Vintage Christmas

Today I had some much needed retail therapy.  I needed a break from studying and having mild panic attacks.  First, I hit up the mall.  Armed with my coupons, I got free stuff from Bath and Body Works, Sephora, Victoria's Secret, and Bare Escentuals.  I also got free stuff at Target, CVS, and Walgreens.  Yay coupons!


Now, for the good part...After all of that I went to my favorite place in Knoxville, Nostalgia.  Christmas is my absolute favorite time to visit because it just doesn't get any bettter than vintage Christmas.  When you first walk in they have an amazing display of glitter houses.  There were at least a couple dozen, and I wanted to take them all home with me, but they were pricy so I settled for a picture.

I saw lots of Shiny Brites ornaments, but I knew that getting them home safely would be difficult, and they seemed more expensive this year, so I passed.  I did, however, find these adorable kitty ornaments.  They are going to be perfect on my kitty themed Christmas Tree.  Yes, I have a kitty themed tree...it is one of several themed trees I put up.

 

I also snagged some cute vintage buttons, and a little felt tree ornament.

As I was checking out at Nostalgia, they told me to go check out another store, Four Seasons Cottage.  I don't know how long this store has been open, or how I didn't know about it, but it was pretty awesome.  They had the best selection of clothes, shoes, and jewelry I've seen in Knoxville.  I was looking for Christmas stuff though.  Lots of things caught my eye, but I ended up with this package of vintage wrapping paper, and these adorable gift tags.

I love that these two look like mini felt wall hangings.

Unfortunately I have no new Etsy sales to report.  I have listed quite a few new things, and people are looking....they just aren't buying.  Maybe things will pick up soon?

Success

I did it! I just sold my first scarf on Etsy, and it took less than a week!  Considering I didn't do any sort of promotion, and it wasn't anybody I know, I am considering this a success.  I feel validated knowing that someone out there is willing to pay money for something I made.

In other news, I spent 20 hours of a 36 hour period at Old Navy yesterday and today.  My feet have never hurt this bad.  However, I did survive Black Friday, so I am also considering that a success.  I've gone from having no sources of income to 2 this week. 

Now I need to try and sneak in a few hours of sleep before my next 9hr shift.

Floral Finds and Other Tidbits

So, I'm at home now, in my comfy bed, with my cat!  Theoretically I should be trying to sleep while I still have a chance (boo work), but that is easier said than done most of the time for me.  Anyway, I thought I would take the chance to share a collection of my latest thrifty finds.

So, first we have the cutest vintage sewing basket, but I'm going to use it for keeping my yarn contained when using multiple colors in a project.  Then we have that great green enamel tray.  It's pretty big, so I'm going to have to rearrange some things to keep it out.  I found another fun plate for my random plate collection.  I forgot what the marking was on the back, but even though it isn't vintage Mikasa, it still goes well with my other pieces.  Under that, there are some really cute glassbake bowls.  They have a blue floral pattern, and were a steal at 25 cents a piece.  The wall plaque says "try a little kindness" which is something we all need to remember.  One of my favorite things is the bright, yellow Fire King bowl.  It is in great shape, and the biggest piece I have so far. The trivet is so colorful, and I'm totally in love with the floral print on that one.  Finally there is the serving tray/stand.  I bought it because it reminded me of my grandmother.  The best part about all of this stuff....total, I spent less that 15 bucks!  Amazing!


Last week I went a bit OCD and swatched all of my nailpolishes.  I also made a list of each color, and it is stored on my phone, so hopefully I will stop buying duplicates.  It did not, however, stop me from buying another 10 bottles over the weekend....In my defense CVS paid me to take them out of the store.  In case you were wondering each wheel holds 18 swatches, and I have another one that wasn't photographed....yeah.

I also made what I am considering my first Christmas craft over the weekend.  I'm obsessed with decorating themed trees, and one of mine is vintage themed.  I have all these great vintage buttons, but most of the time they just sit in their jar, so I thought it would be cute to make a garland with them.  I know it's going to look great on my tree, which is white, so the string will blend right in.  After I'm done, I can just cut them off, and they'll be ready for my next project.

I have to go in to work tomorrow and get my schedule for the rest of the week.  I'm really concerned about how it is going to affect my Black Friday shopping, I might have to rethink my battle plans.  I also have to fit in time to see Breaking Dawn again, and The Muppets.  Plus, there's that whole Thanksgiving thing....

I did it! I'm on Etsy!  I currently only have 5 scarves listed, but more items are on their way.   I hope you'll check them out!  The link is on the right sidebar.

I can't wait to go home tomorrow for Thanksgiving.  I get to see my precious kitty!  I'm not so much looking foward to working Black Friday.  Though, I'm pretty sure my brother is excited to use my employee discount.  He has kind of become obsessed with his clothes recently.

Also, Breaking Dawn was all kinds of amazing. In case you were wondering.  I can't wait to see it again with my bestie.

Productivity

As you can see above, I've been pretty busy with my yarn crafts lately.  All of these have been finished in the last 2 weeks, along with some other things.  I've been pretty stressed, so that is how I've been dealing with it.  Alas, I think I may be getting to the point where I just don't need any more scarves, so they need good homes.  Some will become gifts, and some will be listed on Etsy by the end of the weekend hopefully.  I keep talking myself in and out of doing Etsy, so I just need to take the plunge before I change my mind again.  Hopefully somebody other than my mom will like them.

In other news, I have gone and stupidly accepted my seasonal position at Old Navy again.  I love the people there, and I don't mind folding clothes all day, but I am not ready for the crazy hours and dealing with rude customers and pushing credit cards on people.  The hours do mean nice paychecks though, and my dad can't say I'm not doing anything productive.

I have also just finished an application for something that could be huge and life-changing.  I don't want to say what it is yet, but my fingers are crossed super-tight.

It is almost time for Breaking Dawn, and my heart won't stop going pitter-patter.  I'm so ridiculously excited, and I've got the waterproof mascara on because I know I'm going to cry at some point!

I've got thrifty things to show you soon....

Well, I guess it has been a year, and I should probably talk about why I have failed miserably at blogging. I could talk about how busy I've been, doing wonderful things, being successful, but that just wasn't the case.  Here is a quick recap of my life for the past year....

I spent the holiday season working 40 plus hour weeks at Old Navy, and any remaining time was split between trying to catch up on sleep and spending time with my family and my kitty.  Then I went back to school and suffered through some of the most dull classes of my entire education.  I spent pretty much all of February and March miserably ill with sinus infections and bronchitis.  At the end of April the apocalypse came to Knoxville and hail ruined my previously pristine car with less than 2,500 miles on it.  In May I did not graduate on time, and got to feel like a failure every time someone asked about it.  I spent the majority of my summer hanging out at home with my wonderful little brother.  I did that rather than go out and deal with the panic attacks that would follow after listening to people go on about their plans and success.  It did leave me with lots of time for crafts, and I also became an amazing couponer, so that was a plus. This fall has been spent back at school, and living totally on my own for the first time.  I have had a love-hate relationship with the solitude.  That basically sums up the past year.

If you couldn't tell, it has been sort of a rough year.  I've spent a lot of time dealing with my anxiety, and trying not to freak out every time somebody asks me what my plans are?  Right now, I can't answer that.  I know that whatever is going to make me happy exists outside of the traditional box of doctor, lawyer, nurse, teacher, etc.  Thus, there isn't any set path to get me there.  So I just need to wander for a while.  And, I realize that I may not have any of the normal indicators of success to brag about when I run into somebody, but I also know that as long as I'm doing something everyday and not giving into the anxiety, that someday soon, I will. 

Right now, I just want to get back to blogging, and focusing on the things I do enjoy.  I have been knitting and crocheting a lot... I'm talking a new hat or scarf every day.  I've also had a lot of good finds at the thrift stores recently.  In addition, I've got some great holiday projects in the works, and I'm looking forward to sharing all of this.

Epic hat and scarf posts to follow...as soon as I get some sun to take some pics.