Rummage and reuse

My best rummage sale finds so far this year:

These amazing pink Chucks. I lost my shit when I spotted them.

Pinterest is my motivation and also my procrastination.  But we'll focus on the motivation part today.

I have quite a few candles boxed up, years old and now scentless.  When I came across this pin, I had to try the boiling water technique because the freezer technique seemed a little stupid.  I mean, chipping away at cold glass doesn't seem like a great idea.  

Much better, right?  Until I find something to store in them, I'll just leave them there.

What's been goin' on

Two weeks ago, I spent the day with my grandparents.  Not only was I able to photograph them (a big deal since my grandma had brain surgery a week prior) but we also had lots of time to bond.  It's been a really long time since I got to hear my grandpa's stories about WWII.  He has this wooden box with a bunch of little treasures from his time in the service, and it only comes out every few years.  The entire time he talked, he was teary-eyed.  It was wonderful to hear all of the stories about the pieces and photographs in the box again.  The last time I remember hearing about everything was the first time, and I was probably eleven.

My hero (Grandpa Bud) helping Grandma get around. :)

This chair is from the first kitchen set they had as a married couple.  It's over 63 years old.  :)

This image is the best thing I've done all year.  I haven't edited shadows or anything yet, but the fact that I got them with my [copied] sign makes me so happy.

My new camera bag came and I couldn't be happier.  Copper River Bags is an amazing company.  The products are stellar and the fact that they're made in the U.S. really floats my boat.

I haven't been spending much lately, since we're talking about buying a house.  I did buy this for myself though, just to take the edge off of my work week.  Thank you, Kelli Murray and Etsy.

July Photodump

 

My red, white & blue cupcakes were a little less white and a little more yellow.  

They tasted good, though!

Remy made lots of friends

I got more use out of my SpyderCo knife :)

The garden didn't do super, but I got some delicious peas, so I'm not disappointed.

< 3 

My grandma was getting rid of some stuff...

I'm so glad I'm the favorite :)

Finally wore my favorite Delia's dress.

Playing with LR long enough to figure it out was one of the most productive things I accomplished in July.

Oh, and I got a new (top 3 favorites) tattoo!

                                                                   

It goes way back, women gather.

(This is old news now, but I was waiting to post it until I had time to organize/take pictures.)

I'd like to say that I collect things.  I could copy The Dainty Squid's idea and do a bunch of posts on things I've accumulated and it would be interesting.  The problem is word choice, I do not collect - I hoard.  I was on a clothing shopping spree for about three months last year and I have three jam packed (color-coordinated) closets to show for it.  And when I say clothing, I also mean make up and nail polish and shoes...Speaking of clothes, this is the new dress I got from Delia's a couple of weeks ago.

Anyways, I am going to post a few pictures of things that are really important to me.  The first is a ring my grandpa made while he was serving in the South Pacific during WWII.  I'm still trying to figure out how, but he made it from a quarter.  I thought it was the coolest thing ever when my grandma showed my mom and I (I'm sure my mom had seen it before that) last summer.  When my birthday rolled around in November, my grandma gave it to my mom for my birthday present!  The fact that my grandpa died when I was four assigns even more importance to this little gem.  I also have the trunk he was given at Fort .  And the blanket that was always on his corduroy recliner...Out of 26 grandkids, I feel like my grandma gave me the most sought-after things...:)  Not that I'm proud of being materialistic, I need to work on that.  But it's nice to have the things that have memories and history attached.

1945 Manila P.I. (Philippine Islands)

Cameras are another area of weakness for me.  My latest indulgence was a Flip Video Camera (flip cam).  I saw them in the local newspaper ad at Target for $70 a few weeks ago.  Since then, I didn't check on prices, I just looked at the official website.  I got free shipping and with a coupon code, I bought the base model (in LEOPARD PRINT!) for $73.  Right after I ordered it I looked on Target.com and found that they're $50.  But mine is prettier than those plain ones, so it's justified.

I want a letter seal and wax set.  Only I want the letter seal to have both my and Adam's names on it.  I found one on this amazing photographer's blog I discovered and I neeeeeed my own.  This website has products closer to what I'm looking for...I think that because this is frustrating me so much, when I see the one I'm envisioning, I'll be buying it without considering a price.

July 2nd:
I got home from work tonight and noticed a ball of fur in the driveway.  I couldn't tell what it was.  I couldn't tell if it was alive or not.  Thank God for Remy.