family and friends

We had a pretty sweet Halloween around here as the gobs and gobs of candy will attest to. The kids had a ball. And as much candy as I dished out to every trick-or-treater Friday night, I swear they came home with twice as much. But I will admit I loved watching them ‘organize’ their candy all afternoon — by color, shape, flavor… You name it, they did it. That candy was seriously man-handled. And then of course mean Mama had to break it to them that it would be rationed.

We had a cowboy theme going this year. I had all these great plans of making costumes, but this year it just didn’t happen. So I punted and went shopping. Aidan was a piece of cake, but getting Grace on board? She was less than thrilled — until she found the pink cowboy hat with the sequins and the tiara on the front! SOLD!

So how did YOUR Halloween go? Share the costume pics!

Please indulge this proud momma. Gracie won her game Friday night. She’s playing softball this year for the first time and is a total natural (she’s only been hit by the ball once so far — ugh).

But let’s just say we’ve been around the block when it comes to extracurricular activities. We’ve done dance. We’ve done gymnastics. We’ve done swimming. This year it’s softball. There’s something to be said for variety I guess, but I would love to see her find something and stick with it. I guess that’s a lot to expect from an 8-yr old.

Softball is a major commitment. I had forgotten just how much so. Two practices and a game every week. THREE nights of ball every week. It’s insane. On second thought, maybe variety is not such a bad thing! I think back to when I was a kid, and I was the exact same way — probably more so. Brownies, dance, cheerleading, softball, gymnastics just to name a few. Poor Mom. Do you ever have those deja vu moments when you realize you’re experiencing with your child the same thing your mom probably experienced with you? And you get that brief wave of guilt followed by a great big feeling it’s payback time?

You know, vintage really is a matter of perspective. What’s vintage to me may not seem vintage to someone else. When I started the shop, I felt like we needed to establish some sort of vintage standard even if it was subjective. So our adopted ‘Vintage Description’ for the shop basically states that anything dating earlier than 1975 is considered ‘vintage’ to us.

Well it hit me recently that I fall into that category! I’m VINTAGE? What?! Just because I lived the generation that once had Madonna hair and obsessed over The Police, does not make me vintage now, right? (Agree with me, people.) So I got a grip and calmly reminded myself that vintage is just a matter of perspective. And the great thing about getting older is that you begin to appreciate the things that remind us of a simpler time.

Which led me to get a little nostalgic and take a trip through some old family photos… ‘vintage’ in varying degrees of course…

The first photo is my dad decked out in blue when he was 3-years-old (circa 1947). His mom (my grandmother) had entered him in a local ‘Prettiest Baby’ contest the day this photo was taken. He won first place! Doesn’t he just look thrilled to be there? Hilarious, right? My dad still had this photo AND the trophy he won that day — both of which I quickly confiscated once I was old enough to appreciate them for what they were. Today the trophy sits on my son’s dresser and this photo hangs in his room. Kinda cool, huh? (Footnote: I thought the polka dots made it a little more playful. How I love the many wonders of scrapbook paper!)

The second photo is my mom when she was around 4-years-old (circa 1953). This was the Little Miss Peanut Pageant which she won! What a ham. Every time I look at this photo I can see glimpses of myself and my daughter. It’s amazing all that we pass on to our children. This little charmer hangs in the hall.

And finally we come to moi. Here I am at my 4th birthday (circa 1978). I guess it does kind of have a vintage flair already. Those rounded corners are a dead giveaway, not to mention the Dorothy Hamill hair on my mom and the bright yellow dress I’m wearing. What I wouldn’t give to have that hair again! This one stays in the family album, but the funny thing is that some day one of my kids will probably pull it out (thinking it’s really cool and vintage) and maybe even frame it for their children to appreciate — just like I’ve done with my parents’ photos.

Weird how that works, isn’t it?

One of my dearest friends, Renee, is pregnant with her second child — a boy (her first). Renee’s dad and her husband’s dad are both retired Navy, so she had this great idea to decorate Baby James’ nursery in a Navy/nautical theme. Perfect, right? Well, in addition to that she really wanted a vintage flair to it which made it a definite challenge. But with all the WWII memorabilia out there, I thought, “We can do this!”

So I began hunting and hunting and hunting for vintage + nautical + baby themed items (no pressure here). A lot of what I found was either sailboats (not really Navy or sailor) or serious WWII collectibles (no babies in sight). I was getting frustrated looking at eBay and searching all the flea markets and antique shops in town. Then one night like a shining beacon (cheesy pun intended), I found this:

Now, come on. Is that perfect or what? I about (excuse my expression) peed in my pants when I saw this! This is the cover of an authentic vintage coloring book from 1943. Can you say inspiration piece? I’m framing it for her to hang in the nursery. I can’t wait to give it to her.

Of course I really couldn’t stop there. Finding the coloring book gave me the shove I needed to keep looking. So, in addition to that, I’m giving her some other vintage-inspired goodies. I won’t show them all (I went a little crazy), but here’s the highlights…

Vintage-inspired Whale Rattle: The vintage fabrics are great. And he has a little braided ‘stream’ coming out of his blow hole. Truth be told, I loved this so much, the artist is making them for the shop! Grab him up at The Baby Gardner!

Sailor Blankie: Another vintage goodie for Baby James will be a small blankie made especially for him by his Aunt Dee using this vintage-inspired sailor fabric and minky-dot backing. Pretty adorable, right?

So what do you think overall? Did I meet the vintage nautical nursery challenge?

While I’m writing about Renee and Baby James, I have to get your opinion on one other thing. Please settle a debate we’re having. Renee had asked for some help picking colors and fabrics for his nursery based on the vintage nautical theme. I sent her two groups: 1) Classic Navy & Red or 2) Nautical with a Modern Twist of Red & Green. I’m not going to tell you which she picked or which one I encouraged, but I can tell you that we didn’t agree. Both are great, but I had a definite favorite and so did she. The question is, which one would YOU choose?Renee and I are more like family than friends, so the fact that we didn’t agree on this is so typical. But I love her dearly and I cannot wait to be an aunt (again) to her precious baby boy. Maybe our saga with her ever-so-complex nursery theme will inspire you!

Nautical in general seems to be a really popular style these days. If you’re pondering that one, why not make it even more unique by infusing it with a vintage twist. It is doable!

UPDATE! Looking for unique vintage nautical items for baby? We have some great new additions in the shop, including:
• On the Seashore Invitation or Birth Announcement
• Personalized Nautical Soft Blocks Set with Drawstring Bag
• Ahoy Sailor Toddler Set
• Vintage-Inspired Wally the Whale Onesie
• Little Moby Dick Baby Rattle