New uses for old things

One of my absolute favorite things about moving is the total blank slate.

I love taking all of my treasures and belongings

and finding not only new homes for them,

but also new uses.

Bookshelves that used to be jam packed with craft supplies

now become storage for all of our "keep sakes".

Kitchen clocks become bedroom clocks.

A table that used to function as a front door catch all

returns to it's original calling as a dressing table.

Even things that used to be hidden away in storage from your childhood

find new homes as added pops of pink!

But one of my favorite new uses for old things so far in this crazy

unpacking and organizing process has got to be

this!

I was given this very sweet little magnetic sewing pin container as a gift 

from a friends mom.

In the old house it had no home. 

No job.

It literally just was tucked away into a box for a rainy day.

Then I realized that not only was she perfect for my great great grandmothers 

dressing table, but she had a secret hidden potential 

to house and organize my bobby pins.

Viola! 

I saw this on Pinterest: DIY Vintage Tee

So, I saw this tutorial for making a new t-shirt feel 

as super soft and cozy as a sweet vintage shirt,

and knew that I had to try it. 

Here is what I started with!

I love love love this shirt except for a fatal flaw...

the cotton was so thick and stiff and the neckline chokes me out.

I knew it was the perfect shirt to DIY!

I gathered all my ingredients.

Made my brine and soaked for 3 days.

Just like the tutorial said.

And do you know what happened after waiting patiently for three days

and washing?

NOTHING!

I thought that maybe I didn't use enough salt in the brine.

So I tried it again.

This time I used a full cup of salt.

Soaked for 4 days, washed and ....

NOTHING!

By this point I was ready to throw the towel in on this one,

and then the oh so lovely

Jess Youngsman, of the Doe or the Deer,

posted THIS on Instagram.

It was like it was sent to me by the DIY gods....

a sign to not give up on this project until my 

favorite band shirt was properly aged!

So I followed her directions of 

a sea salt and baking soda scrub

followed by a watered down bleach bath.

I stretched the heck out of the neck and arm holes,

washed on hot,

and the result....

welp, I was closer to my desired results.

I was left with one problem.

That claustrophobic feeling of being strangled by my neck line.

I could only think of one solution....

Out came the scissors.

I marked where I wanted the neck line to fall 

and where the straps would need to be to properly cover my bra straps.

And then...Snip Snip Snip.

Voila!

Perfectly aged.

Perfectly fit.

And I even got a little daring 

with the back and really plunged it out!

You should absolutely try this DIY, but skip all that bologna about brining your shirt.

Here are some tunes for your crafting pleasure!

Coffee Talks

"Nothing like a vintage hair piece to make you laugh!" - Erin

"Momma Dukes, Cools as a Cuke!" - Jess

My Pinterest Closet

(source)

What I wore:

Olive green tank from Old Navy,

Purple Skirt from City Song Vintage,

and Brown Wedges from Target

accessorized with handmade 

Sparkle & Stone Necklace and 

Gold Glitter Barrette.

My Pinterest Closet

Are you in love with Pinterest?

Me too!

Do you ever find yourself pinning away and wishing 

that the outfits in the picture were really in your closet? 

Yup, Me too!

So I thought it might be fun to try and emulate 

some of those adorable styles we all wish we had.

I call it:

"My Pinterest Closet"

This outfit was pretty simple and easy to 

put together.

Here's what I wore:

worn in American Eagle jeans,

Hello Apparel tee (here is a link to their shop),

boyfriend cardigan from Target,

a vintage set of beads, 

and the hubs hat.

Funny thing, and I didn't even plan it this way...

I went grocery shopping in this outfit too.

If you would like to join me and be featured in

"My Pinterest Closet"

email me (erintrums@gmail.com) your inspiration photo and your copied outfit.

Thrifty Finds

As promised, here are the goodies that I thrifted at Atomic Living.

I am a sucker for a good vintage skirt.  Being so long waisted and busty I can almost NEVER find a vintage dress that fits me correctly.  So over the years I have learned to just stick with the skirts.

My new "Collette Tours" bag had to come home with me.

It's the perfect size for carrying lots of things and it is super light weight,

but what really got me about it was the fact that it reminds me so much of the 

Paddy Noonan bus tour of Ireland

I went on with my great grandmother as a teen.

Ah memories.

And that vintage Darth Vader action figure carrying case.

You know that I couldn't pass that up for the boy.

He actually spotted it buried in a heap on the back porch of Atomic.

It was filthy, but I knew we had a gem.

I used the same technique to clean it that I talked blogged about here.

These two cuties were found at another local favorite of mine, The Bee's Knees.

This place is a great little treasure box in downtown Lake Worth.

The juice pitcher had been calling my name for a long time now.

I think that I looked at it about 5 different times. 

The last time we were there the sweet old man that works there 

told me he'd give it to me for half off...

he knew how bad I wanted it.  

And that pretty little necklace just spoke to me.

There is something so special to me about a vintage necklace that has stood the test of time.

And I may or may not have plans for this looker!

30x30

Webster Flea Market! Ah day 21...

It's sort of become a pre-birthday/MLK day tradition to hit up Webster.

It's one of my happy places.

You can find random art.

Pretty little things.

Lots of vintage.

And TONS of toys.

Lucky for me, the boy loves it too.

Side note:

This year the boy and I made a list of three things each that we were looking for.

We both found everything...gotta love that!

I'll share soon on a thrifty finds.

30x30

I was so excited about today's 30X30! 

Today the boy and I were to visit a local thrift store that we have never been to.

When making this list I knew exactly which establishment I wanted to visit!

ATOMIC LIVING!!!

I have been eye balling this store front for a few weeks, and could no longer 

use the excuse of not knowing where to park.

For those who need to know....

parking is around back.

Entering a store through the back door always feels special to me.

It's as if you know some tiny secret. 

As we walked up onto Atomic Living's back porch, 

I knew that we had stumbled upon a real eclectic gem.

We opened the door to this fantastic site, and my heart started to pitter patter.

Then we heard Gooch's sweet voice from around the corner inviting us in.

This place is like a treasure trove full of goodies.

 Gooch, the owner of Atomic Living and one of the coolest people I have met in a while, quickly took a liking to the boy allowing me to hunt for finds!

I found myself lost in a sea of vintage bathing suits.

When I poked my head around the corner to make sure that my child was behaving himself and being respectful, I was shocked and delighted to find that 

he and Gooch were submerged in a heated game of Operation.

This one tiny detail alone (among many others) has gained her a customer for life.

This store is a perfect combination of vintage, kitch, PBR towers and a whole lot of humor.

Any place that has a feature wall with a bald mannequin wearing a gas mask and a dear head smoking a cigarette has my name written all over it! If you are in the area, you must,

 I repeat must stop at Atomic Living!

You can find Gooch and Atomic Living at

619 N. Dixie Hwy

Lake Worth, FL 33460

Want to see what I bought? 

You will have to stay tuned for my Thrifty Finds post later in the week.

10 things i couldn't live without this week:

1. broken car A/C i wish i had car A/C
2. the hubs did the easter basket shopping this year.  i just couldn't find the time to get alone and too the store. but i will tell you what...he may be doing it every year! he got great stuff for the boy, but here is the kicker....he knew that we were not going to be able to fill that basket full of candy with out devouring some our self, so he bought candy for us to eat while we were playing easter bunny! love that man! he knows me and my sweet tooth far too well!
3. i borrowed a pattern for some super cute shorts from a friend...they are almost finished!
4. i had a great all day date with the boy on wednesday.  gym, coffee, story time, happy meals, thrift store, ice cream....it was a great day!
5. i can't tell you how excited i am about my amazing vintage kitchen ware finds! i was so lucky this week! i can't stop starring at the cabinets! haha
6. we met up with my dad, stepmom, and baby sister on thursday at Seaworld! it's my new/old favorite place! it was my favorite as a kid and now it's my favorite place to take my kid!
7. the hubs had a friend over for a paint/skate man-date. it was so nice to see him getting "him" time.  doesn't hurt that his buddy sam is a great guy!
8. surfing is not like riding a bike. it's been around 8 years since i have surfed on a regular basis. needless to say it felt great to get my board in the water on sunday, but i got my butt kicked! drank a lot of sea water. at one point when the life guards started blowing their whistles at me i thought it was because they were going to come rescue me....they just wanted me to move. i felt a bit defeated and the hubs had to have a conversation with me about my "bad attitude" (which i was later able to laugh at - i was really embarrassed by my poor performance). moral of the story....i need to surf try not to drown practice more.
9. i can even begin to tell you how lucky i am to have a husband that is good in emergency situations.  the dog ran full speed into the boy last night, resulting in a face slammed into the concrete.  needless to say there was a skinned face, busted lip, and a whole lot of tears.  what do i do? panic, turn white at the sight of the boys blood, and have to leave the room while the initial assessment is made so that i don't freak the poor kid out. the hubs, on the other had, must have been a paramedic in a former life. he just jumped right into that bloody mess and saved the day.
10. we had the most unconventional easter sunday supper of my entire life.  after all the chaos settled down with the boys face, we were hungry and it was late.  too late to really start cooking dinner. a good fact to know: chinese take out delivers on easter.

shops open for business!

drum roll please! it's official....you know all that news that i have been hinting about....well folks here it is. i finally did it. i opened an etsy shop. the shop will be stocked full of vintage treasures and eventually some handmade goodies! please please please check it out and leave me some feedback. if there are any of my handmade gifts that you know for sure you would like to see please let me know! i am so excited about the shop, and it kinda make me feel like i am gonna puke! hahaha

thrifty finds

hit up my favorite little gem of a thrift store today.  once again i have left there just giddy with my finds. i have been dying for a skinny belt and made out like a bandit with this mahogany vintage gucci belt ($0.75) and this amazing turquoise vintage pierre cardin ($1.50).  in the quest for more black and white work clothes i found this super cute men's style blazer ($1.00), it may need a tiny bit of altering, but for one dollar we can make that happen.  i can't really say enough about those sunglasses ($2.00). you know when you try on a pair and you just know they are perfect before you even look in the mirror....yup that's these glasses. so for a whopping $5.25, i'd say i had quite the score.

back to buisness

woot! woot! look who's going back to work! i am motivated, inspired, and immersed. (oh yeah and that's my new painting in the back round! thanks brandon!)

blazer: vintage thrifty find

tank: victoria's secret

skirt & shoes: target

neckalce: family vintage

belt: vintage pierre cardin, thrifty find

yummy candy necklace

a peak inside: my workspace

thought you might like a little peak inside my jewelry tool box. it's full of vintage beads and odds and ends.

mixed emotions

i know it wasn't easy to part with this lovely mixer, but my amazing sister-in-law passed this down to me. after unloading it from my car and onto my kitchen counter, it was obvious to me why she had such an emotional attachment to it. and so begins my love affair with my kitchen aide. i can not thank you enough bitsy! check out these cookies that me and the boy made....they are delicious!