Shaggy to Chic

Hope everyone has a relaxing Labor Day weekend. The doggies were both groomed today and I can't wait to show you Ivan's new look. He went from shaggy to chic today.

My...what BIG eyes you have!

He's much happier and cooler now. He looks like a new dog, but it grows back quickly!

Just brought him home this afternoon and when I went to take his picture, the battery died. Will probably post it tomorrow. I tried a new groomer and she did a much nicer cut than the last one, and for 10 bucks less! I think you will approve Sharon. :)
I won't be adding to the web site this weekend, but there will be a sale in our space at Vignettes tomorrow and Monday. 20% off all smalls and 10% off all furniture. Drop on by if you're in the neighborhood!

10 Hours For My Girl

I'm a little sore today after spending 10 hours standing in line and then in front of a stage at a concert last night. The things I will do for my girl. I heard one mother say that she would not even have done that for The Beatles. I just enjoy seeing the smile on her face when she sees one of her favorite bands, and I always feel better about being there with her. She actually wants me to go with her..not the norm with most teens! I have come to the conclusion that it may be time to hang up my concert going days with my dear daughter. I have been going along with her for years, but I think this may be my last one...unless maybe I have seats. :) We saw Radiohead last night, a band from the UK that I am finding many people over the age of 50 do not know. I like them and it's probably because my daughter has played their CDS in the car for the last 5 years. I guess you could say I was brainwashed. They actually put on a great show and they always sell out within minutes of going on sale. Last night's venue held around 20,000 people. Tickets were selling in the hundreds of dollars for the general admission/standing area where we were, but we lucked out and got tickets online the minute they went on sale. Although we didn't take pictures or video, I found a pretty good video on You Tube that was taken a few rows behind where we stood. The light show was pretty amazing too! Tonight is their last show of the US Tour in Santa Barbara and we just found out it will be web cast so we will be watching it I'm sure.

What would you do?

(You can click on any image to enlarge)

Help me out here people. I picked up this head board and foot board to a baby crib this weekend and I need your input. It does not have the side rails, just the 2 pieces pictured.
The head board is flat and the foot board has a slight curve to it and a tiny piece that could be a small shelf. The center is a metal that looks like cane and the cherub head is also metal and shows on BOTH sides. Original pale pink semi gloss paint..in just the best shade.
A few things that came to mind were to make each one into either a coat/hat rack or towel rack, and the other into a small bench seat. I wish the pieces were a little smaller so they could be made into a doggie bed! I think it would make a darlin little bench seat with a bark cloth cushion with cushion to floor dust ruffle. What do you think?


Whatever we decide, my junkin partner Jane will have her talented husband whip it up in no time. Well..maybe not the barkcloth cushion. :)

*UPDATE: AUGUST 29* The little crib is now in the hands of the carpenter who will transform it into a sweet little bench seat. I will be sure to post the finished product here in about a week!

Powerless

We came home to a house without power yesterday afternoon. According to the one and only electric clock in the house, the power had stopped at 3pm. No big deal..it had only been out an hour so it would be coming on any minute, right? I waited for what seemed like an hour, and then looked at my cell phone. Ten minutes had passed. I decided to call the G&E company and the recording said that there was indeed an underground cable problem on our little street of 10 houses. The recording said to expect power back at 7pm. Okay...I can handle this. Got out the oil lamps, candles and flashlight to prepare. 7:00..no power, 7:30.. nothing. In walks Thom with Chinese take out..YES! I called again at 8:00pm and now they say power will return at 10:30pm. Great. Jenna and I are both going nuts by this time and husband had taken off at 8:30 to kill some balls at the driving range. Poor guy..I think he missed his tv more than I did my computer. The doggies were confused and we were both getting cabin fever. Jenn and I decided to go to my Mom's to watch a movie and when we came home a little after midnight, the power had just returned. You don't realize how much you appreciate power until it's been out for 9 hours. I was unable to add anything to the web site but will be working on that today, so if you are in the mood to shop, hop on over around 6pm and I will have a few new items up.

Come to Vignettes Open House/Soiree!

Vignettes Invites You to an Open House/Soiree to Celebrate their 13th Year Anniversaire! Saturday , September 13th, from Noon to 5:00pm.
Please join us for French Champagne , Bon-Bons and a lot of Ooh La La!
All we need is VOUS.

4828 Newport Avenue , San Diego ,Ca. Click for directions.

Antiques in San Diego

I was visiting my friend Joy's blog at The Vintage Rabbit last evening , and saw a link to a new web site that features the Ocean Beach Antique District. They did a beautiful job capturing the glamorous and romantic atmosphere that sets Vignettes a world apart from other shoppes. The photos were taken the month before I moved in, so there are no shots of out little space, but plenty of eye candy. There's a lot to take in, so grab your favorite drink, relax and enjoy the show. Welcome to Vignettes!
Just click on Vignettes or the link under Let's Go Shopping!

Plant Stand Makeover

I picked up this super heavy wrought iron plant stand last week thinking I might find a really cool pot to place inside of it. After I got it home, I sat it on my patio, gave it one good look, and had an idea. This would make the best little display stand! Just add glass or mirror to the 2 rims. So off it went to the glass shop. I ordered a mirror for the bottom and glass for the top. Total Cost: $15. I just love it..chippy paint with a touch of rust, curves and so much charm.


And the more I look at it, I think it would make an awesome centerpiece stand to stack plates, pastries or candles on! Looks like I may be keeping this one. :)

Norbert Enid meets Shabby Chic

This has to be the oddest thing I have ever found at a thrift store,and Jenna had it named before we got home. Norbert. But that was before we were informed he was a she.


This taxidermy pheasant was perched high on a shelf with his little friend, a Mallard duck. I struck up conversation with the fellow who was buying the duck who just happened to collect taxidermy critters. He was hoping I would put Norbert into his cart, but I decided to take him home. You should have seen the looks I was getting as I wheeled him around in that grocery cart. Crazy lady with a pheasant coming through! Some were of disbelief that I would even buy such a thing, but most were giving me the nod of approval. This only made me want him MORE! He was dusty, so I bought a can of spray air and we cleaned the base off and I lightly dusted his feathers. And what was the husband's reaction? Well, I sat him on the patio by the front door, and when he came home he simply said..." What in the world?" Well, maybe those weren't his exact words. And then came the most important question..." Are you keeping that?"

I think it will be perfect for the Fall display in the shoppe, but it really doesn't go with our home decor. If only I could magically turn her into a white peacock!

*Update* My Mom just came over and saw Norbert and informed me that "he" is a "she."
It has something to do with the feathers... New name: Enid.

New Update! Okay..so now Sharon tells me that this in fact, a male. And we really liked the name Enid...maybe we will just pretend he's a girl. :)

Pretty in Pink

Thought I would share some pretty Pink Bromeliads with you from our garden. I don't have a fancy camera, but I think it turned out okay. If you click to enlarge, you can see a spider has spun a web on it...nice pad!

Sunday Finds

The weather was warm and I didn't even need a sweater at 6am...I know this will change very soon as Fall is just around the corner. I actually prefer it to be a little cooler because by 8am, I am roasting and already feeling the burn! I was pleased with my finds today and here's the booty. Arrrghhhh...


My favorite finds were the Asian Chalkware Book Ends, Pink Depression Candy Dish and the Chalkware 40's Lady Bust. Picked up a nice divided crystal bowl with sterling base, a wicker mannequin hat stand, a wooden hat stand with hideous orange paint, an old green cake/food cover, couple of trinket boxes, a few rhinestone necklaces, pair of busts, a hand painted wooden bowl, an old compact case, beaded bag, and a few doll parts. A head, a leg and a torso..hahaha...How could I resist all 3 parts for a buck! I'll be adding a few things to the web site this evening. My sidekick didn't make it with me this morning. We got in a little tiff about the time we were supposed to leave ..I had told her 5:45...she said I had told her 6:30...she went back to sleep so I went without. I missed her terribly. It's just not the same when I don't have her along, but we made up since I brought her home a cinnamon roll.

A Childhood Friend

I walk by this old pepper tree every day, but today I took a little sentimental journey with camera in tow. This tree and I have been friends for a long long time. It was here when my parents moved into this house in the 1950's and I'm sure it was there for 50 years before that. It was a favorite hangout for me and my friends and I would climb this tree nearly every day. The picture below was the starting point.


I can still see the indentations and hand grips that I used back then to make my way up this monster. About half way up was where I nailed in the boards to make our seats. And yes, this was a girls only tree house. :) Funny..I don't even remember my Mom being a bit nervous about us climbing up this tree, and I can proudly say I never fell out of it!

The view from ground level...Isn't it awesome? I wish I had the body to climb up this tree and take a shot of the view from up there.You can click on images to enlarge.

I kept a little pirate chest up there with coins and when we had enough saved, we would ride our bikes down the hill to the market to buy a 5 cent Fudgesickle and a bag of penny candy.
Awww... the good old days. When something as simple as climbing a tree could keep a kid entertained for hours, and no helmet required.

Hot Spot!

No..I'm not talking about the latest vintage hot spot. Poor Miss Sophie had to make a trip to the vet yesterday. What I thought was going to be a $40 office visit and a $25 antibiotic, magically tuned into $240. Amazing! Jenna..you really should consider becoming a vet to support your parents in their old age. :)

For a pug, she really hasn't had that many health problems. We've been fortunate.
She has always had allergies but a "hot spot" got out of hand under her neck, and she required antibiotic pills, topical cream and a special soap which I am using over the next 4 days on her. Pugs have lots of loose skin folds and I had not checked it for a few days. I was shocked to see it and within one day it doubled in size.
I will spare you the pictures of her neck, but I do regret not taking the picture of Jenna carrying Sophie on her back out to the car. Yes, she is that spoiled. Jenna said "She looks like Anna Nicole Smith going to ReHab"

Pink Caddy

Miss Jenna and I were driving to the market the other day when we both spotted this at the same time..you should have heard the squeals. I haven't heard her scream like that since that 'N Sync concert back in 1998.



It had a for sale sign on the window, so we had to get an up close look. A 1955 Fleetwood Cadillac in all her glory for a mere $10,900. The pink could not be any more perfect and Ms. Sophie the pug would be pretty darn cute riding in this. We might have to get her a poodle skirt!


Since Jenna just took her written driving test and passed, she has been eyeballing every vintage car we pass. She is dead set on an oldie...nothing new for this girl.
We gazed and admired her for awhile, and said..do you know how hard this would be to park? This baby is more like a boat than a car. As pretty as it was, we walked away knowing it would not be a practical purchase. I mean, come on..unless she wants to live in it!

Flu or Food Poisoning?

Well...since my last post on Thursday, things got worse. Head ache, fever, chills,weakness..I'll spare you the details. I thought I was over by Sunday and went to the flea market but I realized I probably should have stayed home. I slept most of the afternoon. It's now Monday and I wish I could say I'm back to normal, but something isn't quite right. My friend Jane has the same thing and our symptoms started within 6 hours of each other. We are thinking it may be the sandwich we split the day before...who knows. Maybe we were both in contact with someone who had the flu. I just want this thing to be GONE!

I need another nap

I'm still here...just too tired to post. I've had a lot going on this week with the move into Vignettes and shopping every day for treasure. This afternoon it hit me like a brick and I took a nice nap from 4-7pm. I would like to say it was an uninterrupted nap, but Sophie and Ivan love to tumble and play on top of me. Maybe I have blog burnout. Or maybe the years are taking their toll. All I know is that I need to re-energize!

If only ...

The alarm went off at 5:30 and as much as I wanted to turn over and go back to sleep, I stumbled down the hall to make a quick cup of coffee. By 6am I was on the road, bright eyed and ready to find some goods. Sometimes I get lucky right away, but today I must have gone down the same rows 3 times before I spotted this....
Must have. Yes, I know I am supposed to be buying items to sell, but can you blame me?

I have never found a birdcage stand with a bird finial on top, so it's a keeper for sure. The original cream and "that green" paint was an added bonus. It will replace the one I have...see? I can let go of things, really I can!

Next row I spot a old turquoise painted folding metal chair holding a painting. I try to act calm... deep breath. Original turquoise paint, chippy with just the right amount of rust, and a pierced design in the seat. I should have been drooling here.

"Are you selling the old folding chair?", I ask. And he replied with, "Only if you buy the set. I have 3 more." It's my lucky day. Now If I told you what I paid for these chairs, I would definitely have to kill ya. :))))


I stayed calm and collected and said ok, sure. Jane would have been so proud. :) As he helped me carry them to the car, he asked if I was going to paint them. I could hardly contain myself, but told him I really liked the color. He said he was going to powder coat them but never got around to it.. oh dear. These will go into the shop with an old folding bistro table that's been waiting for the perfect chairs...for only the last 5 years!

The last item of purchase was an antique oval frame with convex glass. Not sure what to do with this one..leave the photo in or remove it? I love the floral design on the frame. I just love these frames!
If only I could keep it all...

Open For Business!

A huge thank you to Lori for the warm welcome into her beautiful shop. To Ronda for the gorgeous hand painted window sign and to Sharon for the yummy hand poured soaps!
We are thrilled to be part of Vignettes!

A Dream Come True...& My 100th Post!

Today is the day...I am moving into my very favorite shop in town, Vignettes, with my best bud Jane.
We had a space in another shop, but have been waiting for something to open up at Vignettes so we are thrilled! Since so many people mistake us for sisters, I came up with the name "Like Sisters" awhile back, and it seemed to fit. Even my mother cannot believe the similarities between us. Not so much looks, but our personality, actions and speech. We have confused many people on the phone, including our husbands! :)
The wonderfully talented Ronda of Antique Cottage Rose was commissioned to paint our shop sign and as you can see..she has done it again.
It will be a busy morning, but I hope to have pictures posted by Friday evening.
Vignettes is located at 4828 Newport Avenue in Ocean Beach, just minutes from downtown San Diego.

Vignette's web site is currently under construction. Be sure to visit us if you are in town.
I didn't even realize this was my 100th post..hard to believe actually, but I was never keeping track. I just noticed it a week later...LOL