Celebrating my Junk Hunk Hubby!

Hi Junkers!

Happy Father’s Day to all the fathers, step-fathers, grandpas & the men who give it their all to children of all ages!!!!  We can’t thank you enough for EVERYTHING you do, lots of time behind the scenes, to bless our lives ❤

Today is the first Father’s Day without my Dad & I’m missing him.  If he were here, I’d be making his favorite dessert, red velvet cupcakes or cake. ❤  Our college Girl dreams of him often so I know he’s with us in spirit, watching over us ❤  HAPPY Father’s Day, Dad!

My Junk Hunk Hubby has certainly stepped up the last few months & given so much of his time to so many projects, I can’t thank him enough!  At Mom’s he’s cleared out some huge trees, smoothed out the lane gravel & made sure it’s even up to the garage {although we know he loves using the tractor} & tilled to make the garden bigger.  He’s always doing things for us here at home:  we started on our porch project & he scrapped paint, the worse part, so I could paint; he got the boat & equipment ready for their cat-fishing trip to the Mississippi; not to mention all the day to day things we tend to take for granted!

I hadn’t made one of his favorite recipes for maybe years so I thought, what better thing to give him:  homemade biscuits & sausage gravy?!?!  For Mother’s Day they had given me the Magnolia Table cookbook so it was the perfect time to make Joanna’s biscuits.  Delicious indeed!  If you aren’t familiar with baking, you’ll need to take your time & practice if the first batch doesn’t seem right.  The recipe involves cutting cold butter into the flour mixture & knowing if, once it’s mixed, if it needs a bit more flour or liquid.  I’d venture to guess some younger ladies might not have a pastry cutter either…but I could be completely wrong too…

this is a vintage pastry cutter : adorable

I don’t have a gravy recipe, but I do tend to use the same ingredients, I just don’t measure.  Gravy is one of my specialties, when I first started making it, it was like a challenge to get the right consistency & once I felt I perfected it, it wasn’t a recipe I could write down 😦

Here’s today’s progress for my breakfast present to my Junk Hunk Hubby:

Joanna’s Magnolia Table biscuits

home-made gravy

Junk Hunk Hubby’s bowl: biscuit, topped with gravy, topped with a biscuit

Whether you’re celebrating with or without your Dad today, I wish you a blessed day where you will treasure those cherished memories & honor all that our ‘Dads’ do for us ❤ ❤ ❤

Happy Father’s Day All!

~ Junk Maven

I suffer from the “raccoon effect”! Do you?

Hi Junkers!

It was time once again to purge some magazines in the mustard-yellow cabinet.  All of them will get re-purposed…..I could never throw one away!  Some will go to friends, co-workers or our local consignment store.  As I was going through them, making tough {LOL} decisions, I found an editor’s note I had clipped out of a Cottages and Bungalows magazine.  Jickie Torres talks about being accused of being flighty & going from one interest or hobby to another, rarely sticking to one particular thing.

She goes on to say this continued into her adult life as she’s easily influenced by whatever article she is working on.  As an example. working on information about the culinary benefits of marble which morphs into revising the thoughts of her dream kitchen.  She calls this habit the “raccoon effect” = flitting from one interest to another… as in being attracted to shiny objects, ha.

Is this you?  It SURE is me!  I love crafts.  That’s to say I love the idea of crafts, the planning process, the visualization of completed projects, whether I’ll keep them for myself or give as a gift, then there is the purchasing of all those gorgeous supplies & before I know it, another project has caught my attention & off I go in that direction.  It reminds me of yet another editor, Jo Packham {Where Women Create, etc.} who admitted in print that she might have a small addition to simply buying craft supplies but not actually making the craft.  Show of hands {tribe sisters}?  Yep, me too!

So…is this a problem?  Heck NO!  Jickie encourages us all, telling us that all this creative dreaming & planning is about discovery {YAY}!  All of a sudden, you’ve become an expect in the time you’ve spent researching each phase:  hunting for supplies {prices, brands, ratings}, educating yourself on the pros/cons, watching those YouTube videos & then making it a reality {when you get around to it}.  She encourages us to swerve outside the lines sometimes, join your raccoon pack & dare to crave the next shiny thing!  You never know where the next extraordinary idea will come from!

Happy Day Dreaming Junkers!

~ Junk Maven

https://www.facebook.com/cottagesandbungalows/
https://www.facebook.com/wherewomencreate/
https://www.facebook.com/PaPaYa-145628066773/

 

 

Pressed tin panels as seen on Vacation

Hi Junkers!

Our adorable Mermaid Cottage, On A Whim, was full of local island decor, vintage items & antiques…right up our alley!  The living room wall had four pressed tin panels held together by heavy-duty wire & swirls, handing from molding.  What a great idea to up-cycle these often found metal squares!

At the last What Cheer Flea Market, our son’s girlfriend was looking at some tin panels for their living room.  Not enough in the same pattern {but she ended up with a super reasonably priced chippy 1/2 barn door with the original hardware}.  There are so many possible projects you can do with these.  Here are some from Pinterest:

replace doors on used furniture

a wall full of tins, would be fun in a bedroom, guest room or bathroom

many times you’ll find tins un-cut – add a few hinges & you have a vintage screen

love these neutrals

Here are some images of the one we liked while on vacation:

wishing I would have gotten a better shot, and some close-ups

the lighting is better in this photo, where you see the darker ‘spots’ between the panels, that is the swirls of wire

It just goes to show you, you never know where inspiration will strike!  Have you found anything this junking season that has sparked your interest?  If so, let us know!

~ Happy Inspiring Junk!

~ Junk Maven

It’s the little things….

Hi Junkers!

Have you kicked off the weekend ahead of time & started junking today?  Our local sidewalks were full of great finds all around our historic town square.  A screen door just oozing with gingerbread caught me eye on my way home from the post office = SWOON!  We’ve got home improvement projects on the agenda this weekend, plus I’m doing the weekend manager duties at the 9-5’er which always puts a little crimp in plans….but that means I have Monday off so it’s a good trade 🙂

As you can tell we’re back to the daily hustle & routines but when we got back from vacation, I was pleasantly surprised by the beautiful bloom of my African Violet {with more on the way, yay}!  I think I’ve had it nearly 2 years & it hasn’t bloomed since the first ones when I brought it home…I’d even forgot what the flowers looked like {usually purple}.  Every time I walk into the living & see it, it makes me smile 🙂  Grateful for the little things!

Happy Weekend All!

~ Junk Maven

Back from Tybee Island, GA

Hi Junkers!

Mom, College Girl & I have been to Tybee Island, GA, just south of Savannah!  It was an amazing 6 days!  We flew from DSM to Atlanta then to Savannah & drove down to the island.  We enjoyed the beach {shelling, watching the cargo ships, pelicans, sea gulls & dolphins & getting our feet wet in the salty sea water} although it was hot & muggy.  Tasted some yummy food at Coco’s Sunset Grille, Sting Ray’s, Sunrise Restaurant, Waffle House, Leopold’s Ice Cream & The Lady & Son’s {Paula Deen’s restaurant}!  Toured the Tybee Lighthouse & Museum, took Captain Derek’s Dolphin Adventure, Old Town Trolley Tours in Savannah & the driving around, even if it was in the wrong direction, it was a wonderful adventure!

I wanted to share some of the more vintage images I saw while down South:

Looking out into the Atlantic Ocean from North Beach, Tybee

Fried strawberries at Coco’s Seaside Grille, YUM!

Old map of Tybee 🙂

Antiques at the lighthouse museum.

Mom was ready to bring this beauty home !!!

Mural in the lighthouse museum.

Old Town Trolley Tours in Savannah : will you look at that gingerbread ?!?!

Amazing decoration on a Savannah building.

It screams retro, huh?!?!

Hard to capture a good picture while on the trolley & this hotel was right on a corner.

Thunderbird Inn building!

See the dolphin down spout?

 

Yep ate here!  Paula rocks!

The Royal Palm Motel sure took me back…to the 70’s when I’d BEG to stay in a motel with a motel when we’d be moving across country ❤

A huge thanks to my favorite Ladies for a great time & life time memories made ❤  Love you’s Ya’All 🙂

Happy Adventures Junkers!

~ Junk Maven

P.S.  Hate that I forgot two other important ‘finds’….Seaside Sisters, an adorable gift shop, right in Tybee, & while walking through the Atlanta airport the beautiful jewels of Beads on the Vine caught me eye.  Links are below if you want to see more of these great places:

Mermaid Cottages in Tybee, GA
Coco’s Sunset Grille
Visit Tybee
Tybee Lighthouse
Captain Derek’s Dolphin Adventure
American Beachwear, Sting Ray’s Bar & Grill & Sunrise Restaurant {unable to find links}
The Lady and Son’s
Waffle House 
Leopold’s Ice Cream
Old Town Trolley Tours of Savannah
Seaside Sisters
Beads on the Vine {now only available at the ATL airport}

 

 

We’re Back from Vacation

Hey Ya’ll Junkers!

Us Yankees, Mom, College Daughter & I, are back from Tybee Island, GA, just south of Savannah!  It was a wonderful {& quick} six days.  We stayed in the cutest Mermaid Cottage there, can say we’ve been in the Atlantic ocean {wading}, shelling, saw dolphins both at the beach & on Derek’s Boat Tour, brought home souvenirs, ate amazing food including Paula Deen’s The Lady & Son’s & fried strawberries @ Coco’s, toured Savannah on the trolley, been sun-kisses {sunburns}, made great memories & more!

We just got in this morning about 1:30 so we’re a bit tired, need to unpack & get back in the groove.  I’ll be sharing some amazing pictures soon so please stay tuned for those.  Have any of you been junking or on vacation?

Happy June Junkers!

~ Junk Maven

Vacation Bound with my Girls

Blessed to be going on vacation with my Mom & Daughter to The South….the beach is on the agenda every day no matter what the weather!

Have a great junky week!

~ Junk Maven

Remember….

~ Junk Maven

Honing Your Haggling Skills & More

Hi Junkers!

Well, it’s almost June & junking season is in FULL swing!  Market vendors have dusted off their wares & will be displaying them as if they were magical gems, which in some cases, they are!  Hoggva is an Old Norse term once believed to mean ‘haggen to cut/chop’ from the 13th century & then around the 16th century a truer meaning “to argue about price” came along, like the notion of chopping away.

The benefits of knowing the fine art of haggling has many benefits, not just getting a good deal.  It’s a great way to get to know the vendors & small business owners.  Remember, they are trying to make money so know your own limits {high dollar offer} ahead of time, it will definitely be to your advantage.  Being friendly goes a long way too.  Most of the time you both say Hi or Hello.  I always add “How are you?” or “How’s it going?” to break the ice.  Many times it’s a pleasant surprise for them, you typically get a smile at the very least.  If you frequent a particular event they will come to recognize you as a good customer & familiar face.  They remember your interests & be inclined to recommend other vendors you might like.  Think about as networking where you both walk away feeling happy & fortunate.

It pays to do your research if you are looking to build a collection or have a specific item in mind.  Start with a low number, yet don’t be insulting either.  This can be tricky; with some practice you’ll get better & better.  The numbers may go back & forth several times.  Think about it as a game:  have some fun & try to win but winning isn’t everything.  There are going to be times when you may have to compromise & pay more if you really, really want it.  It’s clear:  the power belongs to the seller.  Take it as a learning experience & after you’ve had a few chances to barter {wrangle/dicker/quibble} you’ll gain some confidence & be able to handle most any situation.

 

 

Don’t forget your manners Please & Thank You go a long way.  Occasionally vendors will post a sign, such as “Firm” or “Sale”, in their minds they are already giving you a fair deal.  As I might have mentioned before, you are going to meet those vendors who are tough or just plain rude, as if it was your full intention to ruin their day, ugh.  They must me handled with caution.  Two gentlemen come to mind when I think about my experiences.  One guy had some great stuff I was really interested in but nothing was priced.  My opinion is this is not in the vendor’s favor.  It then makes the customer have to ask the price = not a good start.  Our interaction didn’t go well {everything I asked about was very high as if he wasn’t selling & merely displaying his goods}.  ISadly, I now tend to avoid items unpriced.  Another time I asked an already grumpy-looking gentleman “Is this your best price?” on a $20 chair & he simply said Yes.  I thanked him & went about by day.  These were times when I’ve walked away & you will too.

Let’s say instead of wanting to buy the item you have spied & LUV, you want to try to duplicate it or maybe it’s resonating a fond memory for you & you simply want to take a picture?  The rule here is: Always Ask First!  Explaining why you want the photo is helpful so the vendor knows your motive.  For me, I love to share my photos, here on the blog & social media.  I give them my business card, ask for theirs & tell them I’d like to share their info on my FB page & I always ask permission first before taking any photos.  It’s great to see how flattered they actually are so it’s a win/win!   🙂

Best of luck & remember : Have Some Junkin Fun!

~ Junk Maven

Junking Blooms

Hi Junkers:

Iris’ from country road ditches, a mini iron pump, old iron floor lamp pole {minus the lamp,etc.} & whirligigs in the back yard.

Peony’s from an old abandoned farmhouse & hostas photobombing.

Hostas in company with my Grandma Pearl’s lily of the valley.

Just thought I’d share a bit of what’s currently blooming in our yard.  Do you have blossoms bursting???

Happy Blooming Junk!

~ Junk Maven