God Bless Our Troops Past, Present, and Future!

Colorful House...WOW~Couldn't resist

So I thought THIS WEEKEND was First Monday!  Not that I drove out of the way or anything, but I was sure primed to tackle the heat and the crowds to walk the grounds and find some bargains.  When I got to the square in Canton, and there was no traffic, I got a little suspicious.  I took advantage and checked out the cute little stores AND one of my favorite Goodwill stores.  Along the way to Canton on a back road, I saw this house on the right and had to turn back to take a photo. 

Check out the little birdhouse...it MATCHES the big house.  :) 

What style would you call this????  I do have to admit,,it DOES have 'curb' appeal.  It's right next to the highway and it appealed to me enough to make me turn around to take a photo of it.  Hmmmm.

When I got to Canton, I took a photo of the old court house.  Since I was born and raised in Van Zandt County, all my vital records are stored in this old building.  My birth certificate, my original driver's license, and my marriage license.  Weird!

Next stop was my favorite Goodwill Store.  It's a very small store, but they have some really cute things.  I found these sandals for $2.99.

  

..and this owl necklace for $3.00. 

This little house is in Lindale, Texas.  So charming!  I would love to see the inside of it.  Who knows, maybe some time I'll just knock on the door and ask! 

Have a SAFE Memorial Day Weekend!!

'Marilyn Monroe' dress

As soon as I saw this halter dress, I thought of the famous Marilyn Monroe photo over the subway grate.

 

 

Hee-hee!  Funny huh?

Kidding aside, I saw this dress at Salvation Army and paid a little more than I normally do for sun dresses ($12.00 for this one) but I fell in love with it.  It's a little hard to figure out how to put on, because not only is it a tied halter, it's also a wrap around, so it takes a little guess work to get it on the correct way. If you lay it out on the floor, it's just one giant piece of fabric. I actually had to put it all together first and slip it over my head to figure it out.

 

I love this gigantic turquoise bracelet a friend at work gave me. 

And I got these bowtie flipflops at Dillards several years ago.  I ended up buying about 4 pairs of them. White, orange, black, and animal print.  If I ever find a very comfortable, cute shoe, I get all the colors it comes in.

I don't wear orange very often since it's not really 'my color, but because the dress had other colors in it I purchased some orange accessories for fun.  I've posted this necklace before, but don't get to wear it very often.  It is VERY noisy the way the little pieces clank together.  I can't sneak up on anyone.

Gotta go,,,, the American Idol Finale is on and I have to go watch Crystal Bowersox win!

GO CRYSTAL!!

Goodwill 50% OFF

This is the ULTIMATE in great finds at the Goodwill Store.  I found this awesome black linen, mid-calf sun dress about a month ago at their 50% off everything sale day.  I find it amazing that late in the day I was still able to snag this dress, but that goes to show, everyone has different tastes in clothes. I'm always surprised at the things people discard.

This necklace came from Charming Charlies.  Look closely.  The flower is made from a zipper.  How creative is that??  That flower can be removed and either worn as a hair clip or it has a pin so it can be worn as a brooch.  Clever, clever, clever!

I think I have about 5 pairs Yellowbox Sandals now.  They come in the cutest styles and are so, so comfortable.  It's like walking on sponges.

Did I mention that this dress was originally $7.99 and I got it for $3.99?????

That just makes me so happy!

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!

Mineola Texas...

So,,,, remember I went to Lindale and Mineola the other day and took oodles of photos, only to realize that evening, that I did NOT have a memory card in my camera?  Well, I re-traced my steps the next day and re-shot most of the same photos and even got some better ones along the way.  I'll post my Mineola shots first.  I love this little town with all the antique stores and restaurants.  There are still some old fashioned brick streets in the downtown area that I hope never get replaced with asphalt.  When I was a little girl, I think around 6 years old, there was a mercantile store called 'BuyRite' where we got a pair of red Keds tennis shoes. I think it was about where the red awning is in the photo below.  A tornado blew through as we were in the store and from then on, those shoes became my 'tornado tennis shoes'.  We actually saw the 'tail' of it going down the street as we were in the store.  I remember someone telling us to 'duck down to the floor', but I kept my head up so I could look out the front door.  I still have that visual in my head.

I think BuyRite must have been where this little coffee store is now.  I might have to do a little historical research on this to see if this is actually where the store was.

 

There are the cutest displays outside the shops that just make you want to go in and see what else they have.  I tend to go in to each and every one whenever I visit Mineola. There's always something new and different.

 

 

This little antique store on the corner has a lot of unique items and a wonderful candle collection.  I love getting ideas from this place.  The building is so old, and I'm curious about its history and what other stores came before this one. I'm betting someone lived upstairs above the actual store where those dresses are hanging in the window.

Another antique store across the highway had this old quilt on display which reminded me of another one of my favorite childhood memories.  When I was a baby, my grandmother made my twin sister and me each a quilt with the 'Sunbonnet Sue' appliques on it.  Sadly I don't know where my quilt ended up, but seeing this pillow inspired me to make either a quilt or a pillow of my own.  I purchased a quilting book with the directions.  We'll see how long this 'inspiration' lasts.

I'll have to try this little restaurant next time I'm there during the lunch hour.  I've never stepped inside, but I love the curb appeal. 

Here's a little restaurant that is totally packed any given time of the day.  Supposedly they have the 'best' hamburgers around.  I have stopped in for a salad or a cup of soup a time or two as I browsed the antique store next door, but I've never sampled the famous hamburger. I meant to take a photo of the inside, but forgot.

Attached to the hamburger joint is a darling little antique store that I frequent.  Sadly some of the things I find that are labeled 'antique' are things I remember as a little girl. 

Just down the street from this antique store is my favorite place to grab a huge homemade cookie as a special treat.  I covet their fudge as well, but always opt for the oatmeal raisin pecan cookie instead.  I asked the proprietor if I could snap a photo of the fudge for this blog and she said I could as long as I posted the sign outside the door as well.  Not a problem! The store is called 'Between Friends'.

Here's the fudge!  YUM!  ( I did get a little sample taste)

 

Here's a new store in MIneola that has only been opened a few weeks now called 'Trendz'.  The owner has a beauty salon next door and she decided she wanted to extend her shop to sell these darling clothes, bags, and jewelry.  Her husband was 'minding the store' since he had to use up some of his vacation time, and I must say he was a delight to work with.  I wish I had asked his name, but will be sure to the next time I'm in there.  If you're in the area, be sure to check out their clothing line.  Of course I had to make my own purchase and I will be posting it at some point and time.

 

I need another pair of shoes like I need a hole in the head, but there were lots of cute ones to choose from. Purses too!

My final favorite thing about Mineola is all the trains that pass through.  I'll bet I heard or saw at least 10 just in the couple of hours I was there.  I was just headed home, crossing the railroad track and in the far distance I saw the headlights of an approaching train.  I had to pull over in the old train depot station and grab my camera.  I tried to upload a video I took of the train, but I haven't figured this part out yet. In the meantime, here are a couple of photos I took as it passed by.

I LOVE TRAINS~

Next stop...Lindale Texas.

Another Goodwill Find

I had a lot of compliments on this skirt I wore to work the other day so thought I'd share it.  It's a very lightweight seersucker mint green with  large pleats and wide waist band.  I love wearing skirts in the Spring and Summer because they are much cooler than shorts or capris.  As I was getting on the elevator, a couple of ladies went on an on about how cute it was.  You don't see seersucker much anymore and it can be so tailored looking.  When I told them I found it at Goodwill, they were flabbergasted!  When I told them I only paid $3.99 for it, they were FLOORED.  That's what makes these lucky finds so much fun.  I love the expressions on people's faces when I tell them where I find most of my clothing. 

 

 

Here's a closeup of the fabric.

My little niece Nicole made me the ankle bracelet a couple of years ago.  I wear it all the time.  It's made up with the August birthstone, Peridot. Thank you Nicole!

I had such a fun afternoon today.  I went to Lindale and Mineola to check out the local stuff, and snapped about 45 pictures.  When I got home to download them, I realized I did not have a memory stick in my camera.  As you know, I just got my camera home from having the flash repaired, and somehow all the settings I had stored got set back to default. One of the settings was to warn me if there was no memory stick.  Darn!  I'll have to make another trip and start all over again.  Sometimes it's really hard to recapture a moment though.  Oh well, se la vi!

Crosses

I mentioned not too long ago that I would have to post photos of all my cross necklaces.  I didn't realize how many I had, and I think there just might be more that I didn't get my hands on this time.  They are my favorite accessory and the chunkier they are, the more I like them. 

Instead of photographing them individually, I stacked them on 'Sabrina'.  Oh right,,I haven't introduced Sabrina to you yet.  I've had her for almost 2 years now and she hangs out in my upstairs bedroom/closet/workout room/sewing room.  She's always trying on my clothes and jewelry. (smile). I'll share more photos of her soon.  In the meantime, here she is modeling my necklaces.

 

I got a wonderful surprise today from one of the Vice Presidents I work for.  There's a little boutique in Burleson where she lives, and knowing how much I love jewelry, she bought this for me, along with some matching earrings.  What a perfect gift for me! I had to photograph it all alone on Sabrina.  Look at the detail on the cross.  It's hard to tell but the actual cross is about 4" tall.  I love it!