Have a Little Faith, Honey.

While driving home on a sultry summer night last week, just outside of town, we spotted something.  Something sitting out for the trash...something wonderful.  I pulled into the driveway of the little farmhouse, and waved on the folks behind us who were also going to stop.

A perfect glider.  What in the hell?

I made Joe knock on the door because I thought "there is no way someone put this out for the trash!"

A twenty-something in a bathrobe, full beard, and chest tattoo answered the door and said it was all ours!  (it was a pretty hot seen by the by).  Then I looked at it, then at the  Nursecar (Ford Focus), then at Joe.

"Have a little faith, honey," he said to me.  "It's like a tetras...I just have to fit it in just right."

Coco was yelling "tie it to the roof," and I was offering to walk the last 5 miles and just carry it (because there was no way that I was leaving it there).  (All the while distracted by the hot bearded tattoo guy) (hoping he would offer me a cocktail and offer to deliver it to my house).

But lo and behold, Joe fit that damn thing in.  And now it lives at my house.  And matches my porch furniture.  Score team Cesarz!

xoxo, e.

And the Vintage Gods Are Smiling.

*Disclaimer*

The results of this thrifting trip are not typical.  I am usually happy to find one wow item on any given trip.  This trip yielded the score of all scores.

On a recent morning, Joe brought me a cup of coffee as I sulked in that "can't get a positive pregnancy test or start my period" pit of despair.  Which is pretty much the worst time in the whole month long process of this.  Just something give already!

"Come on" he said.  "Let's go to the thrift store and be there when it opens...in your pj's.  Don't even change."  Awesome.  That man knows me like the back of his hand.

He poured to-go cups of coffee, and I threw on a hat and a flannel over my fleece  pajama pants (and that whole phrase sounds like a fashion rock bottom.  and it was.)  But I was still better dressed than most of the old ladies waiting in line for the thrift store to open.

I am methodical and routine in my shopping.  Jewelry, then dresses, then shoes, then everything else.  I give the place a little scan first to see if I have any competition lurking around...i.e. if I have to be panicked to get all of the good stuff before someone else does. (that sounds totally neurotic now that I see it in print). (maybe replace methodical with OCD?).

But I was all set on this particular morning.  Just me and the old ladies.  I started sifting through dresses and found a gorgeous 1950's party dress.  And then another.  And then another.  And then I thought to myself "ohmygodohmygodohmygod they put out someone's entire amazing wardrobe last night!"  Then I think I pushed a lady out of the way to finish going through the dresses.  I had a perfect cart full from the 1940's through 1960's.  Many with tags.  Seriously.  

And then I was all "what else did they put out of her's last night?!"  I ran to the fancy dress section, and there it was.  All lacey and satiny.  It wasn't till I was in line that I even thought to look at the label.  Sigh.  Gasp.  Oh my God this shit is for real.  Ceil Chapman's are breathtaking and fancy folks.

Then the cashier was all "Do you have a 1/2 off coupon?" ????  What?? I thought coupon's expired yesterday!  "No, tomorrow" she said.  And, up walks a lovely old lady who offered me one of her extras.   Because you make friends with the old ladies when you are waiting in line for the thrift store to open.  And sometimes it pays off.  I needed that half off coupon, because $1.80 was clearly too much to pay for a 1940's rayon dress with the original belt. (*note sarcasm here*).

Thanks Karma, I needed a solid today.  xoxo, e.

p.s.. if you were wondering about the cow in labor whom we left to get Chinese food (Confused?  see here), well...It's A Girl!!

Birthday Shots!

Yay!  Whoo...oh, wait, not that kind of shots!

This kind of shots ;)

If you are over my infertility already, you can stop reading.  But if you'd like the nitty gritty details, do carry on.

Score:

Infertility: 1       Erica: 0

Damn it!  We lost round one.  Our first try with IUI (intrauterine insemination) (turkey baster) didn't take.  So, as one is full of crazy hormones and has just started her period, one must decide immediately one is going to try another month of treatment.  (we call this my $1,000 period...because basically I will get a huge bill this month for not being pregnant.  jerks.)  One must call around and find the best prices on meds that one doesn't know the name of...on a Saturday...with no one calling her back...because I thought I needed the meds by Monday.  No one is clear about anything in this process.  It is bizarre the lack of information given to us.

So, last Monday I started on a different med that will hopefully pull down a few more eggs than last month.  On Friday (my birthday), Joe made an amazing fish fry dinner...then gave me my first hormone shot.  One shot a day, and then they will do an ultrasound on Monday to see how my eggies look.  Then we can decide if we would like to do another round of IUI or try timed intercourse (exactly what it sounds like ;).

But on to sunnier skies and greener pastures.  My birthday week was amazing.  I seriously believe in indulging oneself for one's birthday...we deserve it gals!  We did a lot of thrifting and antiquing this week, and lot of food indulging, and a lot of snuggling.  I love my Jojo Buns...he deserves a medal for taking care of my hot flashing hormonal ass!  (No, seriously, I have so many hot flashes because of the hormones!  If I had a nickel for every time I uttered the phrase "Excuse me, I'm having a hot flash - I'm all hopped up on infertility meds"...too much information for people?)  ;)

Joe and I went out for a delish lunch at Frita Batidos..

Then he took me to my favorite antique Jewelry store, Arcadian, and let me pick out a perfect 1920's locket!!

Then we attended the Friday night fish fry at St. Jojo Buns...

Then my sister sent me amazing birthday gifts!!!   Hand made bangles using embroidery thread (brilliant), an Urban Decay Naked eye shadow pallet in perfect bronzes and blushes, and an olive velvet clutch.  Becca rocks and I love her.  And I love you!  Happy almost spring!

xoxo, e.

I Love When They Get it Wrong.

Happy one year shop-aversary to Farmstead Vintage!  A year ago, I was scared to take the leap.  I remember hemming and hawing, scared to post my first piece...scared that I would never sell a thing.  But here we are, you and I, 226 sales later!  Every sale is still as exciting as the first.  I am totally proud of what I have created, and that feels good.

I want to chat a little about the thrift of it all.  I'm a treasure hunter.  I love sifting through dingy stores to find the gems.  If you have great thrift stores near you, by all means go scavenge them and do not waste your money on me.  But, that is the beauty of why Etsy and Ebay work.  I may find your perfect dress in Detroit, and you may find my perfect cowboy boots in Nashville.  And, we are both willing to pay for the service of the other getting out there and finding them!

I don't however, only thrift for vintage.  Many of the items I score are new indeed.  I dress Coco in Hannah Anderson and Mini Boden, and she sports a new pair of Bogs each winter.  Joe is always a dapper dan for work, and when things get hair dye and bleach on them at the salon, I can throw them away because they were dirt cheap.  I hate paying more than around $3.00 for clothes or shoes, and no more than $10 for quality boots.

One of the best parts about thrifting is when "they" get it wrong.  Sometimes the pricers mark really quality items at $1.80, and crappy Kohl's brand things as high end.  And we, good people, are the beneficiaries of these  mis-pricing shenanigans!

My friend Kelly and I tag team all of the local thrift stores.  I often check my texts to find she has sent yet another picture of her cart loaded with goodness.  Sometimes one does not find a thing, but when the getting' is good...it's really good.

The recent spoils...

New J Crew cream wool and cashmere pea coat...$5.80.

On sale here for $189.99

Stella and Dot Chandelier earrings...$3.20

New here for $49.00

Vintage Frye Harness Boots (can't tell you what I paid because I'll sell these :)

They've made this style for decades, but seen new here for $298.00

And, The piece de resistance of the week...a brand new The Kid Craft My Modern Dollhouse  
$10.81 at the thrift store.

List Price $199.99.  I know.

And this, she said,  is why I thrift.  
Here's to another successful year!  xoxo, e.

Oh for the love of Thrifting. Sigh.

A few events took place today that led to a thrifting excursion.  I've been hating Dish network more and more lately.  The bill keeps going up, and channels I love keep disappearing from our plan, etc. (I need AMC people!).  And, event two,  I went mama bear cleaning in Coco's closet and decided she needed a new bookcase.

So, we switched to Direct TV, and the cable guy could not hook up the new cable to the TV in the bedroom.  Ok, in fairness to Direct TV,  I think it was my sister's TV from college.  It was old.

We set out to Lowe's for wood so Jojo could just whip up a bookcase (he is good that way), but we were unmotivated by the lumber section, and decided to go to the creepy thrift store across the street and look for an old bookcase.

We found a perfect tall cream bookcase for $4 (for coco), a small old cherry red bookcase for $3 (for me), and two embroidered pillows.  As we were getting ready to check out, Joe noticed the hand scribbled sign that said "all TV's $5."  "Hey, we need a TV!" he yelled over his shoulder as he ran back into the creepy basement where the TVs are.

It's one of those weird thrift stores where nothing has a price.  You have to wait for the lady with the peg leg (a.k.a., my arch thrifting nemesis see here), to come and haggle things out with you.  She is so authoritative, like she is taking you for everything you have.  I don't really care...just give me a price!

We hashed that out and she disappeared.  I was then left to deal with cashier #2.  The following events actually happened, and I was absolutely nice to her through the entire thing.

Me:  "My husband has a TV in the basement...he left it by the loading dock.  Can we just pick it up at the loading dock so he doesn't have to haul it up here?"

Her:  "No!  You cannot go into the loading dock!"  (panicked).

Joe:  "It's ok, I took it off the loading dock and set in on a couch down there."

Me:  "Um, alright.  It's just really heavy and that would be easier.  But ok - do you have someone that will lug it upstairs and out to the car then?"

Her:  "Yes we do!" in kind of a snippety I told you so sort of tone.  "Jerry!!"  she yelled.

*in comes Jerry, a thin and frail elderly gentleman*

Her:  "Jerry, there is a TV somewhere on a couch downstairs.  Can you take it out to their car?"

Jerry:  "No.  I'm making a sandwich right now.  Do you want a sandwich?"  (oblivious to our very existence).

Her:  "Jerry, can you help them when you are done?"

Jerry:  "I'll need to go put away all of my sandwich making materials.  I don't want the mice to get into them."  ....walks away.

By this point, Joe had already lugged the heavy ass TV out to the car, and I just wanted to pay and leave. My total for the two bookcases, two pillows, and one flat screen TV was $13.  The cashier was so busy saying "you know, she really should have charged you more for those pillows," that she only ran my card for $8.59 (totally random).  As she proceeded with the second transaction, I noticed a beautiful art deco print on the wall behind the counter.

Me - "How much is that painting?"

Her - "I've never seen that painting before in my life, but tomorrow everything is 30 % off.  Tomorrow really is a better day to shop here."

Sigh.  All for the love of thrifting!!

Apparently I need to go back tomorrow.

xoxo, e.

Patience and Patients.

Some days, (most days), I have my own agenda.  I have a bunch of patients to see, in a particular order, all over the greater Michigan area.  In my head, every patient will be sitting in their room, smiling, and waiting for me to visit them.

Not even close.

Today, I had to be a patient little music therapist.  My patients were busy living life today, and I had to wait my turn to spend time with them.  I sat through the rosary, a communion service, a "four corners" and a "cover all" bingo...do you know how long a "cover all" takes in a nursing home?  ;)

It was a good thing that I had my school marm, or librarian, or "someone considering entering the convent" outfit on today.  (which is also appropriate because my first stop was indeed a convent!)  A solid peter pan collar and sensible shoes kept me grounded...and patient, all day.

Peter Pan Blouse:  thrifted

Cranberry Cardigan:  thrifted

Corduroy Duck Skirt:  best thrift of the week

Dansko Oxfords:  First purchase with first ever paycheck after college (wow these are old!)

Sensible shoes last forever people!

Chicken:  Dolly Parton, ran up to mom when I got out of the car, wanted to be held.

Wrapping up the work week with a "Cowboys and Campfires" party at a nursing home tomorrow 

(Yes to any excuse to wear cowboy boots to work!).  

xoxo, e.

Saturday Evening Post.

Perhaps a blabbering on of a post, but my what a lovely Saturday it was!

The Morning...I don't frequent estate sales, but once in awhile I see something that I need.  I am well aware that hard core estate salers get there early, get a number, and quietly sip their coffee while visually intimidating their competition.

There were two things that I really wanted to get to this sale for...an old school cider press, and this lovely lady...

But, life happens.  I had stuff to do this morning and did not get there at sunrise with the die-hards.  So Joe, Coco, and I headed over after he got off work.  While I did not expect the dress form or the cider press to still be there, the following series of events made the whole situation just plain heart wrenching.

me:  Hi, I'll take this pile.
nice lady:  Okay, $1 apiece.
me:  Deal.  By the way, how much did the dress form go for?
nice lady:  Oh, there was this woman who got here before everyone and made sure she was first in line.  She made sure everyone knew she was here for the dress form - it was all she came for.
me:  For how much?
nice lady:  $50.  (really really stink in' cheap)

I did however, get three 1950's wool pencil skirts, one taupe eel skin purse, and a pair of dark teal Sperry tassel loafers, all in my size, all for $1..so it wasn't a total bust.

The Afternoon...I scored a collapsible massage table in the dingy basement of one of my favorite thrift stores today going for nothing (and Joe talked the woman with a peg leg down from that :).)  (And he found $20 in the back pocket of his dress pants that clearly went throughout the wash..so basically it was free.)  (And, I am not making fun of the woman for having a peg leg.  But, one time she told me that I couldn't shop in her dingy, dirty, warehouse of a thrift store with my morning coffee...in a spill proof travel mug I might add.  As if I might spill it on some junk and really make a mess.  I've been bitter towards her ever since.  A woman needs her morning thrifting coffee for God's sake!)

Side note, if you've never had a Jojo massage...you need one.  In fact, I know what all of you that I'm supposed to buy Christmas gifts for are getting...HA!!

The Evening...When we got home, Joe put a chicken and veg in the oven, and while that worked away we started working through the evening to-do list.  We had a bushel of apples that needed to go into the roaster for the last batch of overnight applesauce...and then there were the peppers.

A few weeks ago, on the morning before the first hard frost, I got the pepper call.  Once a year I get the green light from my sweet farmer friend to come and pick peppers till my heart's content before they pull all the plants.  They pick their fill for their restaurant, and when they just can't fit any more in the freezers...we pick.

She clearly warned me that intertwined with the sweet peppers, there were hot peppers that looked just like the sweet peppers but were a little longer and skinnier.  (Again, she warned me, so the following shenanigans are no one's fault but mine).  I was sure Joe would be able to tell the difference, so I just threw them all into the same bags.  Bushels and bushels of peppers have been glaring at me angrily from the dining room for weeks, and it was finally time tonight to process them.   Chopped for scrambled eggs, long slices for fajitas and stir fry - all off to the freezer.

Joe insisted that he had been using them for weeks an had not found one hot one.  I insisted that we taste every one before we bagged them.  And then we hit the hot ones.  The capsaicin spread over our hands.  Joe somehow touched both of his eyes.  I inhaled it into one nostril.  It was a hot mess.  Literally.  Luckily I was drinking a Kahlua and egg nog, so we started with the egg nog as an oil neutralizer.  After a few minutes I had a tissue soaked in heavy cream in one nostril to stop the burning.  

All the while I was yelling at Joe to keep processing peppers.

Coco and I had massage appointments this evening, and I took a nice hot bath first.  My hands are still burning from the hot pepper oil, and the hot water did nothing to help that.  But now the Cesarz girls are massaged and in their pj's, and "We Bought a Zoo" is on HBO.

Farm Fresh Family Life Baby.  xoxo, e