A Girl Named Timi

A Successful Fact

and

Artifact Finding Mission

I'm so behind in my blogging! It's crazy, I haven't been able to read any one's let alone post my own. Sorry to everyone who has been posting and I'm not keeping up. I haven't left you, just haven't gotten there yet.

Last weekend was so busy and this week is shaping up to be just as busy.

In the life of a junker this last weekend was almost an orgasmic weekend. Had my finds been loaded in the truck with a hot young stud of a thing and I found a new fabulous place for lunch, the weekend would HAVE BEEN ORGASMIC but those things didn't happen so it was only ALMOST!

This last Friday and Saturday Donna and I did a lot of running around and burning up $4.47 a gallon gas. Let's not call it fakebusy or wasting time, let's call it......A Fact and Artifact Finding Mission. Many things were learned and acquired over this 3 day stretch.

We got a late start on Friday because I was going to be good and stay home but it was just too nice a day out. So I thought "I need to put the top down on the car and go somewhere!" So I called Donna to go for a ride. The excuse for burning up gas..........I needed to go Downtown Seattle to get some tea.
Off to Seattle, the Queen Ann neighborhood to be exact. First stop Tea Cup Seattle to replenish my favorite tea and maybe get a couple new flavors for ice tea. As usual the staff at The Teacup didn't let me down. I love these people! I'm not a big tea connoisseur but I do love a nice cup of hot tea in the morning. When it's hot our The Hubs and I drink alot of ice tea. The Hubs and I are totally fine with plain ole Lipton Cold Brew but a nice glass of special loose leaf brewed tea is wonderful treat! I love the fact that Lipton Cold Brew comes in pitcher packets. You don't have to mess with a bunch of tea bags just one does the job. I usually make a big pitcher of tea, a little simple syrup and we have unsweetened tea or sweet tea if you want. Not the traditional way of making sweet tea I know but a good solution to the problem of different likes and dislikes.
Last summer when at the Tea Cup buying my usual supply, I was given a sample of Crimson Quartet to try as ice tea. OH MY LORDY! It's so dang good! Not funky flavored ( I hate that) just a mild flavor that gives it a natural sweetness. No need to add sugar. It's excellent straight up! I highly suggest you get on line and order a little of this for yourself. You won't be disappointed. Boil up some water, put a little Crimson Quartet in, let it steep, and hide it in the fridge from the family so you can enjoy it all by yourself! This time I got a little sample of Summer Solstice. It's kind of a peach vanilla combo. Not two of my favorite flavors but the smell was intoxicating and I had to try it. I'll let you know how this flavor works as ice tea. Summer Solstice came highly recommend by patrons of The Tea Cup Seattle when we were in there.
My morning favorites I buy on a regular basis are; Afternoon in the Park and La Bella Helene. These both go with just about anything you want to have with it. You can order sample sizes from The Tea Cup Seattle if your not sold on buying 4 oz or 8 oz.
We left the Tea Cup and stopped in at Nancy's Sewing Basket which is just an amazing place. They carry some of the most beautiful fabrics and millinery's. Some of the most gorgeous clothes making fabrics, a room of ribbons and trims and a huge case full of vintage laces, ribbons, flowers, buttons and other trims. They are very spendy but they have items you probably won't find anywhere else. It's so fun to just go in and look around. Now for my dig that still chaps my hide when I go in there. The downside of Nancy's is that they don't have a public restroom and I don't care how much you spend (I bought $200 worth of fabric on a stop there one day. Fabric for my wedding dress) they won't let you use it. You still have to walk down to the Tea Cup to use the restroom. On the day I spent a lot of money in there and needed a restroom I was so annoyed I had to walk 4 doors down to use a tea shop rest room. Faith have it..........it was the start of my tea addiction! It's highly possible Nancy owns the tea shop or they're in cahoots together!

Next Stop......Rhinestone Rosie's! I once drove by this and wanted to stop in but she was closed. So for the last 3 or 4 trips to get tea I have drove all over Queen Ann Hill looking for it again because I couldn't remember where I was when I found it the first time. My memory problem is going to be another whole blog entry!

"Look it up on the Internet before you go" , you say.........I kept forgetting!

This time I stopped the mail carrier. She knew!

What a great little shop! Donna and I truly enjoyed our visit there. Great variety, and just a cute little store. If you love old jewelry ( and some new) this is a place you need to check out. You will be oohing and awing the whole time your there, wanting everything. The day we were there Rhinestone Rosie was at the Antiques Road Show in Dallas doing appraisals. How cool is that?

Next stop in this fact and artifact finding mission...........Pacific Fabrics Outlet in the south end of downtown Seattle. Pacific Fabrics is one of the local fancy fabric stores here in Washington. They carry a lot of fabric and notions not so much craft stuff like JoAnn's. It's always fun to stop in these fabric stores because they have such a great variety. They are expensive and rarely have sales. JoAnn's has us all spoiled with those damn coupons!

The Pacific Fabrics Outlet store........not so much an outlet. It's a giant old warehouse with the same stuff, priced the same as in the fancy strip mall near my home. Still fun to stop in and look.

Well by now it's getting late in the afternoon, we are sunburned, and in downtown Seattle on a Friday at the start of rush hour.........DANG! Bad Planning! Not to mention The Hubs is calling wanting to know where I'm at and what am I doing? We decided dinner at the Red Hook Brewery which has the BEST deck with outside seating. It's usually an hour wait on a nice day to get a seat here. This must have been our lucky day because Donna and I got there, walked in and got seated. What a great way to end day one of the Fact and Artifact finding mission.

Day 2....Saturday

I should stay home and do some stuff around the house but it's another nice day! The Hubs would prefer I leave because he has work to do and apparently I'm not all that helpful. So I call Donna! We are off to garage sales. We spent all day going to garage sales and it was an excellent weekend for it. Here are some of the highlights and why it turned out to be an ALMOST ORGASMIC weekend on The Fact and Artifact Finding Mission;

What a find! I'm thinking I'm going to paint these pink and put them on the deck off my bedroom. That's the plan this week!My prize find! Leopard print fainting sofa. I had no idea what I was going to do with this when I got it but I loved it and had to have it. The thing that makes this the best find of the day..THE PRICE.............if I told you how much I got it for you would die! In great condition, no fading, no stains, no wear, the matching pillow is a little flat but that's about it. Email me if you can't stand it and have to know how much. Handmade stained glass window. Love the colors, not sure what I'm going to do with it but I loved it. Again...........the price was right. These were just a few of the fabulous things I found on Saturday. It was a great garage sale day!

Day 3
Sunday was work around the house day. We saved all that for one of the hottest days so far. About 90 degrees out. I didn't say we were smart here at The House of B's!
We started by getting up early and taking Charlie to the beauty shop. A hair cut was in order before our trip to the beach. He was starting to look like an orphan hippy dog. On the way home from dropping off the kid (Charlie) for the day The Hubs and I were trying to decided where to start on house projects that needed to be done. We decided that pressure washing the front of the house, decks, and driveway would be a good project to do on such a hot day. Basically play in the water. So The Hubs and I pressure washed, when I wasn't helping with that I started weeding some of the many over grown flower beds around here. I got 3 of the 8 done. Then ..............I was finished! Hot, sunburned, and sick of weeding. I came in the house and decided that I needed to do something with my fabulous fainting sofa and get it out of the garage. Well the sun room was the first place I wanted to try it. Before I could do that I needed to clean the sun room out. I have been putting this off because it's such a job. Over the winter it gets a little dusty and buggy. So I needed to vacuum bugs, cobwebs, and scrub window ledges. No, I haven't washed the windows yet! As you know from previous postings, windows really aren't my thing. So I started in cleaning..............I cleaned in there and rearranged furniture until about 8 pm. The result some what FABULOUS!

This vintage wrought iron set was hauled out from behind a barn a few years ago. I got it for FREE! Love seat, chase lounge, table and chairs, bakers rack, and end table. I LOVE IT! Thank you Friend M!This chase lounge is also know as the sudden death chair. Once you sit in it, lay back and relax a little, your OUT LIKE A LIGHT! This is the best napping place in the house. I had cushions made for all the chairs out of vintage chenille bedspreads and bark cloth. I love the fact that if anything gets spilled on these, or the animals get muddy prints on them, I can just strip them off the cushions and throw them in the wash with a little bleach and WALLAH! As good and fresh as new! I have gotten red wine and strawberry stains out of these.This is where Charlie likes to have his morning nap. I woke him up while taking the photo. That's why he doesn't look so thrilled. However.....He's all cleaned up and pretty. Fresh back from the beauty shop!Now for my latest and greatest addition! The leopard print fainting sofa. I love it! Hate the flowers I have in there, now that I'm looking at the photo but............love the sofa! Going to have to find a new fabulous throw and pillows. Probably a new rug also. Funny how one thing leads to another.

We love this sun room. It's where we spend all our time in the spring, summer, and early fall. We would love to spend more time out on our new fabulous deck but for some reason this year the mosquito's are holding us hostage in the house. We both got ate alive this weekend so neither of us wants to go out. The Hubs put some stuff in the grass hoping that it will calm them down a bit or at least make them keep their distance. We will see!

Well you're some what caught up on the goin's on here at The House of B's. This week it's a lot of getting ready for Camping Extravaganza 2008 with WSU Laura 's family and Company. My mom and niece will be joining us too as well as an assortment of friends and family. It's going to fun!

The days have cooled off a bit here so I need to get laundry caught up and done, get some baking started, and get the mobile estate packed. Guess I better get busy!