Alice and Jayne

a new home

Since Alice and Jayne has officially become Alice and Jay (this actually took place many months back but I am SLOW!) we have a new blog.  So, if you have absolutely nothing to do but waste time with me, join us at our new home,  aliceandjay.blogspot.com.  We will be rambling on about the store over in that neck of the woods.   We'll leave the lights on for you.    AliCe and JaY

good luck??

Once again, a cold windy day.  We did, however, pick up a GREAT load of antique goodies from a sweet soul mate of ALICE AND JAY.  Spectacular people always have spectacular stuff!    So, we were out loading the trailer when I felt something fall on my head.  Without thinking, I reached up to remove it.  It was squishy and warm.  It was fresh bird poop!    Some bird had feasted on a juicy purple berry and a nice big bug and then  with the accuracy of Robin Hood himself,  pooped it right in the center of my head.  Someone told me that this is a sign of good luck.  I guess my good luck was that I was looking down and not up!

brrrr

After such a beautiful day yesterday - this was all today was good for..

I had a rip roaring fire!  OOH I should get some marshmallows and...project of the day will be S'mores!  So, beyond warming our buns we didn't do much.  We did acquire a lovely old washstand that needs a little tlc before it finds a cozy spot in the store.  The washstand had not been used in quite a few years and the best part of these finds is usually what you find inside of your find. 

Inside of the top drawer, hidden beneath a pile a old pink foam rollers, were these lovely old face powder boxes.

pardon me, complexion powder!

oh for the days when such detail was given to the smallest items.

The graphics make my heart sing.

By the way, the boxes were still full of powder but it didn't smell as pretty as I think it did a few years back.  Besides the smell, these little boxes made a cloudy and cold day warm my soul.  Be sure to dig a little deeper, there is always a diamond waiting to be discovered.

things to come

We had to do a few outdoor chores today and the weather was delightful.  The flowers and trees are a couple of months behind on their annual show this year.  All of the cold temperatures have forced them to stay indoors I suppose.  Today I found a few that were willing to brave the cold and bloom in spite of it! 

Isn't it beautiful!

The perfect pink against a crystal blue with the melody of the honeybees gently in my ears. 

I found myself trying to crawl up in the bushes to experience them as those bees were doing.  They sounded SO happy.

 

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.    Wordsworth

Take heart -  Spring is near!

Monday

Welding is the word.

Jay and his Dad, Al,  get to have all the welding fun!  We have a truckload of things just waiting to be made.

They may end up a crane...or even better...

a ornery old gator.  These are some Big Al original creations that I just love!  I think that every back yard needs one of these "AL" i gators!   

2 projects in one day

Here is the completed project from yesterday...

That one was so much fun that we decided to do another table and chair set.

an old table base...

a piece of plywood (minus the tricky outline this time!)

old chairs with new paint and fun fabric...

a lady and her power tools...

a bright table for your poolside picnic!

We  managed to squeeze in two projects today!  Our end building stays COLD!  After spending way too much money on gas and electricity we decided to order an old fashioned wood stove.

There is nothing better than a roaring fire!  I wanted a giant fireplace but I had to settle for a small wood stove.

It is amazing how long it took us to get this little fellow going but it is equally amazing how much heat he is able to put out!

We are so proud of our little smoke stack!  We have the entire town smelling like winter!  The unfortunate part of our story is that today is going to be the first day in 2010 that we are going to be in the upper 60'S!  Oh  well, so it goes with Alice and Jay!

Project of the day

Jay had a new idea.  Because I am not fullfilling my blogging duties he suggested that we show you what we are doing instead.  Yesterday was one of our warmest days(52!) in 2010 so we went digging in the warehouse.  We dug out a lonely table leg that had been hiding in a corner...

We ran to Lowe's and bought a sheet of plywood.  Jay pulled out the jigsaw and started sawing.   Until he tried to follow my lines!  When I draw an outline, there may be one line or there may be 15 lines...

In this case, I had about 25.  I had to go back and paint one giant outline for him to follow...

The end result is a cute daisy.  Add a little paint...

and it starts to look happy!  Jay attached the freshly painted table base to the happy daisy....

Ooh la la.  A table is born!  A trip into the chair attic yields 4 crummy chairs.

But a coat of paint will cure any ills.  Plywood, some junk, paint, and a little sunshine mixed together with a lot of soda pop and you end up with ..

A cute little set to share a cup of tea and make sweet memories.  Check back later and i will have a picture of the finished project! 

snowstorm in Sasser

Last Friday we had a snowstorm in Sasser. 

Anything over 50 flakes in Sasser constitutes an official snowstorm.  Anything over 1" means an all out blizzard!

I used the top of our screen doors as a gauge and we definitely had a blizzard.

It was a magical day.  We put a "closed" sign on the door and just drove around all afternoon to watch the snow fall.

Snow has the ability to make the most simple objects stand apart.  The pine trees on the side of the road suddenly looked as if they had been covered in vanilla buttercream,  the old beat up cars that sit in abandoned back yards somehow turned into  works of art, and a plain old window looks like it has a bedtime story sweetly tucked behind it's panes. It quietly goes about it's business, falling ever so softly, making the world a masterpiece of white.  Do I find it so magical because we see it so rarely? I'm not sure but whatever the reason, I found myself trying to soak in every moment that we had together, me and the snow! I watched it fall, I let it cover my face, I made snowballs, I ate snowballs, and I threw snowballs!  I watched it fall till the very last flake fell and then I walked around and just watched it glisten.  Thank you to the Big Guy for the Greatest Show on Earth, YOU really made our day special.

would the sun PLEASE shine!

The gray and gloomy days continue.  We haven't seen a peep of blue sky since the middle of last week and I am ready for a little sunshine!  Until the sun comes out,  have a smile on me.  Smiles are always in season at Alice and Jay!

If I had the resources, Sasser would have one of these towers.  We used to have a stray goat that would just roam around town.  I haven't seen him in a while-I guess he found a good home.

scroll up and down and watch the eyes!

Just a couple of our favorite Alice and Jay customers.  Grab your monocle and come see us this weekend.

new paint

Old buildings are a beautiful thing and old buildings are a never ending improvement.  Just as we finish one project we are faced with a new one.  Translated - no time for blogging or much of anything else. 

We do have fresh clean floors

And lots of new treasures in the store.

This is my favorite new find!  A sofa made from an old cast iron tub.  It is actually pretty comfy.  Come on up and see what is new.  We are bringing it in every day.