Change of plans

I can't believe that it's been over a year and a half, since my last post! So much has happened, in such a relatively short period of time! I'm not really sure where to start. First of all, I had to change the name of my blog. I dropped the "Mobile Boutique" because the Gypsy has found a permanent home!

In December of 2013, I purchased an investment property in Panora, IA. Two beautiful historic buildings, that together, contain five apartments and two store fronts.

When I purchased the building I had just one tenant for the apartments, both of the store fronts were occupied, one with a local photographer who had leased the space for 18 years and the other, a US Cellular store.

My plan was to renovate and rent the apartments. Keep the store fronts full and plan to, at some point, open a vintage shop in one of them. The perfect retirement plan! I still had the bus. I thought that by traveling the circuit, I would get to know more about the "business end" of things. Well plans change and I found myself deeply submerged in a whirlwind of activity. To be continued...

Grandma Fern...

It has been a few weeks since I've posted. A little progress on the bus. With some help, the cooler and one of the cabinets have been removed and the rest of the stuff has been unbolted and is ready to move.

It has been a cold rainy day - so I decided to spend my time indoors, gathering, wrapping and boxing up stuff for the bus. A lot of the stuff, I have stored in my spare bedroom. A room that brings me much comfort. Comfort, because it has been decorated with things that I love. Things that used to belong to my Grandma. A bedroom set, that used to be in her spare bedroom. The one I spent many nights in. My grandmother spent the last 18 months of her life in At-Home Hospice Care. She and I had "date-night" every Friday. We would eat dinner, visit, watch T.V., then go to bed. I could see her bedroom from the spare room. Although I was there to keep an eye on her. I found that many times, it was she, that was keeping an eye on me. Checking on me to make sure I was warm enough, cool enough, worried that the ceiling fan was going to fall on me, comfortable. Words cannot express, how much I miss her.

While cleaning the spare room, I decided to take a picture of something I made. Something that is very precious to me. A shadow box that I made in honor of my Grandma. All of my life, I remember her wearing the most beautiful earrings. My favorites, were the flowers. One Friday night while I was there, she gave me her collection of clip-on earrings. I wasn't sure at the time, what I would do with them. But I was sure that they had become one of my most prized possessions.

I came up with a way to display them. I was glad that she got to see it when it was done. I will let the pictures tell the story of just one of the many things I loved about Fern.

The whole world in his hands...

I have come across many wonderful little finds throughout my travels. I love putting things together in a new way. Repurposing.

Sometimes it takes a while to figure out what to do with something or how to use it in a new way. But when it happens, to me, it feels like magic.

When thrifting, picking or going to garage sales, certain things just catch my eye. Many of the items are vintage and remind me of my childhood. Some things are just unique and make me smile.

One item I cannot resist, is a black vintage globe. I have a few of them now. All, but this one, will become merchandise for the bus. I found the globe below a few years back. Recently I found the set of hands. They might have started out as a pair of bookends - but when you put the two things together...it's art. I love the scale. The way they fit together. The meaning the piece gives to me and I love the way the grouping looks sitting on my bookshelf.

So go forth! Find things that you love. Create art.

Pickin' and a Grinnin'...

Looking for hidden treasure is definitely one of my favorite things to do. This was a very good week for that. I found some really cool things. My friends and family are great at giving me tips on where to go to find things. My friend Jenny helped me find this stuff.

The big dairy here in Des Moines is Anderson Erickson (AE). The house I bought a few years ago, was actually built for one of the original Erickson's of the dairy. The house was built in 1941 and I am the second owner.

On a previous treasure hunt, I came across the AE milk box. I fell in love. I wanted it. I could almost see it sitting on my front porch. It just seemed fitting, that it should end up there. I remember the days when the Dairy used to actually deliver milk around my neighborhood and deposit it in the milk boxes. The owner of the milk box, however, was not very eager to part with it. On that day, I settled for a galvanized milk box without any graphics.

Good things come to those who wait. I received a call earlier this week to let me know that they guy had reconsidered and would sell me this treasure. As a matter of fact, he was ready to part with a lot more this go around. Found some really great things...a ring of skeleton keys, a couple of old breadboxes, a great cast iron frog sprinkler, a beautiful 20 lb. fan, a couple of glass cloches and so much more. Most of this stuff will end up on the bus or on Etsy...the AE milk box however, will end up on my front porch. It makes me smile.

The inside story...

Really excited and ready to start revamping the bus. The weather, however, is not being very cooperative. Several states in the Midwest, including Iowa, are being hit with, what our local news referred to as,  a "Heat Event". Heat advisories, 110 degree heat index and outrageous humidity, have made it nearly impossible to get much work done on the bus.

There were some lovely weeks of weather prior to the heat wave though - where I was able to open up the bus and give it it's initial cleaning.

As I had mentioned in an earlier post - the bus seats had been removed by her previous owner and in their place he had begun to install food service equipment and a toilet.

After tossing the garbage and wiping down the equipment - it almost seemed sad to me to tear out the installs. It really was very close to becoming a mobile BBQ concession. But tear them out I must. I took some photos of the equipment and will be listing the lot on craigslist. I have no idea of its value but I am hoping to get enough out of it all to at least get a solid color painted on the exterior of the bus.

A couple of assistants and a little elbow grease, had the inside shining like a new penny. A few of my favorite features so far are:  the beautiful control panel...so many switches, buttons and lights! Oh yeah...there's a strobe light on the top. The working wheelchair lift will come in very handy for loading and unloading the heavy stuff. Last but not least, the cute little bus driver, who insists that I will be driving her to school on the bus when she goes...in about 3 years :)

Phase two will be the removal of the restaurant equipment - this phase will commence as soon as it cools down a bit.

I'm a big fan...

I really love old fans. Found this little beauty, a 1950's Electric Blue Coronado 12" fan, at the Mile High Flea Market in Denver, CO. It is solid. It's shape is artful. The paint is perfect. The sound, hypnotic. The shape of the painted cast iron base reminds me of the front end of a classic car. This baby, however, is NOT baby-friendly or pet-friendly for that matter. The metal blades whirl around at a blurring speed. With the open cage and the sharp blades...well, you get the picture.

Spent a week this summer traveling around Colorado with a friend. We called it the Thelma and Louise tour. We actually made it all the way across Colorado and into Utah. Had an amazing time with a great friend and found some really cool junk. Perfect vacation. I can't help but imagine how wonderful it would be to travel around the U.S. buying and selling my wares. All part of the dream.

The bus...

So glad you asked!

It is a 1993 GMC Bluebird. Originally from Illinois, she was purchased from the school district, by a couple, Kenny and his wife Kathy in 2001. The bus was to be the realization of their dream. They were adventurous spirits too. Their plan was repurpose the bus, outfit it and turn it into a traveling BBQ joint. Together, they worked on the bus. Removed the seats, installed a sink, two coolers, water tanks and drank a few Natural Lights in the process. Kenny's wife became ill shortly after purchasing the bus. Not long after, she passed away. With his partner gone, he felt unable to continue work on the bus and it sat, unattended, for several years. After some time, he made a decision to sell the bus. Not an easy choice for him, as it was full of wonderful memories but also a painful reminder of a dream unrealized.

I found the bus, on Craigslist, about the same time that I attended my first Junk Jubilee. I arranged to meet Kenny. He introduced me to the bus...No. 14 and told me their story. I could feel the history and the love. I could see my future. We made a deal that day and I became her proud new owner. Kenny had only one request...that I somehow keep and incorporate the number of the bus, 14, as part of her future. He told me that it was his Kathy's favorite number and something that made the bus special to her. So the bus, for as long as she's mine, will be known as No. 14 and will proudly display the number.