Practice in Time

Style Envy

2012-02-10T11:28:00.000-05:00

I don't know about all of you, but sometimes I get a really bad case of house envy from looking at others' blogs. Perfectly put-together homes with consistent styles get me every time. Those homes also tend to be the polar opposite of what mine looks like - a carefully curated museum exhibit, rather than the museum storage room! Makes me want to sell everything on ebay and start fresh!

My house is such a hodge-podge of styles, sometimes I fell like it's everything and nothing all at the same time. I'm not sure if I could even limit myself to one particular style of decorating. But if I could, I would have a whole house of mid century modern decor. Or maybe vintage industrial. Or maybe cottage chic.... I guess that's the problem, really, I love it all!

Literally, I have all these styles and more in various rooms of my 1800 square foot house:

Shabby chic/cottage style:

Rustic Adirondack:

Mid Century Modern:

50's Atomic

40's cute

Art Deco:

At this point I think I'm too set in my ways and too much in love with all my stuff to ditch everything and start over. A lifetime of collecting vintage items will do that, I suppose. But it still doesn't deter me from dreaming about owning and furnishing a 1950s Eichler, or a 30s Frank Lloyd Wright, or an industrial loft, or....

What about you? Can you stick to one style or is it a mishmash?

Thrifted Thursday: 1950s atomic storage stool

2012-02-09T15:39:00.000-05:00

As I noted in my previous post, I have been doing quite a bit of thrifting lately. I went to some of the usual places, and also one of my favorite places that I don't get to very often. It was there that I found something I've been looking for for some time- a vintage storage stool!

I love the upholstery; unfortunately it is vinyl and the top is cracked. I'll have to replace that some time. But the rest of it is in great shape. As you can see it matches my great trash-picked MCM black and white chair. I paid $10 for it, and I think that was a pretty sweet deal.

Trash Picked Tuesday: Pyrex!

2012-02-08T09:05:00.000-05:00

I'm thrilled to be a member of the new Pyrex Collective III- here is a post I wrote for that site yesterday. Hop on over when you're done here and check it out!

I have been using Pyrex all my life, of course, but mostly the clear stuff. And as much as I love the colors and patterns... well, we all know they can't go through the dishwasher. And as a stay-at-home entrpreneur ;) with two small kids, I am all about the dishwasher.

So while I collect Pyrex to display and use (carefully) I often find myself relying on those pieces that are clear or just plain white for everyday use, and dishwashing!

And since I am also all about frugal living, I try to buy my pieces as cheap as possible. I prowl the thrifts, the yard sales, the flea markets, etc. for Pyrex.

There is nothing I like better than finding cheap Pyrex, except, of course, finding free Pyrex!

I nabbed these two cuties outside of one of my favorite thrifts, on the "Free" pile! I don't know how or why they got there, but heck, I'm not complaining! I will get lots of use out of the divided dish- I have a primary yellow one in which I usually bake a chicken leg or two on one side with the stuffing on the other. I also make my own bread every week, so the loaf pan will sure come in handy. It has the old style scalloped handles. The loaf pan has a few chips around the rim, but nothing that makes it completely unusable, while the divided dish is pristine. Not bad for being free!

Trash to Treasure: Kustom Bathroom Scale

2012-02-01T10:40:00.000-05:00

This is another one of those projects I have had hanging around forever! Just like the TV-quarium project, I have had this old bathroom scale on the back burner for years. Literally, like 10 years.

It had been a wedding present to my in-laws back in 1960. After a while it got too rusty and grungy to be in the bathroom and they had it sitting in the garage. I asked if I could have it, since we have a pink and black bathroom and it would match. I knew it would take a lot of work to get back to being usable, so I just stored it in the basement for a -long- time.

For all those years, my main concern was that I wasn't able to find the "correct" vinyl to restore the treads- pink textured with sparkles (!). I would have settled for just plain pink upholstery vinyl, but I could never find just the right shade to match the tile and the pink paint I already had.

Then I saw a great bathroom scale restoration done by the folks over at the Hepcats Restorations blog (thanks guys!) using black step tread material, and finally had my lightbulb moment! I didn't have to find original vinyl, I could do something a little different.

So we disassembled it, peeled off the old vinyl and stripped the paint.

The back got a coat of Rustoleum textured matte black and some new rubber feet.

The top got several coats of pink paint. Notice the strip of original vinyl on the right, and how closely the pink matches! My husband used to be an auto body tech, so he did the prep and painting- much better than I could have done!

I masked off the shoulders and a strip on the front to leave the original chrome. Then I smoothed out the edges with a little pinstripe. Cleaned up the dial and painted the wheel and the "Detecto" emblem with black.

Since I was going to be able to cut the tread material to whatever design I wanted, I decided to have a little fun with it and do a flame pattern. I did need to cover the holes in the top, so I had to take that into account when cutting the treads.

So here it is! Another item crossed off the to-do list, and a fun weekend project. Might even make stepping on the scale enjoyable!

Indoor Activities: Easy and cheap tabletop garden

2012-01-28T18:02:00.000-05:00

I thought I'd take a moment to show off an easy indoor project for those of you craving a little gardening fix in the middle of winter. I'm totally in love with miniature worlds indoors, be it dollhouses, or terrariums. And while I didn't have the skills or materials to create a terrarium, I did have this great collection of stuff that we could put together in a tabletop garden.

This is such an easy project, I let my kids do it. (Well, most of it; I'm kind of OCD about the messy factor, so I did the dirt part...). I used an outdoor planter that was shallow and wide. This was a cast off from one of my aunts, so it didn't cost anything. Since it doesn't have any holes for drainage, we filled it half way with gravel I scooped up from the road (why pay for fancy river rock that no one is going to see anyway?). I added a couple scoops of topsoil, and then placed the large items.

My son found the large fossil rock at the river this summer and he added a couple pieces of turkey tail fungus and pinecones for variety. We also dug a few tiny ferns up from the woods.

I had a sad miniature palm that was barely hanging on; only a few tall sections were still growing, so I put those in the planter for a bit of height. I bought the pink plant new for a couple of dollars at the grocery store. Any small scale plant will do, but I liked this one for the bit of color it added.

We peeled up some moss from the yard and used it to cover all the remaining dirt. Every few days I just add a bit of water to the plants and spray the moss with water from a spray bottle. My kids added the army men, which I think came out pretty cool- kind of an homage to jungle warfare- without being too kitschy!

Blog Roll Updates!

2012-01-21T13:44:00.000-05:00

My daughter, the future librarian!

I am reducing clutter, virtually, for the New Year. My blog roll had become quite cluttered, with over 250 blogs I was following. So, I went through them all, and deleted about 60 of the ones I no longer read or haven't been updated in the last several months. Hopefully no one will take it personally if I deleted myself from their follower list!

Also, if you are a follower of my blog, I do try to follow yours if you have one. Let me know by leaving a comment sometimes, if I am not on your list! And if you know of a worthwhile blog to follow, please leave a comment below and maybe that person will gain a few new followers from here. Generally, I try to follow blogs that are updated at least once a week, and contain something of interest to me, whether it is vintage lifestyle, sustainable living or decorating. I intensely dislike blogs that exist solely for product or individual promotion, so don't even bother suggesting one of those.

I am also considering what types of new posts followers most like, so leave a comment if you would like to see more or less of the following: collecting, history, thrifting, projects, or anything else I might have forgotten!

Thrifted Thursday: Tons of stuff!!!

2012-01-19T11:54:00.000-05:00

As I mentioned before, I have been doing a lot of thrifting lately. For pure tonnage in the thrifts, January and February are probably the best time to shop- a lot of people are decluttering for the New Year! I also have the added incentive of having to outfit a new kitchen at our cabin. I've been buying the usual clothing for the shop and also have been shopping for kitchenware for the first time in years.

Since it's been about 10 years since I really had to buy kitchenware, I have the opportunity to establish a new vintage look. And since this is a cabin, I'm going for a rustic, Adirondack style with lots of enamelware and cast iron. I love, love, love enamelware as it is, so the opportunity to buy more and to put it to use is really exciting to me.

I'm going to try to do the whole place without buying anything new or plastic (save the odd piece of jadeite green Tupperware). I think the entire contents of the wire basket cost me about $10. I bought the crinkle wire basket from an Etsy seller, and that was probably the mot expensive thing I've bought so far at about $20.

I got a pair of these sheets for $1 each, and I am thinking about turning them into curtains. Or I might move them into the store...they are really pretty.

This suit I originally bought for the store as well, but after I brought it home, I realized it would fit me. It's brown nubby wool with flecks of red and purple, in mint condition (and only $10!). It's so classic I am having trouble dating it (I'm thinking 1980s does 40s?). I love the cutouts on the collar and the placement of the buttons. It fits me like it was custom tailored, and I have already worn it once!

I found my first pieces of confetti lucite also- these two bracelets and the earrings below. Too bad they don't match- they were found at 2 different stores. The bracelets were $5 each and the earrings were $2.

These boots are about as close as I can come to Uggs, which I refuse to wear. They were brand new, still with the $60 Kohl's tag on them. I paid a little more than I usually do ($15) but they are suede and I needed something like this. They are really warm!

This last one is probably my biggest score. I needed a tea kettle for the cabin, and was looking for one of those old, classic aluminum ones. But then I saw this enamelware one for $6 and was sold. It had never been used. Not until I was in line at the register (and realized how freakin' heavy it was!) did I notice what was on the bottom...

Score!

A snowy day

2012-01-14T13:27:00.000-05:00

I've been busy thrifting and stocking my Etsy store, so those of you starting the hunt for Viva, head on over and check it out! If you see something you like, enter coupon code PIT20OFF for 20% off your purchase!

I have a whole bunch of neat purchases to show you, but I'll save those for Thursday.

In the meantime, enjoy these photos of my daughter, aka "Mini-me", walking in the snow. We just got a dusting yesterday, but she wanted to go outside and play in it. She was enjoying making tracks through the yard. I think this sequence of photos captures that perfectly:

Make-it-from-scratch Monday: Party Chicken (A Retro Casserole)

2012-01-09T09:26:00.000-05:00

Hi all, I know I haven't done a recipe Monday in a while, so here goes! And this is probably not the best one to try if you're one of those people with a New Year's resolution to lose weight or reduce your cholesterol. On the other hand, it is easy and delicious, and good for serving at a potluck or covered dish dinner (hence the name). It's a nice warm casserole for a snowy day at home, as well. The prep time is minimal, and it cooks in a slow oven, so there's very little work involved (my favorite!)

This recipe has been in my family for some time; it was always a favorite of ours when we went to visit my grandmother. (And my grandmother lived until she was 89, so eating this regularly didn't appear to have any ill effects on her!)

Party Chicken

8 pcs boneless chicken breast- tenders work well

4 slices bacon, uncooked and cut in half

4 oz. dried beef (chipped)

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1/2 pt sour cream

Cover bottom of large greased baking dish with the dried beef.

I'm not sure how easy it is to find dried beef outside of Pennsylvania, so you could substitute some very dry ham, like proscuitto, or even dry-cured salami. We make our own dried "beef" from a leg of venison.

I'm using my very favorite enamel ware pan- nothing sticks to it, ever. (I tried to fit it all in a Pyrex 2 qt baker, but it was too tight.)

Lay pieces of chicken on top. I used two whole breasts, and cut them in half lengthwise (butterflied). You could cut them up even more to get smaller portions, too.

Place 1 piece of bacon on each piece of chicken. I didn't have any uncooked bacon, so I used ham. My husband is an old-fashioned butcher and makes all our ham, so I chose a nice marbled piece for this.

Mix together soup and sour cream, spoon over chicken. Try not to think about your arteries.

Bake for 2 hours at 275, uncovered. Serve with a spinach salad and brown rice to absorb all that cholesterol! Enjoy!

2012 Resolutions

2012-01-04T17:48:00.003-05:00

Have I mentioned before how much I dislike the idea of making resolutions? Nothing like starting a brand new year by setting yourself up for failure! That said, I am a big believer in self-improvement, and I do have some lifestyle changes I try to implement throughout the year (every year). I suppose this is like a New Year's resolution in the fact that I reflect on things I can do better, but I specifically refrain from setting objectives to be reached. After all, if I resolve to lose 20 pounds and only lose 5, I have failed to reach my objective. Let's call it a goal to make healthier choices and perhaps that will be easier to stick to.

And I always seem to make the same "resolutions": to dress better, and to get rid of clutter, year after year. Well, I am happy to report that I have made great strides toward the latter, mainly by opening my Etsy store. I have sold some things I don't need, and at least the rest of it is inventoried and packed safely away, waiting for its buyer to come along. I am also thinking about opening a stall in a local antiques mall, which would allow me to unload some of the larger items I've accumulated.

After all, even if I couldn't resist these MCM lamps for $3 at an estate sale this summer, I can call it inventory, not hoarding!

As far as dressing better, I think my occasional Sunday outfit posts helped, and I do wear a lot of vintage dresses in warm weather, but during the colder months there is a lot of room for improvement! And for someone who claims to be a dealer in vintage clothing, that's an area I desperately need to improve!

I also checked a couple of items off my long-term "to-do" list. I finally acquired my vintage stove, a 1950 Westinghouse double oven range. As I write this, my husband is downstairs re-wiring the burners. I had started that job, but he soon took it over after watching my slow progress for a couple of weeks- it's great of him to take it on! I hope to have it up and running again in the next few months. (A new post on that to come soon!)

Obviously this is not my kitchen....

I also finished some wood working projects which had been waiting for years. I finally re-finished my dad's old coffee table and gave it an MCM makeover with hairpin legs.

And I finished my TV-quarium (TM), a project I had been thinking of for at least 7 years. I was very pleased with how these projects turned out and it helped me get back in touch with my "handy" side, something I had all but given over to my husband years ago.

I also started a sister site, the1930sproject, as a serious study in living a Depression-era lifestyle. Hop on over and check it out!

So here's to 2012, may it bring us happiness!

The 1930s Project

2011-12-29T16:57:00.000-05:00

I've been kicking around an idea here for a couple of years, and perhaps by making an official announcement on this blog I can jump start it. Please join me for the adventure!

I have always been fascinated by the 1930s. Ever since I discovered big band swing in 7th grade I have been enthralled by the Art Deco era. All of it- the history, politics, and economics as well as the lighter side of entertainment, fashion and culture. Seriously studying the 1930s has been my avocation since I was in college. Even as an undergrad music major, I spent far more time with Paul Hindemith and Weimar Germany than I did with many of my friends. As a graduate student, I focused on early 20th Century material culture- the artifacts of technology, transportation and manufacturing from the period. And while I may know a lot of facts, I have always felt that I was missing the experience portion of the equation.

I have always wanted to know what it would have been like to truly live during the 1930s. I would like to do an experiment in which I put aside most of our modern conveniences and live as a Depression-era housewife. Of course, I do have a family and their needs will have to be accounted for, but I will try to do my best to accomplish all of this in as authentic a way as possible.

Perhaps some of you have had similar thoughts. For some reason I haven't talked about it a whole lot on this blog, partly because most of my readers are into the 1950s. And while I like that time period, I have never really felt the pull to live it like I have with the 1930s-early 40s era. I am also aware that there are other people who do this as a lifestyle (some of whom are my good friends) and have been doing so for years. I admire that and I am by no means considering myself an expert on this- I just want to see if I can do it for myself!

So I am announcing the start of this project in which I live as a 1930s housewife for two weeks in August of 2012. The adventure will start with background posts leading up to it at my other blog:

http://the1930sproject.wordpress.com/

Or you can join me facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/The1930sproject/

See you later, gator!

Thrifted Thursday: Pyrex and FireKing

2011-12-28T17:31:00.000-05:00

I hope all of you have had a very happy Holiday season and wish everyone a happy New Year! I got some much needed items, and of course, the kids had quite a haul.

Presents are great, but as you know, nothing makes me happier than thrifting, and getting a deal on something I collect!

Since the kids are off of school this week, I can relax my schedule a bit and get to those places I don't normally frequent because of time or distance. Today I went to the Habitat for Humanity ReStore, ostensibly to look for new bathroom sconces for our cabin. Of course, none of those there were right; it was two big shelves of hideous brass and glass fixtures, just like the ones I want to get rid of! But I did browse through the household goods and came back with a couple scores:

I found this Butterprint 442 (1.5 qt.) Cinderella bowl in great condition, for my set for $3. I now have 3 of the 4 - just need the 443 to finish it!

I also couldn't resist these FireKing beauties. I don't collect this pattern (yet!) and don't even know its name, but I adore it! The handpainted flowers are lovely, and the whole set was only $5. It's a big 2 qt. baker, one cereal bowl, two handled ramekins and three tiny custard cups. They don't appear to ever have been used; I wonder what happened to their mates? I can definitely see collecting this one becoming my next obsession!

Thrifty finds

2011-12-12T14:19:00.000-05:00

I've been doing a bit of thrifting lately, buying a bunch of stuff for my Etsy store. Of course, one of the hidden costs of having a vintage store is that you inevitably come across stuff you can't bear to part with and end up keeping. I don't know the technical term for that, but it eats into the profit margin for sure! These are the things I'm keeping as a Christmas present to myself, and who doesn't need a little of that? :)

Perhaps it's a backlash from the recent trend, but I am finding a lot of Pyrex here lately. There have been some really great pieces out there at bargain prices. I snagged this 1.5 qt covered dish for $4.50, and the price tag said "as is"! I am still trying to figure out what was supposedly wrong with it- there are no chips anywhere and it is pristine. I am being pretty good and only allowing myself to collect Butterprint or Primary, or else I would have a houseful! I even left a couple Butterprint round casseroles behind, because they looked like they had been through the dishwasher. I may even use this dish tonight for a recipe I will be posting next Monday; bringing back "Make-it-from-scratch Monday". Stay tuned!

Longtime readers may remember that my 7 yr old son collects these souvenir wooden wall plaques from state parks. I haven't found any in ages, and he has been getting a little down about ever finding any (like kids can be, LOL) but did find this one last week. This is not as vintage as some of the ones we already have- it's metallic foil- but he will love it. (We saw some bald eagles this summer while fishing on the Susquehanna River.) I am going to let my daughter wrap it up for him for Christmas. I was a bit shocked at the price- $8.50, WTF?- but what the hey, 'tis the season to overspend!

Speaking of which, you can see some of the rest of his collection below:

I found a better vintage lampshade for his atomic starburst lamp. Still not 100% sure this is right, but it's a lot better than what we had before!

That shade actually came off of this lamp, which I bought for my daughter's nightstand at our cabin. I'm trying to get a little shabby cottage-y thing going for her up there (the polar opposite of my MIL's style who also lives there, hehe) and this will be so much more appropriate than the fussy super-traditional brass stuff she has now. I want to find a frilly shade for this- I know exactly what I want, just got to find it!

The best find of the last couple of weeks, however, was this:

It's a 1930s 2 piece skirt and top set. Made of taffeta with ruffled detail and cute little brass buttons. I was originally planning to put it in the shop, but after I measured it, it was close enough that I could conceivably wear it.

After I lose about 10 pounds.

It will happen. I just needed the motivation and this is it!

'Tis the Season of Giving- and we have a Giveaway Winner!!!!

2011-12-10T07:22:00.001-05:00

Let's not forget the spirit of the holidays and remember to give a little back to our community. My cousin lives out in LA and is involved in a church program to send Recovery Bibles to inmates in prison. If you are looking for a way to give this season, why not look into this program and donate (PayPal accepted) if you can:
http://www.indiegogo.com/The-Unintended-Mission?a=338770

And since we all love to get as well as give, we have a winner in the Pyrex giveaway! According to random.org, which drew #3 (I'm sorry, I tried to do a screen grab and failed miserably...), our winner is Miss Dollie DeVille! Dollie, send your address to practiceintime (at) gmail (dot) com and I will carefully pack and ship your prize! Three cheers for our winner!

Last day to enter my giveaway!

2011-12-09T09:29:00.001-05:00

Just a reminder- today is the last day to enter my Pyrex giveaway:

http://practiceintime.blogspot.com/2011/12/pyrex-giveaway.html

It's beginning to look...

2011-12-05T15:05:00.001-05:00

...a little like Christmas around here. We've started putting up decorations, and have a few new items this year. I found some really great holiday items over this past year, and while many of them went into my Etsy shop, I saved a couple for us.

Here are some of the newer vintage items around Chez QT:

A pair of bottlebrush trees and a little flocked deer on top of my TV-quarium. I should now say that this is my "prize-winning" TV-quarium, LOL, thanks to the good folks over at No Pattern Required, one of my favorite blogs. Unfortunately, the TV-quarium will have to be moved somewhere else next week, as this is the place we put our Christmas tree.

One of a pair of vintage stockings I'm using as decorations around the entrance to our living room. I make the white pine garland myself every year- over 25 feet. It's very easy; I should do a tutorial one of these days.

I found four of these bakelite and cardboard window candles at an estate sale this summer. I have other red window candles and I needed a couple new ones- these are perfect. They are also nice and heavy so they don't have to be taped to the windowsill. (Don't you hate that? LOL)

I have some new blow molds also- the two angels were 99 cents each at Sine's 5&10. Really. This store still has stock from the 50s and 60s and has never changed the prices over all these years. Instead of putting them up in the living room like last year, I decided to put them all in the downstairs window. I don't know if I like this or not, but we'll see. I do know that I need at least one more, because groupings of odd numbers look better. See how I can rationalize another collection? :) This is why I have more stuff than space.... heehee!

Don't forget to enter my giveaway! Now that we're up to 100 followers, it's official- game on! Get your name in by Friday, and at this point you have a pretty good chance of winning!

A Pyrex Giveaway!

2011-12-02T14:51:00.001-05:00

Whew! It's been hard to keep up a regular blogging schedule these days. I promise you I haven't forgotten all about blogging- it's just been a little hectic around here!

Not coincidentally, I'm sure, I've noticed that we are hovering right around 95 followers. I'd really love to get up and over 100, so to sweeten the pot a bit, I'm going to do a giveaway. Spread the word, get out the vote and get yourself entered to win:

A 1959 promotional Pyrex Golden Casserole 2.5 Qt. Cinderella dish with stand! This casserole is in virtually mint condition and is fairly rare. It is ivory with a gold leaf grape motif.

You can enter to win in any one of the following ways:

1) Be a follower and leave a comment below.

2) Repost it on your blog.

3) Mention it on facebook or Twitter.

Make sure to leave a separate comment for each entry method. The winner will be randomly selected after the contest closes at midnight on Friday 12/9. I will ship anywhere in the US and Canada at my expense. Unfortunately, I cannot ship anywhere else- if you still want to enter and you live elsewhere, we can figure out a different (i.e. less heavy and fragile) prize.

SusieQT Collects: Quilts!

2011-11-21T15:41:00.001-05:00

Hey all, what better way to warm up in this cool weather than snuggling up under a vintage handmade quilt! I am fortunate in that I have quite a few, all family heirlooms. I think most of these are 1890s-1930s. It seems my great grandmas were busy quilting bees, and since they lived in Michigan, I suppose they needed to make lots of them!

So a few weeks back, I took off my summertime chenille bedspreads and swapped them out with a few of these beauties:

This one is mostly embroidered; the green and purple sections are pieced. I suppose this is technically a "coverlet" because there is no batting in between, although it is still quilted. It's in my daughter's room because of the purple.

I apologize for the blurriness of this photo, but it gives a good shot of the pattern. I like the mostly green background and this is one of the larger quilts- fits over a full/queen bed. I believe this one is from the 1920s/30s.

I just love the handmade, rustic appeal of vintage quilts and I also really dig trying to guess the era of the fabric pieces. I think most of these are 1890s-1930s. This one is a nice close up of some Art Deco fabric. I believe the pieces are feedsack.

This one has a blue and brown theme- very masculine- but then again there is quite a bit of pink. But I think the pink might have been originally red.

I love the edging. This quilt (actually another coverlet) is pieced primarily of indigo calico, probably from about 1900.

I like the triangle pattern on this one, even though it's not in great shape anymore. I actually rescued this one from my mom- she had relegated it to outdoor duty. She has more of these than I do, even- all made by the same ancestors.

This is my favorite- a turkey red album quilt. The squares are all embroidered nature scenes or childhood scenes. It's a twin size quilt. I don't have any twin beds here, or I would use it.

I need to figure out a better way to display them. I'm not big on hanging them on the wall- that's a little too country for me. Some of them are too small for laying across a bed, and with small kids they are too fragile to drape over a sofa. So for now, they're put away in a blanket chest.

A Little R-n-R part 2- the goodies!

2011-11-14T14:57:00.001-05:00

Okay, now that I got that last post off my chest it's back to the fun and frivolity! On our 10th anniversary get- away post last month, I mentioned all the great antiques stores we stopped at in Adamstown, PA. Since I am so cheap, most of the time when I go into an "antiques store", it is purely a research project. As in, how much can I get for my stuff if I put it in my Etsy Store, and laughing at the prices some folks will pay.

But there are always a few bargains to be found, I guess, and particularly when you are faced with So Much Stuff! Don't get me wrong, there were things in there I wanted to buy, but I just don't have the money to spend $1200 on an amazing lithographed tin toy from the turn of the century.

My outift for our 2nd day out- wide legged sailor jeans, saddle shoes and my 49er.

So what did I buy? Well, since selling vintage clothing has become my business, I naturally looked those racks over pretty carefully. And those of you of like mind and taste will probably agree when I tell you that most of the older stuff I saw was either in poor condition or had a sky high price tag. There were plenty of newer items from the 60s and 70s to be had more reasonably, but those just aren't my style. And on a trip like this, I buy for myself- I can't make enough money re-selling things that are on the high side to start with.

So I found this gem of a handmade day dress:

It's never been worn, has the original belt and I loved the cute cotton print fabric. But at $15, it did have one flaw: all the buttons melted when it was pressed! They aren't melted onto the dress, thankfully, just into flat disks that are no longer functional or pretty. Eventually I will find some nice vintage buttons and replace them all before I wear it next spring.

My next find was blue and white also. I recently became an official Pyrex collector, and besides the primary color set, I have been working on a Butterprint mixing bowl set. I had bought the large 444 last fall at a Goodwill ($2.99) and hadn't really found anything else cheap and in great condition (my two priorities, in that order!) But at one of the antique malls I found a little booth of only Pyrex and Fire King, and they had the 441 there for only $4. (There were actually quite a few booths with glassware and kitchen items; some were so spectacularly staged I could have lived there- wish I had my camera to share them with you.)

The 442 was at the booth as well, but not in as great shape, and for $6, I think I can do better eventually. The thrill of the hunt is really why I'm in it, anyway.

And my final purchase was totally one of those splurge deals, for something that I would normally laugh at my own stupidity for paying the price, if it weren't so gosh-darn perfect:

I bought a set of rabbit ears for my TV-quarium. Late 40s/early 50s RCA antenna, with bakelite base and red tips on the antenna. It is so perfect, that for $18 I didn't think twice. (The other item on top of the set is not a radio, it's a UHF tuner which came with the original TV for $1. I have a couple TV lamps that I'm playing around with as well; still haven't settled on the perfect 'look'. But the rabbit ears are definitely staying!

I am Penn State

2011-11-11T09:17:00.001-05:00

I'm sure many of you have been following the Penn State scandal with a heavy heart, as I have. I am a Penn State alumnus, class of 1997. My father went there (class of 1954) as did my grandfather (class of 1928). I have numerous friends and relatives attending there now.

Football team, 1927. From my grandfather's scrapbook.

If you said that I should "bleed blue and white" well, you'd be wrong. I bleed like every other human being and this scandal has cut me to the core. I have cried for those boys every day, and I am doing it again right now...

I can't stop thinking about those poor children and how they must have gone home, got into their beds and cried. And nobody did anything to help them. They were so vulnerable and had no one to go to.

If there is any comfort to be gained from all of this, it is that so many of us in the Penn State community are outraged and hopefully would have done the right thing if we saw that little boy getting raped. Going forward I think the best way to heal is to do whatever we can do to give children a save place to go and a responsible adult to talk to. If only these kids had had someone to confide in, I want to believe that this abuse would have been stopped long ago.

My grandparents near center of campus. Caption reads, "Still love each other, April '27"

We also need to reevaluate our priorities when it comes to college athletics. I love sports, and football is at the top of the list. I played in the Blue Band; I was on that field in front of 100,000 rabid fans. I participated in that game day spectacle that will occur again tomorrow. I received all expenses-paid trips to the Rose Bowl and other privileges. But if this situation is what comes out of blind allegiance to sports at the expense of humanity, then count me out. Modern college athletics have become a different beast entirely than for what they were originally intended.

When money and prestige drive a program and a school instead of the well-being of its people we have gone down the wrong path. What ever happened to the days when "student athlete" meant something- that you were a student first, not just auditioning for TV ratings and the NFL? At Penn State, we always paid lip service to that ideal, that Joe Paterno made sure his players did well in class and graduated. But they were always football players first and foremost, and that is what has led to his downfall.

We need to return to that notion of athletics as a secondary facet of a well-rounded education. We need to stop treating kids as money-makers and start valuing them as individuals. We need to stop rewarding mediocre classroom performance with athletic scholarships at all levels. Don't give me the argument that Joe Schmo would never have gotten into Penn State except for his athletic prowess- we should be investing that athletic budget into helping him get good grades on his homework instead of excusing him to go to high school football practice.

Look at the way the service academies do it- no one gets in purely on athletics. They have to be accepted on their academic merit first. Somehow they manage to produce a decent, competitive football team and at the same time don't lose focus on the "student" part of the "student-athlete". I'm not saying that everyone can or should adopt the rest of the service academy standards, but it seems to me that they do keep the focus off the field, where it should be.

Student Pep rally, 1927. Near West Hall dorms. From my grandfather's scrapbook.

Way back in my grandfather's day, this was the case at Penn State. Football was just one part of the overall academic experience. Sure, students played and went to the games, but no one expected the football team to subsidize the rest of the school and no one was using college football as a springboard to the NFL. Back when "the New Beaver Field" was built (in 1909, near Rec Hall) it held 30,000 people. It was central to the campus and not isolated. Football players were definitely BMOCs, but were still expected to show up to class and graduate on time, with an education they could use.

1925 football tickets for the "New Beaver Field". Unused, as they all should be tomorrow.

We need to get back to those days of small-time athletics, where the emphasis is placed on building a strong mind and a strong body, and a strong school. We need to return to college football as a pastime, not a means to an end. Strip Penn State of all its NCAA scholarships, put the football team back on par with the girls' tennis team and let the academics be first and foremost. Cancel the rest of the season and the next one as well. Let's get some perspective on who we are as Penn Staters and what we should be doing to be the best people we can be. Let those 10 year old boys that will live in our memories forever have the justice they deserve and a lasting legacy of humanity at Penn State instead of just going about "business as usual".

Halloween 2011

2011-11-09T08:54:00.000-05:00

Wha....?????

You might have heard about the freak snowstorm we had on October 29th. I think we probably got about 6-8 inches of snow, obviously not a normal occurrence for this time of year. I can remember seeing flurries in late October but nothing like this:

Yes, my kids went sledding on Saturday and trick-or-treating on Monday.

Sunday we went to a kids' pumpkin carving event .

It was held at my sister-in-law's club, which featured this cool original 1940s dartboard.

Then it was on to Grandma's for more pumpkin carving. Jayson grew these pumpkins in his garden all by himslef, so it was special to turn it into a jack-o-lantern.

Tinkerbelle and Davy Crockett ready to go out trick-or-treating. The Davy Crockett costume is deadstock 1950s, picked up for a few bucks at a thrift store. It's still plenty big for my son, but in a few years it will make its way to my Etsy store. He was a big hit with all the older neighbors- they both cleaned up on the candy!

And looking forward to the next holiday on the calendar, yours truly bagged a wild turkey last week. I love the idea of providing Thanksgiving dinner for my family. It kind of makes me laugh when I hear all this talk about "heritage birds" vs. supermarket birds. Really, wild turkeys (and venison) are what the Pilgrims ate at the original Thanksgiving. That is our real "heritage", and wild turkeys should be more celebrated than they are.

A Little R-n-R, part 1

2011-10-26T08:23:00.000-04:00

Last week my husband and I celebrated our 10th anniversary. While that's unbelievable in itself (has it really been 10 years already?), what might be more surprising is that we have never taken an overnight trip on our own, without kids, in seven years. So it was high time to remedy that situation.

Once Grammie was settled in and taking care of the kids- bless her, it's not easy to get a 3 and 6 year old off to school in the morning- we set off on a little trip to Lancaster County. Our itinerary was to spend Thursday shopping in Adamstown, PA -the antique capital of the world- and stay overnight at an old hotel in Lititz. Friday we would spend some time in Lititz, then make a stop at a farmer's market on the way home.

Pennsylvania's Lancaster County (aka "Amish Country", for those of you in parts far off) has always felt like home for me. My family has lived there for generations, since the mid-1700s. My grandmother lived in Lititz for much of her life and I spent many happy weekends there visiting. So I wasn't exactly the usual tourist (something there are lots of, this time of year), but it was a little different to actually be there as a hotel guest.

Adamstown is a little over an hour's drive from our home. But it was well worth the trip to do some shopping at all the antique malls and stores there. We spent hours poring over the booths at the Mad Hatter, Pine Hills, Adams Antiques, and others. I bought some goodies, which will be part 2 of this post!

We ate lunch at a great brewpub, the Union Barrel Works in Reamstown. It's a little off the beaten path, but well worth seeking out. The food and the brew were incredible! We had originally planned to eat lunch at Stoudt's in Adamstown, but they are not open for lunch during the week. Quite a few of the antiques shops in Adamstown are also not open during the week, so plan your visit accordingly. It wasn't a problem for us, because there were plenty of other places that were open- more than we could do in a day!

This was my outfit for the day- a Lilli Ann knit suit with a 1940s collegiate look (the skirt is pleated, hard to tell in the photo) and saddle shoes. It was the perfect outift- quite comfortable for a day of shopping.

Then it was on to the General Sutter Hotel in Lititz for our overnight stay and dinner.

Our room was beautiful- nice and roomy with antique Victorian furnishings. It was just our style; we don't really enjoy the corporate hotel chains, and try to stay in places like this whenever possible.

I loved the "TV lounge" just down the hall- it was really a library/sitting room for the guests. I was daydreaming about how to turn this old "portable" TV into an aquarium....

We ate dinner there as well; the food was out of this world. I had a NY strip with an Asian soy-ginger sauce, and my husband had crab cakes. We dressed for the occasion- my dress is the first piece of vintage clothing I ever owned. It's a black velvet wiggle dress with the most incredible beading detail around the neckline and front pocket. I think it dates from the mid-late 1950s. It was given to me in high school by a friend of my mother's who knew I needed a black dress for a concert. Needless to say, this dress is a little over-the-top for concert attire, but still one of my favorites for dressy occasions.

Halloween at Chez QT, 2011

2011-10-14T14:42:00.001-04:00

These last few years I have really been getting into the Halloween spirit, and decorating up a storm around Chez QT. I think it is one of the few holidays I enjoy as much, if not more, than my kids.

Since my kids are so small (6 and 3) I try to stay away from the blood and gore, monsters and such. They're too young for that sort of thing. I focus instead on generally creepy things, like bugs and naturalistic/decayed things. I'm big on groupings of slightly weird objects as well, like last year's display of stopped clocks (up again this year).

My kitchen sideboard. It's nice to get out some silver and not polish it for a change, LOL. The pumpkin on a candy dish pedestal is a real pumpkin from last year that we hollowed out down to the skin and dried in the oven. It's basically ever-lasting now, and filled with faux leaves.

I love bugs this year! The branches are curly willow from my brother's tree, spray painted black. We used a lot of them all over the house.

My son found these skulls in the woods- one is a fox and the other a coyote.

More curly willow stuck in a fat lava pot with a mum. This is probably one of the best shots of the new TV aquarium, with its new test-pattern backdrop. (Why I couldn't get a decent shot before, I'll never know...)

I love this idea- reminds me of something out of a magazine. Normally I have cornstalks on the front porch, but ours were all ratty after the hurricanes and not fit for display. Thank goodness for the curly willow! (And did I ever mention how much I love galvanized stuff? The bucket is an old sap bucket I trash picked from a dump in the woods ;)

Jayson grew all of our pumpkins in the garden this year- it was a very good year.

Also note my Halloween blowmolds, all lit up and happy at night (like some of you are, I'm sure, LOL)! I put orange flicker bulbs in the front carriage lights also- that is such an easy, cool effect, I wonder why more people don't do that.

And finally, RIP Dracula...

While it looks nice and sunny, I turned around and snapped this picture of the cold front coming in!

If that's not scary, I don't know what is!

Stove update #2

2011-10-13T12:15:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone, things have been kind of crazy around here (it's deer hunting season- I am a hunting widow...). But I do have a stove update, since that's what I've been focusing my free time on.

I found a great place for parts and wire, and best of all it's local! Bergey's Electric in Hatfield, PA was a life saver for me so far. At the urging of my mother-in-law (the Bergeys are her cousins) I gave them a call searching for the right wire (heat resistant, right amperage, etc.). I highly recommend them, and if you're tackling a similar project, do not hesitate to give them a call: 215-723-5518.

I had not had much luck with the other local places I had called, so I was not expecting much. (Because no one actually repairs appliances anymore, they just tell you to get new ones!) I know some of the parts are available over the web, but I much prefer to support local businesses and it's so much nicer to deal with people face to face.

Not only did they have the right, OEM wire in stock, I had the owner and the appliance repair man there to help me get the rest of my shopping list. I needed the burner wires- they had the original spool wire there and cut it to my measurements- the heavier gauge wire that goes to the oven elements, the connectors, and also as a bonus, an original ceramic recepticle for the burner itself.

The burners plug into a ceramic connector which is wired directly to the knob. I had one that was cracked and they just happened to have an identical one on the parts shelf. And guess what? They gave it to me!

And here's the neat part- know why they happened to have that original part on the shelf? They were the original and only licensed Westinghouse dealer in the area. Chances are that they were the ones that sold my stove when it was brand new. The owner said that if I can track down the name of the original owner, they can probably locate the original bill of sale. Now, if that's not a reason to shop local, I don't know what is!

A hole where the heat should be

2011-09-30T11:29:00.000-04:00

Here's the first stove update:

Egads! Major dissassembly. I've pretty much removed everything I could get off for a thorough cleaning and investigation. I've taken off the drawers, the burners, the chrome rings and all the back panels. (That 1946 GE radio is for listening to playoff baseball while I'm working- go Phils and Tigers! On a good day I can pull in WJR from Detroit.)

Thank goodness I have a garage to work in!

The door handles are going to get rechromed, and I'll be re-wiring the burners. Here's why:

Those tangled up wires are all dry rotted and brittle. Not something I want to cook on!

Hopefully rewiring will be straightforward- I can clearly see where all the wires are supposed to hook up to and where they come from. As long as I can get the right wire this shouldn't be too hard. I have a little experience in rewiring and my brother is an electrician so if I get stuck I have some help. The burners themselves are not as bad as I thought they were- I am planning to put them same ones back in.

I'm hoping not to have to do much to the oven wiring- that looks pretty good from what I can see. I'm excited to get past the cleaning stage- that was pretty yucky!

Check one off the bucket list

2011-09-26T15:51:00.000-04:00

Ain't she sweet?

As she sat in the seller's basement- obviously this is not my kitchen!

I have wanted a vintage stove forever. Certainly as long as I have lived in our current place -going on 9 years now. With the vintage kitchen I have, it was one of the biggest missing pieces.

But I had a modern stove that worked fine and was perfectly acceptable until recently. As a matter of fact, it still does work, it's just not pretty to look at. So this was the perfect time to start looking for the vintage stove of my dreams! I can have the luxury of taking my time with a restoration project, but still with the motivation that it needs to get finished and get put in ASAP.

Plus, it was relatively easy to convince my husband that we shouldn't spend so much on a brand new stove that I didn't really want anyway. I used my own money on this stove and will continue to do so for the restoration, which probably will include new counter tops, since this stove is 10" wider. (Thank you to those of you that have shopped my Etsy store- your purchases made this little project possible!)

So what did I get? A 1950s Westinghouse stove with double oven, three burners and a deep well cooker. I haven't figured out the exact year yet, but I'm guessing sometime around 1954-56. The double oven was #1 on my list of "must haves"; the deep well cooker, not so much. I don't yet know if I'm going to love it or hate it. But it does have plenty of "counter space", as well as two outlets if I decide I want to add an extra burner or two.

It works great- the knobs are super cool. They change from green backlit to yellow to red as the burner gets hot.

I do want to completely rewire the burners, and probably the oven elements, though, for safety's sake. And I have already taken some of the chrome pieces (door handles) off to get re-chromed. (We have always wanted to restore an old car, and this is kind of like my own version of that.) So it will be a bit of a learning process for me. Hopefully everything isn't too tricky to find and to fix; I really don't want to spend tons of money on professionals.

I will keep everyone updated on the progress, and hopefully you all will be as interested in this as I am! In the meantime, enjoy this c.1960 commercial for Westinghouse appliances featuring the cast of I Love Lucy.

Pyrex Done Deal.

2011-09-24T13:07:00.001-04:00

Alright, OK, you win!

Behold- the primary color mixing bowl set. I went back this morning and paid $30. They are absolutely mint, with no scratches, chips or marks at all. I know they're very early because they have that deep shape, plus they are thicker than the more modern primary bowls. They have the earliest mark on the bottom, the kind that says only "T.M. REG." and "U.S. PAT. OFF" in a circle around "PYREX", with no numbers.

I had almost talked myself out of them, but all of you that commented have such great taste that I knew I had better listen to you guys! :) Plus, I knew if they were still there today, she'd be in the mood to deal. I think the price is pretty good, and I will be listing some other Pyrex in my Etsy store to make some room on my shelves for these.

I guess that makes it official. I collect Pyrex. There, I said it. ;)

I actually went to another estate sale today to look at a vintage stove (with double oven!) and will know late tomorrow if they accept my offer on that. Hopefully I will be 2 for 2 this weekend!

Flea Market Friday: Salad Days and Pyrex (This post brought to you by the letter K)

2011-09-22T15:28:00.001-04:00

Those of you with more than a preschool education may be wondering why I've posted this Friday update on a Thursday. I'll get to that later.

I happened to stop by an estate sale today after dropping my daughter off at school. Those are the best times to go shopping- on a weekday when I have no kids along!

I picked up this 1940s wooden salad set in mint condition for $4. It has the wooden bowl with hand painted veggies, salad tongs and six bowls. I have been wanting one of these sets for a long time; as a matter of fact, my mother has one. We grew up using it a lot as kids, and it always makes me a little nostalgic. I figure that I will eventually inherit that one, so I hadn't bought my own.

But when I saw this one, I couldn't help myself. It has literally never been used! And my mom's is all chipped up and worn. Plus the little old lady selling the stuff was so sweet, and we got to talking... and I had to have it. For $4 I think it was well worth it. Now I just have to clear some space on my shelves! That is after we use it tonight, probably the first time it will have seen lettuce in 60 years.

I also bought this metal letter for my daughter Kate, which originally was a medallion for a screen door. She is three, and yes she is learning the days of the week in preschool this month. I'm probably going to put it on her bedroom door.

I had actually been to a yard sale at this same house a few months ago (where I bought this galvanized tub) and left it behind that time. I regretted not buying it since then. For 50 cents I should've bought it the first time. When I got a second chance at it today, I didn't think twice!

And that brings me to second chances, and why I'm posting this on Thursday instead of Friday. Also at this estate sale is a set of Pyrex primary colors mixing bowls. They are in great shape, and have the earliest hallmark at the bottom, from the 40s. The lady wants $45 for them. After hemming and hawing, I decided to leave them there. I have lots of bowls, including a couple Pyrex mixing bowls, like the large yellow one from that set. I have never felt the desire to own the complete primary color set, although the colors do appeal to me and they are so iconic. I do have some other primary color stuff, like fridgies, but I buy them to use, not to complete a set. I hesitate to call myself a Pyrex collector, although I do own quite a bit and really love it. (They just take up so much darn space! :)

However, the bowls are in such great shape, and I know it is a good price. I think I could probably go back and get them tomorrow for $35 or $40. If I buy them I would not sell them; I would use them, though I may sell some other pieces to make room and might just about break even eventually.

So what do you guys think? Should I go back and get them if they're still there tomorrow?

Living in a Fishbowl

2011-09-19T14:37:00.000-04:00

Well, I finally finished my TV-to-fish tank project. For those of you who are long time readers you may remember that I had a 1950 Motorola TV that I bought at a yard sale. It never worked, but the cabinet was nice solid mahogany, the speaker cloth was fine, and I knew it had potential.

I took the guts out of it- that picture tube was heavy! It had a few scratches (OK, gouges) and water marks on the top, so I had to refinish it. After my coffee-table makeover project earlier this summer, I knew this would be fairly easy.

Here's the 'before':

And the 'after'. Came out pretty well! I also restored the knobs with a little elbow grease and some black marker to color in the dial numbers (remember those? LOL).

But that was the easy part. The hard part was finding a fish tank that fit inside and that covered the whole porthole window. I finally found one at a yard sale this weekend for $3. It's actually a hermit crab tank, but it fits great and has a cover. I had trashpicked a filter pump and aerator from our neighbors and two seascape backdrops, so all that went inside as well. At some point I want to find a large black and white still from a vintage TV show to use as a backdrop, so it looks more like the TV is still playing a 1950s show.

I had to buy some lighting for inside the tank. Since there is very little headroom, I decided to get a string of rope lighting and attached it to the inside upper edge. It's not real bright, but it does the trick- it was more important that the lights didn't get very hot.

We made a shelf out of plywood to fit on the rails that held the TV chassis and slid the new tank in.

It's hard to see, but we have two fish in there- Gomer Pyle and Barney Fife. One fish is white and the other black and white. My son is a huge fan of the Andy Griffith show, so hopefully we'll find a B&W photo from that show that we can use as a backdrop. (We lost our best fish, Nemo, earlier in the week, so he never made the move. RIP, Nemo.)

And lit up at night, with a Helmscene 3D TV lamp on top. (I must have taken 100 pix trying to get a good one, and this is the best of that lot. My camera stinks!) That is a vintage ad for the 1952 version of this TV on the table next to it. I used that for reference when putting the knobs back together.

Nov. 2011 update: I changed the background to a vintage test pattern, and added period rabbit ears and a UHF tuner:

It is definitely cool, and I think just about anyone with an old TV could do it, if I could!

Flea Market Friday: Beacon Blankets

2011-09-16T17:58:00.001-04:00

A few weeks ago I was able to right a childhood wrong by going to a rummage sale. Well, that might be a little bit of a reach. But I was able to recapture a childhood memory of sorts, and pass it on to my kids.

When I was a kid, we had a blanket that we used for taking to picnics, outdoor concerts, etc. It was very colorful and had a southwestern motif. We used to call it the "Indian Blanket". Eventually all that toting around took its toll and we lost it somewhere, never to be seen again. Of all the things we misplaced over the years, that blanket is probably the one thing we remember most.

As I grew older and more obsessed with collecting, I realized that the "Indian Blanket" had been a Beacon blanket, or "Camp" blanket. These textiles were originally manufactured from 1920 through the 1940s by the Beacon Manufacturing Company. In fact, they sold so many -21 million a year in the late 1930’s- that “Beacon” became a generic name for the cotton camp blanket. Beacon pitched its product as a modern marvel: a fluffier, less expensive, moth-proof alternative to wool that was easier to clean and just as warm. Their designs originally copied Navajo hand weavings although at their peak, Beacon produced as many as 1500 styles, including many Art Deco motifs.

Country Living did an article on them a while back, if you want to read a bit more.

In all my years of scouring thrift stores, yard sales and such I have always looked for another "Indian Blanket". And perhaps a little part of me was hoping to discover the exact same blanket I had had as a child. But I never found one, until a few weeks ago.

I scored this blue and tan example with an Art Deco ombre plaid (the fading design pattern was a Beacon trademark) for $4 at a rummage sale. It's in great shape, with no holes, tears or frays, something that probably couldn't have been said of our original Indian blanket. It is a perfect fall addition to my son's bed, and he loves it because it is nice and soft. I promised him I would be more careful with this one and not lose it!

A Quick Update!

2011-09-12T15:33:00.002-04:00

Hi Folks, just popping in to let you know that I've been a busy bee lately, just not a blogging bee, it seems!

We survived Irene and Lee with only about 1 inch (of a total of 25 inches) of rain ending up in our basement. No big deal.

I had a yard sale on Saturday and got rid of a bunch of baby stuff. Plus there was a celebrity sighting! Sculptor Steve Tobin stopped by with his kids. I am a huge fan of his work, but I didn't recognize him (boo) until later that night when I watched a video on his work at Ground Zero as part of a memorial concert I played. So the rest of the weekend I was all happy like, "Steve Tobin came to my yard sale!" LOL That was almost better than getting rid of all my baby crap and getting some $ for it as well.

Steve Tobin's Syntax. It's made out of letters. I wish I had a dozen in my yard.

I canned a batch of apple butter. Talk about a long process.... First you have to make apple sauce, which I have done many times (tutorial here). Then you have to cook it down and spice it up to make apple butter. I ended up cooking it overnight in my slow cooker and canning it the following day.

Now, as I am writing this, I am making another batch of peach jam. The first batch is half gone already; at this rate we'll never make it till next year. Yesterday I bought a whole bushel of peaches for $3. For the whole basket! But the catch was that they were damaged and bruised. So they had to be used immediately.

And I've made a couple thrifting trips as well. Picked up some killer items for the Etsy store, which I have neglected a bit lately. But I will get some new inventory up soon, including the most incredible sharkskin jacket ever, some deadstock women's woolens and some vintage plus size dresses. I also got myself the most delicious golden yellow bakelite bracelet this morning, when I dropped off all the stuff that didn't sell at the thrift shop. For $3.50. I love it!

Bet this never happened to you...

2011-09-07T13:50:00.000-04:00

And if it did, I want to know. I'm thinking of forming a class action suit.

What is wrong with this picture?

No it's not a steampunk range. (At least not yet, but I'm thinking that might be a fitting end for it. Grrr.)

In the middle of the night I awoke to a crash. Thinking that something (like one of my beloved 50s lamps) fell over and broke, or worse yet, someone was breaking in, I ran downstairs. But everything was in its place and buttoned up tight. At least until I went into the kitchen and saw this:

(Obviously that is not my head, it's my husband's. He did most of the clean up while I stood there slack-jawed. Plus he has long arms and could reach all the glass without stepping on it.)

The glass door had fallen off my oven all by itself and shattered into a bazillion pieces. (FYI, it is safety glass, like a car windshield. Now you know.)

Besides being a royal pain to clean up, especially while trying not to wake two small children- talk about potentially making a bad situation worse- I had to spend all morning trying to find a replacement.

Guess what? There are no replacement glass pieces to be had- it's been discontinued. I found a couple on ebay but they were asking $160 plus shipping. For a 14-year-old oven door. It's not worth getting repaired, especially since there are a few other things wrong with it already.

So I guess I'm doomed to spend this weekend trudging through big box stores looking for a new oven. And since one of my criteria is always that it should be made in America, I think I might be in for a long day.

Yes, I know what you're thinking- time to step up that search for a vintage stove. That's always been on my wish list. I'm working on it. I'm just having a hard time convincing my husband to cut the countertop and cabinets off to fit a 40 inch stove instead of a 30 inch. I told him he can either do that or learn to cook. Hey, it's his choice!

Trash Picked Tuesday: Tricycle chopper, part 2

2011-08-30T17:59:00.000-04:00

For those of you following Jayson's tricycle makeover, here is the finished project! He designed it himself, as well as doing the painting and parts of the assembly. (Adults used the power tools!)

Note the working headlight and tailight- they run off a bicycle generator. There is also a license plate and horn. We did not buy anything for this project except paint, and the thrifted stadium seat.

As a reminder- here is the starting point:

And the midway part (last week's update!)

Make it from scratch Monday: Laundry Soap

2011-08-29T11:59:00.000-04:00

For years I have been wanting to make my own laundry soap. I have always felt that store-bought detergents were full of unnecessary chemicals and over-priced. And probably bad for our septic system as well.

And in my quest to explore the ways of housewives gone before me, I always wondered what was used back in the day. Seemed like everyone's clothes turned out OK before 100 oz. Tide.

So I found several online tutorials for making washing soap (since this is so mild, you can't call it detergent) that focused on two different ways- a dry powder method and a gel method. Being the lazy housekeeper I am, the powder method seemed less time-consuming so I went with that. (For info on the gel method, head over to my pal Mary Deluxe's blog! )

First you need to grate a plain old bar of soap with a cheese grater. I usually use Ivory (since Ivory flakes were probably part of the original ingredient list back in the 1930s.) But this time I lucked into a few bars of real homemade lye soap that I picked up at the Goschenhoppen Folk Fest a few weeks ago.

I know you are probably thinking that it looks an awful lot like grated parmeggiano, aren't you? So did my daughter- she tried to eat some and found out it was most definitely not cheese! Both the kids helped with grating as well, and there was only one scraped knuckle between the 3 of us. It was very hard and dry soap, hence the powdery consistency- fresh Ivory tends to look more like shredded cheese.

Once you get a cup of soap grated (or 1 bar) add a cup of Borax and a cup of Washing Soda. Both of these are commonly found in grocery stores and cost under $3 a box.

I use an old sherbet tub, which is about the right size. Then I just put the lid on and shake it to mix.

You only need one tablespoon of powder per load. Add it directly to the soap compartment in your washer. This soap is ideal for HE front-loaders because it does not produce many suds. It's also odorless and colorless. If you want to you could use scented soap or a bit of essential oil, but I prefer not to, especially because I line-dry and adore the smell of line-dried wash.

But the key question is, does it work? (This is like my own little detergent commercial...)

What do you think?

It gets things clean. But the stain-lifting power is not great, so I use Shout to pre-treat anything tough. And I'm on the lookout for some bluing- the whites do get a bit dingy after a while. But all and all, it's very effective and I have been using this for almost a year now with no complaints from the rest of the household, especially the one managing the budget!

Up to my eyeballs!

2011-08-26T13:14:00.000-04:00

This is one of my favorite times of the year: canning season! The peppers, tomatoes and fruit are rolling in and it's time to get them put up for the cold months.

This is one day's bounty- and my sinks are true double sinks- 24 in square each. That is over 7 pounds of hot peppers, with a couple bell peppers mixed in.

We've had a lot of cherry tomatoes this year. While I love eating them, I don't can them. If I do anything, I'll dehydrate them and store them dried.

All those peppers! I only canned half of them and got all these jars of hot pepper relish. The other half went into the freezer. Peppers freeze really well- just cut them to the size you would normally use them fresh and put in a plastic bag. For bell peppers, I cut them into finger-length strips; the hots just get the tops trimmed off.

There are 3.5 quarts of crushed tomatoes there as well.

I had 12 pounds of peaches, so I made this peach jam (minus the cinnamon and added 2 T of vanilla extract). It was so good we ate almost a whole jar before it even got cool. Would be a great ice cream topping as well! I'm also quite pleased that all my jars sealed this week; I had been having some problems with sealing earlier in the year. I think it might have been a bad batch of lids.

I think there will be more tomato canning this week, but that's probably about it for now!

Trash Picked Tuesday: Tricycle chopper!

2011-08-23T08:25:00.000-04:00

You may remember this trike which I trash picked a couple of years ago. It wasn't in the greatest shape; the back platform was all wobbly and it could no longer be ridden. But nevertheless, I had held onto it out in the shed, intending to use it as a garden prop eventually.

Well, a couple weeks ago, my son (age 6) got this idea that he wanted to make a go kart. He is very good at taking things apart and fixing them, so I let him have a go at this trike and see what he could come up with. He took it apart himself and separated out the usable parts. He prepped them and painted them himself- even bought the supplies with his own money.

He had a very specific idea of what he wanted to do, but at his age, with limited drawing and design skills it was hard for us to communicate on what he wanted the adults to do with power tools! After a little frustration on our part, we finally helped him bend the frame out, attach a new rear axle and lay a floor for the kart.

This is what we ended up with- kind of like a tricycle chopper:

It's still not quite done- he wants to put on some plywood sides and two seats. I'll see if we can find two kids' chairs at the thrift that we can take the legs off, and we'll get the plywood cut. Then he gets to attach the sides and paint them- he's going for a yellow and black color scheme, aka the yellowjacket. (I just found out that I am severely allergic to bee stings, so we thought we'd bite back a bit!)

Flea Market Friday: Rummage Sale Goodness

2011-08-19T18:48:00.000-04:00

We/re getting back in the swing of things after a couple lazy vacation weeks. Hit a rummage sale today and found a few things:

A juice decanter which matches a couple of orange juice glasses I had:

My son made homemade lemon/lime ade with about a dozen lemons and limes to break it in. He had been wanting to make it for ages and it is a good lesson in proportions- not too much sugar/water vs. the # of fruit. He's been helping quite a bit in the kitchen this year.

A Fisher Price A-Frame playhouse. I had never heard of this set; I think I had just about all of them when I was a kid. My mom still has them at her house for my kids to play with. It's pretty neat and my daughter took a liking to it. (Heck, I did too!)

And last but not least, everyone's favorite paint-by-numbers subject:

This one is going to my Etsy store and I know you all are dying to own it! Watch for it in the next couple of days. Plus all my blog followers get 20% off by entering coupon code PIT20OFF. Wouldn't he be perfect for your bedroom? LOL

Ironing the Vintage Way

2011-08-12T11:05:00.000-04:00

One of my least favorite household chores is ironing. I absolutely hate it. And as you all know, one of the drawbacks of vintage clothes and linens is that they usually need to be ironed. Blech.

So to make it a little more palatable, and for a true "vintage ironing experience" I've been acquiring and using only 1940s/50s household ironing implements. After I wash them with homemade laundry soap
(another post) and line dry them, the next step is ironing.

I don't know if this makes the actual chore better or worse, but it's more visually appealing at least...

Some time ago, my modern steam iron started to automatically shut itself off about every 2 minutes while I was ironing. Needless to say, this was annoying; I had to go and unplug it and re-start it every time. I went to buy a new iron and was dismayed to find that I could not buy one that was made in America. (This is one of my pet peeves, and I prefer not to buy new things unless they support American manufacturing jobs.)

So I began the hunt for a vintage iron. I found one not long afterwards at a rummage sale, and fell in love. I mean, how could you not love good old, American-made, chrome and turquoise (even if it is an iron? ;). Plus, at $1 it was far cheaper than the foreign-made dreck, and I'm sure it will last longer, since it already has at least 40 years under its steam plate.

When I am ironing, I prefer a big, heavy ironing board that won't tip over. This is a 1920s-vintage ironing board that I inherited. It really is a board, with a cotton pad over top and steel legs. It probably weighs 10 times what a modern ironing board weighs and is solid as a rock.

My new iron does have a steam feature, but many vintage irons do not. In order to get that extra moisture to remove stubborn wrinkles, most housewives used a laundry sprinkler.

This is just a sprinkler top placed in a repurposed bottle. Mine happens to have been made out of a ketchup bottle, which was painted and decal-ed with a Mexican motif. I found this in a thrift store for a couple of bucks.

I rarely use starch, either the spray or boil kinds. For things like tablecloths, which might be stored for a while, the starch can attract unwanted insects. Plus, I hate the smell.

Here is my new iron in action- I love how it lights up when it is hot. And it does get hot- way hotter than the old iron. Plus, it's at least twice as heavy. It actually makes the job go quicker- always a plus!

And the finished product- two sets of curtains, three tablecloths, and a couple dresses, shirts and blouses. Yes it was dark by the time I was done!

ZootsuitMama: blo molds in Summer

2011-07-29T17:22:00.000-04:00

ZootsuitMama: blo molds in Summer

http://www.practiceintime.blogspot.com/

Thrifted Thursday: Blowmold Bonanza!

2011-07-28T12:50:00.000-04:00

I know it's a tad early for Halloween stuff, but I just got these yesterday. If I don't share them today, I'll forget about them. Of course, the best time to buy seasonal decorations is always out of season!

I picked these three up for about 50 cents each. They all light up, but my favorite is the witch in the middle! They're the perfect size- about 18 inches- to sit on a windowsill or front steps. They will go nicely with our trash-picked Pumpkin Man from last year.

Make it from scratch Monday: Pickled Watermelon Rind

2011-07-25T14:54:00.000-04:00

One of my tastiest childhood memories is of my Grandma's pickled watermelon rind. I remember eating it like candy. It was so tasty- sweet, syrupy and a little spicy, something that I have not had since she passed away. Surprisingly, with all my recent adventures in canning and preserving I have never tried making them until now. It's the perfect way to use up a part of the melon that you would ordinarily discard!

I couldn't find her recipe in my files, so I found this tutorial online which is just about right. It gets the flavor I'm after and as a bonus, it doesn't even need to be canned, although if I had a large batch I'm sure it could be done.

It requires more time than anything else. You probably have most of the ingredients on hand if you do much cooking.

I bought a 6 lb watermelon, and used the inside for watermelon and feta salad. I then cut the outer peel off the rind and followed the instructions given in the video.

First you cut the rind into cubes and mix it with 1 cup kosher or pickling salt. Let stand overnight.

Drain the water and rinse the cubes. Bring 8 cups cold water to a boil and add the cubes. Boil for 10 minutes and drain.

Make the syrup: combine 1/2 c water, 2 c white vinegar, 3 c sugar, a few cinnamon sticks, 1 tsp of whole cloves, 1/2 tsp whole allspice and 1/2 tsp of whole mustard seed (I substituted cardamom seed). Bring to a boil and turn off the heat. Let stand for 1 hour.

Add the watermelon rind cubes and simmer in the syrup for 2 hours. Pour into a clean glass jar and you're done! If you had a lot of jars, I'm sure you could can this for about 10 minutes, but I only got one jar out of it.

Vintage Souvenirs!

2011-07-21T22:44:00.000-04:00

The always fabulous Zootsuitmama posted on some of her travel souvenirs, so I thought I'd pick up on that as well. Since I just listed these in my Etsy store they're all photographed and ready for their close-ups!

These are 1950s/60s souvenir postcard hot pads, made of layers of cardboard with a postcard image on the top. They usually come in sets of three, one large, medium and small. I recently came across two different sets, one of the Wisconsin Dells and the other Tombstone Arizona. Since I've never been to either place I don't really have any reason to keep them, so you can buy them (with your special bloggy friend 25% off discount code: PIT25OFF) from me right now.

The Wisconsin Dells:

Tombstone, Arizona. These would be great Halloween decorations as well!

Love the 'Tombstone Epitaph'!

And the back. These table mats Insure Your Table Finish (even if it's Formica! ;)

Trash Picked Tuesday: Cage Free

2011-07-19T15:50:00.000-04:00

I have been looking for the right object to use as a side table on my patio for quite a while. I have tried various items, like old wooden milk crates (too small) and upside down galvanized tubs (too low). I kind of like a vintage/industrial/found object vibe outdoors, but nothing really worked.

Until I found this out by the curb a few weeks ago:

At first I thought it was an old lobster trap. Then when I actually got the car turned around and pulled over (in, like, 15 seconds), I realized it was an old rabbit hutch or chicken coop. It's made of weathered teak with wire sides. After a thorough hosing down (it wasn't really bad- hadn't been used in years, I'm sure,) it fits perfectly, and I love its rustic look!

A Big Announcement and a Sale!

2011-07-15T10:23:00.000-04:00

Kate is officially out of diapers!

Thank goodness! Between Kate and Jayson, we've had at least one child in diapers for 6 1/2 years. I hated changing diapers, buying diapers and toting around a diaper bag. No more!

And she's got a new outfit to celebrate: we picked up this adorable 2 piece ruffled cherry print ensemble yesterday for 75 cents.

To help us all celebrate, I am having a Friends and Family sale in my etsy store. For those of you with kids of your own or with anyone close to you with little ones, I've started listing children's vintage:

Enter coupon code PIT25OFF for 25% off any item in the store!

As I have been listing these things, it's been bringing back memories of my kids wearing some of these (like the sailor suit above- Jayson wore that often) and I am having a hard time letting go of some. But I really don't want to be a hoarder and would love to see them go to a great new home. I'd love some of my blogger friends to get them- so grab them before I change my mind, LOL!

Thrifted Thursday: Atomic Starburst Lamp

2011-07-14T12:32:00.000-04:00

I picked up this awesome starburst lamp today at a thrift store. It is the defintion of "atomic starburst" (a phrase that it way over-used IMHO). But in this case it's true.

It really does have a starburst where the base meets the neck, and miracle of miracles, all the points are still intact. The base lights up on its own as well- it is gold-flecked frosted glass, and it even has its original label on the back of the glass globe.

I do need to find the perfect shade for it- a tall skinny one I think. Good thing I'm going thrifting again tomorrow! :)

Oh, and the best part was it was marked down from $5.50 to 99 cents- can't beat that!

Sunday Outfit Post

2011-07-10T14:32:00.001-04:00

This has been my best accessory this past week:

Hey, everyone loves a little bling, right? ;)

But seriously, I have been very busy this week in my "other job" as a musician- 4 concerts, a parade, a wedding, two rehearsals and two lessons taught. It's one of those rare weeks where I feel like I'm almost making it financially as a professional musician. I just wish every week could be like this one!

When I was in high school & college I wanted to play in symphony orchestras. I fully envisioned myself in a big city orchestra by this time in my career. Well, that didn't happen. What did happen is that I started teaching lessons and picked up freelance jobs here and there. I also play in a semi-professional concert band- which I enjoy more than when I was playing in orchestras.

That's me on the right, with my fellow trumpet section-mates Maynard and Pete playing a concert on 7/6.

So life brings change and I'm OK with where I am right now- just wish I had realized it would be like this back when I was 17. I would have gotten a Music Education degree (instead of a performance degree) and been a band teacher probably.

But what about the outfit?

With the Galena Brass on the 4th.

My go-to outfit all this week has been some variation of the standard musician's "uniform" of white shirt and black pants. I have always been fairly image-conscious when I play- I almost never wear vintage and rarely wear skirts or dresses to play. My goal was always to be known as a good player, and not "that girl trumpet player", or "that vintage girl trumpet player". So I guess I tend to play it safe.

What about you? In your professional life do you wear much vintage?

Flea Market Friday: Yard Sale Scores!

2011-07-08T09:01:00.031-04:00

The best yard sales are held on Thursdays around here. I discussed this a little bit here, but I think it has to do with needing an extra day to sell a large volume of things. Usually Thursday sales are "estate" sales held by older people in older houses- just the kinds of sales I like! And to top it off the dear little old lady whose house it was (in her late 80s I think) commented on how much she liked my dress and that she wondered if I made it. (I didn't, but I have 5 day dresses all alike-just different fabrics- which I thrifted at one shot, which will be a Sunday outfit post one day.)

Yesterday's sale was no exception. I had been to a garage sale at this house a few years ago and bought some killer stuff. Mostly I remember buying stacks of vintage pulp mystery novels for 10 cents each. I have been kicking myself ever since for not buying the whole lot of them- probably around 100 were left when I was done picking the ones I wanted. I was hoping there would be more this time, but sadly not.

But I did get some other cool stuff. Literally.

Did you ever wonder what people used before those re-usable blue ice packs came out? Me neither, but now we all know. All three of these are steel cans filled with some sort of liquid. I have one in the freezer now and will test it out on our next picnic. I thought I already had a complete vintage picnic set, with the basket and the thermos, etc., but now I know it wasn't actually complete until now.

I got all 3 for a quarter- worth it for the graphics alone! I'm guessing these are from the 50s, going by the car and the clothes on the package.

I am such a sucker for vintage lamps, especially when they come in pairs and are cheap ($3). These did come with shades, but unfortunately not tiered fiberglass ones. If I do decide to use these I might put the original burlap shades back on, or pilfer some of the tiered shades from my other lamps.

Otherwise they might go to my Etsy store.

I also found these great 1940s vintage Christmas candles for $3 for all 4. The bases are bakelite, the "candles" are rolled paper and they all work. I have a bunch of vintage red window candles already, but didn't have quite enough. Now I have a couple to spare.

This was the most serendipitous find. My express purpose for going out this morning was to buy another blueberry bush for our berry patch. I wasn't thrilled with the idea of putting a rather large, wet, dirty and berry-stained plant in the car, so I brought a large trash bag along. But after stopping at the estate sale I had this great galvanized tub ($3) to carry it in. I always buy these whenever I find them (which isn't often) because they are so versatile (and did I ever mention that I have a love affair with galvanized stuff? :) Plus this has it's original label, and it's a shade smaller- 3 gal- than the usual wash tub.

What's in Your Fridge?

2011-07-07T11:53:00.002-04:00

Since it's 90 + degrees here I thought it might be fun to do something cool. Like, open your fridge door and stand in front of it cool.

So let's see what's in everyone's fridges!

First, all the beverages are kept in the vintage fridge. Check out your local supermarket for throwback 7Up in glass bottles- I just got these recently!

Here's our "regular" fridge- some good stuff, like homemade preserves, mint iced tea, a pound of bacon (BLTs tonight!) and leftover fajitas from last night. A couple of little pyrex fridgies filled with sliced limes and lemons. Fresh-picked green beans in an enamelware bowl.

And some not so good stuff, like week-old mac & cheese and open containers of yogurt.

And yes, that is a pint of limoncello in the bottom of the door- going to mix some of that into my iced tea later on.... or maybe now... ;)

Leave a comment with a link to your blog below so we can all share!

Sunday Outfit Post

2011-07-03T16:16:00.001-04:00

This is the outfit I wore to go see Cars 2 last weekend with the family. It's probably one of the very first vintage dresses I ever bought- so long ago I don't remember when or where I got it, and that's something I am usually really good at remembering!

It's leopard print with a shirtwaist collar and cuffed sleeves. It's really comfortable and I wear it often. The shoes are tan and white two-tone oxfords, and I'm wearing a yellow bead necklace and the red and yellow crocheted hair flower Miss Cherry Bubbles sent me!

This was the first time we have ever gone to a movie as a family. We just never go to the movies- we don't have a lot of disposable income and usually we prefer to do other things. But I had some really old (like from 2007) gift cards to use up so we took the kids. They were big fans of the first Cars movie and we thought we'd give it a whirl. (BTW, Cars 1 was much better.) I think the last movie my husband went to see was Blair Witch (which we hated) so you can see how long it's been.

We went to the matinee just in case the kids got squirmy, but we didn't have to worry. They were both really good and my daughter kept herself busy by eating all the popcorn!

A New Edition to the Family

2011-06-30T09:13:00.000-04:00

The bicycle family, that is!

Here at Chez QT, we love our bicycles. I ride my bike for exercise several times a week, often pulling behind a trailer for my kids. You may recall last Friday's post about the new trike I got for my youngest:

I have two vintage balloon tire bikes which I absolutely adore:

Hers- my "daily driver" a Mercury, made by Murray. It's basically a 1990s re-issue of the 1946 Westfield Crescent.

And his- a red Sears Spaceliner, c.1960.

I never pass up an opportunity to acquire anything vintage bicycle-related! So when my mom got a brand new Trek, I immediately asked if I could have her old bike, a 1960s Schwinn Suburban.

My mom put many many miles on this bike. And at age 71 she still thinks nothing of packing up and going 10+ miles on her new bike.

This is my first geared bike (it's a 10 speed) since I was in high school. I rode it around in the yard for quite a while yesterday trying to get the feel for shifting gears again. It's a little bit slippery, and I'm not used to the handbrakes either. But it's a nice comfy road bike and I plan to take some longer rides with it. Once I add a basket to the rear rack I might even be able to take it grocery shopping- probably a 10 mile round trip.

Thanks, Mom!

Sunday Outfit Post: Swirl (now with photo!)

2011-06-26T09:36:00.001-04:00

This is my one and only Swirl dress. I bought it at a tiny little antique shop in Corning, NY that had a single rack of vintage dresses. It was marked, "Vintage housecoat, $9". I think I ran some of the customers over taking it to the register. (I also wish I had bought the 1950s taffeta evening dress they had for the same price, but it didn't quite fit me and I didn't have my etsy shop yet.)

It's a pink cotton seersucker with embroidered cherries on the top. I'm also wearing some white peeptoes that I had forgotten about until the other day when I was collecting some more stuff for the shop. Love it when that happens!

Behind me is my first canning project of the year- 8 quarts of rhubarb. I also made a rhubarb pie, but that was gone before I thought to take a picture of it. I had close to 25 pounds of rhubarb to do something with!

Flea Market Friday: sTrike my fancy, Vintage Tricycle!

2011-06-24T14:47:00.000-04:00

As I sit here writing this indoors while the rain is pouring down, it seems an unlikely day for yard sales! Yet, a couple hours ago we returned from one of the best yard sale days ever. This morning we originally intended to do a little thrift shopping to stock my etsy store. We did do that eventually (and it was a total bust) but got sidetracked at a few yard sales. And am I glad we did!

The best score of the day was this vintage trike we bought. Ain't she sweet? It is not a reproduction. I'll tell you the price at the end of the post so you get there without having to call 911!

Whoever had this when it was new didn't play with it much, that's for sure!

It's a "Foremost" brand from JC Penneys- made by Western Flyer in the 50s or 60s. Just a couple scratches to wax out and it will be virtually mint. I think some bullet-shaped grips for it and a bell would be fun.

Then we found this awesome chalkware wall plaque for my son's room. The frame is chalkware and the photograph insert of a hunter caught with his pants down is actually an 5x8 postcard, dated 1956. I bought it for $1 without really looking at the subject matter, but we all got a good laugh out of it when we got it home.

Here it is with some of his other wall hangings in his room- fits right in!

This is the haul from the rest of the stops. The green frosted milkglass vase, the enamel ware bowl and the 2 tupperware canisters will end up in my etsy store. The FireKing loaf pan I'm keeping- it matches a casserole dish I got from my grandmother. The red plastic box is full of vintage dime store plastic airplanes- just going by the aircraft type, there is nothing in there newer than the mid-1950s (For you Cold War buffs, a B-36, F7U Cutlass- two of my all time fave weird airframes- and Boeing 707 are the "newest".)

OK, ready for the price? Ten dollars. :)

Trash Picked Tuesday: MCM coffee table makeover!

2011-06-21T15:30:00.001-04:00

A while back I did a post on this coffee table that my parents were throwing out. (Literally- it was at the curb and I trash-picked it from my own parents.) You may also recognize the country craptacular sofas that we got rid of by giving to my brother last fall. ;)

I had always liked it, but it was never very sturdy. The legs were always wobbly (I remember it being like that ever since I was little) and with the soft pine top, you could never get them to screw in tight. Plus, you can see how beat up the top was.

Well, one night about 6 weeks ago the thing completely collapsed. Two of the four brackets that held the legs just broke, and I could not find replacements at any of the big box home stores (big surprise).

So, now it was time for plan B. I searched the internet for replacement brackets and got sidetracked looking at some beautiful MCM coffee tables. Recognizing inspiration when it bites me on the foot, it occurred to me that hairpin legs would look spectacular with this top.

I found a little company in Ohio that makes nothing but hairpin legs in their shop, at www.hairpinlegs.com. I always try to buy American and buy from individual craftsmen and this was the perfect opportunity! They offer all different heights and finishes for their handmade hairpin legs, and the price is very reasonable. I ordered a set in natural steel and it arrived within a week.

I couldn't have been happier- they were perfect, and I knew the would be a lot sturdier than the wobbly original legs. Now I just needed to make the top beautiful again.

After completely stripping the top and applying at least 8 coats of stain with a high gloss finish, I am very pleased with the result:

It is rock-solid- no chance of wobbling ever again!

My dad was over last night for a little belated Father's Day get together and was blown away by the table he had bought 40 years ago from a little craftsman in New Hampshire. We got him to write the name of the town and the date he bought it on the underside. As my brother and cousins will attest, it's something of a tradition for my dad to write the purchase date of things he buys on its owner's manual, so we thought this was pretty cool. (As a bonus, you can see how we attached the legs!)

This coffee table will go back upstairs with our new MCM-inspired sofas, so watch for that post in the future.

Sunday Outfit Post

2011-06-19T13:09:00.000-04:00

This is one of my favorite dresses. It's a 1970s vintage waitress-style dress, but with a very 1940s feel. The shoes are canvas wedges which are so comfortable- I wear them with everything. The bracelet is red, white and blue beads, strung in a confetti style- I forget the name of this type of bracelet, forgive me!

I actually took this photo on Thursday for my son's Kindergarten graduation. I wanted to wear something that was different from all the other parents but still classy and summery. I'm the only retro mom there and believe me, I get funny looks from some of the PTA moms. They're such a clique in this school; thank goodness we're going to a different school next year- I just can't stand some of them. I'd be curious to know how some of you handle people like that; it's obvious that I don't fit in and I don't want to! :P

My view on things...

2011-06-15T16:02:00.001-04:00

This is for those of you that commented on my backyard view in my outfit post ;)

Nice, huh? That's our garden and my washline as well as our "porch swing" in front of the barn. The patio view would be off to the left of the picture- nothing but open fields and trees. If you look real hard you can see a double rainbow...

Raising Kids (and other crops ;) in the garden!

2011-06-14T09:05:00.000-04:00

We are big into gardening here at Chez QT. When we moved in 9 years ago, one of the very first things I did was to get out a shovel and break some ground for a small kitchen garden. Well, almost a decade later it has turned into much more, and is now a family affair!

We strongly believe in sharing the workload! Our kids would much rather help out in the garden than watch TV, even on a dreary and chilly day. They just want to be outside all the time, and if they can work on a project, so much the better.

If anyone is pondering the meaning of life or just not feeling very satisfied about their existence, do some good, hard, manual work. The feeling of a job well done with your own two hands is something that I want my kids to appreciate, starting now. Sitting on your butt playing video games (not something we do, ever) will not produce the feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction of work. Get outside and ~~work~~ play in the dirt!

Jayson is fixing a bluebird box, while Jay is preparing the garden for planting at our cabin. Jayson is 6, and can be trusted to use hand tools like a hammer and pliers. He has a great mind for fixing and solving problems, and will spend hours doing this type of thing.

This is farther north than where we live, so the seasons are a little behind.

Even Kate wants to help. Of course, the rototiller is not actually on but it's the principle of the thing... She helped by putting the dead plants and weeds in the wheelbarrow.

The rhubarb is going full blast and the strawberries are up.

Make your mark in the earth!

Sunday Outfit Post

2011-06-12T09:52:00.000-04:00

I hate taking pictures of myself, but just to prove that I do in fact wear vintage clothing I'm going to try to do outfit posts more regularly!

The dress is the one I picked up last weekend at Reading's WWII weekend for just $10. The red and brown stripe goes all the way down the front. The button detail at the top is adorable- too bad I didn't get a closer shot. The shoes are spectator oxfords from the 1980s in tan and white and the bracelets are bakelite. I have lots of bakelite in yellow, red and brown, so I can really wear a lot with this dress! I just got my hair cut in a 1930s fingerwave style, but the humidity was really making it frizz. I've found that to be a problem as I have gotten older- my hair is getting curly when it used to be stick-straight!

Thrifted Thursday: They say I'm a dreamer...

2011-06-09T08:49:00.001-04:00

But I'm not the only one! How many times have you looked at beautiful vintage linens and realized they were not made for a modern-sized bed? We Americans like us some big beds these days and vintage linens (or heck, the vintage beds themselves) are just too small for queen or king mattresses.

Up until the 1970s, one full or two twin size beds were the norm in the master bedroom, and when you're shopping for vintage bedspreads, sheets, etc. that's the most common size. I happen to have a love affair with vintage chenille bedspreads, and have a decent collection, but I've never found one that actually fits our queen size bed. (Go ahead and picture a sweet vintage full size bedspread on a queen bed with all the blankets and sheets hanging out around the bottom, because I have been there and done that!) Heck, I even have more than one crib-size chenille bedspread; thank goodness I have a little girl who loves that stuff, or it might have become a sofa throw.

So imagine my surprise when I stopped into one of my favorite (and often over-priced) thrift shops on Monday and found a queen size 1940s vintage chenille bedspread! And it matched my master bedroom colors, was in very good shape and was 50% off at only $9.00! Score! (Usually they price these at about $40-$60; don't know why this one was so cheap!)

As you can see, the pattern is not real gaudy. (I know others like them, but I just can't warm up to the brightly-hued peacock spreads- too flashy for me.) It has blue, green, rose and yellow colors, which go with our color scheme perfectly. The pink lamp was featured here, and the carpet is an identical shade of green, as well as some blue accents elsewhere around the room. I'm not a huge fan of the style of the bed and nightstands- they were my husband's before we met. Unfortunately, they are very good quality and I don't expect them to wear out anytime soon, despite my best efforts! ;)

So, vintage queen size bed linens are out there, at least (maybe not King- I don't think that size was very common until recently) if you are willing to wait and hope!

WWII Weekend 2011 Wrap up

2011-06-07T09:16:00.000-04:00

Wow, what a great weekend this was! Every year is a blast, but this year we actually had great weather! Usually it's either wet and muddy or hot and humid. But for a change it was sunny and in the 70s- perfect!

I dressed like a defense worker/ female aircraft mechanic (I hate calling it a "Rosie the Riveter" look, because it's just a stereotype, but that's essentially what it was.) I wore my Freddie's of Pinewood gray overalls, a blue chambray shirt, saddle shoes and my hair in a bandana. It was a good look, and very comfortable! Sure beats my usual stockings, girdle, heels etc! It was also a bit serendipitous- I picked up the shirt for 75 cents (brand new Eddie Bauer!) at a thrift shop the night before. It was perfect- a darker blue chambray fabric that matched the period fabrics I was emulating. And my pocketbook was a metal lunchbox.

I have to say that I was asked to have my picture taken as "Rosie" more than I ever had been before when I just wore a 1940s dress. I'm sure it helped that I always had at least one child in tow, and they were dressed in vintage as well- people took their picture a lot. My daughter wore a blue feedsack dress with buckle shoes and my son wore overalls and Converse sneaks.

Some reenactors and vehicles. If you have never been to this event, imagine this scene x100 and you will begin to get an idea of the scope of it.

Me at the controls of a Curtis C-46 Commando transport. This is one of the most unheralded aircraft of the Second World War- a workhorse of the China-Burma-India Theater, flying "the Hump" over the Himalayas. A good friend of mine spent the war as a crew chief for one of these based out of India, and I have done several speaking engagements with him and a program based on this aircraft. So needless to say this was a thrill for me to finally get to see one up close. Like their counterparts, the C-47s (Douglas DC-3) some of these are still flying everyday in Haiti and Alaska.

The stars of the show- the only flying B-29 in the world and a B-17.

B-17 taxiing. Unlike a lot of other air shows, you can really get up close to everything here.

If you've never been to Reading Pa.'s WWII weekend, make your plans now for next year- June 1,2,3 2012!

Flea Market Friday: Mid Century Modern furniture bonanza! (Part 2)

2011-06-03T07:02:00.000-04:00

I promised some photos of the new furniture all staged at my brother's place. And it only makes sense to combine it with a long-overdue update on how things are going with his new house.

First, here's the sofa that I couldn't photograph last week. Pure 1940s art deco style- and it looks like it spent most of its life under one of those plastic slipcovers. $10. No kidding. Now in his spare bedroom; I think it looks pretty good with a $6 pair of 1960s yard sale lamps.

Here's the kitchen/dining are with the new hutch. Remember these chairs? Thank goodness they're still holding up, because it might take us a while to find a matching Broyhill Saga dining table and chairs. And be like me and do your best to ignore that frilly monstrosity of a chandelier...and help me convince him (he's reading this) that he should swap it out with the flying saucer lamp I got!

Here's the hutch all filled with some of his kitschen stuff. Some of this stuff was also bought at the same yard sale we got the furniture. Doesn't everyone need a souvenir tray from Florida? ;)

The buffet server fits this spot perfectly! (You can see the fake fireplace from Tuesday's post through the doorway.)

That MCM candleholder is made by Lenox (can't seem to ever find the right size skinny tapers, tho) and the ceramic plate is actually a divided dish with olives around the edge. I have a similar plate with cherries around it that dates from at least the 50s.

And finally, the living room. It's very much a work in progress- we just put down the area rug and have yet to install the drapes and pictures. Those of you who have been to Chez QT may recognize the sofas- they used to be here until we got new ones last fall. The coffee table is trash-picked (by me). Stylistically, there's nothing great about it, but for a bachelor it has an important feature- the top lifts up to dining height. I didn't get a good picture of the gigantic console we bought for his TV, but let me say I'm glad we got the biggest one we could find....

Of course, you all recognize that Major Award in the window-it's not just for Christmas anymore! (That was a housewarming gift from yours truly ;)

WWII Weekend 2011- Be there!

2011-06-02T07:18:00.000-04:00

Just a quick note to let you all know that this weekend the mother of all WWII shows will be held in Reading, PA. I have been going for at least the last 15 years and this is the high point of my vintage year. Do Not Miss It if you are anywhere close by!!!! More info here: http://www.maam.org/maamwwii.html

This year, the only flying B-29 in existence is there. I saw this plane years ago and then it went off the show circuit for several years and is now back- I can't wait to see it!

I'll be there on Saturday for sure- going to get my tickets today. I think I will be wearing a 1930s feedsack cotton dress with a red/pink/green floral print and a wide-brimmed brown hat. Of course I will have the 2 kids and my husband with me as well. Say hi if you see me!

Here are some photos from last year!

Trash Picked Tuesday: The one that started it all!

2011-05-31T15:27:00.000-04:00

I've been saving up this one since I started Trash Picked Tuesday! This is probably the very first item we ever trash-picked. And by 'we', I mean my brother and I, since we were both still living at home over 15 years ago.

This was one of those things that was just too cool to pass up, even before I knew exactly what it was. I happened along it curbside while driving through my neighborhood one cold winter night. I'm not sure what made me stop, because the last thing my parents probably wanted me to bring home was a fake fireplace. Perhaps I only wanted the firelog insert- I know I must have noticed the electrical cord sticking out the back.

So I went home and persuaded my brother to come over with his truck and we loaded it up. Not until we got home did we discover what was inside:

The left side door opens to reveal a lighted and mirrored bar. The mirrored panel also rotates to another side which has slots for LP records. Why LP records? Because the right side door opens to reveal a stereo component system, with an analog tuner, record player and 8 track deck. The red panels on either side of the fireplace are actually speakers. There's a better pic of the right side here (not my auction, just had a good photo!). And my brother does still have the square trim piece that goes on the right side door- just didn't get put back after the big move- it's in his new place. (The item sitting on top of the fireplace, that looks like a ventilated cooler is a Seeburg BMI-1000, another incredible piece of 1960s electronics, and another post.)

Turns out this piece was made by Koronette, an East German company, sometime in the late 60s. It had a state-of-the-art stereo system, along with the bar and the electric fire logs. Three ways to entertain yourself in one super cool trash picked item!

Flea Market Friday: Mid Century Modern furniture bonanza!

2011-05-27T16:04:00.001-04:00

Hey all- I just had the best yard sale experience in a long time- perhaps ever. Thank goodness my brother still needs furniture in his new house because if I had to just walk away and leave these goodies on the driveway I probably would have regretted it for a long long time!

And I apologize for the pictures- it was all I could do to get these things out of the truck and safely into the garage. They definitely weren't going any further until I had someone to help. I smashed my fingers unloading them by myself- they are solid mahogany. (Don't worry- I'm icing my hand down with a nice cold drink...)

First I bought a new desk for my daughter. It's a little cracked-ice formica-topped steel cabinet with two drawers. Maybe it was originally a sewing table, or a little kitchen desk. With a little polish and some fresh pink paint it will be perfect. A steal at $1!

Then the big boys- a solid wood buffet and hutch from the early 1960s. Made by Broyhill, the label (photo at top) says "Saga". I love the detail on the handles and the starburst door panels. Both pieces look barely used, and have zero scratches. $40 each. I didn't even haggle- the older couple was so nice and helped me load it all up.

There are sliding glass doors for the top of this as well- removed for transport!

And a flying saucer adjustable pendant lamp- $1. Don't hate me! ;)

Last but not least, is a mint condition 1940s sofa that still had the original tag on it for $10. That's still in my truck though until someone helps me move it so photos will have to wait!

There were all kinds of MCM goodies at this sale and I was super excited to still be able to snag these so late in the day! I may go back with my brother again tomorrow and possible buy a bedroom set and formica kitchen set...stay tuned....

And if you're having trouble commenting you'll need to install a faster browser, like Google Chrome. It's better anyway; way faster!

Weekend patio and potting shed makeover!

2011-05-25T13:00:00.000-04:00

After such a long, cold winter it sure feels good to get outside again! I love sitting out on my patio and working in the garden, and being a vintage lover those things are even more fun when I try to incorporate some of my finds.

You all probably know I have a thing for vintage lawn furniture and my collection grows all the time. You may remember some of my finds from last winter- it's so frustrating to get cool lawn furniture and have to put it away until warm weather!

Finally I got to bring them all out, scrub them down and put out the cushions!

In the back left corner is my weekend project. I always wanted a water feature and figured out a way to use some of the things I already had to make one.

The fountain was a tabletop fountain I got as a wedding present (almost 10 years ago!) and is no longer practical to have indoors due to the little ones knocking it over and making a mess. It had been sitting in the basement for years unused. I picked up the galvanized washtub last fall at a rummage sale for $1- I love its patina. (I have a fondness for galvanized stuff, as you will see...). And the washtub stand I pulled out of the neighbor's dumpster last Mother's Day. The plants were free- we have a boggy area in our backyard and just picked some horsetail rush and the leafy stuff (that's the scientific name, LOL) there. So the whole thing cost me $1 to make.

It added the perfect element of bubbling water to the patio without costing me a fortune or looking too "new" (I hate that).

That done, I turned my attention to the potting shed, or barn, as we call it. The barn is really just that; when we moved in the previous owners had kept a pig in there. It's quite large, probably 400 sq feet and three rooms but only one story. We can park our tractor and all our outdoor furniture in there, and it's where I keep my larger treasures until I can use them. We put quite a bit of work into this building the first year we lived here, adding a new roof, siding, and rebuilding the back wall that had been constructed out of an old Gulf billboard. (Wish that still had the graphics but it had been painted over-you could just make out the outlines of the letters.) I tried to keep the vintage bones intact, though.

It is also the place where the kids keep their bikes, wagons, Tonka toys, Power Wheels (for a while we had 4- now we're down to 2), etc. It kind of just became a mess of junk. And the whole thing was home to numerous birds and mice. Blech.

I'm sure many of you subscribe to Country Living and Flea Market Style magazines, and like I, you probably fantasize about having some of those outdoor spaces. I'm sure many of them are staged just for the magazine and are not normally as fascinating as they look, but it's good inspiration, nonetheless.

So I spent a long afternoon on Sunday with a shop vac and rags cleaning up the mess and organizing my part of the shed so I have a place to work on my treasures. I think it cleaned up pretty well- and wish I had taken some "before" pics. I need to add some softer touches with linens and things, but it's on its way:

Told you I love galvanized stuff! And that thing on the right that looks like a giant eyeball is a searchlight off a Navy ship. It works- someday I will find a use for it!

Make it from Scratch Monday: Rhubarb Cake

2011-05-23T08:05:00.001-04:00

If you love cooking seasonally, you're probably aware that rhubarb is one of the first spring vegetables. And if you happen to have an established rhubarb plant in your yard you've probably got more than you know what to do with right now! (If you don't, go out and plant one right now; you can buy rootstock at any garden center and it will be ready to pick in about 2-3 years.) And BTW- it freezes really well; just chop the stalks and freeze them in ziploc bags until you're out of the fresh variety.

Here's a dessert recipe that's a little different than your standard pie or compote recipe: an easy from-scratch cake with a runny rhubarb filling on the bottom. It is so good, you'll just keep making it until all the rhubarb is done!

This is a two-part recipe; prepare the "bottom" and the "cake" separately. Take a stick of butter out of the fridge about an hour before starting so it has a chance to get soft. It's also important to use a large non-reactive pan for this recipe. A 13x9 is the smallest you could use, and glass or a vintage enamel-ware pan like mine are the best. A steel sheet pan tends to leave a metallic taste when combined with the rhubarb. Sometimes, if I am using a very large pan I double the batter part and leave the bottom part as-is.

Those of you who have been following my blog for a while may also note that this is one of those recipes where I can use almost exclusively vintage kitchen items to make it- Vintage Recipes with Vintage Techniques! The only modern thing I always use is a dishwasher-safe cutting board and good knives.

Rhubarb Cake

Ingrediants:

Bottom:
4 c. chopped rhubarb (1/2" to 1" pieces)
1 1/2 c. sugar
2 Tbsp flour
1 egg
2 Tbsp. melted butter
pinch salt

Cake Batter:
1 c. sugar
1/4 c. softened butter
1/2 c. milk
1 1/2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 egg

1. Mix the dry ingrediants for the bottom (flour, sugar, salt). Add the melted butter and then the lightly beaten egg.

2. Chop rhubarb in 1/2 to 1 inch chunks. If you're using frozen rhubarb add it while it is still partially frozen, and include any liquid that may have thawed out in the bag, or your rhubarb will get "chewy".

3. Combine rhubarb and bottom ingrediants. Grease a non-reactive (not steel) 9x13 pan with butter or cooking spray.

4. Add the combined "bottom" ingredients to your pan. Preheat your oven to 350.

5) Make the "batter" by creaming the butter and sugar. Then add the egg.

6) Add the flour and baking powder and mix.

7) Add 1/2 c. milk.

8) Mix well. Batter should be a little sticky but not very heavy.

9) Spread batter over bottom mixture. If you are using a pan larger than a 9x13 it probably won't cover completely. That's OK, it will spread out and the bottom part will bubble up over top- yummy!

10) Bake at 350 for about an hour. Mine got a little darker than I intended because I got distracted, but it really carmelizes great this way. The top gets a little bit crusty and the bottom is so gooey!

11) Enjoy while it's still warm! :)

Check out the giveaway at Vintage Engineer Boots!

2011-05-20T13:04:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone, Jon at Vintage Engineer Boots is having a killer giveaway: a studded motorcycle belt he is making himself! Head on over and enter, and stick around to read his posts. I've learned quite a bit on vintage men's clothing from his blog- you will too!

My aprons!

2011-05-19T15:00:00.000-04:00

Zootsuitmama asked us to show off some of our aprons, and since I have quite a lot of them, I do believe I will take her up on that!

I may make this a 2 part post, because I have so many. I've decided for now to just show the longer aprons, because these are the only kind I really use. I have dozens of "hostess-style" lower-half aprons, so if I get a chance to photo some of them that will be another post. I really need to move some of those into my etsy store, so I guess I should do some photos ASAP.

Since I prefer the long, bib-type aprons and the upper-half housekeeper's-style aprons, I'll show you my favorites.

Most of these were inherited from my family because they know I love vintage and love to cook! Thankfully my relatives were stocky German ladies and these are plenty big. :)

All of the bib-style aprons were handmade by a relative in the 1930s-50s. I believe many of them are feedsack cotton. This blue one is so practical- I always wear it when I'm working with something likely to stain a lighter fabric, like berries! It's hard to see, but there is rickrack trim around the neck and waist.

I love this one; the pattern is a pansy floral.

This one is my favorite. I just love the red trim and the ruffle at the bottom.

This one is hand-pieced and not the least bit practical. As you can see it has hardly been used- more for hostessing than cooking!

I love this apron. It has a great 1940s look and the pockets are great. I wear this to clean all the time.

A pink gingham rayon apron that I got for a quarter at a yard sale.

This is a child's apron with a Peter Rabbit theme. It is hand embroidered and belonged to my mother as a child in the 1940s.

And since we're looking at aprons, how about some housecoats? I'm putting these two in my Etsy store- if you like them, I will give my blog readers 20% off. Just enter coupon code: PIT20OFF at checkout! Better buy the red one quick before I change my mind and keep it! :P

Thrifted Thursday, Hard Core Edition: Secrets of the Hunt, Pt. 2

2011-05-12T07:56:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone! I hope you all are ready for the second installment of this series, Secrets of the Hunt. This is going to be centered on thrift stores! Maybe not all of you are interested or able to do yard or rummage sales (part 1), but I think just about all of us have a thrift store somewhere in our area. I'll try not to be as verbose as the first part and show more photos (I had a great thrift shopping day yesterday!) so hopefully I won't lose any of you along the way ;)

Many of the "rules" (hey, I'm not big on rules for anything, so take that with a grain of salt...) are very similar to part one. And remember that I buy for resale, so if you only buy for yourself, some of this won't apply, but much of it will, I hope!

1) Location!

I find that the most productive thrifts for vintage shopping are the smaller thrifts. The big boys, like Salvation Army and Goodwill, seem to get the "bottom feeders" of the donation world, like broken toys and 1990s clothes. They get the yard-sale leftovers and the college dorm furniture that no one knows what to do with- just get rid of it by giving it to Goodwill. Don't get me wrong, I've scored my share of vintage clothing and housewares from GW and Sally Ann over the years, but much of the time I spend a lot of time digging and come out with relatively nothing. Especially lately!

I think people who shop at smaller thrift stores prefer to make their donations to those same stores. I know I do! And the people that shop at the smaller, church- or charity-run stores are usually the people that donate the things we want to buy. The older couples or the middle class bargain-hunters shopping in the store are the ones that end up bringing in Grandma's wedding china or 1930s dresses when they are left with them. Almost all of the better vintage I have found has come from a few small thrift stores.

2) Be thorough!

I primarily buy clothing for myself and to re-sell in my Etsy store . My general rule of thumb is, if it's in good condition, buy it. If it fits and I like it, I keep it for me. If not, it goes to the store. I buy things regardless of size and gender, because I am buying for resale. In order to stock my store, I have to scour the entire thrift store. I look through every section, mens, womens and childrens. Usually, if I have enough time, I look at almost every item in the store, even if it's just a quick perusal.

Two places I especially look is in the misses/juniors section and the men's section. I guess this may seem odd to some of the staff or shoppers in the store, but I could care less. I look in the juniors section because, as those of us "modern-sized" (LOL) gals are well aware, ladies were a lot smaller in the 40s and 50s. Many thrift store staff see a 1950s skirt with a 24 inch waist and automatically put it in the juniors. Same with a teeny tiny 1930s suit that to them looks remarkably like a shrunken/cropped Abercrombie jacket.

I shop the menswear section because a lot of men's vintage is more valuable than ladies (who would've thought!) if you can find the right items. I personally have never found a pristine 1940s sharkskin suit, but I have found several pairs of mens shoes that I have sold for 50-100 times the price I paid. And just like ladies, men were smaller then too- some of the smaller men's items (like size 8 shoes) I can also sell to women.

3) Think outside the box!

I also always search through the "active wear", as icky as that can be. Did you know that some guys will pay through the roof for a 1920s-1950s sweatshirt? Me neither, until I really tried to educate myself on men's vintage. And I'm still kicking myself for not buying a pair of 1980s deadstock KangaRoos sneakers- remember the zipper pocket on the side? Not my style, but I probably could have made some money on them.

Another place I have had good luck is the "costume" section. Do not miss this section in early fall, especially! Many 1950s prom dresses or two tone shoes end up in the costume section, and you would hate to have someone unwittingly buy those and trash them for Halloween!

One of my favorite sections is the place where staff stick the miscellany they don't know what to do with. Sewing and craft supplies, small tools and small appliance parts can be very valuable to someone who is looking for an accessory to their 1946 Sunbeam Mixmaster for example.

4) Dress appropriately!

For the most part I hold true to my reasoning in part one. But occasionally wearing vintage to a small thrift store can pay off. Especially if the owner or manager gets to know you. I once had a manager give me a better deal on a stack of 1950s vintage little girls' dresses because she knew I was going to have my daughter wear them, and not just re-sell them (tho I will do that eventually). I wouldn't bother dressing for anything but getting dirty when I go to a big Goodwill or Sally Ann, though!

5) Timing is everything!

In part one, I said "don't shop on the weekend!" That is definitely true with thrifts. Most of the donations come in on the weekend, or on Mondays after a weekend cleanout or yard sale. By the time they get processed, they hit the floor mid-week. That is the best time to shop. And don't be afraid to go to the same stores every week. New things are coming in all the time and if you want to get the good stuff you have to be a regular. If you aren't, other pickers are, and that cool 1950s Western shirt will not sit there for a month until you come back. I guarantee it.

6) Pay or walk away

Now, I haven't talked much about price in either of these tutorials. Those of you who are long-time readers know that I am the ultimate cheapskate. For the most part, things have to be cheap for me to buy it. I automatically assess an item before I buy by what I think it's worth in resale. If it's not for my personal use, I won't buy it unless I think I can at least double my money. I almost never pay over $10 for anything. But fortunately most thrifts can accommodate this rule.

If they have a "vintage" section I generally avoid buying them (but I look anyway ;) because that means the items are priced at a resale level already, and it's probably 1970s/80s stuff anyway. The good vintage usually gets mismarked into the juniors section, anyway! The only time I buy from this section is when it's something I am going to keep and wear myself and I think it will be worth it.

So on with my finds! I bought all of these things yesterday at a thrift store I try to stop at every Wednesday. It's a small, charity-run store with an upper-middle class older female clientele. Most of the things are modern, designer items (Jones, Lizwear, Chicos) that appeal to that clientele, and are donated back by them. But occasionally those donors throw in "that old stuff that Mom had back in the 50s", and that's when I'm a buyer!

This sweet Western shirt is not that old, but it has a great two-tone look. It's a size large and should fit my husband. Western wear is probably the vintage look he feels most comfortable in. If he says no, watch for it in the store.

I'm wondering if this brown floral day dress was meant to be part of a "his and hers" outfit with the shirt. I didn't realize it until I was photographing it today that the brown tones are almost identical. That might not be a coincidence- rule #6) If you find something great in a thrift store, keep looking for more. Chances are there are more items from that same donor and you might find them in other sections. It's brown cotton with pockets and a back zipper, and doesn't look like it was ever worn. Wish it fit me, but it doesn't. Now it can be yours!

And lastly, I found a pair of cat eye glasses. I've been looking for some new ones ever since my daughter snapped 2 pairs (!) in half when she was little. These are metal so it shouldn't be so hard for her (or I, LOL) to break them. Now I just have to get the right prescription put in. These were a little more than I usually pay (marked $15, but with 25% off) and I can remember buying the now-broken frames for next to nothing, but still a pretty good deal for something I will use. The cherry handkerchief was only $1, and cute, so I picked that up to tie up my hair in the summer.

Thrifted Thursday (Hard Core Edition!): Secrets of the Hunt, pt. 1

2011-05-05T13:06:00.000-04:00

I've debated doing this post for quite some time. On some folks' blogs (this one included) many comments have been left about "not being able to find anything" thrifting or at yard sales. I've been fortunate to find myself in the position that I am able to find enough good stuff to slake my own vintage appetite and have some left over to re-sell. Hopefully this will eventually turn into a tidy little business for me (visit my Etsy shop!) and we can supplement my husband's income with a little extra $.

In this, part one of this series, we will deal with rummage and yard sales. Thrift stores will be part 2! I also know a lot of my fellow thrifters like to go to auctions and flea markets; at this point in my life I don't do much of that. With two small kids in tow, waiting around for hours until the auctioneer gets to a particular item or walking endless fields of fleas with over-priced vendors just isn't practical. But eventually I'd like to do the auction thing more; lord knows there are plenty of those around. I also shop at antique stores and the like, but if I buy anything it's probably just for myself and not something I would re-sell, because I can't get things cheap enough.

I've accumulated some tips and strategies over the many years I've been doing this. But do I want to share all my secrets? Well, why not! After all, most of you don't live that close to me to be any competition. ;)

And that is the first rule of the hunt: location.

Whether it is thrifting or yard/rummage/estate sales, the place to start is an area with an aging population. I happen to live in an area with a lot of older folks living in older homes. These individuals are likely in the process of downsizing and moving into retirement homes or their family is conducting an estate sale. The areas with older people still living in the house they may have bought as a young couple in the 1940s-1960s, are the most fruitful for vintage seekers. I usually don't waste my time going to yard sales in new developments or thrifting in trendy urban areas unless I am looking for baby/kids stuff or modern things (and that's very rare for me).

Rule # 2: Don't be afraid of volume- Be thorough!

My very favorite type of sale is the church rummage sale. By far, these places have the largest volume of stuff, excepting some of the larger thrifts. But chances are it's not that well organized or displayed. Most of the time I find things piled on tables, and just barely sorted, like "womens" and "mens". Many of the good things are on the bottom, either because the little old ladies that are running the sale put their personal donations out first, or because all the other scavengers like me didn't bother to dig all the way through the pile. Allow yourself plenty of time to shop, be thorough, and even if you're not the first one through the door, there will still be something there for you.

If you are an early bird and get in with the crowd, it's always better to take your time and work the sale "backwards" to stay away from those who follow the crowd through the established traffic pattern. Most people tend to turn to the right when presented with a directional fork; if you turn to the left you might get to some of that stuff before your compeition. Then work against the traffic and go around twice to make sure you haven't missed anything.

And forget about jewelry unless you are the first person in the door- with the price of gold these days people crowd around the jewelry table as soon as it opens. Even regular people have become sophisticated enough to know that bakelite and celluloid jewelry are worth $$, so chances of finding that at a rummage sale is not great; at a yard or estate sale it's a little better, but I haven't had much luck in that area for a while.

And that brings me to rule #3: Don't be afraid to think outside the box!

I'm usually drawn to the clothing first, but I find my best deals on things I may not plan to buy. For instance, I took a break in the middle of typing this up to go to a rummage sale ;) hoping to get more clothing for the shop. I did not find much, but I did come away with a neat vintage umbrella with lucite handle ($1)

and a cool vintage chrome and aqua iron ($2) which I've been looking for for some time.

It all depends on what is donated and what the shoppers are looking for; I doubt many people were there to buy a vintage iron, but I was.

Rule # 4: Dress appropriately!

Never wear wool to thrift. Even if you notice that that Woolrich coat has moth holes and leave it on the table, some of those moth eggs might hitch a ride on your pristine Pendleton 49er that you wore because of the great pockets... Wear clothes that can be washed as soon as you get home!

For me, I prefer not to wear head-to-toe vintage to shop. First of all, most of my vintage is not that practical for digging and carrying dirty/bluky items. Secondly, I don't like to telegraph to other pickers what I might be looking for. I've found that dressing in jeans and a sweatshirt while shopping with two small kids in tow really paints an image of a harried mom just looking for some good deals (which I definitely am!), and many of the cashiers at rummage and yard sales give them to me. What I bring to the checkout counter is really irrelevant at this point.

If you're digging through mounds of clothing, chances are some of it is not clean. I always carry baby wipes and hand sanitizer in my purse. Don't let the ick factor keep you away from the good stuff- just remember that most things can be washed (hands included) or dry-cleaned. And if you're going to be storing it for re-sale it will pay in the long run to take your items straight to the cleaners before you get home! If you buy anything like a vintage suitcase, make sure you air it outside and use your vacuum cleaner's crevice tool to get in all the corners. I'm deathly afraid of bedbugs (which can hitchhike even on brand new bags) and I am rigorous about doing this.

Rule # 5: Don't shop on the weekend

Around here, many rummage and yard sales are held Thursday-Friday-Saturday. I really don't know why this is, because you would think that a Saturday and Sunday sale would get more business. My only guess is that it's hard for churches to staff weekend sales. Nevertheless, going to a sale on a Thursday guarantees that you will see two types of people: stay-at-home moms and retired folks looking for cheap stuff and something to do, and serious dealers who are looking to score things for their stores, both of whom tend to spend some money.

You have to do what the other serious shoppers do and go to the Thursday sales. This is like a 9-5 job for some, and going on a Thursday morning at 8 or 9 reinforces that idea. I know as soon as I pull into the parking lot and see some of the dealers' cars I've come to recognize that it is going to be a good sale. And also that I'm probably late! (but see rule #2)

Many sales often reduce their prices, or hold bag sales by Friday afternoon. Problem is, the good stuff is already gone. I find it a better strategy to pay "full" price of a few dollars per item and get one or two killer items rather than pay $5 for a bag of second-tier clothes that aren't really what I'm looking for.

Whew! If you're still reading I hope some of these strategies work for you. I didn't realize until I re-read it how hard-core some of this sounds, but it's true. Good things are out there if you work to find them.

Stay tuned for Part 2: Thrifts!

The kindness of strangers

2011-05-03T18:57:00.000-04:00

I am one of those people that like to be in control of every situation I am in. Few times can test my patience, then, than when our car breaks down far from home. I have a hard time with the helpless feeling of not knowing exactly what to do and how.

Thankfully in this day and age, I learned we can still rely on the simple kindness of strangers. And Friday's incident helped to reinforce this for me and to teach it to my kids.

We were on our way to visit my mother-in-law at our cabin up in Northeast PA last Friday night. Thankfully we got an early start and started our 3.5 hour trip shortly after 5. We pulled into a Burger King parking lot in Dallas, PA about halfway there to use the bathrooms and get a couple milkshakes. After that mission was accomplished, we put the key in the ignition to start the car (a 2000 Buick LeSabre) and there was absolutely nothing. No lights, no start, zip.

My husband, being a car guy, knew exactly what it was, a dead battery. Of course, we had the car all packed with stuff and couldn't even get at the battery to jump it, since in this car it is located under the back seat. No kidding- of all the dumb places to put a battery, that's where they put it. There are remote terminals under the hood, but you can't actually see the battery until you remove two baby seats, all the toys and blankets on the seat and pull the actual cushion out.

So once it became evident that we were in distress there in the Burger King parking lot, three older men came to our aid. One had a jumper cables, one pulled his truck up next to our car, and one had a wrench. ;)

Unfortunately, the jumper cables didn't work, because the battery was 11 years old (original to the car) and the terminals had corroded so badly one had fallen off. No doubt this is because no one can actually see the battery under the seat to make sure it is still in good shape...

So Joe, the man with the truck, took my husband up the road to an auto parts store to purchase a battery and a pair of vise grips. Bill, the wrench guy, sat with me and the kids in the Burger King while we waited and regaled us with tales of his auto adventures (he had a LeSabre similar to ours). The jumper cable guy, (we never got his name) sat in his car with his wife until everyone returned with the new battery.

About an hour later, we were back on the road, thanks to the kindess of three men we never met and who wouldn't even take us up on our offer to buy them a cup of coffee and a burger.

So even though our trip was delayed and we were left stranded by our car, the kindness of strangers is still something that exists. I will definitely pay it forward in the name of Bill, Joe and Jumper Cable Guy.

Thrifted Thursday: Pyrex haul!

2011-04-28T13:24:00.000-04:00

I need another collection like I need a hole in the head. I have been trying really, really hard not to start collecting Pyrex.

I have failed.

I mean, I always had a couple of pieces. They're just so useful, and so cute. One might even say I had the beginnings of a collection, with some really nice, early pieces from the 1930s, along with some fridgies I bought to replace my plastic containers.

See how easy this is to rationalize?

I even got a bit of an education over at the wonderful Pyrex Collective sites on which patterns are the most desirable and which ones appealed to me. And we all know that a little education is a dangerous thing!

So I did a bit of thrifting over the Easter holidays last week and scored a couple items in what will probably become "my" patterns, Butterprint and Pink Gooseberry. I'm going to have to limit it to those or I will soon run out of cabinet space.

So enter my first pink gooseberry, a 1 pt. casserole with lid, for $1.25:

And the next day I found the large Butterprint Cinderella bowl at Goodwill for $2.97. It's in perfect shape...sigh...please someone tell my husband that left to its own devices, Pyrex mulitplies on its own...;)

Trash-picked Tuesday: Mid-Century Furniture Bonanza!

2011-04-26T13:04:00.000-04:00

It's a happy coincidence of sorts, when you have a close relative moving into a new place (with no furniture) and some elderly neighbors getting ready to downsize. It's even better when that relative is your brother who has a fondness for 1960s and 70s mod and those neighbors are German emigres with spectacular taste.

And what could make the happenstance of circumstance even nicer is that my mom has no qualms at all about trash-picking the good stuff! (I told you that the trash-picking gene is inherited!)

So it came to pass that my brother found himself with a killer mid-century chair and incredible modern floor lamp over the weekend. Apologies for the backdrop in the photos; the items are in my parents' garage where my brother keeps his 1952 Army jeep.

The chair is upholstered in a salmon-colored curly wool. It's a very unusual fabric; I can't say I've ever seen anything like it except in a Persian lamb coat. A good cleaning should have it in good shape. The man who put it out by the curb said that his brother in Germany had made the chair by hand, and while he was kind of sorry to see it go, he was glad it was going to someone he knew.

This lamp is just wild. I don't know what to call it, but it has a 70's glam meets medical office feel.

Closeup of the hardware that adjusts the arms.. Everything is chrome and it is very heavy. I looked and couldn't find any maker's stamp on it- anyone who knows what it might be let me know!

Easter at Chez QT

2011-04-23T10:09:00.001-04:00

Happy Easter everyone! I just wanted to some you some of the things happening around here, including some of my vintage Easter eggs and how we decorate real eggs.

For some reason I was never that into decorating for Easter. But now that I have little ones, it's something we've started to do. This year I shopped the thrifts early and came away with a bunch of vintage Easter Eggs

A dozen various kinds, $3, including 6 Enesco eggs a couple of faux Pysanky and a carved wooden egg.

This is a real Pysanky egg my high school German teacher made for me. She was actually Ukrainian, but learned German during the war.

Vintage papier mache eggs I picked up at a rummage sale last weekend.

All my eggs in one (vintage tin) basket! The "chocolate" bunny is actually a ceramic one I made in summer camp when I was 12.

We also color hard boiled eggs. We do this probably a little differently than most of you, except those in south-central PA. My dad is from Lancaster County and they use a type of food color paint called Doc Hinkle's, which allows you to paint multiple colors on the eggs, instead of dying the whole egg a single color. I'm not sure if the kits are sold much outside of PA, but you might be able to find them. (The company's website is not much help as far as online ordering.)

It's a fun activity for the kids, but you have to be careful because the eggs need to be painted while they are still hot, and the food coloring will stain your fingers and clothes if you spill it. We do this at my mom and dad's house, and my dad has a few family traditions he maintains. Certain designs, like the blue and yellow one in the tray, might be recognized by my cousins reading this! ;)

The end result. Ready for the Easter Bunny!

Make-it-from-scratch Monday: Trout en papillote and homemade tartar sauce

2011-04-18T13:38:00.000-04:00

I mentioned before that one of my favorite pastimes is fishing. Well, trout season opened here about 3 weeks ago and we have been eating a lot of it! Between the four of us (yes, Kate fishes too, and sometimes lands one :) we probably catch over 200 fish in a season. We eat plenty while they're fresh, and give a lot away, but freeze a bunch every year. Sometimes we fillet them if they're really big (18" +), but we usually clean them and freeze them whole. Then I have them all year long.

We usually catch rainbow trout, but on occaision catch a brook trout or two. The rainbows are much bigger, usually 12-17 inches. If we catch a brookie, they are usually dinner that night. Their flavor is much milder and doesn't hold up well to freezing. I usually pan fry those with the skin on. These are not wild fish; there are a few native trout streams in PA, but none nearby that have fish big enough to keep (7 in +). We catch them from stocked streams and lakes; some of the lake fish have been in there for years and have pink flesh like salmon (a close relative to trout) from eating a diet of insects.

I make the whole fish en papillote ("in a package"- i.e. wrapped in foil), with the cavity stuffed with seasonings, in the oven during the winter, but during the summer we do them on the grill. This is a good way to use up any of those exotic condiments you have lingering in the fridge. I made my fish this time with Oyster Sauce; in the past I've used sriracha sauce, cajun seasoning, or a bunch of fresh herbs from the garden. Chives and basil are particularly nice- the "stuffing" just contributes a little bit of flavor and aroma since you don't eat that part (though you could). You can customize each person's fish to their taste- make one with hot sauce and cajun seasoning and one with just onions and Old Bay.

You could also do this with firm filets of fish, like salmon or catfish. I would avoid using something that flakes easily (cod) or is too strong a flavor (like bluefish).

Ingredients:

2 whole trout, cleaned and heads removed
1 onion roughly chopped or 2 ribs of celery
Old Bay seasoning
herbs and/or condiments of your choosing

1) Rinse and dry the fish.

2) Roughly chop the onion or celery

3) Prepare the aluminum foil sheets- allow plenty of space to wrap the fish loosely in packets. I usually sprinkle a bit of Old Bay on the foil first to coat the outside of the fish.

4) Place the fish on the foil and season the cavity with Old Bay or whatever else you feel like using. Stuff with the chopped onions, celery or fresh herbs.

5) Wrap the fish in the foil to make a package, and poke a few vent holes in the top with a knife.

6) Bake in a 450 degree oven for 20-30 mins. Fish will be opaque white and flake easily when done.

Meanwhile, make the tartar sauce. This is so quick and easy you will never buy it at the store again.

Combine 1/2 c mayonnaise and about 2-3 tbsps sweet pickle relish. (I'm using homemade pepper-onion relish- it has a couple whole peppercorns and cardamom seeds in it. It's really good; maybe this fall I'd share that recipe!)

Add a dash of lemon juice and about 1/2 tsp worchestershire sauce. Stir to combine. Refrigerate the unused portion and it will keep for weeks. (It tastes better in a Pyrex fridgie too! :)

Check out the Giveaway at Past Life!

2011-04-15T20:59:00.000-04:00

Hey all- the wonderful Miss Cherry Bubbles is having a fabulous giveaway. If you love Hawaiiana you'll love her giveaway. Check it out!

http://pastlifevintage.blogspot.com/2011/04/its-mahalo-to-my-followers-giveaway.html

Tax Time!

2011-04-15T20:01:00.000-04:00

Hopefully you've got your taxes done by now, though I guess if you need the weekend to finish it's still good...

I've been AWOL a bit the last few days while I finish up mine, and haven't had time to blog or read anyone's blogs. But you might enjoy this post from last year- check out how simple the 1040 was back in 1939: http://practiceintime.blogspot.com/2010/04/did-you-get-your-taxes-done-in-time.html

Even my local taxes are more complicated than that!

Flea Market Friday: Opening Day!

2011-04-08T16:47:00.000-04:00

This weekend seems to mark the beginning of the spring church rummage sale season around here. I know of at least three or four happening this weekend. And while I won't be able to get to them all, here's a sampling of the goodies I brought home from a couple of them:

A 1950s felt applique tree skirt- this is going to my brother for his aluminum tree. Happy Bday, bro!

You Pyrex-iacs will recognize this piece of flameware with the original handle:

I left the price tag on for you :)

A bunch of sweet Peter-pan collared blouses for my daughter- she seems to wear more vintage than I do these days! I believe the two on the left are made from feedsacks.

A feedsack dress for her as well. Today is her birthday.

Two sets of souvenir hot pads- the top is from Tombstone, AZ and the bottom from Wisconsin Dells. I bought these mostly for the Etsy store- they should be easy to ship.

An awesome turquoise rotary dail phone. I paid 50 cents for it and it works great. However, if you could have seen it before I cleaned it up, you might not have paid even the 50 c for it- it was govered in grease.

A cute pink alarm clock for Kate's room- see how it almost exactly matches the wall color ;). It also works great and is very quiet- definitely a requirement when buying vintage clocks.

I finally found the vintage red cardi I've been looking for- at $2, a keeper for me.

Also this adorable hand-knitted Fair Isle. It's a bit small in the shoulders for me, so it's probably headed to the Etsy store.

I bought a couple of 1960s mini skirts for the store as well- they are really small; no way I could ever get into them!

I also found these papier mache eggs. I've gotten a ton of vintage Easter eggs this year- that will be an upcoming post...stay tuned!