Tybee Tidbits

We spent a glorious July week away from the bungalow and enjoyed some Tybee Time on Tybee Island, Georgia, as well as a couple of enchanted evenings in Savannah.

Of course a few things for the bungalow came back with us.

This fun and sweet welcome sign on the front door came from Christy's Department Store, which is beachfront on Tybee Island. Fun Fact about Christey's -- the music store scene in The Last Song was shot here. Yes. Mike was in the same building that Miley Cyrus had stepped foot in a year earlier. He couldn't contain his excitement. And that pier you see in the preview? It is right across the street from Christey's.

These two prints came from a River Street gallery in Savannah. I brought them home and found a cheap frame to showcase them in. They reside in our downstairs bathroom now. The print on the left is of the Tybee Island Light Station and the print on the right is of Cockspur Lighthouse, which is part of Fort Pulaski off of Tybee. The little boat is a Christmas ornament from Christey's that says "Tybee Island, Ga" on the side.

We couldn't come home from Savannah without some goodies from The Lady. We picked out some butt massage, mop sauce and hoecake mix from Paula Deen's shop at The Lady and Son's restaurant. I have a hoecake pan I need to break out for that mix!

I brought home a signed cookbook from Uncle Bubba's Oyster House (Paula's baby bro -- yes, I met him!), Paula's newest book on Savannah Style (also signed by her and by Bubba), and a book from Tybee called "Cottages" that features many of Tybee's perfect little havens decorated by the fantastic Jane Coslick. I purchased it at a wonderful spot called Seaside Sisters on Tybee. My book is signed by her, too! These books make me sooooo happy. Why can't I just be Paula's personal assistant?

Oh, Pier 1. You know me so well.

I got an email today from Pier 1. Of course I chuckled at the subject line: "Gimme, gimme, gimme! I need! I need!"

The message inside said, "You want them. You need them. You gotta have them. Now's the time to stock up on all the things that make a house a home -- baskets, pillows, candles, dinnerware, lighting and more. You want 'em. We've got 'em. Why fight the urge?"

Hmmmm, Pier 1. I can tell you why I must fight the urge to come visit you. There is a lack of cash flow to support my urges for your trinkets. But if I did ... this room from your Web site's idea room gallery might look nice sitting in our basement space we are currently working on:

I love that little striped chest on the wall!

And we should probably talk about this rug. I do have urges to come buy it from you and put it on our living room floor. But I don't have $200 to part with:

And this bowl? I have an urge for it sit on our dining table:

So yes, I have urges to come see you, Pier 1. But I simply can't afford to. I will have to scour yard sales for more treasures to bring home. So stop teasing me with your emails!!

Our Banner is not Waving

You're a grand old flag,
A high flying flag
And forever in peace may you wave.
-- George M. Cohan

I'm going to buy a new flag pole and hang our American flag today. So the quote above means a lot to me because I need my flag to fly in peace in our neighborhood. I discovered last night that someone stole our cute Spring-y flag and the pole it flew on. I put it out Memorial Day weekend (it was out last Spring, too) and now it is gone. Apparently it has been gone for a few weeks and I didn't notice until I went to switch it out with our American flag.

What kind of jerk steals a flag off someone's porch? Probably a drunk one. And probably a drunk one I angered at some point since our new neighbors moved in down the street (three 19-year-old boys) and started having parties. I've had words with a few of their guests who stumble loudly down our street in the wee hours of the morning ... it was probably one of them who decided they needed our flag and flagpole.

Hopefully they will not feel the need to steal an American flag. Who would do that? We shall see.

Everything's coming up Hydrangeas!

Happy Father's Day and happy West Virginia Day! Lilo took her dad to the dog park today for some fun in the mercifully shaded park. Unfortunately she was ready to leave about two minutes before Kobe and his dad, Wellington Smith, arrived. Oops. Needless to say, I was not thrilled we left.

Lilo gave her dad a nice card, too.

Back to the Bungalow. Our tulips, azaleas and roses have come and gone, but we're still blooming. I planted some pink petunias a while agobeside the garage and they are still providing cheerful color in the yard. A few of these flowers have popped up, too. I think they are residual from last year's "open a packet of seeds and cross your fingers" fun.

We also have this little Salvia plant thriving beside the garage. It was a house-warming gift from our neighbors across the street last spring. We thought it died. But it came back!

Beside the house we have orange lilies blooming and the lilies-of-the-valley are getting ready to shine.

What I'm most excited about is the hydrangea bush. It is an odd thing ... it sits in the middle of our side yard. It's not the best spot and we've contemplated digging it up. I waited for it to bloom last year and it never did. So I pruned and talked to it this spring. And now it decided to show off. It's a wonderful shade of purple. There aren't that many blooms on it, but the ones there are enough to make me want to keep it. Lilo likes it, too.

What's blooming at your house?

Sale-rday

People who get up at 7 a.m. the Saturday after the University Chapter's golf scramble must be doing something extremely important. Or just worthwhile.

Melissa, Courtney and I took in so many yard sales today we lost count. We hit up Suncrest, Star City, Mt. Morris (drifted into Pennsylvania!) and Westover for treasures. Courtney found a white spiral Christmas tree ($1!) she has been searching for. Melissa was the winner of the day with a carload of goodies to help make he home she shares with Chris fabulous. I will have to post pictures of what we found for her in a DIY post -- some of the items need revamped.

My bounty wasn't so bad, either.

I was appalled when my coworker told me she doesn't have a rolling pin. So I picked up this one for her from a Suncrest sale for $1.

Our nephew, Hunter, may be coming to stay with us next month. I hope he does because he has the coolest bed on Wiles Hill. It was still in its original packaging and never used and it was $15. He is a superfan of the movie Cars and any type of automobile in general. It's a little pop up bed (like tailgating chairs) with a soft sleeping bag type cover. Lilo approves. Let's hope Hunter does.

I like to call this my vintage 1950s lemonade set. I bought it from nice lady in Mt. Morris for $3. She probably bought it at the Dollar Tree last year, but I'm sticking to my vintage tale. Mike and I and four lucky people will use this set for our porch. Hopefully we'll have a deck to use it on one day.

This is a Hallmark recipe card box that had a packet of recipes and empty recipe cards included. It was never used and still had its original packaging. I purchased it from the same lady as the lemonade set for $.25.

These "hairy" shade mini lamps came from a sale in Westover. I have no idea how much they cost and don't want to know. Let me just say this is what happens when you stay in the car and your friends decide you need a present. I may spray paint the bases and find some other shades to use.

This full-size mirror was $10 in Mount Morris. I love it.

This ol gal came from a Westover sale and she set me back $1. She'll hang out in the basement until October. Jealous, Devon?

Have you found any goodies at a sale lately?

A one-year-old little lady, a rainstorm and a STEAL!

Mike and I trekked to Moundsville on Saturday for Lex Vavrock's first birthday party at Grand Vue Park. The "Vue" was grand once the rain stopped just in time for her party.

On the way home we drove directly into a "Toricane" (I think that's what I called it: tornado+hurricane = toricane). So I used that as an excuse to stop and window shop. We meandered through a ginormous JCPenney and took a nap in the garden section on a swing. Then Mike went to the restroom as I hung out in home interiors. Thank goodness he had that extra drink because I found a treasure for the bungalow.

Remember back in October when we acquired our bungalow and deliberated on what we would hang above it? Jackpot. We found this baby for $49.99 (frame, mat and print!). Plus an extra 15% off. That's right. We paid $42.50 for this (0riginally $100).

Here is our map hanging above the buffet. Notice we removed the scrollwork on top of the buffet for a cleaner line. No worries ... it is still in tact and can easily be placed back on top of the mirror if we decide we miss it.

Isn't it lovely? It makes me want to go somewhere RIGHT NOW. But I always feel that way, so nothing new.

Because she is so adorably sweet and deserves credit for our find, here is Miss Alexis Marie Vavrock, the fabulous daughter of Ashley and Thad Vavrock.

And at our house, the water flowed like wine

One of the little disclosures the previous owners of our home made was how there could be, at times, water and moisture in the basement. We were OK with that, understanding it's the sort of thing that happens in 80+ year old homes. And when you live mid-hill on a corner lot and wedged into a slight slope, you're going to get water.

Nevertheless, this is the reason Erinn and I cringe, either internally or furtively, when we're away from the bungalow and know it's raining really hard in Morgantown.

And on Sunday -- and conveniently enough, immediately after I got home from church -- we came pretty close to "worst case scenario."

And how did this happen in the very area of the very basement I spent three days cementing and dry locking last summer?

Say hello to my little friend!