dreams do come true

Well folks, today dreams came true! My vintage furry owl totally did it! He made it to the front page of etsy in a cute winter treasury list!  Hopefully it is the first of many times ;)

View an Etsy Front Page Treasury List - The Vault on Craft Cult

Super fun weekend with some thrifting (oh hi Dries Van Noten) some cleaning & sprucing up, & most importantly I got to meet baby Hazel!  She is an exceptionally sweet pea & looks exactly like an Eloise Wilkin illustration.  I am in love!  Also Brian & Natalie got to see our new home for the first time which was really fun!! We just chilled out baby style & ate homemade soup Tim cooked up.  Vegetarian Southern New Years Day Soup.  Sigh. You can find the recipe here & know that it comes highly recommended!!  So so good.  Oooh we also found this really great donut shop here, straight out of the 60's complete with bright orange stools & a cute counter & the hugest cups of coffee.  We got a bunch of donuts for our guests & have been enjoying them to the max.  Mmmm maraschino cherry donut mmmmm. 

Now time to get ready for Thanksgiving!  We are planning a vegetarian meal & hosting my in-laws & there is kind of so much to do!  Yikes!  Getting on it  RIGHT. NOW!

xoxox

Just thought I'd share these cute shots Tim took last month before heading off to my brother Greg's wedding to Stacey.  This is our breezeway!  That plant was so happy!!

Posing for my LIFE at the wedding!  Dress is a 90's drop waist swingy wool crepe lil number from Saks Fifth Avenue.  Sweater is thrifted Ann Taylor.  Belt is 50's gold lame, I also have it in silver!  Purse is 60's croc textured patent leather, made in Italy for Saks 5th Ave.  It is so extremely glamorous & I should have taken a better photo of it.. My shoes are my wedding shoes!  They are little gold Coach flats, and I have since worn them to two of my brothers weddings. They'll come out next for my brother Ben's wedding someday :)

I felt really cute & at ease!   The wedding was lovely, it was good to see everyone.  It was also the last time I was out about having cocktails!  I remember I ordered wine spritzers with extra extra maraschino cherries! ;)  Ha!  Sounds about right!  I used to down whiskey with the best of the boys, but not so much these days! 

snacks!

One thing I was worried about moving away from Chicago was leaving my local grocery markets behind.  I was really spoiled by Andy's Fruit Market on Kedzie, Harvest Time on Lawrence, and even stupid crappy Stanley's on Elston.  And you know, its not the same.  Tim & I have pita shaped holes in our hearts when we get to thinking about Sanabel & all the beautiful things we made out of hot, fresh, incredible pitas that were a dollar a bag.  A DOLLAR.  But here in Indianapolis we have discovered Saraga International Grocery.  It's got it all, even things we have never seen!  I mean, weird grocery stores are a hobby for us!  It's a big deal!  Its huge & weird & has fresh pita or naan (not as amazing Sanabel's, but a good start..) It has a gross meat section, some cute oddball housewares, good basics & random impulse buys.  Scary things in jars.  Mustard oil that you aren't supposed to eat.  The last time we went there was a booth in front selling appointments with a photographer that could take a photo of you & your man, then make it look like you were inside a giant cognac glass.   Glamour!!!!

Here are a few little finds, on retrospect Pickapeppa sauce isn't that wild, but it is tasty!  (it tastes like A-1 sauce)

Tim drank that Jamaican mountain man soda & it was fermented & sort of alcoholic & super stinky & gross!  Awesome!  Also I haven't had that particular can of Coco Rico & it was delicious.

These were darn good.

Little kitchen flowers

I haven't made either of these yet!  But I've been on a big coconut kick for a few years so I have to try the DoFu Delight!  

We cook with the squid sauce a few times a week, this is our second bottle of that brand.  Also I love sodas in glass bottles!

We haven't tried either of these yet, but that sardine can is too pretty to open anyhow! :)

These are (were) YUMMY!  Crispy sweet little biscuit cookies, way good.  The ginger candies were good & spicy & sticky!

Cans of pina colada that are... kind of cupboard decoration cos they are too cute to eaaaaat! ;)  Those nacho chips were gross.  The Irish Moss is another Jamaican drink, it was like a peanut butter milkshake in a can.  Kinda gross & kinda good!  Probably more gross though..

Saraga is the first place we came across Tapatio chips!!!  Tapatio is the best hot sauce, yum.  Well, I mean I love Sri Racha & Tabasco as well, but mmmm Tapatio.  These Tapatio con limon Ruffles were really delicious junk food!

Annnd then I found Tapatio Doritos while visiting Chicago.  They were in a dollar store & I bought several bags.  I am now burnt out on Tapatio Doritos & probably won't buy them again.  Aaaand after searching for them for like 6 months and getting so excited to randomly find them, they are available in the chip aisle at Kroger.  Which was exciting, but I was already over them by that time!  Yikes.

Crunching!  Not organic, not very good for you, but c'mon!  Once & awhile you have to give in! This is in front of our 1960 Frigidaire Flair oven.  Someday I'll write a blog post on her!  

There are a bunch other ethnic grocery stores we are dying to check out here, I'll keep you updated!  In the meantime, buy a can of something mysterious & tell me how it goes! :)

hats & books

Oh my gosh, just checked my blog & it seems I won the Eka hat giveaway at Freelancer's Fashionblog!  How fricking exciting!  And how perfect, because it is certainly getting chillier by the minute here.   I'll definitely take photos when it arrives :)

Other than that I've been keeping busy with house guests & continuing to work on building my vintage empire! ;)  Plus I've got something big I'm working on that takes up alot of my time, but more about that later...

I've got some really cute things on Etsy right now.  Some black label Frye boots.  A furry owl.  I've got a killer Anna Sui that I've got to get listed asap.  Oh!  A week or so ago I listed the awesome copy of The Golden Book of Biology that I found, which you can check out here!  Illustrated beautifully by Charley Harper, each page is a total feast for your mid century modern eyes!  It was really tempting to keep this treasure, but I've got to focus!  My childrens book collection leans more towards story books like classic Little Golden Books..  So I thought I'd put this one out there in the world, & I believe mine is the most reasonably priced that is floating out there right now so thats exciting!  Anyways, I took some photos so we can all enjoy a bit.

Aren't they just gorgeous & graphic & awesome?!!

Do you collect any types of books?  Do you want to buy me a third bookshelf??  Haha I really need one!! ;)

VIP

   In Chicago recently in a fancy hotel, remember!

no sun no fun

Still raining today!  It's pretty much like I live in Forks, Washington.  Yes I did just say that.  So today I am posting some photos I took last week when the sun was shining away!

We are lucky enough to have two greenhouse windows in our home!  One is above the kitchen sink.  When I was describing our house to my mom she said "Well if it has a window over the kitchen sink then you will be living in my dream home!".  Truly! :)  

Speaking of mom, she is visiting all next week!  For the first time!  It will just be her because dad has to work.  My mom helps care for my younger brother Ben's baby during the week while him & Jasmine are in school.  So visiting my little forest home will be a tiny vacation for mom.  Tim & I are driving to Chicago to pick her up on Saturday & I'm excited for all the thrifting & relaxing that's in store!! :)

I've filled the window with some of the vintage planters I've collected over the years.  Little wooden bird is from a German shop.

Pretty much we can only do cacti, succulents, & non tempting plants for cats :( Stupid Bea eats ALL OF IT otherwise, and the pukes it up & I get so. mad.  So. Mad.  As a matter of fact, the pink girl in this shot has since been killed off by Bea.  I picked it up at Ikea only a couple weeks ago & thought I could get it past her.  Nope!! 

Cute Berggren sugar & creamer!  Cute Berggren fruit tile!  I collect lots of Berggren!!  I found the little wooden mushroom missing its original figure, so I glued that vintage yellow rabbit on there.  Looks pretty snazzy if I say so myself! ;)  

Ok I've got loads of cleaning to do for the visit.  Even though luckily my mom isn't judgemental at all & could care less if I missed a spot!

Sleepy

Dark rainy sleepy day here in Indianapolis.  Lil is hunkering down for her day long nap ;)

Oct 18th

Today is my official anniversary!  Three years of marriage, though we've been together for TEN!

Time flies, I think thats how we ended up waiting so long to make it official!  Our wedding was small & in the backyard of our apartment in Chicago.  It was really magical and full of great memories for us both.  I wore a 60's beaded sheath and put on this 50s beaded cardigan later in the evening.  Oooh & these!  Make up Forever lashes, & yes the style name is "Emily" :)

Anyways!  Did a bit of thrifting.  I took some photos of the treasures I pulled which was really fun to set up.  That was one that I loved about owning a shop, the merchandising!  Setting up my finds was a tiny bit like that, so I think I am going to try & stick with taking a few shots of whatever I come up with.  Except I didn't do any of clothing.. we'll see about that!

And you know, if you see anything that catches your eye, let me know!  Cos I hoard tons of this shit & you may never see it on my etsy unless you ask! :) Haha! 

  

Love vintage craft books! 

Until next time sweet peas!

Anniversary Weekend

This past weekend I celebrated my third anniversary with my husband Tim!  The actual date is on Tuesday, but we took advantage of the weekend & had our fun!  We went to the Indianapolis Museum of Art for the first time & it was gorgeous.  We are big museum goers & I was a bit apprehensive of moving away from my beloved Chicago institutions.  But the IMA was great, and um FREE!  All the time!  For real!  Free admission to the museum & the 100 acre park it sits on.  Which is all really really lovely!  I kind of can't get over it.

Anyways, I took advantage of such a fun day with perfect fall weather that I did a tiny fashion shoot in the backyard before I left :)

Sunny fall days!

 Omg, my new obsession. It's magnetic nail polish! Its filled with iron powder.  You paint a thick coat on & hold the magnet thats in the cap over the nail for about 10 seconds.  Instant nail art that is like nothing I've seen.  I love it so much & kinda want the other color now!  Picked this up at Sephora!

Vintage Vera Bradley animal print purse.  Love this!  I kinda love old Vera Bradley stuff & have come across a few cool pieces here in her home state of Indiana.  Got this one in Nashville.

Missoni for Target tights.  I totally went to Target at the crack of dawn when this debuted & got a bunch of awesome things.  I had no idea it was going to be such a spectacle, but sure enough there was a lady who spent over a thousand dollars.  Insane!  I like my tights though! :)  Dansko shoes.

Thrifted linen/cotton sleeveless dress.  H&M slouchy linen blend sweater.  

Thrifted Banana Republic belt.  My lipstick is Nars in Dragon Girl.  I LOVE that darn lip pencil. I was wearing while waiting for my food in a vegan restaurant in Cincinnati recently & I heard the guy at the counter say "this is for the woman in the red lipstick".  Hee!!  It gets you noticed!

Classic Robert Indiana!  I didn't take any photos inside the museum because I always find it really distracting when other people do.  But outdoors was fair game!  There were a bunch of photo shoots going on in the gardens.  Lots of engagement photos & high school senior photos.  I can't even imagine in the spring with bridal parties!  It is so gorgeous though, who can blame anyone.

I keep saying "It is so Fall" in an idiotic Rachel Zoe accent to Tim when we drive around, but there is still plenty of green out there!

Tim makes me laugh so much I can't even deal sometimes!  He really is my best friend :)

Beauty!

Well I've got lots of photo editing & listing on Etsy to do today, so I best get crackin'.  I also need to wrap up some gorgeous '50s clear vinyl pinup heels I sold!  First sale!  Yaaaay!!!

Baby Deer!

Well today I finally got to listing on Etsy!  There is so much work "behind the scenes" & I've been caught up in all that.  Formating, photographing, setting up the guts of it all!  Plus I seem to have a few million things to steam! :)  How exciting to finally get to work!

This morning I hung around the house drinking coffee & listening to the birds outside go nuts!   The past few days they have just been chirping & singing & calling like nobodies business.  Last parties before the long flight south I guess??

THEN!  In the afternoon while I was working on my Etsy I looked outside of our window in the back & there was a baby deer feeding on our grass & dandelions!  We see deer all the time, which is so crazy to me.  Crazy.  But baby deers!  Babies!  Well it was more like a child deer, but still.  Deer children! I got to snap my first photos of one since the camera was nearby.   Exciting times people, exciting times!

We have problems with the deer eating the birdseed from the bird feeder, the corn cobs we put out for the squirrels, and they totally ate the hostas in the front.  These are definitely not city problems! :)

Later when Tim got home we went to the farmers market & got a 28 pound pumpkin.  I really held back because I totally could of gotten a 50 pound guy!  Maybe next year...

serious business

This past summer I left behind the only place I had ever lived, Chicago.  And my family, friends, a city where I didn’t need to know how to drive, locally made pita bread & corn tortillas, Herb Kent on V103, Lake Michigan, an abundance of shops & boutiques that get it, The Reader, 1950’s dresses with tags sewn in the seams from Marshall Fields or Carson Pirie Scott, fake Hello Kitty junk from Chinatown, millions of little things you take for granted when you just grow up with it.  Plus a vintage shop that I helped to open & co-owned for almost three years.  

We moved to Indianapolis to live in a magical mid century modern house in the woods that my husband Tim & I can call our own.  I love it here & am embracing this new life.  I feel so far away from Chicago not only in distance, but from the stage of life I was stuck in there.  Now that we are more or less settled in, I need to get back to work! This time online, Etsy & perhaps a bit of eBay.  After literally thousands of satisfied customers online & in person, I am pretty much starting from scratch again. It has really intimidated me whenever I think about getting into it.  I’ve never really kept a blog.  I need a new camera.  I don’t have a model to work with here.  But its all about fresh starts right!  

Plus shopping here has been phenomenal & I haven’t really held back one bit.. which leads to Tim sweetly asking when I plan on selling again.  Guilt!  I’ve got the inventory ladies! Lots & lots & lots!  I’ve collected vintage since high school.  Some of my earliest memories are shopping in Salvation Armies with my mom.  When we moved & I unpacked my wardrobe I really picked out the gems that I was hoarding & plan on unleashing them to the world.  Since getting here I have found some of my favorite things EVER.  So I’ve just got to get to it!