Insta Update

As the 6 month mark approaches before my 30th birthday, I need to get a move on with my list!  I have been working on #9- Instagramming daily.  Ok, well, almost daily.  Check out the last "Insta Update" here. Here are some of my faves from the past month:

1. Family day trip to Gillette Castle in CT

2. Fortune cookie wisdom

3. Hubby and family friend Jack playing an improvised jazz duet

4. MCM dresser that's getting updated for a friend

5. Swallow graffiti at my town's train station

6. Neon pink deer head at a local antiques collective

7. Funny statue in Montreal

8. Cargo convertible.  I really need to learn when to drive our Jeep

Next week, I'll get back to some fun projects, I promise.  Hope you have a great weekend!!

Thunderbolt

Own a vintage bike- check!  (Now I have to tackle the other half of my 30 before 30 requirement- actually riding it) Less than a week after my last post debating the merits of vintage vs. new bikes, I found this guy on Craigslist.  Isn't she pretty??

She's an early 60s Columbia Thunderbolt and needs a little bit of love to be a safe ride, but totally worth a try!  It was listed for $140 in the town next to mine- not quite as low of a price as I wanted, but close enough to check it out.  I'm perpetual haggler, so I had to negotiate: I offered him $100 and he took it without blinking- I should have started lower!  He was flabbergasted, though that I actually planned to ride it and not just display it.

Craigslist isn't a miracle (I'm still hunting for a patio bench) but it only took a few weeks of hunting to find this gem!  She needs a name, though- I'm thinking something 60s-inspired.... any ideas?

Cruising in Style

....but what style is the question. #21 on my 30 before 30 list is "Own a vintage bicycle (and ride it)" but the more I look into it, the more another question presents itself.

Do I stay true to my original intent and buy vintage, or do I spend LESS and get a new bike with vintage style?

You know I like old things.  Old things have character, pizazz, a history.  But sometimes old things can be expensive.  I've been scouring Criagslist for vintage women's cycles (in addition to scouring it for a bench) and I'm noticing a trend.  The vintage bikes that don't look like a pile of rust and actually look ride-able are  $150 and up (and probably need a serious tune-up on top of that)

Huffy and Schwinn have caught on to the vintage-style trend and now have classic styled bikes for extremely reasonable prices!  What's a girl to do??

This bike, for example- a vintage 1930's womens cruiser listed on Craigslist for the paltry sum of $200 (rust included!).  It would be an awesome piece of history to own, but to get it fixed up and made into a comfortable ride, I'm sure it would cost easily another $100+.

Smart Schwinn.  Here's one of their current bikes, 80 years later.

The pin-striping modernizes it a bit, but the shape is very reminiscent of the older version.  And at $169 verses $200 and up, I think this one wins this round.

What I REALLY dig is the 1-speed cruisers.  I'm not 100% sure how much use I'd get, but where I intend to ride my bike (yoga, farmers market, etc) is a flat run.

This bike has since sold (pout) but was listed on Craigslist for a decently reasonable price (under $150 if I recall correctly), more than an hour away from me.  But isn't she pretty??  I love how the rims are the same blue as the body.

Oh Huffy.  When I think of Huffy, I think back to my purple and pink paint-splatter-designed bike that I wore out as a kid.  They've certainly upped their game.  Same lines, same delicious matching rims.  Brand spanking new for $149.99. Drool.

It could use a wicker basket, but that's a simple fix.  I'll admit, the new is taking the lead, but I really hate to say that!  Vintage cycles have more of a soul, but wow, good job styling the new cycles Schwinn and Huffy!

Choosing to go vintage or new on a bike is going to be a tough choice!!  What's your vote?