little part instagram...the mill inside and out...site of a favorite yearly rummage sale this past weekend...as well as our wedding many, many, many weekends ago...favorite estate sale treasures and soon to be favorite shoes...as soon as her feet grow into them...find me @littlepart...

tuesday's heart wished it was sunny...

this little lady has been patiently waiting to see some action...purchased last summer (or even the one before) at one of the most amazing sales...the home of vintage fashion collector elizabeth s. brown...a normal looking house filled with the most extraordinary collection of all things fashion...clothing and mannequins and sewing machines and patterns and magazines and much too much to even remember...my camera was (sadly) home...my arms were (happily) filled...everything in her collection so carefully tagged and cataloged...a personal museum of sorts...feeling lucky to have a bit of it come home with me.

took a bit longer this year...but the sparkle and shine has begun to appear around here...

new (old) toys...from an estate sale at a neighbor's house...walked through the trees right at start time on the first day of the sale but already there were at least ten cars ahead of me already searching for treasures and even carrying some away...i found these on day two.

the best finds of the weekend...oh, that cooler, it is just dying to be used at a party...i can tell...

linking up with blue eyed owl thrift score thursday

a quick overnight vacation to pa.dutch country led us to this wonderful store in bird-in-hand, pa...it was full as full could be...arranged so that like items were grouped together creating a chorus of oohhs and ahhhs depending on who turned what way.... sadly it was one of our last stops before heading home not leaving nearly as much time as i would have liked...but time enough to find these sweet little stars that the owner cut from old tin about fifteen years ago...wishing that the rest of them are still there for me when we return...

there are jars of interesting things collected through the years just sitting on shelves in my studio area waiting to be used...last night, for no particular reason and without too much thought, i carved some stamps out of old corks...years ago, these were taken from my grandmother's basement...they had been there for years...not sure why they were saved or who saved them but, at the time, it made sense that i should save them too...so here they are as stamps...finally.

mine are much too tiny to use on clothing, but this blouse has been in my favorites for a while...

hearts and hands...hands and hearts...the kinds of things i can not leave behind...the kinds of things i feel compelled to save...i love that these were made by hand...i love not knowing the intention...i love that some have been carved in wood and wax and others molded from clay...i love that some are outstretched and others clenched tight...i love that they were tucked away and saved...i love that they may have just been forgotten...i love their story even if it hasn't been told...i love their mystery...i love that they could someday find a place in my art...i love that maybe they never will.

just a small part of the best finds of this past weekend...from a beautiful victorian home filled with lifetimes of treasures...this room was a small one off of a bedroom...people walked in and people walked out, but i stayed in my element opening drawers...looking through...an artist lived there, i am sure...i saw what she collected...i understood why...as i filled my little cigar box with bits and pieces of the past i heard my daughter say "i found something" and my heart smiled knowing that she will be an artist too.

seven christmases ago our tree fell...and i cried as i swept the broken bits of colorful glass into the trash...pieces of my favorite ones were saved...couldn't bear to throw them out...beautiful glass ornaments that my mom remembered being on her tree as a little girl or worse being her grandmother's...ones from my dad's childhood too...now just pieces saved in a ziplock bag...not sure what i'll ever do with them except to dream of finding a match at an estate sale unwanted by one family, but welcomed into ours...taking them home...giving them a place on our tree...turning them into memories of our own.

had couple of days off last week...clean up a yard full of tree branches or use a free hotel night just to swim in the nicely heated pool?   guess which won...

the day she found her little pink buuny, mama found a vintage toy too...a "new" doll house...and right away her dolls moved in...and she was so happy they fit so nicely there and they seemed happy too...after all, what else is a doll house for if not for dolls...

baby knows vintage...out of all the toys in a really big tent...at a really big rummage sale...she chose this little pink mouse...baby knows vintage...mama is happy.

the best find of the weekend...it's beautifully worn, hand quilted, well loved...the woman i purchased from said her husband's grandmother made it and she just wanted it to see it go to a good home...done.

these two were picked up at an estate sales a few weeks ago...my christmas in july treat...

the best find of the weekend...pop out sandal skates...
which will be rolling into the shop...
before i get hurt.

the best find of the weekend...every time i see it, i want to take a trip on a train...

last week, he was excited when i came home with a "new" book and studied it intently for quite some time...last night, the baby toppled over and bumped her chin...always wanting to help, he quickly found the "perfect" technique...

nothing like a big brother to help you out...may he always be there for her...with or without his circa 1958 first aid book in hand...

the best finds of the weekend...suitcase included.