Smile And Wave

> Vintage Mama, Gisela

>

Head on over to Cakies this afternoon to find out about this vintage loving mama and see how she and her daughter make it work for them! Gisela is the owner of Bella Vintage and has been working in vintage for over 18 years. She has shared a little bit about her taste and style with Rubyellen over here. Thanks, Gisela!

Check back tonight to see how our boys wear vintage!

xoxo,
Rachel

***** vintage mama features *****

vintage here, vintage there: vintage mama heather

vintage here, vintage there: vintage mama karen

vintage here, vintage there: vintage mama james

vintage here, vintage there: vintage mama alix

vintage here, vintage there: vintage mama beth

vintage here, vintage there: vintage mama danielle

vintage here, vintage there: vintage mama stacy

> VIntage Findings: This Week ' s Loot

>

We've only got four plates left, ya'll. I've been looking for fantastic vintage plates in a blue/green or yellow color way for months because we've lost two of our oven proof plates to the oven. Lesson learned.

So you can understand how important it was for me to hit up every thrift store/flea market in town this week just in case there happened to be something fantastic out there ringing in at about $ .50 each.

I didn't find what I was looking for but I did come across a few things from which I couldn't walk away. One of them was a fancy aqua typewriter in it's ugly old case. I can spot those cases from across the store and always, always open them to see what's inside. Eight times out of ten it's something special and this one was only $5.00. The quilted floral blanket and wood grain/doily trays were also among my inexpensive favorites from this weekend.

These white plastic letters from Urban are now the highlight of our living room. Sebastian insisted on using them first. I don't know what I'm going to do if we ever move to a town without great thrift stores/flea markets. Springfield has spoiled me.

xoxo,
Rachel

> Tips For Moving From A Chronic Renter

>

Mine and Brett's first place together was in the married student housing section of our college campus. It was a tiny little thing but we had our own stacked washer/dryer combo and plenty of friends living close by to keep us company. Everything we owned was cranberry and cream with a little sage thrown in for good measure and either from our registry at JCPenney's or from a thrift store. That was almost nine years ago and we've moved six times since then!

Here are a few things I've learned while moving our stuff from place to place as our family has grown.

-Your first round of packing should be gleaning things you don't want to move to your new place. Make a pile to donate and one to toss.

-Pack a separate suitcase and pretend you're going to camp. Bring towels, sheets, soap, etc. You'll want to know where all of these comfort items are the night you move in to your next home and won't want to dig through boxes to find them.

-Pack a box full of non-perishable snacks and make sure you have disposable food stuffs available (i.e. paper plates, cups, forks) while your kitchen is packed away.

-If you have people helping you be sure they are fed at some point during the day. Happy helpers are careful helpers.

-Label your boxes and which room they'll go in and inform movers to take boxes to those rooms.

-Keep ONE spot designated for screwdrivers, tape, all packing and unpacking essentials. Make sure all parties involved realize their access to the snacks depends on their cooperation with this rule.

-Get your internet set up at least a week before you move in to your new place. Otherwise you'll be driving to your local Starbucks every night to blog until it's installed.

What kind of moving tips do you have from your own experience? I'd like to see who has moved the most times in the comments!

xoxo,
Rachel

> Red Rover, Red Rover...

>

Smile and Wave offers sponsors an ever growing readership of over 3,700 with a record amount of 7,240 hits in one day this month! Smile and Wave readers enjoy vintage clothing and home decor, handmade items, kids accessories and apparel, mixed media, and photography. Join us if you're looking to increase traffic and possibly sales in your online shop.

Each small $40 and large $75 ad comes with an end of the month giveaway option to encourage readers to visit your shop/blog one last time during your stay in the side bar. Mini ads for $20 are a great way to share your blog or shop without a big marketing commitment.

Send your enquiries or information to hello(at)FreckledNest(dot)com to secure your spot for March.

xoxo,
Rachel

> Red Velvet Lookbook // Spring 2011

>[vimeo 20276763 w=400 h=300]

Red Velvet Lookbook // Spring 2011 from elsie flannigan on Vimeo.

It's finally here! I'm so proud of Elsie and everyone else that worked on this lookbook video! See more details and find out where she got her inspiration here.

Congratulations on your first collection, Elsie! The line launches March 1st so mark your calendars!

xoxo,

Rachel

> House Tour #2 with my neighbor, Rachel Burch

>

Welcome to another house tour in the month of February! I am enjoying these so much I may extend this year round to keep me inspired. This house tour is especially fun for me to share because it belongs to my favorite neighbors, the Burch family!

Rachel agreed to letting me come over and take photos of her house a few days before Valentine's day when the ground was still covered in snow and they were keeping busy as they awaited the birth of their son. I had all of the photos edited and ready to post last week when I remembered I hadn't e-mailed her the interview questions! I sent her an e-mail about it last Friday (although I still forgot to attach the questions) and the next thing I heard back was that she'd had her baby early the next morning! How that all went down is another beautiful story in itself.

Rachel graciously sent me over interview questions that she hand wrote while staying with her son in the NICU this week. They're hoping to bring him home in a few days and we are so eager to meet the little guy! I hope you enjoy this peek into the beautiful home of the Burch's.

Q: How would you describe your interior style?
A: If I had to define it in one word I'd say 'uncluttered'. I believe we have too many people living here to have a bunch of stuff just sitting around taking up space. I love to follow the old rule of having nothing in your house that you don't use often or absolutely love.

Q: What has most influenced your style?
A: My parents have always enjoyed decorating their home and they change things up often. Although they have very different taste than me, I think I inherited a love of styling my space from them. I also happen to be surrounded by friends who have incredible taste and beautiful homes. I think that's where I get most of my inspiration.

Q: When did you start having an opinion about your home decor?
A: I can remember ripping off the ugly pink bow wallpaper in my room when I was in 7th grade, without my parents' permission! I then redecorated in a hunter green/maroon color scheme that I thought was awesome. Keep in mind this was 1993!

Q: Which is your favorite room? Why?
A: Right now, I'd say Walter's room/the play room. Maybe I'm just being sentimental since I can't wait for him to come home and put it to good use. I love the swing, the hand-me-down vintage furniture, and the circus curtains I scored on eBay.

Q: Do you feel like your space is working for you or have you had to adjust your expectations of perfect?
A: I feel like this house is pretty close to perfect for our young family. Having 4 children in one room wouldn't work for every family, and it probably won't be ideal as they get older, but for now it works very well. We have a large back yard, a dining room that seats ten so we can entertain, and a room in the basement that serves as a family closet. 2,300 sq. ft. might not sound like a lot for a family of 7 but it works for us.

Q: Where is it all from?
A: Flea markets, garage sales, craigslist, eBay, Ikea, and hand-me-downs from family. Our only splurge was the leather couch from a department store. With all of these kids, we needed a durable seating option.

Q: What do you have your eye on that you hope to own some day?
A: As far as furniture goes, I'm very content with our hodge podge of bargains and hand-me-downs. I do look forward to the day when I can afford some amazing fabric for curtains, bedding, etc.

Q: People are coming over! What do you tackle first?
A: My kids are actually old enough that with their help, we can get the house looking decent with only a few moments notice. They put their toys away while I sweep the floors.

I've been enamored with the Burch's home ever since she first invited me in and gave me a new neighbor tour! She's got beautiful vintage touches in every room and that rope swing is Sebastian's favorite thing in their house! He has actually told me he wants to live there!

Thank you, Burch's, for letting me invade your home so close to Walter's birth. We're all so excited that he's finally here and are looking forward to him coming home, too. And I'm going to schedule a play date so your kids can teach mine how to get the place ready for company!

xoxo,
Rachel

> Making Bank Tutorial

>

In honor of Celebrate the Boy month over at Made by Rae and Made, I've come up with something crafty for the boys. This little project can easily be customized for a girl and a variety of ages and has probably been done in some form or another before but is perfect for any little man with a Transformer/Thomas the Train/Spiderman habit.

This Save/Spend/Share bank came to be after we ordered a similar bank online that came in primary colors. It was well designed but...in primary colors. Did I mention the primary colors? I have no qualms with red, yellow, blue, and green in their bold states but I knew I could make something similar for Sebastian to use as a learning tool that we both enjoyed. I used contact paper for a modern look but it could easily be substituted for Kraft paper so that your children could decorate it with crayons or stickers.

We've recently started giving him an allowance in return for completing basic chores such as making his bed, putting his dirty clothes away, picking his room up, clearing his place at the table, etc. and wanted to teach him at an early age about save and sharing. The spending part comes easy to him. He takes after his mother.

I used three plastic Welch's juice containers that had yellow lids (we like yellow!), two shades of wood grain contact paper (available at hardware and some home stores), a ruler, sharp kitchen scissors, and a large rubber band. I used the one from the original bank but you can use an industrial strength rubber band.

I measured and cut the lighter wood grain contact paper so that it fit around the juice containers and overlapped about 1/2". I had to adjust them a few times to make sure it was even but contact paper is forgiving!

I then hand cut the words 'save', 'spend', and 'share' from the darker wood grain contact paper making sure they'd work above the line of the rubber band.

I then poked a hole in the middle of the plastic lids with my sharp scissors and cut out a rectangle in the center of each.

Lastly I reattached the lids and gathered them with the rubber band.

Each week when Sebastian gets his allowance we give it to him so he can put 10% in his save category and 10% in his share category. The rest he gets to keep and use on any toys or treats that he wants. We've explained that we don't always buy something just to buy something when we go to the store and that when he chooses to spend his money on something, he has to wait awhile to build up enough money to buy something else. This has helped him to appreciate how much things cost, make choices about what kinds of toys he wants to buy, and hopefully will help him take care of those things a little more.

We're also hoping that it will instill a sense of generosity when we decide together how to spend the money on someone else when he's saved up a larger amount in his share container. We've talked about purchasing chicks or a bunny through Heifer International or maybe donating it to a local charity. Sharing this with Sebastian has been not only fun but good accountability for us to remember to manage our money well!

Thanks for stopping by! If you're here for the first time from Celebrate the Boy, welcome! If you haven't checked out the projects and round ups that have been shared so far, you'll want to head over NOW and see what so many creative women have been making for their boys! Thanks Dana and Rae!!

xoxo,
Rachel

> Vintage Here, Vintage There: Casual Vintage

>

One thing I'm looking forward to about warmer weather is being able to ditch the tights and cardigans for awhile! Friday brought us the most beautiful weather so I donned this house dress for the first time since Elsie gave it to me last year. I hadn't washed my hair that day and was only headed to the grocery store but wanted to celebrate the sun coming out. It felt like a good reason to wear a new (old) dress.

This is a vintage house dress that Elsie picked up in Kansas City sometime last year and gave to me as a surprise. I has beautiful embroidered flowers on the front pockets and is just the perfect length. I didn't even have to hem it!

Ruby came with me. She wore a pretty vintage dress that has an appliqued fawn on the front. Rubyellen actually sent this one to me before Ruby was born and I am so happy she's big enough to wear it!!

We're missing the sunshine today but we're getting our spring dresses ready! I made my tote from vintage bark cloth, also gifted from Elsie, and you can find the tutorial here.

I'm wearing: Vintage house dress, gift from Elsie. Vintage belt, thrifted. Cowboy boots, thrifted. Tote, handmade from vintage barkcloth and leather.
Ruby's wearing: Vintage dress, gifted from Rubyellen. Mocassins, Old Navy. Amber teething necklace, Amberizon.

Here are some pretty spring dresses I'd love to wear on any given sunny day!
One, two, three, four, five, six, and seven.

And some spring outfits I'd love for Ruby!
One, two, three, four, five, six, and seven.

Make sure to head over to Rubyellen's blog to see what kind of casual vintage she wore this week! She's got a really good reason to be wearing casual vintage in case you haven't heard yet. Go see!!

xoxo,
Rachel

> This Is Supposed To Be Her Birthday Present

>

I found this vintage baby bed last week in town. I was hoping to save it for Ruby's birthday but I sat it down on my way in the house and she's been playing in it ever since!

Sorry it's been a little quiet all of the sudden over here. I haven't been feeling well and we've been getting the house ready for my parent's visit this weekend. They've been keeping Sebastian busy all afternoon and I've been enjoying the down time! Thanks, mom and dad!

Be back soon with a pretty house tour!
xoxo,
Rachel

> Vintage Findings: This Week ' s Loot

>

This pretty thing was found at the last stop of the two hour joy ride I got to take on Valentine's afternoon. It was one of those finds that you feel like you have to hide your excitement over so they don't realize what they have and take it from you! I love cheap thrills and this one came in at $2.00. I can't wait to wear it this spring!

xoxo,
Rachel