Hi everyone,
I finished painting my 4 kitchen drawers and have set them carefully in place. They aren’t pushed in all the way as I’m letting them cure for a while. (Ignore the mess!)
As far as the dishwasher goes… I know there was “some” talk of it on yesterday’s blog post. The old dishwasher was completely shot… non fixable, even for my hubby! He had already checked on new ones and they were running around $500! Our homeowners insurance just went up over $1000 and we’ve had NO claims, so we just couldn’t spring it in our budget.
Anyway, IF we ever sold our house or decided we absolutely needed a dishwasher, my hubby said he could install a new one in probably an hour. He left all the plumbing underneath and the drawer unit is only held in place with about 4 screws!
My hubby also got the cord pulled up through the cabinets so now there is no light cord dangling down on my countertop. YAY!
Who likes to go to Estate Sales? I do! You never ever know what you might find… here’s how I spent $10 about a month ago and this is what I got!
Look at this VERY PRETTY Madame Alexander doll… I’m guessing she was maybe dressed as a bride doll because I just discovered she has a “diamond” glued to her ring finger!
Her face is VERY pretty and I haven’t done a single thing to her yet! She has beautiful dark green eyes that open and close perfectly and her lipstick is wonderful. She has on a pair of pearl earrings and a pretty translucent beaded necklace that has a vintage fastener.
Her hair is still somewhat in the style she was manufactured with. She also has on a pair of thigh high nylon stockings.
Here are some “feather napkin rings!” PINK feathers… just what I COULDN’T find when I was searching for a pink feather for Violette’s 20’s dress set. The peach one I found went wonderfully in the end, but NOW I HAVE PINK… and I have plenty! They came from Hobby Lobby and were $7.99 each… times 8 rings…that’s SIXTY FOUR DOLLARS worth of feathers for $1.00! SCORE!
I even laid one on the Madame Alexander dolls head. It almost looks like a ready made hat!
I found a box of quilting scraps and there were several blocks that were sewn together…all by hand. Actually, there were quite a few blocks, some square and some octagonal. There are lots of 1 1/2″ blocks cut out already and lots of vintage trims too. I’ll do something with this… one of these days!
I also found some brass charms down in the box of the quilting scraps.
One last thing I found… a small book I fell in love with. It is definitely vintage and is something you can give your dad and have him fill out over time and then give it to your kids. Each day of the year a different question is asked and there is room for his answer to be written in. There are some REALLY interesting questions and I just thumbed through to give you a sample of what’s inside. I’m going to give it to my hubby for Father’s Day and hopefully talk him into filling it out for the kids. I think they’d like it!
Well, that’s it for me today… My sisters will be here tonight! I can’t wait to see them!
See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
Wow, you really got your money’s worth there, Jeanne!! Yes, I’m pretty sure that Madame Alexander doll was once a bride; as far as I know, the bride dolls were the only ones that came with rings.
Someone put many hours in, making those quilt blocks all by hand; perhaps some day you can put them together into a quilt top. And I really enjoyed looking at all those trims; I’m pretty sure I have at least two of them!
Have a wonderful time with your sisters!
Oh my, Jeanne, you have some beloved treasures, all of these.
I am very happy you rescued the quilting and sewing.
Your kitchen looks wonderful.
not getting a 500$ dishwasher is a fine idea. They do not clean dishes very well, really! Sometimes I have to run mine twice and it is not bc I let the dishes sit too long. Dishwashers are pretty bad these days. Everything gets a spritz shower.
I know in Europe they used to have mini dishwashers about half the size of usual.
I wonder if they still have those.
The doll is beautiful. I am in love with her, how sweet her face is. 💋
Just a note, but you are so lucky your home owners insurance only went up a thousand. Around here, it’s either cancelled completely (even with no claims for 60 years), or going up at least $6,000 a year or way more. People are having to go to the state fair plan, which is not really fair and much more expensive than the usual. However, they are so swamped that it is taking months to be approved. Then you have to go to another insurance company to get liability insurance etc. which isn’t included in the fair plan. It’s a real mess. The “can’t get insurance” problem is also stalling home buying and sales. If you buy a home, you probably can’t get insurance that is required if you have a mortgage. It’s a nightmare. Sorry you can’t get a dishwasher though. 🙁
You know, there might be a group of quilters in your area that make quilts to donate to various organizations that can use all of those blocks. I’d hate to see all of that work cut up. Or maybe they would be cute for doll picnic blankets? 🙂
So, is today the day for your company to arrive? Hope you have a wonderful time visiting and shopping.
Another hot day expected here. More trips down to the garden to water before it starts cooking.
Yes, I like to stop by estate sales. Some beautiful things can be found there. You found some lovely things. The MA doll is very pretty and the quilt blocks are wonderful, especially the star ones.
This talk of dishwashers reminded me of how we avoided some of the cost of remodeling our kitchen. One of our friends knew someone who was buying new appliances for their very upscale home kitchen. There was nothing wrong with the ones they had other than misuse and the fact that they just wanted to upgrade so we got a “top of the line” cooktop that I thought I wouldn’t like because of the heavy look to it I wasn’t used to, but it does not have a pilot light so I can set things on the grids right out of the oven which is quite handy. Someone had set something very hot on some of the burner knobs but replacing them was easy as was adjusting the burners. We also got a microwave/convection oven of the same series. All this was free. All we had to do was buy a similar looking oven and a dishwasher both of which we found on sale. Upgrading a kitchen can be one of the most expensive things to do but it really adds to the resale value of a house. For us doing it frugally was a must so we weren’t too proud to accept freebies, especially ones as nice as these.
I thought that Madam Alexander doll looked familiar. My sister had a Madam Alexander bride doll. The face on your doll is amazingly preserved but I sure wish the bride gown, etc., were still intact. Madam Alexander not only did beautiful dolls but their wearing attire was amazing also.
I recognized some of the trims also. What a great haul. So much for so little money. I never hear about estate sales around here. Perhaps I should delve further.
I love the questions for Dad. What a great Father’s Day gift for George.
I forgot to say yesterday that I love your bird picture and such a perfect spot for it.
My favorite is the bird picture under the cabinets. Beautiful! My favorite trim is the one with the coral flowers and unusual trim base. I haven’t used the dishwasher since having a back injury. I’ve heard they don’t work efficiently if not run within a day or at most two of loading it. The drawers look great. The doll is a great find. Are you up for sewing a bride dress? Ha, ha!
Have all the fun you usually do with your sisters. ❤️
Sounds like a great way to get appliances. They keep going up in price don’t they. We need just about everything replaced around here, but we need to start with the floor first. Ugh
Appliances are getting more expensive and seem to be worth less in many cases. I love my dishwasher. It does a good job and is very quiet, but when we went to buy a new washer and dryer a couple years ago we were not impressed, even with the name brands. I bought what we have because it was the only one I could find that had an agitator. Sean and Dionnie had bought a Samsung without, and it was constantly going off balance.
My washer does an okay job but it has a water level that barely covers my clothes so I always add the additional water to make sure the clothes are getting clean and rinsed thoroughly.
It seems the dryer has no moisture sensor so sometimes I have to run the dryer twice to get the close completely dry. And it doesn’t even have a light inside, so I have to almost stick my head in it to make sure I got all the clothes, especially if they are dark.
When we moved to Delaware in 1965 my mother bought a Norge washer and dryer. When she moved to an apartment years later she gave the set to my cousin who used it for years until my mother moved back into a house and my cousin gave it back to her and she used it for several more years. Can’t even conceive of such an idea today.
Love all your finds at the Estate Sale, especially the Dad’s Book and Cissette MA doll; she was the last doll I received, I think it was in 1959, and I was in the 7th or 8th grade! I still have her, but she was not a bride, she was a girl in a red and white dress. Many years ago I made her a wedding gown, but I can’t put my hands on a phot of her in it.
You certainly did get some bargains there at the estate sale, Jeanne! I have no desire to go to estate sales, or garage sales, for that matter, since I do not really need anything, and just feel kind of funny going to estate sales. I have no idea why!
That is a beautiful doll! I got a Nancy Ann bride doll when I turned 7 or 8, and have never seen another one like her since! I look at dolls on .EBay all the time, hoping to find her, but no luck. She wasn’t a story book doll, but more like 10 or 14 inches. Yes, are you up to making a doll bride dress?
That green material in several pictures looks just like the material that Betsy’s St. Patrick’s Day dress is made out of! And all the quilt squares, how neat!
That’s a wonderful book that you are giving George! I have one for Grandmother’s and I have filled it out for my grandchildren. Boy, those questions really make you think!You almost have to relive your childhood to remember them all!