thrifted | kimberly ah

Dec 19 2013

Christmas, holidays, Merry & Bright, thrifted, vintage

Whimsical Christmas Pins

I have a significant collection of vintage brooches. Most of them could be categorized as “granny chic”. (You might remember when Mary added to my collection when she sent some fabulous selections from her grandmother.) But when it comes to the holidays, I like to wear whimsical kid pins from my own childhood (and thrifted gifts from my mom!)

The snowflake on the left is vintage Avon from my childhood. (You can see a better picture here.) I actually have two of them because I misplaced mine and randomly came across one in a box of junk at a flea market. I was over the moon to find a replacement for fifty cents! Of course, a week or two later, I found mine. (Doesn’t it always work out that way?) I love the sparkle from the Aurora Borealis stones.

The other snowflake is an antique store find. (It’s unmarked, and I couldn’t find one online.)

The bear in the box is from my childhood. I kind of remember it being a gift…but memories are fuzzy from way back then. He can be found here.

My mom bought me the owl at a flea market last year. It was perfect timing, since owls felt very trendy last year. (I’m still wearing him this year.) He’s vintage Hallmark and can be found here.

I’ve had the snowman pin since first grade. In grade school we drew names and did a little gift exchange every Christmas. Kyle S had my name and gave me a tiny box. This pin was inside. I remember feeling very special and grown up because I got jewelry from a boy for Christmas. My family still teases me about my attachment to this pin. I didn’t wear it for years because the pin part broke off of it, but my handy-dad fixed it for me last year and it’s in the holiday pin rotation again. He can be found here.

The Santa is from my childhood, I think. He’s vintage Hallmark (from 1981, according to his back) and can be found here.

The fawn is another flea market find from my mom. I love this one because of the green pipe cleaner wreath around its neck. He’s vintage Hallmark and can be found here.

Sigh…vintage Hallmark and vintage Avon…two of my favorite things.

Would it be weird if I wore all of my Christmas pins once on Christmas Eve? I kind of want to do it…like my own version of the ugly Christmas sweater.

P.S. Another sentimental childhood Christmas pin can be found here.

Tagged Christmas, holidays, memories, thrifting, vintage

Nov 08 2013

1 Comment

crafty adventures, holidays, Office Supplies, thrifted, vintage

Vintage Paper Hoarder

I am working on my Thanksgiving invitations today. I have a plan and it involves using up some of my vintage paper collection. I have a giant bin of ephemera that I’ve collected over time. Many things were purchased from Saturday Morning Vintage (Xenia’s shop is so good and most of what is shown above is from a Thanksgiving paper pack that I bought this year.) and from flea markets and thrift shops. Few things in life make me happier than discovering an old box of labels or flashcards at the thrift store.

As I was sifting through my ephemera stash, I was thinking about my 2013 goal to spend out. While I’ve done a very good job wearing out my clothes, using up my stationery and scrapbook supplies, eating my Japanese snacks and hanging up my artwork, I’ve been hesitant to use up the vintage stuff…the stuff that I can’t replace quite as easily… But it’s better to let these papers live on in another form (as mail art or an invitation) than to languish in a bin, right? So I spent part of my afternoon sorting through things and pulling out pieces for certain projects (Thanksgiving and Christmas related right now) and sorting the rest by color or style. I am now prepared to use up and spend out some of my collection. I’m moving a little bit of it onto my desk so it’s handy for mail art and leaving the rest in the bin ready for the next project.

Hopefully, I can finish up the invitations this weekend and show them to you next week, once they’ve arrived at their destinations. In the meantime, have a good weekend!

Tagged celebrations, crafts, holidays, mail art, office supplies, snail mail, Thanksgiving

Aug 27 2013

3 Comments

homemaking, Jell-O, thrifted, vintage

I Heart Snack Sets & 1950s Entertaining

Last week while thrifting with my parents, I came across these snack sets. They were only $1 per set, so I bought all four. I justified this purchase (I already have another collection of four smaller snack sets) by noting that the plates on these are almost dinner-sized, so they would be more useful for luncheons and larger servings. The ladies at the thrift store encouraged me to buy all of the snack sets, but I resisted. (It was hard to resist.)

I have an obsession with snack sets. They make me think of well-dressed ladies getting together and playing cards or having a wedding shower, eating tiny sandwiches and homemade Jell-O salads and drinking tea or coffee from the tiny cups. I feel like now, when I get together with my friends, we are wearing yoga pants as we crack open a bottle of wine and some cheese and crackers and call it a day. I long for the days of more polished entertaining.

On Sunday night I had some friends over for paper crafting. We ate veggies and homemade dip, chips and salsa, cheese and crackers, roasted tomato caprese salad and other tasty treats off of the snack plates. We drank summer red wine out of the tiny cups. (There were frequent refills.)

I’m thinking of hosting a snack set luncheon when I return…maybe as a last hurrah for the summer? I’ll keep you posted. In the meantime…do you get all fancy when you entertain? I can’t be the only one who dreams of fancy parties with homemade salads and tiny glass cups, right?

Tagged adventures, homemaking, parents, shopping, thrifting, vintage

Jul 16 2013

4 Comments

adventures at the library, Office Supplies, thrifted

Just My Type

Last week, I went to a typewriter workshop hosted by Donovan & Kathy of the Letter Writers Alliance. The workshop covered the basics of typewriter cleaning and care, including trouble-shooting and changing a ribbon. I have two typewriters, a Royal that is in pristine condition and a Smith-Corona that is a mess. I was interested in learning how to change the ribbons in both and how to clean up the mess in the depths of the Smith-Corona.

My Royal Safari was my first typewriter purchase. I found it a few years ago at a flea market with my parents and I think I paid $15 for it. When I saw that it types in script, I knew it had to be mine! I took the Royal Safari to the workshop because I wanted to learn how to change its ribbon. (I was scared to death of ruining the machine by messing up the ribbon!) The best take-away from the workshop was this sage advice: Take a picture of your old typewriter ribbon in your machine before you remove it. Then, when you go to install your new ribbon, you can look at your picture for guidance on how to thread the new ribbon properly. The picture at the top is my old ribbon close-up. Even though I took out the old ribbon and replaced it with a new ribbon within about five minutes, I still needed to use the picture to get it right. (Who knew my memory was so bad?) Now the Safari is typing like a dream with its new bold, black & red ribbon!

A couple of months ago, I found this Smith-Corona Galaxie at a thrift shop for $5. It works really nicely (I tested it at the shop), but it’s really dirty–the ribbon is stinky & rotting and there are eraser crumbs all over the insides. I spent a good part of Saturday wiping it down and vacuuming it out. It’s looking much better, and once I replace the ribbon, it will smell much better, too (…hopefully)!

Thanks to Donovan & Kathy for sharing your typewriter skills! I’m excited to have both of my machines back in business!

Jul 15 2013

1 Comment

Forest Park, Oak Park, home is a 1970s apartment, summer manifesto, thrifted

Saturday on the Balcony

Saturday was the last of a string of perfect summer days–low 80s, no humidity, sunny skies, gentle breeze…

Naoto and I had grand plans for the day, but we ended up lounging around on the balcony enjoying the weather and soaking up the rare gem of a summer day in Chicago. While Naoto caught up on reading the Japanese news (hence the laptop), I watered the plants, caught up on some letter writing and worked on cleaning my thrift store typewriter. It was a nice feeling of lazy productivity. While we were outside, this was happening inside: After lounging all day, it felt good to put on a dress and walk down to Cafe DeLuca for drinks and dinner. They make the best limoncello martini…a perfect drink for summer.Today, when I walked outside and into the thick-as-pea-soup, heavy and hot air, I decided that we made the right choice on how to spend a summer Saturday.

Tagged cocktails, forest park, garden, home, mail art, snail mail, summer

Dec 28 2012

4 Comments

cocktails, thrifted

Our New Ice Bucket

On Thanksgiving, my parents came bearing thrifted gifts. I’m a bit behind on blogging about them. My dad gave me this 1950s ice bucket/bun warmer. Yes, you read that correctly…it keeps your ice cold and your bread hot (though, not at the same time). My picture is terrible, but there are penguins walking around the bowl part and it has shiny bakelite handles. It was made by West Bend in Wisconsin back in the 1950s and this one is still in shiny, almost-new condition! While I’m intrigued by its bun warming capabilities (my grandma used it this way and my mom said it works), its primary job in our house will be in the ice department. I’ve been searching for an ice bucket for a long time now, and I’m glad I held out for this little round guy!

Now, to plan a little cocktail party and put it to good use!

Thanks, Dad!

Tagged cocktails, Thanksgiving, thrifting, vintage

Dec 26 2012

2 Comments

cocktails, holidays, thrifted, Wine

champagne season

Tis the season for sparkling cocktails.

I’ve been searching for champagne coupes for awhile now. Goodness knows I don’t need anymore glasses. I have dozens of wine glasses and I have nine flutes, which are actually better for sparking wines because they contain the bubbles better…but there is really nothing more elegant than a coupe. It feels very 30s and chic. I found plenty of options on Etsy, but never loved anything enough to hit “BUY”. I had my eye on some at West Elm, but at $10 per glass, I was afraid that I wouldn’t use them for fear of breakage.

Well, I’m so glad I waited. Last week, when I met my parents, we stopped at the Goodwill to donate some stuff and I found these (pictured above) for…

wait for it…

forty-nine cents each! They are just plain glass (not crystal) and there are two different styles, but I loved them both, and at a whopping $2.94, I figured I could afford all six. I cannot wait to pop open our bottle of Adami Prosecco on New Year’s night!

Cheers!

Tagged cocktails, thrifting

Oct 18 2012

8 Comments

thrifted

For the Hand of a Giant

My parents are the best thrifters. They find the best stuff for a fraction of the cost it would be online or here in my thrift stores. And they know me so well. Yesterday was my mom’s birthday, but I felt like it was MY Christmas because they had a bag of thrifted treats for me. It’s hard to play favorites, but this giant price stamp takes the cake! It’s about nine inches long and stamps numbers that are about one inch high.