Chez Pre-Fab has arrived!

The day had finally come! Our manufactured home was being delivered to our lot in Rockaway Beach. As we drove up our street, we saw this...half the house in the middle of the road.

As we got closer, we saw that the back half was already on the pad. The neighbors were very interested.

The front half was waiting her turn.

Before they put the pieces together, I got a shot of one of the bathrooms. We ordered the pedestal sink instead of a horrible vanity thing. See all that plastic around the shower stall? Someday, that will all be tile...in white, turquoise and seafoam green. My husband says the toilet looks like a colon. I wonder if they design it that way on purpose.

The two halves coming together. That small orange piece of machinery is doing the pulling. If you look closely, you can see the pantry and the fridge in the back half.

Here is how it looked when we left. Since that day, the roof has been completed. Next comes electricity, water, cedar shingles and fabulous plywood floors.


Wanna come along on the Chez Pre-Fab journey? Plus you'll get posts about all things junky for no extra charge. I invite you to become a follower of One Gal's Trashy Pals over there on the side bar
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Stay tuned...

A Cautionary Tale

Just in case you were wondering, there is such a thing as going too far.



How much do you love these sunflowers?

P.S. This is not my house.

Va Va Voom!

Gail found this brazen hussy at an estate sale for $1. When I showed my husband this photo, he said that even though she is ceramic, he would still like 15 minutes alone with her! It kinda hurt my feelings.

A disturbing little snowman

I saw this plastic light up snowman from behind at a recent flea. I bolted across the field to get my grubby hands on it. But I was horrified when I saw its face.

It looks exactly like the lunatics in A Clockwork Orange. The hat...the eyes...Did someone do this on purpose?

I left the snowman in the field; I certainly don't want him on my porch for the Christmas holiday!

Let's do a project out on the porch!

My friend Gail likes junking, show tunes, Hank F., and making stuff out of castaway treasures. She says she doesn't eat meat but often orders a turkey sandwich with crisp bacon. She's the best. I told you about her mosaic windows here.

She also finds old plates at thrift stores and estate sales, breaks them into little pieces, glues them on furniture,

covers the whole thing with grout, wipes it off, and look....

...a work of art that doubles as a child's chair.

P.S. That's Amos the dog searching for bacon crumbs. He is also a "vegetarian".

My own personal Hell

Okay girls, by now we know that I can happily spend HOURS in small, dark and filthy spaces pawing my way through strangers' stuff. Put me in a large, retail establishment overflowing with bolts of fabric bathed in flourescent light, and it's a whole nother kettle of fish.

I don't do fabric. I don't get the thrill of it. I respect and admire you quilters out there, I just don't understand you. I was a useless seamstress in 7th grade Home Ec. and have never looked back.

However, I recently found myself at Fabric Depot. I was looking for fabric for the piping (apparently, the correct term is welt, but my mom called it piping, so it's piping) to coordinate with this beachy print. I bought it years ago at a specialty fabric store, knowing that I would eventually use it for the new hut. Pillows, perhaps.

But I recently found this great loveseat for $20, so I decided to cover up the horrific 80's plastic-coated cushions with my wonderful shell and coral stuff.

So, I head out to Fabric Depot ~ during the sale, no less ~ and I spent almost 2 hours trying to find something....anything...for the piping. At one point, I tried to leave, planning to come back another time with a friend or a therapist, but then I thought, "I can't leave, I've already spent 2 hours finding nothing." The whole thing gave me a stomach ache. I eventually found a blue stripe piece that's a great match. (I was so fatootsed by this point, I forgot to take a photo of it.)

My torment was not over. First, you have to stand in the "cut" line, even though the fabric I chose was the last bit on the bolt and was only about a yard.

Then I got the stink-eye from this gal because she heard me on the phone telling Gail that I was going to need a large Margarita when this was all over.

Then you get to stand in line again to pay. There was a gaggle of senior gals who pretended that they didn't see the line and cut right in. Oh, well. Can't wait to show you the before and after shots after Beth has worked her magic!

And the winner of the world traveling RICARD bottle is...

Kim at Kismet Art

Kim's blog is a delightful spot...art projects (love the Letter to Myself) recipes for yummy summer salads and bruschetta, and gardening...Doesn't get much better than that!

Thanks to everyone for joining One Gal's Trashy Pals! I look forward to following all of your blogging adventures. Thanks for checking in with me from time to time too.

Kim, please contact me with your home address so I can get your bottle in the mail.

Beech Street Gardens

Would you like visit a fun and fabulous garden without ever leaving the comforts of home?

I thought you might. Fill your cup or your glass and link on over to my other blog Garden Gal to start your tour...

The shape of things to come

Here is how our Rockaway Beach lot looks now that we have burned down the hut. We went for a visit right after the excavation; since then, the foundation has been poured.

The new hut is due to arrive on Monday!

In the meantime, Mr. and Mrs. Bucky and a concrete birdbath are waiting under the laurel hedge until I can plant the new gardens.

I have also stashed a trellis, an old wheelbarrow, more concrete and a window from the original hut. These will all have a new home in Chez Pre-Fab's garden.

Just before we left, the kids did a little jerkin on the spot where our living room will be.

Thank you!

Joan (my friend that I haven't met yet) from Anything Goes Here recently passed along a thoughtful and beautiful award to me. It was given to Joan by Julie at Being Ruby. It's about welcoming each other into our little worlds on the blogosphere....

This is my favorite thing about blogging...that we are all connected by stories and collections and recipes and projects and humor...and most of us have never even been in the same room! I would like to follow Joan's lead and pass this award along to the following gals who inspire and entertain me:

Kim at Camp Whimsy ~ chef, artist, collector, thoughtful person

Joan at September Tea ~ artist, seamstress, designer, gardener, friend

Michelle at Everyday Me ~ scrapper, designer, friend, internet whiz

Barbara at Oodles and Oodles ~ collector, photographer, funny person

Debbie at Talking Trash ~ junker, storyteller, best gal in the entire state of Texas

Sue at Vintage Rescue Squad ~ finder of amazing objects, writer, pool shark

Great News!

An Anonymous commenter to my blog has done what I could not do. Anonymous has found the owner of the house with the dead plants! Yippee! Now perhaps Anonymous can pass the word on to the owner about: the broken windows, the exposed basement, the graffitti, the 6' hole in the side yard, the 2 nuisance complaints filed with the city and the piles of garbage rotting on the property! Yeah! THANK YOU Anonymous! Oh, and please let the owner know that I will be happy to return the plants which are now thriving in my adopted garden.
For instance, remember this dead Delphinium?

Look at it now, after a week of love and H2o in my front garden bed. It doesn't know that winter is coming and I'm not about to tell it!

Ooops! Forgot to show you something....

This was sort of teetering on top of a wood pile at a rummage sale on Friday. I saw the front of it and thought it might be fun in the garden or even as our mailbox at the new hut.

I got closer and saw this...

I love it, love it, love it.

P.S. Just 2 more days to jump in for my next giveaway...See details here.

Friday's Junk

There must have been 10,000 sales in our neighborhood this weekend. Perhaps people are realizing that the kids will be back in school soon, which means the rains will start and they better clean out Grandma's attic now! Here's my bounty:

A 1983 Scrabble game (unused), bump chenille (the red will go to my friend Magpie Ethel ~ I'm keeping the orange to make something for Halloween), vintage round playing cards, an old ledger (unused), 1970's baby wrapping paper (thanks, Gail!) and a handful of fun earrings...

a box of mostly-bad-but-a few-fab Christmas decorations, bag o' bells, corn husks for T-giving, Crazy 8's cards, an old song book and a wonderful quilt for Emma's room at the hut.

Here was my favorite find...a long box with crafting supplies. I don't usually take the time to search through them when I'm at the sale. It's more fun to bring them home and discover what's inside...

This time, I was delighted to find the following goodies:

packages of vintage sequins and some old red pipe cleaners,

vintage red crepe paper, black crafting straw, a sweet pillbox (why is this in her crafting supplies?) 2 stacks of tiny card stock that I will fashion into Christmas gift tags with vintage stickers,

and best of all....a small box holding all the makings for felt ice skate ornaments. The supplies were so lovingly packed, I kinda got a lump in my throat. There are dozens of pairs of felt skates, not yet sewn together, just waiting for needlework and sequins. I especially love her hand written cardboard pattern. I plan to pick up where whoever she is left off. I'll get started tonight, while watching the premiere of the new season of Mad Men.

A Frenchy Giveaway

In honor of Vintage Thingies Thursday, over at Colorado Lady (thanks, Suzanne!), I want to show you my collection of vintage French water bottles.

I collected these when I lived in France many years ago. The bottles are provided to cafes and bistros by companies that produce Pastis liqueur. Pastis is a cloudy, yellowish syrup that gets diluted in water and sipped as an aperitif. It tastes like licorice. Although it's meant to be drunk before a meal...Beware! 40% alcohol + empty stomach = Yikes! I tasted it once, it just about knocked me off my bistro chair. Love the bottles though. I found these at flea markets and brocantes ~ the French version of a junk shop.

Here's the part where you come in. Would you like my Ricard bottle? The one up front and center here:

Oui?

All you have to do is join the fabulous babes (& Will!) of 'One Gal's Trashy Pals' over there on my sidebar.
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Here's how: Click on the "Follow" badge. When the next window comes up, click on "Follow this blog" and decide if you want to be a private or public follower. Then please leave a comment to let me know you've joined up....That's it! On Wednesday 8/19, I'll draw one name from all the new members of 'One Gal's Trashy Pals'. If you are already one of OGTP, never fear; leave a comment on this post and I'll throw your name in the hat too.
Bonne Chance!

P.S. Just so you know, this particular bottle has lived in the following places: Paris, London, New York City, Laguna Beach, California, Wynnewood, Pennsylvania and Portland, Oregon.

May I present....Chez Pre-Fab

Here she is...the NEW hut! We hope to have her up on our lot in Rockaway Beach by the end of August. This is her front half. The finished product will have cedar shingles, a different (translation:vintage) front door and a fab outdoor light fixture.

Here is her back half.

Here is my back half when I took off the original address plaque before the burn. It's packed away in storage now, but will be the first thing to get nailed back up on the new house.

I plan to cook Thanksgiving dinner here this year. I have never in my life cooked in a brand new kitchen. Yippee!

Emma in her room. She no longer has to share a bunk bed with her brother. She is happy.

Next up: Photos of the lot after excavation...you won't believe how different it looks!