2014

Oh 2014, you were certainly...a year. You were a year of surgery and recovery. A year of baseball, best friends, and a birthday road trip. A year of Chuy's, and parties, and getting a little tipsy. A year of Taylor Swift and loving pop music. A year of feelings and heartache.  A year of goodbyes...to best friends, and a job of 6 years.  A year of rejection, and confusion, and starting to find myself again.  A year of putting myself out there. A year of yarn and knitting and sharing my gift.  And most of all, a year of family. There were so many ups, and so many downs.  It took a lot to get through this year. But I did, and I can't deny I'm stronger because of it. 2015, I am so ready for you.

Shop Sale

I'm going to be having a sale in my Etsy shop!  I'm really proud of the items that I have listed right now, and all of the work I've been putting into my shop.  Sales are starting to roll in, and I've even had some custom orders!  It is a wonderful feeling knowing that somebody appreciates what you can create, and so I wanted to share the love. The sale will run Friday 11/28- Monday 12/1.

Wednesday Beauty

Anyone who knows me well could tell you that I am more than a little addicted to makeup and beauty products.  I just have this compulsion to try new things...all the time.  Above is an order I received from Ulta today, and I'm pretty excited about it.  Once or twice a year they send out a coupon for 20% off your purchase, and it doesn't have their usual exclusions.  It was the perfect opportunity to get some things I've had my eye on. I'm really happy I was able to snag the limited edition OPI MLB set, on sale, plus the coupon.  Baseball is one of my other obsessions, so it was a must-have.  I will be trying out the other sets, and let you know my thoughts next week.  Wednesday will be beauty day on here, going foward.

A Snapshot of Unemployment

This is a snapshot of what unemployment has been for me so far.  Lots of time with my pets, crafts, organizing things, and shopping.  I got my hair done, but it's already time to dye it again.  To be perfectly honest, it has been really boring. I've stayed up all night filling out tons of job applications, and then heard nothing back.  There has also been a lot of rejection, and it has been hard.  Unemployment is hard.

Life is funny.  It tends to happen while you are busy trying to make something else happen.  You don't always notice what is going on, and suddenly you look around and you find yourself living a life that is different from what you intended.  This can be good.  This can be bad.  Sometimes it just is.

Somehow it has been almost 3 years since the last time I wrote here.  That kind of blows my mind.  I was really enjoying the direction I was heading here, but life happened.  I found myself working all the time at my crazy retail job, and then I got a promotion, and all of this just fell by the way-side.  I don't want to say that I gave up on my dreams, but I definitely didn't make them a priority.

Now, life has thrown me another plot twist.  I finally left my job as a merchandiser for Old Navy.  It wasn't something I was totally ready for, but it happened.  Now I get to figure out what to do next.  In the meantime I get some time to just do "me".  While not knowing what's next is a little scary, I'm really excited about this.

Expect lots of things to be listed on Etsy soon.  I have 3 years of knitting piled up.  Things are going to be different this time.  I can feel it.

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.

So, is it just me, or is time flying by super quickly right now.  The semester will be over in less than a month...which is kind of scary!  I've been busy filling out lots of applications for a holiday job, but haven't gotten any calls yet.  This is disappointing because the last 2 years I already had a job at this point.  It's not really a huge deal, but it's nice to have my own spending money for the next semester, which makes my parents happy.

I went thrifting for the first time in almost 2 weeks today.  I was too depressed to really do anything last week after Tuesday, but I suppose I'm feeling much better now.  I was going to go to some rummage sales at a couple of churches on Saturday, but it was really cold, and the weatherman lied and said that it was supposed to be rainy/potentially icy, so I didn't chance venturing into new parts of town.

I got this bag full of cross-stitch and needlepoint goodies.  There were 3 hoops, tons of floss, some aida fabric and plastic canvas, and several patterns.  The mushroom pattern book above was also in the bag, and it's pretty awesome.  The best part about all of this was that it only cost me a dollar!

Then I found this enamel flower candle-holder.  I love vintage enamel broaches, and have a vintage enamel flower earring holder from my mother, so I decided that this was a good addition to the collection at 49 cents.  I'm not totally crazy about the marble base though...I might have to see how I can fix that up.

I also picked up these butterfly wall-hangings.  I really need to stop waiting until the sun is setting to take pictures, but the top one is actually much more yellow than it looks.  I didn't take a side-by-side shot, but the yellow one is also much larger.  I got a set of 2 large, and 4 of the smaller ones for 5 dollars.  They are nice as-is, but I want to paint them some bright colors.  Someday, they will look great on my walls...when I have a place of my own, that lets me use nails.


Tomorrow I'll have pics of my latest finished projects...it got too dark too fast for me to get good pictures today.

So, I've been a horrible blogger lately.  I wish I could say it was because I've been busy doing lots of fabulous things, but unfortunately I can't.  School has been the worst, and I haven't really been sleeping, so I'm just exhausted.  That being said, I did take some time to do some good thrifting today.

 Some cute owls, the white one is a bank.

 Cross Stitch patterns

 6 copies of Workbasket magazine from 1967.  They have lots of crochet and knitting patterns, and recipes.  Also the advertising is great!

 This great vintage dress.  It has a high-low hem, and that nice flowy feel.  The hat print is a bit silly, but I kind of love it, and think it will look great with tights and boots.

 A big bag of doilies, there are 40 of them.

 Vintage metal strawberry tray, and some wind-chimes

 A cute vintage purse.  I waited until the sun was mostly down to take these pics, so you can't really tell, but it's actually a dark green.  The flap is suede with a bit of lace, and the rest is leather.

 Another cute grey vintage purse with lucite handles.  I particularly like the lining fabric

.

Adorable kitty wall hangings!

 An awesome racoon latch-hook rug kit!

 A Beverly Cleary book I've never read!  When I was a kid I loved all of her Ramona books!  The cute 60's/mod girl on the cover is what caught my eye.

Another addition to my Disney record collection!  I also got 2 Elton John albums, the original South Pacific soundtrack, and some classical records.

I think it was a pretty good haul.  Especially so because it was half-price weekend at Goodwill, and all of this was less than 20 dollars!  Now, I'm kind of being lame, and not partaking in any Halloween festivities tonight.  My plans for the rest of the night include finishing a bag I'm knitting, baking, and trying not to get freaked out while watching Ghost Adventures on the Travel Channel.  Hopefully I'll be able to stay calm and not want to go crazy on my neighbors, who I think just hauled a keg into their apartment...

Thrifting Therapy

So, today I woke up and I could just tell that it was going to be one of "those" days.  Nothing particularly awful happened, but it was enough to leave me stressed out and feeling kind of down.  I am a big fan of retail therapy, so I decided to hit up Goodwill and see what they had today.  I found some great stuff, and left feeling much better.

These little guys were just so cute, and were only a dollar!  They are actually my first cat figurines, so I'm wondering if this qualifies me as a crazy cat lady?

I got two of the butterfly tumblers and the needlepoint kit for 50 cents a piece.  I've collected quite a few of these vintage needlepoint kits, so I guess it's time to actually learn how to do it.

The biggest and best find of the day was this strawberry shortcake cake stand/cover.  It was the first thing I saw when I walked in, and it immediately went into my cart.  It reminds me of my grandmother *so* much.  She collected tons of stuff, but cake stands and strawberries were two of her favorites.  Anyway, I'm in love with it, so it was definitely worth my 5 dollars.  Now I just need to make a tasty cake for it!