finds to fancy

it's set-up day for the Urban Craft Uprising show and my TeuxDeux list is growing by the minute. i'm so excited to do a show in Seattle- and so glad it all came together before we move away. i've got lots of wonderful goods loaded into the trailer right now, just waiting for you to come take them home!

before i head out to finish up last minute errands i wanted to share a few finds i fancy lately.

i have a thing for unusual lighting. i hate overhead lights and would probably fill our house with odd industrial lamps if the mister didn't help me keep it in check. (sometime i'll have to do a curated life post about our unusual lighting collection).

from my collection

recently i found a few little lighting gems at estate sales.

this former incubator lamp needed a little re-wiring (it looked okay, but when i plugged it in the cloth cord caught on fire!), so i took it to Harold's Lighting, a Seattle area lighting store and restoration shop. they always do a great job and were even able to replace the cloth cord with an almost identical one. it works perfectly now!

i found this wire cage shade at an estate sale a few months back but it didn't have a socket cord to go with it. i did some searching and found DW Vintage, a Brooklyn based Etsy shop that makes vintage style socket cords at a reasonable price. the cord is well made and with a little ingenuity and one more trip to Harold's, it's all ready to be hung in someone's home.

these are both headed to the booth at Urban Craft Uprising, so if you're interested in them and live in Seattle, stop by and check them out!

i'm off to take care of a few things before this afternoon's big set up. i'll be back this evening with a little post all about the show!

this is the life

prep for this weekend's Urban Craft Uprising show is really heatin' up around here and i've got lots to do today! no curated life post this week (actually, i'm looking for submissions, so if you have a collection you can share, email me!), but i thought i'd share some instagram shots from our holiday yesterday.

we had a great day. fun sodas, a ride in our friend Katie's little convertible VW, mini golf, and a picnic BBQ- complete with pina coladas, and that lovely flag cake that Katie made, and fireworks! we ran out time for sparklers (my favorite) so i lit a mini cupcake sparkler off this morning, just for fun!

how was your fourth of july? i hope you had a great day and if you happened to blog about your own festivities, leave a link in the comments so we can see what you were up to!

gratitude

happy independence day! i know some of my readers are not in or from the US, but i hope everyone has a happy wednesday at least. many of my mister's non-US born coworkers refer to the 4th as 'blow stuff up day', which makes me laugh.

{image via Vintage Antique Classics}

i don't have much of a post for you today, other than to say that today i am grateful for time to spend with friends and family. the mister, my dear friend Katie, and i are going mini-golfing today- one of my favorite activities! later we'll have a little BBQ picnic with my mom as well, then watch the wonderful fireworks they light off over Lake Union. 

what are you up to today? whatever you do, i hope it's wonderful! if you're watching fireworks and would like to capture good photos of them, head over to Nicole's Classes today- she's sharing some really helpful tips on how to get the best images of fireworks!

tried and true

some of my greatest joys in life are cooking and entertaining (in a former career i ran my own catering company), so i love when i find ways to bring a little of that over here to the G&H blog! today's tried and true is a fun drinkable treat, and just in time for the 4th, since this one was invented right here in the good  ol' US of A. today we're talking egg creams!

at modern day soda fountain Brooklyn Farmacy, a 'jerk' whips up an egg cream {photo by Jacob Pritchard, via Edible Brooklyn}

egg cream? that doesn't really sound like a drink, i know, but fear not- in spite of it's name, this classic New York drink is actually egg free. the origin of the egg cream is the subject of much debate, but this much we know- sometime in the 1880's several candy shops and soda fountains in New York City began serving this concoction of milk, chocolate syrup, and seltzer water with a frothy head. some say the original recipes contained eggs, hence the name, while others say the name references the egg white like froth on top of the drink. regardless of it's origin, it quickly became a staple at soda fountains everywhere. today it's difficult to find one outside of New York, though some of the old fashioned soda fountains throughout the country still serve them. 

i honestly don't remember where i first heard of an egg cream, but it sounded tasty and since i was nowhere near NYC i decided to try and make one at home. i wouldn't say i've perfected it yet, but it's fun (and delicious) to practice! want to give it a try yourself? i'll show you how...

now the original egg cream was chocolate, but a vanilla version came about shortly after and that's my favorite (though i'll share how to make the chocolate version as well).

to whip one of these up at home you'll need:

ice cold whole milk (you may want to quickly chill it in the freezer to get it cold enough) 
vanilla simple syrup (recipe below) or a thin chocolate syrup like Fox's U-Bet
seltzer water-preferably from a soda siphon (you need fast stream of water to create the froth)
a 12-16 oz glass
a bar spoon or other long spoon

step one: pour two tablespoons of the vanilla syrup into the bottom of the glass. 

step two: pour 2-3 ounces of whole milk into glass.

step three: using as fast and thin a stream as possible, add seltzer water to milk. a frothy head should form at the top. if you aren't using a soda siphon, in order to create froth you'll need to pour the seltzer into the glass while vigorously stirring with the spoon. also, make sure it's seltzer water, not club soda or tonic water as the flavor won't be right.

step four: without lift the bowl of the spoon from the bottom of the glass, stir any syrup remaining at the bottom into the milk mixture. gently lift the spoon straight up out of the glass.

if you prefer chocolate, just follow the steps above, omiting the vanilla syrup. once you've created the froth at the top, pour 2-3 tablespoons chocolate syrup straight down through the froth. stir using method described above.

according to many purists, if you've made a chocolate egg cream properly, there will be a white frothy head, with just a dot of chocolate on the top.

another variation i've tried is using a mixture of milk and cream (half and half would probably work as well). this creates a fluffier froth at the top.

and that's it- you've made an egg cream! how did it turn out? i'd love to hear about it!

oh, and as promised, here's my vanilla simple syrup recipe:

1 cup sugar (i use evaporated cane juice, which makes the syrup look darker)
1 cup water
1 vanilla bean or 1 tsp of vanilla bean paste
2 tsp of pure vanilla extract

in a small saucepan over medium heat, bring water to a boil. add sugar and reduce heat to low, stirring just until sugar is dissolved. remove from heat. pour into a large glass measuring cup.

to release the 'seeds' from inside the vanilla bean, run a sharp knife, horizontally along the middle, being careful to not cut all the way through. your vanilla bean should now be flayed open on one side and you can see the sticky seed paste. using knife, scrape the seed paste into the syrup. set the bean aside.

add the vanilla extract and allow to cool, about 2 hours. transfer to a bottle or other glass storage container, add vanilla bean and refrigerate. syrup will have the vanilla seeds floating in it, which i like the look of, but if you don't, just filter it through a fine cheesecloth before bottling it and leave the seed out.

this recipe makes about 3 cups and will keep about 4 weeks in the fridge. it's also great in italian sodas, coffee, and cocktails. you can even use it to sweeten fruit for desserts or use it as a crumb sealer on cakes.

i hope you enjoyed this little lesson in egg creams and feel inspired to try it yourself!

finds to fancy

between my road trip and having lots of goods saved up already, i haven't been out on the hunt as much as usual these last few weeks. i did however, hit a few thrifts and a flea market while i was travelling and even went to an estate sale this morning, so i guess i'm getting back into the swing of things.

for today's finds to fancy i thought i'd share some of my recent favorites.

many of these items will be available for sale at the upcoming Urban Craft Uprising show. if you're near Seattle, you should definitely stop by and say hello!

i hope everyone has a lovely weekend. may you find lots of things to fancy yourself!

a curated life: balanced collecting

i'm so excited to finally be back to blogging! between my road trip to Wyoming and then getting slammed with a migraine for the past three days, the blog has taken a backseat, but hopefully things will get back on track now!

some landscapes from my roadtrip (clockwise from top left: near Laramie, WY; Columbia River Gorge, WA; near Riverton, WY; Pilot and Index peaks, MT).

while i was in Wyoming i got into an interesting conversation with some friends about collecting. for those of you who have collections (vintage or otherwise), you may have encountered people who don't get collecting. folks who see collections as 'junk' or think that collecting is equal to hoarding. now i certainly don't suscribe to these ideas, but i have been thinking a lot lately about balance in collecting-aka how much is too much? 

{three photos above via Science Hax}

now when i look at collections like the images above, i feel slightly claustrophobic, but for the collectors themselves, i'm sure these collections are a source of pride and provide symbolic markers of time. i wouldn't be surprised if the gentleman with the key chain collection remembers where and when he found each of those key chains.  

my personal collecting style is definitely more minimalistic- i generally stop once something fills the shelf i've arranged them on. i also have very few collections that i've had my whole life- often opting to sell an entire collection in order to make room for something new. i find this gives me a sense of balance (and keeps my super minimalistic husband from growing concerned at the amount of 'stuff' in our home). for me, balance is key to most everything and my balance is best maintained with a one in, one out philosophy. for others, balance may be found in different ways, or maybe isn't important at all. 

what about you? do your collections lean more to the minimal side or are you hoping to have an entire room full? how do you find balance in curating your life? 

vintage fabrics with a special guest

hi everyone! i'm about to hit the road once more and make my way back to Seattle from Wyoming but before i go,  i am so excited to have my friend Heather with us today! i know you'll love her post, and her blog. take it away Heather...


Hello! My name is Heather and I run a craft blog called Joy of all Crafts. Also, my husband and I share a business called Remnant where we sell vintage goods, mainly Mid-Century pieces, and we also specialize in handmade reclaimed furniture. I love what we do and couldn't be more thrilled to be guest posting on Gather and Hunt while Danae is on vacation. 

One of my favorite pieces to find is vintage fabric. I love reusing it to reupholster chairs and ottomans, and I've also recently been inspired to use vintage fabric as a jumping off point for designing a quilt. One of my main passions is modern quilting and what better place to be inspired than from 1950s fabric?! A friend of mine recently let me borrow some of her 1950s fabric books. I was blown away by the geometric prints and the abstract patterns.  Here are my favorites that I'm currently being drawn to:

Which are your favorites? 

greetings from Wyoming

hi you guys! it seems like it's been ages since i've posted- sorry about that. i'm out in the wild west, aka Wyoming, visiting friends and family and enjoying lovely sunny, though crazy windy, days but perfect evenings- complete with starry skies, something we rarely see in the light polluted city.

i know this isn't much of a post, but i thought i'd at least check in and share some photos from my little road trip 'out west' (somehow Wyoming feels more 'west' to me than the west coast!). later this week we'll have a special guest post- so stop back for that!

hope you enjoyed these! i'm headed to something i haven't been to in ages- a softball game! talk to you later this week.

this and that

hi everyone! how is it half way through wednesday already? this week is just flying by me, and i realized i haven't posted anything here in a few days!

no gratitude post today (not that i don't have plenty to be grateful for), but i will update you all on a few things going on around here...

the new tote bags are now available for purchase online! just click on the 'g&h goods' tab at the top of the page. the bags are super sturdy, 100% cotton canvas and are a great size for groceries or for carrying at the flea market! $10 each. the totes will also be available at the space at the fremont vintage mall, so if you're in seattle you can pick one up there and save on shipping!

have you noticed the little badge in the sidebar? something exciting (even more exciting than usual) is happening at Urban Craft Uprising this summer- a new section of the show just for vintage! we'll be setting up the gather and hunt booth there and have lots of great goods saved up just for this show.

Urban Craft Uprising is an amazing show with lots of great handmade, and now vintage, goods from tons of talented vendors. if you're in or near Seattle, i hope you'll come join us for this fun event!

{photo via Card Cow}

i'm hitting the road and heading to my hometown, Laramie, Wyoming! that postcard up there is downtown Laramie in the 70's and the hotel on the right (which is now an apartment building), is where my very first solo apartment was. i think about that apartment often- it was such a great place and cost me about 1/4 of what our smaller apartment in Seattle costs (or would if i didn't manage the building and get some rent credit).

so, i'm heading out of Seattle tomorrow and though i won't necessarily be posting on a schedule while i'm traveling, i will try to post some updates and i'm super excited to say that we'll have some guest posts as well while i'm gone. i think you'll love them!

as always, i'll definitely be posting lots of photos to Instagram, so find me there (@gatherandhunt) and follow along on the trip!

i hope you all are having a great week so far! i'll see ya on the road!

and the winner is...

first off- my apologies for posting this so much later than i had promised! this morning went a little crazy, but the day is back on track and i'm ready to announce the winners in the final day of our giveaway-a-day series! drumroll please. the winners are...

Melissa, who will receive the repurposed lab glass vase

and

Amanda, who will receive the milk glass planter (and since you're in Seattle- the plant as well if you'd like! please message me and we can set up the handoff)!

in addition, you'll both receive either a gather and hunt canvas tote bag, or the limited edition notepad. since there is only one notepad, who ever responds first will get it, if that's the prize you choose. message me and let me know what you prefer!

congratulations ladies and a big thank you to everyone who entered! i had so much fun and can't wait until the next giveaway!

one more day! {giveaway now closed}

hi everyone. i hope you are all having a lovely weekend!

i just wanted to remind you that you have one more day to enter the final giveaway of our giveaway-a-day series. 

two lucky winners will get to add some vintage and greenery to their homes, as well as a new gather and hunt tote bag, or the limited edition notebook! for the full scoop, check out friday's post, but here's a recap of how to enter...

1. leave a comment on this (or Friday's) post, with which prize you hope to win and why.

2. write on the gather and hunt Facebook page- you can write anything you like- what you're up to this weekend, why you hope to win the giveaway, what cool vintage stuff you're finding, anything at all.

3. mention us on Twitter, or re-tweet something i tweet over the weekend. Twitter name = @gather_and_hunt.

4. follow gather and hunt on Instagram, and mention us in a photo (you have to do both, unless you already follow us- i'll be looking for mentions as entries). Instagram name = @gatherandhunt. i'd love to see any vintage you find over the weekend!

right now, only person has entered, so your chances of winning one of the prizes are pretty good! i'll announce the winner monday morning at 10AM, so you need to enter by 9AM.

good luck and as always, thanks for stopping by!

xo

friday giveaway {giveaway now closed}

well, we've come to the final day in the giveaway-a-day series. i'm a little sad for this to end, but i'm super excited about today's giveaways, so let's get to it!

since it's the last giveaway- there are two prizes today! and, if that wasn't enough- you'll have all weekend to enter- with several ways to enter each day!

now for the prizes...

one lucky reader will receive this repurposed vintage lab glass vase. when i found these unusual kimax lab beaker type things i couldn't resist them, but they don't sit flat so i had to come up with a new use for them. i thought they would make really cool vases, so i used copper wire to make a hanger and voila- hanging vases!

i think it would look great with any kind of cut flower (aren't those ranunculi cool?), or even with an air plant. (sorry, flowers not included- they'd never survive the shipping!) in addition to vase, the winner will also receive their choice of a gather and hunt tote bag, or a limited edition notebook (only one notebook left, so the winner to respond with their choice first has first dibs).

next up- remember these?

well the second winner of our final giveaway will receive their choice of this milk glass urn...

or, a set of those fun vintage paper cups...

...to make your very own planter! if the lucky winner is a local, the sedum plant will be included. otherwise, i'll ship just the container(s), and you can put a plant of your choosing in it. in addition, the winner will also receive their choice of a gather and hunt tote bag, or the limited edition notebook.

now for the entry rules...

you have until 9AM (PDT) on Monday, June 11th to enter. each day you have multiple chances to enter:

1. leave a comment on this post (only this post), with which prize you hope to win and why.

2. write on the gather and hunt Facebook page- you can write anything you like- what you're up to this weekend, why you hope to win the giveaway, what cool vintage stuff you're finding, anything at all.

3. mention us on Twitter, or re-tweet something i tweet over the weekend. Twitter name = @gather_and_hunt.

4. follow gather and hunt on Instagram, and mention us in a photo (you have to do both, unless you already follow us- i'll be looking for mentions as entries, not just new followers). Instagram name = @gatherandhunt. i'd love to see any vintage you find over the weekend!

you can enter up to 4 times a day (Friday, Saturday, Sunday), using one of the methods above. winners be will selected and announced on Monday morning.

good luck and have a great weekend!

it's DIY time! (and the winner is...) {giveaway now closed}

happy Friday morning everyone! i know you're all dying to see what today's giveaway entails, but before we get to that, i wanted to share a special DIY with you.

many of you who visited the booth at Farm Chicks commented on the bunting backdrop i used. it was pretty awesome right? it was similar to the bunting Melissa and I used in the dear darling booth last year, except this year i had a bit of a crazier vision- a whole wall made of it!

since the theme of this year's Farm Chicks Show was 'Find what you love', i knew i wanted to incorporate hearts into the booth design, to play along with the theme. i had a few ideas running through my head (you can see some of my other inspirations on my 'farm chicks booth' Pinterest board), but after asking Melissa if she'd be willing to sew for me (i'm terrible at sewing), i decided on this sewn paper bunting again. 

i have a large stash of vintage dictionaries, most in poor shape, and since i wanted to keep the booth consistent with my black and white branding, dictionary pages seemed like a great choice for the paper. after cutting all the pages out of the binding with a rotary cutter, i ran a few pages at a time through the Sizzix cutter we borrowed from Melissa's mom, using a heart shaped die. once the hearts were cut, i counted out piles that would make a long enough piece of bunting to hang from the top of the booth to the floor. Melissa then sewed one pile in a long row to make one row of bunting. it was super tedious, but at least we did it together (Melissa usually does it by herself when she makes them for party decorations). 

once we had enough vertical rows for the back wall of the booth, we made a few horizontal rows to run along the tops, then i winded them all onto pieces of cardboard to keep them tangle free until Farm Chicks!  

the bunting in the lower left photo is one of Melissa's creations that she occasionally sells- so cute!

i think bunting like this would make a really cute photo backdrop for a wedding or party, don't you?

so, as we promised many of you, today Melissa has re-posted the tutorial she created on her blog, Re.Stock, for making this style of bunting. we hope that you'll want to tackle this project yourself after seeing how simple it is! even if you can't sew (like me), it's a great team project, so enlist the help of someone you know who can sew!

last, but not least, since i know you can't wait to find out who won yesterday's giveaway, the winner of a necklace from Prairie & Pearl and a gather and hunt tote bag is...

Theresa Hanson from Yakima, WA! Congratulations Theresa! Send me a message with your mailing address and your necklace choice (I know you like the locket, but feel free to change your mind), so I can mail your prize to you!

if you haven't won yet- don't lose heart- there will be two prizes to win in today's giveaway, and you'll have all weekend to enter! check back soon for the big giveaway post!

thursday giveaway {giveaway now closed}

can you believe it's already day three of the giveaway-a-day? it's been so fun to give all these great items away, i don't want it to end!

today's giveaway comes from my jewelry line, prairie & pearl.

{message in a bottle: vintage glass watch parts vial with vintage fortune inside on silver tone brass chain}

the thursday giveaway winner will receive their choice of one of the necklace designs you see here, as well as a gather and hunt tote bag.

{pony express: vintage postal key tag with vintage gold tone horse charm on gold tone brass chain}

{pony express: vintage postal key tag with vintage nickel horse charm on silver tone brass chain}

{perfume locket: n.o.s. brass locket on copper tone brass chain with handmade, all natural, solid perfume in citrus spice scent}

{writers block: vintage pen nib on double chain in silver and gun metal tone brass chain}

like yesterday, there are 3 ways to enter, 3 ways to win:

1. leave a comment on this post, telling us which design you would choose.

2. like gather and hunt on facebook, and write on our wall, telling us which design you would choose. (if you already like gather and hunt on facebook, you only have to write on the wall).

3. follow gather and hunt on twitter, and find my tweet about today's giveaway, then re-tweet it (if you already follow us on twitter, just re-tweet).

good luck to you all!

and now- for the big announcement- the winner of wednesday's giveaway is...

Lyndsey from The Stationery Place! I swear this drawing was random, but what a fitting winner!

congratulations Lyndsey! message me your shipping info so i can mail your prize to you!

{giveaway a day is open to all residents of the US and Canada. all winners are chosen at random using RandomPicker.com. all prizes in the June 2012 giveaway a day are supplied by gather and hunt.} 

wednesday giveaway {giveaway now closed}

welcome to day two in our giveaway-a-day series! today's giveaway includes some of my favorite things- vintage office supplies!

this fun package includes vintage:

tie on address labels
department of commerce message sheets
parcel post labels
air mail envelopes
grade school primer paper
paper clips in original box
shorthand pencil (writes on both ends)

as well as a limited edition gather and hunt notebook!

today you have three chances to win:

1. leave a comment on this post- tell us who you'll mail a letter to using your new supplies.

2. like gather and hunt on facebook, then write on our wall why you hope to win today's giveaway (if you already like us on facebook, you can just write on the wall).

3. follow gather and hunt on twitter, find today's tweet about the giveaway, then re-tweet it (if you already follow us, just RT).

you have until 9AM on Thursday, June 7th to enter. good luck!

and now, the moment you've been waiting for- the winner of yesterday's giveaway is...

Jenn from Scout Vintage! congrats Jenn! message me with your shipping information so i can send your tote bag to you!

{giveaway a day is open to all residents of the US and Canada. all winners are chosen at random using RandomPicker.com. all prizes in the June 2012 giveaway a day are supplied by gather and hunt.} 

the big recap and tuesday giveaway! {giveaway now closed}

i can scarcely believe that this year's Farm Chicks Show is already over! when you're working on one project for so long, it's always a strange feeling when it's over. especially when the big event just flies by!

we had such a good time at the show this year. we saw some old friends and made some new ones, met so many wonderful customers, and sent lots and lots of great vintage goods to new homes! the show is always a bit of blur, and this year was even busier than last year, but i did manage to snap a few pics just before opening each day.

i'm so thankful for all the people that made this year's show possible:

my mister, who did most of the heavy lifting, and took the weekend off to help

my booth helpers-
Melissa, who puts up with me, sewed all that bunting, and always makes me laugh
and
my mom, who started this journey, in a way, by taking me to antique shows as a kid

Aaron- Melissa's mister, who watched the little one all weekend so Melissa could help me

my dear friend Katie who helped get stuff ready even though she had to stay home this year

the talented Rebecca, who altered my dress for me

and last but certainly never least,

Serena- whose hard work all year long makes this show such an amazing time!

for those that stopped by to say hello- it was so great to meet you in person and i hope you had a great time at the show! if you purchased something you love from me, please send me photos- i love seeing where things end up and how you use them!

oh, and as we mentioned at the show, the tutorial for making the sewn paper bunting is up today!

finally- as promised on facebook last week- we're doing a giveaway-a-day this week! today's giveaway is one of our new tote bags! each bag is made of sturdy cotton canvas and will make a fantastic reusable shopping bag, purse, or diaper bag.

to enter to win, we're keeping it simple today- just leave a comment below with where you plan to use your tote bag. the winner be drawn at random at 9AM (PDT) tomorrow, so make sure to leave your comment by then. i'll announce today's winner on tomorrow's giveaway post.

good luck!

weekend update (and new arrivals)

happy Memorial Day friends! i thought i'd check in with some of the weekend happenings around here...

90% done with cleaning, tagging, and packing the Farm Chicks Show inventory!

a new hair color. i'm going back to my natural, dark blonde color. it'll be a bit of process, but it's off to a good start.

deciding on shoes for Farm Chicks (via text messages with the bestie)

we went to a 2 year old's birthday party yesterday- so fun. all the little ones there were so cute playing together outside!

i also had an exceptionally good day at the thrift on friday so there are some great new arrivals at the Fremont Vintage Mall space...

fundue anyone?

love love love. almost kept this one it's so good.

these were handed out at Boeing's family day in 1972. they're the material that had to be punched out to put the windows in the plane, turned into souvenir trays. cool!

an Ingrid picnic ball, just in time for Memorial Day picnics!

this microscope projects the image onto the wall as you look at the slides!

what have you been up to? i hope you're enjoying this monday, even if you don't have the day off!

a little something

happy friday friends! i'm about to begin the major sanding and painting projects in order to finish getting the goods ready for the Farm Chicks Show, but i thought i'd leave you with a peek at a project i checked off the list yesterday (thanks to the help of my sweet mama)...

i thought it would be fun to bring a little green to the booth at Farm Chicks this year so my mama (whose thumb is much greener than mine) helped me plant all these fun sedums yesterday. sedums, sometimes called 'step-ons' are super hearty and drought resistant so they're great for folks like me who have a hard time keeping plants alive. i think they look so good in all these different containers, including those vintage wax paper cups (i found an entire case of them, and will be splitting them up so others can find fun ways to use them). all of the containers, plants included, will be for sale at Farm Chicks.

i hope you all have fun plans for the upcoming long weekend! if you're looking for some ideas for your memorial day bbq table, head over to Kristen Pot Pie. Kristen, a fellow Seattle blogger, has a fun idea for repurposing some vintage cheese graters!

apologies (and new arrivals)

good morning! first off, my apologies for skipping a wednesday gratitude post this week. those are one of my favorites to write, but i just didn't have any time yesterday!

i'd love to say i'm one of those really organized bloggers who has a whole arsenal of posts saved up to use in busy times, but i'm not (yet). so, to be honest, i will probably be skipping blogging most days in the coming week and a half. with the Farm Chicks Show a little over a week away, it's crunch time around here and most of my waking hours are filled with prepping all the fun goods i've been saving up over the last year. i'll try to at least post some photos every day and i'll be on instagram, facebook, and twitter- so you can keep up on my progress. hopefully i'll fit a few posts in as well, but no promises.

for today- i have a few new arrivals at the space in the Fremont Vintage Mall to share with you...

thanks for your patience in the coming days! i look forward to getting back on a normal schedule in June and sharing a few posts about Farm Chicks too!

tried and true

today's tried and true is one of my favorite magazine's lately-one that's been around since 1978- Country Living. yep, you read that correctly- Country Living.

now i know that many of you may have something like this in your head when you hear Country Living...

{photo via Joe's Paper Shack}

this is the Country Living i grew up with- dried flowers, wicker furniture, dusty rose, and lacy tablecloths. now, i know all of this was very popular in the 80's and 90's, but it just never seemed that 'cool' to me.

then, about a year ago i picked up an issue of Country Living that caught my eye and i was pleased to find that much of it totally appealed to me. meet today's Country Living...

every issue has great decorating ideas from real homes, tasty recipes, information about gardening and taking care of pets, travel, DIY projects, flea market calendars, and most importantly- lots of collections of vintage items and antiques. not everything in each issue is my style, but i really enjoy poring over the pages, finding inspiration for my own home, and keeping up on what other people might be collecting. 

{photo by Lucas Allen, via Country Living}

{photo by Lucas Allen, via Country Living}

{photo by Tim Street-Porter, via Country Living}

if you haven't checked out Country Living lately, i'd encourage you to pick up an issue or check out their website- i think you'll find something to enjoy in there! 

have a brand or product that's tried and true for you? i'd love to share it here- just leave me a comment or send me a message and we'll set it up!