I've Missed You All!

 Hello Hello! I'm finally ready to get back to blog land!  My sister and I are settled into our new place, though I'm not quite ready to show pics yet. We are still trying to make it look cute!

I still owe many of you emails and thank yous for your sweet comments on my post about losing my parent's dog, Billy. My blogging pals helped me so much!

And as for my last post, I'm happy to say that I only lost 2 followers! LOL :P

 

Mini Rand McNally's and this darling Coloring Book were found at a local antiques shop last week.

Vintage coloring books are a new collection of mine! As if I needed one! Haa!

 

 These "smalls" were at the same store. Yes, I seem to like imaginary men the best! lol  My friends and family would same something along the lines of "she's too picky". But of course I don't agree!  Anyway,  I had to get this postcard! And the Get Well card is just perfect for someone many of us know!

 

 Despite the fact that I like "Imaginary Men" best, I do not prefer imaginary babies!

Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock! I had to grab these unused vintage baby books.  

 

 The graphics are so darn cute!

 

 It's not often that you find them this clean and unused!

 

I stopped at a new little thrift called "Too Good To Be Threw." Isn't that a cute name?

I found the McCoy planter and the children's book for $1 each. And all the vintage seam binding was .10 a package!

 



The book is so sweet!

 



I'm so addicted to vintage pics of  animals!

 



This vintage Girl Scout tin was at the flea market. I just thought it was neat. It'll be for sale.

 



I hit my very first Garage Sale of the season, and actually had some luck! Two boxes of x-mas lights for a dollar each, and a Lefton Angel in a .50 box at the end of the driveway!

 



The old silverware tray was at the same sale, for $1. And then I found two packs of strawberry invitations, the game of Hearts, an antique valentine, and a Little Golden Book that I didn't have, at my favorite little thrift!

 

I don't have a record player yet but I really want to find one this summer! So I keep picking up records when I see fun ones.

 



These were each .50 at the thrift!

 

I love Christmas oldies!

 

And then lastly, these are both by USA pottery. I love the one with the scale type pattern on it. I was a bit annoyed that the thrift had it marked $5.00 "Vintage", but I bought it anyway. The other one was only a dollar at that same garage sale.

 

Well, I hope everyone has been doing well! I know I have a ton of blog reading to do. I need to catch up on what's been going on with everyone!

And Hey!! Yes, I am still hosting the CHRISTMAS IN JULY SWAP! I will post about it next week! So be on the look out!

Erica :)

 

 

 



Proud to be a Minnesotan!

 

Today the MN Senate voted to legalize Gay Marriage!  And Gov. Mark Dayton has already said he will sign the measure into law. We will become the 12th state to make it legal!

 

 

I'm so happy for all the couples who will be able to apply for benefits that they deserve and need! And I'm happy that their union of love will be recognized as it should be, as a MARRIAGE!

 

I usually keep my blog light-hearted and vintagey. But this issue has always been important to me, and I'm so excited to see real progress being made!

I'll be back soon-

Erica :)

 

 

 

We Lost Our Billy :(

It seems like just about every other week one of the blogs that I follow is doing a post similar to this. I guess now it's my turn. Yesterday we had to let our Billy go. We are heartbroken.

We always told him he was soooo photogenic

Billy was one of my parent's cocker spaniels. And on Saturday morning my sister and I went out to their house to take care of him and his sister, Roxie, for the week. My parent's had flown out that morning for a long over-due vacation to GA. When I got to the house Billy didn't come racing to the door like usual. And I finally found him in a downstairs bedroom. He was shaking so bad that his teeth were chattering.

He always had to have a squeaky with him, and had such great eyelashes

All day Saturday he wouldn't move. We tried to keep him as comfy as possible, and gave him pain meds that the vet gave my mom before they left because they suspected he had pulled a muscle in his back.

But by Saturday night Angie and I decided to drive him into Minneapolis to the ER vet. By then he was dragging his hind legs!

It still never entered my mind that things were that serious. I thought he didn't want to put weight on his legs...not that he COULDN'T put weight on them.

Baby Bill was the cutest thing ever!

But the vet took one look and said that our options were to take him to the

 U of MN for a $5000.00 surgery or to put him to sleep, because he had slipped a disc in his back and was now paralyzed. Even with the surgery it would be a 50/50 chance of recovery.

Puppy Billy had green eyes and was always tilting his head to try and understand you.

Angie and I had to call our parents from the vet's room with Billy on the table and tell them what was going on. With them a million miles away, on day one of their vacation. Absolutely heartbreaking.

When Billy was a puppy he was in the backyard when a large crack of thunder struck. It changed him for good. He was always scared of everything after that. You could drop a fork on the kitchen floor and he would bolt. So because of this, he was a chicken every year for Halloween.

Angie's cocker Ernie as a pumpkin, Roxie the witch, and Billy...our chicken!

It was too sudden for all of us. So we had the vet give him a shot to help with his pain, stronger pills for the weekend, and we took him home.

For the next 48 hours Angie and I cared for him around the clock. We bought him a big therapeutic dog bed, and had to surround him with puppy pads because he had no bladder control.

Billy and Me. His paws were absolutely beautiful!  And we used to tease him because he had the teeniest little "pee-pee" for being such a large cocker spaniel. LOL

The vet said that once in a blue moon the anti-inflammatory can take enough pressure off of the spine and dogs like this can get better. So we had a tiny bit of hope. And we really wanted my parents to be able to say goodbye to him if that's what it came down to.

But by Monday night it was clear that he was miserable. :(

And we couldn't stand to see him suffer any longer. So yesterday morning we were at the vet right when they opened.

Billy was only 7, and this was just so sudden for us. My parent's last cocker spaniel (the one I grew up with) lived to be 15.5 years old.

I can't stop crying today. It's just gut-wrenching. I want to go back in time. Have a do-over. Never let him jump off the bed or couch!

My niece and nephew came over yesterday, and seeing them immediately puts things into perspective though. This was a loss, but it's the kind of loss that we can recover from.

We love you Bill-Boy!

xo Wellie, Ernie, Roxie, and Your Family

A Post Easter Post :)

 Sandy hosted a great swap this year for Easter! In addition, she and I did a one on one swap. I feel honored that she asked me. And she sent me such great things! This wooden cut-out rabbit ornament is so sweet!

 Jordan Almonds, Glimmery Gumballs, Jewel Toned Flowers, and even a few Christmas Corsage pieces were included!

 But it didn't stop there! This German Egg is jumbo size!

 And I can't believe that Sandy was willing to part with a whole book of vintage Birthday Seals!

And just look at these little Easter Magnets!

I forgot to take a picture, but can you believe that there was also a $10 Target gift card included? On the backside, Sandy wrote that it was to buy something for my new house! It's still in my purse because I want to find just the right thing! A picture frame perhaps??

Sandy, you were beyond generous to me! I don't think I quite matched you on this one, but someday I will "get you back"!

Thank you so much my friend! :)

 OK, the other day at my local little thrift, I was shocked to discover these two vintage ornaments hanging in the Easter section!

They're about the size of a large shiny brite, and the globe is glass.

 That's real lametta tinsel wrapped around them! The price? Fifty cents each!

The bottoms are marked "Made in West Germany".

Has anyone seen them before? I wonder if they were intended as x-mas ornaments. This is the kind of item that kills me! lol Because I love them, but I bet they would be worth selling. Especially for a girl with very limited $$$!

But ooohhh how I love them! Ahh!

What do you guys think? :)

 I hope you all had a fabulous Easter!

Thank you for following, commenting, and being a great friend to me!

I want to let you know that I'm pretty sure I'm going to take the month of April off from blogging. The move is going great, but I'm very slow with things because of my sore ankles. I'm finding that I want to dive in and get things set up and arranged, but I can't stand up for very long, so it's quite difficult. I've also had to face the fact that

 "My Name Is Erica, and I'm Addicted to Vintage Junk"!

Ahhh! I have way too much stuff! So I have to have a garage sale within the next couple weeks. I bet I have at least 50 pieces of Pyrex that have to go!

I can't wait to come back though, and show you all how it turns out!

I think it's going to look cute!

See you in May my friends,

Erica :)

Vintage Ruth E. Newton Paper Dolls!

 Do I Want to sell these? Heck No! lol

 However, I'm not living "rent-free" as of the 1st!

So you can find these super cute and rare HERE SOLD !

 I found them last summer at an Estate Sale in Minneapolis. The box wasn't there, so I wasn't sure who the artist was. Then one day it dawned on me while I was looking at my Ruth E. Newton Puppies and Kittens Book!

 After some research, and some help from a great blog called

The Paper Collector, I was able to confirm that they were in fact by Ruth E. Newton, and not easy to come by.

I found a picture of the box on Pinterest. I couldn't find the original source, so my apologies if this pic belongs to you. Let me know if it's a problem.

 These are the little outfits, desks, and chalkboard for the animals!

And there are tons of fun outfits for the kids! My favorites are the white dress in front, and the red bathrobe with Minnie Mouse!

Sorry Friends, but these will NOT be in the next Market Monday for $5!

lol BooHoo!  :P

Unexpected Treasures!

 The doorbell rang and I heard the familiar "thunk" of a package being left. It was from Susan S. and just look what was inside! When I opened it, I literally gasped! Susan didn't even know that I saw a very similar pink egg at an antiques store a few weeks ago! I had to put it back because it was out of my price range, but now I'm so glad that I did! It's funny how things turn out. Because I LOVE this egg way more than the one at the store.

 Susan doesn't have a blog, but I met her when she joined my Valentine's Swap. She's a huge fan of Elizabeth of Creative Breathing (who isn't ?), and says that she gets much of her inspiration from E! But I have to say that I think Susan has her own unique style, and I'd call it something like "high-end vintage", or "classy-vintage" crafting! Look HERE to see Susan's Valentine's Box again. Classy right?

Thank you so much Susan! You are a dear friend!

 OK, then the door bell rang! Someone had sent me flowers! What???

I was very puzzled! Especially after I read the card...

It wasn't signed! Hmmm???

Then it hit me! This is classic "Papa" (that's what I call my Dad).

I called him at work, and YES, he had sent me flowers for no reason at all! So sweet of him! I love the cute bunny container! I'll keep it, and the little card, to remember when my Dad sent me flowers out of the blue!

Thank You Papa! I Love You! :)

 And then last week I stopped at "The Weird Thrift Store", and I found this quilt! Living in MN, you can never have enough warm blankets!

 It was marked "Queen, $6.99". There's got to be 100 different fabrics in it!

 I brought it home and put it right into the washing machine on hot!

Usually I would soak a quilt, but this is super sturdy and I just want it to be a cozy quilt that we can use and not worry about!

My favorite thing about it is that the back is covered in this nursery rhyme flannel. It's super soft, no stains. Good deal for $7 hey?

OK, those were just a few things that I wanted to share with you.

Moving Day is Saturday! I've basically decided that my bedroom is really going to be an art/craft room with a bed in it! lol

It'll be easier to just take that approach from the beginning rather than try to hide the obvious, don't you think? LOL

Hope you're all having a great week!

Erica :)