Monday, October 31, 2011

"Online Thrifting"


So this is what I do when I should be sleeping
(or at the very least, listing items in my shop):
I troll shopgoodwill.com and do some virtual pretend shopping.
Their prices are actually quite reasonable (well, their starting prices I mean,
as they are all auctions).

I love to look for all things vintage on there,
especially vintage paintings. 
Some pretty unique things come up on there
every so often, but I've never bought anything.

Here are some things on there right now
that caught my eye!


I love portraits of children. 
They are so sweet!
This little girl is just adorable.
Her smile and gleam in her eye
reminds me of Addie :)


 This little boy is a cutie, too.
And his hat reminds me of the vintage 
child's cowboy hat that I found recently.
I found more such vintage ones at
the thrift store recently, but I didn't buy them!
Willpower, I tell you.
Pure willpower.


This one is a bit strange, isn't it?
But at the same time, I like its quirkiness.
The locket she wears is so classic.



Love the vintage linen lots on there.



Strawberry Shortcake bedroom set.
I would seriously consider this theme if Addie
had her own room :)


A crocheted afghan that I like, for some reason.


And THIS! I just love this patchwork blanket!
I think this one warrants a bid.

Those are just some of the things I'm liking on there right now!

Sunday, October 30, 2011

★newest finds!★

Hi!
Like a good thrifter, I got my time at the local shops in :)
Here is some of what I found this week:

This is my most favorite recent find--
a vintage Lanz dress.
The color is so pretty in person, a sort of
peachy-pinky-red. 




I love the button details on it, such as at the sleeves...


and a little row at the shoulder.


Super cute.


I also found this dress.
It's sort of Wednesday Addams, but I like it! 


A vintage baby blanket.
I will never tire of cute little baby blankets
with all their homemade details :)



Lastly, these vintage paintings, both of the same woman.



There is no writing on the backs,
and only one is signed.

As always, I have to wonder--
who was the subject, why were they painted,
who held onto this piece for so long?
What was their life like?

I shall never tire of vintage paintings, either :)


Yay, Halloween is almost here!
My daughter is going to be a detective.
This is a picture of us from today.
The local aquarium was having a special Halloween event.
We are standing by a mad scientist laboratory, lol.

Knowing me, I probably won't post again before then--
hope you all have a happy and safe Halloween!

And if you're in the mood for a "spook,"
take a look at my earlier post where I share some e.v.p's 
my husband and I captured.
I'd love to know what you make of them!

Don't forget to visit all the fun thrift finds here!:
Her Library Adventures
Apron Thrift Girl







Saturday, October 29, 2011

☽Spooky post: voices in the dark☾

(source: graphics fairy)

It seems so hard to believe that Halloween is almost here!
I always did love Halloween as a child, but I guess what child doesn't? :)
Where things may be different is that even past childhood, my interest 
in things like ghosts never waned. I was always fascinated by stories
about them, especially so, I think, because of a strange experience
my grandma Rosa had. Hearing about what had occurred, coupled with
the fact that my grandma was a somewhat no-nonsense, traditional, and
religious woman, made me believe that what she'd said was true.
In a way, it made me even more open to that sort of thing.

Although the subject of ghosts always piqued my interest,
it wasn't something I ever made an effort to research or actively look into.
It wasn't until I found out that my friend (now husband) Nate was also curious
about such matters that that changed.

(this and all following photos my own)

Perhaps anyone even mildly interested in the paranormal
(especially with the shows on t.v. these days)
knows what an E.V.P. is.
That's what we decided to try and do.
Fairly simple--a voice recorder, a camera, and walking around a cemetery.
In theory it sounded exciting, but once we got to the cemetery--oh my!
I was really apprehensive. I wasn't afraid of anything happening,
but this particular cemetery sat far back from the entrance gate.
There was a grove of trees in the middle, and most of the headstones were under them.
I remember being literally dragged by Nate into the middle of it, ha ha!
Yet once we were there and I started taking photographs,
that extremely creepy feeling left me.
I became absorbed into looking at the headstones and wondering about
the individuals buried there.


We never caught anything at that particular place.
It wasn't until we made the trek to another little country cemetery
that we actually began to capture voices on our recordings.
It was equally intriguing and freakish to find them.
I had always believed ghosts to be real; but this--this really sealed it.

Now, with Halloween almost here, it's the perfect time to share some of the E.V.P.s we captured :)
I'm not trying to convince anyone about what these are or aren't.
They're simply some things two curious people picked up while wandering
around an old cemetery at night.
They are real, and except for being amplified and removed of background noise, unedited.


We visited this paricular cemetery over many years.
We didn't get something every time we went--in fact, most
of the time we got nothing.
As I mentioned, looking at the headstones and reading
the information on them really made me feel for those buried there.
Two graves in particular caught my attention at this cemetery.
They were side by side, and belonged to what I assume was a brother and sister.
Both had died very young, in their early twenties, and both of their graves
had the terrible word "accident" on them.
Maybe it's just me, but it made me sad to think that their final resting place was associated
with the sad way they'd passed.
Frequently I would go to the female's grave, whose first name was Kathleen,
and talk aloud to her.

In this first recording, I am there with my husband and my nephew Kalyn.
We had just seen something interesting in one of the pictures,
and I ask wether it was "Will" (more about him later) or Kathleen.
A bit after I ask the question, you can hear the word "crying."
You also hear what sounds like my nephew saying "Don't go, I'm cold."
Although the voice sounds similar to his, no one remembers him saying that.
(All the clips are played, repeated/amplified, and then played backward.)
Listen to it HERE.

In the next clip, my husband is talking aloud
when a voice interjects something after him.
(It says "You" after he speaks and before I do)
Listen HERE.

In this one, Nate and I are talking about a photo he just took.
I say something like, "That would be spooky if you didn't conclude--"
What I'm referring to is the fact that the photo would've been odd, had we not known
that it was simply his breath showing up in the cold night air.
There are actually two voices in this one, and they seem to be talking
about our picture-taking.
The first voice sounds like it says "You show up."
The second says, "You show up in the picture."
Listen HERE.

There are lots of things I'm not even getting into concerning this place
and the evp's. captured there, the ones here included.
There was a lot of voice mimicking going on,
things where it would sound really close to one of our voices,
but it wasn't us speaking at the time.

This cemetery was literally out in the middle of nowhere.
There was nothing nearby, and the only noise or activity
we'd witness was the occasional car that would pass by.
How these sounds could have gotten there "rationally," I have no idea.

I'll close by sharing the story of Will.
As your heard, we reference someone named Will in the evp's.
Will was the other "personality" that we would actively "look" for.



We came across his headstone on one of our first few visits there,
and my husband was taking photographs of it.
As he was doing so, Nate cheekily remarked,
"This headstone looks like a phallus."
He snapped another photo, and the next thing I heard out of his mouth was
one of shock and surprise (and also starts with an "s").
He showed me the picture, and it was one of the headstone
with a bright red light just above it.
Without anything being said, I immediately understood
that whoever the headstone belonged to, they were not happy about what he'd said!
Here are the photographs in succession--
one before he made the comment, one right after he said it,
and one a few seconds after.
I have no explanation for that light.
There were no lights out there, and we never caught anything like that again.

And yes, my hubby is a total dork ;)
Leave it to him to possibly insult someone from beyond the grave! ;p




So, what do you think?
Do you have any explanations for those voices?
Have you ever had a "spooky" experience?
I'd love to know!

Oh, and of course--












Saturday, October 22, 2011

➘Newest Treasures↩

Hi fellow vintage lovers!
I've been busy working on my etsy shop, now that my boys are visiting
grandma and grandpa for a few weeks.
Sigh! I miss them!
At the same time, it's nice to be able to list more than one thing a week.
I found some new things this past week, and
I'm beginning to photograph things I already had.
Here's a few of both.

These small figurines are a past buy,
waiting for their chance in the limelight.
Hopefully I can get them listed tonight :)


Some vintage mailing labels.
Even the ink looks cool and "vintage," you know?


With Halloween in the air,
I couldn't resist this cute book from the 60's.


It includes magic tricks kids can do,
like "Electric Cat."
That made me smile.


I found this original art in a thrift shop.
I love the bright yellow sunniness of it.
I LOVE yellow kitchens, too.



The recipe on it is for a dessert featuring
Camembert, dry white wine, "very fine" toast crumbs, and sweet butter. 
"Serve with red wine and French bread..." 


Oh la-la ;)


Continuing the cheerful yellow theme are these
Japanese stoneware mugs.



I've been finding some really fun
kid's things, like these fabrics--


...and these 60's/70's patterns.




I loved this shamrock pin as soon as I saw it!


Although I'm not too sure about why it was preserved.
Any ideas?

I love the scalloping on the side.



I love vintage bags, but I never find any--
or at least, none in good condition.
This one is from the 70's is in excellent shape and looks so 
modern to me. Super cute. 



Now, at all the thrift stores/flea markets/garage sales
I go to, I hardly ever look at clothing or such for myself.
I think this is partly because it takes too long to look through the
clothing racks (I take forever), and partly because I want to avoid the 
whole lack-of-style thing I got going on right now, lol! 
But, due much to the fact that I've been reading some 
great thrift-style blogs lately (Harper's Happenings, Iris Inspired),
I wanted to see what I could find if I actually tried.

The first thing I found is this Jessica Simpson bag,
which looked like it hadn't been used.
I love the style, and the two roomy pockets in front.
This was $3.99.


These Kenneth Cole heels are so kittenish and cute!
I love the color...


The little heels...comfy!...


And the cutouts on the front.
$5.99.


Most of these items are on their way to my shop.
If you have an etsy shop, feel free to leave a link to it in the comments!
I'd love to stop by and take a look!

For more thrifty finds, stop by