Meeting Folks

happy Tuesday!  Hope your weekend was wonderful!  Last week I was mopey about my girlfriend moving  (still am *wink*) but she came in town for a short visit, but it was great!  And, I said one of the best (the best!) things about blogging is the people you meet and the friendships that you make.  It is the same way with having the shoppe.

  I get to meet lots of people... most of them sharing the same interests as I do.  And that is awesome, because let me tell you... most of my friends and family don't really understand my obsession with old stuff and constantly moving stuff around... they are supportive, but they don't *get* it.

Over the past couple of weeks, I have gotten to meet in person a few people that you may already know through their blogs.  A few weeks ago, I got to meet Susan from A Vintage Farmwife. It was a short visit (17 minutes) but I am so glad her and her husband stopped by on their way to Florida.  We had a great time chatting and getting to know one another a little bit better.

Then, last week I got to meet Mary from Urban Farmgirl.  Now, Mary and I have talked back and forth via email and comments and all the other social tools we have in our arsenal these days.  I was thrilled to finally meet her in person.  We were able to chat for quite a while on Thursday and then she came back with her Mr. on Saturday.  She is so sweet!  And genuine.  I am glad I like her even more in person than I do off her blog.

I had so much fun!!  I think they tried to leave several times while I was talking her ear off with one more thing I needed to say.  What can I say?  I am a chatter.  I can't wait to see her again!  I wish I would have been able to leave the shoppe and go junk with her.  She did a little for me and my mantle has one more trophy on it now *wink*

And, I was thinking all us vintage lovers need an App for that!  Like the ability to create a wishlist and send it to one another and then snap a photo and send it to the wisher.  I mean, that is what she did, but it would be nice to have it all together.

I was sad to see her go, but I am pretty sure she will be back... maybe soon! Well, I bet she will wait until after tornado season is over!!

Now, you are probably wondering if my photography skills got infinitely better... or maybe you caught the watermark.  Last week I also met Jenny Cruger, who is obviously an amazing photographer.  We had been emailing back and forth about some furniture for me to paint and I checked out her site and loved her look.  So, now she is going to do a little family photo shoot this May!  

That is on my bucket list for 2012, so I am pretty excited about it.  She stopped by again last Saturday and snapped a few of the shoppe.

I think she captured it beautifully.... It is exactly the look and feel I want people to take with them.

It is amazing what a different eye (and lens) can see.

I loved looking through the shots, because even though I arrange and fluff most of the shoppe,  I don't know that I have seen my shoppe in the same way that Jenny did.

You can see more of the shoppe by visiting Jenny's blog.

So, thanks Susan, Mary, Jenny and all the others that have visited the shoppe in person and virtually.  It is with your friendship and support that this little dream is a real live shoppe.

I will be back soon with some home photos... I moved some stuff here... and then some stuff there... and some stuff needs to move out!

bye for now!

What I Keep Wednesday: Urban Farmgirl

Hello and Happy Wednesday!  Time for another What I Keep.  Now, I have seen some of the items that this adorable blogger has found. Hey, I have bought some of those items.  So, I really wanted to know what she keeps... welcome, Mary from Urban Farmgirl!

{Somebody pinch me!} Am I really over here guest posting on one of my very favorite blogs of all time?? I am humbled...and grateful to Michelle for asking me to share with ya'll what I keep when I go out on my little junking adventures...so here it goes.

Let me start by saying I am out junking, hunting, picking...whatever you want to call it...a lot. As in 3-5 days a week. I have a path worn into the road between all my local haunts, I know all the cashiers by name, their kid's names and what they like in their coffee. Personal relationships are sooooo important in this business! On top of all that I work for an estate sale company 2-3 sales a month, and I am a regular at the auction circuit within a 100 mile radius of my home. I am so very lucky to live in an area where I can find such awesomeness, and I love to it share with all of you through my Etsy shop. But, there are a few things that just don't seem to make it that far.

In the beginning I wanted to keep EVERYTHING. I loved it all so much, I just couldn't let it go. One day I realized that I was destined to be the subject of a Hoarders episode if I didn't learn to let go. I had to realize that there was someone out there that would love and enjoy all these fabulous things just as much as I did, so that made it ok to let them go to new homes and live a happy life. 

But, since we are here to talk about What I Keep...lets get to the few things that, if found, are mine for the long haul. 

Top of that list...

Old metal Tonka trucks.

What says Farmgirl better than a beat up old truck?? Nothing, says me. So until I get the real-deal...I am on the hunt for these. White, pale green, light blue, tan...I am currently looking for the perfect red one to put out at Christmas. I love them all.

There is one thing that I can always spot among tables of "stuff" at a sale. From across a crowded auction barn I see its pale glimmer and am not too proud to knock everyone out of my way to get to it.

Galvanized metal.

{sigh...}

I am mesmerized by its simplistic beauty. Its raw look. It is as though we were always meant to be together. I don't mind if it comes in the form of a bucket, a basin or a tool box...its mine. But secretly, the toolboxes are my favorite because they were always...always...handmade. That makes me happy.

Another favorite...chippy white scales. I started out saving any color I would find, but have since narrowed my scope to just white. {LOVE...}

Ironstone has always been my true love. I received my first piece after begging for it for my 21st birthday. Weird, I know. Most 21 year-olds would want a pitcher...full of beer. I wanted one with a Johnson Brothers of England stamp on the bottom. Call me crazy!

Pitchers with simple lines are my favorite. I have 58 of them. (I just went out to my dining room to count them, speaking of calling Hoarders.) I love the big, old ironstone slop buckets, too. They are so large, and make perfect vases for Hydrangeas in the summertime. I have a number of bowls, platters and plates, mortars-and-pestles. Someday I will have to show you my huge old pharmacy cabinet that holds all of them. If my house ever caught on fire I swear I would have to find a way to push that baby out, pitchers and all!

And last...but certainly not least...I can't seem to part with any old camera. Aren't they gorgeous?? Slightly industrial feeling, with words and numbers - they are just so cool! Photography has always fascinated me, so these represent that love for me.

So there you have it. Just a few of my favorite things.






All simple, yet beautiful little pieces of history.






Mary

WOW!  Good thing she doesn't live close to me or she might have a few less than 58 pitchers and I have a little guy that has developed quite the appreciation for old metal trucks.  For as what she keeps, she also keeps her etsy shop stocked with lovely, lovely things. But, you have to get it quick.  The day I realized she had an etsy shop, I clicked the sold items by mistake and saw this gorgeous shield shaped advertising mirror (frameless) oh.my.gosh.  I couldn't add it to my cart... WHAT?  it had sold.  I still haven't gotten over that one.

Okay, peeps (can we still say that?) it is cold here.   I have been doing some things around the house, just waiting on a few prints for baby hughes' room and hunting for a bookshelf or library cart.  And I painted the library/office/train table room last night... it was a secret, covert mission to get it finished while the Mr. was away!
So, I will show you all of that soon!

bye for now!