You Should Be Jealous of All My Shiny New Things

You really should.  Okay, let's get started here . . .

First, my engagement ring.  It's totally an owl.  Like, a giant rhinestone owl head.  You may think I'm lying but you can see it in the picture right there.  And that's my hand, completely unlike any other hand so now you must know I'm telling the truth.  At first I was skeptical, but the more I thought about it and wore the ring around the more I realized how perfect it is.  He looks kind of fierce but I think he's just protecting my honor in case Tim isn't around.  Also, if you angle his head up he looks really sweet.  I won't tell you what Tim paid for him but in Barnes and Noble paycheck terms after taxes it equals out to about 3 months salary.

I also like him because he matches the white tiger t-shirt I found at the Goodwill today.  $2!!  I think Rilke-cat was jealous because I've been wearing it for about 2 hours and it already has black cat hair all over it.

And on to . . .

Okay, this isn't quite "new".  I've had it for about a month but I can't believe I haven't blogged about yet because it's super awesome.  Gaze upon the amazing vintage table I found on Craigslist for $30.  $30!!!!!  I know that's a lot of exclamation marks but we saw basically the same table at a vintage store for $200!!  It's got a very 50s red and white painted tin top and a cute little drawer which I haven't decided what to put in yet.

I've tried to accessorize it with complementary colors like turquoise and yellow.  I've made myself a bright little cozy spot in the kitchen.  It's a great little spot to use the laptop because I'm not tempted to watch an entire season of "Say Yes to the Dress" on Netflix. 

I also put my Rilke painting up there because the colors match so well with those cute Target canisters my Mom got on clearance for like $3.  Aside: (Kathleen Thompson, if you're reading this, that glass juicer in the middle is for you so you better not have one already!)

Lastly, a big shiny thing . . .

We bought a new car!  Exciting and scary at the same time!  Monthly payments=Scary.  Operating vehicle excellent for scavenger hunting=Exciting!  Thanks to my Uncle Rick who bled the salesman dry and squeezed every last bit of profit from that car to get us a better deal.  I think it's so cute.  It's a Kia Rondo.  I just used Wikipedia to look up the word "Rondo" and it turns out its a musical term which is appropriate since we'll mostly be towing instruments in its spacious back seat/trunk.  Amazingly it seat like 7 or 8 people if you squeeze in real close and I'm pretty sure my Mom plans on every inch of that space being filled with screaming grandchildren.  We were thinking more of vintage furniture and guitar amps.

Okay, that's all for now.  Try not to be too envious of all my great stuff.  I know it's hard.

Orphans and Oddities and Another Contest

Now that Tim and I have decided to open our vintage/handmade store in some yet to be determined city (did I tell you guys this?), I've been sharpening my eye for those one-of-a-kind vintage finds.  Here are some recent finds, some of which weren't really found so much as unwillingly thrust upon us, and others that aren't worth the paper they were printed on except as a hilarious reminder of the collective foibles of our society, i.e. Glamour Shots.

We found the little man to the right and his sheep/dog in an antique store in a small town in South Georgia.  The man who owned the store was very kind and gave it to us for the excellent price of $10.  Not a bad deal for the adoption of a creepy child AND what looks like a genetically mutated dog.  What really gets me are the shoulders, or lack thereof.  My question is, at what point in history did this type of  portraiture seem normal.  Whatever.  I'll gladly hang it on my dining room wall to freak out and amuse our guests.

I found this odd little chair at a Goodwill last year and for the longest time I thought it was a sewing chair because it had this little compartment underneath the seat.  Only recently did I find out that it's actually a valet or butler's chair that's missing it's hanger which would normally be screwed to the back, under the little wooden tray.  This type of chair was originally designed in 1953  by a Danish man named Hans Wegner to serve as an all-in-one caddy for a man's personal items.  I'm only sharing this knowledge with you because I just learned it on Wikipedia and I'm feeling super well-informed.  I doubt this chair is worth anything because it was made in the early 70s by a Michigan company that apparently now specializes in wooden hangers, but I thought it was a pretty cool show piece.  I've almost gotten rid of it a few times but something makes me hang on to it.  What can I say, I just like the weird thing.

Alright, let me just come out and say it, I'm officially obsessed with 1950s and 60s Pyrex.  I mean, it's just so cute and you can find quite a lot of it for pretty cheap.  I realize that I'm kind of jumping on a vintage bandwagon here but every time I go thrifting now I have my eye out for that unmistakable milk glass/brightly colored pattern.  Just this weekend I found this lid to a baking dish.  I didn't find the dish, but I had to get it because, well, look at the thing.  Look at those colors!  Come on!  After doing a little research I've only been able to find this particular pattern on a website called Pyrex Love which shows you all the Pyrex patterns.  Even on that site it's listed as an "unknown" pattern, but I think it's pretty awesome.  I'm just waiting for the day I stumble upon it's brother.  That will be a good day.

These "things" have kind of been creeping me out ever since they came into our house.  We got them in, what else, a secret santa exchange.  I believe they're bull horns carved to look like peacocks and made into bookends?  Whatever, the orange eyes are scary.  Plus, they seem to be slowly decaying.  Weird.  Tim wouldn't let me sell them at the yard sale we had this weekend, so here they remain staring down at me from the bookshelf as I type this.  One of them is missing an eye.  Eek.

Last but not least, an item totally out of place in this blog which I try to keep completely devoid of any glamour of any kind.  Especially glamour spelled with a "u".  We found this sitting on the shelf of one of the scuzzier local thrift stores and it was calling out to us.  What a throwback.  I don't exactly long for the days when there was a Glamour Shots studio in every mall in the country, but how can you not get a kick out of this.  Even back then it was ridiculous but now I feel like it offers us some sort of insight into the psyche of the average American circa 1993, which is when this picture was taken.  So, I'm having another blog contest.  Here's the scoop:

Come withe a name, hometown, and occupation for this lovely lady and leave a comment on my blog.
I pick the winner based completely on my own preference.
Winner gets a free pack of funny animal cards from my store, pictured here.
Now go out and be funny and poignant and don't disappoint me!

Vintage Delights

I love shopping handmade on Etsy, but there's also another equally awesome group of sellers who devote their lives to hunting down those dusty gems and bringing them to light. Here are some treasures I found . . .



I've become somewhat obsessed with these vintage pyrex Cinderella bowls. My sister and I bought a set for my mom for Christmas in a different pattern. This is probably my favorite pattern/color combination. The pattern is called Amish Butterprint and is super adorable. You can get this set for yourself (or me) at Jen's Closet.



I love these little yellow kitchen containers. If I had any counter space I would get them for myself. Find them at the Art Deco
Dame's shop.



Come on, this is adoorbale, right? It might even fit me. Maybe. Even a size 13from the 60s might be bit snug. I tried on my grandmother's gorgeous wedding dress which was labeled a size 8 or 10 I think. I couldn't even get a leg in it. It's a dress. Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating, but you get the idea. Find this awesome dress here.



I think this little jacket would look amazing on the right person. It's pretty Victorian, but I think you could turn it really modern with the right look. Find it here.

Okay, that's it for now. I hope you enjoy my picks. I'll be back blogging soon with some original stuff and some pics of my new "studio".