6/22/13

Blue Ball Jars and Baby Ducks?

Hey everyone!  Happy weekend to y'all!  You may be wondering what the heck Blue Ball jars and baby ducks have in common.  Well, even though we live in a well-maintained, well-manicured planned community, we are just a stone's throw from massive feedlots (upwind, thankfully), horse ranches and mini-farms well-stocked with chickens, goats and ducks.  We live in a town (please don't refer to us as a city, we are not and do not want to be) only a few thousand shy of Scottsdale's population of 220,000, and with more than 1/3 of our citizens being under the age of 18.  Yep, lots of large, young families who like the idea of teaching their children a little about "living off the land" and tending a few farm animals.  Sorry, I'm not quite as "side-tracked" as you may be thinking, so just hang in there.

Anyway, when the announcement that Ball had reissued a special Blue Canning jar, I knew I wanted some and started searching around.  Where I ended up was Ace Hardware, which we seem to have in abundance around these parts.  I thought it was kind of strange that this smaller, rather old-fashioned store could still be existing considering all of the Lowes and Home Depots that are springing up all over the place.  Well, apparently this "youth-filled" area we live in, still prefers this more intimate hardware store over the big box ones.  I was a bit dubious about whether my little Ace would have these beautiful jars that I was seeking, but I went anyway, and lookie what I found.....

They were even prettier in person, so I bought 2 boxes!  I'll be sharing some of my plans for these little "pretties" in the not-so-distant future!

Have y'all been in an Ace Hardware in awhile?  Well, I certainly hadn't and the first things I noticed were "farm smells and farm noises."  What?  As in......

Lots of containers like this one, teeming and peeping with little "quackers," baby chicks and
even some baby turkeys (guess we know where they will end up.....lol!)  I grew up on mini-farms where my dad raised a few head of cattle, a horse or two,  chickens, and a large garden.  Well, that is not a life I want to repeat, except for the garden, but I was truly fascinated.  A baby "anything" (except those of the reptilian variety) will stop me "dead in my tracks," and I had to stop long enough to snap a pic, touch a sweet little soft head, and listen to "peeping."  This store also boasted small quantities of just about anything "hardware-related" you could possibly want, and the worker bees knew exactly where to direct their patrons to find whatever they were looking for -- now I could get used to that!

So.....mission accomplished!

While out and about that day, I also popped in Michael's and found these

Little beauties on their 70% off aisle -- SCORE!  I even made a quick stop at Joann's for that pretty piece of fabric that will be part of a little guest bath redo.  More on that later!



It was really a fun day!  Thanks, everyone, for stopping by.  Please know you are always welcome!

I'm partying here:
Kathryn at The Dedicated House for Anything Blue Friday
The Tablescaper at The Tablescaper for Oh, The Places I've Been
Jody & Stan at Rooted in Thyme for Simple and Sweet Fridays 

10 comments:

  1. I had no idea that Ball had reissued the blue jars! Thanks so much for the tip. We have 3 Ace/Truevalue stores within a just a few miles of us. I'll have to check these out. So many great ways to use them!

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  2. We do have several Ace Hardwares in our area, minus the animals! I can't wait to see what you do with the jars. I love to collect the old ones with the old metal lids.

    Have a great weekend!

    XO,
    Jane

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  3. Hi Carol,
    I saw those blue jars at Target last week, and wanted to buy some, but thought what are you gonna do with them, cause they don't match my kitchen, but the color just takes my breathe away. Can't wait to see what you do with yours...........maybe it will give me some ideas............lol

    We love Ace hardware and I tell you we have found some great deals there, things you would never think of..........we got some really nice lounge chairs for $60.00 a pc.,
    they were the resin kind but everything else we looked at was $100 or more, and just
    didn't want to pay that for something that was gonna be out in the weather everyday.
    Also found a fan for our porch for $15.oo, and we a lot of times call and ask if they
    have this or that, and much to our surprise they usually have it, and they are so
    much closer than the other big stores, so of course, we love that!

    Those lil chicks are so sweet, just enjoy things like that so much........makes you
    feel like a kid again, huh!! Surprised you didn't come home with a few! lol

    You have a great weekend, going out to help hubby by mowing the lawn, we have a
    riding one, so I can do that while he does the edging, weedeating and stuff, so makes it sooo much quicker. We really like to do it in the evening but it has been
    raining or threatening to rain every evening.

    Blessings, Nellie

    ReplyDelete
  4. Blue mason jars....that's a new one for me. Baby anything makes us feel good but as we well know, they grow up. Though I'm sure they were entertaining for awhile. Many times I don't like going to the big box stores as they are not very friendly and I have found that Home Depot is the worst culprit for women. Just my experience. Hope you are staying cool.

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  5. We prefer Ace too. They are usually very helpful and carry all kinds of things. One of our favorite things to buy there is local honey. There's a bee keeper in the area and he sells his honey to our Ace store. So good! Love your mason jars! You sure got a good deal on those pitchers. :) Enjoy your weekend!

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  6. We have an Ace hardware store very near us and they are always so nice. I found my Blue Bell jars there also and a very reasonable price! I hope I find another one when I move.

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  7. Anything in blue is always eye candy for me. I'm not familiar with the brand but the jars are so cute. I'm sure you will make great things from them.

    Happy Weekend Carol!

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  8. Hi Carol,

    Blue, perfect for the summer, reminiscent of sea and sky...and sand, I guess, as they are glass!:) Love the white vases, too...I wonder what you have planned for those beauties!

    Thanks for stopping by my place!

    Poppy

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  9. Ok, I have gotta get some of the blue jars! Only problem, I don't have a clue where an ace hardware is around here. Can't wait to see what your up to, and not even gonna try and guess :)

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  10. We still have some ACE Hardware stores in our area too. They're so awesome about knowing exactly where everything is & telling you how to do something. A stop by one is on my to do list. I'm trying to get some local honey to hopefully help with my crazy allergies.

    ReplyDelete

I truly love to hear from you and try to respond to each and everyone. If you have "no reply blogger," I will respond in my comments section and then visit your blog as soon as I can.

Make this a great day!
Carol

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