the letter ledger

I am really, truly obsessed with antique card catalogs. Thing is, I'm not the only one these days. As libraries move to digital catalogs and pass their giant wood catalogs on, they have become a hot commodity.

On Etsy, there are two-drawer catalogs ($75):

...four-drawer catalogs ($199):

...six-drawer catalogs ($240):

...and 36-drawer catalogs ($1400):

Target even has a modern version ($299.99):

Late last night, after a long day of gardening, I came across an antique oak cabinet described as a "letter ledger" on Craigslist. In the pictures, it looked remarkably similar to a card catalog. Although it was listed for $75, I emailed the seller to ask if she would drop the price to $50. When she emailed to agree early this morning, I drove right over and picked it up. 

The drawers are all three-sided, and contain a (very old but intact) filing system. I still haven't decided where I should put it (my friend Angela suggested her house), but I kind of like it in its temporary home on top of my bookcase.

dresses forever

I have a long-standing distaste for pants. But dresses and I have a love affair. You can dress them up or down. You can wear them into the winter with tights, boots, and cardigans, or in the summer with little more than sandals.

My obsession is so enduring that, when I dug a pair of jeans out of the back of my closet yesterday, I posted it on Facebook. My friends reacted with the requisite shock and disbelief:

Shaheen linked to this little nugget of genius. The person who created this and I should start a club...or a 12-step group. Although it will be awkward when they show up naked from the waist down and I show up in a ball gown.

Angela also shares my love of dresses, so she was more than happy to traipse into a field at sunset to model the three new dresses in the store:

 Vintage Prairie Floral Dress Size S/M- $20

 Vintage Green Linen Pencil Dress Size M- $28

Vintage Fuchsia Floral Tunic Dress Size M- $20

love teacups

I'd love to fill a cupboard with mismatched sets of teacups and saucers.

 Vintage Gray Roses Teacup and Saucer- $7.50

Vintage Teal Branches & Buds China Teacup and Saucer- SOLD

 

Vintage 1960s Kaysons Golden Rhapsody Wheat Teacup and Saucer- $8.00

 

Vintage Teal Branches & Buds 11 Piece China Set- $38.00

Vintage Rose and Grass Teacup and Saucer- $7.50

new (old) bike

I found this restored 1970s 3-speed Huffy on Craigslist this morning, and two hours and $40 later, it was mine.

 

Lesson for the day: don't judge a bike by its Craigslist picture.