Chez Pre-Fab: The Next Chapter

Dear Reader,
The last time we visited Chez Pre-Fab, you might remember that there was a large split down the top of the house. But now, we have a finished roof!

And electricity!

Now the story on the floors. Years ago, we fell in love with these plywood floors at Lunar Boy Gallery in Astoria, Oregon.

Fast forward to now. We hired our friend Eric, who is a carpenter (and an artistic genius), to do our floors at the beach. He took the concept, and brought it up several notches. Here's the living room...

The bathroom...

Emma's room....

Aren't they just BEE-YOU-TEE-FULL? Next, they will be coated with several layers of acrylic finish....OOoooo!

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
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Moving Loads of Hoarded Junk to the Beach

Saturday was a red letter day for us...We (partially) emptied the garage! Boxes of junk and assorted other items I have been squirreling away for years have now seen the light of day. Junk like these ship shape lamps for the new kitchen at Chez Pre-Fab...(Recognize them, Vintage Betti?)

This (green!) post office cubby...

A real pirate's chest and old locker baskets...

And many, many boxes. While packing, I must have really liked the junk in this box, as I put a special note on it. (Does this mean all the other stuff is not fun?) Here's the best part, I have no idea what is in here!

Isn't he wonderful and handsome? He totally changed my life. Oh!...and my husband isn't bad either. And yes, this is the same husband who injured his back moving Leon.

Next post...the progress on Chez Pre-Fab...We have a completed roof and the most fabulous floors you have ever seen!

Lame Sale Signage - The first in a series

Wait. I'll get my shovel.

Today my favorite color is....

I ♥ Turquoise! I even ♥ saying the word "Turquoise"!
Vases, dotty glass, playing cards, bangle, brooch, tiny chair....Which one is your favorite? Please leave a comment...

Then link on over to Colorado Lady and friends for Vintage Thingies Thursday....

Hey! Look at the Delphinium now!

Who in the world has ever heard of a Delphinium blooming in late September in the Pacific Northwest?

This gorgeous specimen is one of the plants that Emma and I rescued from the abandoned house in our hood. Just goes to show ya, plants know when they are loved.

I have crossed over some line...and it was great!

On a recent crisp and sunny morning, I had a garden client meeting. (See my other blog for more details.) My following appointment got cancelled at the last minute, so I had a little time to kill. I found the nearest thrift (natch!) which happened to be a Salvation Army. When I first walked in, I saw the designated area for "Collectables". (And have you noticed it's always misspelled in the chain thrift stores?) One of my many pet peeves.

Anywho, a "Collectables" area is always a bad sign, as it means that someone has sifted through the donations, found the most interesting stuff and slapped outrageous prices on it. So, with a heavy heart, I turned my cart and headed towards the Bric-A-Brac section.

Dear readers, I needn't have worried. I spent the next 2 1/2 hours grabbing the best stuff I have seen in a looooong time. I was thirsty, I was hungry, I couldn't stop. I had two cartloads of stuff by the time I got to the checkout. Vintage floor lamp, hamper and matching shelf, kitchenware, chalkware, wire plant rack, vintage crafting supplies, Christmas, a set of old banana split dishes....It goes on and on and on....Here, I'll just show you the small stuff:

Chalkware girl, wrought iron key and candle holders, Christmas tin, large Gurley pilgrim candle, tole painting book, huge roll of old tickets, violet soap dish, nativity angel and a Made in Japan grape platter,

Owls (including a never opened owl embroidery kit with yarn), vintage and unused warming tray, the largest plastic grapes in the world, set of sweet Danish tiles, old aluminium tray, green bump chenille and a little shepherdess for my friend Beth,

handmade clown doll, 2 wooden spools, a vintage silverware holder, a hand mixer, brown duck, Fire King red leaf dish, milk glass plate, gold frenchy floral stand, 60's spicy cutting board,

and 2 tulle crinoline skirts...one pink and one fuchsia.

And finally, my favorite find of the day. This sprig of (turquoise!) feather flowers wasn't priced. The cashier gal was about to launch into her "I can't sell it to you if it doesn't have a price tag" thing, when I gently took her hand, looked directly into her heavily made up eyes and said: "Please don't make me go home without this." She looked over her shoulder to see if anyone was watching and then quickly threw it into the bag. I love her.

It's National Show The World Your Junk Day!

A couple of you have responded to my previous post with a fabulous idea...
I hereby challenge you to show us your junk...garage, storage room, studio, mother-in-law's suite....I don't care where you keep it, I just want to see it! And let's be honest, so does everyone else. My pal Joan from Anything Goes Here did it. So grab your digitals girls, and show us your stuff. C'mon, it's cathartic and so much cheaper than a shrink.

+++photo courtesy of wvs.topleftpixel.com/04/10/25/+++

My garage looks worse than your garage

{the back half} Okay, in my own defense, I have a hut to fill and a lot of what you see here is waiting to be moved to the Oregon coast. A lot of it is not waiting to be moved to the Oregon coast, but waiting to be priced and taken to my space, or sold on Etsy. I think we have gone over this territory before, but the acquiring part is my strong suit, the turn-it-around-and-hopefully-make-a-little-$ part, not so much.

{the front half} So, here we have 2 display pieces given to me by our wonderful neighbor, 2 vintage upholstered chairs for the living room at the hut (they rock!) boxes of junk from recent estate sales ~ to be sorted ~ and the world's most fabulous vintage fridge. My husband slipped a disk in his back trying to get it out of a basement on NE 110th St., but that's another story. Here's a close-up of the interior. ahem...turquoise details!

Plus, the brand is a Leonard, but somehow, sometime, somewhere, the "ard" went AWOL. So now it's name is Leon.


**********************************************************
If you enjoy a heaping serving of yummy vintage junk, a side order of crafting, topped with a bit of beach remodel and an occasional sprinkling of politics, then you're in the right place! You too can be one of One Gal's Trashy Pals! Join up over there on my sidebar under "Followers", Sista!
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

.....Very Interesting.....

Just one more thing...am I the only one who thinks the "Muslims are moving in" lady from Saturday's protest in Washington looks exactly like Joe "You Lie!" Wilson's wife?

Separated at Birth?

I don't get it

I try very hard to not be political on my blog. It's not really what the blog's about and I am doing my best to attract readers, not alienate them. But I just have to say something about the people who "teabagged" in our nation's capitol this weekend. When I saw some of the photos that follow, I actually felt physically ill. The "town halls" were bad enough. This is too much.




So, these people are saying that they don't want affordable, quality health care? Have they ever had a sick child? A sick parent? Brother? Sister? Friend? Have they ever been denied coverage that would have helped or perhaps saved someone they love? Would they rather have their health care dictated by their doctor or by an industry that is a FOR PROFIT entity?

They say that they are worried about government spending. But they aren't protesting against a war that has cost billions of dollars, thousands of human lives and was waged solely because of ego and arrogance. They are protesting against comprehensive health care for every American citizen.

Please, please someone explain this to me!

{I am now jumping off my soap box. Next, we will return to our regularly scheduled junk programing.}

A Happy Pile of Junk

Okay, I've made you wait long enough. Here's what I found at Friday's church rummage:

Vintage straw hat with flowers, emerald green candy dish, numeral flash cards, old recipe books (CAKES!), metal molds (I can never get enough of these. I will be re-purposing them for Christmas), Oh! and the tablecloth underneath it all,

wrought iron plant stand,

Hhhmmmm.....

Snowflake dishes!

Coco Chanel's bag. In perfect condition.

An enormous piece of Autumnal vintage fabric,

I will list this in my Esty shop this week. L-O-V-E the colors!

Yet Another Church Rummage

There was only one estate sale listed in today's paper. It was billed as "phase 4 of a collector's estate". I have been doing this long enough to know what that means. It means there won't be a thing there that I want. All antiques, no junk. And let's face it girls, it's really all about the junk, isn't it?

Just as I was about to give up on the whole thing and go back to bed, I saw a small ad for a church rummage. There is something very comforting about a church rummage, because they all have exactly the same elements. Let's have a little tour...

Every church rummage sale in the history of the universe has:

Some wicker, a baby high chair and awful furniture...

Discarded lampshades from every decade of the last 40 years....

Piles of lovingly folded fabric...

A curly plastic pumpkin craft project....

A Shirley Temple item of some sort...This doll was priced at $40 and was very creepy.

Random cheap Christmas stuff....

and church ladies in the kitchen cooking something. In this case, it was a German themed lunch, so the whole place smelled like sauerkraut.

This was my favorite thing...a paint by numbers Last Supper, hung right outside the women's restroom. Sadly, it was not for sale.

In my next post I will show you the treasures I found...and I found some treasures!

For the Birds

Hey everybody...It's Vintage Thingies Thursday!

I present to you my small but beloved vintage bird collection. The chickadee in the middle and the pastel yellow one were the first 2 of my collection. I bought them in an Italian bakery/junk shop (don't ask) in New Jersey 20 years ago. They reminded my of my Grandma Millie. I'm not sure that the memory is accurate, but I seem to recall she had similar ones in her kitchen. The other birds have come from estate sales and thrift shops.

Which one is your favorite?

Head on over to Colorado Lady for a showcase of fab vintage goodies from other junky bloggers...