hola blogland,

I've missed you! I suppose I've been on a sort of computer/internet hiatus. If it gives you any idea, I just noticed that my desktop calender is November's! One of my goals for this year was to get back into school. Health issues and other life events forced to take a very long break so, I'm very happy to be back on track. Between work and school, I've really had to budget my "free" time. I'm pretty terrible at this so, hopefully I'll improve my time budgeting skills!

I'm not that surprised I haven't even noticed my old November calender because I've pretty much been going nonstop since then. I decided to make about 90% of my Christmas gifts and though it was a lot of hard work I'm really happy that I did it. In December I made and finished more than 15 knitted or crocheted items. Woo! I did find the time to pick up this cutie at an estate sale.

In January I:
read: The hilarious Office writer/actress Mindy Kaling's new book Is Everyone Hanging Out With Me?(And Other Concerns)
watched: Firefly and Syfy's Face Off
started a new project: Tracey's Alethea Shawl
discovered: some fabulous Wonder Woman art by Victoria Ying

Vintage Finds & Link Love

Yep, more paint by numbers. I never get tired of them. I spotted this one at Savers thrift store last week. How could I resist an American history themed pbn?  I absolutely love the shiny gold background even if it has seen better days. I think it looks swell on my turquoise wall!

The bearded unicorn (tray? wall hanging? no idea) was thrifted in Nashville and the pelican diorama brooch was a recent estate sale find. That estate sale was really fun. The homeowner ran an antique store and had all sorts of lovely things. From comic books to primitives to German weather houses it was quite the eclectic collection. I was really taken with this little brooch, and I believe it might be bakelite. So kitschy and charming!

Link Love:

Other fun finds include the art and comics of Dylan Meconis who wrote the adorable fairytale comic Outfoxed. Read it here. (thx to my buddy cara for introducing me!)

Smart Phone app Scoutmob -"Deals for the local curious." It isn't in every city yet but, it's a great way to save money and find local stuff to do. It also has a mustache function photobook and fun facts about your city. Hooray!

Hope you're having a lovely Monday!

Vintage Finds: Paint by Numbers!

 As a kid, I loved art (still do!). My mom would buy me all kinds of art supplies from pastels and fancy oil paints to paint by numbers from the craft store. I loved how all the weird swirls with tiny numbers would become a neat little painting. It was almost always of a horse! I was pretty fond of horses (still am!). Now, every time I see a painting at the thrift store or an estate sale I snatch it up. I think the colors and subjects are delightful. I also like giving a home to something someone spent time on! So now I've got a little collection and these p-b-ns are my newest additions. I picked them up at that estate sale last weekend. We entered the house in the garage and I saw just a peek of color in a cardboard box. I dug through it and found several paint by numbers. Score! I love the colors in these! I'm not sure of their age but, they're very vibrant.

How sweet is this winter scene with the doe and the buck?

Vintage Finds: Bolo Ties

Recently, I found a vintage bolo tie at the thrift store. It had a cute couple of flamenco dancers on it so, I couldn't resist. Usually when I think of bolo ties I don't really think of them as a cute accessory. Actually, they remind me of the early nineties when my Dad went through his country music phase. My cousin and I would sit in the truck cab belting out country tunes at the top of our lungs.

Lately, I've seen a few lovely blogger ladies sporting the bolo tie and I think it's rather cute.

Source: minipennyblog.com via Kristen on Pinterest

Source: doecdoe.blogspot.com via Kristen on Pinterest

Here's my bolo tie! I love it.

photo of me by the husband, Zach.

I haven't found the perfect outfit for it yet but, it's really fun to wear.

Vintage Finds: Enid Collins

Finally, a vintage finds post! I haven't been thrifting or estate sale-ing in much too long. This is probably good for my wallet and delays my nomination for Hoarders. However, it leaves me with an itch for kitsch.

My treasure hunt went well.  This estate sale had a small collection of vintage handbags, including some Enid Collins purses. !!! You can learn about Enid here. I think I first found out about Enid's box purses through some of my favorite blogs. Thanks to doe-c-doe and Smile and Wave I recognized her designs instantly!

I took home Fin Fare & Wise Guys

Here's a few of my favorite designs from around the interwebs.

image credits: 1. A Beautiful Mess, 2. Daisy Bush, 3. Etsy, 4. Picnic by Ellie

I'm pleased as punch. Are you a fan of Enid Collins purses?

Vintage Finds -Swanky Edition

I have a fun find to share with you. When I spied this orange velvet mid-century goodness I was thrilled. It just needs to be re-stringed and some paint touch ups. It was love at first sight! I love this sort of retro goodness but it usually invokes the husband to say, "Why do you like ugly things?" He just doesn't share my love for orange velvet. Sigh. This thrift trip also involved getting a cute TopShop skirt & a pencil skirt for free! How I love coupons.

 Upon further investigation I discovered this thing had hinges on the side...

hello to spring & some lovely new vintage finds!

 

It's starting to look like spring in my backyard. Which means I can't spend any more time outside until spring has passed. Either that or turn into a walking snot machine. See you in a few months! Despite the prettiness it was a rough day for me. After we went to the post office to ship out some Etsy orders, dear husband took me to Goodwill to cheer me up. See photos of my finds after the jump!

Vintage Ring Redo

 I recently made this ring and I am just in love with it. The gorgeous vintage flower was formerly a clip-on earring. Often in my thrifting and estate sale adventures I have come across clip-on earrings. I usually just pass them by without giving them a second thought.

 

  Clip-on or no I had to have these vintage beauties. According to the stamp on the hardware they were made in Germany. I imagine some lovely lady wore these with a fabulous full-skirted frock. I'll be wearing mine with just about everything I think.

 

The base was made with a Vintaj diamond filigree that I bent into a ring shape. This could also be done with a bail maker. 

 

Hope you're having a lovely day!

Vintage Finds

It's been a fantastic week for thrifting. I had to share some of my great finds.

A Great Dane with a cracked ear! I love him, he reminds me of my Zero.

I'm in love with this gorgeous piece, and it even has storage space!

This picture doesn't do this beauty justice.

A lovely sakura tray

Adorable '70s Shroom fabric? Yes, please.
I have great plans for this.

and it was covering this beautiful glass design.

Happy Friday All!

A Little Nashville Vintage

Just one of several, here's a cheerful Nashville vintage store. Expect to find reasonable prices, the walls decked with Bettie Paige paintings, lots of cowboy boots, and vintage kitsch everywhere. What makes it special? There are still bargains to be had in the world of retail vintage. The displays are also delightful.

The outside of the building makes it hard to miss
....and hard to pass up.