Thrifty Thursday

Oh what a wonderful week for thrifting! I found so many goodies for my home and for my shop.

For some reason I've always had a hard time decorating my living rooms. My kitchen is easy. I'm so obsessed in Pyrex, Fire King and Bauer that it was easy to get the kitchen the way I want it. My living room and bedroom however has always stumped me. For one, I have a couch that I despise. I have 2 couches and a large over stuffed chair and a very small living room and even though one couch and our chair matches, our second couch is like some kind of Lazy Boy-ish recliner yuck fest.

Also, we have this weird wall that I think was put there in the 70's and not the cool 70's. This wall is scary and it's the 1st thing you see when you walk through our front door. So the year we've been living here I've tried to think of ways to cover or hide it or to devise a plan to just tear the whole thing down. I mean do we really need a wall between the living room and the bathroom? Ok I guess we do.

So I covered the ugly wall with my grandmothers ginormous velvet quilt. This thing is huge! It's even too big for a California king bed.

Right when I hung it, I thought it looked too hippie for me. But being Gemini, I have a lot of different tastes and styles, so it works for me right now. 

Well then I find this afghan, I am not and have never been a fan of the afghan but I love this one! The flowers are 3D-ish, they were crocheted like real flowers and all the colors are so fun! 

One fabric that I've been obsessed with for years is Barkcloth and yesterday while I was perusing my favorite thrift, I found this small comforter, way too small for any bed I have. I absolutely love the huge chartreuse Hawaiian flowers and it looks pretty good on my pink chair.

And on the shelf right above it was this.

I looooove embroidery and this sweet little pillow just made my day. I also collect little blue birds so this couldn't be more perfect.

I found these 3 sparrows a few years ago while thriting but I just painted them last week. 

This wonderful paint by numbers painting of a barn and silo, Monkey wood, 3 leaf tray and this Arizona tray. Plus all of the lovelies for my store. Oh happy happy thrifting!

Have a wonderful week!

Growing Old Isn't For Sissies!

So I turned 39 this year. For some reason 38 was a very difficult year for me. It was the year that I realized that I'm not in my 20's any more....I know that obviously I'm not in my 20's in years but I just don't feel like I'm in my 30's. I certainly don't act like it, I don't want to dress like I'm almost 40. I'll see articles in magazines on how to dress your age/decade and I'm disgusted and horrified at the boring slacks, button up shirts and matching heels and handbags! Gag! It's like telling me to put granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances in my house! Really? We should really all be so cookie cutter? Nothing against granite and stainless steel, but it's just not for everyone so...Hell no! I want teal appliances and concrete counter tops or maybe mosaic or recycled glass counter tops that I do myself... ok I'm getting off topic, this will be a subject for another day. 

Oh Yes

When I was younger I dressed funky and different than most of the girls my age, mainly because my mother and grandparents owned antique shops and I was introduced to vintage clothing at a very early age. While all the other girls were wearing their "preppy" outfits, I was wearing vintage slips, crazy mens pj bottoms (because I always loved the print and thought it was waste to just wear them at home), and wing tipped shoes. But once I started having kids and had gone though a difficult marriage and divorce, I lost my funk and gained 40 lbs. I escaped into t-shirts and jeans, sweats and frumpy nightgowns.

Well for some reason turning 39 has been liberating! I'm ready to get my funk back! I cut my hair real short again and bleached it, I bought blue hair dye that I can add in when I want a little change for a few days. I'm collecting some wonderful vintage pieces again and I've lost 25 lbs. I'm ready to find myself again, I'm ready to have fun again like I did in my 20's but now a lot wiser. Not only wiser but more secure in who I am. I'm at a point now that I really don't care what anyone thinks about me or what I look like, I don't owe anyone an explanation for what I do, what I wear, if I chose to never buy a house again or never buy a new car. (More on that later)

This IS my next car!

Life is so short! I want to explore the world! I want to travel the US in my 1961 travel trailer, I want to ride bikes and fly kites! I want different colored nails and finally buy that VW Square back! Maybe I'll even put a surfboard on the roof even though I'm too scared to even try to surf....and I live in Arizona but oh the irony.

Venice Beach July 2011

I'm so lucky to have a husband that even though we are so different, he loves my funky side. He's said I would look great with pink hair or blue hair or what ever color I wanted and he has never once tried to change even one thing about me. For my Pixies and 80's New Wave he's Dokken and 80's heavy metal. But we click, we love each other wholeheartedly, we support each other and each others dreams to the end of the earth and he believes that I can achieve anything and everything my heart desires.

Your life does not have to be measured in years but measured in moments and I want moments of quality, moments that make my heart skip a beat! I intend on making the next 40 years the funnest I've ever had! Life is too short to play it safe!

So cheers to all of us that are on our way to finding our authentic selves no matter what or who we want to do or be....even if it's granite counter tops and stainless appliances!

Tonya

Funky 1980's Sweaters

Oh the 80's sweater!

I was more than a little surprised to see their comeback a few years ago. Actually I was surprised that anything from the 80's would ever make a comeback. I was selling mainly 60's and 70's clothing when I opened my first online store and as I was doing my research, I noticed that what was really selling was oversized sweaters, high waist jeans and ankle boots. It's just a little strange when your old clothes are now being worn by younger generations....not that I'm old or anything but I was born in 70's.

I have to admit that now I get super excited when I run across funky retro sweaters!  Sometimes I really have a difficult time even letting them go.
So here are few!

Dinosaur Sweater from our store Beatniks Vintage

Kitty Sweater from Rogue Retro

Let's not forget the oversized sweaters that make killer mini dresses!

This one from Market Publique

Crazy Geometric 

Whole lotta love for this sweater micro mini dress!

(seller unknown)

 Long live the 80's! 

Cheers! 

Have a great day!

Clan Tynker

Once a year Prescott is blessed with a very fun an unique festival, Tsunami on the square. We get talented artists and performers from all over the country and every year is always a little different and more exciting than the last. At Tsunami you'll be able to see belly dancing by Troupe Salamat, East Indian dancing, Apache Crown Dancers, Axe Capoeira a mixture of martial arts and Brazilian dance and much much more ending with a spectacular fire dancing show. We are also so delighted to be able to see Clan Tynker! My personal favorite.

This year I was ill and was unable to go to our downtown courthouse which is where Tsunami is held from 12:30pm to around 10pm. My daughter Riley (who has attended every Tsunami on the square since she was 10 months old, her father was directer for a couple of years and now he emcee's for the festival.) told me that Clan Tynker was performing at our library! I was so happy that I got another chance to see them again. This isn't the best quality video but it does give a sneak peak into Clan Tynker.

"CLAN TYNKER is a family of siblings who perform a wide variety of talents in a whimsical "Old World/ Vaudeville" style of entertainment. " 
-Excerpt from  clantynker.com

Sorry for the low quality! I really need a new camera ;)

You can find many more (and higher quality) videos of Clan Tynker and Tsunami on the Square on You Tube.

Santiago and Serendipity

Serendipity 

So if anyone is anywhere near Prescott Az on the 3rd Saturday of 2013 you can't miss this all day experience!!

Have a great week!

Tonya

Mid Century Madness

Etsy is my favorite place to shop for vintage furniture and this chair stopped me in my tracks. The fab coral color and angled lines are true to how cool and funky mid century design is. They just don't make 'em like this anymore.....and I couldn't be happier!

Well it's the end of the weekend and for me that usually means reading my favorite blogs and perusing Etsy's newly listed mid-century furniture. Tonight I was not disappointed! This chair is from Charlie's Nest. Their store is amazing! I could decorate my whole house from that store alone!


Ok, now I'm also going through this huge Atomic phase....again and these lamps would look perfect with the coral chair above.

Jetson style dual "spaceship" lamps! Drooling!!

Pink Atomic lamp with gold glitter marbling and retro shade.

I'm dying to make over my living room in atomic/mid-century design!

Have a beautiful rest of the weekend!
Tonya