Jennifer's Junky Life ~

Operation Studio Room :: Phase 1

Mark came home with a bunch of wood cabinets for my basement studio room from a cabin he's been working at tonight. Eventually, this room will be a place to work on arts and crafts and projects - until someday, hopefully, the outdoor studio will be up and running. But I'm sure that'll be years still. There was absolutely no room in there to walk much less set a bunch of cabinets and he had to get the cabinets out of his truck tonight. So we had no choice but to start going through the room.

I've been wanting to purge through all the junk in there for a couple of years but in dealing with the rest of the house, just haven't made it down there. And... it probably had a little something to do with the fact that it just felt really overwhelming to start tackling it!

It's where we've been stashing all the stuff we found junk picking and from runs to the local dump, as well as, garage sale treasures. But my stack of projects had gotten completely out of hand due to all the things we've found that I knew I could pitch about half of it and never miss it. (I stopped buying or picking up new projects about a year and a half ago. for the most part.)

So, tonight, we did just that. And by 'pitch', I mean threw it out the back door in preparation to taking it to the dump. I sorted a few boxes for the thrift and for a (maybe) garage sale. Still undecided on the whole garage sale thing... keeping my mind open to the idea but just not so sure with a new baby this year...

After an hour or two tonight, it now looks like this. Well a little... After I took this, Mark put all the cupboards down there so now you can't walk in there anymore. But it's a start!

I was thrilled to get rid of so much of it. It seriously feels awesome! And now I hope sometime this year to continue to sort through boxes and purge about 50% or more of it. A lot of stuff in the boxes is garage sale finds that I've picked up for the junk shop. Things that are just waiting to be cleaned up and headed for a new home.

For now, I'm really happy with all that we were able to clear out. The backyard is a sight to see though! But at least now I have a better handle on the projects I actually want to get done around here for the things I do want to keep. It feels much more manageable.

And it makes me believe I may actually be able to use this space this year. That would be pretty awesome.

Once Upon a Monday

Today was one of those days... One of those days where I'm 35 weeks pregnant and feeling a little grumpy because I didn't get enough sleep. I don't function well without sleep so this is going to be something having a newborn again! I know the only thing that will get me through the sleep deprivation factor is having a new little being to love and snuggle again.

I had to run errands today so the kids and I ran to the thrift. I didn't find much... A little (Target brand) 18 month size yellow sundress for my baby and some 2T aqua leggings for her, as well. I found three Pyrex mugs for the junk shop. A pair of really cute children's moccasins - trying to decide if I want to hang on to them for years for this little lady or if I should just list them in the shop... And a bunch of vintage plates for us. I've been wanting a few more dinner plates and one of my kids has an affinity for dropping dishes whenever he unloads the dishwasher or gets a plate down for himself so I also found a bunch of the small dessert size plates since our stock of them has greatly dwindled in the past year! (I still need to get a photo of my hutch - the one I said I'd take pictures of last week. I'll try to get that this week along with my thrifty finds.)

We also ran grocery shopping since I didn't get out last week. I'm planning to make pasties this week. (That's pronounced with the short a sound - and they're basically hand pies with meat, potatoes, carrots, onions and rutabaga - for those unfamiliar with them.) I'm hoping to make a huge batch this week so I can freeze them for when the baby comes. They're such a quick and easy supper that way.

I visited with my new midwife at the beginning of last week. She wasn't 100% positive on the position of my baby - which made me feel incredibly apprehensive because it feels to me like she's head down... Admittedly, it made me feel uncertain and nervous that she couldn't tell, too - even though I realize sometimes that can happen when the baby is in a certain position.

Anyway, she wanted me to do an ultrasound to confirm presentation and I was holding off on it but it's making me feel so upset and worried at this point that I finally scheduled it. I need to know for my own peace of mind. (I've never had a breech baby before.) It's scheduled for tomorrow (Tues.). I'm looking forward to knowing either way. If she's breech, then I can decide how aggressive I want to be in getting her to shift into the right position. But I'm really, really hoping I'm all worried and anxious for nothing and she's in the position she's supposed to be in...

For now, I've been continuing with inversions and other exercises from the Spinning Babies website. Here is hoping for the best...! I have a planned outing to the thrift for after the ultrasound. Nothing will be better than a little thrifting therapy after all this!

Photos: New items in the junk shop.

House Update :: Laundry Room

Mark began work on the laundry room this week. I'm really looking forward to being able to use it.

There are no windows in it yet - and it'll be awhile. But we're planning to have a lot of them in there, as well as a window or two between the wall of the laundry room/kitchen to let more light into the kitchen as that west wall has only one window in the kitchen.

I haven't finished filling up my retro mid-century hutch that I have in the kitchen but it's getting there. I hope to have it finished up today and then I'll get a picture up. It's just one of those things that makes me so happy. A dust-free place for all of my vintage dishes!

Our dogs had puppies this winter. Our male Aussie, River, and our female Siberian Husky, Willow. Unfortunately, they were born on the coldest night of the year and in spite of being in one of our little outbuildings with heat, three of them didn't make it.

(Yes, that's the top of a pineapple! Our compost is just to the left of this photo.)

We had originally thought there were only four but in the morning, we found a fifth one that we didn't know about. We were lucky to get Willow, the female, into the building in time for her to give birth. She put up a huge fight being put in there. The dogs use that building for shelter but she didn't like being closed in when it came time to have her puppies. She tore the place apart! I mean, like a wild dog. But we knew it was for her and the puppies own good that they were in a warm place when the time came - and she is not house trained so it wasn't an option to have her in here.

I always knew I wanted at least two dogs, so they would have companionship - but somehow or another we now have three! For now anyway...

Her name is Meadow and she's so cute. She's a good mix of her parents, light colored and has blue-grey eyes.

We had hoped when we went to get Willow and River, respectively, that they each would have had blue eyes but they didn't. There were no blue eyed Huskies and the blue eyed Aussie puppies were already spoken for.

The little male (the brown one) is being picked up tonight and going to a good home. I'm so happy with the family we found for him - I know he'll be in good hands.

I always say I'm not an animal person... and I'm not totally (okay, maybe a little) but I care about all of our animals more than I ever thought I would and I was really worried about sending little puppies out into the world. We wanted to have one litter and now we'll get our dogs fixed this spring/summer.

I can't believe it's Friday already. Another week has flown by. I'm 35 weeks along in my pregnancy. It's really starting to feel like it's getting down to the wire!

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.

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.)

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.

Storage Furniture

As some of you know, we built our house (intentionally) without closets. While I don't regret that decision, it's been a great challenge trying to keep things organized while waiting to accumulate vintage cupboards and cabinets.

Source.

We have retro metal dressers for our master bedroom, but they've been sitting in the basement for four or five years waiting to be painted... So all of our clothes are in piles on our floor or in plastic Sterilite containers. (And, admittedly, it kind of drives me crazy... There is a reason I talk about organization on here a lot - I dream of living in an organized house!)

My main goal this year when it comes to thrifting and garage saling (and possibly Craigslist, which is a little more difficult in this rural area) will be to start looking for storage solutions. Preferably mid-century retro components.

Source.

I have quite a few metal cupboards and cabinets. And my dear husband, who claims he doesn't always love my junk addiction, continues to bring home white mid-century metal kitchen cupboards when he finds them (free) at our local dump. Which I love! But I'm also hoping to start collecting something in warmer tones such as the pieces in these photos.

Source.

This week, he found a kitchen cupboard (below) that was in excellent condition, minus the missing 'counter'. I was thrilled! ("Excellent", barring the surface rust on the inside base, as well.) We're hoping to start working on my laundry room, which is right off the kitchen this winter before the baby arrives. It will go perfectly in there.

He'll build a wooden counter and I'll either paint the counter or decoupage it in wallpaper or some other vintage paper.

Since this winter has been so mild (up until the past day or two), he's been working on siding the back of the house which has remained unsided these past few years. It'll feel good to finally have that done - and maybe some year we'll even get around to painting it!

He recently found a huge door at the dump (above) that I absolutely love. And if it's not too large to work for our front door, we're hoping to fix it up and put it there. I would love to finally have a front door that I'm crazy about. (I like the one we have, that he changed out last year (also from the dump, or a job he did), but it isn't the one I'd choose if I could.) The one he just found this week is exactly what I've had in mind since we built the house! And, I think it needs to be fire engine red, or dark pink, or bright yellow or something equally as fun.