Not gonna jinx it...but...

We might be moving soon!

To this cute little 1940's brick bungalow!

A little backstory first:

We have been homeowners for 11 years. The same home for 11 years. We bought the house when we were newlyweds. No child. No vintage-hoarding-obsession-business.

We have outgrown our little cottage. Very much so.

This new (to us) little bungalow is owned by my hubby's civilian employers. The house is situated on the same land the business resides on, just off to the side. (It is not on the same street, and we won't be bothered by the comings and goings of the business.)They have just started the clean-out and remodel process and will be redoing most of the interior first, and a majority of the exterior. When (and if) we move in the following will be done:

New windows/siding/roof/driveway/walkways
Kitchen remodel to include new counters, new flooring, sink, faucet and appliances
Bathroom remodel (gutting!)
New paint/ceiling sanding throughout
Removal of any existing carpet (to reveal the original hardwood floors underneath!)
Basement cleaning/sealing/painting

There are way too many upsides to this idea versus our current living situation. Below is a short list.

More living space
More (proper) storage space
Ease of parking cars in driveway
Quiet street
Clean and grass-filled yard for our child
Nice neighborhood
Ability to have a garage sale every year (current house is situated on a four lane busy street with no street parking)
Husband will be able to walk to work (back door of work is a mere 40 feet from our backyard)
Ability to have parties (current house has no street parking or dining room or adequate space)
Landlords are very nice guys who my husband has worked for 9+ years 
Reduction in overall living expenses/utilities
And who could resist a newly remodeled living space??!!

I am trying to stay positive and hope this all works out and we will be able to move within the next 2-3 months. I would say we are 90% for sure this will happen!!!

I have taken some before pictures of the interior and will be hopefully posting the before/after pics. In preparation I have of course started a pinterest board for my kitchen ideas. I figured the kitchen is the best place to start, mostly because my turquoise mixer is due to get off layaway just about the time we might move in. Perfect timing!

Here is the "before"kitchen pic:

They are keeping the original charming details like the cabinets with old hardware and this cute spice cabinet!

Ohh..I have some spices for this all right!

Check out my pinterest board too!

This is going to be sooo much fun. I can't wait for the fresh start!

Foot In Mouth

Sooo...

Last week I blogged about not finding Finnish/Danish/Scandinavian items. Yeah.

Guess who found *3* of said items? In the same week?

Yeah...Guilty.

Ittalia "Mesi" glass

Nuutajarvi Plates

Maybe the eyesight has been clouded..... Must be getting better.....

Mugs, Perspective and One Big Guard Dog

One thrift produced all of these mugs yesterday.

Up until recently I did not know that some mugs were so collectible. I guess there is a collector for everything, but it seems that I REALLY underestimated these. When other bloggers were talking about mugs being their "bread and butter" it really made me think. And look. And learn.

Farside Mugs routinely sell for $10.00+
Snoopy Fire King Mugs sell for about $20.00+
Prozac Mugs... $20.00+
Kliban Mugs....$15.00+

The only mystery in this lot is the United Express Mugs. United mugs usually sell for $10.00+....usually.

Now the mugs section is never overlooked while thrifting. Kinda makes me sick that I had no idea. My mug knowledge is limited and just beginning at this point, so I can't imagine how many other mugs are out there that are so collectible. So many mugs, so little time....

Anyway, I read a blog post recently by a kinda slightly upscale thrifter that lives in California. I routinely read her blog and she gives great info on mid century modern items that she finds and collects.
And sells.
For a lot of money.
She said that she is going to start looking past a $10.00 price point, stop buying things like MUGS and go for more higher priced items. I don't know about you, but I can count on one hand the amount of Danish/MCM/Finnish finds I have found while thrifting. The Midwest just doesn't seem to be the place to find it. The demographic is all wrong. We don't have a lot of MCM type houses that were constructed around here, hence the lack of interior coordinating housewares. The West Coast is much more the place to find it.

How is your area for that type of ware?

I can't overlook mugs or items that have a $10.00 price point. Not in this area. It is a rare day that you find an item worth $100.00+....It's the little things that add up.

Anyway, just beware....if you intend on sneaking over and stealing our mug hoard....beware of this sleeping beast outside the thrifting room. She'll eat you up.

Umm..not really...at all. =)

The last picture shows the amount of interest she had in having her picture taken.

New Flowers

We took a trip to Home Depot last night so Mr. Vaughan could get his closet organizing supplies (long awaited) and my big splurge was this new little orchid. Big splurge at $7.00.

 I can't decide if she is ugly or just different. Can a flower be ugly?

 Whatever...she holds a little place in my heart. Some orchid love going on around here!!

Aqua Sky Excitement

Our new mixer was placed on layaway last weekend!

Mr. Vaughan gave me a weird look when I took this pic...

We had to buy the shelf display as they never had any brand new ones in the last few weeks. But that's okay by me. I can't wait to have this baby on my counter!!!

Caught ya! Vintage my arse....

I picked up this new magazine yesterday while breezing through the local Kmart. I was drawn to the fabulous curtains on the front. Yep. Those smashing curtains. They may look a bit familiar....

Remember this post?

Ahh.... caught ya "Vintage Style" Magazine! They are advertising how to "make" these curtains on their cover and inside the mag. They even describe the hankies on them as "vintage." First, my duvet is not vintage at all. It was probably made about six to eight years ago. Second, the "hankies" on the duvet are oversized, you can't even find vintage hankies this size.

My theory is this: they made the same duvet into curtains or the duvet originally came with matching curtains, although I find this unlikely as I doubt you would want the curtains and the duvet to match exactly. I carefully checked the hanky placement on their curtains and the same patterns are in the same place as my duvet, so there is no doubt they are telling some fibs in this "how to."

I guess I am not surprised, as I figured these mags do this sort of this all the time, but I am a bit disappointed too. The magazine was a bit pricey at $9.95. I would hope they would come up with some of their own original ideas in the future. With that said, I did enjoy it, but it would have to be super in the future to pay that much. I bought it more for show and tell than anything.

Now, let me go and contemplate cutting my duvet into curtains.....

Some Vintage Dryer Love

I saw this dandy 1960's aqua blue dryer at the Salvation Army today. I LOVE the look and color. Alas, I am not in the market for a dryer, and the price was a little out of hand ($80.00) for an as-is dryer that is 50 years old. But it's got great style!