Five simple things

Hello.

Good week, I hope. It's been a messy week here with the hard rains, cold, and wind that comes and goes. There is 45-inches of snow up on the Cascades right now and the snow is still falling. We are extremely jealous of that and wish the powder would grace us with its presence. My dad told me that even Arkansas has snow on the ground. Last year, at this time, we had snow already and it stuck around awhile, but years before it has come around December, so we are still holding out hope that it will come sooner than later. Other than that, we have had such a fun week. We purchased a Smart Fortwo on Saturday and have had a lot of fun zipping around in it this week. It's a fun, little car and I am loving it! I have wanted one for a few years now and this one is perfect for a starter to the Smart cars. It's a lot bigger than people think it is, but it has the look of a smaller car. I've added a picture of it below as part of the five things that made my week because it truly made our week a lot of fun. Here are the rest of the things that made this week.

1. Door knob.

I've always swooned over glass door knobs and in this old house it seems to fit in perfectly. I picked this up at the local antique store here and just felt it calling my name.

2. Copper rods.

We've replaced all of our curtain rods in the house to these copper hardware rods. We needed something more sturdy and less of an eye-sore. Regular curtain rods are so loud and busy that these worked out perfectly. Each copper rod is made up of a copper tube (cut to size), a copper strap, and a copper cap. We have plans to replace the screws with copper screws, but for now, they look wonderful.

3. Bank "W."

There is a great story behind this weathered copper "W" and I am so thrilled to share it. Our local bank here, Willamette Community Bank, remodeled their building and removed the lettering from the side of the bank. The remodel happened a few years ago and the metal letters have been laying in the elements on the side of the bank ever since. I always remarked that it would be neat to have the "W" because of our last name-Wilkerson. It took me a couple of years, but while I was at the drive-up window a few weeks ago I asked about it. The teller said she would ask and get back to me. The Mr. went to make a deposit this week and the branch manager said she meant to get back to us sooner, but she got permission and we could have it. The Mr. brought it home to surprise me and I was overjoyed. I think it means more than just a simple "W" sitting in our house, it now also has an old history and now it will have new history.

4. Grove Collaborative.

I took advantage of the Grove Collaborative introduction and received everything above for $20. Not sure if we will continue it, but for now this was a good haul. You can get it here.

5. Smart car.

Again, we are loving it! I enjoy being able to hop in, jot to the store, library, or lunch, and know that I'm not burning a lot of gas. The practicality of it is just a great thing for us. Check out the inside.
Side note: We've never purchased a car from Carmax before and I have to say, we will definitely give them another shot in the future. Carmax of Portland(Clackamas) is a great group of people and we had a blast purchasing a car from them!

A few more things:

• Vintage wire food cover.

• Buying milk in bulk? (but the waste)

• Sustainable clothing companies.

• Grow a Redwood tree in your living room.

• Stock your spice cabinet.

Have a good weekend!