~ industrial side tables ~

Good morning friends!

So, have you ever had a decorating idea in your head, a vision, that you know it's what you want, but you also know it'll probably never happen?  It may not happen for a variety of reasons....budget, time constraints, or in this particular case, I knew I would never find what I wanted.

But a girl can dream.

And look.  And look. And look.

For that perfect specimen.

For seven years.

Yes, I have always had my eye out for the perfect pair of vintage industrial side tables for our TV room since we've moved into this house seven years ago.  When we moved in, I placed two crackly piano benches on either side of the couch as seen in this before picture...

They are teeny tiny, waaaaay too low for the couch, and soooo not right!  This I knew.

But, I also knew exactly what I wanted.

And I didn't want to buy something to put there just as as a band-aid.

Over the course of time, I've been tempted.

Just about 3 weeks ago, I came across two matching industrial tables that were ALMOST the ones.

And they were cheap at just 30 bucks each.

But I just wasn't feeling it.  They had a little too much of that factory green paint still on them.

And they didn't have a bottom shelf.  Which I really wanted.

So just last week, my friend Lisa at one of my most favorite local shops, Urban Farmhouse, did this post

titled "vintage industrial".  I clicked knowing I would be wowed by her finds, because this girl's got talent and an eye for finding the best.stuff.ever.  Period.  End of story.

And of course I wasn't disappointed!  She had found some amazing industrial pieces, but no little side tables that met my criteria.  I shot her a quick comment saying how much I loved her pieces, and a little shout-out that if she ever found two matching smaller size side tables, let me know.

And then it happened.  

kismet.

I heard my phone beeping in the other room.

It was Lisa, and she was texting me saying "I have two in my truck right now!"

kismet.

She shot me a photo, and I was intrigued, even though said tables were upside down in her truck in the photo, they looked perfect.  Could this really be happening?

I drove out to see her later that afternoon.  LOVED THEM!  Took measurements and crossed my fingers.

Discussed with the man of the house, who doesn't always "get" my visions, but he could tell I had finally found "the ones" and gave me the proverbial go-ahead in his usual manner, "go nuts".  When I hear "go nuts", that is the green light around here!   

Lisa's husband delivered the tables, which was an absolutely unexpected treat in and of itself, and I am ever so grateful for his kindness.

They got sprayed with de-greaser, sat overnight, sprayed again, power-washed, wiped down, and poly-eurethaned.  Last night, they came inside.  And I waited with bated breath.  Because, sometimes the vision just doesn't match the real thing.

kismet. 

They are not a perfect match, which I love.  One still has some industrial light grey paint left on it, while the other is in it's natural state and a little more rusty.  They are almost the exact same height, give or take a few centimeters.  They are quirky and industrial and unexpected and I LOVE THEM!

I stayed up late styling them with ironstone and books and baskets and lamps from the bedroom.

I never gave up hope.

I kept looking.

And it happened.

kismet.

~ bird things ~

I have quite an affinity for bird accessories.  I love it when I find bird things to use in my house.  You can imagine my delight when I came across this old bluebird plate and bowl...

 all stained and crazed and crackly with age and use

A while back I had found one of these old bluebird bowls and I sold it in my booth.

It never left my mind, and I kept hoping I would find another someday.

Last week I came across a whole collection of bluebird dishes for sale at the antique mall where my booth is located, The Olde Shoe Factory Antique Mall.

I just bought a couple pieces to add to my cupboard.

You wouldn't believe the selection they have!

Bowls, plates of all sizes, an old sugar canister, a wall-mount salt crock, and a gorgeous platter.

It took quite a bit of restraint to just pick out a few!

Whoever these belonged to must have collected for years, because I just don't see them very often.

I also found this sweet hand-embroidered bird towel that is actually an old flour sack...

and then I came across this sweet set of fresh lavender hand soap and lotion set at Meijer of all places!

The little birds are so sweet and they smell wonderful!

 This bird planter is new.  For now, it's going in the kitchen to hold all my loose catalogs and papers.

 

I have had the joy of receiving a few new followers on this little old blog of mine this past week, and it has been so nice to connect with new friends!  I so enjoy visiting everyone's blogs to see what you're up to and how you're using all those creative juices!  I just wanted to thank each of you for stopping by and visiting!  I never would have thought blogging would be such a sweet experience!  Thanks to each of you for your comments and for sharing your lives and ideas with me {and everyone else}!

Hugs to you all!

~ medical filing cabinet ~

I'm still trying to get things ready for my booth for the new fall look I've got stored up in my head.  

I had been looking for something tall and industrial to add visual height to my booth space.  I was originally thinking some of those cheap-o industrial gray shelves that everyone has had in their garage at one time or another.  We had one in our garage that I am going to use, but after finding a few here and there, I realized they are pretty wobbly.  I like their look, but I needed something a little more sturdy. 

So, last week, I found a big medical filing cabinet on Craigs List that I thought might just work!  It is tall.  It is sturdy.  It's kind of industrial.  And it's got cubby after delightful cubby!

But it was a little boring, so tonight I got busy with some Mod-Podge, french book pages, and flash cards to jazz it up just a little.

I decided to go totally random with words, letters, and numbers

 I don't worry to much about wrinkles when I'm Mod-Podging.

I'm kind of an "imperfect is perfect" gal.

When I'm buying them, I always wonder why I have such an obsession with old games.

I tend to collect games with letters or numbers that can be re-purposed in to projects and scrapbooking.

Tonight, I was happy to rummage through that collection of mine!

I pulled out a few of  those French flash cards too.

I'm almost finished....just have to do the top shelf and the bottom shelf.  

I think it will add an interesting look to my booth this Fall!  

Wouldn't little orange pumpkins look so cute against those pages?  

With this many cubbies, the possibilities are endless!!

White Wednesday

I am still relishing summer's coastal touches in my home until the end of August!  I'm just not ready to put away my seashells and starfish!  The foyer will stay like this for just a little bit longer!

Please visit Kathleen, the host of White Wednesday at Faded Charm!  This White Wednesday, Kathleen is sharing glorious photos of the simplistic and sweet Queen Anne's Lace!

xo

~ sneak peek at the autumn assortment ~

 Well Good Morning all!  

I've been busy the last couple weeks doing things like....

painting...sneezing....sanding....sneezing....hunting and gathering....sneezing...painting....sneezing

Just getting the autumn assortment ready, oh, and sneezing.....a lot!

I thought I would share a little sneak peek at what's to come at The Sassafras Shop this September!

My fall assortment has me quite giddy with excitement!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

There's pieces in a pretty shade of gray.

My fall assortment is a little bit rusty.

and a little bit quirky.

Ah-choo.  Oh, excuse me!

And will offer a pop or two of fantastic color.

 

 Vintage furniture that's been given new life.

a little bit of industrial.

quite a bit of cute thrown in.

Ah-choo!  Oh my!  Excuse me again!

a lot of texture.

 and a little unique.  ~ hopefully ~

It's still August, so my booth sale is still going on!

30% off most everything in my little corner at

The Olde Shoe Factory Antique Mall

And, this Friday and Saturday, August 27 and 28, we're having an END OF SUMMER SALE throughout the whole place!  Look for the bright yellow tags for huge markdowns!  Many vendors will have their whole booth on sale!

We'll also have ice cold lemonade and cookies to say farewell to summer!

which means a lot more of this {ah-choo} for me!

Seriously, I've sneezed like twelve times just while writing this post!!

But, hey, it's all good!  Because I love Fall!  And I can't wait to re-style my booth the second week of September!

until next time...

~ lockers ~

 Good morning!  This is going to be a short little post because I'm on a major time crunch this morning, but I just had to take a moment to share my latest acquisition and project.

I found this A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. set of lockers when Janet of Open Market Style did this post recently stating she had cleaned out her barn and had lots of stuff for sale.  I saw the lockers peeking out from behind another piece of furniture and quickly emailed her to see if my eyes were playing tricks on me.

You see, I have wanted a set of lockers to place by my back door (in the garage) for the longest time.  We've gone to several school auctions trying to get some, but they were always attached to the wall and trashed by the time they were pried off.

We went out to Janet's house last night and picked them up.  They are the perfect fit for the landing in the garage.  She had all the keys on a big key ring, so we can get into all the cubbies.  The lockers will eventually hold all those space-cluttering items like dog leashes, umbrellas, and gardening shoes.

We also bought this HUGE industrial storage shelf at Home Depot over the weekend.  We have been trying to figure out how to use our vertical space in the garage instead of letting everything pile up on the floor.  This shelf was on clearance, and let me just tell you, it is a whopper!  Mickey had to take it out of the box piece by piece while it was still in the car because the box was about 7 feet long and over 200 pounds!

The bottom shelf will house tubs for all of our recyclable items.  The top shelf will hold the extra seats from our SUV keeping them away from moisture and dirt.  And the rest will be for STORAGE!  Every extra minute I have has been spent in the garage trying to get organized out there!  It has really gotten to be a hot mess in the garage, and I am determined to "git r done"!  It may take a while, working in spurts, but I have faith!

A big "thank you" to Janet and her husband for finding the lockers!!

xo

~ Route 127 took me to {New} Paris! ~

 Bright and early on Thursday morning, Mickey and I hopped in the car with a cooler full of water and turkey and cheddar sandwiches and made the two hour drive to Route 127.

The home of The World's Longest Yard Sale!

Apparently, the string of sales spans from Michigan to Tennessee!  Not sure how many miles that is, but we only made it 46 miles North on Rt. 127 on Thursday and 28 miles South on Friday.  And we're plain tuckered out!  And the vehicle was full, so we HAD to head on home!

For anyone toying with the idea of tackling The World's Longest Yard Sale, I would say "go for it!"

We found some cool vintage treasures, ate the best pizza we've ever had in a little town called Camden, and enjoyed the chance to spend a couple days reconnecting with each other....and the American countryside.

The minute we turned onto Rt. 127 from the freeway, we were greeted by an abandoned building and empty field filled with tables and tables of stuff....

 We thought about buying this old suitcase....

but didn't because it was locked with no key!

Gosh, looking at that Paris sticker makes me think we may have made a mistake in passing it up.  It could have been filled with french love letters.

Or mouse poop and spiders.

Ok, glad we decided against it!

We went to sales in the prettiest barns....

and stopped now and then to breathe in the thought of a simpler life....

We made a pit stop in {New} Paris.

We didn't even have to board a plane!

Who knew you could visit Paris right here in Ohio?

I'm sure it wasn't quite the same as the brocantes in the REAL Paris....

but this teeny little town did have it's own little slice of heaven....

 this historic old Mason's building has three levels filled with cool things and interesting displays like this french inspired sidewalk complete with vintage awnings, windows, shutters, and a flower cart...

My sweet husband is so thoughtful.  After checking in to our hotel, I walked into our suite and realized he had paid extra for this soaking tub...

 He knows a girl needs a good soak after a long and hot day of junking!  

Along our travels, we met some nice people and pup-pups.

Meet "Chorkie"  - part chihuahua, part yorkie...

We have a friend who is searching for a vintage soda machine, so we kept an eye out for one that he might like.  No luck on purchasing one, but it made for a great photo opportunity...

The car is unpacked and all our treasures are piled in the garage.  I have to work tomorrow, so I won't be able to start rummaging through the piles until Sunday sometime.  But I'll be sure to share photos before long!

Hope you all have a great weekend!

xo -