What I Love~Part One

I thought it would be fun to do a series of posts on what I love/live with. I have several collections and seem to keep discovering new ones. While I admire homes that are sparse (especially from the dusting aspect!), I have to live with the fact that I am a "stuff" person. I love my things and I only have what I truly love around me. The first of my many obsessions are shaving mirrors. These can be tough to find and the price can be all over the place. While this collection is not large it is diverse. I hope you will enjoy these as much as I do.

PS~~These collections are my personal ones and so I'm sorry but they aren't for sale.

Movin' On~~Movin' Up

Okay I can't put if off any longer... Here is the official notice that on May 24th I will cease to be a brick and mortar shop owner. Yes, I am closing the door on my little shop to seek out new adventures and fresh new ways to do business. Of course I will continue to do shows like Marburger Farms in Texas, and plan to add more shows to my schedule as well. I am also going to have garden sales at my home in between traveling and will do by appt as well. Who knows, a web business may be in my future at some point.

I will also continue my blog and will post pics of sales and also the phenomenal garden cottage Mr. Sweet Pea built for me. I am truly excited to get back to the garden style that I was known for at my first location. I think you will be too once you see it. So keep checking for new pics and feel free to email me if you are interested in anything you see.

Finally, I am having a great sale from now til the 24th on everything in the shop. I hope you'll stop by and see what treasures you can find at awesome prices!

Blessings,

Shelley

French Dressing

I've never been one to stay in the same place too long. Sometimes it's a change of location, sometimes it's just rearranging the living room. Us creative types have to twirl it around every once in awhile. I've noticed that the shop has been taking on an obvious French twist this year and I really like the direction I'm going. A customer commented the other day "You've changed!". I simply replied "Always!". I have no idea what she meant or even if it was a compliment, but I'm taking it as one. So I wanted to share some recent photos of the shop and some of the "Frenchier" stuff. Enjoy!


Fabulous old yardlong on top of a great peely cubby. Don't you love the tin letters spelling "roses"?


Great old plaster sconce.


Old church pew with fab burlap pillows and picture frames above mixed with architectural fragments.


Old french collars mixed with vintage bottles and more tin letters in a rusty wheelbarrow.


Old battery jar filled with vintage flash cards next to cute tin shoes that can also hang.


Great zinc mirror with a fab reflection.


An old chicken feeder rests against a box with tin back. Inside are a great old picture and a mercury glass vase. More tin letters finish off the vignette.


The coveted brown and white transferware on an old farm table. More flash cards for a twist.

Leftover's Anyone?

Okay hold on to your hats, you are about to see pics of the most over-the-top antique shop I have EVER seen live and in person. The furniture, the accessories, the displays... All unbelievably fab! If you are ever even remotely near Brenham TX I encourage you to stop by Leftover's. Thanks guys for letting me take pics!






The night we went they were having their famous Antique Week Party. Here are the girls left to right: Luann(Patina Green), Heather(PresentPast Collection), Casi(Patina Green), Theresa Smith(Time Worn Interiors), Linda Marcov(Willow Nest), Shelly and Carol(Raised In Cotton). Down front are myself and Theresa Cano(Garden Antiques Vintage).

Marburger All Stars~~Part Three

Rounding out my top three favs at Marburger is Judy Hill. I have seen pics of her booths from past shows, but honestly you must admire the talent of this woman in person to truly get it. She is edgy and witty and I found her positively refreshing. I can't wait to see what she does for the fall show. Hats off to you Judy.

Marburger All Stars~~Part Two

When I stepped into this booth my jaw dropped to the ground in utter amazement at the drop-dead-gorgeous offerings that are French Vanilla. Really Peg and John, you couldn't have picked a better business name if you'd tried. Your masterful arrangement of the treasures you selected truly inspire me to keep getting better at this. You are both sweeties and Mr. Sweet Pea and I can't wait to see you in the fall. Enjoy the eye candy.

Marburger All-Stars Part One

One of the best parts of doing a show like Marburger Farms is meeting the dealers who really knock it out of the park. These people are stars. They not only sell unusual, edgy, jaw-dropping stuff but they put it together like nobody else can. Watch out Anthropologie! First up the one and only Theresa Smith of Time Worn Interiors. She recently changed her name from Cottage Gardens and her link is under my favs so check her out. Here are some pics from her fab booth. Props also to Craigy-poo for his great tin top tables and his charming personality.

I Won An Award At Marburger!

Okay I'm not sure some people would be flattered to win an award for being the #1 Junker at Marburger, but if you know the context of the word "junker" in the circles I travel in, then you know it's a good one. I'm sure most of you are familiar with the JunkMarket Girls~~Sue Whitney and Ki Nassauer. They've been featured on HGTV many times and have written two books on re-purposing "junk" into treasures. Well, Sue was at Marburger doing a book-signing and giving demos on several of their projects. She also walked the show looking for booths that featured treasures made from salvaged materials and gave out awards to a few select dealers. And...looky looky~~I got an award for the potting table Mr. Pea and I made from an old dresser and various pieces and parts!! I was super flattered and even teared up!! Check it out~~I got a trophy cup, a best-in-show pin and an autographed card showing what I won for. How cool is that?

Thanks Sue! For more info on the JunkMarket go to www.junkmarketonline.com.

Rode Hard and Put Up Wet aka First Time At Marburger

Howdy Y'all! Well I finally feel like I'm getting my head above water! What an eye opener these last two weeks have been! Mr. Pea and I are just back from the fabulous Marburger Farms show where we set up for the first time. What a blast although we are both exhausted. We met the nicest people and made many new friends, and I have developed a profound addiction to clothing by Magnolia Pearl. She is the sweetest person as is her partner John. The latest issue of Country Living features an article about her that is pure eye candy. See my favs list for a link to her.

So after an interesting trip out where the framework near the wheels on my brand new trailer was coming apart and a lengthy detour off I-10 in Houston we finally arrived. The first three days were set-up days and the show started on Tuesday. We had beautiful weather all but one day when it rained and the temp dropped to the low 50's. Can you say Brrrrrr? But Saturday was back to normal and all in all I was pretty happy with my debut at the show. I can tell you that this is the real deal of shows. No garage sale junk and the best of the best in all categories of antiques. Here's a peek at my booth before the onslaught...











We started home on Sunday hoping for an uneventful trip. Alas it was not to be. We hit another detour off I-10 in Biloxi and then at 3:30 am on Monday (yes we drove straight through) after almost 22 hours of driving we had a blow out on a trailer tire. Again with the trailer! We were less than an hour from home but luck was not ours this time. We crawled into bed at almost 5 am and pretty much wrote off the rest of the day. The next day we were back at it as we had to load the trailer contents back into the shop. I really must say I can't remember the last time I felt so pooped but slowly I am getting on track. The shop is 99% back together and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Please check back as I will be posting more on the show and a couple of the fun events we went to in our "off" time. I'll also let you know about an award I won for the re-purposed pieces Mr. Sweet Pea and I made as well. Until next time....

HAPPY EASTER!!!

Happy Easter to all my friends and family! That's me on the left in the Easter coat that my Grandma made! My sister Annette is next to me and my brother Eric (on the chair) looks like he has other plans than to get his picture taken! Maybe he sees an Easter egg we missed! April 1963~~the good old days! I would turn 4 in June!

Easter blessings,

Shelley