did you buy that new?

flapper fabulous

posted by katie, motherbumper

Fetish alert: I have a thing for purses.  I'm not a girly girl by any stretch of the imagination, in fact I was never comfortable carrying a purse until I added "parental unit" to my resume, but all my life, I've collected bags and purses.  The more dainty and delicate, the better.

This 1920's gem came from my paternal grandmother's home.  She wasn't a fancy lady, in fact she was a shining example of how to be practical.  That woman reused, reduced, and recycled long before it became fashionable; raising a family in the 1930's rural Canada will do that to you.  But obviously before the Dirty Thirties hit, my nana had some fun times and purses to match.

The purse is made of woven metal in gold, turquoise, and orange.  It's big enough to hold a lipstick, compact, and for those naughty girls who felt prohibition didn't apply to them, a small flask.  For the record, my grandmother would not have been one of those girls.  But I would have totally been one of those girls.

antique bling: somehow, SO much more fabulous.

Posted by Debbie.

Some of my favorite thrifted and estate-sale-purchased discoveries.

Even the shell came from an estate sale.

This piece is, quite possibly, my all-time-favorite thrift item.  $.99 for a clasp that can go from trashy to classy (claspy?) in the blink of an eye.  Hooray for San Diego thrifting!  (Oh, and the shelf on which the clasp is situated was also an estate-sale purchase.  It's a rolling cart with a - working! - hot plate.  For $15.  Hot dog!  Or, uh, hot fondue!)

(The aforementioned cart, in the left corner, which supports a hodge-podge of literature and drink materials; coincidentally, so do I.  Or not so coincidentally.   Also, while we're in this space, you may as well know that the table was purchased second-hand and extends to fit about seventeen-hundred people, or maybe only fourteen, which kind of feels like seventeen-hundred.  The chairs on the long ends were salvaged from someone's curb, repainted and reupholstered by yours truly.  The centerpiece on the table consists of two heavy glass candle holders I inherited from my maternal grandmother, and the turquoise cinder receptacle in center, full of shells that were a gift to my son from his -- still very much alive at 90! -- great-grandmother, came from the estate sale of a woman with exquisite taste.  More photos to come in future of a small, well-edited selection of pieces from her once-incredible collection.  I only wish I'd had a thousand dollars to spend the day I wandered through her slightly-musty, yet darling, home.)

at the automat.

Posted by Debbie.

Lotta, who sells lovely things here, and whose fb page is here, makes all of her exquisite, one-of-a-kind pieces sourcing vintage buttons.  So you can feel earth-good about your purchase, *and* pretty, all to oncet.  (I'm mimicking Lotta's vintage sourcing and dipping my verbal pen in a 1930s depression-speak style to complete that last sentence, if you're confused as to what in the world I'm doing with my spelling skills.)

"Blue Balls" :: Mom-o-matic's Automat