An Irish Tale - The Postcard

Not Vintage, even remotely, but a fun story i just have to share ~

My friends are probably totally sick of me talking about my daughter & son in law's trip to Ireland, but be patient with me please. :D

And yes. I admit to totally living vicariously through her. Ireland is on my own bucket list.

For those that don't know, Allana & Mike booked a trip to Ireland last year. Suddenly a volcano erupted, the atmosphere was full of ash and all flights were canceled. Rebooking, they went for St. Patrick's Day this year.


My sweet, considerate daughter picked up a postcard for her Momma the first day they landed in Dublin. A few days later, they found a "Post" where she could buy stamps for the post card. Corner mailboxes like we have here in the states are nonexistent there, so the card was stuck in her purse till they could find another "Post" to mail it.




The whirlwind trip continued, the kids having an amazing time and loving every second of the breathtaking scenery, wonderful culture, and great people. A week later, they are at the airport sadly leaving Ireland for the trip home, and Allana realizes she hasn't mailed the postcard!

An hour to get through customs, inside the airport there is no place to post it. Mike, always so logical, says just to send it from New York, but Allana, always so emotional (they make the GREATEST pair!!) insists it has to have an Ireland postmark. Besides, it has Irish postage, which might not be honored in the States.

So they board the Aer Lingus plane, Allana a wee bit disappointed. Then she reaches for the "barf bag" in the seat pocket. She writes a note on the bag, asking for whoever finds this, to please mail the postcard when they get to Ireland, and please find a sheet of stamps they may keep for their inconvenience to send their own postcards home.

Allana puts the stamps and postcard in the barf bag, and slips the bag inside a magazine hoping it will be discovered.

She calls to tell me what she did and we laugh. Only my kid would think of something like that. We wonder if the card will ever appear. If it will get pitched by a flight attendant, thrown away by someone who thinks she's crazy, or it will be like a message in a bottle, showing up years later. Yes, she and I are hopeless romantics too. We were betting on some kind soul to discover and mail it for us.

Yesterday, I'm driving home from work, listening to "The Cave," my favorite Mumford & Sons song (yes, I'm Irish obsessed right now) and pull up to the mail box.

OH MY GOSH! The post card is HERE!! Already! It was obviously discovered by a person on the next flight to Ireland. They didn't think Allana was crazy.. they mailed it for her! Sadly, I wish they would have added a little note, with their name, or their home state so I could know who sent it for her~ but they didn't.

I'm thrilled. I have my postcard with a Dublin postmark. And it proves there are really nice people around.. that are willing to send a postcard from a daughter to her mother.







Thank you, kind stranger for sending the postcard you found on the plane!

13 years of Accumulation Means March Madness

In July, i will have been "officially" selling on line 13 years. It was a complete accident in 1998, but i fell i love with it. Completely. All aspects of it. I loved learning the computer, and HTML since you couldn't even post pictures back then. I loved the emails, the packing and socializing with the post office ladies during shipping.

Most of all, i enjoyed my customers. Back then, each one became a pen pal and a friend. Christmas cards were exchanged, family pictures, and even precious gifts. I still have every single present, all of the cards and even some of the emails. They all are so special!




I started selling my kids clothing they outgrew. ebay was fun, and i could "recover" more of the initial investment of some pricier things than i could having a garage sale.

A life long passion for antiques prompted me to progress to a second ebay account ~ "chochkeys" the phonetic spelling of Tchotchke, which is polish for knick knacks. No. I'm not polish, just love the word! lol.

At the same time, i had spaces at local antique malls, selling the chochkeys ~ pottery, glassware, collectibles as well as vintage clothing.

Falling into vintage lingerie, i knew i had discovered my passion. Of course i love a cute 50s skirt, love the dresses of the 30s and 40s, wild about vintage shoes and everything else. But my passion is vintage lingerie.






So the years went by. Ebay began their quest of the most ridiculous rules, and sanctions, forced paypal, prohibited checks and imposed just too much on us little guys. Customers were no longer friendly, instead each order I shipped in fear, despite tons of pictures and honest, accurate descriptions. Was I shipping to an HONEST customer, or one that ebay had taught to be dishonest and cheat the seller. enabling them to keep the item and the money via deceit? ( NO.. i know not ALL ebay customers are dishonest!! please don't take that statement the wrong way.)

The fun was gone. So i moved on. Opened a shop on RubyLane in 2005. As Rubylane doesn't allow swimsuits, panties, or vintage clothing without labels, i opened another site on ecrater.






Then along came etsy! Wow! A fun, hip site. Sadly, within the last year they too are changing. They are becoming too social. They have circles and hearts and all kinds of silly things. If i want social, i can go to their forums or just play on facebook with my friends. I don't need etsy for that, and most recently making personal information public. buh-bye etsy!.

And we can't neglect the "shipping factor" ~ as much as i love the pottery, i am embarrassed to even charge my customers actual shipping costs, even though i don't dictate it ~ the post office does. Sadly, i have a garage stacked to the ceiling with items from the antique malls, all moved back home. Cost prohibitive shipping items.





Then there are the personal issues in my life. A daughter out of state who already has grabbed everything she liked, from pickle dishes to purses. My son passed away recently, so things i were saving for him i will pack and save for his son, but i definitely have a new perspective to life and accumulations.

So, i have made an "executive decision" to downsize and follow my passion. I'm going to clear out anything not nylon. And I'm following my own advice i've given to my children for years ~ do what you love, and i love selling lingerie.



Daily, I am going to post specials on Facebook. you must "like" me on facebook to be eligible for my "crazy lady" prices. I'll do everything from a 50s Roy Rogers ring, to Dick Clark American Bandstand cards, pottery, majolica, early American press glass and of course non lingerie clothing.

I promise the prices will be insane. They will even be below my original cost. The garage is too full, i have taken over my children's two story playhouse as well as a section of my dining room and my office. It has to go, i must simplify my life, focus on my passion, and you my dear friends can benefit. If you don't need it, perhaps a friend will, or you can stick it on a gift shelf for a housewarming or a wedding present for someone else.

I used to tease my children that they were going to have to "earn their inheritance" by having to sell everything.. and i just can't be that mean. Hopefully, when the time comes, all they'll have to deal with is totes of lingerie. So.. the rest of it all has to go!!

So ~ "like" me on Facebook, and stay tuned for daily (or more) wild sales!

VintagePretties on Facebook

Folklore, Legends, Fun and History of St. Paddy's Day

St. Patrick's Day is one of the most celebrated International holiday's, rich with legend, folklore and traditions. It's one day a year, we all have a wee bit of Irish in us!

I thought it would be fun to share a brief history and the customs and legends behind the symbols of St. Patrick's day.

We think of shamrocks, leprechauns, rainbows, pots of gold, driving snakes from Ireland, the Blarney Stone and of course ~ green beer! Children dress in green and have parties at school, Cities have parades and celebrations, streams and fountains are dyed green, and of course adults enjoy pub crawls, corned beef & cabbage, mashed potatoes and bangers.

Although we celebrate as a secular holiday, it is actually a religious one. There are many ironies to St. Patrick. Patron Saint of Ireland, he was actually born in Scotland, and his real name was belived to be Maewyn Succat. Kindnapped at 16, he escaped to a monastary where he eventually went to Ireland and spent thirty years converting pagans to Christianity. St. Patrick died March 17 in A.D. 461. The day of St. Patrick's death became a three day feast in Ireland to honor him.

A popular symbol of St.Patrick's day is the Shamrock. It is belived it originated from St. Patrick used a shamrock or three leaf clover to help explain the concept of the Holy Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Sprit). Three is Ireland's most sacred and magical number, the Shamrock with its three leaves also represents Crone, Mother and Virgin or Love, Valour and Wit.. Faith, Hope and Charity or Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

In the 1770s, Irish Volunteers wore a shamrock as a patriotic sign. Today, a British Royals representative present shamrocks to Irish regiments of the British Army on St. Patrick's Day.


St. Patrick is also reported to have driven all of the snakes from Ireland into the ocean, believed to be a pagan symbol, so the story possibly is a metaphor for driving paganism out of Ireland.

The first St. Patrick's Day parade was not in Ireland, but occurred on American soil, as Irish soldiers serving with the British troops marched through the streets of New York City on March 17, 1762.





In the Irish flag ~ Green represents the Catholics while orange represents the Protestants and both colors are present in the flag. As the holiday became secular, everyone wears green ~ Orange if you are not Irish, or you risk getting pinched!

A Leprechaun is an Irish fairy. According to legend, leprechauns are aloof and unfriendly, live alone, and have a hidden pot of gold. As shoemakers, you can follow the sound of his shoemaker's hammer to find one, but if caught, he can be forced to reveal where his pot of gold is hidden.. Very tricky little guys, you must keep your eye on them every second, or they vanishes and all hopes of finding the treasure are lost.

In the wall of the Blarney Castle tower in the Irish village of Blarney is a special stone. Kissing the stone is supposed to bring the person who kisses the stone the gift of persuasive eloquence. One legend says that an old woman cast a spell on the stone to reward a king who had saved her from drowning. Kissing the stone while under the spell gave the king the ability to speak sweetly and convincingly. A "must do" for any trip to Ireland.

Just a bit of fun history behind this tradition. If you do have Irish ancestors, be sure to remember Ireland's past and celebrate your heritage! Wear something green (preferably in Vintage!) eat Irish food, listen to Irish music, and "go green"


PS: As always, I have to stick in a personal note ~ my daughter and son-in-law are in Ireland as I write this, green with envy! Is there any place more fun to spend St. Patrick's day than in Dublin? I promise to post pictures when they return. :)

*Beautiful Shamrock image courtesy of karenswhimsy.com

We're All a Wee Bit Irish On St. Patrick's Day - The Wearin o' the Green

Once a year everyone has a wee bit of fun. Even those without a drop of Irish blood in them (is there such a person?) dons green and enjoys St. Patrick's Day. We don't want to be pinched for NOT wearing green, do we?

Even if you are not doing a pub crawl, hitting a party for green beer, but just working or just hanging out, here are a few green suggestions for you from
Vintage Outlet.

And true "green" ~ environmentally and physically! go vintage! And a Happy St. Patrick's day to all!!



Wrap Sateen Hawaiian Maxi Dress XL seafoam green Sarong




Vintage Ladies Hat Bollman Green wool Veil Bow Rhinestone satin band





visit
Vintage Outlet for more green and other vintage pretties!