Squeezing It In

It's holiday time.  It's a busy time of year.  I'm not going to pretend that I'm the only one running around like a lunatic, with lists and bags and calendars whilst talking to myself out loud through entire stores.  You know what it's like.  If you get invited to one more party, have to go to one more store, or have to make one more batch of goodies, you're liable to lose your...Christmassy spirit.

So, it really was my fault, perusing the estate sale ads for the weekend.  A weekend that already involved lots of baking, 3 parties, and a movie night.  I did not have time for one more thing.  But this sale, these pictures, it was just not to be missed.  You'd have to be crazy to miss it.  And I think I proved my level of sanity.  Especially because this last minute, full tilt, lists in hand trip involved bringing a newborn along.

The good news is that Baby Charlie did great (Slept the whole time!) and I got some amazing things. It felt good to get back out there, in my element, rubbing shoulders with mean grabby vendors and sweet old ladies.  Plus, everything was 30% off!

$2 for this gorgeous green on green box painted with bamboo.  This is perfect for the tropic bedroom of my dreams.  I love that the paper lining is printed to look like wood.

$10 - Hand made black velvet plush cat.  She was skulking around up in the attic of the house.  I found her peering through the deep shadows.  She is going to be a smashing addition to my black cat collection for fall.

$5 - Jesus Los Vegas pin and $5 - Green double shell dish.  The pin is for my grandma.  My mom said she'd love it, so I took a chance.  The dish is for my bedroom.  I'm going to put jewels in it.

$6 - Vintage Honeycomb snowmen ornaments and .50 cents - vintage Santa head ornament.  I saw these snowmen on (my boyfriend) Pinterest recently and I can't even believe I have them in real life now!  I'm obsessed with paper honeycomb things right now.  I couldn't even say why.  We can probably safely blame vintage Hallmark though.

$6 - Vintage Sarah Coventry necklace.  My grandma had this exact necklace and I spent a lot of time playing with it as a kid.  I'm very glad to have one to wear!  I plan on pairing it with my tiki earrings.

Some of us aren't great at "taking one for the team" yet.

Now I want to share with you something very special:

Yeah. No, I don't know what it is, either.  This was on the same street as the estate sale.  In someone's front yard.  I have two theories.  Theory #1- It could be a reference to "A Christmas Story", wherein the leg lamp breaks and then the dad buries it in the back yard.  There are a few problems with this theory though.  It's just a leg (no fishnet stocking, no black high heel shoe) and it's all in one piece.  In the movie the leg gets pretty smashed up.  Theory #2- The person who lives in this house lost a leg.  And this is their tongue in cheek tribute to their lost appendage.  The problems with this theory are: Dude, nobody is going to get that.  And also, eeeew.  One thing I do know about this...piece...of art...is that it lights up.  The green near the base of the leg is a strand of lights, all wadded up.  So.  Thoughts?

So, In Summary:

Sometimes You Can Fit A Little More In

(That's What She Said)

The One With The Christmas Decorations

Before I get started showing you all the gory aftermath of the annual and epic war of Christmas against my house wherein Christmas always wins, I'd like to give a huge shout-out to the husband.  He saved Christmas!  (Actually, he saved this blog and all the hours I put into it, and my sanity as well.  You see, I'm a dummy who can't properly use/understand Google Plus and had no idea where/how my blog photos were being stored...blah..blah...blah, deleted the whole thing.  But then husband came along with his internet powers and helped me restore everything to rights.)  Thank you mister, you officially win the title of Internet Master.

Onward.

The tour begins in the bedroom:

Close up of the Jadeite Scottie dog sitting next to the ceramic light-up tree that my mom made for me.  The Scottie is a new addition!  I just acquired him on my first trip to Virginia!  Pink and green always look smashing together!

Then down the hall...

...to the kitchen.

I made the Seussical pompom flowers in the middle.  So easy and fun!  Their "stems" are paper straws.

Vintage Christmas extravaganza.

And then to the (slightly blurry) living room.

And there you have it.  Christmas.

Ronald McDonald Sale 2014

Before I jump into the RMD sale, I'd like to show you what I got at the Monroe Ave. church sale.  It was a hum dinger this year!  Last year I got that gorgeous green glitter mirror and jadeite plates so I felt like I'd kind of blown my chances for a repeat of goodness.  Not so!

Check out this vintage Hallmark goodness!  I have the red calico mouse ornament, but was not aware that this red calico mouse stocking hanger and red calico mouse Merry Miniature even existed!!  Imagine my delight!  Now I have a whole family!  The little "Roller Skating Rabbit" ornament was a pleasant bonus.  He's zooming towards Christmas!  The mice are from the 70s and the rabbit is from the 80s.  I think they cost me nearly $2 all together.

We had a nice crowd again for the RMD sale.  This time my pals came with lists of things they wanted.  They weren't disappointed.  Me, I just come with a plan.  What will I hit first?  Toys.  What is next?  Christmas/holiday.  It's very hard for me to actually walk past the Christmas section to get to the toys.  My natural instincts tell me to go there first.  They pull me like Magneto pulls Wolverine's adamantium skeleton.  But I resist, somehow, and march hurriedly toward Muppets.  I mean, toys.  And there weren't even any there this year.  No Muppets, that is.  None that I didn't already have and not many of those.  As soon as I realize this is all some ploy to get me away from Christmas I pull out of there like a horny teen.

This year The Christmas section treated me right. Even though I scored big, I cannot keep myself from imagining "what if?"  What if I had gone there first?!  But, I'd probably feel that way if I spurned the toy area to do Christmas first.  But...and here's the best part...sometimes Muppets can be found IN the Christmas area!  When two of my favorite things come together like that, things heat up quick.  Any passing stranger may get accosted with please of "DO YOU SEE THIS!?!?  CAN YOU EVEN!?" if a friend is not within reach.

Admittedly, the photo is not great.  But check it out!  A Miss Piggy ornament!  It's from the 90s and I don't already have it!  It's like a miracle!  She's even holding her tiny white dog, Foo-Foo! $4.  A vintage tree and a pretty, etched, metal bracelet (which I got in the jewelry section, not in Christmas) for $1 each.  Then one of my favorite finds!  The Peanuts Halloween Merry Miniature set which I had only just found out existed from my boyfriend, Pinterest.  $5!  Yes ma'am!

I found a lot of gifts in the holiday section as well so it took me quite a while to get it all wrapped up and be able to move onward.  When I finally did I scooted over to jewelry.  Now, I don't often stop in the jewelry area.  They don't have a ton of stuff and there are a lot of people crowding around the tables.  It is set up pretty nicely, very organized, I'll give them that.  And the stuff is CHEAP as all get out.  But you have to be willing to devote some time to digging and have to have some patience to wait for people to move out of your friggin' way.  But, this year I was all hopped up from my finds in the holiday section, so I was in a good enough mood to wait it out.  And I was duly and justly rewarded:

Behold!  New pink additions to my 80s earring collection and the vintage avon holly earrings I've been coveting for over a year!  I found them in a bag with Halloween stuff.  Must be some poor soul with a sight problem mistook them for bats??  Weird green bats?  I'm convinced it's the only reason they were still there by the time I made it over.  The whole bag was $1 and I nearly cried.  The other two pairs of earrings were $2 each.

I also found a mug with an original Milton Glaser I Heart NY logo on it, which was dirty at the time of the photo shoot for this blog post.

So, In Summary:

It's Christmas time and I've got reason to celebrate!

Welcoming The Creepy Season

We went to the Appleumpkin Festival again this year.  Its been a while and some of our friends haven't ever been, so we went en mass.

It was on my 11th anniversary with the husband.  And it was 80 degrees.  A wore a little black dress and little shoes with no socks!  Or tights!  So all around, a wonderful day.

I got this very cool felt spider dude who looks a lot like a Muppet.  I feel like he is missing a top hat and then I realized that he reminds me of this guy for some reason.  $4.

I also shopped around a booth that was selling garlands.  A hundred different garlands, all different holidays, seasons, events...you name it, they have a garland for that.  I chose the foil-wrapped-easter-bunnies-interspersed-with-other-easter-candy-and-beads garland.

I also found this (terribly expensive) amazing version of the Tooth Fairy. See his little bag of teeth?  And his flask of fairy dust?  Tiny little wings?  He's the perfect cross between gruesome and adorbs.  I kind of want to run screaming from him but also give him a good cuddle.

Also, the husband and I took the pup to the local gigantic, old and beautiful cemetery: Mt. Hope.  It's basically the only hilly area of Rochester and it's super gorgeous and real old.  Like those specifics?  And everyone treats it like any other park.  Picnic in a cemetery?  Yes.  Take non-goth photos for your wedding in a cemetery?  Yes.  Go for a constitutional with your husband and pup in a cemetery?  Yes.

Check out these awesome headstones we found along the way.  The perfect thing to usher in October and it's creepy fall undertones.

Very Pretty.

My name!

Not An Actual Stump.

Also not a real stump.  Or book.

Not that Arthur Miller.

Art Deco.

Bausch and Lomb is a big corporation here.  That is now dead.  Apparently.

Yeah, some of the plots look like beds.  Creepers.

This bed plot is for three siblings who died as children.  

Now you'll never sleep again.

These two were much more brown than the others.

Celtic Cross.

It looks as though F. Arvilla Brown may have dug himself out.

You come across random markers like this one. 

They seem to have no rhyme or reason.

This pup has no respect for the dead.

These stones are under the canopy of a huge willow tree.

A pretty patina and a headless gift.

That's right.  Carrie.

Happy Halloween!

Pink Satin Purse

A few weeks ago we went to two estate sales being held by the same company.  We especially love this company for their great prices and excellent vintage offerings.

The first sale was out of this world.  The items had been owned by a seriously fashionable lady who had SEVEN pairs of gold shoes.  I can't imagine having occasion to own more than one pair of gold shoes for any reason whatsoever.  She had hats and purses and dresses that looked like they'd never been worn.  

There were also tons of Florida memorabilia  which of course made Alicia feel right at home, slightly sentimental and sort of pissed off that she never got a chance to befriend this amazing woman, whoever she was.

I got a stellar pink satin purse, which still had the original mirror and change purse inside.  Hubba hubba! This thing is lush.  It's a very satisfyingly saturated color and feels wonderfully thick to the touch.  It was $6.

I also got some plastic tulips.  You know how I love a full on plastic flower.  Satin flowers are different.  They are trying to look real.  They're imitators, tricksters.  Plastic flowers are nothing like real flowers.  They know they aren't putting one over on anybody and they don't even care.  They are the loudmouth obnoxious relative of real flowers.  And I love them.  They were 50 cents.

The tiny blue spot is a very small pendant or charm for a necklace.  It's a bit smaller than a dime, and just lovely.  Enamel over sterling silver. $1.

A rather girly haul, this.

Alicia got some pretty sweet stuff as well: 

A vintage Florida coffee mug, a etched crystal pendant depicting a palm tree and beach and a metal parrot pin.  The rhinestone encrusted clear plastic clutch dazzled us all.  It was $10 and I say it was worth every penny.  Plus, Alicia loves the smell of old plastic, so.

So, In Summary:

My mother is going to try to steal 2 out of the 3 things listed here.

The Shocking part is that one of those things is the plastic flowers.

Falling 2014

September: The official start to the holiday season.  

As the temperature vacillates between 50 and 80 and we start to dig out scarfs, socks and extra blankets there is usually a hint of excitement in the air.  This year, not so much.  This year fall feels like a bad omen.  A dark harbinger of winter coming.  This year, I feel like a Stark.  Winter is coming, and it's going to be the worst, so buckle up, John Snow.

Last winter has burrowed it's way into our phsyche.  Four months of sub zero temps.  Everyone hibernating inside.  Wearing 7 layers just to survive.  Four months of no walks for the pup, of running outside to do his business and running right back in again, like winter (the devil) was chasing him.

So this year it doesn't seem like the kick-off to the holiday season.  This year is seems like a dark shadow, corrupting the beautiful memories of the too short, too cool, summer.  I've never felt like this before, and let me tell you, I freaking hate it.

At any rate, let's put on our big girl pants and buck up.  I dutifully decorated even though I wasn't feeling it.  I have to say, it looks good.  Let's have a peep, shall we?

This picture hangs above the bed.  I've been in love with it ever since I spied it in a text book in high school.  The Lady of Shalot by John Williams Waterhouse.  It was the first time I'd ever seen a Pre-Raphaelite work of art.  From that moment on I was hooked.  Over the years I've amassed a nice little collection of JWW works.  Nothing stirs the spot in my soul reserved for fantasy as much as he does.  Also, I stuck a fall garland on it.  Whoopee.

This year I put many of my black cats on this shelf.  Most of my furniture is dark and black cats like to blend in with dark furniture.  Sneaky beasties.  

My boyfriend Pinterest and I made the killer straw wreath.  Maybe we should talk for a minute about how much I love black glitter.  That junk is straight up captivating.  It's mysterious.  Dark yet sparkling.  Just perfect for fall decor.

It's hard for me to find the right words to describe my fall holiday vibe.  Black and orange, glitter, cartoony, vintage, elegant, glowing.  Maybe I have more than one style?  The Kitchen and dining room decorations are very bright, vintage and slightly child-like and fantastic.  While the living room is a more dark and glowing venue, marked by colored glass and black glitter.  Slightly more elegant and put together.

I'm just loving the addition of some of my new collection of vintage paper lanterns this year.  There is something so celebratory about them.  You can't be sad when in the presence of paper lanterns.  Probably this winter I'll need to string them up on every surface of the house in every room.  Just to make it through unscathed.

Yes, this picture is blurry.  The lighting in my house is low and I don't own a tri-pod.  So sue me.  If you squint it looks fine.  So squint, already.

I'm really happy with this set up.  I love the addition of items hanging from the ceiling.  Almost nice enough for a window display.  One of my dream jobs.  Along with voice acting for cartoons.  Don't judge.

A new placement for these guys.  I love a dangling spider decoration.

A new display of potion making and resulting creatures.  I'm guessing I wouldn't be any better at potions than I am at cooking.

A glowingly gorgeous display in the kitchen.  Skeletons and black cats.

A tiny new wreath paired with a new crow.

The graveyard display. Slightly different every year.  What it really needs is the set of Disney Haunted Mansion grave stones to really fill it out.  I'm looking at you, Disney trip 2015.

More lanterns.  Come on.  That shit is cheerful.

Voila!  We are now at the end of the tour.  Hopefully these pieces of pretty will help you feel better about fall, the black cat that crosses your path signaling 13 years of dread winter.

So, In Summary:

I'm going to watch Golden Girls, stat. 

I need me some Miami, palm trees and a not just a little bit of Sophia's snark.