Favorite Finds: Megan's Chickenwire Display

For the first time, we have a Favorite Find with a DIY slant! Megan of Megan Brooke Handmade makes beautiful paper goodies and she hopes to sign up for a craft fair this fall. To display her paper goods, she knew she wanted something crafty and unique. Megan found inspiration in these chicken wire memo boards and decided to try her hand at her own!

Megan scored a vintage frame for 50% off at Goodwill (our Middle Tennessee Goodwills run GREAT sales!) and set to work on it! She did a great job and I can't wait to see her craft fair setup- I know it will be adorable!

To see how Megan made the frame (and to see the frame in its original state), click on over to her blog!

If you would like to be considered for Favorite Finds, email me a photo of the item you would choose as your Favorite Find and a little bit about it. I'll write you back with some questions to answer and then we'll get you set up! I have several in store for you guys already so I may not be able to feature every submission that comes in but I would love to see what you guys have!

Four months...

It can be excessive to celebrate months, and we haven't been celebrating them actually - but I just wanted to take a moment and say this has been the best 4 months of my life. :) I love having Andy around all the time and sharing life with him. He's the best. :)

A few new items...

There are a few things that are becoming my specialty in the booth - typewriters and luggage! Everytime I put a manual typewriter in the booth, it sells within days! The luggage doesn't move as quickly but I know that there are people out there who are into it - it sells, just not as quickly. I do have an obsession with vintage shoulder and overnight bags!

I have 2 new bags going into the booth plus some cool paper dolls and the kid's chair I spraypainted red. I'm not very patient so I'm not a very good spraypainter so the chair didn't come out as well as I wanted it to, but it still looks better than it did when I got it!


Just a quick update! Did you find anything fun over the weekend?

Say Something Nice

I need a little pick-me-up today, do you? It seems like there's bad news everywhere we turn recently. I'm praying for those in the path of the hurricane, for friends who just lost their mom, and all the other tragedies, stresses, and frustrations people have shared with me lately.

I saw this video yesterday morning (just an hour before I came to the office and discovered that we had been broken into and had 4 laptops and 3 video cameras stolen) and it made me feel good about the world and humanity. I'm trying to stay positive amidst so much negativity going on right now.

If you had a chance to "say something nice" to a huge crowd, what would you say?

A little corner of my world

40+ hours a week, I run a music website and do artist interviews on a regular basis. We have a little studio set up in one of the offices but circumstances called for us to do an interview this week in my office.

A few years ago, Elise designed our studio and bought the chair for the room and I have brought in other props over the past year to change up the looks. I pulled this look together in an empty corner of my office on Monday and I have to say - I love it! Even though it was set up for a video shoot, I'm thinking about keeping it styled this way just to add some vintage flair to my office.

I picked up the little table (with flared midcentury legs!) at Goodwill recently and luckily had it in my trunk the day I was setting up this vignette. I got the typewriter at Goodwill also - it's in pretty bad shape so it works perfectly as just a prop. The teal mug holds a succulent that was used in our wedding and sits atop some vintage books. The poster is a Spirit of Nashville print I bought years ago. Behind the mug and succulents, you can see a hint of a yellow pitcher I bought from a neighbor's yard sale years ago and a few candles accent the mug.

I love being able to style and re-style the sets in the office! It's so fun to play around with different looks.

To see Elise's design of our office, where we shoot most of our video interviews, click here!

Favorite Finds: Lenore's Globe

I am pleased to bring you this week's Favorite Finds from Lenore of Lather, Write, Repeat. Lenore is about to be married (congrats!!) and stays very busy up in Winnipeg with transforming furniture and looking oh-so-stylish! Check out Lenore's blog for daily outfit posts and ideas for painting/transforming furniture!

Lenore loves to thrift (atta girl!) and she shares with us about the awesome vintage globe she found.

About her globe, Lenore says:

I found this amazing globe at Value Village, a thrift store here in Winnipeg for only $7.99! I leapt across the aisle when I saw it and held it tight to me like a baby, growling when anyone came near me - that's how badly I wanted it. I'm kidding. Sort of. I'd been wanting a globe to display in my home for a while and it's actually something my fiance was interested in having to plot out our dream vacation spots. He's not really into any of our decor decisions at all so when he shows a glimmer of interest, I had to leap on it and it became my thrifting mission!

I knew this globe was the one because most globes are that vivid blue and green colour palette and this one was made in the most luscious shades of bleached out creams and aqua greens - a perfect fit for my beachy home decor. The near-mint condition didn't hurt either... I arranged the globe next to a reproduction of an old Florida Keys graphic print I found on www.art.com and framed. It's one of our fave places to visit and I love that the table has as bit of a 'travel theme'. You can see from my wall paint (Benjamin Moore's Grey Wisp) that I love that home decor style.

I have been running across several fun blogs from Winnipeg lately, so I wanted to ask Lenore what the scenes was like there. She fills us in below!

Thrifting in Winnipeg is actually pretty decent. I'm a regular thrifter (hunting for vintage furniture to paint for my business Lather Creations) and I have my rounds I do around the city (Salvation Army is my favourite, followed by Value Village and Goodwill). Because they each have several stores in the city, I try to visit all of them in one part of town every week or two. I started thrifting furniture in particular but I've grown into clothing and accessories and kitschy items for my home. I'm even incorporating many thrifted items into my wedding this September (milk glass vases and mason jars for the tables, fabric for various decor elements, vintage cakestands for the cupcakes and an old birdcage to hold cards).

Lenore's final thought: Yay for thrifting!

I agree! Thank you for sharing your globe, Lenore!

If you would like to be considered for Favorite Finds, email me a photo of the item you would choose as your Favorite Find and a little bit about it. I'll write you back with some questions to answer and then we'll get you set up! I have several in store for you guys already so I may not be able to feature every submission that comes in but I would love to see what you guys have!

School Days

School seems to be starting earlier and earlier each year! We were in Target a few weeks ago and I was drawn to the school supplies aisle...I just couldn't help myself! I haven't been in any form of school for 7 years now but I still love school supplies! There's just something so exciting about a fresh start - freshly sharpened pencils, crisp notebooks, empty planners and agendas. (I'm starting to sound a little like You've Got Mail, aren't I? "I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address." Love that movie!)

my first day of kindergarten

I was reminiscing about school and decided to ask my mom about some of her "first day of school" memories. She shares one of her least favorite memories below (although it has become a funny story among us these days):

Before I started 6th grade, I wanted this hot pink tent dress with giant white polkadots. It had white straps (no sleeves) and it was very full. My mom had not registered me properly for my new school, and I sat in the office most of my first day of 6th grade. The office was a funny shape, it sort of sat in the middle of the school, and it had glass windows on 3 sides. I felt like I was a spectacle sitting there as everyone walked by. I was a little fish in a very big sea, scared and embarrassed.

I bet the dress was really amazing but my shy 6th grader of a mom felt too uncomfortable to really appreciate it! I can totally relate to stepping out of my comfort zone and then being unsure of my choice!! I wish we had a photo of that dress!

I also asked her about my first day of school...

The day you started pre-kindergarten was a sad day for me. You just skipped in the room, and said "Bye Mom!" I walked down the hall bawling because I couldn't believe my baby girl was so big. I remember when you were in pre-k, you were a "porch kid", meaning you only spent the morning at the center and I picked you up from the center's porch each day. After you went home, the other kids went to daycare (where they had lunch, napped, etc). You always whined because you wanted to stay. I suppose you thought you were missing out on something. One time, I arranged for you to stay, and you never asked to do it again. :)

my first day of pre-k

After I started elementary school, my mom ended up teaching for 19 years at the center where I went to preschool and kindergarten! The center closed and she began building, creating, and letting her imagination run wild with power tools! If you're not familiar with her work, please check out MyRepurposedLife.net!

*photos are from a scrapbook my mom put together of my first 18 years! you can click to see them larger if you'd like to see all my awkwardness in full glory! :)

I have a really horrible memory so I have trouble remembering my specific first days of school... is your memory better than mine? Share your favorite first day of school stories in the comments!!

Weekend Wrap Up

Welll, it was a really good and productive weekend!

It kicked off with this!



Yay, Mike Wolfe! Mike was in town and announced on Facebook that he would be at Antique Archaeology so I headed down after work to meet him! I met a really nice woman who is also a dealer and we talked the whole time we were in line, it made the time pass really quickly! It only took about 20-30 minutes and when it was my turn, Mike was a dear! He gave me a big smile and a hug and signed a poster for me and took the photo. He was really sweet. I'm still kinda dreamy-eyed over the experience. :)

When I got home, I suggested to Andy that we check out a local auction. He obliged (sweet husband that he is) and we headed down to the Music City Auction. We were late, so they were already through most of the small items and were on to the big furniture pieces that we weren't interested in and couldn't afford anyway! I did, however, get a little armchair.

auction workers working hard	andy hauling my chair home

There's more on the chair I got... I have a "before and after" to share on the chair later this week!

Saturday, we went to breakfast and then came home and I started spraypainting. The weather felt nice-ish, but it got pretty hot. I had 2 "big" projects I wanted to work on - 2 kid chairs that I've picked up lately and I'm excited to put in my booth. (please ignore our awful fence - the storms here have done a number on it)

I will have more on the chairs later, too! :) The one on the left, I successfully finished but the one on the right still has some more work!

I updated my booth with a few things...

I really love being able to go up to the booth and fiddle around - add more items, rearrange and restyle items... it's fun!

Sunday was a lazy day - we caught up on some Mad Men and went to a fun birthday party.

How was your weekend? Productive? Relaxed? Hope it was great. :)

Vintage gone wrong?

For most of us who loooove vintage, it's hard to imagine that the items we covet today may not have been that popular in their time!

I would look at the below photos of my mom and think, "Wow! What a cool outfit! She looks super sassy and cute! Look at her cute poses - she looks totally confident and cool!"


She looks at that photo, however, and remembers how much she hates paisley! (Gasp! Hard to believe that someone back then could hate paisley, right? It seems like it was all the rage!)

She says...

The paisley nehru jacket is something my mom made for me. I never really liked paisley, and I hated my hair. To get my hair to look like that, I had to tape it down with pink "hair tape," otherwise my naturally curly hair would kink up and be too wavy. I generally wore my knee socks over my knees because I had a wart on my knee, and I tried to hide it.

You would never imagine that someone in cute kneesocks would be wearing them out of self-consciousness! They're so adorable!

Hair tape?? I can't even imagine - that seems really tricky and painful!

There are so many things us 20 and 30somethings don't know about "vintage living." My mom told me the other day that when she traveled to visit family, she would let her family back home know she arrived safely by calling collect. Her mom would receive a collect call from her, not accept it, and know that she was safe and sound at her destination. How things have changed!!

I'm going to have to find out more about hair tape... that is just crazy! :)

Spotted: An Owl Really Clock

Let me tell you a little story about a cute little clock... this particular clock found me at an estate sale in which it was hanging on a wall in a kitchen, accidentally overlooked and unpriced by the estate sale company, but featuring a yard sale sticker from the previous owner. (I'm so glad it didn't sell in her attempted yard sale!) I pulled it off the wall, the estate sale company honored the old price sticker, and the clock came to live at my booth.

It was passed over for several weeks, which puzzled me. This was one of the coolest clocks I had seen in a long time... why couldn't it find a good home?

Today, I was browsing my Facebook newsfeed and saw this photo:

"My" clock! It went home with Kate, co-owner of OldMadeGood in East Nashville and she hung it in her home, in the cutest little arrangement I ever did see. Thanks for shopping Owl Really, OMG!

Favorite Finds: Melissa's Bathroom

I have been getting to know Melissa over the past few months around my neighborhood (yup, we're neighbors!) and at my favorite estate sales! She runs Family Tree Estate Sales, my favorite estate sale company. She and her business partners (her parents!) are SO friendly, helpful, and their prices are extremely fair. Andy & I frequent their sales and Melissa and her mom Sue have honed in on my style and always try to steer me in the direction of items I would like! It has been so fun getting to know them!

I knew Melissa would have some great finds from her years of collecting and I'm excited to share with you her second-hand sourced bathroom! Melissa and I have a lot in common - she told me that everything in her home is second-hand! I can totally relate! Everything in my house is second-hand except one Target loveseat, our mattresses, and Andy's new desk and chair.

The crowning glory of Melissa's thrifted bathroom is the cast iron bathtub.


Melissa says:

I found the cast iron bathtub on Craigslist in pretty good, totally usable condition for $100. My friends Teresa and Ahdy went with me somewhere a little out of town to pick up the tub from a woman who lived in a beautiful Victorian home and ran a rabbit rescue center in her converted garage. I didn’t do much to the tub except dab a little porcelain repair paint in a couple of places.

AMAZING, right?

Melissa shares more about her bathroom below!

The other pieces fell into place in the next few weeks—an old vanity from Craigslist for $40 (drawer knobs replaced and all repainted), a vanity chair from an estate sale for $10 (which I have yet to recover and paint), curtains from the Habitat for Humanity Home Store for $5.99 each, and two wall shelves from Music City Thrift at $3.99 and $6.99 (sanded and painted). The paint and knobs cost around $15.


The rest of the bathroom is not so "put together," but I do enjoy this vintage corner!

Melissa, tell us more about the vanity chair!

It's not re-done yet. The wood detail is really too pretty to paint, but I'm going to do it anyway. I've already got the fabric to cover the seat--off-white vintage brocade curtains!



Covering a vanity cushion with vintage curtains? Now that's resourceful!

Thank you for sharing, Melissa! If you're in Nashville, check out Family Tree Estate Sales!

If you would like to be considered for Favorite Finds, email me a photo of the item you would choose as your Favorite Find and a little bit about it. I'll write you back with some questions to answer and then we'll get you set up! I have several in store for you guys already so I may not be able to feature every submission that comes in but I would love to see what you guys have!

Antique Archaeology

We love watching American Pickers and ever since I heard they were opening a store in Nashville, I was sooo excited to visit. I went to Mike's new store, Antique Archaeology, on Saturday and wasn't sure what to think! The aesthetic is amazing but there's not a ton for sale. I've heard from a few different people that whenever Mike returns from picking, the store is stocked but sells out immediately. They had t-shirts and other fun souvenirs for sale... and some big and small items from various seasons. It was a really cool room, but not exactly what I was expecting. I think the "picker" in me wanted to rummage around, but everything was styled so perfectly that you couldn't rummage! SO, it's a perfect store for those who don't like to actually "pick" but like to find something cool. Me, I'm a rummager. :)

Here are some photos (click to see them larger)!





And just for fun... a Mike bobblehead!

New booth space!

On Friday, I visited the antique mall and asked about the empty booth next to mine. They told me it was open and it wasn't priced much higher than my space, so I decided to move next door! I was limited in my booth by its triangular shape, the building's huge circuit box, and some weird architectural details. The booth I moved into is a regular booth (8x8) and it has 2 pegboard walls and 1 lattice wall - which is going to be replaced by pegboard this week!

Wendy Lee (remember her favorite find last week?) helped me move today and set everything up. She has SUCH a great eye and I'm excited for her to open her own booth at the Tennessee Antique Mall this week!

Without further ado, here are photos of the new space! It feels so much more professional and organized, thanks to Wendy Lee!

Here it is empty... it has a few strange quirks too but nothing too terrible!


I bought a gray rug at Family Dollar for $22 to cover up the older red carpet- I figured even if it didn't work in the booth, I could use it in my house somewhere since I'm lacking rugs!

Here is the new set up...it is pretty full - the photos look really really cluttered but I don't think it's TOO bad in person!

And now some detail shots!




I really love the new setup and having a more professional look for the booth!