Jennifer's Junky Life ~

Whimsical Junk :: Shop Update

I did a junk shop update today. Finally added some of the upcycled items I had worked on last summer for the craft show I did.

Vintage Ralph Lauren Polo Mugs - Set of 4.

Upcycled Owl Figurine.

Upcycled Framed Doily Art.

Upcycled Antique Iron Tricycle.

Upcycled Mid Century Napkin Holder.

My house is completely upside down right now. All of my projects from the craft show, of which I was left with many, were all in the laundry room. I had to empty it out this week and now I have boxes and clutter everywhere to try to find a place for.

Mark's going to begin work on it soon, though! I'm so excited and really hoping to have it, maybe not finished, but at least in operation by the time the baby arrives - or at least not long afterward.

It will be such a treat to have laundry right off the kitchen after all these years. I love doing laundry but at this stage where I'm 34 weeks, or about 8 months pregnant, it's a big job to try to lug heavy laundry baskets up and down the stairs. I will be appreciating this for a long time to come once it's done.

Last week, I was able to get that mid century modern hutch on Craigslist and I love it! It was a super great deal and it's in the dining area of the kitchen now. I've been wanting one for a long time because I hate dusting, and it shows. It'll be so nice to have all of my dishes behind glass now. I have a few things in there but can't wait to finish filling it. I'll try to get pictures up next week.

Hope you're enjoying your weekend!

I Might Give Birth in a Stock Tank

For real.

One of the books I read on home waterbirth a woman said she had just used a feed trough/stock tank from the fleet store for her first birth. And they're a lot cheaper than ordering an actual birthing tub.

Welcome to my crazy life.

We live on a farm, after all. So what's the big deal? Right?

Ha!

Source.

Mark had to run to the feed store this afternoon after work so we all went along for the ride with the intention of stopping at the fleet to check out the tanks. And, after seeing them, I know they'd work. I'd just need some sort of inflatable backrest or something to use in it for a little more comfort.

I keep telling myself I can do this. I keep giving myself little pep talks. And brainwashing. You just have to push those thoughts out of your head and say you can do it, and you will. I know that. But I suppose it's all part of the emotions leading up to birth. That, and the little moments where I kind of get all giddy and jump up and down with excitement like a little kid waiting in anticipation for Christmas. (true story.)

The stock tanks also appeal to me because I've been wanting to add some to our garden out back. And this way it could easily be recycled into the yard afterward. It would make a great container garden. (For anyone mildly curious, you purchase a liner to be used inside to keep it sanitary for yourself and baby during the birth, regardless of which tub you go with.)

Skipping on to other things... I started scouring Craigslist today. Found a Mid-Century cupboard (like the one in the picture. but totally different) and emailed the seller. Still waiting to hear from them. But it is exactly what I've been looking for. Or at least one of the many things I've been looking for. And the price can't be beat. Mark said he'd pick it up for me, too, so I'm hoping to hear from them soon. Crossing my fingers! And trying not to get too excited about it in case I never hear back from them or something. I've heard Craigslist people can be silly like that. Wishing they had a number instead of just email.

It is so difficult to find retro furniture where I live. I have to check several different city's Craigslist listings - and they're usually at least 45 minutes to over an hour or more from us. So this would be something to find a piece like this the first day I actually started looking.

When I Grow Up

I don't know what I want to be when I grow up, but I like what I'm doing right now...

I had a moment of feeling anxious the other night. Anxious about this birth. About the reality of it all. About doing it naturally and drug-free like I did for Abram and Carter. And then I let it pass. I can only assume as the weeks close in I may have more of those little moments. They're only normal, after all.

Who doesn't have those little moments of anxiety about going through it, whether you choose to go drug-free or not? It's kind of a big deal.

(These jeans are so tiny! I love Roca Wear jeans and was pumped to find these little skinny ones with the pink and white 'R's' at the thrift.)

When I mentioned it to Mark, he had nothing to offer in the line of comfort and I just laughed. I'm pretty sure he just gave me a sympathetic look. We've been through this three times before. I wish I could say it gets easier with each child! But it doesn't. It's the end result that you cling to and that's what gets you through it.

That, and trying to brainwash yourself not to feel nervous about doing it. I'm good at living in a state of denial. It's a great place to be. Better to not think about it and let the moment come when it does.

Waiting to meet this little baby is all I live for now. I have a one-track mind. Every time I feel her move, I get so excited. I'm still in awe.

(The trees were so beautiful a couple of weeks ago. The weather was just right and everything was covered in frost for a few days.)

I grew up with babies. Being the oldest of 14, there was always a new baby in the house and I loved it. I was just reflecting on how this is the longest stretch I've ever gone in my entire life without changing diapers or holding babies on a regular basis. I've missed it so much - the baby holding more than the diaper changing. Haven't exactly missed that part too much. (My 'baby' is 6 and a half.)

We are so ready for this - in spite of those little moments where I go, "oh my gosh, I'm going to be so tired again!" I don't even know what that feels like anymore. To be so exhausted you want to die. But I kind of remember it even though it's been so long. And, in reality that extreme exhaustion really doesn't last forever.

I'm just grateful to have a ten year old. I'm hoping I'll be able to take frequent naps at first. Something I rarely got in when the other three were babies.

Show and Tell :: A Tiny Obsession

I've been doing a bit of shopping ever since I found out we're having a girl. Thrifting, to be exact. Most of what I'm looking for is vintage but a few 'modern' items have caught my eye so I've picked a few of those up as well.

(Slightly obsessed with retro knit baby dresses. l to r: cream dress (gifted from a friend), pink and white dresses (thrifted), sea foam green dress (thrifted from Oopsie Daisies! on Etsy).

(Aqua dress (Hazel & Maude Vintage on Etsy), winter hat, and vintage winter headband (thrifted).)

I still need to go through Nikayda's box of baby clothes to see what I still have that I'd use but I keep putting it off because I still need to paint the baby's dresser.

(Stocking up on leggings for all of her little vintage dresses. (That pair is aqua, they almost look white on my screen.))

(Pair of leggings I forgot while photographing the others. Colorful pajamas (thrifted).)

We ran to St. Cloud yesterday to meet with our new home birth midwife, who lives closer than our previous one, and did a little thrifting while we were there. If anyone is looking for a really good thrift, the Goodwill is great for those of you who aren't me. (They had almost nothing that I consider to be 'good' vintage.) Everything was modern and relatively new and a lot of it was Target leftovers. (They get Target's end of season things, I believe. At least, that's how it was years ago when I lived near the area.)

(Thrifted sweaters and a crocheted dress.)

(Mint green corduroy overalls. Thrifted.)

(Thrifted tops. First two are from Style by Me in PR.)

We also ran to Savers (they often have great vintage items) and there was another thrift in the same strip mall as Savers (can't remember the name) that was 'new' since I'd last been there. It may have been there for several years - I haven't thrifted in the area in a while. Anyway, it had loads of vintage but a lot of it was 1980's. I prefer anything beyond the 80's but I've been slowly growing an appreciation for some of the 80's - so long as the prints/colors aren't too wild. I found a few items there. I wish I'd been in the mood to go through books - they had a lot of vintage books.

(Vintage mint green sweater with pink elephants - hands-down my favorite sweater so far! (gifted from a friend. Found at La di Dottie on Etsy.), handmade peach sweater and little pink dress (both thrifted).)

Anyway, I'm getting sidetracked... I've been wanting to share some of the things I've found for the baby so far. These are all the things I've picked up in the past few months. Seeing them all laid out makes me anxious to go through Nikayda's things, her baby shoes, and the vintage items I've collected over the past six years since Carter was born!

(Thrifted pajamas and gowns.)

(Stocking up on necessities.)

Not photographed: 2 huge boxes of natural baby wipes. And I need more diapers but plan to use the organic ones so I'm hunting for good deals before buying too many big boxes - I'm open to suggestions!

I also just got a Mamma's Milk sling after seeing one recently on one of my favorite blogs (Cakies) to use so I can wear my baby easily in the beginning. (I ordered the milk chocolate one and like how it holds the baby up close to me, and that it's adjustable - seems like it has great support.) I think I'm going to really like it - will give a review once the baby arrives. I have a Sleepy wrap (similar to Moby) that a friend sent me that I'll be trying out, as well. I still need to order a convertible carseat. And I need to find some hooded towels. (Have only looked at Target and am hoping to find thicker ones.)

(Blue dress (Vintage Aga on Etsy) and yellow German dress (Fuzzymama on Etsy).)

(Little thrifted pajamas.)

Mint green nightgown (Sprightly & Co. Baby on Etsy), and tops (thrifted).)

Things are starting to feel a whole lot more real around here! I'm 31.5 weeks now and the weeks are still flying by. I feel great. I've been able to continue to keep the heartburn at bay (my biggest issue during all of my pregnancies) by drinking a lot of raw, organic farm milk, eating plenty of viili and yogurt every day, and not drinking coffee (which I quit in 2007 - but drank through all of my other pregnancies. I've since learned that it helped to create a lot of heartburn for me). I just learned from my new midwife, Ruth, yesterday, that papaya is also great for heartburn relief. Good to know since I eat papaya a lot, too, because we put organic canned papaya in our fruit smoothies on a regular basis.

(Blue dress (gifted from a friend from La di Dottie on Etsy) and mint green dress (Simple Mittens on Etsy).)

A close friend asked me recently if I'm starting to get scared or nervous and I said I'm blocking it out. Any time it pops in my head, I just push it out. This isn't a cake-walk and I was so scared for my second and third and refuse to give in to that this time. But, yeah, deep down I'm nervous as all get out. It's just so much easier to live in denial, and in this case, I think it's better to ignore the fear than to face it. I'd rather squash it and not think about what needs to come before we have this little baby in our arms. It's the end result I'm wholeheartedly focusing on right now! It won't last forever and then I'll get to start 'playing house' again. Can't wait!

(I love the pink fabric that all of these items are photographed against. It's the polyester fabric I thrifted the other day.)

Whimsical Junk - Shop Update

I started working on a little shop update this evening. It's been a long time since I've listed anything new. Since last summer, to be exact.

Vintage Toddler Cardigan.

I'm hoping to continue adding things over the coming weeks as I find time. It feels great to freshen up the junk shop a little! I have boxes of stuff around here to list and I know the new garage sale season will be here before you know it and I need to part with some of this stuff before I can justify getting more.

Oh, who am I kidding! I'm really good at justification. But my husband will appreciate it so much more if I start making way for new items instead of adding to the piles around here.

Vintage Baby Sweater.

I took the photos for these new items as it was nearing evening. I didn't have the best light but I've realized lately that if I always wait for the best light I'll never get any pictures taken. I'm not sure how to use my camera in low-light situations real well either - so I have to admit I'm not crazy about the quality of these images but they'll work for now!

Sugar is Sugar

A lot of my favorite bar recipes call for sweetened condensed milk and I quit buying it a couple of years ago because of all the additives in it. And I haven't been able to find any that is organic. Recently, while on Pinterest, I came across a homemade recipe for sweetened condensed milk that called for milk powder. So, I ordered organic milk powder from Azure Standard and decided to try out the recipe.

I finally got around to it tonight and I'm really happy with how it turned out. Organic or not, sugar is still sugar and we try not to eat too much of it. I don't bake nearly as often as I used to but it's nice to have a treat once in awhile.

I made Chocolate Revel Bars this evening with the homemade sweetened condensed milk. They look like they turned out but I just pulled them from the oven so I'll wait until they're cooled before trying them. (eta: I tried them and they turned out great. I'll definitely be going this route in the future!)

Homemade Sweetened Condensed Milk

Recipe adapted from here.

4 T unsalted butter
3/4 c. sugar (recipe calls for 1 c.)
1 c. water
1 1/2 c. organic dry milk powder

Add butter, sugar and water to a saucepan and bring to a boil over low heat until the sugar dissolves. Turn off heat. Whisk in milk powder 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup at a time making sure it has dissolved before adding more each time*. Cool and use immediately. (Recipe states that it doesn't store well.)

*I still had a lot of lumps after mixing it - and I tried whisking it for a *very* long time before adding more after the initial addition. I gave up and when it had cooled enough, I stuck it in the blender to get rid of the lumps.

I didn't measure how much it made but I'd guess roughly about 1 1/2 cups to 1 3/4 cups. I used 1 1/4 cups of it in the bar recipe. It will appear like it's not as thick while it's still warm but it thickens as it cools. It's not as thick as the stuff in the can, but I think it had a nice texture to it.

Thrift Finds {without photos}

Mark got off work early this afternoon. A rare occasion so we headed to a town south of us to get transitional feed for our animals.

The kids and I tagged along after my chiro. appointment and got dropped off at the thrift while he ran for the feed. I have a love/hate relationship with The Rising Phoenix (the thrift we went to). I always find a few (or more) vintage goodies when I go there - but the customer service is the worst of any thrift I've ever been to. Unfortunately...

Source.

(The vintage fabric I bought today off Etsy! Love these colors together.)

Today was no exception... We had a pair of jeans that Mark had purchased before Christmas for himself. He'd asked to try them on but was told they didn't have a fitting room and if they didn't fit, he could bring them back for store credit.

When he got them home, we discovered they were women's jeans (found on the men's rack)! So, today, we went to return them and were told we couldn't.

I explained that he was told he could exchange them and that they were women's jeans and the woman working the counter pointed to the signs on the counter (stating no returns) and said we couldn't return them. After some persistence on my part, she finally went to find someone else who might help. After a brief explanation of the situation, the second woman told us we could get store credit. She was nice about it (much nicer than the woman working the counter had been) and so we went about our way looking at the racks.

Later, when we checked out and got into the car we started thinking it over and realized we weren't given our full $6.00 credit. The store had closed as we left. So, we got out of the car and knocked on the door (with the items and receipt in hand) and were asked by the woman who checked us out if we could come back tomorrow. We explained that we weren't from town and wouldn't be able to. (We don't often travel in that direction.) And she basically told us in not so many words that it was too bad. She also told us there was nothing she could do about it because all the cash was locked in the safe.

Her entire attitude and demeanor let us know that she was not going to help us. And she never once apologized for her mistake, and even claimed she gave us more credit than she did. (She never looked at the receipt to clarify it.) And we didn't bother to argue.

I told her it didn't feel right, though, that we were shorted and she wasn't going to do anything about it, and she just sort of shrugged.

There was a vintage wooden hanger that I'd inquired about as I was checking out. (They have mostly plastic hangers there that they use.) She had told me, "We have a lot of hangers. No I can't sell this one. We need it." And put it back behind the counter. (It didn't make sense to any of us either, the way she put it.)

So, when she had said that she couldn't do anything about the fact that she kept some of our money, Mark asked if we could just have the hanger and call it even. And she went and got it. I didn't think it was worth it and said as much right after he suggested it to her but she got it and gave it to us and we left. He was pretty irritated, too, at how unhelpful she was - so I guess we're calling it good just to be done with the situation. Not cool though...

On to better things... I scored an awesome granny wool coat with a fur collar for $4.00 while I was there. I absolutely love it. It's a brown coat - with brown speckles everywhere. I have a solid dark brown one with a fur collar that I've been wearing all winter. I can't wait to dry clean this one and start wearing it, too. Nikayda thinks it's so ugly. haha. She doesn't always appreciate my vintage loving ways.

I also found a pair of vintage pajamas for our baby (aqua with a little pink sailboat on the chest), a large plastic aqua embroidery hoop, a pretty vintage crocheted baby blanket (cream, blue, and pink zig-zags - I love zig-zags), and some pink floral polyester fabric - I said I'd never buy polyester fabric but this print is so awesome. Thinking of making a baby dress or shirt with it once I learn to sew. I also found a new soap dish for the bathroom (not vintage) but we needed one. It's white with a floral design around the rim. Ours got chipped when it fell into the tub a while back. And I also picked up a little retro atomic style bowl and an olive green train case. All for a grand total of $8.00. (So even without the proper store credit, we still found some great deals.)

I'll try and get some pictures up once I wash everything. The train case will go in the junk shop once I wash it up. It's clean and in excellent condition - a fun find! But mostly I'm just thrilled about a new coat. :)

House Update

I'm itching to do some painting lately. I haven't painted since last summer - except a little retro end table and the baby's dresser which I started (and have mentioned before but don't feel like hunting for the post to link to) but now have to repaint because I don't like the shade of red. I only have one coat on and it would need two more anyway for red so I'm going to prime it and start all over and go with something light. One of these days...

(Getting the mail on a sunny winter's day. View down the driveway.)

I can't wait for spring to get outside and get serious about all of my projects again... if my baby is good, that is. It'll be a whole new ballpark with a new little doll around here. Two months to go! I picked up a bunch of little necessities this weekend. Still need some stuff but it's beginning to feel a whole lot more real with all of the baby stuff we've been gathering and I'm getting so excited. Sometimes I still can hardly believe it's real.

(The field at the front of our property.)

Mark promised me flooring when the baby comes. He told me recently if I can get everything cleared out as much as possible on the first floor, he'll start laying flooring! So, maybe by next summer we'll have our floors and then we can paint or stain them. Undecided between a pale grey-white color floor paint or a really dark stain. Still. We've been going back and forth for years - leaning toward the really dark stain but I'm worried it'll darken it up too much and I want our house to be light and bright. So, we'll see!

(River, our Aussie, always comes with me to get the mail.)

(View looking back toward the house.)

Mark salvaged all the wide pine wall boards from a cabin he was working on last year and they'll be perfect in here. I wanted pine because I want them to get dented and worn over time. I love the character of pine floors.

We've also been talking lately about finally putting some bigger windows on the front of the house. I can't wait for that - just to have more light because the front faces mostly north. And because it'll pull the house together a little more. (All of our windows are salvaged and we used what we had when we built, not necessarily what we wanted, but we knew it was only temporary.) The bigger windows would also be salvaged. We have a whole slew of them sitting around here.

I'm enjoying winter (one of my favorite seasons) but this is one of the first years in a long time that I can't wait for spring and warm weather.

Organizing, Purging, Garage Sales

I love January about as much as I love Mondays. And that's a whole lot! It's a new start. A new beginning. And I always think it's a great time to organize and rejuvenate the home.

I've been going through the sitting room this past week, when time allows, and have been purging the kid's toys. Our sitting room is an open room adjacent to our living room and until the basement gets finished off, it's also the kid's toy room/play room - and it's been a cluttered mess for some time.

{Photo from last fall - dreaming of spring.}

We don't have a toy box. Since we moved in, over four years ago, the kid's toys have been in a cardboard box and little things like Legos, toy cars and trucks, animals, etc... have been sorted into vintage containers (metal tool boxes, wire baskets and bins, and the likes) but they're all just sitting on the floor and look like a jumbled mess even when everything is sorted in the right place.

I can't wait until we have some shelving in the basement where we can sort these bins to keep them more organized. It's a goal this year - along with finishing the laundry room (adjacent to the kitchen) and working on the boy's room which is sealed off to the inside of the house but open to the wind.

I got rid of all of our (modern) Fisher Price Little People at Christmas time. We had a lot of them but I've never liked the style of them. I'm so partial to the vintage ones, which I collect, so I gave them to my sister and my sister-in-law for their kids.

I'm giving all of our old plastic tools to my sister who lives here and I'm still wondering why we need as many toys as we have! - yet I don't know what else to get rid of because it seems like everything else actually gets played with. Except the Barbies. Nikayda has never played with them that much, probably because she's never had a sister. My sisters and I spent hours playing house with ours.

I brought a lot of stuff to the thrift last summer when I was going through stuff but now I've started sorting things in boxes and setting them aside because I would rather have a garage sale than bring everything there. It's been a few years since I've had one and it's such a great way to earn a little cash - so I can turn around and use it for thrifting and garage saling. It's just that I'm not sure how ambitious I'll feel this year with a new little one. I guess it will all depend on whether she's a good baby (like Nikayda) or a fussy one (like the boys). And this time around, I'll have a willing ten year old to help me out so it might be fine.

Animal Hair

Something on my mind...

I don't have pets.

At least, not the kind that live in the house. So, it can feel a little discouraging to receive things in the mail that look relatively 'clean' but have animal hair on them.

I order from Etsy and Ebay fairly often. Lately, three out of five things that I ordered arrived with animal hair on them. (And, to be honest, with all the times I've ordered on-line, it really doesn't happen that often but...) It's such a turn-off. It feels unprofessional to me when someone sends out products that have hair on them. Not just one or two accidental strands... Granted, they're not completely covered in hair but enough that you would notice when you're sending out your package.

It's not worth noting in my feedback - at least, I haven't. But I definitely think items should arrive without it.

I was window shopping on Etsy today and came across a pretty vintage blanket. So I clicked on the link to the item and all of the other photos had a big greyish-black, long haired cat sprawled over the blanket.

No thanks.

I have nothing wrong with people keeping pets but after seeing the pictures, I didn't bother to read the description or add the item to my favorites even though I really liked it from the first photo. All I could think of is how much black cat hair would be on it if I ordered it. And that can be a tricky thing to get out of a woven blanket.

(Speaking from experience...)