Kitschmas Countdown

Hello there! Well, the countdown to Christmas is REALLY on now, and my brain is going Kitschmas crazy. It's been so fun going to antique shows and shops with my mom lately. The antique show we went to today was primarily vintage Christmas. I snagged a bottle brush tree from a dealer that my mom and I both love, and my mom has bought a lot from her over the years. I picked out an ornament and an adorable vintage card with a snowman on it (that I'll display) for my mom to give me at Christmas. 
The antique mall I went to after the show had a decent amount of Christmas out, much more than they do the rest of the year. I got a super cute Christmas tin and a very small blow mold snowman. I also stopped at a small antique shop I had never been to, but I didn't get anything there. 
Bob and I went to my aunt and uncle's for Thanksgiving, and my parents and all of my grandparents came. The food was great; my mom brought her sweet potatoes and stuffing; my favorite sides. Bob worked on Friday, and my mom and I did our version of Black Friday: antique shopping. We went a couple of hours away to antique in Pennsylvania, and had a fun day. We got stuck in Black Friday shopper traffic on our way home, which I don't understand why there was no traffic in the morning...don't most people go out first thing?! But, what made getting stuck worse was we were running on empty for gas, and drove half an hour with the gas light on...but, we made it to a station, thankfully.
In the pictures below I'm wearing my new to me Pinup Girl Jenny ornament dress. It came up last year, but I missed out on it when it was available, and I recently snagged it secondhand, at a great price. I knew it'd probably be a tight fit on my chest, but luckily it does fit. I just adore the Shiny Brite ornmanet print on it! I also have a skirt from PUG with a Shiny Brite print on it, but the print is a lot bigger in scale. I'll be wearing the heck out of both of them this season! I wore the dress while antiquing with my mom today and yesterday, ha. 

Love this tin I bought!

I snagged this tree today at the show

 
Dress: Facebook group (Pinup Girl Clothing) 
Necklace: Erstwilder
Brooch, earrings: Etsy (Luxulite)
Bangles: Etsy (BrighterBakelite)
Heels: BAIT Footwear 

~Bye bye for now!

Grand Canal

Hello there! Well, the antique show my mom and I went to on Saturday was a success; I got a small bottle brush tree there and a plastic snowman that I had never seen anywhere before, and really love! My mom paid for part of the snowman, as a Christmas present for me. After we left the show we went to a couple of nearby stores that I had never been to before. They were cute shops, but I didn't get anything at either place. 
This morning I went to a few stores, and then met my friend at Panera for lunch. I got some Christmas gifts when I was shopping, for my grandmothers and mom. Now I'm really almost all done Christmas shopping. Christmas is only three weeks from tomorrow! I can't wait to have off for almost a full week and a half. I am going to go into work one day, probably the Wednesday after Christmas.
In the pictures below I'm wearing my new Retrospec'd Connie dress in the Grand Canal print, that I purchased during their Black Friday sale. This shade of blue is gorgeous, and a bit unsual, and I LOVE the vintage repro print! As I've said before many times, shirt dresses are simply the BEST. I get tons of wear out of them, and I wear them to work constantly. 
Also in a picture below is my new mint Pinup Girl wicker purse, that I ordered during a Black Friday week sale. I also recently snagged a PUG lime wicker purse, but in a different shape, as well as a lavender one.

 

How pretty is this color combo??!

Oldwick antique show finds

Dress: Retrospec'd
Bangles: Splendette
Purse: Pinup Girl Clothing
Heels: BAIT Footwear

~Bye bye for now!

Retro Market

Hello there! Bob and I had a good day out in Pennsylvania yesterday, in spite of the rain and traffic we encountered. It's just over a two hour drive to Lancaster for us, and we got there a little after 10 a.m. We went to the Retro Market antique show, and it was the very first one they'd had. The same people who put on Retro Fest in July (which we went to this past July), also put on the Retro Market. I hope they'll continue to put on both shows! 
I had a lot of success yesterday. My best finds were two adorable vintage dresses for a total of $40! Vintage clothes shopping is not an easy feat, especially if you're not tiny, as the medium to larger sizes are harder to find. The red dress I got fits me pretty well, just a little big in the waist, and the gingham dress I got is very big in the waist, so I'm going to see if my mom can take it in for me, and for now, I'll just be belting it. I got my first vintage purse at the show, and it's a cheery shade of yellow. I got that for $15, and a blue flower enamel brooch for $8.
I also got a small fruit lithograph print that I'll hang on the wall. As for my Christmas-y finds at the show: I got a plastic Santa Claus cookie jar, a new book on vintage Christmas with the CUTEST graphics, a dish towel with a super cute, bright, bell print, and a smallChristmas gift for my mom. 
The show was on the small side, but that's okay, because I got enough great finds! I also saw Joann there, a woman I met at the July show, after following each other on Instagram. 
My dad happened to ask us Friday night when we saw him, if we'd be stopping in Adamstown on the way there or back. I totally forgot it's right on the route to Lancaster!
So, Bob wasn't excited ha, but he was very sweet and let me go to two antique malls in Adamstown on the way back. It was a long day for him, with all the shopping, driving in the annoying rain, and the traffic.  
I found a few small items in Adamstown: a Christmas apron that I LOVE, a board game with adorable graphics, a really cute Scotch tape container, and my very first petticoat! Can you believe I never had a petticoat before?! I got it for $13, too, ha. I got really good deals yesterday! I definitely won't be wearing the petticoat to work, but I will start wearing it on weekends. 
I'm really glad we went, and I'm looking forward to going to Retro Fest again, this July! 
There's so much amazing antiquing out in that area of Pennsylvania,a nd I love going. 
My mom and I are probably going to Adamstown over Christmas break. It's better when my mom brings me, instead of Bob, because she has more fun, ha.
Oh, and I got TONS of compliments on my outfit yesterday! First when I got to the show, I was walking around with my coat on (which also could be worn as a dress), and people thought I was wearing it as a dress, and were complimenting my outfit. I got hot later on, took of the coat, and then was getting compliments on my reindeer skirt outfit, and a couple people asked if I had changed my outfit, ha! Nope, just took off my coat. 
 

Look at this whopper of a tree!!

Top: Pinup Girl Clothing
Skirt: The Oblong Box Shop
Brooch: Erstwilder
Heels: BAIT Footwear

~Bye bye for now!

Kitschy Kitchen Kelly & Antiquing

Hello there! Today Bob & I went to a local antique show, and then had some drinks at a restaurant/bar in town. The antique show had 45 dealers, and I had never been to this one before. I only bought one item: a bottle brush wreath. A couple of vendors recognized me from an antique show I went to in December, including the one I bought the wreath from today. It's my first bottle brush wreath, and I love it. It's in really good condition, too. I try to only buy antiques that are in good condition, and Bob is a stickler for that, too. We were only at the show for about 45 minutes, so that made Bob happy, ha. 
After the show we went down the street to a brew pub that also has an outdoor bar, in case the outdoor bar was open, since it was so warm out. Unfortunately it wasn't open, and the bar inside was packed, so we went to a different restaurant/bar that's closer to home. We sat at the bar, and the bartender is actually a teacher at the school I work at. I already knew she worked there, but never had been waited on her there before. 
It was crazy warm again today; got up to 70 degrees. We got a thunderstorm in the afternoon, which is very odd for winter. The cold front is coming back in, and it'll be much cooler tomorrow, unfortunately. I've been getting too used to this spring/summmery weather!
In the pictures below I'm wearing the outfit I wore today. I usually wear this retro kitchen Bernie Dexter Kelly when I go antiquing, because it's oh, so appropriate for it! It's one of my most worn dresses, period. I like to think it brings me good antiquing luck too, ha.

Dress: Bernie Dexter
Brooch: Deer Arrow
Heels: BAIT Footwear

~Bye bye for now!

Antiquing In Paradise

Hello there! My mom and I went to antiquing yesterday in three towns in Pennsylvania: Paradise, Bird In Hand, and Adamstown. It was a long day! I left to go meet her at 7:40 a.m., and got home at 7:10 p.m. The first town we went to was the farthest from the town we met up in; it was a little over two hours away from there. The first two towns we went to I had never been to before. Our first stop was at a cute shop called Black Kat Kollectibles, which sells antiques, vintage clothing, as well as a little bit of vintage reproduction clothing. I bought a Lindy Bop skirt there for $31! It was nice to get to try on vintage repro clothing before buying; that's very rare for me. The only usual times I get to do that are when I'm on vacation, or one the very rare occassion I get to go to NYC. We made a couple stops at antique malls nearby that shop, but I didn't get anything at those, and next we we went to The Christmas Center. The Christmas Center is huge Christmas museum, and I had never been there before, but my mom had a few times. The owner of the museum was even there that day; my mom's met him many times before, and I got to meet him yesterda. He has a booth at antique mall in Adamstown, also. The museum was spectacular. It's unbelievable how many items are inside! My favorite display was a whole room set up as a Woolworth's display. I took a lot of pictures in there. It was very 1950's. I was tempted to take some of the items in there back home with me, ha! 
My mom knew it would be my favorite area of the museum. 
In a different section of the museum I spotted a snowman Christmas tree stand. I posted a picture below. Oh, I am in love with it! I must find one somewhere. I looked for it at the rest of our stops yesterday, and looked on eBay and Etsy, but didn't find any for sale. It seems rare, unfortunately. My fingers are crossed that I'll find one soon! The graphics on it couldn't be any cuter! 
I did get a few great finds in Adamstown. My dad had given me some money for Christmas, to spend on antiques, so I used up that money, and used a little bit of money that other relatives gave me for Christmas. So, I didn't have to spend any of my own money, which is always nice. I got a big ceramic tree that has big bulbs on it; I love those bulbs, and they seem unusual, as I don't remember seeing them on any other ceramic trees I've come across. I got two bottle brush trees. One is huge and spins and plays music, and it came in the original box! The other is such a gorgeous shade of blue, and I'm so happy I now have a blue one for my collection!  It was only $16, too! It is missing some beads, but I can deal with that. I may end up buying some matching antique beads to add to it, but I think it still looks great as is.
I got a few other small things: a strand of bubble lights for our Christmas tree, a small plastic Santa with a fawn around its shoulders, a little mustard powder shaker, and an adorable snowman mug. 
I plan on keeping my bottle brush trees up year round, as well as my ceramic trees. 
Right now they are all on our dining room table, which we don't really use. Once we have a house (which hopefully will be soon), I will have much more room to display them! I can't wait for that. 

This one spins and plays music

I got the two on the left yesterday, but I think all three look amazing together! Pastel dreaminess!

The ceramic tree I found yesterday. Big bulbs!

The tree stnad I really want to find!

Woolworth's display

 

 

Dress: Bernie Dexter

~Bye bye for now!