Frecklewonder

frecklewonder at fred flare!

remember a while ago, i was hinting at a fun surprise that i was so excited about working on? well, the day has arrived, folks. my pals keith and chris, of the fabulously fun shop FRED FLARE, asked me a few weeks ago to do some vintage buying for them, and of course, who am i to say no to such a request?! it was "totes" so much fun (as the fred flare peeps would say) and i'm very happy to send you over there to check 'em out.

get your hands on 'em quick, ok? there are only twenty and they seem to be moving out pretty quick-like. super thanks and a shout out to keith + chris! thanks so much for asking me to do this. i'm sending the love right back at'chas!!!!!!!

on a slightly different, yet slightly related note, i had an email today that read: cute stuff! but why is everything SOLD? and, why is it all so small? valid questions, if you're new to the site, so i thought in addition to the personal reply i sent to the inquirer, i'd post some info here too. you see, for the most part, i'm the only one behind this site. my hubby, matt, lends a technical hand every once in a while, when we make changes to the design of the site, for example. but i handle all the buying and making, and everything that goes into making it available to you guys. from the modeling of the vintage stuff, measuring it, packaging + shipping it, to the emailing with you fine folks, and all the other behind-the-scene stuff that goes into running a busy web shop, you could guess that it'd be my dream to have a team of buyers and a handful of lovely models to help me out! unfortch, i don't. so it's just me doing the best i can at the most i can handle.

good news though: i'm chipping away at another big shop update, and will keep you guys posted on it's progress. i try to do big updates about every 4-6 weeks, depending on how lucky i am in finding a new stock of vintage, and how much time i have to sit down at the table and make things. as far as the sizing issue goes: i truly make an effort to offer a range of sizes, and most times, you can find anywhere from size 2 to 12 in the shop, but again, it's really anyone's guess what i'll find out there in the land of thrift shops, yard sales, estate sales, etc. if you ever have any special requests, you can always feel free to shoot me an email and i'll see what i can do to help! so head on over to fred flare and snag up an awesome vintage dress for summer. and check back with me soon (sign up to the mailing list!) for a fully stocked shop! lots of love, jenny

i have a dream

and it is to own one of these old ice cream trucks from the 60s and have a little summer business.

maybe it's that old feeling i get when i see an ice cream truck, of being a little girl with sunburned cheeks and sand in my hair with my sweaty change clenched tightly in my fist, just waiting for the moment when the ice cream truck finally stops on my corner so i can purchase my strawberry shortcake.

maybe it's the wacky entrepreneur in me that doesn't ever want to get a "real" job.

maybe the heat has just gone to my head today.

who knows, but today, i really, really want to be an ice cream lady!!!

collections::vintage children's books

another collection to share with you all. this one is ever growing. i find tons of inspiration in these amazing books from the 50s, 60s and 70s. the colors and the illustrations are just tops. these pictures are from just one set that i have. i would guess that i've got, oh, 100 or more books right now that i just love, love, love. where do i get them? mostly, i find them in the book bin at the good will. yard sales  are also a very good source. it's often a toss up for me when i walk in the great big doors of the goodwill: should i hit the dress rack first, or the kid's book bin? dresses win out about 8 times outta 10, but the book bin almost never disappoints. and how could it at 35 cents a book?

collections::vintage cookbooks, the insides

as promised, here are a few shots from the insides of some of my vintage cookbooks.

i ask you: how can i possibly resist these things?

the week in pictures

not a lot of time for a big wordy post right now, my friends. seems like life has had me comin' and goin' lately. boy am i ready for the weekend.

so, instead of stories, i will share with you some highlights from the last week in picture form.

a trip to the local nursery with henry. we were in search of a fig tree for matt's father's day gift.

followed by a lovely lunch with my cute boy on the patio:

finding my cats lounging around the house alllll day long. oh, to be a cat. i guess sleeping the day away is one way to beat the heat?

peeking into matt's recording studio to find henry at the mic, recording a tune!

saturday nights outside by the chiminea. s'mores are always a treat, and henry can barely be stopped. look out, sugar rush.

scoring this great cheese-themed tray at a yard sale. (more on yard sale luck later)

happy wednesday, ya'll. i promise more of an update soon.

it only took 16 years

i am a huge fan of twin peaks. i watched it religiously when it first aired back in 1990, and i've managed to catch marathon weekends of it on bravo throughout the years. i finally scooped up the first season on dvd when i found it used at the record store a while ago. i even had them look into the whereabouts of season two, only to find out that it was never released. what? never released?!

well imagine my delight to find out that now, some 16 years later, the studio peeps have finally answered my prayers. (or, apparently, david lynch wanted the film to look pristine before it was released to dvd, so he's been cleaning the negatives all this time?) at any rate: season two is out, and available through my trusty netflix.

so that's what matt and i have been doing lately. for weeks. working our way through season two, which, i must tell you is no where NEAR as amazing as season one: really bad/cheesy story lines with james + donna, but they are made up for a little bit with quirky, funny ones like that of nadine + mike and norma + big ed. what's missing for me is crazy leland, and that whole mystery surrounding laura palmer and bob and all that goodness... if you watched this, you know what i am talking about, if you didn't, you must add twin peaks to your netflix queue, just don't watch fire walk with me until you've seen all of the television shows, mmmk?

the damn fine cuppa joes, donuts + cherry pies at the RR diner, the dancing man, the red carpets, the amazing, weird music, the great northern, one eyed jacks, crazy nadine and her silent drapes, creepy leo, bonehead bobby, leland palmer, the log lady, all the quirky plots and ahhhhhh the hottness that is dale cooper.

sigh.

collections::fabulous frocks

a handful of my favorite vintage cocktail dresses:

a gorgeous 60s mandarin orange dress with rhinestone buttons.
thrifted for $3.

on the left: a super space-age sparkly silver mini dress, purchased at a local vintage shop. it was a splurge at $40.
on the right: a gorgeous emerald green gown (floor length, i think i will eventually chop it to just below the knee) with amazing jeweled neckline, thrifted for $4.50

a super sweet bubblegum pink & gold 60s tent dress, also thrifted for $4.50

a lovely mustard yellow velvet mini dress with jeweled neckline, thrifted for $6

and this fabulous silver gown (floor length, perhaps will be hemmed to the knee as well), thrifted for $4.50

with stuff like this in the closet, you can't sit back wait for a dressy function to present itself. and stuff like this shouldn't be just for holidays or weddings. do what i do: MAKE the occasion yourself. life is short!

have friends over for dinner and ask 'em to dress up. surprise your sweetie after work with a bottle of wine in the park. toss one on when you're at home listening to old records and windexing your windows. no matter the occasion, it's impossible to have a bad time in such a fun dress! (especially at such great prices!)

shop update::vintage threads

yahoozy. I am almost finished editing all these images for this next shop update! remember, I told ya that I scored the motherload. I've got a mountain of vintage stuff here, all I have to do is get the measurements done, and voila. the shop will be fully stocked with super cutie stuff for the summer. Check the shop tomorrow for the first bunch!

shop update::kid stuff

hey mommas! if you've been anxiously awaiting the vintage kid stuff, it's just been added to the shop! a range of sizes, there's cute stuff for boys and girls. more to come soon!

collections::vintage cake plates

i don't even eat cake that often, but i absolutely cannot resist a sweet little vintage cake plate! my collection is matching in a very mismatched kind of way. i do have multiples of some of these (the starburst ones and the polka dotted ones, for example) but i don't often use a matching set when i have occasion to do so. it's much more fun to have each one be different! the state souvenir plates are always great, and good for a laugh or a story. 

and besides, how can you really beat 4 plates for a dollar?! that's what my favorite thrift store usually sells 'em for. whether or not i'm on a budget, i say poo poo to a kitchen filled with white plates!

collections::vintage cookbooks

it's a good thing i have large built-ins in my kitchen. otherwise, where would i store my ever growing collection of vintage cookbooks and kitchen themed books?! of course i have several modern cookbooks (a few marthas, some jamie oliver, nigella lawson) but there's something so much more fabulous to me about the oldies. no surprise here, i'm sure. i admit, often times, the photos of the actual dishes look horrendous. (think: 1970s orange toned casseroles from better homes and gardens). i'm not so much interested in those.

usually, the ones i go for are from the 50s and 60s and are filled with amazing illustrations, colors and type faces. and while i have certainly used them for the actual RECIPES (hello, amazing date bars i made around the holidays, thank you betty crocker) i am just as into them for a little creative inspiration. just like i would flip through a magazine, i'll pop on an old record and flip through an old cookbook. and love every minute of it.

am i just a total nutball, or what?

next up: i will share with you some of the incredible illustrations found within these babies...

happy friday

six years ago today, i became a mom. it was the best day of my life. happy birthday, henry! i love you so much. to the moon and back a million times infinity.