jackpot of freebies

Yesterday and today I scored some great free stuff.

My aunt has a shop that sells Vera, sandals, jewelry and other gifty type things. She needed a store watcher for a day, so my cousin and I hung out there on Thursday. It was once a flower shop and when they stopped doing flowers, they pretty much just shut the door on that room. So, I loaded my car before Jo came back made a stack to be approved upon her return.

I also knew that there were a few things that she wouldn't part with, so I taped notes on them letting her know that I would take them off her hands if need be. (I do things like that for family... :))

I had to fight Sophie over these. She wanted to eat the grape vines and started pulling apart the greenery.

I went was THISCLOSE to buying some of this last week when I was killing some time before my night class. Good thing I'm too cheap and held out!

This little box was also in my pile.

When I saw it, I thought, "Wow, I'll strip that and clean up the hardware and repaint it". Now that I have it home, I love the finish on it. I couldn't replicate this if I tried. And, I have some greens and golds/oranges going on in the livingroom so this might just stay the way it is. I don't think I can do it any better right now! It would look good redone, but it looks great as is!

And then came the potpourri. This is only half of it...

She had it on clearance and I said "Next time I'm here, I'll take some of that if any is left". 

Jo's response: "Do I have to wait?" and she got two bags and started loading me up.

I didn't expect to come home with THIRTEEN bags of the stuff! It smells pretty good, but it is so strong it gives me heartburn (yeah, I know.. that's weird). I currently have some "Ginger Tea" in a bowl-- with Saran Wrap on top of it to help dilute it a bit. I wanted it more for the great shapes than the smell though! It has little pine cones, pumpkins, flowers, balls, and all kinds of great shapes that I have no ideas for yet. 

I also had a sandal tragedy while I was leaving. My $4 flip flops that I bought before we got married... ummm.. yeah, 5 summers ago... broke. My cousin fixed them and that lasted until my first step onto the gravel parking lot. Jo handed me these and later said "I know Shannon will wear them even if they are ugly. She'll take anything free". 

She knows me well. So well that I now own green and orange elk flip flops :)

And finally, I know.. you thought the end was never gonna come, right? I helped my neighbor with her yardsale today. As I was walking around I saw a piano and said "that looks like the one in my living room except this one has a bench". I later discovered this little music box piano, with bench, in my car.

I was told that I have to keep it on my big piano and think of them every time I look at it :).

(Ignore the strips of beadboard wall paper that are also currently part of the decor up there :))

We've also been canning beans and beets and are about to do a round of salsa this weekend. I need to collect all the pictures from my camera and from Mom's and I'll post about them soon. So, get ready for some more long winded posts with bad pictures :)