Vintage Montgomery Ward
One buck
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Packing it in
I'm home from work packing today, you may find this surprising but... I have a lot of weird stuff.
That tile trivet? You know that Kohler commercial where the crazy people want to base the whole house on a faucet? Yeah- that's how I feel about that trivet.
That tile trivet? You know that Kohler commercial where the crazy people want to base the whole house on a faucet? Yeah- that's how I feel about that trivet.
Monday, February 20, 2012
Sunday, February 19, 2012
NOM Skulls
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Friday, February 17, 2012
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Dear Gifts from a Dear Friend
Precious beaded and embroidered and appliqued and...beclipped vintage mittens and amazing leather baby boots (you can't tell how cool they are because of my mitten-centric photography)
A Naughty Post About Adult Ivy
Right here on Fine Gardening's site.
Do you know about Adult Ivy? Yeah! No one does!
And I can't say this blog post will help... but it's good for a chuckle.
Tuesday, February 07, 2012
Bad Mommy
I forgot to bring Hazel's blanket today when I brought her to day care. I had diapers, food, bottles... I was laden but that's no excuse, it's pretty cold out there today. I put the heat on "eyebrow singeing" on the way...
I let Dan know in the middle of the day that when he came to pick her up this afternoon, don't go looking for the blankie- I forgot it. I suck.
My darling husband has learned how to "make do" since he married me...
I let Dan know in the middle of the day that when he came to pick her up this afternoon, don't go looking for the blankie- I forgot it. I suck.
My darling husband has learned how to "make do" since he married me...
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
Clogged
One more week and I'll have a tiny window of free time in which I hope to blog my ass off. But for now, I have a secret project I'm working on, Hazel has just entered a "clingy period" and oh... what's that? WE'RE MOVING. Which is always easy like bagel dogs.
I dream of days filled with blogging about plants, thongs, footwear and thrift store finds...
Just gimme a week.
I dream of days filled with blogging about plants, thongs, footwear and thrift store finds...
Just gimme a week.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Got some credit in the straight world:
New post on the Proven Winners website by yours truly...
Check it out right here.
Friday, January 20, 2012
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Tuesday, January 03, 2012
I'm on a podcast at FineGardening.com
The ass-kickin' Andrew Keys let me record a rambling and it's on this podcast...
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Proven Winners | Introducing Amanda Thomsen - Midwest Garden Guru
Proven Winners Introducing Amanda Thomsen - Midwest Garden Guru
Check out my first post on the Proven Winners blog. You know you wanna...
Check out my first post on the Proven Winners blog. You know you wanna...
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Thrift Store Finds 12/15/2011
One of the things that has made me a successful thrifter/or vintage wearer is that I really know what will fit me and look good on me, just by looking at it on the hanger. Well, since being pregnant and popping a baby out- things aren't quite the same. So I haven't bought much for me lately, I'm going to wait until my body catches up with my brain (or vice versa) and just buy baby clothes for a while.
Vintage cotton velvet set and Winnie the Pooh brand smocked dress, along with a no-name pinafore and a pink sweater. New stuff: Icky Baby dress for when she's older, a Zutano top, Baby Gap sundress and a bathing suit cover-up... because why not? Also? A thousand Indian bangles...
I forgot this vintage knit dress in nautical colors. Um, sooooo cute.
Vintage cotton velvet set and Winnie the Pooh brand smocked dress, along with a no-name pinafore and a pink sweater. New stuff: Icky Baby dress for when she's older, a Zutano top, Baby Gap sundress and a bathing suit cover-up... because why not? Also? A thousand Indian bangles...
I forgot this vintage knit dress in nautical colors. Um, sooooo cute.
New post on FineGardening.com
A Ticking Pine Bomb. Man, I'm gonna get in a whole lotta trouble over this one...
Thursday, December 08, 2011
Good Enough Gardening Winter Containers Video
We make containers out of things that are really just... bad ideas...
Monday, December 05, 2011
Add to my resume: SUPERMODEL
Okay, okay. It's not modeling (count yourself as lucky!) - but it sure is SUPER! I'll be blogging at the completely new blog section on the ProvenWinners.com website, starting today and I couldn't be more stoked. Come on, the flavor combination of Kiss My Aster plus Proven Winners is truly something to be devoured!
I asked myself, "Amanda, do you really want to associate yourself with a company and product line?" and I thought about Zooey Deschanel making cotton commercials (it's the fabric of our lives, you know) and Gwen Stefani selling hair dye and lipstick for Revlon and I thought to myself, "I actually really LOVE Proven Winners so that makes me totally authentic and Gwen isn't ever going to use an $8 box of dye over the bathroom sink, so I rule and she drools." And it was all settled- and so here we are.
Basically, this gig means I get to make more containers to show you and I get to think of other weird ways to use plants for your amusement, so that's a win for you. And I get to see what Proven Winners has got coming down the line before you do, and that is a TOTAL win for me.
I still have my street cred, right?
P.S. I'm part of a small flock of bloggers, one for each region ... Here is the link to the first post, by Genevieve Schmidt.
I asked myself, "Amanda, do you really want to associate yourself with a company and product line?" and I thought about Zooey Deschanel making cotton commercials (it's the fabric of our lives, you know) and Gwen Stefani selling hair dye and lipstick for Revlon and I thought to myself, "I actually really LOVE Proven Winners so that makes me totally authentic and Gwen isn't ever going to use an $8 box of dye over the bathroom sink, so I rule and she drools." And it was all settled- and so here we are.
Basically, this gig means I get to make more containers to show you and I get to think of other weird ways to use plants for your amusement, so that's a win for you. And I get to see what Proven Winners has got coming down the line before you do, and that is a TOTAL win for me.
I still have my street cred, right?
P.S. I'm part of a small flock of bloggers, one for each region ... Here is the link to the first post, by Genevieve Schmidt.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
New post on FineGardening.com
I can't get Dan to move this birdbath and put it together. I can't think of why.
Read about it here.
Read about it here.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
New post on FineGardening.com
Hey, I posted my ideas for Christmas gifts for gardeners over at FineGardening.com, yo. Check it out.
Monday, November 14, 2011
I'm going all "mommy blogger" on your aster....
I'm working like a squirrel trying to put away some nuts over here. Soon will be the long, lazy landscapers' winter where I can blog my face off. But for now, I gotta make the doughnuts....
In the meantime- here are some nutty baby things that are rockin' my world...
The Podee- Stupid name for an ingenious gadget. It's a bottle that takes 10 minutes to put together but then your infant can feed itself and you can go back to Facebooking. You just sit the bottle next to them and that's it-- We pack one for long trips or if we go out for dinner. It takes her about 40 minutes to suck it down and that's 45 minutes of silence. Terriff for in the car, yo.
Chewbeads- Hazel likes to yank on and suck all my fine, fine Betsey Johnson finery. Well, maybe it's time for me to play my cards right and just wear chewbeads until she grows out of it- By then my BJ necklaces may be considered vintage, but whatevs. I have the Jane in chartreuse so far but I see more in my future...
Harajuku Mini- HOLY GUACAMOLE. Cute as @#*%!! is what it SHOULD say on the back of that panda bear jacket... I bought one of everything that didn't have a cartoon of a kid's face on it. I may go back for the next size up of everything... Yeah, it's THAT good.
Angel Dear's Monster Blankies- THANK YOU for making a pink robot blanket. I get to sing to myself "Oh Hazimi, they don't believe me, but you won't let those robots defeat me"
Practical Designs shopping cart cover- Great in high chairs and shopping carts and everyone says it's super rad...
Alright. That's it for me, I have to go tailgate for tonight's new episode of Gossip Girl.
Aster, out!
In the meantime- here are some nutty baby things that are rockin' my world...
The Podee- Stupid name for an ingenious gadget. It's a bottle that takes 10 minutes to put together but then your infant can feed itself and you can go back to Facebooking. You just sit the bottle next to them and that's it-- We pack one for long trips or if we go out for dinner. It takes her about 40 minutes to suck it down and that's 45 minutes of silence. Terriff for in the car, yo.
Chewbeads- Hazel likes to yank on and suck all my fine, fine Betsey Johnson finery. Well, maybe it's time for me to play my cards right and just wear chewbeads until she grows out of it- By then my BJ necklaces may be considered vintage, but whatevs. I have the Jane in chartreuse so far but I see more in my future...
Harajuku Mini- HOLY GUACAMOLE. Cute as @#*%!! is what it SHOULD say on the back of that panda bear jacket... I bought one of everything that didn't have a cartoon of a kid's face on it. I may go back for the next size up of everything... Yeah, it's THAT good.
Angel Dear's Monster Blankies- THANK YOU for making a pink robot blanket. I get to sing to myself "Oh Hazimi, they don't believe me, but you won't let those robots defeat me"
Practical Designs shopping cart cover- Great in high chairs and shopping carts and everyone says it's super rad...
Alright. That's it for me, I have to go tailgate for tonight's new episode of Gossip Girl.
Aster, out!
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Kiss My Aster's Secrets: Getting to Sleep
This may be one of the weirder things about me. It originated from having a very aggressive cat who would find my appendages in the night and a) would try to get me to pet him or b) would attack any twitching hands and feet c) he'd sleep on my kneecaps, which was uncomfortable... So based on when I got that cat and when he was at his weirdest, I've been sleeping this way for more than 10 years.
Step 1- While laying on my back, I rotate my shoulders backwards
Step 2- I put my palms on the mattress and then slide them under my legs, just under my butt
Step 3- I cross my legs at the knees, like I was sitting Indian-style
I call this "The Boxing Helena". It is impenetrable to cats.
I wasn't bouncy enough to be able to sleep this way while I was pregnant and it nearly drove me insane.
Step 1- While laying on my back, I rotate my shoulders backwards
Step 2- I put my palms on the mattress and then slide them under my legs, just under my butt
Step 3- I cross my legs at the knees, like I was sitting Indian-style
I call this "The Boxing Helena". It is impenetrable to cats.
I wasn't bouncy enough to be able to sleep this way while I was pregnant and it nearly drove me insane.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Saturday, October 22, 2011
New Garden Dispatch Column in Green Profit
Read it here, it's about vertical gardening and why no one actually has one.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Thrift Store Finds 10/20/2011
Sorry I've been so scarce, I'll be up in yer face starting in November but for now I'm working on something secret that is eating me alive.
And I've been 300% busy at work, too. So much so, that I haven't been to a thrift store in a LOOOONG time, but I stopped on lunch today and.... Whoa.
Ok, here we have a yellow ceramic deviled egg tray (I never have one when I want one)
a baby stripey jumper and stripey top
a ceramic Hello Kitty something-er-other
a chenille (made in France) vintage baby union suit- take that Missoni!
2 vintage dresses, one floral chiffon with clear blue buttons and one with an interesting waist detail and a cute but new dress for work
a pair of barely broken in Doc Marten Mary Janes
a pair of BRAND NEW Danskos
And these 3 giant bells. I am going to paint them acid green and hang them in the tall crap Mulberry tree in the yard... They will be loud and also loud.
Get it?
How much do you think I spent on all this??
And I've been 300% busy at work, too. So much so, that I haven't been to a thrift store in a LOOOONG time, but I stopped on lunch today and.... Whoa.
Ok, here we have a yellow ceramic deviled egg tray (I never have one when I want one)
a baby stripey jumper and stripey top
a ceramic Hello Kitty something-er-other
a chenille (made in France) vintage baby union suit- take that Missoni!
2 vintage dresses, one floral chiffon with clear blue buttons and one with an interesting waist detail and a cute but new dress for work
a pair of barely broken in Doc Marten Mary Janes
a pair of BRAND NEW Danskos
And these 3 giant bells. I am going to paint them acid green and hang them in the tall crap Mulberry tree in the yard... They will be loud and also loud.
Get it?
How much do you think I spent on all this??
Sunday, October 02, 2011
New Good Enough Gardening Podcast: The Aster Alert
Yeah, I remember mentioning Dan's butt.... You can listen HERE.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Proven Winners let me write an article about spooky colored plants!
Man, I can't believe they fell for it.
Here it is.
Here it is.
Saturday, September 17, 2011
I'm going to make a play room...
I have decided to make a creepy room of our basement into a play room for Hazy- with all my spare time this winter. I'm very excited by this- and I'm scanning Google and Pinterest for retro-riffic ideas.
I came across the idea of hanging vintage shovels on the wall.... if I can find some cheaper than these!
Saturday, September 03, 2011
New post at FineGardening.com...
A Gardener's Guide to Swearing- How do you know when you have a black walnut tree in your 'hood? Listen for chaos from above.
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Sunday, August 21, 2011
New post at FineGardening.com...
I just posted something about plant fever. You should read it so you know how to cure it when it strikes.
Zook!
Here are a few photos of the restoration of the Zook home and studio in Hinsdale, Illinois. I'm obsessed with Zook because I grew up near a gaggle of them and always thought they were true beauties. We called them the "mushroom houses" due to their sweet Cotswold style roofs.
Also? Zook was born in Valparaiso, Indiana and ended up in Hinsdale. I was born in Hinsdale and ended up, briefly, in Valpo.
Go figure.
More photos to come...
Monday, August 15, 2011
Saturday, August 13, 2011
This week at the thrift stores
God, it really looks like I go shopping all the time. Maybe I do. I dunno. It lifts all my stresses to come home with a trunk full of bowling balls, which I totally did this week.
A vintage stripey shirt dress (NWT!), some rolled Japanese paper, a pink tile trivet, a Berggren coffee pot I think will clean up nicely! A OJ carafe, a bedside water carafe, an AWESOME copy of Garden Magic (1947-- more of that later!), some repro vintage wallpaper border, a book on letter writing, vintage nautical fabric, a wool car blanket (Dan collects- they look so great stacked!), 2 little herb printed jars and a pansy wall hangy thing.
Oh, and the Cooky book! Awesome! She wrote notes in it as to what worled well! Some Dutch shoes, anold Christmas tablecloth and some funky vintage angels...
And ONE Bakelite butter knife. Most importantly..
A vintage stripey shirt dress (NWT!), some rolled Japanese paper, a pink tile trivet, a Berggren coffee pot I think will clean up nicely! A OJ carafe, a bedside water carafe, an AWESOME copy of Garden Magic (1947-- more of that later!), some repro vintage wallpaper border, a book on letter writing, vintage nautical fabric, a wool car blanket (Dan collects- they look so great stacked!), 2 little herb printed jars and a pansy wall hangy thing.
Oh, and the Cooky book! Awesome! She wrote notes in it as to what worled well! Some Dutch shoes, anold Christmas tablecloth and some funky vintage angels...
And ONE Bakelite butter knife. Most importantly..
How Easy Is It To Grow Tomatoes? Easy As Number 2!
Check out my second post on Fine Gardening's website. It's about poop and tomatoes. Curious?
Thursday, August 04, 2011
Monday, August 01, 2011
Compost Pile of the Week
It's been too hot to garden so no fresh green stuff on top. However, looking at this compost pile is like looking at a chocolate cake, it is soooooo ready. I just wish the heat index would come down so I can spread that shit like frosting all over my garden.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Thrift Store Adventures
Here's what I picked up this week....
A little suitcase with all the makings for a drunken night out, a handmade quit from the 70s that contains scraps from the 30s and 40s, a 1940s floral window panel, ae early 60s rayon floral print dress, a 70s Asian quilted jacket and an 80s candy striper dress in a 50s silhouette.
The bowl matches my grandparents' china, which reminds me of Echinops ritro. 2 little figurines in front, he's playing bass and she's got a violin. A Berggren cutting board...
23 Best in Children's books- I've never seen more than 1 or 2 for sale, 23 is pretty astounding out of the 43 they made. 1959-- AWESOME graphics inside!! Some are even by Andy Warhol!
Hand embroidered- unusual and awesome subject matter!
Under it is a German tea towel and the loveliest gauzy kitchen curtain you've ever seen...
I can't pass up Dutch shoes, so 2 of them, under that is a 40s tea towel (never used), 2 old tablecloths in pristine condition and a weird piece of terry cloth in a fruit print (also a table cloth?). Also there's a cute lil' apron wedged in there and a large martini shaker that used to be gold on the bottom and now it is a little less so. I bet it can still make a martini, regardless.
All this? Less than $60.
A little suitcase with all the makings for a drunken night out, a handmade quit from the 70s that contains scraps from the 30s and 40s, a 1940s floral window panel, ae early 60s rayon floral print dress, a 70s Asian quilted jacket and an 80s candy striper dress in a 50s silhouette.
The bowl matches my grandparents' china, which reminds me of Echinops ritro. 2 little figurines in front, he's playing bass and she's got a violin. A Berggren cutting board...
23 Best in Children's books- I've never seen more than 1 or 2 for sale, 23 is pretty astounding out of the 43 they made. 1959-- AWESOME graphics inside!! Some are even by Andy Warhol!
Hand embroidered- unusual and awesome subject matter!Under it is a German tea towel and the loveliest gauzy kitchen curtain you've ever seen...
I can't pass up Dutch shoes, so 2 of them, under that is a 40s tea towel (never used), 2 old tablecloths in pristine condition and a weird piece of terry cloth in a fruit print (also a table cloth?). Also there's a cute lil' apron wedged in there and a large martini shaker that used to be gold on the bottom and now it is a little less so. I bet it can still make a martini, regardless.All this? Less than $60.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)