Jewelry or Bust!

It was sad for me to have all my favorite costume jewelry tucked away in a jewelry box. So I decided to display them. I found this fabric covered bust at a consignment shop for 7 dollars. I stuck it on top of a vintage towel rack (with the help of my handy boyfriend). I use pearl stickpins and cheap brass thumb tacks to stick on the jewelry. It looks fabulous! And it reminds me of where a lot of the jewelry came from... my grandma Bette, grandma Alice, and my boyfriend's mother Rosemary. So beautiful!

Stamps!

Can you believe I found this whole box full of stamps at a garage sale! I actually got three boxes. I sold one at my antique booth, and one I am keeping, and one is for sale on my Etsy site (www.stephied.etsy.com) Who ever saved and collected these stamps was a little OCD. Each bundle is a stack of 50 used stamps still attached to the envelope. Each bundle is carefully wrapped in a little string. There are bundles of 1 cent, 2 cent, and 3 cent stamps featuring George Washington. Strange find but so fun. I can't wait to think of a project to do with the ones I am keeping.

Super Goobie

My attempt at a GIANT Goobie. My goobies are usually 4-6" tall. But my BFF Cindy wanted me to try out making a big one. It was fun and didn't even take that much longer to make, it was actually easier to work with. So now I have to make more! SO CUTE. Oh yeah, the cutie pie in the pic is Quinn!

Stumped!

HELP! I have a question. I bought this little black swan bud vase at the thrift store. When I got home to wash it I saw the two little holes in towards the base of the swan. So I guess it can't be a vase? What the heck is it? I have been wracking my brain trying to figure it out. Does any one know what this is??? It is only about 5" tall.

I am not a plastic bag

I LOVE my new bag! I got it at the farmer's market in Studio City, CA for 20 bucks. When I started to recycle those plastic bags I get from every store, including the grocery store, I started to realize how many I accumulated. It is so ridiculous to bring home 3 bags (some double bagged) for buying a handful of things at Target. They barely fill the bags 1/3 full which is real annoying. And of coarse they act like you are crazy if you ask them to shove it all in one bag. Then they double bag it because they think it is so full! It only has to make it from the register to my car and from my car to my kitchen table! I am not taking it on a hike across the Himalayas afterall! Well, now I will carry around my adorable canvas bag, eliminating most bags from small shopping trips. It's so cute!!!!!

Confetti Bobbles

I love this vintage necklace. I found it at an estate sale while in Los Angeles on business. (8$) The big green bobbly beads are "confetti" style. There are little gold confetti specks inside the beads. I can't wait to find an outfit to wear it with!!

Shnoodle!

I got to dog sit last weekend for my friend Malinda. This is little Shuman. I am sure I spelled his name wrong. Because of him I woke up with a smile every morning, even if it was 6am. He has eyelashes a mile long. How can I not melt at the sight of his face. Dogs rule.

One Stop Modern

I love shopping on websites that I consider "eye candy". www.onestopmodern.com is one of these sites. It has a plethora of beautiful, mod, and stylish items. My favorite by far is the "Deer Head in Aluminum". (Under wall decor - faux heads). I am vegetarian and an animal rights activist, but I must admit I have always loved the aesthetic of animal heads on the wall. There is just something traditional, eclectic, adventurous, and worldly about animal head plaques. But of course I am totally against it!.... hello?....dead hunted animal!....not OK. So hence my love for this piece! And I think even my boyfriend will love it because it is kind of rock and roll if you know what I mean. There is also an antelope, or other wood faux heads on this site. So chic! Check it out.

Goobies!

One of my hobbies is hand making Goobies. They are little felt monsters. I make them up along as I go. Here is my latest batch. I named them goobies, because that is a nickname my friend would use when she left me cell phone messages. "Hey goobie," she would say. I am in LA on business so I will be able to go to the fabric mart to get some good quality felt. It makes them so much better I have realized. I better get back to goobie making.....

Pom Pom Purse

I love cute. And this is cute. It is another purchase that I intend to sell at my vintage store (www.stephied.etsy.com) but I might have to keep it. Hmm, this is becoming a bad habit HA! It has vintage fabric inside which is so cheerful and fun (big pink flowers), and it is is such perfect condition. I think it is the kind of bag someone will stop me on the street to say how cute it is. Actually I am going on a plane ride tomorrow and I think this bag will be perfect. Decision made, keeping it.

I bought it at Treasures thrift store in Pelham, AL for just under 5 dollars.

Needlepoint of view

I am lucky I tell ya! Once again I found a treasure at The Salvation Army in Hoover AL. These two pillows were taped together (I hate when these thrift stores put packing tape on everything!!) and marked for 2.50. You can't even buy embroidery thread for that much! Ok, maybe you can, but you get the point. The best part about these is the subject matter. It is a beautiful Chinese or Japanese (still researching) scene. There is a signiature or title at the bottom that I would love to translate. These pillows are large too, usually needlepoint pillows are small. If anyone can help translate... I would much appriciate it.

Trifari Find!

Ok, this may be my pride and joy of thrift store treasures. I collect Trifari costume jewelry. I think I like Trifari because I love their old magazine advertisements, and it was the first company I learned about while researching costume jewelry. And of corse I love their designs. I found this piece at America's thrift store in Alabaster, AL. I loved it instantly because it had a pear as the centerpiece and I love jewelry that involves fruit. I thought it was plastic, but after examining it when I got home I realized it was milk glass. I was so excited when I saw the Trifari mark on the back. I wear this piece often and strangers regularly comment about how great it is. The best part... it was only 1.79 and it was 30% off. Gotta love that.

Thrifty Birdie

I felt like I hit the jackpot when I walked into the Salvation Army in Hoover, AL and found this darling piece of art. And yes, it IS art! AND he was only 99 cents. It combined 3 of my favorite things: it features a bird, it is handmade, and it is yellow! I can just imaging someone sewing this as they were sitting by the fireplace watching TV and drinking Earl Grey. Whomever that person is, I wish them to know that their handmade work of art has found a loving home! I have a store on Etsy.com to sell most of my vintage finds, but this one must stay at home with me. I can not bare to part with it.

Blog is ALIVE!

Ok, I admit, I am a fair weather blogger. At first I was so addicted. Then it just seemed like a chore. But I have rediscovered my love for the idea of a blog. I have too many loves and passions that I would like to share with others who love the same. So I am rededicating my blog to be a little less about myself and a little more about sharing my passions (which I guess is about myself?) Mostly this will include the following:
Crafting
Photography
Garage Sales
Thrift Stores
Cooking Vegetarian
All things Vintage
Vintage Jewelry (Costume Jewelry)
and last but not least.... birds. I love birds.

OK, so on that note I am going to leave you with a new favorite picture I took. This was early Saturday morning in my front yard. What a bird!

In the future, look for my found treasures from thrift stores and garage sales. (mostly bric-a-brac and jewelry)

It snowed

Yes it snowed in Birmingham! None of my pictures came out that great unfortunately, but I spent most of my time enjoying it instead of documenting it. We stared out the window all day, the flurry was beautiful. It wasn't until I saw this bright red cardinal in the tree that I had to get out of bed, bundle up, and venture out into the cold to get a picture. You can't even see the snow in the pic, oh well. All this different weather has gotten me sick though. I have been in bed for three days with a horrible cold/flu thing. (hence the abscence of blogging). I better wake up better tomorrow.

The Hoover Monster

She chases other dogs
She terrorizes cats
She will dart in front of cars
Going this way and that
Squirrels and birds
Have nothing on her
She will take on anything
Of feather or fur
Brave and proud
That is demeanor
Until she is confronted
WIth a vacuum cleaner!

Cabin Fever

Today I vacuumed, upstairs, downstairs, THE stairs, swept and swept (2 dogs + 3 cats ugh!), changed the sheets, did some laundry, windexed, polished, cleaned up dog doodoo, cleaned the kitty litter, walked the dogs, went to the post office, the grocery store, did the dishes, cooked dinner, and I must say it is getting a little monotonous. But before I let myself get too mopey, I reminded myself that the benefits of having those 5 wonderful furry creatures in my life far outweighed the burden of cleaning up after them. And at the end of the day, with lifted spirits, I even baked my 6th creature named Matt, a batch of his favorite cookies. No kidding. At least for now the chores are done, until tomorrow anyway...

Oh Prada!

I have to have this coat. I have to have this coat! I HAVE to have it! Oh, it's Prada? Oh, it's thousands of dollars? Oh, well I guess I will just settle for having a picture of the coat :(

Blue bird

I saw this little birdie on my walk this morning. I was armed with my new zoom camera lens and was on the lookout for birds. These little guys were everywhere.

Little blue bird
Do you ever feel blue?
With freedom like your's
How ever could you
Do you ever get loney
In the forests of trees?
Or does the wind keep you company
With it's whisper of a breeze?
Oh little birdie
Please don't fly away
Let me ejnoy you a little more
On this cold winter's day

Coffee what?

Yeah, what of it?

ART DEMANDS NO EXPLANATION

cute food

My new favorite thing to do when bored is to go to google images and type in something random. Usually i type in two words that are seemingly unrelated. Last night I typed in "cute food". My life may not have been complete if I didn't see the first picture. Made my day. As for the hello kitty pop tarts... i must have them, I will start the hunt for them ASAP!

Eat more tofu!

This is a saying Matt and i have, it is a joke version of the Chik-filet commercials that have cows saying "eat more chicken!" It turns out Birmingham grocery stores have a lot of veggie meat and we have been eating in style. Some of my favorites are the Gardenburger Ribblets, oh soooo good, really taste like ribs! Also the best discovery has been Jalepeno sausage hot dog thingys by Veggie Patch. These are insanely good! Try them!

Ride the Lightning

Last night I experienced my first Alabama thunder and lightning storm! Storms like this were few and far between out in California, so it was quite exciting to me! I stood by the window for like and hour trying to capture a lightning bolt on film. I didn't quite get there, but did capture my neighborhood while lit up by lightning. The above picture was taken in complete nightime darkness, the light is all from a flash of lightning, it looks like daylight! By the way, I have now learned the best way to make lightning strike... just turn off your camera and walk away from the window, and no doubt a big bolt of lightning will hit. If it happened to me once, it happened to me ten times.

My fave beaty products

Right now my favorite mascara is by Rimmel. No clumps, no flakes, and best of all it washes off real easy. It gives bold wet looking coverage. I buy mine at Walgreens. I usually wear black, but it also comes in Saffire blue, which sounds costume like, but actually just gives a subtle hint of whimsy. Makes eyes stand out.
The best invention of the century so far are Incoco dry nail polish strips. I bought a pack (at Walgreens again) and had my doubts. I applied it just before Matt came to pick me up in LA for our adventure out to Alabama. (He loves a good manicure). It was easy to put on (although I am crafty and good with my hands, I can see it being a little difficult for those who are creativly chalanged). They were totally "dry", no waiting needed, they were glossy and shiny, and looked exactly like nail polish, didn't seem fake or "press on" like. Here is the kicker, I spent two days packing for the move, a day cleaning with lots of hand washing ect, then a three day road trip, then the Thanksgiving holiday, then cleaning the new house here, then unpacking for three days, opening box after box with my nails and hands, 12 days worth of showers.... and my manicure was still COMPLETELY in tact. Not one chip!!!!! It finally started to dry out and crackle a little at the ends towards the end of the second week. But considering I have never made it past getting my keys out of my purse after a 20 dollar manicure without a scratch or chip.... I am impressed!
Also love Clean and Clear Morning glow moisturizer. It has micromini super tiny little specks of sparkle, not glittery, just little thingys that catch the light and give you a nice "glow". Very subtle but feels refreshing.
I also just bought Milani Glitzy Glamour GLoss in "Struck by Beauty". You can't tell by the picture but it is metallic with an opalescent sheen. It looks like metal or your lips with a million opal rainbow colors coming through. It is amazing, very dramatic and a little daring, but fun for a night out!
To make my night time beauty routine go faster I use Almay makeup remover pads (non-oily). No soapy sting, and it gets every last drop of mascara off. I keep some in the shower for those morning when I realize I fell asleep without washing my face. They are great for travel too!

Smarty Pants

One of the reasons I love my boyfriend Matt is because he is smart. Like really smart. Like mensa smart. There are some things his mind computes that I cannot even attempt to comprehend. But it's the little things I learn from him throughtout the day that I love. These little tidbits of knowledge are like sweet-nothings whispered in my ear. Like the other night as we were lying in bed being geeks on our laptops, I asked him, "whatever happened with that whole bird flu thing?" So he googled it, and as I was looking over his shoulder I see PANDEMIC jumping off the screen in bold print. "What's the difference between an epidemic and a pandemic?" I asked..."what makes the bird flu get to be a PANdemic. He explained that "pan" was a prefix meaning "all" as in worldly or global. So a pandemic affects ALL the world. "OH!, so like that is where PanAm got its name?....cause they were a global airline?" He nodded that it made sense. Excited with my new found knowledge I then said, "and that's where they got the name for pancakes! Because they are shaped round like a world, you know like the globe!" The look on his face told me that I was no longer on track. I soon realized that there are probably more reasonable explanations of where a pancake got it's name. Probably like the fact that it is a cake made in a pan. But at the end of the night I went to bed a little bit smarter, and a little bit more in love.

Greetings From Alabama

Things I've learned about Alabama:

People may ask if they can "hug your neck". This means they just want to hug hello.
White dashed lines on the freeway does not mean you are in an exit lane, it means the lane is ending. Very soon. I only learned this after runnng off the side of the road about three times.
You don't "take" a shower here, you "get yourself" a shower.
When ordering an iced tea, you must differentiate between "tea" and "sweet tea". I suggest the sweet tea.
Mailboxes are on a post on the sidewalk, and are aparently free game to be decorated with bows.
There is still such a thing as good customer service.
Football is big here. Like... BIG! It's all about the college football.
Whenever you are driving somewhere, there is ALWAYS a back way or short cut.
Contrary to what everyone scared me about, there is good food and good restaurants.
For an instant southern accent make all your one sylable words two sylables. Example; Beer is bee-air

Y'all come back now ya hear

on she goes

I have a dog of Pitbull birth,
With pointy ears and full of mirth;

And sometimes, running o'er the plain,
She tumbles on her nose:
But quickly jumping up again,
Like lightning on she goes! 


Alabama dreamin'

A new year in Alabama. So far I am enjoying my stay. I am not homesick yet. I like it here. There are ponds here. Like just out of nowhere, on the side of the road... a pond. I mean, they're everywhere. As common to the people here as seeing a Porche in LA. There is no reason to turn your head when it is something you see all the time. But to me, the ponds are little puddles of dreams. There is one on the way to the post office. It has a lonely green and white rowboat sitting on the shore. I don't know, is it called a shore? Is a pond large enough to warrant a shore? Well, there it sits, a little wonky, paint chipping, definitly not top of the line. But I have dreams that wrap themselves around this image. Barren trees, crisp air, random plant life that looks to me like it could have come from the dinasoar age, the pond, and the rowboat. I want to have a memory from my life that includes this scene. And not just a drive by. But an actual event. It is something I always dreamed of when seeing such scenes in a movie, or even in cartoons for that sake. Maybe it is because there are no ponds in San Francisco. At least none that aren't beside a freeway, and a rowboat...forget about it. It is something that only exists elsewhere. Somewhere I didn't live. In the mysterious place of Ralph Lauren ads. I wanted to be the girl with the long hair, with the matching gloves and scarf, on some romantic casual Sunday gathering on a large beautiful lawn, surrounded by friends. And that's when it happens... a spontaneous jump into a nearby rowboat. Drifting out no farther than shouting distance from the ones who stayed behind to finish drinking their sodas from straws. It wouldn't be anything dramatic, that would be the point, that in this life floating around in a pond is somewhat normal. Something you do to pass the time. Maybe now, I will get my chance. Not today, I have that package to bring to the post office, and some mundane chores that seem to follow you no matter where you live. But soon. It will be me. I will be the girl in the rowboat. I already have the matching gloves and scarf.

3...2.....1......

Happy New Year world. I have a good feeling that 2008 will be a doozy.