The past few weeks have been terrible for me on Etsy. I haven’t sold anything in a couple of weeks. I haven’t listed much lately, either so I guess I shouldn’t complain. I have renewed some things though so I am surprised at the utter lack of sales. My shop stats show the normal amount of views and ‘favorites’ so who knows why the slump. January never has been my month.

On a more cheerful note, my mom’s coworker friend Larry, the collector with the amazing midcentury modern house, gave her some advertisements taken from 1930’s magazines to give to me and Paul. He has quite a collection of magazines and advertisements as he once sold them when he was a dealer. He is thinning out some of his stuff and he donated it to the thrift shop he & mom work at. Since it is a church-run business, they don’t accept anything with libations *gasp!* or cigarettes *the horror!!* on them…and at this point he thought of me. Haha, that sounds bad. But I guess he remembered that we want to have a midcentury style bar in the basement when we finally get around to finishing it. Such a thoughtful one, that guy. My mom always befriends the coolest people.

Anywhoo, here are most of the ads:

ooo, how naughty!

this magazine cover was too large to fit entirely on the scanner...but I love it so I had to include it!

vintage deer planter

anchor hocking turtle dish

brass quail figurines

retro snack jar

With the holidays, family in town, working extra hours and all that jazz, thrifting trips have been few and far between lately. Today I did manage to convince my sister to go out with me for a little late-afternoon shopping. The shops were all pretty picked over by the time we made it out but I scored a cool Syroco starburst clock and a Georges Briard serving plate.

I almost passed on the clock because it had the hefty price tag of $7 and the lady behind the counter informed me there are no returns on any electronics without batteries, but I figured if it doesn’t work I could always add a new clock mechanism. Also, there was this twenty-something guys who kept circling the area waiting for me to put the clock down and that helped me make up my mind. Nothing like someone salivating over your find to help you with your decision!

Upon closer inspection, I don’t think that the woman with her husband is the same young woman who is pictured with the little girls, although it’s hard to tell. My dad said something to me about my collecting of old photos that was pretty funny but also brought up a good point, something I’d never thought of.

He said something along the lines of “Just make sure you keep these in a box labeled ‘not family’ so that some poor fool years and years from now doesn’t waste his time trying to track down information on his ‘family’ photos” .

I laughed and agreed with him, but then I really thought about it. I mean, what a great prank. I love it. Although, it could never measure up to this prank:

Well, finished except for a bow. Overall, I’m pretty pleased with it, except for the fact that I do not know how to make nice, aesthetically pleasing bows from ribbon so my method was to tie a ragged piece of ribbon to the end of the hanger in a attempt to look “homespun”. The result was not a country homespun look but rather more of a my-dogs-chewed-off-the-bow look. Next time I make a wreath (if there is a next time) I will enlist the help of an experienced bow maker. *coughMandy!cough*

Also, next time I’d like to spend more time collecting ornaments in different color schemes. I picture one in shades of pink, purple, and silver. And one in different shades of blue. This project used up all the ornaments I purchased last week- over 70 in all.  So if I want to ever make another one, I’ve got some serious collecting to do!

I also stuck cloves in oranges for the sake of tradition. My mom used to give me and my sisters a bag of oranges and a bowl of cloves to keep us busy for hours. That and stringing cranberries on thread to make garlands are two of my most vivid memories of Christmas decorating growing up. Paul didn’t like them; he thought they made our kitchen smell “musty and Mediterranean” and he said they  looked like something out of Hellraiser. Thanks, babe.

Whacha got there?

This is the view from my desk chair as I type and enjoy a tasty snack.

Maybe if I stretch and look cute she'll gimme somethin!

Today was a genuinely good day. Because I worked my usual day off this Tuesday as a favor for my boss, I got today off instead. It was a dreary dark morning and I slept in until almost 10(!).  I got up, showered, put on my face,  and got back into bed with a cup of coffee and watched tv. Sommersby was on so I watched it out of nostalgia, then remembered why I’ve never watched in all the years since I watched it with Mandy in her mom’s friends camper. I despise sad endings. Damnit, man, why couldn’t you have just admitted you weren’t Jack Sommersby! I’d rather be poor and ruined but happy with my love than dignified but dead. Bah!

After crying my makeup off, I picked myself up and made lunch. Yes, by then it was time for lunch. Lay off me.

After toiling away at making myself a Cup O Noodles, crackers, and a diet Dr. Pepper, I finished making the ornament wreath I have been making for about three days. I am just not good at craft projects anymore. I have to do them in stages, with each stage lasting one to two days. The natural lighting was terrible today so I plan on taking photographic proof of my handi-work tomorrow.

When Paul got home from work, I managed to convince him to go with me on a quick thrift run. Actually, he pretty much offered!  We made three stops in all- two Goodwills and one Salvation Army- and I found some goodies! The main finds were: a brass reindeer, a retro cheese board/cloche, a giant glass jar with “Snacks” printed on it, a globular Danish mod teak condiment server with matching spoon, a green 1960′s crewel embroidery pillow that is embroidered with all different kinds of bright flowers, two brass quails, two 1940′s photographs-one of a WW2 army man and his pretty wifey, another of the same woman and her two daughters, and a black record album full of old 1940′s records. I found the photographs and the record album on the same shelf, which made me think the records belonged to the man and his wife. It made me sad.

It made me miss my Grandpa and all his stories of his wonderful forgotten era. Though I never knew it, I miss the era of big bands and orchestras, of the foxtrot and the waltz, of red lipstick and cufflinks, of bread baking in the oven and laundry fluttering on the line. When I buy things like those photographs and that album, I feel like I am rescuing a piece of history. I feel that by treasuring something that has been discarded or misplaced, I am somehow keeping the past alive, keeping a part of that person going. I know it’s nonsense but I actually feel that way.

Whenever I step into my Grandpa’s little room, the one where he had his desk, his record player and music and old papers, I want to grab a hold of everything I see and take it home with me. I want to touch everything he touched. The rocks and feathers on the windowsill that he picked up in his gardens. The ancient bird field guides, his handwritten notebook journals, his old  flannel shirts, worn as soft as a baby blanket, still hanging in his closet. Because it belonged to him, it is priceless to me. A relic, a national treasure, deserving of preservation and love.

I don’t know how people can throw out or even give away things of their parents or grandparents, such as old pictures. I realize you can’t keep EVERYthing, but c’mon! Old photos? What a crime. It makes my heart ache, truly it does. I know not everyone sees it the way I do, but to me it’s like throwing the past in a wastebasket and saying “eh, it’s not valuable to me”.

At the same time, I know I have the tendency to cling to the past too much at times, dwelling on old memories, rehashing things that happened years ago. People from my past float in and out of my mind like ghosts, though they are still living, separate from me now. We all have stories to tell and our lives are stories in the making. The past is valuable but so is the present, because in the present there is possibility, there is empty space waiting to be filled. I am still living my story and I want to make it more colorful, more rich, more worthy of photos that some silly, nostalgic girl will cabbage onto some day as she sifts through abandoned memories in a second-hand store.

I usually end up murdering most houseplants with my black thumb, so hopefully these tender young plantlets make it!

cutest vintage cookie jar ever!

2 vintage trays, 3 Christmas glasses, and a pair of vintage kissing angels

funny little Santa planter

more enamel flower pins! The blue one was 50 cents, the other three were part of my b-day gift from Nicole

vintage Christmas pins

two more lovelies from my cousin. The necklace isn't vintage but I adore it!

sparkly old brooches!

This was all acquired in one day! Between the thrift store finds and my belated b-day gifts, I hit the jewelry jackpot. I will probably keep all the Christmas stuff except for the kissing angels and the gold deer pin. I need to update Etsy tomorrow and get a few sales in before Christmas if possible. I’ve been doing more buying than listing lately. Buying has never been the hard part

I would love to start collecting the glittery Putz houses you see displayed on mantles or under cloches but they are always way overpriced. I’ve seen tutorials online on how to make your own, which might be a fun craft night project.

My newest obsession: DIY ornament wreaths!

(from Better Homes and Gardens)

saw this beauty on Pinterest...not sure of the original source

Apparently, all you need is glass ball ornaments, a wire hanger, a hot glue gun, and ribbon for hanging! Yesterday, I went thrifting with mom and was on the lookout for vintage ornaments. I found a small cardboard box of them for $1 at one stop and several packages for $1 each at another place. I think I have enough for a wreath, maybe even two. I just need to dig around in the abyss of my basement for my hot glue gun.

Ornaments weren’t the only finds yesterday…I picked up some real treasures! Then I received some vintage goodies from my cousin later that night when we exchanged belated birthday gifts with each other. I promise to take pictures of my finds (and my gifts) tomorrow. But for now I am going to go watch TV and drink eggnog with butterscotch schnapps. Don’t judge me.

We left the house around 8:30 this morning and drove to Chicago for a day at IKEA and Trader Joe’s.  We were originally going to spend both today and tomorrow in the city and go to the Shedd Aquarium  and the Field Museum today and the shopping part on Tuesday.

Well, as often happens in life, an unexpected cost came up. Our beloved Chihuahua Jose suffered a disgusting affliction of his behind, which required taking him to the emergency vet on Saturday. The cost of having his anal gland drained and the antibiotics and pain meds came to $120. Also, we will probably have to have him looked at again tomorrow at his regular office because the area in question doesn’t look any better and it seems to really bother him. The vet cost plus the realization that our hotel alone would be $240 (why, I have no earthly idea because we have stayed there before for around $180) forced us to have to chose between the IKEA/Trader Joe’s day or the museum/aquarium day. Naturally, I chose the option that entails shopping.

Here are our main buys:

Fillsta Lamp

Stockholm Blad pillow-we bought 2 for the couch

Mysa Stra comforter-warmth rate 5

Fullen storage cabinet for the bathroom. Or so we thought until we got it home and realized our tiny bathroom is too damn tiny. Guess we'll have to put it in the basement when it gets finished...

All in all it was a successful trip. Trader Joe’s yielded such delights as chocolate truffles, microwaveable cheese fondue, artichoke antipasto spread, pretzel bread, edamame hummus, mint chocolate covered coffee beans, chai latte mix, dark chocolate covered almonds with sea salt, and some sauces and udon noodles that Paul picked out. He maybe picked out 3 or 4 things; I was the one who really went crazy in there.

We were back on the road sometime around 3. We made one stop for pizza in some tiny town off the interstate and then headed for home again. We made it back in Peoria by 5:45. Unloading and unpacking all our stuff was like Christmas morning. Taking inventory of all we purchased made me both giddy and slightly guilty. One of my goals is to save money for IVF or adoption so this was a major splurge day. I guess we all need to spoil ourselves once in a while.

*All photos are from the IKEA website*