Sister Time!

I wrote earlier that my sister came out a few weeks ago without the little dolls of hers! We had a great time. She helped me prepare for and host a cookie exchange party, we shopped at the Long Beach Flea Market and even made a trip to Target for some goodies! Here are some photos;

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Christmas Time is Here!

I've been so busy and have not had much blogging time lately! My sister was here to visit last weekend and we had a great time. Poor thing was suffering from her allergies though... We shopped, baked, laughed and just hung out. I think it was nice for her to get out of the Minneapolis cold for a while - we really enjoyed having her here.
I need to get more things posted on the blog - after the holidays I promise :)

Where were all the shoppers??

WOW - what a disappointment to say the least! Debra and I had a great booth set up and lot's of wonderful paintings and treasures...where were all the shoppers?? It was really disappointing to put it mildly. We participated in Christmas at the Cottage Fri and Sat and there were not even a handful of customers. All of the work that went into this show - so many fabulous vendors...oh well we had fun together and were visited by our dear friends Darlene and Jill at the end of the show and enjoyed mexican food under our sweet canopy and twinkle lights! C'est la vie...

Christmas at the Cottage

Here are some pictures of our booth and some others - there are some really beautiful things! We will be there Saturday, December 1 from 10am-3pm. Come shop and be inspired!!

Happy Thanksgiving

Wishing all of you a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Broken vases, haircuts & bagpipers!

Wow another weekend has flown by! I have been busy getting ready for Christmas at the Cottage on 11/30 and 12/1. The cardboard cones arrived and I have been busy embelishing these - they will be great for those gift cards - a fancier and more fun way to present them.
I finally set out a few Thansgiving decoations. Here is a picture of a really beautiful vase that I bought recently from Robin at her recent sale in Orange. A few hours later it was falling to the floor no thanks to our kitten "Lucky" - not so lucky for me. It was quickly swept into the trash and a mere memory now…hopefully I will find another to replace it and keep out of kitty's way!
Sunday afternoon we went down to the Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel and enjoyed hot cocoa, cookies, the Dana Hills marching band and a group of bagpipers in preparation for their annual tree lighting. There was even snow! I attempted to take photos of my two comedians for our Christmas card - I may have managed to get one decent shot. Little Nick went to the Dr. this morning and as I suspected he has bronchitis, as soon as the antibiotics kick in he'll be his old self again - spunky little guy! He's sporting a new hair cut too (buzz) thanks to his mom's hairdresser skills or lack of. He did not like the way I trimmed his sideburns so we ended up buzzing his whole head.
It sure is a glitter fest in my little office/workroom. I purchased some cute emelishments from Sharon yesterday at Floral Facelift and will continue decorating cones and other things to be shown later!

Time to get creative!

I made a few of these little Halloween cones for some of my girlfriends and filled them with nostalgic candy; candy necklace, candy corn, black and white peppermint stick and a little glow necklace. I'm going to make more for Christmas - won't they be great with a gift card or some bling tucked inside! I hope to have some ready to take to Chistmas at the Cottage holiday boutique. I used the hat that Andrea made me for the Halloween Hat Swap as my inspiration; black and white toile fabric and the piece around the top with the ribbons was actually found in the $1 section at target - it's meant to go around a dogs collar with cute little dangling spiders. Loving Martha's new line at Michael's - the little spider tag was from some of her cute Halloween things.

A shout out to my litle nephew aka Spiderman! I added a song from one of his favorite movies CARS to the blog. Isn't he adorable!

Christmas at the Cottage

Mark your calendars for Christmas at the Cottage, Friday, November 30 3-8pm and Saturday, December 1 10am-3pm. The Main Place 18841 Red Hill Avenue, Tustin, CA Many dealers will be selling vintage furniture, stylish apparel, Christmas collectivles, custom jewelry, yummy baked goods and much more! My friends and I will be there with "jingle bells" on!

Petite Silver Tea Set & Dessert Plates!

Something for that sweet girl! An adorable silver tea set - just the right size for those little hands. The silver tray measures 10" and the tea pot is 5" tall. Perfect for mom and daughter tea parties! This complete set is $45.00

Here we have a set of 6 dainty dessert plates. These are 6" plates trimmed with roses and a gold rim. These beauties are Homer Laughlin. Perfect for scones or even chocolate chip cookies! $24.00

The Aprons are Here!

These are the perfect gift! We all have Holiday Gift Exchanges coming up! How cute to give one of these aprons with a Starbucks gift card tucked into the pocket.

Send me an email or leave me a comment on my blog if you are interested in purchasing one of these lovelies.

Half apron, white with red polka dots, rick rack and two pockets. This is not a vintage apron - it is new and really adorable! $18.00
This little gem is red and white gingham with black embroidered details.

It's in mint condition and a little vintage. $15.00

This cutie is a little more "Retro" It is also a little bit vintage and in mint condition. $15.00

I have a few more that I will be posting soon. A sweet little pink and white gingham number...check back soon.

The Stick People Dance!

I need to share these creative kids! My girlfriend "D's" daughter and her friends came by dressed as stick people for Halloween! One of my favorite costumes of the evening!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

I need to share some pictures now that I have my camera charged up again! I could not find the camera battery charger when I returned from TX - found it in the bottom of my suitcase :)

My sister is getting very crafty. She painted a globe white and then painted a flying witch across it - so cute! I want one. She also baked the cake on the cover of Country Living today. I hope it tasted as good as it looked! I told her she needs to start a blog too.

My hat swap partner Andrea made the cutest hat for me. I loive toile :) Thanks Andrea!! You can visit her blog Rookie Cookery - the link is to the left. My dog Jake thinks he looks pretty good wearing the hat.

Gotta run, there are more trick or treaters at the door!

I'm off to Austin, TX!

Well tomorrow I am off to visit my dear friend Leanne in Austin, TX. She moved there recently with her family and I can't wait to visit with them and spend time at their new home. We are going to spend most of our time shopping at Roundtop! We're very excited!! Leanne got me hooked on flea markets years ago and has been very generous to me and has given me a good education - whether she realizes it or not - I love to observe her when she shops and she shares such great information! I'll share pictures and more when I return next week.

What I love about my HOME!

I love the cottage feel of my home and that it feels like a home ~ all 1200 square feet of it! I'm a new blogger and am so inspired by the many blogs that I visit and new friends that I am meeting along the way. We have lived here a little over 10 years and have made many changes along the way - the most impactful was our kitchen. I love RED as you may be able to tell by now and it's everywhere. Comfy couches, pillows galore, two teenage boys, our dog Jake and our black cat Catina make our home comfortable and inviting. I hope you like what you see here and will visit often as I have many surprises that I'm working on for the future!

A cute little window box in my living room... A wonderful painting that my husband's grandmother "Ruth" painted and gave to us - she knew I loved RED!
A little reading spot...
and some of my favorite mags!
some yard sale treasures

My workspace and little office...

My wonderful red kitchen hutch...

My backyard...

Autumn is here

It was a beautiful fall weekend here in So. Cal! My attempt to have a yard sale was rained out on Saturday but I did get organized and made a run to drop things off at the Goodwill and I did not go inside either! Today my oldest and I hung out this morning and visit some gals in Orange for their boutique. Of course a bought a few things; some adorable pink cups and saucers and a lovely creamy white vase. They we were off for a walk through Petals and Greens and bought a few more dishes; 5 dessert plates and berry bowls with a sweet floral design and a little ironstone pitcher. We made a pit stop for hot dogs at Jerry's Dogs and then home again.

Learn as we go

ok so we keep learning new things about this blog and thanks to a few fellow bloggers it's even easier! I'm constantly inspired and motivated by fellow bloggers. Amazing photos and ideas are numerous!

Last weekend Joann's Hometown Antiques Mall hosted a Flea Market and I was one of the dealers. It was a beautiful day and over 30 dealers participated. I met many wonderful customers and dealers too! Here are some photos of my space. I have some of Pam's adorable Chenille Pumpkins - if you would like to purchase one please send me a commet.

Happy 1st Birthday Kayden

Kayden turned 1 yesterday! That little Tinkerbell is sooo cute!

September 1st and it's 103 degrees!!

Wow, I can't believe it's already September 1st and it's 103 degrees in the shade!

I made a wonderful friend today and her name is Pam. She's a very talented lady who created an amazing custom canopy for my ez-up. It's just gorgeous and I of course had to set it up in my yard as soon as I came home and called my girlfriends!

I can't wait to use it in a few weeks at the Flea Market. Well enough playing with this blog thing and time to get some salmon on the grill for dinner.