Austin Adventures

Candy cigarettes always taste so much better out of the candy cigarette machine!
Austin, Texas is one of those...."Gee ...I really could love living there" places in my book. So it was faboo to be able to spend a long afternoon into early evening...just playing around a bit in that wonderful town!! The above was shot at the ab fab awesome Big Top Candy Shop ...where I completely threw nutrition to the wind and treated myself to a Caramel Kettle Corn ice cream cone!

Yummidy!!!




After Ruby....ahem ,I mean...Hipster Princess ...finished singing at U.T ...we headed off for lunch at the Mellow Mushroom ! I ordered the "Kosmic Karma" pizza...def. drool-able....and the food item that started me on my "nutrition to the wind" path! I can see a (somewhat) healthier version of this ..pesto ,feta,and sun-dried tomato filled pie...being created in my own kitchen this summer...with a whole wheat crust subbing in!



Next it was off to a bit of a vintage crawl...with suggestions courtesy of the adorable and insanely talent laden...Jennifer Perkins of "The Naughty Secretary Club".
Um....hold it....did the fine folks of Austin also find a completely and totes awesome vintage golf sweater?
Thankfully mine was a bit less in cost!
In terms of vintage clothes we found "Cream" vintage to be our fave...taking home a couple of treasures for hardly any bux, and "New Bohemia" having a fab selection for moderate bux!


Oh....and wait...these look a bit familiar too! They were spotted hanging from the ceiling at possibly the most upscale antique mall I have ever visited! Uncommon Objects is a beautiful space where the items are wonderfully edited and displayed ....and FULL of inspiration!




This love seat NEEDS to go with my set!!
H.P. and I were also blown away by how nice and kind everyone was in Austin.Don't get me wrong...folks are also nice in Dallas...but the Austin folk took it to an entirely different level. So refreshing!
We are already planning next years trip!
Have you explored a coolio town lately?

Thrifted: A Holy Grail Item !

Look at this amazing vintage dress form !!! Thrifted this week for 19 bux!!!
Twenty bucka-roos is a truly big ticket item for me at the thrift....but...how could I have possibly resisted?
It is presently residing in Ruby's room (note the dinosaurs)who has informed me I shall now refer to her as Princess Hipster. Alright your madge...would you like that with or without sprinkles?
Speaking of my princess with the hipster heritage ...we are off to Austin this week for a UIL solo competition. She qualified as one of 3 freshman students to go to state.
....and while I am bragging on my sweet (and sometimes sour)P.H.... can I just share how proud I am of her. She won an award for the Outstanding Freshman Vocal Tech Student....AND....for having one of the top GPA's in the freshman class !!!
My cup runneth over!!
I shall be back with Austin adventures next week!

More Patio Project !!

The sun has been hiding rather on and of this week(and for the past couple of weeks!)...but I managed to shoot a couple more pics of my finished Patio Project!
My newly dubbed "Tin Man" chairs and a thrifted plant stand ....blasted with the same glinty silver!



A pair of Tin Men chairs.A sweet little spot to sit!
Note:Our badminton net is up and in full usage as you may tell from the background !





A view from the yard looking inward! I am actually not done with my tinkering with the outdoor greenery.I need to clean up the flower beds and add a few more potted lovelies to the porch.


You can't tell that much about this galvanized steel pot...but its faboo and I have 2 others that I am thinking of RE-thinking whats inside of them.I really want to do an ALL succulent pot!
...also....have you recently checked out the Lowes Creative Ideas site? There are QUITE a few ingenious and clever projects that actually appear somewhat simple and possibly doable.
Check this privacy screen out:

I Did It !!!!

I re-opened my Etsy Store !!!!


This little up-cycled summer frock is available along with other fun goodies right here !

I took these sweet little pics of my petal princess a long while back and realized I never posted this particular photo shoot!


The bottom 3 dresses are long sold...but I thought I might post them as a sort of inspiration board for myself.


My intention for my shop is to add many more of my little creations and I am hoping to have more "fashion shoots" with my little Magnolia blossom with this same "vintage playtime" feel !
Speaking of vintage...that is what you will find (mostly) in my shop for the time being. I will try to add things daily...and hope the rainy weather in North Texas clears so I can get some nice pics!
Here is my question for you(any feed-back is appreciated)....would you like to see more staged "Vintage Playtime" fashion shoots in my shop? Or would you prefer a plain white background and the garment alone?
Happy Thursday!

Thriftventuring...A List to Thrift by: Item #4 Vintage Sweaters

We are having some unseasonably cool Spring days here in North Texas....which is making me a bit worried about the blazing heat that must be in store for us this Summer!
Until that time of 100 degree + temps....I shall allow myself to enjoy these cooler days.One way that always delights me is "The Breaking Out of the Vintage Sweaters".
I thought this kitschy cutie would be waiting patiently in the closet for me to test drive in the Fall.
When I am at The Thrift... the sweater aisle shall always be a glance through spot for me ....just in case.
It's getting harder to find truly authentic vintage sweaters at the thrift....but I persevere....and lookie what my reward was! A golf themed ,crazy, kitsch-a-fied, delectable! Do I golf??? No....but I relish the opportunity to don a an adorable and witty piece where the scale of the embroidered bee is the same size as the golf ball.
My "To Be Thrifted"list is growing.
I am dying to know what you found at the thrift this weekend...care to share?

Patio Project....done!!!

I promised I would upload pics today of my completed Patio Project!!!
It's DONE !!! YAY!!!
Blogger has definitely been on the south side of wonk today...so in the interest of getting my weekend started....here is a little preview!
I am sooooo glad I changed the color of the motel chairs...turquoise is perfect and I cannot stop looking out my window at my faboooo patio!!
Have you completed a big project lately?

Thriftventuring...A List to Thrift by: Item #3 Vintage Holiday

In this case.....VINTAGE CHRISTMAS BUBBLE LIGHTS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have found and continue to find some pretty awesome-tastick goodies at the thrift.
......but vintage Bubble Lights?????...3 boxes of the large and 1 box of tiny...and they all work perfectly!!!
I was helping a dear friend who has had some car issues....and on my way to pick her up I noticed a Goodwill I had never seen...not all that far from The Pagoda...but off my usual beaten path. On my way back I just had to stop in and take a peek around.I was doing a rather quick case of the joint and getting ready to leave when I spied a "Super Secret Christmas Room".
Word.
Inside there was mostly pedestrian stuff...but..... LOADS of vintage X-mas lights. So.... naturally....I stocked up on the bubble lights!
I must say...there is pretty much not a vintage X-mas goodie ....or ANY vintage holiday goodie..that does not delight me from the inside out.
So yeah,vintage holiday....ALWAYS on the "to be thrifted" list!
What yummy-osity have you thrifted lately?

Happy Day After Mothers Day !!

Flattered to pictured among the SUPAH FLY groovy mommies on the special Mothers Day post at the AH-Maze-Balls mommy blog Modern Kiddo !
If you are not reading this blog and you have young children at home....you should be. Beautiful Dotty and Alex got it totally goin' on and know how to have some fashionable fun all while being an awesome mommy!!
On JDP's to do list this week:
*Re-Paint my motel chairs turquoise!
*Re-Open my Etsy store(fingers crossed)!
*Make soup again with my new blender from Mothers Day!
* Photograph and post pics of my finished Patio Project!
Whats on your to do list this week?

Patio Project Question?

Through the rain and unseasonably cool early Spring days....I have indeed finished my
Patio Project !
It is ...juuuuust ALMOST perfect. The bold red table and chairs make my heart sing.....but....I am thinking I picked the wrong color for my Motel chairs. I do love baby blue...but feel the table and chairs deserve a bolder foil.I had considered yellow but that might be bolder than I wish to go.
Any thoughts ?
Perhaps I have been too hard on my baby blue chairs.

Terrariums : A New Years Goal Achievment

Happiness is creating with your child,doing something you have wanted to do for a LONG time......
...AND......even relating it back to your child's American Girl Doll adventure.
You see Julie has a terrarium in her room too.
Noli and I have had many chats about what her own terrarium would be like.
We checked a few books out of the library for prep...and just jumped in.



You will need:
* A glass container (I thrifted this gold fish bowl.)
* Assorted small plants
* Tiny pebbles
* Potting soil (not shown)
* Little "friends" to make it a sort of "living" dollhouse.

...and ofcourse Mommy's little helper!

I did omit one ingredient.
After filling the clean glass container with pebbles I realized I forgot to get charcoal for the next layer. So....I just added the potting soil. We'll see how important that ingredient was......
We used a spoon to add the plants,and added the little 70's girl.
There is no top to close off our terrarium and make it "rain".....so we will happily water ours with tiny drops of water.
Easy-Peasy!

Someone was pretty pleased and excited!

Perhaps I should have added some moss for her to sit on.I am feeling guilty that her little skirt has to sit on dirt.
What would you plant in your terrarium?
Did you have one as a child?