My necklace arrived in the mail today, and I was jumping for joy while I unwrapped it. I actually went to the front porch, because it's seemed more special to be outside. I couldn't believe how beautifully it was wrapped. A darling note congratulated me on my win in black type writer print next to a sweet retro printed image of two 40's fashion ladies. A small paper bag with a navy chandelier stamped on the front opened with a glittery heart sticker to my awaiting necklace. It's even more beautiful in person. I really cannot say enough good things about it, and Chelsea is incredibly professional and her wrapping of the package was impeccable. Thank you so much, Chelsea, you have made me a very happy lady.

Visit her shop.

I bought a new skirt for the summer, and it came with this fantastic faux-leather belt. I was super excited about it because I love these banana republic jeans to death, but they fall so low on my hips and they make my butt area saggy. To make myself feel better about the online shipping price, I bought this white leotard as well, which I'm totally in love with.

This weekend we're going up to Bear Lake with my family where I'll get to see my brother Ryan and his wife, Kat, before they fly off to New York for Kat's work-related trip. She's a makeup artist for Mac, and always looks so chic and glamorous.

I'm excited at the prospect of a sun-kissed tan and oversized sunglasses.

Just a few photos of the farmers market over the weekend. I didn't get a chance to upload them until now.

It was very hot outside, and this guy had the right idea.

Two old touristy types were talking to this little boy about the 'Stik City' he built, and he told them he was from Oahu, Hawaii.

Amazing color variety in these fresh eggs. Beside this table was a homemade chicken coop with a little girl pressing her face against the wire to see the chickens better.

Beside this sign were gorgeous, happy greyhounds on leashes with a crowd of people admiring them.

Trent and I wondered if this little boy was allowed to keep the violin box of change he made in tips or if his parents kept a manager's fee.

The space above our refrigerator and washer/dryer has perplexed me since the day we moved here. The space is too large for shelving, and closing off the space altogether would have shrunk our tiny kitchen even more. It remained the resting spot for our water bins, picnic basket and kitchen items. Needless to say, it was an eyesore.

The other night, I was browsing through Flickr and was suddenly inspired to attack this corner that had so trumped me. As you know, I found a couple of maps while thrifting not too long ago, the best of which is hanging in our living room above the couch, while the other gathered dust. I grabbed the colorful map of the United States, a roll of tape, and climbed on top of the dusty fridge. I called to Trent in the other room who was busy with his video games.

"Trent, could you help me out and make sure I don't hurt myself?"

"Now?! But it's midnight..."

He was a darling and handed me pieces of tape while I cursed the stubborn coil of paper.

All my best ideas come to me in the middle of the night, and if I don't do something about it right away, I'll manage to convince myself that it was a crazy/bad idea and forget about it.

It was awkward and disgustingly hot and dirty up there, but I managed to wrangle the map onto the wall and climbed down.

Perfection.

Trent and I did end up going to the swap meet this afternoon, though much too late to enjoy anything. People were already packing up their things by the time we got there (3:00), due to sleeping in until noon. Trent found an adapter, and I bought a mango and some peach rings. As we were leaving, we meandered through some more of the shops, taking our time and people watching. The swap meet is held in a drive-in movie theater, so the parking lot has strange, wave-like slopes where cars park to have a tilted view of the screens. A row of permanent stands were perches at the top of one of these slopes, and inside was a small family looking at some Hispanic wares. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a stroller shift violently sideways and start to roll down the sloped parking lot. Without even thinking, I bolted over to it and grabbed the stroller and looked at the tiny baby inside of it. I can't say for certain what would have happened had the laws of physics taken over, but I imagine it may have ended up with the stroller on its side. My heart pounded, and the baby's mother rushed over and looked me right in the eyes and gave me a very, very grateful thank you. It felt pretty good to be a hero for five minutes.

Also, we saw Toy Story 3 tonight, which I will HIGHLY recommend. Pixar is incredible. The detail and the colors and the HUMOR. It was all so spot on. Trent and I were in stitches the entire time. We almost didn't see it, as we had had a small quarrel just as we had parked. To add to the situation, we were harassed by two cars full of boys who yelled "Hey, FUCK YOU" over and over at us. It normally wouldn't have affected me much, but in a sensitive state of mind, it sent me over the edge. My initial reaction was to call the whole night quits and go home and cry myself to sleep, but I knew that if we gave up, our night really would be ruined. I'm naturally a very stubborn person, and lately I've been working on this. I had to put all pride aside to apologize to Trent and just hug him. Seeing the movie ended up being an amazing comedy relief, and it cheered us both up right away. It made me really grateful that we stayed true to our original plans despite our silly circumstances.

I seriously cannot wait to buy that film on Blu-ray. Also, Totoro and pod of peas plush make an appearance!

I found a lot of really great things today while thrifting, and for super cheap. Apparently I'm on a circus-themed run, because I found three things that qualify. I'm really excited about that little burro illustration in the fire engine red frame. It's very childish, so I'm debating whether or not to keep it for myself. I told Trent today that I so badly wish I had a child just so that all the children's themed thrifted items would have a purpose.

One of the more interesting things I found today was a Kenmore button hole maker and tons of little attachments. I really love the boxes and clutch it came with, but I have absolutely no idea what I could use it for, and the illustrated directions are less than useful. Still, it was a very cool find. I found some other really amazing things that I'm pretty excited to photograph tomorrow.

Our plan to get to farmer's market by 10:00 am failed miserably, but we still managed to get some pulled pork and watermelon lemonade. Also, I bought some herbs for my terrarium-- more basil, cilantro, and italian parsley. No more running to the store for over-priced, enormous batches that rot in my refrigerator after I've torn off the small portion I actually needed.

Tomorrow: Swap meet, Toy Story 3 and pizza.

Milkshakes and the most amazing french fries at Iceberg. It's becoming a weekend tradition. I joked with Trent that he is undoing his 6 day a week jogs with this vice. God, we're so American.

I realize it's slightly superfluous, but I really want this over the sink kitchen strainer. Am I the only one who gets frustrating while wrangling the big awkward metal basket among existing dishes? I'd be inspired to wash so much more produce- thus causing me to eat healthier and enjoy a longer, leaner life-span. It's a win-win.

This morning while I'm getting ready for work--

Trent: "Audrey! Oh, my God, I'm on his beard! It's so scary!

I love my nerdy, video game-playing boyfriend.

I'm really loving these buntings from Pony Rider. I know it's an overplayed trend, but that doesn't change the fact that bunting flags are the cutest.

It's hard to believe that we've been here for more than a year now. Trent and I had only been dating for three months when we decided to start looking for apartments. I had been living with my mom for a few months after a bad breakup and he was living with friends in an apartment half an hour away. We were spending every single night together, and most nights we would fall asleep until three in the morning when I would shake him awake so that he could drive home. My mom had made it pretty clear that she was not happy with him staying the night, which we did for as long as we could get away with. At work I would peruse Craigslist and the local news classifieds looking for something decent in our price-range, and I remember how depressing it was how little there was to offer. We did have one that piqued our interest. It was a small house, in our price-range with a green lawn in a tree-lined neighborhood. I emailed them and waited. The response was a rental application and a big long story about how they were out of the country in Africa, and we would be sending our payment through moneygram. "Typical." I thought. The one decent listing and it's a scam. I trudged on.

A few weeks later, I came across an ad with light-filled pictures of a small unit for rent. My heart fluttered as I looked at the pictures. Affordable? Hardwood floors? Washer and dryer? Garage?! Has to be a scam... My luck is not this good. I called the number and a professional-sounding woman answered the phone and agreed to have us come look at the property that same Friday. I was giddy with excitement and terrified that they would rent it out to someone else. As we drove up to the property the following Friday afternoon, I glowed at the prospect of living in downtown Sugarhouse. Home to hundred year-old homes in quaint little rows. Trent looked around and said "I grew up here."

It turns out that he actually grew up on the street directly behind us on Park Street. He skinned his knee on our driveway as a kid. He used to take shortcuts between our house on his bicycle. Back then it was a crumbling pile of dust and bricks. There are still names carved into the bricks where little kids have tried to claim it over the years. The home itself is over 100 years old, and Mike, our landlord, told us that it was the home to a few of Brigham Young's wives.

Mike and Lisa are a husband and wife duo. She's a Realtor, he's a handy-man. Together they've scooped up decrepit homes with potential and turned them around. He ripped out the rotting floor boards, a wall or two, a fireplace, and painted the peeling walls glossy white. He installed granite countertops and beautiful white cabinets in the kitchen, complete with a computer area and enough storage to last us a lifetime. They built a new porch, paved the driveway and built a two car garage. They split the house into two units for double the profit and put up the ad.

Here we are a year and three months later with a little more furniture, Spooky Monster, and a hell of a lot of memories. I plan to be here for years to come. Or at least until we finish our schooling and venture outside of this little niche.

I won! Kate over at Hello Lindello was having a giveaway of Gold Star Mothers necklace made by A lovely, Little Shop, and on a whim, I commented. The best part about this is that while I was commenting, I thought to myself "I never win these giveaways, but that necklace IS very cute, and I should say so."

Imagine my joy when I opened my email this morning.

Also, I have actually been contemplating buying a necklace to start wearing, so what luck this is! As I told Kate, what an amazing way to start a collection!

This is the print that I mentioned I found at the drive-in movie swap. I did a little research on it, and it appears to have been an LP cover, turned vintage art print! I've always loved old LP covers, but I never bought any because they just take up room, and I don't have a record player. Now I'm inspired to start buying them just for the covers! I found this really fantastic blog which is made up of the world's greatest album covers. Isn't that genius?

I can't get over how quirky this scene is with that quintessential cowboy smoking a peace pipe with the indian chief. Also, how cute is that polka dotted tepee in the background?! I love the roped lettering spelling out Cowboy Joe there in the corner.

I've listed the print in the shop, but for now it is on my art wall, where is is occupying the frame of an older print of mine until Trent and I can make another trek to Ikea for more frames.

I've finally opened up shop! Park Street Vintage is official. I'm only up to four items at the moment, and it does take time to prop and style, and there's only so much daylight to go around. I'll be getting off work around 5 for the next week, which is a great opportunity for me to take more photographs and do more listings. Please stop by and let me know what you think, or buy something that tickles your fancy!

Ryan, now you have to keep up your end of the deal. ;)

Today Trent and I went to swap meet at a drive-in movie theater. It was mostly Latinos and shops full of cheap plastic knick knacks, but I found two vintage setups, one with an old Cowboy Joe print in an old wooden frame and this beauty-- The glass terrarium. It's one of the most beautiful things I've ever found. The old woman selling it was really endearing. She talked our ear off, offering stories and prices for everything I picked up. I'll bet I could have bargained with her, but she wasn't asking for a lot, and I would have paid twice what she asked for.

That's a basil plant I bought at the farmers market yesterday. I may be imagining it, but it doesn't look as good as it did on her table yesterday when we bought it, and quite frankly, I'm terrified of killing it. I put it outside, but then I worried it would be eaten by bugs, because there's already a good portion of leaves with holes in them. I'd like to keep it indoors where I can keep a close eye on it, but would it survive inside? I was told that basil plants need just a few straight hours of sunlight, but not much more, otherwise they'll scorch. Also, basil is finicky about water. You only need to water every once in a while, making sure soil stays damp and cool to the touch, but not soggy.

I'm dying to start a smaller herb garden in the glass terrarium. My only regret is that I don't have a larger window sill to keep it on.

We also drove out South to visit our fathers, and afterwards we had shakes at the original Iceberg. I start my new job tomorrow, and I'm a little nervous about the change. It won't be TOO different from what I do now, and I'm only moving up a floor, but nevertheless, change is daunting.

Trent and I attended Salt Lake City's monthly gallery stroll tonight to check out the latest on the art scene and soak up some social energy. I love getting out of the house ever so often to dig into an event like the gallery stroll. People dress in their gallery stroll finest and we get to see the creme a la creme of hipster refinement. We were a little too late for the free lemonade, but I did get a few really great twilight-lit pictures of the water tower, and some great art pieces. I love people who can buckle down and paint pictures, because God knows I don't have the patience. I suppose if I knew it were going to be displayed in a gallery downtown it would push me to get creative, but I just don't see the point, you know? I need my creativity to be a tad more tangible. That's just me.

I wasn't even aware of it at the time, but I actually found and bought the Waechtersbach mug in the top left corner at the thrift store for next to nothing. I contemplated even buying it because it seemed like just another novelty item. I only bought it because I've been accumulating quite the collection of heart mugs, and I wanted to keep it going. Little did I know that it was German made, and worth 10 times what I bought it for. Also, it has a striking resemblance to the Kaj Franck bowl I've been wanting ever since I spotted it in Ron's shop. I'm still holding out for the possibility of finding it at the D.I...

I wanted to share a couple of fantastic portrait paintings found on Ebay. That second one of the little girl is on my watch list and I'm extremely tempted to buy it. It's hard to find portraits that aren't cheesy and also appeal to my personal style. I like the ones that look like they aren't taking themselves too seriously.

The sky was absolutely stunning tonight as we got off work. It was a really long day, and it took a lot of patience to get through it, so it was lovely to be provided with such stunning visuals on the drive home.

Our neighbors on the North size have several large dogs, none of which is the least bit friendly. They bark at us every time we walk past to get to our side kitchen door, and we actually got a PRE-apology from our neighbors when we moved in on behalf of their dogs. Well, last night we were awoken at 3:30 to barking that didn't stop for over an hour. Poor Trent was awake for it longer than me, and it definitely affected the way we felt when we woke up for work this morning. It's funny, because at 3:30 in the morning, in a tired stupor, you start to have hallucinations about ways to make the noise stop.

I can't even imagine confronting our neighbors about this issue though. We suspect that they have another house or something, because they frequently leave these dogs alone in the backyard overnight, and if they were home, they wouldn't be sleeping either.

On a better note, the weather is starting to finally feel like June, and the air smells like freshly cut grass and flowers. It's only Tuesday, but I'm daydreaming about the weekend already.

Mr. Polar Bear and I had a photoshoot for the Etsy shop. It's not quite ready to open yet, as I still need to design some sort of banner. I thought about hiring out the job, but I'm confident that I could save $75 and design it myself if I can just buckle down and do it.

The party hat definitely adds some flavor, and he was a doll to work with.

What a lazy Sunday trip to the grocery store outfit looks like.

This morning I woke up and left Trent to sleep a little longer while I tried a new Belgian Waffle recipe. Lately we're trying our best to keep from eating out to save some money, and Sunday brunch was sort of an ongoing tradition...

Though I forgot to thaw the bacon last night to have the complete meal, they were probably the best waffles I've ever eaten. Wafer-like, they were both light and crunchy with hints of vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg. We both ate them one by one as they came hot off the iron drizzled in real maple syrup.

These are dishes that I thrifted a few weeks ago. It's funny, because I lost a bid on a set of Nymolle plates that I had been watching for a week straight, only to forget to place my bid the night before. I was devastated, so when I came across this set of four plates at the thrift store, I jumped for joy. They are not danish, but they have the same kitschy style that I love. I'm beginning to think that my thrift lists have magical powers, because I also found a world globe for $3 at the thrift store yesterday, and I've been wanting one for a long time now.

The weather was terrible for the first day of Farmers market. If I'm not mistaken, yesterday's temperatures are actually a record low for June 12th in Utah. It was so cold that I almost regretted sandals. It actually felt fantastic to wear a sweater with sandals, because honestly, how often do you get to do that?

Celebrate 2002???

I absolutely loved the crowd at Farmers Market, and I stared with unashamed curiosity. As I predicted many people wore their Farmers Market finest, and it was fun to see what people were wearing. My favorite accessory on everyone was their pets! SO many adorable dogs.

We started off with our go-to meal there, which is this fantastic pulled pork in a hitched up black smoke stack owned by a really sweet couple. He tends to the meat while she takes money and distributes orders. We were afraid they had skipped out this year, as we couldn't find them at first, but lucky for us they were just in a slightly different location. I actually made some pulled pork earlier this week, and they put mine to shame. I wish I knew their secrets... the crispy outer shell of the meat, the indescribable smoky flavor, and the all you can squirt BBQ sauce-- it's heaven. We ate it beneath a tree on the cement with an orange soda. MMM.

I also bought some garlic and onion flavored chevre and kettle corn.

There's Trent now joyfully carrying it.

I loved this couple's coordinating outfits.