Mary Frances Vintage Things

So a couple of days ago, I got a package. I love mail. Ever since I was a kid I've always eagerly awaited letters, postcards and trinkets. I even entered sweepstakes to get random things. I also love vintage stores. Since the age of 15, I've enjoyed scowering local shops and supporting small shop owners.

Ever since discovering Holding the World in a Paper Cup about a year ago, I've enjoyed reading Hayley's blog and been inspired to work through my fears and try new things. The blog was enjoyable enough, but imagine my happiness when I learned of her etsy store! My love of getting mail and vintage combined! Once a week I looked at her shop to find something perfect for me, but it was a tough process through no fault of her own. You see, I am almost a elf. At 5ft tall and 95 pounds, and with a size 3 girls shoe (yes you read that right) finding vintage clothing without ever trying it on can be daunting. Finally, I found a shirt that I loved and looked like it would fit me. It was brown with a rainbow colored trim. Artsy and vintage, that was just my style. The model wearing it looked taller then I, (as much as you could tell from a picture anyway) but I went for it.

These were the results:

Wonder what it could be?

I loved (LOVED) the wrapping. Hayley takes great care in her clients items and adds sweet little touches.

Why it's my shirt!

I am not a model, but oh gosh I tried. I took three "modely" pics before I laughed and gave up.

I love, love, love the shirt! Thank you Hayley! :) If you would like to order from Mary Frances Vintage Things, please do so! The seller takes great care in making sure her clients get the items they want and everything is shipped rapidly! (I'll be writing a review on Etsy too!) Here's the address: hayleybritt.etsy.com

Much love and thanks from New Jersey!

Happiness.

I'm on top of the world right now. In spite of my temp position ending and once again searching for work, things have been looking up as of late. I called the second office of the company I worked for, which resides in San Antonio, Texas. (After several weeks of looking again here in the northeast, I decided to take drastic measures.) I gave them my resume, and filled out applications. Literally, the second I got off the phone with the office director in Texas, my best friend Erin called. She and her new husband obtained a rental house 45 minutes from me.

"We're looking for a roommate to help cut some costs, and the only person we thought of is you," she said. "We'd love to have you."

I took a day to think about it, debating on moving down south alone, (oh the adventure!) or having my first moving venture be renting a house with my friends 45 minutes away. "Moving with Erin doesn't have to be forever," my brother advised. "I think this is a great stepping stone and a way to save money. THEN you can have your adventure." He was right. I took up Erin's offer. And so, with no concrete plan in place, I will be moving out in the spring.

I am elated. It's funny how life works out.

Happy New Year!

Well 2010 ended rather uneventfully, and I wouldn't have had it any other way. My two brothers, friends, and three of my cousins went to Times Square last night to watch the ball drop. I decided that I would have rather pulled my own teeth than be crammed in with millions of people unable to move or go to the bathroom for hours. Instead, I put on my Pj's and watched everything from the comfort of my living room with Dad. 2010 was such a strange year of highs and lows. Attending the funeral of a teenage boy one month, and a joyous wedding the next. Meeting new friends. Another friend getting engaged. I wondered what 2011 would bring?

This is the year that our family will be splitting up and embarking on new adventures. Part of me was a little nervous at this realization, but mostly excited at what the year would bring. I've decided 2011 will be the year of trying new things, of joy and wonder.

so THIS is what getting snowed in feels like.

This picture was taken from my phone and is not really accurate:

I would have gotten my camera out of my car, but my poor blue chevy is buried. A blizzard has slammed the northeast. Yes, you read that right. An actual blizzard. We don't get blizzards that often and it usually takes a lot to close schools and businesses, (ESPECIALLY near and in New York City), but a lot is shut down. And what isn't shut down now, I assume will be in a few hours. We are under a state of emergency, so the only places that should be open are government offices and hospitals. The wind is howling at about 80 mph (weatherman said this was like a CAT 2 hurricane with snow). the wind chill is 5 degrees, and we have snow dumped on us at about 22 inches and counting. The storm isn't supposed to end until 4am, but the winds will not subside until Tuesday, making driving still very, very dangerous. My brother actually STILL came for Christmas today (ahhhh, to be young and dumb), but only stayed for about 20 minutes when he realized that was a mistake. We gave him his gifts and shooed him out the door. He made it home safe, but a 20 minute drive took almost 2 hours.


Merry Christmas indeed.

Today we made the best of it by making a fire and watching movies, but I have no idea what I'll do to keep myself busy tomorrow. I love being out and about. It'll probably be another PJ day. Ideas so we won't go insane? So far we still have power, so that's cool. My friend Amanda doesn't, so I'm about to give her a call.

Better pictures to come when I do get my camera. This is truly something I haven't seen. :)

Santa came early? You don't say.

Yesterday, I had a wonderful time at my nephew Dean's house as he celebrated his 5th birthday and talked to me about trains while eating cake. Tonight, I am kicking back with a glass of wine, my new pillow pet (thanks Nannie) and watching "It's a Wonderful Life". Not bad. Not bad at all. Have a Merry Christmas everyone. Stay warm, safe and full of cheer.

Christmas.

Christmas used to be huge in our house.

When my mom was alive, she was like a female Clark Grizwald, immediately wanting to put the tree up after the Thanksgiving turkey got cold. Our house had to be the BRIGHTEST house on the whole block. Dad and my stepmom? Not as much. But that was okay as the years went by and we grew up. This year however, is the last Christmas in our house before we all split up in ten different directions. So out came the Clark in all of us.

This year my father found an old box with Mom's ornaments inside. It was pretty fantastic to finally see a "Baby's First Christmas 1983" ornament or a "First Christmas together, 1982" decoration. I liked that it was mixed with new decor. When two lives collide I suppose.

When it was the five of us and life was a lot smaller, Dad would drill into our heads the true meaning of Christmas, and try to get his troop to attend Christmas Eve midnight mass. First of all, NO WAY did I want to get out bed and miss out on a possible Santa sighting, so I was out. Brother was out also, as he would become so excited that Santa was nearing our house, he would vomit. Mom didn't want to leave her ducklings alone, so she was out too. And Little Brother always fell asleep in any place that wasn't his room. Sorry Dad. 1 out of 5. I completely listened to the True Meaning of Christmas story. Totally. BUT, Santa had to come too you know. We did always end up at Christmas Day mass.

I never asked for much from Santa. In fact when I was older, Mom often told me I was the hardest to shop for, because she had a budget for each kid and I always came up grossly under budget. (My total often came up to $20 or $30 dollars) I was an odd child. I asked for little paperback books. Or buttons. Or stuffed animal dogs I could call my own. "Santa" always granted my wish for miscellaneous items, and I would often get "surprises" as well, since he ran out of ideas on what to get me. I thought about all of this and smiled as our Santa troop was laid out.

I wondered what my new traditions would be like? As Dad and I explored Costco earlier that afternoon he saw light purple ornaments and grinned. "These will probably go on your tree," he said. (purple was my favorite color) Probably. What else would be included in my Christmas card next year? I couldn't imagine what my apartment would look like or my tree, or if I would have a sprawling dog at my feet, but I wanted those things. I look forward to the future. I realized that the Christmas traditions Mom drilled into our heads and the True Meaning of Christmas story Dad couldn't stop reciting weren't in vain. I wanted those things in my adult life. I wanted everything we were taught for my own children. Indeed, we turned out okay. A little kooky perhaps, but that was just fine.

Life without Noah.

It's been a over a week since Noah hasn't been with me.

I know what I did was the right thing. Everyone from my stepmother, to my step grandmother, to my friends have told me that I have done the right thing. What I didn't realize was just HOW difficult the right thing would be. I unexpectedly feel like I'm in grief. There are random moments where I think of wonderpup and  begin to cry. Is he happy? Confused? Does he miss me? I know the most likely scenario is that he is having a blast with two teenagers, a couple of dogs, and running on a huge property, but I miss him like crazy. Because I don't start working until after the holidays, (if I'm even accepted back) I have a lot of time to notice who's missing in our household. I'm trying to keep busy, but it's hard.

When I was looking for a job and had a long period of unemployment, Noah and I were together all the time. In the morning, we'd go on a long walk around the block together, followed by playtime. I'd feed him breakfast, then I was either off sending out job apps or he was with me as I ran errands. On weekends, I would take him to the dog park for a couple of hours. The first thing I noticed on Thursday morning was how quiet the house was without wonderpup. I looked to my left as I rolled over in bed and instead of a crate next to the bedframe, there was an empty space. Instant tears. Instead taking a shower, then grabbing his leash for our walk, I wandered aimlessly downstairs. "I guess I could have breakfast," I thought. I grabbed a cereal bowl and realized the silence was deafening, so I quickly flipped on our family room TV. Noah would be greeting me/bugging me at this point, probably wanting to go out or have some of my cereal. (I made the mistake of training him using cheerios as treats. It's pretty cheap.) I never gave him what I was eating, but that never stopped him from trying. I noticed his bowls were gone. Instant tears as I poured my cereal. My stepmom came downstairs the second she  heard my footsteps and asked me how I was.
"Okay," I lied.
She saw tears on my face and gave me a hug and I felt embarrassed and way too old to be crying in my parents arms over a dog. The day passed by uneventfully and I gathered up the remainder of Noah's toys and donated them to the local animal shelter, who were very grateful. My best friend called and immediately asked how I was. "Fine," I said.
"I'm coming to pick you up tonight," she replied.
I turned her down three different times until I knew she wasn't taking no for an answer. Erin drove to my house around 3 and said that we were going to see a Christmas light show. I perked up a bit, grateful that I had my new camera (more on that later) and was ready to take twinkling pictures to post on this blog.
The light show closed unexpectedly.
No matter. Erin and I stopped by her house where her dog Maggie greeted us. It felt weird to snuggle with a dog that wasn't mine, but I was just happy to pet her and she was thrilled to hang out with me. Erin and I then went out to dinner instead.

Erin was right, being with her and her family did take my mind off things. If I was home, I would have just been sitting by my cell phone, waiting for it to ring, in hopes that Noah's new family would give me a call to let me know how he was.

My friends have suggested a new dog, but I don't think now is the right time. (Another friend of mine was actually in the process of adopting a dog for me until I put an end to it, though the thought was nice) For now, I will continue to apartment hunt, cross my fingers regarding work, and get myself settled. I'll also make sure my new place allows pets, for when the time does come for a dog to enter my life again. I've decided to open my heart to an older dog who will find me, when I am ready to open my eyes and look. In the meantime, I still believe Noah entered (and left) my life for a reason. It's now time for him to begin his new life.

And for me to begin mine.