a disappointing row of campers

It was quite an adventure the weekend of the 11th, especially with my car breaking down Friday on the Carlisle Army Barracks when my mom took it for a doctors appointment.   The car spent several days there after trying to have it towed with USAA, but the towing company they chose didn't have updated insurance papers with them so the guards, due to protocol, couldn't allow him on the base.  It was pretty disappointing since we waited over 2 hours for the truck to get there, but the guard was very nice about it and suggested that we head over to the main office to inform them that the car would be at the clinic parking lot for a few more days so they don't tow it. 

We had to use USAA since I had just added towing on my insurance the day prior.  We both thought I had it on the Mazda, but turns out I didn't follow through.  I couldn't call my insurance company after only requesting the insurance the day prior so we called my mom's insurance.  It still made sense since she was the one driving the car and in the end it did end up in our favor and we didn't have to pay the additional mileage after the 13 free miles.  You know you have a good insurance company when they cover the additional mileage, because the same company who came out Saturday tells you Monday that they don't go on military bases and a whole new company came out without any issues.  We know that either a) none of their trucks papers were updated or b) they didn't like when my mom told them that she refused to pay the additional mileage because now she had to drive back out to Carlisle, which is a 30 minute drive all because they weren't prepared to go on a military base and the insurance company agreed with us.  

With all of this happening Saturday it killed most of my day and I didn't make it out to the fabric store until about 7pm, and so it was sometime after 9pm until we managed to make our way to the basement to add more items to sell at the flea market.  I had planned on going to bed early, but finally shut off the lights sometime after midnight.  Mom had headed to be a little before me, but when the alarm went off we were both at a slow crawl and didn't manage to leave the house until 8am, an hour later than our start last week.   We did also load my car before heading out since the van was pretty full and we wanted to add a few more items to our inventory this week and again hoping to leave with a few less items then what we came with a few extra dollars in our pockets.

When we drove up the hill and around the first lot of campers we had anticipated seeing another vendors already set up, but instead saw more campers.  Yep, the RV show that was just supposed to be next weekend was also showing this weekend and taking up the back lot for more campers.  It was bad enough that we were starting our home purge at the tale end of the Harrisburg's flea market season and then to lose another week it was a bit of a blow to our progress.

There was however a single vendor who had set up along the main roadside to the market and according to the RV entrance guard was doing well with stopping traffic since everyone was under the impression the flea market was happening this weekend.   We were up a creek and trying to figure out what our best option was a) stay here and set up like the guard suggested or b) drive to our potential option where guaranteed traffic would be and other vendors.   Luckily my mom suggested that we look up to make sure we could just show up and set up like we could here, because they wasn't the case.  had we of driven there we would have been turned away due to not preregistering with them and not having a tax id number. 

In the end we were pretty satisfied with our decision to stay, because we left with what we made last week and a few less toys and home items. 

a little creative progress

It's been a challenge this last month trying to get myself organized at the home front, but I feel like I'm going to reach it by the end of this year which is a good feeling.  I've lived in my home for over a year and a half so it will be nice to finally have my home looking like a place I can be proud of.  

Lately, my focus has been completing mini projects for any room, and getting my 3rd floor room ready to tackle all of these projects.  It's basically going to become my creative space.  Yep I'm finally going to have a place where I can set up my computer and blog on a regular basis, work on my diy projects and my workout gear. 

Here is what I have so far, a make shift desk with a formica table top and 2 mcm end tables.  I'll have a post coming in the next week or 2 with how the room is coming along.  It really is getting closer, however I'll feel better once I have a legit desk and workspace for bill paying.

Resources:

the white board is magnetic $13 and purchased recently from IKEA. I used some mint & pink, gray/silver WASHI tape from JoAnn's to separate the days of the week and then added some white letter stickers from TARGET $5. 

Picture #1
I've had this frame for about a year now, and finally have a room where it's going to fit in.  I purchased it from TJMAX or Marshals and I'm really glad to finally have a home for it, because I really love this frame.  In it I've added a post card photo of Andy Warhol that I purchased from his museum in Pittsburgh a few years back. 

Above the photo is a modern clock with a silver rim.  I've had it forever it seems.

Gold Shelf:
I'm not a fan of the gold, but I love the shape of this shelf and was happy when I saw it for only $1 at a second hand store, especially since it runs over $20 on etsy.  This is the closet shelf I could find now that's similar.  I plan to paint it to match the new wall color, well it will match once I paint the wall.  I just decided on the wall color last week, Love in the Mist by Martha Stewart.

on the shelf I have a white ceramic rooster I found at TJMAXX last year.  I'm not a fan of roosters, but I really loved the modern twist on this one and just had to have it.  The mini pear bulletin board is also a second hand find with some scrapebook paper added for some visual interest.  The round frame is also from TJMAXX and I added a DIY art of SUN SHINE.  I used a similar method like my repeat art.  A white ceramic owl from TJMAXX, a 5x7 wall frame from IKEA with print out of an inspirational quote and then I used a pink sharpie to trace over the arrow and added a felt heart over the red one for some dimension.   I also have a vintage deer stapler.  I used some s hooks from IKEA grundel collection to hang my scissors from the towel bar. 

The mini corkboard is from Target.  I frame a cat print in my IKEA Ribba 5X7 frame.  The yellow chevron fabric is from Joann's.  It's the beginng process of my chore chart.

Here's where my chore board is at now and of course Adonis Mr. Center of attention and Goldie working his way out of the frame.  I took the day stickers from the white board above my desk since I had added them with the intention of using that board for the chores, but liked this idea better.  I really wanted to use this chevron fabric that I found at JoAnn's last week and on sale.

I still need to laminate all the cards and cute out the tab holes, then add more command hooks.  You can buy them in a pack of 18 for around $8.  I used a few inspirations for the board, which you can find oops I craft my pants, the workman family, the daily 5, and a beautiful mess,

I had this frame, along with it's twin that I used for another project (below), waiting for my command center.  It feels good to finally move out of the planning stage and into the implementation.  The frames were about $3 for the and they have plexiglass fronts which was a plus for me.

Once I took the original picture out I cleaned the plexiglass with window cleaner and to help move back all the picture tabs on the back I used a pan scrapper, which is a major time saver and easier on your fingers.

I also ironed out the fabric to smooth out the creases and sprayed 2 coats of starch (allowing a few minutes between coats and a quick iron before adding the 2nd coat) on the fabric before wrapping it around the backing. 

 I used painters tape to secure it to the back.  I like straight lines even when no one sees it so I used the scissors to also cut my painters tape. I used the level to make sure the chevron pattern was straight before taping. 

color run art

After my first 5K color run in DC last month I purchased a blue color run scarf to frame and add to my run wall.  I used the twin frame to the chore chart and followed the same process as I did above to wrap the fabric.  I plan to add 2 more run inspirations next to the color run art, but I didn't get around to doing that today. 

shock and aw at the market

I'm sure you'll drop over in shock when I tell you that my mom and I went to our local Flea Market this morning to sell.  Yep, I know what a huge shock and it wasn't even my idea.  Willing without prodding my mom started going through things in the hallway yesterday sorting, and pricing while I worked on our 3rd floor.  It was amazing how much stuff we really had just lying around.  Our neighbor Ty, about 15, came over to help take things down to the main floor and gathered a few of the mega block toys and some other items from the basement.  

It really helped pricing things before hand and really it took no time at all to get things ready.   I was really expecting it to be more be more pain stacking then it was.  Our new neighbors, who had just moved in this week, even came over and bought a few things before we packed up the van.

So on our first day of gathering we already sold an  4 IKEA coffee mugs, a 6pc blue decorative plate set from TJ MAXX, jeanette rose plates, vinttage Jeannette china Desert Rose pattern, vinage canister set and an IKEA Knife block,

It wasn't long after they headed back next door that we started to load up the van.  For as bad as everything looked in our living room once we packed everything in the van it didn't look like much; however after gathering a few more items before we headed to bed and in the morning the van was jammed packed with money making potentials. 

My alarm sounded around 6 this morning and I was a bit nervous since there was no sign of movement from my mom.  However, by the time I finished my shower my mom was already downstairs gathering the items from the living room and loading them in the van.

Once everything was loaded and our snacks packed we made our way a few miles down the road.  We were unsure we were even in the right placed since there were no signs except for a camper show, but once we round the corner and felt a litter better until we had a short moment of did we miss a cut off time to pay to enter since there was no one at the toll houses; however once we passed through and asked a seller he directed us to the man in charge of lot assignments and after paying $15 for 2 spaces we rounded the market to find the best spot and ended up at the same spot we originally thought about taking.

Before we started setting up a few early birds came over asking up questions who were looking for jewelry and other trinket items; however we had none of the asking.  We mainly brought mega block toys, doggy accessories and walking items, some vintage items, a small amount of baby clothes, and some other miscellaneous items. 

We filled up a both parking spaces, which also included our van taking up the back half of the two spaces.  We sold a good bit in the beginning and towards 10am, but it was mostly dead and even the people we saw walking along didn't have much in purchases.  Oh, yes and I can't forget to mention that I had two guys make a move.  Yep, totally not lying.  I was just wearing my daily yoga pants and a modern large floral top and some makeup; nothing fancy.  The first gentleman was older about my grandfather's age who bought a truck with mega blocks for a neighbor kid and an adjustable dog bowl set for the stray cats near his house.  I had walked over to his van carrying some of the items he bought to be helpful.  Plus he was walking with a cane so he didn't have much in free hands to make this in one trip.   Before heading back to the van he asked me when would be the next time I would run into him and mentioned about getting my number and I chucked.  I mentioned that I enjoyed his conversation and we could talk again the next time we are both set up at the market, but politely mentioned that getting my number  wasn't going to happen.  I chucked the whole way back to our set up and mentioned it to my mom.  He seems safe, but it never hurts to inform those around you about men making moves that you've turned down especially just in case.

Oh, yes and a few hours later a man in his 30s came over to me and handed me a note and said it was from his friend at the set up a few lots down.  He also said that he waiting until I was away from my mom to hand me to the note so he didn't offend my mom.  It was a bit odd and felt a little like 2nd grade so it caught me off guard, but I opened up the letter and read it. 

If your curious, here's what it read:

If you didn't guess from my note above I did mention it to my mom, as again, you never know what type of people are out there so it's good to share situations like this.

I also had my mom not to long after our conversation walk around the market and see who my potential admirer was.  She didn't approve.  Although, my curious nature wasn't satisfied with her opinion and wanted to see for myself, so I wondered around the market again and ended up heading over there when being flagged by the young man who gave me the note.  I talked with the two of them and they seemed very nice, however, I did tell them a small white lie and mentioned that I was married.  The gentled seemed like a nice guy, but still a bit older then I would go for and not my type so it just seemed easier that way.  I'm sure God will forgive me of my lie this time and not judge me to harshly.

I didn't leave the market unscaled and brought home 2 small vintage finds that only stole $3.25 from our profits.  One of the items is a brass cottage house and picket fence key holder that will work beautifully for our spare keys.  The second item is a daisy kitchen timer by Mark Time that I've actually been eying on etsy for the last year.  My preference is the mustard color, but for $3 I will enjoy having the beige and brown option and using it when it times for our 15 minutes of declutting.  

Throughout the morning I jotted down a list of the items we were selling so at the end we could talley up our earnings have an exact account of what we made instead of estimating what we think we sold and made.

This was about 1/3 of what we had brought with us so overall I'm very happy with our results and we plan to attend next Sunday and the last market on the 25th and hopefully we can eliminate more items from our vast array of clutter and earn enough money to repoint our basement brick foundation.  We did eliminate a few awkward items and giving new life to our unused items.  Now someone else can enjoy some second hand love.  

What are some of your favorite finds from flea markets?

Labels and Title Changes

Decided it was time to update a few of my titles and tags since there are a few series I started, but never stuck with or others like Get it Done, Clear a Path & Organizing Me all seemed to mean the same thing to me after awhile and I felt to many posts were had several tags and the whole reason for tags is to separate posts so readers can find items of interest without scouring through everything else.  so I took some time Wednesday night and started deleting a few of the tags, however a few of them have more than 10 posts so it will take me some time to eliminate all the ones I feel are no longer useful for me or you, the reader.

After reading the  {Weekend Organizer} post by Fabulously Organized Home my head began to spin with new ways to categories my home projects and I really want to bring that into my tags, so you'll start to see these 10 minute / 60 minute / weekend organizer , which equal the length of the DIY or craft project.  I feel this will be more specific and easier to choose then Git It Done Wednesday, clear a path, before & after, and organizing me.

I also liked a blogger's wording when she was talking about the quotes that made her happy and she labeled those on her desktop page as happiness, so this will be all of the things that create a happy feeling in my heart.

All my dance exchange, and events for Lindy Hop will be under dance life.

All of my exercise, workout logs, running gear and anything fitness related will now be fit life and will take the place of sunny side up Sunday's, personal Health, and Life Adventures.

I love the words second hand love so that will hold all of my thrifty finds, and MCM Love.

Recipes will now carry the label yumminess, and paelo delight Sunday will simply be paleo.

Any projects that I found via pinterest will now be under pinned it instead of pinterest project

I also decided to add a few new labels to the mix.

• house love - for some of my favorite images of my home

• kitten life - to show the kittens as they are growing or any that host my corgi

• lululemon - a favorite of mine for workout wear

• to do list - home project lists, where I list a bunch of to do's that I would like to get done.

What are some of your favorite labels you have on your blog.
Also, let me know what you think of the new changes.

{60 minute} DIY WAKE.RUN.REPEAT

Tonight has been a rather productive night for me, and I'm glad to be posting as there has been a lot happening these past 2 months that I've wanted to post, but it keeps getting pushed aside.  Well tonight I'm also pleased to say that I've been working on a new way to organize my spare room, which I'm turning into my creative room.  It's going to house all my crafts, and easy DIY projects, along with my etsy office (for 2nd hand items), and my workout space.  I've been scouring Pinterest for ideas, and my brain tonight has been moving forward towards a few wall ideas for boards and a blog calendar. 

While scouring the web tonight I found a post from my office pin board with a home gym wall vinyl that I've liked, but at some point I'd figure out what I wanted to go about using it.  Well, tonight after doing a quick search to find a better image that I could trace and create my own cardstock I headed to my bedroom where my SHARPIE Paint Pen was located and came back up to my laptop and tilted the screen, then used 2 small pieces of scotch tape to tape it to my screen and then I proceded to trace the letters (the back light of the screen made a nice light box) with the small end of my calligraphy pen.  

Once I finished, and you can see that I wasn't very neat about it I carefully pulled the tape off the screen and placed a small section of newspaper under it, just in case it bled through, and used my paint pen and colored it in.  I took a little more time with this part, but overall the project took less then 2 hours. 

My creative space color scheme is going to be pink, black and white, so I luckily I had white cardstock and a black paint pen already on hand.  I decided I wanted to use pink for SLEEP, but not until after I already filled in the SL so only EEP will be pink.

supplies:

Sharpie Med Point Paint Pen, color of choice

Calligraphy Pen

Cardstock, color of choice.

laptop or light box if you have a printable

Once I trimmed my 8x10 card stock I found some inspiring scrapbook paper and trimmed it to fit the frame and then used double sided tape and laid the print right on top.

I'm pretty happy with the outcome and now I just need to find an appropirate frame for it and buy a pink paint pen to finish sleep.  I took it outside so you could see how nice it really came out.  the lighting in my creative space is pretty bad since it's a converted attic.

It's now residing on my workout stand next to my pants bin.  At some point I'll hang it on the wall, but I need to remember to grab some command strips from my the main floor.