Poppy and Ivy

November Rush

Portland, OR has experienced a very unusually warm fall. Tomato plants were still producing and tasting GOOD until Halloween! 

But the chill has hit. Turkeys have cooked, gravy has been poured and it is as if this is what the skies were waiting for....December is tip-toeing up on us.

Most good space owners were ready for Christmas in August. Not me. I was gardening. And taking my kids to the beach. And drinking coffee in morning sunshine. I am not very good at keeping on top of the holidays!

So for the last 2 weeks I have been out gathering during the day and in the basement painting shelves, trunks and desks until my fingers crack at night!

There IS a gingerbread man book tucked in there!

I have a great blow mold light, red pom-pom trimmed tablecloth, old felt stockings...oh my! Headed to Camas Antiques tomorrow!

A little bit of playing with paper, mica and glitter...the trifecta!

I should be ready for Christmas by March at the rate I am going....teeheehee.

It's all good....

 

C'est magnifique!

Or something along those lines....

I only took French for 6 years because THE CUTEST GUY IN THE WORLD did. A football player no less. His French name was Jaques (originality was not his thing). My french name was Elisabet because there were five Amy's in the class. Thanks Mom.

Last I heard he was somehow caught up in the Tonya Harding/Nancy Kerrigan scandal back in the day, so clearly I made a poor choice in who to stalk. But I DID walk away with just enough basic language skills to be dangerous or end up with something REALLY terrible on my plate at a French restaurant.

No matter....France is on my radar...always has been.

I have been on fire on Etsy and I sold THESES cute patooties:

to this cutie patootie blogger. From France!

I tried to read her blog, but again...I am rusty. There was a really cute picture of her (there are many because she's cutie patottie folks!) and once I translated one of the captions as "I ate my best friend's dog with silk, high heels and a chenille blanket" I decided I might need a Rosetta Stone crash course before I went any further.

Continuing on my love all things French...great estate sale finds for yesterday were:

If they keep the Metro exactly the same for another 20 years...I have a chance.

This image is from a half used 1932 German calendar. The images (125 of them! all different...all lush) and print and fonts are spectacular. I am not sure what to do with it exactly. I might just stare at it a bit longer.

Au Revoir! Off to some estate sales!

 

 

Great orders, great days

The weather started out fantastic this morning....out of this world. Sunny. BLINDING sun. Then it was suddenly dark and the rains just started drizzling away. And after Saturday's football game, it is clear we WON'T be headed to Pasadena for the Rose Bowl. That is FINE.....it's JUST a game.....but I was looking forward to some WARM sunshine...even for a few days!

It got colder and colder and I finally gave in and shut the front door. It's always so much more inviting with it open...but I fear my Open Door Days have passed for a few months.

The door opened and My Man in Brown (UPS) walked in with my Wu and Wu delivery! Life is GOOD! I wish I could have had that delivery for Black Friday, but it will be here for the  Lower Fremont Winterfest  on the 12th and 13th. That is just fine too. I think this line is a GREAT gift line. Really sweet stuff. Whimsical design, but with practical uses!  

 

 

The above photos show both sides of this bag. So, it's like two bags in ONE! Is this designer just YUMMY? Is it just me? Because, really...I am USED to it being "just me". Been there often.....

And baking sets and "cookie wallets" ( I LOVE the British terms)...

 

Violet is back from Kansas! Poor thing had to run to Kansas the Tuesday before Thanksgiving (unexpectedly) for a family emergency...can you imagine? Rumor has it that her husband pulled off a lovelyThanksgiving dinner for 17 all by himself! Am I surprised? Nope.....not one bit.

Man.....women today are LUCKY. If I'd have been a wife in the 50's, I'd have chewed off my own leg...as well as my pearl choker and high heels. Not sure if we should thank their mother's (well..I know in my situation that is NOT the case) or our EXCELLENT, modern training program:)))) Violet and I are lucky chicks that way.

She is probably NOT thrilled to be back to my pile of special orders for her Santa Baby line. Not my fault it's so darn cute....... it's just red and white HAPPINESS......

 

Off to bed WAY too late again. I have agreed to more torture  exercise tomorrow morning.My daughter already dragged me (and I DO mean dragged) to the gym tonight. Seven months of stress eating only developed into my "Body by Cheeze-Its" situation. Not good...not cool. Thank god I had an intervention by a 14 year old girl. Whewwww......

Happy Tuesday!

It really IS ridiculously cute....

Violet brought more items in Friday night, but it became busy and my good natural light faded away. Her name, Violet. Ridiculously Cute couldn't be more spot on. I find myself fondling this stuff WAY too often. It makes me want to have another little baby girl OR shrink my 13 year old down. Either one will do.

The photo above is the bottom of a pant leg. Did Charo ever have children & grandchildren? If so...she needs to buy them this..and teach them her rockin' moves. (Hey! She does have one son...a rocker name Shel who is in the band Treazon....who the heck knew?)

 

 

 

 

A burp cloth....too cute.

 

Tawny (employee/consignor here) brought more of the snack tray and glasses in. She was hiding three more cases at home. That gal has an adorable cottage house... about 900 square feet... and it is immaculate. Yet...she thrifts, flea markets and buys ALL DAY LONG. I have no clue where she puts it. I could call her RIGHT now and say "I need old stuff" and in about 2 hours I would be fully stocked. She's amazing. 

She found these trays at an estate sale at the coast. I love the glass all by itself! 

   

Today is SLOWWWWWW. Slow.Slow.Slow. What's up with that? It's lovely outside.

     

Tomorrow at this time, I will be in a lounge chair,by the pool...reading mind numbing magazines and trashy novels. I'll let you know how that works out for me. We fly  out at 8:00am. Ahhhhhhhhh.......life is good!

Happy Sunday!

Sneak Peek

The "New Addition" came today and set up shop.

A couple of people met her and didn't know it. I didn't really introduce...I was sneaky. Make 'em all come tomorrow for Second Friday if they want to SEE her.

Here's a sneak peek. Are you ready?

 

This is her display.

Today I moved a lot of furniture, found the lost Halloween, placed some new items on the floor, hung pictures....I was a worker bee. I was just STUCK on a floor plan and a good FLOW...then it just hit me and we RAN for the last two hours. JOHN came to help and delivered my car....fresh from the Car Hospital. YEAH! I have my baby back! That was one LONG 3 weeks....bum foot AND no car!

JOHN took So many pictures of the "new floor"...he loved how it turned out and was more than slightly impressed that the "New Addition" moved a 400 pound mirror by herself. She's kind of a stud. I watched in awe as she drilled into a cement wall AND knew what masonry bits were. I offered to get her a coffee....that's all I've got to offer. Oh...and I can be a FANTASTIC cheerleader! Darn near the best ever.

 

Here are some "found" Halloween items. I ordered them MONTHS ago not knowing when I would order from this company again....then promptly misplaced them. I am now officially my Granny.

Queen of "I-will-just-tuck-these-away-for-a-special-occasion".

 

   

Every time the UPS man drove by I was hoping he had my new order of oil cloth shoppers. And he never came:(

And it's been so long since I have done an order....I have been focusing on estate sale items..that I forgot when he even ARRIVES.

After work I went to the market and FINALLY...they had the new Home Companion (YEAH!!!). And I purchased flowers and champagne for tomorrow night and arrived to my order having been shipped to my HOME! It IS here!

New shoppers, overnighters and totes. As well as the re-order of "Tattoos for the Elderly" and Miso Pretty Tip Trays which several local shoppers had asked for me to order.

Some more sneak peeks....sorry..it was near dusk...bad lighting and some glare....

 

"Landscape" Over-night bag

 

"Quilt" shopper....(and the Epic Imaging bill for my foot x-ray...I have no secrets...)

 

Jesus Over-nighter...

 

Mood Swing coin purse

 

Dick and Jane tote. Perfect for lunches and such.

Off I go to prepare for tomorrow night ...

Just In...

Glass knobs! The much awaited (and last 8 boxes from this company! I need a new source!) glass drawer pulls arrived and have hit the floor. They are 3.50 a piece. I often get e-mails asking the cost...so I'll save you some time!  

Another gal asked me last wee about their measurements...I then promptly hit delete and lost her in the abyss called the Internet. So soory about that.....

At their widest point, they measure 1 and a 1/4 inch across. The ENTIRE thing is 2 and 1/8 long.  From the base of the glass (the gold screw part) is just a HAIR over one inch.

 

And those little hangers. I ordered 30 boxes of 6. Kid you not. The gal called and said "Did you mean 3 boxes?". NO.....not at all. 30 boxes. I sell these little guys like you can't believe. I knew I loved them...but they are a hit.

 

I have seen them used in collage art, it seems that Jenni Bowlin  used them years ago (think it was her???)...it made me go on the big hunt and find these! She was ALWAYS sold out! I hang old pictures or postcard on our Christmas tree with them.

This hand has a creepy-cool sumpin' sumpin' to it. I saw it and longed for it for awhile and now that it's here....I am trying to figure out if I like it.

 

Off to run across Fremont and get my shop A-frame sign. LOVE rush hour..........I risk life and limb some nights!

 

Greek cocktails, new stuff and 80's music was the best

Tonight I have Dinner Club and the theme is Greek. Thrilled about that. I am assigned cocktail. NOT thrilled about that. Ouzo isn't usually on the top of my cocktail ingredient list. That's all I can think of. Then I found Mextaca....but Brandy seems strong for a light little Girl's Night Out. I don't want them falling over! I even considered a Ouzo Jell-O shot! That seemed fun. Deep Sigh. The gig is in 2 hours and I am still at a loss!

I think I am going for the humor factor and making it up.It will have the word "Speedo" in it. This gal met her husband in Greece and he was wearing a speedo...red & green...and the image will never leave my head. Every time she tells the story I cry laughing. Again...the IMAGE. So I am doing the "Greek Speedo" and it will be limeade, club soda & strawberry vodka. We are much more of a social club than actual FOODIES. I think.....I'll let you know if tonight is the night I get kicked out.

Angela came and refreshed her jewelry wall before she heads out on vacation....

I got some of my new items up and out...but mainly I chit chatted all day and read Wikipedia things! Who KNEW that I could have hours of fun doing that? I amazed myself quite honestly....

 

And the 80's music ties into an e-mail that I received today ties into Wikipedia.

My son had his birthday last week and he got a bunch of iTunes cards. He's been downloading music at a rate of about 11 songs a day. And I can SAFELY say that if I hear Miley Cyrus's nasally drawl one more moment, I might poke myself four times in the eyeball with a knife. And I don't care of some people think "she's a good influence" on the kids. I've place my bet on her being pregnant at the end of 2011. And this musical mermaid thing? Is it Disney? Something h2o? Holy Smokes...we apparently tossed some money their way too...and their voices aren't too much better then Miley and Brit Brit's. Lots of "studio assistance" involved if you know what I mean.

So, I did what any "30 something" mom would do..I showed her son 'the good stuff". 80's favorites. Ahhhhhhhhh...I sang all the songs and maybe "accidentally" downloaded some off of his iTunes cards (hey....I gave him life...he owes me). I showed him OMD, The Cure, The Smiths....some of my favorites. I lip synced it all, made all the right noises...it was fun.

My son will now require therapy, but I had a ball.

I got to the shop and had an e-mail from a guy (a man now I suppose!!!!!) I went to high school with who noted I was not on the 20th reunion e-mail. You know....the reunion that takes place Friday. Oddly I believe he is in EUROPE and knew where I was, but the people down the freeway 90 minutes didn't know. I married the guy I dated in high school! I have moved ONCE!

Darnit! I might have considered it this year. I saw pictures from the reunion of the other high school in my town that had their event last weekend. I have been messed up the last 3 days thinking about those pictures.

It made me go buy eye cream....AND night cream.

What happened to us? How did those guys end up looking like their dads? How did those girls end up looking....like they did?  Ohhhhhhhh.....I am not prepared for this aging stuff. In my head, I am 25!

I am going to go blast my Howard Jones and Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark and call it a day.

Wish me luck tonight.....Opa!

New items & other delights

I received a new line of cards today by local water color artist Linda Daily. She is primarily watercolor and she dabbles in collage art. I liked her style....

And I even got some more cards produced myself last night! My son allowed me into my own art area. He's been quite busy. He's made several 2009 calendars that must have a production cost of around $417.00 a piece. Amazing how quickly a kid can blow through a nine dollar box of adhesive, a six dollar box of buttons and various packs vintage ephemera. Ug. If it's true that life is just one big test...then I do here name him the most excellent of professors.

Carrying on.....

 

Oh....some fantastic cocktail rings came from Angela, my unstoppable bead artist. She never rests. She's amazing. And she's into so many styles right now.....ALL charming.

Other pieces of eye candy for you....

So, it seems tonight I will not be doing any crafty work, but laying in bed icing my foot and taking Ibuprofen. I do have an injured foot and now I awaiting news of whether it's fractured or broken as well. Ug. I knew something was up. I messed it up Monday. It hurt after Jazzercise and then I walked 3 miles on it and was just in agony during the walk. Drat. I walked thinking I was just in need of a good stretch of the foot. Little did I know...so I gave in and visited the doctor today. I am now hoping, hoping, hoping it's not a fracture. I do NOT have the patience to keep off my foot for 4-6 weeks! The 2 weeks will be torture enough! I have a marathon to train for! I have a kid to pack up for camp! I have a dog to walk! I have kids to yell at for goodness sake! (I am kidding about that...it is WAY too late in the game to make the yelling effective.)

Happy Thursday to you all. Seems there are MANY estate sale & garage sale signs popping up today. Looks like a good weekend! I need a personal shopper to go get the goods......

Paintings, so many items & estate sales

Here are some shots of my new painting.This is from David Stodd who has done so well in my new space. This new one is an acrylic painted on an old fir door. It's three shots of Timberline Lodge "circa" 1940's. Dave loves vintage sport and old Oregon shots. He is a history buff to boot and the paintings follow suit. He does commission work as well....he is doing one for our family right now. I am so excited to see the end result.

Love this new painting....

I have new, fun items and JOHN let me "free" today to go estate saling!

Here are some new arrival St. Patrick's Day picks...good for cupcakes, cakes & parties. 

Some updated shop shots....

 

The back of my car today....It gives me chills....I LOVE estate sales so much. I got a bank of lockers too! WOW!~

My heart pittered AND pattered

Today Laurie came in and brought with her some of her hand glittered bunnies. If you don't smile when you see these it will make me think you kill kitties in back alleys late at night. I mean it. I am not trying to judge you....but REALLY. These are the best things ever.

The vintage signs came in for the auction decorations. LOVE how they turned out.

The weird dreams are starting...the dreams where I show up in a bathroom at the auction (haven't REALLY chosen an outfit yet) or that I printed the wrong date on the invites and it's just me and the co-chairs...and my parents. Oddly...I didn't even see JOHN in that dream. That seems bad.

But it's ALL good. I feel proud. Nervous...but proud.

Happy Wednesday!