Friday Fun: Robot Disappointment

This has nothing to do with anything, except that it's amazing. This commercial makes me giggle so hard every time I see it. The robot just looks so human-like and the disappointment is palpable. I feel so bad for the little guy at the end! Andy looks at me like I'm a crazy person every time it's on because I never fail to laugh hysterically. Go figure. :)

Enjoy!

Favorite Finds: Tosha's Couch

I'm introducing a new series called Favorite Finds! I'm asking friends, neighbors, and fellow bloggers to send me a photo of their favorite second-hand find and answer a few questions about the item!

Our first Favorite Find is my neighbor Tosha's vintage couch!

Tosha says:

Here is my amazing retro green couch. The first time I laid eyes on it I knew I had to have it!

The thrift store it came from is TINY so the lady said she would let me have it for $25 just so they could make room for more stuff. Getting it home was a challenge since my husband was at work. I had to get it on my own and drive it back from Gallatin to Nashville on secondary streets since I was too scared to get on the highway with it.

It was in pretty good shape as far as being clean so I just vacuumed it out really well and spot cleaned the back with soap foam and threw the cushion covers in the wash. Since I have two kids and pets, I knew it would need to be washable so I just stuck them in and crossed my fingers but it worked.

My husband loved it when I sent him the picture and since we could sell our other couch for $35, the whole trip was paid for and the couch was free. :)

Now I just need to repaint my living room since it matches my wall color exactly!

Thank you, Tosha, for sharing your Favorite Find!

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!

PS- HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANDY!! Today is my husband's 32nd birthday and we're going out to his favorite restaurant to celebrate. Over the weekend, we picked him up a new desk and office chair for his birthday present! Leave some love for my awesome bearded huzz in the comments! ;-D

Recent Booth Additions

I feel like I've been neglecting my booth a little this month! I haven't had much time to shop and put new items up there, but I recently swung by an estate sale and found some really fun finds. Below are some quick snaps from Thursday! You'll see a great old school pencil sharpener, a schoolhouse style clock, a chalkboard globe my mom painted for me, a mushroom clock, and some general photos of my messy booth. I'm hoping to get up there and rearrange and make things look a little nicer soon!

I have to say, I'm really loving the industrial/school house style. I'm looking for more cool file cabinets, clocks, lamps, etc.

I come across cool metal file boxes fairly often - do you think I should start carrying them? I think I really love them but I just haven't taken the step to pick one up and put it in the booth yet. Have you noticed them anywhere lately? Are they trendy right now? If you have any insight, let me know in the comments please!

UPrinting Winner!

Congrats to Kelli of Blooming Freckles who is the winner in the Uprinting sticker giveaway! Kelli said she'd like to use stickers to label her crafts! Congratulations, Kelli! Check out Kelli's blog by clicking below!

Our Wedding on Ashley's Bride Guide!

Ashley's Bride Guide is the leading website for Nashville weddings and today our wedding is featured on it! Ashley and her awesome team have been so great to us - we love them!

Previously, they featured our engagement session and it was such a great experience working with them that I knew I wanted them to be the first website I submitted our wedding to!

Click here to see our feature!

How old is your globe?

I love globes, don't you? There's something so comfortable about a globe because they're so familiar and ubiquitous yet they really can make such a statement in interior design! I just picked up this globe recently and it will be headed to my booth at the Tennessee Antique Mall very soon!


Do you also shop for globes? Have you ever wondered what era your globe is from?

There are a few easy, quick ways to find out and for more detailed information, click here to see a complete list of ways to check the year of your globe!

Quick checks to determine age of Globe:

o Is Vietnam shown as one nation (not North & South)? If yes, then globe was made after 1976
o 1984 - Upper Volta changes name to Burkina Faso
o 1991 - Soviet Union dissolves into 15 new countries

(source)

I hope this helps you determine the age of your globe! Check the era and let's see who has discovered the oldest globe! Leave your guesstimated year in the comments!

As for this globe, I figure it's from 1997. The Democratic Republic of Congo is shown with Zaire in parentheses below it, so I'm guessing it's right after the change. Also, I don't see the Nunavut Territory in Canada which was formed in 1998. My best guess is 1997!

In putting it in my booth, I'm cheating a little bit since it's not TECHNICALLY vintage [it would need to be 20 years or older to be considered vintage] but it certainly LOOKS vintage so I'm going with it!

Emily Keafer's Every Little Thing Studio

I'm going to brag on my friend Emily Keafer for a moment. Emily is one of the coolest, most talented people I know. She worked for one of the leading design companies in Nashville (have you seen the "Spirit of Nashville" posters? Yup, she did some of those.) and left in order to become a freelancer. She has kept busy with a variety of clients and was kind enough to do all our wedding design. She is amazing!

If you haven't seen our invitations, feast your eyes on these:

click to see the images larger!

Adorable, right?

Emily is launching a new portfolio - click here to see her work including other invitations, books, Bibles and more!

(And if you're coming here because you know my mom's blog, Emily did her banner, too!)

Not only is Emily graphic design savvy, but she is just hip in general. Everytime I visit her house, I look around in awe and get inspired. I love her style!

She even had a fancy garden party in July for her birthday and I wanted to blog about it but never did - luckily, fellow party-goer Robyn blogged about it today. Check out Emily's fancy garden party here!

UPrinting Sticker Giveaway!

**THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED***

I looove entering contests and have really loved using UPrinting in the past, so I'm pleased to bring you a contest from UPrinting! Woohoo!!!

I'm giving away custom stickers!! The possibilities are endless - get address labels, incorporate them into your wedding decor or favors, label your CDs as you prepare to go away for college, let your imagination run wild! UPrinting even provides templates so you can design your stickers to perfection!

One winner will win:

250 Standard Sheet Stickers

(size 2" x 3.5" / 70lb Label Matte, Front Only Printing, 4 Business Days Turnaround)



This contest is only for US Residents, 18 years old and above only. It begins today, July 15 at noon central and ends next Friday, July 22 at noon central at which time I will draw a winner using random.org.

There are 4 ways to enter to win! The first entry is mandatory, the others are all bonus entries. Each entry requires a separate comment and please leave your email address in each entry. I must be able to contact you on Friday, July 22nd in order for you to be able to receive your prize.

1. MANDATORY: Comment below with what kind of stickers you'd like to make
2. Follow or subscribe to OwlReally.com and post a comment
3. Follow Owl Really on Facebook and leave a comment
3. Follow UPrinting on Facebook and leave a comment
4. Follow UPrinting on Twitter and leave a comment

Good luck to everyone!!

Disclaimer: This giveaway is sponsored by UPrinting, no monetary compensation was given and I will receive stickers for hosting. Check out standard label templates on UPrinting.com.

Estate sale tips and hints

I'm not a pro yet, but I have learned a few things in the past few weeks that I can share! If I miss anything, please post your tips in the comments!

First: make a plan. If I'm wanting to hit multiple sales in one day, I prioritize based on the area, the items available, and the time the sale starts. I jot down the addresses or save them to my phone and use my GPS to navigate around. Be sure to bring cash!

If you want the best selection, the best thing you can do is to SHOW UP EARLY!

Be there on the first day, at least 20 minutes before the sale opens. You'll stand in line, but you'll get to meet interesting people and find out about other sales and hear what other people are interested in.

See the lady in the bottom corner who has a plastic basket? I didn't think to bring a bag or basket or box to this first sale and I wound up trying to balance everything which is dangerous in a crowded, cluttered estate house. Now I keep a tote bag in my car that I can use for my sales!


Talk to people - they're great resources. Sure, they're kinda like competition but chances are, they're not looking for the same things you are. And be sure to have fun with them!


Expect the unexpected:


This pretty lady was hanging around one of the estate sales I went to. She was friendly and trotted around the crowded house with all of us. You never know who is going to show up or what is going to happen! Be alert! Don't get in people's way. Say "excuse me" and be polite to the older folks and try to even be nice to the rude people. There are plenty of rude people.

Pay attention to the ads and photos posted- if you don't see anything in the photos that looks appealing and the sale is far from your house... you may not want to waste your time on, for example, thousand of rocks:


If there are certain items you're interested in, start noticing where those who run estate sales typically place those items. I tend to like items in garages more than items in dining rooms, for instance. If I'm disappointed in items I find in the house as I do a quick walk-through, I'll tend to bee-line for the garage or basement to see if I have more luck there.

Be on the lookout for items for your friends and family - and ask them to do the same! I came across these cameras and texted a photo to a friend who collects vintage cameras. She wasn't interested but it's nice to scout out for other people. I would be lost without my mom who is always on the lookout for me!


Check estatesales.net for sales in your area and begin to notice the companies that are frequently holding sales. Visit their websites and sign up for their mailing list or follow them on facebook so that you can always be in the know. I really like being able to correspond with and support my favorite estate sale company on Facebook - it helps develop a relationship and it never hurts to be friendly with the folks running the sale! In fact, one of the girls who runs a company with her mom is around my age, lives in my neighborhood, and according to facebook we have 12 friends in common! We just hung out at a neighborhood mixer and I'm really glad I'm making a new friend who shares my passion for vintage!

If you see something you REALLY like or if there is a collection of multiple items that you're interested in, check back after the sale to see if they're still available. I have done this twice so far with great success!

The first time was at an estate sale of an artist whose paintings I really liked but couldn't afford on the first day - plus there were SO many that it was hard to dig through all of them. I bought a few then when the sale was over, they posted on Facebook that they still had items. I went out on the Wednesday following the sale and bought a ton of great things - at a really awesome discount! The second time, I was the first person to an estate sale that boasted on Craigslist that they had over 100 owls. I bought 5 or 6 but when the sale was over, I emailed the address that was used to post the Craigslist posting and she sold me all the leftover owls for a great price!

Each time, the estate sale holder (is there a word for that??) was so happy to get rid of more items and I was so happy to get a discount!

Do you have more tips?? Let us know!

Atlanta thrifting?

I'll be going to Atlanta next week for work and will have some free time when I get down there on Sunday. I did all the touristy things I wanted to do when we were there for our honeymoon...but I didn't get to shop! Does anyone have any favorite thrifting spots in Atlanta? Let me know!

UPDATE: (10/7/11) I received an email from Meagan of Spunky Chateau, who gave me the scoop on Atlanta. She says:

My favorite area that I've found for thrifting in Atlanta is actually north of town, in Roswell. On Alpharetta Highway, within about 2-3 miles of each other, there's a Goodwill, Bargain City, Atlanta Mission, Value Village and North Fulton Community Charities. I have found great stuff at all of these stores!

Thanks Meagan!

Thirty before 30: Update 1

I posted my Thirty Before 30 list a little over 2 weeks ago and here I am with some updates! I'm really going to need to power through these in order to accomplish them all in 11 months!

House:

1. Buy a new couch
2. Get the attic (craft space & guest room) organized
3. Change up dining room wall decor
4. Redecorate above the couch
5. Get shelves for living room and redecorate the inside the door space - SO CLOSE! My mom found the perfect shelves in Louisville (for CHEAP!) and when we brought them back, they are about 2 inches too big for the space.
6. Hang the "Y"s I've been collecting
7. Get (and keep alive) more plants
8. Go through my old CDs and figure out what to keep/import/sell/etc
9. Get a canvas print of the "Believe" sign at the church where we were married
10. Organize garage

Life:

1. Get our wedding photo booth photos printed for our guestbook - even put them in the photo album! woo!
2. Finish wedding thank you notes
3. Be more intentional in my friendships
5. Get our wedding featured on a wedding blog - coming soon!
6. Make a meal plan/menu with Andy
7. Learn how to arrange flowers properly
9. Edit a video of our honeymoon roadtrip
10. Watch all the seasons of Mad Men
11. Take a trip with Andy - we have booked a trip to Seattle in September!
12. See a play/musical
13. Ride our bikes this fall and next spring

Business:

1. Put an item on consignment in a local vintage shop
2. Succeed with booth at TN Antique Mall - first month was successful! here's to more hopefully!
3. Go to an auction
4. Make postcards for my business to leave at the booth
5. Do a fabric bouquet tutorial on my blog
6. Grow my blog to 75 followers and 75 subscribers
7. Do another flea market (maybe even organize one?)

So... not bad - some are in progress and some of our priorities have shifted. The couch has fallen in priority since we got a new garage roof and will probably need a dishwasher soon.

The thing I didn't imagine happening? Getting a promotion. I have a new title and added responsibilities at work which are keeping me pretty busy (which is why I've been so quiet lately!) but hopefully it will all even out and I'll be back to blogging regularly soon!

Hope everyone had a great holiday weekend!