Move it here, move that there!!

The title of this post pretty much describes my weekend!!  Had a great day Saturday shopping 2-different estate sales (I'll save that story for another post) and then working at my favorite resale shop where I volunteer when I can.  The day ended with a wonderful sermon by my pastor and a good nights rest, well deserved.

And then came Sunday.....I went to Winnie Sunday morning and didn't get home till late that afternoon.  My day was spent 'moving it here and moving that there'!!  I have decided to start selling used clothing, not vintage but great clothing I buy in bulk and resell for a very minimal price.  I still want to keep my focus on the retro/vintage items that I love so much, but this is a new adventure, one I've undertaken before but online.  I use to sell gently used clothing on ebay a few years back and did very well.  But, as with any business, there were issues that arose and so I decided to stop selling clothing.  The problem stemmed around people who weren't, shall we say, very honest or honorable, and who would buy an item, use it and then try to return it or say it had arrived in poor condition.  That's an ongoing problem with internet sales were the customer can't see what they are purchasing - but I am an honest seller and fully describe in great detail what the buyer would be getting.  None the less, those days are 'water under the bridge' and selling clothing in my shop is a different matter!

So I worked and worked my 'patootie' off and almost got the shop in shape.  My son Jonathan and I will be going there on Friday (took a day off work) and finishing it up.

Here are a few picture of the changes in progress---I'll be sure to post more pic's when it's done!!

As you can tell from the pictures, there is still LOTS to be done, but with Jonathan's help on Friday, we should be able to complete it this weekend.   And then, the show is on the following weekend, August 6th -8th.  Be sure to come check it out in person if you can!!!

God Bless All and Any who read this,
Pat, A Remade Life

A Change of Heart!!

You know, there's nothing like changing your mind......over and over again!!   While it's true that we made the decision to close our Winnie shop (and this is still in the making), we've had a slight change of heart and have decided to stay at least until the end of the year.   Several things have played in helping us make this decision:  firstly, the past show was AWESOME!!!  We were selling just about everything that was nailed down.....seriously!!  We sold things we've had for months and things we just brought in.  People were buying furniture, clothing, glassware and a little bit of everything!  It was soooooooo exciting however, I know not to base such an important decision such as closing the shop, on one good show----we've had many, many months of bad shows or not so good ones.  So, keeping the shop open on a permanent basis is still not likely.

Secondly, a good vendor friend gave me some good advise about staying through the holiday months, the months that are usually the best ones for good sales.  Made sense to me, therefore "Remade Life Emporium" will stay open at least until the end of the year.  Past that.....well, we'll see.

Part of the difficulty in closing my shop is the thought of leaving all our great customers!  There are so many customers who have become  like family to us.  We enjoy seeing them each month and sharing our lifes with them and theirs with us.  Here are a few pictures of some of the great people we have been honored to meet through our shop:

My special buddies Alex (in the back) Zach and me!!!

A great family who came to visit and bought a lamp

A sweet college girl and her equally sweet mom!!

What a cute young couple holding my shop mascot, Tulip

This couple was such fun to talk to...AND they bought the red chair!!

Well that's it for now.  We'll be at Winnie through December, pray we do well and make the right decision after that!!  We'll let you know as soon as we know!!

God Bless all and any who read this,

Pat, A Remade Life

Vintage Hats are Cool!!

I have a confession to make---I looooooovvvveeee vintage hats!!  No really, I have this fetish for just about anything vintage/retro, but I LOVE vintage hats!!  I look for them everywhere I go---garage sales, estate sales, resale shops--anywhere I might be able to find them.  And because of that, I've attained quite a collection.  I find it very hard to 'let go' of many of these hats, some are just so beautiful.  I find myself wondering about the woman who wore it.  Did she only wear it for 'special' occasions or was it a regular part of her attire?  Was it a church hat or more a party hat?  Was it worn with a party dress or to a funeral?  How did she feel when she wore her hat--did it make her feel pretty, more confident?  Silly questions, maybe, but hats are such a personal choice and are a little 'window' into what the wearers life was like.

I managed to acquire some wonderful ladies accessories recently and thought I would share the beauty of a time gone by when hats were not only an addition to your wardrobe but a statement of  life!

These are just a few of the many wonderful hats I've been blessed to find.  Some are very elegant, some are dressy and some, like the 'fruit' hat, are just for fun!  All these will be posted soon in my etsy shop--so if you're interested in a great accessory for your new outfit then drop on by and try one on!!  And don't worry......I've got plenty more!!!

God Bless all and any who read this,
Pat, A Remade Life
www.lovethatvintagestyle.etsy.com
www.aremadelife.etsy.com

Winnie Trade Show--Drawing to a close for us!

This coming weekend is the Winnie Trade show, one of the last ones for us.  We've made the decision to make the October show our last.  While this was a hard decision in the beginning, I know that it's the right one.  It is my firm belief that there are many blessings to come in our future and I am looking forward to see were God will lead us in this adventure we call 'life'!  

We have been working hard on pricing items for our last days of sales (see my previous post) and hope to get as much there as possible.  If you get a chance to come to the show it's this Friday, Sat. and Sunday--be sure to come by and check us out!!

In the meantime, here are a few new pictures of my wonderful grandson, Brayden, eating popcorn!!  He's just too cute for words!!! (can you tell I'm his g-maw!?!?)

                                 He likes to double-fist it when he eats popcorn--you get more that way!

                   It's hard to look cool when you're stuffing as much popcorn in your mouth as you can!!

Brayden's new look--curly hair!!  The longer it gets, the curlier it is!!!


Well, that's it for now but I'll be updating on a more regular basis.  Lots to do in the coming months so please pray for us to stay strong and to keep listening for God's leading!!

God Bless all and any who read this,

Pat, A Remade Life

NOT a messy house-------really!!!!

Have you ever got into one of those moods where all you want is a clean house?  You know, you want everything in its place, no extra 'treasures in boxes' lining your hallway, everything neat and tidy?  Well, I'm here to tell you I'M IN THAT MOOD!!!!

Having a resale business can, uhmmmmm, overwhelm your otherwise normal life.  You begin by finding a few really nice items for your shop then, before you know it, those items have multiplied and are now in every spare spot in your home---at least, that's what has happened to me!!

I love going to garage sales, estate sales, resale shops, etc.---it's just so much fun looking for that elusive 'big' find, you know, the one that's going to make you rich and famous or at least make you smile.  But, as I began to look around at all my resale treasures, I realized that I could no longer live with them overtaking my life.  And so, the MOOD came over me and I began a new adventure, one that promises to give me a clean start (pardon the pun!) and a sparkly home.

I started by cleaning out all the closets that house my wonderful finds---and there are a lot of closets in my house that fit that description!  I never realized how much you can stuff into such small spaces.  I found tote after tote of items I forgot I even had!  I had four piles going--pile #1 was for items going to my shop (yes, I still plan on closing down my Winnie shop but NOT until most of this stuff is gone!), pile #2 was for donating to a local resale shop/ministry,  pile #3 was items that were just 'not so wonderful' and were being trashed and pile #4 was for items I will be placing either on ebay or in my etsy shop - www.lovethatvintagestyle.etsy.com.

It's slow going but I've made some real progress.  I've taken several loads to the resale shop and numerous bags to the trash.  The pictures I'm posting here are the rest of the stuff for the shop and internet.

Please, don't judge me I am not a hoarder, just someone trying to supplement their income and also make a difference by recycling.

So, I take my heart in my hand and share these pictures of the fruits of my labor--piles and piles of cool vintage clothing, nifty kitchen items, lots and lots of baby clothes (my grandson Brayden is growing soooo fast) and just about anything you can think of---and it will all be leaving my house soon!!

                                 This pile is lots and lots of linens and vintage wedding dresses

                                                               same pile as above

                     This is the largest pile full of clothing, vintage quilts, more vintage wedding dresses
                  and tons of baby clothes from Brayden--I think there's a sofa under there somewhere!

                     This smaller pile is lots of great vintage ladies dresses, coats and purses


As you can see, I've been busy.  I will be so happy to get my house back in order and hopefully make a little (or a lot) of money as well.

Next project:  my garage and warehouse unit----I think I'm going to need help, anyone interested!!  ;)

God Bless all and any who read this,
Pat, A Remade Life

And Life goes on!!!!!!

Can't believe it's been 2-wks since my last post!  Things have been, well, interesting around here:

          - had a garage sale to raise money for my daughters trip to Puerto Rico--she's a dancer and
             going to a competition there!
          - my sweet precious grandson Brayden has started developing an attitude! (yes, the best
             baby in the world!)  We are trying to 'nip it in the bud' (quote from Barney Fife-'The
             Andy Griffith Show') but I'm having a hard time with the time-out thing--it just breaks
             my grandma's heart to see him sitting in the corner
          - my mom fell, not once but twice, and ended up with bruised ribs on her left side and
             twelve stitches in her leg!  Please pray for her--she is 88 and having more and
              more problems
         - we had a sale in my shop in Winnie this month and will continue to have sales until
            we close it down, probably not till October.

As you can see, the last few weeks have been full of events, some good and some not so good.  But life goes on and with God's grace we deal with it all.  Our heavenly Father is a loving Father and will carry us through, if we trust in Him!!

Here are a few pic's of some of the items we are selling at the shop:

It will be hard to close the shop, but God is leading us on to bigger and better things!  Please pray that we sell as much as possible---cause I DON'T want to bring it home!!

Thanks for stopping by and God bless all and any who read this,
Pat, A Remade Life

New Adventures are a-comin'!!

So, had a very busy weekend getting all my 'treasures' out of the antique mall.  It was a lot more work than I originally thought--who knew you could put so much in such a small space?!?!?!  Anyway, the antique mall is now just a memory.  It was an easy decision to leave--I wasn't making any money and it was becoming more and more difficult to get over there and work on my booth.  There are lots of good workers there and the fellow vendors I met were great.  Also, Kudos to the manager, Susan, who was always very kind to me. It was very much appreciated.

And now, on to our next adventure!  I still have to close down my shop in Winnie, TX ( now THAT will be work!!)  but that will be a much slower process, one we will probably spread out over the next few months. We are hoping to be out by October at the latest but really shooting for September.  In the meantime, I have begun working on my next project, one I am truly enjoying.  It's not something I can discuss at this time (I am working on trademarking it) but I will share a few photos.

It is amazing how God directs our steps when we let Him!  He is a loving heavenly Father and wants only the best for us in ALL areas of our lifes.  I know He is guiding me even though at first I wasn't happy about closing my shop--I couldn't see the path God was taking me down, all I could see was 'failure'!    But He has better plans for me, plans to prosper and excel (as He does for us all!)  God is good.

So here are the photos of 'what's to come', just a little sneak peak into an adventure I am looking forward to!!

And of course, a few pics of my wonderful grandson Brayden--sitting in the refrigerator!!!

That's it for now but there's lots more to come!!
God Bless all and any who read this,
Pat, A Remade Life