Hmm. What a weekend. Let's share some highlights, shall we.
The good: that delish Chinese buffet on Friday night, a tasty sour cream doughnut Saturday morning whilst en-route to a 50% off Estate Sale, finding an entire box of vintage cocktail napkins with adorable Scottie dogs while at the Estate Sale, a wonderful Saturday afternoon with my honey and looking at this amazingly huge rental house, weather warm enough to grill out Saturday night, a good dinner with the honey and my bff, our doggies playing together nicely.
The bad: missing the other estate sale because I was too lazy to drive there and I was kind of ticked off that the pictures they'd posted online had the prices blurred in them. Stupid!
The ugly: waking up yesterday morning after having tossed and turned all night long the night before and going to retrieve some things out of my car before leaving w/ the honey for our day only to find that my damn car had been broken into during the night on Saturday and that my wallet, gps, spare keys, fleece jacket, car charger and cheap costume jewelry ring were taken. OMG!! What a freaking nightmare. Yes, it was stupid to leave the gps in my car, it was stupid to leave my spare keys in my car and it was incredibly stupid to leave my wallet in my car but it's MY CAR and it was in MY DRIVEWAY and people should not be on MY PROPERTY! Ugh. Thankfully, the wallet wasn't my current one so the only thing these thieving fools took were expired cards and carbon copies of checks but still. I'm most worried that they'll come back and try to steal my car (although I have to say that with the cost of gas these days, I'm kind of wanting a different car anyhow!!) so I went out and bought a club to put on the steering wheel. I won't feel safe unless I get the car rekeyed but if I do that, my insurance is going to go up.
And I think this has motivated me to start emptying my car every time I come home -- no more tucking the gps down inside the console. Well, that would be hard to do considering I no longer have a gps but you know what I mean. The good news is that the gps is locked and will be of no use to them if they try to use it. Also, I registered my GPS on the Garmin website when I first got it so at least I had a serial number to give to the cops. I really hope these idiots try to pawn it and that they catch these bastards!!
So, how was your weekend? Hopefully better than mine. Well, better than my Sunday anyway. I need to get pics of the cute stuff I picked up at the sale on Saturday -- you are going to love these paper napkins!
28 February 2011
15 February 2011
Love - a Day Late
Happy Valentine's Day my sweet vintage friends. That's friends that like vintage, not friends that are vintage. Although I think most of us classify as being vintage, at least according to Etsy's 20+ year policy. Anyway, I hope you all had a wonderful day full of celebrating with the ones you love yesterday. I certainly did!! Well, it was low-key with a trip to Target for some petroleum jelly for my chapped nose and some Johnson's Vapor Bath and then a little dinner at the best Mexican place in MD (which isn't nearly as good as the places back in SC but it works in a pinch). Oh, and I managed to do some thrifting yesterday too which was a nice treat since I haven't done any since the first week of January.
Here's a picture of my honey & I at Halloween. I said I would come back and update with a picture in November but I never did. So, now you're getting one. I'm always late. You guys should be used to this by now!
So, I've finally added a couple of items to the other blog Vintage Whimsy Tag Sale. I have lots of other goodies I need to add soon but man, that's time consuming doing it that way.
Oh, the weather has been lovely here the last couple of days. Yesterday was 60 degrees. Um, that caused the remaining snow to melt. I wasn't too thrilled about that but once I was outside in the warmth, I stopped caring that we've had a snow deficit all winter!! And it's supposed to be 70 on Friday. I'm definitely breaking out the flip flops & short sleeves for that day.
I need opinions from all of you lovely experienced people. Do you think it's possible to make a living selling vintage? Of course, everyone opinions will vary because 'making a living' is subjective depending on people's lifestyles, bills, expenses etc. I ask this because I'm still looking for a freaking full time job. It's been 9 full months of searching, applying, interviewing, getting stressed and discouraged. Frankly, I'm about to give up!! I really think that if I were to focus, really focus, I might be able to do this vintage thing and make at least as much as I would at a part time job. I just don't know. I'd love for some people that have been in the business or been selling for a while to email me and let me know what you think. You don't have to comment on here, you can email me at shopatwhimsy@aol.com .
Anyway, I spent the entire day sitting here at my house waiting for Fed-Ex to deliver a tire for my car. A tire, which I might add, was ordered on the 3rd and being shipped from California. They tried to deliver on Saturday and I wasn't here so of course they left the little sticky note saying that they'd try again. Well, I checked the tracking this morning at 6:30 and it was already on the truck for delivery. I waited all freaking day, making my bathroom breaks as quick as possible lest I miss them again and would you know that stupid tire didn't show up until 5:15?? The delivery man was all 'i hope you didn't wait all day for me' and I was like 'actually I did' and he's like 'sorry. they scheduled you as my last delivery. I've already made 175 deliveries today'. UUUUUUUUUUUGH! But hey, at least my tire is here!!
So, I'm wired on coffee and I'm going to find something to occupy my time tonight. Maybe I'll do some listings. Maybe I'll just sit here and read some blogs. Yeah, that's more likely. Oh, and for the sake of not having only one picture in this post, I'm going to add one from Christmas Eve when the honey and I went to church.
Here's a picture of my honey & I at Halloween. I said I would come back and update with a picture in November but I never did. So, now you're getting one. I'm always late. You guys should be used to this by now!
So, I've finally added a couple of items to the other blog Vintage Whimsy Tag Sale. I have lots of other goodies I need to add soon but man, that's time consuming doing it that way.
Oh, the weather has been lovely here the last couple of days. Yesterday was 60 degrees. Um, that caused the remaining snow to melt. I wasn't too thrilled about that but once I was outside in the warmth, I stopped caring that we've had a snow deficit all winter!! And it's supposed to be 70 on Friday. I'm definitely breaking out the flip flops & short sleeves for that day.
I need opinions from all of you lovely experienced people. Do you think it's possible to make a living selling vintage? Of course, everyone opinions will vary because 'making a living' is subjective depending on people's lifestyles, bills, expenses etc. I ask this because I'm still looking for a freaking full time job. It's been 9 full months of searching, applying, interviewing, getting stressed and discouraged. Frankly, I'm about to give up!! I really think that if I were to focus, really focus, I might be able to do this vintage thing and make at least as much as I would at a part time job. I just don't know. I'd love for some people that have been in the business or been selling for a while to email me and let me know what you think. You don't have to comment on here, you can email me at shopatwhimsy@aol.com .
Anyway, I spent the entire day sitting here at my house waiting for Fed-Ex to deliver a tire for my car. A tire, which I might add, was ordered on the 3rd and being shipped from California. They tried to deliver on Saturday and I wasn't here so of course they left the little sticky note saying that they'd try again. Well, I checked the tracking this morning at 6:30 and it was already on the truck for delivery. I waited all freaking day, making my bathroom breaks as quick as possible lest I miss them again and would you know that stupid tire didn't show up until 5:15?? The delivery man was all 'i hope you didn't wait all day for me' and I was like 'actually I did' and he's like 'sorry. they scheduled you as my last delivery. I've already made 175 deliveries today'. UUUUUUUUUUUGH! But hey, at least my tire is here!!
So, I'm wired on coffee and I'm going to find something to occupy my time tonight. Maybe I'll do some listings. Maybe I'll just sit here and read some blogs. Yeah, that's more likely. Oh, and for the sake of not having only one picture in this post, I'm going to add one from Christmas Eve when the honey and I went to church.
11 February 2011
Time for Tea (with Cream & Sugar!!)
Hey folks. It's Friday, which I'm sure most of you have been waiting for all week long. I love Friday's too but not as much as I did when I was working full time. lol When you're home all week, it just doesn't hold the same appeal. Besides, I've again found myself sick with a sinus infection so that means I'm going to be home all weekend as well so what fun is that, you know. Even if I weren't all clogged up with gunk, I'd probably still stay home since the honey has drill this weekend.
Anyhow, I finally sorted through some of the goodies I bought while my mom was up here. They've been riding around in my car for the last month and a half and although I kept meaning to bring them inside, I'd always forget until the next time I heard them rattling around as I was driving down the road.
While the fam was visiting, we took a trip to PA where I found a new-to-me shop and my mom and I proceeded to spend a good two hours scouring the place and finding all sorts of goodies we couldn't live without. I spotted these beauties from across the room and made a beeline towards them. Honestly, the design is a little too country for me but I liked the crazing on them and when I turned them over and saw the markings, I couldn't just leave them there.
Unfortunately, the little creamer suffered extensive damage last week when the Spawn went outside to change out my flat tire and tossed all of the bags of stuff from the back of my SUV into the backseat. They were wrapped carefully but I guess 70 year old items are going to suffer when thrown around! Thankfully the sugar dish is intact!! Should I sell it?? I don't even know if it's all that collectible seeing how it took me a good 30 minutes of googling just to find out the pattern name (Cinderella bouquet) and that it wasn't fake!
So, moral of the story is to stop being lazy and bring those purchases inside when you get home and not let them hitch a ride in your car for 6 weeks!
I also picked up this sugar & creamer duo while my mom was here. We went to a gigantic thrift store about 40 mins away and I saw these in separate areas of the store. At first, I passed by the kitty on the left because it wasn't in excellent condition and I wasn't entirely sure what it was. Later, as I was going down another aisle, I saw the kitty on the right. I remembered the first cat and practically ran back to the other aisle to see if it was still there. It was and into my cart they went. They've got a few conditional issues, which isn't surprising when you hear the way the merchandise in the back is just thrown around by the workers there, but I love them all the same! And they're blue and pink and have the sweetest little smiles. How come real cats don't come in blue and pink?!?
I've been trying to find the energy to take pictures and list stuff but I'm sick and all I can do is sit here, barely holding myself in an upright position and stare blankly at the computer screen. I need to feel better by Monday because I have a ton of stuff I need to get accomplished!! I hope you all have a fantastic weekend!
Anyhow, I finally sorted through some of the goodies I bought while my mom was up here. They've been riding around in my car for the last month and a half and although I kept meaning to bring them inside, I'd always forget until the next time I heard them rattling around as I was driving down the road.
While the fam was visiting, we took a trip to PA where I found a new-to-me shop and my mom and I proceeded to spend a good two hours scouring the place and finding all sorts of goodies we couldn't live without. I spotted these beauties from across the room and made a beeline towards them. Honestly, the design is a little too country for me but I liked the crazing on them and when I turned them over and saw the markings, I couldn't just leave them there.
Unfortunately, the little creamer suffered extensive damage last week when the Spawn went outside to change out my flat tire and tossed all of the bags of stuff from the back of my SUV into the backseat. They were wrapped carefully but I guess 70 year old items are going to suffer when thrown around! Thankfully the sugar dish is intact!! Should I sell it?? I don't even know if it's all that collectible seeing how it took me a good 30 minutes of googling just to find out the pattern name (Cinderella bouquet) and that it wasn't fake!
So, moral of the story is to stop being lazy and bring those purchases inside when you get home and not let them hitch a ride in your car for 6 weeks!
I also picked up this sugar & creamer duo while my mom was here. We went to a gigantic thrift store about 40 mins away and I saw these in separate areas of the store. At first, I passed by the kitty on the left because it wasn't in excellent condition and I wasn't entirely sure what it was. Later, as I was going down another aisle, I saw the kitty on the right. I remembered the first cat and practically ran back to the other aisle to see if it was still there. It was and into my cart they went. They've got a few conditional issues, which isn't surprising when you hear the way the merchandise in the back is just thrown around by the workers there, but I love them all the same! And they're blue and pink and have the sweetest little smiles. How come real cats don't come in blue and pink?!?
I've been trying to find the energy to take pictures and list stuff but I'm sick and all I can do is sit here, barely holding myself in an upright position and stare blankly at the computer screen. I need to feel better by Monday because I have a ton of stuff I need to get accomplished!! I hope you all have a fantastic weekend!
09 February 2011
Hello 2011, I'm late as usual
Wow, already in month two of 2011 and I'm just now getting around to blogging. I have no excuses other than my life is not very exciting right now and I have nothing substantial to write about. It's much the same as it was 6 months ago, only I'm in love, and my future is very promising. I'm still hunting jobs, still hunting for housing, the ex has orders to move to freaking NORTH DAKOTA this year, I'm a bit saddened by the fact that I'm still jobless and soon to be homeless, but hey, let's not dwell on the crappy parts, okay?
My holidays were meh. The 'doggies' bought me some pajamas and a robe and a really nice camera bag for the camera I received last Christmas. My stocking was filled, my belly was fully, it wasn't as sucky a day as I anticipated. I spent the night with my guy, we had such a wonderful evening even with the absence of gifts and decorations and hoopla. It was a perfect ending to what I was sure was going to be a sucky day!
After Christmas, my mom, sister, niece and my sister's girlfriend came to Maryland to visit. Their visit wasn't that great, which was surprising, but it was short and they had a nice time thrifting and then they went snowtubing one afternoon. I spent much of their visit with a huge jaw ache which made me incredibly miserable but I tried to medicate myself to a point where I was pain-free but still able to function. It only sort of worked.
January was filled with afternoons spent driving around looking for rental houses, a day trip to Pennsylvania, lots of hours spent in the car just hanging out with my guy talking about our future. We celebrated his 40th birthday by doing a day trip through the countryside of Virginia and West Virginia and dinner at Ruby Tuesday. Pretty low key.
I've been busy the last week or so trying to go through and set aside items that need to get out of my office/home and find new houses. I've listed stuff on Etsy but I've also set up a new blog for items that I don't wish to sell on Etsy -- Vintage Whimsy's Tag Sale. Of course, that blog is empty now but hopefully I'll get lots of goodies listed there in the next day or two.
Btw, these pictures have very little to do with anything related in this post. It's just random pictures I've taken in the last month or so. lol The cow above was from a farm in Pennsylvania -- when we came down the road, we stopped the car & I rolled down the window and started 'moooooooooooing' at the cows and they all came running over!! There are some pictures of the puppies in the snow, some tins that I'm destashing on Etsy, the animal bedspread which recently sold on Etsy and then a nice little birdie embroidered tablecloth. Lol completely random pictures.
My holidays were meh. The 'doggies' bought me some pajamas and a robe and a really nice camera bag for the camera I received last Christmas. My stocking was filled, my belly was fully, it wasn't as sucky a day as I anticipated. I spent the night with my guy, we had such a wonderful evening even with the absence of gifts and decorations and hoopla. It was a perfect ending to what I was sure was going to be a sucky day!
After Christmas, my mom, sister, niece and my sister's girlfriend came to Maryland to visit. Their visit wasn't that great, which was surprising, but it was short and they had a nice time thrifting and then they went snowtubing one afternoon. I spent much of their visit with a huge jaw ache which made me incredibly miserable but I tried to medicate myself to a point where I was pain-free but still able to function. It only sort of worked.
January was filled with afternoons spent driving around looking for rental houses, a day trip to Pennsylvania, lots of hours spent in the car just hanging out with my guy talking about our future. We celebrated his 40th birthday by doing a day trip through the countryside of Virginia and West Virginia and dinner at Ruby Tuesday. Pretty low key.
I've been busy the last week or so trying to go through and set aside items that need to get out of my office/home and find new houses. I've listed stuff on Etsy but I've also set up a new blog for items that I don't wish to sell on Etsy -- Vintage Whimsy's Tag Sale. Of course, that blog is empty now but hopefully I'll get lots of goodies listed there in the next day or two.
Btw, these pictures have very little to do with anything related in this post. It's just random pictures I've taken in the last month or so. lol The cow above was from a farm in Pennsylvania -- when we came down the road, we stopped the car & I rolled down the window and started 'moooooooooooing' at the cows and they all came running over!! There are some pictures of the puppies in the snow, some tins that I'm destashing on Etsy, the animal bedspread which recently sold on Etsy and then a nice little birdie embroidered tablecloth. Lol completely random pictures.
08 December 2010
The Season of Giving
It's also the season of receiving. Last week, I received a bacterial stomach infection. It was most lovely and provided me with much joy. NOT! It did, however, land me in the hospital last Wednesday where I proceeded to spend 7 hours in the emergency room receiving numerous bags of fluid, various shots, a couple of prescriptions, all whilst "donating" several huge vials of blood in the name of research. It was quite the experience, I tell you. This was, of course, right on the heels of Thanksgiving, a week in which I was stuck at home with another sinus infection. That's right -- I've basically been sick non-stop since September. My poor immune system has taken quite the beating this fall but I'm happy to report that after last week's *ahem* episode(s), which btw, took an entire 6 days to get over, I am feeling about 99.8% better. YAY!
Anyway, I participated in my first swap the other week. The wonderful Cristina over at Born to Fly was hosting a great vintage Christmas ephemera swap and I was lucky enough to get in on that action! I had so much fun sorting through all of my newly acquired Christmas cards, pairing those up with some other goodies, packaging them all up and sending them on their merry little way. Our packages are all swapped out and in route back to us and I cannot wait to see what everyone else sent. I should be receiving my package today, I'd guess, given the close proximity between Cristina and myself.
I finally got my white tree up yesterday and it's chock-full of pale pink, blue and minty green ornaments with a good dose of vintage Shiny Brites thrown in for good measure. I know I say it every single year but I freaking LOVE this tree. I swear if I'm ever lucky enough to live in a house with a big enough space in the office to have a tree year round, this sucker is going to stay up. It just makes me so happy to see it. Matter of fact, I came downstairs at 6:15 this morning, turned on the little space heater in my office, brewed a pot of coffee and then came in here and plugged the tree in and just sat and enjoyed my time on the computer with the glow of the tree behind me. LOVE IT!!
I don't believe I've ever had a tree topper on this tree because I could never find anything that seemed to fit the overall style of the tree so this year I created one! I had bought a bunch of these sequin picks last year which I normally put in the branches of trees but I started playing around with a few of them yesterday and realized they'd be a good tree topper. I pulled the ones I'd put in the tree back off, grouped them all together, secured the lot with rubber bands and then affixed it to the top of the tree and arranged the "branches" of the picks. I think it looks okay -- kind of wild and crazy but so what!
Last Monday, before my little bout with what can only be described as an intestinal DEMON, my friend came over and helped me sort through lots of bins of stuff that Will pulled off the attic. I went through a TON of clothing and donated a lot of it and then I went through bins of linens and really pared down the *LOVE & KEEP* pile and let's just say that the "love but need to sell" pile is tremendous at this point. I'm putting myself on a buying hiatus until which time my stash is more manageable. I will most likely be moving here in a couple of months so I don't want to have to cart all of this stuff from my current house to the next one. That means I'm going to be extra busy listing stuff in the next few weeks.
Oh, and before Thanksgiving, I had TWO interviews! One was with the company I had a phone interview with back in October and it went really well! The other was for a job I applied for back in September with a company that's only 10 mins from my house. Well, seems like I was the first choice for the first company and now I'm in a holding pattern at this point -- hopefully full time employment comes quickly so I can get on with my life!!
Anyhow, I'm outta coffee and need a refill so I can have the motivation to get busy listing stuff so I should go. I hope you all have had a wonderful holiday season so far and that I'll be able to catch up on blogs sometime in the near future!!
Anyway, I participated in my first swap the other week. The wonderful Cristina over at Born to Fly was hosting a great vintage Christmas ephemera swap and I was lucky enough to get in on that action! I had so much fun sorting through all of my newly acquired Christmas cards, pairing those up with some other goodies, packaging them all up and sending them on their merry little way. Our packages are all swapped out and in route back to us and I cannot wait to see what everyone else sent. I should be receiving my package today, I'd guess, given the close proximity between Cristina and myself.
I finally got my white tree up yesterday and it's chock-full of pale pink, blue and minty green ornaments with a good dose of vintage Shiny Brites thrown in for good measure. I know I say it every single year but I freaking LOVE this tree. I swear if I'm ever lucky enough to live in a house with a big enough space in the office to have a tree year round, this sucker is going to stay up. It just makes me so happy to see it. Matter of fact, I came downstairs at 6:15 this morning, turned on the little space heater in my office, brewed a pot of coffee and then came in here and plugged the tree in and just sat and enjoyed my time on the computer with the glow of the tree behind me. LOVE IT!!
I don't believe I've ever had a tree topper on this tree because I could never find anything that seemed to fit the overall style of the tree so this year I created one! I had bought a bunch of these sequin picks last year which I normally put in the branches of trees but I started playing around with a few of them yesterday and realized they'd be a good tree topper. I pulled the ones I'd put in the tree back off, grouped them all together, secured the lot with rubber bands and then affixed it to the top of the tree and arranged the "branches" of the picks. I think it looks okay -- kind of wild and crazy but so what!
Last Monday, before my little bout with what can only be described as an intestinal DEMON, my friend came over and helped me sort through lots of bins of stuff that Will pulled off the attic. I went through a TON of clothing and donated a lot of it and then I went through bins of linens and really pared down the *LOVE & KEEP* pile and let's just say that the "love but need to sell" pile is tremendous at this point. I'm putting myself on a buying hiatus until which time my stash is more manageable. I will most likely be moving here in a couple of months so I don't want to have to cart all of this stuff from my current house to the next one. That means I'm going to be extra busy listing stuff in the next few weeks.
Oh, and before Thanksgiving, I had TWO interviews! One was with the company I had a phone interview with back in October and it went really well! The other was for a job I applied for back in September with a company that's only 10 mins from my house. Well, seems like I was the first choice for the first company and now I'm in a holding pattern at this point -- hopefully full time employment comes quickly so I can get on with my life!!
Anyhow, I'm outta coffee and need a refill so I can have the motivation to get busy listing stuff so I should go. I hope you all have had a wonderful holiday season so far and that I'll be able to catch up on blogs sometime in the near future!!
16 November 2010
Why I'm Glad the "Estate" Sale Sucked!!
Yes, you read that right -- the estate sale (and I use that term very, very loosely!) was a total bust. Oh sure, the pictures on Craigslist looked SO promising. Of course, after doing more searching, I see that those are the same pictures this person had on Craigslist back in OCTOBER. So, needless to say, the items in the pictures weren't still at the sale. I did manage to find 4 books from the late 1800s and early 1900s, which I snagged for a $1 a piece. I should've asked the dude running the sale for some reimbursement for the gas I wasted driving up there. I'd never been to that area before, except when I would pass by the exit on my way to western MD or West Virginia and I've always said I wanted to go through there and see what it was like, so I guess I had that chance eh? It's a charming little area and I think it would be most fabulous to live up there -- lots of hills and land and horse farms. So pretty!
After leaving the waste-of-time sale, I switched on the GPS and put in that I wanted to avoid highways and headed back in the general direction of home. I love just getting out on the back roads and seeing what's out there! I ended up in Clarksville, MD but couldn't remember where this cute little store was that I'd passed one other time and googling didn't help either. I tried calling my friend, who coincidentally works in Clarksville but he didn't answer his phone so I headed on through and back towards Baltimore. I knew there was a "thrift shop" at this church in Catonsville and I've been meaning to go so that's what I did.
It was a cute little "shop" with lots of clothing and some knick-knacks and whatnot. I found a few holiday items, some great vintage tupperware and tons of vintage kid books! Yay! Plus, they were having a special discount that day wherein you pulled out a slip of paper from a bag & got an extra % off of your total. All of my goodies came out to $3.75 with the discount but I gave the lady a $5 and told her to keep the change. It's for the church so I didn't mind giving her the extra money. The church was having a roasted pork dinner that night and the entire building smelled so delicious -- I have no idea how those ladies were able to work in there all morning because after being in there for 20 mins, I was STARVING!!
I left the church & decided to just drive down the road a little further and see where it would take me. I came up to an intersection and knew I'd been in that vicinity before, only coming from another direction. I remembered that there was this great little park with lots of trails just down the street and that was the next item on my agenda. This park is never busy, which is a plus!! I've been there a few times before and have seen maybe 3 or 4 people there with their doggies walking the trails but I love that it's almost always empty. I parked, grabbed my Vera Bradley backpack which I've converted into a camera bag and set off to take some pictures of the last of the leaves!
I was the only car in the parking lot except for an employee and they soon left. He did stop me on his way out and told me that the main part of the park was having a celebration for its namesake -- Benjamin Banneker. Mr. Banneker was born a free African American in 1731 and was an astronomer, mathematician, almanac author and farmer, amongst other things. So, this was a little celebration in honor of his birthday. Unfortunately, I spent too much time on the trails and was late to the party so I didn't go. You can read more about Benjamin Banneker here.
The trails were empty, which is how I like them, and since it had been a while since we'd had any rain, they weren't muddy! Yay! I'm going to go back sometime soon and do some geocaching I think. Anyway, it was a great way to spend 45 or so minutes and the colors of the trees were so amazing. The sky was that deep shade of blue that always reminds me of the morning of September 11th -- you know, that deep, dark blue without any clouds in the sky. It was the perfect backdrop to the bright yellow leaves.
I saw lots of little birdies flying through the woods, heard something that was praying was a squirrel and generally had a pleasant, relaxing time just meandering through the woods. I took the shortest of the trails because I have this thing about being alone in the woods, which probably comes from watching too many episodes of CSI with the ex. I didn't feel comfortable traipsing all through the trails and since it was getting to be 3:00, it was already getting dark in there & I certainly didn't want to be in the woods after dark!
The rest of my afternoon was spent running various errands and getting ready to go out dancing with my friend. It was a lovely start to the weekend and I'm so glad I spent some time in nature since it's cold and rainy today and I'm sure all of the beautiful leaves will be gone by tomorrow!! So, even though the estate sale was a bust, my day ended up being so wonderful & that's just the reminder I needed -- sometimes the best things in life aren't things that can be bought!
After leaving the waste-of-time sale, I switched on the GPS and put in that I wanted to avoid highways and headed back in the general direction of home. I love just getting out on the back roads and seeing what's out there! I ended up in Clarksville, MD but couldn't remember where this cute little store was that I'd passed one other time and googling didn't help either. I tried calling my friend, who coincidentally works in Clarksville but he didn't answer his phone so I headed on through and back towards Baltimore. I knew there was a "thrift shop" at this church in Catonsville and I've been meaning to go so that's what I did.
I left the church & decided to just drive down the road a little further and see where it would take me. I came up to an intersection and knew I'd been in that vicinity before, only coming from another direction. I remembered that there was this great little park with lots of trails just down the street and that was the next item on my agenda. This park is never busy, which is a plus!! I've been there a few times before and have seen maybe 3 or 4 people there with their doggies walking the trails but I love that it's almost always empty. I parked, grabbed my Vera Bradley backpack which I've converted into a camera bag and set off to take some pictures of the last of the leaves! 
I was the only car in the parking lot except for an employee and they soon left. He did stop me on his way out and told me that the main part of the park was having a celebration for its namesake -- Benjamin Banneker. Mr. Banneker was born a free African American in 1731 and was an astronomer, mathematician, almanac author and farmer, amongst other things. So, this was a little celebration in honor of his birthday. Unfortunately, I spent too much time on the trails and was late to the party so I didn't go. You can read more about Benjamin Banneker here.
I saw lots of little birdies flying through the woods, heard something that was praying was a squirrel and generally had a pleasant, relaxing time just meandering through the woods. I took the shortest of the trails because I have this thing about being alone in the woods, which probably comes from watching too many episodes of CSI with the ex. I didn't feel comfortable traipsing all through the trails and since it was getting to be 3:00, it was already getting dark in there & I certainly didn't want to be in the woods after dark!
The rest of my afternoon was spent running various errands and getting ready to go out dancing with my friend. It was a lovely start to the weekend and I'm so glad I spent some time in nature since it's cold and rainy today and I'm sure all of the beautiful leaves will be gone by tomorrow!! So, even though the estate sale was a bust, my day ended up being so wonderful & that's just the reminder I needed -- sometimes the best things in life aren't things that can be bought!
13 November 2010
A Pictureless Blog Post
Good Saturday Morning my vintagey people! How's the weather where you are? It is another cold & frosty morning here in Maryland. I LOVE THIS WEATHER! It's actually colder now (31°) than when I got up an hour and a half ago! This is great weather though -- cold & crisp & crunchy first thing in the morning and then it warms up to around 60-65° by late afternoon. Perfect fall weather. And it's been nice & dry so no leaky basements. Yay! Did I mention there's still some color on the trees? Yeah, I'm thankful for that. Two years ago, it snowed on 18 November. I'm looking forward to winter and to snow but I really truly hope that we don't get another 5 feet at once this year. Unless of course I have a snowblower to help out because I don't think I can go through that again! Of course, with my current um, situation, I'd gladly accept being snowed in ALONE for a week or two. Now, if the reverse were to happen, I would be absolutely MISERABLE. Ah! But, like I said, there's no snow in the immediate future so I don't have to worry about that yet.
So, as I said before, this is a pictureless post. I'm sorry!! Unfortunately, I have no pictures I can add to this little blog post -- I am sorry to say I still haven't sorted through that big ol suitcase I bought at the estate sale two weeks ago. I did actually open it up and start to go through it but I ran out of time! That's how it always works, right? I mean it's not like I could just open it and not actually read through the letters and cards and before I knew it, I'd been sitting here for 2.5 hours! I think my plan of action is to pull out some big ol manila envelopes and put like items into those -- one for Christmas, Valentines Day, Birthdays, Easter, etc. Then one for letters -- there's a lot of letters! There's also various other pieces of ephemera like a few drivers licenses, business cards, greyhound racing stuff. It's going to be exciting to finally get it sorted but I think it's going to take some time!
So, today I'm heading out for a 28 mile voyage in hopes of snagging some super great deals at this big ol sale that's being promoted as an "estate" sale and claims to have 2 big ol barns PACKED FULL of crap! Yay! The person running this sale cleans out estates and said that most of the stuff has been sitting in storage for 50+ years. There's pictures on Craigslist and it looks promising. So, I'm going to go the the ATM, get a little bit of moohla and then head on over to this sale. Wish me luck -- the ad said something about vintage Christmas and one of the pictures shows a Shiny Brite box (yall know I can spot a Shiny Brite box in a picture full of misc crap!) and the ad said lots of items were $1. Please, God, let the ornaments be $1/box!!
Hope you're having a swell weekend and that you find lots of great vintage goodies whilst out & about today!
So, as I said before, this is a pictureless post. I'm sorry!! Unfortunately, I have no pictures I can add to this little blog post -- I am sorry to say I still haven't sorted through that big ol suitcase I bought at the estate sale two weeks ago. I did actually open it up and start to go through it but I ran out of time! That's how it always works, right? I mean it's not like I could just open it and not actually read through the letters and cards and before I knew it, I'd been sitting here for 2.5 hours! I think my plan of action is to pull out some big ol manila envelopes and put like items into those -- one for Christmas, Valentines Day, Birthdays, Easter, etc. Then one for letters -- there's a lot of letters! There's also various other pieces of ephemera like a few drivers licenses, business cards, greyhound racing stuff. It's going to be exciting to finally get it sorted but I think it's going to take some time!
So, today I'm heading out for a 28 mile voyage in hopes of snagging some super great deals at this big ol sale that's being promoted as an "estate" sale and claims to have 2 big ol barns PACKED FULL of crap! Yay! The person running this sale cleans out estates and said that most of the stuff has been sitting in storage for 50+ years. There's pictures on Craigslist and it looks promising. So, I'm going to go the the ATM, get a little bit of moohla and then head on over to this sale. Wish me luck -- the ad said something about vintage Christmas and one of the pictures shows a Shiny Brite box (yall know I can spot a Shiny Brite box in a picture full of misc crap!) and the ad said lots of items were $1. Please, God, let the ornaments be $1/box!!
Hope you're having a swell weekend and that you find lots of great vintage goodies whilst out & about today!
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