I've been so busy since I got here last Saturday but I did find 2 thrift stores here in town that I'm going to check out tomorrow.
Hope you all are having great weeks!
06 August 2008
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?
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