Architectural Corbels

I've always loved corbels. You will find intricate detail on many corbels and some will have no detail at all. I'm drawn to the more detailed ones. These are very popular right now in home decor. You will see them under top cabinets or under a bar top.  Check out some of my Pinterest boards for lots of ideas! I love to see them for shelving or as an entry table. If you can find them large enough, you can use them as a table. A friend of mine, Layla Palmer, you may know her from her awesome blog, The Lettered Cottage! She has just moved into a "new" cottage! I am going to love watching her re-do this cute house. She called me last week looking for corbels for a desk. You can see the post of her inspiration here. I found several options for her......but, none that were perfect! She has another idea for her work corner and I'm sure we will see it soon! I still have her on my  when-I-find-some-cool-ones list because I know she may need some for another spot and she has a friend looking, too! I really enjoy helping people find that perfect piece! My favorites are one-of-a-kinds. That's why I like architectural salvage stores so much. They have an ever-changing inventory and I  know that eventually, they will have that perfect piece!

While looking for Layla, I found a few loves of my own! Southern Accents has a few singles.

They usually come at a better rate. Most have a project that requires two. Me? I would hang a single one on a wall and be DONE! I may still add a couple of these to my collection! One may have my name on it...I need to check on that! I did notice after I had Garlan going all over the store taking pictures for me, these were featured on their facebook page!

 They also added these....I love these. I want to cut these and re-make them! Or just add to them.....

They have more simple lines, but I think in a kitchen they would be beautiful under top cabinets. Of course, you would need really high ceilings!! (not at the Hansel and Gretel house :()

This morning I get a text from someone with a 423 area code. Signed Tim. Woah....do I know a Tim? I couldn't think of one that would have corbels! I tell him I love them and he tells me he is in Sweet Water, Tennesse.......my MOM! Yay! I asked her to be on the look-out for me last weekend. She was on an antique junking trip of her own! I was so excited! I called her and asked if she would pick them up for me. Did a little dealing and decided to buy all 5! I know I can use them or hook them up with a new home!!

I did buy these last weekend in Atlanta at the Country Living Fair. I just got them out of my car this morning to take a photo. I have NO idea what I'm going to do with them! My husband would say they would be good fire wood! rude

A few other pictures of corbels. These are concrete. Can you say h-e-a-v-y!

These are from The Depot. They need a bit of TLC!

Do you like corbels? Have you used them in decorating? Maybe you have some in your barn, like me, and just haven't decided the perfect place for them!

Country Living Fair in 4 Hours or Less!

It was a whirlwind trip! I had planned it weeks ago. I wanted to go over, take a girlfriend and leisurely shop the Country Living Fair in Atlanta. This did not happen!! Emma decided she wanted to celebrate her birthday and go shopping. Oh, I had a shopping trip for her! (wink, wink)

I have this 12 year old that will be a 13 year old this Thursday! (yikes, how did that happen) She made lots of plans for the weekend.

She would have friends over before the gala at school and then they would all spend the night...we would roast marshmallows. On Saturday, we would go to the mall. Nothing has changed with 13 year olds. They want to go to the mall. No money? No matter! Just walk around and try on clothes and test makeup! Well, that put a big dent in my plans! I negotiated with her and told her I would take her and a couple of girls to Atlanta to shop. She was impressed! We would get a hotel and shop at Lenox Square! eeeek....so much fun! I only had one stipulation. They had to go with me to the Country Living Fair. They seemed to be ok with that. I wanted to leave at 7:00am. We all know that is impossible when you have 9 teenagers spending the night. They probably didn't go to bed until 3:00am! After dropping them off and picking up things forgotten, we were on the road at 9:00am! Ok, so I won't get to meet up with the HomeTalk crew and I will barely make it to the Rust-Oleum demo on how to re-vamp that ugly tile in the bathroom. No problem.....

We got to the fair and they were very confused. It's outside? What is there to do here? How long do we have to stay? If we can check in the hotel at 3:00, we can leave at 2:30? Oh no, girls. This is my part....the rest of the weekend is yours! I did give them a $20 bill and told them to find something small and I would make a necklace. They said the only things they could find were $100 dollars! I think I have some divas on my hands! We split up and I did my best to keep from seeing them! I knew as soon as I did, they would never leave my side and I would hear, "Can we leave?", over and over!

I did get to see Jenni and Jared Bowlin. Oh my goodness. These two, I love them!

Jenni has a great eye for vintage and does a great job styling her booth. They had this adorable stamp of a farmer with another stamp that said farmer....It had my name written all over it! ;-)

I got a new light...imagine that! It's a reproduction, but, oh, I love it! Where will I hang it? Your guess is as good as mine! Suggestions, please?

I found a great booth with lots of architectural pieces. I got some corbels to add to my collection.

They had lots of wooden Christmas trees. Remember this one I had made several years ago? Seems like everyone is making them!! I still love them!! I'm working on a different design. I will get a few made up and show you soon! (hello, Christmas is around the corner!)

I also got a couple of these for Lucy Lockets! You might see them in the Etsy shop soon!

I had been texting with Beth at Unskinny Boppy and we finally met up by the tower of pumpkins. She was talking to Ben Ashby and wanted me to meet him. It was love at first sight! (for me, anyway!) He is amazing. Have you seen HIS magazine? Serious style. It's a gorgeous magazine and the guys on the cover? You might know them from the Amazing Race or The Fabulous Beekman Boys on the Cooking Channel? They were signing their cookbook over in the pavilion! YES!! But, I had to find a copy of the magazine. I threatened to steal Ben's. He just laughed....I was serious! Beth had gotten her copy from Junxtaposition and thought they might have another copy. They did! I bought it! I got the Beekman Boys to sign it! I had my picture made with Beth's camera! Yay!!!! I didn't catch Ben Ashby again. I would have loved to get his signature, too. :( Beth and I told him to come to Alabama and we would show him around!

My girls saw me at this point and were ready to GO! I didn't even make it around to all the booths. I'm so sad and I need to plan my time better. We did make it to the mall and got new makeup and some clothes.

We also got to play with a Microsoft Surface. They were doing a demo right outside the Windows store.

 Everyone was happy at the end of the day. I'm pretty sure that's all that matters!

Framing Collage at the Hansel and Gretel House

 This wall was one of the first accomplishments after the move-in. I had two of my favorite decorating volunteers come over one day, Brandy and Laura.  I was still working with the electrician or the painter or the carpenter or maybe all of them!  I was so thankful. I mean, I couldn't have done this myself! I was non-making decision mode when it came to hanging pictures. They gathered all of these precious baby pictures and ran with it. Oh my, I absolutely love what they did! I was no where to be found while they were hanging. They didn't even ask me before they hung one thing. When it came time to fill in some of the holes, I took them out to the barn and we dug around for some pieces to hang. Actually, I think everything you see in this picture was there when I turned the corner. I could not believe they hung all of this and it looked so perfect! I think Laura used some Pinterest inspiration for the layout. I would have just nailed it up and moved it around! There would have been a million holes...eeek!

This house is built out of lots of wood! See this wall? Wood. The ceiling? Wood. I love this pattern of the wood for this wall. This house was built in the late 50's. This particular wall was part of the addition in the 60's. Nailing in this wall was not easy. At least we didn't have to search for a stud!

 I can't believe my kids were ever this small. That's not true.  I can remember how sweet they were. I do miss them at this age! 

That clock...I love it! Picked it up from Barney at Stray Cats several months ago!

This is a great shot of the whole wall. The staircase? It's huge! It came out of a courthouse. Man, have I told you how much I love this house? It has so much character!

I'm heading to Hendersonville, Tennesse on Friday. Get to meet up with Tracy and Leigh, again. We are going to the Vintage Marketplace. They are having a Tailgate-Music Antiques Show. I can't wait! One of my favorite Facebook shops will be there. Do you follow City Farmhouse? Swoon. It's amaze!

Hey Lucy! You wanna go to Maine?

Now that I'm in the house.....it's not perfect and that means you still can't come over! Just kidding...you can if you don't mind me pointing out all the things that I haven't done!!!

I thought I would post about the trip I took with my Mom and my Aunt Linda. We went to Maine. The decision was random and we literally pulled it out of the hat! Mom was supposed to have gone to Alaska last year and she had airline tickets burning a hole in her pocket! I said I would go. I'm pretty sure the only reason they wouldn't go without me is because they would not get around as well! Especially since I drove EVERYWHERE! That was fine. I had the GPS on my phone and we saw a lot more than they would've without me! ahhh, the coast and lighthouses were the afternoon treat!

We had NO IDEA where we should go or what we would do. We flew out of Huntsville and my Aunt asked the night before if I had a list of places we were going. I had nothing. I think at that moment we all kinda thought we were in trouble! It was the BEST trip EVER! We flew into Portland and asked the concierge at the airport if she knew of any antique stores. She said north and south on Hwy. 1. We would pass several.......understatement of the year! 

We were starving and decided to start in downtown Portland for lunch and after we would hit the highway heading South. I had booked a hotel in Portsmouth, ME. When we picked up the car, the guy said Boston was 30 minutes from Portsmouth. What? Ok, we are going to Boston tomorrow! Our first stop was lunch at The Farmer's Table. Appropriate, yes? I had lobster salad and my picture made with  my Mom ;). Isn't she cute?

We decided to walk around in this little downtown (it's not that little). We saw cute shops, ships, boats, water, ice-cream (little did we know, ice cream is BIG in Maine) and a really cute shop with the best light fixtures EVER!

yes....this one....you've seen it before!

Oh, I wanted it....and there were 2....did I need 2? Where would I put them? Were they worth the price tag? It was the FIRST place we'd seen! We had 4 days of shopping ahead of us!! I didn't buy them. I walked away. I thought about them every day until we made it back......at the end of our trip! 

We got on the road. We had NO IDEA where we were going. We had a map and our phones. Everyone we asked said to go down HWY. 1. We did. We drove for 30 minutes or so and saw the first antique store. Stopped. Shopped. Got in the car and drove. Saw another. Stopped. Shopped. Then we found this one! Look at that shutter!! OH MY. I DIE. The colors are amazing. Problem...this will not fit in my suitcase. At this point, I'm planning my trip back to Maine in a U-Haul!

Doesn't this sign look like the Doors are 50 cents? haha The nail is placed just right!

These were at the same shop. It was a barn in the parking lot full of cool stuff like these advertising produce crates!

How cute are these books....why didn't I buy them?

We made a few purchases and hit the road. It was almost 5:00pm and all the shops close at 5:00pm. We are about 30 minutes from our hotel and 10 minutes from the coast. I vote for more lobster and sand and ocean! So, we pull out the phone, find the coast and head that way! 

See...my toes in the brown sand! It's so different from our Gulf Coast white powdery sand!

I had to take a picture of the bridge. It was gorgeous! Lots of fishermen and a carnival on the other side.  It was surreal. Just like what you see in the movies! I went to the water by myself....the ladies wanted to sit and get something to drink! I had to do a selfie, this is one of my favorites, though. I love the action I used on Instagram. It had been a perfect day!! 

Then I went and kissed a lobster!

Much more to share about this trip!

Stripping is Hard Work!

This week is crazy busy. Oh wait, that was last week and the week before.....you know the drill.

I worked with Dawn at the farm today in her cute, red, horse barn. We were stripping furniture. Um..not fun. The end result will be fantastic. Today's work, terrible!

 We also picked up a beautiful butcher block from France circa 1830. It is gorgeous! Not sure why I didn't get a pic of it. I will next week! I pulled out my new camera and was taking a few photos and realized Dawn is, like a professional photographer. She was all you need to put your fstop at blah and your shutter speed at blah. What's your ISO set on? Let me see it....yeah, whatever. Maybe I will learn a thing or two from her! I did take a few pics and then left my new camera on the chicken's window. I hope they took a few of themselves! They are a fuzzy group! I will have to share that tomorrow. I'm meeting her in the morning to get it and heading to the creek to get some updates on the Creek Party!

 Let's talk about Saturday. Emma and I got up at 6am to go to her gymnastics clinic in Huntsville. Talk about a long day!

I dropped her off and went to see a good friend from High School who tears down barns he sees along the side of the road.....seriously.......like, pulls up and asks if he can tear it down and haul it off. They say yes, he works for a couple of days. I reap the benefits! You can too! He has several beams  that would be amazing mantels!!

 I also have several ideas for these shorter pieces. Think bench, coffee table, side table. I just took pictures of what he had and if you need something or when I decide what I need, he will measure and find the perfect one!

This one will go to the Creek Party! house. I'm getting it from Southern Accents. It's like 6 sided! Very different and cool! We only need it to be 9'10". It will have to be cut. I guess we will just cut from both ends. That way we can save most of the character!

Let me know if you need rustic, salvaged pieces. I love helping everyone find the right piece for their space!! Helped a friend find a corbel today. I know it will be perfect. Just have to get a few closeups to show her tomorrow! My brain is full of inspiration all the time. I love that now I have Pinterest so that I can keep it organized. I swear I pulled up 10 ideas today to show Dawn and it was so easy because I had them all pinned to the perfect board!!

Hansel and Gretel Pictures!

I bought a new camera....yes, another one. Anyone get the feeling the problems are user related? help me

I have been dying to share photos of the Hansel and Gretel house. It's dark, people. Very dark. Yes, I have all of these cool, I mean really cool, light fixtures. They just don't put out a lot of light. We are in the woods. Not a lot of sunshine coming in! So, here goes. There seems to be a never ending supply of stuff to do around here. Lots more decorating and I need window treatments! I think I've taken a break from working all day on the house. I guess I need to get back at it this week!

This room needs some work. It still doesn't have a light fixture. I need Rhodas living room fixture over at Southern Hospitality! Or at least the same one at that price! The mantel needs a little work.  I guess I need to look at a mantel linky party and get some inspiration or just dig through my Pinterest boards? Just pretend you don't see the extra-large TV on the right. It's there and not going anywhere, but let's just pretend it's not there, can we?

I love this kitchen. LOVE IT! We added the yellow boards on the ceiling. Those cabinets? I am thinking about painting them? What do you think? The red light? My favorite purchase from Maine. The Sunbeam bread chalkboard. I die. It's so perfect there! My aunt gave me the closed sign. I find it fitting since I do not cook. Thank goodness for husbands that like to eat and can cook for the family! I guess that means the kitchen isn't closed, but it's still fitting! (wink)

Just a little framing vignette...with a little sparkly skull thrown in for Halloween!

My favorite window from Southern Accents. I love, love this window! Those antlers? They were outside on the barn and fell a few weeks ago. I thought they needed to come inside! A few pumpkins here, too. Just a sprinkle of Halloween on the inside. Most of our decor is outside!

Got corks? ha.....we like wine around here! FYI this collection has been accumulating for several years!

Jumping in with TWO feet!

I am amazed everyday at how things work out like they are supposed to. I went to an estate sale this morning with a friend who is "in the know" about those kinds of things. I need to speak to her about mentioning her here before I give out her name. I believe our paths have been trying to cross for several years. She may just be the one to push me in the direction I've been wanting to go for awhile now.

I love how meeting new friends brings new opportunities. I love new opportunities!

Here's to next Wednesday. I'm going to a barn and I'm going to be playing with stuff. I can't wait to show you a little bit of what is a buzz in my mind!

Words of Wisdom and Burlap Pillows

This July Emma and I went to America's Mart Atlanta for Gift Market. We stopped by Scott's Antiques Markets first. We found so many things we wanted! I think we filled the car and could barely fit another piece in!! Then we went to the Atlanta Mart! Oopsie, it's a good thing most of the showrooms ship!!

One of my favorite showrooms to stop in is Sugarboo Designs. You can read some of Rebecca's story on her website. Each piece is handmade.

We knew at this point we would be in our little Hansel and Gretel House. I was working hard at convincing her it was going to be a great place to live! She was undecided on which room she wanted. We all know....there was no decision! She was meant to have the built in bed! So, I let her pick out a pillow and a metal sign. These are what she picked!

It makes me happy that this is what she wanted in her room!

How could you NOT want this in your home? It's so me. I fall in love with everything and I fall hard! You will hear me say very often, "This is my favorite thing, EVER!!" Seriously, I say it about a lot!

Dandelions are kinda my favorite thing (EVER). Ha, told ya! I do love them and I had to have this pillow. I am a dreamer! 

I loved these metal signs. They are the stencil for the designs. I love this one for our new home!

This is one of my favorite quotes....ever....(oh, there I go again!) It means so much to me.

When you have a minute or an hour, go to their website and read through the quotes on photoboxes. These is probably the most popular item. I want them all over my house. It's one of my favorite places to buy gifts!

Easy Street Resale

I am a procrastinator. I'm also crazy busy. I seem to have time to sit here and research facebook marketing on Mashable for the past 2 hours. ugh. my priorities are wacky!

Ok, so I am moving into a booth in Pelham tomorrow! I have a ton of stuff that I've been "collecting" for awhile and decided when we moved, I might need to sell some of it! It's a really cute place over on Hwy. 31. The kids and I were eating at McAllister's a couple of months ago and we walked in to check it out. I could tell from the outside that I would love it.

Rachel and Bo are the owners and they are adorable! They have lots of space and really awesome vendors! I decided I should take the plunge. I'm not very good about execution. I have great ideas and rarely follow through with them. I signed up for September and then, you know, we moved. I pretty much left a huge space open at the store for a month. After talking to Rachel via email the past few days and Bo on the phone today, I decided to get my butt in gear and get some things over there! I'm winging it. I have an idea of what I'm taking. I just have no idea of how I will style it to make it look like a million bucks! I have this issue of things looking a certain way.....or not doing it at all. I really can't wait. I hope it will turn into something and I can have that extra cash I need to stop in at Anthropologie every once in awhile!

Go like their facebook page! You can tell them I sent ya and then get in there and buy something!!

Bella Rustica and a Junk Challenge!

My purchase for the day. I loved this old roll-up map turned chalkboard!

Bella Rustica for me was-a-last-minute-hop-in-the-car-why-not little trip. I found out about the show a week before and then had so many people saying I HAD to go! Fellow junk lover, Beth Bryan, from Unskinny Boppy literally tagged me on facebook saying it was a Lucy Farmer match made in Heaven! I knew that moment, nothing would stop me. I posted that I was heading up there and my cousins from Hendersonville, TN said they would meet me! Yay!! Tracy and I are kindred spirits. We could hang out for days and get so many projects done. Leigh is her younger sister and loves a good project, herself!

My business card basket

As I was driving up, I took the scenic route. (and made business cards) The land in Tennessee is so beautiful. The rolling hills and farms make me want to slow down and enjoy the ride. The tractors you get behind help the slowing down part! Traveling down the one lane dirt road to get to the barn was comical. I was a little worried that for one, everything would be gone (lots of people were leaving), and two, how would I ever get out of there!

The barn itself was worth seeing. It was a big, green, well taken care of barn. Several stalls had merchandise and the artists were sitting outside working on projects. As you passed the stalls it opened up to a bigger area and the vendors created their own "stalls". Gorgeous booths created by very creative vendors.

photo: Rhoda, Southern Hospitality

I made it to 3 booths before Funky Junk Donna was going on stage. I skipped the rest, ordered a BBQ sandwich and sat down for the lecture. I missed quite a bit of it....the line for the BBQ was LONG! I made it in time for her to introduce the Blogger Junk Challenge. Donna invited several bloggers she asked to help with this segment. She needed a couple of volunteers from the audience. I was chomping at the bit to get up there! Tracy and Leigh looked at me and screamed GO! I jumped up and before I knew it I was hauling tables and lamps around to create a vignette! Of course, I loved it! It was very similar to my stint on the Nate Berkus Show. They wanted us to create a room from things we found from the booths outside!

This is Rhoda, Sandra and myself pulling it all together. Did I mention how hot it was that day? We were steamy!!

Photo: Rhoda, Southern Hospitality

Rhoda and Sandra already had a table they wanted to use. It was definitely our inspiration for the look. We had a bit of a struggle with no backdrop. We were outside, there was a tree and a lot of bumps in the grass.......not to mention, the natural slope of the ground! We found this wood screen and pulled and pushed things around to get it out of it's home and into our space!

Before:

After:

This is the final outcome! It really came together great at the end! We had so many beautiful things to choose from. I had a blast working with these two. They really have great ideas. We all had similar taste and I think that helped. I want those lamps!!

The other group had the inside room. It was pretty dark inside the barn and the light was bad because it was behind them. I loved what they did. It was very different from ours and perfect in so many ways!

Did I mention both volunteers were Lucy? How crazy is that? 

Left to right: Lucy, Donna, Angie and Myra

Thanks Rhoda for letting me borrow your photos from Bella Rustica! Otherwise, they would all be blurry and dark!
We would like to thank all the vendors that let us "borrow" their wares for our room. I linked up their facebook pages. Go ahead! Check out the goods and like them!

Lamps: Blue Goose Linens
Wood Backdrop/Screen: Carters Creek Station Antiques
Bird Painting and pillow: Maxine Q Jewelry
Table and large bench: Olde Things New
Turquoise frame, 2 iron chairs, silver tray: 2Storeys Antiques
Pillows: Vintage House Dressing
Blue Bench: CeCeCaldwell's Paints

Disclaimer: this information is to the best of our knowledge and there might be an error.....or 2!