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.