ADVENTURES IN THRIFT-TIQUING - PART 2

On Saturday, after Jenny and I finished working on gathering tax information for MaieDae, I called up my mom and asked her if she would like to meet and go shopping. :) Jon, Jon's dad, my dad, and my brother were all out together watching a movie, so my mom and I spent the afternoon alone and decided we'd rather get in some quality mother-daughter time instead. :)

Since I made it a goal to go antiquing once a month, my mom and I decided to meet at Ally's Attic in Lawrenceville, GA. Overall, I thought they had a good selection of vendors and antique goods in their shop and, out of the small handful of antique stores I've visited in Georgia, I thought their prices were really good! I was able to get all of the items below for $40.00...which isn't necessarily a good thrift store total...but for an antique store, I thought it was a great price!

I didn't go into Ally's Attic with the intention of purchasing only kitchenware items but, for some reason, those have become my most favorite things to antique! I'm planning to try and step outside the box in March and purchase something different. ;)

I loved these two little cappuccino mugs! They had three on display, but I only purchased the two, because I have this thing for even numbers when it comes to kitchen goodies. I loved their vibrant colors and sweet little half-heart handles. I probably need to purge some of my current mugs...I think these will make the perfect replacement.

These tupperware salt and pepper shakers took me a few looks before I gave in and carried them to the front. Being a designer, I was immediately drawn to the charm of the reflective gold "S" and "P"...perfect. :) Fun Facts: These hourglass salt and pepper shakers were made in the 1950's and my mom remembers using them as a little girl!

How cute is this pattern?! I love the colors and vibrant white of this casserole dish. Through some research, I found that they produced this pattern as mugs, bowls, and other types of casserole dishes. Oh, I'd love to find this pattern as a bowl! Fun Facts: This dish is a french casserole dish by Glasbake. It was made in the 1960's and has a beautiful blueberry pattern on both sides.

Loved this cute retro sugar and creamer set! They were in great condition and I'm dying over the adorable font. Fun Facts: This sugar and creamer set was made by Gemco for Corning Glass: the same company that made Pyrex during the 1960's-1970's. 

And, of course, I picked up another piece of Pyrex for my collection. :) I found this beautiful divided dish hiding away on a book case and loved the little yellow wheat pattern. It's in perfect condition and I can't wait to start using it in the kitchen! Fun Facts: This pattern is called the "Royal Wheat" pattern and was first sold in the 1960's. It was part of the Cinderella promotional divided dish series. 

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I'm loving this monthly goal so far! Now that Jon and I are looking for a townhome//house to rent this year, I might need to start looking for some bigger furniture pieces. I think next month I will visit "vintage village" in Lawrenceville, GA. I think it would be interesting to try new antique stores every month, rather than visiting the same one. :)

Purchase any good antique, vintage, or thrifted finds this month? Do tell! Oh! And by the way, Happy Leap Year! Even though this whole year is a "leap year"...I want to wish you a happy Feb. 29th, since it only comes around every four years. ;)

ADVENTURES IN THRIFT-TIQUING - PART 1

One of my goals for 2012 was to go thrifting//antiquing at least once each month. I'm surrounded by so many amazing antique and thrift stores in my area, I'd like to take more time to do some treasure hunting AND be more intentional about my vintage purchases. Last year, I started a few new collections, so when I'm "pillaging" the shops I try to keep in mind the items I love to collect so I don't spend unnecessary money on items I'm not in love with.

In order to keep me accountable to my thrift-tiquing adventures, I thought it would be fun to share my favorite finds with you each month. :)

This weekend, Jon took me to the Atlanta Expo Center to attend Scott's Antique Market (a new-to-me place//event in Atlanta). The Antique Market is an annual event that has hundreds of vendors and so many unique and mostly expensive pieces. My favorite part was looking around and appreciating the beautiful finds. I only made a few purchases at Scott's:

I was able to add this beautiful Imperial Debonair Camera and its original box to my collection. The above picture also has a few more of my favorite cameras from my collection in the background. Fun Facts: The Imperial Debonair was made in Chicago during the 1960s and was used as the official cub scout camera. 

These sweet little glass owls are called Boyd Owls. Jon picked out the black and I picked out the white one. Fun Facts: Boyd Glass is a family glass business passed down through four generations. Each piece is manufactured the old-fashioned way, with a mold and not a machine. 

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The very next day, I stopped by my favorite antique mall in Lawrenceville, GA, on our way home from my parents' house. We only had 15 minutes to shop before closing, but seriously, it's amazing what you can find in 15 minutes. ;)

On our way up to the register, Jon called me over to a little section of the store and showed me this light blue typewriter beauty. It was such a great price and is still in great working condition. It came with an adorable matching blue case attachment. So pretty!! Fun Facts: The "Smith Premier Typewriter Company" was establish in 1886. This particular model was made in the 1960s.

My final find was this set of beautiful vintage Pyrex mixing bowls. I love the steel blue color and sweet little flower details. Fun Facts: The name of this pattern is called Colonial Mist and was first introduced in 1983. 

I love learning interesting facts and history about the items I purchase. I feel like it gives each item more character and life. :) Do you have a recent favorite find? What do you look for when you're "thrift-tiquing"?

MaieDae Closet Sale - Gently Worn Items from our Closet

Jenny and I love, LOVE shopping for new clothes and accessories, I'm not going to even pretend we don't. :) We met during our freshman year of college (nearly 5.5 years ago!) and loved venturing around our little college town for fun clothes. Now that we are out of college and pursuing our own professional jobs, as well as MaieDae, we have been in the slow//awkward process of converting our college wardrobe to something more professional and 20-something-ish. :)

I'm a HUGE fan of frequently going through my things and donating//selling once loved, but no longer used items. As a super-late spring cleaning (or early depending on how you look at it) chore, we decided to dig around in our closets and pick out the best pieces that we haven't worn enough to rationalize keeping and bring you the MaieDae Closet Sale!

I'm really excited about this sale! All of our items are in great condition and EVERYTHING is under $15.00! Great deal right?! Here's the breakdown:

Dresses: $10.00
Skirts: $8.00
Tops: $7.00
Sale Items: $3.00-$5.00

We plan to add more items throughout the remainder of the year including shoes, purses, and other accessories, so be sure to keep an eye out!

THE MAIEDAE CLOSET SALE WILL BE HOSTED THROUGH BIG CARTEL. ALL ITEMS WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE ON SATURDAY, OCTOBER 22ND, AT 12:00 P.M. EDT.

See you there!!

Inspiration for Your Nest: Juniper Home Vintage

This week's nest inspiration is brought to you by Juniper Home Vintage! I have loved using vintage pieces to accent my home, not only because of the uniqueness it adds to the space, but also because of the stories vintage pieces hold. My most recent and favorite pieces have been from Juniper and Emily is fantastic about quickly responding and shipping her vintage goods. Here are a couple peeks at some of my favorites from her shop:

I have two gorgeous camera's, a fantastic PEPSI crate, and a mommy and baby owl figurine from Juniper and I just love the character these pieces have added to my little nest. AND GUESS WHAT? -- Emily is offering you a coupon code to fancy up your nest! Enter MAIEDAE at checkout to receive 20% off of your purchase at Juniper!

I wish you a delightful Monday -- be sure to check back later for a fun spring shop update!!

Inspiration for Your Nest: Vintage Cozy

I didn't get a chance to post nest inspiration last week, but I'm super excited to share this beautiful home with you that was featured on Design*Sponge. I have a huge list of home improvements and this just makes the itch worse! Hopefully, once I wrap things up for the Handmades show this weekend, I can get my hands in some paint and take a little venture to IKEA and the thrift shop.

Love that little fox and their kitchen display of dinnerware!! What beautiful romantic colors.

Thrifting, Decorating, Studios Oh MY!

Ever have those nights where you just cannot sleep because 1,486 ideas are running through your head and you just get so excited that you end up staying awake 2-3 hours past your bedtime?! I definitely had one of those nights last night...

My head was just spinning about all the things I would like to accomplish this year, how I want to take this and this e-course, and how I was going to finish my studio//guest room in order to have an amazing place of inspiration and to entertain guests. So, I made a decision last night that, aside from supplies and a few exceptions, I was going to make my studio//guest room a "vintage//thrifted" ONLY room. I have a lot of work to do, since it is currently serving as our "still-moving-in-so-everything-doesn't-quite-have-a-place-boxes-in-the-corner-room", but I am at a good start as far as basic furniture is concerned.





















Current Studio Vintage Pieces:

• Green Kenmore Sewing Machine from the sixties--seventies
• Vintage Wooden Desk
• Three old beautiful blue suitcases that I plan to add peg legs to in order to create a side table
• Old rotary phone from the seventies

Not much, but it is a start! I worked myself up so much last night that I ended up wrapping work up early and made a little trip to a cutesy thrift store in Decatur, GA, called "Last Chance".

And here is what I scored!

Four Vintage "Reader's Digest: Condensed Books" hardback from the sixties--seventies

Sweet little toy wooden deer
Large Crocheted Doily Tapestry

Total Price = $14.37

2 FAVORITE PHOTO APPS FOR YOUR SMART PHONE

March 24, 2010 is the day I started Project 365. The project is simple: one photograph, everyday for one year. I began keeping my Project 365 in an album on my Facebook page. In the midst of trying to think of creative ways to keep my project interesting, I began the search of photo applications for my current iPhone in order to give my photographs an interesting look.

Just a little background on camera status: I currently have a basic digital camera, but I mostly depend on my phone for my Project 365 photographs. However, I am crossing my fingers that the hubs will wrap me up a Nikon D40 beauty for under the Christmas tree this year...

I am also a huge fan of the Holga, Fisheye, Lomography look that plastic film cameras can offer, but going through the process of developing the film can set you back; specially if you are after a quick result for a project like 365. By the way, check out urban outfitters amazing selection of plastic cameras. While searching, I came across two great photo applications-- one for the iPhone and another for the Android.

1. Hipstamatic for the iPhone: "Digital photography never looked so analog." I love this application. It costs $1.99 and you can add additional cameras, lenses, and flashes to your library on the Hipstamatic for $.99. You end up with a huge variety of photographs you can produce at the quick touch of a button that have the same charm and life of the ones by plastic cameras of the past. Bonus: by using the Hipstamatic web site you also have the option of getting your photos printed!

2. Retro Camera for the Android: "Instant Nostalgia." While the Hipstamtic has tons to offer for the iPhone, Retro Camera does the same for the Android. It is an excellent alternative for the Android phones, plus it is FREE. Cannot beat that. You have a choice of five cameras and five settings of vintage vignetting as well as film scratch and cross processing effects. 

Doesn't this just make you want to find an old downtown area and go all hipstamatic-retro all over the place? Wishing everyone a happy weekend!