Vintage Inspirations

Shakin' It Up

2009-09-13T08:59:00.000-07:00

It's been so long since I've written, I'm sure I don't have an audience anymore! Just know that I've been thinking of you all but have just been tied up with life -- as most of us are, I know. Nonetheless, all it took for me to get writing was to have an eventless Sunday and to find some cool glassware in a cute little antique store in Jackson, CA.

My son's school was closed a couple Fridays ago (which required me to take a day off of work - awww shucks), and I thought it would be great to take that opportunity to go hiking together. Living in Northern California provides limitless hiking and exploring possibilities, all within an hour's reach, if not less. I decided it would be neat to visit a state park I'd never heard of, which was only a beautiful one-hour car ride away (with the exception of an eerie and surprising view of Rancho Seco in the middle of nowhere) near Jackson, California called Indian Grinding Rock State Historic Park.

Before our 3-mile hike, we wanted to grab a bite so we had lunch on the short strip of Main Street in the city of Jackson; short enough that if you blinked you would miss it. But there in the middle of this small mining town was a great little sandwich shop that served a variety of sandwiches, pasta salads, and tasty treats including many healthy choices. I'm not sure why, but I was surprised by this. My son enjoyed a grilled cheese and myself a homemade meatloaf sandwich and an organic fruit juice drink.

Much to my eight-year old's chagrin, you can't take me to an old historic town with cute little shops and antique stores without me at least taking a peek in a few. I was rewarded with a nicely arranged little antique store that was jam-packed with items that I particularly like to collect and sell, including great vintage glassware, linens, painted wooden bowls, enamelware, and other fun collectibles. I could have bought a lot more than I did, but trying not to go too overboard I ended up with a McKee flour shaker, most likely from the 30's, and a Fire-King jadite pepper shaker with a tulip lid. I would have loved to have found complete sets, but I settled with the odd pair, figuring that I would sell them in my eBay store to a couple of folks who just needed those shakers to complete their set! ;-)

Fire-King jadite shaker (available in our eBay store, "On The Corner")

McKee "Roman Arches" custard flour shaker (also available in our eBay store)

After my vintage stuff-finding high, I was all ready for our hike at Indian Grinding Rock State Historic Park, a very interesting site complete with Miwok Indian petroglyphs and beautiful, shaded trails through a densely wooded area. My son and I were literally the only people there - it was great! When we were done with our exploration of the area, what water was left in our bottles was warm and the water from the park's fountain was nice and cold. Unfortunately, this nice, cold water literally tasted like it came straight from the toilet. I've never (knowingly) sampled toilet water, but I imagined it might have tasted somewhat like that. So, instead of toilet-tasting water, we rewarded ourselves with a couple of ICEEs at a nearby gas station on the way back home. Mmmm...sugary, artificially colored ice-cold drinks! Reminds me of my childhood! Nothing tasted so good at that moment.

1) Having fun with my son, 2) Finding some great vintage crap, and 3) Hiking through beautiful wilderness with fresh air in my lungs -- I can't think of a better way to spend a day.

My son among some interesting plants.

My son next to the entrance of a reconstructed Miwok roundhouse.

Vintage Christmas - Ad Nauseum?

2008-12-21T11:05:00.000-08:00

Is there a such thing as having too much vintage Christmas crap around the house? I don't think so! This year, I actually did a little less of the vintage thing only because I got a small tree this year (trying to save a little dough) and too many ornaments would take down the tree! Not to mention I have a young cat who finds these items irresistible and since she could probably jump almost to the top of the tree, I thought it wise not to put some of my best breakable vintage ornaments on the tree. Speaking of my nosey cat (Abby), she managed to get her tail in this Santa picture to the left. It's always got to be about her!

Anyway, I decided to take pictures of some of my vintage Christmas items that I've acquired over the years. Most of my glass ornaments I got at a church rummage sale, and the rest of the decor is mostly from various garage sales. The only Christmas item pictured here that I got at the Sacramento Antique Faire was the one-foot tall light-up Santa and for practically nothing...Probably because it was freezing and raining that day, and he just wanted to get rid of what he could and go home! Also, you may recognize some of the items from my last post. I decided not to part with the vintage Christmas stuff after all!

I decided to keep the two candelabras that I found at a garage sale the other week (only one pictured here). I've always liked these fake candle sticks, and the orange color of the bulbs is a bit mesmerizing. They're also very bright...When my husband walked in the room the first time I turned them on, he was like, "Whoo, is that the sun!" My son also liked them, so I've kept them both (plus they were only a $1.00 each). I've had to mix up the bulbs between the two sets in order to get one fully working candelabra! In front to of the candelabra pictured is a vintage plastic Santa in his sleigh and his six reindeer. (I thought there were eight reindeer - I guess they weren't concerned with accuracy when making this one.) I found it a few years ago at a garage sale. It also came in its original box! I actually have one other I decided not to put out this year.

I also found this trencher (for $3.00) at the same garage sale as the candelabras. I had bought it knowing that I would probably keep it. I love the way the vintage Shiny Brites that I've collected over the years looks in it!

Here's yet another find from my last excursion. These Santa light covers were found at an estate sale. I think I paid a little too much for them, hence they're staying in my collection for now. Plus, I like them, of course! Abby (our cat mentioned above) particularly likes them too because I find them all around the living room.

Here's a vintage glass tree topper I found several years ago at a yard sale. This picture sucks...sorry!

Anyway, I thought I'd share a little bit of my vintage Christmas decor this year. There is a vintage set of Shiny Brite ornaments that I decided not to keep, which are currently for sale on eBay. It's a beautiful set of 12 ornaments, I'm guessing from the 60's, with the "Twelve Days of Christmas" theme. Each ornament is a day. A really neat find! Click the picture below to go to our eBay store.

Well, I'll close for now...Thank you for reading!

Happy Holidays to all!

~Jeannie

Rain or Shine

2008-12-06T15:20:00.000-08:00

It felt good to get out today and do some estate and yard sales. We've been so busy lately, I've not had a chance. Being that it was cold and wet this morning, and I wasn't too anxious to leave my warm home (I know I seem like a wimp to all the east coast die-hards), I only hit up a few sales...As you all know, the later it gets the less desirable items are all that's left, and all I can think about is how much gas I'm wasting as I visit sales that only consist of kitchen crap and very used shoes.

Anyway, I was happy with the items I did find after visiting 1 estate sale and 3 yard sales. Pictured above is the lot of my odd but fun mix vintage stuff. I was a little bummed I didn't find more vintage Christmas stuff; in particular I would have loved to find vintage wrapping paper or tags. I was also on the hunt for old home and garden magazines. The estate sale I went to seemed so promising with drawers, cupboards, and boxes full of stuff. Seemed like the perfect hiding place for Christmas paper goods and ephemera but unfortunately for me, it was more of a quilter's paradise. I did manage to find a little Davy Crockett mug made by Hazel-Atlas, which was just sitting by itself away in a side cupboard of the kitchen. Some of my best finds at estate sales have been the items that are still not unpacked from cupboards, drawers, and boxes because these are the items that are less likely to get picked over by those who manage to haul their butts out of bed earlier than me. Plus, the folks running the estate may be less likely know the worth of these items and offer them up at great prices!

I also found the lot of silly vintage Santa light covers at this estate. The rest of the stuff I actually found at one yard sale.

A collectible but not all too PC "Kiddie" Davy Crockett mug by Hazel-Atlas. Valued at $18-$20 according to my Hazel-Atlas Glass book.

Vintage enamel pin in great condition!

A congregation of fuzzy Santa tree light covers.

A vintage mariachi noise maker!

I couldn't resist the plastic Christmas candelabra, which you can see in the first picture. I actually got two of them! Kitschy but fun! And I also got the wooden trencher (bowl) at the same yard sale. I'm keeping that one...Right now it is being used to hold vintage glass ornaments!

I will be selling most of these finds in my online vintage store and/or on eBay, so stop by and see what you can get! We also have a lot of other vintage finds and vintage-inspired home decor!

~Jeannie

Got Wine?

2008-12-06T13:26:00.000-08:00

Since I didn't have to spend all my energy doing Thanksgiving dinner and entertaining this year (we went to a family friend's house), I decided I didn't want to just sit around the house this holiday. My mother- and father-in-law were in town, and we decided to hit the local wineries in Clarksburg just a short distance from our home. In the 10 years I've lived here, I can't believe I've never been to this particular location. Beautiful scenery, great wines, and it took us no more than 20 minutes to get there!

We visited Bogle Winery, which had the most beautiful grounds and free wine tasting (always good), which seems be pretty much the norm when you avoid the pricey Napa/Sonoma area of California. We bought a 2006 Ghost Du Roam there. We also stopped in at the Old Sugar Mill, which really is an old sugar mill that houses several different winery's tasting rooms. It was one room after another...You could get really snockered with just this one trip if you weren't too careful! We got a 2004 Petite Sirah from Heringer Estates and a 2006 "Lockwood Oaks" Cabernet Sauvignon from Todd Taylor. We splurged on the Todd Taylor one since he only made 214 cases of this particular wine. He was there in the tasting room too. My husband made sure we visited this tasting room merely because he and Todd share the same name. When you know nothing about these wineries like us, I suppose that's a good enough reason to pick one to visit! I ended up being the one who really liked his wines, however.

Anyway, I thought I'd share some pics of our short but lovely excursion; a bad but fun excuse to spend a lot of money on wine!

My husband and son at Bogle Winery

Beautiful vineyard that's changing colors in Clarksburg

Old Sugar Mill

My attempt at being artsy-fartsy at the Old Sugar Mill

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! If you would like to avoid the mall crowds like we did this year, be sure to visit our online store for some great holiday deals!

~Jeannie

Lucia

2008-10-29T07:42:00.000-07:00

Some of you may have read my posting about my grandma, Lucia (everyone called her Lucy), back on August 15th of this year. Because I had shared a bit of her life with you at that time, I thought I should also share her passing yesterday morning. I can't say how privileged I feel to have known her and to have had her as my grandmother. She was one of the most loving and giving people I've ever known, and she always put her family first. She always told me that family is the most important thing. As hard as it was to see her go, it was peaceful, and I'm happy that my mom and I were there at the time she left us. I wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else.

She was born in Michigan in 1919, the youngest of 5 children. Her life wasn't easy...She never had a lot of money, but she was a tough lady and never complained. She had a lot of faith and taught me a lot about having faith as well. I was lucky - I was my grandmother's only grandchild, so I got all her attention. I was also lucky enough to have her and my grandfather just 2 miles away growing up in Southern California. When my mom and my dad moved to California from New York before I was born, my grandma and grandpa shortly followed so that they could be with their daughter and future grandchild. My grandma always told me that that was the first time her mother, my great grandmother, told her to leave her so that she could be with her daughter in California. My great grandmother understood what it meant for my grandmother to be near her child, and when I moved to Northern California, my grandma knew that she, too, would not try to prevent my mom from moving to be near me as well. Luckily, my grandparents also agreed, a couple years later, to make one last move to be near us.

I have so many memories of my grandma throughout my life. She was there for all major and not so major events in my life, from the day I got married to every soccer and softball game I ever played.

She was very tenacious and always found a way to get what she wanted even though it was almost always for someone else rather than herself. Whether it was an autograph from a movie star or getting Mickey Rooney to wave to me up in the balcony after watching his musical production of Sugar Babies, which was a gift to me for my birthday back in the early 80's. As a young girl, I remember loving Mickey Rooney in the movie The Black Stallion (which my grandma took me to see multiple times in the theater without ever suggesting we see something else by the 4th time around) and of course, my grandmother adored him from the old movies; so we shared that together, and we were both so excited to see him in person at the musical.

My grandma even managed to get the frame of TV news reel that had my mom shaking the hand of Robert Kennedy during a 1968 fundraiser in Binghamton, New York, which was covered by the local news. My grandma got a fellow from the news station to literally find the frame of my mom and Robert Kennedy together and cut it from the film reel itself.

There are so many stories...Too many to list here, but it's nice to at least get a chance to share a few of them here now so that they can live on in our hearts.

Here is a picture of my entire immediate family on my wedding day in 1999. My grandma is sitting on the bottom right.

I love this picture of my mom and my grandma on my wedding day.

Love you Grandma...xoxoxoxo

Day of the Dead Collectibles

2008-10-01T20:06:00.000-07:00

It's barely October 1st, and I'm already looking forward to Halloween! I'm not sure what changed for me, but I used to hate Halloween...You'd think it would be the other way around; that I would love Halloween as a child and hate it as an adult but that doesn't seem to be the case. I'm not sure exactly why...I guess primarily it's watching my son have fun with the holiday and making it special for him. I'm also just more fascinated with the holiday than I was previously. Being a lover of the state of New Mexico, and in particular the town of Santa Fe, the Mexican tradition of Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos), which is celebrated on November 1st and 2nd, is noticeable there and just about anything that reminds me of that town is comfort to me; thus my fondness for the Day of the Dead figures and my growing collection.

So, in the spirit of Halloween and my fascination with the Day of the Dead figures, I thought I'd share some that I've collected over the years, including this Paper Mache skull I found at the Sacramento Antique Faire. How old it is, I don't know, but I liked it and I got it for practically nothing. All of my Day of the Dead figures rest on my mantel in the family room. My grandmother took one look at them and shuttered. I think her exact words were, "yick." I understand that other people don't understand it. I've told people about my little collection and most don't get it. Nevertheless, if those little buggers weren't so expensive, I'd have more! Luckily, my husband seems to like them too. In fact he bought me the surfer, shown below. We were both Southern California beach bums, and he surfed nearly every day back then...when we were young and didn't have a care in the world!

Pictured above is the first of the collection. My mom got it for me in Santa Fe on one of her excursion, which she did not take me on, thank you very much! It looks like he's hitting the bottle, but to be honest, I'm not sure.

I just love these mariachis. I think I need a horn player though, don't you? I bought these on one of my excursions to Santa Fe. I think I'd already spent so much money on these two, I didn't want to spend more for another guy in the band!

Here's the surfer skeleton that my husband gave me for Christmas a couple years ago. He got it from a fun, local Sacramento store called Zanzibar that has a great selection of these guys.

I figured by this point, you're tired of looking at my collection one-by-one, so here's a picture of the rest all together. My mom got me the nurse (?) and the kitty (I love cats), and my husband got me the Keith Richards look-alike.

If you're interested in finding some vintage figures, my best suggestion would be to go to eBay, although I would imagine it's hard to know if you're getting something that is truly vintage or not. Either way, you're getting a piece of handmade folk art. No two are exactly alike. I've also found them in different online stores by just doing a little Googling, but those tend to be even more pricey.

If anyone knows of a good resource for Day of the Dead items online, I'd love to know where!

Ta-ta for now!

~Jeannie

The Cottage Book Has Finally Arrived!

2008-09-29T23:15:00.000-07:00

I finally got my copy of Hot Cottage Collectibles for Vintage Style Homes, the book I had the privilege of contributing to with many other of my fellow vintage-loving colleagues. I was pleased to see that quite a few of my pictures made the book including a vintage Mexican apron that I currently have for sale on my website. You'll also find the beautifully hand-embroidered tea towel pictured on the right side panel of my blog. You may need to scroll down to see it!

The book is filled to the brim with many pictures of vintage, cottage collectibles and furniture that are listed with their values and the contributors' websites where you'll be able to find an array of collectible goodies! It will definitely prove to be a great resource for someone looking to get that great vintage cottage look.

To order the book online at just over $10.00 off the retail price, just go to my Amazon Bookshop!

Thank you for visiting! Stay tuned for a post about Halloween and Day of the Dead!

~Jeannie

You Snooze, You Lose!

2008-09-14T14:48:00.000-07:00

So, I just returned from the Sacramento Antique Faire that I wrote about yesterday and had a great time. It’s been a few months now since I’d last visited, and it was great being immersed in the market once again with all the vintage stuff, particularly things that you don’t normally run across. I did pick up some things for me and my family and for my shop.

For the most part, I got really some good deals but did have a “when you snooze you lose” experience. It’s happened to all of us, I’m sure, but I feel like I’m the queen of indecision sometimes and occasionally get punished for it! I saw three little vintage figural light bulbs in pretty good condition at this small booth. For some reason I love those things. I once got a couple 1930’s Santa head bulbs that were in this huge box of vintage Christmas stuff that I bought for $2 total (score!) at a church rummage sale and didn’t even know the bulbs were in there. I ended up selling the bulbs for $10 each. Anyway, the figural bulbs I saw today were of a blue bird and a couple Japanese lanterns. I wandered one foot away to see what else the vendor was selling when some woman and her Our Lady of Guadalupe market bag (which I kinda liked – reminded me of Santa Fe) came swooping in and snatched all three up for $2.00. They weren’t marked so I didn’t immediately ask thinking I might bargain with the seller if there was something else there I liked. Had I known it was going to be two bucks for the lot, I would have bought them then and there. Oh, well…I got some fun things so I’m really not too broken up about it! But I did give that gal and her cute market bag some stink-eye as we both made our way down the rest of the isle.

By the way, in my previous post, I mentioned that I prefer to go to the antique faire earlier rather than later. I explained that the reason being that I hated to think of everything I may have missed if I go later in the day…After today’s excursion, I just remembered another reason why I don’t like going later – the crazy crowds! I’ve never seen so many people just literally stopping and talking or just sort of milling about right at the entrance to a booth. You can't get in and you can't get out...The later being pretty bad when you're faced with a booth that primarily has a table of eclectic" $1.00 only!" items.

In the spirit of Halloween soon arriving, I took a picture of some fun vintage masks. I remember having a bunny mask that was made by Collegeville. complete with a thin plastic outfit that tied in the back.

These were the most beautiful and clean vintage oven/stoves I've ever seen. And such great colors too! The folks selling these stoves have a store called Buckeye Appliance in Stockton, CA.

This one was just so wonderfully displayed with the vintage kitchen accessories and all.

Without further ado, here's what I actually bought!

This was my first purchase of the day. I know this has nothing to do with vintage, but I just fell in love with these little rusty quails! They'll be perfect in my yard, and I feel I got a good price at $25.00 for all three. Garden art can be expensive! (Please ignore my crab grass!)

Even though this small McKee refrigerator dish is missing it's glass lid, I couldn't help buying it considering I just happened to mention the matching McKee salt and pepper shakers I'd found at a garage sale in yesterday's post.

I just love this find! These are Shiny Brite ornaments with the "Twelve Days of Christmas" theme. Each bulb is a day. The box has seen better days, but the bulbs are in great condition!

I couldn't resist getting this for my house. I love western stuff, even if it's a little kitschy. I happened to mention to the gal that I bought this from that I love Santa Fe and would love to live there some day, and she proceeded to tell me how she had just returned from her first trip there last week and absolutely loved it! She, too, would like to live there some day. Interesting how these things happen. She has her own store, Topia, in a great little Gold Rush town near Sacramento called Sutter's Creek. She has a knack for display and sells a great array of vintage/garden-style items and art, including some great metal work and vintage watering cans. I think I just happened to purchase one of the only western-styled items she had to sell! If you're ever in the Sutter Creek area, be sure to stop by her beautiful store.

I couldn't resist buying these Little Little Golden Books. The "Four Puppies" one was my favorite as a child growing up, and I've read this book over and over to my son (in the original size) over the years (now he can read it to himself if he wanted - they grow up so fast). These were so cute and small and the "Four Puppies" one was on top when I walked by, so I had to buy them for my son.

This last picture was just simply to be used as blackmail later when my son is a teenager! All kidding aside, he was interested enough to see what Mom was doing all morning to help display my last purchase, a cute Santa apron. I'm thinking of keeping this one. We'll see if I actually end up using it, but it makes me smile!

It's been fun sharing today's adventure! Thank you for reading!

Until next time....

~Jeannie

Gettin' That Giddy Feeling

2008-09-13T19:35:00.000-07:00

I'm getting that giddy feeling I usually get just before going to what I hope to be a great sale or the Sacramento Antique Faire that's held the second Sunday of every month.

I've finally decided that I'm going to pull my sorry a** out of bed tomorrow at the butt-crack of dawn (as my friend, Tina, would say), pack up the car with my cute cart, boxes for holding small things, bubble wrap for hopefully good vintage glass finds, and get to the Antique Faire before all the other vintage-horders get their grubby hands on my vintage finds! I kid...kind of...I've never been the type to wait until the end of the faire for the supposedly good bargains because all I can think about is, 'What did I miss earlier that day?' Plus, I'm usually lucky enough, at least at this particular faire, to find items at pretty fair prices.

I thought I'd share with you some of the items I've found at this particular faire and sold online or will sell online:

Some great Pyrex

I just love this rainbow design on this mixing bowl. I kinda wish I didn't sell this one.

I just love the blue delphite Pyrex bowl. I had a complete set of three!

Pyrex's Friendship pattern.

Such a cute vintage baby's divided dish. This was one of my most fun Pyrex finds!

Below is an adorable (and so soft!) vintage chenille baby blanket. I've not yet put this up to sell, but I will soon! However, feel free to contact me if you are interested or have any questions about this precious blanket!

Try to ignore all different formatting I have going on with these photos. I took and edited these at different times.

I also found the cake saver and Hawaiian straw bag that I featured on this blog at the faire. I will be updating an album soon that will contain more pics of my finds (besides Pyrex!) from this fair.

OK, I didn't find these McKee salt and pepper shakers at the faire, but I thought I'd share them in this post because they were one of my best single garage sale finds! I nearly threw my body across the table they were on to reach them before anyone else could snatch them up. I turned them over to find a sticker with $5.00 written on it! I could hardly contain myself. I've not managed to separate myself from this pair...I'm not sure if I'll ultimately keep them, but at this point, I can't part with them. These are the same McKee salt and pepper shakers that are featured in C. Dianne Zweig's new book, Hot Cottage Collectibles for Vintage Style Homes, that I had the honor of contributing to with some pics of my vintage finds, including these shakers.

Take care and I'll let you all know what I found tomorrow at the faire!

~Jeannie

2008-09-03T22:07:00.001-07:00

A Note about My Other Passion

So, while this has nothing to do with vintage stuff or is even a family anecdote, I thought I'd just quickly share one thing with you because I was so excited about it I nearly peed my pants!

I do have another passion, aside from collecting old (or semi-old) stuff, and if any of you have ever read my profile or my 'About Us' page on my store website, you may know that I love the Southwest and dream of someday living in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Well, one morning a few months back, I got a burr in my saddle and decided to write a letter to the editor of New Mexico magazine...And they published it in the September issue! I was just tickled! I've never written a letter to a publication nor have I had my words published in print (be it a school paper or a widely distributed magazine)! To read more about it, see my other blog about my soul-searching adventures and ramblings.

Anyway, just wanted to share! Thanks for reading!

~Jeannie

2008-08-27T22:15:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-08-15T20:18:00.000-07:00

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"!

2008-08-08T14:09:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-08-02T10:59:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-06-30T19:59:00.000-07:00

I just love the cottage look and was so excited to find this vintage cake saver (a.k.a. keeper, holder, carrier). Whatever you want to call it, it's now for sale in our online store, OnTheCornerVintage.com! I've seen a lot of cake savers with a floral pattern, but I've not seen one like this so I snatched it up when I saw it.

We're going to be selling a lot more vintage items on our site within the next couple weeks. Between working a full-time job as a business consultant and raising a very active 7-year old, it's not always easy to find the time to take pictures of and describe all the vintage items I have. I think my husband is going to ban me from going to any more antique markets and estate sales if I don't get rid of some of the things taking up real estate in our office! Pretty soon there will only be enough room for me and the computer...I exaggerate, but we really do have a lot of great vintage items that will be in our store soon, so please stop in often!

Until next time...

~Jeannie

2008-06-07T14:49:00.000-07:00

New at On The Corner - Vintage Inspirations!

We love technology just as much as the next person and know that electronic invites (evites) are the wave of the future, however nothing beats getting an invitation in the mail especially when they're as high-quality as these! Your guests will love them!

Perfect for a summer luau or beach-themed party are these fantastic vintage-style Hula Girl party invitations. Not only is the design of these invitations totally unique, but they are printed right here in the USA on the finest heavy stock! Each pack comes with 10 invitations and envelopes. When you go out of your way to throw a fantastic party, you've gotta have fantastic invitations to go along with it!

It goes without saying that most parties where gifts are involved are followed up with thank-you cards. In keeping with the theme of vintage and Hawaiian is this pack of 10 thank-you cards and envelopes also printed on the same high-quality stock as the invitations pictured above!

I just love the Hawaiianna look of these thank-you cards and hope to have a reason to use some myself!

Go to our Stationery page to get either one (or both) of these items.

Looking for unique invitations and thank-you cards for children's parties? We also just got in the most beautifully designed children's invites & thank-you sets; just go to our Lil' Ones page to see what's in stock!

2008-05-28T20:13:00.000-07:00

We've got such exciting news that we couldn't wait to share! This past winter we were contacted by C. Dianne Zweig, the author of "Hot Kitchen and Home Collectibles of the 30s, 40s, and 50s" and asked to help contribute to her great new vintage book called "Hot Cottage Collectibles for Vintage Style Homes", which is due out this fall. Being new entrepreneurs, this was an extremely exciting opportunity for us! We had so much fun taking pictures of our vintage finds, some of which, will be featured in this new book!

To pre-order your copy go to our Vintage Bookshop for $10.00 off the list price and look for us, On The Corner Vintage, in the book!!

2007-11-11T09:32:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays On The Corner Fans !

It's that time again - time to somehow get creative with gift-giving even though you've got a million and one things to do in the next month and a half! The holiday season can be great, but to probably most of us adults, it can also be stressful (not to mention expensive). That's why we try to make your shopping experience at On The Corner fun and easy. Best of all we offer some of the best shipping rates you'll find anywhere, so shopping for the holidays doesn't have to be too painful!

Below are some great holiday entertaining and gift-giving ideas:

* Chillier weather is already here, so keep warm with our selection of fun, yet stylish, Western-inspired blankets from Moda recently featured in Country Home magazine (see pics below).

* Make your home warm and inviting with the most wonderfully scented candles, made of clean-burning soy wax.

* Know someone who loves books and vintage stuff! Make sure you visit our On The Corner Bookstore for some hand-selected vintage titles containing wonderful pictures and interesting facts about your favorite vintage collectibles.

* Like to entertain? Having guests over this holiday season? You'll love this vintage-inspired "Noel" apron!

* Depending on where you live, it can be hard to find fun, western-styled items, particularly those with a vintage touch. If you have visited our online store before, you might have noticed that we love the West and have dedicated part of our store to Western-inspired products. So be sure to stop by and see our nostalgic collection of vintage-/western-inspired products.

* We absolutely love vintage and vintage-inspired items for babies and kids. If you're hoping to find that perfect gift for a new mom that is both functional and uniquely stylish, stop by and check out what we've got for the lil' ones!

Recent press in Country Home magazine, which features a similar blanket in our store, also made by Moda Home.

2007-09-29T10:16:00.000-07:00

Happy Fall!

It's been a long time since we've posted something new! So sorry for the neglect, but it's been hectic around here as I'm sure you can imagine. We're just starting to gear up for the holiday season...Can't believe summer is already over!! It's going to be the first day of October this Monday, so we're starting the Halloween decorating now! Oddly, as a child, I never liked Halloween much...Maybe because I was a bit of a chicken and didn't like the dark, I'm not sure! Now that I have my own child and no longer scare easily, I absolutely LOVE the halloween season. If you've read my About Us page on our website, you'd know that I'm an absolute lover of the West and in particular, Santa Fe. Maybe it's my love for this area that has sparked my interest and love of decorating with the Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) paper mache figures, particularly this time of year. There's a macabre yet humorous tone to some of these figures that is fun yet still a little spooky. To learn more about the Day of the Dead, click here. This Mexican holiday is actually a remembrance and celebration of those who we've loved in our lives that have passed on and is celebrated on November 1st & 2nd.

We're exited to say that we're getting a variety of new products in very, very soon and you'll not want to miss 'em. Plus, you'll want to get a jump on your holiday shopping at OnTheCornerVintage.com with products you won't find in most stores! Also, if you haven't already noticed we just added a new category to OnTheCornerVintage.com, and that's our 'Sweet Scents' for the home and body!

You'll aboslutely love these decadent, yet affordable and natural products to keep you and your home swellin' sweet, like our Apples & Cream soy wax candle pictured here. This wonderful, fresh-baked apple pie scent is perfect when entertaining guests for the holiday season. Best of all, because they are made of soy they burn much cleaner than parafin candles.

Inspire the vintage decorator and collector in you at our new On The Corner Vintage Inspirations Book Store where we've hand-selected some great titles on all-things vintage! You can even subscribe to Country Living from our site for only $12.00 for the whole year and get great decorating ideas for the holiday season!

Thank you for reading our post and stop by again soon!!

--Jeannie

2007-07-04T10:37:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th of July!!

This is absolutely my favorite holiday - not just because I get a day off of work on a beautiful summer day - but because it's our day to celebrate this great country we live in!! Fireworks are always fun too! We've been busy decorating the house in patriotic colors to get ready for a small dinner party with family. And while I was cleaning the spider webs off of the patio furniture, my 6-year old son was more than happy to line up all the fireworks that we'll be lighting for this evenings festivities.

It's only the morning and I'm already looking forward to dinner. My husband is going to be cooking up a great recipe for baby back ribs, and I'm going to make a salad recipe that I found in the July edition of Country Living magazine! There's great summer recipes in the back of this month's issue that I can't wait to try. I get inspired just by the pictures! I will write again to let you know how it all turned out.

Be sure to check back soon because we just received our shipment of wonderful home care and self care products, from yummy hand and body lotion to heavenly-smelling lavender laundry powder, all from a great company called Sweet Grass Farms...These are absolutely the best smelling products I've ever tried and best of all, the ingredients are all natural!

Well, I'll be off to enjoy the rest of my day off, and we wish everyone the safest of holidays!!

2007-05-23T19:01:00.001-07:00

We just love this time of year...The days are getting longer and warmer...And best of all is seeing the flowers in bloom!! My hollyhocks and delphiniums are popping up all over. I've finally got the cottage garden I've always wanted! There's nothing like sitting in my adirondack chair, sipping a cool beverage, reading a book, and enjoying my garden. In addition to enjoying the garden, it's that time of year for eating outside, planning vacations, and gearing up for fun holiday celebrations!

With the 4th of July quickly approaching, you'll want to check out our new arrival of fun "Stars & Stripes" decorations for the table. (Also perfect for those who love Americana.) Get the complete look for a great price, and you can't beat $5.00 flat shipping!!

The smaller picture to the right is the reverse side of the table runner, thus allowing a lot of decorating versatility!

Click on the picture to get a better look!

2007-05-22T18:43:00.000-07:00

We've been so busy lately we've not gotten a chance to take a moment to post on our blog! We'll try to do better at letting you know what we've been up to and what's new in our store, OnTheCornerVintage.com.

We hope all you moms out there had a great Mother's Day! I sure did...My mom and I enjoyed a beautiful day with my son at Big Trees State Park in Northern California to see the Giant Sequoias. No matter how many times I've been there, I'm always in awe of these enormous trees. We also had a great time exploring Mercer Cavern, which is very close to the Big Trees State Park. My son loved this part of our trip. We walked 16 stories down into this very damp but beautiful cave with an amazingly knowledgeable guide who truly made the experience fun. This is a picture of my son with his grandma!

We couldn't resist showing you one more picture of a squirrel family! It's kind of a small picture so it may be hard to see, but there were three small squirrels all cuddling together on one of the giant trees.

Thank you for reading about quick little post about our Mother's Day adventure! Be sure to keep reading to see what's new in our online store and about any new sales!

2007-03-03T18:30:00.000-08:00

It's getting close to that time of year again! SPRING!! I'm far too anxious, not only for the longer/warmer days, fun outdoor activities, blooming flowers, and green lawns, but also the garage, rummage and estate sales that are soon to come! I love that Saturday morning rush I get just before I leave the house to hit the sales! Slap on some clothes, run a brush through my hair, grab a granola bar and some water, and I'm off! If I happen to come upon a church rummage sale, then I'm really in heaven! Once at a church rummage sale, I found two big boxes full of vintage Christmas items and in wonderful condition; best of all, I got them for a really great price! Among us vintage-goers you will often hear that it's the thrill of the hunt we like most about our hobby (or business as it may be). It's amazing how sometimes you may be wishing for certain item, sometimes obscure, and low-and-behold, you actually find it! It feels like the stars lined up, and that vintage-collector sixth sense kicked in, guiding you to your

2007-01-31T16:30:00.000-08:00

I'm always so excited when we get in new products...So much so that I'm telling you about them even before they're available!

Arriving very soon to our website, OnTheCornerVintage.com, under the category of "Tabletop", will be the neatest rooster-themed items. Not only will there be a great vintage-inspired rooster napkin & tablecloth set available but also great rooster iron napkin rings, just perfect for a spring-time brunch! You can already find great gingham rooster tote bags available on our website - so fun and yet so practical - and don't forget affordable!

We've noted that we do not nearly have enough stuff in our store for you Americana lovers, so we've decided to carry beautiful "Stars & Stripes" tabletop decor items such as tablerunners, napkins, and napkin rings! You'll absolutely love the look and it will remind you of warm July nights even when it's still cold outside!

Be sure to visit our store often. Not only will you find the items mentioned above very soon, but we're always adding great new things to our site all the time. We will also be having some great spring-time sales very soon as well!!

2007-01-14T11:15:00.000-08:00

We just found out that our vendor that supplies us with our beautiful vintage-inspired state souvenir textiles, has discontinued their production of the Florida design pictured here. This means, for all you Florida-loving folks, that these beautiful Florida towels and tablecloths that we carry on our site, will only be available for a limited time!! Be sure to get one (or two) while they're still around because when they're gone, they're gone! We've already sold out of our fun Florida pillows with this design.

We are pretty certain that eventually another Florida state desing will grace our online store, but until then, this fun design will soon be gone.

Perfect as a gift too!

2007-01-07T16:29:00.000-08:00

In The Press

Did you know that those great market tote bags, available in our online store and made by a wonderful company called Red & White Kitchen, were featured (see pic) in Country Home's June 2006 issue? To order one, just go to our "Bags & Apparel" page on our website - they're only $10.50 and are quite roomy! We carry the New Mexico state souvenir one pictured here as well as other vintage-inspired state designs. They're perfect for the grocery store! I like to use mine at the Antique Faire.

2007-01-06T10:49:00.000-08:00

While we're not new to this blogging thing (we have one on family travel and one on my own travel experiences), we've decided that our customers would be more interested in a blog about VINTAGE stuff! Imagine that! We also figured this would be a good way, aside from our "About Us" page, to get to know us a little better...So here it goes...

It's been a little over a year since we started our OnTheCornerVintage.com site, and I couldn't love having my online store more! In addition to scouring the town and going to antique faires to locate great vintage finds for the store, as well as finding amazing and artistic folks that create wonderful vintage-inspired products that suit our site so well, I've also gotten the opportunity to talk to and meet some great people with similar interests. Of course, most are our customers, but it's also great to talk to fellow vintage/retro business owners who also have such unique sites and stores.

Our local antique faire is coming up...We have one the second Sunday of each month, and I absolutely can't wait for it to roll around again. I've gone in all weather conditions and while it's a bit miserable in the freezing cold, there's less competition for some great vintage finds! Just wear layers of clothing, bring a hat, and some gloves that have the grippy rubber or leather on the fingers - you don't want to end up spending money on something you dropped!! Aiding in my quest to stay warm during the winter months at our local faire, is a couple of wonderful ladies who have a cart that serves the most tasty apple cider with whipped cream on top! It's like eating (or should I say, drinking) apple pie! MMmmm - can't wait till next week!

When going to the antique faire, I've noticed two primary groups of people: the group of folks who carry a tote to put their vintage finds in and the group of people who wheel a cart around. I've been in the first group for a while and finally realized, given my penchant for vintage Pyrex and other glassware, a cart would serve me and my shoulders much better! Seems obvious, I know! I found this great gal locally who makes the nicest cart bags (http://www.thecartbag.com/catalog/), and of course I picked a fun retro design! Now I'm stylish and comfortable at the faire! However, I still bring my fun vintage-inspired California market tote with me too for the small stuff and to carry snacks.

Lastly, I wanted to mention, for all you folks out there who would like the ability to speak to a real person rather than e-mail communication only, we will soon be posting a phone number on our site where you can reach us to ask questions or to order. Also, for the convenience of our customers, we will now be accepting personal checks via mail. We currently do not process our own credit card payments so we cannot take phone orders in this fashion, however we do want to assure all our customers that our current online merchant (PayPal) is extremely secure and accepts ALL major credit cards without requiring that you create an account with them or us. Very quick and painless!

With the holidays behind us, we're now gearing up for Spring, which will be here sooner than you know it. Expect to find some great new items in our store so check back with us often! We will also post some of our newest products on our blog...Look to the right for pictures of these items!

Take care and talk to you soon!

~ Jeannie