Recent Vintage Buy.

Oh..... hello there. I've had a busy few days. With Spring arriving, I've had lots of things to do outdoors and around the house.

I found this coat recently and bought it - for a mere $6.50. It is in perfect condition - satin lined, and a soft brushed camel, in a traditional trench coat style. From the early 1950s, from the looks of the label.

 

 I am just a little sad that I discovered it right as the weather is warming up, and I will have to wait till next fall/winter to wear it out much.



 I look rather awful in these photos.... I am a little sleepy and sun burned from the weekend outdoor activities.

 And lest you think I'm not wearing anything under the coat - I am:

 

A cute little brown 1960s textured wool number I bought  from Carol at Dandelion Vintage. I love her website; I have bought several things from her and I adore every one of them. This one was missing the zipper; which I replaced.  

I am also wearing the shoes I wore for my wedding three years ago; and a neat little vintage 50's pin I bought the same day as the coat but at a different shop; for only a "coupla bucks". 



Anyway.

 I haven't been shopping for vintage in the past several weeks; as I am saving my funds for a big weekend coming up.... the first weekend in April I am heading to a "rummage" sale at a auditorium back home in North Carolina with my Mom. The following day we're headed to a huge outdoors yard sale up in Virginia; along with stops at some thrift shops, a vintage shop, and several antiques stores in the vicinity. I am excited! I have a cash stash started in a tea pot in my china cabinet. :)

I'll be sure to document the trips with my camera and share the fun times here.


Happy Spring, everyone!

Thrifted Bookshelf

This is my niece (4) Emilie posing next to the bookshelf, which is in the guest/kids room. I decided to paint the back of it blue; as I had blue paint lying around and thought it would be cute. Not that you can see it once the shelf is full.

Vintage Victorias and Other Random Stuff

Yesterday I came home to find a package from my Grandpa on my back steps. I opened it and found this lovely Breyer model:

 

He's always been so supportive of my equestrian endeavors and of my teaching career, when I was still teaching. He called me and cried with me when one of my horses was hit in the highway and killed, and rejoiced with me upon all my wins and near wins during my trips to the show ring. He's also sent lots of books over the years. He's the best Grandfather ever. :)

 

 I don't eat cereals often, and even when I do, I never eat them with milk - soggy! But recently I discovered how I love almond granola with low-fat yogurt; and this morning I had it with some very decent hot house strawberries I got for $1.00 a qt. Usually I cannot stand store bought, hot house strawberries, but these were surprisingly juicy and actually tasted like strawberries are supposed to taste. Mmmm. I was so impressed, I took a photo, and decided to mention it here. Silly me.

 

 I bought this awesome book case at the Salvation Army thrift shop yesterday. For $8.00. It is solid, heavy wood, weighs a ton, and very sturdy. I despise flimsy particle board Wal-Mary variety shelving - they always look saggy after a while. I have been looking for solid wood book cases and this was perfect. So was the price.  I am going to paint it, of course; after I do I will show you the finished product.

I recently started looking for 1980's issues of Victoria, because they're getting rarer and rarer, and more and more expensive. I found these 6 copies on Etsy and bought them from this seller. They're all early issues; including the 2nd issue of the first run! She said she was going to get her hands on the first one and let me know so I could buy it, also.

 

 
This is the second published issue of Victoria Magazine.

 

 

 I love Victoria and started reading it in the mid 90's; all the way up until they quit publishing it around 2002 or '03 or something like that. They're publishing it again; but I haven't subscribed yet.
 Very little changed in the 80's - 90's; except for the hairstyles of the models and some of the fashions they show are decidedly 1980s (aHEM); but I forgive them.
 The loveliness is timeless, and the style is forever. When I need inspiration I turn to Victoria and she never fails to deliver!

 



 

New Feature

I labeled all my posts and categorized them into neat and tidy sections so it's easier to find posts on topics that interest you rather than sort through manually. Check it out in my sidebar. Have a great day!

Laura Ashley 1950s Revival

I bought this at a thrift shop this morning:



It's a classic 1980s or 90s Laura Ashley "1950s revival" dress. (In the 80's there was sort of a 50's fashion revival; along with the birth of the modern day Rockabilly "scene".)
Before you think I have gone off the deep end of the vintage fashion pool, hear me out on this dress......

The dress has a full skirt and built in crinoline. It has classic 1950s lines, and even the print is kinda 1950s. It's cotton. It's also a size 14 and quite large for me. (I had to kind of hold it up in the back for it to look right for a pic; thus my hands behind my back.) The waist sits too low - just a tad below the natural waist, a-la 1980's -  whereas a real 1950s dress would fit right at the waist.

 I bought this to sell in my Etsy shop, but when I got it on and fiddled around with it, I discovered that if I folded the skirt 4-6 inches up under the waist band thingy, it brought the hem up to a 50's standard level and brought the waist into a more natural spot; giving the whole frock a true 1950's vibe:



However, as you can also see, it adds a lot of bulk to the waist making me look bulky and "pregnant". So. I think I decided to keep it, and get my Mom - who is an awesome seamstress - to help me reattach the skirt several inches shorter and maybe jack up the waist band thing a few inches, and take it in in other places to fit me just right. Then I can wear it to summer parties and weddings with 1950s accessories, and nobody would know it was 1980s except you blog readers! Lol. So what do you think?

By the way: while I was at the shop I bought this adorable handbag, which will be in my Etsy shop this afternoon:

I Love Getting Dirt Under My Nails

Yesterday was so mild and lovely; I couldn't resist getting out and getting into my plants and doing a bit of very early Spring gardening.
So yesterday I started my tomato seeds (my first try) and separated and planted some day lilies. I'm starting my own tomatoes from seeds because it's cheaper than buying 25 nursery plants at $5.00 each when I put in my garden in April.

First, I got a bag of fully composted stall muckings courtesy of our horses. Yep, it's manure and all that stuff found in horse's stalls..... turned into a delightful dark soil. And yes, I touch it with my bare hands. It's not nasty, and it doesn't smell bad. I mix it in a bucket 50 - 50 with potting mix.



Day lilies grow into thick clumps that need to be dug out and separated from time to time so they bloom better. I had dug these up a month or so ago, and crammed them in a bucket for later...... here is an example of a clump; and as you can see they're already starting to green up and grow, even out of soil. They're very hardy plants:


And a separated portion:


 I planted them in  one of my metal wash tub containers; I think they're so cottagey and cute. This is right beside the fence post of our garden entrance. I had to put one of my big tomato cages around it, to protect it from my four free ranging chickens that will not leave anything I plant alone. By summer, I will have a lovely pot of day lilies greeting me each time I enter my veggie garden. :)




Starting the tomatoes...........

 


 

 
 The contents of one $2.50 pack of tomato seeds. Beats paying $5 each down the road, though......

 

   Put the water in the tray first

 

 Then place the seed cups in; they soak up the water.

 

 I did two trays total, and have to keep them in a rabbit cage in my house to protect them from the cats; because - well - you know about cats and dirt.

Love It!

I am so going to do this. Look at it; it's the perfect accessory cabinet/jewelry box. I love the hooks inside the doors for necklaces; I love the cup hooks under the bottom shelf for bracelets or whatever; I love that I could stash things in cute cups or trays and store them in it; I love the wallpaper idea..... the only thing I do not like about this particular piece is the bubblegum pink color. Mine would be some neutral color with a pretty blue and white toile wallpaper.

As soon as I can find a cabinet to suit my purpose, I am going to do this very thing to it.