The Little Red Jug

On Sunday, I went back to the auction held at the house my husband grew up in - with the man himself this time.  He was intrigued to see what was being sold and, based on the photos I took the day before, thought he would be interested to see the house. What could have been a difficult day turned out to be such a great time for us re-living memories and having fun together.   I wanted to share a few things with you. I bought this red transferware jug and couldn't be happier (you can read about my love of transferware here).

Today I was reading my Canadian House and Home magazine (March 2013 issue) - and what do I spy on the top shelf of this gorgeous kitchen - the same transferware jug!  I love this kitchen.  The white cabinets, the subway tiles,  the pretty shelves styled with white dishes and little hits of red all spell perfection to me.

Canadian House and Home

Sooner than you can say "do it" I was changing things around on the shelves in our kitchen to match the inspiration photo.  I need the baskets for storage so had to work around them and, of course, I don't have all the same dishes so I had to be creative.  What do you think?  How did I do?  It's not identical, but I love the bright summery feel with the touches of red.  

Before we leave the auction-related posts I wanted to share a few of my favourite details in the house.  

The house itself is a very interesting historic home. While some of the wallpaper is too dark for my taste, I love the wallpaper in a few of the bedrooms.

  

I also love the stained-glass windows on the landing of the staircase,

and the patterned frosted glass in the front door.

It is a funny feeling to say goodbye to a house.  I hope the next owners respect the house and restore it to its former splendour.

Before we left town we stopped by the school my husband attended and found the wonky star and his initials that he carved into the bricks when he was a schoolboy. 

And lest you think I married a graffiti artist - it was the thing to do at that school as the entire back wall is covered in names some of which dated back to the 1940s.

Goodbye younger husband and your shenanigans.

I Got a Knocker and a Bust ... and a Clock

I went to my first auction this weekend. Have you ever been to an auction?  I found it a little stressful as auctions are fast paced and there is no room for hesitation, but it was also a lot of fun to come home with some great finds.
If you have never been to an auction then here are a few tips:   1.  Get to the auction early enough to register and have a look at all the goods. You don't want to be bidding on items sight unseen and then be disappointed later when you see the item up close.  2.  Take water so you don't have to leave to get a drink, a tape measure so you can make sure the items will fit in the car, a pen and paper to note the number of the items you are interested in, a bag to carry all the small things you buy in, and nerves of steel. 3.  Be fast and decisive.  I missed out on an inexpensive vintage wooden tool box as I waited a split second too long to jump into the bidding.  It was actually good practice so I knew how fast and decisive I needed to be for the things I really wanted to buy.

Want to know what I bought? 
A clock -

A knocker - 

And a bust - 

There was also a few tables of things being sold like a yard sale so I bought this little gray transferware bowl and two brown transferware plates.

The best part was this was the house my husband had grown up in, so buying the front door knocker and the other momentos made it especially meaningful.