reduce reuse recycle

My test is complete and since I didn't receive a call saying otherwise, I passed the glucose test!  Yay!  Baby Bloom and I chugged our orange sugar drink and bounced off the walls.  Baby Bloom took to the uterine walls literally and as the doctor attempted to listen to the heart beat he would kick the fetal dopplar away after a few seconds.  He was less than cooperative during his sugar rush.  Overall everything is still perfect though.  It's such a relief to hear that every month.

excuse DJ's horrible camera phone

After that we went to one of my favorite places to go for inspiration around our house, the recycle center in Ann Arbor.  I already have an affinity for shopping at thrift stores, garage sales and estate sales but the recycle center is different.  There are specific areas focused on books, wood, tiles, windows, doors, etc.  It's awesome.

A vintage treasure can absolutely make my day.  That saying that one man's trash is another man's treasure is extra true in our house.  We just take the time to restore or renew them to our style.  Yesterday I was hunting for empty picture frames for the nursery, but we spent quite a while looking through records, wood for a headboard and table project and stones to go around our pond.  Time flys when you're having fun I suppose.  Before I knew it we had been there a very long time and the heat was getting to me.  I almost agreed to a 30ft long church pew! 

school projection screen

we bought this and listen to it today...it's almost the whole movie...I'm in love

 We finished our treasure hunt with tacos at Moe's and spent the rest of the day watching old movies.  Heartburn and Parenthood if you were curious.

rock n' roll queen

There is nothing I love more than legit gooooooooood style.  Not the chick that follows the latest trends or buys everything off the front rack at Forever 21 with all the tell-tale signs of cheap and tacky.  I'm talking the girl that can walk into Forever 21 and walk out with the item that no one will ever know was bought from that store.  The girl that can spot a forever trend over a here-today-gone-tomorrow trend.

Style requires timeless pieces.  The quintessential little black dress, a pair of jeans that make your ass look fantastic and a chic blazer, among others.  My very favorite item of clothing that never seems to be out of style is the vintage rock n' roll t-shirt.  Quite frankly nothing makes a girl look cooler.

I have lots that I've acquired over the years from various garage sales, thrift stores, vintage shops, estate sales  and lots that I've stolen from my oh so rock n' roll hubby.  He's just the coolest.   Here are some of my favorite new rock n' roll t-shirts out there with a vintage feel and some actual vintage treasures.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5

it's just been one of those months...

Last month on March 18th DJ lost his grandma.  This month on April 18th I lost my grandma, Joyce Angelee Ball.  She lived in Tennessee and had been ill for a long time now.  She is truly in a better place and isn't in pain anymore.  I can't say enough good things about how sweet and kind she was.  The most positive and beautiful woman you could ever know.

This was part of a series of pictures my grandma sent to my grandpa while he was in the service.

My mom called me on Wednesday in the early afternoon.  I just knew something was wrong because my mom would know that I would be at work.  I happened to take a very early lunch and was able to answer my cell phone.  My mom was crying and told me that my grandma had passed away in her sleep.  I was speechless.  Literally speechless.  I didn't cry right away.  I told my mom I had to let her go.  I poured my cereal, ate lunch in silence and headed back to work.  I had a million things running through my mind.  I thought about how I would never hear her sweet southern accent say, "Buh bye, I love you." and I instantly sobbed.  I lost it in my truck that very moment.  I was about a mile from work and I just couldn't get it together.  I parked, wiped away my tears and walked through the door.  Instantly someone asked me if I was okay.  I could hardly say the words that my grandma had passed away.  Again I sobbed.  I walked immediately to the back room so clients didn't see me and my boss hugged me while I cried.  She drove me home and I spent the afternoon crying, cleaning and cutting fruit.  I just couldn't stop moving.  I needed to be doing something.  Laying there still was torture.

Gorgeous

 DJ came home and we made plans to drive down to Tennessee for the funeral services.  We left on Saturday and got in quite late.  It had been an exhausting few days and a 9 hour drive to Kingsport was a long one.  In the morning we met up with my aunt and uncle.  It was so great to see her and over the next two days we spent lots of time with them and she told me so many things that I never knew about my grandma.  It was sad but lovely to spend the time with family.

I've been sent lots of love and prayers from friends and family and they have not gone unnoticed.  Thank you to everyone for all the love.

weekend inventory

This weekend was another short one.  Thankfully the upcoming weekend I won't be spending half my Saturday working! 

Saturday was pretty lazy after work though.  DJ and I both have allergy issues and the varying Michigan weather is no help.  After work, the two of us went to a few vintage shops and had lunch at our favorite local bar, Lowertown, followed by a much deserved nap.  DJ had a hockey game that I opted out of to remain in my pajamas and watch a million hours of Dateline that I had recorded.  I am obsessed with murder mystery type shows and documentaries and Dateline packs a mini murder mystery documentary in every episode.  TLC  plays them all day on Saturdays!!! 

This vintage shop had quite the set up.

On the way home DJ called to see if I was hungry.  Of course I was.  I made him stop and get me french fries and a shamrock shake from McDonalds because after seeing my lovely friend Marianne's Instagram photo of her shamrock shake I couldn't possibly go another minute without one myself.

Sunday started off a little slow and crabby.  Husband and I had decided that we were going to get cleaning out of the way right when we woke up and boy were we sour about that.  I fully intended on winning the lottery on Friday and never having to clean my own house again so you can imagine my attitude towards dusting and doing dishes.  Once we had finished cleaning and bickering about who had to swiffer the bathroom we got a call that we had two free tickets to the Red Wings game waiting for us on behalf of the ice arena that DJ rents ice from weekly for his team to practice at!  Baby Bloom's first Red Wings game!

That changed our mood instantly.  We headed down to the game and had the best time.  Our row even won free pizzas!  Hope you had a good weekend too!

Favorite Friday - Big Brother Vintage

If I wasn't married I would be moving to LA to hunt down the owner of Big Brother Vintage to get down on one knee and propose.  Not only do I love his shop, but I also have an huge crush on his looks.  His style is sick.

Aside from having the hots for him, I also think Big Brother Vintage has an talented eye for relevant and standout men's vintage pieces.  He titles his pieces with lyrics and quotes from novelists such as Edward Abbey and french poetry written by Robert Desnos instead of the usual description of the featured piece.  It's refreshing and uncommon.  I recommend that when you are looking for a rare gift for the man in your life to look no further than Big Brother Vintage.

This is my favorite piece in his shop right now...

"I talk to the wind, my words are all carried away, I talk to the wind, the wind doesn't answer you...." King Crimson 

Over My Dead Body

At night when I am trying to fall asleep and drown out the sound of my husbands snoring, my mind always decided that it's the perfect time to run wild.  Plans and ideas run a muck ("a muck, a muck, a muck") and I get excited and look forward to what's to come.  Then I fall fast asleep and wake up the next morning and somehow I've forgotten half of my awesome ideas.  Last night was no different.  I had great ideas for my Tuesday and Thursday blogs (the rest of the week I have already written) and when I woke up today I could not remember for the life of me what I had planned.  So, while I was battening down the hatches this morning in preparation for the mighty winds they have planned for us today (please don't let the power go out again)  I figured that I would keep on the vintage train I started off on yesterday.

While my husband and I have plenty of treasures to pass along, we have just as many that we would never ever...EVER get rid of.  They are too special or too rad to share with anyone else, and as my husband would quickly tell you, I am an only child and when I don't want to share, I won't.

1988 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

1983 - Michael Jackson (glove still sparkles)

 

These are just two gems from our super sweet collection.  They will never ever be found on our Etsy shop.  On another note last night while trying to upload a few more items I got a great surprise.  A woman on Etsy loved a pair of our men's cowboy boots so much she put them on her Vintage Man - Treasury!  How cool is that?!

 

 

Happy Birthday to my mama!!!

“Mama was my greatest teacher, a teacher of compassion, love and fearlessness. If love is sweet as a flower, then my mother is that sweet flower of love.” Stevie Wonder

Va-Va-Vintage

From the beginning of my relationship with my now husband, DJ, we have shared a passion for shopping for vintage treasures.  There is something so satisfying about stumbling upon a rare concert t-shirt from another decade that is now soft and thin and hanging on the rack at the local Salvation Army, and more importantly mine for the taking.  The rush does not stop on clothing alone.  DJ and I love vintage pieces for the home, floor lamps, chairs, stools, tables, etc. 

My husband and I use our spare time on the weekends and evenings for thrifting, garage saleing, estate sales and antique shops.  Some days are better than others, but more often than not we never come home empty handed.  We find treasures in all shapes and sizes and sometimes these shapes and sizes don't fit our home or bodies.  Instead of leaving behind any of these gems we bring them home to hopefully find someone that loves them as much as we do.  Our dream would be to one day own a vintage shop, however it hasn't been in the cards yet.  Instead, in the past we have listed these items on Ebay, however as of late I was talking to a friend about the racks of vintage dresses, suit coats and t-shirts DJ and I have in our basement, she suggested creating a store on Etsy. 

Etsy is a wonderful website full of buyers and sellers of handmade or vintage items.  Everything from crocheted baby hats to vintage wedding dresses are being bought and sold by a very artistic and creative community.  I was blown away by the amount of one of a kind pieces of jewelry, clothing and art I found once I searched the Etsy site.  I showed DJ around the site and we both agreed it would be a perfect place to share our personal collection of jewels.  Our store is Ginger Bloomy and we would be honored if you could visit us anytime!

*We are still working to get more items uploaded currently so keep checking back!!*

"It is easily overlooked that what is now called vintage was once brand new." Tony Visconti