Compass & Coffee Spoons

Dresser, with renewed handles

I hope Colleen hasn't had to resort to stripping herself! Here's the promised "more!" I spray painted the handles a metallic gold, which I'm quite pleased with. They turned out better than I expected. What's left are the feet. Opinions, please--do you think I should spray paint them gold or stain black?

Dresser Before:

 

Dresser After:

 

Handles before:

  

Handles after:

 

On other news, I leave Wednesday for London! I won't be blogging whilst there (going to be more or less low tech...too darn expensive to use my iphone, so unless I find a way to get a phone there for cheap or have internet access somewhere, I'll be off line!), but I'll be taking lots of pictures and notes to blog once I return. It's really funny how times have changed...I was feeling concerned about not having much cell service or web access...meanwhile, as I said to someone the other day, people existed and managed to make plans pre-internet and pre-cell phone. Heck, when I lived in England, I didn't have ANY phone. I used to walk to meet up with friends!

Hope everyone's having a great week and staying cool! It was in the mid-80s here today and is going to be near 90 this week! Hot hot hot!

The Strawberry Girl*

I am a strawberry freak. I don't "collect" them or anything, but I do love them. I love how they look, I love how they taste, I love how they smell. When I was little, I was a Strawberry Shortcake fanatic. And, while they're not in season in the Northeast now, it's always strawberry season somewhere, so here's a fresh picked crop of great strawberry stuff from Etsy!

It's taking all my strength to not order up this vintage canister from seller Mysweetiepiepie.

 

While we're on canisters, how about this stellar Ransberg gingham and strawberry set from Sanduca.   

 

Shifting gears, I like these screenprinted notecards for their simplicity. Very charming for a little girl (or a big one). From sarahparrot825.

 

While I could probably get away with using those cards, unfortunately, there is NO way this toddler tee from tshirtproject would fit me.

For the do-it-yerselfer, here are some vintage strawberry supplies from antiquesgaloregal.

 

And of course you'll want something to put your pins in while you're sewing (from kimbercraft--other similarly adorable designs available).

 

 

I love the 1940s-esque quality of this tote from bitspeaces.

 

And think these pottery sauce dishes from elegantware would be really handy.

 

Vera collectors would go gaga for this set from seller shopatmoxie.

 

Here's another toddler shirt for good measure from southernsweetcheeks....

 

And some bobbypins from veryvintage to match!

 

Last but certainly not least, I'd be remiss in not including a vintage Strawberry Shortcake doll from trunkofpretties (who has a killer collection of 80s dolls...her "sold" items will take you down memory lane...well, they did me!)

 

Oh, what the heck. While I'm including something from my kid days, here's a scratch and sniff sticker from missmidie.

Hope you enjoy this basket of delight as much as I do. I'm berry glad you stopped by!!! Har har.

*With thanks and apologies to Siouxsie and the Banshees (a line from their song "Christine.")

Updated to add this, for those whose curiosity was piqued!

 

 

Dresser Down

So, when most people want to upgrade their furniture, they go to a nice furniture store and buy a good piece of quality furniture that they would be proud to show to their visitors. But what fun is that? Not me. I sell my Ikea furniture and then buy something that was probably thrown in the trash. Yes, that's right, I bought a new dresser. After a bit of a email scuffle with a craigslist advertiser who had a similar set to my nightstand,I found one that reminded me of it at Eastern Market today. Thing is, it's not as high quality as my nightstand. I am trying to keep my eyes on the prize because I'm sure it will look good once it's refinished. See, the thing is, this dresser needs serious refinishing in addition to some glueing. And, if you recall my last experience, I'm not stripping it myself.

 

Close up of some of the "quality" finish:

It set me back $40 plus $40 for delivery. Delivery consisted of 2 guys WALKING it (with the heavy mirror) back to my house. Pretty crazy. It was dirty, too. Want proof? here's the water with the Murphy's Oil soap I used to clean it AFTER using a magic eraser.

 

I may have to either spray paint the hardware or get new handles...though a test with some brass cleaner revealled some brass, so they may clean up. We'll see. My plan is to ask my landlord (who is a contractor) if he knows of someone to strip it for me. I don't need a master antiques refinisher. Just someone who can carry the thing and doesn't mind using the chemicals and sander. If all else fails, I may just ask my brother down for the weekend and do it myself after he helps me carry it downstairs!!! (See, I learned my lesson. Sander + bedroom = lots of trouble!) It has a mirror, but I'm going to see if I can Craigslist it. I'm not that crazy about it. I may get a mirror in one of those vintage frames and use that, to mix it up a bit. I admit, I've been feeling a little like this was a mistake...but I guess I can always put it on the almighty Craigslist if I hate it!

   

My Vintage Holy Grail

Not one but TWO Canada Dry racks on Ebay. Only problem? It's pick up only...in northern Connecticut. Wonder if my friend Liz's parents would like to do an errand? :)

   

Red Barn Mercantile & "Flea for All"

Angela and I had a nice brunch in Alexandria, VA on Saturday and then strolled through Old Town, shopping a bit. My absolute favorite store in Alexandria is, hands down, Red Barn Mercantile on Columbus Street. It sells a variety of new and vintage goods...all earthy, wonderful flea market finds. The displays are inspirational (as in "boy, this inspires me to buy!")...I can literally walk through 100 times and still find new goodies I didn't see the first time. The last time I visited, I bought a few vintage letter stamps. This time, I had my eye on a glass front cabinet. It wasn't exactly what I was looking for, so I'm "thinking about it." Hopefully, I won't regret waiting! Angela did the buying this time.

The proprietor Amy is holding a "Flea For All" flea market field trip to the Shenandoah Antique Show and to Luckett's Spring Antique Market. It's such a genius idea. For a fee ($125 for Shenandoah, $95 for Luckett's), you get transportation to the event, entrance to the event, a goodie bag, hired hands to help carry large purchases, and a morning snack, as well as a way to get your finds back to Alexandria.

If you're in the DC area, definitely check them out!

 

  

 

Another soda stand...

I go through phases with Ebay browsing. I seem to be in one of those phases now. This one's listed at $450. Never heard of Graf's soda...but it's apparently "Rich in the Flavor of Fine Fruits."

Very Cool Retro Ads!

When I was looking for my "Contessa" dresser, (okay, it's not mine), I found Retro Renovations, and they have an AWESOME gallery of retro kitchen ads from the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. Here are a sampling of my favorites!

I like this one because it's for United States Steel...you know, my roots. Plus, don't those people look fun?

This one reminds me a LOT of my parents' kitchen, except their floor is red and counter is grey.

I like this one, because I envy that drying rack--how awesome is that?

Check out the site...it's a lot of fun!

So wanting this...

But at $320, I'll have to find one cheaper. It would be great to display old photos and postcards that I've been collecting lately.

Soda Obsession

In getting ready to sell my Domino magazines, I went through and scanned a few images I liked (instead of doing my normal clippings). I became immediately obsessed with something in this one:

   

Check out that old soda display rack being used as a bar. I LOVE it! I don't have nearly that much alcohol in my house, but I love the idea. I started looking on Ebay. Not much success...they're pretty rare, I guess, or rarely listed on Ebay. Here's one that's listed now:

   

I'll be keeping my eyes peeled now for these. On the other hand, I'm not sure if this would just look like trash in my place!