Ho Ho Ho! It's Me, Silly

I love this old papier mache Santa face and we have had a holiday tradition the last 8 years. It involves the Santa mask, me, and everyone's favorite pug, Ms. Sophie.

Each year, Santa makes his first appearance outside our family room window after we put up our tree. He,(that would be ME) knocks on the window and up pops the Santa head yelling Ho-Ho-Ho!

Our pug, Ms. Sophie, barks and runs around the sofa. It's all in fun..no animals are harmed during these fun & games. When I come inside, she wags her tail an all is forgotten..until I say Ho-Ho-Ho again...lol We have to hide him in the closet. She won't let up until he's out of sight!

I think this little ritual stems from an experience I had during my childhood. When I was around 5 or 6 years of age, my parents had one of these Santa masks. My brother or Father (I think they took turns) would go outside and pop the Santa head up in our kitchen window. My Mom would say that we need to get to bed because Santa is checking to see if we are asleep. Good times!

So we are in the home stretch with only a few days of shopping left! I took the easy route this year and purchased gift cards and a popular item from the shop. Hope everyone has the merriest of holidays...see you next year!

Love Her...

..from head

..to tail

Ms. Sophie will be turning 11 soon...

This is how she spends most of her day..in her favorite chair.

Life is still crazy busy and I have neglected this blog, I know...
You can still check in at my shop blog if you like!
Hope everyone is having a great December...the year is almost over!

Bjorn

Jenna has been wanting another fish since she lost her last one of 5 years. I never knew the lifespan of Beta fish until Simon lived past the 5 year mark. Our new friend's name is Bjorn and he seems to be enjoying his mermaid friend that I used in my childhood fish tank.

For a much prettier view, just click on the photo to enlarge. Love his coloring!

Head on over...

to the website for a peek at some fun new listings!

The Urban Barn-Revisted

I have been meaning to share my visit to the barn in August, but I've just been super busy! Linda has a great thing going, and is surrounded by some great talents!

Hope you enjoy this little bit of...










You can visit their blog by clicking HERE,

but better yet...visit in person to be blown away.

Urban Barn
155 W.CREST
ESCONDIDO, CA 92025
WED. - SAT. 10-5

We knew this day was coming...

Out with the OLD, and in with the NEW.

The city removed all of the original old lamp posts and replaced them with new.

This is the street light removed right in front of our store.
We asked where they were taking them but didn't get a clear answer.


Out with the awesome old glass globes on graceful iron lamp posts.
Make room for plastic globes. Yep..plastic.

I'm sure most people will never even notice the change,
but I will miss the character and beauty of the old ones. Such is progress. The city received 9 bids for the Street Light Replacement and they went with the lowest bid which was $897,064.00.

La Poste~ French Mail Bag

This vintage fab french mail bag is now listed on my website...check it out!

The Urban Barn Grand Opening

and it was truly Grand!

Today was the Grand Opening of a magical place in Escondido, Ca. I have been waiting for this day! The Urban Barn was once an automotive garage with roll up doors, high ceilings and chains, perfect to hang chandeliers. The mix of the rustic, chic and industrial was truly magical. The inside of the shop is filled with multiple dealers and there were many more sellers outside under a row of tents. You can visit the Urban Barn's blog by clicking HERE.
Here are the photos I took of my visit...enjoy!

DAY 2 of the Grand Opening Saturday July 17!

Industrial meets Chic

Creative minds were plentiful!

A Princess in Jail...strange to some, yet to others it brings a smile.

Rita's Chalk Headboard that I know she wanted to keep for herself!
Can you blame her?

This old truck was dreamy! Want.

Loved this idea for displaying earrings.

I purchased a few necklaces and cuffs from friends.
Below is my pirate booty!

A Sailors Valentine Pin Cushion Box.
I have been wanting one of these for years and I finally have one!

I love these necklaces from Celia. Each one, one of a kind!

My favorite lady who creates the most awesome cuffs that everyone loves!
We carry her line at our shop.

She works her magic on old bottles
This is one from my personal collection.

This was my very first pick at the barn from Mary's space. I will be transforming it into a jewelry display. If it turns out the way I think it will, I'll post the after-shot here! :)

Hope you enjoyed seeing the Urban Barn today.
There is so much more to be seen so be sure to visit for yourself!

Linda is the driving force behind the Urban Barn,
but she has many helpers that make it all come together!

The Urban Barn

155 West Crest

Escondido, CA, 92025

Phone:

760-743-7225

Open Wed - Sat:

10:00 am - 5:00 pm

Sparkler Fun*

I found a large vintage box of 1950's sparklers when Jenna was just a wee one, and every year we have opened just one little carton of 6. I can't believe they still light. The original price on the box said $2 per box or 15 cents per carton. The box reads "Harmless" For Indoor and Outdoor Illumination. Directions : Hold in Hand -Light Silver End.

I'll think we'll stick to outdoor use....


Jenna's Triforce (from Zelda)..show off!


I was going for the statue of liberty...


and this was supposed to be a heart but it fizzled out before I could finish.
Happy Fourth!

Forgot Your Password?

Just a quick blog post here..it had been so long since I logged into this blog, that Mr.Google asked me, "Forgot Your Password?" Chalk it up to getting old. I guess I will have to start writing these things down. :(

Not much new..working at my shop which has kept us all very busy. We are having a great summer..the economy has taken a turn for the better. . finally! Thankfully, our shop is in a tourist destination with near perfect weather, so many of our customers come from all over the U.S and abroad, for a little R&R and to escape the heat. (above photos are from the shop)

I did manage to find some time to add new items to the website..this doesn't happen as often as I would like, but anyone who runs an online store knows can relate. :)

If you'd like to browse...just click here!

I hope everyone has a Happy Fourth of July weekend with friends and family.

Life is...

busier crazier than ever. I will be taking a blog break here at shab-n-chic, but will hopefully continue weekly updates at the shop blog. The website may be on hold for awhile. Thank you to those still checking in! You can always ring the shop if you see anything out of stock that we may be receiving shortly.


(Mother's Day bouquet from daughter today...just as lovely as the day it was received)
Hope everyone has a most enjoyable summer with family and friends.

Ann Has Done It Again!

I'm going to have to stop looking at your blog, Ann. Kidding, of course!
She posted a photo of her newest creations recently, and it was no surprise that I saw one I couldn't live without.
I just love her one of a kind creations, and I was thrilled to add this tiarra to my collection. You can visit Ann at her blog , A Vintage Mood.

Always beautifully wrapped

My statue has waited patiently for the perfect crown.

Let the celebration begin!

Thank you Ann!

Having a store...

...a real brick and mortar... can be very time consuming, but at the same time, very rewarding. And I thought keeping a website, 2 blogs and a facebook updated was hard! Lol.. I'm not complaining though...I LOVE the shop...sometimes too much I think. It takes time and energy to keep the store fluffed and stocked with an interesting mix of uncommon finds, but that is what sets you apart from the next shop. I was at the store all day yesterday..10 hours. A long day, but a great one. We made a lot of new friends that will be returning to visit, and we also gained a couple of "fur fans".

Meet Skylos! (Greek for Dog) He kept peeking behind the check out to see what was going on back there! He would make a great little shop dog.

Napoleon was all smiles. ( His Dad is a history buff.)
An adorable Pomeranian with a Teddy cut.

I love it when people ask if they can bring there dogs in...Hey, if you don't bring them in, I will be running outside to pet them! The word on the street is that these doggies are better behaved than some children. *wink*

After closing, I was doing paperwork and decided to relax by shutting off most of the lighting except for a few chandeliers. I looked around taking it all in, and for a split second, time stood still and I forgot that I had been there for 10 hours! I guess it's true love. :)



Here's a shot of our new front window display that we did last week. We have some great items in the mix and I will be showing closeups of everything on the store blog tomorrow evening. You can check it out HERE.