Spools of Thread

The last big sewing project I had was about three years ago. A friend of mine was getting married & instead of giving my money to David's Bridal I decided I'd scour the internet for a used one.

Four dresses later, with a week until the wedding, I was in a rough place. 

One was too long, one too short. One too big, and one made me look like a pregnant horse.

So I got out the seam ripper & my moms 1970's avocado green Singer & got to work. I kid you not, an hour before the ceremony I just had it finished.


It ended up turning out great, strapless tea length fit & flare. And just like shopping vintage, no one else in the party had my dress! 

This weekend I had the misfortune of attending the creepiest estate sale ever. It felt strange just driving up to it, but thinking I was just being a baby, I went in. 

No one around, except for a guy throwing mattresses into a red pick up who said he wasn't running the sale & didn't know whoever was went. Inside Stank of Awful & mattress man decided he should ignore the rules of personal space.

And the only "vintage clothing" found were four stained pleather biker jackets. 

So tell me, aside from buttons & hem repairs,
have you ever made an outfit or dress? 
& while we're on the subject, 
creepiest buying/yard/estate sale experience you've had?

A Little Check In

I'm going to start this post with two disclaimers...I can't handle my Tequila. And sometimes, I forget that. The other one, never.

There's a story floating around from six years ago that no single member of my family will let me forget. Something about me announcing to the party that we were leaving because I have a very important meeting in the morning...with the King of the Lawn Gnomes who gets pissed easily & starts throwing logs...because the fate of all woodland creatures everywhere was up to me & my drunken mind. 

So when my aunt asked me if I could help her sell some of her stuff, I said yes willingly (sober, btw). After a margarita I had told her I'd help her neighbor sell stuff. By the end of the night I had wormed my way into countless yard sales, renting a van & being completely overwhelmed in someone else's basement for the past 3 weeks.

So that's where I've been. & have a thousand things for my own shop that I need to do.

Maybe this will be a lesson in saying "no"?

In other news, as I was flipping through the pictures on my phone, I found this gem.

I squinted at it for a good minute, but not before yelling out "Holy Moses, when did I see a brick of cocaine...and why does it look so pretty...?!" 

Thinking back along the weekend and wondering if I really could've met someone in my travels and coming up squeaky clean, I brought it to Mr. Acorns. 

Who laughed hysterically.

"Babe, that's a pair of shoes. You bet me I couldn't tie a nice looking bow, so I did, there's your proof. 

& Don't forget you owe me ten bucks!"

Childhood Memories

Seeing as how last week was a pretty steady 100+ F (38 C) with humidity a few of my plants died. 

Yes, you read that right. A few plants died. I am a terrible person. My soul is as black as my thumb. In my defense, I wanted to die too & this orchid had been going strong since April. 

This 60's dress frock needs some work, like to be steamed, but whatever, I'm sneaking you all a peek. Aside from being gorgeous, it reminded me so much of being a kid & playing dress up I probably would've bought it even if it were ugly. 

Growing up my mom had a huge cardboard box filled with clothes under her bed. Clothes that she had outgrown like this fantastic backless floral dress. Or her bright pink lace prom dress that she hated (but was so fairy princess Barbie for a kid) even though (or maybe because) Grandma made it for her. Come to think of it, there were a few homemade dresses in there. 

And all of these clothes smelled the same, like if this were a movie there would be clips of happy kids running through grass in the sunshine. And you know what else? That dress above, by some freak coincidence, smelled just like that old box of dress ups.

What was your favorite thing to dress up in as a kid?

Relaxing at Brookside

So my parents have been in France for the past two weeks. I assume they're having a ball because I haven't heard from them. Anyways, I had hopes of going over everyday to hang out on the deck, use the grill & drink from the endless fountain of wine that sits in a box in the fridge. I was so excited about it, I felt bad for them to have to go on vacation. 

But given this heat wave, pretty much everyday I've just gone to my own home to sit in front of the fan, watch Andy Griffith and act like a curmudgeonly old man who dreams of frozen margaritas, but only dreams because Tequila is expensive. 

I finally just did it. And I'm so glad I did. You all know how much I crave dirt, that stuff is therapy! The old man is gone, and that's good because I have a whole load of vintage aprons to list. I don't know that old guys really care about those things. 

Scottie the guard cat

So here's a question for you dolls, Do you wear an apron? Cooking? Crafting? Gardening? & does your Mister?

Mr. Acorns wears one when he cooks & I think it's just too cute...& he insists on calling it a "Manprin"

Happy Thursday!

From The Flea Market with an Embarrassing Moment

I walked into work a few Saturdays ago & This Bag was among the "good stuff" pile.

Belonging to Dr & Mrs Stone who sailed in room B-5 on 25 August 1958. 

The handles have broken off twice already, I'm hoping a leather repair person can help me out without ruining those glorious stickers!

All of these awesome vintage pieces are from the 40's & 50's...unfortunately every piece has an issue.

Repairs to be made, stains to lift & staanks to unstink...So I've been busy lately.

Aside from that, the Brimfield Flea Market was this past week. We were pretty swamped at work so we didn't make it until late in the week, but still managed to take home some "priceless treasures"! 

As I type this I can see all our family members rolling their eyes...hahaha, well, isn't that the best thing about moving out? 

On an entirely awkward yet hilarious note...I posted this pic to Instagram...

& accidentally posted it to my personal facebook page. 

The response was ridiculous. 

From  "WTF!?" to "Is this even real?"

So ridiculous that my own mother asked if we had taken the "handcuffs...and 'other thing'" 

...so very awkward

(btw, nothing was taken OR touched from that game by us)

Happy Hunting!

Mend, Soak, Wash...Repeat.

I've come across a bunch of awesome pieces in the past few months. Not only vintage clothes, but vintage fabric, antique lace, and scarves.

And it's awesome! Every time I buy something new, or go hunting for new treasures, it renews my love. I spend days imagining who will end up with this great piece of history that I happened upon.

And sometimes you have to take a chance...take a deep breath and either dive in or turn around and walk back down the ladder.

And sometimes you find out that gleaming clean pool is actually like a giant mud puddle.

Missing buttons, ripped seams, stains & funky odors are just some of the surprises we vintage sellers find. It's like winning more on a scratch ticket than you'd thought...only it's not...it's funky basement moth ball scent that takes five washes to lift.

Anyways, I had been putting off restoring a few things & all of a sudden those few things had taken over an entire chair at the dining room table. Like heaping-over-the-table-can't-smoosh-it-down-and-push-in-anymore takeover.

So that's what I've been doing and that's what's coming soon. We vintage sellers are like your Grandma...

"That button's a bit loose, Sweetie, come here & I'll fix ya right up"

This doily was Orange with stains & smelled horrible. So it was quarantined...this is it's fifth and final rinse, I wish I'd taken pictures of the before. I've been hoarding little doilies like this for some future wedding crafting.

Until next time friends!

Yes, I Do Have A Funover

I spent the past week with a dear old friend. 

She's the kind of person who has overcome huge obstacles in her life, yet she's always laughing!

She's the kind of person who would drop everything to help a loved one.

She's a nut & I'm lucky to have met her.

Now that she's on her way back to North Carolina, I'm feeling really funover. 

I have what seems like a thousand things to list. I haven't posted here in over a month. And do you know what I spent my day doing? 

Editing pictures of my cats....so I can make a bumper sticker. 
Based on an actual facebook conversation.

For my car. Which I'm totally going to rock. 

In other news of procrastinating: 

Now off to do some real work.