Thanks for all the replies and commiseration on my vintage hair funk post! It certainly sounds like it’s going around. Spring fever, perhaps. What I have now is sort of grown out of the middy-like haircut I got in November, but it’s definitely due for something. I still haven’t decided on what I’m going to go for, but it will probably be just a shorter version of what I have (or what’s grown out, rather). My best hair wishes to those of you who were also expressing frustration in your own hair conundrums!
‘Tis the season! Road trip season, that is. Mel and I love to take little road trips to Wisconsin, and spring usually starts road trip season (although in the case of last year, we got there even earlier in the year).
We spent the weekend in a cabin in southwestern Wisconsin with a small group of friends. Other than the overcast, chilly and drizzly weather, it was a fabulous weekend. Lots of fires in the wood-burning stove, food and drinks, games, walks in the woods, and I’m not sure I ever stopped laughing the entire time.
Here was the view from down the road of our cabin. Isn’t it picturesque? (That’s our friends’ dog Joey, who accompanied us on the trip.)
We spent awhile trying to identify the games hung up on the wall. Investigation led me to discover they are carrom and crokinole game boards, two games none of us had ever heard of.
I loved this bookcase in the cabin. If I had a cabin myself to decorate, I’d want pieces like this, I think…
There were cupcakes for our friend’s birthday…
Which then turned into this.
A neat old shed…
A great old tractor with over 4,000 miles on it…
We all took a turns. Pretending, that is.
Our friend’s Jolene tea towel, I love this thing.
I got to do a good amount of knitting on the road and at the cabin (though the photo below is once we were at home, on our new IKEA shag rug for the den). These are the two sleeves for the pullover I started the last day in February, So Neat and Sweet from A Stitch in Time vol. 2. I made great progress on it until we moved, and then didn’t pick up my knitting needles for over a month! Finally, I’m knitting again. I’d love to get this done quickly so I can start one of the thousand short-sleeved sweaters I have swimming in my head. (And hopefully sewing again will follow soon, too.)
It was a great weekend.
On our way home, Mel and I stopped at an antique mall outside of Madison to do a little hunting. I found a lovely scarf and two very inexpensive Bakelite spacer bangles that were tucked in amongst some boring-looking costume jewelry. Yay for the sniff test, taught to me awhile back by a local purveyor of vintage goods. (Unsure of the best on-the-go way to identify Bakelite? Check out Brittany’s recent post on Va-Voom Vintage.)
I was happy with those little finds, and then we found The Lamp. You all know how we decided to go with vintage Southwestern as the overall theme in our den. Of course I’ve been daydreaming about all the rooms in our house, but particularly this one as it’s already proven to be the room we spend the most time in. (The fact that our living room only recently got a sofa, still doesn’t have the furniture arranged probably and is currently home to all the boxes of our patio furniture probably has something to do with that.)
In my head, I made up a lamp that I thought would be perfect in the room. It was white ceramic, with some kind of nubbly texture to it in some places, with colors that evoked the Southwest, and a fiberglass lampshade. I mean really, dear readers, I made this up in my head out of thin air.
And then we found this.
It took us about .05 seconds to decide it was ours.
I mean, c’mon! White ceramic! Textured sections in shades of brown, coral, and sky blue! A two-tiered fiberglass shade spattered with brown, white and turquoise!
And then when we saw this coral-colored working Westinghouse clock radio in the same booth, and we knew the room didn’t have a clock anyway, well… the rest is clearly history.
And while this won’t necessarily be the final arrangement on this particular end table (what you can’t see is the ugly modern telephone base behind the clock radio), it’s getting there.
A trio destined to be together, don’t you think? Sofa, lamp, clock radio.
While we were leaning in that direction already, the lamp and clock radio pretty much cemented that a light turquoise or sky blue must be the wall color. Incidentally, that was the overall favorite amongst readers who chimed in.
Huzzah for when vintage decorating starts to come together!
The lamp and clock are fantastic, such fun finds!
Yay for knitting! I picked up my needles for the first time in several weeks this weekend and it was so nice! 🙂
admiring knitter de-lurking here, i couldn’t resist when spotted the star wars helmets!! are they edible? do you know where i might be able to order them? my 8yo is turning 9 at the end of the month and is going through a very extensive and intense star wars craze. seriously, star wars cupcake toppers, they would make his day! with your friend’s permission to copy the idea of course….
thanks and lots of love from switzerland 🙂
barbara
I’m sorry to tell you Barbara, but they were actually plastic rings embedded in the cupcakes, and our friends purchased them at Wal-Mart along the way. Sorry I can’t be of more help!
Oh yeah, this room is TOTALLY coming together! I love the clock and lamp. I’ve never seen a clock radio in that amazing color before. And that looks like a great getaway. We’re about to have one soon and I need it like mad.
Looks like a great trip!
That lamp is perfect! I cannot wait to see how your new house evolves into the dream place for the two of you.
Those photos look lovely! I’m in need of a cabin getaway myself…Luckily Wisconsin has lots of lovely places and I won’t need to go to far!
That tractor was awesome; my husband’s grandpa LOVES Ford Tractors (as in, he has three or four haha). Your lamp and clock look great! I can’t wait to see the room with a lovely turquoise color!
WOWEEEEE!!! That lamps is beautiful and so was your wonderful trip! I can’t wait to see how the rest of the room turns out!!!!
I’m super jealous. What a great getaway spot. You two are really blessed.
I am smitten with the lamp and the shade is making me very curious. Do you think you could take a couple pics of the inside of the lampshade, showing the construction? I’m dying to try to make my own tiered shade. I promise to post a full tutorial. I just can’t seem to get my hands on one of these shades up here in Canada.
Thanks again for sharing your happy with us.
Kellie, if you shoot me an email, I would be happy to send you some inside photos to help you out. 🙂
So much fun! I love your photos but my fave is the one of you on the tractor! I love cabins…it’s the smell that I adore. It’s now too hot here in TN to go cabining (yes, it’s a verb…now) but when fall hits, this is what I plan to investigate. Thank you for sharing the photos! and best wishes with your ‘do!
My goodness, that lamp and clock are perfection! What a fabulous trip you had, I am so envious of your amazing finds!
Lovely spot and great finds! Did you take the canoe out?!
The funny thing was there was no water close by!
i absolutely LOVE the tea towel. im smitten beyond belief! the lamp is lovely aswell 🙂
Super find! I love when a good find, finds you. I vote the bright Turquoise, however I’m not the one who is living with it. 🙂
Happy Trails!
Lady Frank
Really, really awesome getaway. I felt like I was there with you thanks to the bevy of terrific snaps you included in this pot. So fun, so fantastic – and I’m sure just what you both needed after the flurry of activity surrounding the move.
Wishing you a beautiful, sunshine filled month of May,
♥ Jessica
Should your WI travels ever take you near La Crosse, this fellow vintage knitter and thrifter would enjoy meeting up! =)
I’ve never been that far into Wisconsin, though I’d love to. I’ll let you know if we ever make it to La Crosse! 🙂
What a fab weekend!! And finds 🙂
Those are great finds. I’ve been wanting a vintage radio for our bedroom but they are so expensive out here. I’m hoping to find one that needs repairs since my husband is an electrical engineer and loves to fix stuff like that.
I’ve always wanted to stay at a cabin for the weekend. Looks like lots of fun. The sweater looks great. I can’t wait to get that book.
What a wonderful weekend! If you didn’t stop laughing it sounds like the life to be in! 🙂 I love how your wee den is turning out too! 🙂 Enjoy your day lovely! Zoë xx
Oh my god I adore that light and clock! Looks like you’ve been having a great time recently and I love your knitting! XxxX http://thesecondhandrose.blogspot.co.uk/
I am totally envying your cabin excursion right now. I need a vacation really badly. And you look absolutely smashing in your Hunter boots and Pendleton. You look like a WWII woman, tending the farm while the husband is away at war.
And I am LOVING the colors you have going on your room! It’s very mid-60s and fun, wonderfully before the psychedelic vomit happened. I actually really like the yellow walls, but I think sky blue would be lovely too.
Love staying in a cabin! On a farm is even better!
wow how perfect is that lamp- the vintage gods were smiling upon you!!
Eeek! The Lamp!! It’s just perfect. Don’t you love it when you find just the piece you’ve been dreaming of? That often happens for me with bakelite. And speaking of bakelite, yay to you for finding some inexpensive pieces! That almost never happens!
Neat vacation spot! And the lamp and clock look PER-FECT!
That lamp is amazing, and goes with your theme SO perfectly! Great finds!!! Can’t wait to see the room all painted and finished!