Saturday, February 27, 2016

Latest sweet sweater creation

Dear friends,

Today is beautiful! It is chilly and breezy but the sun is shining and the sky is bright! I love it. I wanted to take a break from work today and share a picture that I scanned this morning.



I wish I knew exactly when it was taken. I think they look somewhat poor. I wonder if it is the 1920s. Or 1930s.

There are some names on the back. They were originally written in pencil and are so faded that I cannot read them all. However one is written over in ink: Pearl McBride.

I think I see Mary Emma Willis. And maybe Bill Marcus? Oh how I wish I knew where this was taken. When. Who. The story behind it. I finally decided to scan the back as well.



In other news, I embellished a sweater Recently and totally fell in love with it. I am working on two more. Here are pictures.







There are more new hats in the shop.



And I think the old photo makes a good advertisement.



Enjoy this day!

Lynn

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Hats and More Hats

Dear Blog Peeps,

We have 40 more minutes here and it will officially be Thurday. What a long day this has been. Work. Raging storms. A nap after work from sheer exhaustion. A meeting with a tax preparer. A bible study. And here I am. But I love the challenge. The tax meeting was most interesting. I am learning what I need to do to record-keep and thrive. It's such a learning curve.

Hats sell. They just do. No, every person who walks into Sidetracked is not a hat person. But hat people do make their way to Sidetracked, and it is a joyous union!! Here are a few recent finds.

This one was crushed and in need of some reshaping! But oh my it's a beauty!

You have seen this one, on me, but have to share again. This hat is just magical. It's perfect.

Another recent find. An excellent choice for spring!

My sweet sleeping lady (HELP ME NAME HER!!) wears a dark blue straw hat. I say straw, but honestly I don't know what to call it. I need to so some research on this one! Anyone know what to call this crinkly stuff?

In closing, a sweet corner of the shop. A new mirror. A vintage dress. Drying roses. The letters L-Y-N-N sent to me by my sweet sister. My happy place.

Enjoy this day!

Lynn

Sunday, February 21, 2016

Sunday Ketchup

Okay. Not ketchup. Catch-up. I have been picked on a little by Jason about my southern accent. Lovingly, of course. It is what it is. A drawl, I suppose. Anyway, ketchup seemed the way to start this post.

My day did not start out like I had planned. I overslept and missed my church meeting, so here I sit having some quiet time. Reading. Posting. Practicing my guitar. I have to do better in certain areas of my life. This is one of them.

The week has been very, very busy. The beautiful weather here is such a welcome change from the icy cold, and people have been out in droves in every part of town, including my shop. I am just so very much enjoying meeting the people who come in. I met an especially nice couple yesterday who came in and chatted and took pictures. They were from out of town but were interested in the history of my hometown. They took a very good set of pictures of the shop and sent them to me.



Something that had not occurred to me prior to opening the shop is that people would come in to sell things to me! This has been such a fun part of the job! Sometimes the offerings do not fit the personality of my shop but sometimes they do! Sometimes I have the cash and can indulge, sometimes I cannot. A recent potential purchase was this beautiful late-1800s blouse. Oh my!! The owner wanted more than I could pay. 60-75 dollars for one piece. Was I tempted? Yes! Do I respect the price she asked? Yes! I am sure the piece is unusual. Most clothing items just don't make it to 120 years old. Anyway, I took her number and may call her back at some point. She was kind to let me get some photos. Very nice lady!





In other news, I guess the fan-cam at the UNC basketball games works. Yours truly.



Now, here are some things that have inspired me, from Pinterest.

Source -- bunnies and kitties. Enough said.

Source -- a dream of mine is a building completely from recycled materials.

Source -- can there be too many greenhouse pictures?

Source

Source -- gasp!! Pink!!!

Source

Source

There. I guess you know where my mind is today.

Enjoy this day!

Lynn

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Daddy's Girl

It is never too early to talk to your little princess about boys.



Enjoy this day!

Lynn

Monday, February 15, 2016

Coffee and Chocolate

In case you Peeps are wondering about my morning coffee.



It is a very difficult job, but someone has to work on this bag of Ghiradelli chocolates! I volunteered, knocking everyone else away, shielding them from the danger ahead. There are only a few left in the bag, so I think I have everything under control.

Whew.



The shop was so pretty on Saturday, prepared for Valentine's Day. It was a good day! And speaking of Valentine's Day, my dear sweet friend Jason bought me a baby guitar for the shop for Valentine's Day. It is small enough to carry into the shop and not take up too much space. "Baby" guitar gives the impression of a child's instrument, but many companies now are making baby and mini guitars that have great tone and are perfect for travel for adults.

I tried out a Martin,a Yahama, and a Taylor. It came down to the Taylor and the Yahama. The Martin was set up to play with an amp, and I did not need that. Also, I was not sure how I felt about the thickness of the neck of the Martin. Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised with the tone of the Yahama, and the price was perfect, as far as I was concerned! Not that I think Yamaha is bad by any means. It is just that Jason has a baby Taylor himself, and I already knew how great it sounded, so I had already set the Taylor on a pedestal in my mind, I guess.



I love this little vintage tray. Made in Italy. Currently in the shop.



And these old fabric flowers. Ahhhhh.

Now, some things that have inspired me this morning.

Beautiful altered couture.

Source

A perfectly perfect greenhouse screen door.



Source

Be still my heart! Heart-stopping boots.



Source

With that, enjoy this day!

Lynn

Thursday, February 11, 2016

Pink.

Good morning!

It has taken me a few days, but I am starting to feel rested again and back to normal after my big weekend with the grandkids. My son and his sweet family are settling in to a new routine with the new baby. She got her first bath after she came home, the old traditional idea of babies needing to be bathed right after birth being no longer the right thing to do.



And then she smiled.



How sweet!! Oh my is there anything sweeter than a newborn baby?!



In other news, there are touches of pink all around the shop in preparation for Valentine's Day. I had considered making a bunch of vintage-looking Valentine cards for the occasion, but that never panned out.



I have added several stacks of vintage linens lately. And I am currently working on a schedule of sales for my shop. The first Saturday of every month will be the Sidetracked Sidewalk Sale. This will help me keep my clothing seasonally current and will keep the shop from turning into a clutter-fest.



Finally, Mars did a big interview recently, focused on local Meowfia activities. That is all I can say about it. He was very brave to step out like that and give his opurrnions.

Enjoy this day!

Sandra Lynn the Big Fat Hen (my nickname in elementary school because I was so thin)

Sunday, February 7, 2016

Thank goodness for the Internet.

Dear Peeps,

I am so thankful right now for the Internet and an iPad. I don't want to sound like I don't like watching my grandchild. I do! However, my brain cells are completely saturated with SpongeBob Square pants and Frozen. And Duplo building blocks. And toddler food. And stepping on toys. So it feels like perhaps I am in touch with my adult self to get on line. Am I making sense? Am I still speaking English? Am I an adult? I think I am.

As if in a dream, Greyson and I watch Frozen for the fifth time.



In a trance, Greyson watches Frozen for the 12th time.



And Greyson has forgotten which toy he's holding because he is frozen watching Frozen.



Now, lest you think that I have allowed nothing but television, the days under the circumstances are long. I have been here all day Friday, all day Saturday, and all day Sunday. The children, especially little Greyson, realize that something is amiss. They have been excellent children, but Greyson has been waking up in the night a bit disoriented. I have worked very hard to keep them on schedule, with breakfast, lunch, dinner, bathtime and naptime at the right times. Still, trips to the store to get bread or bananas and a trip to the hospital to see new baby have gotten us off schedule at times.

I may never want to watch Frozen again.

That is all.

Enjoy this day!

Lynn

Friday, February 5, 2016

Baby Addie is Here

Dear Peeps,

Finally, finally, Addie is here! What a little sweetie! Or big sweetie maybe!



She entered the world today at 5:39 p.m., weighing 8 pounds 9 ounces. Whew. I am so thankful she is here safely and that she and mama are okay.



I LOVE the photo where Addie is first handed to her mommy. So sweet. Look at those hands. Perfect little fingers! Thanks for your recent comments about her, wondering how things were going. Today I have had my hands full watching these two little ones...



Addie's brother and half-brother. I cannot begin to tell you all we did today. We played on a "ship" (the climbing structure at the playground) until it exploded. Little brother and I had to run while the poor captain (big brother) stayed behind on the troubled ship. Big brother ended up blowing up and floating in the water but Baby brother and I screamed out, "Oh no!!!! The Captain!!" Well, I screamed. Baby brother just ran along holding my hand and wondering what we were doing. But suddenly the captain was back to life. (This adventure took place under the close direction of big brother, and believe me, we had to play out that last scene several times to get it right.)

We blew bubbles. We ate at McDonald's. We watched movies. We went to Dollar Tree. I am exhausted.

Switching gears, I recently walked through Pottery Barn and admired all of the springy and Easter-inspired home decor and kitchenware. Enjoy.













Enjoy this day!

Lynn

Thursday, February 4, 2016

Hunter Gatherer Vest -- Altered Couture

Dear Friends,

Today I wanted to share a vest that I finished recently. I love the base article of clothing because of its color. It felt to me like a hunting vest. Here it is now with different buttons, and patch after patch of beautiful floral and other fabrics sewn over the vest. I love the skull pocket. I love all the flowers.











This vest has a lot of my thoughts and love stitched into it.

Enjoy this day.

Lynn