Feature Fridays—Pensacola, FL Antiquing

One of Beth’s favorite pastimes is antiquing. She has me hooked, but I can say for certain, she still likes it much more than me, maybe too much. I don’t like a lot of clutter, and she, on the other hand, doesn’t mind at all. I think the packrat gene skips a generation. My mom was a packrat, guess I got skipped, and Beth is the next in line. (Her child will probably be like Dakota Fanning’s character in Uptown Girls. Haha!) That’s okay because she has found a lot of interesting and unique things. (Check out her post on our blog about her Etsy finds.) She has also found several great antique shops here in Pensacola, FL and has met a lot of great people at those places.

The first is Franklin Antiques.

(Picture is courtesy of Google. You can see the little Google guy in the bottom right corner.)

Franklin Antiques is located at 6550 Mobile Highway here in beautiful Pensacola, FL. They have a wonderful assortment of antiques, lots of unique items. They have numerous vendors, and their inventory changes daily. I love the atmosphere at this place. This truly is an antique shop.

Here’s what Beth has to say about Franklin Antiques.

This is one of our favorite flea market/thrift store/antique shops in town, plus it’s right by my house outside the fairgrounds so it’s super close! Mom and I could wander through this place for hours, and they have enough stuff to keep us busy the whole time! And their prices are the best in town too (there is always a booth with 50-80% off)! It’s rare that we don’t find at least one thing we just have to have from here! From a $2 Green Bay Packers sign, to a $15 bench and lots of cute Pyrex for under $5, we’ve had some great finds here!

Next is Dixie’s Antiques and Collectibles.

(Picture is courtesy of Dixie’s.)

I’ll let Beth do the “talking” for this one. Here is what she has to say.

This is a fun little store just north of 9 mile road on Hwy. 29.  Mom and I don’t always find something, but when we do, it’s usually something fabulous. Haha! Just to name a few, I got a huge gallon size baggie of mostly Coats and Clark thread for just a $1 and a cute Blue Ball Mason Jar for only a $1 during their Dollar Days Sale back in March.  We’ve also gotten a cute set of enamel coated mixing bowls, a set of three, for just $2, and I got some crystal candlestick holders for just 50 cents each awhile back. Those I’ll be using at Christmas to make some crafts!

And last, but not least, is Blue Moon Antique Mall.

This place is huge. There are so many booths and so much stuff and LOTS to look at. Please make sure you have LOTS of time when shopping here because to see it all, you will need lots of it (time that is). I LOVE the atmosphere of this place which Beth will also mention.

Here is what she has to say.

This is the largest antique store in town. It’s over on Navy Blvd. and it’s another one of our (Mom and I) favorite places.  This is the type of store that we could curl up in a chair in and read for hours.   The atmosphere is fantastic, and they have some of the neatest items in town. (Most are out of our price range, but it’s still nice to go and look!) We have made some good finds here though! Recently I got a Pyrex bowl that matches my Grandma’s set.  And I found a cute glass Atlas jar for $2 and a Blue Ball Mason Jar for $4.  (Finding a Blue Ball Mason Jar for $4 here at Blue Moon and one at Dixie’s for $1 is practically unheard of. Those crazy blue jars can go up to $30 a piece! Yikes!!)

These are just three of the fantastic antique shops we have in Pensacola. We will be featuring more later on. Stay tuned!

Have a great day!

Thursday Thought For The Day

Beth has been receiving these great Daily Thoughts from Real Simple. She read one to me the other day, and I asked her to send it to me which she did. After receiving it, I realized that I could sign up to receive them also, so I did and now I’m hooked. I wanted to share the one that Beth shared with me.

“It takes time to be a success, but time is all it takes.”—Anonymous

How true is this. How do you use your time? I know I could use some improvement in time management which is something I am working on. I hope this quote inspires you like it inspired me.

Hope you are having a great week so far and are using your time wisely!

If you want to sign up for the Daily Thought from Real Simple, go to their website (click the picture above) and scroll all the way down. Over to the right is a box titled “Subscribe Now” with your choices below. Check the boxes of the free emails you are interested in, enter your email address, and click Submit. Hope you enjoy!

What We Like (or Don’t Like) Wednesdays—Sew Essentials Cutting Table

When I started setting up my sewing/craft room, I knew I was going to need some sort of table to cut fabric on and assemble crafts on. Unless you have a huge house with lots of bedrooms, space will always be an issue. I started searching at one of my favorite stores—Joann Fabric and Craft Stores. And, of course, that is where I found my table.

 

Click on the picture above to see the table at Joann Fabrics. It’s on sale right now and usually is. I think I got mine when it was 50% off, so it was a great deal. The sales vary so just keep watching it, and you will also be able to get it for a good deal. I believe you can use their coupons on this table when it’s not on sale. Joann Fabrics usually runs at least 40% off coupons and occasionally 50% off coupons which can be used on regular-priced items.

Here is a picture of the table in my sewing/craft room.

It’s amazing how the animals always end up in the pictures. Haha!

I love, love, love my table because it does this.

Isn’t that the coolest thing?

When we are done with it, it can be folded up and pushed against the wall. That is where the space saving comes in. Also, you can leave one side up and one side down if you want. The top of the table is very durable, and the wheels make it easy to roll around. The wheels can be locked to hold the table in place. The table rolling around is not much of an issue with carpeting, but the ability to lock the wheels would definitely be a plus if the table was on a hard surface such as tile or wood flooring.

The table does come in pieces and has to be assembled. My husband put mine together, but I’m sure I could have done it myself (would have taken me longer).

Anyway, if you’re in the market for a cutting table, take a look at this one. It’s a great little table!

Hope you are enjoying your week!

Tuesday Treats—Original Ranch Roasted Potatoes

This recipe is SO good and EASY! With only three ingredients, I don’t think it could get much easier.

(The picture is courtesy of Hidden Valley®. Just click on the picture to link to the recipe and Hidden Valley’s website.)

Original Ranch Roasted Potatoes

2 pounds small red potatoes, quartered (I use about 3 pounds)

1/4 cup vegetable oil (I use olive oil)

1 packet (1 ounce) Hidden Valley® Original Ranch® Salad Dressing & Seasoning Mix

Place potatoes in a gallon-size Glad® Food Storage Bag and add oil; seal bag. Toss to coat. Add salad dressing mix and toss again until coated. Bake in ungreased baking pan at 450°F for 30 to 35 minutes or until potatoes are brown and crisp.

A few things:

1. The reason I use more potatoes than the recipe calls for is because one packet of the mix is too much for two pounds of potatoes. They come out tasting really salty and really “ranchy.” Now if you like salt (remember too much salt isn’t healthy), then you will probably like using just two pounds of potatoes.

2. In my book, vegetable oil and olive oil are pretty much interchangeable, so I use olive oil on everything. It’s a healthier choice also.

3. I have used a plastic storage bag in the past for mixing but have found a large plastic storage container works just as well. I have a lettuce keeper that is just the right size. I can just wash the storage container when I’m done and not waste a storage bag.

4. The recipe says to place the potatoes in an ungreased baking pan. I have been putting them in my large, heavy-duty cookie sheet. The first time I followed the directions and didn’t grease it. Wow, what a mistake! Those potatoes were stuck good. The last few times I have fixed them, I have greased the cookie sheet very well with olive oil. Now in this case, vegetable oil might make a difference. So if you use vegetable oil, you might get away with not greasing the baking pan.

We had these potatoes for the Fourth, and everyone enjoyed them (again!). I hope you all enjoy this recipe as much as we all do.

Hope you all have a great day!

Made on Mondays—Lotus Boutique Necklace Knock-Off

Beth made the cutest necklace and wrote about it on her blog. I just LOVE this child (she’s mine of course) and all her talent and creativity and wanted to share her creation on our blog. So, here is her post word for word.

When Adam and I were in Mobile last weekend for the estate sale, we stopped by Bel Air Mall to get pretzels at Auntie Anne's. We don't have one anymore in Pensacola, so anytime we are over there we have to stop! :) Well the great thing about the pretzel place is, it's right next door to one of my favorite shops, Lotus Boutique. Unfortunately our Lotus in Pensacola closed last year. I'm seeing a trend here. UGH! But at least Mobile is pretty close so it's not too far of a drive to go over there.

While in Lotus Boutique I spotted a super cute triple layer necklace that had fabric woven through it. I took one look at it, and told Adam, "I could so make that, and mine would be cuter." haha :) His reply was usual, "Take a picture and do it." So I did just that!

I ran by Joann's yesterday after work and grabbed my supplies and then came home and got to work! About halfway through, I realized I had forgotten to get eye pins for the beads, so after one more quick trip I had everything I needed to finish it up! :) I also was able to use a 20% off total purchase (sale and regular price items) coupon from Michael's which made my deals even better!!

So here is the original necklace from Lotus...

(Sorry about the crappy pictures, they are from my phone). I was excited last night that I had finished it and just started snapping pictures! :)

And here is the one I made. I snagged some Batik fabric strips from Mom's house when I was there on the 4th to use for this. I LOVE Batik's because they are the same on the front and back so I knew it would be perfect for threading through the chain of the necklace.

It took me about 3 hours to finish this up. I'm sure the next one will take way less since I've learned some what not to do and some how to make things go faster tips and tricks. :) I'll post a tutorial on it as soon a I've gather all my pictures up in case anyone wants to make one too!! I think the Lotus Boutique necklace would have been around $20 with tax, and I made this one for less than $10. Plus, I like my colors betters. :) hehe

Hope everyone has a great week!

Gussy Sews Birthday Giveaway! 4 prizes to win!!

Head on over to Gussy Sews and enter her Birthday Giveaway Bash! She's got 4 different prize packages to giveaway! :) She's picking a winner sometime this week so get over there and enter to win!

Have a great day!