Christmas Decorating

This week I'm off to plan my Christmas decor shopping. I've enlisted these guys to help me out.
Let's make it a good year everyone.

My Mom is Cooler Than Your Mom

Just in case you're wondering where I got it from...
This thrift store cage full of pine cones, leaves, and candles, and accompanied by two excessively creepy birds belongs to my mom. She goes all out when it comes to seasonal decorating.

Edgar and Allan. Poe has since disappeared.

Next up...Thanksgiving. I'm planning on bringing a live turkey home. Just to see what my mom does with it.

Fall Decoration: Complete

I crumpled up a bunch of Reader's Digest picture pages and just glued them onto some cardboard. Then I decoupaged the bird and glued that on. There was just a lot of glue involved.

I haven't decided where to put it yet, so he's just going to hang out there on my suitcases for now. But I'm pretty happy. Any name suggestions? I'm thinking maybe Bert.

Vintage Sale Finds! Pt. 2--Concord

I think these speak for themselves.

This is on the back:
(This is also the reason I spent like $40 more than I planned. Or $40 exactly because that's how much this photo cost.)

$5 for this cutie patootie:

$3 for my best friend Nancy Drew (from 1946 and '47, respectively)
$10 for my FAVORITE children's book ever, The Wind in the Willows (from 1933):

"Beyond the Wild Wood comes the Wide World," said the Rat. "And that's something that doesn't matter, either to you or me. I've never been there, and I'm never going, nor you either, if you've got any sense at all."

I think you've got it just right, friend Rat.

Vintage Sale Finds! Pt. 1--Concord

Well, all in all, I think the first Vintage Sale Weekend of the month was a rousing success. I've decided to split this experience into 2 parts. Today, Part 1--Clothing. I only wound up buying the last item(s) on here. But I documented a whole bunch of other clothes that were there. Just for you.
There were gaudy 70's clothes that I made my hands crawl just thinking about touching them.

One leather pair of shorts once belonging to Daisy Duke.

One white dress that was too stained to buy but I can absolutely duplicate the pattern of.

1940's jungle print dresses that I would have bought in a heartbeat if I hadn't already spent way too much money the day before.

And finally, ridiculously adorable gloves that I bought for $2.

And kudos to Jenn, Lauren, and Seth for hustling themselves out there to join me. A vintage sale without friends is nothing at all.

Decorating--Part 3

I'm just now trying to find what to put in the center and how I want to hang it.

Also, my cat tried to sit on it and squash it, but I was able to scare her away before she caused too much damage.

Halloween Decorating Update

I have absolutely no idea what this story is about. It's from one of those super old Reader's Digest books I bought a few months ago.

So far, so good. Except I've been using Elmer's glue and didn't realize when I piled them up that some of the little tube-y guys would get stuck together. Woops. Oh well. No irreparable damage.

(See previous post for what I'm making)

Halloween Decoration Plans

So I was sitting around thinking about Halloween the other day... and I realized that I have got some serious fall decorating to do.

From Here

This is going to be first up on my list of Halloween decoration projects. I'm going to start snooping around thrift stores for the perfect book to use, as well as what I want to use for the centerpiece.
I
Love
Autumn

End.

Vintage Sale

I would love to not post this and just keep everything for myself, but I'm feeling benevolent today.

Hospice Foundation of The East Bay

VINTAGE SALE!!!!

Vintage Clothing, Jewelry, Linens,
Accessories and Collectibles

We are having our annual Vintage Sale
at all of our Thrift Shoppe locations!

October 8th, 9th, 10th

Hospice Thrift Shoppe - Concord
5350 Clayton Road
Concord (925) 674-9072

Hospice Thrift Shoppe - Danville
444 Diablo Road
Danville (925) 838-7697

October 15th, 16th, 17th

Hospice Thrift Shoppe - Alamo
3162 Danville Boulevard, Suite A
(Stone Valley Plaza)
Alamo (925) 820-6525

Hospice Boutique Thrift Shoppe - Walnut Creek
1345 Newell Avenue - A
Walnut Creek (925) 947-1064

October 22nd, 23rd, 24th

Hospice Thrift Shoppe - Antioch
2742 Delta Fair Boulevard
Antioch (925) 777-0866

Hospice Boutique Thrift Shoppe - Dublin
7381 Amador Valley Boulevard
Dublin (925) 875-9976

Friday and Saturday, 10 - 5 pm
Sunday, 12 - 5 pm

Most items will be reduced by 50%
on the last sale day at each store.

Meet Your New Best Friend

I've been wanting to do this post for awhile since it plays such a HUGE part in determining what I thrift-fully buy. But being a perfectionist combined with a procrastinator, I just haven't dug up either the nerve or the drive to do it yet. So I'm going to put my perfectionism on the back burner and be both artfully lazy and innovative at the same time and use pictures that I already have, rather than new ones taken specifically for this post.
On to the point!

Alterations.

They're the key to your thrift store finds. When I shop I look primarily for fabrics that I like and move on from there. It can be size10,000, but if it's made of good fabric (i.e. nothing synthetic) you can make it work specifically for you.
(Before we move on, please note the high-tech photo-shopping program I bought to simulate what the following outfits looked like before. )

Exhibit A:
Shorts. Technically I didn't buy these at a thrift store, but they were on clearance and were hideously ugly before I bought them. Imagine bell-bottoms made for a child that fit my hips, but are so short that they hit me right in the middle of my calves. I'm mentally going "Blechh" just remembering-- and then mentally blocking out the fact that I actually wore them a couple of times like that.
But with the magic of my sewing machine...
BA-ZING!


Exhibit B:

My favorite outfit that I've ever altered. This romper was originally a jumpsuit a la' Katharine Hepburn. Unfortunately, being 30-40 years old, the legs were all stained around the bottom with no hope of ever being removed. Except by scissors! Cut. Roll. Iron. Sew. Done. *PING* Completely new romper.


Next time I'll take some actual before/after pictures, even though I know these recreations were so incredibly accurate it was probably hard to even discern that they had been edited.


And yes, that is the hotel in Runaway Bride.

These Boots Are Made for Walking

Bought: Boots
Price: $13
Place: Plato's Closet, Maple Shade, NJ

So I tried to find a picture of Disney's Pocahontas wearing boots that could illustrate why these boots remind me of Pocahontas. But I forgot about the fact that she was barefoot most of the time. I did find this little gem, however:
...I guess being a secret mermaid prohibits her from wearing boots. But I feel like if she could, these are what she would choose to wear.


Also from the same shop for the same price (ish):

Rainboots!! I'm so excited for it to rain. Look at the adorable little rain birds mixed in with the swirly vines.


If you know me at all, you know how much I love anything even slightly resembling toile.

Another successful find.
Although, I would recommend not buying 4 new pairs of shoes--especially boots-- when you're flying home the next day and your bag is already bulging at the seams so you have to carry them all on the plane with you.
Unless of course you want a good work out.

Bonus:

I don't really think Nancy Sinatra knows where she is during the first half of this video, making it all the more endearing. Beware of the inappropriate 1960's floor slithering.

Pigtow Design Plug

I read the following article in the Contra Costa Times this morning:

Decorator trolls local yard sales and finds five bargain buys for $20 or less
(way to save ink on that title, guys)

I went and checked out Meg's blog and found it simply charming (in other words, it reminded me a lot of myself, whom, naturally, I find incredibly charming).

But Meg lives on the East Coast, making her finds completely different than mine, due simply to the different historical context.
Read.
View.
Enjoy.

Hearty Hardy's

Bought: Hardy Boys Mystery Story: The Yellow Feather Mystery, by Franklin W. Dixon
Price: 75 cents (ish)
Place: Anna's Attic

If you've never read a Hardy Boys book, it's about time you get on that. There's really no reason not to read one (unless of course you like books you can't predict that have fully developed characters, unique plot lines, and intellectual dialogue. But really, who reads books like that anymore?)
Cannon Balls of Ice????? I really need to read this ASAP.

The real reason I bought this book is because it's an original 1953 copy.
Plus, I just love it (obviously more than Gary W. and Sharon Weitzner to whom it has previously belonged. Especially whichever one of them drew on it with pink marker.)

Please note the pink marker mark

Well, dear Hardy Boys, I love you for being eternally 17 and 18 years old, respectively.
I love you for solving every case with ease.
I love you for using phrases like "Holy crow!" and "Crumb!"
I love you for making fun of your fat friend Chet's weight without remorse.

We've come a long way together, haven't we?
Continue to take me on your adventures and I'll continue to love you forever.

Estate Sale, Pt. 2

Just singing my shoulda coulda woulda's.
If there were adequate space in my room, this sewing machine would now be mine.


Plus, were I not a cheapskate, this up-to-date informative reading material would also be in my possession. Because who really understands the elusive Hippie? Who couldn't use this book?

Estate Sale

I went to my first estate sale this month.
It was pretty much everything I expected it to be. Odd and bizarre. But sad too. They have a different vibe than thrift or antique stores. The people there seem more respectful due to the fact that they're in a recently deceased person's home.
So besides the obvious downer...
Being an extremely nosy person, I loved being able to see how other people lived and then be able to take away with me a little piece of their lives to incorporate into my own.
Observe:

Place: Estate sale in Concord
Hosted: by Hospice of the East Bay
(You can sign up to get email notifications of local estate sales there^)
Bought: Impressionist book and 2 dress patterns for $1.50



I also bought 5 more pattern sets at ARF for $.25 a pop.
You're thinking, "What's the deal with all the outdated dress patterns?"
And I'm answering, "Wallpaper. Lots of wallpaper on the window wall of my bedroom."



Once I collect enough patterns, I'm going to be doing a wallpaper/decoupage hybrid with all of them. Hopefully, the paper will hold up and not tear. I'll post the process of that once I get to it.

On a side note, I'm planning on using the Impressionist pictures as decor as well. And I got to see that painting on the right in person at the de Young Museum! If you get the chance, you should really go.

Trunk Minus the Junk (Guest Blog 2)

Bought: Trunk
Price: $5
Place: ARF Thrift Store
By Whom: My mom

I love this trunk.
It's obviously traveled.
Yet is still viable.
Maybe not for traveling, what with the handle being broken. But it can definitely still be used for magic acts.
Or better yet for a table, which I think is what my mom will end up using it for.

On a side note, the song "It's a Hard Knock Life" from Annie kept playing in my head while I was taking these pictures. I had this one horrifying moment when I couldn't remember if it was from Oliver or Annie. You really can't blame me though. Orphans. High-pitched children singing. Not my fault.
Now it can be stuck in your head.
You're welcome.