Wibbly Wobbly Time & Mastering It All

I just read an article on Yahoo news about how time is subjective. Police officers can see bullets in slow motion when their adrenaline is running high. I believe this. I know that time goes all wibbly wobbly around the holidays, planning a wedding and when children are around. Apparently Dr Who was right. 

The biggest contributors to wibbily wobbly time! My 3 girls. 

I'm pregnant with our fourth child at the moment. It honestly feels like each day is 32 hours long. I don't think my due date is ever going to arrive! And then on the flip side, we just celebrated our 19th wedding anniversary and it seems like college wasn't that long ago. Time isn't static. 

I swear this is at its worst! Add this to the goal list: clean office

On that note, I have some major goals before the new baby presents itself. Like many vintage sellers/collectors, I have more inventory than I can quickly manage. So this summer I've decided to get it all listed, come baby or high water. So far I feel confident: this past month my assistant Hannah and I have added 310 items to our Etsy shop. Now only 2500 items to go!! 

Organizing aprons and assessing condition is easy with the right tools

This vast buildup of inventory sounds dramatic I know. You're likely picturing one of those hoarder houses from the Discovery Channel. So far, it hasn't affected the house too much. The biggest item in our home is the many bookshelves that are overflowing but I don't see those as a problem. To me books are as necessary as oxygen! But my garage is a different story. Wander into it and you could be seriously delayed by antique oil paintings, 1920s coffee grinders, old tin wind up toys, more books, and tons of more estate finds. You wouldn't starve though-my freezer out there is full and the pantry is full of summer canning. 

How I tend to negotiate with myself to get things done! 

The biggest hurdles that I've had to argue with, climb up and conquer have been motivation & consistency. Researching, describing & listing 3 similar items for sale is fine. But when faced with 40 like items, the fun seems to evaporate. I keep trying to remember this when I'm out buying from an estate. All that red & white 1940s enamelware looked so cool-but hauling home 12 boxes and inventoring it all wasn't much fun at all. Funny how our minds work! 

So tempting at the estate sale, but harder to deal back at the office

So now I'm opening a box and not stopping for any reason until it's cleaned, researched, photographed, listed on Etsy and put away in inventory. This has been a challenge, but for the last month I've been sticking to it and look at the progress! 310 items is nothing to sneeze at. If I can get it all listed by October, I'll be tickled pink. 


How do you deal with the fluctuations in time and all those tasks you've set aside? Or are you already basking in the glow of accomplishment having tackled your goals? 

Behind the Scenes

While I'd like to show you my antique brick loft filled with vintage, that just ain't my reality. We're bootstrapping a business so the office is actually a big room in the back of my house. There are 4 glass desks from Ikea, a shipping table (that's actually an old flour bin table), a huge 12' long chalkboard, indoor/outdoor carpet, and  a view of the backyard. Not exactly my dream space, but it functions well for now. 

This Haley. She's in charge of our inventory & shipping. She wears about 25 hats around here and helps out with a little bit of everything. 

Several people help make Nachokitty what it is. I've assembled a fantastic team of people to help grow our little business. We're evaluating items, taking inventories of estates, meeting with clients, doing appraisals, listing items on Etsy, and shipping. It's never boring around here, especially when you add the curious 2 year old into the mix. 

My desk is a hodgepoge of little tidbits I find interesting. The silver plate top hat reminds me of Johnny Depp in Alice in Wonderland. (I really liked him!) The Danish modern witch on her broom and wooden rabbit are neighbors. Along with the wood Nachokitty, these items all sit on top of my giant Mac screen. The owls, hat form I got from tippleandsnack, and grecian goddess scored at the thrift store are all photo props. 

Down in front is a collection of items I need to identify that I also like a lot. A small porcelain jointed doll with silk clothing, a sterling, marcasite & onyx beetle, & a brass bear. (the bear is more for looks-I don't think he'll find his way into my shop.)

Here is Kaelle, researching a cool blue & white porcelain vase. Lately she's been the queen of dollhouse furniture. We all have to be really flexible, because we never know what's going to come in from an estate.

The view outside our office is fabulous. Chickens wander by occasionally, the dog takes in some rays, and my children frolic. Right now we're photographing old quilts on the closeline. 

And here's a cartoon that pretty much sums things up. A happy zoo around here, filled with vintage goodies, laughter & good music. 

Mommy Vintage

Plans. The best laid plans. 

Today was to be a big estate sale day. Head out to sales, score items, come home and photograph and generally just get ahead. 

Then my sweet 8 year old looked rather green early this morning. She wandered in around 6:30am and whispered, "Mommy, I don't feel very good." Uh oh. 

What often happens when my children are sick is they don't want to lie down. They want to sit on my lap at my computer. They want to make Treasuries on Etsy. They want to be glued to me. I do wish I had the healing powers their bodies seem to expect from that closeness. 

So today was a day of surfing the web, kid style. We looked at lions on the National Geographic site, goggled openly at a rare old Snoopy ornament that sold for $331, saw those new images of hidden pyramids & overall had a very relaxed, cozy, educational time. 

Motivation, Being a Mom & Trying to sell online

What do you do for motivation? What lights that fire in your belly that makes you want to accomplish previously set-aside avoid-at-all-cost projects? What makes this all nearly impossible?

This cute mess maker is my main excuse!

Today was a day set aside for appraising vintage items for a group of women, business chores & shipping. I went to bed too late, but green tea helped with that. I hit the ground running around 9. Then the baby wanted to nurse. So instead of cleaning, photographing, and packaging up to ship, I sat down. She's so cute. Big eyes looking up at me, trying to get me to smile. I played peek a boo with her instead of blogging.

Then I realized I was feeling a little off. Realizing that I shouldn't infect all the members of the Collectabelle's group I was going to appraise for, I cancelled. (Isn't that a cute name for a group of women collecting?)

Unpacked these little bridal cuties

So I sat down and started working. Photographing was going much better today. I switched around the photo area yesterday and ditched the photo cube for a sheet hung from the ceiling. Made it so I could more freely and it let more light into the room. (the cube was 5'x 5') Then the baby needed me again. I think she's feeling off too. Then the camera batteries died. Takes 2 hours to recharge.

My friend Kelly has started handling inventory. She was unpacking boxes of amazing looking antiques and making sure they matched the lists. I've seen all this stuff before-I bought it after all-but now it looked sooo fascinating. I decided to start listing it all right away. It piled up rather quickly. Too quickly. The camera still had an hour to go.

Look what we found in a box today! 

Finally the camera was ready. But it was lunchtime. The kids were surrounding me like fruit flies. Got them all fed and realized I was starved. Lordy bee. I feel thwarted sometimes!


This afternoon I got a bunch of things cleaned. My eldest, Elinor (who is quick to inform everyone that she will soon be 8) begged to clean things. Armed with a damp rag and some Bon Ami, she went to work. She did a great job!

Found this neat cranberry piece hidden away

She begged on and off all day to photograph. Taking photos is one of her favorite things to do. Finally, fully thwarted around 4, I handed her the camera & a vintage Noritake plate. 50 shots later, she's improving!

So while I didn't accomplish the mountains of work I planned on today, I did have fun with my daughters, ate a yummy lunch and got to see all my fun inventory. Tomorrow is a new day!