Friday Finds

"Everything old is new again."
~Peter Allen

I've not blogged about this before, but just days (as in 19 days) before our court date in St. Petersburg, Russia, we closed on a condo at Oak Island, NC. It was an absolutely crazy time in our lives too...like the perfect storm. We were preparing for a new daughter, our Jeep Grand Cherokee had just been stolen - then returned two days later, and we closed on this vacation home - all within three weeks of each other.

My dream has always been to live at the beach or at least to own a place at the beach. I truly believe my soul thrives there.

"IT'S ALWAYS OUR SELF WE FIND IN THE SEA."
~ e.e. cummings

With that in mind, I had kept clippings of my favorite beach decor, and I had always envisioned what I'd love about a beach house. Our favorite expression about our place is, "It's the beach"...which translates into..."it's ok if everything is not perfect as long as everyone's laid back and happy."!

This is when I started scouring the Habitat store and local Goodwill for old, but substantial furniture and findings.
We had almost everything we needed to furnish this condo, believe it or not, except for mattresses and bed frames. We bought our mattress sets at a local discount store, but we still were lacking in headboard/footboards for two of the bedrooms.

One day at the end of July 2009, I stopped by the Habitat store, and I found the most adorable vintage mantle. I decided that it would make the perfect headboard for our bedroom so I snatched it up. I will never forget JC's face as he was helping me unload it from our Yukon XL. I think I said something like, "just trust me"!

This mantle was very dirty, and of course it had peeling paint. I took it outside and scrubbed it with a brush and then let it air dry.

It is one of my favorite things about our place!

That rocking chair was my great great grandparents'.

I found the driftwood, atop the mantle, walking on the beach.

I absolutely love this room. The paint color is Tropicana Cabana by Benjamin Moore. It is a little darker in these pictures than it actually looks in daylight. What a fun color! It makes me happy!

One of the biggest surprises, though, was when Pottery Barn came out with their vintage decorative ledge this summer/fall. I was just a little ahead of that curve with my authentic mantle, but theirs is also to die for...

I think my mantle is definitely a "find". I paid $100 for it. The PB version retails for $399.

"Each time history repeats itself, the price goes up."
~Author Unknown