freshvintage

Do You Know Your BEST Four Curls?

My collection of crocheted genital-warmers is growing. (You don't hear that sentence very often, do you?!)

You remember my Super Guy gift from Sue and our Allison family heirloom, right? The little orange one is jealous for certain.

Well, if a man can have a Peter Heater, shouldn't a woman have the equivalent? I found one at the Head House Square Flea Market on Doomsday - May 21, 2011. If this find isn't a sign of the Apocalypse, I don't know what is.

Here's the box it came in:

 But wait! I didn't get just one. I bought two from the same vendor, Lo and Behold Antiques.

Here are Mi Lady's matching beauties. One is a tad dirtier than the other, but I am really trying not to think about it too much or else I'll vomit a little in my mouth.

And don't you love how the colors match the "Super Guy" in the first photo above? They were meant for each other.

The button in the middle actually opens to reveal a hole.

The "instructions" that are printed on the box lid are completely inappropriate and insensitive. But, at the very least, they give us an idea of when these were made.

My favorite line is: "attach at each corner with BEST four curls". Oh, so that's how it's supposed to be attached! Silly me, I was picturing the careful placement of barrettes and bobby pins and maybe a little hot glue.

Now....the big question: What shall we call the female version of the Willie Warmer? I came up with a few names (with some help of my sisters and husband):

• Woo-Woo Warmer
• Carpet Carpet
• Mi Lady's Muff Mitten
• Beaver Heater
• Welcome Mat for Penises

What's your favorite name? Can you think of any others? Are you totally repulsed by this blog post? Did you just unsubscribe and remove me from your favorites?

My attempt to squeeze some antiquing into our family trip

Here's some of the lovely junk that I picked up during my vacation in April. My in-laws met us in Savannah, and we all drove back to Pennsylvania in our minivan: four adults, two kids and lots of luggage. This did not stop us from filling any available space in the van on the way home from Georgia. The cubbies and the green cart (pictured below) were not purchased on the road trip. Those were found a few days later while we were antiquing at some local shops. But I was still on vacation, so I am counting those in my pile of "vacation finds". And I didn't even take pictures of the stuff that my antique-dealing in-laws bought. They had to ship a few boxes back to Yakima!

I love this metal No Parking sign - it was hung along the streets of D.C. during Johnson's Inauguration. My dad was involved in politics long ago, so I am always attracted to stuff like this. I found this at Keepsake Corner in Selma, NC. (Hi, Amy!)

At the same shop, I found a pair of Peters' red children's skis and poles from their Juvenile Ski Line. Skis are always a huge seller in the winter. My grandfather, dad, brother and nephew are named Peter. And I have a Peter Heater.

Would you like to touch my Pet Coolie...

sign? I said, "my Pet Coolie sign", you pervert.

Coolie fruit drinks were made by Pet Diary, and came in little cartons that were served in school cafeterias. We didn't have Pet Diary in NJ growing up. Did you ever drink a Coolie? Chris bought this enamel sign at Reid's Country Sampler in Selma, NC.

Cubbies! I have no idea what they were used for, but I think there used to be a door on the front.

This Golden Seal blanket still has its original $1.95 price tag. The colors are right up my alley.

My father-in-law, Jim, told me that this green cart was used on the Railway Express Agency.

 I immediately pictured some poor soul dragging it along railroad tracks across a barren stretch of land, a la O Brother Where Art Thou. But, of course, I was wrong. Railway Express Agency was the train version of FedEx. This cart was used to move freight & packages to the trains for delivery. It was not actually used on the tracks, dummy.

There's been a lot of hub-bub lately about finding vintage dressforms. Well, I found one, too! Meet Sally Stitch. I adopted her from the enormous Blue Crow Antique Mall along the Eastern Shore of Virginia. Sally sat snugly between the kids in the back row of our minivan during the last 5 hours of the trip home. They hate her.

I found this mantel shelf at Blue Crow, too. My father-in-law kept telling me not to buy it because "they are a dime a dozen". Maybe in Yakima, Jim, but not in PA! That long white thing beneath it is a painted safe deposit box with a key.

How about this porcelain shower head!? Have you ever seen one before? It looks like a giant cabinet knob with tiny holes. The milk glass jars came straight from Mary Kay Andrew's booth at Seaside Sisters. I'm trying to decide if I should keep them or sell. I love the blue lids and art deco style.

I love this basketball chalkboard by Korney Board Aids (I know - weird name). I found this in Selma, NC at His n' Hers Antiques.

I grew up with a dad who was obsessed with basketball. We went to Sixers games and we watched college basketball, especially the Big Five teams from Philly. My Dad still has the Villanova NCAA Championship game from 1985 that he videotaped while we were on vacation in Florida. We just wanted to go to the pool and meet boys, but he insisted that we watch this local team upset Georgetown.

My sister, Erin, and I played basketball in grade school and in high school. But, guess what? We went to different high schools, so we played against each other. It was a big family occasion when our teams duked it out. In one of our first games, Erin drove up for a shot. I immediately put my hands in front of her eyes and screamed into her face. She was way taller than me, so it was the only thing I could do to prevent her from scoring. And I didn't touch her, so it wasn't a foul. She missed the shot, and was furious. She got all pissy, and her coach took her out of the game. Woo-woo!! I loved watching her face turn the same color as her red hair. She one-upped me when she went on to play in college and was really good and won championships and whatnot.

But, sometimes when we are at yard sales together and we both see something good at the same time, I cover her eyes and yell into her face. Aw yeah...I still got it!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here's a list of the stores that we enjoyed on our trip. There were a few others that we visited, but they might have been too expensive for us, or just weren't our style.  And believe me, I wish there were many, many more on this list. But, as my husband had to constantly remind me, this was a family trip, not an antique-buying trip. Buzzkill.

Georgia

• Seaside Sisters, Tybee Island
• Wright Square Antique Mall, Savannah
• Paris Market & Brocante, Savannah (the only thing I bought was the metal number 4 in the top photo, but I LOVED this place.)

Selma, North Carolina (all within two blocks)

• His n' Hers Antiques
• Reid's Country Sampler
• Keepsake Corner

Virginia's Eastern Shore

• Antique Addicts, Exmore
• Blue Crow Antique Mall, Keller

Accepting Credit Cards On-the-Go with the Square App

I mentioned a few days ago that we would be selling at Clover Market on June 5th. At the last market in April, we had a few customers ask if they could pay with credit cards. Sadly, the answer was "no". But we are getting our asses in gear for the June show, and we will finally be accepting credit cards!

I thought I'd let you know about the service that we will be using, in case you are a dealer who sells at one of those fabulous vintage markets like The Farm Chicks or 2nd Saturdayz or Luckett's Spring Market or Summer Retreat.

It is called Square, and you can sign up free on their website. They send you a free swiper that you plug into the headphone jack of your iPhone, iPad or Android phone. I received a FedEx package in the mail three days after signing up:

 

Square only charges 2.75% per swipe, with no monthly fees. (Don't worry - customers don't have to pay anything extra, and their credit card data is completely secure - sellers don't even have access to it.) You get your money deposited directly into your bank account the next day.

After I received the swiper, I installed the free Square app onto my iPad, and plugged in the swiper (which is officially called a "dongle", my most favorite computer-related word ever):

I tested it out by charging one dollar to my credit card. It took a few swipes for it to work (my own fault), but then it went through just fine. I even had to sign my name on the screen - just like when you get a FedEx or UPS package.

The cool thing is that the customer can enter their email address or phone number to receive a receipt electronically. No printing required! 

If you are a seller who accepts credit cards, how do you do it when you are on the road? Have you ever tried Square? I would love to hear your feedback.

P.S. Although this seems like a commercial for Square, I have not been compensated. It just seems like a totally rad service that I thought some of you would like.

Fabulous Memories of Florida

Chris and I went to an estate sale last week. He spotted these tablecloths first, and then beckoned me into a room that was filled with Florida souvenirs and flamingos. There must have been at least fifty Florida state plates, along with trays, salt and pepper shakers, signs, glasses, flamingo-shaped cheese spreaders and more. Most of the stuff was not vintage. These were the best of the bunch, and I can't believe they were still at the sale when we got there.

Six 1950's souvenir Florida tablecloths. All in relatively good condition (one has light stains, and one is half-faded).

I bought two of these, one square and one rectangular:

This pink and aqua one is my absolute favorite:

So, what makes this stash of Florida tablecloths so special to me? Especially today?

Chris and I were married in Key West, Florida TEN years ago today! 

We picked Key West because we knew that half of our guests were going to have to fly somewhere (since I am from NJ and Chris is from Washington). Neither of us had ever been to Key West before we chose it, but we knew that it was a fun place.

About six months before the wedding, I took trip there with my mom and sister, Heather. That's when we picked out the venues for the ceremony and reception and got to taste all of the yummy food. We kept the wedding party simple. Chris asked his childhood friend, Mark, to be his best man. My sister Erin was my matron of honor, and I told her to wear whatever she wanted. No bridesmaids or groomsmen. Tons of drama averted.

I thought I'd show you some photos, and let you know the Top Ten absolute favorite parts of our wedding experience:

1. The sixty fabulous people who flew from all over the country (including Hawaii!) to attend our wedding. What is the best part of having a destination wedding? Only fun people come to your wedding.

2. The roosters that were casually walking around our ceremony. Instead of "I do", all you could hear was "I cock-a-doodle-do".

3. The Junkanoo band that led our guests from the ceremony at the Audubon House to the reception across the street at the Westin (which was a Hilton when we were there).

4. Our outdoor sunset reception, where the photographer made us take corny photos like this one of us kissing each other through the setting sun.

5. My bright orange and yellow and red flowers.

6. Our big brown wedding cake. We love chocolate and it was our wedding, dammit! White cakes are for wussies.

7. Going out to the bars after the wedding. At Irish Kevin's, the owner/entertainer Kevin recognized me from a few nights earlier during my mini-bachelorette party. He invited us on stage and bought Chris an Irish car bomb (a pint of Guinness with a shot of whiskey dropped into it). I still can't believe he chugged it so fast. Yes, I was still wearing my veil.

8. Honeymooning in Jamaica. We had spent five days in Key West, so we planned a "real" honeymoon without our families in tow. This was the view outside our window: a private island owned by the resort. You had to be nude (or at least topless) to go there. We did not go.

9. My wedding gift for Chris? Binoculars.

10. My husband, who puts up with my nonsense. I love you even though you were trying to look at nude women on our honeymoon. Here's to ten more years! (And maybe some more after that.)

The East Coast Farm Chicks Alternative: Clover Market on June 5th

I know that some of you vintage-lovin' Pacific-Northwesterners will be visiting that tiny show called The Farm Chicks on June 5th.

On that weekend each year, all of us jealous Mid-Atlantic antiquers just sit at our computers and read everyone's Farm Chicks recaps. And wish we had somewhere equally fabulous to shop.

Stop sulking and join freshvintage at the Clover Market on Sunday, June 5th!

We weren't originally planning to set up shop there in June, since Erin already had plans that day. But, at the last minute, my husband Chris and I decided to get a babysitter for the day and book a spot in June. Luckily, we grabbed the last space available. Lisa from Brandywine View Antiques will be there, and so will the mother/daughter duo of Gloria and Ali from The Cottage Home in West Chester, PA.

We are going to have a Summer Road Trip theme this time, with lots of sunny vintage finds for you!

And, we will be accepting credit cards, through a new-to-us service called Square. I will tell you more about that in a couple of days.

The Clover Market runs from 10am to 4pm, rain or shine (unless there are horrible, mean storms that day). It is located in Ardmore, PA.  This is the last one until September, so don't miss it! I wrote a little about it when we sold there in April. And you can visit the website for more info, too.

Doors, Doll Chests and an X-Rated Chalkboard

These were my finds from two weekends ago. It was a whirlwind trip to two township-wide yard sales and one barn sale. I had the kids with me, which meant less room for furniture purchases, and a greater need for random crappy toy bribes to keep them occupied. But the upside is that they always provide some comic relief.

I paid $56 for everything in this photo (not the black bench on the right - that's all mine!). I bought the chippy blue door at a barn sale, which happened to be the same place where I bought that black bench last year.

I love this green McCoy Windowpane bowl. It has a hairline crack in the side and it was only five bucks. I might keep it for myself.

I still can't figure out this tole painted wreath with a metal bow and leaves. It looks old, and is a little chipped, but I don't know its origin. The flowers seem to be sculpted of clay, but the rest of it is metal. Has anyone seen this before? I gave it to my mom for Mother's Day because it matches her decor. Oh - that's right, I already said that all of these things cost me a total of $56 dollars. Just so you know, Mom - this cost me $55. Everything else in these pictures cost a dime each.

These two charts are from the Pennsylvania Game Commission, circa 1965: Birds of Prey and Marsh and Water Birds.

That brown lamp is a Dazor Floating Fixture, and it super heavy. I bought it for two bucks, because it needs re-wiring.

Yeah, I realize now that the door is upside down in this photo.

This light blue wooden box has a paper-covered insert. When Lisa from Brandywine View Antiques saw it, she said it was a doll chest. And it would be worth over $100 if someone didn't paint it light blue.

What do you think was the first thing that my 8-year-old, Finn, noticed when he looked at this chalkboard?

"Ass Toys", of course. Which is really Cass Toys. I can't wait to see the Google Search traffic from that phrase.

I've sold a few of these letter holders in the past. This is a neat-o way to organize papers and magazines.

I had all of my stuff on the front porch when I took the photos that I just showed you.

I am planning to leave the blue door right there, to distract and confuse the Jehovah's Witnesses who visit us every few months. I am hoping that they will knock on the blue door, and no one will answer. And they will take their pamphlets and leave. The odd thing is that they don't knock on any of our neighbors' doors. It's like they have our names on a special list that has the phrase "MUST BE SAVED" rubber-stamped across the top.

Dear Whomever Bought the Cement Blessed Mary Statue: Please return ASAP! We need to put her on our porch so that people think we are saved. Thank you.

Restoration Hardware Baby & Child: Pint-Sized Industrial Chic

Can something be industrial and unbearably cute? Have you seen this playroom in the new Restoration Hardware Baby & Child catalog?

   Photo Credit: Restoration Hardware Baby & Child Website

The catalog and website are packed with other ridiculously adorable nurseries, bedrooms and playrooms. For rich people. The prices are similar to Pottery Barn Kids, but the style is definitely more cutting edge.

I added up the cost of everything in the room, and the total is $5,824. That's only about $5,800 more than I spent when I spruced up my kids' playroom.

As soon as I saw this room, it reminded me of a customer at Clover Market who is creating an industrial-style bedroom for her young son. She bought our stack of industrial bins to hold his toys, and a canvas U.S. Mail bag, which was going to be made into a floor pillow. I would love to see the after photos of that room. (If you are reading my blog, please send them to me!)

I mean, I love everything in this catalog, but isn't it so much more fun to dig through a flea market to find the REAL thing, than to pay thousands of dollars for the reproductions? Or just make it yourself?

Take that play table, for example. Gina's husband recently covered their dining room table top with zinc. Just chop 12 inches off of the legs, and you have the perfect kiddie-sized table.

And no one should have to pay $229 for a pinboard. That's just crazy talk. For one that large, just get some cheap molding, a miter box and some cork panels that you cover in cute fabric. Voila! (Or, for a smaller board, follow my tutorial.)

I know that cubbies & metal bins can be tough to find, but if you scour enough flea markets and yard sales, they are there. And I've certainly never paid $799 for cubbies that size. More like $35 at a flea market.

I'm preaching to the choir. So I will shut up now. 

Have you seen the Restoration Hardware catalog or looked at the website? What do you think?

Updated: My sister, Erin, just found the same chairs at a yard sale! Check them out on the freshvintage Facebook page.

My New Summer Cocktail: Absolut Wild Tea Vodka + Anything

First there was the Lime Skyy Light. And then Sweet Tea Vodka and Lemonade (widely known as a John Daly).

Now, I give to you: Absolut Wild Tea Vodka, Sprite Zero and a splash of lime juice.

Or lemonade. Or cranberry juice, if you like pink drinks. Or skip the Sprite and add iced tea or water. Really, I think you could wring out a dirty dish towel into a glass, add a shot of Wild Tea Vodka, and it would be delish. It has a sweet, subtle taste combination of black tea and elderflower. And Palmolive, if you decide to add the dishwater.

Here are a few more recipes using Absolut Wild Tea Vodka. For the record, I didn't invent this recipe. I had a sample at The Plough and the Stars in Philly last month with my friends Vicky & Teresa. Vicky has been pouring it into her Cheerios every morning since then.

Have you tried it? What are you mixing it with?

Amish Yard Salers, Vintage Metal Lawn Chairs and Q*Bert

I love you, Lancaster County! Even though I have to dodge buggies and roadside horse shit and little children on scooters when I drive through your lovely countryside.

I left the house at 6am this morning to get to a barn sale when it opened at 7am. That's where I bought that white double washtub with lid (always a great seller at the shop). And then I drove around, following signs for other barn sales and town-wide yard sales. I ended up just following the horse and buggies, because THE AMISH LOVE YARD SALES. Did you know that? It is true. Lucky for me, they aren't buying vintage - they are buying kids stuff. In the town-wide yard sale that I went to this morning, there were tons of Amish people wheeling around HUGE wagons filled with pack-n-plays and strollers and clothes. Another strange sight: An Amish woman pulled up to a yard sale on her bicycle, with her baby in the front bike basket. Probably six months old. Not strapped in or anything. No teeny tiny baby bike helmet. I'm not sure if that mom had all her marbles.

This Apple Trail sign was only five bucks. We will be hanging this in our house, to honor Chris' apple-lovin' hometown of Yakima, WA. The previous owner said it was local, probably from a pick-your-own fruit farm.

The set of four metal lawn chairs was $45. INSANE! I have such a hard time finding these chairs anymore. Two are rocking chairs and two are bouncy chairs, and they are all in great condition. The person selling the chairs said that he was originally going to consign them at "some store in Chadds Ford", but changed his mind and decided to sell them at his barn sale.  It turns out that the store was Brandywine View Antiques, where I have a space and will probably sell these chairs. If I believed in that "fate" crap, I would say that those chairs were meant to be at the shop. But I don't.

For $1.50, I bought an enormous bag filled with sewing trim, rick-rack, ribbon (including this wide black grosgrain ribbon that is carefully lined with paper), the Amish tin...

...and three ceramic bells from Poinsettia Studios in California. They are from the 1940s, and are only worth a few dollars each. But they were a nice surprise at the bottom of the bag.

Not only did I get all of those vintage goodies, I was able to score a box of Legos for $3. They went straight to Finn, instead of eBay (these aren't worth as much as the others I have so cruelly stripped from his tiny hands).

And just when you think it can't possibly get any better, I found an Atari 2600 system with five games (including my fave, Q*Bert) in the original box. Five bucks. They usually sell on eBay for at least $40, depending on how many games are included.

It was thirty years ago almost to the day that Atari first entered my life. I know the date because my Mom's birthday is May 3rd. And she was the one who received the Atari - it was a birthday gift from my dad (or it could have been a Mother's Day gift - we can't remember). She didn't want a damn Atari. She probably wanted jewelry or flowers or a night out. What the hell was he thinking? Maybe my dad confused her with an eleven-year old boy?

I am contemplating wrapping up this Atari in some fancy paper and giving it to her tomorrow for Mother's Day. For old time's sake.

Our Breeze Inn Vacation in Tybee Island

We spent six nights at The Breeze Inn in Tybee Island, Georgia, and every day I would find something new that I hadn't seen the previous day. I didn't want to leave!

I originally learned about the house from the Better Homes and Gardens article last summer. In many of the articles in home decor magazines, the featured homes are carefully staged and lots of outside props are brought in to improve the story & photos. I was a little concerned that the Breeze Inn was slightly over-hyped in the article. Boy, was I wrong! The home is exactly as it appears in BHG.

You can find photos of The Breeze Inn on BHG and on the home's own website. Instead of repeating those fabulous photos, I wanted to show some of the thoughtful details in the house, along with photos of the stuff that I wanted to steal. You can poke around in Mary Kay's blog archives to read about the full renovation of the house, starting with her initial purchase of the home.

Instead of using store-bought hollow doors and cheap-o knobs, Mary Kay scored some antique doors and an array of doorknobs for the house. I didn't realize that the doors weren't original until I re-read her blog archives.

Here's the drying rack hanging above the huge farmhouse sink. I will certainly be on the look out for one of these - I never find them in this smaller size.

This aqua cement sea horse is to die for. I need to ask Mary Kay if she painted it herself, or if it came in this color.

The upstairs hall bathroom has a window and shower curtains made from yards and yards of barkcloth with a pattern of flowers and dancing folks. (I cropped out the toilet in this photo, because I don't want to remind you that you need to go to the bathroom. Because then you might get up from the computer and forget to come back and read the rest of my post.)

This was on my top of my "Must Steal" list:

These boat paintings caught my eye, because I realize that I never would look twice at one of these if I saw it at a flea market by itself. But they looked so cute with the beachy decor of The Breeze Inn, particularly because they were grouped together.

Here's a pair of bird prints. There's another matching pair on the other end of this wall.

And a colorful painting featuring seashells in one of the bedrooms:

That green metal sconce, and its twin on the other side of the bed, would have fit perfectly in my suitcase. Mary Kay has bedside wall sconces in all three bedrooms, which is something I've never tried in my house. I am always worried about attaching something to the wall (hardwired or not). What if I eventually move my bedroom furniture around, and then I would have two holes in the wall? But, how often do you move your bed? Not often, dummy, so just try it.  (Sorry - that's how I talk to myself.)

Chrome lamps in the master bedroom:

Brass bedside lamps in the kids' room:

Did you catch the walls in those last few photos? No drywall to be found! All of the walls in the house are either white-washed horizontal boards, or vertical beadboard. The walls add that special touch to the house that makes it extra cozy and warm.

The back porch was a fun place to hang out after coming home from the beach. Here are three generations of Allison men having a laugh:  (there's that green glider that I threatened to bungee-cord to the top of our minivan.)

These bookshelves fill up a whole wall in the family room. Can you spy the three vintage globes? It was a good thing that I already had them in my own collection, or else I would have been tempted to commit a crime.

My mother-in-law had never read any of Mary Kay's books, but she grabbed Blue Christmas from the HUGE assortment of novels, cooking and home decor books and started reading it. Now she is planning to buy it, because she didn't get a chance to finish it while we were there. That's quite a sneaky sales ploy, Mary Kay! I recommend that my MIL just steal the book, but I guess she has morals and ethics and stuff like that.

Here's Finn at the bottom of the stairs. I don't know what Mary Kay calls this room, but it has a stacked washer/dryer in the corner, all of the sun hats and beach bags, a beautifully-painted turquoise daybed and access to the back porch. The stairway walls are covered in old photos of sunbathers. And look at that vintage hanging light!

 

I love that Mary Kay left the original plank ceiling in the master bath unpainted. (Be sure to look at the BHG photos of the sink and built-in shelves, too.)

This mirror in the master bedroom dressing area is just stunning. STUNNING. It is about 3' high by 4' wide, and the frame was bordered with one-inch square mirrored tiles.

I bet some of you think that I stayed at The Breeze Inn in exchange for this gushing post about the house. Well, of course! I mean, really, why on earth should I have to pay for anything? Country Living pays for my groceries. American Pickers pays my mortgage. And Antiques Roadshow sponsors my weekly cases of Cupcake Chardonnay.

Alas, I made an exception in this case, and we did pay for our stay. It was worth every penny. We were only a five minute walk to the beach, where the kids spent a few hours each day.

Savannah was about 25 minutes away, and we visited there nearly every day. We ate at The Distillery & Uncle Bubba's, took a trolley tour, ate pralines, did a scavenger hunt among the city squares, visited a national park, and shopped at The Paris Market & Brocante. I could go on and on about Tybee and Savannah, but I will spare you. Book a trip there now! That reminds me, I need to get the Georgia Tourism Board to sponsor me for something. Oh - maybe a trip to Scott's Flea Market in Atlanta?

"Okay, kids. Smile nice and pretty next to the tombstones!"

 UPDATE! Here's what we bought on the drive home.