Vintage Round-up: Red Plaid

Nothing says fall like red plaid. Here are some great finds that will keep you warm this fall!



Men's red plaid Pendleton short sleeve wool shirt, by retromanvintage on Etsy, $24



50s red plaid shirtwaist dress by Soubrettevintage on Etsy, $58



1960s red plaid Pendleton hat (Yes, I have a thing for Pendleton), by Rustology on Etsy, $24



Vintage red plaid (you guessed it) Pendleton ladies fall coat, by Bathhousevintage on Etsy, $48

Happy shopping!

Vintage Round-up: Snuggle Up, Girls

I know it's chilly, girls. Here are some ideas to keep you cute and warm out there.


Vintage goldenrod belted sweater by OliverandAlexa on Etsy, $48


Vintage green Pendleton skirt by Sweetbeefinds on Etsy, $68


Vintage Levi's brown boots (OMG these are so beautiful), Ebay, buy it now $49.99


Reversible plaid fringed blanket coat by Friendlyfoxvintage on Etsy, $68

Happy shopping!

It's getting chilly!

Not sure about your area, but there's a chill in the air here. We're cozied up to the fire! We're eating all the squash from the garden and loving it!

I've been knitting like crazy, too. I finished these socks, a baby sweater, and a purse in a  matter of a month or so. If the cooler weather means I'll be more productive, I'm all for it, eh?

Here's the purse I made (and my modeling crew). Does the cooler weather make you more productive?

Getting ready for Halloween: vintage costumes

Got your Halloween costume ready? Yeah, me neither. I'm kind of the night before kind of gal. Or 20 minutes before. This year, though, I had a little fun looking for some costumes online. Here are my ideas to get you started...


Undead Homecoming Queen

Pink party dress by mittenthings on Etsy


Do it yourself zombification

Minnie Pearl

Vintage square dance dress by PARASOLVintage on Etsy



Just hang a price tag off this cute hat from SuzisCornerBoutique on Etsy and you're all set!

Michael Jackson Thriller

Vintage Michael Jackson jacket by RecycledStylez on Etsy


Those unmistakable penny loafers by ThePerennialPast on Etsy

Okay, did that get you thinking? Here's the Pinterest board I started to collect kids costume ideas. Please share your in the comments, too!

More on Palm Springs: The modern tour

One of the coolest things about Palm Springs isn't the 87 golf courses or the insane, burning heat. It's the mid-century modern homes. They are truly to die for. We printed out some map of the supposed best houses to check out, and realized pretty quickly that just driving around produced some jaw-dropping results.

This is what it looks like if you live in a fancier Palm Springs house. That view! I always had a half an eye on the ground, though, because I don't like scorpions. Or snakes. Or tarantulas. Luckily, I saw none.

Now this place was just one I happened by. It appears to have a crazy 80s metallic door. Awesome!

This I believe is Elvis and Priscilla's honeymoon hideaway or some such nonsense. It did not thrill me all that much.

This house I loved for its clean lines and, well, whiteness.

And my favorite of all, this cute little unassuming one in charcoal gray with bright fushia and orange flowers outside. Perfect!

Here's a great resource for a self-guided tour of the mid-century homes in Palm Springs. I think it would also be great to check out Modernism Week if you were so inclined. It's next week, so get your tickets quick!

And if you're not sure what mid-century modern architecture is, or why it's still relevant, check out this blog's 10 Forgotten Lessons of Mid-Century Modern Design. I wish I had a cool mid-century house. Ho-hum, I guess my 70s ranch will have to do for now!

New favorite band: Field Report

My friend's band Field Report has a new album coming out. I'm kind of in love with it. I hope you'll check it out!

Look what I made: Fall display

Last weekend I was in Palm Springs. It was 107 the first day I got there. Today, I woke up and looked at the thermometer and it was 36. Thirty six. Like, a couple degrees above freezing. So, I guess that, and the fact that it literally is now fall, make me think more about picking pumpkins and eating apple pie than hitting the pool.

I gathered up a bunch of things the kids and I have been collecting around the house and neighborhood and threw them on a cute little tray I had stashed away. It took me about 6 minutes, and I think it turned out cute, right?

 (pictured here: a sunflower from our garden, a bird's nest that fell out of the tree, some cattails from down at our park, pinecones, a Delicata squash, and a mini pumpkin all on a cute vintage tray)

That's my idea of good decorating. It takes under 10 minutes, costs nothing, and looks like Martha Stewart lives here.

Got any other good fall decorating ideas?

Momcation 2012: The Ace Hotel Palm Springs

Recently I got to take a trip to Palm Springs.My friend was getting married, then he wasn't. And he didn't.  It's a long story. But my girlfriend and I already had our flight arrangements and, well, it just couldn't be prevented. Oh, darn. Must take trip to lovely city and stay at amazing hotel (puts back of hand to forehead and swoons). While we were there, we talked about our friend and his unfortunate marriage outcome, and yes, we mourned for him. How better to mourn than in the massive jacuzzi, right? I kid. It sucked to keep thinking about how my friend must have been feeling.

Here's the cuteness that is the Ace hotel

And here's where we played a Scrabble game we picked up at the Angel View Thrift Store till the wee hours of the evening (for us moms that's 10 p.m.)

We ate virtually every meal here at the Kings Highway, because, um, the food ROCKED! It was a-ma-zing. And the vegetarian options were plentiful.

We didn't ride these complementary bikes, but our excuse was that it was 100 degrees the whole time we were there. We did make it to the complementary yoga session, though.

Did I mention the food? Mmmm chilaquiles and coffee. Yes, please.

If you're headed to Palm Springs, you must check out the Ace. When I have a minute, I'll also be posting more about the cutest little Palm Springs road trip, Idyllwild.

Now, where to go on our next momcation?

Saying goodbye to summer

I've been in denial. It can't really be the end of summer, can it? It seems like it just started. I only went to 43 garage sales. I only went swimming 3 times (!!!). I only took the kids to one amusement park. Only went mini golfing twice. It can't possibly be over. Oh, but it is. Luckily, I do love fall, cuz here it comes.

The icy water of Lake Michigan

 

Flip flop tan

Digging it

Looking for shells

Our "fort"

Happy end of summer everyone!

Save the world: at the thrift store

Last night I got sucked in to the documentary about No Impact Man, the guy from New York who tried to live for one year making the smallest environmental impact he and his family possibly could. At the time, a lot of people basically poked fun at how he and his family could go with out essentials like toilet paper. One of the components of his "experiment" was to not buy anything new. As I watched, I thought about how shopping at the thrift store (or garage sale, estate sale, etc.) instead of the "regular" store can help us all make a smaller environmental impact.

Here are my ideas for how an average person make a smaller environmental impact without having to go without toilet paper:

Buy cloth napkins and stop buying paper ones

These ones I found on Esty are cute. We only use paper for parties, so we have about 20 - 30 cloth napkins for our family of 4 (so we don't have to do laundry all the time).

Get some great kids toys that are washable and have lots of life left

These building blocks are a great example. They are cleanable, cute, and at least with my little ones are sure to get years of play.

Dishes

When I worked at the thrift store in high school (name is opposite of Badwill), dishes that didn't get purchased after a certain amount of time ended up in the trash. Broken, filling up landfills. It's really hearbreaking to see all those dishes get trashed when I know people go out every day and buy brand new stuff at Crate and Barrel or wherever. Why? The thrifty stuff has character, is cheaper, and works just as well.

Books, books, and more books

Okay, so you probably won't (although you may) find the latest bestseller at the thrift store, you can find tons of great books -- cookbooks, fiction, kid's books, gardening, etc. -- at the thrift store for cheap. The library is great, too, but if you find books at the thrift store you can always see if your library wants them (or your friends/coworkers) when you're done. Or, donate them to an organization who needs them.

Clothes, duh

I buy almost all of my clothes secondhand. I can't tell you how many expensive brand-name items I've picked up this way. Banana Republic, Dansko, J Crew, you name it. I also find great kid's clothes with fancy brand names like Hannah Anderson, too. If you can't get out and about, I was just introduced to ThredUp.com, which is an online kid's consignment store. Kids often outgrow stuff before they wear it out, so this is a genius way to trade your kid's old stuff for some "new" stuff that fits. There is an adult version (or lots of them) called SwapStyle.com, but it is truly a swap (rather than a buy/sell deal) so for me I would rather just hit the thrift store than deal with it.

What else could you get from a thrift store, and thus avoid buying new? I'd love to hear your ideas!

Our shop is overflowing!

And it's about to get even fuller. We've been picking up some great stuff this summer but have been too busy to list a lot of it. I'm telling you, LOTS of cool stuff is coming up. We have stockpiles of Christmas holiday vintage goodies that we haven't even sorted through yet. So as fall gets into full swing, expect lots of new stuff arriving daily at the vintage stuff shop.

Hope you had a wonderful summer and a great Labor Day weekend!

Collecting from the natural world

In case it isn't readily apparent, I'm a near-hoarder. A collector. One foot in the "that's neat" world and one foot in the "she might have a borderline illness" world. No disrespect to those who actually suffer from this affliction -- I think I'm safely within my boundaries as I can still shower, find clean clothes to wear, and I know where both children and dogs are at most times.

However, I do pick things up. On the side of the road (awesome kid's play kitchen), out of a ditch (toy plane), out of someone's dumpster (okay, that was my husband and that was good stuff he found), and out in nature.

Kids love to collect stuff. I got each of my kids a flat, plastic bait box from Cabella's with the little compartments. We pick up shells, acorns, feathers, pretty much whatever neat little doo-dads we find. I also ran across this image from the Australian website HomeLife.com and loved the idea of collecting pictures or creating a scrapbook with drawings and pictures of nature.


Photo from HomeLife

Do you and your kids collect anything? Have you done any fun "nature projects" with the wee ones?

Collecting Garfield Stuff

Oh, how I loved Garfield as a kid. He was just the right amount of smarmy and sarcastic and I loved how he treated that dopey dog, Odie. Like most cartoons, I loved the holiday specials the most. The one I remember most was the Garfield Halloween show. Enjoy!


When we recently bumped in to someone's insane Garfield collection at a thrift store, we had to pick up a few things to resell in our Etsy shop. But it got us thinking: are there Garfield collectors still out there. Yes. What do they collect? Everything. Are certain things more desirable? Yes. As with most things, the more rare it is, the more valuable. For example, a quick search on Ebay found that the Garfield arcade kiddie ride and the standing Garfield with the serving tray (3 feet tall!) got the top bids recently.

If you're interested in collecting Garfield, here are a couple more things I found:

Summer fun at the Fenelon Park Elevator

I had the extreme pleasure of visiting the Fenelon Place Elevator in Dubuque last weekend. I have to admit, once I got in this tiny little box and was what felt like a ridiculous distance from the street below, I kind of wanted to jump out. But, I put on the brave mama face. See? Here's me pulling the cord to let the operator know we're ready to go up.

So we went up up up and here we are mid-hill.

And here's what it looks like when you are at the tippy top, looking over the beautiful city of Dubuque.

When you're ready to head back down the incline, here's where you go out.

Just kidding.

The Fenelon Place elevator website says that this is the shortest, steepest scenic railway and it opened in 1882. Yes, you read that right 1882. It has burned down a few times and been rebuilt, but this is a little piece of history in the most unsuspecting place. I highly recommend it. When you've survived it (ahem) you can hit the cute little candy shop at the bottom, or better yet, head to Monk's for a stiff drink.

A friend in need

Over a month ago my cousin was in a major vehicle rollover accident that has left him paralyzed from the waist down. He's at the Mayo clinic getting speech and occupational therapy. I'm hoping to help raise some money for the myriad of stuff that might make his new life a little more comfortable.

Me blowing out the candles on my birthday cake. My cousin is the one with the party hat. 

He looks ready to party! 

If you have birthday or shower gifts to buy, please check out my other Etsy shop, Pumpkin Girl. For the foreseeable future I'll be selling everything at a discounted price and all proceeds will go to my cousin and his medical needs. My tie tee shirts are made with real men's vintage ties and I sew them all myself. I also have a few cute things for girls, like a clothesline bodysuit with little vintage clothes hanging on the line.

Thanks for taking a look!

Look What I Made: Breakfast Shirts

I made my kids shirts celebrating their favorite breakfast foods. This is shirt #2 for my older kiddo. The first one got smeared full of "boy dirt" (food, mud, pla-doh, etc.) and too small. The first one didn't have a donut. That was his special request. We've already gotten a couple of requests for more of these shirts for our friends...now just to find a few more spare minutes of "mommy sewing time."

Easy (and impressive) birthday cupcakes

This weekend we hosted our first true "kid party" for my son's fifth birthday. This probably goes without saying, but 9 boys (and one girl) under the age of 7 -- now that's a lot of energy. Here's a super easy idea for making your own cupcakes that look great and take virtually no time at all.

The way I made these little circle motifs was just to find some cool dinosaur clip art and put it into PowerPoint. Then I made a little light gray circle to go around each dinosaur so when I printed them I'd know where to cut. Finally, I added "Happy Birthday" so it fit inside my circles. I think they measured about two inches or so, but it doesn't have to be precise. Here are the rest of the instructions:

Step 1: Bake some cupcakes and frost them

Step 2: Crush some Oreos

Step 3: Smush the Oreos on top of the cupcakes

Step 4: Cut out your circle motifs

Step 5: Cut a bunch of straws into three equal parts; cut a slit into the end of each segment

Step 6: Slide the circles into the split straws and stick them into the cupcakes

When people ask my kiddo about his birthday party, the dinosaur cupcakes are the first thing mentioned, so I know they were a hit with him.

Freaky Tiki

Tiki bars. Tropical drinks with an umbrella tucked in. What says hot summer nights better than this? We recently stumbled across a huge matching set of black tiki mugs, and I kind of got to thinking about the tiki culture. I know there are tons of people out there who collect the stuff. And I've seen shows about people who have turned their entire house tiki. But what's up in my neighborhood  -- the Milwaukee, Wisconsin area -- as far as the tiki scene goes?

Here are some cool finds you may want to check out:

Foundation Tiki Bar, Milwaukee
At Random (not really a tiki bar, but of the same era), Milwaukee
Tiki Tuesday Boat Tour (haven't done it but sounds fun

If you can afford to travel, the Tiki Oasis in San Diego appears to be where it's at.

And if I were going to Tiki Oasis, here's what I'd wear:

Tiki turtle dress by Rococo Vintage



White carved Hawaiian shoes by 1Susanfunk1




Basket purse by CuriousFawnVintage



Tortoise bracelet by MekealohaClassic

Are you tiki crazy? Do you collect anything? I'd love to hear about your tiki obsession!