She's Crafty.

On saturday morning Mum and I were up and out of the house at 6am garage sale hopping. We didnt buy as much as the week before as I was mainly looking for kitchen things this week. We went to a deceased estate at Ascot, a very wealthy area of Brisbane and got:
a small red swallow wall decoration for 10cents, a gold gilded pitcher and tumbler set for $2.00 and a cute 1950s kitten cushion for $1.00. I also got some blue sundae glasses.

We went to another where I got a red 1950's set of scales, a small jesus statue, a 1950s atomic style alarm clock and two pink dessert bowls.
We then went home for a big cook up breakfast after Stevie woke up and went out again at 11 to one of my favourite charity furnture stores St Vincent DePaul. Dad had gotten me two rainbow lustre vases from there on Friday for $2.00 each and two really small nice vases. Mum and I managed to find some really cute buys.
We got a jesus picture in perfect condition for $1.00, a 1950s bunny planter for $1.00, a small table for $2.00 for the patio, two pink depression glass bowls and a small ashtray for $3.50 for the lot,a 1950s lobster serving plate and a palm serving plate for $1.00,a set of three tumblers for $1 for 3,a 1950s japanese fruit bowl,a still boxed small cup and saucer stand for $2.00, yellow pepper and salt shakers for 50 cents and a set of 3 1950s style dips plates for $2.00 for the lot, a set of anodised cups for $2.oo- these go on ebay for like $20! I also got a few other bits and peices.

Today mum and I went to the clayfield markets to get some nibbles for the Queens Bday public holiday tommorow, shes having a bbq with Mal and Di (Di's husband is down for 3 days), Marion Keith and the girls and Stevie, Dad and myself.We then drove out to the house to have a peek and look at Scarborough. Its so nice, I cant wait to move out there, were about 500 metres from the marina and 2 streets away from the beach!The people had a garage sale on the weekend though, which may mean some of the plants we wanted to buy may have gone :( We then went to Bunnings a huge DIY shop and got sandpaper, and some golden oak stain. I sanded down my 1960's day bed and an antique chair I have and then stained them. They look great. Next week I will put a glossy estapol over it next week. I love renovating! The colour I think is a lil darker than the credenza which we will be using as a desk, its in really good nick and I'm not going to touch it. Its more like a honey,about a shade lighter but they will match in well with the gramaphone thats going into the same room.
My Mum is giving us her silky oak dresser which is gorgeous, as I'm swapping a japanese like pryamid tower dresser I have and don't want. I now am on a look out for a marble topped wash stand for the 'antique' room it will go into. At Bunnings we had a really nice lady who showed me all the plants I should have in the front garden. I am going for a sorta cottage garden look with lavender and hydernas in blue and white, a star jasmine climber, and some angelonia carita's which are a winter floor cover which bloom white and purple flowers and maybe some gardenia's aswell.

I spent about 4 hours doing my resume on Friday night, there are about 5 optometrists out in the redcliffe, margate area so I am going to get Stevie to print and post them out for me on Tuesday on one of his three days off! Lucky guy!

Booo Hooo

I've had a horrible week at work. I've been sick with the flu all week and we've been one person down all week as he called in sick for a week!. He is notorious for having absent days I mean its now three weeks in total this year! and always calls in sick when our boss is off leaving me to run a $6,000 a day store by myself. On monday he did the same and I was able to get help for 4 hours,but this wasnt enough when I should have been off myself. I thought that was the last straw, and my mum was urging me to quit. Since we got the home loan, I cant really. We'll worst was to come today. There has been this old man who has been causing some fuss. He originally ordered some lenses for his own frame from me, he was told at the time of the dispense he'd be without his glasses for 3-4 days when they were getting fitted in Sydney. He was ok with this until he went to Brookside to drop them off when we were closed for renovations and he was told a week or more. So he bought another frame to get them fitted into these from another staff member.. At the time of delivery I dealt with him again and he got all angry that the frames werent titanuim. Fair enough I thought, you choose them, so I ordered new lenses for him at no cost to him to put into his old original frame which he wanted to use, so that he could use his new ones as a spare. Low and behold a week or two later, the lab phone up and they've broken his frame, his frame is discontinued so I do a frame search and phone the 10 stores that have one. None of them do, so I track down the same frame in another colour, another 10-15 phone calls. I end up finding him one and get the lenses put into this. I refund the px the cost he paid for the original frame he bought from someone else which he doesnt like and dont charge him for the new frame. I send his old broken frame up to Cairns to get a titanuim solder which costs $50 at no cost to him! and get new lenses into this (these arent ready as yet). So in total I have gotten the px a new replacement frame with new lenses, fixed his old ones and put new lenses into them at only a lens cost to him. Three days ago he came into the shop and my manager dealt with him, as I walked past as Stuart was up at the desk, this old man called me a bitch. I heard him correctly and had to sit down behind the lab from stopping myself going and having words with this ungrateful man. I told Stuart and he was like, Ohhh I dont think he did, I didnt hear him.
Fast forward to about 1pm today, I get a phone call from customer services that this guy has phoned to complain about me. About me! who has bent over backwards trying to fix up someone elses mistake! He called me a lying bitch to the guy at head office and spoke nastily about me. Well that was it, I burst into tears and did't stop crying for about 30 minutes. I had to still serve px's afterwards all red and bug eyed but they were all nice to me. Stuart apologised for not doing anything about him calling me a bitch in store the other day and told me I could go home at 2.30pm.
That was the final straw with me and work, Im sick of being responsible for others mistakes and incompancies ie. head office lab ect, I give the best customer service, miles ahead of anyone else at work and that is evident in the last 2 weeks I have recieved a present from a nun for the good service I provided: she came in and gave me a card and handmade crochet teatowel and a guy made me bookmarks with qoutes on them as appreciation.
Tommorow I am going garage sale hopping with mum and then definatly dropping my resume off at every single optometrist in Redcliffe and Scarborough. I want to work for a small shop whilst I try to get a public service or bank job. For the sake of my health in that I had to come to work sick all week and just my emotional heath I need to find another job and fast!
Its put a total downer on my week and day.

Dad came and picked me up and listened nicely whilst I burst into tears and swear words again in the car. When we got home he showed me a whole box of rainbow lustre ware vases and some nice retro porclain peices he picked up for me at my favourite St Vincent De Paul furnitue shop for about $1-$2 each. That put a smile on my dial.

We got the mortgage!

So after 3 weeks of hell, we are proud home owners!

Market day again!

Today I woke up at 6am and went to the ferny grove markets with Mum, my aunty Marion had a stall there and I got a few nice treats.
I was wearing a summer 50's dress and denim jacket and was absolutley freezing! I bought a lovely little blanket from an old lady who knits them, and a beautiful pinwheel cushion with lovely satin ribbon. I got both for only $10 which I thought was a bargain. My mum got a great pink blanket for her lil dog Vader which I will soon inherit aswell. I also got a few teeny little japanese dolls.

We then drove to a cafe called Top Nosh which sells all antiques and the most lovely homewares. I feel in love with a silky oak washstand there.
We went home to see Aunty Di and then headed up to the Pine Rivers Markets. These are about 30 minutes away from Mum's and in what you would call a bushland setting, full of eucalyptus trees. As soon as you got out of the car you could smell the beautiful leaves. The markets are held every weekend and are situated in an old colonial village. Every stall is an original Queenslander workers cottage and they all sell the best things! There are old sweet shops, a shabby chic shop for Judy!, an aromatherapy shop for Judy! and the most lovely and good priced antique store! Its all set up as a original house but everythings for sale.
I got a little kitten tin for $3.00 and two little bluebirds for $2.00 and three lace doilies in a beautiful green for $1.00.
We were walking along and saw an Aboriginal stall which was advertising photos with a snake for $1.00. I looked in the clear box where he was keeping it and told mum, thats lid's not on, I hope that snake doesnt come out. Two seconds later I look beside me and there is the snake which was HUGE sunning itself about a metre away from me. I didn't see the handler who was sitting a few metres away and I nearly died of a heart attack. I was like aaawwww...snake mum snake! My mum and the handler killed themselves laughing! I would have taken a photo but thought it would be rude as he was selling them.
We spent about an hour walking around the surroundings and lovely stalls.
After that we went up to Dayboro which is about 30 mins away, its up in the hills and its lovely and full of little hobby farms. I saw quite a few of my favourite friends, Mr and Mrs Cows and even saw a lil baby one being transported in a cage in the back of a ute! I want one!
We drove up to the Winery which is on the top of a mountain, in a stately qlder home and was going to take some pictures but there was a wedding on, so I could only take one peeking through the bushes.

We stopped off at this big butcher who supposedly makes the best sausages in Qld and got some hot mumma's, some chilli sausages, (poor cows) and had some lunch and bought some pumpkin damper at the bakery and then came home.
It was a lovely day off!
We are organising for us to have a weekend away at a place called Montville which is up in the mountains some time in July. My mum went to a wedding there and stayed in a b&b up in the mountains and said it was gorgeous, so we'll go up there a saturday night and take a nice drive down through samford and all the arts and craft markets they have up there.
Sorry about the quality of the pics my battery light was flashing and I was just trying to get everything snapped before it ran out!
Here are some pictures of my finds and of the Pine River Markets.

















The winery


The winery from the side of the mountain.

You can see desa's insistance of being where the action is always! His little paws and meows woke me up this morning at 6am, he doesnt like sleeping by himself.

Edit.
Dad went back to bardon tonight, and found a great old ice bucket with ship on it, a lovely original parker table! I was outbid on one of these on Monday for $150 in really good knick! only needs a revarnishing!. a 70's record player with speakers and a phillips stereo which works! He also got a picnic table for the caravan.

Garage sale goodies.

I have such a sore throat, It feels like tonsilitis. I blame the bank.

On the way to work this morning dad and I passed a garage sale. We stopped in and got the following goodies for $8 about 3 quid in total.

Green Metal Jug

Gumball Machine

Pink Lamp

Orange Lamp

Bag of Pearl earrings

2x Japanese Jewellery Bags


1950's salad set


Green rooster Ashtray

Set of Vintage tin Coffee, sugar and flour cannisters

Dad found this retro telephone seat which is in perfect condition by the side of the road. Here every month or so, each suburb is allowed to put out 2mtrs of large peices of rubbish ie furniture ect to get picked up by the council for free. This is mine and dad's favourite time (and unfortunatly alot of other peoples!) and we go around hunting for things. We've found some amazing things like antique meat safes and our computer table which is a vintage sewing table for free. I have already one of these, but its good now cause we can have one in each longue!
On the 2nd day stevie was here, wavell heights a suburb between mum and dads house was having theres and out jumped stevie grabbing everything in sight! He keeps on asking when near by suburbs are having theres. He's got the bug!

I am going with mum to Marions markets tommorow, which is where I got the art deco plates, as shes having a stall. We're going early so I might find some goodies then.

This week I put over $800 of home things on lay by as Kmart (like wal mart) was having a huge sale, some of these included a 7kg washing machine, retro red mixer and blender, red toaste and kettle, set of 10 teflon red saucepans and fry pans, a teflon wok, an iron, 4x large towels, 2x bath mats, a retro drinks dispenser which was reduced from 75.00 to 16! its in the shape of a petrol bowser!, a huge selection of red kitchen cannisters, a whole set of pink melamine plates and bowls, 2x small green japanese bowls,a stanless steel microwave and more things I cant remember!
Dad's friend is giving us there fridge, which is handy as I want a smeg fridge which are like $2500 so it allows us to save up for one!



Apart from the telephone seat, dad found a set of 12 art deco like lanterns to put in the garden, two swingback chairs in perfect condition for the verenda and an old fashioned drinks trolley which was in great condition, he sanded down the gold handles and painted them a lovely yoke!

Beads Beads Beads

The beads we got for Judy from the Farmers Markets. They came from one of her favourite shops, Thousand Island dressing.
I work this saturday, but I have the next two off. Next saturday I am off to Paddington taking Madeline and Courtney with me. That's after my mum and I hit the garage sales at 7am! Lets hope the luck I had last weekend is with me. This week I would like a silky oak 1920's bedroom set with marble tops please! I would also like matching bedside tables despite at that time, they didnt really use them! I was speaking to the dealer yesterday about how hard it is to find 1920's sets, as after world war 1, nearly 30% of australias men were all killed off in the war, so we didnt have any cabneit makers left, hence the skilled migrant program. There is an abundance of 1950's and deco stuff about though. To be honest you would think places like Scotland would be better than Australia for antiques and collectables overall (they definatly have more Victorian and French inspired furniture than we do here) but for popularity and accesibilty, its far better over here. In that its pretty much a national pastime to have garage sales! I guess thats how I got the bug so early. The whole 50's and retro thing is very big over here aswell, which explains all the old cars, the rockabilly shows, my wardrobe!. I'm quite enjoying being back home, I guess because I liked scotland so much, I wasnt the one who was so excited about being home, but there is something about the feeling of sun every day, the lovely colourful and unique houses, you dont realise how different the houses are over here, some of the old Qlders are works of art!
I'm glad Stevie's enjoying it aswell, Id hate it if he didnt like it, Id feel responsible for bringing him over this side of the world!
Package with a dress for the girls will be sent over on next day off, promise!

Fishing days

Stevie and Wade went and got a boat today and went to Pine Rivers and Stevie caught 5 whittings and Wade got 7.
I am quite amazed at him liking fishing. I think he's becoming a local! He's already got the board shorts and now he only needs the thongs (flip flops)! Unlikely though!
Its getting quite coolish. Brisbane is great during winter, 20-23 degrees during the day with bright sunshine and down to about 10 at night. The other night it got down to 5 and was very coolish! My hello kitty pjs and booties have come in handy.
Desa trys coming in, in the mornings to snuggle. He's so cute, when I wake up he follows me where ever I go and always trys to open the shower.
If we get the house, once we fix up the aviary, we'd be looking at maybe getting a lil bengal friend for him! They sell them for only about $500 here!

Stevie phoned the mortgage broker today and he had spoken to the bank this morning, he said that they hadn't phoned him with any problems as yet! Only 2 days to go.

sandgate antiques

Today we had a fabulous day out at sandgate, antique shopping and having a seafood basket for two by the beach. Sandgate is beautiful and we had a great day on the train and basking in the winter sun.
At the antique shop I got some more Japanese 50's fun, with a cat biscuit jar and mug and got 13 knitted coathangers for only $3.00. Stevie got a virgin mary vintage picture.

Other Goodies.

Alot of the big furniture peices are at my Mum's house as we dont have room at Dad's, I tried putting these pics on Friday Finds but didnt know how to. The photos are bad quality as the battery's on stevies camera were going and I had to dodge Desa trying to get into everysingle photo!

Cat salt and pepper shakers, Japan origin.







Eames Teak Drink Tray


Antique Chair



Aqua Shag Queensized Bedspread


Eames Ashtray


Rose Tin Trays


Japanese Goodies



My duck doorstop, pink salt and pepper shakers and napkin log


Close Ups

Mixed Porcelain Goodies

Peacock Plate and Vase