zippypops

second hand

Bob's birthday is tomorrow. so today Luke and I drove a distance to a small junk shop we stumbled upon a few weeks ago with the intent to buy him as a gift a 1937 16 mm Kodak Cine model E camera that he fell in love with, but couldn't afford at the time. it was a smidge on the pricey side, but after going home and doing a little research, found it was reasonable. at the time, I had told the shop owner that I would be back to buy it for my husband's birthday. when I got there today and placed the camera on the counter, she gave me a price that was $25 MORE than the price she quoted me 3 weeks ago. then she hemmed and hawed and said that it might actually be worth even more and could I come back next week so that she could check on it's price. after bit of arguing and bargaining I stomped out.

grrr... SO MAD!

we ran around and checked two camera shops that often carry old cameras, but, no luck.

now I don't have anything to wrap up and give him and I am so upset!
I told Bob when he came home, he doesn't seem to mind not having a pressie to unwrap, but I do. fortunately, I found one on ebay that I will buy.

I stopped by a second hand shop, hoping that I would find a lovely treasure to lift my spirits... bing! 4 perfect house dresses! (I'm wearing the 4th now!)

and then later, Bob and I went  to Books and Memories and... bing! a fab photo album. I am having a harder time finding these for a reasonable price nowadays. this one was a bargain.
it starts off with typical wedding shots, then moves on to shot after shot of the same woman modeling outfit after outfit. there is a 1947 newspaper clipping tucked in featuring the woman, an Alice Bukowski who apparently worked as second floor manager of Chappells... a swanky department store in downtown Syracuse that closed in the early 80s.

one of my favourites

in Minoa, NY
panning from right to left. starting at the house, ending with the barn.

yesterday afternoon

Bob and I took a nice drive yesterday... chatting and trying to soak up a little bit of sun! a nice fix for cabin fever.
beat up trailer in the middle of a farm field...

a blasé horse...

we went to Bouckville, NY; a little tiny... town? village? cluster of houses out in the middle of nowhere? for some reason, every single house on Main Street is an antique shop. some more proper than others. some shops you walk in and the owner is fixing a fried egg sandwich in the kitchen right next to the rosewood vase collection. every summer there is a ginormous 3 day outdoor antique sale there... thousand  of people come to browse the hundreds (thousands?) of vendors. it is always chaos! I usually go on the last day in the afternoon when the dealers start packing up. they are always tired and grumpy and  will almost GIVE away what they haven't sold. yay! anyway, we didn't have any money to spend... just looking! and darn it if I didn't find a 7 foot tinsel Christmas tree!! hopefully it will still be there in a couple of weeks.

I took these photos on the sneak. is it wrong to take photos in a shop? I don't know... I could have asked permission, but I didn't want to risk being denied!

there weren't too many fashionable 6 feet tall women back in the day... it is a curse that I love vintage fashions so

my curtain obsession is fueled...

a leetle chicky!
he wasn't priced, or I might have scraped together the change in my car to bring him home!

elephant!

pressie!

nothing makes me more happy than old snapshots. except, maybe, old dolls. and look at this! today arrived in the mail BOTH from Mimi Kirchner (of whom I am a big geek-girl fan)  I am smiling from ear to ear! what a lovely, thoughtful, and perfect gift. thank you so much!

I took a close-up photo of my great grandmother's quilt. this is what seems to be going on...
the sun shape is appliqued on top of the white base in three sections.
first the red section (the red and white strips are sewn together into a circle first) then the yellow section (yellow and white strips sew together into a circle first) then a solid round circle on top. the entire thing is hand sewn and those little strips are so small... my head almost explodes just thinking about how much work went into this!
I am wondering what the the name of this pattern is? I Googled variations of 'sunburst' and 'sun' and I am not finding anything similar.
I don't know what year this was made... my grandmother was born in 1914, I think my great grandmother died in the late 20s early 30s...

the latest in rusty decor

Gert takes a moment to present to you the latest in dolly appliances...

a lovely oven and refrigerator set...

now, if we take a quick look inside the 'fridge...

we will find the crisper already fully stocked with fruit and veg!

and here you see the convenient door compartment panels. just the right size for the odd pint of milk and plenty of soda-pop!

I blame Darth Vader

we are leaving for one week of vacation tomorrow at the crack of dawn.
one might think that I was wisely conserving my extra cash to ensure I had enough money for gas, or new flip flops, or sunscreen. necessaries.

nope.

on the contrary, I was drawn into an antique shop's going-out-of-business sale much the same as the Millennium Falcon was drawn into the Death Star.

but I ask, how could I resist this doll?

or this Saltine tin? (now I have 3 of them, and I think that officially makes it a 'collection')

or this 1966 Sears fall-winter catalog?

 

ghost

I know I mentioned before that there is a ghost in our house, but there is also a ghost in my office building.

the office where I work is actually a room in a 150 year old mansion that has been many things over the years; family residence, court house, police station, now it is the village museum downstairs, and little offices upstairs.

working late at night I have heard heavy, booted footsteps walking about downstairs. investigating... doors locked, lights out, and no one there. (I high-tail it out of there) other people in the building have heard similar sounds.

one day about a year ago, I was poking around the basement looking for empty cardboard boxes. I paused a moment, just looking around, when I felt someone lightly breathe into my right ear. like someone was standing right behind me.

later, even though I didn't doubt what I felt, I kind of thought maybe I imagined it.
well, recently, someone else in the building (Jerry) experienced the exact same thing, upstairs, while unlocking his office door.

creepy...

(the photo above, depicting our office mansion ghost, was photoshopped by Jerry)

Miss Havisham run amok

my little decorating scheme isn't 'retro' really, or 'shabby chic,' it's more 'Miss Havisham.'\

now that I have set my head into fixing up the apartment, there is no stopping me!
running hither and yon to all the tempting garage sales and thrift shops. wallowing in all the ridiculous nonsense they have to offer...

a pair of 4 foot high ex-church candle holders?  mine.

lace curtains stinking and stained from 60 years worth of chain smoking? yes please.

50 year old wobbling swivel globe. of course!

and still more curtains (to rig up on the porch to block the oppressive afternoon sun), paper shredder, old frames, square foam pillows (they serve a good purpose — a step up for Sally)

the BEST find was a lovely 3 piece rattan couch set. judging from the upholstery fabric, I would date it late 50s to 60s. I got to the sale at around 4pm (my favourite time, none of this 'early-bird' business for ME) just as they were starting to load the Salvation Army truck with the remains of the day. I saw this beauty, made my offer, and yippee! all mine! the former owner even loaded it into his truck and delivered it to my door! nice man!

look how happy my girl is...

okay, enough photos, it's TOO HOT let me sleep.

ALSO...
the amazing Dawn, of plush-a-holic fame (http://plush-a-holic.blogspot.com/), has one of her charming bunnies in the new Small magazine. I had never heard of this publication before, and am guessing it is online only (further investigation needed), but I LOVE IT. beautiful. 

thrifting

ventured out for some lunchtime thrifting today with the intent of finding some interesting upholstery fabric to re-do Sally's floor cushions. bing! found some deadstock orange/red, still on the roll!

added bonus— 3 pair of wacky 70s? era drapes patterned with an odd Skandinavian or maybe Eastern European village scenario. I am NOT a fan of drapes, but could not resist their allure!
Unfortunately, they are either too short or too long for any of the windows in our house.
drat.
I will pack them away, and maybe some day.....

the icing on the cake— two deadstock flat sheets, still in original wrapping (tag and all), both in the same butterfly pattern, one in blue and one in my favourite... yellow. happy happy. joy joy.

it's the small, simple, things in life...

pajama bag

the delightful zhinkadinkadoo recently posted about knitting a pajama bag.
it is really charming, and I am quite jealous of her knitting skills!

I had a pajama bag as a kid, (they seem kind of rare now) and it got me thinking on my childhood...

I'm the littlest one. I think this was from my 2nd birthday.
gosh, I LOVED being a kid.