Koby Swap Meet

I had a successful yard sale this last Saturday.  Everything that didn't sell I donated to Good Will.  It feels good to feel a little lighter in my place but it's hard to truly see where I lightened up.  Sunday morning Dave and I went to the Koby Swap Meet here in San Diego.  It occurs weekly every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.  We have been wanting to go together for months but Dave's work schedule has kept us from going.  He finally caught a break and had Sunday morning free.  We both scored big and found some great items.

My first find was this vintage western genuine leather purse.  There is a stamp on the side that says Mexico.  I'm not sure exactly how to date it but Dave thought it was either from the 60's or 70's based on the zipper. The strap is broken but is an easy fix.  I spent $20 on it.

I love my second find.  I paid just $4 for a set of six turquoise blue Melmac cups (from 1940's-1960's).  Dave has talked about wanting to purchase a vintage trailer and I thought these would make for the perfect cup ware for a vintage trailer someday.

The next two were buys I bargained down the price for.  The first is a risque nut cracker shaped in the form of a busty lady.  My research shows this is from the Philippines.  It gave me a good laugh.  It will be fun to have it out with a bowl of peanuts when hosting my next get together.   The second is a vintage wooden souvenir photo album book from Hawaii with 20 photos intact from a family's vacation there most likely in the 60's.  I was so excited to find this especially with the pictures included.

Dave spotted the next items for me to add to my Mid-Century teak cat collection.  They are too cute!  Good eye Dave!

The following are Dave's finds.  His first find was exactly what he was hoping to find.  A 1940's deco style toaster that, yes, still works!  The handles tested positive for Bakelite as well. 

His next find is this Ice-O-Mat.  It's used to crush ice and will look perfect on his bar.  Still works and even has a wall mount on it in case he wants to hang it in his kitchen.

His last find for the day took a little coaxing on my part to convince him to purchase it.  It's a vintage lighter in the shape of a gun.  It's detailing on the metal is amazing.  I may have to borrow this if I dress up in 1920's style fashion for Halloween.

Above are our pictures of success!  We had a great time hunting and look forward to doing it again soon.

Till' next time,

Suz

Ink-n-Iron

This was my third Saturday in a row in Long Beach, CA.  I was joined by Dave,  and my lovely lady friends Natalie and Angie.  We had a blast at Ink and Iron!  There was so much to see and do and we sadly missed a couple shows in order to see other acts at the same time slot.  The day went by way to fast.  Dave and I arrived to at the Queen Mary at around 11:30am and by complete coincidence ran into my friends in the parking structure; in fact I almost ran them over :)  Below are a couple pictures we snapped before heading into the venue.

It was overcast when we first arrived but it soon turned into an amazingly beautiful day.
The Queen Mary is a beautiful ship and I had such a blast cruising around the ship and taking in its beauty.  It had so much Art Deco detailing everywhere.  Dave was in his element pointing out all the deco designs throughout the ship to me. Below are pictures of my favorite Deco detailing. This painting can be found above the bar of the observation  deck.  I love the girl that has fallen and lost her shoe.

Another highlight of the day was coming across the band D.on Darox and the Melody Joy Bakers during an impromptu performance in the hallway of the ship.  They were great and we were lucky enough to catch them on the Tiki stage later that day.

Below are just various pictures from the day.  We got to see Calabrese, Legendary Shack Shakers, Dave Alvin, and support the San Diego Palominos.  There were tons of vendors and just a few vintage merchants.    The second day Dave and I went back for a few hours to do some shopping and enjoy one last walk around the ship.

Dave and I left the event early as to stop into a few thrift stores before heading home to San Diego.  We hit up a Good Will, St. Pauls'. and cute store called The Closet.  Below are my finds.  Dave scored a pair of cream colored fleck pants from the 50's that don't look like they had ever been worn. 

I found this dress at the St. Paul's store.  It's a silk material and I believe it was hand made by looking at the seams and stitching on the inside of the garment.  I loved the pattern.  It fits me perfectly and I can't wait to wear it.

I was so ecstatic about my western wear find.  I love peach color (which always compliments my red hair and fair complexion).  The flowers are too cute and I love the detailing on the back.

I finally found my first circle skirt!  It's a blue gabardine material that has the Union made label inside.  It's a little small but with my shirt pulled over no one can tell the difference. 

Lastly I found these pieces to add to my kitchen.  The colanders are not vintage but are vintage inspired.  I think they are actually from the Martha Stewart line that is sold at Macy's.  The pictures don't do the color justice.  They are a very retro sea foam green.  They replace my crummy plastic one I have been using for years.  The ceramic Peter Pan peanut butter bank caught my eye.  I haven't been able to find anything else like it online which brings me to believe it was hand made.  The label is definitely an old label. 
Well, that's it for now. Till next time!

- Suz

First Designer Purse Purchase

At the end of every tax season (this last was my 13th tax season) I always award myself for a hard work done by buying myself or treating myself to something special.  This year I decided my treat would be the new retro Dooney & Bourke Disneyland print purse.  I have a couple desinger purses that I either thrifted or were given by friends but have never made a huge purchase like this for a brand new purse and it couldn't be a better fit for me.  The purse line went on sale in Downtown Disney (in Anaheim, CA) on May 13th in the Vault Disney store.  They had many different options from small handbags to day bags like the one I opted to purchase.  I've had it for a couple weeks now and absolutely love it!

I have many pictures to share from Ink & Iron (Blog coming soon) as well as some great buys from some thrifting Dave and I did in Long Beach before heading home to San Diego on Sunday.

Till next time,

Suz

Graduation and Redlands

Another few weeks have blown by since my last entry.  I've been a busy bee and I have a feeling it will be the trend for the entire summer.  Tomorrow Dave and I and friends will be going to Long Beach for Ink & Iron.  I am very very excited for this event! I've had my outfits picked out for months and am stoked to finally be able to wear them.  Pictures and blog to follow soon.  So lets back track a bit.

Graduation:

Dave and I attended my cousin's graduation from California State University Long Beach a few weeks back.  It was a great day and it was Dave's first time meeting my grandparents, uncle, aunt, and cousins.  We did not prepare for the warm weather and ended up with some killer sunburns.  I forget sometimes that the sun can be my arch nemesis.  I just need to remember to always bring sunblock.  I should actually just put a bottle in my car and leave it. 

Anyways....my grandma had many boxes and goodies to give me coming from her, my parents, and other friends and relatives.  My favorite thing given to me by my grandma however isn't even vintage.  About a year ago I asked my grandma to paint a picture of my favorite spot on their property in Mariposa.  It turned out fantastic and is now perched on my bedroom wall and is the first thing I see when I wake up in the morning.

I also received some other fantastic goodies.  My favorite from my mom is this Ultralite Samsonite green train case.  I'm using it this weekend!

She also gave me the gray train case which I remember her using over the years which I always admired.  The beige Samsonite suitcase was a great buy which I actually purchased from a neighbor's yard sell. She has a fantastic website with tons of great buys.

http://modernlovevintage.blogspot.com/

The following are various goodies from my grandma and other purchases from the past couple of weeks:

I bought this box of 45s for the steal price of $15 from The Rock Thrift store in Point Loma.  I have yet to listen to them all but it is a fantastic mix of music from the 1940's through 1980's.  I have a blast choosing one at random and playing it.

The peaches wall hanging came from my grandma and actually hung in my great grandma Lou's kitchen for years.  It's so cute.  My grandma found these Harvey's tiki mugs at a thrift store in Mariposa.  They come from Lake Tahoe.  Dave picked up the ceramic Hawaiian bell for me recently.  I'm running out of space for my tiki decor fast!

The tiki chair was a fantastic find at the Good Will in Imperial Beach and was the very first thing I spotted when I walked into the store.  It bought it for $29.99.  It's in great shape and I love the burgundy pineapple print on the cushions.  I think this may be from the 1970's.  I purchased the princess shoe roller skate as I have seen many variations of the princess shoes but never a roller skate one!

I have seen the glass apple shaped snack plates all over the place and was finally sold on buying a set of four plates for just $3.99. Below that is a quick picture of some recent Pyrex purchases. My grandma gave me the set of the red, blue, and yellow dishes which have been in her possession longer than I have been alive. 

This was one item I found at my return to the hoarder estate sale. It's a show schedule that was given to guests who attended Frank Sinatra's stint at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas in 1978.  I probably purchased this for $0.05 as it was a combined in total with other items.  I looked on eBay and people are selling them for $100 a piece!  Great find.

Redlands:

Dave and I took a mini road trip up north for Memorial Day driving through Riverside and his native Redlands.  He took me to many spots from his past and showed me some beautiful Victorian homes in the area.  We also stopped in at the Mission Inn as a friend of mine will be getting married there this coming November.  This is also the same place my grandparents were married 62 years ago.  It was just beautiful! Below are a few pictures from our day.

I found the glasses at the Mission Galleria which is this huge three story antiques store just across the street from the Mission Inn.  They even have a restaurant and bar in the store.  Don't pass it up if you are ever in the area.  We spent an easy two hours in here.

Well, that's all for now.  I will try to be better about being on top of my blogs and not flooding them as I did with this one. 

Till next time,

-Suz