My close friend’s grandparents recently downsized and I had the incredible opportunity to go through some of their treasures. I came home with a few vintage finds that I absolutely love, so I thought it would be fun to show you how I incorporate beautiful antiques into my space without giving antique store vibes.
Here’s a peek at a few of the items I brought home:
Early American Pattern Glass sugar bowl – produced between 1850 – 1914
Fire King Tilt Ball Jug pitcher – produced between 1938 – 1942
Carnival Glass bowl in Marigold – produced around 1911
Carnival Glass finger bowl in Iridescent Smoke – produced around 1908
Handmade pottery
Fire King Jadeite plates – produced between 1945 – 1975
And here is how I styled some of the items that feel cozy and very “me” without feeling like I’m cosplaying in the 1950’s.
Some Tips:
Let each antique piece breathe – pair it with more modern stuff so that it looks “collected over time” but not overpowering.
USE the items – by mixing antique items with what you’re already using, you’ll get a fun eclectic look that adds personality without screaming ANTIQUE COLLECTOR. Those jadeite plates have been added to our dishes cabinet (for when I feel like handwashing after meals) and the antique sugar bowl is a beautiful vase!
Edit ruthlessly – just because you brought an amazing item home doesn’t mean it needs to immediately find a place in your house. I keep extra items in a closet so I can switch things out when the mood strikes.
I love bringing meaningful pieces into my home, whether they’re heirlooms from loved ones, quirky thrift store scores, or one-of-a-kind vintage finds from my travels. It makes me happy every time I see them. And my house still feels like MY space and not like I live in a museum.
So if you ever find yourself tempted by your grandma’s side table or a box of old family silverware… don’t be afraid. Give it a modern twist, and make it yours.
We’ve always been a one dog house. After my sweet dog Potter passed away in 2013, we adopted Ollie (Introducing Ollie) a 9 pound yorkie-chihuahua mix. He was about 1 or 2 years old when he was dropped off at a kill shelter in West Virginia. Another shelter scooped him up, we adopted him, and we’ve spent the last 12 years spoiling the crap out of him.
Ollie is still doing great and is a happy and healthy 13(ish). And, for the past year or so, I’ve thought about maybe adding another dog to the mix.
Here’s my Why’s:
When Ollie goes to the pet sitter’s house, he enjoys being around other dogs.
There is research that says that dogs who have companion animals in the household live longer and are healthier.
Jack is 13 and having some responsibility for a new dog would be great for him.
My job is mostly remote, so I’m home most days.
We love dogs and having an extra furry body to snuggle seems like an awesome idea!
Every so often, I’d peruse some local shelter Facebook pages to see if any dogs fit my criteria of: something cute and fluffy, not a puppy/but still a young dog, likes other dogs, likes kids, and his housebroken.
Cooper’s profile popped up one day when I was scrolling on Facebook and I immediately thought he was adorable, but I was busy with other stuff and pushed it to the back of my mind. A couple days later, I saw the screenshot I had taken and looked into his profile a little further. He checked ALL my boxes, but I was about to go down to Ocean City for the weekend with Jack.
The next morning, I woke up, did a deep dive into Cooper’s online presence (as you do) and called my husband to see if he had any objections to me putting in an application. He said to go for it, so by 9am, the application was submitted. By noon, the rescue contacted my 2 references, checked in with my vet, and the foster mom texted me to schedule a phone call.
The phone call went great and we arranged for her to bring Cooper to our home for a meet-and-greet a few days later. We received final approval on our application, so if we liked him and he got along with Ollie, he was ours if we wanted him.
And we did!
Cooper joined our family on July 2. He is a Chihuahua-terrier mix who turns 2 in October. He has a fantastic full-body Mohawk that starts at the top of his head and goes all the way down his tail. He has no problem judging you regularly with his bombastic side eye. He’s a 26 pound Mr. Sassypants who lives for tummy rubs and chewing the ears off his toys.
The first night was ROUGH (or Ruff, you might say…). As with Ollie, I immediately went into an anxiety spiral of oh-my-god-what-did-I-do. He pooped in my office. He peed on the side of the couch in my den. I was having a never-ending hot flash. I got maybe 1-2 hours of sleep the whole night.
However, Day 2 was fine. And Night 2 we put Cooper in Jack’s room. I gave Jack a pair of earplugs in case Cooper whined, shut the door, and went to bed. And it was fine! And every day since then has been better and better, with Cooper fitting right into our family.
I call this one, The Judgmental Crossing Guard:
And now Cooper gets to sleep in bed with a 13-year-old boy who absolutely adores him. And spend all day laying in a dog bed at my side while I work. And spend the evenings alternating between cuddles, belly rubs and gnawing on bones. I even caught him and Ollie having a little playtime in the backyard a couple days after he joined our family. And now I get to live my dream of being in a puppy puddle of dog snuggles!
A few weeks ago, I got caught in a rainstorm while out and about for work. Like a full-on drenched rain goblin. And then I ignored my hair while continuing to do work stuff for a few more hours. And then when I got home and looked in the mirror… my hair looked fantastic.
What the heck with these beachy waves. There was NO effort?! And it turned out like this???
So that reminded me that I’ve gone through phases of wearing my hair wavy over the years and I wondered if I could use the ‘curly hair method’ or ‘wavy hair method’ or just the Reddit rabbit hole to find the perfect product that could recreate this look with little effort.
Before we get into all the science experiments, my typical hair routine is that I shampoo and condition it in the shower. Then, I put it up in a towel to dry a bit while I’m getting ready. Last, I use a wide tooth comb to comb it out. It is typically tangled from being up in a towel. I’ll sometimes stick a little product in there (maybe Potion 9 or Moroccan oil) and then just let it air dry. It dries mostly straight with a little body or waves. I wash it every 2-3 days, which my dry hair likes.
For my wavy hair experiments, I started with trying to figure out what kind of hair I actually have. Now, with the *wonders* of perimenopause… my hair texture HAS been changing. For the past few years, I suddenly have little curls at my temples and a full-on wave pattern at the back of my head. After a deep dive into hair type charts, I landed on a mix of 2A/2B hair, which is wavy, fine and easily weighed down. It’s not quite straight, not full curlicues, something in the middle.
Once I know what I was working with, I did some research, ordered a few options online, and went into full science mode…
For this try, I washed and conditioned my hair like normal and then combed it with a wide-tooth comb when I got out of the shower. Then, I did “the bowl method”, where you pat on your product with “praying hands” and then dip your hair into a bowl of water and scrunch it. And dip and scrunch. And dip and scrunch. And then I kind of scrunched the extra water out with a towel and let it air dry without touching it again.
This product got rave reviews on the Wavy Hair Reddit, so I immediately hit ‘add to cart’ and waited with baited breath for it to show up at my house. (Fun fact: I actually saw it at TJ Maxx for way cheaper afterwards). For this experiment, I washed and conditioned my hair in the shower. Combed it out while still in the shower with dripping hair. Then, applied the Curlsmith In Shower Fixer with praying hands and scrunched, scrunched, scrunched. I finished up by scrunching the extra water out with an old tee shirt and letting it air dry without touching it again.
Okay, so first of all my hair dried like Ramen (left photo). I “scrunched the crunch” out but I hated the texture of my hair. It felt super goopy and the waves were more ‘grown out 90’s perm’ for me (middle photo). Also, the next morning it felt absolutely disgusting and I had to immediately wash it out of my hair (right photo).
Here is another product that people loved on the Wavy Hair Reddit! I washed and conditioned my hair in the shower. Combed it out while still in the shower with dripping hair. Then, applied the Cake the Curl Whip Mousse with praying hands and scrunched it in. I finished up by scrunching the extra water out with an old tee shirt and letting it air dry without touching it again.
It gave me light waves and felt like no product at all , which I like (left photo). It was nice for a less aggressive wave situation. And the next day hair was really good too, not many waves but really good body and texture without feeling dirty (right photo).
Try 4: Sebastian Potion 9 – The Shower Method AND the Bowl Method
I have literally used this product since I was 15 years old. For this experiment, I washed and conditioned my hair in the shower. Combed it out while still in the shower with dripping hair. Then, applied the Potion 9 with praying hands and scrunched it in. I finished up by scrunching the extra water out with an old tee shirt and letting it air dry. When it was dry, I separated the curls a bit by running my hands through my hair. Results: soft waves, no gunky buildup and I can easily run my fingers through my hair. Next day hair still has some waves too.
Since we were doing this For Science, I tried this exact same set up again, but this time I used the bowl method to see if there was any difference.
And they are basically the same. The in shower method is a lot easier and less messy, but gives similar results.
After the Potion 9 gave me similar results for both the bowl and shower method, I decided to revisit the Mizani Curl Cream. This time I washed and conditioned my hair in the shower. Combed it out while still in the shower with dripping hair. Then, applied the Mizani Curl Cream with praying hands and scrunched it in. I finished up by scrunching the extra water out with a towel and letting it air dry.
Comparison:
Hardly any difference and the shower method is easier and less messy!
What I Learned:
So after all my experiments, here is where I ended up…
Most Like Rained On Waves: Mizani Curl Cream
Less Aggressive Waves: Sebastian Potion 9
Few Waves, More for Body: Cake the Curl Whip Mousse
Bonus: Water spray bottle to reactivate waves for day 2 and day 3. (I love this one https://amzn.to/40KKAVr and use it on my plants too!)
And that’s my final data for my experiments into wavy hair. Of course, in the last week it’s too hot and sticky to wear my hair down without regretting all my life decisions, so I’ve been doing all the braids. However, next time I want to activate my mermaid hair dreams, I know what to do!
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