Where in the World is Vintage Junky?!

 Hello September!!  Hello Readers!!  (crickets, crickets)
Yes, I realize it has been forever since I blogged here.  Yesterday, I sat at my husband's new desk (or the one he just started using in the house) and realized it was a super comfy spot.  So, I decided to snap some quick photos of our living room and blog.  We have been steadily purging since we've moved in our cozy little bungalow.  And, during this time, we've come to some conclusions.  We don't necessarily like being homeowners.  Sure, I love getting our home Goldilocks right.  And, I truly love this house.  I love it. I love our counters.  I love our original wood floors.  I love all the things I've chosen for it.  And, I love the memories we've made in our short 3 years here.  I love how cozy it feels to me.  I love that it is just the right size for us.  I love that I only have one bathroom to clean (and I truly don't miss having another bathroom.) Buuutttt, we don't love the burden and anchor owning a home gives you.  And, while my husband truly tries his best to make me happy, he doesn't love mowing or cleaning the gutters or maintaining this 84 year old lady that I fell in love with a few years ago.

So, that brings us to where we are now.  We are planning on selling this lady and moving.  We have an idea in mind.  Okay, we have a hope and a dream that we are holding in our hands like the Child Empress holds that last sparkling bit of Fantasia at the end of Never- Ending Story.    We've named it like Sebastion names her (Moonchild, if you didn't catch it. But, we aren't moving to Moonchild.  Sounds like a cool place, though.)  I will share the when and how when we are more definite in our plans. 

We have been working towards this sparkling dream the past few months.  We are getting rid of so much stuff.  Seriously, things I never thought I could part with (I'm looking at you, petrified wood logs) I have pushed on friends.  We have loaded up and cleaned out. We are living with rather bare (for us) space.  And, I love it, too.  I woke up the other morning and felt lighter.  I love the negative space.  I love the openness and how the light has changed in the house.  I like having less stuff.  I like having less pretty stuff.  It doesn't hurt that its September and my permagrouchy summer mood is soon to pass.

Still, I know that we had to get here to go there.  We had to leave our last home that was newer and larger to come here.  We had to live here and realize that we don't want a house to anchor us.  We had to live here and realize stuff is just stuff and that it is okay to let something go that you really love (especially if it is going to someone else you love and who appreciates it.)  And, honestly, we had to move to this exact spot so we could find that rotten dog and adopt her.

I do plan on coming back to this blog at least once more to update it.  I would love to do a home tour of this house, I just haven't gotten around to it.  I don't know if I will blog here much past that point though.  I have been Vintage Junky for so long, it feels weird to perhaps shed that alias.  And, I am still thevintagejunky on Instagram (ahhh, the best platform for someone easily distracted, such as myself.)  Maybe it's time to move on from the name as well.  We shall see!

Vintage Junky Christmas 2014

Two sleeps until Christmas and I managed to pull together my first blog post in months.  I have been sharing progress on our new old house on Instagram  quite a bit and Facebook as well.  I just haven't had the whole house photo ready when it has been decently light in awhile.  Usually, we have our dining room table covered in books and projects which is okay.  I, for one, would rather see a semi clean room.

One of the best things about moving is finding new homes for your old stuff and loving it all as if it was new again.  And, it was no different pulling out our Christmas things.  I had purged a lot of extra stuff last year, so I didn't have much to sort. 

The place got snowflaked as usual.   I made a few new things, but I really tried to keep things super simple.  It is easy to overwhelm this smaller space with stuff.  

We weren't near my favorite place to buy mistletoe this year, so I made a little felt kissing ball to hang in the arch between the living room and the dining room.

I made some new stockings this year.  I loved our old silhouette ones, but I also love change! I recently learned how to knit socks, so I decided to knit some giant socks!

I bought very little to decorate with this year.  The poinsettias and the tree were just about it.  I foraged the yard for red berries and some cedar clippings to put in beakers and birch pots.

 We finally managed to use our drum over a tree stand.  It wasn't easy.  It wasn't pretty getting it up.  It may be tilting ever so slightly at the moment, but my whim was fulfilled.

I made some letters out of felt for the wall above the mantle and I also made some slightly larger ones to pin on our stockings.  I "borrowed" or "shared" the magnolia leaves from an empty house on our street in order to make the wreath around the letters. I like the way the green has faded now.

I decorated the kitchen just a bit and the bedrooms too, but I haven't been able to get a good photo of them.  I will post more progress house updates after the New Year.  I have to be honest, Instagram is my outlet of choice right now, since my Mac has been under the weather.  We have done a lot to the house, but there is quite a bit to go, especially the small details.

I hope you all have a wonderful, cozy holiday!  Happy Christmas Everyone!

Changes

Wow!  I really haven't been keeping up with this old blog and there has been so much to write about lately.  We have been making updates to our new old home.  Some, like our new counters, were planned.  Others, such as the new heating and cooling system installed just yesterday, were not.  So many things have been surprises in this house.  We don't feel that the previous owner did much upkeep.  And, while I try to keep my blog positive, this has been frustrating to say the very least.  It has slowed us down to to the things we really want to do.  Right now, we are working on the back splash in the kitchen and I hope that will be finished really soon.

We have (ahem, the Mr.) has been installing the lights that I picked out and had rewired or purchased new.  It is so hard to get a clear photo of this one.  The actual fixture is new from Schoolhouse Electric, but the globe was found in a vintage store in Knoxville.  The detail on it is so pretty, but the hallway is pretty dark.  I will see if the Mr. can use his camera and knowledge to get a better photo.

 Our room is newly painted and it nice and light!  I framed a collection of bird prints that I received for Mother's Day.  Now, I just need to repaint the peeling trim in here and find a bed or headboard.

All the windows in the house were covered in wood, stainless steel or pleated blinds.  I've slowly been taking them down and hanging drapes.  I had some great linen Roman shades made for the windows and doors that I didn't want to install drapes.  My friend Annie from My Swallow's Nest did a  wonderful job and they are so much lighter than the dated wood blinds.  I did decide to leave the wood trim unpainted throughout the house.  I am only painting over previously painted trim.  The wood really grew on me and it just suits the house and our style right now.  Plus, thinking of painting all the windows made me crazy!

 

We have had some other changes around here as well.  We have made the decision to cut out many animal products from our menu and our life in general.  We had already limited our meat intake earlier this year and we try to eat very little processed food. Becoming vegetarian is something that has been on our hearts in differing degrees over many years.  We have been doing this for about a month.  We bought a few cookbooks and we haven't been hungry or missing meat.  We are focusing on our meals being primarily vegan, We have had a very limited amount of milk from a local dairy that we have contacted and asked many, many questions about the cows. We aren't currently getting rid of clothing or furnishings right now.  We feel better using them up and wearing them out and not repurchasing leather items.  I know that this can be a controversial subject, but I feel so at peace with this decision.  So, we have been playing around with some of our very favorite recipes and making them without animal products.  Shh... not all of them are made with lentils and quinoa....

 And, for our next change... we took the big leap into home schooling our son.  We have always planned on sending him to public school and that helped influence where we decided to move.  He was even part of a program in a public school last year that we all loved.  But, after much discussion and research, we decided that home schooling will fit our family's needs best, at least for this year.  We have a huge community here that home schools and offers great classes and field trips.  And, while some days are more difficult than others, I can see he is learning so much already.  Right now, we are filling up a nature notebook with drawings and leaves and taking frequent trips to the library.

So, that's what has been going on our way.  Hopefully, I will have some decent after photos soon.... I will get the Mr. to take them with his camera instead of me just snapping!

New House (Before)

I am finally getting around to posting the before photos of our new home.  I wish I could share the exterior of our house, but some creepy people spoil all the fun for the others.  So, trust me when I say that when it originally popped up in my Zillow feed I oooohed.  I went right over to where the Mr. was cooking dinner and flipped through the photos.  He liked it too and told me to send the owner (it was listed as a Make Me Move) an email. At that point, we were quite smitten with Maryville.  We were having a difficult time finding what we liked.  It seems the homes sell super fast here, so we knew we needed to jump on this one.  I think that was a Wednesday evening.  She wasn't ready to show it yet, but said we could come on Saturday.  She also had a few others who wanted to see it.  I asked for her first appointment.  On Saturday, we saw the house and had scheduled to look at one other while we were here.  In between the appointments, we talked about how much we really loved this one.  At the next house with the agent, we asked if she could help us fill out the paperwork to place an offer. We submitted an offer at 4 that day.  There was a verbal offer from another party that day as well.  We found out the next day that our offer was accepted! And, that is where I am going to end the story of our home buying/ selling process since it was completely submerged in stress from that point up until late last week.  So, moving on to the before photos.  When we saw this house, we knew that we were going to make many changes.  But, we love its bones and its location and its size!  

This house has 2 or 3 bedrooms depending on if you consider a room a bedroom if it doesn't have closets.  This is also the only room with carpet, but we were told that it has hardwood underneath, but not necessarily pretty hardwood.  Once I get the boxes moved, we will tear up a little to see what we are working with in here.  Most likely, we will paint it instead of trying to match the stain on the existing wood.

Here is a true bedroom with 2 closets.  One of those will likely disappear.  

Here is another (the largest) bedroom.  In here, we will paint and change out lighting and the window treatments as well.

We have a looooong hallway that has many doors and doorways.  It was so much fun taping off and cutting in around those doorways when I painted earlier this week.  A much lighter color than this medium grey, by the way.

This is the dining room and I do like the color in here, but we have a shady yard, so everything in the house will be lightened up quite a bit.  Except maybe for the moldings in here and the living room.  I usually really like white painted trim, but these original moldings and the wood framed windows are so pretty.  We will be changing out the chandelier in here though.  We think it may be the only original light left in the house, but up close it is quite Gothic and not our style.

This is one of my favorite parts of the house. The set up in the living room around the fireplace.  The arch is pretty fantastic too.I dream of having built in bookcases flanking the fireplace. Sadly, the fireplace is gas burning and we may have it removed.  We will definitely be removing the black and shiny brass front. Here, the paint looks quite light, but in the mornings it is pretty dark.

All of the hardwoods are in really good condition except for this spot in the living room that was covered up with a rug when we initially viewed it.  Well played previous home owner!  No worries though.... it is currently covered up with our sofa.  Now, we know our new home isn't without  its flaws.  The main thing that we dislike about it is that the walls in the living and dining rooms and the hallway have a thick, stucco like texture on all the walls and the upper moldings (not truly crown.) They even textured over some of the light switches! I really, really wish they wouldn't have done that. The ceilings are textured throughout the house.  The ceilings are something that may change eventually.  It isn't the easy, spray water on and scrape off popcorn texture either.  And, the walls are the texture over plaster.  Neither will be easy to change while we are living here since the dust will be maddening.  So, I am painting over the walls and hoping to install some beadboard ceilings at a later date.  

And, now we come to the kitchen.  The newest and my least favorite room of the house right now.  Funnily enough, this kitchen was featured in Southern Living magazine 12+ years ago.  It is probably the room that needs the most, even though most people wouldn't agree with us.  I mean, the walls and trim are painted RED.  No bueno! I am not a fan of red.  And the stainless steel blinds and the stainless steel quilted backsplash make everything seem to glow.  I keep thinking the lights are on in the middle of the day and then I realize the room is just glowing and reflecting the red.

There was (WAS!!) this little built in half round cabinet and eating nook combo that is no more!  The Mr. ripped that out soon after closing and I have a little antique cabinet there now.

He also ripped out the wine rack you see. We don't have much counter space and my mixer is big.  It just happens to fit in the area where the wine rack used to be.

New counters and backsplash are in the future.  The Mr started to get rid of the backsplash but they didn't make it easy.  It is installed about 3 inches behind the cabinets.  It will be easier once the counters are out, but it won't be pretty since it is glued to the wall and rips off plaster when it comes down. The cabinets will be painted and the hardware changed too.

Now, besides the exterior, this bathroom floor is what sold the house for me.  It is original and unglazed porcelain hexagon tiles.  We are missing just a few, but we have them and they just need to be replaced. The wallpaper can't come down fast enough!

The tub seems to be original, but the tile surround is new-ish.  I wish it was subway tile and if I get my way it will be one day.  Right now it is white and khaki tiles.  Not atrocious, but it could be better. You can see in this photo the crystal knobs on the door.  All the interior doors have them!  I may have not decided about painting the natural wood work (that red is getting painted!) but the doors will definitely stay natural.

We have a dream sink we are steadily searching for here, but we haven't found it yet.  So, we may do a big pedestal or a pair since this is the only bathroom.

So, there it is!  Our new home!  It probably isn't obvious, but we downsized quite a bit.  We moved from a 2100 sq. ft. home to this one at under 1500.  And, it was by choice.  Some of my family and friends thought we were a bit batty going into a home willingly that only has one bathroom.  And, 1 1/2 baths would be ideal, but it definitely wasn't a deal breaker.  Especially for me since I only have to clean one toilet now.  We truly only lost a playroom and the Mr's office.  The playroom will be combined into the boy's bedroom.... he really didn't need 2 rooms to mess up anyhow.  It is tight, but with some new storage solutions, we will be able to make it work.  And, the Mr. found a studio space outside of the home.  And, we actually have a space for guests to stay now that will be like a sitting/ guest room.

We have a lot of work ahead of us, but we are enjoying ourselves in this pretty little town already.

I will have lots of inspiration posts for each room ahead!

Spring Ahead

Hi there!  How many blogs do you think have used that as their title over the past couple of days? Probably too many to count, but seeing as I have been up most of the night with a sick boy who thought the only way to make himself feel better and get to sleep was to kick me repeatedly, I didn't feel the need to be too creative with my title.  He says he is feeling better, but we are still taking it easy today with steady doses of movies and unlimited juice refills.  Yesterday though, was glorious!  The windows were open.  The birds were chirping.  Spring had arrived.  I have been changing things up as normal and yesterday the final pieces were ready for a simple, springy mantle.

We have a boring gas fireplace. I really want to rip out the ceramic logs and stack some stuff in there.  But since I am not really comfortable just ripping out stuff when it is connected to gas lines, I guess I will leave it. For now.

After asking for some plant advice on Facebook and Instagram, I decided to just plant some wheat grass.  I had some.  It is easy to grow and I know it won't last so I don't feel terrible about killing it.  Plus, it is just so darn cheerful and springy.  The boy helped me plant this last week and it sprouted in about 4 days.   

This little painting makes me so happy.  The vases/ urns are a find from an antique store several years ago.  They constantly make the cut when I am editing and purging.  

I could have sold this little bird that I had in the photo booth at the store several times.  But, it is one of those quirky pieces that I couldn't let go.  I love the color and the pearly type finish. I almost bought another this past weekend that was sweet too, but there was something that held me back.  Maybe I don't want to have a flock.  Maybe one is enough in this case.  I am slightly remorseful that I didn't pick it up.  I will get over it though.  Maybe.

We went hunting for pleasure this weekend.  Which means, we didn't haul the trailer.  We took my car and still packed it full.  I came home with what I was looking for and it was a great day out.  Something when you hunt constantly, it can be such a bummer to come home with an empty trailer.  Of course, this time we came across some *stuff* that I would have loved to bring home  to stock my booth if we would have had more space.  I still came home with some sweet smaller finds that will be in my etsy shop soon or at my booth in Franklin.

I think a nap is in order soon.  Hopefully a kick free nap *wink*

bye for now~

Just a touch of inspiration

 I took down all the Christmas (including the snowflakes) and the house seems so bare.  While it always looks cleaner after Christmas, I felt that the place needed a little pick me up and was inspired by one of my Christmas gifts...

My typewriter.  My beautiful green, petite vintage Royal typewriter.  How I love thee!  

Now, I realize that green (specifically emerald) is the Pantone color of the year, but I jumped on the green bandwagon ages ago... seriously.  I was 7, loved pink and pink and pink.  I turned 8 and I loved green.  Still do, even though I flirt with yellow and aqua as my bright choices. 

 So, I had the color matched as closely as possible with no specific purpose. I have been slowly but surely remaking my living room over the past several months.  I had a coffee table that was unpainted > became an upholstered bench with painted legs > back to a coffee table painted black > and now looks like this >

This room needed to be lighter.  Goldfish crumbs show up more on black. So,  I painted it one of my pale greys and distressed it and all that jazz.  But, I had this overwhelming wild hair to add something.  Enter the Typewriter Green paint.  

It adds a little something... but just a little.  I could have cropped the kiddo out on the sofa as well, but that adds a little something too, don't you think? 

Bye for now~

Little Vignette Featured

Hello all!  Just a super quick post since I need to get back to birthday stuff for my little guy's 4th tomorrow (just us tomorrow, party-party on Sunday.)   Country Living.com featured a little vignette I did in our living room as part of a 2013 color trends story.  I am thrilled to be featured with other very talented bloggers.  You can read the whole story here.  Back to preparations!  I can't believe he is 4!!!

bye for now~

What's new....

Hello all!  Hope you had a wonderful weekend!  We have been busy with family in town and just working which is always good... and I do mean that!  I guess the most exciting thing that is new is this:

Yes, that is my Mr.  He went to the BBC headquarters in NYC and chalked up 2 huge chalkboards for their kitchen area.  He had a great time and was able to do a little sightseeing.  For some odd reason, he forgot to put in the contract that his wife would get to travel to the real Downton Abbey... or at least get Season 3 before it was released here.  Oh well... he did bring me back a sweet gift and some macarons.  

Anyhoo.... while the Mr was away, the baby and I stayed busy, but I managed to take off a whole day to take him to some appointments and we had a movie date as well.  I also managed to finish a few small at home projects.  

I have been making shades in linen and burlap for awhile now, but I decided to add a little more to this one, so I made some little rosettes.  Some of these will be in the shoppe very, very soon!

I also made a new pillow for the sofa... just something simple that I worked on while cursing the thunderstorm that made the Mr. get home 2 hours later than he was supposed to... I may have missed him a little *wink*

Before he left, he found me this HUGE vintage McCoy pot in this great color!  I have never seen a McCoy this big!  I like smelling gardenias when I walk in and out of the house, so I found this *perfect* specimen at our Home Depot.  Seriously.... it is pretty dinky.  Then, I went to another Home Depot and found a different species, but it still had a great heavenly smell 

That's more like it! We took the day off Thursday to have a little family time and ended up treasure hunting and came home with this little number...

...in original, perfectly chippy yellow paint.  And, some lucky girl is taking this sweetie home with her this week!  

I hope to have new shoppe photos this week... I have been really slacking in taking photos lately.  I seriously have been painting like crazy for clients and a new little venture that I will spill more about later.  Plus, I have been making nap mats and getting stuff ready for baby hughes to go to preschool next week *sniff, sniff*  I am not sure what I will do without my sidekick for a couple of days a week.

Anyhow, what's new with you?!?

off to buy more paint!

bye for now~


oh, I almost forgot... those of you who read my Facebook feeds may have already seen this, but Country Living asked me where I wanted to go in my home state this summer (slide 42)