Monthly Archives: August 2009

this and that

On Wednesday Josh and I made it out to the JustSpotted Blogging Party held in Laguna Hills. As a nominee for one of their awards I felt I couldn’t pass up the invite… so I drug Josh along and headed out. He moaned and groaned the whole way, until we made it to the “NASCAR room” at Wowzville and then he was perfectly happy being there. :o) (It was held at a cute place called “Wowsville” that was created by a former NASA employee and they have themed rooms with neat interactive video games for kids to play at parties and such.).

The party was sort of strange (at least for me) since I didn’t know anyone, and most of the people there I introduced myself to had never heard of my blog or shop. I kept being asked “Sadie What?” all night… I felt a little intimidated and out of place. Most of the blogs there seemed to be family oriented or “mommy” focused. And since Josh and I don’t have kids (sore subject) I didn’t know many of their blogs either…

It was sort of set up so that you were left to “mingle” on your own and meet other bloggers… something that I thought was very hard to do, since I am basically pretty shy and introverted. But we did have a nice time, and I did manage to meet a few very nice people. Coleen and Kelly the hosts were adorable. Coleen had on a super cute dress that I totally forgot to compliment her on, and Kelly had her adorable little girl there. I also found a new blog that if I DID have kids, I would have to stalk, because her ideas are amazingly creative and so cute… Dana Made It

They announced the winners via twitter, and although I have a blackberry, I was just not coordinated enough to figure out how to get the results on my phone. (I guess I was only following Kelly’s twitter profile, and not the Just Spotted main profile, so I didn’t even know I won until AFTER I got home!) But I did win (thanks to all of you who voted for me!). I won “Readers Choice for the Best Lifestyle and Design Blog”. It’s such a fun honor for me, and I am super excited. Check out the other great winners here:   Just Spotted Winners

I have to give a special thank you to Tara, who told me about the contest and turned me onto their blog in the first place. So, thank you Miss Tara! Love you girly!  And also to Melaine and Kasey who spread the word and got people to vote! Thanks ladies, you rock!

fleasale

And now onto other news…

You may have noticed that my Brocante site has slowed somewhat in weekly new additions…. well, there is a reason… I am saving up my finds for my first ever sale at IVC (Irvine Valley College). My Aunt and I are getting a booth and sharing all of our treasures with all of the Orange County locals that can make it to Irvine for the monthly flea market.  It’s actually called “The Groves Antique Market” and it’s held at Irvine Valley College, off Interstate 5 or the 405 at Jeffrey Road. 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the first Sunday of each month. (949) 786-5277. (We aren’t committing to doing this more than this one weekend, but if all goes well, who knows! It could become a regular event!) September 6th, 2009 is the big day.

My house is a total disaster as I have treasures all over while I try to tag and price each item. (I am gussying up a few in the meantime). My Aunt Lynn has an etsy shop you can check out called ZigZag Way. She is a treasure hunter as is her daughter Danielle who also has an etsy shop, Second Wind Vintage, the two of them are my partners in crime each week at the local estate sales. (My Mother-in-law is also a member of our clan, but she doesn’t have a shop, as of yet!)

I’m hoping our first sale will be a lot of fun and well worth all of the time and work we are putting into making it pretty. If you are able, please come by and pay us a visit. (We are hoping to have our booth number in advance, so I’ll update this post once I find out!). And for those of you who can’t be there, I’ll be sure to take pictures for you!

it’s a mish-mash

Along with the new estate sale addiction comes the need for additional storage. My home office is starting to over flow with junk (uh…I mean treasures). So I have been on the lookout for fun storage pieces that will give my office space that pieced together aged look I’m after.

storage3

The chest on the left (above) is my new favorite find. It is a chest of five skinny drawers perfect for papers, photos, and even jewelry, and has a large compartment up top. I fell in love instantly with the black worn and scuffed finish. It belonged to a man who had it in his garage, so it required a good cleaning, but sometimes that is half the fun, since I also found treasures hidden inside as I cleaned. (Old receipts from the 1960′s, papers, stickers, and even live ammunition! I had the sheriff come to my house to pick up the old bullets as I wasn’t sure how to dispose of them?!?!)

The green tool box, I picked up at IVC. It sits on my center island which acts as a shipping center for me. I keep all of my stamps and labels, and other tools of the trade inside. It has really cool leather handles and an awesome green finish with years of splattered paint that could never look as good if it were artificially achieved. It was funny, as it carried it out of IVC (Irvine Valley College Flea Market), three men each said to me separately: “it looks like you’re on your way to work with that thing!”.  I giggled to myself thinking that each man must of thought they were so clever saying so, not knowing that two men only steps past them would say the very same thing! :o)

storage2

This old fan was another score. It’s a perfect shade of powder blue and it still works! I was so excited to score this one, and for only $18! The little tin tool box on the right (above) holds all my tags and hardware for “gussying up” my finds for the shop. I thought it was only fitting to gussy up the box itself with a corsage of it’s own. (I bought that one, and can’t recall who from… Art Takes a Village maybe?)

storage1

The little red tool box holds my trinkets and jewels. I’ve been collecting old pins, and brooches for that perfect project, but nothing has called out to me yet to make with them. I stuck vintage French vocabulary cards in the drawers label holders.  The blue champagne trug I may have shown you before, but I just love it! It’s another IVC find. It holds all my postcards for the shop. It too, has that perfect aged look that I so easily fall in love with.

It’s a mish-mash of old objects that are blending really well with the Pottery Barn pieces I have. I’ve still got a few more ideas to bring it all together, and then hopefully I can show you a wide shot of the office. (For now I just move the clutter out of the cameras view). :o)

Now on to more important business:

The winners of the three Somerset Life 2010 Calendars are:

1. Zita – http://www.mllemagpie.typepad.com/

2. Laura – http://52flea.blogspot.com/

3. Marci – http://madysunshine.blogspot.com/

Congrats ladies, please email me your mailing addresses and I will send out your calendars sometime this week! Thank you to every one who left a comment!

miscellany

Awhile back, the editors at Stampington and Company asked if they could use one of my photos for their Miscellany section in an issue of Somerset Life magazine. I of course, agreed, and was delighted when it was published. But recently, to my surprise they asked again if they could feature the very same photo in the 2010 Somerset Life Calendar debuting this year. My image not only made it into the calendar, but it also got the cover! I am tickled over here, and so excited!

Just yesterday I received four of these gorgeous calendars in the mail. So I decided that I would give away three to a few of my blog readers. (Sorry, I had to keep one for myself!) It’s such an amazing piece of eye candy, and features the photography of some of my most loved blog friends.

giveaway

Just leave me a comment, and I will contact three lucky winners on Tuesday of next week (August 18th, 2009). In case you don’t win, but you would still like a copy of this gorgeous calendar, you can also purchase one online here:  https://www.stampington.com/calendars/

Good luck to all of you!

la la land

Sorry, I’ve been lost in la la land this last week or two and forgot to post something on the blog!

I do have a small bit of exciting news… my dear friend Tara (blondie n’ sc) and I have been nominated for the “You’ve been Spotted” awards. It’s a super cute site that features happenings and folks from Orange County, CA. I am honored to be nominated, and hope that you all with vote for the both of us! Click the button below to visit the site and cast your vote. (It’s down the left hand sidebar of the site).

Hmm, not much else exciting to report around here. I’ve been doing a little “redecorating” with some of my weekly estate sale finds, and will share some of those photos soon. (I’m not quite finished with my ideas, so I don’t want to share the in-bewteen stages with you, as it’s not pretty).The horse print below is one of my recent scores. My new pictures always seem to end up that that handy ledge in the dining room.

lalaland

I also managed to finish my other hook set for my dish towels, although I ended up hanging some other pretty objects on it from around the kitchen.

I promise to share more as the weather cools a bit, it’s just so HOT in my office these last two weeks! It’s unbearable.

I hope you all have a great weekend! Ta ta for now! :o)