I will not miss out again...

Brimfield. For the last 3 years I have been living vicariously through part of my family. My mom, sisters, and my great aunt have been going up to Yankee Country for "the premier antique experience". I have gotten gifts, I have seen pictures, my wedding decorations came from here, and I will not miss out again. They go all over Massachusetts: Boston, Salem, Cape Cod and Martha's Vinyard! I have been gifted an amazing plethora of look-what-we-found-for-you items, including, but not limited to: About 10 vintage umbrellas. 3 bowling pins. A wizard wand, dragon egg, and various potion ingredients. A vintage Muff to keep my hands warm, since it gets so cold in Texas. An 80 y/o mixing bowl with my new last name on the bottom. A wicker top hat light fixture. A Martha's Vinyard t-shirt. A Brimfield Antiques shirt. And more! As I have seen the possibilities for what COULD come home and I am no longer willing to sit idly by and watch, via MMS text messaging while my family has all the fun. I will be going next May! Days after their return I have seen old birdcages, children's furniture, a huge trunk and various pieces of vintage luggage, a rack for my dad's sewing room, a German tree stand, loads of vintage ribbon and wrapping materials, boxes of prime barthcloth and I am TIRED of not being part of the picking crew. My work and my husband will have to do without my for a couple weeks next year! I am grabbing my muff and buying wellies and a raincoat and I will embark cross-country with these amazing women to experience the best of picking and antiquing and old-world architecture. Wish me luck and in the words of these women, so help me God, "I will not chop wood"!

"I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date!"

It has been awhile.

I realize a blog is a kind of commitment and I have been slacking. But speaking of commitments, I have since become a wife to a fantastic and fun-loving man; he functions at the speed of a ferrari and I may never be able to keep up with him, he stays up late and he is difficult to get up in the mornings when it is time for work, and he has a carefree way of going through the day that I envy. I met him at the end of August in 2009, we got engaged in June of 2010, and tied the knot on October 15th of this year.

The wedding was a stressful time for my parents. I neglected my wedding planning duties until the last possible minute and it resulted in chaos. The wedding took place at my Great Uncle's house in a historic part of downtown San Antonio, TX and my parents singlehandedly set up and decorated through the night and it turned out beautifully; vintage umbrellas hung over the wedding party and guests and there was a popcorn machine and simple food. The cakes, on the other hand, were a little more difficult. My parents had been baking for a couple days and then the meringue buttercream icing wouldn't set the day of the wedding.

I am never late for anything - I make it a point to be on time. I was late for my own wedding. It took a little longer to get ready than anticipated. Our guests were very patient and my husband gave me a hard time since I spent the night before stressing the importance of being on time. Everything went beautifully and my grandfather and his bluegrass jam buddies played throughout the ceremony and reception. It was so wonderful to get to see our families together and enjoying the occasion as much as we did.

My husband and I are two very different people, but we love each other. We are in the process of learning how a marriage works and finding what works for us as a couple. I am very excited to embark on this journey with him and learn more about him and myself in the process.

Until next time.

"These are a few of my favorite things."

I would consider myself to be an enthusiast for all things vintage; I aspire to surround myself with things that withstood the test of time. I believe that there is nothing more comforting and inviting than something that is well-worn and tattered. I have an affinity for top hats and I never say 'no' to anything crunched or frayed around the edges.

I am only 22, but I feel that I am authorized to say that they just don't make things like they used to. I may not have been around during the time that some of my possessions were in their prime, but I have been around to watch plenty of 'new' things fall apart. Vintage t-shirts that feel like they just might survive only one more wash before they fall apart but continue to live to be worn another day. The old purse from 1950 that you've used for years and it's never let you down. The books passed down from generation to generation with the original binding still intact. And finally there is the old tattered top hat that you wonder how it ever withstood the test of time. It is crunched and it is frayed and it is just about to fall apart, but somehow it holds to it's binding and it lives on.

These are the things that fill me with joy. When so many things are fleeting, there are the old t-shirts, the old accessories, and the old tattered top hat letting you know that some things were built to last. These bring hope and happiness as they have for many years - some more years than others, but they are the things that keep coming back.

I love old things. Growing up, my mother purchased old things and it seemed that she believed that the more beat up and warn it was, the better it was. She always says, "...it has character". I have grown to believe this and cherish it. The things you surround yourself with might not be perfect, but if they are perfect to you and they make you happy, then that is all that matters. Whether it be "the more rust the better" or "the more tattered the better" it will always be the same. What you are really saying is...the older the better.

And remember, never say no to the crunched and tattered top hat.