My baby boy is here!

Sorry I havent posted in a while....been a little busy:)

Nicholas was born on November 20th at 5:30 pm after 8 hours of natural labor
I delivered him in my home, with the help of a midwife, doula ( my cousin Kelly ) and my husband !

Im not gonna lie....it was painful! There were times when I wish I could have had an epidural...but Im glad I did it the way I did.
It was the best thing for me and the baby.

If you are pregnant or trying I highly recommend the documentary The Business of Being Born by Ricki Lake
It's an eye-opener no matter how you decide to give birth

That's one happy Daddy!

And if anyone has any questions about home birth, I will be happy to help!

My First Antique Show!

Sure, I have shopped at antique shows before...but this time, I was selling!
Unfortunately the weather was awful, we were getting tons of rain in PA- and what was supposed to be a 3 day show ending up only being one day for us.

This show was Renningers Antique Extravaganza which is held three times a year, here is their website:
http://www.renningers.com/

I had been selling my vintage goods on Etsy for over a year, and I thought I would try my hand at an antiques show.
Unfortunately this one didnt give me a good gauge on how well I would do, because of the weather!
I will definitely try another one....but I still love selling on Etsy the best!

Here are some pics of my set-up, what do you think?

Everyone said that the rug was so luxurious. A rug on a wet, muddy field at an antiques show- why not?

That silver thing you see there is an Indian coffee table, its all metal- so cool!
I will be listing that in my shop soon!

Isn't this vanity gorgeous? I got it at the Worlds Longest Yard Sale !

The items that sold before I even got to take pictures?
I had these GIANT 3-D letters, they were like 4 feet tall....too big to ship, so I couldnt list them on Etsy.

One lady bought them all as soon as we opened at 7 am!

I had fun, so hopefully next year I will get to do more, but you never know how busy this baby is gonna keep me!

World's Longest Yard Sale

Every year during the first weekend of August, the Highway 127 Sale occurs

It stretches from Hudson, MI to Gadsden, AL
It's also known as the 500 Mile Long Yard Sale..but since the distance keeps stretching each year- it is now 675 miles long!
People set up their goods all along Highway 127, which is a road that stretches through Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio and Michigan.

This year was my 3rd year going. The first time I ever heard about it was on HGTV, they do a special on it every year. I lived in CA at the time, and I flew to TN, rented a car, and just started driving!
My mom and my Aunt Polly came along as well, and we had a great time.
I wasnt selling on Etsy at the time, I was just buying for myself..and since I flew there, it limited what I could buy.

But once I opened my vintage Etsy shop, I knew this was a sale I couldnt miss......miles and miles of undiscovered treasures awaits:)
Last year, we took our cargo van, which does not have air. This was August, in the South, in a van with NO air conditioning. I filled a huge tupperware container with ice at our hotel every morning, it would all melt within an hour. But we would dunk our faces in it every time we stopped at a yard sale..it provided some temporary relief... but the heat was still unbearable!

This year, since I was about 6 months pregnant- I knew we would have to rent a van with air conditioning if I was ever going to make it through 5 days of yard sales!

My husband, the awesome chauffeur that he is, drove us the whole 15 hours down to Gadsden, AL to where the sale starts. We had a blast, I always have fun when I am with my hubby- but then combine miles and miles of yard sales, and I was in heaven!

Here I am with a giant pink elephant that was by our hotel in  TN

We would drive as much as we could each day, and hit up as many yard sales as we could.

Sometimes people who just be set up at their house, and sometimes there would a whole field full of vendors!

This year I did a little more planning as it was REALLY hard to find hotels last year, we would have to stay way off of route.

This year I estimated that we would drive about 100 miles a day, and I booked a hotel in that general area- it took a lot of the stress out of the trip!

We started shopping on a Wednesday, because even though it officially starts on Thursday- people set up early.

I only have a couple of rules:

Rule #1     Stop at every single sale, until it's Day 3 and then I start doing what I call "drive-bys ". Mike drives real slow and I scope out the sale from my car, and see if it is worth stopping. There are so many sales, its really impossible to stop at EVERY single one. 

Rule #2     Dont eat at any chain restaurants that we have back home. I like to stop and eat at little places along the way, and it always ends up being more interesting!

By Day 4, this is what our van looked like:

Entire floor was covered, we needed to start stacking upwards!

When you start going year after year, you remember certain people.

This guy was one of them:

He is a little off the beaten path, so he has a lot of really creative signs enticing you to come and visit him and see what he has for sale- and he never disappoints! I got a brown desk lamp, black and yellow metal numbers, and industrial baskets from him- which are all still for sale in my shop!

He always makes cool sculptures out of junk, but they are not for sale!

So if you are in the area, definitely take the drive down to the Highway 127 Sale.....I promise you will have a good time! 

We made it through Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky- hopefully next year we will make it all the way to Michigan!

My Scores For The Week

As the weather gets colder and more windy, it always reminds me of one thing- flea market season is coming to an end!
It always makes me sad every year...I have to suffer through the next 4 or 5 months, with NO flea markets- talk about a bummer!
But I will still go to thrift stores, and antique malls. It's not the same, but it's how I get my fix!

So this week I found two awesome things, that will not be going in my Etsy shop.
These babies are so awesome, they are all mine:)

The first one I found at the tiniest little antique shop, I am kicking myself for not taking pictures of this place- but I promise that the next time I go I will.
Its about the size of a shed, no lie. But it is filled with just the right amount of everything vintage and antique.
Some furniture, metal baskets, metal numbers, old doorknobs and pulls, framed artwork.
Every time I took a step, I found myself going " oh my gosh " .
The place is called Little Shop Of Hoarders, and I found out about it on Craigslist.
It was only her 3rd day of being open when I went in, and I know she will be successful.

Without further ado, I give you, the most awesome thing I have found in AWHILE :

Now I am not an animal print person at all, in fact Im pretty sure its the only animal print thing I own- other than a belt and some flats.

But this ottoman is so cool, from the 1940s or 1950s.
It is in immaculate shape, so soft- but not real fur, I would NEVER buy real fur.
Its meant to go in a ladies dressing room/closet...but wait til you see what's inside when you open it up!

Are you dying?

Because I was!

It's green!!

And those little pockets on the side, are all around it, and they are meant to hold shoes!

Right now it's a little sad, just sitting in my dining room holding all of my scrapbooks- I have to find the perfect place for it.

I got this amazing piece for $50!! I have never seen one like it, and I would bet than I never will again.

Next score of the week...I have been searching for one of these for about a year now.

I first saw it on a Martha Stewart Christmas Special that she shot at her home.

She made the most amazing egg nog recipe...REAL egg nog, and of course served it out of the most glorious silver punch bowl you will ever see that could fit probably my entire body in it.

So I searched, and I searched- Ebay, Etsy, Craigslist....is no one selling one of these things?

There were glass bowls, and green bowls, and gold bowls-  but I wanted silver!
I even looked at department stores, and Home Goods and they didnt even carry them!

So I was browsing around this used furniture store by my house called Another Man's Treasure, it is in Palm, PA.

And low and behold....angels started singing! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

A large silver punch bowl, with tray & ladel! 

Oh my gosh, how much is it? 

I look at the sticker - $25...and she gave it to me for $20, I didnt even have to ask!

The pictures do not do it justice, but I am in love!

I can't wait to use it for all of my special guests on Christmas Eve.

It may not have Martha's awesome egg nog in it, but whatever it holds- at least it will be pretty!

Happy Hunting!
Stacy

I actually made something I saw on Pinterest!

Like many of you, I am OBSESSED with Pinterest!
Most people I tell who have no idea what Pinterest is, look at me with a weird face.
Its probably because Im rambling a mile a minute trying to describe how ridiculously cool it is, and Im talking with my hands, and no one can even decipher what I am saying
" Just go on  there, TRUST ME, it's awesome. "
And that's the best way I can describe it!

So last week, I told myself I was actually going to make something I had pinned on there, and since this baby will be here soon I am trying to get all my Christmas gifts done early!

So I made it....an Advent Calendar!! My mom bought one of these one year, a store bought one that was only filled with crappy waxy chocolate, and after Day 10- no one really cared about the chocolate or the calendar anymore. But this one will not be ignored, because it rules...or at least I think so:)

It's an Advent Calendar!

I just bought an ugly framed picture at a thrift store for $5, made sure at least that the frame had some detail to it so when I spray painted it white it still had some oomph :)
I spray painted the entire thing white, used a craft punch to make large 3 inch circles and glued them all over the back- for that I used modge podge.
Then I got the 25 white jewelry boxes in 2 sizes, 1 1/2" and 3"- you can purchase these on Ebay or nashvillewraps.com, they cost about 25 cents a piece, depending on the size.
I used scrapbook paper, and embellishments to decorate all of the boxes- make sure to number them 1 through 25.
Then the fun part- filling them!
I filled them with candy, erasers, jewelry, money, temporary tattoos...this was a challenge finding some variety to fit in the little boxes!

I made this one for my nieces and nephew, ages 3, 6, and 10.

There are enough boxes where each child will get to open 8, and then I am going to tell Mom to choose the child who behaved the best all month to open the last box on Christmas Day....a little incentive hopefully for them to behave well for Mom and Dad!

I marked the boxes that had girl related gifts in them with rhinestones, so  my sister in law knows to let a girl open that box.

All in all, it took me about 3 hours to make...but it was a lot of fun.

Im going to give it to them on Thanksgiving, and I will probably be more excited than they are!

This is a really great gift idea for kids who get so many presents on Christmas day!

Enjoy your weekend:)

How NOT To Buy New Furniture

I have been searching for new living room furniture for at least 2 years.
My living room is a tropical blue color, and finding furniture to go with it- is a challenge for sure.
Sure I could have re-painted my living room, but that did NOT sound like fun...and I LOVE the color of my living room!

So one day on craigslist I came across a sofa that I thought would work.
A sofa with golds and creams, made by Rowe which makes custom made sofas starting at $1500....so at the cragslist price of $300- it was a steal!
We picked it up the following day, brought it home....and wouldn't you know- it wouldnt fit through the door!
We tried the back door, the side door, the front door...and it just wasn't happening.
We removed the legs, wiggled and jiggled...but it wouldnt budge!
In the excitement of buying the new ( to me ) sofa, I forgot to measure!

My husband had an idea, what if we removed the large picture window in the living room?
Remove a window? Oh my gosh, that sounds like a lot of work...but the alternative was trying to sell the sofa I just bought....and continue my search for a sofa that would fit!

Luckily we have a friend who is a carpenter- Shane Nelligan of American Made Carpentry, and he came over right away and helped my hubby remove the window.
It was actually pretty painless, for me anyway:)
And the new sofa now sits in my living room....a much needed improvement from the original matching sofa and loveseat combo that I hated!

Lesson Learned : MEASURE before buying any furniture, especially if you are buying it from somewhere where it cant be returned!

The end result made it all worth it!

Had to change out the curtains, and luckily I had just purchased this set of 

full size flat sheets that worked perfectly...just slide the curtain rod in the existing pocket!

Metal Bamboo Side Table - Columbus Flea Market - $20

 This tray was a steal at $8, Im not sure if it is silver or just plated - but I love it anyway!

This coffee table is on my project list...not sure what I want to do with it, but it keeps flaking away- so I have to think of something!

Tomorrow my post will be about a great craft project, an advent calendar!

Baby Dill Nursery

          It all started in March of this year, when I found out I was pregnant! So many things rushed through my mind, but the main question- What is the nursery going to look like? We knew we didn't want to find out the sex. There are so few surprises in life, how much fun would it be to spend the next 9 months wondering and guessing about what this baby would be! So it had to be gender neutral, and thus I began my mad Flickr search for nursery ideas!  I came across a picture of a living room, with wild stripes everywhere- and I knew I had to do it to the nursery.

                              So goodbye, boring beige walls that I lived with for 5 years.....hello bold!

Before

Taping off the stripes...this part was fun!

Tape over the stripes with the color you want the room to be

Remove the tape, and you will have a totally different looking room just by using paint and tape!

Paint & Supplies - $50
Crib - Craigslist - $20
The " bear skin " rug - Goodwill in Brunswick, OH for $3
The jungle themed embroidery - Black Rose Antique Mall in Allentown, PA - $10
Crib Mattress - Mommy Market - $20
Crib Sheet - Mommy Market - $2
Bumper - Care N Share in Souderton, Pa - $3
Red & White Heart Pillow - Care N Share Souderton, Pa - 99 cents
Boppy Pillow & cover - Garage Sale - $5
Panda Bear - Impact Thrift Store in Montgomeryville, Pa - $9
Curtains were already in the room - FREE
Wooden Chair - My grandfather made that for me when I was a child, thanks to my mom for holding onto it for the last 25 years or so:)

I love the built in bookcase in this room, so it was easy to dress it up!
Books, I stuck with the classics and didnt pay more than $1 a piece at flea markets for them
Total Cost of Books : $15
The alphabet banner I made from supplies I got from PrettyLittleStudio on Etsy - Price $2.99 *
The vintage large flash cards are also from PrettyLittleStudio -Price $19.99 *
* I actually traded some items from my Etsy shop with this seller, so the cost to me was a lot less
My hubby Mike won the Kermit the Frog for me at a carnival when we first started dating, and I have been hanging onto it for years for our baby

 I am a big fan of wooden toys, and I know when my baby gets a little bit older I will be buying some toys from this Etsy shop : ImaginationKids

The dresser we had been using as a buffet in our dining room for the last 3 years, and I thought it would make the perfect dresser for the nursery! The original color was dark blue, so we painted it Kentucky Lush Fields Green and spray painted the handles white- voila - $25 in supplies and you have a whole new look!
Dont mind the sad looking handle, that guy just needs another screw which we somehow lost along the way.

Hamper - Leesport Flea Market in Leesport, Pa - $2
Vintage Plug In Globe Lamp - Highway 127 Sale in Tennessee - $15
Mirror - Garage Sale along Hwy 127 Sale in Tennessee - $3
Lion Oil Painting - Columbus Farmers Market in Columbus, NJ - $8

I am in love with my glider! I hated it at first, so boring...but I knew some new fabric would make a world of difference! So i just tucked this thick fleece fabric in all the way around the chair, and it is on there nice and snug and now its pretty to look at!

Glider - Auction - $5
Fabric for Glider - Joann's - $12/yard
Toy Chest - This was actually a chest that we were using to store blankets, so with a can of spray paint- it was turned into a toy box! Total project cost: $3.39
London Highway Sign - Hartville Marketplace & Flea Market in Ohio - $20

And no...the baby's name is not London. Im not a fan of putting the baby's name on the wall, I feel like there are so many more interesting things you can do!

So there it is...the completed nursery!
Total Cost : $231.38
Not too shabby if I do say so myself:)

I hope you will share, comment, and subscribe...lots of more posts to come about flea markets, interior design, and craft ideas!