Re-Purposed Old Door And New Yard Decor

Wow it sure has been hot here in New England this week, and they say the next few days will bring no relief. I know others are having it worse than we are, so I will be grateful for our 90 degrees!  Before you know it the leaves will be changing and the snow will be flying so I will savor each day for what it brings to us. I have a few new finds that I have turned into primitive yard decor so I thought I would share them with you. Best of all they were found items in our garage!  The door and grape crusher were found up in the rafters and have been there according to hubby for a LONG time. He said he remembers asking his Mom what the crusher was when he was a little boy and he is ummm......58 so yeah it's old. haha. It has some great old green paint on the base and traces on the wheel!  I put a plant in the bin and it is decorating the front of the house now along with a lot of other items.  The door was the origninal door to the old outhouse on the property. When he pulled it down it was covered with mud wasp dirt... I ran like heck. lol  But, I cleaned all that filth off it and I just LOVE the patina of it. The old green over the cream color paint is perfect in my eyes.  I hung a twig wreath and the metal sconce holder which came with 3 glass vases in it and I replaced with the old clay pots.  That was a yard sale bargain this past weekend for a dollar. I figure I can change the wreath and decor on the door with the seasons.  We put the door leaning up against the side of the house where the driveway is.  It was always a blah plain spot, so now it has a bit of charm.  So, if you like this look don't overlook those old doors!
Nadine

Freebie Curbside Cupboard Redo

Hi everyone,  It has been a while since I have posted, but you know how it is in the summer. (busy busy busy) A few months ago I had blogged about my husband coming home with a neat cupboard top he found on the curb for free. It looked like a man had used it as a tool cabinet as it had the holes in the shelf for brushes etc. First I took those old shelves out and hubby put a new shelf in for me. I had this circa 1990's colonial style cabinet that was in a high gloss pine finish with a painting of flowers on the doors. It was pretty and all, but screamed " I need to be primmed up" I meant to take a picture but I was so excited to finish this that I forgot. lol  So I painted both pieces in Valspars Dark Kettle Black (flat finish) after sanding them down. I then resanded to distress and gave it a rub down with Minwax special walnut stain. I let it sit for a few minutes then wiped the stain off with an old soft cloth.  I put the found cupboard top on top of the cabinet bottom I had and came up with the "step back" style cupboard look.  I think it came out very well and looks nice with the old crock bottles, tole tray and pewter pieces.  I am sure I will be fooling with vignettes for it for a while :)  I hope everyone had a nice 4th of July and the summer is going well so far!
Here are two pictures of the completed cupboard followed by the picture of the cupboard top before it was made over in case you missed that blog post from a few months ago.

Before:

A Few New Plantings Around the House

Hi all, sorry I haven't posted in a while, but things have been rather busy around here.  Yesterday was a beautiful day for Fathers Day and hubby and I added a few new plantings around the house.  We plan to edge the gardens in old bricks we have, but I thought I would share the pretty flowers we planted for now. They are already attracting butterflies which is what I wanted. I hope everyone had a great Dad's day weekend!

Summer Thyme Picnic- New Display

I love picnics!  There is nothing better than to spread out the blanket and relax and enjoy some summertime good eats.  I decorated my bay window with this old picnic basket filled with an array of prim goodies, mason jars filled with canned summer fruits, ginger beer bottles for a refreshing beverage, lemons and limes, and an old civil war song book to read.  I hope this weekend is a relaxing one for everyone and maybe you can find time to even have a picnic.

Taco Pasta Skillet

I made this for dinner tonight and it got rave reviews from the hubby and kids so I thought I would share this easy recipe. It fed 6 people and hubby had 2 servings.  I served it with crusty bread and a green salad.

1 lb	ground beef
1 c	chopped onion
1 c	sweet corn (frozen)
4 oz	diced green chile peppers, drained
1 pkg   2/3 c	taco seasoning (1.25oz) water
1 lb	penne pasta (1 box)
4 oz	sliced black olives, drained
1 c	shredded monterey jack cheese (divided) can of diced tomatoes sour cream fresh cilantro

Brown the ground beef and onion in a large skillet. Drain. Meanwhile, cook your pasta of choice according to the package directions.  I used ziti.
Add the corn and green chilies to the beef mixture. 
Add the package of taco seasoning mix and 2/3 cup of water and stir. Add 1/2 C of the cheese and the olives.
Simmer for 5 mins.
Drain pasta and add to the meat mixture. 
Serve topped with the remaining shredded cheese, diced tomatoes, sour cream and cilantro.
Enjoy!

Happy Sunday!

It is a gorgeous day here in New England.  The highs will be in the low 70's. I hope to get more yard work done and just enjoy the day.  I switched up the farmhouse table this morning.  My Mother in Law who recently passed away had given me this lovely victorian lemonade set that was her Mothers. I filled it with the hot pink rhododendrons that are blooming in the yard and added a few more victorian pieces around it and used a vintage tablecloth with strawberries galore on it.   I think it makes for a bright and cheery table. While I still love my primitives, I do like to decorate in other styles on occasion and love to mix things up between primitive, farmhouse, shabby chic, and victorian. Maybe it is the Gemini in me.  How about you?  Do you stick with one style regardless or bring other treasured pieces into your decor even if they aren't the majority of your decor?

Catmint ? You Would Think The "Cat" Part Would Have Given Me a Clue

Hubby and I went to Home Depot this morning to pick up a lawn mower starter and of course I can't leave that place without walking through the garden dept.  I saw the tall spikey purple flowers and thought they were pretty and a decent price at $5.97 so I purchased three 2 qt. pots. I noticed it was called catmint when I got it home and so I tore off a leaf and smelled it...yep minty. I wonder why they call it catmint?   So I decided to put the plants beside the garage where it gets a lot of sun. One of the kittys was nearby and immediately began to roll on the plant knocking half of it flat to the ground.  Another comes by and starts chewing on it.  Yikes. I tell hubby that I think we bought catnip!  I was afraid they were going to flatten the rest of my flowers and seedlings there so I replanted all 3 plants in an old cranberry box and put it on the side of the house. So the kitties are havin' a hell of a time with my new plants and hubby is grumbling about wasting 15 dollars. lol

Little Mama is staggering off after rolling on the plant for 15 minutes.

Misty comes by to take a "hit" off the plant.

Catmint plants all replanted in their new box. Uh oh...Mama is back for a second roll and Ty is getting his fill too.  I wonder how long the plants will look pretty? lol