Wistfully Waiting For Spring...

Yes,technically it is spring but you wouldn't know it in my neck of the woods.The ground is still very covered in snow.I did get tossed a bone yesterday and there was a high of 46!Even though it was too cold to wear my spring dresses it didn't stop me from putting one on for around the house and spend a bit of time longingly gazing into my closet.This dress I'm wearing I  got from Modcloth on sale for $13!I was worried about the length.I'm very funny about length.I prefer things just over my knee and this is right above so it feels a little juvenile but not terribly.Luckily I'm short so its not going mid thigh or something!



The browns in the dress gave my an excuse to wear my new pieces of Bakelite that I'd found at the thrift store not too long ago.The brown faceted one I found in a bag with another bracelet for 75 cents at an antique mall junk jewelry table.The other brown bangle I got with 2 orange ones not photoed for 85 cents for all of them!The green on I've had for a few years now and can't recall where I got it,I think it was an eBay score.



I bought this 70's chief ring for $4 on sale from  Bright Baubles and More's shop earlier this week and was happy to have it arrive yesterday so I could wear it.




This time last year the snow was all gone and it definitely felt like spring,this year I think we're getting the typical UP spring and it won't look like spring for another month.One being that doesn't seem the least bit upset about the snow is my lab Sam.

My Bedroom...

After almost a year and a half of living here my bedroom is finally properly furnished.It has been years,yes,YEARS since I've had bedroom set.Finding a vintage bedroom set in your price range can be tricky sometimes,especially if your price range is more on the "can I get that for free?" side.My husband pleaded a few times to just get over my need for vintage dressers and let him get something at Wal-mart till I found something but first off gross (no offense if that's your thing but its definitely not mine) and secondly I know my husband well enough to know that if I said yes he'd say "we already have dressers" when the time came that I found them.Sometimes its better to just do without till you get it just right.

Originally I had my heart set on an art deco waterfall bedroom set but nothing was in my price range and the pieces that were on Craigslist ended up being 3 hours away making it not quite a deal once you factor in gas and having to rent a small moving van.Eventually it just came down to "something vintage will do!" and when you open your net wider fate will work with you a little more.I spotted a bedroom set in a consignment shop months ago and told myself not to get too excited about them but if they were still there after I saved the $200 needed I'd  snag them.Thankfully there were.I didn't inspect them for labels but once they were delivered and I opened a drawer I was pleasantly surprised to learn they were Kent-Coffey pieces!



Since I finally had dressers in place I could put things on the wall!


These paintings are from 1941 and I got them in a flea market in Indiana.I got that aluminum dish with Bakelite handle also in Indiana.The clock is a reproduction of Westclox Big Bean Moon Beam.


I can't even begin to express my happiness at being able to display my vintage jewelry again.Having it on the floor definitely isn't the same.That lamp is a nice $10 score at the thrift store.


Close up of my jewelry,I love this vintage Lucite display I got off ebay over a decade ago now.Always wanted to find another but haven't had any luck.




Some of my Bakelite bangles.



Here is the side table.Unfortunately it doesn't work as a side table in our room since its a bit small for a "master bedroom" but works out well in this little nook.I found out from the neighbor that our 1937 home use to originally be a 2 bedroom with a garage that is now a 4 bedroom with NO garage.There are 3 rooms upstairs and they took the master bedroom and split it which totally makes sense!What was once the garage is now the 4th bedroom my husband uses as an office and the other half is now my office.The fact that we have a king bed doesn't help with the bit of cramped-ness but the thought of downgrading to a queen is something my husband and I both agree is a terrible idea.And I will never complain about it being small as the neighbor told me the original owners had 6 kids in this place!I can't even imagine.


These curtains inspired the color palette in my room,they're called "Happily Married" which I thought was good juju for the bedroom.If you look on ebay you can usually find a lovely little variety of Saison happily married fabrics.I'm not sure how many prints they had but that company definitely had some beautiful ones.



The moon I've had for years and I thought it'd go great with art deco waterfall furniture but I still like it even if I don't have the dark wood.I'm a little weird about mixing woods,I'm definitely too matchy matchy at times but I'm learning to loosen up a bit in this department.Moon and figurine were Indiana flea market finds...man,I found some good things when I lived in Indy.



And where dirty clothes go till they get washed,the hamper!There are little tweaks here and there I'm sure will be made as time goes by.Eventually hardwood floors will be put back upstairs too but for now I'm happy that all the rooms upstairs are now properly furnished!

Apple Juice Bakelite

If you love vintage fashion there is a good chance you love vintage jewelry and if you love vintage jewelry how can you not love Bakelite?I thought in an attempt to start blogging more I'd make a theme post of showing off various Bakelite pieces for sale on the wonderful world wide web that catch my eye,because I admit it,I window shop.A lot.

One of my favorite colors of Bakelite is apple juice.It also usually tends to me the most expensive,which is why I don't have any pieces with the exception of a large decorative button I keep in my sewing box thinking one day I'll put it to good use.These beauties I've all found for under $100.00!

This brooch from mikat82   features a wire fox terrier in it.Wire Fox Terriers became popular family dogs inthe 1930's because of The Thin Man feature films.



This prairie wagon brooch from atomicwarehouse   incorporates wood and Bakelite together.


Love this funky little fish brooch from  craftingfool2003


This brooch with the mother of pearl fleck in t is beautiful from 
Violasvintages

Hopefully you're not bored of brooches so lets finish this off with some dress clips!Dress clips I feel are one of the most underrated but most valuable pieces to have to your vintage wardrobe.We all have that dress we like that's plain but add a dress clip to it and you can really give it a glamorous feel!

This dress clip also from Violasvintages   has combined my love of Bakelite AND rhinestones!



Lastly this reverse carving apple juice Bakelite dress clip from
OurBoudoir


Hope you all enjoyed drooling over these pretties as much as I have!Till next time.

My Dining Room,Before and Work in Progress....

I'd love to say this was a "before and after" but we're not 100% there just yet.The ugly carpet needs to be ripped up and hardwood floors put down and then new border and trim need to go up.The trim is obviously the cheaper thing to do but its pointless to do until the new floors go down.One of many of those home remodel conundrums.And artwork!I've yet to find any vintage art for the dining room so the walls are still bare.

Now I feel bad saying "Before" even as the true before is cheap paneling(Yes,my poor sweet little 1937 home was the victim of a 70's remodel!).But my husband had that ripped down before I showed up with the kids.And for almost 6 months it stayed like this.


Torn up water stained wallpaper ,not a great look.




Now growing up I lived in a house that was constantly under construction and I hated it.It was depressing because it was ugly and embarrassing to have friends over.Luckily my remodeling though slower than I want isn't going to take my kids whole childhood.The reality is these things cost money(which I don't have)and curses to you HGTV for making me think magic could happen in 30 minutes with a team of hot carpenters!Where are my hot carpenters?!But I'm not doing too bad for it only being me and the help of my husband here and there.The big projects are the kitchen and bathroom but we'll have to hire professionals for those areas.

So here is the "work in progress" after.And before anyone yells at me compared to the first picture the door looks like dark wood that I painted white,no that's not the case.I love real wood and I wouldn't have painted over it but...but....the person that lived here before had painted it a glossy dark brown!Oh my god why??It was bad.I'll have more glossy brown horror stories to share with you as I am able to show off more progress with the house.Oh and I'm sorry for the dark photos,I chose to do this post on a gray winter day.Hopefully when the time has come for the 100% after photos I'll have a nice sunny day to take photos.



The walls were in no shape to paint over and the funds weren't there to put up all new drywall so we went with paintable wallpaper.I chose this textured swirl pattern and then painted it Bermuda Blue.Now,if you don't have a good marriage don't even both trying to put up wallpaper together,I'm not even kidding.Hire a professional.If you and your spouse love each-other as much as my husband do you MAY get out alive with only minor tears,obscenities,and objects thrown involved.


And now for some more detail shots....Oh hey there is my sweet hi-fi!Yes,records at dinner time is the thing to do at my house.



My aqua and gray dinette has been retired down to the basement for now so that my Heywood Wakefield stuff could be brought into the dining room.I'm hoping with the kitchen remodel I MIGHT be able to put it in there if there is room.Sorry little Formica table,I just really,really love my Heywood.



As I've made mentioned before I lost most of my Vernonware Heavenly Days china when we moved.I decided to stop being so "matchy matchy" and go with "if you like it just buy it!" so in the little over a year that I've lived here I've nickle and dimed my china hutch full of lovely aqua colored vintage china!






This is the was the before light fixture in the dining room.Nice leaf pattern and  I am hanging onto it for now for another room to maybe use in.


But then I saw this guy for $1.00 at the thrift and had to pick him up.




So there you have it folks.Now exactly where I want it just yet but a heck of a lot better than before!

Thunderbird Theme

I love when you put a theme together when not even meaning to!Today's outfit was a thunderbird theme.I grabbed my Thunderbird Fashions dress I found at the thrift store for $4.00!Its a little loose at the waist but a belt comes in handy to fix that.






I'm a little stiff here  and in case you're wondering what my face is portraying its cause I was telling Sam to stay out of the photo.He responded my laying down and army crawling towards me,he listens SO well.



Here is a close up of the belt.I scored it for 50 cents at a consignment shop.It has some rust on it but I still love it.Does anyone have any good rust removal tips?I'm open to them!


Oddly out of the many,many shoes I have I do not own a pair of cowboy boots,something I will have to remedy in the near future.When I put on the dress  I was mad at this realization but the next obvious choice was my moccasins which yep,have thunderbirds on them.


As you've noticed I've been very bad about blogging lately so I'm sure its safe to assume this will be my last post of 2012!Let me wish you all a Merry Christmas,Happy Kwanza,Happy Hanukkah,a cool Yule,or Festivus,whatever your cup of tea may be and a very Happy New Year!

Killing Time...

My daughter was invited to one of her friends birthday parties today.While she celebrated her friends day of birth my son,a gal pal,and her son killed time around town thrifting.Today was a true test of thriftiness as once again  I found myself shopping with pocket change.But hey,I'm really good at that and even I amaze myself with what  I can get with next to nothing.Before I show you what I got let me show you what I couldn't have that was teasing me.

Like this couch!Do I need one?No,that doesn't stop be from wanting it though!




This shadow box has haunted me for months,its $45 so I could probably talk him down but I want to actually have $45 to blow before I get up the nerve to ask.




This set needed a good cleaning but was still pretty cool.



Love the glitter fleck in the chairs.


I didn't see a tag on this one and I didn't want to ask because if it was cheap it would just make me that much more depressed that I couldn't snatch it up.I have to tell you as a vintage loving mama these things are great as toy boxes or if you want an ottoman that will store the kids toys they drag into the living room throughout the day that don't ever make themselves back into the room...like sure,you picked it up and put it away but the next day there it is again.



So what did I get with my pocket change?If you follow me on Instagram you already say the sweet Jo Ann Campbell record I scored for 15 cents.My other sweet score?A set of 4 dessert plates,4 saucers,and 4 cups in the blue heaven pattern.You know what my favorite thing is when I see this pattern in thrift stores?Besides that fact that I actually like the pattern I like that Fats Domino "My Blue Heaven" automatically starts playing in my head!So with that playing in my head I wasn't even embarrassed about counting out $6.00 in change (in my defense they're were quarters) to pay for my blue heaven pieces.


That is how it goes in the thrift world.When you don't have a lot to work with you always see a lot of cool things and watch when I go back with money to blow I won't find a thing.Vintage gods are cruel like that sometimes,haha!3pm rolled around and it was time to go back to pick my daughter up from her friends house.Happy to report she had a good time and so did I while I was killing time.

Happy Halloween...

This is the first year I didn't get dressed up or do anything fun with my makeup for Halloween.It was very much a "for the kids" event.They were brave candy hunters this year as it was only in the low 30's when we went out.Our pumpkin we had carved a few weeks prior did not survive the squirrels and I felt bad for our neighbors that the deer had gotten brave enough to knock their pumpkins down from their porch and onto the lawn to devour.





My son knew from the moment we stepped outside that he wanted his hoody on.I was proud of him for staying dedicated to the outfit.Even though the eye patch elastic kept sliding down over his uncovered eye and his hat he kept pushing down till it bent his ears he kept saying it was fine and he didn't need to stop and fix it.




My daughter was a little TOO dedicated to her princess role and refused to wear a coat.Even though I had a fancy vintage one for her.By 5:30pm the cold was too much though and we called it a night.My street didn't have too many trick or treaters so there was still a handful of candy in the bowl I had put out for kids that stopped by our house while we were out.


Can you all believe its November now?This year went by too fast!Hope you all had a safe and Happy Halloween!