Category Archives: Shop

Vintage Cups and Pharmacy Finds

18 Tuesday Jun 2013

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We have been searching for cups suitable for use in back yard.  There is a strip of cement patio out back, which will eventually become stone and we didn’t want to use our collection of vintage juice glasses out there.  (We manage to break enough of those inside the house).   All of the glasses I found were either ugly, or plastic, or both.  When we visited Ashville, North Carolina last month one of the stops on our list was the Mast General Store.  Mast has been around since 1883 and is now housed in a restored building from the 1940s.  And it is so cool!  The shop is a combination of an outdoor gear store, old-time pharmacy and toy shop and it has a huge selection of penny candy in barrels.  I am a sucker for a good old-fashioned pharmacy and get insanely excited over cool packaging.  I found these aluminum tumblers in the back and remembered that I used to have a vintage set in college.  The tumblers are perfect for keeping drinks cool and they are indestructible.  Ebay has some vintage metal tumblers here.  The colors are so pretty!  We also found this Astyptodyne liniment (which “cures everything but a broken heart”) and this Magic Wand stain stick at Mast.  Both the Astyptodyne and Magic Wand are made in the USA and look pretty in the medicine cabinet.  I love Mast!Cups2

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Family Road Trip

06 Thursday Jun 2013

Posted by in Likes, Projects, Shop, Inspiration

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We managed to survive (and even have fun) on a nine day driving trip with a two and four-year-old.  This was our last adventure as a family of four before the baby arrives in August.  We used Air B&B to book all of the places we stayed and were super happy with the results.  The houses we found were amazing and cost much less than hotels.  Here are some of the highlights from the week:

*Driving in the Smoky Mountains

*Jefferson Pools, Warm Springs Va

*White Duck Taco, Ashville NC

*Air B&B Apartment in Converted Garage, Ashville NC

*Kentucky Horse Park, Lexington KY

*Horse Country, KY

*Bright Crayon Colors at Sunny Point Cafe, Ashville NC

*Graffiti, Ashville NC

*Hatch Show Print Archives, Nashville TN

*Racing Silks, Kentucky Horse Park, Lexington

*Truckers Chapel, KY

*Warrior Motel, Cherokee NC

*Downtown, Nashville TN

*Restored Woolworth’s Soda Fountain, Ashville NC

*View from the Bathroom, Air B&B Rental at Warm Springs Cottage, Warm Springs VA

*Strange Scenery, Somewhere Near Dollywood, TN

*Barista Parlor, Nashville TN

*Driving Over the Smoky Mountains, TN

*Hatch Show Print, Nashville TN

*Water Tower, NJ

*Kid Breakfast at Sunny Point Cafe, Ashville NC

*Caverns of Natural Bridge, Natural Bridge VA

*Farmer’s Market Fruit, Nashville TN

*Surprise Memorial Day Fireworks at The Homestead, Hot Springs VA

*Jefferson Pools, Warm Springs VA

*Natural Bridge, Natural Bridge VA

*Tadpoles! Natural Bridge VA

*Wild Turkey Country, TN

*Kentucky Horse Park Lexington

*Clouds and Windshield Bugs, Driving Through NC

A Visit to Portland (Maine)

30 Tuesday Apr 2013

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I got to spend this past weekend in beautiful Portland Maine. I went without the kids for my cousin’s baby shower and managed to get a whole day to myself walking around the city.  I haven’t been in Portland for years, but was happy to see some of my favorite stores were still alive and well.  The flight from JFK takes only about 45 minutes and the airport in Portland is about a 15 minute drive to downtown.  The city is full of good food and beautiful views and old cobble streets.  Here are a few treasures from the weekend:

*Yarn, yarn, yarn and patterns for baby sweaters from KnitWit on Congress Street.  I especially liked their selection of Maine-made yarns and picked up some pretty Swans Island colors.  (I got a little ambitious, and am trying for three sweaters for the new baby by August).

*German Kite Making Paper from Circa Home on Congress Street.  I can’t wait to look up some kite patterns to make with the girls.  Circa Home is relatively new and has a well-edited and affordable mix of vintage and new housewares, toys and office/art supplies.  I fell in love with a set of vintage children’s gardening tools in the window.

*One Morning in Maine by Robert McCloskey, Seaweed Soap and Cotton Dishtowels by the Yard are from Folly 101 on Exchange Street.  I remember my Great-Grandmother always had dishtowels like these, bought by the yard and then hemmed at home.  I picked up the One Morning in Maine book as a shower gift.  It has the most beautiful vintage illustrations and makes me want to move out to a remote island on the Maine coast.  McCloskey also wrote and illustrated Make Way for Ducklings – one of our all-time favorite books.  Folly 101′s owner Astrid is also a stylist and has a great eye for simple, beautiful housewares.

I had a great weekend visiting family, watching the water and wandering around Portland.  But I am happy to be home again with my family, and happy to have some new projects to look forward to.

Spring Cleaning: Dusting

18 Thursday Apr 2013

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Our house has tall crown moldings that we rarely notice accept to bemoan their need of repairs.  I have never dusted up there and I am quite sure the previous owners did not. (It took a team of four people nine hours to clean the house before we moved in).  The cleaning team also ignored the crown moldings, so it has been at least five years since they got a good dusting.  I found this Sla-Dust this week and decided it was time to tackle the dusting job.  The Slack Dust Mop Company has been hand-making wool mops for over 100 years in Vermont.  The company is still owned by the same family and they  pride themselves on making sustainable, non-disposable quality products.  My Wool Hand Duster did a great job on the moldings and ceiling fans and also worked to grab dust out of the crevices in our radiators.  The wool head attaches with Velcro and can be hand washed in soap and water for cleanup.  I finished the whole job in under half an hour.  So satisfying!

Dry Goods

09 Tuesday Apr 2013

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I got to spend a sunny Saturday wandering around Atlantic Avenue with friends this weekend.  (Thank you to the Dads for kid-watching!)  We stumbled into a sweet shop named Dry Goods and ended up spending an hour in the tiny, well-stocked space.  I have a weakness for useful and beautiful housewares in pretty packages and Dry Goods is stocked full of just these.  The owner Carla travels, stockpiles and curates the collection and offered a wealth of information about some unfamiliar products: Charcoal Toothbrushes!  Swedish Sea Salt Soap! Hair Powder!  Here are some of my favorite finds:

*Kishu Binchotan Charcoal Water Filters – These simple charcoal sticks purify tap water, are reusable and look much nicer than the plastic Brita on our counter.

*Couto Toothpaste – Created by a Portugese pharmacist in 1932, super-minty, and all-natural.

*Sea Salt Soap – This Swedish soap has the best packaging ever and people swear by its sea salt formula.  A customer came in and bought a case while we were in the store.

*Binchotan Charcoal Toothbrush – The bristles of this brush contain actual charcoal to help clean and prevent the growth of bacteria.

*Lu Lu Organics Hair Powder - Magically cleans hair without a shower.  Great for travel and smells lovely.

*Herbacin Kamille Glycerine Hand Cream – This German cream has a smell that is light and reminds me of my childhood somehow.  It leaves hands soft.

*Paine’s Balsam Fir Incense – These all-natural incense logs smell like an entire balsam fir forest.

A Beautiful Surprise Ball

18 Monday Mar 2013

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We have been thinking about Easter around here and I was reminded of the beautiful surprise ball our friends gave us last year.  The swan-shaped ball was made by the insanely talented paper artist Anandamayi Arnold.  Arnold sells her pieces at Tail of the Yak in Berkeley, CA.  Anthology Magazine had a lovely article about Arnold last year.  Our swan sat on our mantel for a couple of days before Ada could no longer stand the temptation.  She had almost as much fun unwrapping as I did watching her.  I was inspired to make our own Easter Egg Surprise Ball for Ada’s basket last year and I am busy gathering contents for this year’s versions…
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Ikea Easter Gift

07 Thursday Mar 2013

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My family goes a little crazy with the Easter gifts.  So Chris and I don’t usually get much for the girls’ Easter baskets.  I had a rather unsuccessful trip to Ikea the other day when my search for a lampshade and trash can turned up nothing.  But I did find a little Easter gift for the girls for under $20.  This Duktig Coffee and Tea Set is my favorite for the kids’ play kitchen.  Ada has broken a lot of the pieces over the years, so a replacement set will come in handy.  The tray is the perfect small size and paper coasters are always useful for a place setting of wooden food.

*Duktig Coffee/Tea $9.99

*Barbar Tray $5.99

*Skitsel Coasters $.99/10

It hardly seems like spring is on its way today, with snow showers in the air.  But these bright colors are making me dream of green grass and Easter egg hunts.

Happy Birthday Josie!

01 Friday Mar 2013

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It is hard to believe our little Josie is already two!  It seems like just the other day when Chris and I were planning our last weekend alone and my water broke two weeks early.  Josie has been sweet and kind and funny ever since her unexpected arrival.  Thank you for always making us smile Ms. Josie.  We had a little party this weekend and celebrated the actual day yesterday with cupcakes and berries and a pair of footie pjs from Daddy.

* Party Decorations.  Balloons from Bargain Balloons and silver and white lanterns from Tail of the Yak.  Heart Garland How-To Here.

*Coconut Cake from Ina Garten’s yummy recipe.  Beeswax number candle from Clothes  Pony/ Dandelion Toys in Fort Collins, CO – The Best Toy Store!  The Jadeite was an amazing Craigslist score.

*Bathroom hyacinth in a favorite Swanky Swig.

*Josie’s yearly Birthday Crown.  Cape by Wovenplay.

*Gift Bag Contents.  (I used to be anti-giftbag.  We never had these when I little, but kids love them and Ada insisted on making these).  Straws from Shop Sweet Lulu, mini fans and spirals from Pearl River Trading ,tape from Target.

*Cherry Vanilla Birthday Ice Cream.

Happy Birthday Big Girl!

Flea Market Finds: Wall Sconce

26 Tuesday Feb 2013

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We have been searching for a sconce for our downstairs hallway for a while.  The fixture that came with the house was so awful it landed in the trash before I could get a ‘before’ picture.  (It involved some orange cubes that looked like Legos badly hot-glued around a bulb).  We found this wall sconce a couple of weekends ago at this shop in Saugerties, NY.  We usually hold out for a major bargain when we shop for house things, since we have so many things on our list.  This light was less expensive than city prices, but not as cheap as we usually go for.  We decided to buy it anyway and Chris hung it up as soon as we got home.  It turned out to be perfect for the spot and I am so happy we found it.  We are trying a new method around here: Instead of keeping our finds boxed up in a closet until our house is perfect, we have begun hanging up lights on our less-than-perfect ceilings.  It is nice to enjoy things now even if the plaster isn’t what we want it to be.   Some day our renovations will match the fixtures, but for now we are mixing perfect with not-so-perfect and getting on with living in an old house.

You can find your own vintage and antique wall sconces here on Etsy and here on Ebay.

A Few Small Repairs

19 Tuesday Feb 2013

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Wovenplay, my very favorite children’s clothing company had a sample sale on Valentine’s day last week.  (Such a nice Valentine!)  Chris does not understand purposefully paying money for something with a hole cut out of it.  But Wovenplay’s pieces are so beautiful – like little pieces of art-  that the small price tag of a sample is well worth a few small repairs.  I added some vintage green paillettes to the cape to cover a screen-printed ink smudge.  The triangle of polka dot fabric was once a Marni dress pocket.   The bibbed jumper was not flawed, but will likely end up dyed after a few wears.  (Light colors don’t usually last too long around my messy beasts).  Josie will wear the cape for her upcoming birthday party, and I am counting the days until warm weather for the other pieces to get their turn.  Thank you Wovenplay!