Wednesday’s Weave — Copy What you See

Last fall when I went to visit Sister Bee, all I wanted to do was be cozy in her mountain home and read books.  She had this book Style & Simplicity by Ted Kennedy Watson on her coffee table.  I immediately fell in love with his book and ordered by own copy right then and there.

This book is an “A to Z Guide to Living a More Beautiful Life.”  Every letter of the alphabet is represented in a how-to guide to decorate your home and entertain your friends.  Years ago, Sister taught me to copy what you see in magazines and books.  She was the original Pinterest.

Something struck a cord with me when I saw this photo in the book.  It was listed under Hydrangea…

A bowl of billiard balls.  How clever.  I tucked the idea away in my head.  A few days later, Sister and Miss Bee and I went antiquing in Capitan — home of Smoky Bear.  We were rummaging around and I saw a milk crate full of vintage billiard balls.  Heavy, nice ones with soft colors and not plastic.  I lugged the crate to the owner and asked her real kind how much. “Oh, how about $20 for the crate.”  Sold!  Of course, it cost about $40 to ship them home with the other treasures we found that day, but it was worth it.  I have been doing a little research and I think the balls might be Bakelite!

We’ve been adding covered entertaining space on our patio and I wanted to fill the space with fun, vintage, quirky finds and these billiard balls are perfect conversation starters.   All they needed was a good wipe down with a damp cloth. I found a carved wooden, long bowl at Hobby Lobby and filled it with my treasure. It was like it was meant to be because there were just enough to fill the bowl!

I’m still searching for things and will be showing you more unexpected finds soon.  So, next time you look through a magazine or coffee table book, slow down and really take in the possibilities for your own home.