Missing the 80's....

I was looking through my favorites on Etsy recently, and popped into one of my favorite "shops". Low and behold, I came across one of my favorite memories of being a child from the 80's:

Who else had a plastic charm necklace like this one, with all the clips and bells attached to random plastic figurines??? Totally took me back. The price ($185), however, made me gasp, and wondering if my mom still had mine in my childhood treasures. I found another cheaper one on eBay here if you still don't mind shelling out some dough. But then again, how much is nostalgia worth? And how cool would it look with a black sheath dress and a colorful pair of heels...

New Obsession - Less is More

About a month ago, I was at a garage sale and came across a vintage lamp for $0.50. If you ask my husband, I am like a moth to a flame when it comes to lamps. We currently have 6 lamps in 3 rooms, but I actually had 5 more in the house before the home and condo renovations. So I purchased this vintage arm lamp for two whole quarters, and brought it home to live in our sun room.

It is the perfect reading lamp, but I felt like it needed a shade. After several failed trips to local hardware and lighting stores to find a shade that looks vintage and fits, I had just about given up on making it look less tacky with just a bulb. Enter the 700+ page of Restoration Hardware's newest catalog. I sat down for a whole hour scouring the pages, when what comes along? This:

These bulbs are so beautiful, and I thought, why not buy a vintage style bulb for a vintage lamp, and leave it exposed?! I had to wait a whole two weeks with this idea until I could get to our local Restoration Hardware with my husband. I made the sales associate pull out all the bulbs she had from the back so that we could plug them all into a lamp and check them out. I think my husband was a little skeptical at first, but once we saw them in person, he was on board! They really are amazing and beautiful, and one of our favorites was the Radio bulb (fourth from left above). The color of the glass is almost amber, and the filament is so cool when it is on. However, it only comes in a 30 watt bulb, and it just wasn't enough light to make ours a reading lamp.

We ended up deciding on the 40 watt Edison 1910 squirrel cage bulb, and since they are having a lighting sale, we got it for $13. Of course, that seems like a lot for one light bulb, but I have to say that it definitely adds the bit of drama to the light without making it look fussy or too modern. And considering the pieces I had previously found to retrofit a shade on the lamp, it would have cost me twice that much. I still think that a lamp for a total of $13.50 is a great deal!

When it comes to vintage pieces, sometimes less is more.

PS- This weekend, once my camera battery is charged, I will take a photo of the lamp and the new light bulb, just to prove how they were meant to be together. Update, here are some photos:

Thrifty Finds 8.17.2011

Since not all my great finds are vintage, I am adding to the Wednesday Vintage Finds and adding some Thifty Finds as well. This week, I made a killer score at the Salvation Army.... brand new marigold cords from Gap and in MY size!

Note their original price of $54.50. Their previous owner must have bought them on super clearance for $15.99, and then didn't wear them, and donated them to Salvation Army. Notice the $6.99 price tag? I didn't pay that either... it was half-off clothing Wednesdays, so I snagged these for $3.50!

A little thrown off by the color? It's one of the hottest new colors for fall. Check out photo three... I spy marigold cords: 

Photo from SimplyStudded

Have you found any hot fall trends  for a steal lately?

Vintage Finds 8.3.2011 - SALE

Today is the BIG SALE! I have cleaned out my closet of some of my favorite vintage pieces, and they are all for sale here! I will also be adding new pieces through the weekend, so check back for some more great clothes and jewelry!

All items are $5, $10, $15, or $20, and have $5 shipping to anywhere in the United States. I also combine shipping on multiple items. Hope you find a piece you can't live without!

Sale Tomorrow!

Check in tomorrow for the Vintage Sale. You won't want to miss some of these great items at a steal, from my closet to yours!

Vintage Finds 7.27.2011

Just another reminder about the VINTAGE SALE next Wednesday, August 3, as part of the Vintage Finds series. You won't want to miss all the goodies I have in store!

Vintage Finds 7.20.2011 - SALE!

In an attempt to streamline my house (and closet), I have decided to get rid of some vintage treasures, jewelry and clothing that I have collected for a long time. These will all be for sale through my shop in Etsy  in two weeks during my Wednesday Vintage Finds, August 3.

ALL items will be $5-15, with $5 shipping anywhere in the US, and I will combine shipping on multiple items. Save the date!

Image from here

Vintage Finds 7.6.2011

Today's vintage find is long overdue, since it is not something from my house, but rather one of my favorite places and people: MISRED Outfitters, owned by my dear friend and fabulous fashion inspiration, Sara Stonecipher. Her shop has some of the most amazing vintage pieces of clothing I have ever seen. Just check out her website or their Facebook page for their daily outfit posts and you will see what I am talking about. Sara has an incredible eye for fashion and decor, and when we get together, there is little else that we ever discuss, since we are each so passionate about both. Plus, she loves blogs just as much as I do, and even hosted the Bloggers Night Out for her local favorites!

Below is a great video that she recently put together for promotion for her shop that could easily be from this past holiday weekend, or a few decades ago.... all testament to her abilities to style both for vintage and now. Be sure to check out MISRED Outfitters and the fabulous Sara too!

I was not compensated for this post... I just love her and her clothes!!

Vintage Finds 6.22.2011

The vintage find for this week is this wrought iron plant stand (well, now at least!). I have an addiction to lamps, candlesticks, and anything wrought iron, and when we are going to garage sales, I instantly gravitate towards these things like a moth to a flame. A few months ago, at a garage sale a block from our house, we were picking through the guy's garage when I saw this giant wrought iron leg staring out at me from underneath a sheet. I asked what it was and if it was for sale. The guy told me it was some "stand" that was out of an old Spanish home a block over (aka my neighbor across the street) and he bought it at their garage sale. He would sell it to me for $10.  SOLD!!!

After I made my father-in-law and husband carry it back to our house, I looked at it a little more closely. It was definitely original to the old Spanish house, and probably dates to the early 1900's, if not earlier. I believe it was probably used as a rug or quilt stand. I used a RustOleum clear coat spray on it so that it would not rust outside, and then went to Home Depot to get hanging pots and plants. It is now one of my most favorite things in the back yard.

Vintage Finds 6.15.2011

 

In time for the full moon tonight, my vintage find this week is a retro telescope that my husband found while digging in a back closet  at an estate sale, and bought it for $10. It is missing a lens (we're currently on the hunt), but I am in love with the original wood adjustable legs and small telescope size. It has filled a little nook in our dining room!

Vintage Finds 6.8.2011

This week's vintage find is an old ANCHOR lantern that we found at a church rummage sale for $1. We love its copper color, and the  detail in its construction. We occasionally find other lanterns at garage sales, but none that we like as much as this one. It sits above the bookcase to the left of our fireplace, and it is displayed with a photo of us in the Bahamas, as well as a fake plant from HomeGoods that was $7. I love this little nook!

Vintage Finds 6.1.2011

I found these lamps at a garage sale for $10. After having the wiring replaced, and buying $20 shades from Target, I tried them out in my bedroom for a little while. My husband didn't love them, so I changed out the lamps and set these in the closet for a little while.

In my decor project at my brother-in-law's place, he was in need of some lamps, so I brought them back out.They actually have a teak base and top, and the center ceramic part is very Jonathan Adler. But since everything in his place is beige, we needed a little pop of color, so I decided to paint them. From this:

To this:

The blue is a lot brighter in person, as you will see later in shots from the condo. I love to contrast of the shades, and the wood details on the lamp bottoms and top.

Also, below the lamps is a wicker chest our neighbors were throwing out.... nothing was wrong with it, except that it was pink. A little spray paint transformed it into a nice brown wicker accent piece, which will be also used in the condo to hide Rock Band instruments.

Vintage Finds 5.25.11

"Genie", as she is signed, came into our home after being found at another estate sale. The elderly woman was moving into an assisted living facility and her family was helping her sell some of the contents of her home. There were a few things not for sale, one of them being this painting. It was hanging in her dining room, and just instantly captivated me. I love original art, and besides it being very Spanish looking, and I fell in love with the colors, the detail of the oil in the flowers and in her hair. And I loved that the frame was different and original too. I kept going back to it, despite all the other treasures for sale.

After speaking with the niece of the elderly woman, she offered to sell it to me for $35. Even though my husband was not in love with it, he knew I wasn't leaving without her! I paid the niece and went to tell the elderly woman how much she will be loved and cherished in my home. After I thank her for the painting, she told me that it was a self portrait painted in Puerto Rico in 1967, and it was the first painting she ever painted in her life. As I discovered later, it is inscribed with the place (Puerto Rico) and the date, and her full name Genevieve on the back of the frame.  "Genie" has come home to live in our living room, and I only hope that Genevieve knows truly in my heart how much I will cherish her first painting, and her story. Vintage finds don't get much better than that!

Vintage Finds 5.18.2010

I am beginning this series every Wednesday about my vintage finds, since halfway through the week I am always looking for a little inspiration.And, many of you don't know that my husband and I wake up early every Saturday to go to garage and estate sales. Not that we need more stuff for our house - on the contrary actually- but we have been decorating and renovating other people's places that need little things here and there. Plus, its fun to see what other people want to get rid of for next to nothing. We love a good bargain!!

The first find is one of my favorites in our home. Our 1942 house, as previously seen here, is pretty vintage, and thus my decorating style had to adapt to the older charms inside. I instantly go for anything antique to mid century, since the age of our home falls in between.

My husband fell in love with this piece that now currently sits in our kitchen. It was at an estate sale for half off asking price for $25!! Here, I give you the Zenith all-in-one stereo and tv console:

The funny part is that the tv component itself is called the "Space Command 300" and comes complete with the original "clicker". After lots of tinkering, the TV portion itself does not work, just a lot of snow. However, our love for this piece is this:

We had talked about getting a record player for a long time, as we both love the sound of old music. The woman who owned this set had loved music, and when her kids (running the estate sale) offered up the two boxes of records for free with the console, we were sold. Actually, I was sold when the first record I pulled out was Moonlight Serenade by the Glenn Miller Orchestra, one of my grandfather's favorites. Not to mention some German music (my family has German roots) and Spanish music (my husband's roots), among other popular albums like Meet The Beatles. The record player and stereo work perfectly!

We have since covered up the tv with a runner so that it looks more like a buffet than a tv/stereo console. It makes me happy to turn on the records and cook... there's nothing like a good glass of wine and good music to make a meal great!

Stay tuned for more vintage finds every Wednesday!