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

aquarium and my dad's birthday.

 



 Yesterday was my dad's birthday, he would have been fifty. Instead of staying home all day and being upset like I did last year, my brother and I decided to do something special that would take some of the sadness of the day out of focus. My dad loved the beach and the ocean, we were always out on our boat or visiting the beach when we were growing up, so I figured we would at least stop by the beach (I live maybe five minutes away?) but my brother suggested we visit the Marine Science Center, where my father built the main bird sanctuary enclosure. I had never been there, and it seemed like the perfect way to honor my dad on his birthday.

We arrived a bit late, making it just before last admission, but we had just enough time to tour the whole center and even spend maybe a bit too much time at the sting ray tank. There were fish and turtles and eels, and probably my favorite, seahorses, and of course as I mentioned, sting rays, which were located in the middle of the main room in an open 'touch tank' where you could stick your hand in and pet them. They were so cute and had such funny little faces that I spent most of the time trying to capture a cute little face in a photo (they're so fast!).

Outside of the center is where the keep the 'ICU', for sick or injured sea turtles to be rehabilitated and re-released into the wild. They were all so huge but had cute names like Buster and Bunny and made me really sad for them that they were hurt and had to be contained in tiny (for them) pools but I knew it was the best for them. I made a little donation in honor of my dad because I know he would have been proud as he was a big supporter of sea turtle conservation.

We made our way over to the Bird Sanctuary to visit the enclosure built by my dad, and looked at all the eagles and falcons and owls, and even got to see one of the owls super up close when a lady was taking him out of his cage to bring inside for the day (he wasn't very happy about it).

the enclosure my dad built.

When we left the Marine Science Center, we stopped to get iced coffee and made our way to the beach. Despite the mid-ninety degree temperature that day, down by the water under the pier felt nice and breezy, a bit chilly even, it was so windy, and even though I'm not a beach person it was nice because I felt close to my dad. It was really hard because the whole time I was just wishing he was there, but I think he would have approved of the way we spent the day.

dress - borrowed from my shop
heart locket w. photo of my dad - gift from my aunt

nothing is ever as good as it was.

things have been rough lately.

and i'd pretty much give anything to feel like this again.

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.

betty evelyn.

here are a few photos of my grandmother, taken in 1950, that my lovely cousin sabrina tucked into my christmas card this year. she looks so darling in her little dresses with her dainty box purses and perfectly simple accessories, and i love her little hairstyle (which hasn't changed much in the 61 years since). i can kind of make out some really cute oxfords in the second photo!

i believe she was 17 in these photos, and already married to my grandfather! i have a photo of the two of them standing in front of their car in the late 40s or early 50s but i misplaced it when i moved. i'm hoping i'll come across it one of these days, because it's one of my favorites.

on an unrelated note, here's a sneak peek at what's coming in a future post:

early 1930s catalogue scans. xx

new year.

these are sort of embarrassing and i can't believe i'm posting them, but they are the only photos i have of myself from new year's eve (standing on a toilet, no less) and i guess i don't mind that they're a bit silly, i think maybe they sum up my year pretty well. i took these before i made a grocery store run to grab some last minute NYE essentials, and i just wanted to be comfortable and a little bit cute.

pink knit 1960s sweater ∙ thrifted
 black suede 1940s heels ∙ ebay

1960s carpet bag ∙ dear golden

i actually spent new year's eve alone at home, drinking woodchuck and champagne and watching the rules of attraction and probably my favorite modern film of all time (among a few others), eternal sunshine of the spotless mind, and i wouldn't have had it any other way.

i don't make resolutions, but i do make lists. i'm constantly making them, i'm always jotting down things i would probably otherwise forget. but, there are two kinds of lists, the necessary lists that serve as reminders or dictate what is to be done, and then there is the fun kind. wishlists, pretty things you want to buy, fun things you want to do, places you want to go- and those are the best kind. here's my list for the new year, a little bit boring, but mostly fun, things that i'd like to do, eventually, one day, in the future, no pressure.

1. thrift out of town more. take day trips to far away towns and dig through shops to which i've never been and visit estate sales in places i've never seen.

2. take swing dancing lessons. again. when i was ten, my little friends and i went to a one-day swing dancing lesson, and it was amazingly fun, and somewhat easier than i imagined (the beginning stuff, at least). i think i'd enjoy it even more now.

3. take a train somewhere. anywhere.

4. finally watch boardwalk empire. who would have thought that my obsession with the 1920s and my infatuation with michael pitt could come wrapped up in one package that also includes steve buschemi and martin scorsese? i started to watch the first episode online but it cut off midway, but what i saw so far was amazing. which brings me to my next goal...

5. find more pieces from the 1920s. this has always been my favorite era, but i've found it so hard to come across garments/shoes/accessories from this era lately. my ultimate vintage-related goal for the year (aside from business things) is to begin building a pretty substantial collection of amazing 1920s pieces.

6. speaking of business related things, i really want to focus more energy on my shop this year. i had a good momentum going for a while, but got pretty discouraged around the holidays and kind of neglected it a bit. i have so many lovely pieces to list, so i'm planning to start having bigger updates, and getting some of my stock listed.

kind of awful photo of an amazing lavender 1930s dress that needs some tlc

7. i guess maybe i can squeeze in one resolution-type goal. i'm going to try to be less hard on myself in general, especially when it comes to things that aren't my fault, and things i have no control over. i know that was as vague as it could possibly be, but i think it certainly applies.

happy new year!!

also,

8. how could i forget to include my objective to obtain and master the banjo? my effort to acquire one via ebay has thus far been fruitless, but i'm not giving up! i WILL learn how to play before 2011 is over, and fulfill my dream of starting a jug band. (i'm serious.)

9. i don't have a number 9 but i hate even numbers so i'm sticking this here anyway. maybe i'll think of something else i left out and come back and fill this in with a proper goal.

xx

wishlist.

it's been a bit since i updated, and i planned to write a long post about my weekend and all the lovely new things i found for my shop, but i'm operating on two hours of sleep so i think that will have to wait until tomorrow. but for now, i figured with christmas just around the corner, what better time to compile a little dream wishlist?

clockwise from top:
1. 1920s flapper beaded necklace by HendricksandDaughter
2. 1930s rose pink dress by pistolpoppy
3. 1960s turkish kilim purse by NiepceGallery
4. 1960s rhinestone bow necklace by jeanjeanvintage

clockwise from top:
1. felted mittens by aureliaLT
2. hand knitted bow cowl by bysweetmom
3. hand embroidered wishbone pendant necklace by merriweathercouncil
4. tempest black lace necklace by treeandkimball

i'm keeping my fingers crossed!

holiday dress.

i think this is going to be my dress for either thanksgiving or christmas. it kind of seems a bit more christmasy though so i'll probably wear this one on christmas and keep looking for a pretty thanksgiving dress in the coming weeks.

1950s silk wiggle dress

i also bought these amazing 1940s heels to wear for the holidays, but much to my disappointment, they ended up being the tinest bit too small. i could have cried, they are too perfect and i wish they would have fit. but i put them in the shop so someone else can enjoy them as much as i would have!

black suede 1940s pumps

i bought a few other pairs as well and only one ended up fitting (although they are probably a tad too big), so at least one other pair will be showing up in the shop soon!

here we go.

oh it's late (by most standards) and i probably shouldn't be starting this now, but it's just been sitting here for months and i've been putting it off, so i might as well.

weekend recap: after months of complaining about the weather, wondering when it would actually start to feel like fall, it finally got cold here (it probably won't last, our weather is fickle that way). friday evening was the first chilly night this fall, so i was ridiculously giddy and excited, mainly about the fact that i could wear tights and not die of heat exhaustion. the plan was to go get my hair cut (way overdue- see how long it was?!) and then get hot chocolate, go home, and watch a movie with my mom (we have little movie-date night things all the time).



excuse the grainy, taken-at-dusk photo, but i just really wanted to document how incredibly long my hair had gotten. so i got a few inches lopped off (still really long!) and got super short little bangs. i asked my hairstylist to leave it long and give me a sixties sort of short fringe-y bang that i could push to the side when they got annoying (they always do). these are the picture i sent her before my appointment, to use as examples.


francoise hardy


and julie christie.

i didn't take any after pictures yet, except this one for a hat from my shop, fanciness.



today i decided to be pretty lazy, sleeping in and staying in bed on the laptop for much longer than usual, then i got out of bed and took some photos for fanciness and listed some things i had been meaning to list for a few days. the weather was so nice and i didn't want it to be a total waste of a day, so i decided to go to one of my favorite antique shops to browse around a bit. i don't know if it's a favorite anymore though, because the person who was working today seriously sat behind the counter chain-smoking the whole time. how can someone do that? i find smoking inside repulsive enough, but it just seems like common sense NOT to smoke in a small, enclosed shop filled with valuable antiques. i still really love it though because i always find cute things there, even if i don't buy anything (which i usually do!) it's still fun to look around at all the pretty things.


vintage tin toys


pretty vintage clothes

that red coat was AMAZING but waaay out of my budget. i almost got the little cream beaded 1950s cardigan for myself, but it had a lot of holes scattered throughout so i just couldn't justify it at the moment, although i might cave and go back and get it eventually. the only thing i ended up getting was a 1928 'needlecraft magazine' with the best fashion pictures ever (scans at a later update!). after the antique shop i came home and did some shop things, then put on pjs and resumed being lazy.