Thrifty find & an old project

Finally feeling better after a wonderful visit from *the crud*. Bleh...hope it stays away from everyone else.

 I've been doing more thrifting lately and I just LOVE it! Something about being around all of that fabulous old stuff with its own history just makes me happy. I must look a bit crazed walking through those places with a glazed smile on my face but I just can't help it. My heart loves it!

Is it strange to call a lamp sexy?...because this lamp is sexy. Isn't it?! Or I'm nuts, whatever. I am SO excited I found this beauty! I kept telling my friend Tina to buy it and then I thought, "Aw, what the heck. How long can Hubby yell at me about a lamp?" I got a few eye rolls...that's it! It was only $14 dollars total for the lamp AND shade! It's heavy too so it also doubles as a weapon. What a deal.

The Dogwood trees have been gorgeous lately. I guess this time last year I didn't have my *eyes* on and didn't notice them as much, but WOW they sure are putting on a show this year.

Not too many pink ones around so I just had to stop and take a few shots of this one.

(Before you continue on and think that this project seems a bit familiar, yes, Rhonna DID do a project last year like this one. You can imagine how THRILLED I was that we shared a similar thought : )

Four years ago when we Baptized Mallory, I wanted to use Dogwood branches for the centerpieces at the reception (something my friend Molly's mom used to do). Dogwoods were out of season and not wanting to let go of the idea, I decided to fake it a little. I went trudging through the woods around my house looking for dead branches that I could glue fake dogwood flowers to. It wasn't as easy as I thought it was going to be! It took some time to find just the right branches (don't laugh) and just the right flowers but I loved the way it looked in the end.

(this photo was taken after the reception was over)

Along with the flowers, I glued little blue birds that I cut out matching the bird on the front of her invitation.

Mallory's almonds were hanging from the trees in their little nests...I adore them so much! As always, my family was a huge help.

It was a beautiful day for more reasons than the decor of course, but this time, things actually turned out just as I had visualized it...in every single way.  

Lately, I've been thinking about doing something similar with the branches in my entryway. Spring is having such a wonderful affect on me this year that I want to bring some of it inside too!

Hope everyone is having a sun-shiny weekend*!*