Stuff I Bought!

Here are the things we bought while on our little trip! Of course I had to get that walnut skunk. And I can't resist those old kid hangers. You know, just in case!

There were almost no vintage photos for sale, but I found this great one of a taxidermy bear!

I have been wanting one of these souvenir dream pets for a while! I REALLY want a Merry Christmas one, but I love this guy! It is missing the 's' but you still get the idea.

 Travis said "You really don't want this little dog?" I answered "It's twenty bucks!" Then he pointed out that it was just two and I couldn't resist! Look at his jaunty little beret!

This mug isn't in the greatest shape, but it is a souvenir of Opryland! It was a theme park in Nashville when I was a kid. Travis has fond memories of it too, and his dad worked there, so we had to get it!

 Some sweet poodle cards, and a little orphaned peppy shaker. I have a single salty one that is similar.

 A sweet little bowling pin! I think the pearl ball really completes it.

And last but not least, some great barrettes! Look at those fish! And why are there donkeys in the same pack? What a pair! I can't wait to wear them!

Antiquing in Sevierville!

You know we couldn't go out of town without browsing a few antique malls! There aren't really any in Gatlinburg or Pigeon Forge, but in Sevierville there are a few good ones! The Antique Castle is the cutest! They don't let you take pictures inside, but there wasn't much to see anyway. 

The Tudor House on the other hand didn't look that exciting from the outside, but it was full of awesome stuff! And the prices weren't bad either!

 I'm not allowed to buy any more pot holders (I had to make the rule for myself!) but there are some CUTE ones up there! I wish I had taken a picture of the tomato face behind the girl with the tea pot. It was super cute!

 This whole booth was so junky and packed full! But there was so much good stuff tucked in there!

 That little Raggedy Anne thing creeped me out! Maybe it is supposed to have a little dress.

 I was able to resist those old autograph dogs.

There was a booth FULL of vintage christmas, good stuff too! But I've got SO MUCH that I won't pick it up unless its really cheap. I liked that little Santa made of a satin ball though.

 I really loved this pathetic little pin cushion. I resisted though. 

That chalkware bunny bank was calling my name! It must have been expensive, I can't remember why I didn't get it now.

This picture doesn't do this 1940's tourist jacket justice. It was all felt and in beautiful shape! It fit me too! But the price reflected the pristine condition and I don't know if I'd ever wear it.

 OH look at that Elvira dog tag! That is it, next old lady pug we get is going to be named Elvira. 

 I love this style of cow! I can't believe I don't have a set like this yet. 

 I really love these shoes! They weren't even close to my size though. 

Haha! Doesn't that little old man look cute peering down from up there? The Tudor House yielded the most items. We had fun looking at the other shops we could find though.

 How cool is this superman pogo stick? I don't remember seeing that at the Superman Museum. 

 I love this creepy knock of Mickey! I think it is the whiskers that make him look like a weirdo.

 I've been looking for a cool box/ hat box to keep on my side table for my nail polish and I thought I had hit the jackpot when I looked up and saw this on a high shelf. It is a sewing box. But it was $130!! Does that seem crazy to anyone else? Maybe I'm just not familiar with sewing box prices. Even at half off it was too much for a storage box for me. But it sure was pretty!

 Chalk dogs!

 I need one of these, but with a pug. 

 Cute paper rabbit! They wanted 120 for that for some reason! I looked them up when I got home and they sell for around 15 to 40 dollars on ebay. So weird.

 Aren't those tattoo arms cute! I feel like I've see them in another shop before, so maybe they are repro things? I dont know, but I love them!

I'll show you what we picked up tomorrow!! And I'll leave you with this. Nothing says "sexy" like leaving the "f" off.

Disappearing Kitsch

Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge has long been known as kind of a Mecca for lovers of kitschy, tacky, roadside Americana. That is why Travis and I have been three times in the last 5 years! But each time we go back more of the great old stuff we love to see is gone, or up for sale, with new lame construction going up in its place. The second day of our trip was cold and rainy, but we drove around and I took some photos of things I love, and hope will still be there next time we go!

The Scenic is for lease, and this cute pink Super 8 isn't open. It looks like they are doing construction so maybe it is just being renovated. I hope they keep the pink exterior.

 I was really sad to see my favorite golf place up for lease! You can see a lot of pictures of it from this post in the fall. It looks much better with the fall leaves and sunshine! I wish I could lease this place out and reopen it! But I think most of the tourists coming in prefer the newer places. There is a BIG new entertainment center right by this one that I'm sure drove Adventure golf out of business.

 I am in LOVE with this octopus! I wish I could transplant him in my backyard.

 Since Adventure Golf was closed I wanted to play here, but it was closed too! Bummer.

We stopped for french fries during our tour. I learned we need to pack snacks when we travel because it is hard to find vegan stuff. Definitely taking that into consideration when we go to Detroit soon.

This cute place was new I think. I'm sure I would have spotted it last time we were here. I love a shop shaped like what they sell.

 Self portrait with the Titanic museum. 

After driving around all day we got dinner at Mellow Mushroom. Yep, again! A different location at least. Their pizza is just so good!

 Look at that cutie! I'm so glad I have a husband who loves to spend the day driving around looking at old signs and going vintage shopping (oh you better believe I have a post about that coming! ha!).

The Museum of Salt and Pepper Shakers

You know I couldn't be in Gatlinburg without visiting the Museum of Salt and Pepper Shakers. We visited for the first time in 2009, and then again in 2011. It is just as fun every time! The museum is right off the main strip in Gatlinburg and is just three bucks to get in! It is a MUST for any vintage/kitsch lover. We have a salt and pepper shaker collection, so that makes it even better! I've got around 50 sets now, but I didn't see very many of them in this over 20,000 they have at the museum. It is such a fun thing to collect because there are endless sets to find out in the world.

I took almost 100 photos inside! But I narrowed it down to around 30 for you. It helped that I took tons of pictures of things I took pictures of the last two times I was there! Haha, there are some motifs I just can't resist!

 Corn with amazing mustaches. 

 This kind of gives you an idea of what the cases look like. So amazing. They are organized in categories. It is really fun to play I Spy and try to stump the other person.

 I love those weird little pepper babies! And look at the freaky eyes on the little pea pod guy in the bottom left! I didn't notice that one until I looked at the pictures later.

 Travis likes it there too. Really! 

 Viking cats.

 I want a cute set like this, with paprika and cumin, since we use those a lot. 

 That mouse coming out of the cheese kills me! I think it is his little legs.

 I can't decide which duck couple is the cutest.

 Ugggggh, this makes me want to built tons of little shelves and color coordinate my collection.

 I would LOVE to have a set like the JFK on the chair. How cute is that?

 A great little walnut craft section. Oooh look at those! The fish! And the squirrels!

 A little section of flocked sets. I have the orange pig set!

I like all the Florida vacation sets together. I really want a flamingo set but I haven't seen one in all my vintage shopping that wasn't super expensive.

 I thought the clasped hands were so pretty!

 The big headed deer are another set I would LOVE to have! They were big, probably six inches tall.

A shop near me has that great skull set for sale! But it is over 50 bucks, and my limit for shakers is about 12. But I would love it in my collection!

 I love their sweet expressions. And that mouse who looks like he is judging them. 

 Those donuts! One of my favorites in the whole museum.

I wish I could have gotten a clearer picture, but look at that mad bowling ball! It is in a weird spot too, so even funnier. He looks especially cute next to the dopey pin.

Though most of the museum showcases the figural sets, there is a section of classic shakers. Lots of jadeite and depression glass and metal ones. I just breeze by that section usually. Give me things with faces!

They have these maps up with pins showing where their visitors are from. The big pins you can see are for collectors, there are tons more thinner pins for everyone else. I was happy to put up our collector pin! If you are in the area, you have GOT to check this museum out. It is fun every time, even though not much changed. Last time we were there it was for sale, but the signs weren't up this time. How amazing would that collection be to have? Maybe someday I'll have my own crazy museum filled with my personal collections.