Spring is here and the Flea Markets have begun.

Happy Monday.  I went to the flea market this week end and here are some pics and some of the treasures I found.  It was beautiful in the 60's to walk around the flea market.  It was good to see some of my favorite vendors back for the season.

Julie Norkus is one of my fav vendors always has the cutest displays in her booth. You can visit her blog here.  I loved this Spring sign she did up.  I was taking photos with my phone so I was a little off center with this picture.  This sign was fabulous.

Again not the greatest pics with the I Phone but this vintage suit case was adorable with the jean lining.

There were just all kinds of spring treasures.

Well Hello..... This little bench screamed to me.  This cutie came home with me and is going on my front porch for summer.  Ohhhhh I cannot wait to decorate her with beautiful blooms.

I could not resist this cute twig wreath and nest to hang on my mirror over the mantel at home.

I got this cute Guest Cottage sign for my guest room.  Another great creation of Julie.

It was a nice day to walk the flea market.  Smell the fresh air and look at all the fun and funky treasures.
Hope your week will be a good one.
Kris
:)

Coffee Table Update and The Winners Are!

Happy Sunday.  It is sunny and going up in the 60's here today in Chicago Land.  Wooo Hooo!  I think Old Man Winter is letting go and Spring is trying to peak out.

I saw the tulips and daffodils popping up in the flower beds this week end so I think that is a good sign Spring might be here.

I have an update on the coffee table and the winners of the 2 Year Anniversary Give Away.

This was the before picture of the top of the coffee table.  I did not like that the black streaks were coming through from the table top being outside and exposed to the elements for the past few years.  I just loved using this piece as a coffee table top and did not want to throw it out.  Plus it fit beautifully on the top of those chair legs.

The black was coming through the whole table.

So my wonderful Mr. Junk Chic Cottage sanded it one more time with a heavy grade sandpaper and was able to get the black out of the wood.  Plus I liked the lighter tone now to the wood. 

Then I put one coat of clear poly on the piece.

Now I like the lighter wood top in the room.  Just goes better with my whites and chippy pieces in the room.

So now the coffee table has the weathered look with the lighter colors of the wood coming through.
Ahhhhhh now I am happy with the piece and did not have
to paint the top.  I love when I can repurpose and give new life to things.
:)

Thank you everyone for your support and wonderful comments on my 2 Year Blog Anniversary.  I appreciate you taking time to come by for a visit and leave your sweet comments on my decor crazy LOL!  It has been so much fun getting to know all of you.

Here is the list of winners.  You would think after two years in blog land I would have figured out that rafflecopter thingy.  Since I did not I did it the old fashion way put all your names in a bowl (white ironstone of course) and then had my husband pick out the names.  Not real savvy but it works just the same.

If you name is listed here congrats and please email me your address so I can get these out to you.
Have a wonderful start to the week.
Kris
:)

The winners are........

Gail My Repurposed Life
Susie She Junks
Crystal Just Me and My Halo
Amy Jo Sunny Skies and Sweet Tea
Vera Row Homes and Cobblestones
Stacey Proofing the Pillows
Kelly Essence of Home
Cindy Consider it all Joy
JP Sweet Inspirations by JP
Roxanne Always Dreaming
Nancy A Joyful Cup
Debbie Lake House
Pendra Pendra's Place
Rose Musings, Meanderings and Merriment From Rose
Cindy Cloches & Lavender
Betsy My Salvage Treasures
Diana Nana Diana
Carol Art and Sand
Ceekay Thinkin of Home
Sandy Shabby Chic Sandy
Shirley Housepitality Designs
Judy 20 North Ora

Congrats!!!!!!!!

Saturday Spotlight: Life Behind the Blogger

Susan from Must Love Junk, and myself wanted to do a regular feature on our blogs, something unique that hasn't been done before.   So we came up with an idea to 'spotlight the real life behind the blogger' in a more personal way.

There is so much talent and inspiration in blogland, and we thought it would be fun to bring you a closer look at the person behind the blog.

Every week on Saturday we will spotlight a blogger and have them tell us a little bit about themselves and their blogs.  You will be able to see and read about each of the bloggers on both Susan's and my blog. 

March 29th
Kim from Tidbits & Twine

Good Saturday to everyone.  It gives me great pleasure to introduce you to a fairly new blogger Kim from Tidbits & Twine.  Even though she if fairly new to blogging when you visit Kim's blog you will think she has been blogging for a long time.    It is a beautiful blog.  Enjoy getting to know Kim on a more personal level.




Hi everyone! I'm Kim from Tidbits &Twine and I was so excited when Kris asked me to participate in the Saturday Spotlight Feature. I'm still fairly new to blogging and have been greatly inspired by her style, so this is truly an honor for me. For the most part, my blog provides decorating tips, ideas, inspiration, and little by little, glimpses of my home as I complete decorating projects. I don't share too much information about myself on my blog, though. In fact, for those that have visited my site before, you might have realized that I don't even have a picture of myself on it! I'm much more comfortable behind the camera than in front of it. :) So if you've ever wondered what I look like, this is me.


 

My husband and I met when we were both in college and married the month after we graduated. He is truly my best friend and my greatest role model....and my antiquing buddy. :) We have been married for almost 16 years now and have two kids, ages 9 and 6. {Uh-oh...I just realized that with a little math, you can figure out my age!} 



This is my favorite wedding photo and was captured by a guest using one of the disposable cameras we provided. My husband and I were married under this tree.}    Here's my hubby with his "other" love - his astrophotography telescope. He's taken some amazing pictures of galaxies and nebulas from our backyard!

The Rosette Nebula as photographed by Hubby in our backyard.

The supportive Hubby waiting in line at the antique faire with me at 5:45 AM. It was dark and freezing cold that morning. Note the headlamp for hands-free shopping!}    We live in a tract home in small town of 43,000 in a valley of the California Bay area with our two kids. Tract homes are very common where we live, so my goal has always been to make my home feel like me even though it looks like everyone else's. But I absolutely love the area that we live because we are surrounded by hills and are only a short drive to destination spots like San Francisco, the Redwoods, the beach and the mountains.




  My family is my greatest joy and we spend as much time together as possible.

This was taken three years ago, which is the last time we ever dressed so formally! We have about 10 photos similar to this one and my daughter isn't looking at the camera in any of them. Lol!  My son is one of the most caring people I have ever met. He is my little home body and loves to relax on the weekends and spend time as a family. I am constantly inspired by him and love him to the moon and back!

 My daughter is a bundle of energy and never stops moving - literally! She loves to sing and dance and do runway fashion shows for us, which she always makes me emcee.

 We also live with a cat named Kitty la Belle. She is loveable and snuggly but also totally independent.




  Kitty thinks that we bought her some chew toys, but really, they are our two pet finches, Sparky and Lola.



  

 We also have a Beta fish and are soon to be the proud owners of a miniature Labradoodle puppy like this one!

  My love of decorating started early. When I was little, my grandpa made me this amazingly detailed, three-story dollhouse and my grandma wallpapered and added curtains to each room. As a child, I don't have any memories of actually playing dollhouse, but lots and lots of memories decorating and meticulously arranging all of the furniture!









  

 We gave the dollhouse to my daughter for her 5th birthday. She definitely plays with it, as opposed to decorating it. :)


  

 In college I studied Marketing and Japanese. I took Japanese "just because." I was fluent by the time I graduated but now, after not using the language for many years, I can barely remember anything! Anyway, just after college, I put my Marketing degree to use working at an advertising agency in San Francisco for clients like Dockers, Microsoft and Sega. One of the perks was that we received free copies of any and every magazine available. When the new stacks would come in, most of the 20-something year old girls would quickly snatch up Vogue, In Style and Vanity Fair. Not me! I took home all of the decorating, design and DIY magazines I could find, tore out pages of things I loved and filed them away for future reference. {This was before Pinterest of course!}





  After many years in advertising, I then transitioned to work as a Brand Manager for a video game company, marketing games for the latest PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo systems. My job included working on the package design, writing advertising copy, creating websites, print ads, TV commercials, trailers, etc. It was a very demanding job with a ton of deadlines, but also allowed for a lot of creativity, which I enjoyed. I stopped working just a few years ago and while the kids were at school, I started tackling a few decorating projects. One of the first things I dabbled with was Olioboard and after making many, many boards just for fun, I entered one in a contest and won 2nd place! What's interesting is that this board then unknowingly became the inspiration for my master bedroom remodel.

The design for the room was created around the look and feel of the artwork.}    One year ago in March 2013, I decided to start my blog, Tidbits&Twine. Up until that point, I was constantly telling my husband about all kinds of decorating ideas or pointing out to him why certain things "worked" and certain things didn't in the home, and he always politely listened, but really, I needed to find some like-minded people who shared my love of design and passion for decorating! I had a lot of ideas I wanted to share, but no idea how much technical knowledge was required. For me, the learning curve was steep! I also didn't know anything about taking photos, but have always wanted to learn photography and have been slowly teaching myself so that I can share better pictures on my site. 




A glimpse of my master bedroom.    I chose the name Tidbits&Twine for my blog because it contains tidbits of information about my life, my home, and decorating, all wrapped up in one place. It also describes my decorating style, which is a little of this and a little of that, all tied together under one roof. I would describe my home as classic, European-inspired, elegant, a little bit industrial, and curated. I love to mix together a lot of opposites to create texture and interest. My dining room is a mixture of furniture styles, finishes and wood tones using pieces that I've purchased over the years. I recently added the numbers to the backs of the chairs {post here} and updated my chandelier by adding a bit of bling to it {post here}.









  We partially updated our 1980's kitchen by adding a new countertop and backsplash, and painting the cabinets. We also removed the two small cabinets above the cooktop to make room for a chimney hood. Funny backstory about this photo: I gathered everything together for this picture and when my son came home from school, he asked if he could have a "DC". I had to ask what "DC" meant, to which he replied, "Your display croissants! Am I allowed to eat them or are they only for photographing?" Yes, even my family now understands the life of a blogger and the importance of photos. :)



   Little by little, I'm transforming a house into our home and our story.   So that's my life behind my blog! I'm slowly finishing up my master bedroom remodel and starting work to redecorate my living room, so I hope you'll stop by Tidbits &Twine sometime to see how these projects are coming along, as well as to get ideas and inspiration for other home projects. And a big "thank you" to Kris and Susan for having me over today!  

   


Thank you Kim.  It was fun to get to know you better and your family pictures are so sweet.
Now that you have gotten to read about Kim.  You can hop over to Susan's blog to learn about another wonderful blogger Stacey from Poofing the Pillows
Have a wonderful weekend.
Kris
:)

Blog Anniversary And A Give Away

I can't believe it but it has been 2 years this month that I started my blog.  Yep 2 wonderful years of figuring out all the ins and outs of blog world.  Still feel like I know nothing but one thing I do know is I have found some of the most wonderful people out in blog land.  It still amazes me the friendships and bonds I have formed with all of you just through blogging.  

So I wanted to do something special for this 2 year anniversary so I came up with a sweet little gift for each of you to sign up to win.

It is not a big gift but it has some meaning in the 3 things I picked out.

The first little item is a package of blank friendship cards to mark the occasion of the friendships I have found through blogging.

The second is a great little pen that when you click the end it changes up inspiring thoughts.

The third is a cute little air freshener Daisy that you put in your car and it clips to the air vent.  So it reminds you of Spring with it pretty smell and also it is just a cute little embellishment to make you smile when you get in your car.

Cute little pack of friendship cards.  

Be inspired is one of the messages on this pen.

Dream Big

Laugh Lots :)

The smell of Spring for your Car.

All tied together for you.  All you have to do is leave a comment below and make sure if  I have a way to contact you if you are a no reply blogger or do not have a blog.

Good luck I have lot's of these to give away.  I wanted to give out as many as I could.  This is only for people in the USA, which is sad to me since I have so many wonderful bloggers and followers from outside the United States.  It is just the postage costs prohibit me from having this extend to all of you.  I do thank you all for your loyal following and sweet comments and so much inspiration.

I thank all of you for your support of all my decor projects and I thank all of you for the inspiration I gain daily from your blogs.
Thank you sweet friends.
Wooo Hoooo two years in Blog Land!
Kris
:)

To Paint or not to Paint

Happy Monday everyone.  Hope your week is starting out great.  We actually are going to hit 60 here today.  Wooo Hooo that is nice for us here in the midwest.

Ok you know how I made the ottoman out of the two end  dining room chairs.

Reminder here:

Remember these chairs.  I loved them but they did not really go with my french farmhouse decor but I still loved the legs of these chairs.

So I repurposed them into this ottoman.

Ok while I was loving this new look I was missing the curved legs of these chairs that I fell in love with.  Plus I felt the ruffles were too much for the family room.
So............

 I have had this old farm table out in the garden for the past few summers by my hubby's shed.  It was starting to see the end of it's life with all the watering and weathering.

So I decided to repurpose the legs from that table in my dining room with this old chippy door for a side bar.
You can see this post here.

I did not have the heart to throw out the top of the table from being outside.  I knew it would not make it another summer with the weather and watering but I just could not bear to throw this chippy piece away.
That is when I asked my husband to see if it would fit on top of the ottoman legs and it did!

Here is where I need some advice.  I love the top all weathered but it is in pretty bad shape.  So I am thinking about white washing it or even painting it white and distressing it to match the base.  Just not sure what to do.

In some places it is in pretty bad shape with all the watering and weather that it has been exposed too.
What do you think.  Leave it alone or paint it white.  Remember this is the girl that likes to paint everything white! LOL!
I am torn because I like the distressed weathered look but I also do not like how dark it is in some spots so maybe painting would be better.
We did sand this down as much as we could and it still was pretty dark with the water seeping through the wood for so long outside.

Opinion's welcome.  Would love to hear what you think I should do.
Have a great start to the week.
Kris
:)

Sharing with Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

Thank you Sweet Blogging Friends

You know I cannot say this enough and I know I sound like a broken record but Blog Land is a wonderful place with very wonderful and kind hearted people.

My friend Diana over at her blog Nana Diana Takes a Break

put up a post a few days ago to have prayers and good wishes sent to my hubby who was going through a rough time.

He woke up on Wednesday at 3am to severe abdominal pain.  We went to the ER and they tried to get the pain under control and find out what was the cause.  All the tests were coming back normal so we were all baffled and scared to what this might be.

They finally got a GI specialist in and admitted him to the hospital and then did some exploratory surgery and found a bile duct to be almost completely closed off.  They opened it up and put a stent in that will be removed in about 6 weeks.  After this procedure and surgery he has been slowly getting the pain under control.  The doctors are cautiously optimistic this was the problem and when all of this calms down from the surgery he will be feeling 100% better.

I have to thank all of you for the wonderful thoughts and healing wishes along with the prayers.  I am a big believer in the power of prayer and I know it worked for us and I feel blessed that some of you that know me prayed and others that did not know me prayed for us too.  That is remarkable and I am truly blessed to have all of you doing this for us.

This man is my hero, my best friend and my partner in all my crazy decor things so I will be so happy to have him back to his old self soon.

Thank you for all your good wishes and prayers.  It made a big difference.

My hero, my friend, my soul mate.
Thank you from both of us.
Terry and Kris
:) xxxooo