Thrifted

I'm not really sure what this is.  Some sort of panel, obviously, but it also has lighting attached to it.  I don't know what I'm going to do with it, but I saw it and knew I had to have it.  I'm a sucker for some mid century panels.

 

Mr. Man is going for an industrial look in his office.  He found this chair at the thrift store last week and the printer stand this week.  He also got that Fisher-Price record player.

 

I love looking through old books at the swap meet.  They are so cheap and you can find some really good stuff!  I picked up a French Dictionary and some French visible vocabulary readers - one is from 1936 and the other is from 1893!  I also got some more vintage cookbooks to add to my collection.  I'm going to start experimenting with these soon!

 

I never shared the wonderful presents Aaron gave me for Christmas.  He gave me this pretty mid century magazine rack and sewing stool.  I'd been wanting a magazine rack, but I never even knew a sewing stool like this existed.  I love them both so much!

 

I love the holidays, but I'm glad they are over so I can get back into my normal routine of treasure hunting every weekend! 

Time for "New" Things

Sheesh It's been a while since I've posted anything new.  I don't know if that is because I'm boring or busy ... or busy with boring stuff.  I think that's probably it.  Well whatever it is, it has really cut into my fun weekend activities.  I did get out to a thrift store a couple of weeks ago and found this lovely mid-century dresser. 

Which, by the way was like meant to be.  I saw it, then went to go find Aaron to show him; he saw it, then went go find me.  He did a quick search to see what mid-century dressers were going for and he found the exact same dresser online for $350.  This one cost us $130.  It's in pretty good condition.  Also, my Ikea dresser was on its last leg.  The drawers were so stuffed that the bottoms kept falling out and the drawers wouldn't close all the way.  There is a down side to this dresser though - small drawers.  People must not have had many clothes back in the day.  Or maybe not so many band t-shirts that they were emotionally attached to, that they never wear, but can't let go of ... ?  Anyway, the dresser sat at the end of our bed for a couple of weeks until we couldn't take it anymore and made the switch.  It was a nightmare condensing all of my clothing, and sadly there were a lot of casualties.  But it's pretty.  And our mid-century furniture collection is growing.  Slowly. 

It's About Time

We bought this vintage starburst clock in an antique mall in Bellingham, Washington. My family finally mailed it to me and I couldn't be happier to have it in my possession.  (Along with my favorite pair of flats that I also left there...boo!)  The clock is so beautiful, we love it so much. 

We hung it in our living room, next to our tribute to Disneyland.

We also made a trip on Saturday to some antique malls in the North County.  They didn't have a ton of mid-century stuff, but I did find a couple of neat things.  These canisters are pretty awesome.  Bummer we couldn't get a whole set.

A set of three super cute little deer figures that I've already distributed around the house.   It's not much, but I guess it's good enough for one weekend. 

Some More

Here is some fun stuff I got while I was in Washington.  This super cute bag is made from recycled material.  It's my new lunch bag. 

Yes, this is cat food scented soap.  How gross would it be if I really used it?  I wonder if anyone would say anything?  I just thought it was really funny.  I haven't let my cats smell it yet.  I wonder if they will like it.

LOTS of owls from the antique mall!  I had to fight my aunt for some. I got a couple "new" enamel brooches too, but they were still in my shoes at the time of this photo.  And two doggy PBNs.  OH, and a really super neat vintage sunburst clock.  It was too big to bring back in my carry-on so my uncle is mailing it.  I hope it gets here soon - I can't wait!

My mom bought me this cute little vintage globe bank.

Some of my favorite souvenirs are free.  Ticket stubs, napkins, bar coasters... they will always remind me of my trip and the places I went and the sights I saw.

A picture I forgot to post last time.  SPRINKLE CAKE.  I don't remember what it was really called, but I wish we would have gotten one.  My aunt Theresa and I were crying sprinkle cake for the rest of the trip. Dang it. It just looks so awesome!

It was a pretty lazy weekend.  Trying to catch up on all the tv shows I missed, ugh.  And spending some much needed quality time with the kitties and pup.  Aaron and I had a movie date on Friday night.  We saw Catfish.  A documentary to remind you there are some creepy people out there.  Or just super bored.  

Weekend Finds

The swap meet wasn't that great this weekend, but I did manage to find a couple of things.  We also visited the La Mesa Antique Mall.  I was pleasantly surprised.  It wasn't super over-priced like the antique mall in Ocean Beach.  There was a really loud, but nice man in the shop who Aaron and I fooled into thinking we could speak French.  That was kind of fun.  Anyway, I found this Scandinavian wall hanging.  I liked the colors and I just think Scandinavian art is really cool.

 

I also picked up a pretty collection of vintage thread.

I got two more brooches at the swap meet.  They seem to be harder to find now than they used to be...

And, last but not least, I found this recipe book: The New Joys of Jell-O.  It is from the seventies, so it has some fun pictures in it.  I'll share some later. I love that people used to show up for a party with a big jiggly Jell-O mold.  It has helpful tips and even a section on serving your Jell-O in style.  Luckily, I have a lot of my Grandma's serving dishes so I can be as authentic as possible.  I can't wait to try a new Jell-O dessert!

Fan Love

How awesome and beautiful is my "new" vintage fan?  We found it at the swap meet and Aaron was wonderful enough to snatch it up for me for only $25.  It's in super good condition and it works too!  It's small and I love the color; it's perfect.  The color is inspiring us.  We might paint our newly de-wallpapered dining room wall the same color.  I also got an enamel brooch that is in perfect condition and Aaron got another camera, of course, to add to his ever-growing collection.

Quilt? Check.

Sunday was a good day for a catnap.

Or an afternoon dognap.

It's light and pretty and kinda kitschy.  I love it.

It Was a Slow Thrifing Weekend

I did pick up this cute owl clock.  I haven't checked to see if it works yet, but that really doesn't matter.  I also got a metal wastebasket that is pretty trashed (pun intended).  I tried to clean it, but it was a big chore and I hate the way rubber gloves make my hands smell.   The whole basket is made up of metal flowers, so there are lots of tiny grooves for dirt to get into.  Maybe Mr. Amerine will be so kind as to try to clean it up for me.

We went to an estate sale that sounded promising, but it was a bust.  I got some more vintage buttons, but that's it. Oh, and one more thing:  You never know what you're going to see at the dirt mall.  I guess someone really likes ... Christmas?  And a lot of crap on their car.

More Treasures

As far as I'm concerned, I left with the best loot at the swap meet on Saturday.  Eight brooches for only $3 a piece and one for .50 cents?!  Madness I tell you.  Plus I adopted this super cute little pink piggy.  The people I bought it from found it real funny that I wanted it.  I think he deserved a better home.

Hoot Hoot

I heart owls.  I added the teapot and the super seventies orange owl with vest and bowtie to my collection this weekend.  Oh, swap meet, how I love thee.  I had a nice weekend.  It was my mom's birthday and I had a lot of fun spending time with my family.  I made her a strawberry tart and a blueberry tart for the occasion and they were delish!  I also made her favorite muddy buddies.  I spent all of today cleaning, throwing away dead plants, grocery shopping, sewing together squares for my quilt, baking, doing laundry, and rearranging furniture.  I'm feeling accomplished and very domestic.

A Busy + Fun Weekend

Let me just start out by saying:  Happy Father's Day to the best grandpa in the whole entire world!  I love, love love my grandpa so much!!!

It was a fun and busy weekend.  Saturday morning a friend and I went to the swap meet to treasure hunt.  It never ceases to amaze me how I can go every week and there is always new stuff.  Where does all this stuff come from- it's so crazy.  But keep it coming, I'm not complaining.  I found three more enamel brooches, but my more exciting treasures on this trip were the three vintage paint by number paintings I found.  I love the style so much and I'm really excited about expanding my collection.  The landscape painting is the oldest as far as I can tell - it's dated 1958.  The one of Venice is dated 1979 and the horse one isn't dated.  The horse one was only $1 and the woman was amazed that I even wanted it.

Then Saturday evening we went to a wedding, Sunday morning Father's Day brunch for Grandpa and then a bike ride to burn off some calories and work up another appetite for an afternoon Father's Day lunch for my father-in-law.  Not a lot of time left over time for crafts and such, but I squeezed a little in; I gave my art journal some love and crocheted some more granny squares for a blanket (that is going to take me forever to make at two squares a night!)  I made these last week and forgot to post them - I think they are so cool looking and  I want to make a ton of them when I have time!  There is SO much fun stuff to look forward to right now.  Hooray for Summer!

You Buy Stuff &Then You Die

This weekend Aaron and I went to an estate sale.  This was the first time I've been to one and it was a little weird walking through someone's house and picking up whatever I wanted to buy.  There was some cool furniture, but we aren't really in the market for anything big at the moment, so instead I snagged this old school two-drawer metal filing cabinet.  It's like card catalog style (love card catalogs!).  I rounded out my purchase with a couple more metal boxes.  One is like Dexter-style, so I can keep all my blood slides in there and hide it in the air vent.  I guess I will keep ribbons and such in the other one.  It made me a little sad to walk through this man's house and pick up all the stuff his family doesn't want.  There were pictures of him in one of the boxes.  An old man with hundreds of model cars that he meticulously cataloged.  These things meant something to him.

Now, back to the "buy stuff" part.  I found these vintage Pyrex loaf pans at the swap meet for only $3 a pop.  It was nice to see them at the antique mall later that day for oh, around $20 each.

Some more enamel.  I'm enamored with it.

Some cute little mini figurines for $1.

And a vintage owl.  Quite possibly the cheapest thing at the antique mall.  In the productivity department, I made good on my promise to my mom last week that I would make her this bag if she bought all the materials.  I just have a couple loose ends to tie up and then it's hers.  All in all it was a very good weekend.