plainview

"i bought a church pew"

2012-01-23T13:12:00.001-06:00

nothing major happened this weekend.
unless buying a church pew is a major deal.

it wasn't an impulse decision--unless an impulse decision is buying something in the first 2 minutes of the sale because the price was really right and you knew if you didn't buy it any of the other 3 people were going to carpe diem it right up.

hey, it was on my bucket list of items to thrift.

bucket list:

14)~~church pew~~

anybody want the pew? i've already put it on craigslist. (i also have this, this and this on craigslist right now too -- if you want one of these thing and are out of the area, talk to me, maybe we can figure out a way for me to get them to ya)

i also purchased this interested metal (magnetic!) sheet and also some sweet wood hangers. 2 with vintage advertising.

and a whole collection of boy scout badges and such. it amazes me that people get rid of this stuff. this bag of goodies was totally hidden under a bunch of plastic crappy toys for kids. i love the one on the bottom right...."spring camporee"...and the bear and bobcat ones...what does that mean? that they wrestled a bear and a bobcat and lived to tell the tale?

one of my favorite finds of the day! a puzzle from 1983. way to be all equal rights, 1983!

the sesame street books are the beginning of a collection (i think there are 26 of them). the band-aid tin is from 1985. and there were sealed band-aids in it. it's ok to use them, right? i hope so. i used one already. my finger didn't fall off, so i think i'm ok.

these little buggers were pretty cool. the top has sheep, the bottom, a circus. they will make a nice decoration bit for whoever buys them from our shop. i got the green chalkboard saturday too. i love me some chalkboards.

aaaaaand, to round out my saturday, a box of patterns with some sweet azz images on them. not sure what i will do with these (or the other 500-600 i have) but for the price, i couldn't leave them sit. i knew that much.

read this post about the pre-garage sale crazies.

what's on your bucket list for thrifting? ie...what will you stop everything for, alter plans for...just so you can say..."i just purchased a _____." or "i have a _____ for sale."

linking up to apron thrift girl's thrift share monday! also linking up to what's for dinner, mom?

macgyver types

2012-01-22T14:28:00.000-06:00

it looks like i'm heading into surgery or something. 

I need a pinking shears, STAT.
Small dull scissors, STAT.
Paint splattered heavy duty scissors, STAT.

stop saying STAT, STAT.

Brent and I were getting ready to eat Friday night. I had a spatula laying over the rim of the veggie bowl. he asked if he was supposed to use that to dish up the veggies. i said sure, or get a spoon, whatever works...buuut, if you use the spatula, it's one less utensil to wash. we proceeded to use the spatula to scoop up the veggies. it worked fine. classy, perhaps not. but then again, if you would see my ragamuffin outfits sometimes, you would be certain classy doesn't run amok through these veins of mine.

brent just laughed as he "spooned" up his vegetables. he said "you Spieker women have an interesting take on what utensils to use when in the kitchen." i knew exactly where he was going with this. time and time again, he says my mom and i are the only two women he has ever seen use a scissors to cut pizza. 

it's a logical next tool of choice if you a)don't have a pizza cutter or b)it's already dirty and in the dishwasher or c)have a really thick crust.

so tell me, have you seen or heard of ~~simple folk~~ macgyver types using scissors in this manner?

I need to know your answer, STAT.

garage-sale-deprived nebraskans

2012-01-21T19:30:00.001-06:00

if i said i was in line at 7:30 this morning to go to a church garage sale, would you believe me? also, if i said the 15 people ahead of me were cackling 65+ year old women and men, would you believe me? and, if i said i purchased a church pew, would you believe me?

(and yes, a line up outside a church garage sale, in january, in nebraska.) it was 1 degree last night people. O.N.E. madness. and when the workers were coming out to unlock the doors...multiple people shrieking back at us quasi-committed folk in the back..."they're coming! they're coming to open the doors!" i presume smoke signals or flashlight messaging happened as well because all of a sudden there were at least 30 more g' salers behind me. in an instant, people.

my advice: don't get in the way of garage-sale-deprived nebraska folk.

i think she just flipped me off.

2012-01-20T06:18:00.000-06:00

(photo has no relation to story)
i have a 50 minute commute to/from work. so, i'll be the first one to fully admit that i get into auto-pilot mode sometimes and just drive. deep in my thoughts, i'll just drive.

like yesterday, for example. until. i got flipped off twice. by the same driver. at 2 different times in our perhaps 4 mile stint on the road together. 

and i still do not have the foggiest idea as to what i did to be the recipient of such a joyful act. i'm a big girl now and don't claim to be the best driver -- i'm fond of lane changing because abnormally slow drivers make me c.r.a.z.y, and yes, i've sped up when i know the light is going to turn yellow. but something stupid/mean/dumb enough to warrant such pleasantries by other drivers -- twice? let the record show, i claim to be innocent.

the funny part is, she was so.mad. like face contorted mad. and, for some reason, i thought it was hilarious that she was that mad over this phantom act of mayhem. you may think it was funny too if as my left laned car drove by her and a mittened hand came up to the window with one finger pressed against the glove. and she faced forward like it was below her to look at the scum of the earth she was gesturing to. i mean, if she really wanted to drive the point home, how about a stone cold look of death, eh?

after a short distance, i had to change lanes to exit...so was in front of her. in the mirrors, she was (still contorted) calling me some pretty colorful names. i know at least one consecutive f word b word combo. and still. i have no idea what i did.

lucky me, she exited as well. i usually get in the left lane right away on this road since i have to left exit a little over a mile ahead. today, no different. and today, i found myself behind a schwans truck, to which i couldn't pass if i wanted to (i didn't want to) because miss happy life was to my right and back a bit.

i figured she'd do one of those i'm-pissed-at-you-and-the-world things and gun it and get way past me before she slowed up again. nope. still cruised at my 4:00. ok fine, what evs, right?

(if you would like to think less of me after i write this next paragraph, i'll understand) i somehow thought if i could get her to naturally have to pass me (by me slowing down a wee bit) i could tell why she was so irate with me. (i didn't know how i would know this...and, ok. fine. i kinda just wanted to mess with her a itty bitty bit).

but she didn't pass me. at all. total weird. and then it came down to where the road forks (how profound) and she went right and i went left. and i looked over at miss jolly time one final time and she had taken off her mitten this time and gave me a firm (mitten free) salute. again without looking at me -- like getting the last word in.

a couple things i thought about on the way home:
1)what the holy heck did i do? (still have no idea)
2)how long did she talk to herself about how idiotic i was? - i can't be the only one that does that. right? right?!
3)how did this unpleasant "interaction" affect the rest of her day? was her boyfriend the next victim of her wrath? did she bring out her middle finger gems in the produce aisle?

::::
update: this was actually 2 days ago when this happened so...

i've had time to digest things and get them properly placed in my brain so i can make heads or tails of the situation. and, to co-road warriors like myself, it's all positive. i've been a wee bit more patient with all you. and that my friends, is no small feat.

gettin my craft on.

2012-01-18T06:22:00.001-06:00

i've been lett(er)ing this idea marinate in my mind for awhile. we purchased a few boxes of these yellow and black letters a while back from a double secret honey hole of ours. a lot of the letters are just fine to list as is (after a wash down, of course), but a good number of them are cracked and chipped. (see upper part of letter A for crack samples). puh-ha! crack samples. that didn't sound very good did it?

if the yellow isn't cracked or broke, they'd be a fine piece to sell in our shop. but, what about the cracked ones -- and what if yellow doesn't go with your color palette? then what? i'll tell you what!...

...then, i get my craft on! I broke/cut out the yellow of this P and glued (fabric glue worked great) some funky vintage fabric (curtains, actually) to the back. i also lightly sanded the black plastic to give it a uniformed worn look.

i think i may make a few more of these and sell them in our shop. i have oodles of different fabrics i could use.

what are your thoughts on this crafty bit?

plan b was a cleaning party. and man, did we party.

2012-01-16T06:21:00.005-06:00

brace yourselves. i'm going to throw out something that will seem pretty far fetched. and it may even blow your mind.

we did not bring one thrifted item into our home this weekend. not one. i know. how rare a time it was. we didn't know what to do with ourselves. we just kinda wandered around our home, looking at each other with these puzzled and confused looks. we did lots of those palms-up-shrug-shoulders-raise-eye-brows looks of bewilderment. neither of us were sure what to make of it. i mean, don't get me wrong. we tried. brent went to an auction, but it was really gross dirty (as opposed to dirt dirty...which we aren't afraid of)...and i (against my better judgement) was lured into our local thrift show even though last week i mentioned i should maybe take a week off from there. and nothing. both of us...nothing.

plan b: cleaning party. we didn't clean boring stuff like our bathrooms and kitchen floor...we cleaned fun stuff like our 4 typewriter tables, 3 stools, 5 rotary dial phones, 3 kitchen carts...yes! brent, his momma, and myself cleaned stuffs-n-suches for a good long while saturday afternoon and sunday afternoon. over 50 items are now ready to be photographed and listed. the immense relief this gave me (and brent too) was most definitely *heel click* worthy. tis a glorious weekend when the productivity is to that high of a level.

along with cleaning, we pulled out items to donate and also items that are cool, but too new to sell on etsy. these three polaroid cameras are examples of the latter.

want to get one of these polaroids for yourself? asking $8 plus shipping. email me here, comment below with your email address, or get a hold of me somehow and lets make it happen.

linking up with apron thrift girls - thrift share monday. and also what's for dinner mom. go on, get you some!

the after picture

2012-01-15T12:30:00.003-06:00

i really, really love when people show us what they did with the item(s) they purchased from our shop. one recent etsy buyer did just that. she purchased the eeeeeee's from us. i love this twist on one single large letter. way to go, ms. bemis!

(and what about those colors--yellowish green, red and gold? --that's just plain awesome!)

repeat (repeat) photographs

2012-01-13T06:00:00.000-06:00

a little insight on how to take photos in an organized and streamlined way.

we knew the huge box of letters (217 of those bad boys) was worth the price we paid, but we still had to take pictures, edit and list each one of them...all the while making our listing price ($2.50) worth it. and, for a while, the thought of taking all those photos overwhelmed me and annoyed me, so the letters stayed in their box. and then, one sunday, i just decided it was time.

along with my regular photo props (table, white poster board, tripod), i also rounded up a chair, little removable sticker and a sharpie.

i had both letters and numbers to take photos of, so i thought through how i would label them all --so it would be consistent, and more important, easy to understand down the road when our thought process was forgotten and all we had were 'letters in our shop.' so, for the letters, Z1, Z2, Z3 and so on. and for the numbers 1a, 1b, 1c, 2a, 2b....etc.

so, for example, i grabbed all the Zs. there were four of them. i made little stickers with the code number on them Z1 - Z4...and set the stickers aside.

next, since all the letters were the same size, i made light marks (so they aren't seen on the photos) on the poster board on the edges of where each letter will be placed for the photograph. by using a tripod and making these marks, i spend far less time getting the piece in the right spot and getting the camera in the right spot and focused in the right place.

*this was the last piece of the puzzle to figure out,
but by far, the best and most crucial piece too.

i didn't want the sticker to be on the plastic when i took the picture, but i also knew i needed the sticker in the picture so i knew how to name the file when i edited it. my solution? since i knew i was going to crop to a square, i could look in the view finder, and place the sticker on the wall right out of the square area around it. (another reason to keep the tripod and letter in the same location). i put a tiny x on the spot i needed to put all the stickers.

then, right after i took the picture, i took the sticker off, put it on the bottom corner of the letter, and started a stack. and then repeated. and repeated. and repeated.

this is the photo right out of the camera. see the itty bitty white mark half way between the Z and the right edge? that's the sticker.

after i took the 200+ photos, i had to edit them. believe me. they sat for a few days. i didn't want to see a plastic letter for a good while. but, since my system, and therefore my photo, gave me what i needed, i didn't worry about forgetting little idiosyncrasies.

now, re-read this 217 times.
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzz

StylishHome Catalog

2012-01-11T08:15:00.000-06:00

one of our vintage metal stools was selected to be featured in the StylishHome Catalog! the catalog showcases etsy sellers for home decor aficionados. we would be honored if you would click here or on the image below to take a peek at the collection.

StylishHome has quite the lovely website too. so clean and airy and wonderful (and white...why do I love white so much?). and how about that logo of theirs? delightful, I'd say!

helpful hint...when you open up the pdf of the catalog...if you find something you like, click on it! the images are live links. they made it easy for you shoppers out there.

sooo...can you find our stool?

interesting title about my finds goes here

2012-01-10T08:24:00.005-06:00

after seeing brents massive haul of sweet, sweet, vintage delight yesterday, i wouldn't be surprised if any or all of you raised an eye brow to my meager contribution -and turned your eyes back to more important things like refilling your coffee cup.

and actually, i can't even call it a contribution...because none of it will go in our shop. the tshirt will meet up with my bleach spray bottle, because you know, bleach is fun. the wreath is one of those foam thingers and it's already wrapped in one layer of fabric that really could work for any season --but i'll probably change it at some point. the ziploc baggie is full of shower hooks...a few of them have already been put to work on a bar in the laundry room. and the two boxes? the "splurge" of the day at 50¢ each (they had a World Market price of at least $9 each). two boxes of unopened "luggage labels"...which is a slick marketing ploy....since they are simply stickers. they are stickers people, and I love stickers. (remember this?)

if you click on the image, you can see a bigger image of these great stickers. a few of them may find their way into our home decor. you just never know. OR i may just hoard them.

and no, i could think of nothing fancy, fun, funny or even nice and normal for a title today. eek. help me, ronda.

saturday's auction finds.

2012-01-09T14:44:00.000-06:00

we were able to score a sweet batch of loot from an auction on saturday. i say "we" loosely. brent went to the auction. i stayed home to conquer my to do list (i did it!).

mmm, lights with multiple heads. i'm a big fan. what is it about 2 headed desk lamps that just get me to love them? I think it's the (scholarly and romantic) idea of writing (ok, tyyyyping) in the wee hours of the moring at a desk with the only light source being a desk lamp. maybe one light could shine on the wall for a warm glow and one could shine on your keyboard. maybe i need more coffee. no?

it never ceases to amaze me when brent comes home (or i find one for that matter) with a typewriter table/cart. until what...2 years ago or so, i don't ever remember seeing them in use, in stores, in old pictures...anywhere. now, it's like theeeeey find uuuuus. *cue scary music*

this trunk is awe...wait for it...some! not a superb photo here - but imagine thee warm cookies out of the oven -- that's about what it's like to see this beauty, we cleaned/took photos of it to list, so it should be in our shop sometime this week. and the stuffs-n-suches on the right? local mish mash. brent is from staplehurst...and the sign is now in his office. the wee little rain gauge is from a furniture store Brents dad worked at eons ago.

look. at. that. trash. can. on. the. left. holy corn stalks, this beauty has hardly a mark on it. inside and out, it's beautiful and bright and cleeeeean. we like clean. on the left, cameraaaaaahhhhhhs. all sorts. including a movie camera. love. and a brown kitchen cart. i wish i had room to keep a kitchen cart. (making frown face).

(this moment would be ruined with words - so, shuuush....we are going to enjoy the beautiful sight that is the stool above.)

and last, but most absolutely not least, the goodie I get to keep. totally stoked about it. at first we thought it was too new to be old (ha...read that last part again). but upon further investigation, we do think it's old --just really, really well made-- but, the damage (me loving it) is done. it will not be sold anytime soon. it is already in place in our dining room.

and, there you have it. brents great scores for the day. we paid more than we normally would for a few of these items, but know they are really great pieces and won't sit on them for too long before we reSell.

tomorrow, my small, meager (but mighty?) little pile-o-finds at the thrift store this past week. I think I may need a week off from there...it's (quite literally) been same shtuff different week. i may set my sights on another thrift store i haven't been to in a bit...getting excited just thinking about it.

hookin up with thrift share monday. yeah buddy.

a friend that makes kringles.

2012-01-07T20:50:00.000-06:00

everyone's got "a friend that..."
a friend that fixes cars.

a friend that can juggle 3 oranges and 2 spoons at the same time.

a friend that can make a 5 course meal without a cookbook and their momma.
but.

do you have a friend that makes danish kringles?
i do.

her name is jacqui. and i miss her. she lives in iowa, where i used to live. we had some great times, her and i--her adjusting to rural life (she's a cali girl), and me, a transplant to iowa, trying to find my way.

i met her when her and her dad walked into the newspaper there (my first job out of college) because they needed a logo and business cards for the business they were buying. lucky for me, the lady that would normally do this was swamped, so, they got me. and the rest, well, the rest showed up on our doorstep yesterday. this kringle...her families Christmas card. we've received one every year around christmas time. and i can't help but smile.

we had kringles for our wedding cake. they are so. good. i mean, mind blowing good. flakey layers and almond paste. dear Lord, we gave them slices of heaven that day.

-------
so Jacqui, thank you for the kringle. we've already cut into it, it's just so.so.good. i stood over the counter and kept slicing little slices and shoving them in my mouth. quite unlady like i know, but that's ok. and, if i never told you, thank you for the talks and laughs and cries at that back table in the bakery. and all the other tables too...be it at a bar or....well, i think most of the rest of them were in fact, at a bar...but that's ok, right? thanks for taking on shelby county with me.
-------

if you want to discover the treasure that is The Kringle, go here.
if you want to cut to the chase and order a Kringle pronto, go here.
if you would like see ms. jacqui and her stud husband jeremy, go here.

sent my buyers out this week

2012-01-06T23:23:00.002-06:00

does that make me sound cool? that's what i was going for....sending my buyers out....shoot. that makes me laugh, that's what saying that does. my buyers. bawaha!

but. erm. i suppose. well, they kinda, sorta are our buyers. 

see? the picture over there. that's them (mom and a friend) out thrift shopping. texting me a picture of a potential buy. yeah for buyers that find sweet swag.

and yes they got it, and yes, we love our buyers!

last thrift outing of 2011 = 3 faced doll

2012-01-02T12:52:00.000-06:00

i stopped at our local thrift shop on thursday and saw this delightful (very clean and very non smelly) blue train case. it was a wee bit high priced for my liking. so, i decided to chance it and wait til it goes to half price. (i consider this a big ol step in the smart business direction as 1-2 years ago, i would have purchased it right then and there.) since we have a basement full of really good vintage stuff that we haven't listed yet, we have the luxury of not having to jump on every good item within our budget.

i didn't really find much on thursday, i believe it was thanks to the nice chunk of cash left at walmart and back seat full of nothing special groceries.

but look what i was able to score just a day later. that train case was half price! (patting myself on the back for a little patience paying off). also, the three crafty items were half price as well. (all 4 items half price -- a super way to end my 2011 thrifting!) the 2 pieces on the left, sequins and big ol orange vintage beads...were less than a quarter each...they had to be super cheap since they will sit for a bit before being part of a bigger collection of similar vintage craft items.

oh, and i got rubber doll head that has 3 faces on it.

***screeeeeeech***

you got a what? with what?

yes. an unused doll head with three faces on it. sleeping, awake/happy, and crying.

yes. creepy.
totally 100% creepy. and bizarre too.

apparently there was a stint awhile back (50s and 60s) when these 3 faced babes were commonplace. who knows, maybe they are permissable in the doll world. par for the course for doll makers. being a i-don't-need-a-damned-doll gal, that would have messed me up something fierce.

i'm totally stoked about thrifting in 2012. how about you?

linking up to thrift share monday today.

clean n organize, leah styyyyle.

2011-12-30T07:43:00.001-06:00

it's been on my list of things to do this week.

clean gray shelf

i say "clean" but it really means attack, now like. as in take everything off the shelf, organize it, declutter, find a proper container for said organized bits, label it and then return it to the gray shelf or another shelf.

"regular" keys and "old crusty-rusty/funky" keys are now separated

overkill? nah. with our way of acquiring new loot for the shop (auctions, thrift shops, garage sales, etc.), we are always finding keys stashed places. now, they have a proper home. ok, and it fulfills my self diagnosed OCD traits.

Do magnets, chalk and razor blades go together? In my world, hell yes.

i have a boat load of magnets. from magnet sheets for making things to van shaped magnets attached to phone books, they are all in there. if i need a magnet for any reason under the sun, i know where to find one. or 75. also, in my normal putzin about, i noticed white chalk in 3 different places. not anymore, people...not.any.more. and razor blades? another common find in auction boxes are the little boxes of extra razor blades. and who needs razor blades? no one. until you do. and when you can't find yours, call me, i know right where mine are and i'm happy to share.

button, button, who's got the button? I do. right here.

fun fact: the light green bucket sitting on the button box is actually a clearance halloween bucket from target this year. it cost me 9¢. and now holds foam sticky back letters. turn the halloween front to the back...bam, a plain light green felt bucket.

at left: push pins, safety pins and tacks, oh my!

push pins, safety pins and tacks...3 more items we get a plethora of at auctions. we toss the used and dirty, and keep the new and/or unused ones. don't reach into this bin blindly.

i already have one cup runneth over with sewing needles, and i *finally* made another catch bin for them. to the left, a cookie jar full of *will not sell* clips. what is it about vintage clips?...i find them so damn appealing.

also, i'm pretty sure the needle container is actually pure jade from the ping pong dynasty in china, worth 700 thousand. but for now, it will hold needles.

things like this...they're frogtasitc

2011-12-29T06:15:00.000-06:00

we've been selling on etsy since may 2008. sometimes, customers come back and tell us a story about the item. maybe it was where it went or why it went there or to whom it was given or why their heart strings are tugged whenever they use or look at the item. it's a real treat, ya know...even though we don't make our goods, we collect them and love each piece we take the time and effort to list. so, when you get a letter like the one below, well, it just confirms there are good people that enjoy and appreciate (for what ever reason!) good vintage out there.

"Thanks you so much for the prompt shipping of the green macrame frog. It is perfect. There is a long story that goes with this. One very similar to this one has been in a friend's family for years and it pops up every once in a while as a gift and the family has had so much fun with it. It has an emotional attachment to it as it belonged to their grandmother and no one could ever figure out why she liked it so much but when she passed on they could not bear to throw it away. So for 11 years it has been traveling through the family. This year it was used as a decoration in a Christmas wreath that got shipped to California and the wreath and frog got stolen from their door. So they are going to be so surprised when this arrives. I am so glad that you had it!

Sorry for the long story but I thought yo might like to know where the frog is going and that it will bring much joy and laughter to that family who are dear friends of mine."

so, thank you macrame frog buyer, for taking a few extra minutes to tell the story.

We pick on Christmas

2011-12-27T18:58:00.000-06:00

what a treat christmas day was this year! both our family gatherings fell on days other than the 25th so we had a mellow day...get this...full of picking! first up, a chicken shed!

mom and dad have been slowly taking a chicken shed down...they are always really great about being careful to save all sorts of goodies. wood with sweet lovely faded red paint, tin roof (rusted!), and a handful of other items...including the above items we came home with. i ask you, how in the blue blaze am i going to part with those long chicken feeders? i love them.

after the chicken shed...we headed to an abandoned house...and took to the house with reckless abandon. kitchen drawers, heater vent, door knobs, closet hooks, a random painting. and no, not the kitchen sink...but yes, the bathroom mirror.

happy birthday Jesus, and happy day to brent and me.

christmas weekend thrift...sorta kinda

2011-12-26T11:31:00.001-06:00

logistically, it was pretty much impossible for me to get to a thrift shop this weekend, so if not for my mother's thrifted items for me, i would be in the corner, probably fetal positioned up -- with a not very pretty case of withdrawal sweats.

she loves to thrift as much as i do...being an immediate descendent of hers, it maaaay just be what runs through our veins. and, her neighbor loves to thrift as much as we do too, so mom always has someone ready to go at a drop of a (thrifted) hat.

the cake carrier is in great shape, just missing the handle, which to me, isn't a deal breaker since we can sell as is (pretty decor) or keep our eyes peeled for a crusty-rusty cake carrier with a great handle. see? it's like a game of hop scotch or a little puzzle.  the sewing notions carrier is a super blue with a tray inside and no cracks in the plastic...two downers that usually happen to these *beauts. 

the transistor radio is a fun find and it comes with original box, manual and, what appears to be one of the first sets of earphones ever. the three pronged ruler was moms thrifting partners find for me, and mom is great at finding old staplers!

christmas day was full of picking through some farm metal! a nontraditional, but totally fun sort of way to spend Jesus' birthday! tomorrow i'll show you all the goods we packed into the pickup. (teaser: chicken shed finds and abandoned house hoopla.)

*who knew beaut was an official word? not i said leah. but no squiggly like appeared so i googled it and bam, there it is.

linking up with apron thrift girl and her thrift share monday!

simple is carried out the door too.

2011-12-22T06:19:00.000-06:00

yesterday, you saw our simple tree. today, our simple front porch. when the snow actually decides to come (and stay and stay and stay), I'm not sure how my felt red flowers will hold up. or my rusty colander, for that matter.

the sled was given to us, the colander, shovel chair, white planter plate and bucket were thrifted at various places. the pine cones were free. just a 20 minute walk in the trees by church. i made the felt flowers with garage sale free-box felt and thrifted thread (say that 3 times)...no, really, say it three times.

looks like an old fashioned christmas, indeed.

o vintage trunk tree, o vintage trunk tree

2011-12-21T05:53:00.000-06:00

o vintage trunk tree, o vintage trunk tree,

how lovely are your details!
in beauty metal will always stay
Through old garages and out the way

oh vintage trunk tree, oh vintage trunk tree,
how lovely are your details!

o vintage trunk tree, o vintage trunk tree,
You are the vintage most loved!
How often you give us delight
Especially when they weigh real light!
o vintage trunk tree, o vintage trunk tree,
You are the vintage most loved!

o vintage trunk tree, o vintage trunk tree,
Your beauty green or black or brown 
We search for you all over town.
None have made brent or me frown,
oh vintage trunk tree, oh vintage trunk tree,
Your beauty green or black or brown. 

_______________________________________

i'm crushin on our tree this year. a combined effort on brent and my part, made with vintage trunks we found, lights and a handful of ornaments. mostly vintage. i love traditional trees, but this year, this was a perfect change of pace.

(and yes, of course...all the trunks are all for sale. let me know if you see one or 8 you must have)

most boring post ev-ahhhh

2011-12-20T08:14:00.002-06:00

try as i may to find it, the local thrift store hasn't had much great vintage christmas decor this year. don't get me wrong, the whole basement is basically all christmas. fact. it's a bit overwhelming while being underwhelming. yes. there are some little plastic birds that i'm gambling on...hopefully they will still be there when it's their turn to be half price. i did pick up a few non essential fun things this past weekend.

i would love to fancy myself as a bread maker. i will, now and forever, pale in comparison to my sister in law -- she makes some mean breads. man. total yum. perhaps my cookbook of breads is the golden ticket to all my bread making woes. perhap not. maybe i need to make bread before i earn whispers like "she is quite the bread maker."

the holiday party invites have a dutch design - and will probably list them for sale next christmas. the baggie o goods is my guilty (crafting) buy for the week. they are little tiles -- like for back splashes and the like. they are plain white. perfect for...well, i haven't figured that out yet.

picked up this basket too. a nice hook on the back, but what the -bleep- are those side things? they rotate. any clue? I plan to take them off. 

thee best score this weekend was the air compressor brent got at an auction. i have dreams of so much dirt and dust from our auction finds being left outside and/or in the garage and not in our house! totally stoked to have this gem.

*man, sakes alive, this post is boring. my wit and humor and delight have taken a short hiatus.* 

sharing with thrift share monday...on tuesday.

gee wilikers, you're neat.

2011-12-13T06:28:00.000-06:00

over the last couple years, as our shop grew from the wee little shop it was to what it is now (to follow the theme, i suppose it's a sassy but lovely teenager) we've also grown our need to thank fellow businesses for the part they play in our success.

each one of these baskets/bags/boxes is going to a business that saves shipping supplies for us. be it boxes, peanuts, air pillows, hard foam...you name it...from body shops to flower shops...bakeries to book stores. with what they provide, we are able to provide our customers with high quality shipping and keep our shipping costs way down.

brent's mom plays a key roll in all this too. most of the businesses we now call "suppliers" are clients of her's...and just by asking (and yes, even dumpster diving at times) she got a foot in the door for us.

without question, we give a nice big basket to the post office too. (always good to play nice with the post office.) they really have helped us in different aspects of shipping...from mere suggestions to an easier drop off routine.

and yes, i thrifted every container you see, but no, not the chex mix or nuts.

great surprises at the thrift store

2011-12-12T06:34:00.000-06:00

last friday was my last weekday off until our holiday break (i sorta feel like i need to give myself a pep talk...or better, a pep-sing of wilson philips "hold on for one more day"). and what better way to spend it than at home doing home stuffs and also a visit to the local thrift store. oh, and a hair cut.

oh, how i love this color. not really sure why i feel the need to buy this sort of ~~crap~~ stuff. eh, rug yarn, schmug yarn, i'll find a reason to use it. i already started making a little wreath-ditty with this bold blue beauty, but i haven't made a dent in all that blue. it doesn't hurt that both yarn packages were a total of 50¢. oh, heck, you know me good enough by now to know that i wouldn't have got it if it was any higher than that. (embrace that frugality). and the cupcake toppers? yeah. not sure why i got them either. they aren't worth my time selling them online. but they are pretty darm (more than darn, less than damn) cute. and, they were less than a quarter, so i thought it was an ok investment.

i don't think i mentioned it on here, but about 6 to 7 months ago i started "couponing." no, not like the crazy people on that show, but similar. and real-like (the show is a false positive, trust me, i've looked into it). it's been a hoot and a holler and i love it. i've always used coupons, but using coupons and maximizing them are 2 very different things.

anyway. back to the rack. the towel rack and springs are going to be an addition to the laundry room. one room which i have turned into a mini stockpile room (there is enough deodorant and lotion to last at least a year)...and i'm finding ways to utilize every space i can in there. the towel rack was 50¢, so i think a pretty good investment.

and the best find of the day?

7 unopened packs of film. yeah buddy. i knew they were vintage, i knew that i wanted them, and i knew i would get them all when i saw the price AND saw they had the magic color on them...making them half-freakin-price.

and what do my wondering eye should appear? movie film, not regular camera film! i think it's a tad harder to find...therefore...a bit more valuable! can i get a yeah-haw for that little nugget of goodness? (i've already listed them!)

did you go shopping this weekend? find anything good?
linking up to thrift share monday!

white cabinet mania

2011-12-10T06:59:00.000-06:00

can i get a yup-yuuup for holiday shop-pppers!---our aardvark booth has seen an up-swing of activity in the last 3 weeks or so. super good --except for the stark empty cavity our booth turned into after the sale of a couple bigger items. brent to the rescue! here are a couple quick shots of our booth as of a couple days ago after he added more stuffs-n-suches.

oh lovely white cabinet, how i love thee...especially after this incident, i value these cabinets all the more. if you are into retro, love enamel or "just need some sort of cool cabinet deal" to hold and hide stuff...this would be a super one for you.

and, ya know, if you don't buy it, i would be forced to keep it. and although i really do love it and want to keep it and love it forever, there is simply no room at this inn. so, now, run off to the aardvark antique mall and grab this goodie. take it home and love it and squeeze it and call it george. 

aardvark directions here. booth 262.

Spiekerhof - that's Spieker Courtyard to 'mericans.

2011-12-03T13:16:00.000-06:00

my brother is in Germany until Dec. 24...he's in a play and they get to travel all 'round to put it on for people. (and no, it's not a dumb question to ask: "uh, is your play in english?"...it is in english, I asked).

anyway.
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear...photos on his facebook page of our last name!

according to my world travlin brother..Spiekerhof means "Spieker courtyard, farm or court"...."We" have a courtyard in Germany! Our family is so cool!

and on a side note, how awesome is my brother? Getting all touristy with all the Spiekerhof signs and lookin cool as cash all the while.

for sale: womens cowboy boots

2011-11-26T06:46:00.000-06:00

JUSTIN time for gift giving...
 

womens JUSTIN boots, SIZE 6.5B
worn, but in SUPER good condition. minor scuffs. 
"oxblood red" in color. polished.
asking $25 (yes, for real, just $25)

i don't think they are quite "vintage enough" to put in our shop, so, they will have to display JUSTIN my blog and on craigslist.

email me for for shipping quotes, please supply your zip code. or comment below with your email address. go here to see more photos.

if they don't fit you, would you be so kind as to share on your social media outlets? would love to find them a great home.

love me some church sales

2011-11-21T20:07:00.000-06:00

i had friday off, so i went to the local thrift store then. (scored some jeans, pants, and shoes for me, what a treat!) so i didn't plan on any thrifting saturday. my mother in law works at the newspaper in seward so she is our pulse to the whens and wheres of things like a random church garage sale in mid-november. she called with the nugget of info, and 15 minutes later, her and i were on our way. mmm, impromptu thrifting... delightful.

and it did not disappoint. vintage wrapping paper. look at the fun, very typical vintage colors and pattern. and, it's even better when there are seven identical unopened packages. yeah, buddy.

yes, please, i'll take them all. battered, bruised, drawn on, well worn rounded edges...all the better in my little world.

the shovel came with lots of dirt and webs, at no extra charge. the mailbox is super sweet. the previous owner was helping with the garage sale and told me all about the paint plans she had for the mailbox but never got around to doing it. i like it the way it is. so, i guess, yeah for her being 'so busy' and not getting it done. is that bad?

the coffee tin full of keys and nails and the door knobs were a last minute score. and the box came with some jumper cables my mother in law could use, so double score! the deer ornament is too cute. and i don't use the words "too cute" very often. the white shelf is a nice itty bitty size, so it will fit nicely into a little corner or nook.

i sho' do love me some church sales. even in mid november.

bleach is fun.

2011-11-20T20:25:00.000-06:00

i pick up plain tshirts whenever I run across them - and of course only if they are priced right. i really dig used tshirts. i have no qualms about used tshirts as long as they are clean and hole/stain free. they are actually way more comfy. someone else did the work of breakin it in.

and give me a spray bottle of bleach, a cold dreary saturday afternoon, and those plain used tshirts, and...waaa-laaaa! the only bummer part (for me) of the whole deal is -- they are too small for me. so, if you want a one of a kind shirt, let me know. the wood block piece above is a light blue gildan ultra blend, 50/50 blend. no holes. armpit to armpit measures 17", small men's. asking $5.

gah! i love this one. the patterns are from planter plates (yes, farming sort of planters - and no, they were not dirty). the tshirt is a lovely, lovely grayish light blue. screen stars best brand, 50/50 blend, women's large, armpit to armpit measures 19", there is one small stain on it, but it's blends in with the bottom wheel design so you can hardly see it. asking $5.

did I just retro myself?

2011-11-13T08:36:00.000-06:00

it's a strange feeling when you realize the stuff you wore in high school has once again become popular to wear (albeit, in a different way than in high school, but still). take these eastlands for example....

they were the cat's meow (in my brain anyway) when i was in high school...and this past week, i wore them to work with some funky socks and tights and a dress. how can something i wore "only a couple years ago...in 1995) be popular again? when did i become my own retro reference?

these shoes...ahh love them. again...another pair i wore in high school, but i just can't seem to toss them. even with the dreadful holes in the tops of them...they are one of my go-to's for a super casual outfit for work. - hey, my feet are under a desk most of the day anyway. <--- rationalizing.

i'm at my parents this weekend...and instead of sulking about becoming my own retro reference, i am going to go up to my old bedroom and see if i can find some new old treasures.

made my own legwarmers? maybe.

2011-11-05T18:02:00.001-05:00

i saw this on pinterest a while ago, and thought it was neato. and since i've taken a big ol liken to tights and boots, i thought this would be a nice fun (read: quick/easy) project for me to expand my look. so, i took myself to the thrift store in town.

purchased these sweaters for $1 each. gave brent the option to have them (i knew the answer would be "er. no") and took my scissors to them.

i would like to tell you that i straightened the jagged edges like the one shown up there...but, why should i lie? the scissors i used was crappy, and i'm ok with the jagged look (read: i don't care about details that don't matter)

look! a fun added layer. and see, the jagged edge is tucked in anyway. the sleeve cuff elastic band is what you put on first...and in theory that would help hold the "hanging" leg warmer on...buuuut my calves are big enough they do the job up right.

not only does it add another color and texture option, it also adds a bit more warmth for the gawdawful winters of nebraska. look at me being a fashion icon. (not likely).

3 parts goodness

2011-11-04T14:24:00.001-05:00

Cuttin out of work early...sunny fall friday afternoon...and listening to bob....via a thrifted tape no less. Thats how you make a tough week turn around.

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loot, and an abundance of "thumbs up"

2011-10-24T16:55:00.000-05:00

went to one of my favorite little thrift mecca's this past weekend, and once again, it did not disappoint. watch the ditty below and see all the goodness.

beware (or be wary): over abundance of "thumbs up" in video

the owl is already hanging on our front door
I can't wait to use the film!
mmmm, warm boots. one of the ladies volunteering actually pulled these boots out of the new arrivals and asked 'are you looking for boots?" and to this I said...always, if they are my size. I took it as a sign (that I should get them) when I saw they were my size. (double fist pump)
one living in nebraska can never (ever) have too many turtlenecks. especially if, in the heart of winter, one cares more about warmth than style
aren't those trays totally sweet?!
17 cookbooks. I think they will go in our aardvark booth.
2 sweet totes. one is purple. love finding different colored ones of these!
oh, and the music? yeah, I was going to put "classic country" on in the background, but I saw "Halloween" themed channel. and, well, it was a total disappointment. but, it's better then hearing my allergy heavy breathing. gross.

I'm hooking up to apron thrift girls thrift share monday! go check it out!

4 pumpkins. 8 kids. 1 hour.

2011-10-16T11:03:00.000-05:00

brent has been helping my parents/brother harvest on and off the last couple weeks, so that meant hosting our Godteens hans solo. gah! so, what do i do? get a few pumpkins to decorate, of course!

there are 8 teens, so i thought 4 would be good (er, at $3-$4 each). i had all of them sit around the table and every other person started with a pumpkin. i provided only black sharpie markers. they drew for roughly 1.5 minutes, then they passed it to the next person. round and round they went, and look what happened. the pumpkins ended up rocking, that's what happened. i am absolutely amazed when i get to witness them working in an artistic way. even the ones declaring talentlessness, have talent.

drew started the random shaped pattern pumpkin, and everyone followed the rough guidelines...almost full of randomness, ethan writes his name ...and everyone else did too. i mean, how cool is that?!

and finally, Part VI: junk jaunt is a memory now

2011-10-14T16:36:00.001-05:00

it took me a while to get all parts of the 6 part series posted. garsh. i can tell winters-a-comin (groan, gnash teeth)...i'm sluggish in the morning, even through my 2nd and 3rd cups of coffee...and then at night i want to get all sorts of things done, but mostly, i just want to sit on my duff or actually, just wave the white flag, call it a day and hope for more energy tomorrow. 

am i pathetic or what?
don't answer that. (mom, i know i'm not pathetic).

the black and red vases (wha? why the bleep did i buy vases?) were my first purchase for the day. wish i could have a do over. 

the goose and the bull are 2 of  my favorite finds of the day. (brents too. not really.) they are towel racks (i'm pretty sure anyway)...and i already have another goose the same size and a smaller one too. they're ceramic, and lovely, lovely white. i keep thinking they need to all be hung in the kitchen, but wall space in there is prime real estate and i can't seem to commit on anything just yet. i wonder how many different animal types are still out there. (a quick search on etsy showed one result...and a $45 price tag! perhaps i don't love them thaaaat much to keep them!). 

have a good weekend, all you's, now.

Part V of VI of the junk jaunt: le green dish

2011-10-06T21:32:00.001-05:00

held your breath for a week waiting for part V and VI, eh? sorry bout that.

these long green (and sometimes yellow or iridescent) dishes have become a favorite of mine to seek out whenever i am thrifting. not sure when i started collecting them. i don't even get all the ones i see. but i have 8. yes, 8. not that i'm using 8. or even have uses planned for the future for all 8. nope. i'm actually only using one right now. 

one.

the other 7 are stacked up. actually right behind me-over my left shoulder- on a shelf. but if i ever host a dinner party, you bet your dinner party pants i'll be using a few. or 8.

where did this weird dish obsession come from? ermm, well. my childhood, of course. and more specifically, the dish that looked exactly like this one. mom would put carrots and celery in it for dinners (noon meal) and/or suppers (evening meal). i do not know why i like it, and to this day, i look at it and think, what's up, leah? why this dish? and to that, i answer myself with a whu?...why, not?

the only thing that annoys me about this collection is that one of them is the one. but, since i didn't want to write on it, i have no idea which one. i suppose it shouldn't matter, but it kinda does. 

anywho. 

when i purchased the tin ceiling tiles on the junk jaunt 2 weekends ago, this was thrown in! super score. if you want to see our collection of finds from the junk jaunt...scroll down a bit and enjoy!

Part IV of VI: going somewhere?

2011-09-29T07:00:00.000-05:00

yes, we found a lot of suitcases.
and trunks,
and train cases,
and shoulder bags,
and tackle boxes, last weekend.

but. when faced with this many pieces of awesome, i ask you, how can you not come home with a certifiably crazy amount?

see one you like? let me know. they're all for sale.

want to see what else we found? go here, here, here, here and here.

Part III of VI: Macrame Kit

2011-09-28T14:04:00.003-05:00

a macrame kit! no really. it's a macrame kit.

as in, rolls and rolls of this stuff.

and a bag chock full of beads and rings.

and a book. a mad about macrame book.

i'm stoked people. stoked!

see my other posts about the junk jaunt here, here, here, and here.

Part II of VI: Annual Junk Jaunt

2011-09-27T13:07:00.000-05:00

We found 3 sweet stools throughout the day that we nabbed at great prices. the "z" stool on the left is both our favorite, despite the somewhat mundane brown vinyl cover. the middle stool is the most story worthy: the lady went on and on (and on and on and on) about how this stool was hers growing up and how she didn't want to get rid of it and how it was hers and how she didn't want to get....you get the picture.

about the 3rd time she said this i mumbled under my breath "then don't sell it lady, it's your garage sale." it frustrates me when people do this. she could have put a higher price on it and it probably wouldn't have sold. OR she could have kept in in her home...away from any garage salers eyes. my sister in laws sister once said "it's not my fault she overpaid for it to start with" (i use this phrase often)...and in this case "it's not my fault you put it in your sale and put that price on it." sheesh. ok. moving on.

holla' this sweet chair used to be in a choir loft (there's a country song in this chairs story, i'm sure of it!) supposedly this is the last one left. it will be perfect to assist in the decor department of someones garden or flower bed.

tin. ceiling. tiles. double holla' 

usually these sheets are priced waaaay too high. this one...was priced just right. as in, i would have felt guilty if i would have haggled with her. the paint is shabby chic to the nth degree...ie...it's flakey and wonderful. with this purchase, she also threw in the other item that i got for free. that will be shown later this week.

please note: everything shown here this week (and really, always) is for sale. it may not make it onto our etsy shop for a bit (because, er, we have tons of sh*t to clean, organize, photograph and list) so, if you likey what you see, give me a shout and it can be yours.

stop back tomorrow for more goodies from the Junk Jaunt! Need to catch up? Start here. Then go here. and finally, here.

Part I of VI: Annual Junk Jaunt

2011-09-26T12:35:00.001-05:00

Friday morning, we got up at 3am. yes. three freakin-o-clock in the bless-ed morning. we had to, after all, we were heading west to find some loot...and, the loot don't wait, people. the.loot.don't.wait.

by leaving at 4, we were at the furthest point of our day, (burwell) at 7am (if we're splitting hairs, it was actually 6:45). We pull into the gas station to er, use the facilities...and we see someone we know from seward. ah, the small world thing. 

Brent was uber patient with the navigator (me) as I read descriptions of sales in our book, made sure to look at the times the sales opened, found addresses and looked for the magic number signs in lawns and where ever that showed us the way to a sale.

The first sale we pulled into was not a sale that we were planning on going to, but the nice old ladies waved us in, so we fell for it. I ended up buying 2 vase things (wha? I don't buy vases!) and we split. headed for far, far better ones. 

The above picture (click to enlarge)...my favorite items: the popcorn tv lamp (in the green crate), the wood horse on the right, the file drawer painted creamy white and yellow, and the pink and purple trays in the bottom row center (they are an old fashioned couple dancing and her purse is flying out from her hand...under his arm. it totally looks like a "puff of smell" coming from his pit).

Part II of IV tomorrow! Stop back!

linking up with Thrift Share Monday! 

Orange you glad the oath was quasi serious?

2011-09-25T09:56:00.001-05:00

I took an oath while we were driving in the wee hours of the morning on Junk Jaunt day. Oh, it was a voluntary oath...nothing brent suggested by any means. It went something like this (I said it and made myself repeat it):

I Leah

I Leah

will not spend precious Junk Jaunt time

will not spend precious Junk Jaunt time

looking at vintage clothing

looking at vintage clothing

for selling or keeping

for selling or keeping

no matter how cool

no matter how cool

the vintage clothing will probably be.

the vintage clothing will probably be.

I took this oath because I tend to get all excited about some sweet vintage clothing I find...and then when I get it home and know I need to sell it, it totally irritates me that I purchased it because I hate (hate) listing lots of clothing. pieces here and there, sure, not a biggy...but when I have 5 to 10 to 15 or more pieces of clothing all hanging around. irg. 

And I lived by my oath until we rolled up on to Elyria, Nebraska. Doesn't that town name just scream cool vintage?! Maybe it's because Brent and I took it upon ourselves to call it Elvira. As in...My hearts on fire, Elvira....Giddy up a boom bappa...

and the vintage rack of clothing that I caved on wasn't at some dainty elderly womans house...it was right off the highway, at a vehicle repair shop with old rusted cars and truck parts strewn about. and two hard workin teenage boys sitting there put in their time. But the rack called my name. and I looked through every piece. tried on a few. and came home with one. This sweet orange fall coat. I'm glad I broke my oath.

Formica ForSalea

2011-09-24T16:10:00.001-05:00

kitchen table for sale.

it's totally sweet and we love it. but we have a sweet, sweet affliction for kitchen tables. want more details? read my craigslist ad.

score of all scores

2011-09-23T17:29:00.001-05:00

Mercy me, why no one grabbed this before me, i will never figure out. But really, all that matters to me though is that its on our trailer!

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gah! irg. and the wonderful copper-orange.

2011-09-21T08:13:00.001-05:00

gah! it was totally crispy outside this morning and i love it. on my drive in, there is something nice and (dare i say) cozy (wha? in my car?!) about cracking the window a wee bit and having the heater run on low on my feet. efficient? no. guilty pleasure? yes.

also. if you have the pleasure of living in a somewhat rural area...and more precisely, a soybean growin area, make sure you take in the countless colors the fields are turning. each field on it's own schedule. some still more green than anything. some yellow and gold. some, with that hard to imagine-wonderful to soak in copper-orange.

irg. my inability to find the correct words to describe these majestic colors sweeping across each field is quite frustrating to me. so, for my sake, and yours, take a drive into the country.

dutch decor & doe a deer

2011-09-19T07:35:00.002-05:00

i so enjoy the sprinkling of dutch old humor one liner items i find. these sold pretty easily a while back. and a few other things have passed through the gates of moxiethrift to be snatched up pretty quick like. i am debating weather i should keep this light switch cover. the light switches by the front door in our house is a double, so i could add it to our eclectic mix in the living room.

a super score, this pink doe earring holder was. it was in the toy section of the local thrift store...and it didn't have a price tag on it. there are thrift stores that if it doesn't have a price tag on it, you have to wait 24 hours until they have a chance to price it again. they do this to prevent people ripping the tag off and taking it to a register where the person may in ill informed as to what it should sell for.

and no, i didn't take the price tag off of doe. 

i did however, do the "good price dance" all the way up to the check out line. and the dance worked, i got it at a great price.

i also scored a great all black cardigan sweater off the dollar rack. i was totally looking for one too. how often does that happen?!

linkin up to thrift share monday -- ain't it grand?

before & happily ever after: the birdcage

2011-09-18T07:10:00.000-05:00

we sold this from our etsy shop a few weeks back. little did we know rachel from the east coast had such fun plans for it!

the 'before' picture

i always welcome "after" pictures from our customers...it's fun to see what they did or are doing with the goodies they purchase from moxiethrift. 

the 'after' picture

and, usually, the happy customer can say it far better than anything I'd drum up, so..."I added a couple vintage books for height, a carved white pumpkin  from Pottery Barn, and some raffia trimmings voila...the perfect fall  centerpiece. Just love it."

thanks rachel for sharing the happily ever after of this sweet birdcage!

plaidish pumpkins

2011-09-15T08:13:00.000-05:00

i rarely have an idea, purchase what i don't have to make that idea come to fruition, decide that yes, indeed, that idea is what i want to go with, and then make that idea....all within a days time. a rarity is the display below.

i decided last friday afternoon i want pumpkins for display on our (newly painted) front step. i also looked online for some (easy, quick) ways to paint said pumpkins on the same afternoon. i stopped on the way home from work and purchased 5 small pumpkins, and then saturday morning, stopped at the farmers market to purchase 2 larger ones.

because my attention span and focus on doing something like this is, oh, about 63 minutes, i had to nix the carving, nix the fancy dot painting, delete ideas of painting them white and then painting black silhouettes on them. i do love me some spray paint though and had that on hand, so i got out the tape and started taping plaid patterns.

i liked this idea because a)i didn't have to be precise and b)i didn't have to be precise....so, in all my unpreciseness, i taped, i spray painted, i peeled off the tape, and then when all was dry, i coated them all with a glossy sealer to hopefully thwart the resident squirrel attempts at eating the pumpkins like they did last year. (i still haven't forgiven them). i added the gold tack dealios only because i find great joy in adding just one more thing to my projects. and i thought it would look cool.

happy autumn!

carry stuff and see stuff

2011-09-13T15:10:00.001-05:00

it seems to be a theme here on the home front.

totes-n-billfolds-n-trinket holders a-plenty up in hee-ah. i hurdled a lamp stand to get to that orange tote before anyone else could. no matter that I was in the thrift store lower level alone. i've been watching the trinket box with the stripe on it for a good month. it finally to half price. then, and only then, could I justify the buy.

mom found this sweeeeet red had case. should have no trouble selling it.

she also found these two lamps. lighting. people...it's lighting. everyone needs a good lamp or 14. we are leaning towards 14. bu...bu....but....the green....it goes so good with the hodge podge of greenness in our dining room. drat. that's what i said about the last green lamp, so I will stand firm in my decision to sell it. perhaps.

Good read. Go on, read it.

2011-09-11T11:48:00.000-05:00

This is a far better read than anything I could write today.

baff ling, I say!

2011-09-07T16:16:00.001-05:00

brent snapped this photo. lovely, don'tcha think?
I can't quite figure out why, after a 3 day weekend where
all I/we did was do "house stuff" and "home stuff"....
I can't be more organized and prepared for this week. it
baffles me, and yet, doesn't surprise me one ounce.

our kids. kinda.

2011-09-02T11:15:00.001-05:00

we put together this video to share at the Godparent Retreat 
last weekend. A little glimpse of "our" kids. 
Pretty Faithful and stellar group of young adults.

We got this group when they were Freshman...and now, they are Seniors. Eeegads, we are proud "parents."

For Sale: everything but the picket fence

2011-08-30T13:26:00.000-05:00

For Sale:

and, For Sale:

Can you just imagine all the deliciousness
you could do with this?
Hang as is...
or maybe paint part of it with chalkboard paint...
or use it as a background an enlargement of your favorite photo and then hang it up...
or maybe a background for a collage of your favorite pieces?...
with a handy person around you could make them
into a few shelves.

comment here, facebook or email me.

clean out the old sh*t

2011-08-29T13:01:00.002-05:00

once a year, concordia university in seward has a 'clean out the old sh*t' sale (my words, not theirs). i'm sure somewhere on campus someone gets the job of collecting the chairs or typewriter tables or desks or old typewriters that are deemed unusable or inefficient or space taker uppers or so 40 years ago. and every year we attend, we score some major good loot at fairly decent prices. so, thank you person who put 5 typewriter tables, these 4 chairs, a typewriter and a sweet desk lamp as old and unusable or space taker uppers.

we (brent, actually) purchased 3 orange chairs and 1 blue one. what are we going to do with these 4 very solid, very wood, very wide chairs? huh. funny you should ask that...we were asking ourselves that same question.

brents mom went to an auction this past weekend while we were away for the day and night at camp with about 80 teens (yes.). these 4 suitcases along with about 5 other items (i was too tired to photograph) were picked up at that auction. that reddish looking suitcase...yeah, it's pink and it's super cool. i mean, super duper. cool.

linking up here today.

Tomatoes up in here. up in here.

2011-08-22T20:44:00.000-05:00

Matoes in da hizz-ouse. (gangsta slang, yo)

my brothers girlfriend was kinda enough to give me a ~~truck~~ boat load of tomatoes this past weekend. mind you, i asked for the blasted things. i also got a bucket full from some friends of ours. and, yes, i asked for those too. and yes, i'm all about giving myself a whole days worth of weekend labor.

ours went and got The Blight, so they became non producing sons-of-a-guns, and subsequently got ripped from the ground with fury and disgust. no need to water what ainta-gonna fulfill the requirements of being in our garden.

tomatoes. gobs of them. get ta choppin leah. i chopped every single tomato yesterday, along with 5 onions, celery, and bell, jalapeno and chili peppers. i made salsa (that really, let's be frank here, is delicious to the eyes and mouth), and canned some of the extra juice for chili too. then i went and got all motivated to make soup. i mean, the thought of supper in a jar really gets me goin. and what with jill's soup recipe and all, who could resist?! i did tweak hers a bit...no curry for me, but i did put in some garlic and cilantro.

about 6 hours later...21 jars of wholesome goodness. i think i want to make some more salsa though. but the thought of cutting up more tomatoes right now? yeah, uh, *clicks tongue* not so much.

pretty in pink...and yellow

2011-08-21T06:24:00.001-05:00

::update:: these beauties are spoken for. thanks all! 

these three beauties were tucked away inside a trunk brent purchased at an auction a couple weeks ago. it was a lovely surprise. i can't help but wonder what event they were purchased for, and, subsequently, carefully tucked away after to keepsake the dress and the moments of the day or night. 

all that wondering and making up stories in my head about what events these dresses were worn to is all great and stuff, but, i am also a realist by day. so, i look at these dresses as objects that are taking up space. despite having a seamstress genius as a mother, I am not that into reselling vintage clothes. 

so, if any of you out there would like these wee small adult dresses, for piecing out, or to wear or resell or what ever floats your boat, they are yours. all i ask is for you to pay shipping. comment here or email me. if i hear not a word, i will be donating them to a thrift shop this saturday.

wait for it

2011-08-18T16:42:00.001-05:00

How I Met Your Mother has become thee go-to show at any hour in our home. It's sorta like Saved by the Bell was for me when I babysat during the summer in high school. Need to fill a couple hours after swimming til the mom gets home? 3 episodes of Saved by the Bell? Yes, please.

No matter what time of day, no matter what day of the week, sit down and an episode will have just started or just ended, or, if you're really lucky, it'll be right smack in the heart of the show where the humor lies.

This is one of the best episodes to date because of this very scene. I love it.

whooo knows.

2011-08-15T22:45:00.002-05:00

who really knows when one of those kinds of weeks will hit until your smack dab in the middle (or the beginning) of it and you think, blimey, there's a lot of sh*t going on this week. you look around and with a slight intake of breath you think, gah..really all of this in a mere 5 days?

and then, you go ahead and get ta going, because the only way to get through it, is to....get this...work through it. i know...poetic and realistic all tied up into that little nugget.

sure, there are plenty of other things that need to get done, and a crap-ton of other things i want to get done. but, the trick to not going bat-sh*t crazy is to not focus on the whole 20lb. turkey at once. take a small bite. chew it up real good and proper, then go ahead and take another bite. that's what I plan on doing this week. small bites, constant grazing of small bites. I'm quite sure I'll be full by the weekend.

the ball is rolling

2011-08-10T10:44:00.000-05:00

after about 3 years in our home, I finally put something from my massive "put this stuff on the walls" collection of goodies on a wall.

i suppose it's kinda like the intimidation a white canvas poses for a painter. i have ideas as to what i want a room to look like. what theme or color or feeling i want to invoke and infuse (i know, how granola of me) but am either not sure how to get to that point...or too lazy to get to that point...or not patient enough to work through the steps to get to that point...or lack key components to get to that point. so, my massive "put this stuff on the walls" sits there like a dusty exercise bike or a half written book or a box of lasagna noodles waiting to be made into lasagna.

for whatever reason, last Saturday I addressed a small portion of my "put this stuff on walls" pile and this is the result. may not be grand, may not be show stopping, but, it's done, the ball is rolling, the pile is a little smaller.

and for you

2011-08-07T07:23:00.002-05:00

there's something pretty sweet about your husband coming home from an auction with a gift for you -- "because i figured you'd like these."

He went ahead and paid the big bucks (not really at all) for them when they came up for grabs. i'm most certain it's better than flowers (they die) or even a box of chocolates (nothing says i love you like a box of guilt).

some have asked.

2011-08-06T20:02:00.002-05:00

(today's word of the day on dictionary.com) 

when i opened our shop on etsy, moxiethrift, some asked...yo, lee-UH, what's MOX-eeee mean?! 

I'm not sure I like to say it means "pep"...I don't think I have pep. Vigor, perhaps. not pep though. pep reminds me of high school cheerleaders. I'm so not high school cheerleader.

I am full of vigor, though. that, I am full of.

1 is better than none, of course

2011-08-02T22:41:00.001-05:00

kind of a rough go at thrifting this past weekend. not for a lack of effort though, brent gets a gold star for that. this scale is the only thing that came home with him after going to one auction, then another, then back to the first one. (i told ya, a gold star!). It's only fair that I disclose that I didn't go to any thrift store at all this past weekend...thus not helping the stockpiling atall. but, in my defense, I did tidy up the house and do laundry (both very vital to my sanity).

smalls are good too.

2011-07-24T23:04:00.001-05:00

I found these thing at the local thrift store...i usually hunker down, get my feet planted and give the buttons and brooches a real good look through. I found 4 i wanted , but decided on 2. And a pair of shoes. And this stationary too. I love vintage stationary. Those apple ones make me really happy. I would love to design paper products.

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unknown vintage kitchen gadget. what say you?

2011-07-24T06:57:00.001-05:00

little known fact: sometimes, I don't know it all. I know, surprising proclamation isn't it? Some recent tag-a-longs in a box at an auction have me stumped. and I'm enlisting your help.

any ideas? first off, don't think I've seen one of these before, secondly, is this complete or does it go with something else? and lastly, I plan to sell it, unless it is the secret gadget that will make all things in the kitchen 14 times easier. then, i'm keepin it.

and this little beauty. a nice and beautiful patina'd container with a mixer. but, friends, what are we mixing here? and again, are all the components here?

here are the components. so, knowledgeable friends, what say you?

2 farmers and a small garden

2011-07-23T08:04:00.001-05:00

gah! i love summer meals. for example, last night, my family's beef and local corn on the cob. really, how much better can it get? oh! it does get better. with 2 words. cherry tomatoes. brent eats them as is, i have to have a bit of ranch with them. but when your whole meal consists of food from 2 farmers and our small garden? i'll take that ~~any day~~ every day.

one step, and it's yours

2011-07-21T17:33:00.011-05:00

Sometimes, we buy things that turn out to be not so vintage. we can't sell anything on etsy made after 1992...and this hovers right around there. we (we meaning brent) purchased a box of cameras at an auction recently and this was one of them. so was this. and this. we also got some flash bulbs, a flash and some film. it was a super good box. anyway, if this camera fits your fancy, go ahead and buy it here. It's $10 plus shipping. if you have to pay shipping but end up picking it up from me, i'll reimburse you, scouts honor.

today, on my day off.
heard the full version of my alarm clock song because, bless be,
couldn't find the off button to save my life.
finished up a pro bono job. (damn, that feels good to be done)did some laundry so perhaps a good part of saturday won't be spent doing laundry.
had to remind myself 7 or 8 times that today is not saturday and yes i have to work tomorrow.

got me a hair cut.

cleaned a bunch of things to photograph later

i found a handful of fun stuff at the thrift store. mostly for me and our house. that's ok. can's score thrift all the time, right?

i'm not gonna lie, i'm plum tuckered out. second wind...where be you?

(oh, and that space above and below the buy now button? totally irritates me too.)

i will stay inside, happy and content

2011-07-17T09:19:00.001-05:00

i thought i would sneak out to the garden in the wee hours of the morning before it became deaths front door with the sun beating me into submission and the gargantuan kamikaze mosquitoes (skeeters) diving into my untanned flesh. i picked what i could of the peas, tomatoes and cucumbers.

unloaded those goods on the kitchen counter (where they are still sitting, mind you), and headed back out with my camera. the sun hadn't officially come up yet, but that did not dissuade the hellishly large skeeters from bellying up to the bar.

i really don't remember skeeters every being this large. and, lucky for me, i get more allergic to them (perhaps just mentally) the older i get.

fear not, readers. i have not succumbed to the pressure and jumped on the bandwagon of complaining about the weather. it is what it is. and it's flipping hot, like drop to your knees and beg for mercy sort of hot.

i have filed away a few memories from the bowels of last winter to draw upon on days like this--this filthy hot mess--we have going on today and this week.

and today, similar to those deep dark days of winter, i will stay inside, happy and content.

and speaking of happy and content, how about these pea vines? cool eh?

now is not the time.

2011-07-15T14:44:00.000-05:00

now is not the time for yellow, autumnish leaves, but, i'm posting them anyway.

now is also not the time to post a longer post, but, perhaps, this weekend.

abhorrent or witty

2011-07-12T16:56:00.000-05:00

so, i don't really have a photo to go along with this little nugget of goodness, but none-the-less, wanted to get it out of my head so i could stop replaying it over and over and over and ov...you get the point.

saturday, when i was at the first of 2 thrift stores, i did a quick pass through the ladies shoes and purses area. just mindin my own, i over heard a mother, father and son (15ish years old) looking at clothing for the mother. i really was paying them no mind, until i heard this from the son:

yeah, but they don't have it in cottage cheese size.

whaaaaa?

perhaps this was taken (by me) completely out of context, but the only reason (that i would know of) anyone ever talks about cottage cheese in a clothing store is to make crude abhorrent references to their -or someone elses- dimply over sized legs/thighs or what-have-you. so, after digesting the comment, running it through card catalog upon card catalog of one liners and movie quotes in my head and coming up empty handed, i am quite certain he was referencing his mothers legs/thighs or what-have-yous.

i'm not sure whether to be disgusted that he talks to his mother that way or being impressed that a 15ish year old is able to think that fast and reply on cue with wit.

on the fly

2011-07-11T16:37:00.002-05:00

i decided, on the fly, saturday to sleep in til 7---not exactly the rip roarin start i wanted to have. my cold put it's heavy and sluggish foot down (on my head, it seems) and insisted on another 2 hours of bed-sheet-creases-in-my-face sort of exhausted sleep.

i had a few free lance design projects that were on my plate for the day, but I ask you, who can focus on such things when their thrift addiction hasn't been fed? and i did what any strong-willed girl would do, went to a thrift shop. or two.

i got each one of these accessories for a song, (no, i didn't have to sing, although i would for the right price). the pin (brooch?) has a monogram on it, so i will probably give it to the one relative that has that initial (cheap christmas gift!). the owl necklace is darling. i am still on the fence about keeping vs.selling. someone, please cast your wisdom onto me. i think there was supposed to be a jewel in the center part because it looks like some glue was there at one time. i kinda like that the owl takes on the texture and color of whatever you are wearing. call me crazy.

speaking of calling. i got this dial-thingy. not sure it was from a real phone or not. it just called to me. how's everyone doing with my humor today? good? no?  

on the fly, i visited the men's department at one thrift store. i try not to visit it as much anymore -what with my promise to myself to girl it up and let the tomboy go a bit- i have to stay away from filling my closet with tshirts. i love tshirts. and, guy tshirts don't have butterflies and puppies and crap on them, so i usually lean towards accepting their designs more. i did find these shoes. for part or all of 3 seasons in nebraska, we wear shoes and socks, if not 2 pair of socks. these sketchers will fall into step nicely with my fall attire.

i saw these oars the last time i was at a particular thrift store. due to where the shop is at and the crowd that generally goes, i didn't think they would be goaring (get it?) anywhere too fast. i picked them up this time partly because i was sick of thinking about if i should oar shouldn't get them, partly because i think they will sell.

who would have thought i would have liked the look of an albino dragonfly? i suppose the fact that it's cast iron and rusty a bit helped. i'm not really all that sure it's that old, so this one will be staying around our house for a while anyway. perhaps it will scare away the squirrels that are now so comfortable with us, they climb our back steps and peer in. 

quite unnerving.

participating in thrift share monday, here.

poor video, cool thrifted items

2011-07-09T09:35:00.000-05:00

i just can't make myself talk on videos. so, enjoy the silence.

midweek auction? ok!

2011-07-07T13:40:00.002-05:00

*heel click* for a midweek auction!

brent was able to get to an auction in milford last night.

one of my weaknesses. metal stools painted white. period, the end. and look at the fancy pants legs on them? wouldn't they look fabulous around a kitchen bar area...or lined up in a sun room...or better, in our house.

hahaha, the brand on this is vagabond. i love that word. i don't use it near enough. some words you should form conversations around. this is one of them.

gah! swag lights. love um. and they love us (by that i mean we have pretty good luck selling them online.)

gah! another swag light. *double fist pump*

mirrors. not the most fun to package, but beneficial to our shop, none the less! the white one would look good hanging by the white stools above. does anyone else see the image? no not in the mirror...the shape of the mirror! visually turn in upside down....it's a piece of bread. that's worth some dough, isn't it?

get it...dough....cash....bread dough....no? anyone?

cherry.

2011-07-06T08:18:00.000-05:00

tomatoes, that is. 

we've been talking to our garden. coaxing it, soothing it and cheering it on through the recent storms. and so far, it has withstood all the elements thrown at it.

and soon, if we've played our cards right and we keep our fingers crossed just so, lots of peas, peppers, cucumbers, onions and tomatoes will be strewn about our kitchen counter, and every meal will be of summer.

stuck on stickers

2011-07-03T17:20:00.000-05:00

there are a lot of things in a thrift store that will make me stop dead in my tracks and look deeper. but, most of the other things i can easily explain. for example:

"oh! a red train case. that is an easy sell." or

"vintage cowboy boots at that price? yes, that's a no brainer." or

"a bag full of vintage ties in bright colors? sure they are a good buy"

but, stickers are more of a smeared line when it comes to yay or nay. they pull at my childhood heartstrings more than my etsy driven right brain (or left...you get what i mean). it goes something like this:

oh! stickers!

i could sell these.

but they won't make much money.

but we need small things in our shop too. 

really? 3 sheets of school calender type of stickers?

ok, good point, not the most sellable sort.

but look at the graphics!

yeah the graphics are cool.

so retro. maybe i should get them and scan them for the graphics before i sell them. 

leah, get real, you aren't going to sell them...you will keep them like you have kept every other sticker besides these.

pretty sure i'm going to keep them. i have no business keeping stickers, because when it comes to stickers, i have the characteristics of a hoarder. i love them and i hate using them so they just pile up. and up and up. yes, i still have my childhood sticker collection. what of it?

4 (or maybe 3) auctions, plenty of loot

2011-06-27T12:26:00.001-05:00

in total, brent and I went to 4 auctions this weekend...ok, more like 3 and a walk through of a 4th, but it sounds way more cruel and dedicated if I say 4. brent scored this clock at the one he went to Saturday. Super uber cool, eh?! It may be a keeper!

hamms anyone?

the super bright made in japan coffee cups and pot were a good score too. i wish i didn't have 30 coffee cups in my cupboards already. i really dig the green one of these. but, i made myself take photos of this set already so hopefully sometime this week we can get it listed.

as i was looking at this typewriter yesterday, i discovered something and text brent right away...here it is in a paraphrased sort of way: holy sh*t! that typewriter i got is cursive!

to which he responded: booyah!

abacus's are cool. or, in my case, atticus's are cool.

i like words. and letters too. and i scored these and scrabble letters too.

what's cooler than a roll of 8mm film?

a whole box full of rolls of 8mm film! to quote brent from earlier: booyah!

frankoma dishes anyone? the 2 blue pieces are my favorites. beautiful! (flash photography on this one because i was too lazy to move the box into better light)

according to this, the world is flat. also according to this, the world is a puzzle.

to go along with the 8mm rolls of film...a splicer recorder doo-jobby.

i'm going to pull our our movie projector soon and watch this water ballet beach party.

probably over paid for this set of 3 watercolor tins. but, gah. i scored on some other things so it all comes out, right? right!

brent and his parents went to an auction yesterday that pretty much blew his mind. not only did the sale have many (many) multiples of each item but the people there were willing to pay (really, really pay) for a lot of the stuff. they would pay more than retail. more than dealers would pay. it also was the 2nd longest sale he's been to, starting at 8am and he got home around 6:30 or so.

we capped off the night with a quick supper with his parents...and then sprinting out to our vehicles as the tornado sirens went off. nothing happened (thank Him), but it sure looked funky and wonky out. eeegads...oh and to the guy that yelled obscenities to us as we waited for a car to turn so we could turn: @*@(&!@^!($&*@.

linking up with apron thrift girl and thrift share monday.

letters in metal.

2011-06-24T16:16:00.001-05:00

totally meant to be. brent didn't even know i was thinking about ordering some of these metal stampers and look what he purchased at an auction a few weeks back. 

now i can play, play play with metal and letters and stuff. i like letters and stuff. letters that make words. words that make phrases. phrases that make people roll their eyes or grunt a laugh of approval --or even dislike. it's what i do. ok, it's one of a couple things i do, but like i mentioned, i like words, k?

totally meant to be, b and me.

home is

2011-06-18T23:46:00.001-05:00

Here. And to the left and right. And at the end of the fence and the beginning of it too for that matter.

I wish i could bottle this for those days i need a little taste of something real good and wholesome and true.

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all of this and more.

2011-06-16T10:02:00.001-05:00

in the last weeks...we've devoured 2.5 fresh pineapple. i received the best hair cut. a quart of paint arrived in the mail. we gave our peas something to climb on. i picked up a $7.65 profit from a consignment store. i spent $7.40 on a pair of shoes in a consignment store. i watched (and continue to watch) the river water rise. we peeled up the carpet and started scraping glue on our front porch. i've changed my alarm ring. twice. i tried a new deodorant, and although it's not as good, it's still good. i finally excepted i can't drink green tea. looked up and saw serious amounts of dust. put off dusting til another day. burnt my forehead with my curling iron. taken a likin to cinnamon coffee. the long await feedback number arrived...1234.

first big move in the two 6 two

2011-06-09T16:48:00.001-05:00

we sold a big piece at the 2 six 2! Go here to see what was in the place of this white metal (*swoon) cabinet (it's pic 2).

and...speaking of white metal cabinets....follow the big obnoxious white and red arrow to the white metal (*swoon) cabinet that's now in it's place. hurry up already and someone buy it, because I want to keep it...real fierce-like but I sorta think the three that are in our dining room now pretty much touches the tippy top of my limit.

the other side...and just as lovely, I do believe. Look at that white and red chippy wood chair. nom-nom...i love chippy wood chairs. not to eat, mind you, -as the "nom-nom" would imply, but to look at and swoon about.

time will tell.

2011-06-06T21:38:00.013-05:00

it's time...

to prioritize my to-do list and my priority list.

only time will tell if it'll actually happen.

i bet i'll make a fine dent on my to do list in the next week.

but then again, even a broken clock is right twice a day.

p.s. i think we're going to keep this one.

p.p.s. it's time to get back to work.

ebony and...yellowish cream?

2011-06-05T13:48:00.001-05:00

sweet score from the thrift store yesterday...chalk ware horse bookends. i know there is a joke around here somewhere... something on the lines of ebony and ivory or perhaps a wizard of oz joke about a horse of a different color...but, my mind is slowly baked by this overgrown mop of hair i have on my head that i keep forgetting to make an appointment to rid myself of.

oh boy. and girl and girl and boy

2011-06-03T15:50:00.004-05:00

4 of our 9 nieces and nephews came to visit last weekend. boy oh girl (repeat), did we have a good time. i am forever amazed at these little ones that seep into and also engulf my heart.

potential

2011-06-01T10:00:00.001-05:00

i don't think i've shared this with you yet. right now it's sitting prettily partly buried outside. but, happily, it's in rather good shape considering it's been outside for at least 30 years thanks to some gnarly old trees hanging it's large and gangly limbs over it like an over sized and over protective protective mother.

i think it will be a great piece to sell on craigslist or in the 262.

the great thing about this is that i've probably seen it there 27 times in the last how many years, but now, i really noticed it...and saw it's potential. amen for my eyes being opened.

oh, and that project i started? it's consuming a bit more time and brain space than i thought it would. but it's good. and there's potential to have it be really really good.

blood lines

2011-05-24T08:45:00.001-05:00

my maternal grandmother took this on their ranch years ago.

the older i get the more i understand the depth of what a stellar lady she was. class, grace, ingenuity, and strength at it's finest. something mom took it upon herself to own as well.

not sure what that all has to do with
cows in a pasture, but, whatevs.

band wagon. i've jumped on.

2011-05-21T08:15:00.001-05:00

hi my name is leah and i've jumped on the chalkboard paint band wagon. just search "chalkboard" or better, "framed chalkboard" on etsy and you can see the largeness of the wagon that i'm jumping on. 

the thing is...this whole band-wagon-jumping fits riiiight into one of my self proclaimed sarcastic life theme (day late dollar short. see, i tried chalkboard paint a year or so before it became cool. yes. laugh. go ahead, it's ok.

i tried it by way of spray paint. and with amazingly disappointing results, i do what any quasi-crafty-but-really-just-A.D.Dish person would do...i mentally sharpie-markered a big ol X through chalkboard paint. but then, this craft started to pop up on etsy. i summoned, it was not chalkboard paint failing, but me failing (dramatic loud drum, please). see, i was too ~~cheap~~, er, cautiously frugal, to buy the $6 brush on chalkboard paint...i purchased the $2 can of fast-like spray paint.

this potato bin was the first thing to be chalked up. lawdy mercy, the hideous bright green color it was painted made me weep every time i walked past it (that's a lot of weeping since it's in my kitchen and by the door to go downstairs).

why chalkboard paint on a potato bin? well, to that i say, why not? I get to write "spuds" on there. or tater. or tater salad (fast forward to 6 min). or, if i could draw a tater on there that actually looked like a tater, i'd do that. but so far, the taters look like squished eggs. and, i wouldn't want any visitors thinking i have a chicken in there.

to recap: every surface in our house has the potential to be chalk boarded.

oh, and, i'll probably jump off the band wagon in a short time, but for now, i'll just sit quietly in the corner doing my thing.

it appears...

2011-05-19T21:39:00.000-05:00

today i have nothing to say.

what say you?

he plays the piano

2011-05-18T11:30:00.001-05:00

my nephew.
i may or may not have been moved to tears at his piano recital.

small, but mighty

2011-05-17T06:58:00.000-05:00

what is it about jars - clear ones especially - and really, containers of any sort that make me go yes, i'll take 5. i have dreams of all my bits and little things and pins and pens and hooks and magnets and doo-dads going in their specific glass jar. and lining them up on a shelf. so some random saturday when i need, say, a chippy green painted vintage closet hook, i'll go to the chippy painted closet hook glass container pull it down (won't dust off the lid because in this dream there is no dust) and take out a chippy green painted vintage closet hook. and then i will go about my business skipping and prancing (this part of the dream could easily be deleted) up the stairs to the task (home beautification, no doubt) i had started.

wait. wha? where am i? oh, yes, clear glass jars with patterns and lids are delicious. 

my current solution to my ongoing issue with grease. luckily, the handy dandy image on the front shows me how to pour the grease through the filter on this thing. or i would have had no idea how to go about that. (sarcasm font)

an 8mm film splicer? yes, please. and thanks mom for finding this one for us. there may not be a huge market for an 8 mm film splicer, but i reckon, the small crowd that would like one will be right glad we're putting this one up for sale. 

i picked up this picture for the lovely chipping white wood frame. but, the more i look at the graphic, the more i like it as well. (click on the image for a bit closer look) all the ducks are flying south, and the names are given and they are quite fun and lovely names...names that could be used in everyday life: he was acting like a bufflehead....the gadwall of things i wanted to do over the weekend was overwhelming...

a small but mighty pile of goods, i'd say.

2 for me, 1 for you

2011-05-14T14:25:00.002-05:00

Went thrift shopping this morning...i found a nice lot of goods to sell along with thee above. I get 2 of these, brent gets one. Any guesses as to whos is whos? 

As hard as it is to find shoes that fit my feet, i usually just have but a fleating glance at the shoes at this place. Imagine my delight when i found 2 pair that not only fit, but were never worn either. Score. Thats what i say to sans grimey shoes.

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*Monday update: due to cutting my finger (eegads, it won't stop bleeding) and computer issues and and and...i won't get my vintage thrift items up until tuesday. feel free to stop back then too!

linking up to thrift share monday here.

er, it's raining it's...

2011-05-13T15:52:00.001-05:00

(if you turn up the volume on your computer pretty much all the way, that's what it really sounded like last night when this #*$(&@# came falling like bullets shot from the sky).

uncool, mother....nature. totally uncool.

and yeah, sorry for the very uninteresting visual video...pretend you can actually see the marble sized hail pelting the ground and my car. that crap was coming down hard.

Team Daehling

2011-05-11T10:57:00.001-05:00

i started on a new long term project this week. and, like most projects i start, it consumes my mind and my time. but it's a really really good long term project for Team Daehling (brent and me). and it involves being thrifty, so, awesome. but, my brain is going a mile a minute. the longer i work on this project, the less brain strain it will have, so i await that time.

how about the birds singing in our backyard (aka, bird alley). this was at about 5:30am...the best part of the day as far as i'm concerned. so far this spring i have heard all the regulars and also have seen and heard woodpeckers, blue jays and cardinals. always a delight...and brent has already started re-teaching me their chirps and songs this year...i can't quite seem to remember them from year to year.

coins

2011-05-10T16:51:00.001-05:00

brent purchased some bow ties from an auction a while back. they were in a little plastic container all snug-like. i (finally) took pictures of them this past weekend. and lookie what was nestled inside...a silver dollar. mmm, yes. and although it's appearance seems a bit lackluster, it's still worth about $28 for the silver. talk about profit!

on another note, our local grocery store had a sale on eggs this past weekend. 12 cents for 1 dozen eggs. 

yes.

you read that correctly. so, when i walked into the grocery store carrying a single quarter...yeah, i got 2 dozen eggs and a penny back. i went in twice that day (limit of 2 each time) so now we have 4 dozen eggs in our fridge.

on another note, i need some egg recipes.

those sweet two words: city wide

2011-05-09T09:08:00.001-05:00

milford's city wide garage sales have blossomed into quite a little event in the last couple years. 60 advertised (and all the piggybackers) for a town of about 2000 is pretty good. i got off an hour early from work (really, you expect me to work that last hour knowing full well what is on the other end of the time clock?)

we have a lot (a lot lot) of file drawers right now - some listed, some not. i suppose my secret wish is that none of them sell so i can stack a big ol stack on them in our house somewhere and put...well, i'm not sure yet in them.

this owl came from one of the "piggybackers" a neighbor that decided to have a garage sale because of a garage sale in very close proximity to theirs...so, they piggyback on the paid advertising of the neighbor. unethical? yes. will i boycott the sale? no. (and sir, please withhold the life story you were sharing to any and all listening. it kinda made me want to leave. and next time, put the cigarette out and take the stuff out of the boxes).

i may put this by our front door. or we may sell it. to be decided.

keeping the eraser (you'll see why sometime this week). selling the chalkboard. (the one behind it is pretty much useless, its all colored on and markered on)

i totally love the world travel consultants bag. it's vinyl and zippered. i have considered using it for my purse/tote that i carry to work. only two issues: the strap needs to be about 3 inches longer to really fit my cross shoulder desire and no pocket anywhere to put my cell phone. ahhh, what's a girl to do?

love the hair dryer round tote, and the care bear suitcase? from 1986. eh. i probably should have left it behind. not because it a)won't sell or b)isn't vintage....it's just that i'm not that into the cutesy late 80s things. all those pastels make my eyes bleed. but, it will sell and i can't love everything that comes into our shop, right?

totally love these towels. even with all the pinks. i think i just love these old towels in general, and when i find some that have good graphics and not a whole lot of staining, well, it makes the decision pretty easy.

i was a brownie (the younger version of a girl scout). i wonder where jeanette of troop 66 is now a days. and why she didn't take this with her when she moved out. i love the 'be prepared' statement.

westminster abbey and a grid of flowers? boring except when it's on a towel. love the flower grid on there.

some great tablecloths. (Lorie P...are these the types you recently sold on ebay?..and, i got your message...i'll try to call sometime this week)

and the final bits. i totally love that orange tin. i actually did decide to keep that one. for a while anyway. it's under our kitchen sink being used for our overstock supplies.

totally not a bad gathering of goods for 2 hours on a friday night. granted, i cleaned house on the second garage sale i went to. it was totally our style of stuff to use and sell soooo, that made my evening outing a little shorter (which was welcomed, i was beat).

and, since most of this stuff was pretty clean, i've photographed a lot of it to list sometime this week too!

linking up to thrift share monday...stop by!

check, check aaaaand, check.

2011-05-06T08:29:00.001-05:00

map. check

cross shoulder tote purse. check

coupon for a quick supper. check

water bottle. check

cash in quarters, dollars. check

requested PTO to leave an hour early from work. check

and to think i thought about sittin this one out. tsk tsk, leah.

leah, the football playa'

2011-05-05T09:54:00.005-05:00

for your enjoyment.

you want to know what i was thinking when the photographer took this photo? i was thinking why the bleep is he making me, a girl, hold a football? seriously, does he think i'm a boy?

and to this day i can not make heads or tails of it.

i mean, a football? sear-slee.

but. i was super cute.

pat found it, pat cleaned it.

2011-05-04T16:38:00.001-05:00

lookie! brents mom came home with these goodies from the auction sunday. the white cart sold within 24 hours of listing...how fun is that? the very bottom right letter holder - the chickens - is listed already too. so is the ottoman (hassock) in the middle there.

and no, we usually don't have that quick of a turn around from buying to listing to selling, but it helps when your mother in law cleans the stuff before she brings it over and if the thing is just plain cool (the cart was), well, it takes care of itself.

Liam

2011-05-03T08:07:00.002-05:00

we went to my brother/sister in law's sunday to help Liam (center) celebrate his First Holy Communion. By the time this photo happened, he had ditched his very debonair jacket for the more comfortable white shirt decorated with red labeler identification stickers. Adam (the tall handsome youngest brother of mine) and I are Liams Godparents.

family photo sessions are not complete without kisses. and, come to find out, it's totally uncool for a 2nd grader to be kissed by an aunt and uncle like this in public. (i think he loved it though). and apparently, i needed to death grip his arm. sheesh, sorry liam. oh, and i'm getting a long over due hair cut tonight.

still with the death grip.and don't worry, adam and i both got our just desserts...with liam wiggling from our kiss attempts, adam and i both got jacked in our noses by his noggin. all is fair, i suppose.

a good day!

and, brents mom went to the auction that we couldn't go to. the stars were aligned people, they were aligned and pat reaped the benefits. more on that tomorrow.

friday evening finders keepers

2011-05-02T06:30:00.000-05:00

it was all about farm stuff friday evening (the only reason i sought this one out, really). ruff tuff stuff, i tell ya. metal, rusty, a bit crusty, but (happily) no musty! the coal bucket was probably the best priced item of the day. i thought perhaps a price tag fell into the bucket from a small item above...but nope, it was just a good ol fashioned score.

what's weird was, the mirror below was over priced. but the steal (not literally) on the stuff above helped the justification that was needed for the mirror. it is super cool though.

the 1980's called on their rotary phone, they want their blaster shields (glasses) back. 

another sweet score. and yes, i do have a pair of those glasses above on.

my, what big glasses you have, my dear. 

the better for my eye brows to see you with my dear (what?). i just find it fascinating that my full eyebrows can be seen through what would be the lens area. i also find it fascinating that i spent a fair amount of time trying on a variety of the glasses.

speaking of nuts.

and my favorite purchase of the day...

it wasn't really even by the tables and tables of farm stuff for sale. pays to not be as shy as one use to be. it also pays to wear clothes to work that can easily be considered clothes to get dirty while carrying a heavy *ss metal piece to your car.

black and gold and all chippy. and it's going in our living room i think. actually, we're sure of it.

go to this post to see the delightful weather from friday night.

and, on saturday, our sales ticker flipped over to 2000.

linking up to apron thrift girl and thrift share monday.

lynn, rachel and b*tchin brownies

2011-05-01T16:20:00.001-05:00

Stop and see lynn (the kissee, silverwork) and rachel (the kisser, two dog pond) at the liberty house in seward. Those 2 ladies and bonnies b*tchin brownies are worth the stop for sure. But there are a lawn full of other makers of things to really seal the deal.

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that's nebraska for you

2011-04-30T07:37:00.000-05:00

the wind in nebraska is just a fact of life. similar to rain in the northwest and blistering sun in the southwest, i suppose.  

i went to only one garage sale friday night after work. i planned to go to malcolm's city wide garage sales, but, the wind coupled with my allergies and full knowledge of our full basement made the decision to skip easier. 

i got some great stuff at that one garage sale (photos to post on monday)...but the wind was a looming factor all the while. 

to quote a magnet i found in a free box at a garage sale once: one day the wind stopped blowing in nebraska, and everyone fell down.

and no, it's not always windy like this, right now, as i type, the trees are still and the birds are singing. quite possibly the perfect way to start a saturday.

a close up shot.

2011-04-29T08:12:00.000-05:00

i've been looking for a broom like this for quite a while. ok not quite like this.

someone spent a fair amount of time on this. my goodness.

i think the lady has rouge on.

if you haven't noticed, i'm doing my version of the ferris bueller's day off/cameron/museum bit i love so much.

uh, ma'am, you have something hanging out of your mouth.

blink already. you're starting to frighten me.

ahhh, better. and a bit less intrusive.

the fabric on the handle is glued so it's going to have to stay. but hey (or straw...get it? hay???...hello? anyone?) i'm ok with it.

what's up for you this weekend? i already have lists started on both chalkboards in our house and in my notebook.

for sale for cheap: vintage clothing

2011-04-28T12:53:00.001-05:00

to go along with yesterdays declaration, i am attempting to sell (real cheap like) all my vintage clothing. i love vintage clothing. and when i find it at a great price, i sure do have a tough time makin myself leave it. but.

see in detail here, here, here, here

(always a but, isn't there)...i don't really care to list clothing to sell. huh...not the best business practice...buy but don't sell...

see in detail here, here, here, here

as of today, i am writing it on my brain that if i buy vintage clothing because -ya know- i just can't leave the awesomeness behind, i will list it within 2 weeks.

see in detail here, here, here, here

and now, this is where you come in. i want to get rid of all these fab pieces of clothing. all of them. i just can't make myself get excited over measuring armpits to cuffs and necks and waists and hips and inseam...so, all you ReSellers of vintage clothing...or seamstress extraordinaires, or even wearers of the vintage...would you like this collection of clothing?

mind you, i'm not silly enough to pass up an offer from you for some or a few of the pieces, but the more you take, the better the deal. so, comment here or email me here...let's make a deal.

hey, if you're not interested, perhaps your twitter pals or facebook friends would be. want to share the love?

plainview

"i bought a church pew"

macgyver types

garage-sale-deprived nebraskans

i think she just flipped me off.

gettin my craft on.

plan b was a cleaning party. and man, did we party.

the after picture

repeat (repeat) photographs

StylishHome Catalog

*interesting title about my finds goes here*

saturday's auction finds.

a friend that makes kringles.

sent my buyers out this week

last thrift outing of 2011 = 3 faced doll

clean n organize, leah styyyyle.

things like this...they're frogtasitc

We pick on Christmas

christmas weekend thrift...sorta kinda

simple is carried out the door too.

o vintage trunk tree, o vintage trunk tree

*most boring post ev-ahhhh*

gee wilikers, you're neat.

great surprises at the thrift store

white cabinet mania

Spiekerhof - that's Spieker Courtyard to 'mericans.

for sale: womens cowboy boots

love me some church sales

bleach is fun.

did I just retro myself?

made my own legwarmers? maybe.

3 parts goodness

loot, and an abundance of "thumbs up"

4 pumpkins. 8 kids. 1 hour.

and finally, Part VI: junk jaunt is a memory now

Part V of VI of the junk jaunt: le green dish

Part IV of VI: going somewhere?

Part III of VI: Macrame Kit

Part II of VI: Annual Junk Jaunt

Part I of VI: Annual Junk Jaunt

Orange you glad the oath was quasi serious?

Formica ForSalea

score of all scores

gah! irg. and the wonderful copper-orange.

dutch decor & doe a deer

before & happily ever after: the birdcage

plaidish pumpkins

carry stuff and see stuff

Good read. Go on, read it.

baff ling, I say!

our kids. kinda.

For Sale: everything but the picket fence

clean out the old sh*t

Tomatoes up in here. up in here.

pretty in pink...and yellow

wait for it

whooo knows.

the ball is rolling

and for you

some have asked.

1 is better than none, of course

smalls are good too.

unknown vintage kitchen gadget. what say you?

2 farmers and a small garden

one step, and it's yours

i will stay inside, happy and content

now is not the time.

abhorrent or witty

on the fly

poor video, cool thrifted items

midweek auction? ok!

cherry.

stuck on stickers

4 (or maybe 3) auctions, plenty of loot

letters in metal.

home is

all of this and more.

first big move in the two 6 two

time will tell.

ebony and...yellowish cream?

interesting title about my finds goes here

most boring post ev-ahhhh