Tiny Treasures..........

When you're a girl like me living on a fairly tight budget, but still can't stay out of the antique shops or give up on your quest to hunt down some new little treasures, you must learn to shop within your means and hunt up little treasures that won't leave too big of a hole in the wallet.

That's why, whenever I've felt the need to do some treasure hunting, but knew I didn't have much money to spend at the time, I could still enjoy my favorite past time and browse the antique shops looking for just small little items that may only cost a few dollars a piece.

Besides my extensive and ever growing collection of vintage crocheted potholders that can usually be found for anywhere around $3.00 to $5.00 each, I also love to collect pretty vintage and maybe not so vintage postcards and calling cards.

The colors and graphics can be so amazing at times.

Finding these pretty little treasures at very little cost allows me to still satisfy my craving for treasure hunting without breaking the bank.

Tucked in a little wicker basket and set on my coffee table, I can reach for the basket at anytime and sift through all the pretty cards inside.

What little treasures do you keep within easy reach that you can sit and admire each day?

Embellished Beauties....

This past weekend found me in a lovely little shop called "The Wren's Nest" located in Anoka, Minnesota. Anoka is a suburb of Minneapolis and is only about 10 minutes from where I live.

The shop is only open on Friday's and Saturday's, except for the second weekend of each month when they are also open on Thursday's and Sunday's as well.

I had no luck finding any goodies in the antique shops I had visited prior to stopping at this specialty shop, but as soon as I stepped in, I felt my disappointment melt away and I realized immediately that I had unknowingly saved the best shop for last.

It was a girly girls paradise. The shop is by no means large in size, but it was filled with all sorts of treasures, both old and new, including some handmade items, antiques, china, home decor and clothing.

I could have spent a fortune in this store, but I restrained myself and only purchased four lovely embellished gift card and tag sets. I've seen similar ones in different Etsy shops and on websites here and there, and I am happy to have found these.

Just look at how pretty they are all blinged out with glitter and embellishments.

They were bit pricey, but not overly so. No more so than what I've seen them going for on different Etsy websites and I know it must have taken the creator of these cards and tags quite some time to make.

And, I justified my purchases knowing that I would be keeping these for myself to use for display purposes and not for passing them on with a gift as they were intended to be. They are just too pretty to give away.

The shop also as an amazing collection of jewelry pieces that looked to be vintage jewelry pieces re-purposed into new designs. I'm definitely going to have to look closer at the jewelry the next time I visit this shop.

Until then, I'm going to enjoy my lovely purchases and even use them as inspiration for some tags I hope to create myself someday. Seeing these close up and all the details will sure help on that part.

I know you all would just love this little shop and I wish I could take you all with me the next time I visit.

A Few More Lovelies...

Before I head out for the day to hunt up some new treasures, I thought I would do a super quick post to share some that I already have.

Today, I'm showing a little white stand that has a drawer and shelf that I picked up from one of my favorite shops (one that I'll be visiting today) on which I display just a small portion of some of my collections.

A shabby white standing holding just a small portion of some of my collections, surrounded by a pretty painted storage tote holding some of may favorite magazines, a painted pitcher holding a bouquet of artificial roses, and of course "Miss Flossie", my sweet little Easter Bunny whom I introduced you to last Easter.

Surrounding the stand is a beautifully painted wooden tote holding some of my favorite magazine's, a metal pitcher holding a bouquet of some pretty artificial roses next to which stands sweet "Miss Flossie".

Miss Flossie is a darling little Easter Bunny that I found at HomeGoods last Spring and introduced to you quite some time ago. She was just too cute to put away after Easter was over. Her shabby colors fit my tastes perfectly and she will stay out all year around.

You can click on the picture to make it larger..

Now, I'm off to hunt up some new treasures. Wish me luck!!

Have an awesome weekend.

It Took A Few Days.....

But I finally found a spot to put my cute pink wicker cabinet/shelf I found a week or so ago.

It now resides in my bedroom atop a small little bookshelf. It's just the perfect size to fill the spot.

It has a few empty spots that need to be filled (an excuse to do a bit more shopping I think) and I'm not quite sure I'll continue displaying the white milk glass pieces on top. The vases are a bit on the taller side and I feel like they compete too much with the picture above. Most likely, I'll replace them with something shorter.

I love how the white looks though against the pink color of the shelf/cabinet.

I learned one thing during the process of taking pictures of this wicker cabinet and that is the fact that it was extremely difficult to photograph and get a nice sharp and clear picture of it. Not sure if it has to do with the wickers weave pattern or if it's just my lousy photography skills. Most of the pictures I've taken of this cabinet appear to be a bit blurred for some reason. These were the best I could get.

Now, I'm looking forward to the weekend so I can do a bit of fun shopping and look for some new treasures to display on my new cabinet.

I'm also looking forward to some much more comfortable weather as the extreme heat and humidity finally move out. Yeah!!!!! Now I can be outside without feeling like I'm going to wilt.

Well, it's getting late and I'd best wrap things up as another work day will soon be upon us and that's gonna come up awful fast and I need to get some sleep before then.

Have a great Friday and a fun and fabulous weekend!!

A Simple Vignette.....

Is all it takes to bring a little beauty into a corner of every room...

This one, featuring a bit of buttery soft yellows is in a corner of my living room and sits upon a darling little doll size table with the top covered in some vintage wallpaper.

And even has a doll size garden chair sitting close by. This sweet little metal chair was another find at Micheal's earlier this Spring.

Is it terribly wrong for me to already be looking forward to next Spring and all the wonderful new Spring decor that will make it's way into the stores? Maybe so, but being the lover of pastel colors that I am, I find the stores to be a bit depressing during the Fall and Winter seasons when they are filled with the darker Fall like colors of browns, maroons and oranges or the reds and green's so prevelant at Christmas time.

I am much happier and more cheerful when surround by my pinks and other pastel colors all year round.

You Know It's Really Humid Outside....

When the humidity causes glue to lose it's grip and lets things like this happen....

This is the second or third year in a row now since I've had this cute little letter holder with the three roses on front that one or two of the roses have become unglued and fallen off when the humidity level increases inside my house.

Thank goodness all it's takes is a little hot glue to reattach the roses until they decide to fall off again. It's terribly humid again here today in Minnesota, so I think I'll hold off on doing that for a few more days though.

Hope you are enjoying your weekend and that it's not too hot and humid where you are..

Fab New Finds...........

Oh man, did I have fun today..

I hit a few "Occasional Sales" today in the town of Buffalo, Minnesota, about 45-50 minutes from where I live and there were lots and lots of treasures to be found today. So many great things I would have loved to buy, but sadly, my budget wouldn't allow. These sales in Buffalo are only held one weekend a month (always the first Thursday, Friday and Saturday of each month). Lucky me, I was on vacation today so I was able to make the sales on the first day before all the good stuff was gone.

The stores were crazy busy too with lots of ladies out shopping the sales. It was so crowded in a few of the shops that you could barely move, or take the time to really stop and look at the offerings up for sale. If something caught your eye, you had to grab it and run before someone else decided they wanted it too. I typically don't enjoy shopping when it's that crowded as I like to take my time and make sure I'm able to see everything, but I do make an exception for these occasional sales. It's definitely an experience that's for sure.

These are my treasures I found today.

A cute little bench, painted of course in the palest pink color.....

A beautiful vintage tablecloth with a lovely red, pink and blue floral design for only $12.00....

And an adorable pink wicker cabinet/wall shelf. Another thing I'm not quite sure where I'm going to put it yet, but with a price of just $10.00, I couldn't pass it up and leave it behind...

And a view with the cabinet door open....

Oh, and I almost forgot this one last thing. Yep, another crocheted potholder to add to my collection. This one a green and cream color in near perfect condition with no stains. Just the way I like to find them.

I plan on hitting some more antique shops tomorrow, but I'm not quite sure which ones yet. It all depends on how much driving I'm in the mood for. I hope I have the same good luck tomorrow as I had today.

Well, it's almost time to get dinner started. All that shopping today has made me hungry, so I'll say goodbye for now.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit. Enjoy the rest of your day whatever you have planned for it.

Random Pretties.....

Hey there girls..

Just popping in to say hello from a hot and steamy Minnesota where the temp is hovering around 91 degrees at the moment with the air so humid it almost makes it hard to breath. A nice cool and refreshing breeze would be so welcome right now.

And of course, I wouldn't stop in without leaving you something pretty to look would I? Well, of course not. I wouldn't be that cruel. So today, I took a few pictures of a vignette I have displayed on top of my secretary desk in my "I wanna be a crafter" room.

Don't you just love the cute little pink dress form? I found that at Michael's this past spring when they had a whole collection of adorable French themed home accessories. I dressed her up a bit by adding a piece of lace and a ribbon with a paper rose attached. So cute.

Next to that is a white wicker vanity tray. I simply adore these and have three of them in my collection now. This one here in white, one in a soft yellow color and also one in a teal blue color. You may have seen the teal blue one in past pictures. I have it sitting on my work table/desk in this same room. I've been keeping my eye out for a pink one to add to my collection as well, although to be honest, I have no idea where I would put it. I'd find a place for it eventually I'm sure.

Well that's all for today. I hope to have some new treasures to share with you later in the week. I am on vacation this week and if I don't have to spend too much money getting some car repairs done tomorrow (dang that "Check Engine Soon" light), I'll be hitting the antique shops later this week for some fun shopping. Can't wait to see what I might find.

Enjoy your week, don't work too hard and come back and visit again soon!!

Three Years Ago Today....

A terrible tragedy occurred here in the city of Minneapolis, Minnesota when one of our major interstate bridges collapsed with no warning, killing 13 people who had the misfortune of being on the bridge at the wrong time and injury over 145 others.

It is a day that forever changed the city...

And one that will never be forgotten....

Please say a prayer today in memory of those who lost their lives in this terrible tragedy and for thier families and also for the survivors who must live with the memories of this terrible day forever.

The images shown here are ones that I've borrowed from various media sources or which were posted on public sites.