Big Score!

The other day we took a trip to Goodwill because we needed a couple of extra plates, because we always ran out during our dinner parties.  My husband and I picked through everything and I could not believe what I found.  These 3 Pyrex dishes were sitting together stacked and no one had shown any interest at all.  They were at the back of the shelf with a matching butter dish.  I had to get them.  I already had the Golden Harvest butter dish, so I just picked up these bowls.  I now regret not getting the that dish.  I can hear it calling my name.  I should have saved it and given it to a good home!  I am going to start collecting pieces for the vintage adoption agency I am starting.  Cause, honestly, I have treated these Pyrex dishes like they were children.


Edit:  Can't believe I didn't share the price of these!  They were 4 bucks each, so I got the whole set for 12 bucks!

Love in the Present

Since I shared pictures of my grandparents being all lovey dovey this week, I figured I'd show some of me and my husband.  This photobooth is at a bar, so there were a couple of drinks consumed before this was taken.  Haha!

Vintage Love

I love having photos of my family, but I love having the old ones even more!  My grandmother (pictured in the picture above on the right) started giving me some of her old photographs that were sitting in a tiny closet below the stairs in her house.  I was so honored to take them.  I am still not sure how I am going to display them, but I really need to figure it out.  They're too beautiful not to!  
These are only a fraction of my collection, but they're some of my favorites.  The very first picture is so adorable.  Its my grandfather with a girl he knew when he was younger.  The picture is only about 2 inches wide, but there is so much detail.  
The two portraits and pictures after are of my grandparents together.  They were so cute then and they were still cute together years after that.  I have so many fond memories going to their house when I was a kid.  I still love going there.  My grandfather passed away years ago, and it was a horrible blow.  I was really worried about my grandmother, but she coped really well.  She is the most amazing woman I have ever met, and will ever meet.  I don't think she has done one bad thing in her entire life.  She is a saint.  When I moved she was the hardest to say goodbye to and I only saw her every couple of months!  What can I say, my grandma has a special place in my heart.  I can't wait to go see her!


If you enjoyed these, you should go out Secia's Scanning into the Past Part I, II, III, and IV.  Her mother is absolutely gorgeous!

Chelsea Rhea

I always love sharing awesome female tattoo artists that I have found.  Outshining the boys is always a plus, and this girl definitely does that.  Her name is Chelsea Rhea and she tattoos down in St. Petersburg, FL at her shop (that's right, she's also a small business owner!) called Amulet Tattoos.
Who else is in love with that crafty tattoo?  I know I am.  And the cicada painting is going to be available as a print soon!  I love cicadas!  You can follow along with Chelsea Rhea and her newly opened shop on her blog or you can head to St. Petersburg and get tattooed by her at Amulet!

Mid-Century Monday: Fire King

I have always had a warm place in my heart for mid-century pieces, but the past couple of months it has really started growing.  All I do online now is look for estate sales in my area, try to find cheap vintage furniture online, or browse through the endless websites that deal with anything from that era.  
I had heard of (and now obsessed with finding all golden harvest pieces!) Pyrex, but through my endless internet browsing sessions, I have discovered the wonderful world of Fire King. 

I can't believe I never heard of Fire King until recently!  Sigh.  So beautiful.  I looove vintage kitchenware. Its like porn for me.  And finding those hidden pieces in thrift stores is like sex.  Please tell me I'm not the only one!


Anyone else out there into kitchenwares?  Do you know of any other brands that I would love?


Sources:  Grid, Stripe, Orange, Stack

No Words Weekend

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No Words Weekend

I am starting a new feature on the weekends called "No Words Weekend."  I have so much stuff going on during the week that it would be nice to have two easy posts on the weekend.  Plus, its an awesome excuse for me to search the internet for amazing pictures!  So, let's start it off awesome!!!

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Another Happy (belated) Birthday!

My birthday was on the 12th and it made me want to be really nostalgic.  I had to dig out a box full of all my old photos when I was a kid and reminisce about being little.  Its so weird how fast time goes by.  I'm only 26 years old, but I feel so much older!  I'm sure being married and having 2 little girls doesn't really help anyone feel young.  One thing I will say is that I have grown to like getting older.  I enjoy things that I never appreciated when I was younger.  I cook so many different things, read more books, knit and crochet, and watch movies I would have never given a second glance.  Getting older is actually kind of fun!  I'm sure my mind will change when I turn the big 3-0.

Obscure Books I Want

I love any kind of out of the ordinary books.  Chronicle makes a lot of them and they also always seem to be printed in a different format or on different kinds of paper.  I like that stuff and it probably makes me a nerd, but oh well!  I recently went to the Urban Outfitters store in Minneapolis and was surprised to find a whole section of the store dedicated to all the books they carry.  So, of course, when I got home I had to check online.  I found a couple I would really love and thought I'd share!

1.  The Virgin Suicides 

2.  Icons of Men's Style

3.  The Hangover Cookbook

4.  What the F*ck Should I Make for Dinner?

5.  Record Collecting for Girls

6.  The Great American Ale Trail

Happy Birthday, Norman Keith Collins!

This is a little birthday post dedicated to Norman Keith Collins.  If you don't know who that is, don't feel bad.  I actually didn't either until I looked it up!  What if I said happy birthday, Sailor Jerry! I bet I just got some ooohhhhhhhhh's out there. That's right, on January 14th it was (what would have been) Sailor Jerry's 101st birthday!  

Sailor Jerry is one (if not the one) of the most recognizable tattoo artists that has ever lived.  He could be in front or behind Ed Hardy, but should be in front since he was his mentor.  I do love his tattoos, but I like his paintings better.  They all look so simple, but the composition and lack of fine details make them amazing.  It sounds weird to say lack of detail makes something amazing, but its so true!   
Before I had kids, I had a dream of becoming a tattoo artist and used to practice drawing this style all the time.  It is crazy how hard it is to mimic.  I did, however, end up using one of his pieces to embroider on my daughter's shirts!

This post is really making me want to get tattooed.  It has been forever!  If you would like to check out things with Sailor Jerry's designs on them (or get a bottle of his delicious rum) you can go to the official website.  They also have featured tattoo artists who have been influenced by the traditional Sailor Jerry style.


Anyone else share a love for traditional tattoos?


Source:  Sailor Jerry, Ship, Sailor, Native American, Skull, Brass Knuckles

Ugh!

My goal for this year was to get better at planning and doing blog posts.  So far I have not been doing a very good job!  I took a break this weekend because my mom and sister came for a couple of days and I wanted to spend as much time with them as possible.  Then I got food poisoning for the next couple of days!  That was not fun at all.  That led to my house being a mess and taking a couple of days to get the house all cleaned and then it was my birthday yesterday so I celebrated by doing absolutely nothing.  And it was awesome!  So hopefully I will be getting back in the swing of things.  I'm also working on getting all my product photos edited, so maybe I can finally open my store.  So many things to do!!!


I hope everyone is having a great week!

Behind the Scenes: Photo Sessions

I am not good at picture taking at all.  I have come a long way since I got my camera, but I am no where near an expert.  Whenever I take pictures of things, the one good shot I get was taken from about 50 different pictures.  The same goes for that picture of me on the sidebar of my blog.  But there is one thing you can learn from me and that's...

I will sit down and start getting serious about taking pictures, and then I always end up taking about 150 pictures of myself just screwing around.  These are the mild shots sadly.  There are some I won't even show my husband!  I was getting a cool affect with the lens being a little in the sunlight, and I could not stop taking retarded pictures of myself.  If they don't make anyone else laugh, they at least put a smile on my face!  After awhile, I actually got a pretty cool shot with the flares and rays really coming into the window when the sun was close to the horizon.

Its a little blurry, but still a cool effect!  Maybe I will try and do a DIY on how to do this.  That is if I can even remember how to do it myself.


What are some dorky things you do when no one is looking? 

The Yellow Brick Road Boutique

I love stores that have really cute accessories, adorable little knick knacks, and really obscure books.  My favorite store in Raleigh was called Light Years and every time I went in I always wanted everything.  It was so hard just to go in without spending money.  Well, I'm pretty sure I found the internet equivalent to my favorite store.  Insert store's homepage:

The Yellow Brick Road Boutique

I am just going to say now that this store has an awesome selection of sunglasses.  Every pair made me want to scream.  I just bought a pair of sunglasses, granted they were only 4 bucks, but I do not need another pair.  I.  Want.  Another.  Pair.  Look at these!

Rosa Sunglasses/I'm No Square Dress

As my sunglasses collection will most definitely be growing, so will my collection of coffee table books that never end up on my coffee table.  I have to put them on shelves because I'm too afraid of my daughter messing up the dust jacket.  I'm a little OCD with my books.  Here is one that I must have...  Dan if you are reading this, you can go ahead and add this to my "present idea" list that I made...  Just saying.  

Modern Vintage Style

Did any of you collect erasers in school?  I did and then some.  For some reason they were the cutest things in the world to me, and after I saw this I think they still are.  Not only does this boutique have a collection of adorable erasers, but they're tiny...  and in a tiny bottle.  You really can't get anymore wonderful than that.

Glass Bottle of Mini Erasers

I would love to own a little store like this one day.  Their merchandise is awesome and the styling of the photos are amazing.  It goes completely well with the vibe of the products.  Everything just clicks.  

If you have never visited the site before, you really should.  You will not be disappointed!

The Yellow Brick Road Boutique

Have you found any awesome stores like this lately?  Link up if you have!

NYE Recap

I'm sitting in my living room right now listening to reggae with no Christmas tree in sight.  All the decorations are in boxes and everyone is sleeping but me.  I enjoy the holidays, but its so nice when they're over!  Everything is so calm and I love that.  My New Year's Eve wasn't too eventful, just a dinner party and drinking with friends.  So, I'm just going to give you a summary of the food in pictures!

If you are curious to what we made it was a stew with 3 different kinds of pork with black eyed peas and collard greens.  We also had skillet cornbread (not pictured) and a cinnamon walnut apple pie.  It was a pretty awesome meal!


I hope everyone had a great New Year's!  If you posted about what you did, link up so I can find out!