A New Find..........

Hello Girls....

Happy Sunday to all of you. I hope you are all enjoying a nice and relaxing weekend.

My weekend has been good, but nothing too exciting going on. We've had loads of sunshine here in Minnesota this weekend with temps in the low 30's so it's really starting to feel more and more like Spring. Forecast for mid-week is temps around 40 degrees and that's gonna feel so nice. Might just have to open a window or two and let some fresh air into my house that has been closed up tight for the past six months.

After going to my nieces basketball game Saturday morning (her team actually won for just the 2nd time this season), I of course had to pay a visit to one of my favorite antique shops which I just can't seem to stay away from for more than a few weeks as they always seem to have something new and I don't want to miss something if I can help it.

Found this sweet little cream colored jar that has a puffy quilted design and some pearl beaded trim around the top. So cute and so cheap!!

The price on this one was just $3.95, about what I pay for one of my specialty coffee drinks at our local coffee shop.

I just love finding a good bargain, don't you?

Jewelry Boxes & Other Things......

OK, we're all girls right (unless your a male visitor to my blog....), and we all love our jewelry don't we?

I know for a fact that I do and I'm curious to know how you store and/or display your jewelry.

Most of my jewelry is stored in a jewelry box that sits on top of my dresser. My jewelry box looks a bit like an armoire and has three smaller drawers on the top portion next to a glass fronted door that opens to a space that has a revolving thing-a-ma-jig with hooks that I can hang necklaces on. The bottom portion of the jewelry box has two wider drawers.

I love how it came painted just the perfect shade of creamy white and it fits in so well with my Shabby Chic/Cottage style of decorating.

I have dreams of someday being able to have someone build me a custom made jewelry box as I would actually prefer one very similar to the one I have, but one that is much wider and maybe a bit shorter, but still retains look of a piece of furniture.

For the jewelry I wear almost everyday which I remove at night, I keep those in a pretty Royal Albert dish, that of course has some yummy roses on it.

Maybe someday, when my budget allows, I actually buy one of those larger jewelry armoires if I can find one that has just the look I am wanting. Of course, when I'd first get it, it would have lots of empty storage spaces, but I can guarantee that I would sure have fun doing some jewelry shopping to fill it up...

Hope you've all been having a great week where you are. Enjoy what's left of it and have a great weekend!!

Say Hello To.................

Miss Bridgette Bunny and her sweet baby Flossie...

Aren't the just the sweetest? They look just the slightest bit shabby and vintage, but are actually brand new....

Miss Bridgette Bunny and her baby Flossie hopped in to my shopping cart today as I was browsing through one of my favorite stores (Home Goods) where they are stocking up on all sorts of lovely Spring and Easter decor.

I'm so happy that they did because they are just what I needed to start off my hunt for some new shabby/vintage style Spring decor.

Next weekend, I'll have pay a visit to Michael's and JoAnne's craft stores to see if I can find a friend or two for Miss Bridgette Bunny and Flossie to play with.

I just love this time of year when all of the sweet and pastel Spring/Easter decor makes its way into the stores. It's always my favorite time of the year and leaves me giddy with delight when I stumble across sweet finds like these.

A Sneak Peak Into A Beautiful New Book....

Goodness.... Here it is Friday already. Where oh where has the week gone?

For all of you faithful readers of Romantic Homes magazine, I'm sure you've seen the advertisements in the magazine over the past several months for their new book "The Vintage Table" that was finally released in January. I've been dying to get my hands on this book for months and months and I finally did after what seemed like the longest wait.

The wait was definitely worth it though as the book is gorgeous and features tons of photos from the magazine and other sources of vintage kitchenware, tablescapes, floral centerpieces, etc. I've been a long time fan of vintage kitchen ware and linens and this book will make a wonderful addition to my collection of decorating books.

Here are some sneak peaks from inside the book.

If you're a big fan of vintage kitchenware and tablescapes like I am, this book is packed full of vintage eye candy so you might want to add this to your collection as well, if you haven't already.

Have a great weekend!!

A Total Blog Slacker......

Yep, that's me. While I've been visiting everyone's beautiful blogs over the past week, I'll admit I haven't been the greatest about leaving comments, or about adding a new post to my blog, so I figured it was about time I at least updated my blog with something new so you won't think I fell off the face of the earth.

What have I been doing over the past week? Nothing too exciting that's for sure. I've been battling with a case of laryngitis and a cold that's just seems to be hanging on so haven't felt up quite up to par and have just been taking it real easy trying to get as much rest as I can in between work and taking care of the mundane tasks at home that need to be done each day.

One thing I have been doing just because it makes me happy is playing with my collection of buttons. These buttons are not vintage but are inexpensive ones that I've purchased mostly at Archiver's Scrapbook store and in my local craft stores. There is just something about the yummy pastel colors that are so soothing and so pretty to look at.

Fun ways to display and admire them are in small candy dishes like this white hobnail dish...

Or in inexpensive glass storage jars that can be found at your local stores like Target and Walmart (I have a few ideas for this one to pretty up the lid of the jar but haven't gotten quite that far yet)...

Or maybe in some pretty storage jars that can be purchased online like I did with a set of these ...

Do you enjoy playing with buttons too?

I'm So Excited..........

I'm so excited and will have to start being good girl and saving my money because come June, I get to take a short trip to California with my Mom and older sister for a family reunion.

The family reunion is being hosted by my cousin and her daughter who live in Rio Linda, near Sacramento.


We will leave Minneapolis on a Thursday morning and come back home the following Monday. Only a five day trip but it will be lots of fun as we will get to see lots of family members that we haven't gotten to see for several years. We would love to be able to stay longer, but we just can't afford to what with the cost of the airline tickets, hotel room and renting a car.

If time allows and I am able to, I hope to find a few antique shops to visit during my trip so if any of my blog readers live near or are familiar with the Rio Linda/Sacramento area and know of some great antique shops in that area, please let me know.

I hope you are all enjoying your weekend. For those of you living on the East coast, I hope you are digging yourself out of all of that snow that fell over the past few days. We are in for more snow here in Minnesota today, tomorrow and Tuesday, but it will be nothing compared to what the East coast has received. It will be enough though to make the drive to work and back home again tomorrow not so fun. Is winter ever gonna end???

Some Of My Favorite Decorating Books....

Just a glimpse of some of my favorite decorating books that fill a few of my bookshelves.

Except for my recent purchase of Rachel Ashwell's new Shabby Chic book, it seems like forever since I've added any to my collection as there just aren't that many good ones out there anymore that feature the vintage/cottage/shabby chic style that I love so much and have yet to tire of.

Does anyone besides me feel the same way? It has really made me wonder over the past few years why there are fewer and fewer interior decorating books being published when there are still so many simply gorgeous homes yet unseen in the book/magazine world. Blogland alone is filled with hundreds of them that could fill page after page of books or magazines. Yet when it comes to magazines, it seems that I keep seeing the same homes featured over and over again. I swear, there have been times when over the course of maybe a year, I'll see the same home featured in two or three different magazines.

Can't these magazine publishers come up with something fresh and new to show instead of just passing on the photos to the next magazine to use a few months later?

All I can say is thank goodness for the world of blogs that lets me continue to see ever changing, fresh and new things all the time.

Pastel Vignette...

With Minnesota still being held in the tight grip of Winter, I am constantly longing for Spring to get here and for the long, hot days of Summer even more so.

In addition to the warmer weather, I always look forward to Spring as that is when I will be more apt to find some pastel lovelies to add to my collections. To me, nothing is better than the softest shades of pink, blue and yellow and Springtime/Easter is the best time to find them, whether it be in the thrift stores, antique malls, or the craft stores like JoAnn's or Michael's where they may have an isle or two filled with yummy pastels to decorate your home for Spring and Easter.

Here's just a small sample of my lovely pastels that I display all year around...

Now what's not to like about that?? Looks like pure heaven if you ask me...

Have a great day!!!