A Place To Hang Your Hat

And your keys! I'm completely charmed by this vintage brass key holder from Dandelion Girl.


P.S. She also has this, which -- you might remember -- incorporates one of my new favorite fruity design motifs.

Set The Table

I would seriously consider basing an entire kitchen design off of these vintage linen placemats from Rags and Hollers, I adore them that much. I didn't even know I loved purple until I looked at them. If I owned a cupboard with a proper dining space, I'd have snapped these up before I could post about them.

Sputnik

I never thought I'd find another utilitarian cork piece for the desktop, but look! I sure did. This beauty looks a bit like a satellite, if you ask me. I've got such a soft spot for cork {get it?} because I remember the kitchen floor of my childhood being made of cork tiles, and details from my childhood always tug on my heartstrings.

{Cork pencil holder from Bjitalia -- they have two!}

About Postcards, Part I

I picked out these postcards from a thrift shop earlier today. I'm really digging the different fonts and the fact that postcards have a standard format, often complete with stern instructions: This space for address only and Place stamp here. Even if Mr. Original and I don't get a chance to go on a trip this summer, I'll send these to my friends, perhaps with one-sentence messages. The fronts include images of Niagara Falls; Bar Harbor, ME; Coney Island, NY; Skyline Drive, VA; the Mayflower Motel in Detroit, MI {maybe my favorite}; and wind formations in caverns in West Liberty, OH. A summer of travel, eh?

Wall Flowers

I'm loving this idea from Post Road Vintage,
a shop with some of the best salvaged pieces I've ever seen.

Listing

I'm having my morning coffee, and slowly, slowly getting ready for an afternoon at work. Naturally, I'm using the hour to look for charming things. Here's what I've come up with:

*This is a fun pattern and would look adorable in the kitchen. This one, too.

*This is sort of silly and sort of perfect all at the same time.

*I love the color of this cake carrier.

*I don't know if I'd ever wear it, but I can't stop admiring this.

*I desperately want napkins like these.

* * *

And then, there is this, the strangest and most intriguing thing I've found in my searches:

A roll of vintage French raincoat labels from A Good Vintage {a brand new shop that I just know will be amazing}. I don't even know what I'd do with them if I had them, but that doesn't seem to stop me from wanting them just a little bit.

Happy Saturday, friends.

Won't you leave me a note, telling me what you're up to?
xxo

Leaves

I know it's officially summer and we're thrilled with it, but I have a confession: I'm more of an autumn gal than anything else and, while I'm delighted by my freckled shoulders, bare feet in grass, and the smell of sunscreen on Mr. Original, I adore the moment when the leaves go amber and pumpkin, and I can resume my quest for the best hot chocolate in town. Here's a little autumn indulgence for those of you who are like me.

Look here, here, here, here, and here.


{Poplar Print by MWilson}

Seduction, For Real

This, and several other cheeky screenprints, available at Linocut Boy.

Return to Sender

The good folks over at The Pudding Store have a slew of these old enamel French street signs. Wouldn't one be great to announce your house number? Go here to see if they have yours.

Ode To The Bowl

Bowl. Ah, yes, the sound of that round, cupped word absolutely tickles me. I love bowls. I love their potbellied ways. I love how they covet when empty and hoard when full. I love their quiet plea to be used for anything: Fill me, stack me, use and abuse me! they cry. Bowl. The antidote, the elixir, the magic three wishes. The oracle, the fortune teller, the guru, the fairy godmother. Corral, cradle, vehicle. Bowl.

from Fluffy Flowers Vintage


from Finding Fabulous


from Jadite Kate


from JBird Home

from Flourishes Home

from Shelley H

from Finding Fabulous

from Modish Vintage

from Post Road Vintage

from Finding Fabulous


from Le Petit Poulailler

Surprise Giveaway Winner!

* * *
Congratulations, Erin of Perfect Sentiment!

You won my surprise giveaway!
Please email your address to
themuseumcupboard@gmail.com
and I will send you your surprise.

* * *
As for everyone else, thank you for entering.
Keep your eyes peeled
{I always thought that was the strangest expression}.
This is the first of many surprises.

P.S. Once Erin receives her package,
I'll post some photos of it here
to satisfy your curiosity :)

P.P.S. These are not photos of Erin's surprise.
This post just happens to look prettier
peppered with peeks of my ephemera collection.

Daddy - O

My dad is really charming.

He does not blog.
But, if he did, he'd read yours
and leave you the best comments,
some a touch silly,
others quite poignant and spot-on.
He would give you advice,
but only if you asked.
And he might tease you a little.
Okay, a lot.

Dad, I love you a whole bunch.

Mediterranean Blue

Isn't this pattern fabulous?


{Vintage High Waist Mini Skirt from Nod to Mod Vintage}

Spooning

I really like the simple design of these rusty spoon note cards

from Tea and Laundry.

* * *
Just a reminder:

So, don't forget to enter my surprise giveaway
by leaving a note in Thursday's comment section!

* * *

Well, All Right!

I LOVE this idea from found paper co. because -- you guessed it! -- it involves repurposing a vintage object. How fun and graphic to use a folding ruler as a display piece for postcards and paper bits. Pretty genius, if you ask me.

* * *

Just a reminder:

So, don't forget to enter my surprise giveaway
by leaving a note in Thursday's comment section!

* * *

P.S. The title of this post is something Mr. Original sometimes says {though he hasn't in a while ... Mr. Original, will you please say it again some time soon?} when I'm insistent on something -- as in, "Mr. Original, come here and kiss me!" His response? "Well, all right!"

A Surprise Giveaway!

I'm not saying what it is
{partly because I'm not sure yet},
but I can tell you that it will definitely be
all kinds of wonderful.

Leave a comment on this post,
and I'll randomly pick a winner Monday morning,
just to make the new week
a little sweeter.

P.S. International friends, you can enter, too!

Chin Up

Today was a crumbly, wet day. Not my best, but definitely not my worst. It was a forget-you-raincoat-wipe-your-nose-on-your-sleeve-lie-down-with-a-bellyache kind of day. But it's almost over and I have a blanket and this cake, and people who love me.

In other news, my neighbors and I are having a porch sale on Saturday. We're all looking to make a buck the old-fashioned way. I'm going with the Presentation Is Everything approach, and doing up my goods in simple but cute ways. Remind me to tell you how it goes.

My sweet neighbor offered me the lily pad lamp above. She was going to sell it, but said she preferred to pass it along to someone she knew would love it. Needless to say, she passed it along to the right person.

Label-Maker

Have you ever been to Paperdealer? No? Oh ... you really should go. There are all kinds of color combinations and fonts to look at on vintage labels, plus some pretty funny, though clearly thoughtful, advertising gimmicks.

I know it's the plainest of them all, but the Blue Goose label is definitely my favorite. It's so striking, and such a great example of effective branding. Which is your favorite?

Savings

Most of you probably know that I'm trying to save money, now more than ever. I slip up sometimes {see tin and doily pictured above}, but largely stay focused on eliminating unnecessary expenses. I'm even keeping a thorough record of my finances in a little millimeter/milligram booklet I've had for a long time, but never used. {Don't click that link unless you want to be seriously tempted to spend some cash.}

Being this rigid about what I'm earning and spending is oddly great. I feel a lot less anxious when I enter a store because I walk in knowing I cannot and will not buy anything. I feel less guilty about staying home in my cupboard all day when I feel like it; not driving means I'm not using gas and also not finding my way to my favorite antique stores and card shops. Instead, I'm cooking, reading, getting laundry done before it becomes an insurmountable task, et cetera.

Today, I counted change. I'm betting that sounds pitiful. Really, I just wanted to see what I had lying around. Mr. Original always drops his loose change into my stained glass bowl to lighten his pockets. When my wallet gets heavy with coins, I empty it there, too. Fifteen dollars, turns out. That's not a lot, but it's not nothing. It's a few meals. More than half a tank of gas. A movie and popcorn.

Yet, it's not burning a hole in my pocket. I think I'll let it stay there for a while ...


P.S. This is my 200th post! I've got some big ideas for the coming months, so stay tuned.