Out-of-Control Obsession, Hoarder, or Avid Collector?

Ok, so I have been having a ball, and I mean a B.A.L.L. picking, shopping, searching, lurking, stalking, eBaying, Craigslisting, dumpster diving (yeah, I went there but didn't have to go IN there), salvage shopping, and thrift store poking. I have completely and utterly fallen in love with the thrill of the hunt. I literally could - and have - spent hours on websites simply "just looking." With a glass of wine, a chick flick on the TV, and my laptop, I'm seriously in a very, very happy place. Now my kids, not so much as they have recently been left to "fend" for themselves for dinner as "Mommy is busy!" Don't call child services though, there's a jar of peanut butter and some bread so they're golden.

Now to my little goodies and delicious finds -
Scott's Antique Market is a fabulous market outside of Atlanta. It runs the second weekend of every month, Friday through Sunday. My sister told me about it so naturally, we had to check it out on one of our runs to the Atlanta Gift Mart for our on-line monogram shop Monograms and Moonshine (insert shameless plug here - check). Well, Scott's is amazing. There are SO many vendors and so much stuff to look at and since we had never been there before, we had no game plan. We loved wondering aimlessly up and down and in and out of all the aisles but it was a bit overwhelming. There are 2 HUGE buildings with tons of goodies from super high-end antiques to up-cycled items and then some, kind of random, brand new things. I could have spent several days there but when we went to the second building, outside of it was a lot of tents and the heavens opened up, and the angels began singing, and yes, I am being a bit melodramatic but my heart started racing so fast I had to take a pause. My sister ordered me to breath because I was in salvage heaven!! Apologies on my lack of photos because I was so busy running from place to place and trying to remember to breath -

My favorite booth.

I simply refer to him as the Window Man. If money were no object, I would seriously have a beautiful window in every room, if not every window frame!! More is more, people!

In the salvage area, they did have some enclosed booths
with lighting, doors, etc, and a few fun, eclectic pieces.
My sister wondered if this would fit in the car?

Measuring a really cool light fixture
that did not make the cut!

This photo does absolutely NOTHING for this
window but I got two of these from the Window Man.

They are beveled glass and rainbows pour through them when the sun is out. These have already been installed in my carriage house (which is a whole 'nother post or two).

These beauties will become cabinet doors for the
built-ins I am having rebuilt (previous owner took them out).
They currently reside in my kitchen nook and I cannot
wait to see them up!

Soooooo, this is my car leaving Scott's Antique Market
for the first time. 

Yes, I know it is loaded down! Long story short, we had rented a trailer, then we realized I didn't have a hitch, in addition, U-Haul didn't have the trailer I rented so we went to Plan K! We made it home in one piece and so did all our goodies! P.S. - My apologies to anyone in earshot of me and all the expletives I used! I had already paid for everything so was going to be in quite a . . .  pickle . . .  if I couldn't figure out how to get everything home!  P.P.S. - Thanks to the random man in the Home Depot parking lot who tied the corbel sideboard securely to the roof of my car for us. See, chivalry is not dead.

Second trip to Scott's with my other sister.

I went with a purpose and b-lined it to the Window Man. These are going to become cabinet doors for inside my Butler's Pantry. Yes, the previous owner also removed that and added that elevator!

They're going to look perfect -
at least they do in my head.

Got these beauties also from the Window Man. 

So another one of my go to sources for goodies at great prices is Craigslist. Now I was very hesitant to buy anything from Craigslist because of all the bad publicity. I mean seriously, who wants to be attacked because you can get a Dutch door and two French doors for $75? I don't but I was willing to risk it so what does that say about me???

This is an official St. Petersburg green bench.

We decided, based on photos, this is not one of the originals from the turn of the century because it has metal. In photos from the 50s and 60s, you see this style of bench. It needs some boards replaced but for only $30, it was a steal! Thanks to my mom and dad for accompanying me to get this and keeping it from falling out of the back of my SUV! 

So this is another Craigslist steal.

A 99%  mint condition 4' claw foot bathtub WITH the claw feet and some of the fixtures, drumroll please  . . . . . $100! I tipped the guy $25 for bringing it down the stairs but even with gas and food, this was a freaking good deal! I did have to drive to Atlanta but grabbed my other sister on my way up (did I mention this was the same weekend Scott's Antique Market was happening??) and we made a little adventure out of it.

This is already ear-marked for the carriage house bathroom.
Guess I'll have to keep perusing the list for one for my master bath.

I am in love with this armoire!
Head. Over. Heels.
And the $350 price tag made it all the prettier!

My mom and dad had fun traipsing all over Pinellas County with me to rent the truck, pick up the armoire, unload the armoire into my home, and returning the truck! What I won't do for a good looking, good deal!

My most recent, spur-of-the-moment purchase are
the 3 doors shown above - 2 French doors and 1 Dutch door.
I went international!

I saw these one morning, they had just posted an hour earlier, all 3 for $75!! They are in great shape and have their original glass. The perk was that they were for sale only 14 blocks from my house! Boooonnnuuusss! So within 15 minutes of seeing them and emailing the seller,  I had these doors in my car. The really good news is that the Dutch door almost perfecting fits the opening for my back kitchen door. Cannot wait to have it installed!

Another resource for good deals, and quite honestly, these are by far my best deals, are friends. And anyone who wants to give me something super fabulous will always be my friend - apparently I CAN be bought!

This beautiful chandelier came from my friend's 1915 home.
She just gave it to me!!
Thank you, thank you, thank you!

And with every beautiful chandelier comes
two beautiful sconces and lots and lots of crystals!
These will look great in my home.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!

I had been searching for corner cabinets and wanted some that filled the space,
not just sit in the corner. These fill the space perfectly and were only
 $50 each from a friend of mine.
LOVE THEM!!!
Thank you, thank you, thank you!

So that's just the tip of the iceberg for some of my finds (I thought this post was starting to drone on so I will break it up). I told you, it's a problem necessity to bring back all the charm to my home that has been removed over the years. 

On a separate note, I know a lot of you have been concerned about how I am doing after the divorce. I haven't blogged about it anymore because to be quite honest, I'm sick of talking about it. In a nutshell though, there are more good days than bad. I do get seriously down at certain times, especially when having to organize photos, and photo albums, and planning vacations (something I never really thought about, what do I do with it all??). Things that remind me of what our family used to look like. I also have the pleasure of knowing my oldest daughter will be meeting the "other woman" at some point this summer. That will be fun awkward for my daughter but it has unfortunately become part of our vocabulary and our lives.  Throwing myself into making this house a home has helped me keep my sanity, as well as my two, very active and incredibly wonderful daughters!! And I've lost 61 55 pounds. I have gained a few back and will get back on track next week, after my birthday!

That's it for today. I have so much more to share and I promise, there will be some AFTER photos coming shortly. I just have to get some things finished (uh, almost everything) but that is for another post!

- Kristin