Our Trip in Snapshots

We are back from what turned out to be an exciting, exhausting, and hectic trip to the Midwest! We painted, cleaned, restored, designed, tagged, sorted, and planned our way through the weeks at 5th Street Vintage and spent the weekends making awesome memories with our families. However, the most important thing (after family, of course) was the antiquing! We went all over southeastern Nebraska, Omaha, Lincoln, Iowa, and Sioux Falls in search for our newest treasures and we found some amazing things! Here is our trip in snapshots:

We worked so hard getting 5th Street Vintage ready to open! There is still a lot of work left to do and it was so hard to leave knowing my mom was stuck to finish up. I have to say, besides finishing my dissertation, I left Nebraska feeling so proud of this little shop. I cannot wait for the grand opening! 

To know The Vintage Chanteuse is to know that I am a coffee snob. I found this little coffee coffee/antique store/wine bar/live music venue in Fairbury, NE! What?! This is my dream business!  If you ever find yourself in Southeastern Nebraska, get yourself to The Stagecoach Antique Mall. Whatever you do, order yourself a double espresso and the freshly made pastry of the morning, then sit and listen to music in their cafe or peruse the antique mall. There is no better way to spend a morning off.

There is a very special place in my heart for Fistful of Daisies in downtown Beatrice. I have found some of my most treasured vintage pieces there. The owners, Kathy and Kerry, are quite simply the nicest people around! Kathy is so charming and she has an amazing eye for vintage decor from mid-century modern furniture to rustic shabby chic pieces and everything in between! I never miss a Thursday at Fistful of Daisies!

Most important to us is family. Having a nephew has changed the way I look at life (crazy, I know!) Being around him as he discovers the world with naïvety is breathtaking. This little man has my heart!

Now, it wouldn't be a vacation without some libations! We had amazing cocktails in Sioux Falls, SD at Crawford's. It's an old men's clothing store that has been restored to look like a 1920's speakeasy...so awesome! Our own version of these cocktails will be on the blog soon!

We did wine tasting at Strawbale Winery in Renner, SD. This is the most charming winery! The property is nestled in the South Dakota countryside next to a hundred year old barn with colorful Adirondack chairs scattered about the acreage. There are beautiful roosters waiting to be fed and sweet little kittens roaming the grounds! During the Summer months, the winery holds live open air concerts and serves wine and picnic-style food. It is a must if you find yourself in the Sioux Falls area! 

I never thought I would ever say this...but I fell in love with Sioux Falls, SD! What a great city! So many antiques stores, great restaurants, breweries, wineries, and an amazing historic downtown district. If you are looking for a getaway that is within driving distance of Nebraska, Sioux Falls is a great choice!

Of course, it wouldn't feel like home if there wasn't a thunderstorm at least 3 times a week. I love Nebraska weather!

By the end of the three weeks, we had spent 50+ hours in the car and it was exhausting but totally worth it. We saw a ton of corn, barns, and a lot of traffic along our route. We made it home with our car full of treasures and was greeted by lots of exciting news regarding my singing career! But, as always when I leave home, it was accompanied by a little homesickness.

Until next time, Midwest!

Salut!

The Vintage Chanteuse

Deadly Ever After

Hello Vintage-istas!

A day after our 3 day road trip from Connecticut to Nebraska, Yesterday's Lady hosted a murder mystery engagement party for my fiancé and me.  It was AMAZING! Here's a little sneak peak of our "Deadly Ever After" party.  The party was located in the Historic Schmuck Building in downtown Beatrice, NE.  We had a fairytale themed murder mystery game from host-party.com, which we gave a vintage feel by creating film noir costumes, retro cocktails, hors d'oeuvres, playing crime jazz softly in the background, and of course a dark and stormy evening to top off the ambiance. 

The dinner party was in three courses: Noshes (hors d'oeuvres), Dinner, and Dessert.  After each course, another clue was revealed to the guests.  We named each dish to appropriately fit our guests' characters. 

We decorated each table with vintage Nancy Drew Mystery books, vintage-inspired lamps, and black and white table cloths to tie the Film Noir theme together. 

When hosting guests, we ALWAYS use china plates, crystal glassware, and cloth napkins. It's an attention to the details that makes the guests feel special and pampered. We try to always use vintage tableware (even if they don't match!).

Our hors d'oeuvres were nestled amongst a vintage suitcase, candelabra, and a phone with a reference to Hitchcock's Dial M for Murder. 

We carefully planned each round of clues, with an announcement by our host Sherlock Holmes (my fiancé) and each clue was created to look like an old typewriter with Film Noir font. We supplied our guests with detective notebooks and pencils that we created using name tag labels and our pencils were engraved with Sherlock Holmes quotes such as "Sniff out the facts."

At the end of the evening, our guests were sent home with gift bags filled with dark roast coffee, dark chocolate biscotti, bookmarks, and literary love quote coffee mugs (which we made ourselves). Oh, and did I mention the evening was capped off with a ghost tour of the haunted Schmuck Building?!

The evening was a huge success. So much so we will be planning a Murder Mystery Party, open to the public in October. If you have ever considered attending a Murder Mystery Party, the historic Schmuck Building is a PERFECT place for a little murder...

Salut!

The Vintage Chanteuse

Summer Reading List

Hi Vintage-istas!  It's The Vintage Chanteuse, and I am back after a long week of auditions, operas, and concerts. Thanks for your patience :-) And now that Summer vacation is in sight, I have road trips, beaches, fresh sweet corn, and BOOKS on my mind! My favorite Summer pastime is lying in the sun with a good book and a cold cocktail. So here is my Summer Reading List all of which include my favorite things: vintage clothing, antiques, romance, and a little mystery!

The Secret Lives of Dresses by Erin McKean

"Dora has always taken the path of least resistance. She went to the college that offered her a scholarship, is majoring in "vagueness studies," and wears whatever shows the least dirt. She falls into a job at the college coffee shop, and a crush on her flirty boss, Gary.

Just when she's about to test Gary's feelings, Mimi, the grandmother who raised her, suffers a stroke. Dora rushes back home to Forsyth, NC, and finds herself running her grandmother's vintage clothing store. The store has always been a fixture in Dora's life; though she grew up more of a jeans-and-sweatshirt kind of girl, before she even knew how to write, Mimi taught her that a vintage 1920s dress could lift a woman's spirit.

While working there, Dora befriends Mimi's adorable contractor, Conrad. Is he after Dora, or is working from a different blueprint? And why did Mimi start writing down--and giving away--stories of the dresses in her shop?

When Mimi dies, Dora can't get out of town fast enough and cedes control of the store to her money-hungry aunt who wants to turn it into a t-shirt shop for tourists. But ultimately, she returns to Forsyth, willing to battle whatever may stand in the way of her staying there. Dora can trade her boring clothes for vintage glamour, but can she trade her boring life for one she actually wants?"

A Vintage Affair by Isabel Wolff

"Phoebe Swift’s friends are stunned when she abruptly leaves a plum job to open her own vintage clothing shop in London—but to Phoebe, it’s the fulfillment of a dream, and her passion. Digging for finds in attics and wardrobes, Phoebe knows that when you buy a piece of vintage clothing, you’re not just buying fabric and thread—you’re buying a piece of someone’s past. But one particular article of clothing will soon unexpectedly change her life.

Thérèse Bell, an elderly Frenchwoman, has an impressive clothing collection. But among the array of elegant suits and couture gowns, Phoebe finds a child’s sky-blue coat—an item with which Mrs. Bell is stubbornly reluctant to part. As the two women become friends, Phoebe will learn the poignant tale of that little blue coat. And she will discover an astonishing connection between herself and Thérèse Bell—one that will help her heal the pain of her own past and allow her to love again."

Savannah Blues by Mary Kay Andrews

 "Meet Weezie (aka Eloise) Foley, a feisty antiques “picker,” banished by her spiteful ex-husband from the house she herself restored in Savannah’s historic district, who must come to terms with a life that has suddenly changed…and  not, it, seems for the better. In Mary Kay Andrews’s delectable New York Times bestseller, Savannah Blues, readers will feel the sultry Georgia breezes and taste sea salt in the air, as they lose themselves in a wonderful, witty tale brimming with sass and peopled by a richly endearing cast of delightfully eccentric characters. Revenge is sweeter than sweet in Mary Kay’s capable hands."




One of Those Malibu Nights by Elizabeth Adler

"It was just one of those Malibu nights, dark as a velvet shroud, creamy waves crashing onto the shore, breeze soft as a kitten’s breath . . . But when private investigator to the stars Mac Riley hears the sound of a woman’s scream over the crashing waves, his low-key beach-bum lifestyle is changed forever. A beautiful, distraught woman wearing only a black lace negligee stands in the doorway of a fabulous beach house. In her hand, a gun, and it’s pointed directly at him. . . . Mac escapes her bullet, but barely. Who was that woman? Days later, she’s disappeared and the Smith & Wesson she almost killed him with finds its way into his car.

Mac suddenly finds himself tangled up in a web of deception. He’s going to need some help if he’s going to get to the bottom of it all. This is where Sunny Alvarez comes in. Sunny and Mac have an on-again, off-again relationship. Lately it’s been more “off” than “on.” But now he needs her more than ever.  
Together they go on a quest that takes them from Southern California, to the beaches of Mexico, to the streets of Rome and the countryside of France. All the while, they are one step behind an elusive murderer, and one step ahead of an actress who wants nothing more than to get lost. . . ."

 The Lady in the Palazzo by Marlena di Blasi

"Marlena di Blasi seduced readers to fall in love with Venice, then Tuscany, with her popular and critically acclaimed books A Thousand Days in Venice and A Thousand Days in Tuscany. Now she takes readers on a journey into the heart of Orvieto, an ancient city in the less-trodden region of Umbria. Rich with history and a vivid sense of place, her tale is by turns romantic and sensual, joyous and celebratory, as she and her husband search for a home in this city on a hill—finding one that turns out to be the former ballroom of a dilapidated sixteenth-century palazzo. Along the way, de Blasi befriends an array of colorful characters, including cooks and counts and shepherds and a lone violinist, cooking her way into the hearts of her Umbrian neighbors.

Brimming with life and kissed by romance, The Lady in the Palazzo perfectly captures the essence of a singular place and offers up a feast—and the recipes to prepare it!—for readers of all stripes."

 I don't know about you but I cannot wait to devour my reading list this Summer!  What are you favorites Summer reads?  Please share in the comments below!

Salut!

The Vintage Chanteuse

Living Room Tour

Hello Vintage-istas! Before I moved to the Northeast from Phoenix, I lived in an apartment almost exclusively outfitted with color-by-numbers furniture from IKEA. Anyone who has ever had the pleasure of using IKEA furniture can attest to the fact that their furniture travels as well a bicycle with a flat. So, when my fiance and I decided to move to New England, we made the decision to sell all of our furniture and travel across the country with two cars filled only with necessities and irreplaceables.

Fast forward to our arrival in Hartford, where we found ourselves with a nearly empty apartment and our bank accounts were not fairing much better. It was then and there that we vowed we would save money and only fill our apartment with used, vintage, and antique pieces from around Connecticut! If you are resourceful, imaginative, persistent, and--most importantly--patient, you can save beaucoup bucks by reusing and repurposing antique pieces for your home or apartment while giving your living space character and comfort. Even better? Finding clever ways of reusing vintage pieces is a great way to help have a positive impact on the environment!

There are lots of ways to incorporate repurposing and reusing into your home. Beyond simply finding vintage furniture, try reusing old trinkets for decor or repurposing newer items for ways they were not originally intended.

 

We came upon a mirror from IKEA that we really liked but had no need for, so we spray painted its frame and applied chalkboard paint to the inside so we would have a little place for us to write messages to one another right before we walk out the door! Also notice the sconce hanging on the wall, found rusted and ragged at a Nebraska flea market but now spray painted blue and being used as a place to store keys right by the front door! Lastly, we found several great advertisements in old LIFE magazines from the 50's so we carefully cut them out and hung them thematically around the apartment: liquor ads by the bar, food ads by the fridge, toiletry ads in the bathroom, etc.

Be certain to think outside the box, way outside the box, like our mid-century TV turned bar, or our DIY marquee.  Oh and we can't forget our bust of Ludwig van Beethoven whom we have named our wiener dog after!

Everything has a story for us, from our Parisian prints bought while traveling in Paris,  our turntable which we danced our first dance to, or our vintage books which we have started collecting as a couple.  I also love to make our living space as personal as possible.  I have picture banners hung above our couches and even a clock made from the face of our wiener dog, Ludwig!

Our entire living room was furnished and decorated for less than $500 by being patient (all we had to sit on for an entire month were folding chairs!), resourceful, and creative! We found the majority of our furniture via Craigslist and perusing flea markets and antique shops. We passed up so many great deals until we found the perfect piece for us as a couple. 

Check out our most recent addition, a 1960's turquoise typewriter that acts as both a functional item and chic decor! 

I hope this gives you a few ideas about how you can incorporate vintage in your home. Now, go out there and turn your apartment or home into what you've always wanted it to be; it could be just sitting there, waiting for you at the nearest flea market or antique shop!

Salut!

The Vintage Chanteuse

Brimfield 2014

Hello Vintage-istas! 

This past week my fiancé and I put on our game faces and headed to Brimfield, MA. Home to the world's largest antique show and flea market, Brimfield has it all with over 5,000 vendors, live music, amazing food, and all a quaint New England setting.

Brimfield Antique Shows take place three times a year in May, July, and September with each show running about a week. Vendors come from all over the United States to showcase their most unique finds; the amount of antiques is jaw-dropping! This quaint New England town swells from a modest population of 3,300 to over 250,000 people! The flea market consists of 21 individual shows located on a one-mile stretch along highway 20 in Brimfield. 

We recommend arming yourself with a good pair of sneakers, lots of cash (preferably a mix of small and large bills for haggling), bags and/or a small cart (if you are planning on purchasing bigger items), an umbrella, and a jacket. 

 

 Here is Vintage Chanteuse's list of must do's while at Brimfield: 

1. Haggle. The vendors are expecting you to give them a lower offer than what the tag indicates.  Go for it! Come in low (but not too low), be prepared to walk away, and be willing to take a chance! It's my fiancé's FAVORITE part of antiquing! 
   
2. Look at pieces that are way out of your budget, if only for the sake of appreciating them!  We found a 1920's trolley bar cart and we fell in love with it. I actually can't stop thinking about how perfect it would look in my living room! Alas, the bar was $650 which is slightly out of our classical musician budget! 
   
3. EAT! The food is sooooo yummy! The smells coming from each field are divine! You can find freshly made doughnuts, empanadas, freshly squeezed lemonade (the slightly tart, not too sweet kind!), barbeque ribs, freshly cut french fries, homemade ice cream...EVERYTHING! Don't worry you will end up walking several MILES by the end of the day, so enjoy!   
   
4. Chat it up with other antiquers. Don't be afraid to share a table with another group of people. Find out their story, ask for haggling advice, or simply relish in sharing your finds for the day!
   
5. Buy something! Even if you only spend a few dollars on a small trinket, you will always remember Brimfield when you look at it! Below is my favorite find of the day: 1940's Italian espresso cups!

After emptying our pockets and filling our tummies and our bags, we headed home with our treasures and happy hearts. If you find yourself in New England between July 8-13 or September 2-7, make your way to Brimfield, you won't be disappointed! If you don't, find your closest flea market and make a day of it! 

Happy Hunting,

The Vintage Chanteuse