Sunday (Monday) Sort: Vintage Vogue, Garfield, Birds, and French!

This past weekend couldn't have been a better one. Lots of family time, pretty lake in the background, a clean cabin, good food, and not a care (almost) in the world. I needed that! It's back to school and back to reality today, but that's ok...it's good. 

Tonight I spent some time sorting some recent finds from just thrifting. You never know what you're going to get when you walk in a thrift shop, do you? Some days it's chicken, and then next time it's feathers. That Vogue sewing book made my heart sing, though. It's dated 1970, but, hey, I'll take it.

I can't pass up a good book of any kind. I've been collecting these old art books for a friend of mine. I know where they are in her classroom just in case I get lonely for them.



Holiday Magazine is hard to find! I've been lucky a few times. Have you seen an issue? I've heard that it is making a comeback.



Hollie Hobby, Santa picks, and a tiki guy. What a mix. But, oh, so kitschy and cute!



A 1975 TV Guide is hilarious to read again. I also found this Coronet magazine. Never have seen that before. And the Very Personally Yours is a 1961 information pamphlet from Kotex. Haha!



Who can resist a little 1960s correspondence?



These 1940s bird flash cards are so, so cool. I'll have a hard time parting with them. Maybe I won't. :)



You know I won't leave Mr. Dennison behind, and these cute boxes will be great for paper ephemera packaging. And don't you love the typewriter ribbon tin with Saturn and stars? There were three. I should have gotten them all.



Holy High School! Care Bears book covers! I'll list them soon!




Well, of course, kitties!!



And kitties includes Garfield. Check the stationery. Oh, my pen pals will love it!



And, finally, these are so cool I might have to learn French. Wouldn't you want to?



Thanks, everyone, for stopping by. I'm really humbled by all the readers I've had that come to visit lately, and you are why I do this. I love sharing these finds with someone who loves them too. Have a good night and I'll see you soon!

The Butler's Chair: Part 2

Here is the second part of the story that was originally published on my blog in 2012.  EEEE!!!  I still can't believe I did this.

The rest of the story:

Well, after the fun of digging through all of those nostalgic and sparkly treasures we found in the chair, I took it upon myself to figure out who these pieces belong to and to find out how to return them. 

There was no way of knowing who donated the chair at the thrift shop.  They hand out receipts but don't take your name.  The only information I had was that it had been delivered locally and that there were initials and a wedding date in the wedding ring.

You would be surprised what you can find, just by googling that little bit.  Try it. 

I found both his and his wife's obituaries.  Where they are buried.  I found the house they lived in.  I found out their children's names.  I found out where their family lives now.  I found out that he was a Mason, a Shriner, and a WWII vet that worked on ships. 

So, I talked a good friend in to go on an adventure the next day, to the house that I had found...where the chair came from...where the man and his wife lived...Nettie won't go on adventures with me anymore.  Ha.

We pulled up and she offered to follow me in for support.  The garage door was open.  The man inside was on his phone.  A motorcycle was parked and there some boxes in there with him. 

I told him that I had bought the chair.  That's it.  That I wanted to find it's owner.  I rattled off some names of family members and the man himself.  I also asked about grandchildren.  I told him I wanted to return the chair.  I thought the family might want it. 

He said he was an ex-boyfriend of their secretary.  No lie.  That he was there to pack it all up and drive it back to the family.  He asked if we wanted to look through what was left and take what we wanted.  We shook our heads...but then he said craft stuff upstairs.  Oh, no.  You don't say "craft" and "free" in the same sentence to two crafty teachers. 

In we went.  We shouldn't have.

He took us upstairs and continued to point out things he was going to donate, and hand us things calling them "cool" and please take them.  Um. No.  But there were a few neat retro boxes in there.  Shame on me.

We got kind of nervous and told him we didn't really want anything, that we would just leave the chair on the porch and send it back.  He told us the grandson had moved into the house and let his dog trash the place, and took his grandmother for granted.  Then he showed us some random picture on his phone of the beach, I think?  I can't remember.  At that point I decided the search was over.

We thanked him for his time.  I don't think he cared one bit to have the chair.  He said he remembered it.  But it he was doing the work, wouldn't he for sure remember dropping it off a day earlier?  And he didn't look inside?  He didn't have any regard for any sentimental value at all.  So I never told him there was a jewelry box inside.  We didn't give him our names or tell him where we were from. 

He said he was leaving on Friday as we walked out.  He had just been laid off from work and was going back to where he came from.  Random.  Weird, to say the least.  Scary, now. 

We got in the car and drove off.  I have the jewelry box.  I sent a message to who I think is a granddaughter, but that has been weeks now.  No reply.  It's ok.  I'll enjoy it for them.  Katie likes to dig through it and look at all the pretties.  I have no idea what it's worth and I'm not sure I really care.  I'll keep his memories for his kids that don't want them. 

And I won't go on any more family tree adventures either. 

And, to end the story properly, I sold the contents.  And I won't lie, I made money on it.  But it wasn't sentimental to me, and no one ever responded to my messages to give it back.  The adventures of thrifting! 

How To: Children's Party Invitations from 1949 and Sprinkles Cupcakes Royal Baby Reveal!

If you remember my post from here, I had mentioned a vintage party series coming soon, and it's finally here!  I shared some party etiquette in this post, and now that I have been able to continue on with my book, I would like to share some simple party invitation instructions that Katie and I followed word for word.  No embellishments were harmed in the making of these invitations; we did just as we were told (aside from a bit of glass glitter).

One note:  Of course you must have cupcakes to photograph birthday party invitations, right?  I stopped at Sprinkles in Dallas today and picked up four.  William stuck his thumb in one before the pictures.  Ha.  Today they offered Royal Baby Gender Reveal cupcakes and Katie and I both had to have one.  I got chocolate, she got vanilla, but you have to scroll down to see what we found out!

Supplies needed:

construction paper in pastel colors
scissors
ruler
pencil to draw shape
glue (we used Martha Stewart's glitter glue; it has a handy brush tip)
glitter (we used glass glitter from Stampin' UP!)
crayons

Fold a piece of construction paper in half and trace the shape of the birthday candle on the fold.  We used a ruler and free-handed the flame.  If you'd like, you could cut the flame in yellow and glue on top of the original shape.  Draw a squiggle line at the bottom of the candle and apply glue with your finger.  Sprinkle with glitter and allow to dry.

On the inside of your invitation, write this message:

Come to my birthday party on Friday; It's at two; There will be cake and candles and lots of things to do;

Katie could have made all of these herself if she didn't fuss about all the writing.  She's thinking we should have just used the printer...

Now, if you were a true friend, you hand-delivered these puppies right to your buddies.  Here is the book I am reading, just in case you want to pick one up for yourself.

Oh, yeah, we have to cut that cupcake, don't we?  Here we go!

It's a....GIRL!  No, wait.

Is she having twins?

Katie's was blue.  Hmmm.

A Nest924 Giveaway at Postal Society and Coming Soon!

I found Postal Society a few months ago from the lovely blog, Saturday Morning Vintage. (I adore all of the vintage papers she finds...they are so different from what I find here!)  What a fun group of ladies that LOVE to get mail!  I have found some new pen pals (if you are one of them and waiting on a letter, I promise it is coming soon!) and am really enjoying their chat board and their ideas.

I'm excited to share some of my collection with one lucky winner, so hop on over and  enter to win!   Over 25 pieces of goodies including bank checks and prescription slips from the 1920s, a 1950s Dude Ranch Menu, and many more!

On a side note, I started PROJECT LIFE last night and I am soooo proud of myself for doing so.  I was scared of it (no, really, I was) but it's so easy and so much fun to put together.  I'll share soon.  Also, I have some party invitations of the 1949 kind that Katie and I made to share.  That party series got put on the back burner for a bit, but it's coming up! 

Apartment Patio: Makeover

The first project of the summer is our tiny patio at our apartment.  It is about a 6X8 space with pretty white railing and a concrete floor.  We store our bicycles out there and had some random things cluttering up the area, so we haven't used it yet.  I cleaned up the area and started looking for inspiration on what to put out there.

I want it to serve two purposes:  one, that we would have an al fresco dining area, and two, that Katie and I could play/read/do homework/sit out there and enjoy the courtyard.  It's beautiful and there are always bunnies hopping by or neighbors walking their dogs.  

I searched for rugs, a table and chairs, plants, decor, and sweet little bits that would make it a place that not only we would want to be, but a small area to entertain a friend or two on occasion.  

We painted the top of the table a bright turquoise and then sanded the legs.  The other chairs will get a fresh coat as soon as we decide on a color.  The mid-c tables, cat paint-by-number, and industrial "C" came from estates, as did the wooden hangers.  I printed the quote on heavy card stock and hung it on the most worn chair. The mat (rug) came from World Market. 

I had my first cup of coffee and quiet time out there this morning, and I'm in love with the space already.  I'll add a few more plants and pretty flowers, and then invite you over for a visit.