June in Review

Summer is here and the busyness of the school year winds down for just a bit. It amazes me when I think about the fact that my daughter graduated from high school 18 years ago! The first year after she graduated it felt strange not to have the school year dictating our schedules and our calendar. We got past that - along with numerous other empty nest transitions! But then our church began a ministry to the elementary school nearby, and I soon became the leader of that ministry, and over the past 11 years I find that the school year once again has the greatest impact on my schedule and calendar! So, while I am not a teacher or a school employee, I find I release a huge sigh in June when the calendar and the schedule slows down for a while.

The Thrill of the (Vintage) Hunt

Oh, the weekend we had! My sister and I spent Saturday hunting down vintage shops and finding great deals at thrift and resale stores from Caledonia to Hudsonville, MI. Today we went to a vintage marketplace with 150 vendors held at the Kalamazoo Speedway. The rain held out and we saw so many great ideas.

Painted Farmgirl ended up being our favorite shop.

We have both followed The Found Cottage on Instagram for quite a while, so it was fun visiting in person.

Some of my vintage finds:

I'm looking forward to working some of these items into my Etsy shop and, of course, playing in my art journal with some of these finds. We are planning our summer to make time for weekend sister's road trips and the thrill of the (vintage) hunt.

Follow our adventures and see what we find at facebook.com/groups/FoundonBrightonVintage

My niece, Lizzie, went along with us and got inspired to create a new addition to her shop of hand-painted signs, The Chevron Rose.

May your week be full of finding things that make you smile. :)