Haven't been around for awhile....maybe you know how it goes.... Life can pick you up like a wave and not let go until you've hit the shore. This was my fear in starting a blog, that it would be forgotten.

I feel I have grown by leaps and bounds in my "vintage world". I'm so much more picky in what I will buy and want to save and resell to preserve the item. I can spot a unique item from across the room, sitting behind several other items and know what it is, what time period it is from, etc. I have found however that the thrift stores in my area must have knowledgeable staff working since their prices seem to climb higher and higher and are marked vintage.

I resolve to posting every Saturday after my thrifting adventures to share anything I've learned and of course the goodies I find.

Speaking of awesome vintage, I've included several pictures of items I found this past Saturday morning. An owl bank that screams mid-century~complete with the original stopper! Along with a vintage tin of Cocoa from England (yes I am desperately missing fall!). Last but not least a totally fab pressed glass cocktail shaker from the mid-century. I wonder what parties this shaker has been to.....

It's that time of year! Time to at least think cool and get ready for Christmas. I'm having a Christmas in July sale (CIJ) and everything is 15% off in my store. Get your presents early!

I wish, I wish, I wish that there were thrift/antique shops like this where I live but sadly there are not. We have a lot of great thrift stores in Naples but nothing like my thrifting in Indiana. Yesterday my mom & I stopped by a older antique building downtown Greenfield called the JW Riley Emporium (perhaps for James Whitcomb Riley) which ended up being vintage heaven for me (Picture an old but beautiful building on the outside but structurally challenged on the inside), complete with hoards & hoards of vintage/antiques.

Downstairs I could see one room lead to another which lead to another stocked full of booths. My mom stayed downstairs as I immediatley started up the narrow stairs after seeing the sign that said Old Tools & Old Boooks. Don't get me wrong I think vintage dishes, clothes, etc are beautiful but give me old tools & books any day over them. I was the only shopper on the second floor & my eyes (as my mother said) were as big as saucers.....rooms and rooms of antique & vintage books, kitchen items, and tools held my attention so that I forgot I was shopping & started taking pictures. I filed through room after room of books, tools, and miscellanous items. Sadly, the Emporium closed at 5 so I barely got through most of what I wanted to look at and I'm flying out today so all I have is the pictures I took to remind me of my midwest thrifting experience.

Went thrifting with my husband yesterday (yes he actually likes going). We were just going to go to one thrift store which is equivalent to trying to eat one potato chip. So with not a lot of finds at the first, we trudged (happily) to the second which is one of my favorites. I spotted an awesome mid-century lamp that is late 40's to mid 50's. And it actually works! Not only does it work but it has three different light levels~dim, medium, and bright. The switch is actually the handing pendant and looks like a decorative part of the lamp with a clear pendant at the end. How awesome is that! This might just be my favorite find to date, if not it is very close to the top. I also spied some cool red stadium wood chairs that I probably wouldn't have purchased if hubby hadn't been there. He thought they were cool so we loaded up. Now the question is to re-do the chairs (strip paint etc) or leave the eye-catching red chairs be. What would you do? I think I'm starting to have a chair fetish~more on that later..........

Have You Ever...........

found a really great item while thrifting and thought how cool! Love it, want it, bought it and then brought it home and could never figure out what it was or what it used to be used for.  While thrift shopping with my MIL one afternoon I spotted an awesome rusty strange shaped thing. Wasn't sure exactly what it was for~obviously it had a hook at one end and a bolt at the other but I knew my MIL would know exactly what it was for since she was "older" than me. She didn't. Nor did anyone around. In fact the thrift store we were perusing had nifty little tags with descriptions on about every item but the one I had in my hand. So I dove into my usual Google research before listing but got tired of the pages and pages of boring screws and bolts. 

I decided did it really matter what it was (it still does) since it was obviously antique and no longer used anymore.  I listed the item and maybe someone will know exactly what it was used for, until then it is a fabulous bolted rustic hook thingie. 

The Pressure Of The First Entry

I've always wanted to start a blog but there are so many you start to think why should I since it is the status quo. I've decided to go ahead and chronicle through my second year of vintage scavenging, photographing, and selling. I grew so much through the first year hopefully the second I will as well and find more avenues to be more creative.