Rosey poses

It was my B-day a while ago and some charming gent brought me a dozen long-stemmed roses.

I plopped them in a gorgeous crystal vase I found at the dollar store for under $20 (the same vase I bought a former friend years ago and paid way more for!).

They were nice roses, so they lasted a good week - my thrifty tip for helping them along was to change their water every day and cut them down every day as well.

When they really started to go I cut the stems off completely and plonked them into a big rose bowl.

I've had rose bowls of various sizes since my green days growing up in the 1970s. That's how florists arranged roses then - or at least that's how roses given to me as gifts were always arranged back then.


So I hold a special place in my heart for roses in roses bowls even though it may seem a little old-fashioned.

The added bonus, natch, is that they'll last even longer this way. Funny, for some reason the red ones went before the white - maybe the whites are heartier?

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Thrift ring challenge answered

The answer to the thrift store ring challenge you read about here:

The big pink & sterling silver cocktail ring, snagged for two bucks at my local thrift shop!

The other was purchased new at the Bay for over $50.

I loved this pink one so much, but so did my pal Parm, and it did look so much better on her with her dark skin.

So now it's hers.

The wonderful thing about finding rings for so cheap is that I can give them away to good friends when they admire them ... and it's a tradition I like. It makes people happy; it makes me happy. Plus a ring is more symbolic and I'd like to think it serves as a concrete reminder of some of the friendships I have valued and value.

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True blue thrifty patio

I'm still on my patio kick. Since I haven't had time to work on my current patio re-do project, here's a little look I put together four years ago in Ottawa - along the Rideau River - using thrift store and dollar store finds.

The tablecloth was $14 at a dollar store and I ended up giving it to the person who owned the house and let me do the photo shoot there.

The rest of the items you can see listed in the article I wrote for the Ottawa Citizen newspaper; simply click on the image to the left to make it larger.






Some of my fave things:
I turned this wrought iron telephone table - picked up for $5 at a garage sale! - into a serving nook.

I threw tiny carnations into old glass sugar containers.



I think these dollar store wine flutes look perfectly elegant on an old silver tray.







Speaking of old silver I love putting flowers in old silver water jugs - the look would just get better as the silver tarnished over time.


I cheated a bit by putting old pillowcases over the bright purple vinyl seatcovers on the wrought iron chairs bought at the Sally Ann - that's the grunge-queen way: fake it!




Here's the look from afar, overlooking the river. It was the end of May and not quite full-on green-ess.


Hopefully this will inspire you in your weekend entertaining!
Have a good one!!

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Tea party patio a la cheap

My patio project (see post below) has gotten me thinking of past patio projects - which have been few given I've lived in apartments for my time in Toronto.

Three summers ago when I was just getting in to freelance writing and junking in a big way, I wrote a piece on having a tea party in your outside space - from there I created a romantic tea party look on my ugly fire escape so I could have a pretty photo accompanying the article.

I hung up dollar store sheers to cover the icky white brick, plopped my fave piece of Ralph Lauren floral fabric over a ratty fold-up table I had painted red (same table will be part of this year's patio project!), and threw together some pretty tea cups and a silver tea set I found at the thrift shops. The gold-tone shawl hanging on the silver chair is still a fave for draping over chairs and such - I found that at Value Village for $6.99 or so.

Some creative touches: an old watch as a napkin holder; spray painting the wrought iron chairs silver and recovering them with fabric from a dollar store tablecloth!

I even made the crustless sandwiches for my photo shoot, which I styled myself (and broke my sister's borrowed camera in the process - talk about spending money to make money!).

Here's the article I wrote about putting it all together along with some tea trivia; just double click on it to get a better view:

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Patio project, part 1

I'm a closet Shabby Chic-er, I discovered after a $22 dig at Goodwill yesterday, on my way home from doing a shopping column.

If you're a regular visitor to this blog you'll know the look in my pad is slightly funky - not very country or feminine.

But when I saw these faded blue pillows, $2.99 each, I was inspired to do something with my icky looking balcony and give it a Shabby Chic redo!

Shabby Chic was popularized by Rachel Ashwell http://www.shabbychic.com/ who has built an empire on white slip-covered furniture and contemporary country-esque decor. It's characterized also by pale faded blues and pinks and greens.

I threw the pillows on the chair I bought at the Sally Ann for $10.

I had the tablecloth already - I got the faded pink look by accidentally washing it with a red towel (very grunge queen of me) - and I bought two chunky green wine glasses during my Goodwill dig for $1.99 each - I asked for a better price as I could likely find them at the dollar store for a buck, but no go.

I had a glass of wine to celebrate the beginning of my patio project. I still have more to show you from my $22 patio project redo shop at Goodwill and will be posting more as the look evolves ....

More to come!

P.S. One day later: I'm re-posting the story of how I got the chair you see here for Frugalchick - it was found almost a year ago for $10 during a Sally Ann auction that was truly fun - the Salvation Army has even posted the article on its website! Just click on the link below:

How grunge queen got her $10 rattan chair at the Sally Ann

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Which ring is thrift?

These are games I like playing when I shop.

It goes like this [in thrift store]: Cripes, I just paid $[insert price that's 6-10 x more than item; I'm just going throwing that figure out there and it could vary] for a [fill in the blank] just like that!

Or like this [in a regular store]: Hee hee, I just bought a [fill in the blank]just like that for 5 bucks at the Sally Ann.

Needless to say the feeling is always more euphoric when the latter has happened.

So can you tell which ring was thrifted and which was purchased regular price at the department store?

Both silver; both big cocktail rings; both light in hue.

I honestly don't know how you could.

So take a guess and post a comment and tell me what you think!

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Worn rug finds happy home

Remember the 100 year-old Persian rug I bought for next to nothing? (click here to read about). It's currently rolled up under my brass bed as my CAT was destroying it. It'll stay there until he dies or I sell it (the rug, not the cat, silly), I guess.

This past Friday I was doing a shopping column in North Toronto and went into this shop I've been meaning to check out for some time, Around the Block.

It sells second-hand fine furniture on consignment. This hand-stitched rug didn't have a maker's mark, alas, but I loved it for two reasons: one, it was worn. I love the worn look - it means feet have walked over and people have lived around this carpet. An added bonus is that CAT could scratch til Doomsday if he wants; it'll only add to the overall look.

Two, it had the dark and light blues so rare in rugs of this kind.

Did it matter it was a long runner-type carpet? What do you think: I'm the grunge queen! It was only $95, a screaming deal.

I love the way it defines the space. That's my dining room, by the way.

It'll be my B-day gift from my Mom and Dad.

A bonus: this rug will complement the one I have stored away, so when I do take it out they'll be friends ....

Around the Block, 1903 Avenue Rd. 416-546-1760 unique@aroundtheblock.com

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