Christmas in July

My hubby came through again for me-that's twice in one week! He found a huge box of Christmas decorations in the attic of an abandoned house and lugged it home for me. He called me earlier in the day to ask if I wanted it and in a momentary lapse of sanity I actually told him to just throw it away! I was feeling overwhelmed with "stuff" at the moment and didn't really want to deal with it. Knowing that I'd want to dig through it regardless of what I said on the phone, he lugged it home for me anyway. The box had been sitting in my garage since Thursday because, quite honestly, it looked like a big ol' box of crap and I wasn't too interested. Long story short, I finally dug through it this afternoon and the picture above is of the treasures it yielded! I had get to the bottom of all the ugly junk to find the box of lovely vintage ornaments. And to make it even sweeter, most of them have a touch of pink or silver. I've been a long time collector of vintage Christmas decorations that are NOT red or green so this was a nice surprise. These also help make up for two years ago when I knocked my entire Christmas tree into the fireplace while vacuuming. The casualties were high that day and I've been slowly adding back to my collection every since.

Something's fishy...

My husband is just obsessed as I am with all things old. We don't always agree on decor (see previous post about the pixie cookie jar-he was NOT on board with that one!), but it's always exciting when he brings home a treasure for me after work. Today's find is this fish wall pocket scored at an estate sale for $2. It will look great in our hall bathroom...this time he caught a big one!

Oh oh it's magic!

Let's take this opportunity to say a few words about the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. It is exactly as described: MAGIC! When I discovered these it was like a whole new world of clean opened up in front of me. They work on pretty much everything. I've used them on my leather purses, patent leather purses, shoes, knick knacks that would not come clean with any amount of scrubbing or soaking, furniture (especially handy for vinyl and formica), paint on walls, ceramics, and most impressive: my husband's white leather tuck n'roll upholstery in his Shoebox Ford. They clean in every little wrinkle and crevice of vinyl and wipe clean plastic all with minimal effort and no harsh cleaning products. This is what makes them so safe to use on that fragile vintage lucite handbag or lovely ceramic painted figurine. I feel very comfortable using them on all treasures I've brought home and continue to be amazed each time I use one. If you haven't tried them yet, here's a link to a coupon: http://www.mrclean.com/en_US/special-offers.do

Happy Cleaning!

It never hurts to ask...

Today I'm going to go back a couple years and tell my favorite "never hurts to ask" story....

I was driving to Lowe's to buy god-knows-what for some sort of project I was attempting and passed a Taco Bell I'd driven by many times. Every time I drove by it, I'd say "I sure wish I could find one of those umbrellas for my back yard!". Well on this particular day there just happened to be a chain link fence around the property (a sure sign the place was going to be remodeled or bull-dozed). Of course, my first thought was, "What's going to happen to all those umbrellas!?!?" I went to Lowe's, did my shopping , and on the way home the chain link gate was open at the Taco Bell. A truck was parked inside the parking lot so I figured this was my only window of opportunity. I found the owner of the truck and asked him if the place was going to be bulldozed which he confirmed for me. Then I asked him if he had a way for me to contact the owner or landlord. I'm sure he thought I was crazy but he obliged and gave me the number. I called it up, amazingly got the owner on the first try and launched into my explanation of NEEDING one his umbrellas. He told me he really wasn't supposed to give me one but I could take one if I wanted. Never one to be satisfied with the minimum, (and chances like this probably only come along once in a lifetime) I asked if I could have two. He laughed and said "ok".

SO EXCITED, I went back over to ask the guy in the parking how long he'd be there so I could have my husband come pick them up. He said he was leaving in 20 minutes, but I could come back with a 9/16 in. socket wrench and open the gate myself whenever I wanted to. This guy was my new hero! I called Johnny and told him to get over there ASAP with the truck to bring my new treasures home! The two fabulous turquoise-starburst-fiberglass umbrellas now live a happy life poolside in my backyard...forever saved from the landfill. And the moral of the story? IT NEVER HURTS TO ASK!

Pixie Cookie Jar

A little known fact about me: I really like pixies and elves. I mean REALLY. I have a pretty extensive collection of pixies for Christmas decorations and over the years I've ended up with some pretty awesome Treasure Craft planters in the elf motif. Most of them are packed away since they don't really go with the rest of the decor in my house, but I just can't bear to part with them even though most of my friends think they are super creepy.

Today my husband and I were out running errands and happened to see a garage sale sign. We'd been successfully ignoring them for most of the day but I needed my fix. I hemmed and hawed over my purchase (mostly because I thought my husband was going to have a fit), but really the second I had seen it I knew I'd buy it anyway. I never had any intention of buying a cookie jar (ever), but I couldn't just leave this guy at the garage sale, could I???

New to this...

I'm totally new to this whole "blogging" thing, so I figured the best place to start would be with a little about me. I'm pretty much obsessed with all things OLD. Old objects offer us a window to the past. That gorgeous vintage dress you just found: how do you feel when you wear it? You feel just that: gorgeous- like a movie star from another time, a glamour girl maybe from the cover of a 50's issue of Vogue. Those incredible black and white photos you dug out of a dirty ol' box at the swap meet? They take you back to a simpler place in time. If you stare at them long enough you almost know why the subject is smiling or how the air may have smelled on that lovely summer day by the lake.

I surround myself with these things because it feels right-it feels GOOD. Don't ask me how it all started. Probably a lot of it can be credited to my parents. I grew up surrounded by antiques, hearing stories about each item and how it managed to make it's way into our home. My dad was a dumpster diver since childhood and always took me to garage sales and swap meets during mine. For a long time I thought it was strange but as I got older, Saturday mornings I couldn't wait for him to come home from the sales and show me what he'd found.

High school was filled with trips to thrift stores with friends...we'd ditch out of school early and pile into my buddy's VW bus, eager to go treasure hunting in the 100 degree heat of East County. What I remember most is the lack of AC in those old warehouse buildings and the SMELL OF OLD. Clothes were cheap and the knick knacks weren't worth anything yet in those days before the internet and ebay. And I LOVED every minute of it. Never knowing what you might find was the ultimate high for me. And to this day it's never gotten old.

Now to some of you reading this, this is nothing new to you. You are all too familiar with the high one can experience treasure hunting. I'm not special in these experiences. I just really dig it! The more I think about it, the more I realize how much it actually consumes my life. I rarely buy anything new. I am always on the look out for garage sale and estate sale signs. The only way you can get me out of bed earlier than 9am on a weekend it for a swap meet. A friend of mine suggested I start a blog to talk about all my hunting-she said it would be "interesting". So here I am...and I hope she's right!