Making a House a "Home"

I had such a lovely day today...it was my day off, and I went shopping!

First I went to the Antique Mall of West Seattle, where I found a teal Ball mason jar for our "sea glass treasures" {so pretty}, and two old books to be crafted into picture frames. I had to pass up the most charming little rod-iron table & chairs. It was in the basement, so I was down there all by myself, and I gasped to myself when I saw it...and then ran over to make sure the price tag said what I thought it did
{5-piece set for $299...I should go back!}

And they also had this awesome globe with aluminum base for $35 ...love it!
I also got a super-cute idea for the craft room at the 206. It's an old Pepsi soda box turned on its side to use as a little display for trinkets & minibooks & little projects!

After that, I went across the street to another antique store {I don't know the name}, where I found a cute little white entry table for $125...or an even better wood one for $265.

Then I made my way next door to a furniture & furnishings -type store {don't know the name of that one either} and they had these cool front door mats that are made out of the bits & pieces left over from the sheets of foam that flip-flops are stamped out of. I've heard of these things...it was just a matter of finding a store that sold them. I'm pretty sure one of those will be greeting you on the porch of the 206 sometime in the future.

So, the main goal of the day was to hit a bunch of places in the SoDo shopping district that I've been wanting to visit for a while. First stop down there was Kelly Paper for wedding invitation stuff/ideas. I found a few I liked, and took note. I'm thinking I really need to get on the ball with at least some of the wedding stuff...

Next stop, Herban Pottery. What a fun store! Check out this wall they had, and a cute bird cage that would make the most darling little bird feeder. They also had a glass serving bowl with duckies on it! {It was hard to resist, but I walked out of there without it...I feel like going back for that one too!}

I tried stopping by Home Basics after that...but no luck. They are open 6 days a week, and just my luck, the one day they are closed is on Tuesday {ugh!} I will be going back there, they had a pretty crackled apple in the window...ooh-la-la!

Across the street was Paper Zone. They had so much new yummy scrapbook paper! I was feeling so inspired, but I didn't get any. I did, however, take home some Making Memories foam stamps that I've been eyeing for a while now, and a magnet stamp set {on 70% off super-sale...score!}, and a new die for my QuicKutz.

Pacific Fabric & Crafts was the next stop. They had a lot of stuff, and a lot of good deals. I found this fabric, and fell in L O V E with it. Its the colors I like for the apple-themed kitchen...couldn't be more perfect. But, I don't know what I could do with it.

I hit up Pottery Time {another store with big pots} next. I want a BIG pot to make a fountain out of for the back yard...I know we don't need to focus on the back yard just yet, but this just may be the perfect pot. It is a good height, and I like the bright blue, and {of course} its on sale! I don't want to pass it up, because I just may not find another one that I'm as happy with {I feel like I should go back for this too. We are going to have one nice back yard if I get that table & chairs to go along with the fountain!}

Ok, after the pots, I went to this cool furniture store called Year of the Monkey. They had amazing entry tables! The other two I had seen earlier in the day were out of the question now. I need to measure the wall {its a long wall in the entry} and see what size would be good. I love, love, loved this place!

Time for more antiquing! I have always wanted to go into the Pacific Galleries Antique Mall...its HUGE!! I felt like a kid in a candy shop when I walked in {seriously!} There was this gorgeous 4' x 4' ceiling tile that could be used as a head board for $1400 {sweet!...yeah right}
Also, other neat things like a purple pedestal sink {always wanted one of those!...not really}
I really did like this candle chandelier...don't know where it would go, but its another one that I gasped to myself and then ran over to.

One last stop on the way home was at Earthwise Salvage, which is basically an antique store for your home. Awesome! There are old doors, windows, sinks, wood & tile, fireplaces...anything you can think of. I don't think there was really anything there worth using, except for maybe a few old windows or mirrors as wall art {above the entry table}, and putting a sheet of glass over an old door would make a nice crafty table.

Wow, I realize that this is a really long post...and its all about me shopping for stuff for the house. Such a good day though! I feel so inspired, and have such good ideas. I really wish I could be actually working on it, and not just dreaming about things to buy to put in it. My Grandparents say that its my job to make the house our home, so I guess I look at it that way ;)
{I apologise for the poor quality pictures, they are from my phone...its all I had, and I needed pictures of this stuff!}