the next afternoon. The horror … there was good looking stuff piled up all over! I spotted a darling little table at the end of someone’s driveway that just called to me. If painted, it would be perfect for my bedroom … but better check with the parents first before hauling it home. Well, I got the green light to bring it home but returned only to find it had been snatched by someone else who was wiser to the rules than me, “the newbie”.  

Moral of the story … See it?  Want it?  Snag it before someone else does!   You can always donate it or stick it in your driveway with a FREE sign if it doesn’t work out. I get such a kick from putting a freebie out by my curb and having someone come by and take it home that “just loves it”.  Another guilty pleasure is giving things away at garage sales.  I have on occasion given things away on the condition they enjoy it as much as I did.  Try it … it feels good!

I found this wonderful sideboard at a thrift store.  My husband named it “the MONSTROSITY” and deemed it unworthy for our entryway.  I had a blast “foo-foo”ing it up!   It is now in our bedroom and holds the linens for that room. A gorgeous vintage piece of velvet that I found at a flea market in Pennsylvania was almost the perfect size for the top drawer.  Pleats were sewn to make sections and the whole thing was glued to the bottom of the drawer . . . my few treasures are right at home in it!

As you can see from the title of this post, I am finally learning to have some fun with my name! For Christmas I made “RaeCycle” market tote bags … I will do a post with pictures soon.