Vintage Massacre

Today I came home to this:

 You may remember I introduced you to my sweet, thrifted Raggedy Ann doll not so long ago. In the same post, there was also a story about a very naughty escape artist dog named Brody. He struck again. And this time he went straight for the vintage. Poor Raggedy Ann had been sitting in the same chair for weeks without a bother.

We still have no idea how David Copperfield Brody is escaping from the gate. Its over 3 feet high, and this is a small dog, with even smaller legs.

R.I.P Raggedy Ann. You will be missed.

Have any of your pets destroyed your prized thrifted finds? Sometimes I wonder if dogs are worth the trouble. Grr.

New Year, New Tunes, New Thrifty Finds

Well we're officially one week into this new year. So far it's feeling like much of the same to me- But here's to making the most of it!
Kenny and I did indeed start the year off on the right foot by indulging in a three-course meal at one of our favorite restaurants, aptly called Vintage Brewing Co., on New Years Eve. This place presents your check to you on vintage saucers and is decked out in the most fabulous retro decor- the excellent food and brews are just icing on the cake!

All dressed up and somewhere to go! 

Actually I really started the night off right when we went to the casino and I won enough dough to pay for half of the meal!!

 I try and make a conscience effort to photograph all the really good food I've eaten. Does anyone else do this?! This meal was no exception.

Appetizers:

Braised pork belly 

Pretzels with beer cheese and spicy mustard

 Main Course:

Bacon wrapped filet stuffed with bleu cheese. Served with asparagus and mashed potatoes

Desserts:

Dark chocolate cheesecake

Warm apple pie a la mode

 Have you ever been so full that you couldn't move?? Well this is what happened and there was no choice but to go home and fall asleep. Nothing could have kept us up til midnight. Oh well, it was beyond worth it.

A few days prior, I picked up my new obsession at an after Christmas clearance at the Boston Store: 

Crosley Keepsake Turntable!! I love the retro look of this thing!

Now I have something new to keep my eye out for at the thrifts- Old records! And at around $1 an album, this is not going to break the bank. Here's my collection so far:

Johnny Mathis  is such a great crooner! Is the album on the right a Christmas staple at anyone else's house?

My favorite- Al Stewart's 'Time Passages'

I love old folk music- Gordon Lightfoot, Cat Stevens, and John Denver

James Taylor, Chicago, and Phil Collins. These three, sadly, are pretty badly warped and don't play very well. Anyone have any nifty fixes for warped vinyl?? I see there are some YouTube vids out there involving the hot sun, and an oven :/

And finally, I don't know about you guys, but my local thrifts have been extremely lacking and even a bit over-priced as of late. But I did come home with a few gems last night:

I kept picking up and putting down this hand-stitched house shadow box thing. I'm glad I decided to go ahead and get it. It's pretty charming.

Two of my favorite rooms.

Antiques Roadshow Primer. Chock full of some great info on antiques and collectibles.

I was pretty excited to find this fully functional vintage Sunbeam Mixmaster in avocado green. I already have one in the Harvest Gold color- and see that these are going for some decent money on ebay, so may consider trying my hand at reselling.

Have a fantastic weekend everyone!

Christmas, etc.

 Hoping everyone was able to enjoy every moment of Christmas this year. Can't believe it's already over! I had every intention of being productive over the long weekend, but honestly ended up being incredibly lazy and over-indulging the whole time. 'Tis the season! 

Here's a miscellaneous post about how I've been enjoying the past few weeks: 

 Last weekend, Me, my sister, and our guys took our 4th annual trip to downtown Chicago to enjoy one of our favorite restaurants- Portillos. Its tradition to enjoy hot dogs as our appetizers and ribs as our main course! YUM!

So everything was going off without a hitch as I was preparing to head down to my parent's house for Christmas. My sister and I has wrapped all the presents the night before, and this is what I came home to the following afternoon:

Yes that is wrapping paper strewn everywhere. A very naughty dog named Brody escaped and not only got into a wrapped box of Milkbones, BUT also a present that my sister was gifting to someone!

These are the other two dogs clearly gated off in the hallway. We still have no idea how Houdini Brody got out.

I was so mad- so this is how I decompressed! The destroyed present was ordered from Etsy, and thankfully it was from a local seller so I was able to run to a local coffee shop where she sells her necklaces and replace it with something similar. Disaster somewhat diverted.

Devil in disguise. 

 The dogs packed their suitcase...

And it was a white Christmas indeed. 

I have grown extremely jealous of my mom's vintage advent calendar (from Avon in the early '80s). We always used to argue over who got to move the mouse. A quick search on ebay informed me that these are going for upwards of $50!

My sister's dog Jax. Needless to say we all had a very merry Christmas.

My parents got me this Crosley iPod dock that I've been drooling over for months. Opened it up and plugged it in and the darn thing didn't work! Bad power cord. Imagine my disappointment. Hoping the exchange process isn't too painful for my mom :/

A job well done by my boyfriend! It's a Tiffany pretzel necklace! Cute, quirky and thoughtful- my high school mascot was a pretzel (not kidding).

And finally, here a few thrift store finds from the past couple of weeks. 

Vintage Shiny Brite ornaments

Glasbake casserole dish and holder. I LOVE the design on this thing. And it ended up being the perfect way to display the Shiny Brites!

Pretty vintage broach.

Adorable Raggedy Ann doll

Thanks for sticking around! I'll probably check in again after New Years :)

Christmas Cookies!

We braved the blizzards and icy road this weekend to make it home to bake and decorate Christmas cookies at grandma's house!

Yummy thumbprints and yummier sugar cookies!

Grandma painstakingly decorated these two beauties! That is raw talent (and lots of patience!)

My contribution...candy cane kisses. You can find the recipe on the back of the Hershey's Candy Cane Kisses bag. Pretty and delicious!!

So pretty...almost too nice to eat- but we'll get over it :)

Storing my batch in my Snowflake divided casserole! Yay for finding a resourceful use for those darn divided dishes!

And here's a glimpse of the tree at our apartment.

 And some of my favorite owl ornaments:

 Trying to enjoy every moment of this holiday season, because truly in the blink of an eye it's over!


Now please excuse me while I go enjoy some cookies and milk !