Nerves...

Tomorrow I go to take my placement test at the community college. I'm trying not to be nervous, and I've been praying like crazy that God will give me peace. I keep thinking of this little music box type thing I used to have...it played "Amazing Grace" but had this phrase written on the front: "Do your best and leave the rest to God." Kind of silly, maybe, or maybe it just seems silly because it rhymes, but that's what I've got to do. I spent most of the day yesterday printing off pages of sample math questions and answering them. I also spent a lot of time flipping through my brother's Algebra 1 book (which I might be doing again later), because it's been two years since I took any algebra and a year since I took any type of math at all! Those terrible formulas and definitions have deserted me, so I've been cramming. Finally, last night, when my brain started to hurt, I decided that I'd done all I could do. I just hope everything works out alright, and that God will bring to my memory some things that I've forgotten. I was never any good at math anyway.

Yesterday I got my official diploma in the mail. Since I've been finished with school since about March (except for my research paper), and had my homeschool graduation ceremony a month ago, it seemed a little weird and ironic that my diploma should come now. But it was in a nice little holder thing and it was kind of exciting (despite the fact that it made it seem like I got my diploma in Illinois, because that's where my program was based out of).

I finished reading "The Horse and His Boy" today. I used to consider it my least favorite of the Narnia books, but it is a really good story. I guess I don't have a "least favorite" Narnia story anymore. So I'll be starting "The Magician's Nephew" soon (I am a believer in the original order of the books). It always makes me a little sad to know that I'm nearing the end of my favorite series once again. Only two books to go. But it's also a little exciting, because I have a whole list of books to read this summer. =)

Until next time,
Kristin (missvintagegirl)

Sunflowers and "The Sound of Music"

I love sunflowers. Today Mom spotted one that had grown all by itself under the bird feeder, I guess from some of the seeds. At the house that used to be my grandma's, half of the garden was overrun with sunflowers, and it was beautiful.

I watched "The Sound of Music" tonight. It really is a lovely movie, and one of my favorites. But it lasts so long (almost three hours) that I don't watch it very often. I love the songs in it and the story line and it has some pretty funny parts, too.

Captain: "It's the dress. You'll have to put on another one before you meet the children."
Maria: "But I don't have another one. When we entered the abbey, all of our worldly clothes were given to the poor."
Captain: "What about this one?"

Maria: "The poor didn't want this one."

Until next time,
Kristin (missvintagegirl)

Antique mall! <3

Wow. Today I discovered a new favorite store. Or let me say, it ties with Hobby Lobby (my sewing supply) and Target as my favorite store. It's an antique mall that's downtown. I've been wanting to go in there for a while, but when I read an article in the paper recently talking about the stacks of records in the basement, I really wanted to go. So me and Mom stopped by today after we left the Farmer's Market. Well, we didn't exactly just stop by. =) What was going to be a quick visit turned into a shopping adventure (or maybe just a looking adventure, because we didn't buy much). There are three floors- a normal level, a second story, and a basement, completely full of old things. It was amazing. Everything from furniture to dishes to books to records to toys to jewelry- everything! Me and Mom could hardly believe it, LOL. There were so many beautiful (and I should add, high-priced) things. Probably my favorite was the wooden baby grand piano, which I would gladly buy if I had the $1,997 it cost (or something very close to that figure). Then there was a set of dishes that were yellow, and a yellow table and chair set. That pretty much made me decide that when I have a house of my own, I must have a yellow-themed kitchen. So anyway, me and Mom loved it and looked through pretty much the whole store. There was a beautiful room called the Cottage Room. It was so light and feminine. There were flowery things, old gloves and hankerchiefs, a sewing machine, vintage bags, a vanity, and beautiful vintage hats. That was our favorite room. There was a lovely vintage hat made from green velvet, sort of rounded, with a brownish/orangish ribbon around it and a little pin on the button. It wasn't that expensive, but I really couldn't get anything else, so I hope it'll still be there next time I go. I ended up buying three records (Dean Martin, Buddy Holly, and the Broadway version of "My Fair Lady" with Julie Andrews and Rex Harrison) and an adorable vintage clutch/bag.

I just love the little metal handle and clasp. I thought it was black, but in the sunlight it turned out to be navy, which is fine (it was kind of dark in the store). The lining is leather.

Then Mom got me a Gershwin record for Christmas, along with this other navy vintage bag. The outside of it is kind of unique, a woven kind of material. My favorite part is the lining (red, white, and blue with two little pockets). =)

I'm going to have to stitch a little bit on the handles where the stitches have come loose, but other than that, both bags are in really good shape. Seeing such cute little bags has made me want to make some more vintage-style purses. =)

Until next time,
Kristin (missvintagegirl)

Long day...

This has been a long, exhausting day. We had to process chickens, which is never fun, but something we have to do. And it's so hot outside. After we finished, I got in the pool for a few minutes to cool off, and it was so nice. =) And this time I actually did some swimming instead of just floating, which may explain why I'm this tired. Now I really need to go do chores. I really want to have time to watch an old movie tonight, so I thought I would get online now instead of later. I need to be practicing for my placement test next week. Why is always so easy to waste time when you have so much to do? Anyway, here are some flowers that are growing around our pool.

Until next time,
Kristin (missvintagegirl)

Thrift stores and wallets...

So me and Mom attacked our local thrift stores on Tuesday, in search of a train case. No luck, but several people did tell us that they've seen them there before, so I'm hoping we'll be able to find one soon. I would order one online, if they weren't so expensive. Anyway, at the Goodwill, I did find a huge book of all the Sherlock Holmes stories (which I like because it amazes me how he solves things) and a volume of Charles Dickens stories. And Mom found two Frank Sinatra records and two Dean Martin records! I bought one of them, and her and my grandma got me the others for Christmas. I also found a little scrap of cute fabric. There might be enough to make a purse out of. It's sort of like a wool or something, black and white plaid with a slight pink stripe.

This week has been a little crazy, bringing more changes. A few days ago, I realized that one of my wisdom teeth is coming in. How wonderful, huh? I was hoping that, like my dad, mine would never come in so I wouldn't have to worry about them. But one is coming in, so now I guess I'll have to have them all taken out, because I don't want my teeth to get crowded in. Just something else to worry about. Yesterday, me, Mom, and Dad filled out my application for community college, and I have to go next week for a placement test. I'm not sure how I feel about all this. I'm not exactly nervous anymore, although I can't figure out why. Maybe it's God giving me that "peace that passeth all understanding?" I sure hope so.

Until next time,
Kristin (missvintagegirl)

Changes...

I don't like changes. I don't like them one bit, even if there's a pretty big chance that the change will be good. See, I'm terrified of the unknown. I am most uncomfortable when I don't know what to expect or when I don't have everything all planned out. I'm a planner and a list-maker, and a control freak. But I guess God has to break me of all these things and show me that I cannot always know.

The last year or so has been really difficult for me. Especially the past three or four months. There has been so much going, including some family issues, and I haven't been spending as much time with God (which, of course, only makes things worse, not better). I have been so stressed out about my future. Because I have hopes and dreams and things that I wish could happen, but I know that God's will is better than mine. But I have a hard time discerning what exactly is His will is most of the time. So I've been really down, trying to figure out what to do now that I've graduated. After a lot of thinking and praying, I think I've finally decided to take a 2 year program at the local community college, studying early childhood development. It's not that I want to work at a daycare, because I really believe in parents raising their children instead of sending them off to daycare. But I love kids and hope to have a family someday (hopefully not too awfully far in the future), and I figure this can help me with my own children. And until I find the right guy and get married, I can always keep kids. Mom does that now, from here at home, and I help her. And while it does make me feel a lot better to have a plan, and a plan that I believe is what God wants me to do, I still have fears. In the program, I have to take a public speaking class. I am a very shy introvert, and awkward socially. My biggest fear is getting in front of people. And having to speak to them? So the devil has really been hitting me with that, trying to discourage me and give me all kinds of anxiety. But I believe that maybe I need to get out of my comfort zone.

That's so hard to say. It's so hard to realize that I need to be out of my comfort zone. But it's the truth. I was just reading on a blog today about daring to step out and take a leap of faith...facing your fears. Well, I know I can't do that on my own, but I'm hoping God is going to help me and give me some serious courage.

Last night, I caught a glimpse of the sunset out of my back window. My back window is one of my two favorite places to watch the sunset from. My room is upstairs and looks over a field behind our yard. You can see some mountains between a little valley in the trees, and the sun sets right there. It's beautiful. (My other favorite sunset-watching spot is from the front porch swing of the house that was my Granny's. The sun sort of sets over a hill there, so it looks like it's setting right into the earth.) I looked out through my curtains, and the sky was pink, purple, and blue...just lovely. And when I saw that, something made me think,"God is still God." And it hit me, no matter what happens, no matter how stressed out I get over earthly things, it really doesn't matter. God is still in control, and I can trust in Him. What a wonderful relief.

My first "train case"...

I guess this could be considered a train case. Maybe not, maybe just a small suitcase. Anyway, it's the one my grandma found and gave to me. It's not in the best shape, but I love the color. The inside needs to be recovered with some sort of paper, and I wish I knew how to fix the spots on the outside.

Robin's egg blue is becoming one of my favorite colors. Isn't the color just lovely? But see, all of the corners have some wear like this, and I don't know how to fix that. You can't paint it or anything, probably.

The closure works, it just needs polishing or something.

The inside of the top has this gross glue looking stuff all over the paper, like it used to have a mirror or something there. I hope I can fix it.

Some of the paper lining is messed up, like here.

Jack is so nosy. When he saw that I was taking pictures on top of my cedar hope chest (where he likes to sleep), he just had to get in on it. He was trying to attack my camera wrist string. He's really just a big baby. =)

Last night, we had the Lighthouse at church. It's a teen hangout thing we have usually two Saturdays a month, and this was our one year anniversary of having it. I always have such a good time. It's fun just to hang out and play basketball, volleyball, ping-pong, and other stuff. And last night was even better than usual...You know why? Because we had smores! I'm 18 years old and I had never had a smore before (poor deprived child). But last night I had my first one (actually I had two), and it was lovely! =) I guess technically it wasn't a true smore because it was too hot for a fire, so we had to use this smore maker thing that has a small fire that you roast the marshmallows over. Anyway, I was very impressed. I mean, with Hershey's chocolate on it, it has to be amazing. So now I love smores.

I like these flowers...hibiscus, I think? They're sort of shaped like little stars.

Me and Mom are hopefully going to a few thrift stores in town on Tuesday, so maybe I can find some more vintage stuff. I know I'm really on a kick about "old things" lately, even more so than usual. I'm not sure why...I watched "The Love Bug" last night, and it made me long for an old VW Beetle. I have a "new" one (a '99 model), but sometimes I wish I had got an older model instead. Don't get me wrong, though, I love my little car and I'm so grateful for it. But don't you just love that happy music that plays in the movie when Herbie is racing around a corner? It just makes me smile.

Until next time,
Kristin (missvintagegirl)

Vintage magazines and train cases...

I completely fell in love with these vintage train cases turned into sewing boxes...this one and especially this robin's egg blue one. I would love to make one (er...alter one. I don't believe I can make a train case, LOL)! They are so beautiful. I'm going to be visiting some local thrift stores and maybe some yard sales in hopes of finding a vintage train case in good shape. My grandma has one that I'm going to look at...she says it's in rough shape but maybe I can use it. I think the train cases are just lovely. I've seen so many different colors online, from brown to pink to bright green to robin's egg blue (definitely my favorite). Can't you just see Judy Garland or Ingrid Bergman in some old movie, climbing aboard a train, carrying their adorable little case? Well, maybe not one of them, but some 60's actress (my interest pretty much fades out after the 50's).

I've even got a vintage McCall's magazine that I can cut pictures out of to put on the case. I have three 1940's magazines that are in near-perfect shape (just a little musty-smelling...not bad for being in a damp basement for at least 20 or 30 years-I don't know how they were stored before that), but I'm not going to be cutting them up. But Mom had one that's torn up and missing the cover and some pages, so I might be cutting some pictures out of that, if I ever get to decorate a train case like I'd like to.



I just love this dress! It's so beautiful, and I think it would even make a wonderful wedding dress if you added some straps. Look at how full the skirt is!





These little purses are adorable! Anyway, those are just some of the pictures I'd like to cut out to use on a train case/sewing box. Here are my other McCall magazines:

I watched "Meet Me in St. Louis" again last night. This is about the third or fourth time I've seen it, and I think I love it more every time. The first time I saw it, I didn't like it very much. But now I just love it (although the Halloween scenes aren't my favorites...those little girls are mean and spoiled!) The romance is really sweet, and I love the Christmas dance and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." The songs have been stuck in my head all day, especially "The Boy Next Door" and "The Trolley Song."

Until next time,
Kristin (missvintagegirl)

Homemade sew-in labels...

Since I've been thinking of making some things to sell at the Farmer's Market, I've been trying to make my own sew-in labels. Easier said than done. I bought a rubber stamp that says "Homemade especially for you by:", white twill tape, fabric paint, and a matching fine-point Sharpie. The results were not so great. I decided to use the fabric paint since fabric ink pads are impossible to find except online. Well, it's very hard to get the paint spread evenly on the stamp. When I finally did, it looked lovely on the twill tape. But when I tried to write my name neatly with the Sharpie, the ink just spreads on twill tape. So that approach won't work. Now I've decided to follow this tutorial: http://freshvintage.typepad.com/freshvintage/2007/01/fabric_labels_t.html and hope that things turn out better next time. Of course, it would make sense to make the items I'm going to try and sell before I worry about labels, huh? Anyway, I need to go do chores now.

Until next time,
Kristin (missvintagegirl)

Summer Reading

I've been seeing other people's summer reading lists, and I realized that I hadn't made mine yet this year. So here it is:

• "Set-Apart Femininity," by Leslie Ludy (I'm halfway through now...this book and "Authentic Beauty" have really been changing my perspective on a lot of things)
• "When God Writes Your Love Story," by Eric and Leslie Ludy
• "When Dreams Come True," by Eric and Leslie Ludy
• "The Silver Chair," "The Horse and His Boy," "The Magician's Nephew," and "The Last Battle," by C.S. Lewis (in other words, finish rereading the Narnia series. I'm halfway through SC now)
• "Jane Eyre," by Charlotte Bronte
• "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," by J.K. Rowling (reread before the movie comes out!)
• "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, by J.R.R. Tolkien
• At least one Charles Dickens book (not sure which one yet)

I'm sure there are more I want to read...I usually look foward to summertime as reading time, but this year I'm not so sure. I'm so nervous about community college in the fall and the changes that are happening in my life, that I'm not sure I'll be relaxed enough to read much this summer. I don't feel ready to grow up yet.

There were different flowers blooming today. I didn't notice until late this evening. We had a light rain shower this afternoon, which made everything fresh and left lovely water droplets on the flowers. During my camera sessions, I learned that the reddish lillies apparently dye your fingers and clothes when the petals are wet. I also learned that hummingbirds are a lot louder than you would think (I always imagined them sounding like a "humming" bumble bee, but a single one sounds more like a swarm of bees, especially when it's zipping past you). And a lot smarter than you would think. I stood completely still a few feet away from the hummingbird feeder, hoping to get a close-up picture. The little bird flew around me, drinking from the flowers and watching me from behind leaves. Then when I finally gave up and came inside, he was at the feeder. Outsmarted by a bird.

I like these plants. Their shape reminds me of the fabric I bought this week for a new dress...It's light blue and has the outlines of plants shaped similar to this, except in light brown and cream.

Until next time,
Kristin (missvintagegirl)