Up and Down, Here and There

It's been quite a ride the last week and a half....

Last Thursday, SR and I headed out for Branson, Missouri to browse the flea markets and just get away. We drove up through Greenbriar, which is a mecca for flea markets, but we decided to only stop a few places and we'd stop at others on the way back. Good call because I kept finding things I wanted and I didn't want my money to run out before we reached our destination!

Three days of walking through shops was hard on this old gal, but worth every bit of it. I came back Saturday with lots of treasures.

A quilt rack with shelf, vintage decorative items, a wonderful vintage rotary phone and some classic albums for my LeLe. I also bought two vintage sewing machines.

Aren't they beauties?!!! They work too! (Although they need some tweaking and cleaning) I paid less than $100.00 for the pair, and just today at the LQS, I saw machines similar to these displayed for $300.00 each.
SCORE!!

Saturday night, I realized I also brought home something I didn't plan on....food poisoning. Here it is Wednesday and I'm still dealing with it. Not fun. But it will pass eventually.

Today, my sweet mother in law sent me her 30+ year old Kenmore machine and cabinet. BE STILL MY HEART!!  She is so good to me! Look at that group of accessories that came with it. Two boxes full. Man Oh Man!!

The quilt in the lower left corner was made by SR's great grandmother.

The reason for my sudden interest in all these machines is that for one, my three year old Brother bit the dust. Just talked to the repair man and it is going to cost me more than half of what I paid for it to get it fixed. No thank you. I don't need it now. Yay me!! Second, my good friend Y has really been encouraging me to get an older machine because they are made so much better and work so well.

I'm still working to get my sewing room just like I want. It's almost there. I'm way behind on my sewing due to being away, being sick, and being without a machine. I have some catching up to do!!!

Fleas

No, not the biting kind...the market kind. *grin*

SR and I spent three days in beautiful Heber Springs, Arkansas this weekend and we did quite a bit of flea market browsing. That is one thing we both enjoy. Most of the time I have an agenda, and know what I'm looking for, so I scan. If I don't see it, I'm ready to go. SR on the other hand likes to go slow, handle things, study them, and take his time.  This particular trip, I knew what I had in mind, but was slow and meticulous anyway, having a lot of time, and not wanting to miss something really cool.

These are the fleas I returned with.

I was in a nautical state of mind, and found several things. Some of the pieces are vintage, some are not, but that wasn't a big deal to me. SR always wants vintage or antique pieces.

The little crab is a brass ash tray. Now, I normally wouldn't buy an ash tray because of my deep and abiding aversion to smoking, but I just couldn't pass that little guy up.  ( No offense intended for you smokers) I plan to hang the large shell in my bathroom, but I needs find me a decorative hanging apparatus first.

I was immediately drawn to this beauty. The color caught my eye, and it sort of reminds me of sea grass. Had to get it.

Don't you love the pattern in this dish? I fell in love with it.
In my next post, I'll try to share some photos of our explorations and discoveries.  In the meantime, enjoy my little treasures.