Vintage Roller Rink Baskets

Hi everyone!

This past Sunday Mr. Bluebird and I went to my favorite flea market. It is held four times during the warmer months and it is always beyond amazing!

I found a vendor who was selling a large quantity of old baskets. They were super cool and they had numbers painted on them. I was intrigued!

The vendor told me they came from an old roller skating rink and were locker baskets. The baskets are numbered on one end. On the opposite end, they have the same number - but upside down with either a blue or red line. When the basket was not in use, the basket was stored upside down. The blue line indicated a male locker and the red, a female locker. Clever!

Made of gorgeous oak splints, the three boxes I bought had weathered to a gorgeous gray, but they had a terrible musty and mouse-y smell. I decided I would give them a coat of stain and satin poly. Now they are fresh as a daisy!

(I may or may not have accidentally dipped my stain brush into my coffee cup! Oops!)

Aren't they cool? They really took the stain beautifully.

The baskets I chose were all "boy" baskets with the navy stripe.

My parents met at a roller rink at the end of WWII and continued skating well into their 60's and early 70's. It's kind of cool to have a little piece of skating nostalgia.

I will be using these in my upstairs nook and will share that soon.

Thanks for stopping by,

Jane

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Baby's All Grown Up (But I Still Use Dreft)

Hi everyone!

Yep, the baby is all grown up, in fact, she is twenty five years old!  However, I still have vivid sensory memories of Dreft laundry detergent from her babyhood.  Oh, how I loved that smell!

See...the baby is all grown up and interning in Texas for the summer.

I was pretty excited when I found out Dreft had started selling scented laundry boosters.  I am somewhat addicted to scented laundry boosters, especially for bed linens and towels.  Some of the brands available are UnStoppables, Downy and Gain.  But Dreft!  Hooray for that!

Even more than scented laundry, I love the crisp freshness of hanging out our bedding to dry during the warm months.  There is just something about crawling into a bed made with linens that have been outside all day, blowing in the breeze.

Anyway, while I was shopping for laundry detergent awhile back, I came upon the baby section and had an "a ha" moment - just because the baby is all grown up, what is stopping me from enjoying the scent of Dreft?  Well, nothing of  course!  So, in the cart it went.

I will admit Dreft is a bit on the pricy side, but I decided it would be my linens, towels and whites laundry detergent and I would stay with my other brand for the rest of the wash. So, I picked up the liquid soap and the scent boosters and never looked back!!!

As we speak, our bedding is blowing in the wind on this lovely Saturday and while I fully plan to enjoy the day, I sure am looking forward to sleeping on the fresh and crisp goodness of our air dried linens!  Truly a simple life pleasure.

I (sadly) was not compensated or approached to endorse these products - but hey, Dreft, I am available, lol!  I just wanted to share my passion for this scent and for air dried linens. How about you?  Are you a fan of line drying?

Thanks for stopping by,
Jane

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Vintage Farmhouse Style

Hi everyone!

I am sharing some of my vintage farmhouse style with you today! Many of these things have been with me since my first apartment days back in the early 80's and for the most part, I have remained true to this style. I did get swayed in the early days of blogs and tried out a few looks that just weren't "me," even though I admired them in other's homes.

It was kind of a disinterested time for me, decorating-wise, and I had really lost my love for my house. Eventually I returned to decorating in the style that feels right for me. Vintage Farmhouse Style. Of course, I throw in a few new ideas and trends every now and then, but when you break it down, I have found my style.

Crusty scales, rooster china and farm figures...

This scale has been with me since my first apartment when disco was still popular, lol. The cute chick was a $2.75 recent antique mall score - two inches of cuteness!

 The cow canvas is a current "trend," yet features my ever present farm animals...

How about you? Have you found your style?

Thanks for stopping by,
Jane

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Feeling Green

Hi everyone!

I am feeling green today, but in a good way!  Just dropping in to show you some "greening" that is happening in my house right now.

Have a great weekend and, as always:

Thanks for stopping by,
Jane

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Play Ball!

Hi everyone!

As my regular readers may know, every May the high school where I work hosts a special luncheon for those students who took one or more AP exams that school year. (You can read more about AP exams and what they are here).  I have had the privilege of being involved in the "theming" of this event for many years now, and each year I try to come up with something more fun than the last.

In 2015, we did a wild west theme that was very fun and the year before that we put on our own "county fair."  This year, we decided on a baseball theme and I think it was the best one yet.  Our slogan was, "Hit one out of the park with AP!" (Credit for the slogan goes to my friend/AP coordinator)

Students were greeted by baseball posters of Miller Park and inspirational posters with baseball legends.  Mr. Bluebird and I made these faux fences out of spray painted PVC pipe .  We also strung foam baseballs on chains for a fun touch.

Our tables were decorated with baseball turf table cloths.  The centerpieces were home plates, a baseball bat tripod and a baseball shaped beach ball.  Mr. Bluebird and I spent many an hour making sixteen of them and I have the blue & white spray painted fingers as proof, lol!  I think they turned out so cute and their size really made a big impact - not an easy feat when you are setting up in a gymnasium, lol.

 I made a You Tube playlist of baseball music videos and was able to play them on our extra large Smart Board for a Jumbotron kind of feel thoughout the luncheon.  We served students during three lunch periods.

Several food stations were set up around the room and offered baseball stadium fare.  I have to give credit to my friend/AP coordinator for the catchy names - so cute.  I took a styrofoam half  ball and made a "faux" baseball for each sign.  I just printed the design off the computer, traced it onto the ball and filled in with sharpies.

Another view of the room.  This is our gymnastics gym, so we covered the mirror with large baseball cutouts.

 We even brought in a "tailgate" area - as we Wisconsinites love a good tailgate, lol!  We surprised the kids with official the "Racing Sausages" of the Milwaukee Brewers.  They were such a hit and all of the kids had the chance to get their picture taken with them.

Even this kid (posing with Hot Dog - my personal fave)!

This is my favorite picture of the room and really shows the size of the centerpieces.

The kids had a chance to win door prizes and also, the posters and pennants used in the decor were raffled off.

I always try to do this as low budget as possible, so I really have to get creative and go digging for deals.  This year's luncheon decor was pretty labor intensive, but Mr. Bluebird and I consider it a labor of love - the kids at my school are so awesome and deserve this special day.

This partially explains my absence from blogging for awhile - we were busy getting all of the details done.  Now, the luncheon is behind us (until next spring!) and I hope to be back blogging regularly.

Thanks for stopping by,
Jane

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Master Re-Do: Crickets to Snail's Pace

Hi everyone!

Well, it's gone from crickets to a snail's pace in the Bluebird master bath 're-do. Good grief, this little project is taking forever! 

But things have started moving forward a smidge and I've got a few things to share.

First up, the existing oak cabinet got three coats of a deep chocolate brown - love the change! I still like my hardware, but I freshened things up by giving them a coat of glossy black spray paint. I went back and forth between glossy and flat, but I am so pleased with the glossy.

I love the flicker of candlelight in every room and the master bathroom is no exception. I found a lantern at good ol' Wal-Mart on clearance for about $7.00 and hung it from a simple bracket, placed a Luminara flameless candle with a timer inside  and now I'm loving the look at night and on cloudy days.

So charming, I think. Do you see my vintage tin tiles in the background? I am quite smitten with the patina. This whole toilet alcove makes me smile - I'll bet not many people make a statement like that about a toilet space, lol!

I had a piece of tin tile left over and decided to use it behind my little Billy Jacobs picture for a bit more presence.

Still to come: my beautiful sink/counter and faucet, lighting and the linen closet. Most of these are in place but have some finishing details to complete.

I am looking forward to having this project wrapped up!

Thanks for stopping by,
Jane

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