New home: Antiques Tour

I think I'm becoming house proud.  I really like finding little unique things about our place.  For the most part, we have a lot of Ikea furniture.  Which I think is great because: a) we live in a small place and Ikea has great solutions for living in tiny homes; b) its affordable, especially for someone like me that likes to change her mind about furniture and decoration; c) its utilitarian, which I love, but still interesting in design. 

ANYWAYS, this is not a post defending Ikea (which is awesome.)  This is about the cool vintage things that I have at home.  We love the few things we have.  Most were handed down, but a couple we bought at different places; my favorite place being the Aberfoyle Antique Market near Guelph, ON.

In the office, we have a few old wooden crates that hold some of my craft stuff.  It makes is easily accessible, and looks cute.  I got these a long time ago for 4 bucks each.  I went to the market lately, and now they are at least 20/ea.  Which is crazy.  I guess they are popular now.  Beside the box is an antique cabinet that my Mom gave me.  She painted it white, which I like.  It was her toy cupboard as a little girl.  She used it for me and my brother, and gave it to me when I moved out.  It serves as our pantry and sewing cupboard.  It is a handy piece of furniture to own.



I bought a mid-century record cabinet at the antique market; my Mom saw that someone had a matching hutch, and asked if I could have it.  So she got it and brought it over to me.  I actually love this more than the record cabinet I was using, so I put that cabinet in storage, and use this hutch in the dining room.  Inside I store some pretty but useful vintage stuff: my Pyrex, some old enamel coffee pots, and a vintage beer stein.  I love the idea of a bar cart, but don't have the space for it, so we put our liquor on top on a tray.

 
The tray is also an antique from the same period.  I'm really into the 50s and 60s.  I have been for a long time.

My recipe box was a lucky find.  I got it for 95 cents!  And I love the cheerful flowers on it. Also, I love that I have a shelf to display it on.

I don't have a lot of antiques in the living room.  I wanted an antique sofa, but Hamilton has a big problem with bedbugs; so I don't trust upholstered antiques anymore.  So for now, I just have some vintage baskets and crates in the living room.  This one is on our coffee table as a corral for remote controls, glasses, and tissue.  Its handy, and keeps everything in place without looking like a mess.  I put a plant in there, because, hey; I like plants.  (The table runner isn't antique, its from ten thousand villages.  One thing I like more than antiques is fair trade.)

So there you have it!  A few vintage-y things that are in our apartment.  I hate clutter, so I'm super picky about the vintage stuff I bring home.  I think what we have suits our place well.

What kind of vintage or antique items do you have around the house?  Did you find them, or were they gifts?

POMS Week 7: Do you have tickets to this gun show?

Years ago, I decided that I would no longer wear long sleeves in the summer.  I had a thing about my arms.  The thing was, I hated them.  They were big, and bubbly.  Other kids made fun of them when I was younger.  So before 2005, I wore cardigans in the summer.  It can get hot here too, so I just told people that I was from the South, and I didn't feel the heat the same way they did.  In short, I lied to them so I could keep covering up my arms.

It got to hot to keep that nonsense up, so I started wearing t-shirts, but there were certain requirements my t-shirts had to pass: they needed to be baggy, and they needed to have sleeves that went past my elbows.  See it wasn't my forearms I hated, it was my upper arms.  My flabby, shameful upper arms.  At least, that's how I felt.

In 2010, I started thinking differently about my arms.  I saw this super cute dress.  I lamented how I could never wear summer dresses because they didn't have sleeves.  I stood and looked at this dress.  Then I did something I never do.  I tried it on.  The saleslady asked to see it.  So I showed her.  She went nuts!  She said that dress never looked good on anyone, but it did on me.

I stopped her.  I said, "I can't buy it, it doesn't cover my arms.  Look at my arms."

She looked at me and said, "No one cares about your arms.  Look at your boobs!  Those look great.  That's where people will look."

I had two thoughts: the first was, oh great, another area to draw attention to; and the second was, "Waitaminute.  She's right, no one cares about my arms.  No one but me."  I didn't buy the dress, I didn't want people ogling my breasts.  But I did buy that saleslady a coffee.  She gave me some food for thought.  So I did something I never thought I would do.

Instead, I bought a tank top.

On the hottest day that year, I wore it and went for a walk.  No one looked at my arms.  I did get one comment about my arms, and it wasn't about their size; it was about the ridiculous tan I had from wearing elbow-length t-shirts all summer.

No one cared about my arms.  No one but me.
 
And now, I don't even care about my arms.  In fact, now I think they are awesome.  Later this summer I hope to cover one of them in a new tattoo.  I went for my consultation, and the artist said, "Whoa.  You have big arms."

I said back, "Its just a bigger canvas, skinny."

 

::Head to toe::

Scarf: Waterford Antique Market

Sunglasses: Winners

Earrings: We Dream In Color

Sleeveless Shirt: Winners

Cropped jeans: Walmart

Straw Tote: San Diego Hat Company from TJ Maxx

Sandals: Gold Birks from here

Have you had enough of me telling you to join this link-up?  Well, too bad.  You should totes join.  Its really fun.  Thanks to Rachele at The Nearsighted Owl for starting it up, and for noting me as one of her faves from the last two weeks!  

I scream, you scream...

I don't have to finish that rhyme do I?

It has been hot here, y'all.  I mean Alabama hot, in the high 30s (that's over 100 for you Fahrenheit people) and that is entirely too hot for Canada.  So what do we do on hot evenings?  We go and eat ice cream!  Now, I am sure that ice cream doesn't cool you down any, that's what driving in the air conditioned car does.  But it tastes really good.  And we are lucky to have one of the best dairy bars not too far from where we live.

I'm lactose intolerant, so an ice cream trip is a pretty special occasion.  I usually have to take 4 Lactaid capsules before I have some ice cream.  I threw caution to the wind, and ate this ice cream without a net.  And I was fine!  My body worked with me for once!

I love that every year there is usually a new ice cream flavor.  I like to try the new ones, cause I'm courageous like that.  So I tried the Boston Cream Donut.  It includes one of my favorite things- donuts!  A Boston Cream Donut is like a mini Boston Cream Pie in your hand. 

I got the small.  I know, right?  And this was after I already ate some.  It was so good.  There were little pieces of cake, and ribbons of chocolate and cream through the ice cream.  The vanilla ice cream was a little sweeter than regular vanilla.  I made a great choice with this one.

 
D likes to mix his flavors, he is not as much of an ice cream purist as I am. So, he got 2 scoops, chocolate peanut butter and mocha almond fudge.  He said the best part was when he was eating both flavors together.  Weirdo. 

M got a dipped cone, and it was a little messy.  This is to be expected with a chocolate layer holding in all that ice cream.  It looked yummy.  But as he was eating it, M was losing his mind!  He hates a mess, and this was making one.  After he washed his hands, so said he still felt sticky.  He's a little crazy about the hygiene, which is a good thing to be I guess.

What else I like about Stoney Creek Dairy is its pretty much the same as it was in the 1960s.  Inside they great old pictures of the place in the 50s and 60s, and not much has changed save the lighting and electronics.

You know what is better than getting ice cream?  Getting a dose of nostalgia and ice cream.

Thrifted: Pennants and Paintings

I was so lucky today!  We went out to my favorite Sunday morning haunts and one of the stall sellers was trying to get rid of her pennants.  I happen to be caught in a moment of obsession with Americana, and I thought that these were too cute to pass up.  She had a lot of baseball and college flags, but these vacation souvenirs were definitely what I wanted.  I wanted to keep it to the Southern states (I am what I am) but I have a soft spot for Las Vegas, so I got that one too. 

At home, we had the perfect spot for it!  There was a blank space above our work area that needed something cool.  And they look great!  I was afraid they would be out of place, but I think they fit well.  I was so excited when I put them up!  They are not the only thing on the wall.  Since the piano was moved, I thought that all the frames looked, well... a little silly.  So I got some long thin shelves and we put some of our favorites doo-dads on them.  Two painting I thrifted are up there too:

That's right!  A two dollar painting (an original nonetheless!) and a 25 cent paint by numbers picture. I loved both of them, and thought that they would look great by our workspace.  I like this wall now.  There's a lot of really interesting things on it like the piece by a Tawahka artisan from Honduras-- but that's another story for another time.

My Thrifting Aesthetic

Well, it had finally happened to me!  Never before have I had the big score while thrifting.  It was usually one item here, and a couple of glasses there, but never a haul like the one I got today.  I think the thrifting gods must have smiled upon me because I found a bunch of things that I brought home:

This is my favorite find of the day!  I should have saved it for last, but I was too excited!  Its a cheese tray!  I've been really into this color lately.  AND it comes from that era I love so much.  I didn't even wait, I invited people over today and served cheese and crackers on it.  And got several compliments on my new tray.   Oooh, and I love the flowers!  When I picked it up, D said that this was definitely a Stephanie find.  And it was 4 bucks!

Since we started decorating our kitchen in red, I've been on the lookout for red accents.  I got these tea towels for 99 cents.  I love the summery fruit pictures on them, and the bright red borders.  Definitely worth the money I spent on them.

We found an afghan!  I love how heavy it is.  I can just picture someone sitting for hours on a cold night, crocheting this cozy blanket.  I loved the yellow in the pattern, so I had to get it.  It was the most expensive thing we bought, but it is a great find.  Almost makes me wish for the winter again.  ALMOST.

These little mugs were too cute to pass up.  I have a soft spot for Japanese kitchenware.  So I got them. 

As per usual, I walked out of the thrift store with a mountain of children's books.  I can never pass up cheap books to bring into my classroom.  And the kids love new book Mondays.  But this time I found some books that I want to read.  Christopher Moore is hilarious.  His stories are funny, sometimes gross, always odd reads. True be told, I'm already more than half-way through Fool, the story of King Lear told from the fools perspective.  He is so irreverent.  I'm enjoying the book a lot.  Unfortunately, I will be finished it by tomorrow.  That's why I need to buy books 2 at a time.  Or, more realistically, ten at a time.

Looking at all the items I've thrifted lately, I can see a distinct theme.  Even though I usually just grab what I love, I think I have a certain thrifting aesthetic.  I created a color pallette just to show you what I mean:

Although I often love bright colors, I've been moving towards these muted, nature tones, with that awesome dark green that was so popular in the 70s.  I still love the pinks and robin egg blues, but lately I'm drawn to these shades.  It could be my mood lately; I've been more sedate and calm as of late.  When I get busy, I tend to settle down, and try to get things done.  And having calm colors around me helps me be more productive.  My thrifting aesthetic changes with my mood; and I can't wait to see what my summer thrifting aesthetic turns out to be!

Do you have a "thrifting aesthetic?"  Or do you just grab whatever you like?

Thrifted: Funky Placemats

I love these woven placemats I found while thrifting!  I think they are from the 70s-- and I love the 70s.  I even taught my students how to do the hustle. 

I love the bright yellow in these.  Remember my yellow table and chairs I couldn't have? These are a little piece of that dining table of my dreams.  I think they are super cute, and they totally match my mushroom salt and pepper shakers.  Even D likes them!

My dream is to have the whole dinning room decked out in 70s vintage.  But for now, these go nicely with what we have. 

They even look good under a stack of blueberry pancakes.  Is there any particular era that you love to look for?

Vintage Loves: My scarf collection

I used to wear a lot of vintage clothing.  I loved it!  It was cheap, and original, and fun!  My jam was clothing from the 70s.  I had a long leather jacket, and cool hats to match my afro.  Much to my mother's chagrin, I had some awesome shirts.  I think my dad just found it amusing, and on a couple of occasions, he loved some of my stuff.  As I moved through my career, some of my workplaces were more formal than other places, so I had to give up my polyester and cords, and get some grown up clothes.

One thing I could never get rid of were my scarves.  I love 'em.

The cool thing about vintage scarves is that you can still wear them dressed up or down.

The other cool thing is that in the past, they made scarves to commemorate anything.

Like in the top picture, I have a VOTE scarf which I bust out for every American election.  (My family is American so I always watch the elections with a keen interest in the outcome. ) Or in the picture above, I have a scarf from the Dominican Republic in the 1960s.

These are my two favorite scarves; the ones I wear the most.  One is from the 70s in San Fransisco, and the other is a cotton scarf from the 1940s.

I must have 50 or so scarves.  And I can't wear them all.  I need to find ideas on what I can make with them to use them.  I would like to keep them around, but how?  Maybe pillows?  What else can you make with old scarves?

Maybe I need to get this book (link).