Apple Valley Hillbilly Garden and Geocaching

Last month when my parents were visiting us at the lake, I wanted to take them to see the Apple Valley Hillbilly Garden and Toyland.  Chablis and I had been there before and I did a blog post about it here.  It's hard to believe that was almost 2 years ago already.  As an extra added bonus, there's a geocache hidden there now too.

There is so much to see here and if you come, be sure to allow yourself at least an hour to walk around and explore....

Mom and dad struck up a friendly conversation with this guy....

We made a beeline for the geocache - first things first, right??

The last time we were here I got a guided tour from Keith, who owns the place and has a long history with this property.  This time, we got the tour from Keith's daughter Brooke, who is just as cute as a button and sweet as can be.

The store has been here for years and originally belonged to Keith's grand parents

Inside the store we met Keith's wife - Dianne.  She's a fountain of information and was so enthusiastic about sharing everything with us.

Honestly, I could spend an hour inside the store alone.  There is so much to see and touch..

If you're in the Kentucky Lake area, be sure to book mark some time to visit Apple Valley Hillbilly Garden located at   9351 US HWY 68 W.
                    Paducah/Calvert City, KY 42029  
                               (270) 366-2301 
Here's the link to their website and  FB page.  Open from 8 am to 8 pm.

Estate Sale Finds 7-20-2015

It's been so long since I've been at an estate or garage sale that I almost forgot how to dig through boxes and drawers or how to wheel and deal - just kidding!   Who could forget how to do that?  It's like riding a bike - 2 seconds and you're back in business.

We found some good stuff this weekend.  Let me show you....

A set of 3 brushed aluminum kitchen canisters and a Boden's Orchard milk quart....

Brand new set of peach colored bathroom towels and wash cloths - never even taken out of their original packaging.   I'll be keeping these....

50th anniversary Salerno tin and 2 silver plated spoons....

An entire box of assorted buttons and some cute pins....

Almost an entire roll of bubble wrap - for free!!!!

Three legged table that I cannot wait to refinish....

A set of Salty and Peppy shakers.   The Snow White box is vintage Disney from 1964.  I thought it was kind of cool....

A pair of barely used Timberland women's hiking boots - size 7.   Not my size so I'll be selling them on EBAY....

Some yarn for another multi colored blanket that I'm making....

More yarn and a spool of string for wrapping ETSY sales.....

 Five assorted color and size pants/skirt hangers....

A great vintage trunk that's in really good shape.  I love the color but it will have to be painted because of the tape marks somebody left on the top of it.   This is another project I can't wait to start...

I picked up 4 vintage wall pennants.  The Chicago Bulls....

The Cubs vs the White Sox....

The Magic Kingdom and it comes with a pin....

I really liked this Florida pennant....

Louie picked up this chest of drawers because it was a nice size and for me to refinish.   I don't like the colors at all.  What colors would you suggest?  It will eventually be sold.

A sifter and what I think is a flower frog....

The flower frog was actually my favorite find of the day.  I've never seen one this style and I love the honey comb pattern on it.   I have to research it because I have no idea what it may be worth.  Any ideas?

What did you find this weekend?

Linking up with...

Vintage Inspiration Party # 198

Refinished Oak Cabinet

I had this great oak TV cabinet at the lake house that we didn't use anymore, so I decided to refinish it and sell it.  First I removed all the doors and shelving.  The large door had a leaded glass insert - so 1980's, so I took it out and Louie went and bought some grating to replace it with.  If anyone is interested in the leaded glass piece, it's for sale!  Great for all kinds of projects.

I gave the cabinet a light sanding....

And then 2 coats of gorgeous gray paint and a good waxing....

All the hardware and the new grate got spray painted white and then the hardware was distressed....

Then we took it over to The Hodge Podge in Benton, Kentucky.  If you're at Kentucky Lake and anywhere near Benton, you need to stop by The Hodge Podge.  They have all kinds of great items for sale there like hand crafted goodies, vintage items, furniture, odds and ends.  Great stuff!

This is the first piece of furniture that I've re-done and taken to a shop on consignment.   We'll see what happens....

Fingers crossed.....I hope she sells....

Linking up with....
Vintage Inspiration Party # 198

Upcycled Link Party # 288
Worthwhile Wednesdays 7-22-15

Craft Frenzy Friday 7-17-15

I'm Up and Running and What I'm Making Now

Hi everyone - I hope everybody had a great 4th of July and you are all enjoying the lazy days of summer.   My summer didn't start out lazy at all - in fact, ever since Chablis and I got back from our Sanibel Island trip, I feel like I haven't stopped running.  If you missed my Florida posts, you can go back here to Day 1 of our trip and catch up.

Since then, we've been back and forth to the lake house twice, once for 10 days with my mom and dad, and then again for Louie's birthday when all 3 of our kids joined us for 2 weeks of fun.  I have lots of blog posts to catch you up on everything.   To say I am WAY behind on posts is an understatement.  My laptop crashed a couple of weeks ago and what a shit show that has been.

I work 6 days a week as a coder for an ambulance service coding company and my laptop is my life.  So when it crashed I was really up shit creek without a paddle.  I have a maintenance contract that allows for the tech to come out to my house and repair my computer, but unfortunately it was beyond immediate repair and had to be sent in.  Since we were getting ready to leave for the lake, I had to have a working computer or lose out on 14 days of work.  

I ran to the store and purchased a new laptop, came home, spent 4 hours working on getting my coding programs all installed on it, turned it off and went to bed.  When I got up the next morning and turned on the new laptop, it did nothing...nada....zilch.   I called tech service who told me to just take the new laptop back to the store and have them give me a new one.  I seriously wanted to cry.

So I went back, bought a completely different brand of computer, went home and frantically worked to get everything installed on that one.  The next day we left for the lake and don't think I'm kidding when I tell you I was a nervous wreck about that new laptop working properly.   But I lucked out and it's been working fine, so I spent the first few days of my vacation working as often as I could between fishing and boating to get caught up on all my work.

In between, I've been working on my newest hobby - making cuff bracelets and selling them thru Facebook and my Etsy shop.  The Shell Seeker bracelet is my number one seller...

I also have Life's a Beach...

I Dream in Seaglass Colors.....

My Heart Belongs to the Beach....

 Seaglassaholic.......

I also do custom bracelets like this one for my best friend, who's nick name is Redd.....

My Hinkle Tour best buddy and favorite partner in crime, Moira, loves Sanibel's Ocean Reach, so she got a bracelet to commemorate that....

Good friends Tobias and Becky from Sanibel are the ultimate Shell King and Queen....

And good blogger friend Gail got one with her Ham Radio call sign....

I'm noticing a Sanibel theme here - good friend Cheri from over at The Shell Lady blog got one like this....

There are several more that I've made but unfortunately those pictures are on my crashed laptop.   I know my repaired laptop is back home, so I'm hoping when I return I'll be able to access the rest of my photos.

Anyway, that's a quick run down of what I've been up to.  We are heading home tomorrow so I can get caught up on a lot of stuff there - so much to do.... furniture to refinish, more jewelry to make, blog posts to write.  Oh, and work in between.  My mind is reeling.  

In the meantime, hop over to my Etsy shop where you can check out the bracelets I've already made and if you're interested in a custom bracelet, let me know.   The possibilities are endless and they make cute keepsakes and affordable gifts.