My 2014 New Year Resolutions via ETSY

2014 is going to be the year I focus solely on my vintage shop, Suite 22. This year will be about taking a leap of faith, trusting my intuitions, dreaming big & growing my business. To do this, I must let go of fears that have held me back in the past. I must listen to learn, make wise choices, and be grateful to those who stand by me and support me. I must learn to trust myself, but not to trust so easily in others. I will make mistakes but I will try again! To inspire me to stick with my resolutions I created an etsy treasury list that highlights my goals. Please check it out by clicking here. 

I wish you all the best in the coming New Year!
xoxo,
Jenn

Vintage Junkie Strikes Again

I know it’s 3 days from Christmas and there’s still a few gifts to buy and a ton of wrapping to do but I couldn't help myself. It’s in my blood, I had to hit the last flea market of the year, and boy did I find a few treasures! My favorite finds? The 50-60 year old handwoven Mexican serape that I got for a steal, like literally, I almost felt bad. Almost. My second favorite, the old glass cylinder bank with a spring loaded lock, circa 1930’s. Plus, I received an early Christmas present from my favorite supplier/friend: an old 1922 railroad nail! My lucky number! 

xoxo,

Jenn

Etsy Christmas Sale - 50% off Vintage Christmas Items!!

50% off all Christmas items in my shop! Just enter the coupon code "SANTAROCKS" in the coupon code box at checkout. The sale pertains ONLY to items in the VINTAGE HOLIDAY section of my shop. Any misuse of the coupon code will lead to cancellation of a sale. Thank you for understanding! Happy Holidays to you and yours!!

Link to the vintage holiday section: https://www.etsy.com/shop/Suite22?section_id=10281565

December 20th is the final cut off day to ensure your first class packages arrive by Christmas!!

Christmas kisses xoxo,

Jenn

Weekend Recap #1

Happy Holidays all! Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and are on track to have an amazing Christmas. Things have been kind of crazy around here with the shop since black Friday so I apologize for my lack of posts. We did get to hit a few estate sales this past weekend and it was perfect timing right after a snowfall. So we had a beautiful drive through the Ohio countryside full of snow to put is in the Christmas spirit! Here is a recap of our past weekend via instagram photos:

 

Follow me at @feelingjennerous on Instagram to see more of our nerdery! :)

Talk soon,

Jenn

A Vintage Christmas

Finally starting to add vintage holiday items in my vintage shop! You should stop by and check it out!

Happy Holidays,

Jenn

So it Begins...

So, I woke up yesterday morning, took the dogs out and found this:

I know it's November and this is Northeast Ohio but I'm just not ready yet. It's been a long time since I've been "unemployed" during the winter months. Already the time change and the fact that it's dark by 5:30 p.m. is wreaking havoc on my brain. Sitting at home in front of the computer all day can make one feel like they are wasting away. So, to make a long story short... just keep an eye on me so this doesn't happen:

Thanks so much!

xoxo,

Jenn

Back on the Road Again

Two months of intense wedding planning has left little to no time for me to focus on Suite 22 and my etsy shop. So this weekend it felt so good to be back on the road together and this time as newlyweds! Over the weekend we hit a total of eight estate sales, travelling around 160 miles through at least four different counties. 

Saturday was a chilly, rainy day but Sunday turned out to be gorgeous! The temps were a little low but the bright sunshine made up for it! Here's a few Instagram pics of our visit to Silver Lake near Stow, Ohio.

I am super happy with my finds! I got a lot of great stuff to start getting my shop prepared for the holiday season. Lots of unique items that would make great gift ideas!

Wedding update:
We are still waiting on our wedding photos because our photographer had to fly to Louisiana the day after our wedding for a work assignment. He should be back soon and will be able to begin the daunting task of editing all of the photos. I can't wait to see them and make a post of some of my favorites! But I will leave you with this one. It is a shot Richard's mother took during our vows of him making me laugh.

xoxo,

Jenn

Suite 22 marries The Book Vault!

Thank you to you all for being so patient with me over these last few weeks as the wedding day got closer and closer! This is a little teaser pic with way more to come! Please check back soon as I will be uploading more pictures of our special day!

xoxo

Jenn

Tick Tock

We are officially 18 days away from our wedding day.

Here is a list that is driving me mad:

• I do not have any bouquets made because I can't decide on flowers.
• I have no idea how my hair is going to look or who is going to do it for me or my bridesmaids.
• I still don't know how many people are coming, I'm waiting on 15 RSVP cards. What's the protocol on that? Don't ask me, I don't know.
• We still haven't picked a song for our first dance.
• I am still deciding between three songs for my father/daughter dance.
• We haven't purchased any alcohol or beverages yet.
• I still haven't found a strapless bra I like.
• We haven't even started putting together the favors yet.
• I never lost those five pounds I wanted to, in fact I may have gained a pound or two considering I grab a pint of ice cream out of the freezer every time I look at this list.

Here is a list that is not driving me mad:

• I cannot wait to be his wife.

Lots to do today, better get to it.

xoxo,

Jenn

Call it Kismet

Without even planning it my wedding dress will be ready for my final fitting on October 16th and the wedding bands we picked will be ready for pick up on October 16th. Richard asked me to marry him on October 16, 2012. Call it Kismet, if you will! ;)

Invites

Welp, the invitations have all been mailed out and as Richard so eloquently stated as the last one dropped into the mailbox... there's no going back now! True, very true! So, now we patiently wait for the RSVP cards to come back so we can get an accurate number on everything from food to decor. As you can see from the invites we are not having a "traditional" wedding. This is a second wedding for both of us... so we just want it to be laid back and fun! A celebration of love and the fact that after over 20 years, we finally ended up together!

Now I'm off to find napkins in the color and size I want. Wish me luck!

xoxo

Jenn

Working 9 - 5

I've been spending a lot of time focusing on wedding planning lately, so this morning I figured I should spend some time focusing on Suite 22. I'm getting caught up on my "Thank You" tags. I've been stamping them as the orders come in, so it will be nice to have a stock pile of them once again. It'd be even nicer if I could get enough made to last me through the holidays. A girl can dream, right?

Sick and Tired

Me, around one a.m. this morning.

Feeling like poohsticks with a head cold. The upside? At least I feel like crap now. I was so worried I was going to get sick the week of my wedding and now it's just one less thing I have to worry about. Now I can get back to worrying about pulling off a wedding in five weeks when I haven't even found a dress yet! Egads!

Wish me luck, I need it!

Love

Happy 3rd birthday to Eugene, my little hairless wonder.

Dentist in the a.m.

I have a dentist appointment today at 11:40 am. That is in 50 minutes. I'm dreading it. Richard made the appointment for me. He had his teethed cleaned last week and they told him how not cleaning your teeth can lead to heart disease. So he made me an appointment.He said having your teeth cleaned makes you live longer. I suppose I should be flattered that he wants me around longer but all I can think about is that awful scraping sound. *shivers*

Wish me luck.

xoxo

Let's Play Catch Up

It's been awhile since I've posted here. I'm not good at this yet and it's something I want to work on. I want it to become a habit to write here just like keeping up with my Etsy page, or my Tumblr blog or even my facebook page have all become habits. This too will get easier. They say doing something for 21 days straight makes it a habit, maybe we'll give that a go.

Well, a lot has happened since I was here last. I got to spend some quality time with my niece, Abbigail and my nephew, Mason before their school year commences. I love these kids as if they were my own. It was fun to take them to estate sales with us and to see the different things they each picked out. Abbigail found lots of old dolls and teddy bears and Mason started a healthy cigar and wine box collection to store all his musical gear! I love to encourage young junkers to reuse, repurpose, and recycle instead of buying everything new!

 

I also hit a ton of estate sales on my own recently. 12 sales, 129 miles, and lots of treasures!

I totally needed lots of new merchandise as I was signed up to be a vendor at the August 10th Cleveland Flea. I did just that and ended up with tons of exciting "old" things to sell. The day turned out to be perfect... sunny and gorgeous but a tad bit windy! We definitely need to work on some weights for our tent, we spent a better part of the day holding on for dear life in fear it was about to blow away. We ended up making it through the day though without any major catastrophes, thankfully.

The last tid bit of news... I had a podiatrist appointment this past Tuesday morning and was given the go ahead to lose the boot!! YAY! My Doc said I still may need the boot if I experience any foot pain, but after two days of walking on it, the worst pain is actually in my ankle. It feels as though it has become weak from not being properly exercised for the past six weeks. The only other downer? I'm still not allowed to walk barefoot or in sandals for the next 3 weeks. I swear I will have spent this entire summer in either a boot or a shoe! Sigh... I guess there's a first time for everything!

Well, I'm off to go sit with Richard for a bit. He needs to change his guitar strings in preparation for his gig at the Lake County Fair tomorrow evening. And if I'm lucky, he may even practice for a bit and I'll get my own private show!

Til next time... and hopefully it won't be as long between blogs. G'night all, sweet dreams,

Jenn

Burn the Boot, I say!!

It's been one month and four days since I broke a bone in my left foot. I had a Dr. appointment this morning for follow up x-rays, he says I'm healing perfectly fine and that we're right on track. But to me the x-rays look exactly the same as the last ones did. I feel so defeated! I just want out of this damn walking boot already! I'm a gypsy at heart, meaning in the summer you'll most likely find me barefoot, but nooooo, not this summer! This summer I'm clunking around in a heavy, sweaty, smelly boot. A boot that weighs a whopping one pound, thirteen ounces (yes, I weighed it with my postal scale, as if you wouldn't)... that's almost a two pound boot, imagine it if you will. Yeah, I'm going to have a pretty damn muscular left leg when this is all said and done. In two more weeks I go back for more x-rays and hopefully I'll be given the green light to throw out the boot. If that's the case... I'm throwing a party... a Burn the Boot Bash! Until then, I won't be hard to find, I'll just be clunking aboot...

Burn the Boat Bash!

Good Morning to you! Hope you're doing splendid on this fine Monday morning! ME? Well, I'm feeling a tad overwhelmed today. I have so much to do and yet I'm struggling with that feeling of "Where to begin?" So I figured writing a blog post was as good a place to start as any! So here goes:

I started out this weekend not having the highest hopes for treasure hunting. My estate sale list was looking pretty sparse and time wasn't really on our side because Richard had a gig that evening. We woke up bright and early like we do every Saturday and plodded out the door feeling a bit tired and cranky. It rained the entire time we were on the road which didn't help our moods much since Richard's gig was an outside one that evening.Thankfully we only had three sales lined up and they were all relatively close:

The entire trip ended up only being 36.5 miles which is nothing compared to our normal weekend runs!

The first sale was in Cleveland Heights and was held in  a gorgeous old home that once belonged to a doctor/world traveler. There were so many rooms crammed with so many items I could have spent days there...but Richard saved the day and dragged me out of there before I spent all of my allotted estate sale funds at the first sale! The next two sales we were in and out of pretty quickly, we both scored good items but we had to be on our way to get ready for that nights festivities.

Once we got home I couldn't resist snapping pics of my favorite finds of the day:

I found so many great treasures, hence the feeling of being overwhelmed... I don't even know where to begin to start taking photos for my Etsy shop today!

Once I was through with the tedious task of logging everything into my inventory book we showered, loaded up the car and headed out to Ashtabula County to my sisters house. Richard's gig was literally minutes from her house so we got to hang out with my family for a bit as well. The gig was on this huge privately owned field. The owner puts on a big musical festival every year called Burn the Boat Bash! Every year they take an old boat, bury it half in the ground and light it on fire! Here are some pics:

It ended up being a beautiful evening, the rain stopped and the clouds dispersed leaving behind a beautiful sunset. We couldn't have asked for a better night full of laughs, great music and unforgettable memories!

xoxo
Jenn

The Beginning...

I have been a "part time" vintage seller on Etsy for almost two years now, but a month ago, I threw caution to the wind, took a leap of faith and haven't looked back!

I knew the time was right to quit my "day job" when I spent the majority of my shift daydreaming about all the estate sales, garage sales, and flea markets I was missing out on. While I was busy serving burgers to the the downtown lunch crowd, my heart was on the road. I longed to be zig-zagging from county to county on the hunt for unique, antique and vintage treasures. So one month ago today, with shaky hands and a butterfly stomach, I turned in my two week notice and turned my daydream into my day job.

My Etsy shop, Suite 22, has now become my full time job. Join me on this exciting new journey as I chronicle my day to day life and the triumphs and tribulations of being a Vintage Shop Girl in a modern day world.