Oh my goodness!!

I just got back from Atlantic City and while I was there I think I experienced the closest thing to a vintage induced orgasm I'm ever going to!

I'll post pictures tomorrow because right now I'm off to bed before my mister falls asleep so I can continue my climactic conquests;P

Yesterday afternoon I received a Tupperware bin full of lingerie, I've been overwhelmed by dusty knickers in the last week. I'm still working my way through the last batch, thankfully the new stuff is actually mint condition and doesn't require any work on my part other than sort it and maybe a I light press. I don't usually deal in a lot of the nylon peignoir sets, but I know there is a market and maybe I'll list those on Ebay just to move them. I really don't like selling on Ebay, but when it comes to the consignment stuff and things I really don't care to have in the store(usually the hard to store stuff like fur) I use it.

Last night I went to the Goodwill and had a pretty good haul, found great stuff for the little ones. Target bequeathed the store a bunch of closeout Baby Legs leg warmers new in the package for $2 a pop so I bought them out, it's one of those things I love but can't bring myself to pay $10-$12 a pair for. They also had other items for Target like Dwell nursery items, but I didn't really care for the patterns. Also found a Baby Einstein Caterpillar Rocker for $4, it's one of those ugly toys in my opinion that I usually abstain from buying, but I've been wanting to get the twins a rocker type toy and this is the closest I think I'm going to find one this cheap, in practically new condition and used. I also found a brand new "Young Thinkers" Mozart doll for $2(I have the Ghandi finger puppet) and this really adorable green knit wooden toggled sweater. Of course I found stuff for the store, an organic cotton dress/top for me and a vintage hot pink baby doll nightie(more lingerie!!) to sell. Believe it or not I did find 3 vintage dresses but I put them back because I really just want to get more things listed in Etsy before I buy more dresses. I grabbed the nightie because it was only $2 and I always buy something to sell to offset the expense for the things I keep and to write off the excursion as a business expense.

Note: Baby was not part of purchases, I actually made him from scratch:)

Have a heart colors bleed too

I am working to buy a huge pile of vintage lingerie, the problem is color transferred from a hot pink 40s dressing robe to pretty much all the champagney and white nightgowns, it was stored in a suitcase in a shed so safe bet moisture got into it, a real shame what happens to a lot of this stuff.

Now most buyers wouldn't even bother with this mess, but I personally feel that it's about preservation more than resale and if I can save these items from a dumpster then it's very satisfying and rewarding for me. Now most people will take stained gowns and dye them, which is something I'm willing to do if all else fails, but being a purist I like to try to bring them back to their original condition first before resorting to that.

Now RIT does sell a color extractor for when that pesky red sock finds it's way into the whites that might work on my white gowns, but I don't think I want to try it on the champagne and pink colored items.

What do you do when colors bleed in your laundry?

Yesterday was a busy day, I think I was possessed by the matriarchs (or at least servants) that lived in the house before me as well as all the Greek yayas that I'm descended from on my dad's side as well, as their domestic divinity took hold.

I found an unused pack of cranberries and decided to use them up and make scones, now a recipe that takes usually 15 min. to whip up and get in the oven, if I'm trying it for the first time, it turns into an hour because I can never stick to a recipe and the first batch is always practice. In the end, I still didn't like the end result, next time I'll cook the cranberries down slight in honey or sugar before I put them in, but still the hunt for a the perfect base recipe for scones
continues....


Jack and Annabel helped make the scones:)

I also had some draperies for the babies room that proved to be too white when hung along with the white cribs so a tea bath it was for them, but could you believe all I had was herbal, and herbal doesn't seem work as well, I used Twinings African Rooibos red tea, thinking that might be cool, we'll see I'm still waiting for them to come out of the washer. I think I might have to go out and buy regular tea anyway just to have it on hand (Red Rose Wade figure YES!!)

I also took a bunch of photos for Etsy and still only managed to get only one good listing out of them because no matter what I do I can't get my shutter speed and the lighting in the room to agree, it doesn't help that it's natural lighting which shifts constantly. I'm just going to have to figure out the lighting and find fake natural lighting so I can take pictures any time of the day.

Below is the pretty pink dress that was listed last night, hopefully I can get more listings done today while the shop is open.

Windows are the eyes to the souls of houses or (shoe stores)

The weekend was very hectic, went to a bunch of antique stores hunting for items for my shop as well as trying to figure out what to do with my window displays once the Valentine's thing has run it's course.

I've only been open Since November of '08, so it was a given it would be a Christmas themed window first time out. From there I moved straight into Valentine's, pretty early for it being only the beginning of January, but my brain was fried from all the fetes! And Valentine's was another no brainer, buying time so my brain can warm up to the idea of window display creativity. I use to be a creative person and then I had the twins rather recently and I think they stole my brain, would explain why I feel like the living dead daily, why sometimes I find myself staring blankly at the computer monitor wondering why I sat down in front of it in the first place or when people talk to me I just nod my head, "Uh-Huh" and then a second later I counter with , "wait a minute, what?"

Anyway, Mardi Gras is coming up, but instead of doing an obvious purple, green and yellow mask/bead thing, I thought I would go black and white, masquerade thing. OR just forgo Mardi Gras and do something with kites and umbrellas or maybe suitcases. I just know it has to be quick and easy to execute because it will only be up two weeks and then onto doing a Salvador Dali-esque window for Daylight Savings:)


Here are some photos of my Christmas windows, I was going for "unwrapped presents" theme, the red "dress" is actually made of ribbon, garland and a crinoline, sorry about the poor image quality.

Whatever happened to Bambi?

Why he's a seller on Etsy of course....


....I generally think taxidermy in general to sell clothing is kind of icky, I get grossed out even more so when baby animals are used and show obvious signs of decay(or having been chewed on?) I think it's a bad idea or maybe it's just me.

Snow Blows

I do like the snow, I like how it makes the whole town conform to one aesthetic, how even the most beat up of cars magically blends in with the Mercedes parked next to it, and a transitional neighborhood has magically transitioned overnight into a pristine winter village of now obviously beautiful homes. I do believe snow helps sell real estate.

Can you spot the meth lab?

Snow though becomes a pain in my butt when I have pictures to take, I rely heavily on natural light, otherwise no work gets done. Now I know there has to be a better limitless way to take photos without actually having to rely on mother nature for a sunny day but I haven't figured it out yet(I just barely know how to work the digital camera). Snow is also a pain because I do not open the store when it snows, because wet people and sidewalk salt is not good for the vintage, not to mention the silk. So not only can I not get photos taken for the website, I can't open the shop either, so I am doubley screwed and my poverty is prolonged, no shopping for me or road trip to NYC for the Mahattan Vintage Clothing Show this weekend, dag nabbit!

The weeks not over yet, I'm still holding out for a miracle.