Animal Print Shop

I had some very productive dilly dallying today! In searching the internet trying to learn more about photography, antiquing, small clothing designers, etc., I stumbled upon some great stuff. For instance, did you know that etsy has a free podcast? It features short vignettes about etsy artists that run the gamut from wood sculptors in upstate NY, and vintage collectors from New Mexico. I highly recommend checking it out. It's really refreshing to see people following their dreams and making a living doing so.

One of my favorite podcasts was on the photographer Sharon Montrose. She has been an avid photographer since she was a teenager and to once again spark the same love for the art that she had then, she started taking photos of animals on simple backdrops. The beauty and wonder of these creatures never ceases to amaze me and Sharon's work does a great job of showing how extraordinary our animal friends really are. Here are some of my favorites and you can see all of Sharon's animal prints here.

Hoot Hoot!!

It's no secret that I love owls. I'm not sure why or how it even started but I have tons of vintage owl, well, stuff. I have necklaces, pillows, ceramics, key chains, clocks, plant holders, trivets, candles, dishes, trays, etc. Thinking back, I started collecting these items in high school, so I've been doing it for at least ten years. When setting up my new apartment I became aware of how much owl stuff I had when Brian said "Nicole, I don't want the theme of our entire apartment to be owls!" I realized that he was right and I didn't want to turn into one of those crazy lady's who turns their entire house into a shrine of cows or roosters or whatever. So I made smaller my collection by passing on some of my owl pieces to my friends. This was an extremely difficult task, but I still feel pretty good about it as the pieces didn't go far and I'll probably see them again. My mom took this unique owl ceramic light for her classroom, Sarah took a cool silver owl candle holder, and I'm giving my gold/shell owl to Chloe. I know they've become a popular trend, which kinda breaks my heart, so I'll just keep them quietly living in my apt until everyone moves onto the next animal fascination.

Here's a few of my favorite owl pieces, and some sneak peeks of my new pad!

Over The Weekend

I had a super fabulous weekend, hope you did too! On Friday we did a little new home tour, as one of my best friend's just bought a house with her husband just a few minutes up the road from my and Brian's apartment. It's cute and cozy and I can't wait to see what it looks like when she has it all put together. After that we all gathered at my apt, shared some drinks, laughs, and a few shushes as we don't really know how sound travels to the neighbors in our new home. (I admit that the shushing was aimed mostly at me. When I'm happy and/or excited the volume keeps rising.)

Saturday was a bright sunny day so I went for a walk with my mom and the pups in Fort Barton Woods in Tiverton, one of my favorite places to be. I just love the way that tree branches and leaves filter the light just so in the forest. That afternoon Brian and I enjoyed some al fresco dining in Bristol and took a nap on the couch before we headed out to the movies.

Sunday was another successful day at SOWA, I can't believe the season is almost over! I am taking a much needed break from selling vintage for the next two weekends and will be back with a vengeance (and new merchandise) for the remaining two Sundays in Boston. I'm still working on the Fidget Finds Winter Plan but it includes more blogging, more merchandise for sale online, and selling Fidget at some of my favorite local shops. More on that to come!

Newport Wedding

Welcome to the new and improved Fidget Finds Blog! I updated the layout a bit and added a new header and footer. Hopefully you'll find the sight as aesthetically pleasing as I do. Putting together the new pad is coming along slowly, but things are definitely getting done. One thing is for sure though, I absolutely love living here. I can't wait to show you photos when everything is finished getting set up. Stay tuned!

These photos are from the final wedding of the summer, number four for me and five for Brian. This wedding was for one of his childhood friends and it was held at the Officer's Club at the Navy Base in Newport. The location was just wonderful. It's on the water right near the Newport Bridge and the sunset was magnificent. The dress I wore is very special to me. My next door neighbor gave it to me a while ago and I hadn't had the occasion to wear it. It was her aunt's and it's from the 1940's. For that age it's in really great shape and it fits me perfectly. It has a sorta blousy top and a more fitted pencil skirt with two black lace trimmed ruffles cascading down the front. I was so happy to wear something so old. I modernized it a bit my wearing strappy thrifted sandals and layering on vintage silver rings and bracelets.

Moving Madness

Howdy strangers! How have you been? I have been crazycrazy as Brian and I just moved into an apartment in downtown Bristol last weekend! We were going to wait until October but we just found a place that we loved so much that we decided to move a month earlier. I am so excited to get settled in our new home but moving is just the worst. It takes so long to pack and even longer to get everything set up and situated. I have so many things to show you and talk about, but no time right now. Expect many more blog posts in the near future and more regular etsy shop updates when market season begins to wind down. Until then, catch me at SOWA this Sunday from 10-4. Hope to see you soon!

Landscape Skirt

Here's Sara in her brand new Rachel skirt made out of vintage fabric in the most fantastic landscape pattern. Doesn't she look great? Come get yours this weekend! I will be at Craft O Rama in downtown New Bedford on Saturday from 11-4 and at SOWA In Boston on Sunday from 10-4. See you there!

Caitlin and Jeff

This weekend two of my best friends got married. It was beyond wonderful and one of the funnest nights of my life. The whole weekend was pretty great in fact. On Saturday morning all the girls went and got their nails done in Bristol while sipping iced coffees and that night was the rehearsal dinner at Jeff's mom's house. We ate delicious grilled pizzas in the backyard and did a run through of the ceremony. I wore these old lady silk striped shorts (although they feel more like linen) that I cuffed and took in a little bit, a ruffle silky shirt from TJ's, and a vintage belt, shoes, and jewelry. The outfit was a bit of a risk but I think that everyone liked it. I heard many times that I looked really tall and my legs were really long. It's amazing what some high waisted shorts can do! I can't wait to see the photos from the day of the wedding (I didn't take a single one) and will certainly share them with you.








Photos courtesy of Nicole Mandel.

Birthday Bling

As previously mentioned, Brian got me some pretty awesome gifts for my birthday, my favorites of which happen to be vintage jewelry that he picked out himself. I was so impressed!

As Local As It Gets

Well, haven't these past few weeks just flown by! The other night Brian and I were lucky enough to enjoy a delicious dinner using ingredients picked fresh from my parents' garden. We had a wonderful tombasmozz salad (as I have renamed caprese salads) with the tastiest yellow tomatoes I have ever had. For our main course we made eggplant parm using the most perfect cartoon character-esqe eggplants that were hiding near the stone wall. It's amazing how the taste of fresh veggies compares with imported or out of season ones. Delectable! Note: the eggplant parm wasn't the least bit photogenic so there are no photos of the finished product.

Summer Sale To Get Ready for Fall!!

Are you all ready for a treat or what? Fidget Finds is gearing up for fall with tons of new items, including lots of new handmade skirts and dresses! Catch me this Saturday at Rummage in Tiverton Four Corners and on Sunday at SOWA. And you all know what new fall merchandise eguals: super cheap summer items! We've got a huge selection of warm weather vintage that's 50% OFF!!! Come and get it while it's still hot!

Frisbee and Grinders on the Beach

I actually had Friday night off this week! To celebrate, a bunch of us headed down to South Shore for a nice beach dinner. We stopped at A-1 Pizza in the commons on the way there and forgetting that it's the only pizza place in town, had to wait for quite a while. We (im)patiently killed time by eating pickle flavored chips and playing on the playground that's across the street. They aren't the wrist braking metal slides and tail bone splitting sea saw's anymore! This one was mostly all plastic complete with a rock climbing wall, various enclosed slides, and all sorts of other things to play around on. We knew it was time to call it quits when we were getting vertigo on the swings, that made me feel pretty old. Remember the days when we used to do backflips off those things right into the gravel?

The beach was fantastic! We got there just in time to watch the sun go down and play frisbee for a while. It was a bit chilly so swimming was out of the question but we did dip our toes in a bit. We were even welcomed by a hammerhead shark built out of sand that someone had previously constructed. I wore a fun summer vintage skirt and belt, a Banana Republic camisole, and vintage jewelry. It was a wonderful summer evening.