handmade | So Pretty is as Pretty Does.

Jan 14

Vintage Finds

Happy New Year + a fortnight! Though it’s a bit early to tell, I’m going to go out on a limb and say 2014 is going to be the berries (I’ve been watching a lot of old movies). So far this year, I’ve stuck to my resolution perfectly… it’s just flossing every night no matter how tired I am, so hold the applause. And, even more exciting than flossing, I became a real estate agent. It’s an endeavor I began this past October, which I like to think partially explains the lack of postings here. In any case, I’m excited to share three items I discovered this past week at an estate auction and one of my favorite consignment shops, Phantastic Phinds (PS: You can see an older guest post of mine on their blog.)

My new favorite mug and perhaps the best $.50 I have ever spent.

{hand-thrown tin can style mug}

elevated agriculture {raised bed gardening}

Well, both my garden and I went on a bit of a hiatus these past several months (we abhor winter). So, this post serves to announce that So, pretty is as pretty does, as well as my vegetable garden are back up and running.

For the past two years, my husband and I have been using a 22′ x 15′ garden located toward the end of our property. Aside from four walls (made from free fencing found curbside!), this space has been sort of an unwieldy blank canvass. This season I started my research early and found some great resources making a strong case for using raised beds, so we decided to go for it. The whole project set us back around $350…wood and dirt are surprisingly expensive.

{note the sophisticated method in which we determined the layout – small twigs stuck in the ground}

Latest lighting endeavor

When we moved into our house a year and a half ago, we realized that most of the charm of a bungalow two years from its centurion mark was missing. The decorative trim was gone, the floors were covered in carpeting, and most everything that can be replaced was replaced with builder-grade items. So, we’ve been on a mission to bring back some of the charm to this house. We’re trying to stay true to the period for more permanent things like trim and moulding, but with other less permanent things, like chandeliers, we’re having some fun. My newest project is this bubble chandelier:

You can find the instructions for the entire project here, Ready Made’s Glass Act. I think it’s going to work well in my smallish dining room, where I didn’t want something big and visually heavy, but I still wanted a chandelier. Plus, it reminds me of champagne, and that can’t be a bad thing!