Thrifty Thursday, Tablescape Thursday and a Special Birthday!!

That's right...once again it is time for Thrifty Thursday and Tablescape Thursday.  My, my where does the time go, seems like just yesterday I was looking at everyone's thrifty finds and gorgeous tablesettings.  Please join Leigh at Tales From Bloggeritaville and Susan at Between Naps on the Porch  for what promises to be another great week of posts.

Tonight, I'll be sharing two thrifty finds.  I mentioned in yesterday's post that I had the beginnings of a collection of vintage sweaters.  I posted my most recent find, the cherry sweater.  Now I present to you the rest of my fledgling collection.

The above sweater is just gorgeous in person.  The beaded detail work is intact perfectly.  The tag on the inside says: Jo Ro Imports, Miami, Florida.  Made in Hong Kong. 100% wool.  Hand trimmed.  I purchased this sweater at a local thrift store for $8.00.  I love it!

This sweater is just as gorgeous as it's green closet mate.  All beading is intact.  The tag on this lovely says: Fully Fashioned Kaws.  100% cashmere.  I purchased this one at the base thrift store for $3.00.  Now, I didn't take a picture of it but I realized that I have a beaded purse that is an exact match of the beads on this sweater that I picked up on a weekend shopping trip to Bejing a few years back.(No, I didn't take a long ole' flight from the U.S. to China for the weekend, we were stationed in Seoul, Korea which was only an hours flight away.)  This sweater has a shorter length than the green one but looks so good with a brown dress that I purchased recently at Stein Mart.
I hope ya'll enjoyed my thrifty finds...Now stayed tuned for a tablescape. :)

Today we are having lunch on the front porch.  I'm sorry that the outside looks so cloudy.  This is due in part to me having a crappy camera and the fact that the next canyon over was on fire ALL day and smoke was so heavy outside! Enjoy the pictures.

So here is the lowdown on this tablesetting:
Black iridescent chargers: base thrift store 8 for $3.00.  I think that they are carnival glass.
Black and White dinner plate and bowl: $1.00 each at Family Dollar. I think that they are still in stock.
Chartreuse and Shamrock salad plates: Fiestaware.
Flatware: can't remember, something cheap from base exchange.
Green and clear pitcher and glasses: recent purchase from Nogales, Mexico.  $12.00 pitcher, $3.00 each glass. I love them!!

Now on to the birthday!!!!  As some of you know, my Chui, was a wayward soul, lost and down and out on his luck in Seoul, Korea when we found him.  Hubby and I were golfing(one and only time that I have participated in THAT sport) and we found him on the golf course.  I took him home, had him checked out by Stan our great family friendly vet.  He guessed his age to be about 6 months.  So today we celebrate Sir Chu-sok's birthday.  He is 4 years old.  Below I have posted a  picture of the day we found him on the golf course(yes, he came with the collar and leash), and few more while still in Korea.  Last, is a picture of him taken a few days ago after his most recent beauty shop appointment.  For those of you who might be worried that we didn't try to look for his owner, we did. According to the folks at the golf club he had been on the course by a pond for two days.  I left my name and number.  We lived in Seoul another 8 months before we moved.  No one ever came forward to claim him.  Happy Birthday to our little man!!

Vintage Cherry Sweater

Today I am participating in Rednesday over at Sue's blog It's A Very Cherry World.  I have many, many red items in my house.  Most have now found themselves wrapped and stuffed in a moving box but not this cute little sweater.  Two weekends ago I ventured out to an antique store about 30 miles away.  I always seem to find good deals at this particular store.  I immediately fell in love with this sweater when I saw it.  I was so nervous that it wouldn't fit and anxiously tried it on.  To my delight it fit just perfect.  I paid $15.00 for it.  I thought it was a little high for a vintage sweater but this was one of those purchases that I just had to have.  I'm so glad that I purchased it. :)  Today I was browsing ebay and saw the exact sweater with a current auction bid of $42.00.  Now I feel even better about my purchase!  Enjoy...

I'll be adding a couple more vintage sweaters to the blog later in the week.  I believe that I have started yet another collection!!

Stay Tuned...

Hi Friends and Family,
Stay tuned to this week here at The Tattered Tassel.  I have been working on several posts, busy setting up table settings and a couple of other goodies for ya'll to see.  But in the meantime here is a before and after of Chui and Oliver.  They just made a visit to the puppy beauty shop. 

OK...so the above was the before and now for the after below

Not much difference in Oliver but my man Chui...he is quite the Chinese Warrior!!  He sends a big lick out to his friend, Lydia! :)

It's Thrifty Thursday!!

Today I am pleased to share with ya'll a few treasures that I picked up recently.

I found these very substantial candlesticks at a local thrift store for $4.20.  They are 20 inches tall.  Now they do look lovely as they are but I think that I little black spray paint can help these fine candlesticks look even better.

I purchased this basket in a large box with 5 other baskets at an auction for $2.00.  What attracted me to this basket was the tortoise shell looking trim around the top and the bottom.  I just know that a little black spray paint on this basket is going to do wonders for this lonely looking piece of wicker!  My Gracie agrees. :)

As the work is being done I have a couple more helpers...

I really just don't know what to say about this picture...

At last, with lots of supervision from a couple of Shih-Tzu and a bobtailed kitty I have the completed basket...

and the completed candlesticks...much, much better.  Now keeping in mind that we are deep into the packing paper and boxes, the basket just went straight into a packing box.  But I did take a moment to just play with the candlesticks...

on the right is how I usually decorate this mantle, with a matching set on the left.  Just for a minute though I removed the urn and the wrought iron candlestick and replaced it with the new/old black candlestick.  I'm really not too sure which one I like better.  Doesn't really matter for this house though, as all the lovelies on this mantle are now wrapped in paper in a box!

Disclaimer:  Yes, my walls are white and yes that is a mini-blind on that window. You see, this is not our home, it belongs to the U.S. Army. For the past 3 years my hubby, little men and I have been fortunate to call it home but alas we can make no changes to it.  It is a lovely 5200 sq. ft. home that celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2009.  One day soon I will post pictures for those of you who have not already seen it.

OK, I am really lovin' my cheap treasures and can't wait to take a look at all the other thrifty finds over at Leigh's blog.  You too should go have a look and let your imagine go wild!! :)

A Face Only A Shih-Tzu lover could love!!

So my sweet man, Chui, was taking a nap this evening on the couch and I couldn't resist snapping a picture of him.  For those you who don't know Chui, he is a busy little soul most of the day.  He has to be the guardian of both the cat and that other Shih-tzu!  But there comes a time each day that he must rest and he is so sweet when he is resting...I just love him. :)

It's a Fabulous Friday

The thing that I am going to miss the most about Arizona is always, always waking up to the sun shining through the curtains. :)  I can count on one hand how many times I have woke up to rain/snow in the past three years.  It just doesn't happen in the morning.  Now I'm not saying it doesn't rain here because around the end of June we do have a monsoon season. That rain seems to come pretty regularly in the afternoons, never in the morning.  I will not even talk about snow in our part of Arizona because it might happen one night out of the year.  I love waking up in Arizona!

I have a few more pictures to share from our little spring break trip.  The first is me and two of my men standing on the corner in Winslow, Arizona.  You know the lyrics from the Eagles song Take It Easy..."standing on the corner in Winslow, Arizona, such a fine sight to see, it's a girl my Lord in a flatbed Ford slowing down to take a look at me"  Well, the corner street was actually under construction so my husband cropped out all of the construction to the left of us(if you are looking at the picture).  But the mural on the building on the corner is really cool.  Of course, you will have to click on picture to enlarge.  You can see the girl in the flatbed Ford's reflection in the glass of the building.  I'm glad we stopped.  It's a part of Americana along Route 66.

 The snow shot was taken near Payson in Northern Arizona. Lovely little town, by the way.  Both  men were yelling "snow, snow, snow!"  So hubby graciously pulled over so they could play in it for a few minutes.  How quickly they forget all the snow we lived with in Korea, Virginia, Kansas and Germany.  I'll just tell ya'll I didn't bother to get out of the truck.  I remember all the snow!  :)
Lastly, when we stopped at Montezuma's Castle, just north of Phoenix, I was amazed to see such a beautiful river setting in the valley but with cacti growing along side of it.  In my mind, water and cacti just do not go together!

Well, I hope everyone has a fabulous Friday and a relaxing weekend.  If you are interested in a great give-away please check out Traci's blog at Beneath My Heart. Take the time to look at Traci's past posts,too.  She really has an eye for decorating and doing it on a budget.
http://beneathmyheart.blogspot.com/

Oh, and Happy Birthday to my sweet momma and to our dear friend Warren!

Tablescape Thursday and Thrifty Thursday

Today is another Thursday and that means Tablescape Thursday and Thrifty Thursday, my two favorite blog parties in blogland!  Please remember to click on the photos to enlarge.  I don't think the pictures look as good unless they are enlarged.  I'm still learning this whole picture posting process. :)

We will start tonight off by having a thrifty, nifty little tequila bottle turned vase.  Yep, that's right.  I use Patron Tequila to make margaritas and save the bottles when empty.  I just love the shape of these bottles.  The possibilities for these little gems are endless...a trio on a mantle or in a window sill.  Yesterday I spotted a bottle for sale at a local thrift store.  Sadly, I didn't need to purchase it, as I have several!!  My neighbors really do help with the consumption.  :)  It just occurred to me, wonder what the bars do with the bottles when they are empty? Maybe one could ask for the empty bottles.  Anyway, I added epsom salt and some red gems to the inside,stuck a couple of carnations in and taped some ribbon around the neck.  That's all...

Now to add the table setting to the cheaply made centerpiece. Again I need to emphasize our home is now in "move mode."  That means that curtains are coming down, boxes are everywhere, just a general disarray of this lovely old house that we have been fortunate to call home for the past three years.  So keeping all this in mind I present to you another simple table setting.  Anyone in the mood for Italian?  This table setting reminds me of something you might see in a cute little Italian restaurant.

I made the rooster tassel last week.  To give him so height on the table I just turned a cereal bowl upside down.

The tablecloth and napkins were purchased at Odd Lots/Big Lots 10 years ago.
The chargers were .99 each, last spring at Hobby Lobby
The dinner plates are Scarlett Fiesta ware.
The little monogram salad plate I purchased recently at Tuesday Morning.  Sorry I can't remember the price.
The beauty on the table is the flatware.(Sorry, I tried and tried to get a picture of it alone but the glare made for a bad picture) My girlfriend, Lucille, collects this pattern First Love by Rogers in memory of her parents, as this was the pattern that they started their marriage with so many years ago.  She had more than she needed and last spring gifted 4 place settings to me.  :)  I really do love my girlfriend!

Please head on over to Susan and Leigh's blogs to see some wonderful thrifty finds and lots and lots of great table settings.

Gorgeous Arizona

This is the first time that I have participated in Outdoor Wednesday but as our time draws to a close here in Arizona I realized that there are a few sites we had yet to visit. So this past weekend hubby, kids and I decided to take a road trip. We visited Montezuma's Castle, Meteor Crater, Painted Desert and the Petrified Forest.  I have also added a couple more pictures of beautiful landscape that we saw along the drive.  Arizona is a gorgeous state with such a diverse landscape and climate.  I hope you all enjoy the pictures.

As always you can click on any picture to enlarge.

Please visit other outdoor sights at Susan's blog