Vintage Office

For my weekly vintage feature, I went with items that would help in an office setting, whether it be at home or not. These would be helpful items for an Etsy seller I think, and would add some uniqueness to your work area.

1.Vintage Ship Pencil Sharpener $4.99 2.Vintage Aqua Metal File Box $20 3.Mustard Yellow File Box organizer $15 4.Vintage Stationary Set $2.50 5.Vintage Swingline Stapler $4

Isn't this a cool idea for an old piece of furniture? I love the unexpected bright color inside.

Peach Sorbet Desk by OhClementine $325 (vintage + repainted)

I cannot believe October 1st is tomorrow!!!!! See you then.

Organization

We worked on some storage and organization issues on Sunday. We bought a new shelf unit for Kavi's bedroom on Saturday. Target was having a sale on these for $34.99, regular price $50. Nice deal! The bins were on sale as well. (The sale ended Saturday)

Here is one way to use the bins. This was when it was newly put together, in the living room.

In his room + toys, two bins on top
the little man

I am not good at staying very organized. We are also in the process of fixing up the area where I sew and make things. :D A table has been moved in, that means progress!! I took a picture, and when it's finally cute enough (in my opinion) I'll show the before, in between and after photos.

I Love Felt

I joined a Flickr group a few months ago called Lova Revolutionary Blog - Indie Crafts: Handmade : Indie Design. It's been fun, and items I submitted have been shown several times on the blog Lova Revolutionary.

And now I wanted to show some of her items on MY blog! They are so cute. And I love felt.

1. Fall Leaf Brooch Olive Green Embroidery Maroon Vintage Button Accent , 2. Fall Leaves Garland Embroidery on Eco Felt , 3. Batch of Felt Goodies Owls, Tweets, Hearts, 4. Tweet Bird Brooch Gray Felt & Vintage Fabric

I featured a felt squirrel on my blog a few weeks ago, and I mentioned that if no one bought it soon I would have to get it myself! And so, I did! I bought it Saturday night. :) From Starlight0831.

Sorry to do this to you...

Sundaes on Sunday, how original right? :P But now I really really want one.
What was I thinking?! MMMMMmmmm.
Brought to you from flickr:

1. Sundae, 2. Silver_Spoon, 3. Photo of Fresh Fruit Sundae, 4. Chocolate Sundae With Jimmies, 5. Sultry Sundae, 6. My Favorite Miniature Sundaes, 7. Potential Spoon, 8. Sundae Crochet, 9. Silver Spoons with Flare

Friday Favorites, and just need ONE more to 100

I wanted to share a couple of my favorite items. I also want to say there are 99 followers on this blog, and I can't wait until I get number 100!!

Some Favorites, ALL $10 and under!!

Embroidery wall art $10 by TuesdayAfternoonTea

Delicate Rose studs, Icy blue $8 by tinyhouse

Squirrel series postcard set $10 (for 10) by OrangeWillow

Vegan Lip Gloss Plum Crazy $4 by theallnaturalface

Cinnamon Roll Candle $7.50 by DECAcandle

New Listings

More NEW items at TheCozyNest!

I made two more plaid pillows. Another bear pillow, and one with a tree stump. The other items are pillow covers - one being for a 16 x 16 pillow insert, the other for a 12 x 16.

Tea Time

French Blue Tea for Two Set by lunaparkfoundry

I'm a coffee lover but I also enjoy a cup of hot tea sometimes. I don't really liked flavored tea or iced tea. Hot black tea with cream is what I like most.

Cute tea related items.
greeting card by sticknymph

Card by lauredesigns

print by katesutton

Ensemble + Vintage Finds

I have enjoyed submitting some outfits lately for Couture De Jour at lillyella.blogspot.com and it's always exciting when they are picked! Take a peak over at the blog for the ensemble today, picked out by me! :)

Vintage Finds

I spotted this newly listed beautiful vintage dress yesterday, marked it as a favorite and it's already sold! I thought that might happen because it was priced between $30-40 I believe which is an awesome price. It's definitely a dress for fancy fun!

It's Tea and Sympathy from CheepVintage

Here's another find from yesterday, a pretty black dress. Accented with an orange belt, which is very Halloween but also can just be for Fall. The colors to accent the dress with are endless since it's basic black. You can add any pop of color you want to the waist. There is also a pretty femininity to the dress.

Sweet Little Black Dress by pinguim $38

And how about some vintage pumps for $11.50?!?

Fashion 10 vintage high heel pumps by Ryanplz

These are vintage boots featured in the above Couture De Jour, I think they are cute! Perfect for Fall.

funky vintage boots by dreamfly $20

Ground Beef Pie + Vegetarian version

An interesting beef pie recipe!

In case you aren't familiar with fillo dough, this is what it looks like, at least the kind I have seen available in grocery stores.


Ground Beef Pie
Serves 4-6| Prep Time: 35 minutes | Total Time: 60 minutes

ingredients
	5 tablespoons olive oil 1 onion, chopped (1 1/2 cups) 1 pound ground beef 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, plus more for dusting 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice Coarse salt and ground pepper 3 tablespoons sliced almonds 3 tablespoons chopped parsley 5 large eggs 3 tablespoons milk 8 phyllo sheets, thawed 1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar, for dusting

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook onion until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add beef, cayenne, cinnamon, and lemon juice; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until beef is browned, about 10 minutes. Add almonds and parsley; cook 3 minutes more. Let cool slightly.
2. In a bowl, season eggs with salt and pepper; add milk, and whisk to combine. Fold into beef mixture.
3. Lay 1 phyllo sheet on a clean work surface. Brush lightly with oil; lay another sheet on top, staggering corners. Repeat with remaining phyllo sheets and oil, rotating sheets slightly each time. Gently place dough in an 8-inch pie plate; fill with mixture. Fold edges over top. Brush with oil. Bake until golden brown and filling is set, 20 to 25 minutes. Dust top with sugar and cinnamon. Serve hot, sliced into wedges.

Vegetarian version that I made up:

(Follow the general mixing and cooking directions in the link still but with these items)

• 5 tablespoons olive oil

• 2/3 bag of morning star *sausage* style crumbles since they have even more flavor, but you can use regular
  

• 1/2 large red onion

• Dash of butter chicken masala(Indian spice mix) OR just use the cinnamon/cayenne in the original recipe

• Salt and pepper(a dash of each)

• 4 large eggs (I took out some yolk to save on cholesterol)

• 3 tablespoons half&half creamer

• 8 phyllo/fillo sheets, thawed

I used the butter chicken masala mix because it is spicy but fragrant which I think is what the original recipe is going for, but it didn't taste Indian because I only used a little. I didn't have lemon juice, almonds, or parsley but I am sure it all would taste good in there.

Here are my own cooking progress pictures, you can click to get a bigger view.
First shows the layers of fillo dough, you want the edges to stagger so it's not just a rectangle. You can see it pushed inside a glass pie dish with the edges hanging over. Fill it, and push the edges over the top, and don't worry if they don't completely cover the top.

Finished:

Items for MEN: Part 2

In today's finds, I went a little more for funny or weird items.
(<-- Brown Beard Disguise by lupin $13.75)


It really is hard shopping for guys sometimes! My husband is really hard to buy for. He doesn't like spending money on himself so he doesn't really want me to spend on him either. He is an IT guy but he doesn't really buy all the latest high tech gadgets. He's not a band guy, not a golfer, gamer, hunter, sports player or sports fan (for the most part). He's also a vegetarian so a big steak is out of the question. So it's not easy to pick out something unique for him!! Actually while writing this it made me think that giving him a basket filled with his favorite snacks from India would be a great idea. I will keep that in mind for the next holiday! I'd have to go to an Indian grocery in Tampa or ask my mom to get some for me. But see, this is not on Etsy. :(

Scroll down to the next blog entry to see "Items for MEN: Part 1"!

I will try to have that vegetarian beef pie recipe up tomorrow! The original beef recipe + the fake meat one!

Items For MEN: Part 1

(<--The Truth is Out There...I Can Just Feel it notecard $3.50)
Shopping for a man on Etsy is not only not as much fun, but it's a lot harder! At least in my opinion. :) So here are some items I found for the men in our lives! Whether they are a band guy, computer guy, dad, and/or goof! More coming tomorrow. You can get to each etsy listing by clicking the pictures.

The soap above is called "Original Gangsta shaving soap" haha!!

coming soon

Things that I am going to be sharing soon on the blog...

• Items from Etsy for males, and it's not cufflinks(I don't know anyone who wears cufflinks lol).
• A beef pie recipe, made vegetarian. Involves fillo dough! I took pictures while making it too.
  
• I need to find more newer shops to feature!
  
• A giveaway!

I plan to have a mostly lazy Saturday today! We had a wonderful day out yesterday!! Finished it off eating at one of my favorite places, Carrabbas. I have left-overs I can eat for lunch. Woo!!

Our 5th wedding anniversary! + Finds

Today me and my wonderful husband are married for five years! Wow!! Memories of that day, and that time in our lives, are still so vivid to me. September 18th, 2004. Our wedding was a mix of American and Indian elements. My bridesmaids wore Salwar Kameez while the groomsmen wore black suits and ties. I wore an Indian outfit called a Lengha Choli. I will just show you some pictures for fun! They are not the best but will do. A walk down memory lane...

Bridesmaids, my sis maid of honor in the red(the shortest one hehehe). Bangles and big beautiful earrings were worn by all of us women in the wedding.

Ring bearer and flower girl. She is wearing an outfit
I bought her on my first visit to India.
She's wearing cute little bangles too!

The wedding party

Me and my mom before the wedding

A better look at my outfit, taken years later:

This outfit,the lengha choli, has a cool story. My husband got it made for me while he was in India, before our wedding. I gave the measurements, and told him to colors I wanted. He searched and bargained and got this gorgeous ensemble made custom for me. I didn't have much time before the wedding to finally wear try it on in case it didn't fit, so it just had to. And it did! Pictures don't capture the beauty and heavy golden embroidery and metallic work. This cost about $200 in India, and in the US it would have been probably 5 times that price. By the way, mine did not show my stomach, no way did I want to show that! haha. But most pictures of lengha cholis will show a much short top.

And because I can't get enough of Etsy, here are some love and anniversary inspired items!

How Adoringly (customizable) 8x10 $25

You and Me. Greeting card $4

Oh Happy Day- blank greeting card $5

Lovebirds personalized dish $20

I have written this entry ahead of time and scheduled it to post today. Me, hubby, and our son will be out most of the day driving towards coastal areas south of here just for fun and to stop by places we've never been. Tiny slivers of land connected by small bridges, and lots of beach scenery. I hope the weather is good enough! It should be a very fun outing today.

Vintage Thursday: Wardrobe mix and match

Vintage earrings $8

Here are some vintage items from Etsy that can be mixed and matched. For instance, the same shoes can be used in both of these outfits. The jewelry can be mixed and matched. The pencil skirt in a neutral color also gives versatility to be used with many different blouses. I realize these are more for the office and special events, not necessarily every day attire. But I think they are pretty! :)

1.1950's Grey Vintage Dress 2.Black Sandal Flats 3.Vintage Ring

1.Purple Ruffle Blouse 2.Grey Pencil Skirt 3.Black Sandal Flats 4.Screwback earrings

Mmmmm warm colors

Can you tell I am obsessed with Fall? Here are some finds that scream Fall.
(to the left "Coffee on Ochre" original artwork $30 by arteest)

Cozy Clothes + Leaves

I just have some fun items to share. Well, they are fun in my opinion!

I like a cute cowl neck shirt these days, but they are not useful for me in Florida right now or anytime soon which is sad to me. One of these is short sleeved, at least! What's better, both of these are available to be made custom sized for you! They both look all cozy to me. When you can find handmade clothing at these prices, I think it's very cool.

1st shirt ONLY $18 for custom size&color; 2nd shirt only $30 for custom size

Leaves are another good theme for this time of year. Here are items from my shop and my mom's shop.

Gold leaf necklace $15 ; Antique Brass leaf earrings $6

Sew Good

I did some sewing last night and it felt good to finally do some again. It had been like a week and a half or more. I made another fold over clutch, this one came out better. I also sewed some felt shapes onto more of the manly, flannel plaid fabric - another bear and also a tree trunk. I hope to have them done by this weekend. Although this Friday is our 5th wedding anniversary so I won't be sewing on Friday! :)

I need to do organizing still in the area I make and sew stuff in. One of these days it will really happen. I am still looking for inspiration. I don't have a whole room, it's an area of a room. So I need ideas for the space management. I only really have one wall where most things will have to be. So here are some ideas I have come across to help get me started. I will keep my current orange walls back there but in the first red wall picture, it gives a good idea of the style I will try to go for. I am definitely going to put up some of these embroidery hoops!
1. sewing corner, 2. Craft Room sewing table, 3. Studio : Work Table, 4. my sewing table feb 09

Seaside

Little Sailor Bookplates from thelittlefox $8

I know this has been a recurring theme here and it's been on Etsy a lot too. And I know summer is pretty much over, but still I wanted to share seaside inspired items especially after my visit to the beach Friday evening.

Modern Sailor Stripes by lizzybrookes $24

Seaside necklace (from me) coffeeandcream $14

Ahoy Sailor reconstructed crop jacket by vintageangel25 $22

Pull up the Anchor (by me) coffeeandcream $16