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When I look back at the girl that sat on that dock seven years ago I see pain, mistakes and heart ache.  When I looked in the mirror a few nights ago, the same night I took this photo and sat again on that dock, I saw strength, learned lessons and pride in myself with more still to do, lots more still to do.  

But that's the tricky thing about going back to places that  you haven't been to in a long time isn't it, the fact that it can feel like a lifetime ago but if you look close enough you may just see the progress

 you've made. 

Over-N-Out

Photo: Dock at Union Terrace University of Wisconsin

Summertime & Family

 

 

 

 

 

I call myself a lucky girl, not too many people can move to a place where they know not a single soul and get adopted into an entire family as I have. I have been a part of 2 babies entering this families life, one I am lucky to know from the day they found out thanks to me having to stop and buy the test that told us of her existence. And I am currently watching one grow from a mousey little 6 year old girl into a smart and driven young woman right before my eyes.

 

My 11 year old "niece" and I have become quite the pair this summer vacation, I'm pretty sure that the fact I like to hang out by the pool has something to do with it, because I remember being 11 and all I wanted to do during the summer was go to the pool and read Babysitter Club and Sweet Valley High books but I digress. 

 

 One of our "swimming hang out afternoons" turned out to be a very rainy cold day, I had a bunch of work to do but something inside me said "she's getting older and next summer she may not want swimming hang out days", so work waited.

 

  When I was little my Grandma would always "build" me a blanket fort to watch Tv on rainy days that she was on babysitting duty, we'd pop popcorn on the stove and I'd drink a Ginger Ale because I was fancy like that.  I suggested we go to the library and get some 80's teen movies, build a blanket fort and stuff our faces for the entire afternoon, she agreed.  I mean I'm sure it's probably not cool to have a blanket fort after say the age of 8 but I busted out the vintage quilts, chenille blankets and couch pillows.  The fort looked alittle blah, but T thought it was his house.

 

 

 

 

 To make it more cozy, I pulled out the Christmas lights and Fort Rainy Day was established.  We watched John Hughes movies, made popcorn, ate ice cream and drank juice boxes.  It wasn't an afternoon at the pool but I hope it's one that she remembers.

 

 

Family most definitely isn't always blood related, family is sometimes finding the people that take you for what you are and choose to love you and stay by your side, when even maybe your true family isn't there.  It's fun to hear when she tells her friends about me and calls me her Auntie and they say but you're not really related, and she says but we are.


Over-N-Out

 

 

 

 

 

 



Adding New Things to the Shop!

Slowly adding new inventory to the shop!  These are a few of the newbies looking for their forever homes!  The little turquoise toaster kills me with cuteness, I can imagine some little one making toast for their honored guests at their afternoon tea party. Keep watching here and on Facebook for shop updates.  I posted a link to the listing on Facebook for these glamalite glasses and they sold in 30 minutes quickest sale to date!  Thanks for all the love lately friends! 

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National Small Business Week

Whenever I can I choose to shop small/local business for them for my needs.  It’s so rewarding to see who my money is going too, get to know the owner and see their passion, also knowing that my transaction is helping that shop owner fulfill their dream, makes me feel good. 

 I will admit the suburb that I live in, has a plethora of small independent restaurants, lots of local service places, and a handful of boutiques but as far as I have found does not have many places to purchase the items you NEED. We do not have an independent grocer, independent drug store, or even a local bookstore, we have the big boxes.  For these needs I have found myself driving to other communities that still have them. For my grocery needs being a celiac the first place that comes to mind for me to do my shopping is Whole Foods, because they have a large selection of gluten free things but I have found myself going to the Fruitful Yield as well as the local Gluten Free store but both are in different communities and both places prices are comparable to those at Whole Foods.   For the things that you would need at a drug store there was a local pharmacy here but they got bought out by a big box grocery store so we no longer have one of those and I haven’t found a community nearby that has an independent pharmacy to replace the pharmacy I was going to, so box store it is.

In case you did not know this week is National Small Business week and I encourage you to get out in your community and make it a point to check out the small businesses in your area.  You may stop in their shop and not find anything or you might find a great new go to place, either way by just walking in the door shows that you care they are a part of your community. By buying local and small business, you are not helping fund an around the world vacation or a 3rd summer home for some CEO that will never remember your coffee order.  You are helping the person you are more then likely directly dealing with put food on their table, pay for their childs dance lessons, helping them pay for their kids college and more importantly supporting the American dream.

 

There is also a community of thousands of people on websites like Etsy, Big Cartel, and Ebay full of people that are trying to make their dream of owning a brick and mortar shop a reality, by getting a following started online.  Click and stop in and say Hi to those people too.  That is why we are doing what we are doing here at Junk, we junk girls have big dreams but to reach those we need to start somewhere and every purchase you make through our Etsy Shop  as well as in person helps us get closer to achieving our dream. 

So please this week show the small businesses in your area some love, remember buying local helps your local economy and I'm guaranteeing that you are going to find some way more interesting and authentic things then you would find as say big box store or chain restaurant. 

Over-N-Out 

Belated Father's Day

 

 

This weekend was Father’s Day and to be honest Father’s Day was a day that for alot of years that my dad and I just let quietly pass by as we did not have the greatest of relationships for a while. We didn't talk, we argued about alot of things and we just didn't get each other. 

 

 I will be honest, the thought of not telling my dad thank you for all he has helped me with the past couple years is something I just won’t do.   As of recently my dad is my #1 cheerleader of chasing this dream called Junk in daTrunk Girls, he tells me every chance he gets that he is behind me, that’s he’s proud of how far I’ve come and can’t wait to see how much more is to come, he supports me taking chances, and above all else he will camp out at an estate sale to get a good number and text me all his finds. He will watch T while I am on an all day buying trip, and basically take care of T while I'm up there. 

 

 He’s seriously my #1 picker, he scours craigslist for hours and sends me countless links every day of the cool stuff he’s found and asks if he wants me to make a phone call or drive over and check it out.   So thanks dad for all you’ve done for me all you continue to do and above all thanks for loving me through the brat years, even if we haven't fully left them yet.  Keep picking dad, you and step-mom find the coolest stuff!  Love you!

 

Over-N-Out

Happy 100th Birthday Ball Mason Jars

Did you know that this year Ball Mason Jars turn 100 years old. Did you also know that the number 13 mason jar is very hard to find?  Did you even know that there are numbers stamped on the bottom of  Ball mason jars?  Could I ask you anymore questions before I tell a story??  That's just the nerd in me.

 Once upon a time, I did some "light" thrifting as my step mom and  I were teaching my step-sister the ins and outs of the world of treasure hunting. (I also taught my step mom like a year ago and she is nicely progressing from the amateur to intermediate level)  Said step sister has been known to roll her eyes when we talk about our finds, so we thought we'd show her how fun it is, she may not be hooked...yet.

Anywho, the #13 mason jar, we were looking around one thrift store and low and behold I saw that aqua goodness (Finding a mason jar in a thrift hardly ever happens to me) and I turned it over and there it was the #13, my lucky day.  The story goes, that back in the day during the canning process some of the wives were very superstitious and would throw away their #13 jars in fear of something bad happening to them.  And when I say throw them away I mean bury them in the backyard with the rest of the garbage.   So I'm sure behind some old farmhouses buried deep down are some steller #13 Ball Mason jars amongst many other treasures.

If you happen to go and dig up any farm backyards, let me know if you find any treasure:)

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Six Months Self Employed

Well here we are, six months since I left my full-time job to pursue my dream of making a living as my own boss.  My oh my how fast that six months has gone, there are so many things I have learned about being on your own,  but the most important is adapting an ability I like to call hustling. I unlike many of my believers am doing this all on my own, I don't have a significant someone that is stationed in the workforce financially helping out when times get tough while I navigate all this.  So yes there have been a few days of blood, sweat, panic attacks and tears all of which I have gotten through with phone calls, tweets, long walks with T and emails from the great support system that believes in me more then I believe in myself.

Which brings me to lesson learned #2. So many of my friends and "believers" told me when I was transitioning that the first couple years are the hardest, but that if you believe and trust in yourself that you will get through it.  This is something that I struggle with somedays, a few times I seriously got on the computer to start looking for full-time jobs to apply for. I even went so far and interviewed at a few places in moments of pure panic thinking that the "security" of the dependable bi-weekly paycheck of the full-time world would make me feel better about everything when really I know deep down that eventually I would be right back in the state I was in January when I quit the full-time world. Constantly wondering "what if's", someone out there is looking out for me, because none of those interviews panned out which makes me think this is the path I am supposed to be on right now.   I promised myself that I would give this a year, see how much progress I made in a year and if at the end of that year my business wasn't going anywhere that I would go back and use that piece of paper I worked so hard for.

It's been six months, I have doubled the amount of followers on social media sites, I have tweaked my business plan, I have made some key connections, I've been doing shows in other states,  I have learned to live without so many small luxuries and live simply (aka cable tv), I have had a few key doors open and a few close in my face, I have learned who my true supporters and friends are,  I have met new pieces to the puzzle of life, I am overall... happy.

A wise person once said, "If you risk nothing, you gain just that... nothing"  So here's to another 6 months of hustling, to fighting with all I have to make all my dreams come true.   And Thank You to my support system, all the new pieces of my puzzle, you are all rocks that keep me grounded in so many different ways, we got this!

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Thursdays with T - Randolph Street Market Recap

Sorry I've been MIA lately Mom has kept us super busy lately.  There's strings, fabric and treasure laying all over the world headquarters, that I am finally now getting to write about how I spent my Memorial Day weekend. 

Mom and I spent Memorial Day weekend vending at the Randolph Street Market with our pal Jon.   It was Mom's first time vending at the show so therefore it was my first time, and man there were so many people!  I began working hanging t-shirts and setting up smalls at 7 am and I didn't get to take a potty break until 3:30! So many people wanted to say "Hello" to me and buy our treasures. 

                                  

                            

We had a vintage play pen available for sale and mom thought it would be fun to set it up in the aisle and put me in it so she didn't have to keep holding onto me, and just let the people come to me and say Hello.   It was so fun, this little boy was my new best friend, he kept running around the outside of my "pen" so I could chase him. 

It was a great day at the market, the weather was nice for me to be out and about, it wasn't too hot and sunny and so many friends came out to see me.  The next Randolph Street Market is the weekend of June 29 & 30th if the weather is cool enough I will be out there with Mom and Jon selling our treasures, make sure if you are in Chicago you make plans to come out and say "Hello" to me. 

Woof-N-Woof

That Time I Failed As A Blogger

Well I took an unintentional break from this space, but I'm back with some updates on the shenighan's happening over here at casa de Junkn Jadarie.

First and foremost I have been busy restocking my vintage inventory I can happily say that my warehouse was getting down to the bare bones and I was forced  to go on a buying trip and picked up some great things that will be making their debut at the Randolph Street Market at the end of this month, as well as new things coming to the online shop.   I know twist my arm about a buying trip why don't you!!

T and I had our first experience vending at Randolph Street over Memorial Day weekend and what and experience it was.  T was worn out from greeting his adorning fans and slept for 3 days!

Jonathan's Fine Art & Antiques placed an order for 50 of my upcycled pennant pillows for their brick and mortar boutique, so that was an adventure trying to find 50 vintage pennants in decent shape, but it got done and they took up my entire living room for a few days.

T and I as well as everyone else in Chicago have been cheering on the hometown hawks hoping they make it onto the Cup so we can attend a parade!

My Upcycled vintage handbags can now be found at Replica Chicago  so make sure if you are local you get down to the loop to check out Replica such a cute shop!

And the biggest news of all.... I will be vending at Vintage Do Over on June 15th.  Vintage Do Over is a show put on my Danielle Colby... as in the assistant to the American Pickers!!!  When I got that email you better bet your ass that I jumped around and did a happy dance!  But that is going to get it's own post.

So that's about all, T and I have been super busy but we are still alive and well.  Will get better at posting again.  But if you are in need of real time updates make sure you LIKE  the facebook page as I make sure to update that everyday! Thanks for reading!

Over-N-Out