I have not done a “my recent vintage finds” blog post in quite some time, only because I’m not doing as much shopping as I used to but I did find some great stuff recently at great prices that I wanted to share with you today.

We begin with the most expensive item on this list, the book pictured below. Okay I’m just kidding this book was found on the side of the road by my eagle eye friend and so ended up being FREE.

The book was written in 1949 and given to Maria in 1969 before her wedding (I’m assuming). It is filled with goodies on what to expect on the honeymoon (does not go to much into “adult time”), how to spend money, working, kids, how to keep from fighting all the time, religion etc. BUT all done with mid-century thinking, so you know it’s filled with “wife at home, father is the man of the house” content. It might be fun to do a blog post at later date on some of the key points in the book. Stay tuned.

Another image from inside of the book that I wanted to share because there are so many vintage goodies to look at (like her skirt, the luggage, the car etc).

The weather in Toronto has been so lovely for late Fall almost Winter, so I have been taking advantage of it by getting out and going for walks. I was joined this past Sunday by a dear friend and we decided to hit up a great Vintage Shopping destination, ‘Kensington Market‘ here in Toronto to see if we could score any great finds. I was not overly lucky this trip but I did find this fun 1970’s skirt at Exile Vintage for a great price. This will be perfect for everything from dancing, to moving thru all the seasons in vintage style.

Toronto recently hosted a very big Vintage and Antique market in October. It’s one of my top vintage shows in the city because many of my favorite stores and vendors are all together under one roof. This year I was on a super limited budget so I could have purchased way more than I did, but in the end I’m very happy with my finds.

Like this adorable vintage brooch. Perfect for Novelty Brooch Friday and to channel the artist I will never be.

Christmas is just around the corner and these vintage deer and tree mini’s will play center stage in something I plan/hope to make.

I love vintage magazines, just as much as I love my vintage pictures and so you can image how thrilled I was to have found these 2 Canadian 1947 Chatelaine Magazines.

If you read my blog you will also know that I recently shared an article from the June magazine entitled “15 Fashion Tips from a June 1947 Chatelaine“. It was a fun post to write, filled with lots of wonderful tips for the budding vintage fashionista.

Vintage Dance Cards like the beauties below are really fantastic finds especially when they have been used like the ones below. I found these at my favorite booth/store ‘Gadabout Vintage‘.

When I can find a piece of Toronto history from the 1920’s-50’s I try to scoop it up right away. Finding this 1930’s Canadian National Exhibition Fashion Show Pamphlet was truly exciting! First up I never knew they ran a fashion show at the CNE (it’s a large fair) in the 30’s but now we do and the music was provided by a live big band. How glorious!

Here is a glimpse of the advertising inside the pamphlet. Look at those 30’s designs! Wow!

And last but not least Gadabout Vintage brought a bevy of wonderful vintage images for myself (and others) to browse thru. Here is what I found….

Three young women in the 1940’s. This image caught my eye because I love getting fashion inspiration from real women and this picture is an excellent example of 40’s everyday fashion.

I picked the next image because I liked this woman’s 1940’s style and how happy she looks. I could not leave her behind.

The third Image I found is just super because it came with a description on the back. I love when that happens because it just brings the picture to life.

Here is “Me”, a 1930’s beauty in white.

And here is the Governors palace today and the front door where the lovely woman above is standing. This connection would not of been possible without the writing on the back of the picture.

Lastly this weekend I’m attending the annual ‘Swing out to Victory‘, it’s an amazing 1940’s event held in a warplane museum with a big band. It’s a sold out event and it’s going to be amazing! Follow me on Instagram to see all the magic and you can check out a past post I wrote on the event HERE.

Liz