vintage decorating

i thought i'd put to use some of the vintage items i have for sale in my etsy shop. my favorite item at the moment is this vintage dish. it matches perfectly with our bedroom ;-)

and the planters and milk glass will work great to hold items in your bathroom.


what would you do with these items?
AND if you have bought something from my shop, i would LOVE it if you sent me some pictures of it in use!

new vintage items in the brandeye etsy shop

i just listed a few more vintage items in my etsy shop. i see to have a thing for green lately.
another lovely vintage bitters bottle.

and a wooden salad bowl set.

and a metal file box.

just click on the pictures above to go to the listings or go to the brandeye etsy shop.

i heart flea markets

the other weekend i went to zern's, a great flea market/farmers market in gilbertsville, pa.

i scored some cool stuff, as shown below. the shiny glass leaf tray i gave to my sister and i think i'm going to save the silver pitcher for myself. it has a gorgeous blue patina that is just beautiful. the vintage glass bowl, white glass lidded bowl and rad candy dish are all in the brandeye etsy store.

life interrupts

i apologize for the lack of posting lately. sometimes, life interrupts us. i feel like i should have something profound to say after the week my family has had, but i don't. we just must remember that life is a gift and you don't always know what it has in store for you. live each day as if it was your last and savor each and every moment.

and dad, i love you so much i cannot even express it. you are the epitome of a #1 dad and i love you with all of my heart. we are lucky in so many ways, and i cherish every moment we spend together. and mom (my #1 fan), you are amazing and i love you so much too. i really was blessed when i came into this world with you as my parents.

because everybody needs a travelling bar set-up

sunday i made it out to some antique malls in adamstown, pa. i got there earlier than my family (it's about 1/2 way between us, so they met me out there, thanks mom and dad and ang). anyway, i first went to a smaller co-op type shop and found the only thing i bought that day. a trav-l-bar! i was contemplating keeping it for myself (it is no coincidence that a bottle of jack fits so perfectly ;-), but i decided to sell it. it is in really great shape and comes with: a locking (with key) case, 4 cups, 2 shot glasses, a tray, a stirrer and a bottle opener, with space for 3 bottles of booze! check it out by clicking below to see the listing in my etsy. shop.

come to think of it, this would make the perfect briefcase to take to my 'real' job, it would make it much more bearable...

it's going to be a white winter (without the snow)

for some reason, everything that caught my eye today was white. it must be because the weathermen keep LYING to us about snow storms. haha. i just added a vintage planter (one more to come tomorrow) and a set of white milk glass lamps.

what a great day-etsy sales!

i woke up this morning, checked my e-mail and sold two things! the vintage patio snack set and glass compote bowl. i would like to thank rachael for having me in her treasury, it sold!

after i shipped them i stopped at a thrift store right by my house that i've meaning to go to forever, new life thrift. it was great, super well-organized and had loads of furniture and housewares. there are a couple of things i regret not getting for myself, so i might head over there again monday.

here is what i bought for the brandeye etsy shop.
a beautiful green glass pedestal bowl and an old bitters bottle from the horse shoe medicine company. the glass was made by wheaton in nj. they actually still supply glass to the pharmaceutical industry, although none of it is this beautiful. i'm sure they don't still sell horse shoe shaped bottles.

click on the pictures below to go to the brandeye listing.



tomorrow i hope to make it to an antique mall that i love out in adamstown, pa. the last time i was going to go we got lots of ice, so i couldn't. this time they're calling for snow, but so far they've been wrong. there is a pathetic amount of snow on the ground at the moment.

new pillow in the brandeye etsy shop

i just made a new pillow last night with my favorite fabrics and it's now in my etsy shop. it was made with this fabric, amy butler fabric and white linen. it's my favorite one yet!

DIY curtains

the other week i made some curtains for my work room. every time i worked in there after dark i would be paranoid that the neighbors were watching me, like they have nothing better to do ;-)
i didn't want to buy any new fabric, because these are only temporary. so i used the leftover bottoms of the curtains in our bedroom. they are cheap ikea curtains, which are super long so are great for high ceilings (or be prepared to hem them.)

i didn't take pics of the process, but here are some general directions.

materials:
-fabric that is 2x the width of the window and the desired length (plus room for seam allowances)
-tension rod
-sewing machine or needle and thread
-iron

directions:
-measure the length and width of the window you want to cover. to allow the curtains to look full when closed, the width of the fabric should be 1.5-2 times the width of the window.
-cut the fabric the desired width and length. the length should be enough to allow for seams and a pocket for the rod.
-sew the bottom and side seams. i do this by folding over the fabric about 1/2 inch, then iron, fold again and iron again, then sew.
-for the top you will want to measure your rod to ensure your pocket is big enough for the rod to fit through. sew the pocket (mine was about 1") by folding and ironing over the fabric to the desired width.
-that's it, now you just put the curtains onto the rod.

(hopefully you keep track of the front and back of your curtain and don't make one of them backwards, like i did. i'm sure no one else will notice, so i didn't fix it.)

two thousand and nine

we thoroughly enjoyed having a lot of days off this year for the holiday season. although we didn't have to work, we ended up being ridiculously busy so i didn't get as much done as i thought i would. but that is what all of 2009 is for, catching up.

our holidays were full of eating...

(steve's prince of steaks in NE philly, i still think jim's is better)

(one of the many courses to our seven fishes dinner)

(tacos)

and family...

(at my parents house)

(and my in-laws house)

(and partying on two street with brian and morgan)

and friends...

("the jenns" my old roommates)

(jenn and lorraine)

(jason and maggie)

(ericka, me and lorraine)

oh and lots of driving...

(dave with boathouse row in the background)

(the sky while driving, 1/2 was pink and 1/2 was purple/blue, this is where the two colors met)

and mummers...


(if you don't know what mummers are you are missing out. imagine a day-long parade full of (mostly) men in sequinced and feathered outfits, drunk as hell, and the whole city becomes one big party.)


here's to 2009! this bud's for you.