A Goddess, Seattle and a Lamp

Just a quick catch up on some things that have been going on in my etsy shop this week...

I sold a statuette of the goddess Kwan Yin (that I completely wanted to keep for myself but was a good little etsy shop owner and put up for sale instead - and someone bought it, damn!) I found her a few months ago at a church sale hidden behind a pile of Tupperware.So glad I did and that she is on her way to Texas to be appreciated again.

And a lovely lady in Portland bought this pendant I made with a piece of vintage atlas of the great city of Seattle. I've never been there but I want to go really, really bad. Although, I love rainy days so much, I'm a little scared that if I did go I'd never come back.

 And this mid century Tensor desk lamp was one of the coolest things in my shop and will be leaving via Priority mail tomorrow for...wait for it...Brooklyn, New York. Yes, currently the coolest place in the known universe. Wish I could tag along with the lamp.

   But it might be a little awkward, I'm not that cool.

Another Coach bag...Love it!

It was only the last week when I was out at a thrift store with the other blond and her mom, Lee, that I complimented Lee on the beautiful leather purse she was carrying. She always has the cutest bags. And, of course, she had found it at a thrift store for only a few dollars. I told her I was jealous as I never seemed to find very nice leather purses when I'm out poking around.

Well, the goddess of vintage leather bags must have heard me because it was the same day I found the two bags I mentioned in my last two blogs and I just found this Coach bag in perfect condition at the Salvation Army early Black Friday sale.

Oh, how I do love a nice bag...and shoes, but that's a whole-nother fetish.

This one looks like it might go to a buyer in Australia, and I'm going to keep my eye out for more at the thrift stores.I know I'll find one that will have to be ripped from my cold, dead hands before I put it for sale in my etsy shop, but so far I'm happy to send them out in the world and make a little profit to boot.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone and happy thrift storing! I'm going to a sale at a thrift store on Black Friday, can't wait!

Juggler - A Circus Act or Recipe for Disaster

An update on the leather bag in my last post (the one that hadn't sold yet and I was kind of hoping didn't because I wanted to keep it for myself) - it sold too. Which is good for my etsy shop's bottom line, but not for my wardrobe.

So today I will box that up,


along with a divided vintage Melmac bowl that also sold the other day, and head to the post office.

Then home to put on the domestic goddess hat and clean my house and catch up on the laundry.

Because tomorrow I have my second day on my new job and a half-off sale at the Salvation Army for some new merchandise for the shop.

And I really want to get two submissions out to agents of my last manuscript, still can't quite give up on my pursuit for publication.

And my youngest has a food drive for Boy Scouts on Saturday, so up early to drive around the neighborhood scoring canned corn.

And my oldest needs to be run back and forth for set crew all week and weekend because the play starts Saturday afternoon....
Can you hear the circus music in the background as all the balls are juggled in the air, or is that just me?

Ah well, nothing more than most people do anymore with jobs and kids. I'll just keep smiling like the clown...no, wait...not the clown. Clowns kind of creep me out. More like the lady on the high-wire as she smiles brightly while walking carefully across the abyss.

You know what? Its all good, I just remembered I love the circus.

You Old Bag

Some times I feel a bit...well...old.

Especially this week when my son turned 16. How could my baby be 16?! We are going to get his driver's permit next week. Ahhh.

Or, when I'm introduced to my husband's colleague who reveals in the course of our conversation that he graduated college in 2001. Wasn't that, like, yesterday? I gasp. How is he a grown-up, accomplished professional-type guy and graduated in this millennium? I sound old even to myself.

But age has its advantages too. In my early forties vs. my early twenties, I don't wake up hung over after doing beer bongs in smelly frat house basements. I don't buy used-cars based solely on how cool they look and then continually find my cool ass stranded on the side of the road.

And I think I have a little more character than I did in my misspent youth. I don't even mind how my years have made smile lines (I like to refer to them as "smile lines" instead of crows feet) around my eyes (mostly, occasionally I panic a little as I scrape the bottom of my Oil of Olay bottle). I think this applies to well-made leather bags too.

Last week at my favorite thrift store I came across this vintage Coach lady's attache-shaped leather bag. I think it has gained character in its years, the leather buttery soft and supple. And a customer in New York City agreed with me, she bought it an hour after I put it on my site.
And this vintage Stone Mountain leather slouchy bag was in the same bin at the thrift store. It hasn't sold yet, but I'm not sure I'm disappointed about that - might need to keep it for myself.

In fact, I think I will wear my old bag with pride - along with my crows feet -- while I'm teaching my son to drive and telling him the story of how in my day I didn't even have a car but had to walk to school uphill, both ways.

Bloggidy Blog

I got an email today through my etsy shop from a great blog that highlights cool items on etsy.com. In fact that's what its called...the blog...what's cool on etsy this week.

http://www.scoop.it/t/whats-cool-on-etsy-this-week

I am just tickled pink that they featured two of my items in their blog.

One was this portable radio which appears to never have been used.
The other is this super-mod phone in yellow. You know someone wore bell-bottom hip-huggers once as they pushed the giant square numbers on this phone.The bloggers , Nina & Kristina from Norway, think my stuff is cool! Where were these people when I was in high school?

And They Were Good

On Friday I went to not one, but two, fundraiser sales at two different retirement communities. This caused me some consternation because these - next to church fundraisers -- are my favorite kinds of sales and don't come around very often, so I don't usually have to decide which to go to first. This is important because the best items are nabbed early.

I flipped a coin.

I arrived at the first sale just as the doors opened and then had to make more decisions as there where six separate rooms of items...and I wanted to go to all of them simultaneously...I have yet to figure out how to do this. Would be such a handy skill.

I chose the room with kitchenware and was happy I did. I found this unusual vintage stainless steel Revere Ware pan with a Sea Horse design. Never saw one of these before.

And then spotted this great set of 6 matching mid century high ball glasses.
The next room had electronics...found this cute Tensor lamp.And another room had linens...found this fantastic Eames era linen towel with cocktail recipes.

When I had picked through each room, twice, I decided I'd go to the other sale just to see if there was anything left.

There was...not much, but enough.

The best find was this Bates bedspread in perfect condition, like it was never used.
The picker Gods were smiling that day and my cup runneth over.

Ahhhh...its the Carrot People

This was once a normal couple that lived down the street from me and then they went on Weight Watchers and found out carrots were zero points and ate so many they turned into Carrot People.

Sorry, feeling a little silly today. And hungry...I'm on Weight Watchers too.

Can't wait for not one, but two retirement village sales tomorrow bright and early. Hoping they will distract me from wanting to eat Ring Dings instead of carrots.

No offense Carrot People.