Meet Betty

Betty is my new vintage "Sally Stitch" adjustable dress form! She's a size small, so that she can be used for sewing little clothes for little me. Betty comes with the original sticker, and a sturdy cast iron base. She's from the 1940s/1950s, and is still going strong! Betty is going to become the new model for our Etsy store!

Here she is displaying that fab vintage 1950s seal fur swing coat I purchased last week for $8.99. While the fur was in excellent condition, the coat had been badly abused and was ripped in many spots. My grandmother and I repaired it as best we could, and it's wearable as-is (though you have to be careful with it). Love the pretty lining!

Speaking of the ol' thrifty, I made two fantastic scores today! The first is a SIGNED Weiss rhinestone bracelet for $9.99! WOWSA! The bracelet is in great condition, except for a few imperfections in some of the larger rhinestones (only noticeable up close).

The other wonderful vintage item I found today was an older vintage cheongsam dress! Now, most of the ones you see are from the 1960s or later, and are made of brocade or something similar. However, this dress comes in red velvet with white detailing. Yet again, I was just about to walk out of the store when I saw the dress on the mannequin! I didn't even have to see the metal zipper - just glancing at the velvet told me this dress was OLD! I have a Christmas Santa decoration that belonged to my grandmother, and it is made of the exact same type of red velvet material. Because of that, I knew the dress was vintage, and also because of that, this will forever after be my "Christmas Dress."

The dress has a metal side zipper, and metal snaps along the right shoulder. It fits like a glove, and I love it!!! So sorry, ladies, this one is staying in the personal collection. But don't despair!: I have another cheongsam dress coming into my Etsy store that is made of iridescent peacock blue/green brocade with a matching jacket - you'll be sure to LOVE IT!

Not Much To Drink, But PLENTY To Eat!

I finally finished reorganizing the pantry today and putting in the new shelving system that the wonderful Mr. Ryan made! Having everything displayed in plain sight really made me realize what an accomplishment our farm (and myself for that matter) is: I canned all of this in about two months!

The shelving is 2 quart jars deep, just to give you an idea...and there are stacks and stacks of more jars on the other side of the pantry (visible in the picture below). To give you an example: I canned 50 quart jars and 5 pint jars of pasta sauce. That will get Ryan and I through about 8 months. You would probably want at least another 25 quarts to make it through an entire year.
Though it looks like a lot, this will most likely not feed two people through an entire year (how scary is that). Still, it makes me feel happy to see so much of summer's goodness stocking the pantry!

P.S. - The wine cellar looks a little bare in comparison!

Sneak Peek...

Bombshell Bettie and her pre-Halloween "Save The Vintage" Crusade has inspired me every year. It IS heartbreaking to see so many beautiful and WEARABLE vintage items being forlornly tossed into the costume section of the thrift stores, waiting for some pre-teen to cover it in fake blood and claim to be a Mad Men Zombie Vampire. The problem is that I see so many wonderful items that are either not my taste or not quite my size, and I have to leave them because I know that I will never wear them. I have been slightly hounded by friends to start my own Etsy store, since I seem to have a knack for finding great vintage and antique scores at ridiculously cheap prices. Well, I finally decided to combine the two!: an Etsy store to sell the vintage that I can't or won't wear, and therefore an excuse to rescue ALL the pre-Halloween vintage items I find! Hurrah! The husband is on board with the idea because an Etsy store means that he will have a place to list and sell the antique woodworking hand tools he collects and restores to working order.

Long story short: we hope to have the Apothecary Inn Etsy Store live by the end of this month. In the meantime, here is a sneak peak of items coming into the shop (and don't worry, I will be getting better pictures later):

1950s/1960s handmade cable knit sweater dress (HEAVY!) from Berlin. Metal zipper in back, slightly higher waist (not empire, but higher than the natural waistline), FAB bell sleeves! Very heavyweight and warm - perfect for Fall!

Adorable pink lace 1940s hat, supposedly from France (according to the woman who sold it to me). No tags, underside is unfinished and showing buckram frame of crown, but overall in great shape and that classic movie star brim line! Meant to be worn tilted at a slight angle.

Adorable 1960s "top hat!" Black velvet body, black netting, black ribbon with a bow in back. Overall, in great shape! Size 22.

1970s "Miss Bierner" NEON reddish-orange felt fedora with long pheasant plume.

1950s cocktail hat with some of the coolest flower/leaf motif bead work I've ever seen!

Pristine 1950s strapless prom dress - pastel purple fabric, baby blue tulle overlay (that is tiered and accordion-pleated on front left side), metal side zipper. There is some very light staining on the purple underskirt - however, I have not attempted to wash this garment, and it is not visible with the tulle overlay. Very unique glittery gold glue star designs over the entire tulle layer.

1950s/1960s handmade (with the most ADORABLE "made for" label) sheath dress in bubblegum pink! It's a bright pink, but appears a bit washed out in the picture. Metal zipper in back.

1950s Persian Lamb pillbox hat - needs a little reshaping, and has quite a bit of moth damage on underside. However, this is no way takes away from its wearability as is!

Quick Thrifting Trip

Cabin Fever forced a kamikaze run to the thrifty today, in between storm fronts. Had to leave a wonderful vintage dress behind (not enough in the purse today), but I did come home with a lovely 1950s strapless prom dress! Except for some light staining on the underskirt, it's in pristine condition! Sadly, it's too big for me, BUT that's great news for the rest of the vintage lovers out there! That means that it will soon be going into my future Etsy store (which I hope to have live by the end of the month)! Here are a few quick pictures of it:

It's a bit darker in color than the pictures show, but basically it's a pastel purple fabric with baby blue tulle overlay. The tulle is in a single layer except for the left front side of skirt, where it is tiered and accordion-pleated! Pretty darn cool!

There is some very light staining on the purple underskirt. I haven't tried washing the dress, so the stains MIGHT come out with washing (but you can't even see them with the tulle overlay). The tulle itself is in AMAZING condition, without any tears. I love the cool gold glue star designs over the entirety of the tulle...

150 Years of Good Cooking...

Thrifting fever must be genetic in my family, because my grandmother dragged me out again yesterday afternoon. We mostly came home with books (though I did find a very pretty red 1950s hand-made cable knit sweater dress from Berlin), two of which were very fascinating old cookbooks! I was doubly excited about my finds because the recent rainy fall weather has really put me in the mood to bake!

One is a 1946 edition of Searchlight Recipe Book. What's so interesting about this copy is that the previous owner had written into the page margins recipes from their own friends, family, and personal favorites.

They had also taped recipes out of magazines and newspapers!

The other book was a 1977 reprint of an 1861 "housewife" type of manual.

It has loads of recipes, but what I was excited for were the old woodcut illustrations and descriptions of various heirloom veggie and livestock varieties!

Too cool!

Not to mention all of those great tips on how to handle servants (doesn't everyone need to know that?).

Lost Heritage...

Maybe it's because I feel that a part of my own heritage has been lost, but I feel the obsessive need to come home with old pictures and letters from thrift stores and estate sales. There is just something so sad to me about seeing them lost and unloved. Granted, most likely I will never find out who they were, but I still feel that someone should take them home and appreciate the piece of history each represents. I went to an estate sale earlier this year where, under a table in a back room, I found a box FULL of old family pictures, letters, etc. I am pretty sure it was a "trash box," as it definitely was not for sale. I wanted to bring it home, but got caught up in my FOGA dress score and forgot to ask about it. I have regretted not bringing that back with me every single day since. Chances are, the contents really did end up in a trash can, and that just breaks my heart. So I swore "Never again!"

Therefore, when I saw a bag of old photos at yesterday's "Collectibles Sale," I snatched them up without a second thought...

A turn-of-the-century image of a boy in front of a plant stand and desk.

"Flapper Girl" hand-tinted photo of pretty lady. Embossed on the bottom is "The Teasleys Medford Oregon"

"Flapper Woman" 1920s-ish matron with large diamond ring sitting in wicker chair.

Wedding participants consisting of older bride and groom (sitting), along with maid of honor and best man. I'd put this picture about late 1920s to early 1930s.

Same couple, but this one is just of the bride and groom.

Wedding party from 1915.

Close-up of signature on bottom right of picture along with "15" which I assume stands for the year 1915.

This one is of a pretty, young girl. 1930s, maybe?

Turn-of-the-century to early teens wedding portrait. Look how YOUNG the bride and groom are!! Seriously, the groom looks all of sixteen!

The next set of images belong to what I assume are two sisters. They were taken in Cleveland, Ohio. Very fun and unique images! I'd date them anywhere from 1920s-1930s.

There are a few more old photographs in the group that I purchased, but these are my favorites. I just wish I knew who they were...In the mean time, they are getting framed and displayed in my new Craft Room, sort of like having benevolent guardian spirits to help and protect my work.