The "Bees Knees". . .

Hi my friends,

have you ever wondered just what in the heck the saying,

 "the bees knees" really means?

 

I know I have.  So I did what all inquiring minds do. . .

I googled it.  :)

 

Meaning

Excellent - the highest quality'

 

Well, isn't that just the 'bees knees'?  hee-hee,

couldn't wait to use it!

 

You all know how much I love finding vintage items at thrift shops.  But, did you know that it doesn't necessarily have to be vintage to be 'the bees knees'?

 

 

Just look at this sweet little mug I found last week.  Isn't it just bee-utiful?  Yup, the bees knees!

 

 

Last year I was elated when I spied this beehive cloche at a thrift shop in Provo.  I knew exactly what it was.  It came with a cake stand and was sold at Desert Book for some pretty big bucks.  No stand, but that was okay with me.  I had one that was just a shade darker, but I knew it would work.

 

Look what I found at the same time as the mug.

 

 

The brown one, complete with the stand and in it's original box! A $20 score!  Wait for it, wait for it, the 'bees knees'!

 

As I looked around as to what I wanted to display inside it, this sweet sunflower pincushion made by my sis caught my eye.

 

The chocolate brown center was perfect for this cake stand.  Yup, the 'bees knees'!

 

Notice how much bigger this stand is than my yellow one.  It is one big baby!

 

These fun Debbie Mumm glasses are another thrift find that isn't old.  Still, the bees knees!

 

By now, my home is usually all decked out patriotic.  With the upcoming wedding I haven't taken the time to pull it out. 

I am still enjoying my bee theme.

 

 

This thrift find honey pot was missing it's top, but for 50 cents I couldn't pass it up.

 

Along with these sweet little dipping bowls. I even brought home a single shaker.  It's a beehive, how could I not?

 

These S&P shakers were a vacation find.  Not a thrift shop, but reasonable at a consignment store.

 

I won this little b&w cubby at bunco last month.  Perfect for my table décor.  One might say, it's the 'bees knees'!

 

My friend, Connie just made the apron.  See the cute buzzing bees?

 

Well one thing is for sure.  You may forget this post, but you surely aren't going to forget the saying, the 'bees knees' anytime soon!  lol!

 

and in case you're wondering,

 

There's no profound reason to relate bees and knees other than the jaunty-sounding rhyme. In the 1920s it was fashionable to use nonsense terms to denote excellence - 'the snake's hips', 'the kipper's knickers', 'the cat's pyjamas/whiskers', 'the monkey's eyebrows' and so on. Of these, the bee's knees and the cat's whiskers are the only ones to have stood the test of time.

 

hugs,

Jann

 

 

Share Your Cup #202

Hello and welcome to Share Your Cup, (SYC for short).

The party where you share things that make you happy.

 

It's what your hosts call, "filling your cup".

 

 

This week it's my (Jann's) turn to choose features.  But as always, a glimpse as to what your hosts have been up to.

 

Carol has been Thinking Outside the Vase and creating the most fabulous flower arrangements!

 

 

Jo has taken a blog break, other than co-hosting SYC while recovering from a fall.  Please continue to keep her in your prayers!

 

I had breakfast outside under our pergola in

 Home Grown Décor

 

 

and shared a guest post by an interior designer in

 Double Duty-Put Your Furniture to Work

 

 

Now for the features from SYC #201:

 

Lori from Dining Delight shared a beautiful beach themed tablescape under their cabana.

 

 

Judy from J Biggs Little Pieces shared photos of birds, blooms, and barns.  All beautiful, but I thought this one of the barn was

postcard worthy!

 

I love old pulleys and adore this porch chandy created by Christine from

 Little Brags!

 

 

Ann from A Sentimental Life always has me filled with envy whenever I see her fabulous watering can collection!

 

Ann Marie's garden from Musings of a Vintage Junkie may have gotten a late start this year, but she sure is having fun in it now!

 

 

Mountain Mama hosted a summer cocktail party.  You just have to hop over and see the fabulous food that she served!

 

 

Thanks so much for sharing and please grab our button if you were featured.

 

 

 

 

Double Duty: Put Your Furniture to Work

Hi my friends, today I am sharing a guest post with you.  I am not receiving any type of compensation.  I have shared a post by Merri Cvetan before, a designer who writes for Home Depot.  When asked if I would be interested in sharing again, I decided it might be a fun change.

 

I hope you enjoy her post.

 

One of the biggest issues homeowners, renters and students living in dorm rooms struggle with is storage. It doesn’t matter how many closets we have—we always seem to need more. If building an addition onto your house just to

 

 

have a place for your stuff isn’t in your plans, it’s time to get creative. Interior designers are challenged with this problem all the time. One of the best solutions is to choose furniture items or accessories that can do double duty.

 

The best way to do that? Hunt for secondhand furniture and turn it into something both beautiful and useful. There are two things to consider when buying used furniture:

1.      The condition. Is it solid and sturdy? You don’t want to have to tear it apart and rebuild it. Be sure to do the “sit test”. If it’s a chair, make sure you sit on it before you buy it. Don’t worry about chipped or worn paint—that’s an easy fix.

 

2.      The price. Who doesn’t love a bargain?

 

 

This little cabinet was the latest and greatest entertainment stand when TVs were square and boxy. You hid your VCR and tapes behind the smoky glass doors and ran the cords through holes in the back. I knew I could repurpose this TV stand into a cute little storage cabinet/bench.

 

 

However, a bench has to have a padded seat. After all, we want our guests to be comfortable! First, I found a pretty, watercolor-looking fabric for the seat cover. Then, I chose a paint color that coordinated with the colors in the print. A not-so-secret designer tip is to always choose your paint color last. It’s so much easier and less stressful to pick a paint color when you have something to work from.

 

 

I picked a medium blue for the outside and left the inside black. A dark interior doesn’t draw any attention to the inside, but a contrasting color would give it a completely different look.

 

Then, the ideas are limitless! Fill it with storage boxes, containers or cubes to hide kids’ toys—if your children know where their things go, they’re more likely to put them away. Use the cabinet for out-of-sight pet toy storage. Stack magazines, books or DVDs, or add baskets to hold craft supplies.

When placed next to a chair without the cushion, it’s pretty little side table perfect for collectibles with plenty of room to

 place a drink.

 

 

 

It's great for hidden storage and a comfy seat.

 

 

Another designer trick is to tuck benches or additional seats in out of the way places, like under a big cupboard or console table. You don’t always need extra seating, but when you do, it can easily be pulled out and used in any room. If this stand didn’t come with wheels, I would have added them just for this purpose. Wheels make a piece of furniture like this storage cabinet more accessible and practical.  seating.

You can also customize this project to fit your personal storage needs. Use a larger or smaller cabinet based on the items you’ll be storing. To get the most

out of your new double-duty furniture, add dividers, storage bins or drawers to help sort the contents, so you can find what you need more easily.

 

Interior designer Merri Cvetan is an expert on furniture styles, storage concepts and design, and heads up MEC Design Studio in Wisconsin.  Merri uses her expertise to write for The Home Depot. To research more storage options available on Home Depot's website, you can click here.

 

While we are on the subject of repurposing furniture I want to show you this fun bench.  My son and daughter in law made it as a gift for my grandsons wedding in less than two weeks.

 

 

Guess what makes this bench so fun?  It is made from the first bed that hubby and I bought.  We had given it to our son years ago.  They bought a new bed and repurposed this for our grandson Kade and his soon to be wife Ashley.  This lucky couple is building a new home and it is going out on their porch.  Won't it be cute?

The photo isn't the best.  My dil sent it to me when it was drying in their garage.  We will be displaying it at the wedding and I hope to get a better photo.

 

Have you repurposed anything lately?

hugs,

Jann

 

 

 

 

 

 

Home Grown Decor. . .

Hello my friends, did you know that one of the hottest new trends are the
 #(hashtag) parties on Instagram?

 

Gals get together and host a theme.  Sometimes they change weekly, others are the same and are for a specific day of the week.

 

Our friend, Carol from Art and Sand, along with some other ladies host one called, "Home Grown Décor".

Yesterday I had plans to work in the garden.  Cutting back flowers, edging, and mowing were on the agenda.

I was about to fix me a bowl of cereal, (the breakfast of champions) and then head out to work.

 

I stepped outside for a minute, and oh my gosh; what a gorgeous morning it was!  No dining indoors for me!  I set a small table I have out under the pergola with one of my quilts.

 

 

I made it quite a few years ago and It's still one of my summertime favorites.  It's small size and scalloped edge fit the little round table perfectly!

 

 

Just so happens that I had roses in the garden to match the pretty ones in the quilt.

 

Now of course I'm not going to eat this much cereal, but I also wanted to show off my darling new to me vintage Fire King polka dot bowl.  I purchased it from an Instagram friend.  That's another hot trend as well, selling on Instagram.

 

 

I try to use will power and not buy, but you know me and polka dots.  Let's just say, will power went out the window!!

A bowl full of cereal, a pitcher of milk, what else do I need?

 

Juice and fruit.  The yellow rose broke off when I was snipping them for my bouquet so I added it to the small plate of bananas.  Let's just say, no roses were damaged in the filming

of this shoot.  lol!

A close up of the pretty roses in this quilt.  I adore the fabrics!  Polka dots, checks, and flowers. . .what's not to love?

Although I really will not add sugar to my cereal I wanted to use my cute aqua melamine sugar bowl.  It brings out the little blue flowers in the quilt.  I spied it at a thrift shop and I couldn't snatch it up fast enough.  :)

 

I added Mock Orange blossoms to the bouquet of roses.  The blooms are huge, but weird thing; I can not smell that sweet orange blossom smell they are suppose to have.

 

Oh what a life!  Dining outdoors on such a beautiful day.  By the way, I am eating Life cereal.  Meant to be, don't you agree?

I shared a photo on Instagram and joined the # party.

 

When the fun was over and time to work the roses found a spot indoors.  It ended up being in the 90's and I heard on the news that it was in the 70's in the morning.  No wonder it was such a gorgeous morning!

Hope you are having a wonderful life!

hugs,
Jann

I will be sharing with these lovely parties:
Vintage Charm
Thoughts of Home
Share it One More Time

 

Share Your Cup #201

Welcome to Share Your Cup (SYC for short) the party where you share what makes you happy.

It’s what your hosts call “filling your cup”

Rambling Roses

Hello my friends, you've all seen those gorgeous images of rambling roses, right?

 

(google image)

 

 

(google image)

 

 

Well, why is it when you want them to ramble they seem to have a mind of their own?  I planted this cutie 3 or 4 years ago hoping that by now it would have rambled right over the fence.

 

 

But, no!  It's being defiant and going where it wants to.  It reminds me of raising my kids.  They didn't always do what I wanted them to do.  Maybe I need to put it in 'time out'!  :)

 

 

Even though my children didn't always mind, I never

gave up trying.

 I'm thinking a little string will help it along it's way.  Sometimes we've got to steer our loved ones to the right path.

 

 

And look at this.  Isn't it just breathtaking?

 

(google image)

 

 

And then there is mine.

 

 

Sally, (the name of the rose is Sally Holmes), is independent and demands to stand on her own.  No clinging to that post for her!

She's only two years old, so I'm sure with time she will learn to behave better. 

 

She knows she's pretty with her pale peach buds that opens to white and nobody is going to tell her what to do!

 

Well, my climbers may be misbehaving; but my other roses are minding just perfectly.

They're job is to put on a show of blooms and those that have started blooming, are doing just that.

 

I love them kissed with dew!

 

 

 

 

 

Knock out red rose

 

Even this baby miniature is getting ready to mind it's mama! (wink)

 

 

Well, let's just say that I hope your roses are ramblin and not misbehavin!

 

hugs,

Jann