Thrifted Finds # 18 :: Sweet Pastel Lovelies

Therapy has been mixing things up in my brain lately, leaving me feeling rather raw & overexposed, but after a brief stint as a loveable yet surly & overemotional hermit I have returned … in time to share some lovely bits with everyone.

My anxiety levels have dropped off enough that I am comfortable going off places alone lately which has been quite a nice change of pace.  I have missed my freedom immensely & hope things keep going this way.  It is difficult to be a very spontaneous & adventurous person & then wake up one morning feeling as if you need a baby sitter to run to the market for groceries.  Irrational fears be damned, life is slowly starting to resemble something to be enjoyed once again.

It’s been another fun filled couple of weeks thrifting & attending estate sales, we even hit a few yard sales just to mix things up & had a semi productive trip to the local “Flea”.  I went to a crazy barn sale (all by myself!) where I saw this awesome Poonicorn sculpture (which did not come home with me, but I was more than a little tempted).

I finally took some pictures for Etsy yesterday (I had to replace the tissue in my homemade light tent as Weasley shredded the old tissue to bits earlier this month) of new & old finds alike.

The cast iron trivets were too corny & kitschy to pass up (at just a dime apiece) & I am especially fond of that vintage fat acceptance one.  Plump wives of the world unite!

I got this little gem at the barn sale.  It wasn't turquoise when I bought it, but I changed that quick enough & it had a little chipped up glass ashtray which I replaced with this amazing little Nasco pot that's engraved with little chevrons all the way around.  A perfect fit!  It is destined for the antique booth (more on that later) I think.

Found more vintage cake decorations ... loads of 'em.  These ones aren't picks though, just little bird candle holders with tiny toes to tuck into the frosting, but just as cute!  I had fun taking pictures of them with some of my old birthday candle collection (odd yes, but the boxes are so sweet I can't say no to them).

These little birds are pretty popular in the Etsy shop, the last batch sold within 2 hours of posting them.  I added a few to my collection & am selling the rest, gotta share the love, vintage cake decorations are just too damn cute to hoard for myself.

I picked up these little Soovia Janis watercolor paintings for a song at our local thrift-that-thinks-it's-an-antique-shop shop.  Unlike the others I've found, these are small, & have boozy subject matter to boot (I am a Bloody Mary girl ... Grey Goose if you please & heavy on the bloody beans).  I think I'll sell them as a set, they were both done by Pati in 1968 & I think they should continue on together.

Just look at those, the tiniest rubber circus animals in the best & brightest bubblegum colors imaginable!  I gasped.  I swooned.  I put them in my basket & thanked the estate sale gods for putting them in my path.  They are in immaculate condition & were still tucked inside their (intolerably dusty) original plastic bag when I found them.

I was minding my own business, having a good time taking pictures of them when all of a sudden there was something lurking in the photo tent that wasn't supposed to be there.  Apparently I am not the only member of our household who is attracted to cute little squeaky toys.

He just sat & watched for a good three minutes before getting down to business...

by reaching out a paw nonchalantly & taking out the wee elephant.

After knocking them all around a bit, it was time to test out the little burro ...

Then he got a little too rowdy  ... so I took the toys away.

Which prompted him to roll around like a sexpot; trying to coax me into returning them.

So now I can feel accomplished about updating this portion of my neglected life & I'm off to update my sadly neglected Etsy shop.  Still trying to get our booth all finished up, but their hours just happen to coincide with Chucky's work hours, so all of the things he's supposed to have done late last month are still not done & I've got nowhere to put my loot!  Ah well, eventually, I'll post some progress pics this weekend.

Linking up with:

Thrift Share Monday
& Flea Market Finds
& Vintage Thingie Thursday
& Treasure Hunt Thursday 
& The Penny Worthy Project

Thrifted Finds # 16 :: Filthy Little Garden Gnomes

We headed up the mountain early Friday morning for an estate sale that sounded promising.  While we were paying for our goodies the gal running the sale gave us a flyer for another one on our way home & while en route to that one we stumbled over another just two blocks away.

such a dirty little gnome

They each had something of interest for the fella & for me.  The first one had all of these yard ornaments that didn't look like they were part of the sale, but I had to ask.  When she said yes I asked how much (expecting some exorbitant figure) & she told me the gnomes were $3 (for all 4!) & the heavy concrete doe I had my eye on was $2 (oh, gasp & swoon ... who's my favorite lady EVER)!

They were filthy & filled with black widows (seriously, I squashed three on the way to Yoko, blargh!) but I got them home & gave them a thorough spritz & scrub & look how nicely they turned out.  They have tons of crazing & a bit of mossy growth, but I'll leave that.  I've wanted a set of vintage gnomes for a coon's age & now I have to find the perfect spot on our property to put them.

this one's on his hands & knees ... too cute

nappy time near a mossy rock

sleepiest gnomes ever

he sure cleaned up nice

I found so much more good stuff at all three sales, but I'll leave it with this for now.  We're having a bunch of work done on the house & everything is out of place which is driving me crazy.  I'm going to put my laundry room back together & then get ready to go meet up with Chucky for car club tonight at In-n-Out.

Linking up with:
Flea Market Finds
& Thrifty Love

& The Penny Worthy Project
& Thrift Share Monday
& Share Your Haul

Right at Home :: My Boys

I managed to snap some pictures of my boys playing together.  The dogs absolutely adore Weasley (who is getting so big already) to varying degrees.

Oonah-belle will play with him whenever & wherever.  When she was a wee pup my MuShu was a wee kitten & they grew up playing together while I was working two jobs ... she misses him as much as I do & is just loving having a kitty around again.

Elvis will play with him when the girls aren't up for playing & is getting less jealous about a baby-baby being in the house (Elvis is quite spoiled).

Bella will pay attention to Weasley by snapping at him when he attacks her tail & grumbling at him when he tries to snuggle up to her belly on the couch.  She was very badly abused before Chucky got her as a pup & is much more serious than our other dogs, she doesn't like sudden movements & the kitty makes plenty of those.  We think we may have caught her accidentally getting playful once or twice, but never if we are watching.

lounging on the bed together, chewing on one of Elvis's rope bones

they won't look at each other forever & then all of a sudden one of 'em will make a sneak attack

they're just so sweet!

It's hard to get pictures of them together where Weasley isn't hanging from Elvis's ears or gnawing on his feet.  I had to set my camera to continuous sport & hope something came out.  They'll play for hours & when Elvis tires of the razor-sharp kitty teeth, Oonah will take over.  My favorite part is that Weasley purrs loudly the entire time they're playing, it's just the cutest!

Thrifted Finds # 14 :: Penn Dutch Goodness

 

A few of my favorite finds from the past week.  A little bamboo cup, a Penn Dutch candelabra, a sweet little ceramic egg cup, a promotional Blue Lace Medallion Pyrex covered casserole dish & a piece of pottery from 1975, the second I've found from the Fred Roberts Lancaster County collection.  I absolutely love this pattern, though it's very rare to come across pieces.  I had a dinner plate last year & it sold rather quickly in the shop & I had quite a struggle with myself to let go of it.

This piece is a large canister, it originally had a lid, but I was happy just finding the base.  It would make a lovely planter or utensil holder in the kitchen.  Everything about this pattern is perfect!  I'm sure it will make some collector very happy once it's listed for sale.

I thrifted this a little while ago, but always seem to forget to take pictures of the things that I hang on the walls for safekeeping.  The look on the little girl's face really creeps Chucky out, but I bought it anyway because of her brilliant eyelashes & that cute little kitten.  It is a very large paint by number piece that I bought to resell but never got around to doing so because I just don't know how to ship something this size.

I'll get around to it sooner or later, but for now I'll continue moving it from room to room when Chucky's at work & then pretending I have no idea what he's talking about when he discovers it hanging above the toilet or in the back of the closet behind his hoodies.

A little thrifted vignette of my favorite owl bookends (a thrifty gift from my Megs), a stack of thrifted antique books & my red Woodstock mini accordion.

This is a rather large piece (18"x24") as well & I love the detail.  I found it at a rummage sale at our local Moose Lodge, those lodges always have the best stuff for sale!  It reminds me of my Grammaw's herb garden which was mostly medicinal with a culinary section.  I adore the crewel work in the center, it's been cut off so that it's fuzzy & looks like shrubbery.  So sweet.

Linking up with :
Flea Market Finds
& High On Thrifting Thursday
& Thrifty Love
& The Penny Worthy Project 
& Thrift Share Monday

Giveaway #1 :: We Have A Winner

& the winner is ...

Lisa!  Congrats m'dear!  I will send you a Facebook message & you can shoot me an address to ship the owls out to.  Serenity thought it was pretty cool that I let her draw the winning name, I promised that next time she'll get to do the same.

We're gearing up for summer vacation at the end of this week.  As of now I have Madison after school every day except for every other Friday, Sequoya every Monday, & Serenity every Friday except for the first one of each month.  Summer vacation means I will have them a bit more often & since I love being an aunt SO much, I am looking forward to it.

I've been saving up crafty projects & recipes on Pinterest for them to try out & making a list of movies to watch with each of them.  Stuart Little with Sequoya, The Borrowers with Serenity, Summer School with Madison.  Now that the pool is all clean & ready to go we'll be swimming a lot I'm sure.

I'm hoping the extra activity will help with my anxiety disorder, trying to get back to where I can work at least part-time outside of the home & supplement my Etsy income so that the fella & I can move down to Chico before the students return for fall semester & take up all of the affordable housing options.

Thanks so much to all of you who participated & followed & tweeted & liked & commented!

... & in kitten news, he has settled right on in.  The dogs are enamored of him (ferocious pitt-bulls indeed) & they each take time out to nibble at him & nuzzle him & Elvis loves to get rowdy & toss him around a bit while the kitten hangs from his ears & bites his lips.

We decided on a name & I keep forgetting to comment on it.  He is called Weasley after one of my favorite ginger haired fictional families (of Harry Potter fame, just in case you've been living under some very large rocks for the past 15 years).  He is very mischievous & a bit clumsy.  The name suits him well.

Here he is sleeping on the couch with Chucky after a long day of chasing crickets (Weasley, not the fella) while Chucky moved into his new room at Victory Tattoo.

Now I've got to get my caboose in gear & take some Thrift Haul photos for the last week.  Too many great finds not to share!

Thrifted Finds # 13 :: Spring Cleaning Pickins

First off, I'm having a giveaway & if anyone would like to participate you can find the info H E R E ... c'mon, free vintage stuff!  Who wouldn't want to win?

Thrifting lately has been pretty fruitful.  Lots of sweet & silly kitsch, tons of Mid Century housewares & SO many children's books to make me smile.  I attribute this good luck to the weather; lots of folks spring cleaning equals tons of donations for our local non-profits.

5 of the 7 thrift shops in my little town are non-profits & thankfully we have a charity minded population.  The only one I won't shop at or donate to is the Salvation Army, I don't agree with their politics or how they choose to exclude some members of the population based on their sexual orientation.

Anyhow ... here are a few of my favorites from the past week, some will stay with me, some will make their way into the shop.

An Avon concertina bubble bath bottle in its original box, a mint condition Rubbermaid candy bin, a brown glass Barrel of Beer bottle, an olive green enamel coffee cup with daisies, two tiny Funny Design candle holders, a solitary Trojan horse shaker & a UCTCI accordion playing figurine.

The graphics on this box are great & that little figurine will sit on the shelf next to my mini red vintage Woodstock accordion.

A vintage hound in wonderful houndstooth fabric, a unique milk glass dish with green platonite interior, & a crocheted pot holder.

She was hiding in a frame behind a blank piece of paper, we took the frame apart to paint it & there she was.  It's an 8x10, I just love the scalloped edge of her hat & that dress is perfection.

Surprise, surprise.  A few little 1950s books in near mint condition.  The two in the middle are by the same artist, Anne Sellers Leaf, one of my favorite illustrators & these are two I don't have.

The inside covers of The Bedtime Book make me swoon.

In other news, my husband started work at a new tattoo shop on Friday & it's the best tattoo shop in our area for sure, Victory Tattoo.   Yes, very exciting news that we held on to for a couple of weeks until he had the chance to break it to the owner of the shop he was working at.  He has wanted to work at Victory ever since he moved here & last weekend he went in to drop off a custom tattoo machine for the owner & was offered a position.  He's positively giddy & I am so proud of / happy for him.

He's down at the shop getting his room set up today, I am home watching Fresh Beat Band with Sequoya Rose & after we pick up Maddy from school this afternoon we are going to go swimming.  I've got to get myself down to try on new swim suits now that the pool is ready for the season.

Linking up with ::

Flea Market Finds
& Thrifty Love
& Thrift Score Thursday
& The Penny Worthy Project
& Thrifty Treasures

50 Followers :: Owl Coaster Giveaway!

Oh my goodness, how surprised was I this morning to see that I had reached 50 followers! I have had something special set aside for a giveaway post & I do believe that this is the perfect time.

First off, thank you all so very much for coming around to see all of the stuff I haul home on my thrifting & estate sale adventures. What a treat to know that someone is paying attention to my rambling & appreciating these things I find that I do so adore. I don't have any friends IRL who dig on vintage as much as I do & to tell you the truth I think most of 'em secretly believe I'm nuts for making a living this way.  I could bet, however, that I am enjoying myself LOADS more than I would be if I were still a Fat-Girl-Panty-Pimper (my former occupation), even though I really did enjoy that too ... well, some of it!

Anyway, there are two adorable little owl trivets which have been lovingly refurbished by myself into bright, fun coasters. One is teal & the other is Hubba Bubba (psst, your age is showing, Poppy Lynn) pink. I use mine (& I do have many) to set plants on when I bring them indoors, to hold my cups-a Joe & spots o' tea while I'm reading & they look just darling hanging on the wall in pretty much any room.

So I've never done a giveaway before, but I've participated in a few ...

To enter, follow this blog via Google Friend Connect & say hello in the comments below before next Thursday (May 17) @ Midnight.

For extra entries:

• Share the giveaway on your Facebook
• Like bliss&vinegar on Facebook
• Share on your own blog &/or Tumblr &/or Pinterest
• Tweet about the giveaway

Leave a comment for each extra action that you do!

Next Friday my lovely 9 year old niece, Serenity, will draw the lucky name out of my favorite bowl.