Finds From Bennie's Barn

Here is what I brought home from Bennie's Barn in Kentucky.

A little bit of vintage Christmas. Another brooch for my collection! I love the teeny celluloid deer. And that angel!

 Isn't she pretty? I hadn't seen one with stars in her hair like this one. I'm in love.

 I'm moving some stuff around in our house and I'm cleaning out the "Jesus hall" and turning it into a vintage travel souviner hall. We decided to only get plates and pennants from places we've been.

  I couldn't resist the cute Oregon one, and we'll hopefully visit there by the end of the year!

I'm in love with this little bobble head. And two more Junior Deluxe Editions. Too bad I already have the bottom one. Dangit!

 And that cute/weird dog with a basket. It originally had a little net in there and was part of a game. I love his squinty face. Not too bad for our first haul of the year!

Bennie's Barn Antique Mall!

We went up to Lexington, Kentucky for Travis' family Christmas this past weekend. On the way home Travis kept an eye out for antique mall's and suggested we pull off interstate 65 for a little vintage break. What a sweet heart! I wasn't even sure where we were until I looked this place up just now. Bennie's Barn Antique Mall in Glendale, Kentucky!

It was a great stop. It was Sunday so lots of places were closed, but it was in a small historic area that had some other promising looking shops and antique places.

There was a good mix of stuff and the prices were really resonable. Not rock bottom like my favorite Kentucky spot, Tickled Pink in Louisville, but pretty good.

Something about this little bobble head doll really spoke to me. Travis tried to talk me out of buying it, but the heart wants what it wants. Look at his face!

There were three floors of stuff to look at! All the way up to this cramped floor right under the roof.

Is this an ash tray? Isn't it weird? I kind of wanted it, but I already have three ash trays in my house, which is maybe too many for a non smoking household.

I was hoping for some after Christmas deals on holiday stuff and found this whole booth! The whole store was 15% off, which is pretty great. There were so many things I wanted! Like that hanging felt Santa!

Or this Santa with the stunning eye shadow and blush.

Have I ever mentioned I have a thing for knit Santa doorknob covers? I LOVE THEM. Travis said I couldn't get this one because it was toooo dangley and the cats would destroy it. He is probably right. But I did get that weird knit google eye santa thing. I have a few hanging on our back door.

This guy is so cute! My guess is you put some money in him and hang him on the tree for a gift. I like his fringe beard.

I haven't seen a bank like this before. I love how GIANT his nose is.

I'm sad to say I left this little lady behind. She was in a grab bag that was 9 dollars and the rest of it was SO bad. And that was more than I wanted to pay for her.

This beautiful lady did make it home with me. Look at the stars in her hair! And her beautiful face!

The woman working there was so nice and when Travis was calling my name she said "Are you looking for that cute girl?" Haha! I totally recommend Bennie's Barn! A wonderful store for our first vintage shopping of the year.

Christmas Decorations: Oh Christmas Tree!

I decided to get a new, bigger Christmas tree this year. We've had the little 5.5 footer since before we got married (so more than seven years! ah!) and it was getting pretty crowded. So we went to Michael's when they were having a half off sale and bought this beautiful 7.5 thing! I love it! And it's already mostly full, haha. I can't resist a good ornament!

We set this beauty up on Thanksgiving and I've been enjoying the lights every night. I'll be sad to take it down.

We have vintage ornaments, the ornaments my grandparents bought me every year since I was born (the Santa/reindeer bicycle built for two was from the year we got married) and Travis' childhood ornaments. I love this one with the photo of him when he was six years old. Precious. 

Lots of vintage ones. That cute Santa is a favorite.

I've been wanting a Santa like this forever! I finally found one this year at an estate sale. My aunt knit me that cute tree pillow.

The woman I bought my angel from told me she loved her because she looked drunk.

I couldn't bear to put my talking Pee Wee away. Since taking this photo I put some mistletoe in his hand. Kiss me under the Pee Wee doll. I also get lots of delight from putting that Santa hat on my fox head.

There is the circus horse I got at the flea market last month. Beautiful!

We got Phyllis a few weeks before Christmas and got a few pug ornaments because of that. We snapped a leg off of all of them to match our tiny tripod.

And last but not least, my little tree on top of our medical cabinet. Travis has his vintage medicine collection in there.

That little silver tree is from the Target dollar aisle about 8 years ago. I was thrilled to find that tiny tree skirt with the pom pom trim a few years later. I need to find a tiny Santa hat for Merlin the squirrel! And a little stocking for him to hold.

I hope you enjoyed this little peek at my holiday decorations. I really love vintage Christmas stuff and look forward to putting it all out every year. And dread putting it all away. Ha! Hope you have a nice Christmas eve and day off tomorrow! I know I will.

Christmas Decorating: My Mantle

It's Christmas Eve! I'm probably at work as you're reading this, but I can't wait to come home and spend the evening cuddled up with Travis and the pugs. We're going to make a seitan roast from this recipe book (wish me luck! i hope it turns out) and watch movies.This is the busiest time of year for both our jobs and we're ready for a little break.
Here are some more of my decorations. I love my mantle. Maybe I can get Travis to build us a fire tonight!

Lady head with some mercury picks!

I didn't find any pine cone gnomes this year. But I did find a few cheap boxes of indent ornaments.

A favorite Christmas card, my sweet ermine, and a decorated monkey tail.

That jaunty deer is one of my favorites. And that little jar of old candy decorated with felt.

I might have a few more stockings than we need. Travis bought the dog house one for Phyllis when we first got her. It was so sweet and I love putting it up every year. Priscilla's is that granny square one. And I pretend the rest are for the cats though they don't get stockings. They don't care about treats! The two on the right are mine and Travis's. We made them for each other when we were dating. He keeps trying to buy me a new one but I love mine. He sewed it from scratch and picked the blue velvety and puppy Christmas fabric.

The bottom shelf of our built in is always a Harry Potter shelf. The rest changes for the holidays.

I went to a estate sale just to get that tree. It is like a box top with felt glued on. Isn't she sweet?

I have a pile of vintage Christmas photos and this is one of my favorites. One year I'll wrap our front door in foil! Isn't it a stunning look?
That angel is a new addition this year. She has a china head and a mesh layer over paper. And glittery arms. The photo in front of her is a marching band in the snow.

Even our tv gets a little festive touch.