Notes from A Cottage Industry

Weekly words to live by.

My lucky stop at an estate sale this past weekend.

The weather here was hit and miss (sun for a few minutes, followed by rain and dark clouds) all weekend, and that makes it hard for me to want to get out there to check out any yard sales. I did however manage to hit one half-off estate sale that had begun on Friday.

I was leaving a Redfin tour, and it was just a few minutes away from the home I toured. Last days of estate sales are really a crap shoot, because you never know if there will be anything left that is "your kind" of junk, if you know what I mean. This trip paid off, and I got some of the most charming little gems!

The challenge for me now will be which items I can part with to put in my booth space at Camas Antiques, and which pieces I need to hang on to, at least for a little while, to love in my own home.

Can you guess which treasure(s) I was not able to part with?

Truth be told, I kinda wanted to keep it all, but...in the end I added the adorable little drawers to my shelf in the kitchen...

and I seem to have a thing for butter dishes, and butter pat plates and covers. (I also have a thing for butter knives, so I guess that makes sense.)

(Yes, I know the silver butter pat dome needs polishing, and I will do that today!)

The rest of the treasures (Those sweet, sweet quail salt and pepper shakers!) will be making their way to my booth space tomorrow.

All in all, quite a nice little haul, don'tcha think?

Weekly words to live by.

Weekly words to live by.

 

Weekly words to live by.

Weekly words to live by.

Weekly words to live by.

An (itty bitty but oh so cool) thrift haul.

Sometimes you hit the motherlode, sometimes you just take your car on a tour of thrift shops, and more often than not, it's somewhere in between.

Yesterday was one of those in between days, with a little touch of thank-you-Jesus at my last stop. (Can you guess which thrifted item thrilled me most? Betcha can't.)

I started my little thrifting tour by picking up a sweet little chamber pot from a Facebook Marketplace listing, and then hit a couple of Greedy-Wills on my way home. (Wednesdays are Senior Day, after all, and I was feeling lucky.)

I scored a little white Christmas tree, (like all serious Junkers, I have to buy it when we see it, and stash it away for the season it will be needed in...then, it's a fun surprise when I pull out these items later down the road!) along with a small pitcher (gravy boat? Syrup pitcher?) and an egg cup. (Just in time for Easter!)

One last stop on the way home yielded a vintage picture frame, and then...what was that over there on the top shelf? It looked like the Lombard Trophy from the Superbowl!

It was! I immediately knew I had to have it for my own stash of Sunday ballgames during football season decor. I grabbed it off the shelf, and was surprised to feel the solid weight of this treasure.

The plaque on the front of it could be easily removed, and I quickly realized this could be possibly my best football themed score since the fabulous hot tamale dispenser from May of 2015.

And I got my Senior discount.

I was so tickled that I had to take a quick picture of the trophy, and send it to my thrifting/football pal that was with me when I scored the other football treasure. I placed it on the table, front and center, when I got home, so Ralph would see it as soon as he came in from work.

I dunno, maybe you have to be a football fan and know me really well to fully grasp the coolness of this find, but let me tell you, this will be the shining star in my football halftime foods tablescape setup.

 

gohawks #vincelombarytrophy #superbowl #lovemesomethriftedfinds #isitfootballyet?

 

Weekly words to live by.

Weekly words to live by.

Weekly words to live by.

Weekly words to live by.

Weekly words to live by.

Weekly words to live by.

Weekly words to live by.

Weekly words to live by.

A potential Action plan for 2023.

After the rush of the holidays, I can't help but want to slow down, cuddle up on the sofa, and write out my plans for the new year too.

I have yet to follow these plans, but everyone talks about the value of intention, and I keep thinking this just may be my year.

A girl can hope so, anyway.

So.

Action plans. Do you have them? Plans for home organization, laying out my day to be more productive (and hopefully stay out of a few rabbit holes) and healthier choices? Do you make a list or a chart, or a graph, or whatever, to achieve goals and inspirations for the upcoming year? Or months, weeks, or maybe just for tomorrow?

One of my best friends keeps a tablet by her bed. She makes her to-do list for tomorrow each evening, and often times adds to it during the night if she wakes up with an idea. She says that, for her, it creates a sense of calm and security that she won't forget something. I've tried this, but I get going on that list in the evening, and I get all hoopty-do'd and excited about the things I think I might be able to accomplish tomorrow. The next thing I know, it's after 1:00 a.m. and my list is unrealistically long, filled with totally unachievable pipe dream items of a semi-imbalanced person.

So, anyway.

This year I'm at it again, trying to lay out rough plans and goals for home projects, business crafty creations stuff, a healthier lifestyle, and things I want to make more time for this year. This time I'm attempting to lay out my plans and goal month by month on a big ol' google doc, with the idea that I will can hope to remember to print out the current month to work on.

I've tried paper planners (Love the pretty-ness of them and all the hope they hold, but I misplace them, and forget to write in them...) and I adore a good vision board. (But I forget to look at the board, let alone update it)

I've tried monthly calendars on my wall. (I like the esthetic, and feel mostly inspired to sit and enjoy at how nice it looks on the wall, as opposed to actually filling in the months with activities...)

I've tried plain notebooks to bullet-point out to-do lists, and I am considering attempting again in conjunction with my year layout in google docs. (But there is that concern that I will forget about it or misplace it as I already stated...)

Anyway, I am feeling enthusiastic and full of hope, as so many of us do each early January. As Oprah said, "It's a new year, and another chance for us to get it right". I love the pure optimism and idealism of that quote, and each January I believe it more than ever.

Oprah also said you do not need a new year to start anew, that any day, any moment can be a fresh start, so there's that.

All of this being said, for me, there is just something about a fresh new year and all the hope and possibility it brings.

I'm wishing us all good luck in getting our acts together a bit better in 2023, both organizationally and in our intentions. I'd love to hear how you start your new year; do you feel that exhilaration of a new page in the book of your life, or did you just do an eye roll and a tiny chuckle while reading this post?

If you do make new years plans, what is your method of carrying them out? Are you a digital document type? A doodler-in-a-planner paper kind of person? If you don't buy into this, how is it going for you? Were you just born focused ad organized? ( I so envy those folks!) or have you, like my friend, already discovered that best-process-method that works well? I truly want to hear.

Whatever method you use, (or don't) I am here, cheering you (and me) on, and looking to take full advantage of using this chance to get it more right. Happy New Year, friends!

Weekly words to live by.

Weekly words to live by, Christmas 2023.

Merry Christmas friends!

Weekly words to live by.

Weekly words to live by.

Weekly words to live by.

As we wrap up the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, this week's post is especially timely. Here's wishing you have a week filled with contentment and gratefulness, my friend!

Weekly words to live by.

Weekly words to live by.

Weekly Words To Live By.....Typepad Technical Issues!!!!!!!

Uuuuuuuuughhh!

Well, after 10 days or so of being unable to past, I STILL cannot share photos here. Please pop over to my Facebook or Instagram page to see todays Weekly Words to Live By!

Facebook:  facebook.com/A.Cottage.Industry

Instagram:  instagram.com/acottageindustry

Hope to be posting back here soon...... Happy Sunday, my friends!

Weekly words to live by.

Weekly words for the week...FINALLY!!!
I tried ALL DAY yesterday to post, but Typepad made some updates and there was a glitch..ugh.

Happy Monday, friends!

Weekly words to live by.

Weekly words to live by.

Weekly words to live by.

Weekly words to live by.

Weekly words to live by.

Oy, this week's words ring true for me. (Something I will be focusing on this week......) How about you?

(Truth be told, I'm pretty sure I need to work on my poker face as well...)

Hope everyone is off to the start of a fantastic week!