Vintage Chicks

Up-Cycled Garden Boxes

This time of year I let my creative visions take shape in the garden instead of the living room.  I am constantly thinking up more work for myself and I just can't seem to stop myself from putting in one more planter.  Sunday I made a trip to the nursery. (Big Mistake) They had just got a new shipment in and everything looked fresh and wonderful.  This bunch of succulents were planted in a "tile", meant to be put down all in one spot.  I had to have it and I wanted to put it in a box.  I dug around after I got home and this Pepsi box was just the right size.  I like the way the lush green plays off the chippy old box.  I did a similar display one year with a box and different kinds of moss.  I planted them in a checkerboard pattern and it really looked cute all Summer.I planted this old ammo box with succulents too.  I also included some lotus vine.  It gets really "drapey" and produces little orange flowers almost like a miniature Bird of Paradise.  I don't know why I am so into succulents this year.  I usually don't like them that much.  But something about their color and texture appeal to me this season. I think I am almost done planting but if I keep digging around in my junk pile in the shed you never know what other container I may uncover. Oh well, I am fostering good will in the community, after all I am on a first name basis with the nurseryman and I can always say I am doing my part to re-cycle and help the economy.  I just hope my check book keeps pace with my visions.

Mistaken Identity

I hope I am not the only one that does this but at least I am going to come clean and tell you what I did.  I bought this little seersucker dress last Fall and have had it hanging in my bedroom on a little oak shelf.  I thought it was just darling and that I would use it in some way for a Fourth of July display.  It is very sweet and sometimes when I am lying in bed reading it just makes me smile.  Last night for some reason I got to looking at it and discovered that it is not even a dress.  It is a clothespin bag! There is no place for a child's feet or arms.  The back is sewn into a neat little bag with access only through the neck.  I still love it and find it very charming but I think about all the months I have spent thinking about what kind of little girl might have worn this..what kind of occasion was it made for..who actually sewed it .  It just makes me laugh at myself.  I do sometimes just grab things at a sale without full inspection.  Especially if I have stumbled onto a real treasure trove.  After I get home I will find defects or often nice surprises but I do believe this has to go on record as the longest length of time between buying something and discovering it's true secret. I still love it but now I have to imagine a whole new scenario about it's former life.  Who made it..where it hung...etc.  I just can't help myself.

Estate Sale Boom And Bust

I wasn't so sure my estate sale yesterday was going to have a happy ending.  I was the first one in the door and many of the great vintage pieces were already marked "Sold".  I was not a happy camper.  I did find a few things to make up for my whining.  In fact, I found one item I was so pleased with I am actually putting a picture of myself on the blog.  I am the least photogenic person on the planet so this attests to my thrill at finding this pristine vintage London Fog coat with maroon striped lining....Yum.  And it even fits. I love to wear vintage but they are usually just too darn small.  This coat fits very nicely and even the sleeves are short enough for me.  I also found an assortment of Christmas balls, one little corsage,two tiny pie tins and a tin basket. The little red topped thing is a wee Christmas house.I picked up a child's book about the white buffalo and a bronzed baby moccasin.  Anything Western sells like crazy at the shop.  I also got a gooseberry pink Pyrex, four burlap ice cream bowls and a Mother motto plaque that looks very Arts and Crafts period.   My most happy find besides the coat was this shoe box full of Catholic prayer cards.  They have been lovingly kept all these years and now they have been sold to a stranger.  At least they are with a nice stranger.  I also got this little chalk ware dutch boy and a couple of cardboard trivets. I hope your weekend is going as good as mine. 

Estate Sale Friday

I am heading out to an estate sale today, but you never know until you get there if it is really an estate sale or someone's idea of a fancy garage sale.  Notice the crossed out word on the sign.  It is about thirty miles away and is being run by a dealer who usually does a pretty good job so I am feeling lucky.  My ideal find would be a secret stash of Fire King, hammered aluminum, and natural history books.  I will probably find bad 70's decor and a plethora of Tupperware.  Onward I go into the path of endless possibilities.  Hopefully I will have full details tomorrow.  Wish me luck. 

Jack Ass Junk

When I started marketing Penny's Big Ass Cookies the only collectible I had related to the Jack Ass was this little donkey cart my sister gave me.  It had been my favorite aunt Ruth's and I was so pleased when she surprised me with it for my birthday.  It now sets on my office desk where I can look at it everyday. I truly love it but I never dreamed that soon this little donkey would start to multiply.  The next thing I knew, people started giving me little donkeys.  Now I have this motley crew. I think they are very charming but I'm not sure I want to wake up some morning and have an entire wall devoted to Jack Asses.  I had a friend who had the unfortunate nickname "Frog" when he was in college and ten years later he still has a wall full of frogs in his office.  People love a theme and once people know you have an affiliation with something it becomes their "go to" gift for the person who has everything.  I truly appreciate the thought that came behind these gifts but now I have more than three and all you junkers know, that means a true collection.  If I start showing numerous pictures of my donkey finds on this blog, please plan some kind of intervention on my behalf......I beg you!  

Plant Pouting

I am not a patient person and when I get a vision for a project I want to get on it.  I will admit right up front that this blog is mostly about me pouting about the weather.  We have had rain for the last three days and I am really anxious to get out in the garden and get some planting done.  On Saturday I went on a shopping spree for plants and the entire back-end of the Jeep was full before I got done.  I was so obsessed I didn't even leave any room for junk (that is serious obsession). I bought some wonderful geraniums and lobelia and an assortment of heirloom tomatoes.  I also picked up some tarragon and a new type of rosemary.  It is called "barbecue rosemary" and has a bigger stalk so it can be used for skewers at your next cook out.  I am super excited to see how that turns out.  I wanted to get all this stuff in the ground so that I can concentrate on junk for the rest of the Summer.  It is suppose to clear up tomorrow.  I sure hope so.  There is a promising estate sale on Friday and I want to clear my mind of my gardening woes and get my "groove on" for Junk.  Wish me luck. 

British Beauty Bookmark

I was going through some items that I got a couple of weeks ago and came across this little bonus inside a book.  It is a post card made in England.  On the back it says "This is a real hand-painted photograph of a British Beauty." The picture doesn't really do it justice but the hand tinting is really quite spectacular.  Her rosy cheeks and even the stripes on her outfit were lovingly added after the photo was taken.  Her clothes are a little unusual.  I don't know if they are pajamas or some sort of daring pant suit.  I am so pleased to get her and even more so because she came inside a book.  I have found all kinds of interesting bookmarks that people have left for me.  They include: airplane ticket stubs,business cards,photos, hand-written notes and my very favorite, a bookmark from the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City.  They always make me wonder about the people that left them and in what kind of mood they were in when they were reading the book. I love to read and books are my down fall.  I have hundreds,maybe thousands and I always seem to be buying more.  The only thing better than finding a good book for a quarter is finding a little something extra inside for free. 

God Bless Mose Coleman

I am a bit of a nut when it comes to Vidalia onions. They are available in my area for a very brief time in the Spring and I hoard them like bars of gold.  If you are not familiar with this variety of onion, you are really missing a treat.  They are a very sweet onion grown only in Georgia.  They are considered so special that they are protected not only by Georgia laws but by the U.S. code of federal regulations.  They were trademarked in 1986 to protect their product from unscrupulous onion growers who were selling "regular" onions marked "grown in Vidalia."  They were believed to be discovered by Mose Coleman in 1931 (If I had my way he would be a candidate for sainthood).  They are remarkably sweet and mild, both attributes made possible by the low sulfur soil in which they are grown.  I know I sound a bit Mad about these onions but they are truly remarkable.  I usually buy anywhere between 30-50 pounds and then try to make them last at least until the Fourth of July. If you have never tried them, please do and if you already have, you know what I am gushing about.  Maybe if the junk business doesn't work out I can get a job with the Vidalia onion council.  After all, they are the official vegetable of Georgia and I am a true southern girl by heart if not by birthright.

Mother's Day

Don't get me wrong.  I think Mother's Day is a well deserved holiday that celebrates one of the hardest jobs/joys in the world and I want to wish all the Mother's out there a wonderful day.  But, I also want to take this opportunity to wish all the non-Mother's a great day as well.  I was never blessed with children and have only had the privilege to mother dogs and cats and on occasion lend a little motherly advice to my nieces, nephews and grand nieces and nephews. I would like to wish all women everywhere a happy and peaceful day whether you are a Mother or not. 

Junk On The Run

I am sure this is a busy weekend for everyone and it seems like I have been on the run since eight o clock this morning.  I did manage to find a few minutes to do a little junking and here are the results.  I got the cutest wooden bed tray with Martha green legs, a bright yellow family scale, vintage rolling pin with just a trace of red left on the handles, a cheery British biscuit tin and a wooden plaque for the kitchen.  I guess it was a day for yellow.  I was really happy with the little bed tray.  It would make the perfect venue for breakfast in bed for some deserving  Mother/Non-Mother,  Hint.....Hint