july.

Okay! I really cannot believe it's already July. This year is moving so fast, but hopefully that just means that Fall will be here before I know it. I usually allow myself to start being a little ridiculous about Autumn towards the end of July and definitely in August, so I guess don't have much longer to wait. I sneakily bought Fall candles the other day and recently pulled out my Beistle 1930s reproduction Halloween die-cuts that I got in Brooklyn last October and now I really can't wait to decorate this year. It's no secret that I don't like Summer, but since it's clearly here to stay for a while, I figured I would try to appreciate some of the better parts of this hot season.


Antique cotton clothing - After a long, self-prescribed moratorium on knick-knack spending, I finally broke my 'no antiquing' streak. I took money from my rent fund to spend on tea cups, vintage buttons, and antique cotton slips. When I mentioned it to my mom, she asked me but how many are for your shop? I like how my mom helps me justify my frivolous trinket spending habits. This antique cotton crochet vest was one of the things I bought, and I can see this being a staple all Summer long...I think it would pair nicely with flowy skirts and high-waisted shorts and I don't think I would die from heat stroke.

 Berries- available all year in Florida, but much always so much sweeter when the weather is hot. If I don't have pink-red stains on most of my clothing by the time Falls comes around, I'm doing something wrong. This little pink glass teacup is one of the new treasures from antiquing.

Lemonade is one of my favorite Summer drinks. I like it ridiculously sweet, like the kind you get at carnivals and state fairs, and I try to make it different each time- mint lemonade, black tea lemonade, and of course, raspberry lemonade.

And an instagram of the final product:

Summer, you're not so bad sometimes.

estate sale finds.

As I mentioned before, I've been trying to get back into my old routine of estate sale-ing now that I have more free time, going through the paper mid-week, writing down all the promising ones, mapquesting the addresses, and making a schedule/route based on the distances and duration of each sale to be more efficient (tedious but necessary). This past Thursday I did just that, getting a late start on my schedule making as I was supposed to work Friday but found out at midnight the night before that I would be off. So I stayed up late Thursday night planning my route and got a bit of a late start on Friday because of it. Maybe it's just me, but it seems like every time, there's always one really strange or awkward estate sale experience and one really good one.

The first one I went to was the strange one, when I got there, there were no other cars and I didn't see any signs but being that I'm afraid to miss out on something good, I went up and knocked on the door (which was the most awkward thing ever) and a little olde lady came to the door and said she had put the wrong date in the newspaper but I could come in and look around anyway. Part of me wanted to run back to my car and escape the awkwardness of walking around in someone's house alone, picking through their things, but the other part was excited to have the whole house to myself, not having to knock elbows with crazy estate sale goers to get what I want. Unfortunately it wasn't very good, and the lady made me walk around and look at every single thing, picking up things and telling me they were "SO old/rare/collectible" (most weren't) but I felt bad because I think she was just pretty lonely and excited to have someone to show all her things to. I asked her about clothes, and she pulled out a pile of some men's shirt that were more modern than she claimed, but in the pile I found a 1950s black sequined sweater that she said had been her mother's, and she sold it to me for $1.50. I imagine I will sort of be living in it when Winter rolls around; it's so pretty and sparkly and festive. So all in all, not a total bust, but it took me longer than it should have to leave, because as I kept inching my way towards the door she kept trying to start another conversation with me. But I finally made it out to my car and head off to the next one.

The next few weren't very good and I left empty handed, but the last one, which promised "stuffed animals, kittens and figurines, handmade quilts and a lifetime of treasures" certainly delivered. The stuffed animals were mostly modern, nothing cute and tattered and olde like the little zebra I found, but there were a bunch of cute cat figurines and so many olde handmade quilts. I wanted to take them all home but they were so ridiculously expensive that I couldn't bring home even one. I did find a lovely 1950s faux fur stole, and a few pairs of cute sandals, and the black ones were just the thing to replace my black ones that just broke. The other two were supposed to be for the shop, but the white ones started to crumble a bit (I threw them away) and I kind of like the tan ones so I might keep those for now. I walked back through to see if I had missed anything and I came across the best thing ever. A teapot. shaped like a cat. A cat teapot. The most perfect thing for me ever. So I snapped it up and as I was paying I spotted a pretty depression glass juicer so I grabbed that too. Overall, I came home with some pretty good finds, but I really need to stop buying things for myself and putting more things in my shop!

5.27

Due to some new changes in my work schedule, mostly because of the end of busy season but because of some other things as well, I've been working a whole lot less and thrifting a lot more to make up the difference, and also because I hope to eventually do etsy full time. I've really been trying to throw myself back into it the way I used to, when I went to multiple thrift/antique stores everyday during the week and estate sales on the weekends. I went through the paper this week and made a big list of all the good estate sales and auctions and I'm hoping to wake up pretty early tomorrow to get to as many of them as I can. Hopefully they'll be good ones and I'll have some good finds to share when the day is over.

I've been trying to get back into this sort of routine little by little, going to antique shops on my short work days or days off. On one recent antique store visit, when I went looking for a glass reamer to make lemonade with, I discovered an amazing 1920s/30s embroidered floral wool cape the likes of which anthropologie would probably like to get their hands on. I actually discovered it almost a year ago, but it was reaaaally expensive then so I just kind of admired it every time and then sadly put it back, slightly hidden, hoping no one else would snap it up. But this time it was on super sale so I had to grab it. I started thinking when I got home though, and realized how silly it is to own a wool cape in fl, where we're lucky if it gets down to 40° in the Winter, so it'll probably eventually be heading for the shop.

I've been in the process of cleaning and reorganising my room lately, and I now have one sad blank wall, so I've been keeping my eye out for pretty antique picture frames for my many antique prints that I've been waiting to hang foreeever. Now that I finally have a place to hang them I just need more frames. And I can finally hang my olde crumbling mirror that's sitting on an olde apple crate and leaning against my window, so now it won't fall over anytime I have my window open on a windy day.

I only have a short time to get everything situated, because I have an exciting visitor coming reeeeal soon.But more on that later. xx

a few keepers.

Yesterday when I got to work there were workers on the roof, and the whole office smelled like tar fumes, so I was able to leave after only about an hour. Since I got to leave so early, I stopped by one of my favorite antique stores to poke around and dig through olde stuff. I ended up finding so many things I wanted, but since I had just gone on a whim and hadn't planned on doing anything that required money that day, I didn't really have much money with me. I was able to bring some of my finds home, but the rest I had to leave behind to be picked up on Wednesday.

I found some really pretty antique clay marbles, I'm always drawn to them because I love the colors and how primitive they look. The little pink one even has a star on it! I think these will end up being for thefoxparade, but if I hang on to them too much longer they might turn in to the beginnings of another collection! I'm having them appraised before I list them because some of these little guys can be worth a lot, and I'm not an expert when it comes to marbles.

I came across this pretty flower lamp in one of the tiny back rooms that I almost skipped because I usually don't find anything in there, but something told me to go peek and I'm so glad I did because I've been looking for something like this for ages. When my brother saw it later in the day, he laughed at it and said it looked like something that would have been in my great grandmother's house, but that only made me like it more, and was probably what drew me to it in the first place. It looks so lovely lit up at night, and gives off the most perfect glow. I've been sleeping with TCM on every night ever since I had a run-in with a spider on my bed (worst nightmare), since it's always on anyway and the olde black and white films don't give off light as harsh as other "color" channels, and I think this will be a nice replacement so I can actually turn my tv off when I go to sleep.

This little guy, I fell in love with him one of the first times I went to this shop. He's so adorable and just about broke my heart. I have such a weird, emotional soft spot for olde stuffed animals, I feel like I have to "save" them in a way, and this one was no exception. But his price tag was a bit higher than what I usually let myself spend on these silly things, so I'd had to leave him behind in the past. This time when I went, the lady who owned the items in that room was in there straightening up, and she told me that if I saw anything I liked she would "make it" be on sale for me, haha. I probably should have hesitated for at least a second but I saw that little zebra was still sitting there so I immediately snapped him up and said "what about this guy?" and she laughed and said she would give me a good deal, which she did, so I added him to my growing pile at the front of the store. Look how sweet he is! So raggedy and tattered that my mom looked at me a bit like I was crazy when I showed her later, but that's what I love most about him.

When I spotted these I knew I had to buy them, as I'm sort of obsessed with anything antique-y circus animal themed, and my birthday is also coming up next month (not that I would actually light them or anything). Adorable.

i think these two are my favorites!

I had to leave behind a few lovely things for now, including an olde 1930s quilt and an amazing suitcase, and some weird antique photos I had picked out, of things like creepy olde Victorian ghost women, and olde men with horses, and some flapper girls. Also a vintage kitty print kitchen towel and a rose wall hook. My poor shops have been so bare lately, because I've been finding so many amazing things that I'm finding it hard to part with any of them! I'm going to try to start being less selfish with my finds, at least until I move into a bigger place that can accomodate my growing hoard of vintage dresses and antique knick knacks!

our old stuff.

There's a little neon green building near my work that I drive past daily, with big blue lettering that reads 'Our Old Stuff'. I had driven past it before, on the way to other vintage shops in the area, but it looked so small and not very promising and I thought they sold only retro type furniture so I never went in. One day at work I got to leave early so I decided I might as well stop in and see what they had. Turns out, the look of the building is very deceiving, not only is it not a "little" building, but it's actually huge! Room after room of amazing things (not just furniture by the least!) and even a second large building that it's connected to.

I visit now almost weekly, and I always find the most amazing things. I love that weird little wall (except the poor deer!) and I've been obsessing over those tole floral sconces and the floral jadite salt and pepper shakers since I first set foot in the shop. Unfortunately, they are both waaaaay out of my price range right now, but the things I've been bringing home are just as good. I went in today and found so many things, I actually had to put some on hold for next week. But more on that tomorrow...right now I'm way too tired to function! night xx

oakhill flea.

the flea market i mentioned in my previous post, oakhill flea, ended up being pretty good. i managed to come home with a few little treasures for myself and maybe some for my other shop, thefoxparade. i didn't take any photos while i was there because we arrived kind of late and i was trying to hurry to see all the booths before they packed up and left but a couple of the booths were really good, although some had crazy, unreasonable prices. i came away with some fun things, like old junky glass bottles and little floral hankies (both of which i have plenty but can never seem to resist bringing home anyway), and some cotton twine for packages which i always snap up whenever i find because even though i don't use it up very quickly, i never know when i'll come across it again and i don't want to run out. the loot:

 glass coca-cola bottle c. 1940s

 little photo frame to fill with dried flowers, since i missed out on that one at the antique shop and need to re-create that loveliness!

floral hankies to keep or gift or use with shop packaging. between hankies and antique crochet doilies i have dozens but always snag them anyway because they're so pretty and don't take up much space.

there was one grumpy old curmudgeon of a man at one booth who, when my brother brought me over to show me an old blood pressure monitor, shooed him out of the way, saying "don't fiddle with that, it's older than you are!" to which my brother replied, "so it's not for sale then?" the man said it was, and my brother and i made comments about how silly it was to not let people interested in buying something test it out or even touch it, and ultimately walked away. other than that, everyone was nice and friendly and a few were a little strange but all in all it was good. after the flea, my mom and brother and i went to a pub called mulligan's for lunch and then we were all pretty tired and went home. my mom and i spent the rest of the evening being lazy on the couch watching shows about antiques and auctions, and that's about it.

in exciting news, i asked my mom if she would be interested in driving to savannah one weekend, just to poke around in antique shops and eat at little places and be lazy, and she said she would, so i'm going to start planning and sorting out the details pretty soon.

ideally i'd like to stay at a pretty bed and breakfast in the historic district, like the hamilton-turner inn, which may or may not be haunted, although i'm sure that's out of my price range at the moment. we'll most likely be going in about a month or so, so if anyone is familiar with the area and has any suggestions regarding where to stay, eat, shop, etc, please let me know!

unmentionables.

today was purposefully uneventful, as it was one of the growing number of sad dates on the calendar that make me want to do nothing but stay in bed all day. i was able to coerce myself out of bed (though not out of pajamas) to photograph a few things, however. here's a sneak peek of some pretty 1920s/30s undergarments that i will be sticking in the shop soon, with the exception of a few which i will be keeping or hanging on my wall.

 these are my favorite, light pink silk 1920s tap pants with minty green piping. my favorite color combination, and i love the detailed stitching.

                              

 super pretty 1930s bras. i'm keeping at least one of these but i'll have to add some material to the back. as small as my ribcage is, there's a good two inches before the two ends will touch. i'm thinking of getting some similar fabric and sewing it to one end and moving the hook and eye closure. if it doesn't end up working, this one will be hanging on my wall. way too pretty to hide away in a drawer. 

(the j.c penney co. acquired the crescent corset company in 1920)

lace embroidered 1920s or 30s bed jacket that needs a good steaming. i'm planning to look for a new garment steamer tomorrow, i want a stand-up one this time because they are so much easier than the hand held ones. when i worked at bcbg years ago, one of my favorite things to do was steam the new shipments of dresses because they had the best, best steamer that made wrinkles disappear in an instant. i've seen similar ones but they're pretty expensive. maybe i'll invest in one soon.

amazing light pink brocade corset, i haven't been able to date this yet but i'm thinking it might be older than 1920s. it has some condition issues, but still pretty spectacular nonetheless. anyone with knowledge on dating corsets, feel free to contact me!

most of these will be showing up in the shop very soon, if you see anything you're interested in you can definitely message me for more information and photos before i list them.

even though i'd rather stay home in pjs again, i talked myself into most likely going to a promising flea market with my brother tomorrow. the flea market we have here in town is pretty shoddy to be honest, they have a few good booths with vintage clothing and there's a really nice antique camera shop i always drool over, and a guy with the best selection of records i've ever seen, which he practically gives away (although i'm not even sure if he's still there anymore, it's been so long), but for the most part, it's comprised of booths selling gross ed hardy stuff or knock off bags. last time i was at my favorite antique shop, i overheard a lady saying that she finds a good deal of the things for her booth at a particular flea in another town, so even though it's a bit of a drive, i enlisted my brother to come with me to check it out. i'm hoping it's the kind of flea market that's sort of jumbled and junky and filled with booths run by sweet old people who give good bargains and chat you up with great stories about their youth while you dig through boxes of old clothes or photos. i hope my expectations aren't too high, because i'm not sure if that scenario even exists. i'll be sure to snap some photos if it does.