Geburtstag 2013

Yesterday was my 44th birthday, so Andy and I took the day off to celebrate.

We started out with the traditional beer lunch at the Winchester, one of our favorite places to eat (and drink beer) in Grand Rapids.  We prefer going for lunch, rather than dinner, because it gets very busy and loud in the evenings.  We're too old now to enjoy squinting at a menu in the dark and yelling conversation at each other, so we go there for lunch instead.  If you go, make sure you have the green chili.  This is something I haven't eaten since visiting New Mexico (way back when I lived in Colorado), and it is so good!

Mr. Handsome.

The woman who was our waitress at dinner said my hair reminded me of her grandma.  Another person might take offense at that, but not me!  I'm all about the grannies.

Last year we started the day at the Winchester, too, and then we went to the zoo and watched the capybaras swimming in their pool.  Last year it was 85 degrees on my birthday.  This year it was 20 degrees and snowing.  Ah, March in the midwest--how it laughs at us!  (I truly do prefer the winter weather to the summer weather in March; it makes more sense in Michigan.  Last year's early heat wave helped kill off all the local fruit crops.  It was a disaster.)

Topgraphical map of Michigan.

This year we headed to the Grand Rapids Public Museum to check out the Titanic exhibit, which was pretty nifty.  It told the story of the Titanic mostly through artifacts that have been excavated from the wreck.  I was surprised to see how many items had been retrieved.  The exhibit was quite well done, with ship sound effects adding to the overall effect, and quotes and stories from various passengers.  Mine and Andy's only quibble were that there were a couple clothing props used that were clearly--to us anyway--not of the era.  (One was a striped 1970s JC Penney's shirt with the tag still on it, masquerading as a shirt in an Edwardian era third class passenger's suitcase.  Yeah, kinda silly detail and it probably only bothered us due to the nature of our work...but they could at least have taken the JC Penney label off.)

Oh, and when we were about 2/3 through the exhibit, a school group came in.  The kids weren't bad or anything, but suddenly this lovely, quiet experience was chaos and noise.  I probably wouldn't have minded so much if we hadn't paid $17.00 each to see it.  (Signs of aging: grumbling about the kids, prices, noise, and lack of authenticity in a museum exhibit.  Bring on the Geritol!  I am a curmudgeon!)

This is Andy pointing out Lake Freska on the topographical map of Kent County.

We couldn't leave the museum without a stop in my favorite room, this Victorian era specimens room, which is filled with displays of rocks, minerals, coral, skulls, and poor, creepy taxidermied animals.

It was an excellent birthday!

xo

K

nifty fifty!

Yes, it's true!  It's hard to believe looking at him--and it's even harder to believe if you actually know him--but Andy will be a half century old on July 12!  And because nothing makes Andy happier than selling vintage clothing, we're having a sale to celebrate.  Prices are already marked down in the shop, so go ahead and make Andy happy and buy stuff.

Oh, and here, from the Small Earth Vintage archives, are some of great shots of my favorite male model.

xo

K

minimal bling

I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend...a long weekend for those of us in the US.  Andy and I started it out with pinball, cocktails, and dinner out on Friday.  I wore this cute, new-to-me thrifted 1950s dress. 

I love this old doorway I posed in front of. 

The only flaw on this dress?  One of the little rhinestones is missing.  I love how in the 1950s just a few rhinestones were bling enough.

No bling for Andy--just the cool novelty print on this shirt.  (He has a pretty great revolving collection of men's 1940s and 1950s shirts.  I say "revolving" because he keeps selling them.  But then he finds more.)

At first glance, I always think this print has an Irish theme.  It's the green, and those little floral bits that look a little like clover.

But if you look closely, you can see they're rickshaws.  And the shirt is silk, too--I guess that's kind of blingy.

xo

K

a perfect summer meal

We've been craving chilled avocado-cucumber soup all summer, but it hasn't been hot enough for it. Until now. We couldn't find the recipe, so I did an internet search and found this recipe from the LA Times. Andy (who is a fabulous cook) whipped it up for us tonight along with the sandwich I can't get enough of lately: fresh mozzarella, tomato and basil paninis.

Doesn't that look good? We didn't have buttermilk for the soup, so Andy just mixed up some milk and sour cream. We also added a little fresh dill and chopped green onions. It was much tastier than I remembered our old recipe being.

Oh, and the cucumbers, basil, and dill all came from the garden of some friends. Andy is going to take care of their chickens while they are away, and in exchange, we get whatever comes out of their garden. In August. Needless to say, this makes us both very happy. We have plenty of room for a garden, and have attempted them in the past, but we just don't seem to be able to put the time in that's required. (We even let our herb garden go to seed, we've been so busy this summer, which is very sad.) We are very lucky that to be surrounded by generous and kind gardeners!



And now, here is the rest of that shop preview I promised you.

Chicken print dress by Barnsville U.S.A. (I am not kidding.)


Wooden wedge 1970s mary janes.


Bohemian wreath-print peasant top dress.


Plaid Jonathan Logan dress.


Feathered fascinator hat.


Lizard skin pumps by Andrew Geller.


Mod Peter Max-esque mini-dress.


Tooled leather wallet clutch.


A tiered cocktail hat covered in sequins.


And my new favorite, the colorful birdy print on black dress by Joan Miller Juniors.


xo
k

Getting to know me...

Ah, isn't that an ego-centric title! Well, I happen to be a member of the most amazing team on Etsy--Team Treasury. And I am the lucky Featured Member on the team blog this month. I had to answer a questionnaire and submit some photos. Rather than email the photos I thought I'd post them here on my brand-new blog...

A photo of me in my work space:

But here is the Real Me!

Here I am with Small Earth Vintage's other half, Andy, taken up north at one of our favorite places, Legs Inn (with Lake Michigan in the background):

And here we are, all blurry in New York City in March, celebrating my 40th birthday:

A photo of the beautiful lake we live on, taken from the canoe:

And amazing wonderdog Lucy in the canoe (she doesn't like to swim, but she sure loves being in the boat!):

Andy on the North Country Trail, one of my favorite places to walk in the woods:

Our home is an eclectic mix of mid-century modern, kitsch, and whatever catches my eye. I try not go overboard (after all, we sell vintage and only have so much space), but I do have a few things I like to collect. Perfume, paint-by-numbers paintings, colorful Pyrex and melmac in the kitchen. I also have an unhealthy appetite for animal figurines, especially dogs. Here's our hall table with the dog collection (check out the cast iron Scottie dog lamp), and some kitsch art on the wall behind:

My favorite 1950s lamp (black and red!) and a couple owls:

A chair I reupholstered in pink and mint barkcloth in an extremely rare moment of craftiness:

And a final shot of the beautiful lake!

Thanks for taking the tour.

xo
K