Oh my sad lonely little blog!

I've been neglecting you for a while, yes... Forgive me! I have a huge log of projects to upload, adventures to write about. So much going on this year! Stay tuned, I'll have lots more goodies for you over the next week.

Ciao mi amici!

amber j.

Socks For Sandy

Happy Saturday!

I wish we could have shared this sooner, we just saw it yesterday and barely made the deadline with our package. The reason I wanted to share was to remind everyone that just because it's not all over the news the people recovering from Superstorm Sandy are still recovering, still don't have a place to live. They are still people, humans, who are suffering, scared and trying to put their life back together. And we can all still help!

We got some socks and gloves mailed out, one of our dear friends was in NJ during the storm visiting family and barely made it back home to Hawaii. Knowing what she went through and some family we have out there, we want to help in anyway we can.

Always,

Amber J & Josh

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You know the feeling you get when your feet are cold and slip on a pair of warm socks? Or you can warm your hands and head while outside by wearing gloves and a hat? That feeling of warmth, of comfort, is something we take for granted. For the victims of Hurricane Sandy, it is a feeling we want to give back to them.

Visit Laura's post HERE on the tragedy. Pictures and video clip included.

Laura Khulmann, a blogger of The Shed, who lives in Little Egg Harbour, New Jersey, was fortunate that her neighbourhood was spared with only minor damages. But just a few minutes down the road, entire areas were wiped out including Mystic Island, Osborne Island, and Tuckerton Beach. Long Beach Island, just across the bay, also suffered extraordinary damage just as every barrier island and shore town up and down New Jersey's once beautiful coastline has.

Laura couldn't stop thinking about something her sister-in-law (volunteering at the local hurricane shelter) told her: that people were walking around barefoot and just wanted a pair of socks. Even as donations started to pour in to the shelter, Laura couldn't get the idea of warm socks out of her head. She wanted to collect some warmth on a large scale for the victims of Sandy, and shared her idea with fellow blogging friends on Hometalk. The network of Hometalk bloggers includes several members living in New Jersey who were affected by Hurricane Sandy.

They want to provide socks to warm one's feet, gloves to warm one's hands, and winter hats to warm one's head. All to warm one's soul. NOW.

How you can help

Gather up some warmth to share by collecting

socks, gloves, and winter hats

and send to

Socks for Sandy

P.O. Box 520

Little Egg Harbor, NJ

08087

Please mail by Friday, Nov 9 

Another option:

Donating directly to the Red Cross is still the fastest way to get your money into the hands of those who need it the most.

Thank-you everyone! Let's help make a difference!

EVEN THOUGH THE DEADLINE HAS PASSED....what are you doing this week to help out survivors of Sandy??

Vintage Refinished Telephone Table / Gossip Bench

So one of our most popular items was this beautiful telephone table! We picked this us at an estate sale of sorts... as I was perusing craigslist looking for goodies I stumbled across an ad from a Realtor saying that they were giving away the contents of an entire house. No way!

 

Apparently the house has been empty for many years and the grown children of the couple decided that instead of cleaning out the property it would be better to give it up and let others deal with it. What does that mean for pickers? Heaven!  So even though we were one of the first to arrive there were so many people! The house was in a sad state. Filthy, junk everywhere and literally 60 years worth of accumulation. But we were lucky enough to acquire some amazing items! (keep an eye out for more of those!)

One of them being this telephone table, also known as a gossip bench. It's vintage circa 1950's, painted in a horrible dark brown. The feet on the legs are metal but were so badly rusted you couldn't tell at first glance. So after thinking on it for a while we decided to brighter this little lady up with a bright, creamy green color.

After quite a bit of scraping, sanding and priming we started with the green color.

Then we decided to do something a little unconventional with the hardware and the feet. They weren't in great shape, nor were they a pretty metal like brass or nickel. So I decided to break out the dremel and some CLR! 

There was quite a bit of rust to remove, but once we cleaned it up I used a silver metallic automotive spray enamel (very durable). The problem is that when you put spray paint into a cup or container it dries fast, gets gummy... it's definitely not meant to be applied with a brush. Add a little Slo-Dri blending medium and use a cheap, disposable brush for something like this!  It ends up looking like a brush, swirled metal. I really loved it. I taped off the hardware and went to town!

SHAZAAM! 

We listed this table in our Etsy store. In the few short weeks it was available almost 800 people marked this as a favorite and it was included in several treasuries! I was happy to see how many people appreciated this piece of history as much as we did. :)

 

We really focused on adding a freshness to such a fun item. Love it!

M.I.A.... But now we're MARRIED!

Well life has it's way of becoming nuts and things fall to the wayside. For us? Well we got married!


We've spent the last few months preparing, planning and paying for the wedding! After the engagement we decided to have the wedding here in Hawaii before we are stationed in Sicily next year. So we spent quite a bit of time completing and wrapping up many projects, selling our inventory and really focusing on our Facebook page. But now it's time to catch up on the blog, my hope is to make it a habit!

So look keep an eye on the blog as I update our posts and projects!

Mahalo nui,

The new Mrs. Hamilton!  (Amber J.)

Featured Etsy Treasury!

Woo hoo, our vintage military oil can is featured in this awesome Etsy treasury this week. Sweet!
"The Korean War"  http://etsy.me/P00YEY

When we found this we were excited to find such a great piece of American Military history, and this treasury really showcases some great items. Take a peek!

peace,

amber j.

Grease!

So today Josh is working on the Chally (1973 Challenger!) And contrary to the stereotype I love having a garage for him to work in all the time! He's happy, I can see him anytime I want and sometimes I get to come out and help! 

Here's a pic of the music department, nothing less  than a vintage receiver and speakers to jam out to some blues or rock hooked up to Pandora. :)

Engine block? Check. Crazy work bench? Check. Sweet tea? Double check!

Today I was luck and wandered out right as he was fighting with metal straps to reinstall the painted gas tank. Little bolts in tight places, person for girlie fingers!

So here I am,  greasy on the ground blogging like a boss! ;)

amber j.

It's official...

Well yesterday started off like any other Sunday, coffee and checking email. We decided to take a hike before it got hotter and opted for Aiea Loop, one of my favorite trails. It's got ever-changing terrain, cool winds because you're up so high on the mountain, views of the H3 and Harano Tunnel as well as Pearl Harbor.

We attempted a hike Saturday but you saw how that went, so after slathering in bug spray and sunblock we headed out. It was gorgeous!

It starts off feeling like a scene from Hansel & Gretel, then changes to this maze of fallen trees, gullies covered in ferns, groves of bamboo, strange looking every greens and everything in between. You can see the H3 *waaaaaayyy* in the background.

Then we got about halfway through the 5 mile loop and Josh mentioned how cool the trees were and pulled off his Camelbak, presumably to pull out a camera. Which I was almost perturbed because my battery was dead and I was stuck with my phone and this whole time he had a camera?  Let me quote his version of the next five minutes.....:

"Surprised her with it on a trail hike. I was like...oh hey this is a good spot for a picture, look at this view. Then bam!! I whipped it out...the ring that is"

" She said...maybe...and by maybe I mean Hell Yes!"

It's official!  Ok ok, so much to my dismay I was a *total* chick about it. Crying and laughing and my hands were trembling. Babbling like an idiot while I kissed him a thousand times. And he sends me into even more tears with his words  

"We are going to have an amazing life together."

One of the many reasons why I love him!  We are all alone with nothing but the breeze blowing, in one of my favorite places on earth doing something we both love. Intimate, beautiful, out in the Lord's grandeur just the two of us having the most perfect moment.  And then after that I'm expected to hike another two miles along sheer cliffs across a muddy trail riddled with roots and rocks and not slip and kill myself. YEAH. This is me we are talking about! Ha ha... thank goodness he was cool and collected :)

After the amazing hike we got to the parking lot he felt like telling everyone ''She said yes!" but the only people around was a giant bus of Japanese tourists. Hmm...

Starting to get warm so we decided to have a mini celebration and I was excited to stretch out this private moment together before we share it with the world. So we stopped at Dave's Ice Cream, an awesome local place full of flavors you can only get here in Hawaii. Ube (purple sweet potato, my fave), Lychee, Kulolo, all sorts of yumminess squashed into fresh waffle cones that were slightly crunchy like the crisp edges of a chocolate chip cookie. 

Talk about an awesome day!  Glad we can share!

always, 

amber j.