Summer Travels and an Anniversary

I have been remiss in my blogging of late; I have been off and running with my boys (excuse me, young men) this last month and haven't stopped long enough to sit down and put two thoughts together.

My excessive wanderings have been prompted by the realization that this July is really the end of an era for my sons and I. Carefree summers with easy schedules are coming to a close.

By next summer we will probably all have jobs (in addition to the etsy shop) and sundry sports and Boy Scout activities that are already making way more black marks on my calendar than I care for...life flows on.

However, in all our activities of this last month - as I squeezed out as much fun and memories as I can possibly fit into this precious summertime -- you know I've made time for some pickin' too.

On our camping trip to New Hampshire, I found this great, hand-tooled leather briefcase in a thrift shop. It sold two-weeks after we got home.
A few weeks ago, I was able to go out in the van with Linda, her mom and my aunt to a tiny burg in south-eastern PA, their community center was having a fund raising sale. I found this, one of the prettiest pieces on Milk Glass I've ever come across...shaped like a bird's nest.
The boys have found a few nice things too on our travels. Will picked up this green, Russel Wright baking dish.

Evan found this fun 70's ice bucket.


And while I was off camping, my one-year "etsy anniversary" passed. On July 8th my etsy shop had been open 365-days, and I had sold 408 items...yay. My goal had been to average an item a day and feels very good to have passed that goal.

I do love etsy.



twoblondsandavan.blogspot.com

Saturday Morning in Delta

7:00 AM Saturday morning - drop off youngest son at the Boy Scout paper drive.

7:15 - Starbucks...coffee, oatmeal cookie.

7:30 - Jump in Aunt Joan's car and head to a little church on the outskirts of Delta, PA to a sale...yay!

I am a simple, simple person and there's not much I like better than a clear morning, cup of coffee and a drive through open countryside with my Aunt Joan headed for a country church sale.I have never been to this particular corner of south-eastern Pennsylvania before and found a town with a prosperous past - its main source of income was from mining slate -- beautiful Victorian style homes stand side-by-side down Main Street.

Since its hay-day, the mine has closed and a nuclear power plant moved in the next town over, so Delta is a little worn at the seams, but still has a charm and grace -- its past prosperity built on stone.

The church sale was pretty much a bust, only a few tables, but not a complete loss. I did find this cute old planter which sold only 15-minutes after I had it in my etsy.com shop to a woman in Maryland.

So it was not only an enjoyable morning, but a good one for the etsy shop, as well.

Pickin With My Honey

It is one of those weekends where my wonderful in-laws have taken the kids to spoil them rotten and my husband and I have some time to ourselves. We enjoyed a fire with some wine, a show at the Strand-Capital, a drive in the country...and yes, I did drag him to two thrift store...I know, I know, not romantic.

My husband is not a natural picker, but he will tolerate it, especially if there is a chance of stray stereo equipment - for about two-minutes, then he's done. This weekend, though, he was the winner, not of stereo equipment, but more practical things like a rolling garment bag he needs for his business travels and a winter vest for when he's doing manly things like chopping wood and shoveling the driveway. He was happy.

Me, only mildly so. I am ready for spring and yard sales and garage sales, thrift stores are not yielding the treasures I would like. I did find two things I bought to put in my etsy.com shop, a bun warmer - I know, bun warmer? it appealed to me, what can I say -- and a little blue bag.







Although no great deals were discovered on our search, I did enjoy a few hours having my husband all to myself as we searched the dusty shelves and corners of the shops. I take my treasures where I can find them.

Think Real

A few months ago I was walking around a beautiful shop in Philadelphia admiring their very pretty, and very expensive wares, when I was struck with how much an antique-looking enameled pitcher (like the one pictured above) looked like one I had just seen on etsy.com from a seller of vintage items.

When I reached up on the shelf to take the pitcher down and look more closely at it, I also noticed there were about six behind it exactly like it. Mass produced pitchers made to look like an authentic one-of-a-kind one from the past...and more expensive than the original.

Here is one (pictured below) I found in an etsy .com shop that got its chips and character by being passed around the family table on a farm for a generation or two (or three). And it costs less than the imitation.


And there are so many choices, too, and you won't find any two exactly the same. Here is an adorable one with a Pennsylvania Dutch design, and it's only $10!

So when you are looking for something special to decorate your home or give as a gift, consider something authentic. It doesn't take any more time to go onto etsy.com than on crateandbarrel.com, or go to a local antique shop than the Pier One store - let yourself be delighted and surprised at the really special and beautiful things you will find.

The Place Where I Live

I was born a Jersey girl, and there is a permanent part of my heart that will always be a Jersey girl. My birthplace reveals itself in my penchant to drive a little too fast, laugh a little too loud and wear my clothes a little too flashy...this can make you stand out a bit amongst your Pennsylvania Dutch neighbors here in Southern York County, PA, where slow, steady and understated are more the credo.

So, I get nostalgic for the place of my birth occasionally, and probably paint a rosier picture in my memory, forgetting the very good and real reasons we moved to Pennsylvania in the first place. But recently, I have discovered yet another fringe benefit of this journey I have embarked on to hunt down vintage items to sell...I am falling in love all over again with this place we have chosen to live. It is really and truly gorgeous, and I get to be out and about in its beauty on my hunt for stuff for my etsy.com shop.

I was so taken with the morning light on the turning leaves and the scenery around me last Thursday morning as I made my way to a yard sale, that I had to pull over and take a picture.


Then I came across this little one-room school house and had to take a picture of that too.


These sites are only about 12-miles from my home, where I enjoy a fairly suburban existence with food stores, Targets, Malls and friends a quick bike ride away for my kids, but look what is right around the corner.

Yes, Bruce Springsteen will always play on my radio, but there is a beauty and breathing room here I have come to cherish, more and more.