Bliss

The wedding was as beautiful as I knew it would be. Joolz looked amazing in both her traditional wedding gown and her Korean "gown" (I'll have to ask her what you would call it):



Gorgeous! (that is the groom's mother with the happy couple!)

Joolz and her beau, John, did a great job mixing both Korean and Irish traditions. Here's a fun shot of my DH and the groom cuttin' a rug:



This picture totally cracks me up because Luis is sticking his tongue out and it looks like he has no front teeth LOL.

I was lucky enough to get to take home a centerpiece.



The flowers were beautiful and I was able to break them down into several arrangements to spread joy throughout the house. Thanks, Joolz!!

So I'm working from home this week and have spent most of my day organizing my craft room. I'm buried under a piles of paper and yarn so if you don't hear from me . . . .

xoxoxo
R

A Spring Flower

Not much to report in the crafty endeavors this week. I seemed to have misplaced the other skein of yarn I need to finish the monkey and I'm desperately trying to finish up a baby afghan for a shower in 2 weeks. It's cute but not photo worthy just yet.



Do you read the Craft Magazine blog? Lucy turned me onto it and I'm now checking it daily for inspiration and project ideas. I even save the posts with my favorite ideas in my Bloglines to refer back to. NOw, I will tell you that there is some weird (to me) stuff on there. I doubt I'll be knitting any cat hats or enjoying bizarre meat art but many of the projects are in my style despite the embroidered jellyfish bubble skirt. Eh, to each his own I guess. :)

Anyway, I recently printed out their pattern for a crocheted flower:



Aha! Mine looks much like the picture, good for me. (Though I did add an extra row of blue around the edge and have yet to make the little center piece.) My husband tried to use it as a coaster so I moved it to the bluebird nest.



You can find the pattern here. There are no yarn or needle specifics, I used size 3 crochet cotton (I had it on hand) and a 00 steel hook.

The weekend is upon us and while I'll be spending tonight chanting "HENRIK! HENRIK!" at my TV . . . tomorrow night I'll be enjoying the lovely wedding of Sweet Joolz. :) Stop by and wish her love and maybe she'll bring us all some sunshine back from her honeymoon.

adieu
Rebecca

Puttin' the Goodness in Blogging

Two years. Today. For this little old blog. And for those of you who remember my old blog, NYCe Girl Knits, I'm not counting that one. Just Good Old Thrifty Goodness.

I was going to tell you a story about underpants but I'll save that for a day when I really need something to talk about. ;) So instead, how about a sample of some true thrifty goodness? On my visit to Charm City last weekend my Mom took Dita and I to a store called Ryan's Relics. It's not exactly a thrift store but it's not really an antique store either. It's somewhere in between and the prices are good. I spent a total of $17 and this is most of my finds:



Oh yes, I hit the jewelry section. As many of you know, thrift stores tend to really mark up jewelry even if it's broken or damaged. Well most of the pieces you see here were $1 or under. I did pay $2 for the super cute change purse and the green and white flower. One of my favorites is the carrots pin on the right. There are tiny pearls in the leaves and it was only 50 cents!



The enamel flower pins are an instant collection! It's hard to pick a favorite. Of course I'll have the eagle eye out for more and you know Ryan's Relics will be on the circuit from now on. :) (I also got two sweet little hankies with crocheted edging there!)

So how's that for some Thrifty Goodness?

And now for the Martha Crafts Give It Away Winner . . . . . drumroll . . . .

The Random Integer Generator chose comment number 8 which was Heather from Way Out West! Woo Hoo! Congrats Heather! Send me an email with your address and I'll put your goodies right in the mail: rrdusquesne (at) aol (dot) com :)

And because I have a lot of stuff and in honor of my sweet Rangers going up 3 to 1 on the crappy Devils*, I chose a second winner for another prize pack which will include a specimen box, the rose stickers, the wood grain note cards, some Martha ribbon and a Martha best wishes Banner. The second number the RIG chose was number 26 which is Jen from Red Hen Studios! So congrats to you, too, Jen and send me your address when you can.

I'll be doing a big mailing next week some time for these prizes, the Spring French Swap and some random mail goodness.

xoxoxo
Rebecca

* - Rangers and Devils in Game 5 on Friday. Go Blue

Blue Bird of Happiness

I cannot believe I let so much time go by before showing you this!

This sweet little bluebird landed at my home more than TWO weeks ago!



First she settled on the hobnail candlesticks.



But then flew over to the cake server where she still nests today:



Thank you, Kai, for such a sweet surprise! :)

RR

Kickin' It Blogger Style

I'm back from my loooong weekend away feeling refreshed (sort of) and ready to face of the world. (maybe) It's Monday, that's about as excited as I can get. ;) Thank you all for your concern on my job situation. I'm still in limbo and prepared for both options so hopefully I can remain patient (stop laughing) and we'll see what happens. Less job = more crafting.

Our weekend away was loads of fun that including some slot machines, an Irish Pub, many hands of gin rummy and a whole lotta hockey. And yesterday we hit a craft show in Maryland. And you know who we got to meet??



That dorky one in the middle there would be me. Oy. Can you tell which one is my sister? Ha ha, yes that's Mandi on the left and there on the right? . . . that's Katie from See Katie Sew! Meeting Katie was like meeting an old friend. We clicked right away and even made plans for a future thrift adventure together! (can't wait!)

Katie and some of the other EtsyCREST girls shared a booth and let me tell you, they had some gorgeous things!! You know I went shopping, right?



You can see Katie's corner back there on the left and that's Amy from Bella's Boutique. She made these lovely monogrammed cards:



I'm a big advocate of "snail mail" and love having fancy note cards to send. I also picked up these fabulous cards from Miscelena:



Her stuff is beautiful! I should have asked her name, duh. Katie?? And you KNOW I had to have one of Katie's bags and a headband:



Jealous? You should be. I love it. Want to see it again?



Well on my way to being the sassiest girl on the block. :) Here are the other girls from the fair:

Aycee Designs
GlowNGlass
Get Wired Designs
Kim Mings
Tarabu

What a group of talented ladies!

So all in all a fun weekend. There was also some thrifting and gifting that I'll share in another post. Oh and I'll be drawing the winner of my giveaway on Thursday!

hugs
Rebecca

PS: Rangers up 2-1 over New Jersey. God Bless King Henrik.

Found

Not much to report here at Thrifty Goodness Headquarters. There's a shake up at my office and I may find myself unemployed in the coming weeks. I'm partly worried, partly relieved. Odd, I know, but we'll see how it all shakes out I guess.

Anyway, onto happier things . . . a few finds to share:



I am loving this red hobnail lamp and it was a steal at a mere $4.50. I have yet to know if it works as for some reason DH and I cannot seem to remember to buy light bulbs. I'm of a mind to change the shade but I'm not sure yet. Ideas?



This is a pumpkin pie keeper and was $3.00. There is a Pyrex pie plate inside and I'm guessing it was hand painted as there was a note to "Grandma" written on the bottom in marker. It came off when I washed it though. I only ever made pumpkin pie once and my DH, who counts pumpkin pie among his favorite desserts, said it was gross and wanted Entenmann's pumpkin pie instead. What does he know anyway?



This is a sewing and manicure set. Now normally I wouldn't want someones old nail file but the sewing part is pretty cute and at only $2.00 not a bad deal. I mean that little darning egg is sweet, right? Does anyone darn socks anymore? I'd love to know the age on this but the only manufacturers mark on it is on the safety pins which read "Aida." Anyone have a clue?

Well I suppose that is it for me today and for the rest of the week. Louie and I leave tomorrow for a few days in Atlantic City and a few days in Baltimore. I hope to be back next week with some fun thrifty finds.

Don't forget to enter my giveaway!!

Cheers,
Rebecca

PS: For those of you indulging my hockey obsession, Rangers Vs. Devils in the playoffs starting tomorrow. Go Blue Shirts!



Long Live King Henrik

Give it Away . . .

Happy Friday, friends! It's dreary here, blech, but I'm hoping to blow you a little sunshine your way with a little give away. My two year blogoversary is on April 17th and what better way to celebrate than with a little Thrifty Goodness, eh?

So here it is:



Many thrifty finds from the clearance section at Michaels, all from Martha Stewart crafts. Including:

Pink & Brown Specimen Box
Dimensional Rose Stickers
Set of Four Indigo Archival Pens
Set of Eight Silver Wood Grain Note Cards
Two Different Sets of Photo Mats

I wish I had a better picture for you but I think many of you are familiar with this stuff so there you go. So happy birthday, little blog! Please leave a comment here before April 17th for a chance to win. I might be inclined to toss some other goodies in as well.

********************

So my friends, as I have no craft endeavors to share (the monkey is no different) so instead I'll leave you with this:



Let's just say that we sat so close last night that the secret might be out about me and my secret BF. ;) Seriously, we were on the glass and boy is hockey even more exciting like that. DH and I had a blast and I love that we have our love of sports in common. I took that photo above, and many others, with my Digital Elph. The Rangers clinched a spot in the playoffs last night by showin' those Islanders who's boss. Keep it up, boys!

Have a fab weekend!

cheers ~ rebecca

Monkey Business

I've been monkeying around:



And she's coming along well. She is no longer naked but still without a face. Faces are important so I'm thinking on the best way to do it. Eyes are a cinch but the mouth? Priscilla had GIANT lips and while cute I think I can do better.



Still so much to do. I plan to lengthen the skirt, add some ribbons, crocheted flowers and seed pearls. (All of which I have already. Ahem JOOLZ.) and of course, give her a much needed tail and some shoes. Making the clothes is my favorite part. I just make them up as I go along. Crochet is fun like that. Knitting would take a bit more planning I think. Anyone have any other suggestions for monkey outfits?

So what about that giveaway I mentioned? Ah yes. The give away. The post will come tomorrow and I hope you like the small cache of goodies I've put together. My blogoversary is in two weeks and as I'll be away for one of those weeks the giveaway tomorrow is an early celebration.

Sweet Louie and I are off to The Coliseum tonight to see my beloved Rangers kick the stuffin' out of the Islanders.

Oh and VQ, this is for you:



Read more about my secret boyfriend here. ;)

Until tomorrow, sweets, Go Rangers!

Rebecca

I Do Declare . . .

I'm starting to think I collect craft supplies. I really need to start actually USING them. Especially some of the fun vintage trims and fabrics I've been lucky to run into. Seriously, what am I waiting for?

So I am making a declaration. USE WHAT YOU HAVE.

Oh yes, we've heard this one before. I've even made the pledge! But this time, I'm sticking to it. And I'm not cheating! I will use what I have. Period. Okay, there are a few exceptions (you knew that was coming didn't you?) I will buy "basics" as in needles and thread. I mean one cannot sew without them, right? Oh and glue and other adhesives. Again needed to create. And of course "stuffing" for all the softies I want to make but I will not buy any new fabric or ribbons or paper (especially paper!) for a month. No, TWO MONTHS. (Come on June!!) In addition to the basics I will allow myself to buy thrifted craft supplies. I mean these are once in a life time chances, right? But I will limit the amount I can spend on thrifted items period.

Any one with me?? Okay, I can hear the tumble weeds blowing by. I know it's not an easy challenge for me and some of you as well but I'm sticking to it. For reals. I need to. For the sake of my craft room and my wallet. And Lord knows I have enough crap to create for two years let alone two months.

Another part of Use What You Have needs to be Finish What You Started. I need to do this, too. I have so many half done projects. Oy. Especially knit and crochet. I dug one out recently that I will see through to the end:



It's another knit monkey just like Priscilla. (you can also read more about Priscilla here and leave me some comments! I feel lonely LOL) Priscilla came out so cute and I do think that the recipient liked her very much. I also think she got a new name, right Leigh Ann? I was very happy to send Priscilla to her new home and think that this new monkey will be just as cute. I have a whole different outfit planned for using yarn I already have. And her body is also from yarn already in my stash.

In honor of using what I have I'll be having a wee give away later this week. You'll just have to wait and see what it is but I think it's a good one. After all, I'm guessing quite a few of you collect craft supplies as well. :)

hugs - Rebecca

PS - go visit my new swap partner, Robyn! She's a firefighter!!! And she likes hockey. We're a match made in heaven.

Mainstream Bargains

I don't often talk too much about bargains beyond the thrift store. (Unless you count the clearance section at Michaels but for today's lesson we're not, okay?) I used to be much better in my bargain hunting particularly on groceries. I was a coupon cutter and perused the grocery circulars with red pen in hand. I don't get a paper anymore and they are tough to find in my neighborhood on Sundays (seems I can only locate the ones that don't have coupons) and I've gotten lazy and started ordering my groceries from time to time. That is a New York City luxury.

I do, of course, still look for bargains and decided on this post as a big old pat on the back for me and my purchases from Macy's yesterday. I went on a mission. I wanted these. Fiesta ware in scarlet. Oh boy did I want those. If you clicked on that link you'll see that the 16 piece setting is on sale for $143.99 from $192.00. Well, if any of you have a Macy's credit card you probably get a pound of mail from them each week like I do. I flip through the catalogs, stuff the coupons in my bag and usually forget about them when it comes time to shop. Well I happened to spy my red Fiesta ON SALE this weekend. The 4 piece set was regular price of $48 but if you bought one you got a second place setting free! Okay, let's do the math . . . . x plus y with a common denominator of z equals . . . yes, $96 for 4 four piece settings which is the same as the 16 pieces I wanted. Zing! So off I went . . .



Voila! Four sets* of Fiesta! Then, while waiting in line I spied this on sale for $69.99:


It's a Martha Stewart 7 quart enamal on cast iron baker whose regular price is $119.99 so this was a good deal and I have been eying it up. And won't it go so well with my other cast iron cookware?? So I drag all 50 pounds of it (lol) to the register and dig out my Macy's card. What is in my wallet? A $25 off coupon! So after it's all rung up, 4 sets of Fiesta Ware and one great big pot, my total is around $145 with tax. Oh, and I have $100 in gifts cards to boot.

So that, my friends, was my big bargain yesterday and you know how I get excited over pots and plates. It was a very good day.



And look how lovely! (That's a red lotus dish I picked up at the thrift and it matches perfectly!)

So pat, pat, pat. Good job to me! And thanks to Joolz for helping me lug it all to the car!!

xoxoxoxo

* - yes I know there are only 3 sets in my pictures, one plate had a small flaw so it's going back to the store. The only flaw to an otherwise perfect shopping day.

Something thrifted . . .

Well you knew the week couldn't go by without my "sharing of the treasures." Last Friday I took the day off and took myself shopping. Even on a day I promise not to get mad at myself for buying some nice things I still end up at the Thrift Store and digging through the clearance racks at Michaels.

One very lucky find were these:



Uh huh. They go perfectly with my hob nail cake plate. :) They were $5 a piece, and like I said when I bought the cake plate, that is high in my book for the thrift and I almost put them back. But then I remembered that it was my pre-birthday shopping extravaganza! and I put them in the cart. So glad I did.

Also found this super sweet pillow:



Cute, right? I thought perhaps someone made it but alas it's from Laura Ashley. At $2 it, too, made it's way into my cart.

I'm a sucker for those random bags of crap found at most thrifts. You know the ones I mean. They might contain one thing you know you want, one thing you think is ugly as sin and one thing that you're really not sure what the hell it is. How thrilling! In a recent bag I bought for 99 cents the mystery item turned out to be pink rubber cleaning gloves. The packaging was Korean and cute as all get out and I just HAD. TO. KNOW what was in there. Well, 99 cents for some pink cleaning gloves ain't too bad. And they're the long kind, too.

This is a bag I bought last weekend:



Some "water repellent ribbon" (it's floral ribbon and a lovely shade of salmon) and a few other trims including that giant fuzzy rick rack. All for $2. Love those bags.

And last but not a least . . . .



Only 99 cents for this fond child hood memory . . . . a Fisher Price Happy Apple. :) He still makes a lovely tinkling noise when he rolls around.

I'm hoping for another trip to thrift this weekend.

fondly . . .

Technorati

Now I know everyone probably knows about Technorati but you know me, I totally don't pay attention. Anyway, I looked my self up and I'm ranked 150,747 of all the blogs LOL. That cracked me up for some reason. (Just put your blog address in teh search to find out where you rank!)

I also noticed at the bottom of the page it has where your blog is linked to on other sites. Boy, there are some fine people out there who count me as a favorite read and I didn't even know!! Here are a few:

Way Out West

The Hem Line

Thrift Shop Romantic

3 Wild Trout

There are loads of others, too. It's so nice to be appreciated. I'm off to visit these blogs and others.

Later this week, some fun thrifty finds from the weekend.

ciao!

hop . . . hop . . . hop . . .

That would be the Easter bunny hopping away and I cannot BELIEVE how fast this year is going. Sigh. On New Years Eve I speculate what will be different/the same/new/whatever each month in the year to come and it's almost April and I don't feel like I've accomplished much. Sigh again.

Anyway, how was your Easter? Ours was nice albeit hectic as of course I couldn't seem to time my cooking to fit the guest arrival time. But it was better this year than most so that's a start. I made the traditional ham and tried a Martha recipe for scalloped potatoes with leeks and Gruyere. YUM. I'll definately be making them again. We ate Easter tiramisu and strawberry shortcake from Veniero's and my quiche and broccoli casserole (Mom's recipe) went over better with the kids than I had expected. Calling the quiche "scrambled egg pie" really helped. ;)

I was so crazy that I forgot to take pictures PRIOR to dinner. Nice. But I did snap a few.



My lovely feather tree, a generous gift from Sarah, got a few Martha butterflies added this year plus some eggs my Mom sent last year that were a pleasant surprise when I opened the Easter bin.



Some lovely tulips from the grocery store. I wrapped the pots in fabric. Hopefully it will warm up soon so I can plant them in the yard though I'm considering a window box. However, that would mean pairing Luis up with power tools and letting him loose on the siding. Not sure that is such a grand idea.

And my favorite decoration . . .



This was my centerpiece. That's the lovely basket I bought from One Hundred Wishes filled with paper shreds (that were in a gift bag from my boss, how's that for reuse/recycle!) and some glittery eggs from the thrift store and Joann's. I really love how this looked! Want to see a close up?



Ahhh . . . glittery goodness, no?

So now I'm off into blogland to see how all of your holidays were spent. I expect to find some goodness there, too.

cheers
Rebecca

Got Ribbon?

Just a quickie to tell you to head over to my sister's blog for a big ribbon giveaway! Leave a comment and maybe get lucky. (I hope she stuck some of that Favorite Things twill ribbon in there, you'll love it!)

xoxo
R

When is Easter?

It hit me this morning that I wanted to share some shots of my Easter decor before my 3 day work-less weekend that I HAVE NO Easter decor up yet. I. KNOW. I have it planned out grandly in my head but it's still in the big pink bin marked Easter/V Day in the basement. I never promised to be timely.

I did receive a rather nice box of Easter Goodness from my Mom, though, so some things are scattered willy nilly about the house.



a sweet bunny guarding the booze on the wine cabinet



A vintagey sign hanging on the hutch



and my favorite of the Mom sent goodies, a bunny box. :) I'm very tempted to leave him out all year long.

Oh and of course I had to pick up another fabulous piece from Jenny at Polka Dot Pixie:



oh how I love my sweet chickie.

And today the mailman brought me one of these:



If you run over to Andrea's shop, One Hundred Wishes, she may have some left for you to stash away for next year. Or hell, leave it out as your May Day basket. I can't tell you how much I love the things Andrea stocks and she is FAST. I ordered this basket on Tuesday and I have it today in time for the holiday. I am thrilled to say the least. :) She also tucked in a few of the Easter flashcards as a freebie! Thanks! I still have two days to whip them into some decor, right? Oh and she just added vintage pink streamers to the shop! Darn, I would scooped some of them up quick!

So I'm set. I'll be decorating tomorrow, or Saturday. We'll see. Saturday is my birthday and I'm hoping for a day of leisure if I can manage it. Though I suppose I should get to that cleaning I've been fretting over . . .

Have a WONDERFUL holiday weekend my friends. I'll attempt to post from my home but don't hold your breath. I'm planning a lot of "nothing" for my three day weekend.

Buona Pasqua!

hugs,
Rebeca

How much is that doggie . . .

So I was LAY-Z this weekend. I managed to do some laundry but most of my cleaning is still waiting to happen. Bah. Cleaning. I did, however, move the sewing machine back up to the craft room of doom so I could actually use the dining room table. But before I did I snuck in two quick projects.



Another Tone Finnanger stuffy from Sew Pretty Home Style. He was much harder to put together than the bunnies and I am doubtful to make another. For one thing, he won't sit up on his own. I am tempted to rip him open and stuff his butt with beans but we all know I'm much too lazy for that. His collar and leash look much cuter than the picture lets on and I need to work on his nose a bit and fix the threads. He also needs some button eyes and perhaps a little wool felt heart patch. Something to snazz him up a bit.

I also managed this bag:



Made from another pillowcase scrap from Vallen and a tiny bunny I had intended to stuff but looked much better as an applique. The Favorite Things twill tape ribbon was a Valentine gift from my sister Mandi and I heard her whispering over at her blog that she may do a giveaway and if memory serves she was thinking of parting with more of the fabulous scrabooking ribbon she scored at a store closing sale. Let's encourage her to do that, shall we? :)

So anyway, what's in the bag?



One Crafty Carnival bunny and my Le Lux eye pillow are hippity hopping their way to spread some Easter joy. It felt good to FINALLY finish a project and get it out the door. I have been feeling so behind forever now. I'm hoping to remedy that soon. :)

cheers
Rebecca

The Dust Bunnies are Staging a Coup

Sigh . . . where is SPRING? I know we are all wondering that. I really need to open my windows and get some fresh air in the house but it's still much too cold. Just one nice day in the mid 50s please!

And on another tangent . . . I need to clean. Like really clean. SPRING clean, if you will. Everything is so dusty and drab. Blah. I do clean, in case it sounds like I don't, but you know what I mean. Take everything off the shelves, out of the cabinets, etc. and really dust and mop and do all those things that I really don't want to do yet somehow cannot bring myself to spend the money to pay someone else to do.

In other bunny news:



So simple and oh-so-cute. I used a pattern from Crafty Carnival. (It's the bunny pillow pattern on the sidebar, I'm having some issues opening anything on Typepad today!) I actually enlarged Missy's pattern by 200% to get these 6 inch bunnies. She has some really nice patterns if you haven't been there before. Lots of talent over there! The purple flower fabric is from a pillow case scrap Vallen used to wrap something in a swap we did last year. How is that for recycling!

The bunnies are standing on the Le Lux Eye Pillow from Handknit Holidays. I've said before, I love this book. I actually knit the outer part back around Christmas and then forgot about it. I made the fabric "sack" this weekend and filled it with lavendar and lentils and did a single crochet around the edges to close it up. I believe the pattern calls for a mattress stitch but I liked this better. It has a nice weight to it and a great smell, not too over powering. I already started knitting another one, it's a very simple gift idea.



Now the bunnies are sleeping. Hope to whip up a few more of these little buggers over the weekend and attempt to spread some Easter joy in time for the holiday. It's really coming up soon!

Have a fab weekend my friends.

xoxoxo
Rebecca