Vintage Finds

 A couple weeks ago I had some time to kill and I went into an antique store.......  I'm sure many of you can start a conversation the same way :)  So I found lots of things to buy.  I ended up getting only what I couldn't leave behind.

First, is a vintage airline luggage rack with 4 wheels on the bottom.  I saw it and knew it would be perfect to hold fabric in my sewing studio (if it ever gets finished)...  So while I am waiting for my sewing space to be done, I'm using it in my family room.  I also could use it in my laundry room. 

I knew I couldn't get it home by myself, but my son has a truck so I texted him *secretly*, not wanting my husband to get wind just yet.  Well wouldn't you know it, my son was out to lunch with my husband when he got my text!!  He totally threw me under the bus!

What I have all my yarn in, is an industrial basket.  I just love it, looks like a big pasta strainer for commercial use!
I am not sure how I am going to arrange things on it yet.  I would like to put all my vintage books on it.  I need to decide.  I just haven't had time lately.

I also found two vintage orange chairs.  The original tag says they are custom made by a company in Minneapolis.  The upholstery is in such good shape I am not going to recover them.  Besides, I love orange!

The other chair is in my bedroom.  They are so comfy.  I sit in this one and put my cup of tea on the green table and crochet.

I have a sale going on in my etsy shop www.lollipookiesoap.etsy.com it is going to end on Tuesday, January 29!  Coupon code is COLD20 for 20% off! 
Have a great weekend!  It is so cold here, I am not thinking right.  How about you, what's the weather where you live?

20 years

Today I have been married for 20 years.  I do not have a lot of photo's from our "wedding"  because we went to the courthouse one day and got married.  In this old photo (1994), we had been married for 14 months.  The boys are 3 and 3 months. This was my first trip to Hawaii to see his family.  You never think you'll reach the day when you look at old photos and say..."Wow, look how young we look!"  and "Boy we sure were skinny!". 




All the changes!  Now our family vacations are only with the girls because our boys are out on their own!  It is truly bittersweet.

What is love?  The one thing I've learned over 20 years is that love is a choice, not a feeling.  An even better description is a conversation from my favorite old movie, the original Yours, Mine and Ours  with Lucille Ball and Henry Fonda (1968).  One of the teenage daughters was upset that her boyfriend Larry kept pressuring her to "go farther".  She is asking her father for advice.  This is what Frank Beardsley says to her as he is helping his pregnant wife get to the hospital to give birth:

~I've got a message for Larry, you tell him this is what it's all about, this is the real happening.  You want to know what love really is?  Take a look around you, take a good look at your mother, it's giving life that counts.  Until your ready for it all the rest of life is just a big fraud.  All the crazy haircuts in the world won't keep it turning.
Life isn't the loving, it's the dishes and the orthodontist and the shoe repairman and ground round instead of roast beef and I'll tell you something else, it isn't going to bed with a man that proves your in love with him, it's getting up in the morning and facing the drab, miserable, wonderful, everyday world with him that counts.~

Well I couldn't agree with Mr. Beardsley more!

Aprons, bone broth, blog design, lollibags, sea shells....

Yes I am going to talk about all five!  First off let me say... do you know I still have unpacked bins from the farm in Oregon????  I know!  It's terrible.  But the bins are full of my vintage decor and things I just love but don't have a place for.  I have a huge bin full of sea shells.  I love the ocean and I love sea shells.

I originally started collecting sea shells  because I saw a picture in a magazine ( a loooong time ago) of a wall built out of sea shells.  This guy made a wall by his outdoor shower out of sea shells and concrete.  I fell in love.  I have always meant to build my own sea shell wall someday, somewhere and have yet to get around to it.  But maybe next summer will be the year.

Anyway, I found my bin with my vintage aprons and aprons I made in Oregon.  I love them all but never use them and thought I should put them in my Etsy Shop.  So I will be doing that in the next week.

 

 

 

I've really have neglected sewing lately, because I have been crocheting!  I saw this beautiful picture on Pinterest......

And now I am completely obsessed!  This is called a sunburst granny square.  The squares behind the sunburst are regular granny squares.  This just SCREAMS happiness!  So after watching two video's and reading three different written directions and ripping out no less than 15 tries of granny squares, and wanting to throw my computer across the room,  I FINALLY  got it!  And I have made about 30 regular granny squares and 1 sunburst granny square so far.  So yes, my poor lollibag's have taken a back burner...... but not for long.

As I am typing, my kitchen is full of the most wonderful ArOmA, bone broth. I know it sounds disgusting.  But I just read about it here, so I am giving it a go.  After Thanksgiving dinner I threw my turkey carcass in the freezer with all the drippings and it is simmering away in my crockpot and it smells divine.  It actually smells healthy, if that is possible! And I love, love, love soup.  Love making it, love eating it.  So I will be making soup, soup, soup and more soup out of my bone broth!

On to blog design.  I am lost, I have no clue how to change up my blog.   I have no idea how to do a blog button... these things?  Well it's like I'm reading Japanese.  Will someone please point me in the direction or tell me how to do all this?  Or tell me who to hire or SOMETHING? 
Thanks :)

A couple things I bought at Junk Bonanza

A few weeks ago I went to Junk Bonanza, a lot of fun....VERY CROWDED. I think I'll not show up right away next time.  Or wait, scratch that, because my first run through I found a couple things I noted in my mind.  When I went back for them they were gone...
Next time I am just going to buy, buy, buy!

I ended up getting a peice of  *PINK* base board, two pink shutters, an orange lower case 'r' and an old light.

I put the pink baseboard in my daughters room up by the ceiling.  I was just going to have it be a cute accent peice.  But then I was hanging her curtain rod and I noticed her curtains were very long and I had a brilliant idea!

I asked my husband to hang them right on the pink baseboard and I really love how it turned out.

The light from the window does not make for a very good picture, but here it is anyway.  The curtains are from IKEA.

I put the pink shutters in my youngest daughters room along side her corner windows.  I realized after my husband had them up that I had them upside down!  He didn't want to switch them for me so there they stay, oh well.

Again the light is not really great, but hey, I am happy it is sunny out today!!  The shutters are all chippy and old.

And here is my latest Lollibag.

Have a wonderful rest of the week!!!

New Gypsy Tote's Lollibag's....

Here are a few more!  I've been having so much fun sewing..... And I used magnetic snaps for the first time, they are just OK.  They are expensive, and a bit time consuming to install.

This is vintage upholstery, I absolutely love this fabric, it's so RETRO.

A brown velvet heart on the front with a huge hot pink flower.  I love bright colors.

This is also vintage upholstery in mocha brown with a mustard velvet heart, coral flower and peices of vintage quilt.

This is vintage olive green and blue checked fabric, the ruffles are vintage drapery sheers and a heart in vintage upholstery.  I think the coral flower gives it a nice POP of color :)

I thought my Lollibag's were getting a bit expected and boring, so I hope this spices them up a bit!

Happy 1st day of October!!

New Gypsy Totes!

I have new lollibag's coming out called Gypsy Totes.  I know these aren't too crazy but I'm going to stretch myself and make some crazy gypsy bags!  I have great vintage fabrics and trims  I want to use and will be on the hunt for more...

Off to the sewing room!  Have a wonderful weekend!!

My thrift store finds

Friday was the first day of spring break and my son Nic's first day of freedom, he graduated early!  My son's, Josh and Nic,  have just purchased a cute little 1950's home and are about to leave the nest. Probably more on that later, I may need some therapy having 2 children leave at once...... So today I took Nic shopping for the new house.  We went to 2 Goodwill's, Salvation Army, a thrift store called... Thrift Store and good ole Walmart. 
It was so fun finding bargains for the boys, dinner plates from the 1970's that were 50% off, so .49 each!  We found small plates to match, bowls, silverware, Fire King casseroles.  Nic even found some plaques with the 10 commandments on them, he said it would be good to have those posted.  I agree.

I found a few things too.  First I found these nesting bowls, they are not vintage, but I love the bright colors!

I also found a vintage Tupperware Cake Taker!  And it's in great shape.  I have always wanted one, but I don't know where I'll store it or when I'll use it.  I asked Nic... Nic, do I really  need this?  I mean when am I going to take a cake somewhere??  He said.... You'll bring a cake to my house!  SOLD!

Do you have any cast iron frying pans?  I have always wanted some genuine cast iron frying pans... Well I hit the jackpot!  I found this box, see the vintage sticker?

La Belle's distributing?  See it?  Yep that's vintage alright, AND the set of 3 cast iron frying pans are BRAND NEW vintage, never used, still have the inside sticker inside the frying pan!

Do you love that?  I was instantly sold.

Sometimes I wish I wasn't so AFFECTED by vintage items.  I'm still not sure what it is about something like this that draws me in.

Oh and I wish I weren't so DRAWN to vintage cookbooks either!  Here are the two I brought home with me.  They are from the 1960's.

There was another vintage cookbook I was looking at, that was all salads.  A lot of the recipes were jello salads.  Some of them were so disgusting sounding it was downright horrid thinking of eating them.  Molds, they called them, a jello mold with tuna fish.  EWWW  I should have bought it just so I could have read the recipes in awe that someone used to make those!  Heck, maybe people still do somewhere!  Next time I go to that Goodwill I will see if it's still there. 

There was a picture of a "mold" of lime jello with lettuce in it!!!!  Geez, now I wish I would have gotten that darn book!  It's astonishing isn't it??

barn, junk, vintage, antique~sales

First I want to ask, what's the weather like where you are??  Well it is truly abnormal here!  77 in Minnesota yesterday and warm and humid today too!  I am loving it, but........... after hearing about the tornado's in Michigan, well,  maybe the weather should just stick to normal!

Back in Oregon I knew where all the good sales were, occasional sales, barn sales, antique shops, vintage/junk sales.  I even traveled to Washington and Idaho to sell Lollibag's at a couple..

With this nice weather I am just itching to get out and find a good sale!  I just don't know where to start... I know of Junk Bonanza in the fall but I am usually selling Lollibag's at The Creative Connection during that.

So do I have any Minnesotan followers?  If yes, please share good sales..  If not, what is your favorite sale to go to where you are?



Fashion Trucks

Do you love watching The Great Food Truck Race on Food Network?  I do!  I love the food trucks.....  So when I saw the article in Lucky Magazine on fashion trucks I was all over that!

Le Fashion Truck  has a cute pink truck, I would just love to drive it all over!  I am drawn to anything pink.

Check out Wanderlust, they are in Portland, Oregon... shoot, wish I would have known about them when I lived there!!



Here is another cute one...... The Vintage Mobile.

 I LOVE that vintage green bus!!

Spring is almost here!  What projects are you working on for spring/summer?

Look at this vintage light!

Do you love these or what??  I LOVE THEM!  My friend went to a shop in Stillwater, Minnesota and e-mailed me this picture.  Now I may just have to make a trip out there.  The only problem would be the price, they are expensive.  But I really like them, I want to see them in person, even if I could only get one.  But wouldn't it be pretty to have all three hanging as my dining room chandelier? 

That would be the WOW I am looking for!

Thanks Lisa!

the lo down

Well I did it, I drove an hour to visit Hunt and Gather.  And it was well worth it, it exceeded my expectations in all but one area. 

I knew pulling up, it was going to be grand.

There was so much to see, I was overwhelmed.  I couldn't focus.  Especially since I had Sophie.  I had to make sure she didn't break anything.  And Lauren and Portia kept saying....

Mom, look at this

Mom, look at this.

Mom, look at this!

Mom, look at this!

I finally had to say, STOP asking me to look at this, I want to look at things too!!!

See those big letters?  I bought a big yellow U.  Why a U?  They didn't have an R or a P.  And I fell in love with the U.  So what if it means nothing!  I love it!  There was an I and I may go back to get the I.  But maybe not, because I did not have a good experience with the vendor who checked me out.

Everywhere there were things I had to have.  But really how much can you spend and drag home?  My car certainly couldn't fit much.

There was a couple rooms with just letters.  I was in heaven.  I love letters, there were paper letters, plastic letters, letter cards, fabric letters, any kind of letter you can think of.

If you are in Minneapolis, you should go! 

My experience with the vendor has nothing to do with how great the store is.  And the owner wasn't there, so I'm sure she is great.  But it was bad enough that it makes me not want to go back.  Isn't that sad?   

That being said, there is some crazy awesome stuff there!

A Vintage School House Light

Oh how I've missed blogging.  I really must get back on here.  So much to do still.  But I AM getting it done.  I'm hanging pictures and decor now.  I had my dad (an electrician) come out and hang up some of my vintage lights.

One of them I bought when we were out here on vacation last December.  It is a vintage school house light.  I just love it.  I bought it at an antique store around here and they had 3 of them.  2 of the lights were big and there was 1 small one.  I bought the small one, because at that point we hadn't bought our house and didn't know where I was going to put it. 
Our new house has 12 ft. ceilings though, so I see that I need to go back and see if the bigger lights are still there.

I put the light in my entry way and I really love it!

I love the old chain and the porcelain globe, well everything about it. 

Don't you think that entry needs a bigger light?  ha ha, I do too!  That's ok, I have to go junking to find display pieces for The Creative Connection Event anyway....
Did I tell you??  I may have, sometimes I repeat myself, I got a booth instead of a table for the event this year!! 

Like my husband says:  Go big or go home!  I am taking a huge leap this year and that is why I feel a tad bit of ANXIETY to start sewing!

I am off to take my two littlest girlies to get haircuts today, this Minnesota humidity is to hot for long hair!

What are you doing today?

Mother's Day gifts?

Every year around Mother's Day I start thinking...............if I had a mom I would buy her this or make her that, I would purchase this card and take her to lunch, I would tell her these things.......

Do you love these vintage glass turquoise beads?  I am going to put them on a charm bracelet.  If mom were here, I know I would have already made her a charm bracelet AND  a handful of Lollibag's!




I also bought this vintage flower pin.  I am going to put it on a Lollibag.  Isn't it so cute and cheery?  I bought these two items from here.

I would also take my mom to lunch at The Good Earth.  I love that place, it reminds me of her so much!!  My mom and my sister and me would go there, ( I know I've told this story before, but...) mom would always get the chicken cashew salad sandwich with an ice tea.  After mom died, sister and I have gone there and gotten the same thing.  It's just comforting some how.

So let me live vicariously through you, what are you doing with your mom or for your mom on Sunday?

Sometimes I look up a word in the dictionary to make sure I am spelling it right..... I just looked up vicariously.  Here's the meaning:
Felt or enjoyed through imagined participation  in the experience of others.

Perfect!




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More Vintage Memories from Childhood

The other day I sat down to watch the 1979 movie Kramer vs. Kramer.  Remember that?  Of course I was only 7 when it came out, but I do remember seeing it on TV before.  One part in the movie, the dad takes his son to the grocery store and you can see all the vintage products on the shelves, ooooohhhh I loved that!!

So that got me on another search for vintage products from our childhood.  Remember these products?  Well I found a few more things..........

Here is what your mom's grocery cart may have looked like.  Love this!  Maybe you got to go to McDonalds after grocery shopping.

And get a happy meal.  Back then McDonalds had the purple character, what was it's name?  And Hamburglar.  Also, I remember every year at St. Patricks Day my mom would get my sister and I, shamrock shakes.  They still have them, I should have gotten one this year, shoot.

Remember what the McDonald's high chairs used to look like?

I think those are much more fun, rather than what they have now.  So what kinds of cleaning and household products did your mom buy?  My mom always had Comet around.

That is probably why I use it.  She always cleaned the toilets with it and the kitchen sink.  Hmmmm, I don't clean my toilets with it, but I do clean my kitchen sink with it.

Maybe your kitchen looked something like this?  I'm so sorry if it did....Mine looked a bit like this, we had the super dark cabinets.

Did you bathroom look like this?  Have mercy, what were they thinking back then?  When I was 5 we lived in a house on Yakima Street and the bathroom in that house was black and yellow, a mustardy yellow.  The counters were black with gold streaks in them.  My mom had the wrought iron towels bars.

Maybe your house was decorated more like this?  It is a tad better, but not by much...

Did you eat Quisp cereal?  I vaguely remember this stuff.  We ate alot of peanut butter.

Some products now are going back to their vintage packaging.  I LOVE THAT!  Some cereals are and Doritos has for a little while.  It really is good marketing, because it makes me want to buy that product!

Whatever happened to this lipgloss?  Was this more in the 80's?  I remember buying this at Woolworth's.  Woolworth's isn't around anymore is it?

Did you have a speak and spell?  I think I did, I remember playing with one, but not sure if it was mine or a friends.

Now THIS is what I always wanted to have.  I never did get one.  Maybe that is why my girls have had so many doll houses.

Did your mom get you Tupperware toys?  I loved these!! 

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE... vintage Tupperware!  I see it at thrift stores like goodwill, but I will admit, I have a hard time buying it, because I just feel like it's to full of cooties.  I do shop at goodwill and get clothes there too, I don't know why, I just can't get myself to buy the Tupperware, but I will wear the clothes, weird.........  Look at the salt and pepper shaker in the picture, love that!

What are some of the products your mom used to buy?  Are they still around?