Swiftly Moving Summer

I say this every year:  summer is flying by!  Why, just last weekend was the 4th of July and after the 4th it seems like within a twinkle, summer is gone.  It hasn't seemed like much of a summer here on the home front.  With the remodeling of our guest cottage (painting, flooring, crown moulding etc), 2 months have escaped with just one boat ride the entire season thus far and a whole lot of meetings with several general contractors, roofers and heating/cooling guys and have I mentioned how much electrical and plumbing we've done to the old guest cottage?

Of course this means I haven't been active in the auction circuit because, frankly, between time and money, auctions have had to hit the bottom of the totem pole.  I had hoped to go to an auction last week but that didn't work out.  There's one tomorrow but the weather doesn't look fantastic, but perhaps we'll try anyway because our booth has done well in the past 2 months!  Selling means we need to replenish and selling also means money in the pocket to replenish!  It's an addiction, I tell you!  Buy to sell to buy to sell to buy. . .  :)  It's a delicious addiction, I must say!

With that said, though, I haven't been away from vintage and antiques.  I spent nearly 2 months at the cottages and during that time we have purchased furniture and other odds and ends for the guest cottage by shopping in our storage unit (Ha!) and going to a few antique shops in Missouri.

Here are pictures from the last 2 months:

Looking through the kitchen window in Delavan Cottage to our Moonlight Cocktail Cottage next door.  We were way behind in leaf duty and my lovely husband worked an entire day wrangling the leaves so we could hire Stan to push them in the back 40 with his Bobcat!  :)

This is our cottage and after driving down one afternoon, I had to sit in the car to finish the "Happy" song!  I love this view and XM!  :)

The rest of the pictures are from the guest cottage named Delavan Cottage.  We purchased the vintage farm table and mis-matched chairs last Fall in Columbia, MO.  I love how they fit into the space perfectly.

I wanted a vintage table to go between these 2 chairs.  We found this sweet table in Lincoln, MO and underneath the writing says, "Wedding Gift 1941."  Isn't that fun?  The vintage Hunting and Fishing book was purchased at an antique shop in Walworth, WI.

The Motor Court sign is hung above the bedroom door.  The Old Man and the Sea picture was purchased in Wisconsin.

Not sure if I mentioned this, but Delavan Cottage is named after Lake Delavan, WI where my Dad spent his summers.  So collecting vintage Wisconsin pennants has become a passion.

We don't have many yet, but the newer ones are being placed on the ceiling of the screened-in front porch.

We drove up to Illinois to pick up my parents' bedroom set.  Since my mother passed away in 2009, my father has moved his bedroom downstairs and wasn't using this set any longer.  While it's probably not the most beautiful set in the world, it reminds me of my parents in a lovely way.  This set has been there since the day I was born and I felt it was the perfect set for Delavan Cottage!

My father loves boating and has decorated his home in a nautical theme in places.  He sent us home with 2 of the 3 ships for the mantle.  While out antiquing, we found the additional ship on the left hand side.  The large framed original painting was found in Lincoln and the adorable vintage lamp on the mantle was found in Columbia.

The lamp has a burlap shade.  All the rage of burlap has come around once again!

The bedroom had new carpet installed and then my parents' bedroom set went in.

We found the handmade vintage pond sailboat in Columbia, as well. My handy husband built the stand.  I have lots of luck shopping the antique shops there!

I picked up the vintage wood skis in Warsaw last Fall.

The large original painting was found last Fall and was originally slated to be the centerpiece of the mantle, but it fits in the bedroom much better!

I purchased the vintage camping awning lights on eBay two years ago to use next door, but never found a way to hang them.  They fit into the screened porch perfectly!

We purchased a new shed to put on this property.  It's become the "wood shop" and will be used to refinish primitive antiques and it's the go-to place to work on projects.  My husband is very, very excited!

We painted the shed at Moonlight Cocktail Cottage Betsy Ross House Blue a few years back, which is an historical paint color so with the blue left over our vintage rocker got a fresh coat of paint as did the 2 adirondack chairs for Delavan Cottage's front porch.

Our vintage motel chairs got a fresh coat of yellow paint, but they're not quite finished.  I ran out of paint!  :)  I love the color, though! Do you see the heart shutter on the tree?  A cottage a few doors down several years ago was getting a remodel and we found the shutters in the burn pile, so we rescued them!  :)  I may not be a dumpster diver, but down here in the Missouri sticks, I'm a stealth burn pile picker!  Haha!

This is the last picture before the construction crew arrives next week!  We're getting a new roof, new soffits and venting, drywall in the bathroom along with a built-in closet.  The kitchen will get a new pantry (yay!) and a double sink.  The front two windows are also going to be replaced.  I'm very excited!  My husband will be building railings for both doors out of vintage oars!  :)

After all that, then we can plan on landscaping.  It's really coming together and it's a great place to relax for our friends and family.  And I'm not going to lie, my husband and I have been spending some down time catching up on movies we missed on the big screen! After all, with all the work we've done, relaxing, at this point, is pretty high on that totem pole right next to auctions!

The One That Got Away But May Come Back

Two weeks or so ago, I headed down to southern Missouri to an auction that advertised an antique twisted wire shoe shine chair with an oak seat and pull-out boot last that came out of the Kansas City National Stockyards.  This was the picture in the listing: (Cool, right?)

When I arrived to the auction, I figured out that this most awesome chair wouldn't fit into my microauctionmobile.  (Note to self:  Sooner than later learn to drive my husband's Dodge Ram.) So, I left the auction without buying anything.  

That means this chair is floating out there somewhere.  Yesterday, while at Pete N Repeat Repurposed in the West Bottoms, I looked out another one of their awesome windows and saw the old Kansas City Livestock Exchange building and wondered if this chair was once located within those walls and if so, what kind of stories could it tell?

Maybe divine intervention will come into play like it did with my Motor Court Sign.

When we purchased the little guest cottage (Delavan Cottage) next door to our little log cabin (Moonlight Cocktail Cottage) at the Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri last year, I knew I wanted to turn it into a Motor Court theme.  I found an old Motor Court map on eBay as well as some old motel signs that will be going into Delavan Cottage this year.  I found this old metal piece in Columbia, MO that we will hang as an awning over one of the windows in the cottage that has yet to be determined.

So when I was perusing auctions last Fall and came across an old Motor Court sign at an auction in Mound City, Kansas I was elated.  But then I remembered that the last auction I went to in that neck of the woods, I swore off ever going again because the prices were high.  After staring at the Motor Court sign picture for a little over a week, I decided that I'd attend another auction in northern Missouri instead and shut the book on that particular sign to ever grace my presence.  I did very well at the other auction, so I put everything in the back of my mind and went on with my life.

Later in the Fall, I attended an auction in Lamar, MO and left early. There's a delightful antique mall near 71 Highway, so I stopped in before making the trek back home and nearly died, and I mean it when I say died because my heart started bouncing all over the place in excitement when I spotted this:

I quickly picked it up and took it to the front desk and asked if the sign had come from an auction in Mound City, KS and they said yes.  Serendipity at its' finest, folks!  Mound City to Lamar is 74 miles away across the state line!  Man, this made me very, very happy.  Indeed, Delavan Cottage was always meant to be my Motor Court, which is perfect for family and friends when they visit us at the lake!  :)  

Since the cottage project is on hold due to the weather, I have the sign just sitting against 2 vintage suitcases in the front two windows facing out to the screened-in porch.

The two candle lights are on a timer so at night, the sign is illuminated and can be seen from the road.

It's a two-sided sign, so I'm not sure if we're going to hang it up between these two living room windows or over the two windows in the kitchen over the sink.

Either way, the metal awning will be above the sign and should look just adorable! 

Maybe, if the Motor Court sign found its way to me, the old shoe shine chair will find its way to me too, and then eventually back to the West Bottoms where it all began.  If it's meant to be, it will.

Happy Family

Back a couple weeks ago, when I was at the cottage in the midst of painting at Delavan Cottage, I pulled out one of the wall cabinets in the kitchen.  This is a perfect example of the Missouri Ozarks' make-do projects:

Upon closer examination:

Do you see the bottom? In the center it says "Happy" and what's left of "Family."

I smiled.  Indeed, this cottage is now being loved by a very happy family.

Enjoy your weekend!

September Auctions

I was heading home from the cottage 2 weeks ago for the day to get some errands run.  Our little lake neighborhood is at least 15 minutes from anything, so it's a bit of a drive for most.  At the next road from the cottage, there was an auction sign pointing towards the gravel road!  Wow!  What?  An auction so close to the cottage?

I immediately did a quick u-turn and headed over to the auction which was located at a house that included a barn.  It sits high on a hill pretty much in the woods by itself on an acre and a half of land.  The house had been closed up since 2008 when the last owner passed away.  I was beside myself and decided to stay for the day.

Am I glad I did!  I purchased a few primitives for sale and many things for us to keep.  I also toured the house, which was still in its' great 1950's state.  The house was for sale, so it was opened to us onlookers.

Here are a few interior pictures:

See the swan on the bath/shower door?  The entire bathroom was done in this shiny tile.  Very retro, indeed.

This was the front bedroom.  The living room and bedroom all had the wonderful wagon wheel lights. Each bedroom was a different color.  It was so interesting to walk through.

I picked up a few treasures for sale including this handmade doll chair:

I waited nearly the entire auction to bid on the chair.  I just love its primitive, chippy paint appearance.  A few items ended up at Delavan Cottage like these crocks, the heavy metal stool and 2 quilts:

Because the auction was pretty much in the boondocks, I paid $8 total for all the crocks.  The stool was $3.  The quilt on the left was $5 and the one on the right was $1.  I was tickled!

Last Sunday I drove down to southern Missouri for a farm auction at a century-old farmhouse.  It was a truly enjoyable day.  The farmhouse and 80 acres are currently under a silent auction to sell, so the house was open to walk through.

I posted on facebook:  Sunday's auction was at a family farm outside Golden City, Missouri. The farmhouse was at least 100 years old. There were boxes upon boxes of family pictures at the auction. Souvenirs from New York and other places in the country were there, as well. I drew some information about the family just by going through remnants that were headed up for sale. When I went inside the house, it was the first time in which every single square inch had the same wallpaper both upstairs in down. And it had wall-to-wall carpeting, even over all the thresholds. There were flowers inside the cabinets, too. But what I liked best was the view out of her kitchen window. It made sense to me. Bunny Hall was a cheerful soul. She led an interesting life that put her back at the family farm for a time before moving to Sarcoxie. At the end of her life, the family possessions as well as the farm and 80 acres are being dispersed. This was one of those auctions I felt privileged to attend. You can read about Bunny at the link below. 

http://www.housh-goodwinfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/houshg0/obit.cgi?user=1007842Hall

 

Everything I purchased, but for one item, is heading down to Delavan Cottage like a wood quilt rack for $3 and a few pottery pieces.  The one item I purchased to sell is this neat picture in a tin oval frame titled, "Jesus in the Temple.

The chair as well as the picture are both listed on Etsy along with several new listings!  I have several new items to list in the next week and I'm going to be busy this weekend with 2 auctions.  One on Friday and another Saturday.

So check the Etsy shop for new treasures!

Delavan Cottage: The First Two Weeks

I've been painting and going to auctions and antiquing.  Oh my, it's been fun!  Want to see what I've been up to?

I painted the main living/kitchen area of Delavan Cottage, our guest cottage at the lake.

It was slow going since I was painting over wallpaper.  It is textured and very adhered to the wall, so painting it was the best idea.  I used Benjamin Moore's Palladian Blue paint.

So, so glad to see that green go!

We're going to put up dentil crown moulding and baseboards, as well, so that's why I didn't paint to the top or bottom.

I have started to paint the kitchen cabinetry with Pale Lemon paint by Glidden, but paint-matched it to Behr Premium-Plus.  I must say, after using Benjamin Moore, Behr's paint just isn't close to the quality. But I marched forward with 2 gallons of paint:

All the cabinets will be coated with 3 coats of Martha Stewart's Glitter Paint in Icecap. That's pretty much where I ended.  The top cabinet and pull-away cabinets have all been painted.  The sink cabinet and pantry are still to go.  I've been busy!

In between the painting, I have hit up a few antique shops.  Here are a few of my finds for the cottage:

I wanted a farm table to seat 6 and after shopping at new furniture stores and seeing prices at $895 and up, we found this table for $60 and with the table and all 6 mis-matched chairs, it was $168.  Yay!

The large canvas painting was just $15!  It looks great as the mantle focal point.  I'm finally home from nearly 2 weeks at the cottage.  I'll be back down in a bit to continue the process but it's time to focus on making money instead of spending it!  The auction circuit has been great and I'll blog about that next time!