tattered

I am a such a cheapskate when it comes to shopping. I bought this cute yellow wallet last year at Salvation Army for a couple bucks after carrying my last one until it disintegrated. Well, as you can see I did the same with this wallet. It wasn't until I was constantly finding my cards and driver's license on the ground and in the bottom on my purse that I realized: ugh, it's time for a new wallet.

While running errands yesterday I decided to stop by Salvation Army to seek out a new wallet. Honesty three dollars is actually more than I wanted to pay for this plain black wallet but it was the only one there that didn't look like it had been run over by a car.

So, of course if you're in a thrift store in search for just one thing, that doesn't mean you're going to walk out with just one thing...

I got this super cute heart print table cloth(?) crib sheet(?) Whatever it is, the edges are finished and the  possibilities for uses for this thing are endless. 

And duh, I got some books. I can't remember the last time I paid more than two bucks for a book. Eh, probably never.

I got this great purse for three dollars. It's pretty big - it'll be good for smuggling booze into the theater. I could probably even fit couple bottles of wine in there with room to spare for two glasses and a Subway foot-long and chips.

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Later that evening me and the family went to a friend's house for burgers. They have two kiddos;  one's a little younger than River and the other a little older so he had a blast playing with them. Poor thing doesn't get to to interact with other children since the majority of our friends with children have moved faaaaaaar away or got eaten by dragons.

Their little boy was super fascinated with River's hair and stroked it and patted it every chance he got.

Ok, party people. I'm off to rob some banks... and by rob some banks I mean clean the bathrooms for the first time since Halloween. See ya later!!

what's that smell?

A few years ago, waaaaay back in the ancient times of Myspace, Xanga and Live Journal, it was the hot thing to fill out surveys about yourself. The surveys asked random personal questions that you answered so that your friends and family could get to perhaps know you better?

It's beyond me how people kept up with each other's interests and beliefs before the internet.

I've heard tale that people used to actually talk to each other. You know, like... with their mouths. And listened to the words being spoken - with their ears. Weird, no?

I'm not trying to make any kind of point with my opening paragraph. I'm really just trying to find a creative way to embark on rather lazy blogging journey.

With that being said, how 'bout I tell you a bit about myself with some quick random facts.

I have three phobias: snakes, heights and mild agoraphobia that I've learned to deal with fairly well over the years.

I hate cheesecake.

My middle name is Danielle.

I spent half my childhood in the suburbs of Marshall., TX and the other half on a farm in Kildare, TX (a tiny, tiny town with a population of about 40). 

If I ever hit the lottery, I wouldn't tell a soul.

My favorite food is toaster waffles.

I only finished one year of college and I don't plan to go back. 

I was a virgin when I got married.

My son River was not named after River Phoenix (yes I have been asked)

I love to read but I only read books in the tub, in bed before I go to sleep and... on the um... water closet...

Here's what I'm reading now by the way:

I really like McDonald's food. I think it's magical. No worries, I only eat it like once a month.

I play the bass guitar and the djembe .

My favorite color is black.

I wanted to be a professional belly dancer but I lost sight of all that when I got married. Lately, I've been brushing up on my skills and trying to lose a bit of the happy marriage weight so I can teach lessons for a little bit extra spending money.

I'm allergic to cats.

I dye my hair black to make it...well, you know blacker.

I don't watch TV or listen to the radio.

My poison of choice is gin.

So do you feel like you know me better now?

How much do we have in common?

Are you wearing any pants right now?

I would love a bite of your sandwich.

unicorns are for gangstas

Today after lunch with a new friend I decided to take advantage of the rare occasion of having a vehicle and went to Target for a little clearance rack raping.

 I got this great floral print hi-lo dress for about $12. I rarely pay that much for a dress but the dress is very light and it's dang hot here. I don't do fashion trends but the ho-lo is a trend I really dig. I've been looking for an affordable hi-lo forever and this one was the only hi-lo there and it was my size... I'm pretty sure it was meant to be.
Sorry about the one blurred photo. A ghost walked through in front of the camera.
No worries. He doesn't bite.

 I also got this dress for $6. The material is pretty heavy so I'll probably only be able to wear it when the sun has long since gone down. I looooove me some stripes and this will be great for the fall.

In town we have a store called the Dollar Tree. Everything in there is a dollar. No more, no less. It's impossible to go into the Dollar Tree without coming out with bags full of completely random stuff. Since we have no used book stores in town the Dollar Tree is THE spot to get new books for... you guessed it: one dollar. Most of these are new releases and I have no idea why they're only one dollar. Overstock? Typos?

 I got the top four books yesterday and the bottom four I got last month. I've only finished one of the books (A Gentle Axe) and I'm currently reading A Separate Country. As you can see from the covers of the books, I mostly read historical fiction.

I also found these fun and colorful wall hangers at the Dollar Tree along with baby socks, stuff for a fairy costume I'm working on, nail files, nail polish and a bunch of other crap I don't need.

Are you a Dollar Store Whore like me?

We discovered someone hit my car yesterday. I'm not sure exactly when or how and I'm not even mad about it but the offender could have at least scribbled out a little note on the back of an old receipt that said, "Sorry I hit your car. I didn't feel like waiting for you so I left. Here's a note."

Has this ever happened to you?

Me? This is like the fifth time over the past ten years.

Etsy pimpin'

I've had this blog for almost a year now and I don't think I've ever shared with you what's in my Etsy shop. I launched my Etsy shop in 2008 (under the name Dang Special's Vintage) with the intentions of thinning out my extensive vintage dress collection. Years ago whenever I would go thrift shopping I would compulsively buy vintage gowns whether they fit or not. I lived with my parents at the time and I was running out of closet space as I was staying in the guest bedroom so I decided to let some go. Last year I began experimenting with jewelry making- I decided to sell some of my creations and relaunched the store as Modern Colors Vintage and Jewelry. So here's a wee bit of what's listed at the moment:

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Named after my mother (Linda) this simple necklace is made from a broken bracelet and necklace. That's my mom and grandmother in the photo in the background ca. early 70s.

 This is a super rare book of poems by James Russell Lowell from the 1800s. I found this rare gem in my husbands enormous antique book collection.

Another upcycled necklace made from a broken necklace, bracelet and earring.

Sketch Book by Washington Irving. (1887). Includes Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. This is for sure one of the most valuable items in the shop. Another find from my husband's book collection

Vintage Polish milk pans (each sold separately)

I'm having to say goodbye to my favorite vintage blue slip- it's waaaay to small for me now and I never even had a chance to wear it. Sad face.

And I'll end with one of my faves. An original print of the 1961 piano music of the opening song from Breakfast at Tiffany's. Believe it or not, this is from my husband's collection.

bump in the night

It's raining, it's pouring

I'm terrified of night storms.

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Yes it's true. I am horribly afraid of storms that occur at night. I'm not sure why. I've always been that way. Storms during the day? No problem, who cares, let's go out for steak. Storms at night? I'm shaking in my boots. It's 2am right now and a storm just blew in- I am not happy about this at all. 

Fun fact: about me: Once upon a time when a storm came in the middle of the night, I would get in bed with my parents.... aaaaand I didn't stop doing that until I was a freshman in college. No lie. Stop laughing! I bet you have strange phobias too.

Ok, well to distract me from this storm (and the fact that my baby is wide awake at 2am) I'm going to share some pics from this week.

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What we wore:

Two months after birth my tummy is still pretty saggy so I wore a a maternity dress and leggings so I can go run errands and go see my dad on his birthday - girdle free. I'm diggin' comfort these days.

Little River's finally getting a chance to strut his fashionable stuff now that he's big enough to fit into more clothes.

What I bought:

I scored two like-new vintage curtain panels from a thrift store for $2. I didn't even look at the size. I snatched them up like a wild hyena- ready to destroy anyone who even so much as looked at them. Mine!

I was really hoping they would be big enough to replace our atrocious curtains in the kitchen (old curtains nailed up) but they were waaaay too small. Sad face! I have no where for them to go! 

There are NO USED BOOK STORES IN THIS TOWN. I used to score my books at the Salvation Army but they moved to a new location and somehow "lost" all of their books in the process. WTF??? But the thrift store I got my curtains from finally marked their books down to a luscious 50 cents each. I would have gotten more books but they were closing up for the day when I got there.

 

 I got this crazy neon scarf for $1. It's too bright for me for everyday wear- I don't do neon. I got it for my fairy costume. In case you haven't heard, I'm going to be a fairy at my Ren Faire in October. Last year it got pretty cold so I'm getting prepared with some colorful winter accessories.

What I've Crafted:

I've been working on getting my office together and I need organization badly. So I've been revamping diaper boxes by covering them with fabric and wrapping paper. This one is my favorite. It's the much needed Ramsey Family Keepsake box. I even printed off the family crest and pasted it to the box to make it "official".

I found this quilt top in a bag full of fabric a friend gave me a couple of years ago. I never new it was complete! I thought it was just a little bit of patchwork someone started and abandoned. I picked it up and unfolded it for the first time and lo and behold! It's full sized!

So I made curtains for the office. Hee hee! I'm so naughty!

What I've been doing:

Went to Marshall to see my Dad on his 63rd birthday.

Um, this was taken by my sister... I didn't know she was taking a picture. Look at my face! HEH!!

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I've been working on the office/baby room again. It's has been a storage room off and on for too long for my taste. Every time I clean it out and start to get it truly organized a certain HUSBAND keeps bringing in more junk! Leave my office alone!

This is what it looked like last year!! YUCK! 

Here's a post about my cleaning adventures so you can see the evolution of this poor, poor room.

And this is what it looks like now. Geez! Still  awful!

So I've been going through boxes of buttons and jewelry making stuff and making sure everything has a place... a place for everything! That's how I like it.

Sequins in crystal glasses? Yes.

It's still a work in progress! I can't wait to share with you what it's going to look like when I'm finally done!!

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Bonus:

 Lovely sign handmade by a good friend's mom.

Needlework banner made by River's Granny.

Cute!