50 Rules

I just read this on my lunchbreak.

Every dad of a little girl should read this.

Such perfection.

50 Rules for Dads of Daughters

Must See Shop: DelVintage

If you're a fan of anything vintage you must check out this Etsy shop.

DelVintage is run by a coworker of mine.

She sells a huge variety of great vintage pieces: jewelry, hats, scarfs and other really cool miscellaneous vintage finds!

Check it out here.

Here are a few pieces that I'm kind of in love with.

Vintage Alpacca Silver Cigarette Case

Vintage Owl Pendant with Chain

(I love me some owls)

Vintage Art Deco Agate Jade Green and Gold Pendant


Please check out DelVintage!

P.S. Just to let you all in on a little scoop, I'm actually in the midst of planning an Etsy shop myself. It's still in the wayyy beginning planning stages. I still have a lot of work to do and it will probably be some time before the shop is ready, but I'm very excited about it.

I plan to sell both handmade items as well as some vintage pieces that I've inherited from my grandparents. You may remember this post where I shared some of the vintage jewelry that my grandmother has given me over the years. These particular pieces are pretty sentimental to me and won't be appearing in the shop. However, this past weekend my grandfather surprised me with boxes filled of old pieces (jewelry, brooches, watches, etc) that belonged to my grandmother and great-grandmother. I'll give you a sneak peek at some of those goodies at another time.

'Mending' a Relationship

Have you ever had one of those relationships with someone that you wish could be better? 
In fact you knew could be better. But maybe you weren't pulling your weight. 
A little lazy. Or unmotivated. Or afraid to even try to improve it?

I have one of those relationships.

No, it's not with an old friend. 

Not with a family member, a coworker, or even with an acquaintance. 

It's not with Lucy or Jordan.

It's with my sewing machine.

My grandmother gave me her old sewing machine when I moved into this house 3 and a half years ago. It's been sitting in my basement ever since.

I haven't used a sewing machine since high school. I think I was pretty good with it. It was during a home-ec type class and I made a skirt. Will I pick it right up again? Should I take a class and properly refresh myself?

There are so many projects and so many ideas I have running in the back of my head, but they all involve sewing. I've become the queen of finding no sew solutions to many of my DIY projects, but I'd like to expand my abilities. 
I was inspired a few weeks ago when I saw this display in Anthropologie:

I fell in love and it's my mission to replicate this in my house somewhere.

I have an idea of how I can (fairly) easily recreate this display, but it involves some sewing. 

So I'm vowing now to bust out my sewing machine (with the instructions of course), set it up and relearn how to use it.

Are there any old 'relationships' you've been meaning to mend lately?

Uninvited Guests and a Quickie Craft

This weekend didn't quite go as we planned. Jordan had off all weekend so we were hoping to spend some good family time together. We had some things planned including going out for a much needed dinner date Saturday night. Our plans fell through when we had an uninvited guest in our house... or should I say guests. FLEAS. Yes, fleas. And if you've ever had a pet with fleas, you know what a pain in the butt they are to get rid of. Well, we had two animals with them. 

Saturday was spent washing every sheet, towel, rug, pillow, blanket, etc in the house. We also had to thoroughly vacuum the entire upstairs (thank god we no longer have carpet downstairs) and use this special spray in all the rooms. Last but not least, we had to give two flea baths: one for a tolerable puppy, and one for a not-so-tolerable cat. By the time we finished it was almost 8:00 and we were both beat. Our nice dinner consisted of takeout from Chipotle (I won't complain though, it was pretty darn good.) and catching up on our shows from the week.

I did manage to squeeze in one quick crafty project this weekend. Lucy and I took a trip to Michael's Friday night in search of a large canvas for our dining room. (We have a large piece of wall art we are scheming, but more on that later). I had my "40% off one item" coupon in tow, but of course the size I wanted (24x48) was sold out. Boo! So I grabbed a few other things instead.


They had these wooden numbers on clearance for $.79 each. So I snagged a few.

Anyone recognize the significance numbers? 
They are our wedding date: May 15, 2010. 
Ok, the zero is actually the letter 'O'. 
They had no zeros left so I had to pay for a full priced letter, still only $.99.


I also picked up some more Martha Stewart craft paint in metallic gold.

You may remember I used her craft paint for the floating photo booth frame project I did a few weeks ago. I was pretty happy with the results and the paint only costs $1.99 per bottle (plus both times I purchased, they were 30% off).


I grabbed my sponge brush and got to work. 
Three coats of paint later I had these beauties:

They found a home on the living room shelves.

You know how some people change their mantles for the seasons? I change my shelves like that. 

Except more often. And not because of the holidays, but because I am so indecisive. 

You can see I found a home for the vintage cameras I scored last weekend. 

And did you notice that framed map? 

It's a map of Bermuda, where we went on our honeymoon. 

Just adding more as part of the personal art decor kick I've been on.

Friday Fun: Blog Hopping

via 


Here are a few things I've been checking out this week:

Jordan and I are both kind of obsessed with this website. We flip through it in bed at night wishing our house looked like every single one on here. We enjoy the clothes, too. (via pursuit Aesthetic)

I bought Lucy some great American Apparel onesies (here and here) in Cinder, Dijon, Pomegranate, Black and Heather Grey. Such a good change from the boring white ones. (via Amazon)

I can't wait until she's bigger and I can dress her in bodysuits, neon tights, and a chambray shirt like mommy's (via American Apparel)

Love these tips for cozying up your house for fall (via Pure Style Home)

I cannot wait to see how Nicole gets her house ready for baby #2! (via MeOhMy!)

I need to try this no sew pillow cover - I love the fabric, too! (via 346 Living)

A great post about living to be healthy, not skinny (via Five Feet of Spice)

Fun: Cheese or Font?

This article has gotten me even more excited about making Lucy's food (via Bethenny Frankel)

(More on this topic in another post)

I have set aside the perfect frame in hopes of replicating something similar to this (via Like the Rain)

This awesome table setting has gotten me really excited about for holiday entertaining (via mint love social club)

Ain't this the truth! I don't care how skinny you are pre-baby, it's not easy to bounce back to normal. (Unless you're Gisele Bundchen.) (via Little Miss Momma)

So what if it says 'Summertime.' I'm rocking this look for the fall. (via More Design Please)

Happy Friday!

Three Month Milestones

Our little bug is three months old today!

It truly amazes us how much she changes and grows every single day. 

• Has learned to reach and grab rings/bugs on activity mat
• Holds Wubbanub when using it 
• Eats 4oz every 3-4 hours (still strictly breast milk, mostly pumped)
• Giggles A LOT
• Sleeps 8-10 hours straight a night
• Looks at self in mirror
• Smiles at reflection
• Grunts/groans
• Squeals/shrieks
• Talks A LOT
• "Mmmmm"
• Rolled from back to belly on October 17th (cried afterwards!)
• Rolls and lies on side (favors left)
• Holds self and head steady when being held upright
• Can push head up and hold for several minutes during tummy time
• Drools like a champ (farts like one, too)
• Constantly tries to suck hand/fingers

We are so fortunate to have such a happy, sweet baby girl. She smiles from the moment she wakes up until bedtime. So much so that she can't keep her pacifier in her mouth when we are putting her to bed because she's grinning from ear to ear at us. When I told the nurse at the pediatrician's office that I was concerned because Lucy sleeps 8-10 hours a night without eating, she told us we are just unusually lucky parents.

I must say I have to agree.

Lucky Finds

You never know where you'll find a good thrifty gem!

We are getting new carpet at work tonight so people are cleaning out their offices in anticipation to make moving furniture easier.

I found this little gem in the trash pile.

(sorry for the poor iPhone quality photo!)

A perfectly good matted frame. It's a shame there is writing on the mat, but I figure I can possibly flip it around and use the other side. Either way I can certainly use the frame somewhere in our house. It's a nice size, too. 16" x 20"

I love finds like these!

Sidenote: Just found a second of the same exact frame. Now I have two!

Can't wait to find a home for them and implement some new framed art into the house.

Fresh Start

I'm proud to say that I survived my first week back to work. I'm not going to lie, it was a little rough. I cried at least once each day. I honestly miss Lucy so much everyday, but I'm doing what I need to do to provide the best life for her. While I would love to stay at home with her everyday, I know for now this is the best solution.

(Luckily between my schedule, Jordan's schedule and our parents, we can avoid daycare.)

  I lucked out and going back to work also meant a raise (woo!) and a new work space.

Here is my empty little cubicle that I just moved into yesterday.

Needs a little TLC, right? New work space means a new decorating project!

Once I get acclimated to my new cubicle, I'll be sharing with you tips on how to spruce up your workspace along with pictures of my own space.

More Thrift Adventures

This past weekend I hit up some thrift stores with Lucy and my friend Ellen.

First place we stopped was the Family Thrift - one of my usual lucky spots. This is where I usually find all my great clutches I've told you about. I was disappointed to find that the bin was MIA this trip. Hopefully that's just temporary!

Here are a few things we did check out:

Vintage projector

I always scope out the jewelry. 

Remember my $1.91 necklace?

We weren't exactly sure what this was. Some sort of meat grinder?

Do these pitchers look familiar?

They are the same design as the glasses I have in our dining room that my grandfather gave to me. 

How cool are these chairs? 

I have no place to put them. They were about $130 for the pair. This would be a great project for a skilled reupholsterer (is that a word?), but I actually like the fabric as is.

Tons of other chairs in need of a little TLC.

I was so tempted to snag this school chair for when Lucy gets bigger. 

I can picture her using it to do homework or just draw mommy some art to frame.

But with a $25.00 price tag I opted to leave it. Maybe if it was a little cheaper.

Ellen picked up this great vintage fan for $19.19.

I love the chrome grate and the 70's green base.

After Family Thrift we decided to try a new place that neither of us had been before. 

Goodeals is only a few miles from my house and I've passed it a million times. I've always sworn to check it out and just never went. Boy have we been missing out on a great resale shop. 

Here is how it works:

All items are given a number along with a price when they are first put on sale. As the weeks go by and the item is not purchased, the number corresponds with a certain percentage off. Items that have certain numbers (in this weekend's case 01-46) are FREE. Yes, literally you can pick it up and walk out the door without paying a penny. Granted there weren't a ton of these types of items, but they were there.

I'm guessing from the sheet that next week's sale will be #57 and the deals will slightly shift. Anything will a #56 will be 10% off, #55 will be 20% off and so on. Anyway, not only were the prices amazing, but they even had some really great finds. This isn't like a Goodwill or Family Thrift where items are donated. They buyout whole estates (but also accept from consigners) so Goodeals has some unique pieces. 

Horsehair brushes.

Different sized spools.

Old church pews.

I'm in love with this bistro set. 

I'm praying that the price goes down on this set (it was somewhere around $130 if I remember correctly) and I can snag it for a good price. But I think my chances of that are pretty slim.

Meanwhile, one of my shopping partners fell asleep.

Lots of globes!

An old CB radio.

This isn't the best picture, but this was a pretty cool metal shelving unit. Only $5.00.

I actually considered going back Sunday and picking it up as a potential piece for the dining room. It's pretty rusty, though, and I'm not sure how I would salvage it. I really like the metal-gold finish to it and wouldn't want to spray paint over it. If by some strange chance it's still there next weekend I may snag it.

Ellen found a basket with miscellaneous papers - sheet music, lithographs, vintage cards, etc.

Lithographs of popular Saturday Evening Post editions.

Baskets filled with vintage photos. 

They even had old pocket photo albums filled with more pictures.

So did I get anything? 

For just $6.80 I purchased three cameras, one video camera, and one flash.

I've never collected vintage cameras before, but for some reason I felt the need to buy these. How could I not for the price? I haven't figure out for sure where I'm going to put them, but I'll be finding a home for them this week. I'm sure one or two may end up on the living room shelves (aka the never-ending decor project) along with a piece of art I'm working on.

Did you find any good deals yourself this weekend?