Monday, February 4, 2013

And The Trophy Goes To...


Hope you all had a great weekend!  I'm showing you another one of my favorite finds from my recent vacation to Arizona.  You can see the first treasure that I showed you here.
My mom, my sister, and I were driving somewhere when we passed a sign that advertised an 'Antique Fair' that was taking place the following day not far from where we were staying.  This event is only one Sunday a month, and it happened to be when we were there!  (Love when that happens!) It was held outside at a large park, and was actually more of a small flea market than an 'antique fair', but they had some really fun stuff!  It was a gorgeous day and we had a great time!  (I'm so flea market deprived this time of year!)


I spotted this trophy cup and my heart started racing-I've been wanting a larger cup like this, but they're usually way out of my budget!  I began quickly walking towards it when 2 girls cut me off and beat me to it.  Darn!!  They picked it up and were looking at it as I held my breath and prayed that they'd put it down.  I whispered to my mom and sis that I REALLY wanted that trophy, and that we needed to hang out at that booth and play it cool.  The girls barely put it down and took a couple of steps when my sister charged over and grabbed it up for me.  Score!!  (The girls were looking back and talking so I don't know if they were still considering it or not, but in my book, you snooze you lose!  Hey, this is flea market war! ;)



I was thrilled when I got a closer look at how unusual it is!   It's such an aged/tarnished bronze that at first I thought it was silver.  The dealer told me that it's a boxing trophy and he told me the language engraved on it but I forget-maybe Hebrew?  And as a bonus, it was even a reasonable price! (Of course I negotiated it down a little more, with my wiley charm-ha!) I'm so happy with my treasure!  I redid the top of the table in the office to make a place for it.


I placed a little pot of lavender inside the trophy, and displayed it on top of an old chippy box.  I also added my cow tag that I just bought here.


I then added this fun wooden bowl full of old fishing licenses.  These little guys are some of my most unique finds!


I've had this tarnished silver cup forever, but just added a dried hydrangea to it.


You may remember the topiary in the bucket from here.  I moved the candelabra from this table in the office to the bookshelf in the hallway, so I moved the topiary from the sewing table in the office to this table and now it makes this vignette complete!  So then I had to redo the sewing table, but I'll show you that later.  (Did you follow all that? :)


It's funny-you bring in one new little piece, and look what happens-a total redo!


There's still more fun Arizona finds to come...until next time, have a fabulous day!
I'm linking to these wonderful parties:   Knick of Time
                                                         The Ivy Cottage
                                                         Coastal Charm
                                                         Lavender Garden Cottage
                                                         The Dedicated House
                                                         Jennifer Rizzo 

Friday, February 1, 2013

Arizona Treasure


Hi, everyone!  I'm going to begin showing you my 'spoils' from my shopping excursions while on vacation.  In case you missed it, you can see the fabulous places that we visited in Arizona here.
I'll start with one of my favorite finds from this trip...this bundle of lavender!


I've always wanted a BIG bundle (I have small ones all over my house) and I knew that I had to have this when I spotted it at the Sweet Salvage sale.
  

They wrapped the bundle carefully for me in extra kraft paper-it smelled so good even through the paper!  I lovingly carried this through 2 airports and gingerly placed it at my feet on the plane.  (And I may or may not have 'yelled' at my hubby when he accidentally kicked it ;)
I was worried when I unwrapped it at home that it would be all 'crumbled' but it was very much intact (whew!)  


  I placed the lavender in an old basket that I had, for a farmhouse feel. I added it to a new vignette that I've put together in our hallway.  Since I took the shoe rack from this spot when I redid the office (see here) I had an empty space to fill.  I brought this shelving unit made out of old crates down from an upstairs spare bedroom, and it fits perfectly!












Here is a view down the hallway towards the front entryway.  This space is right beside the doorway to the office.




After playing around a bit, I'm happy with how it turned out. (And I'm enjoying my lavender every time that I walk by!)  I'll show you some more goodies that I brought home from vacation next time.  Until then, have a wonderful day!


I'm linking to these great parties:    Jennifer Rizzo
                                                  Have a Daily Cup of Mrs.Olsen
                                                  Common Ground
                                                  The Charm of Home 
                                                  Rooted in Thyme
                                                  Ivy and Elephants
                                                  Life on Lakeshore Drive
                                                  i should be mopping the floor
                                                  My 1929 Charmer 
                                                  Lavender Garden Cottage

Monday, January 28, 2013

Vacation Shopping


Thank you for all of your kind comments regarding my Home Tour at Debbiedoos!
As I mentioned before, we just got back from a trip to Arizona to visit my sister and her family. I managed to get some fabulous shopping in, and some good eats, too. I promised to share pictures with you, and I'm giving fair warning, there are a TON! Are you ready?


I have followed Karen at My Desert Cottage for awhile, and have enjoyed her posts about a monthly sale in her neck of the woods called Sweet Salvage.  Well, I was absolutely thrilled when I realized that the sale would be going on at the same time that we'd be visiting (and no, I didn't plan our vaca around the sale, as my hubby teases me! It was just serendipity :) 


I'm not exaggerating when I say that this is one of the best 'junk' shopping experiences!!  My sweet hubby drove me almost 2 hours from where we were staying in Tucson, to the sale in Phoenix, and we got there right when the doors opened.  There was a line of people, but as you enter they give you a number so that you can 'tag' the items that you want, and there's also a very friendly staff there to help. They have it down to a science!


The sale is in a huge warehouse, and every nook and cranny is filled with the most incredible 'junk'!  It's all so artfully displayed-just a feast for the eyes!


I was in full-on shopping mode, so Keith was a doll and snapped a bunch of pics for me with his phone-not the best quality, and they don't really do it justice, but you'll get the general idea!


The owner, Kim, just happened to be the person who checked me out, and she was such a sweetie! It turns out that her hubby went to BGSU in Ohio where Keith and I went-small world!  We enjoyed chatting with her.


Here I am with some treasures in hand... I could've done some serious damage if we lived closer, but I only bought things that would fit into an empty suitcase that we brought. (Luckily these inscribed silver bowls fit :) Talk about exercising restraint!


I was smitten with this amazing sign, but it wasn't packable (sigh).





There are many other fantastic shops located near the sale that we got to visit (thanks to Karen for recommending them to me!)  One that stood out to me is called Rust and Roses, and I was swooning over all the fun 'junk' there, too!  (Look at all the great dishes and again, silver pieces!) 


Keith had heard about a place to eat called 'The Duce' that sounded fun, so we tracked it down. I'm so glad that we did, because it was one of the most unique, coolest places that we've ever been to! (And we found out from our server that Guy Fieri was there the previous week filming for Diners Drive-Ins and Dives!) We got there just as they were opening for lunch, so we were able to snap lots of pics.  It's in another HUGE warehouse with half as a restaurant and half as a shop. We ate outside in this 'open-air' part, just last week, on a gorgeous sunny day. (We returned to Ohio to freezing temps and icy snow-no, I'm not bitter!)
Check out the painted pallets on the brick wall they use as planters-love it!




The kitchen and order window is in an old airstream trailer.


They have the menu painted on a pink chippy door-how fun is that?!


The factory cart, the wildflowers in mason jars, the old doors...a junk lovers paradise!


Even the bathroom was photo-worthy! (I don't think I've ever taken pics of a public bathroom before-ha!)



This is inside the actual restaurant part.


I wonder where they found these salvaged bleachers?


And this is the other half, where they sell clothing, and have the coolest vintage props!



Ok...are you still here?  This is only a fraction of the pics that we took, but I figured that you might have other things to do today, so I'll stop! ;)  I'll have to wait and show you the treasures that I brought home another time.
Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!!

Friday, January 25, 2013

Tour My Home!


I'm so thrilled and honored to be featured today by Debbie at Debbiedoo's as part of her Home Tour series!  Her Sunday link party is one of the first parties that I found when I started blogging about 8 months ago, and I've happily participated ever since.  Please go visit her fabulous blog-it's full of inspirational ideas and projects, and there are many fun Home Tours (including pics of her own gorgeous home!)
I hope you enjoy my home tour! :)


Thursday, January 24, 2013

Vacation


Hi!  I want to thank everyone for their comments and suggestions regarding my mantel here, and your comments on my junkin' finds here.  I haven't replied to you or stopped by your blogs in awhile because I just got back from 9 glorious days in Arizona!  My hubby, mom, dad and I went to visit my younger sister, her 4 kids, and our niece's 2 little ones.  Of course our great-niece (age 3) and great-nephew (age 1) are the cutest things EVER, and we had so much fun with them!! :)


The weather was sunny every day, and mostly in the 70's...just what I needed! I'm definitely a warm-weather girl, and I wasn't too happy that I had to come back to freezing temps and snow :(


We traveled to both Tucson and Scottsdale, and I have to tell you folks that live out there that I am truly jealous! My sister and her family have lived in Arizona for over 10 years, and every time I visit I think I fall in love with it a little more (especially in the winter!)


We went to some really cool places, and I'll be sharing more pics soon.  Have a wonderful day, and if you're in a cold part of the country, like me, stay warm!