Cronies Meet Redemption

Ha~! Like that title? Well, after I tell you what it means, you're gonna love, love, love me, especially if you are in the Pacific Northwest.
In our little tiny town of Clatskanie, Or. there lives a couple of friends. Well, there are friends, and there are Junky friends. These are junky friends. You know the kind I'm talking about. The kind that hoard awesome treasures! Well, these two women have, over the space of the last year, opened two awesome shops, side by side in our little town, that are well worth bragging about!
Meet Kelley, one of the most awesome primitives collectors I've ever met. When Kristin (my daughter and I) had our little shop, we had a lot of Kelley's fantastic things to play with. That was several years ago, and since then, Kelley has had booths at the Kalama, Wa. antique shops. But she has now begun to realize her dream! Having her own shop! The pictures I got, I'll admit, aren't the greatest, but hopefully they'll give you an idea of what you'll find. This girl has EVERYTHING, I'm not kidding! I love how she uses her shop space, which, by the way, isn't small. She has it packed full, and every little corner has a little surprise. Her personality and decorating talents are combined in the whole experience.  Meet Kelley, of "Cronies", open Mon-Fri-Sat, 10-5, Sunday 1-5. I can't remember the name of the street, but it's right before our only stoplight in town. Right off of Hwy 30, on your way to the coast. If you're coming from Portland, head west on Hwy 30, we're about 60 miles from Portland, and 15 miles from Longview, WA.

 She's got so much fun stuff packed in this shop, the pictures don't even begin to show you all her little vignettes.

 I know this picture is bad, but I thought it was funny. This little section, she's decorated with a coastal theme. See those sock monkeys above the window? They're her "Sea Monkeys!"

I believe she's eventually hoping to have coffee too, and she should! It's the kind of place you feel so at home at, and she is so friendly and warm. NOW, when you visit her, PLEASE tell her I told you about her! She'll think it's awesome!

And while I'm at it, I have to show you Kristi's shop! Redemption~Junk Salvation for the Vintage Soul.
Kristi's shop, while not as large, is a wonderful artistic experience! I think of the word "color", awesome color, with a light and airy feeling. You'll get an idea of what I'm talking about when you look at my (admittedly poor) photos. It'll be enough to entice you to stop off the beaten path and see what our little town has to offer.
Kristi does some beautiful things with old junk, and she has a great knack for finding it. Besides vintage treasures, she has jewelry, handbags, and all kinds of gift ideas for your special friend!
Kristi is open Fri, Sat, Mon, 10-5, and Sunday 12-4.

Vintage Treasures to the Ceiling

No kidding! I've NEVER bid on a storage unit auction before in my life. I don't know why, my parents even own one! (Well, their customers are usually good about keeping their payments up to date, even the lady who rented a unit for over 10 yrs, and her kids found...junk magazines)  I usually would think I'm too chicken to bid, but THIS was too good to be true. There were 3 units getting auctioned and we WON one!! What a blast! What a LOT OF WORK!
Right away we went through a lot of the stuff, ended up with 2 trailers filled with primitive antiques. We got 2 nice beds, one was a big huge brass one! I ended up with lots and lots of totes of smaller stuff that I can't wait to start listing in my Etsy shop. There are a ton of things I would love to keep, but I think I'll probably end up selling . But 3 things especially were favorites.
See the photo of the trailer, and in the very end, on the right hand side? It's a dye cabinet. At first, we thought it wasn't all there, but yep, my husband came across the tins that go on the door. It is turned around in the photo, but the back has some awesome advertising for dye-o-la (I think that was the name) dyes. It has little cubby holes that dye packages went in, but I might use it in my office.
Another favorite was the Hills Brothers Coffee thermometer. I gotta keep it! And then there is the glass mailbox. How awesome is that?
For days now, I've been washing pottery, going through everything, separated, categorizing stuff, getting rid of the junk. It looks like I'm gonna have plenty of cabinets, etc (as if I didn't already) to take to the Vintage Gathering Sale in July. And how many pottery pitchers does a person need anyway?
The lady that bought the other two auctions beside us was so nice. We ended up having a drawer of hers, she had one of ours. We were pretty excited for each other finding treasures. She got the two better ones, but I'm sure not gonna complain. And it's always nice to meet another treasure hunter! We're keeping in touch, so that when we come up with extra pieces, or missing pieces, we can get them to each other.

What else has there been going on around here? Well, I have a friend who hatches chickens with her little incubator. My sons and I got one and gave it a try. We only were successful with 2 little chickies, but they are spoiled little guys. I hate not succeeding at stuff like this, so, yep, we're giving it another try.  That first hatching had me such a nervous wreck, I felt like a father in a waiting room!  I think this little guy is a rooster, he's acted proud since the day he was...hatched!
Our Oregon rain has been terrible this month, but I'm hoping for some brighter days; they seem to be getting better. I am racing the clock to get my treasures organized so that I can do what I love when spring through fall comes-stay outside! Hope your spring is bright and shiny!!

Longbeach Cranberry Harvest

We (Kristin and I) took all the boys and Talia to see the Longbeach cranberries being harvested. That is very interesting and all those fresh cranberries were so pretty. It was a beautiful day at the beach and we what a good time we had! Sometimes it's nice to just take a field trip! And look at all the wonderful primitive cranberry equipment! I want a cranberry scoop fork thingy! Did you see the cute frog we found?