Antiquers Anonymous

I have a bit of a problem. It's really bad. I mean, BAD.

In the last week, I've been to Slegers Antiques three times. Yes, three. Given, the first time I went, it was to check out some various stuff since a friend was hunting for a cool trunk to put in her house. Sure enough, we found one for a killer deal and she has it all set up & looking fabulous in her home.

 In the process of checking out various things throughout the warehouse, I was telling her about the trogs and how valuable they are in terms of buying them in the States. I think she thought I was pulling her chain till she saw my post later that evening about "dough bowls" through Pottery Barn. So, we ended up going back the following day to snag some trogs for her :)

Over the weekend, we attended a going away party for a friend and he had mentioned to me that he had never been to Slegers, yet he's lived here for five years! BLASPHEMY! Given, it's not really his kinda "scene", but he told me he wanted to check them out before he leaves cause he wanted some cool stuff to take with him when he moves. So, I met up with him and his wonderful girlfriend there today to do some hunting. The second I walk in the door, Mike (the owner of Slegers) started teasing me because, hey, I'm back yet again! The first thing he asked was, "Are you going to come in every day now??" ...nooo. I'm trying not to. Really, I am. I promise! 

After two hours of showing them around and looking at various things, they ended up finding a very pretty wall clock in addition to a wood wine rack with some pretty designs on it (kinda similar to the trunk). In the process of exiting to take them to the ATM, I stumbled across a little hutch table that was buried under several various vases and some clocks. After digging it out and checking it's condition..it NEEDED to come home with me. Correction...it WANTED to come home with me! 

I think I'll attempt staining it a smidge darker so it'll match the other furniture we have. 

It has the same "Tudor" style legs like the dining room table I had bought earlier last year, so, I figured it'd fit in perfectly with the rest of our stuff:

Hi. My name is Erika and I'm addicted to antiques. 

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Antique-y Decor

I really enjoy antiques. Love love love 'em. I especially love using them as decoration around my house :)

I went over to my favorite antique store yesterday to pick up another trog since I couldn't get that particular one outta my head since I saw it on Thursday. It's HUGE, and stained dark (which I love!). Eric was joking with me that it should be a dog bed since it's large..so, I humored him and put it on the ground. Low and behold:

Wasn't expecting that, hunh?

When we first got here back in 2009, I started collecting these things called "trogs", which are basically little troughs that farmers would use around here to feed their livestock. Over the course of various trips, I've picked up more here & there and actually sent one to a friend back in California because she fell inlove with the ones she saw on my blog. I can't remember who mentioned it to me, but I was told that Pottery Barn actually sells them...but, for a much steeper price! Of course I thought it was silly that these things were insanely expensive back in the states, so I looked it up..sure enough..lots of money for 'em. 

Keep in mind, I pay (roughly) 20€ (about $26) for the medium size trogs and up to 40€ (about $52) for a HUGE trog. When I say "huge", I mean I use it to store all of my dogs toys along with their harnesses and leashes. So, of course when I saw how much Pottery Barn was wanting for their "dough bowls", I almost choked. Honestly, I couldn't imagine paying $200+ for a wooden bowl, so I hopped onto eBay out of curiosity...most of the bowls listed on there ranged from $145-$550!! Seriously?? WOW.


Here's the ones I've picked up since we've been here. You can kinda gauge their size cause of my Dachshunds that were checking them out :) My husband had given me a fair bit of grief over collecting these things, but they're growing on them since I use 'em for decoration, a holder for the dogs toys, and various other little things. 

I will say though, that PB's site gave me some great idea's as to how else I can decorate them! Now I'm on the hunt for some staggered candles and some decorative pebbles to put in the super long trog I just picked up (it's in the above picture, lower left). Actually, I think I'll just use coffee beans instead of the pebbles so my foyer will smell like a coffee house AND they'll hold up the candles nicely:

So yeah, there ya go! Trogs (or "Dough Bowls) are pretty awesome things to have around your house in terms of adding some shabby decor with a new twist :) 

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Phoning in this post..

Well well well, it's been a smidge since I've done a post. Lots of stuff has been going on which has taken most of my attention. Our house is pretty much the "walking wounded" right now because Eric messed up his back (some how) and I blew out my knee. Not only is my knee screwed, but I've been dealing with some serious abdominal pains (yes, I have a doctors appointment to get checked out). Between dealing with my stuff AND Eric's, I haven't been too froggy to go raise hell like I usually do. 

Random, but I was actually up and coherent for sunrise! The weather here as of late has been pretty shitty...lots over overcast, rain, wind..blah blah blah. Any, the sunrise looked so pretty that I couldn't pass up taking a pic of it! 

In other news..

Last week I went to the Turkish market with a friend of mine and we popped into the Kringwinkel (it's like Belgiums version of Goodwill). After snooping around for a lil bit, I ended up finding a really cool side table I really couldn't live without. Then again, I tend to think I can't live without a whole lot of things! 

Here's the goody:

After cleaning it up a lil bit and adding some decorations, here's how it looks in the house: 

Not too long before that, I haunted my FAVORITE antique warehouse with the thought of "I really want an old vintage phone"...ya know, the rotary kind. I'm hunting for vintage looking things like old old alarm clocks (the type with the two bells and a mini hammer on top), a Yashica TLR camera, smaller old film reels, and a phone. As I'm looking around...I'll be damned, cause look what I found:

It's from the 50's, a very hard plastic, and VERY heavy! Ever watched a movie and there's a fight scene where someone grabs an old phone and hits someone with it? The person who gets hit ends up being knocked out? Yeah, I totally believe that's possible because this thing weighs at least 5lbs! After a lil cleaning, it shined up and looked good as new! When I bought it home, Eric rolled his eyes , but, at least he understands there's a REASON why I'm collecting this stuff and not just a random purchase. 

Other than that, not a whole lot going on aside from taking care of myself and Eric! I've been focusing on eating better and have lost 8lbs since the beginning of the year, working out as much as I can despite the bum knee, currently in the process of planning another girls trip to Poland for some pottery, and doing some personal assessments regarding various friendships.  

Busy busy, but nothing new, right?

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Project: Girly

It was bound to happen. 

Eric was told he's gotta go to NCOA (Non-Commissioned Officer Academy), which means when the time comes for his graduation ceremony..I gotta wear something pretty. By pretty, I mean a dress. I don't do dresses. To be honest, the last time I wore a pretty dress was when we got married...hmmmm..four and a half years ago:

I've worn a few dresses here and there when I was thinner, but since I've packed on weight, I haven't really wanted to put one on cause I feel like a pig wearing a garbage bag. Yeah, not flattering. So, since I'm working out and trying to get healthy...yet again...I have a goal dress in mind for what I wanna wear for his ceremony. Luckily, I have some time to actually work towards this dress so this isn't something I'm shooting for to squeeze into within a week (that's just NOT realistic). I have two-ish months, almost three,  to work on my figure :) 

Anyway, I found this dress at Kiyonna which carries plus size clothing for us curvy gals. I'm absolutely lovin' it cause it's got that retro look to it and looks classy. Plus, saving 25% off on it wasn't bad either since I just went back and checked their site and the sale isn't going on anymore. Good timing on my part, eh?

Annnnd now I'm on the hunt for shoes. Buying shoes *here* is pretty ridiculous since I wear a 10, 10.5 or sometimes even a size 11 shoe. Those sizes are considered monstrous over here in Europe. IF I even find a pair of shoes in my size, they're absolutely ridiculously hideous. So, I'm hittin' the ground running and scouring the internet to find some cute heels to wear with my spiffy new dress. Here's the top contenders I found..I'm just torn on which one will look best with the ensemble! 

Of course, I'll totally post pictures when the time comes for me to actually wear the whole she-bang cause Eric will be wearing his Air Force Blues (hahaha). He hates dressing up, so at least both of us will be out of our comfort zones together, HA! 

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Photo Fun!

Ahhhh it's been a few days since I've posted! I've been getting into the swing of trying to start the new year off right by eating healthier (again), losing weight (again), and trying to work out (yet, again). To be honest, I started a health journal blog to document all the things I've been doing, but I'm not really comfortable with making it public just yet. 

ANYWAY! Here's some pictures we had done of the furballs:

Cali aka "Cali Momma"

Goofy dog!

Izzy aka "Momma Bear", aka "Izzle Momma", aka "Brown Dog ", aka "DPF", aka "Wurstbrooden".

My little weeeeenie! Who could resist that face??

Cole aka "Bubby", aka "Chunk", aka "Snarfle Bear", aka "Stoofles", aka "Smotebollen". Yes, lots of alias's . 

The look on Cole's face makes me think, "Yeah. I got this!"

Macie Mae aka "Mayness", aka "The PUFF", aka "Puffnator", aka "Little Wrecking Ball". 

Fatty...lickin' her chops. 

...and then, there's Piper aka "The Peeper" aka "Peeps!" aka "Beard Face" aka "Meat Mop". 

This pic makes me think of a lil man with a puffed out beard for some reason. 

I absolutely LOVE how they turned out!! There's so many that we're going to have printed and framed...ahhh! Love love love!!

Then, the photographer got a new spiffy camera for Christmas from her awesome hubby, so she asked me if I was willing to be a guinea pig for some shots. Sure, why not! We made a day of it since she's also a makeup artist, so she glammed me up & played with my hair..then we did various pics throughout her house with her awesome four year old entertaining us the whole time. Here's some of mine and Eric's favorite shots:

  

I really like how these turned out! Now if I can just get rid of my double chin, I'd be a billion times happier, lol. 

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*THE* Chair

We're a "gamer" family. It's not much of a secret if you know us..we have an Xbox upstairs as well as downstairs, although the upstairs is the official "man cave". So, whenever I wanna actually play some sort of game, I gotta bust out my folding chair since the rest of the seats are wayyyy in the back of the living room. 

One of the main "perks" about my folding chair is that there's a little pop up "side table" I can use for drinks... 

...but I rarely get to utilize it since Piper REALLLLY likes being near me. So instead of sitting on my lap, she gets a premo spot on the tray while bundled up in a nice blankey. Hard life, right? 

Anyway, as "comfy" as the chair is for her, it's not all that comfortable for me because it's not really supportive and not exactly designed for gaming. Which means, I can't sit and play Fable III for more than an hour at a time because it screws my back up. Sure, it could be seen as a "sign" for me not to sit on my ass and play games for that long, but sometimes I need that "stress reliever" to just blow stuff up for the sake of some satisfaction. 

SO..

There's a store just down the road from me called "De Kringwinkel" which is kinda like a Belgian version of Goodwill. Whenever you wanna get rid of something, you can just drop it off there and they resell it to the public...and if you're wanting to get something for fairly cheap, that's the place you go to. I've haunted that store pretty frequently since being here considering I've scored some super killer deals, like a set of dining room chairs for only 20 euros ($26.50), a really bitchin' chair my Dad picked up for 15 euros ($21.75), in addition to random wine goblets and beer mugs (usually $.50 a piece) rather than paying 20 euro a pop through the beer stores. 

I popped in there the other day to see if I could find a fairly decent chair (kinda like the one my Dad found) without having to fork out a ton of money. 

I ended up snagging this plushy chair. It's actually made really well and VERY comfortable, despite it being a burnt orange color..totally screams that it's from the late 70's or early 80's, lol. I'm actually debating on getting it professionally reupholstered, most likely whenever we get back to the States since I *know* I won't do a very good job with doing it myself. The frame is in fantastic shape and I just need to sand down the wood and restain it a walnut color so it matches the rest of our stuff. Not bad for 15 euro ($20):

Thing is, it's so comfortable...I barely get to sit in it! 

Freakin' dogs. 

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