Modern Vintage Shop & Social

A friend at work sent me a link for this event last week hosted by Quarter Life: The Beltway's Best Vintage and Thrift. When I saw that the event involved food, other vintage lovers, and shopping, I immediately took the day off of work so I could go. 

Never mind that it was in an area that I'd never heard of. Never mind that I've rarely ventured in DC outside of the monuments and museums. Also, never mind that I had never navigated the Metro by myself nor was I about to drive right into the city during rush hour. Ah, but minor details!

The rain almost turned me into a bum that day, but I wasn't about to waste a vacation day sitting in sweatpants perusing Pintrest. So I put on one of my favorite vintage dresses, slipped into my red rain boots, and decided I was going, gosh darnit!

My genius plan was to drive to Alexandria and park there to ride the Metro to Capitol Heights. After trying three separate stops until I finally found one with parking, I clomped in and got my adventure off to a great start by accidently putting twenty dollars on a fare card. Again, minor detail. I would use it for all the future trips I would make into the city. The trip itself was surprisingly smooth, and I arrived at Nana with plenty of time to spare. 

In fact, I was that awkward first person to the party.

But the gals at the shop were so sweet and welcoming, and Miss Lisa and I discovered a Pennsylvania connection almost right away. Not to mention the place was adorable, and they had cookies...and beer...and hummus...and cucumber sandwich things. 

Rockin' the rain boots. Photo by Lisa.

People starting trickling in and soon the place was abuzz with new and old friends and vintage lovers squealing over all the fabulous clothes and jewelry. The best thing about being at an event with fellow bloggers was that you could pull your camera out and start snapping photos and there were no weird looks.

Overall, it was a great time and I made some new friends (hey Thrift and Style, Tulle and Combat Boots, and Naja Diamond!) And I walked away with a lovely new purse--photos coming soon.

I left with a little extra bounce in my rain boot step, arrived at the Metro to go home, and realized that I lost the fare card. Which still had 17 bucks on it. I hiked back to the shop with no luck, and back to the station to buy a new one. 

So, you're welcome whoever found a free gift on the ground.

I would say it was worth it.

Welcome to Our New Home!

I've been so used to saying that every time we have guests over to our real new home, so naturally I thought I would carry the sentiment over to my blogging life as well.

Last weekend, we had the pleasure of welcoming my family from Pennsylvania into our new home. Considering the most amount I've gone without seeing them probably has never exceeded two weeks or so,  it was absolutely wonderful to finally see them after two months.

On Saturday afternoon, while the men watched football, the ladies ventured downtown and to the mall for long overdue shopping. I introduced them to some of my favorite thrift shops that I've found, and I had a moment of retail serendipity.

A few weeks ago when I was exploring the downtown Fairfax area, I happened to stumble upon The Factory, a new store that specializes in printed tees and vintage clothes. With no spending money in my pocket, going to these kind of places 'just to look' is the worst form of torture. I pulled out a 1960's era dress from the rack that had a fabulous kitchsy print--kind of like something you might find on an apron-- and an adorable length. I quickly stuck it back on the hanger and tried to put it out of my mind.

And I did, until we sauntered back into the shop last weekend. With a little bit 'o money courtesy of my mommy,  I thought to myself, if it's still here I'll get it. So imagine my excitement when I saw it poking out of the dresses, and upon further inspection, was cheaper than it was last time! It was clearly meant to be. So it came home with me, and this morning the weather finally cooperated for some photos.

Have you ever had one of those meant-to-be purchases that just seemed to come from a divine intervention?

Or maybe it's just that nobody else saw potential for a short dress splashed with flowers and primary colors. Oh well. Their loss.

Antique Escapes

What do you get when you combine the constant smell of a basement, searching through thousands of cheesy grandma knick-knacks for the perfect wedding cake topper, and chocolate cream pie?

A successful day of antiquing and a very happy Bren, that's what.

It was a cold Football Saturday in Happy Valley, so naturally, I fled town. I had told my dad weeks ago that I wanted to go flea marketing together on a Saturday, and today was finally the day that worked out. Even though my first unofficial rule of thrift searching is to have an open mind (which means not going in looking for any one particular thing, because it often leads to frustration), I knew I was searching for wedding decor inspiration today. But of course my mind was open to other impulses that might arise. Like jewelry.

Our first stop was Street of Shops in Lewistown, PA.

Inside: miles and miles and aisles and aisles of junk. Obviously I was in heaven.

As I got lost in the labyrinth, I was thinking about how something so simple brings me so much joy. For some reason, I see a thrill in buying things that aren't fresh off the factory. I love knowing that I am probably the second, third, tenth owner of a necklace that someone might have worn for their prom or wedding in the 50's. Not only are older things much better quality, since they have stood the test of time, they also have a certain character that the plastic consumer items of today do not-- I can't image we'll be seeing aisles of outdated iphones and computers in 30 years.

Don't get me wrong though--there is certainly a fair share of utter crap for sale in some of these places. Among my favorites today: a Sony walkman and racks of cassettes, a life-size PSU basketball player poster, a light up Jesus lawn ornament, and a styrofoam Coca Cola McDonalds cup. Yes, some things should just be thrown away.

Anyway, after a lovely grilled cheese and tomato soup lunch at the cafe, we moved on to our next stop.

I didn't buy anything here, but loved exploring the three floors of this barn-turned-antique mall.

We finished off the day with some dinner and pie at the Lewisburg Country Cupboard (a swell place, if you'd like to check out the chronicles of the smorgasboard in my other blog).

I'm sure you're dying to know what I bought, right? Did she find her perfect cake topper?

Unfortunately, I did not--not one I loved, anyway. I did, however, find plenty of newlywed Precious Moments and teddy bears and creepy porcelain doll-esque figures that once stood on someone's cake. Oh well--there will be more antique trips. :-)

However, without giving too much away, I found a fantastic decoration that will definitely make a statement at our reception. I'm not going to tell you what it is, but I will tell you that I found it here:

And for another little decoration sneak preview:

You'll just have to stay tuned!

I also found a beautiful 1970's dress that you'll get to see after some alterations. It fit almost perfectly, and had a fantastic pattern. With some shortening and taking in, it'll be real neat.

I would say today was a great success. Thanks to Dad for going with me!

Stay warm! I'm hearing rumors of snow....

-Bren

Here's What You've Missed...

Two weekends ago, my mom and I traveled to Allentown to visit some friends and family, and to hit up the thrift store circuit. First thing you think of when you think of Allentown, right? Well, we had some major scores and some major steals. Among my favorite purchases, which mostly included an array of fall jackets and offbeat jewelry, were some fabulous dangling earrings that look like something you might have hung on your Christmas tree in the 1950s:

A sweatshirt-fabric fall blazer and an 'out there' necklace:




However, it's been a little difficult lately to pull off my cozy fall fashions due to the weather going from this:

To this:

  

But it's OK, because my fiance (!!!!!!!!!) is the best, most wonderful, handsomest man of all time. OF ALL TIME. Despite our crazy busy schedules, Monday nights are our night for each other. This week I made stuffed green peppers (fresh from the Saylor garden!) and there was slow dancing to Queen in the living room, back rubbing, and trying to form our own two-person acapella band to various songs...while a thunderstorm raged outside. It was all very romantic.
Also. One of my best friends (and bridesmaids!!) was on the PSU Homecoming Court. No big.

With all this excitement, the only things getting me through the drudges of school are excessive wedding blog stalking and lots and lots of pumpkin things. Pumpkin lattes, pumpkin butter, pumpkin margaritas (beats the apple cider margarita by a landslide), pumpkin beer, and pumpkin donuts. I may just turn into a pumpkin.

And that's what you missed.

See Thru Dresses and Apple Cider

I love fall. I love it I love it I love it I love it! I love the crisp air, the smell of fires, hot apple cider....and of course, fall clothes.

I am big into layering. Even though the change of a season usually means 'time to go shopping', I also find it thrilling to take my favorite summer tops and dresses and throw them on top of each other to create a unique fall look. (It's almost as good as new clothes, right?)

For example, take an adorable spring dress that was so thriftily scored for 5 bucks at Goodwill--
--that I though was so fab until I wore it to church for Easter, and was told by my mother that it was completely see-thru. How sad. So it hung in my closet all summer (because really, who wants to wear a slip?) until I resurrected it today, when it's 25 degrees cooler and no sun to be seen.

I made it cozy with some black leggings, black boots, a bright red sweater, and a fun belt (also a Goodwill find!). No more peek-a-boo!

Because I've been so good with my money lately, I popped into Rag and Bone, our one and only vintage boutique around here, just to take a look, and I left with this:

I found the bag in the sale bin for only $5, and since they have a $10 minimum for credit cards, I was forced into buying some earrings too. Shame.

Have a fabulous fall weekend everyone! Drink some apple cider. Or an apple cider margarita. (I've been craving one all week.)

-Bren

Vintage at the Beach: Something Old, Something New

Back in July, I ventured to the Outer Banks with my family and boyfriend for a week of relaxation and beach-bumming, with a healthy dose of shopping. On the way to the bait and tackle shop to stock up on supplies for the boyfriend-father bonding fishing excursion, we happened to pass this eye-catching building from the highway.

Obviously we had to stop. Although the interior was what some might describe as 'junky', I thrived on my usual excitement at the prospect of digging around and finding some treasures.

Unfortunately we didn't have much luck finding anything of interest. However, when I got home I googled 'thrift shops' in the Outer Banks and came across this gem:

Right away I knew this was going to be good.

Inside, we were immediately greeted with this:

And this:

And this:

Heavens to betsy. Can you say vintage lovers HEAVEN? I quickly went into kid-in-the-candy-store overdrive. The place was stuffed to the brim with funky junk, and the prices weren't even too astronomical. Ian was an awesome sport about roaming around for an hour and a half, and was chatting it up with the owners, whose names are now escaping me...

Even though I could have bought the entire store, I decided on a funky 1970's maxi dress, a style I've been teetering on the fence over whether or not I dig. I even made my first barter, haggling the price down to $30 from $38. (Thanks for the boost of confidence Ian!) Since I saved on the dress, I got some funky earrings and a green necklace to go with it.

If only this store wasn't 8 hours away. Oh well, my wallet will thank me.

Happy thrifting!

-Bren