Modern, Local, Organic, Pictures, Pets – My adventure in life as a "modern" Bellingham Hippie.
Pretty vintage chair
A little over a year ago, Rick and I went out garage-saling and picked up this little beauty. The original seat was broken out but the owner had a little leather replacement that had not been attached yet. Since we do not have a table it has become a home for my trailing plant. I’m not sure of the name. However, it makes a pretty picture.
I’m a lover of antiques, fun vintage things that you can’t find in every store across the US. Last Christmas Rick and I got an awesome print try from his mom. It’s gorgeous and rustic and unique. You can’t walk into a Pier 1 and buy one off the shelf. Not that Pier 1 doesn’t have it’s place.
We have a couple large print trays like this one and a smaller one. This is the only that is currently hung up though. I’m a bit slow on “nesting”, making an apartment home. Along with my new desire to organize our odds and ends and totes a plenty I’m slowly figuring out where I want the décor to hang.
As far as where to find a piece like this I’d say your local thrift shop may have one or you can check out Etsy or Ebay. I’ve seen them on Ebay before. Happy hunting!
I hate to be the one to bring this up. It is after all not yet Thanksgiving. However, with the economy in the crapper many of us may want to try to spread out our Holiday shopping over a couple of months rather than one month.
Rick and I always try to get a head start because when December rolls around we don’t always have a ton of money to blow. We started shopping in the spring for Christmas. Each time we go to Target together, we peruse the sale items looking for the fun item to make someone laugh or something useful that didn’t get completely bought out. We also love to go to the Antique Mall in Shoreline and try Goodwill on occasion. There are other options to consider though.
Earlier this year I discovered something called Etsy. It’s great! It’s a lot like Amazon or Ebay except there is no bidding and everything has to be handmade or vintage. I bought a reusable grocery bag on Etsy a few months ago and it has been a life saver. I window shop at Etsy now and again looking for something unique.
I decided to look under the vintage category to see what was listed. Some of the things weren’t overly exciting, some of them were great though. So far I’ve bought one thing for Rick for Christmas. I can’t post about it right now because, though he says he doesn’t read my blog, I don’t want to risk him reading it on a whim and spoiling the surprise. You’ll just have to look back after Christmas for my awesome Etsy gifts.
So a plug for Etsy: if you are gifting handmade items and you don’t want to make them yourself or don’t have the talent, or you want to find something vintage that no one else has think online and support these artists and craftsmen and craftswomen. Support the little men and women instead of your local Wal-Mart!
I’ve always loved old things. I love perusing shops for affordable antiques. Our décor is a smattering of stuff from parents and the antique mall and presents. Here are some of my finds(well, Rick’s too).
Rick found this cute little table at the Salvation Army on Hwy 99 that was going out of business. I love it. I just polished it and set it up in the bathroom. It’s solid wood and worn to a lovely character.
This is something from the Antique Mall in Shoreline. I use if for my jewelry. It’s awesome!
This is a shelf I made while I was in highschool for my cabin room. I made it out of two old wooden boxes I found in my dad’s garage. I love it. It isn’t super sturdy, but then I made it to be purely decorative.
This is a necklace Rick bought for me at a swap-meet in Everett last year. It’s amber and is supposed to have been made in the 20’s. It’s one of my favorite pieces of jewelry.
Do you have a favorite vintage item you found at a small shop or a garage sale? Post it I’d love to see!
