The Mother Load of Baby Beanies

You may have noticed, based on 2 out of my 3 wardrobe_remix posts, that I have a thing for knit hats. Especially those of the multicolor variety... pom poms always a plus. So you can imagine how my heart skipped a beat when I came across this cornucopia of colorful hand knit infant hats in the thrift store on Wednesday. Unfortunately, they were all so tiny that they would have been too small for even Clover's little head. I think this was for the best though. With Spring only a week away, Clover probably doesn't need a dozen new knit hats anyway.






While I did not purchase any wee hats, I did pick up another book to add to my collection of thrifted vintage children's books (more on this topic in a future post). The Forever Christmas Tree by Yoshiko Uchida, published in 1963. Yellow and gray being a favorite color combination, I was immediately taken with the illustrations and when I got the book home I was pleased to discover that it was beautifully written as well:

"The north wind shivered through the bamboo grove where he liked to play, and it became a forlorn place, too cold even for fighting shadow dragons with bamboo swords."

I'm a Star?!

This was my post to wardrobe_remix yesterday. So I'm browsing through my favorite blogs today, Painfully Hip being one of them, and as I'm scrolling down through their choices for Thrift Stars of the Week, to my surprise and probably a little more glee than I should admit to... there I was... sporting one of my crazy thrifted knit hats and my new favorite pair of vintage Sears overalls (got these on my b-day visit to the Salvation Army). How exciting to be grouped with these incredibly stylish ladies!

Bags and Birds

On my last trip to the Salvation Army I also picked up two super cool vintage purses... for $1.00 each (did I mention that I love half off day?) Black leather and shiny gold... they even look great together. Here they are posing with some white ceramic birds thrifted from the Goodwill last summer.

When I got home, I opened up the black leather clutch to find two imitation pearl hat pins still stuck in the lining of the inside pocket. This made me wonder about the woman who put them there. What was she like, what types of items had this bag contained over the years, what outfits was it paired with? That's what makes vintage finds so great... the uniqueness and sense of history that they have. It's so much fun to give these wonderful cast offs new life.

Speaking of which, this bag began its new life over the weekend along with a red 80's bolero jacket thrifted with the purses. My second wardrobe_remix post.

Thrift Style Icon

Molly Ringwald as Andie Walsh in the 1986 classic Pretty in Pink. The poor girl with a penchant for pink may have been from the wrong side of the tracks, but she puts those richies to shame with how stylish she is.


When she worked her magic on that frilly pink prom dress... pure perfection!

And I do believe she was The early pioneer of Granny Chic.

This movie is so great... the clothes... the music... the Duckster... Iona's hair... the pink... love it... all of it!

Thrifted Style

I've been slightly addicted to the flickr group wardrobe_remix for awhile now. When it comes to thrifted style, this group is an endless source of inspiration. I love seeing how people pair their vintage and modern pieces and remix thrifted treasures with new items. Well, today I finally made my first post. Here I am rockin my recently thrifted hearts & unicorns sweater and trying to pass little Clover off as a fabulous accessory. I was going to post a shot of just me, but her dress went so well with my outfit I couldn't resist!

Thrift Art

One of my favorite sections to peruse while thrifting is the art and frame section. Granted, usually most of it is hideous, which just makes it that much more exciting when you come across that one gem. I have been keeping my eye out for interesting portrait paintings for some time now with no luck at all. I had basically given up on the idea that I might find one. So you can imagine my surprise when I spied this lovely lady sitting on top of a box full of crap in a dark corner of the Salvation Army on Friday afternoon. She totally knocked my socks off! She was painted in 1974 and the artist's signature is "RTL". I love the muted colors with pops of golden yellow light reflecting from her and the coral clothing. Not to mention the slight bluish glow to her eyes and the palest of pinks in her cheeks and lips. Oh and don't even get me started on that fabulous hat! I find her absolutely bewitching. I rescued her right away for a mere $2.50! Of course Lucas finds her "creepy" but I'm determined to give her a home with us. Side note: the chair on the right was purchased from an estate sale a few years ago for $25.

I've also started a collection of small paintings. I only have two so far but I hope to have several someday that I can arrange all together on a wall. I like the tiny paintings: a) because they are cute and b) because smaller is better when it comes to getting things past you know who. The frame of the Asian child with flower painting measures 5 1/2" x 7" and I found it at a flea market (I believe it was $5) and the little sailboat painting is 4" x 5" (I got it for $3 at Sack's).

Future Fun for Clover

Another find for $1.00 at the New to You Shop. When I saw this 1979 Chutes and Ladders board game I immediately remembered this wonderful idea for decorating a childs room. It's in excellent condition too!

I got this tiny little table and chairs set during the same outing at the Welfare League thriftstore for $4.50. I imagine Clover oneday having a super cool mod dollhouse for which these would make pefect patio furniture. Maybe something along these lines (I wish!):

Via The Green Dollhouse Project.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

From last weekend's thrift outing.

The Good: This dish set was magnificent. I don't remember the price but I do remember it was too much for me. Not to mention the wrath that would have ensued when Lucas discovered them.

The Bad: I think I may have actually gagged when I spotted this sexy little number.

The Ugly: I'm not gonna lie. The thought of purchasing this just to see it in all it's cordless drooling glory did cross my mind.

Shirts in Bloom

Not finding anything at Sacks last weekend, I went down the street to the New to You shop and to my utter surprise and glee they were having an EVERYTHING IN THE STORE IS ONE DOLLAR sale, yay! Unfortunately, it was later in the day and the store had been pretty well picked over but I did manage to find a couple of flowery vintage shirts and a lovely lacy scarf.

As soon as I spotted this, I knew it was meant to be! I don't even care if the 80's call and want their sweater back. It's mine now and I love it!

Sacks

I stopped by my favorite thriftstore over the weekend. They always have amazing window displays, often in the theme of whatever the nearest holiday is. I guess Saint Patrick's day got skipped this year for Easter. Most things on display are for sale as well. I'm adoring the huge easter basket hats... not very practicle, but tres chic!

Unicorn Love

My 36th birthday was recently. Lucas gave me a bunch of cash and sent me off to go shopping for a few hours sans baby. He did this because he is wonderful (as previously mentioned) and because that was what I wanted. It was a Friday, so of course I spent my birthday in half-off heaven at the local Salvation Army, the big one with two stories… clearly I have a problem.

Having looked for a great bookend for some time, it came to me on my birthday in the form of a white porcelain unicorn head. I have a little bit of a thing for unicorns (not a big thing, just a little thing). Now, normally I would have thought twice about bringing home such a find, as Lucas (in addition to not sharing my love of thrifting) also does not share my love of unicorns. But isn’t he dreamy?


Besides it was my birthday so I knew I could get away with pretty much anything… which is why I also picked up these two little cuties to come home with me as well and live on Clover’s dresser. Sorry Lucas…

"Teacups"

They say write about what you know, so here goes. My name is Missa. I live about one hour north of San Francisco. I love thrifting. I have a husband named Lucas who is wonderful in every way, but unfortunately does not share this love. Often when I leave the house I hear these words: "Don't bring home any teacups!" "Teacups" has become a catchall term with us, as I will admit to having a weakness for decorative dishware among other things that rarely if ever serve any functional purpose in our lives. These are some of the lovely culprits responsible for turning "teacups" into a derogatory word. I also have a 5 month old daughter named Clover who I plan to one day turn into my partner in crime. Sorry Lucas...

In all honesty, I never drink tea out of my teacups. I'm actually more of a mug girl (but that's for another day). I decided to look into ways of repurposing my teacups so they don't just end up sitting on a shelf looking pretty and collecting dust. These were some of the ideas that I liked.

Via Martha Stewart clockwise here, here, here, and here.

Via WebGardenGuide.

I am in love with this pincushion available for $9.00 on Etsy from Pincushion Alley.

My plan for a future post is to incorporate some of these ideas into transforming my own teacups into something functional that even Lucas might approve of. So stay tuned, we'll see how it goes.