31 July 2008
Greetings from the land of never-ending cornfields!
That's right...I'm in Nebraska. It's very flat here. Flat and pretty boring! I am so tired and my back is killing me and I don't think I had any idea my trip was going to be like this. I did manage to locate a few thrift stores in the town I'm spending the night in and I'm going to check those out tomorrow. And hopefully tomorrow night I'll get around to taking pictures of the stuff I bought today and yesterday. I found a great thrift store near Kansas City, Mo. but only bought a couple of things. I'm hoping I have better luck tomorrow.
29 July 2008
Greetings from Indiana!
Well, I've stopped for the night here in Indiana and I am about to pass out! I didn't realize how tired I was until I ate dinner and got into bed. I drove 600 miles today and I can definitely say I won't be doing that tomorrow.
I didn't stop at any thrift stores or antique stores along the way but I did spot a Goodwill just down from my hotel that I'm hitting tomorrow morning!
Please check out my other blog Westbound Wandering, where I'll post more about my first day of travel!!
I didn't stop at any thrift stores or antique stores along the way but I did spot a Goodwill just down from my hotel that I'm hitting tomorrow morning!
Please check out my other blog Westbound Wandering, where I'll post more about my first day of travel!!
28 July 2008
My obsession with polka dots continues!
Last week after I ordered my new luggage (which *just* arrived!!) I was out doing some shopping and ran across cute polka dot make-up bags at Wal-mart. There was a set that had bright dots and then another set that had some browns mixed in. I chose the latter of the two and just hoped it would sort of match my luggage. Then a few days later I was at Target looking for a lunch box and ran across one that has the same color dots as my make-up bags! Wahoo!!
I have been so busy the last couple of days trying to get everything done but here I sit, about 16 hours before I leave and I have about eleven billion things to do still. At least my luggage arrived on time so I can start packing my clothes here in a few minutes. I already packed my little lunch box for tomorrow and that's in the fridge. I started packing my picnic basket too and I am going to pack the small cooler later today. Will is brining out the big cooler with all the meats on Saturday so that's one less thing I have to worry about.
I didn't really get much accomplished yesterday since we had to take the dogs down to NC to meet my parents. The drive took a lot longer than we thought due to really slow drivers on the way down and torrential downpours on the way back up. Then we both took a much needed nap once we were home. I started packing up some toiletries last night but I still have more to do today.
I cannot believe that the time has finally come and that I leave tomorrow. It seems like it was just April like last week!! I honestly thought I'd be more prepared than this but what can I do? I'm just going to roll with it and hope for the best.
Ooh, I started a new blog just for my trip. I didn't want to clog this one up with a bunch of travel details so I hope you all will stop in and check out the new one. I'm going to post tons of pictures and info on the new one but I'll still post here when I have something fabulously "vintage" to share too!! I didn't have a lot of time to make it look all fancy so please overlook that if you stop by! Here's the link: Westbound Wandering I think the title describes perfectly how this trip is going to go- I have no real timeline, no real schedule I'm going to follow. Just gonna mosey around and hopefully end up in Jackson sometime next weekend!
I have been so busy the last couple of days trying to get everything done but here I sit, about 16 hours before I leave and I have about eleven billion things to do still. At least my luggage arrived on time so I can start packing my clothes here in a few minutes. I already packed my little lunch box for tomorrow and that's in the fridge. I started packing my picnic basket too and I am going to pack the small cooler later today. Will is brining out the big cooler with all the meats on Saturday so that's one less thing I have to worry about.
I didn't really get much accomplished yesterday since we had to take the dogs down to NC to meet my parents. The drive took a lot longer than we thought due to really slow drivers on the way down and torrential downpours on the way back up. Then we both took a much needed nap once we were home. I started packing up some toiletries last night but I still have more to do today.
I cannot believe that the time has finally come and that I leave tomorrow. It seems like it was just April like last week!! I honestly thought I'd be more prepared than this but what can I do? I'm just going to roll with it and hope for the best.
Ooh, I started a new blog just for my trip. I didn't want to clog this one up with a bunch of travel details so I hope you all will stop in and check out the new one. I'm going to post tons of pictures and info on the new one but I'll still post here when I have something fabulously "vintage" to share too!! I didn't have a lot of time to make it look all fancy so please overlook that if you stop by! Here's the link: Westbound Wandering I think the title describes perfectly how this trip is going to go- I have no real timeline, no real schedule I'm going to follow. Just gonna mosey around and hopefully end up in Jackson sometime next weekend!
24 July 2008
Vintage Thingies Thursday- Christmas in July
I'm finally participating again in Vintage Thingies Thursday, hosted by Lisa over at Confessions of an Apron Queen. Visit her blog to see all of the other people that are participating too!
Today I'm sharing with y'all some of my most favorite possessions - my collection of vintage Christmas ornaments. Back in the fall of 2003, shortly after Will and I got married, we went on vacation with my parents to the mountains of east Tennessee. One day my husband and dad were off doing some manly things so my mom and I set out to find thrift stores. We ran across one that had an entire section of Christmas stuff, including tons of vintage and antique things and it was almost like I had died and gone to Heaven! All that glittery goodness just waiting to be purchased and I couldn't wait to get my hot little hands on all of it! Okay, maybe not ALL of it, but a lot of the stuff that was vintage found a way into my cart! Thus began my obsession with vintage Christmas stuff, especially Shiny Brite ornaments!
Here are some of my fine purchases from that day back in 2003-
First this lovely set of lights. Aren't they adorable? I actually have two sets of these and they are quite old but don't work. So, they sit in their boxes and each year I open the box and stare at them and wish I was able to string them on my tree. Oh well, I still like looking at them even if they don't work!
Next are several boxes of misc ornaments. Some are starting to show wear & tear, we've even broken a couple over the years which makes it even more amazing that they've survived for all these decades. Of course they were probably bought at a store, brought home and lived in one house for the next 50 years. Unfortunately, we move a lot, which means a lot of things are broken. Such is the life of the military family I suppose.
Here's a cute little set of bells. I love these. One year after we moved to Maryland we were living in the cutest little beach cottage and the entire front of the house had been converted to a sun room which the owners had painted a pale yellow. I went out and bought tons of gold, yellow and sage green ornaments that year and then added these little bells. The tree looked so fabulous!
And here are some of the great ornaments I bought earlier this spring at one of the first yard sales of the season. I drove 30 miles to go to this sale that was advertised all over Craigslist as being full of vintage things. Either I got there way too late or the people selling stuff exaggerated just a bit but I did manage to snag all this Christmas stuff for just a couple of dollars. I didn't look thru the box of misc ornaments at the time since everything was wrapped in Kleenex but I was THRILLED when I got home and started unwrapping and saw all of those hot pink ornaments. I looove hot pink.
I also picked up this little strand of lights that have glittery covered bells. I didn't expect them to work either but I was pleasantly surprised when I plugged them in!!
And finally, when the husband and I married, we inherited one of those huge ceramic Christmas trees that his great grandmother had painted some time back. I instantly fell in love with all the little plastic lights and how it lit up at night and was just so pretty. Imagine my surprise when a couple of years later I went to an estate sale and found a lovely trio of white ceramic trees. They were so gorgeous. I really, really wanted to buy the whole set but they were so pricey. I opted for just picking up the smallest one and left the others. Each year I kick myself for not picking up the others and having all 3. Oh well, live & learn I suppose!
Yes, I am clearly obsessed with Christmas. We've always had numerous trees. I cannot wait to start decorating and I think I even get slightly depressed come January when it's time to take all of our decorations down. If the husband and I ever move to a location that has a Christmas store year-round I am seriously going to have to go back to work and apply for a job there. So, tomorrow is the 25th which means only 5 more months until Christmas right? I cannot wait!!
Thanks for stopping by and checking out all of my vintage thingies this week!
Today I'm sharing with y'all some of my most favorite possessions - my collection of vintage Christmas ornaments. Back in the fall of 2003, shortly after Will and I got married, we went on vacation with my parents to the mountains of east Tennessee. One day my husband and dad were off doing some manly things so my mom and I set out to find thrift stores. We ran across one that had an entire section of Christmas stuff, including tons of vintage and antique things and it was almost like I had died and gone to Heaven! All that glittery goodness just waiting to be purchased and I couldn't wait to get my hot little hands on all of it! Okay, maybe not ALL of it, but a lot of the stuff that was vintage found a way into my cart! Thus began my obsession with vintage Christmas stuff, especially Shiny Brite ornaments!
Here are some of my fine purchases from that day back in 2003-
First this lovely set of lights. Aren't they adorable? I actually have two sets of these and they are quite old but don't work. So, they sit in their boxes and each year I open the box and stare at them and wish I was able to string them on my tree. Oh well, I still like looking at them even if they don't work!
Next are several boxes of misc ornaments. Some are starting to show wear & tear, we've even broken a couple over the years which makes it even more amazing that they've survived for all these decades. Of course they were probably bought at a store, brought home and lived in one house for the next 50 years. Unfortunately, we move a lot, which means a lot of things are broken. Such is the life of the military family I suppose.
Here's a cute little set of bells. I love these. One year after we moved to Maryland we were living in the cutest little beach cottage and the entire front of the house had been converted to a sun room which the owners had painted a pale yellow. I went out and bought tons of gold, yellow and sage green ornaments that year and then added these little bells. The tree looked so fabulous!
And here are some of the great ornaments I bought earlier this spring at one of the first yard sales of the season. I drove 30 miles to go to this sale that was advertised all over Craigslist as being full of vintage things. Either I got there way too late or the people selling stuff exaggerated just a bit but I did manage to snag all this Christmas stuff for just a couple of dollars. I didn't look thru the box of misc ornaments at the time since everything was wrapped in Kleenex but I was THRILLED when I got home and started unwrapping and saw all of those hot pink ornaments. I looove hot pink.
I also picked up this little strand of lights that have glittery covered bells. I didn't expect them to work either but I was pleasantly surprised when I plugged them in!!
And finally, when the husband and I married, we inherited one of those huge ceramic Christmas trees that his great grandmother had painted some time back. I instantly fell in love with all the little plastic lights and how it lit up at night and was just so pretty. Imagine my surprise when a couple of years later I went to an estate sale and found a lovely trio of white ceramic trees. They were so gorgeous. I really, really wanted to buy the whole set but they were so pricey. I opted for just picking up the smallest one and left the others. Each year I kick myself for not picking up the others and having all 3. Oh well, live & learn I suppose!
Yes, I am clearly obsessed with Christmas. We've always had numerous trees. I cannot wait to start decorating and I think I even get slightly depressed come January when it's time to take all of our decorations down. If the husband and I ever move to a location that has a Christmas store year-round I am seriously going to have to go back to work and apply for a job there. So, tomorrow is the 25th which means only 5 more months until Christmas right? I cannot wait!!
Thanks for stopping by and checking out all of my vintage thingies this week!
23 July 2008
My crafty afternoon!!
Well, instead of doing any of the number of important things on my list, I sat right here in my office and made these:
Cute little luggage tags for my new bags! Now, I realize the pinks don't match the bags but that's okay with me. I wouldn't want it to match too closely because then it would be too hard to see them. It didn't take too long to make these once I picked out the paper. The colors look a lot better in person too but I couldn't get a very good picture of them.
I used Chipboard Mat Stacks as the main piece since it's good and sturdy.
I cut one piece in half to make two tags. They are 3.25" x 4.5" which is a good size I think.
For the third tag I used another piece of Chipboard from the Basic Grey [un]Dressed line. It's smaller than the tags above but I think it'll fit better on the smallest of the 3 pieces of luggage.
Next, I chose some papers I thought would match well with the chipboard mat stacks. I looked through all of my 12 x 12 paper and couldn't find anything I really loved so then I moved on to my 6 x 6 paper. I found some in one of these little stacks:
Not that exact stack, but another one which I forgot to take a picture of! Here are the papers I chose:
I cut those papers to the sizes I needed and then used my ATG gun to attach the patterned paper to the chipboard. Here's my ATG gun. Don't look too closely or you'll see dust. It's so dusty because I have been in a crafting slump for oh, about 6 months now!!
I didn't have to use the ATG to attach the paper to the smallest tag because those pieces of chipboard have adhesive on one side already, which worked fabulously because it would've been a complete pain in the you-know-where to try to use the ATG to run tape all around those weird little shapes! I had to paint the back of the smallest tag because it was just plain chipboard. I used a pretty coral color that matches some of the flowers in the paper on the front.
Next, I flipped through all of my little clear stamps I've purchased over the last year and picked out a couple that would work well for the back of the luggage tags. I stamped the back with white ink and then used a black Zig pen to write in my info.
While the ink was drying on the back, I found a piece of paper that would match the front of the tags and then used my Cricut to cut out letter L's in different sizes and some brackets too. Yes, I'm using my Cricut on the floor. Why? Because my table is so full of crap I didn't have room to put it up there! I'm gonna work on this organizing thing again soon so I'll have room for it on the table!!
I then used ModPodge to attach the L's and brackets onto the front of the tags. After the letters were attached I used a spray sealer and sprayed the front and back of each tag. I was going to use modpodge again but for some reason that stuff always leaves things feeling tacky so I decided to use the spray. After that dried, I punched holes in the tags & attached some ribbon, leaving enough ribbon on the ends to tie onto my bags.
Ta-da! Simple, easy luggage tags that didn't cost one cent! Well, I guess technically they cost at least one cent since I did purchase all of this scrapbooking stuff at one point in time. But, I now own some unique tags and I didn't have to run to Target and buy something that everyone else has too!! Yay for having a crafty moment today!!
Cute little luggage tags for my new bags! Now, I realize the pinks don't match the bags but that's okay with me. I wouldn't want it to match too closely because then it would be too hard to see them. It didn't take too long to make these once I picked out the paper. The colors look a lot better in person too but I couldn't get a very good picture of them.
I used Chipboard Mat Stacks as the main piece since it's good and sturdy.
I cut one piece in half to make two tags. They are 3.25" x 4.5" which is a good size I think.
For the third tag I used another piece of Chipboard from the Basic Grey [un]Dressed line. It's smaller than the tags above but I think it'll fit better on the smallest of the 3 pieces of luggage.
Next, I chose some papers I thought would match well with the chipboard mat stacks. I looked through all of my 12 x 12 paper and couldn't find anything I really loved so then I moved on to my 6 x 6 paper. I found some in one of these little stacks:
Not that exact stack, but another one which I forgot to take a picture of! Here are the papers I chose:
I cut those papers to the sizes I needed and then used my ATG gun to attach the patterned paper to the chipboard. Here's my ATG gun. Don't look too closely or you'll see dust. It's so dusty because I have been in a crafting slump for oh, about 6 months now!!
I didn't have to use the ATG to attach the paper to the smallest tag because those pieces of chipboard have adhesive on one side already, which worked fabulously because it would've been a complete pain in the you-know-where to try to use the ATG to run tape all around those weird little shapes! I had to paint the back of the smallest tag because it was just plain chipboard. I used a pretty coral color that matches some of the flowers in the paper on the front.
Next, I flipped through all of my little clear stamps I've purchased over the last year and picked out a couple that would work well for the back of the luggage tags. I stamped the back with white ink and then used a black Zig pen to write in my info.
While the ink was drying on the back, I found a piece of paper that would match the front of the tags and then used my Cricut to cut out letter L's in different sizes and some brackets too. Yes, I'm using my Cricut on the floor. Why? Because my table is so full of crap I didn't have room to put it up there! I'm gonna work on this organizing thing again soon so I'll have room for it on the table!!
I then used ModPodge to attach the L's and brackets onto the front of the tags. After the letters were attached I used a spray sealer and sprayed the front and back of each tag. I was going to use modpodge again but for some reason that stuff always leaves things feeling tacky so I decided to use the spray. After that dried, I punched holes in the tags & attached some ribbon, leaving enough ribbon on the ends to tie onto my bags.
Ta-da! Simple, easy luggage tags that didn't cost one cent! Well, I guess technically they cost at least one cent since I did purchase all of this scrapbooking stuff at one point in time. But, I now own some unique tags and I didn't have to run to Target and buy something that everyone else has too!! Yay for having a crafty moment today!!
I'm still alive!!
I know surely you must all think I've fallen off of the face of the earth since I haven't been around in over a week. I wish I could say I had a good excuse, like, I was actually being productive around my house and preparing for my trip. Nah. I've just been so lazy lately. The husband and I have been trying to do things around the house but nothing is getting accomplished. It has been SO hot lately. Like walk outside and the heat just sucks your breath away hot. I hate the heat. HATE IT. I hate humidity too and that has been pretty high lately as well. Gosh, I thought when we moved from SC to MD that it might be more pleasant in the summer but that is just not happening this year. I'm ready to move again. To somewhere that it doesn't get above 75 degrees with like 40% humidity or less. I wish I could say I was joking but I'm not. I absolutely hate being outside when it's so hot.
Moving along. It's now less than a week before I leave for my trip. You'd think I was well on my way to being ready to leave. Hahahaha. Yeah, back in April when I first found out about this trip I thought I'd be so prepared by this time. I thought I'd have all of my lists typed up and printed out, I thought I'd have all of my directions mapped out, I thought I'd know where I was staying each night on the drive out. And none of that has happened. Oh, I've spent plenty of time sitting here at the computer and trying to get some idea of what I want to see and do along the way. I've started typing my lists into Word and I guess I could go ahead and print those out but I just know I'll end up having several things I need to add to the lists at the last minute. Each morning I come into my office/scraproom and sit here and try to think of all the stuff I need to get done before I leave and I make a little list and I am still unable to focus on getting anything done!
It doesn't help that I still have quite a bit of shopping and just general running around I need to do before I can start packing. Oh, and I ordered new luggage Monday night after spending several hours that day at the mall and other stores trying to find something I liked. So, I'm waiting for that to come too. It's kind of hard to pack if I don't have luggage. I mean I *have* luggage but I want to use my new luggage. Look at how cute it is:
That's right. I bought polka-dot luggage. In pink. So, I'm waiting (not patiently!) for my pink luggage to arrive so I can start packing. Isn't it adorable?? I think it's so much better than plain ol black or blue luggage. How many people have pink polka dot luggage? Exactly! There are several other sets that match this that I'm going to ask for for Christmas so I can have some other options when I travel. I really wish my favorite Vera Bradly pattern hadn't been discontinued a few years ago or I could have more of that and I wouldn't even had to think about buying this set. But, alas, the pattern is no longer available except on Ebay and I think I'll enjoy this set too. I can still use my Vera stuff on weekend trips!
The husband and I are driving down to NC this weekend to meet my mom and drop off my doggies. I am going to have such a hard time leaving them. I mean they love staying with Nanny and Papa and they have so much fun while they are visiting but I've never been away from them for a whole month before. Well, I guess technically it's going to be longer than a month. The puppies spent two weeks with my parents back in 2005 when the husband and I were in St. Louis but a whole month? I am going to miss them so much! I think I'll probably cry when we have to leave them! Yes, I am a big ol baby when it comes to my dogs.
I wish I had some new photos to share or something cool to talk about but the truth is the last 2 weeks of my life have been incredibly boring. No thrift stores, no yard sales, nothing crafty - just trying to prepare for the trip out west and all of the details that go along with that. I'm hoping that I'll finish up some things today so I can come back and share some pictures soon! I'm thinking I should start a new blog for my trip. What do you think?
Moving along. It's now less than a week before I leave for my trip. You'd think I was well on my way to being ready to leave. Hahahaha. Yeah, back in April when I first found out about this trip I thought I'd be so prepared by this time. I thought I'd have all of my lists typed up and printed out, I thought I'd have all of my directions mapped out, I thought I'd know where I was staying each night on the drive out. And none of that has happened. Oh, I've spent plenty of time sitting here at the computer and trying to get some idea of what I want to see and do along the way. I've started typing my lists into Word and I guess I could go ahead and print those out but I just know I'll end up having several things I need to add to the lists at the last minute. Each morning I come into my office/scraproom and sit here and try to think of all the stuff I need to get done before I leave and I make a little list and I am still unable to focus on getting anything done!
It doesn't help that I still have quite a bit of shopping and just general running around I need to do before I can start packing. Oh, and I ordered new luggage Monday night after spending several hours that day at the mall and other stores trying to find something I liked. So, I'm waiting for that to come too. It's kind of hard to pack if I don't have luggage. I mean I *have* luggage but I want to use my new luggage. Look at how cute it is:
That's right. I bought polka-dot luggage. In pink. So, I'm waiting (not patiently!) for my pink luggage to arrive so I can start packing. Isn't it adorable?? I think it's so much better than plain ol black or blue luggage. How many people have pink polka dot luggage? Exactly! There are several other sets that match this that I'm going to ask for for Christmas so I can have some other options when I travel. I really wish my favorite Vera Bradly pattern hadn't been discontinued a few years ago or I could have more of that and I wouldn't even had to think about buying this set. But, alas, the pattern is no longer available except on Ebay and I think I'll enjoy this set too. I can still use my Vera stuff on weekend trips!
The husband and I are driving down to NC this weekend to meet my mom and drop off my doggies. I am going to have such a hard time leaving them. I mean they love staying with Nanny and Papa and they have so much fun while they are visiting but I've never been away from them for a whole month before. Well, I guess technically it's going to be longer than a month. The puppies spent two weeks with my parents back in 2005 when the husband and I were in St. Louis but a whole month? I am going to miss them so much! I think I'll probably cry when we have to leave them! Yes, I am a big ol baby when it comes to my dogs.
I wish I had some new photos to share or something cool to talk about but the truth is the last 2 weeks of my life have been incredibly boring. No thrift stores, no yard sales, nothing crafty - just trying to prepare for the trip out west and all of the details that go along with that. I'm hoping that I'll finish up some things today so I can come back and share some pictures soon! I'm thinking I should start a new blog for my trip. What do you think?
13 July 2008
Self Control
Yesterday there were two Estate Sales that were happening close to my house. As y'all know by now, Estate Sales are my favorite type of Saturday morning activity. Why then, you might ask, did I not go to either one of those? Well, I am trying to exhibit some self-control. That's why. Because the fact is that in two weeks I'll be driving across the country and I should be staying home (read: not spending money!) and concentrating on getting all of my stuff together for the trip out west. Did I mention the Estate Sales are going on today too? And that one of them is less than 2 miles from my house? Or that I'm having an awfully hard time not running right down the street to see what they have to offer? Yeah, this self-control thing is HARD!!
Yesterday, you know, the day I should've been out yard saling but wasn't, was not nearly as productive as I had hoped it would be. See, I thought by staying home and not going to the Estate Sales that the husband and I would get a lot of stuff accomplished here at home. Well, that just didn't happen. We went to Home Depot so the husband could pick up grass seed for the big ol dirt patch on the side of our house. And he mowed the lawn, and did some laundry. Yes, he does the laundry because shortly after moving into our house I was down in the basement and saw some camel crickets and I am terrified of those things. Never heard of camel crickets? Well, first, consider yourself blessed. And then go google "Camel Cricket" and then sit there with the heebie-jeebies after you see how scary those things look! So, until the husband can get the basement cricket-free and finished off, he's doing the laundry. I mean I will do laundry, I'll just have to go find a laundromat first because I refuse to go into the basement. Yes. I am aware of the fact that I'm a big ol chicken. I'm okay with that!!
This morning I woke up kind of late (thank you, doggies, for letting me sleep in!) and came downstairs and cleaned the kitchen and made a pot of coffee. The husband and I had to run to Walmart for a new spray nozzle thing for the garden hose. The husband was watering his new grass seed yesterday afternoon and yanked a little too hard on the nozzle/hose and it broke. Haaaahahahaha I was sitting on the rocker talking with him as he watered the lawn and he's tugging on the hose and then it was like the thing exploded on him. Water went everywhere. I was really trying my hardest to not crack up but I couldn't help it. It was funny. Of course he didn't think so because he was covered in icy cold water. But it was funny to me!
So, the husband is outside now finally pressure washing the rockers so we can get those painted. Hopefully they will dry quickly so we can paint them today. I'm staying inside for now because I'm allergic to heat! Haha not really but it sounds like a good excuse! We're going to work on clearing out the two guest rooms today. They are filled with boxes that we've brought up from the basement and are putting in the attic. I want this house cleaned up/cleared out and organized before I leave which means I have a lot of stuff to do over the next two weeks. Not only cleaning the house, but also packing all of my stuff, getting my car tuned up, driving to NC to meet my mom & drop off the dogs! Ugh, I am going to be so stressed out until the end of the month.
Well, I should probably get going so I can get those rooms done, huh? Hope y'all are having a great weekend!!
Yesterday, you know, the day I should've been out yard saling but wasn't, was not nearly as productive as I had hoped it would be. See, I thought by staying home and not going to the Estate Sales that the husband and I would get a lot of stuff accomplished here at home. Well, that just didn't happen. We went to Home Depot so the husband could pick up grass seed for the big ol dirt patch on the side of our house. And he mowed the lawn, and did some laundry. Yes, he does the laundry because shortly after moving into our house I was down in the basement and saw some camel crickets and I am terrified of those things. Never heard of camel crickets? Well, first, consider yourself blessed. And then go google "Camel Cricket" and then sit there with the heebie-jeebies after you see how scary those things look! So, until the husband can get the basement cricket-free and finished off, he's doing the laundry. I mean I will do laundry, I'll just have to go find a laundromat first because I refuse to go into the basement. Yes. I am aware of the fact that I'm a big ol chicken. I'm okay with that!!
This morning I woke up kind of late (thank you, doggies, for letting me sleep in!) and came downstairs and cleaned the kitchen and made a pot of coffee. The husband and I had to run to Walmart for a new spray nozzle thing for the garden hose. The husband was watering his new grass seed yesterday afternoon and yanked a little too hard on the nozzle/hose and it broke. Haaaahahahaha I was sitting on the rocker talking with him as he watered the lawn and he's tugging on the hose and then it was like the thing exploded on him. Water went everywhere. I was really trying my hardest to not crack up but I couldn't help it. It was funny. Of course he didn't think so because he was covered in icy cold water. But it was funny to me!
So, the husband is outside now finally pressure washing the rockers so we can get those painted. Hopefully they will dry quickly so we can paint them today. I'm staying inside for now because I'm allergic to heat! Haha not really but it sounds like a good excuse! We're going to work on clearing out the two guest rooms today. They are filled with boxes that we've brought up from the basement and are putting in the attic. I want this house cleaned up/cleared out and organized before I leave which means I have a lot of stuff to do over the next two weeks. Not only cleaning the house, but also packing all of my stuff, getting my car tuned up, driving to NC to meet my mom & drop off the dogs! Ugh, I am going to be so stressed out until the end of the month.
Well, I should probably get going so I can get those rooms done, huh? Hope y'all are having a great weekend!!
11 July 2008
Shopping is torture!
I've known this for a long while but shopping for clothing is pure HELL! I just spent almost 2 hours in a mall with hundreds of stores and I came out with nothing. Nothing at all. I went in search of shorts, which I always have a hard time finding ones that fit me and I thought for SURE that shopping at one of those big ol "Mills" malls would certainly have at least one store with clothing that would fit. Nope. Left completely empty-handed. I just looked at the mall's website. There are 34 stores under "Women's Apparel" and I walked in almost all of them. NOTHING FITS ME! I hate shopping for clothes. HATE.IT.
I was on the phone with my mother while driving to the mall and I was complaining about how hard it is to find things that fit. She and my sister both are built kind of like men - meaning they have no hips. Which works well for them because the can walk into any store and pick up things that fit. I have huge hips. I like my hips because I have that great hourglass figure but it is impossible to find clothing that fits my bottom half. So annoying. I should just make my own clothing and this could all be avoided! When the husband gets home today we're driving over to Kohl's because they are having a sale this weekend and I managed to find a couple of pairs of shorts there earlier this summer that actually fit okay. Please keep your fingers crossed that I find something that fits! Shopping is so depressing. Ugh!!
Moving along! I went to my favorite store yesterday - the Ghetto Thrift and it was kind of empty. I found a couple of pieces of Pyrex that were priced reasonably and I put them in my basket. After I finished looking through the rest of the store and didn't find anything else I wanted, I decided to put the Pyrex back on the shelf. Frankly, I don't need anymore Pyrex. I mean I *DO* but it's not anything I can't live without for now. I kept saying to myself 'this is money you could be spending while you're on vacation' which really helped me to not feel so bad about not buying the Pyrex!!
I went to my old favorite thrift store on Wednesday since the husband had to run into work for a few hours and then we were going to the commissary. This is the place I used to find fabulous deals. I was quite disappointed this time around though because there weren't any deals to be had. There was plenty of clothing but I don't really buy clothing at thrift stores. Not because I don't *want* to buy it, but usually I can't find anything that fits! See my rant above. And even if I do find something in the clothing section that I might like, this thrift store has no dressing rooms. I am not buying something I cannot try on. So, yeah, that trip to the thrift store was disappointing too!
I guess I might take a little break from thrifting for the next couple of weeks. I have entirely too much to do before I leave for Wyoming and there are going to be plenty of thrift stores and flea markets on my drive out, I am sure! Might as well save my money for those places, huh? I'll still be hitting up yard sales and estate sales though. I mean I can't go completely cold turkey on all my junking habits!!
Well, I should get going. I might have company coming to spend the night and my house looks like a disaster. I was hoping the husband and I would be able to finish all of our projects around this place over the weekend but my friend sent me a text saying she might come over tonight and then the Mother in Law's birthday is tomorrow and the husband forgot all about it until I said something to him today. SO, looks like we might be driving over to West Virginia tomorrow to see her. So much for getting this place put together!
I was on the phone with my mother while driving to the mall and I was complaining about how hard it is to find things that fit. She and my sister both are built kind of like men - meaning they have no hips. Which works well for them because the can walk into any store and pick up things that fit. I have huge hips. I like my hips because I have that great hourglass figure but it is impossible to find clothing that fits my bottom half. So annoying. I should just make my own clothing and this could all be avoided! When the husband gets home today we're driving over to Kohl's because they are having a sale this weekend and I managed to find a couple of pairs of shorts there earlier this summer that actually fit okay. Please keep your fingers crossed that I find something that fits! Shopping is so depressing. Ugh!!
Moving along! I went to my favorite store yesterday - the Ghetto Thrift and it was kind of empty. I found a couple of pieces of Pyrex that were priced reasonably and I put them in my basket. After I finished looking through the rest of the store and didn't find anything else I wanted, I decided to put the Pyrex back on the shelf. Frankly, I don't need anymore Pyrex. I mean I *DO* but it's not anything I can't live without for now. I kept saying to myself 'this is money you could be spending while you're on vacation' which really helped me to not feel so bad about not buying the Pyrex!!
I went to my old favorite thrift store on Wednesday since the husband had to run into work for a few hours and then we were going to the commissary. This is the place I used to find fabulous deals. I was quite disappointed this time around though because there weren't any deals to be had. There was plenty of clothing but I don't really buy clothing at thrift stores. Not because I don't *want* to buy it, but usually I can't find anything that fits! See my rant above. And even if I do find something in the clothing section that I might like, this thrift store has no dressing rooms. I am not buying something I cannot try on. So, yeah, that trip to the thrift store was disappointing too!
I guess I might take a little break from thrifting for the next couple of weeks. I have entirely too much to do before I leave for Wyoming and there are going to be plenty of thrift stores and flea markets on my drive out, I am sure! Might as well save my money for those places, huh? I'll still be hitting up yard sales and estate sales though. I mean I can't go completely cold turkey on all my junking habits!!
Well, I should get going. I might have company coming to spend the night and my house looks like a disaster. I was hoping the husband and I would be able to finish all of our projects around this place over the weekend but my friend sent me a text saying she might come over tonight and then the Mother in Law's birthday is tomorrow and the husband forgot all about it until I said something to him today. SO, looks like we might be driving over to West Virginia tomorrow to see her. So much for getting this place put together!
08 July 2008
I have a confession.
I am a compulsive list maker. And I swear, the older I get, the more I am convinced that without a list, I'd never get anything done. I make lists for everything. From regular grocery lists to lists of things I need to do around the house to projects I need to start/finish- it's never ending!
My latest lists are all centered around my big ol adventure I'll be taking in just a couple of weeks. My husband found out in April that he'd be going out to Wyoming for a month this summer. And that I could come along, too. So, as you can well imagine, I've spent the last 3 months making lists!! When I found out that I could come along I immediately decided that I wanted to make a road trip. Sure, I could just as easily fly out, and it would probably be cheaper to do that, but then I'd miss so many great things along the way.
I've searched Google so many times for things to see, places to stay, routes to take that my mind is absolutely spinning with all the possibilities. I've made so many lists- things I need to remember to pack, the mileage between big cities, Mom & Pop motels along the way. And here I sit, 3 weeks before my journey is to start and I am so overwhelmed by all of the information that I can't even decide which route I'm taking to drive out to Wyoming.
When I first told my Momma of my plans I think she thought I was either joking or insane. Maybe a bit of both. I guess she's just worried about me driving over 4,000 miles round-trip alone. I can understand that. I'm a little nervous myself. But I am also so excited that I find myself actually squealing out loud when I discover another cool place to visit! Yes, squeal. Like a pig. I'm not perfect, okay?! Anyhow, my Momma also wishes she could take time off from her job because she'd go out with me. She can't take that much time off though so she's going to watch my two doggies for me while we're gone. My doggies *LOVE* staying at Nanny & PaPa's house. Love.It. They get away with so much crap down there- I can't say I blame them.
Now I'm just waiting for some actual concrete dates from my husband, and he's waiting for dates from the people at the Vice President's office. And this is the military we're dealing with and as anyone that has ever been affiliated with the military will tell you, nothing is ever set in stone. Basically, I'll probably find out the actual dates about a week before we're supposed to be in Wyoming but hopefully it will be sooner than that.
My plans for now are to drive down to NC a few days before I'm supposed to leave & meet my mom to drop off the dogs. Then I'll come back up here to MD, load my car with all of my junk, check my eleven billion lists and then set off for my month long vacation. Well, I guess it's going to be longer than a month. I'm taking about 5 days to drive out there. I'm allowing myself plenty of time to stop along the way so if I see any concrete tee-pees or corn mazes that I simply must check out, well, I'll have time to do that.
And then last night at dinner the husband asked me what my plans were in September, after we got back from Wyoming. Uh, I didn't really have any plans. He told me that as soon as they get back from Wyoming that they'd be leaving again for 8-10 days to go overseas. So, now my plans are to take a different route from Wyoming and head to SC from there. Instead of coming back to MD first and then driving down to SC to pick up my puppies. Ack! That means I can see even MORE of the country than I thought I would. Plus that extends my adventure another week or 2 at least! Eeeek! (yes, that's me squealing!)
So, that's that. I still have so, so much to do. I need to get my car tuned up, I need to actually sit down and (gasp!) make a list of everything I need to get done over the next three weeks, I need to make reservations for the places I'm going to stay. Three weeks really isn't that much time to do all of the stuff I need to but I think it'll all work out. I hope.
Anyone have any fabulous ideas of places I need to add to the "MUST SEE" section of my lists? I haven't decided yet if I'll take I-80 or I-70 but the difference is only about 100 miles. I'll probably base it off of which route has more things to see along the way. Any suggestions? Anyone ever driven cross-country? Any tips you can offer? Thank you in advance for any suggestions/ideas/tips! I'm hoping I'll have internet access while I'm gone so I can bring you all along on the journey!
My latest lists are all centered around my big ol adventure I'll be taking in just a couple of weeks. My husband found out in April that he'd be going out to Wyoming for a month this summer. And that I could come along, too. So, as you can well imagine, I've spent the last 3 months making lists!! When I found out that I could come along I immediately decided that I wanted to make a road trip. Sure, I could just as easily fly out, and it would probably be cheaper to do that, but then I'd miss so many great things along the way.
I've searched Google so many times for things to see, places to stay, routes to take that my mind is absolutely spinning with all the possibilities. I've made so many lists- things I need to remember to pack, the mileage between big cities, Mom & Pop motels along the way. And here I sit, 3 weeks before my journey is to start and I am so overwhelmed by all of the information that I can't even decide which route I'm taking to drive out to Wyoming.
When I first told my Momma of my plans I think she thought I was either joking or insane. Maybe a bit of both. I guess she's just worried about me driving over 4,000 miles round-trip alone. I can understand that. I'm a little nervous myself. But I am also so excited that I find myself actually squealing out loud when I discover another cool place to visit! Yes, squeal. Like a pig. I'm not perfect, okay?! Anyhow, my Momma also wishes she could take time off from her job because she'd go out with me. She can't take that much time off though so she's going to watch my two doggies for me while we're gone. My doggies *LOVE* staying at Nanny & PaPa's house. Love.It. They get away with so much crap down there- I can't say I blame them.
Now I'm just waiting for some actual concrete dates from my husband, and he's waiting for dates from the people at the Vice President's office. And this is the military we're dealing with and as anyone that has ever been affiliated with the military will tell you, nothing is ever set in stone. Basically, I'll probably find out the actual dates about a week before we're supposed to be in Wyoming but hopefully it will be sooner than that.
My plans for now are to drive down to NC a few days before I'm supposed to leave & meet my mom to drop off the dogs. Then I'll come back up here to MD, load my car with all of my junk, check my eleven billion lists and then set off for my month long vacation. Well, I guess it's going to be longer than a month. I'm taking about 5 days to drive out there. I'm allowing myself plenty of time to stop along the way so if I see any concrete tee-pees or corn mazes that I simply must check out, well, I'll have time to do that.
And then last night at dinner the husband asked me what my plans were in September, after we got back from Wyoming. Uh, I didn't really have any plans. He told me that as soon as they get back from Wyoming that they'd be leaving again for 8-10 days to go overseas. So, now my plans are to take a different route from Wyoming and head to SC from there. Instead of coming back to MD first and then driving down to SC to pick up my puppies. Ack! That means I can see even MORE of the country than I thought I would. Plus that extends my adventure another week or 2 at least! Eeeek! (yes, that's me squealing!)
So, that's that. I still have so, so much to do. I need to get my car tuned up, I need to actually sit down and (gasp!) make a list of everything I need to get done over the next three weeks, I need to make reservations for the places I'm going to stay. Three weeks really isn't that much time to do all of the stuff I need to but I think it'll all work out. I hope.
Anyone have any fabulous ideas of places I need to add to the "MUST SEE" section of my lists? I haven't decided yet if I'll take I-80 or I-70 but the difference is only about 100 miles. I'll probably base it off of which route has more things to see along the way. Any suggestions? Anyone ever driven cross-country? Any tips you can offer? Thank you in advance for any suggestions/ideas/tips! I'm hoping I'll have internet access while I'm gone so I can bring you all along on the journey!
06 July 2008
Vintage Pyrex Coffe Mugs (or, further proof I was born 3 decades too late!)
Now, I'm sure you are asking yourself what does vintage Pyrex mugs have to do with being born too late. Lemme share with you this picture:
This is one of several Pyrex mugs that I own that have this logo on it. I own tons of Pyrex mugs, but this is the one I used today. The logo is from the Bradford House and until I googled this morning, I had no idea what the Bradford House was. I mean, I assumed it was some sort of restaurant, I just didn't know where it was. Google had a couple of links and I soon realized that Bradford House restaurants were the name of the lunch counters inside the old Grant stores. I'd never heard of Grant stores either, but from what I can gather they were either Five & Dimes or Department stores. Some of the links I found would say one thing, some the other. I guess maybe it depended on the location of the store as to whether it was a Five & Dime or a Dept. Store.
Anyhow, so as I'm sitting here at my desk, sipping my coffee from my fabulous little mug and researching Grant stores, I started remembering the old Kress store we had in my hometown while I was a small child. Now, this was early to mid 80s, and even then it felt like that store was older than dirt!! But I loved going there with my Momma. She had worked at Kress for a while before she and my Daddy got married. I remember her taking us "downtown", usually with my Grandma and we'd go to Kress. They still had a lunch counter back then and I remember eating there a couple of times. I have been craving their Grilled Cheese Sandwich all.morning! Even now, 20+ years later, I can still remember how delicious their food was.
Once, I guess I was about 15 or so, my family went to Daytona Beach for Thanksgiving. My Daddy is all into classic cars and Daytona has a huge show every Thanksgiving called the Turkey Rod Run. Anyhow, we were down there for the weekend and my sister and our friend were walking around and we found a Woolworth's. That store still had it's lunch counter too! I loved shopping there that weekend.
I'm not sure what happened to Kress, but it probably disappeared like all of the other stores of its kind. Now, mega marts and shopping malls that have hundreds of stores that will take hours to walk through have taken over. I really wish we still had stores like Kress & Woolworth's. I know I'd much rather shop at a place like that than having to deal with eleven billion people at a crowded Wal-Mart. See, I really should've been born several decades ago!
Anyway, aside from reminiscing about the past this morning I have been sort of productive. I cleared out some of the junk in our dining room. Most of it belongs to my husband and he'll be going through that tomorrow when he gets home. I found my huge box of vintage souvenir plates that I have yet to hang on the wall and sorted through those and tried to decide in which order I wanted them on the walls. It's a huge wall so I have more options than in my old houses. They're in stacks on top of my buffet because I cannot reach the wall to hang them. That's another project for my husband this week!
The weather is still humid and cloudy and I'm going to forgo shopping at the thrift stores today. I'm just going to stay here and try to get my house a little more organized because I am starting to get tired of living with such chaos. I mean we've been living here for two and a half months already and it still isn't presentable. It is driving me crazy- it's never taken us this long to get settled. So, that's what I'm going to work on today- right after I take a little nap! Hope y'all are having a great day too!
This is one of several Pyrex mugs that I own that have this logo on it. I own tons of Pyrex mugs, but this is the one I used today. The logo is from the Bradford House and until I googled this morning, I had no idea what the Bradford House was. I mean, I assumed it was some sort of restaurant, I just didn't know where it was. Google had a couple of links and I soon realized that Bradford House restaurants were the name of the lunch counters inside the old Grant stores. I'd never heard of Grant stores either, but from what I can gather they were either Five & Dimes or Department stores. Some of the links I found would say one thing, some the other. I guess maybe it depended on the location of the store as to whether it was a Five & Dime or a Dept. Store.
Anyhow, so as I'm sitting here at my desk, sipping my coffee from my fabulous little mug and researching Grant stores, I started remembering the old Kress store we had in my hometown while I was a small child. Now, this was early to mid 80s, and even then it felt like that store was older than dirt!! But I loved going there with my Momma. She had worked at Kress for a while before she and my Daddy got married. I remember her taking us "downtown", usually with my Grandma and we'd go to Kress. They still had a lunch counter back then and I remember eating there a couple of times. I have been craving their Grilled Cheese Sandwich all.morning! Even now, 20+ years later, I can still remember how delicious their food was.
Once, I guess I was about 15 or so, my family went to Daytona Beach for Thanksgiving. My Daddy is all into classic cars and Daytona has a huge show every Thanksgiving called the Turkey Rod Run. Anyhow, we were down there for the weekend and my sister and our friend were walking around and we found a Woolworth's. That store still had it's lunch counter too! I loved shopping there that weekend.
I'm not sure what happened to Kress, but it probably disappeared like all of the other stores of its kind. Now, mega marts and shopping malls that have hundreds of stores that will take hours to walk through have taken over. I really wish we still had stores like Kress & Woolworth's. I know I'd much rather shop at a place like that than having to deal with eleven billion people at a crowded Wal-Mart. See, I really should've been born several decades ago!
Anyway, aside from reminiscing about the past this morning I have been sort of productive. I cleared out some of the junk in our dining room. Most of it belongs to my husband and he'll be going through that tomorrow when he gets home. I found my huge box of vintage souvenir plates that I have yet to hang on the wall and sorted through those and tried to decide in which order I wanted them on the walls. It's a huge wall so I have more options than in my old houses. They're in stacks on top of my buffet because I cannot reach the wall to hang them. That's another project for my husband this week!
The weather is still humid and cloudy and I'm going to forgo shopping at the thrift stores today. I'm just going to stay here and try to get my house a little more organized because I am starting to get tired of living with such chaos. I mean we've been living here for two and a half months already and it still isn't presentable. It is driving me crazy- it's never taken us this long to get settled. So, that's what I'm going to work on today- right after I take a little nap! Hope y'all are having a great day too!
05 July 2008
Retail Therapy Saturday
Well, yesterday was a total bust! It started to get pretty cloudy around noon but I figured I'd go downtown anyhow in hopes that it wouldn't be a complete washout. It was very overcast but I didn't mind because that kept it from being too hot. It was still quite humid but at least it wasn't so sunny. I made my way to the Park & Ride Lot, caught the train into the city and then found my way down to the Inner Harbor. It was my first time down there so I wasn't really sure where I was going. I found the Harbor (and some shade, thank you Jesus!) and listened to a band play. I read online that they were supposed to be singing Motown/Doo Wop music so that was what made me really want to go downtown in the first place. The group really wasn't that good. Ten minutes of singing songs about Sesame Street, Barney and Elmo was so ANNOYING!
After the band was finished it was around 5:00 and another band was supposed to come on stage and play Top 40, which really isn't my thing, but it was something to do until the fireworks were supposed to start. Well, it started raining about 5:15, steady rain, and I decided I just didn't want to see fireworks that badly. So I started the long walk back to the train station. Now, in reality, it's only a couple of blocks, but the genius that I am, I decided to pack 40 pounds worth of crap into my backpack yesterday and I was really wondering if I was INSANE as I was schlepping my soaked, sore self back to the train.
Anyhow, I stayed inside the rest of the night, sulking and feeling sorry for myself since not only did I not get to see the fireworks but I was spending the night alone! I felt much better about my decision to come home after I turned on PBS and saw the live show from DC and all of those poor souls, soaking wet and standing around in little plastic trash bag ponchos. They looked miserable! I was quite comfy in my bed with my laptop and my doggies.
Today started out the same way as yesterday ended, soggy and humid. I really missed not going yard saling today but I made up for it by hitting a couple of thrift stores and an antique store. I drove over to one of my favorite Goodwill's. It's about 12 miles from here but it's really worth the drive (and the gas) because I always find good things there for not a lot of money. I've noticed though that they are starting to raise their prices on housewares which isn't good because I won't shop there if it gets out of hand!
It was insanely crowded when I arrived, which almost made me reconsider going in but I'm so glad I did. I found some fabulous things- like this little vintage suitcase for $2. It's a Grasshopper brand, and I don't think I've ever seen one of these before. Now, I don't really *need* another suitcase, especially one I'll never actually use (because I use my Vera Bradley bags now!) but I couldn't resist buying this. Why you might ask? Because it's plaid. More specifically, it's the Black Watch Tartan. Now, my last name (well, maiden but it's still my last because I didn't change my name when I got married) is Keith. And I love my last name & all of the history that goes along with it. But, it's very hard to find things in the Keith Tartan unless you're either at an actual Tartan shop or unless you are ordering it online. So, the Black Watch Tartan is sort of a close match to the Keith Tartan and it's much more readily available.
Suitcase:
Keith Tartan:
Black Watch Tartan:
I also snagged 8 (yes, eight) rolls of this Sasheen Ribbon. Each spool has 75 yards on it and I have no idea what I'll do with 600 yards of this ribbon but it's old and it was only 25 cents for each spool!
I also picked up this shelf paper, with a decorative edging for 50 cents. Personally, I think it's kind of an ugly pattern- I'm not much into the oranges/golds/browns of the 70s but it was still in the original packaging so I had to have it. Maybe I'll sell it but for now it's here at my house and it doesn't really take up much room!
I saw this gift wrap in a bin shoved under a table. I can't tell if it's really vintage or not but it was only 50 cents so into the cart it went.
As I was checking out, I saw this cute little Mixer Cover. I love that it's still in the original packaging. Also, it was 50 cents and I felt it needed to come home with me. I doubt I'll use it but it was too cute to pass up.
Lastly, I found this teapot. I don't care for teapots really, but my Momma has one exactly like this and has had it for as long as I can remember. Probably since before I was even born. When she was up here in Maryland in May we went to a thrift store and as we were checking out, she saw this exact same teapot. It matched the one she had at her house and she said she was buying it to give to my aunt. I don't know which aunt. I have 3 on her side of the family. Anyhow, so this teapot today was only $2 so I bought it. I called her and told her she could have it if she wanted it. Maybe I'll find another one and then she can give one to each of her sisters!!
After the Goodwill, I went across the street to an antique store. Rarely do I buy anything from antique stores because to me, the thrill is in the hunt and I'm always hunting a good bargain. I will buy vintage postcards and old Mason jars from those places but I mostly stop in to see what everyone else is selling. It's so reassuring to me to walk into a shop and see so many things that I have here at home. It proves to me (and to my husband) that all of this "junk" I pick up at thrift stores actually has some value! Like a vintage kitchen stool I saw today at the antique store, you know, the ones that have the seat that lifts up and stairs under it- yeah, I bought one for $12 a couple of years ago and I saw one today at the antique store that was for sale for $85! I guess I am too thrifty to actually buy something like that at an antique store. But like I said, it's nice to know all of my treasures are actually worth more than I paid for them!
Well, that's enough for today! I'm hoping the weather fairs off tomorrow because I am tired of the rainy, gloomy, humid stuff! I want to go into DC and check out the baby flamingos that were born at the zoo this past spring. If the weather doesn't cooperate I guess I can always go to some other thrift stores tomorrow!
After the band was finished it was around 5:00 and another band was supposed to come on stage and play Top 40, which really isn't my thing, but it was something to do until the fireworks were supposed to start. Well, it started raining about 5:15, steady rain, and I decided I just didn't want to see fireworks that badly. So I started the long walk back to the train station. Now, in reality, it's only a couple of blocks, but the genius that I am, I decided to pack 40 pounds worth of crap into my backpack yesterday and I was really wondering if I was INSANE as I was schlepping my soaked, sore self back to the train.
Anyhow, I stayed inside the rest of the night, sulking and feeling sorry for myself since not only did I not get to see the fireworks but I was spending the night alone! I felt much better about my decision to come home after I turned on PBS and saw the live show from DC and all of those poor souls, soaking wet and standing around in little plastic trash bag ponchos. They looked miserable! I was quite comfy in my bed with my laptop and my doggies.
Today started out the same way as yesterday ended, soggy and humid. I really missed not going yard saling today but I made up for it by hitting a couple of thrift stores and an antique store. I drove over to one of my favorite Goodwill's. It's about 12 miles from here but it's really worth the drive (and the gas) because I always find good things there for not a lot of money. I've noticed though that they are starting to raise their prices on housewares which isn't good because I won't shop there if it gets out of hand!
It was insanely crowded when I arrived, which almost made me reconsider going in but I'm so glad I did. I found some fabulous things- like this little vintage suitcase for $2. It's a Grasshopper brand, and I don't think I've ever seen one of these before. Now, I don't really *need* another suitcase, especially one I'll never actually use (because I use my Vera Bradley bags now!) but I couldn't resist buying this. Why you might ask? Because it's plaid. More specifically, it's the Black Watch Tartan. Now, my last name (well, maiden but it's still my last because I didn't change my name when I got married) is Keith. And I love my last name & all of the history that goes along with it. But, it's very hard to find things in the Keith Tartan unless you're either at an actual Tartan shop or unless you are ordering it online. So, the Black Watch Tartan is sort of a close match to the Keith Tartan and it's much more readily available.
Suitcase:
Keith Tartan:
Black Watch Tartan:
I also snagged 8 (yes, eight) rolls of this Sasheen Ribbon. Each spool has 75 yards on it and I have no idea what I'll do with 600 yards of this ribbon but it's old and it was only 25 cents for each spool!
I also picked up this shelf paper, with a decorative edging for 50 cents. Personally, I think it's kind of an ugly pattern- I'm not much into the oranges/golds/browns of the 70s but it was still in the original packaging so I had to have it. Maybe I'll sell it but for now it's here at my house and it doesn't really take up much room!
I saw this gift wrap in a bin shoved under a table. I can't tell if it's really vintage or not but it was only 50 cents so into the cart it went.
As I was checking out, I saw this cute little Mixer Cover. I love that it's still in the original packaging. Also, it was 50 cents and I felt it needed to come home with me. I doubt I'll use it but it was too cute to pass up.
Lastly, I found this teapot. I don't care for teapots really, but my Momma has one exactly like this and has had it for as long as I can remember. Probably since before I was even born. When she was up here in Maryland in May we went to a thrift store and as we were checking out, she saw this exact same teapot. It matched the one she had at her house and she said she was buying it to give to my aunt. I don't know which aunt. I have 3 on her side of the family. Anyhow, so this teapot today was only $2 so I bought it. I called her and told her she could have it if she wanted it. Maybe I'll find another one and then she can give one to each of her sisters!!
After the Goodwill, I went across the street to an antique store. Rarely do I buy anything from antique stores because to me, the thrill is in the hunt and I'm always hunting a good bargain. I will buy vintage postcards and old Mason jars from those places but I mostly stop in to see what everyone else is selling. It's so reassuring to me to walk into a shop and see so many things that I have here at home. It proves to me (and to my husband) that all of this "junk" I pick up at thrift stores actually has some value! Like a vintage kitchen stool I saw today at the antique store, you know, the ones that have the seat that lifts up and stairs under it- yeah, I bought one for $12 a couple of years ago and I saw one today at the antique store that was for sale for $85! I guess I am too thrifty to actually buy something like that at an antique store. But like I said, it's nice to know all of my treasures are actually worth more than I paid for them!
Well, that's enough for today! I'm hoping the weather fairs off tomorrow because I am tired of the rainy, gloomy, humid stuff! I want to go into DC and check out the baby flamingos that were born at the zoo this past spring. If the weather doesn't cooperate I guess I can always go to some other thrift stores tomorrow!
04 July 2008
Happy Birthday America!
Well, I saw the husband off this morning as he left the house at 4:30, which I might add is entirely too early to be waking up, but he had to be on base around 5:30. So, I got up and saw him off and then managed to drop an expandable baton on my big toe as I was gathering my stuff to head back upstairs to bed. When the husband is gone, I like to keep my purse, keys, cell & house phone and one of his military issued expandable batons by my bed. I know that sounds crazy but I've probably watched one too many episodes of CSI and now I get all freaked out at night while he's away.
So, back to dropping a pound and a half of steel on my toe. That hurt like a you-know-what! And there I was, about to black out from the pain, at 4:30 in the morning. The husband was trying his best to not laugh at me but I guess it was sort of funny. I hobbled back upstairs with an ice pack and the dogs and I went back to sleep for a couple of hours. My toe is a lovely shade of blue now!
The Husband is gone until Monday and as usual, he's gone over a holiday weekend. He was gone for Memorial Day weekend too and will probably be gone at Christmas/New Years and maybe Thanksgiving too. It all depends on where the Vice President decides to spend his holidays. It's kind of lonely being home all alone in a city where I really know no-one but I've somehow managed to get through five years of this lifestyle so far. I really do like our little military life we're living but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't counting down the years to retirement. Of course I'm sure when he retires and is home all the freaking time I'm going to be wishing he'd go somewhere for a few days!
This is our first year here in our new house and I'm going to go into Baltimore later today and check out the festivities. There are some bands playing near the Inner Harbor and then the Naval Academy band will play right before the fireworks at 9:30. That's if the weather will hold out. Last year the husband and I went into Annapolis for their fireworks. It rained that evening but they still managed to get in the fireworks. I'm kind of nervous about going into Baltimore alone but there should be a lot of people which will make me feel safer. And I'm heading down there around 2:30 this afternoon so at least it'll still be daylight so I can see where I'm going! I had thought about going to watch the Oriole's game first and then heading over to see the fireworks but then I read that there was a band playing Motown music from 3-5:30 and I'd rather listen to that than watch baseball.
What are you all doing today? I hope everyone has a safe & happy July 4th, please don't drink & drive!!
01 July 2008
My Bucket List
Hey y'all. Lisa over at Confessions of an Apron Queen had a fabulous idea for all of us to come up with our very own "bucket lists". You know, a list of things you want to do before you kick the bucket. Well, I probably haven't shared this with you all yet, but I'm planning on living to be 122 so I should have sufficient time to complete most, if not all, the items on my bucket list. Well, that's assuming that the husband and I strike it rich somewhere along the way and can afford to do all of this stuff!
1) Have a couple of kiddos. I'm really not a huge kid person but I'm almost 30 and it's probably time I get serious about this! So, I need at least 1 but I'd be happy with like 5 or 6, too!
2) Travel out west. I've been up and down the east coast of the US and Canada but never past the Midwest. I'm actually going to do this later this summer as I embark on a 6-week vacation to Wyoming! I.cannot.wait!
3) Travel to Europe. The husband is in the military so maybe we'll even get orders overseas. I really want to see Scotland. And Ireland. And a couple of other countries too- like Belgium where I can hand-pick my Leonida's Chocolates, instead of relying on the husband to bring those back for me.
4) Live in Alaska. Before we had orders here to Maryland, I really, really wanted the husband to try to get orders to Alaska. If we can't move there, I'll settle for at least visiting.
5) Live somewhere that has actual snow for a good portion of the winter. I want to live somewhere that it actually feels like Christmas- with lots of snow, and ice skating and sleigh rides.
6) Experience fall in New England. Fall is my favorite season and for years I've been wanting to go to New Hampshire and Vermont to see the leaves changing color.
7) Buy a vintage camper- like a little Serro Scotty, or a Shasta or even an Airstream and travel the country.
8) Own a little Mom & Pop motel in the mountains of NC or TN. Those are my favorite types of places to stay at & I just think owning one would be so cool!
9) Finally buy a vacation home in the mountains. We talked about it back in 2004, even went and looked at places but our plans changed. I think we're both kicking ourselves right about now that we didn't go through with it.
10) Have a booth in an antique shop where I can sell some of the cute, vintage things that are starting to take over my house!
There are a couple of more but I think that's plenty for now.
Go check out the other people that are sharing their bucket lists too at:
1) Have a couple of kiddos. I'm really not a huge kid person but I'm almost 30 and it's probably time I get serious about this! So, I need at least 1 but I'd be happy with like 5 or 6, too!
2) Travel out west. I've been up and down the east coast of the US and Canada but never past the Midwest. I'm actually going to do this later this summer as I embark on a 6-week vacation to Wyoming! I.cannot.wait!
3) Travel to Europe. The husband is in the military so maybe we'll even get orders overseas. I really want to see Scotland. And Ireland. And a couple of other countries too- like Belgium where I can hand-pick my Leonida's Chocolates, instead of relying on the husband to bring those back for me.
4) Live in Alaska. Before we had orders here to Maryland, I really, really wanted the husband to try to get orders to Alaska. If we can't move there, I'll settle for at least visiting.
5) Live somewhere that has actual snow for a good portion of the winter. I want to live somewhere that it actually feels like Christmas- with lots of snow, and ice skating and sleigh rides.
6) Experience fall in New England. Fall is my favorite season and for years I've been wanting to go to New Hampshire and Vermont to see the leaves changing color.
7) Buy a vintage camper- like a little Serro Scotty, or a Shasta or even an Airstream and travel the country.
8) Own a little Mom & Pop motel in the mountains of NC or TN. Those are my favorite types of places to stay at & I just think owning one would be so cool!
9) Finally buy a vacation home in the mountains. We talked about it back in 2004, even went and looked at places but our plans changed. I think we're both kicking ourselves right about now that we didn't go through with it.
10) Have a booth in an antique shop where I can sell some of the cute, vintage things that are starting to take over my house!
There are a couple of more but I think that's plenty for now.
Go check out the other people that are sharing their bucket lists too at:
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