hashtag FABULOUS.

Yesterday, my husband helped me escape the house (more on that in a post about my oldest child...) and kids and jump in the van SOLO to head over to the Big Fat Flea. So excited! Got to meet someone I have followed for awhile on on Instagram as well as a VERY long time friend I have known ince about 1998 circa the lj/interwebs world. Pretty exciting to give her a big fat hug too!! Hi Tara! Hi Rachel!

 

So, this Lambo (heh) got on 78 East at the same exit as me leaving my town and was doing its best to drive 100 mph and get everywhere FASTER THAN ANYONE in any lane. Once he was the fastest again, he'd go back down to like 75 mpg like the rest of us. It kind of irritated me. I was like, Okay, we get it. That thing is FAST. 

 

The engine was SO LOUD, everyone turned their heads to watch the car. I think he was doing all kinds of extra revving it up though. At one point, I think he fucked up and did a nice big engine drop before the Holland Tunnel. I laughed. Once inside the tunnel though, I was the car directly in FRONT of him and decided to help him out! I gave him little "raceways" to work with. He kept revving it up and going fast then stopping. So, I'd wait until there was big space in front of me, then go while he'd wait back...then I'd give a big THUMBS UP out of my window and he'd FLY up then stop. We played the game all the way through the tunnel. I'm a teenager still, what can I say?

 

I could not help but take a picture of WILF Hall. Because Wilf. Woman I'd like to eff? Wife I'd like to eff? I am so awkward and anxious sometimes. ha. I spent an hour trying to pull my tights up. They fell under down approximately 300 times into my boots. I got a bunch of compliments on my dress and also gave out a few business cards. NOW, If only I had ALL OF MY INVENTORY UP! If you are in the market for something, anything, vintage. Just shout it out. I may have it. Seriously. I have a massive shop inventory. 

I did not get my fabulous necklace or bag at the Flea but I did feel the need to share them with you today as I was feeling very fabulous in them. Yellow and Fabulous described my Sunday (10/4). Necklace is painted on wood from a seller on Etsy I will come back and fill in. The bag is by West.

So, "WHAT DID YOU BUY"??? You ask? Here we go.

Vintage dress that caught my eye immediately and I did not put it down. I imagined it belted first. Then, flowy with boots. Then, I imagined it bloused underneath into a tulip skirt thing. Wheee!!!!

 

 

#bigfatflea

tupelo. mama.

browsing on Cath Kid website.

Go check out the shop! 

cath kidston

and

 

https://instagram.com/cathkidston_ltd/ 

https://twitter.com/Cath_Kidston

Something old, something blue, something vintage...something OOOOH!

Here are a few vintage finds that I doubt you will find anywhere else. If you do, PLEASE tell me. Show me!
Okay, Here we go. On a trip down thrift shop jackpot lane:

I have never seen anything like this, nor can I find anything like it, or mentioning anything like it online. It's a vintage  JC Pennys tag but the actual dress front has a copyright Muppets, Inc. and it's got the wonderful Oscar the Grouch on the front of course. The top is hand sewn I believe due to some tiny tiny flaws I can see on the inside, or maybe a machine with a foot pump thing.

 "I am green" on one side and "Yo soy verde" on the other" uh, size 6? Is this a shirt? A smock? I am so going to throw this on Emmaline as soon as it "fits" as as dress and make her wear it for as long as it "fits" as a shirt with leggings and jeans because I like it. so there. sorry 4th baby. neener neener! because you're a girl...this is just the way it is. I like to play dress up. :) love you. Oscar the Grouch Vintage smock tunic, size six, by JC Penny/Muppets.

top left: Polly Flinders Vintage hand smoked dress.

t2 is what we now call 2t. So, it's adorable! navy blue with tiny red stamped flowers.

top right: The cover of this book reminded me of 80% of the paperback covers that I was used to reading as a child so I grabbed it too from my thrift shop adventures of the day.

 bottom: brand NEW (ha! that always makes me laugh when it's a vintage item) with tags.
Nannette brand vintage baby romper. elastic seems to be brand spanking new. all eyelet detail is bright white. So exciting. 

forgotten homes and belongings.

 As some of you know I am quite the lover of old buildings. Especially the abandoned ones. and and I'm even bigger fan of the personal items and homes left untouched.

check these out for a start:

• from pbs: a house that was "frozen in time"
•  youtube video of 50 year old abandoned house walk through 
• half century old home, abandoned. 
• 1950s home abandoned, preserved food found. 
• texas home: abandoned 26 years ago

Source: Thejournal.ie articles

party party party.

DIY fun family frame with vintage scrabble tiles.

I have this empty skinny wall when you step inside my front door that is oh so empty. It's screaming for some art. I decided I wanted to make something to go there, and as a bonus I wanted it to have our family name(s) on it. Can I tie in my love for gray chevron? And scrabble? Done. and Done. So, here is what I came up with.

Here is the before:

 It's a holiday frame from Papyrus, and it's cute. Nothing wrong with it at all, I actually bought it because I love to decorate at Christmas with simple greenery and red berries. I included the 2 pictures below to show you the "new tag" $20. And, 2 years ago I picked this up at my local Goodwill store for $2.99. Quite the steal, eh? I decided that if I get tired of my DIY project frame here I can always peel off the letter tiles, steam off the paper, dissolve the adhesive and I'll have my Tidings of Comfort and Joy again. I do have a feeling I will like my scrabble frame though. I'll keep you posted.

measure and cut

 

  

                     

And, once I was happy with placement, it was all glued down. Here is the final product:

onederland.

I used to see lots of hashtags about onederland and now I get it.

I too have joined the group of people that are trying to get into the 100s. I want to lose about 100 pounds. Well, to make it easier to attain I should say that I want to lose 10 pounds, ten times. That makes the goals seem more realistic and hopefully I will be able to achieve it in a timely, and healthy manner.

Before I add any more links to the sidebar, I wanted to just post a short list of those I have been reading this week. For inspiration. And hope. And pictures! And tips. Encouragement. You know, I just need the support group.

the anti jared
sweating until happy
 the fit bee

simplifying sam

red star

curvyfitgirl.com

alifetimeloser.blogspot.com

 brookenotonadiet.wordpress.com

lessjess.blogspot.com

lilylove.com

amymoyers.com

jenmckenphoto.com

freedieting.com/tools

My favorite childhood books!

I can make a huge list of books I loved and read over and over again as a child. But, I challenged myself to make it a list of just five. That is quite hard actually. Try it. So, in no particular order, here are the five books I could not get enough of as a child. 3 of which I own currently and read to my own children. The other 2? Well, I just ordered those from my favorite bookseller of all time: http://www.abebooks.com/used

1. An Anteater Named Arthur has 4 or 5 mini stories within the book. All of them good, all of them sweet and honest. I loved the illustrations when I was growing up and it was easy to try and copy the style as we always had a red and black pen around the house. No need more more colors in this book. 

2. Be Nice to Spiders is the cutest! You will be sure to learn a lot while reading a heartwarming story that is super cute. The author of this book is so witty and charming. I grew up reading this book over and over and I have my original copy with a nice inscription from my grandparents one Christmas in the early 1980s. This makes the book extra special. I'm embarassed to admit that I did not notice that the same author wrote another of the books that made the Top 5 list here. Margaret Bloy Graham also wrote:

3. Benjy's Boat Trip. (Margaret Bloy Graham has a handful of great books I now know of) This book has it all. Great story, adventure, a great dog, a cat, and last but not least it has the same charm that all of Margaret's books have and the wonderful illustrations! I always thought back to this book whenever I saw a cruise ship for some reason. I'm glad to have my copy from when I was a wee one and I love to read it to my own 4 kids. We even have a stuffed animal that is named for one of the animals in this book!

4. I have not read Popcorn since I was a little girl. I am anxiously awaiting its arrival in the mail actually and then I am going to wait until night time and go ask my mother to read it to me. Why? Why would I do that at 35? because she is the one who used to read it to me over and over. We did not own the book, but she went to an ENT doctor weekly and I would go with her. She would pick up Newsweek and I would run and grab this instead and beg her to read it "just one more time". I'm pretty sure she hated the book after the first few times. I read this in the early 1980s. Frank Asch has several "Bear" stories and I intend to check some of the others out of the library on our next trip.

5. A Big Ball of String but Marion Holland. I forgot about this book after growing up. And, then a few months ago I saw it for sale in a vintage shop and gasped in happiness. I am also awaiting this books arrival to my house! Okay, if you happen to score a copy of this book, make sure its the edition from the 1950s or 1960s and not the 1980s or you will miss out on the wonderful illustrations of what this boy imagines himself doing with this BIG ball of string. This book inspired me, and I even tried creating a pulley system next to my sister's bed once with a basket, string and her shelving. This book rhymes if I remember correctly, but it's not too cutesy rhyming that older kids could not enjoy it as well. I think I will sign my copy once it arrives so my own children and grandchildren can cherish it.