Trolling Ebay earlier I came across this bizarre little postcard which just made me smile.

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I’m back on the Ebay wagon… Loving robots and vintage toys…

Etsy seller efinegifts has an amazing selection of vintage Christmas decorations and what-not and reasonably priced too.  This vintage button cards ($12.95) would look amazing framed.

I also love these little houses ($11.95)

Top of my wish list for the apartment right now?  This green desk at Paula Rubenstein, 65 Prince Street. This shop might be my favorite place in the world, at least this week.  Ms. Rubenstein carries a pitch perfect collection of vintage goods (blankets, perfect coastal landscapes, funky Bakelite place settings, old photographs) in perfect condition.

Loving these lacemaking stamps.

According to the back of this photo, this is “Charles in robe with cup he won in Beautiful Baby Contest.”  We’re headed to Maine for a wedding and I’m hoping I’ll have at least one lobster roll.  PS, sign up for the Vintage Swap (and thanks to everyone who has already sent me email!)

This painting, Running Before the Storm, in the collection of the MFA Boston caught my eye today while I was in the library researching — the artist is unknown, and the painting dates from the 1870s. How awesome is the thunderstorm? I used to love to sit on my porch in Vermont and watch storms roll up our valley. The children and the farmer running are almost comical (which makes the painting not quite as scary as it could be) and the horses are so dramatically black and white. Something about the enthusiasm of this painter just makes me happy.

PS: Those of you in Boston, how awesome does the 13th annual French Film Festival at the MFA look?

I came across some awesome vintage popcorn bags recently and snapped them up. I’ve posted most of them over at Abigail Vintage!

How rad are these vintage handkerchiefs from Etsy seller How Now Design (who is also blogger Aesthetic Outburst)? Aesthetic Outburst)? Many more here.

Yesterday I scored 12 settings of this silver at Tepper Galleries (an auction house here in NYC). I’m so excited because when we got married we didn’t register for silver with the understanding that someday we would buy it at auction where you can get full sets fairly reasonably. I’ve had my eye out for a year and wouldn’t you know it, but I basically stumble over these when I least expect it. I like old things better than new things sometimes. These set was made by the New York firm Dominick and Huff in the 1920s-1940s.

Vintage Photo of Lake Como, 1922

A reader asked how I found nice, yet affordable paintings on ebay, since it seemed overwhelming to her (and it can be!). I thought I’d share my approach (although I’m sure other readers have great ideas and I’ll hope you’ll share!).

I start off in the “Art” category and then select “Art from Dealers & Resellers”, and then limit this to “paintings”and then “between 1900-1949″ and then “oils”. You’ll find the limiting categories on the lefthand side of the page. I’m partial to landscapes, so I often limit my search to “landscapes” as well. Tonight, this search yielded me 414 paintings, which is managable to me in terms of browsing since I like to spend hours on ebay (ha!). If I’m feeling lazy and cheap, I’ll further limit my search to “unsigned” as unsigned paintings are usually are less expensive. Tonight adding that filter reduced the 414 paintings to 42 — a manageable number to browse.

Here is a link to that search. I’ve found that 1900-1949 is the sweet spot of inexpensive (I’ve bought framed oil landscapes for under $75) and yet enough age to still feel authentically vintage. The further back you push the date, the more expensive (and usually the nicer) the art. Of course this doesn’t eliminate expensive art on ebay — you’ll still have to dig through the $2000 dollar paintings, but you can always sort by starting bid price. I consider a framed oil painting under $200 affordable, since taking a painting to be framed can cost upwards of $200 alone. If I can get a framed oil I like for under $100, I’m in heaven.

The painting above is from one of my favorite ebay sellers, the Danish based Thygesen Gallery. It is currently listed at $26 It sold for $105 — framed!!

This makes me want to go to the beach.

Oil painting c. 1873 and is currently $250 with $25 shipping. sold for $600 with Buy-It-Now.

…vintage do not disturb sign…I love staying in hotels, don’t you?

Japanese Kutani Imari Quail Bird ($50)

Vintage Pyrex Refrigerator Containers because I’m tired of plastic containers with no matching lids! ($9.99)