The Vintage Look: For Your Home

I believe that vintage finds shouldn't just be for your wardrobe or your awesome sense of fashion, but in your home as well. Over the years, I have attempted to locate and acquire vintage pieces which were in need of a home and that possessed that something extra which would look wonderful in the house. While I don't have a frivolous budget to spend on the many vintage pieces I adore, I have found that saving your money for a few quality pieces and purchasing them in the right place can do wonders.

More often than not, I will peruse the local antique stores in the area to see if they have anything that catches my eye. This could range from art work to decor to furniture pieces to kitchen appliances. Over the weekend I found several lovely items at a few antique stores which would work well in my home. While I didn't purchase them yet, I have added them to my vintage wish-list (which seems to grow longer and longer each year).

There are sometimes a few unexpected places that you can find vintage treasures to fill your home with. I often visit estate sales and auctions for pieces that might just need a little work and tender loving care. Yard sales are also sometimes a vintage lover's holy grail, where you can find a beautiful piece that has been stored away for years and years in pristine condition, which can be bought at a decent price.

I never know when or where I'm going to find my next deal on a vintage item that just has to come home with me, so always keep your eyes open for opportunities to acquire a new vintage piece that you will love for years to come!


A lovely vintage radio in a favorite Antiques store of mine


A wonderful vintage settee that I would love to have!


A set of vintage toile china that I really, really want!


A vintage record player and cabinet that would look wonderful in my home!

Happy vintage hunting, Crystal

Review: Bad Idea T-Shirts

"At Bad Idea T Shirts, we offer more than 1,000 different designs in a variety of categories. Our t-shirts are made to last and are all professionally silk screened to ensure a fantastic appearance. We ship our creations all over the world and even offer you the convenience of accepting all major credit cards and PayPal for payments."

Bad Idea T-shirts is a clothing company that carries a large assortment of humorous, funny and novelty shirts for men and women in all different sizes, colors, and varieties. They also carry t-shirts for many different movies, television shows, different seasons of the year, and even politically centered designs. Their carry men's and women's t-shirts, women's babydoll tees women's spaghetti strap tees, women's wide strap tees, and women's ringer (raglan cap) tees. You are sure to find something that you will love! Their orders ship out quickly, merchandise is priced very reasonably, the shirts are made of 100% cotton and very comfortable, and they accept several different forms of payment. Bad Idea T-shirts also carries American Apparel now too!

Review

I was graciously sent two different shirts to review which included a women's short sleeved t-shirt and a women's babydoll tee. Both were made of comfortable, high-quality fabric and wore very well. The women's black t-shirt featured a red logo of a leaf and the words "The EH Team." The women's light blue babydoll tee featured a white and blue logo that featured a thumbs up and the words "You Like This."









I thought that both of the shirts were very comfortable and looked great. The designs on both were very funny and I would certainly purchase more t-shirts from them in the future.

Be sure to check out Bad Idea T-shirts and the huge assortment of humorous t-shirts that they offer. You can also follow them on Facebook, where they regularly host t-shirt giveaway contests each week.

Crystal

My weekend fun: Antiquing!

This past weekend, I was in the mood to go hunting for treasures in our local antique shops, so we headed over to Bristol, TN and shopped the many antique stores downtown in the State Street area. I had never shopped theses stores before, as I have typically shopped the antique stores in the Pigeon Forge, TN area and the Asheville, NC area, but I was excited to see what they had and I was not disappointed!

First up, we shopped in Grand Antiques and I found three beautiful pairs of vintage earrings to add to my collection. Next up, we shopped Willow Creek Antiques where I found three wonderful vintage music sheet sets with lyrics that I plan to frame and hang in the house. Lastly, we shopped the Heritage Antique mall where I found another pair of vintage earrings that I just loved.

I snapped a few shots of some other items that I really loved, though I didn't purchase them, and will post them in the future. I can keep them, however, and look forward to adding them to my collection in the future.

I hope you had a weekend as wonderful as mine!



Vintage earrings that I rescued from some local Antique stores


I loved this sheet music cover, though it's a bit tattered


Another sheet music cover that I purchased


My favorite sheet music cover so far!

XOXO, Crystal

Win a Shabby Apple Dress from Our Kids Mom!

Fellow Vintage Lovers,

I have a wonderful referral that I know you are going to just love a chance at winning!

Our Kids Mom has a current giveaway going on for one Shabby Apple dress that they are giving away to a lucky reader! The winner will get their choice-pick of either the Bali Ha'I dress (South Pacific collection), the Le Coeur dress (Oh La La collection), the L'ete dress (Classics collection), or the Better than Sweets dress (Maternity collection). These are all fabulous dresses that would be a wonderful addition to any vintage enthusiast!

Be sure to enter the giveaway (they have several different ways to enter in addition to their mandatory entry, so you can have lots of more chances to win)! Click here to enter.


*Image used courtesy of Our Kids Mom and Shabby Apple

XOXO, Crystal

Necklace giveaway!

I have a treat for all my followers. I recently acquired two awesome necklaces, and since I have one for myself, I am doing a giveaway for the other!

This beaded black and white necklace features a smooth, pearlescent shell with a skull and crossbones along with a red heart and banner that reads "Love Kills Slowly." It was purchased at a local boutique in South Carolina and is really a great accessory piece in my opinion. The necklace measures 11" long when fastened and the shell disc is about 2.25" wide.





If you would like to have a chance at winning this giveaway, please be sure to enter! One lucky reader will be randomly chosen on Friday, March 18, 2011. Entries must be received by Thursday, March 17, 2011 at 11:59pm EST. The winning reader will be notified by email and will have 48 hours to respond with their name and mailing address.

Good luck!


Mandatory entry:

• Comment on this post with your name and email address.

Extra entries:

• Follow the Vintage Loving Mom on Facebook and leave a comment letting me know you follow, along with your Facebook username (worth 1 entry).
  

• Follow me on Twitter and leave a comment letting me know that you follow, along with your Twitter username (worth 1 entry).

• Follow me on Networked Blogs and leave a comment letting me know that you follow (worth 1 entry).
  

• Follow me on Google Friends Connect and leave a comment letting me know that you follow (worth 1 entry).

The Sak's Battle of the Bags: Vote and Win!

Are you ready to play Battle of the Bags?!?

Go to The Sak and vote for your favorite bags from The Sak, as many times as you like, then enter your email address and be entered to win the bag with the most votes! The winner will be randomly selected on April 1, 2011.

I suggest that you vote for your favorite bag as many times as possible, in order to increase your chances of winning that favorite bag!

Also, be sure to follow The Sak on Facebook and Twitter.

Please be sure to tell The Sak that you were referred by The Vintage Loving Mom!


*Image used courtesy of The Sak

XOXO, Crystal

Elliott Lucca's Sintra Tote in Extraordinary Exotics

Trend Alert: Exotics!

Shop Elliott Lucca for the Sintra Tote in extraordinary exotics, available at Elliott Lucca for the special web price of only $149!

Also, be sure to follow Elliott Lucca on Facebook and Twitter.

Please be sure to tell Elliott Lucca that you were referred by The Vintage Loving Mom!


The Sintra tote from Elliott Lucca

*Image used courtesy of Elliott Lucca