Let's Go Antiquing, Girls!

I've been away from the blog a lot longer than I'd like. Things have been hectic around here with my son starting 2nd grade and getting ready for a short trip to Southern California to visit family and enjoy a NASCAR race. I know the words enjoy and NASCAR in the same sentence may seem like crazy-talk to some of you, but I have to admit it - I love NASCAR and I love going to races. In fact, I really didn't understand the whole NASCAR thing until I went to a race. I'm not really sure how it happened other than my husband was somewhat of a fan and wanted to take my son to a race up here in Northern California...I decided I'd go just to not feel left out, and I've been hooked ever since. You know what I'm talking about NASCAR fans...Am I right or what? I know - I know...But if you read my Mustang post, you'd know what a car nut I am to begin with.

Anyway, I'm sure none of you logged on to read about that...But I did want you all to know that I've been trying to get some vintage items up in our online store and our eBay store. Here's some of the latest...I have a ton more vintage items to sell, but like I mentioned above, I've been a little busy!

It's a Pyrex-sta's Paradise

I just love this cookie canister with the adorable little decal and red handle!

We also have a couple vintage sheer half aprons that are in near perfect condition and priced to sell! I think they're just perfect as the end of summer gets closer and more time will be spent indoors.

All these items and more can be found on our 'Flea Market' page.

For the readers of my blog, I'd love hear what kind of items you love to collect!

Well, I'll be off for now. I've got to go pack my Nascar t-shirts, hats, and shorts...I also have to go remind my husband to pack our folding chairs, car flags, and backpacks that have all our favorite drivers' numbers on them....You think I kid!

I just love this old picture of my grandma back in the early 50's, so I thought I'd share it. Behind her is a great old ad too. Unfortunately it's a bit hard to see with this scan.

I recently made her a scrapbook with this picture in it, along with many others of our family, including a great pic from the mid 30's where she and all her sisters and friends are together down at the local swimming hole. It was a hit with her, and it was finally something I could give her that she didn't feel compelled to give back somehow later on! While looking through the scrapbook, she begins to reminisce about the old days; she loves to tell me stories about her younger years no matter how many times I've heard them, of course. One of her favorites is from when she was 18 or so and some girl decided to confront her in the bathroom (where exactly I'm not sure) and talk a bit of sh**. So my grandma, being the feisty Sicilian that she is, took this gal's face and "smooshed it into the wall" and my grandma demonstrates by holding up her hand like she's palming a ball , twisting her wrist as if she were juicing a lemon. It gets a laugh out of me every time, which is probably why she always retells that one over and over. All I can think of is that I wished I'd had the nerve to do that to a couple girls back in my teenage years! And she's only 5' tall while I'm 5'9"!

Summer is almost over, but I figured what the heck - this bag is so cute and you might want something to remind you of the beach when it's raining and yucky outside a few months from now!

I found this vintage (1960's?) bag at our local Antique Market here in Sacramento that's held every second Sunday of the month. It's actually roomy enough (18" x 16") to use for antiquing if you like to buy smaller/lighter items but truly, if I were to keep it, I'd probably just use it as a fun focal piece in a beachy/Hawaiian room. (I have been holding on to it for some time now but finally decided I would sell it.)

It's in great condition. Just go to our Flea Market page on our site to find out more info and/or to purchase!

My first love of something vintage happened at the tender age of fifteen. I was a girl who was dying to get her drivers license and dreaming of having her own car. I couldn’t wait to drive. I used to dream (literally) of driving a manual transmission because I wanted to learn to drive a stick-shift car so badly and none of our family’s cars had one. As a young kid, I would go on the bumper cars at amusement parks over and over because it was the closest thing I could get to driving. Once I got my learners permit, my mom was lucky if she got to drive at all when I was around!

So when I became aware of classic cars, and in particular, classic Mustangs, I was an obsessed teenager…As if you didn’t already gather that from the first paragraph! I guess it could have been worse…I could have been hooked on drugs or something as equally unsavory. No, I dreamed and dreamed of driving a 1966 cherry red Mustang. As far as I’m concerned, that was Mustang’s best year for body style.

Finally, at the age of seventeen, my parents agreed to buy me a car after maintaining good grades in high school – talk about motivation! After a year and half of dreaming of that cherry red Mustang there was no convincing me that any other car in the world could possibly do. Well, maybe I would have been cool with a 1958 Corvette or some other incredible car, but then who wouldn’t if they could afford it.

When I think back to the day my parents took me to go look at a car, I feel a bit embarrassed remembering what a baby (some may say spoiled brat) I was being by all the sulking I did when my dad tried to take me to get a new Toyota Tercel. What ever happened to that car anyway? As the sales guy showed us around the lot (who I’m sure was acutely aware that he was not going to be making a sale to us that day), I pouted and stomped around until we finally left the lot to go look at the cherry red Mustang with a 289/V-8 that was for sale in the valley; a good 50 miles from our home. I know I should have been grateful to have parents that would or could buy me a car at all, but come on, a Toyota Tercel from the 80's?! Now, I’m not dogging Toyotas…I love my Toyota truck, but there’s no way a teenage girl with a Mustang obsession for a good two years (an eternity at that age) was going to settle for a Tercel; a car whose quickness (if you can even use that word in the same sentence) is highly impacted by one extra passenger. No, I wanted a car with a history. A car that would allow me to piss off the neighbors with a good peel out! Never mind that the car I wanted had a constant gas smell that no one could figure out where it was coming from. Never mind that it didn’t have power brakes or that it only had lap belts and the steering column had so much play that you could rock the wheel back and forth and still go straight. After reading that back now, it sounds like a regular death trap.

So after a day of looking at little tin cars (sorry Toyota), traveling all over Southern California, and a lot of sulking from me, my dad finally gave in and agreed to buy me the 1966 cherry red Mustang with a 289/V-8 engine for $3200.00. I was over the moon! Finally, after all that time, my love and I were together at last. And even though it wasn’t in perfect condition, it never failed to turn heads and get complements from folks who obviously appreciated a classic car. There’s just something magical about that car.

Twenty years later, I still have it and while it rarely gets driven anymore (the constant wonder of whether or not the car would get me where I needed to go once I started college gave way to me buying a “reliable” car), I cannot bear to part with it. I now dream of fixing it up to its beautiful, original condition some day when I’ve got a little cash to spare! Not sure when that day will be, but I know it will come and when it does my vintage love will once again shine!