If I told you, you wouldn't believe me...

So...we'll just skip all the nonsense and I say I was ABSURDLY BUSY for the last week. But I miss my blog friends! I haven't left you all - I am coming back! I'm here! And its VINTAGE THINGIE THURSDAY! My favorite day of the week! Make sure to swing on by Coloradolady's (Suzanne's) blog and see everyone's wonderful "Vintage Thingies!"


So for my grand return here is just a small bit of what I've been up to. I found this great little bistro set with matching laminate table. I knew it had some potential... but it was quite dirty and a little rusty in spots.


A fresh coat of paint and WOW! So Cute! It also must be said that I spent A LOT of time cleaning those cute little yellow seat cushions. Lets put it this way...they were brown/green when I got my hands on them. What a difference!


The perfect place to sit and waste away the summer days with a nice pitcher of lemonade... or lemonade and vodka if you were me :)

Vintage Thingie Thursday!

Happy Vintage Thingie Thursday Everyone! Please go over to Coloradoladys Blog to see more fabulous finds by Vintage Thingie Lovers from everywhere in Blogland! :) You'll make new friends - I promise!

Yikes! A whole week has gone by! That is pretty incredible!!! I'm running around like a madwoman trying to get all packed up for the weekend... I'm heading to Baltimore for my college reunion. I must say... I really need a break. So in honor of my girls weekend coming up ... this week's VTT will be some girly stuff!

Everyone needs at least a couple ( I have like a dozen ) super girly, beaded vintage evening bags...which I never use. But I must have them. I have more at home...but here are a few I have for sale in the store. The blue one is really adorable...come to think of it... do I have a blue one? :)


And what, I ask you, is more girly than a vanity? This pieces was a mess when I got it in, and now of course is the most talked about piece in the store! I'm really excited about how its looking. I will need to do an update shot for next week.


For now, just try to visualize this vanity mirror floating above the vanity...and of course ignore the paint cans and drop cloth. Gotta love the creative process!

Have a wonderful Thursday! Filled with Vintage Love!

Vintage Thingie Thursday!

Yay! Its Vintage Thingie Thursday over at ColoradoLady's Blog. Make sure you skip over there for awhile to check out all the fun neat stuff everyone is posting :)

This week I am showing you my vintage hat pin collection. I can't say I collected too many of these. They were a gift from my Godmother Demetria. They were originally her Mother in laws.

Arn't they all so perfect?

These are my favorite! I love the Greek/Roman coin one (of course!) and the small locket one.

Inside the locket is what looks like a tiny Virgin Mary. So Cute!

I even adore the sweet little pin cushion they are displayed on!

Happy Vintage Thingie Thursday Everyone!

Vintage Thingie Thursday!

Well this is my first Thursday participating in

Vintage Thingie Thursday from ColoradoLady!

Please visit her blog for a complete list of participating blogs. I've been peeking for a couple of weeks now and finally decided it was about time I participate! :) Lots of great goodies to look at!

Here is my Vintage Thingie! A beautiful Vintage Suitcase by American Tourister!

I found this just a few weeks ago and knew I had to have it! This inside is PERFECT!

Is it weird that I'm kind of planning on using this for my next weekend getaway?! :)

The fabric is very pretty too! I love everything about it :)

But the best party has to be the key! Yes! It still had the key- and it looks like this :)

Plus it had a "St. Ann Pray for us" little sterling charm keychain that needs to be shined up. I will admit it was worth every dollar, all FIVE of them :) What a steal!

Happy Vintage Thingie Thursday!

My new favorite piece!

Right now in the store we have two really sweet little couches. The upholstery is perfect and original. They look like the plastic coating was taken off yesterday (you know it probably was).


Well now they get to brighten up the store! Aren't they lovely! Would love to take these home with me. Maybe because the beautiful floral reminds me of Spring! I think I'm going to put one in the Easter Window :)

Shabby Chic Color!

Well here is a new addition to the store. I'm thinking its a great piece to hold all the new beads I am going to carry. Here are a few shots to show you how we came up with the end product.
As you can see... the piece is pretty ugly in the before shots. I never painted any furniture blue...and I was inspired to do so with spring coming up. Blue and white remind me of the ocean and of course - GREECE and the Greek Islands. :)

First coat was a nice deep color of blue...almost navy. Painting cabinets always takes forever since you have to paint the inside and all the shelves... but I finished at last.

The last coat is a white white, and its brushed on as quickly as possible with the driest brush possible. I just finished this up and need to wait a day or so to really give it that great distressed look. So I will have to post those pictures when shes all ready.

Don't you just love these white porcelain rose knobs? I didn't have enough to sell, but they are the perfect finishing touch to this cabinet!!! :)

Hawaiin Goodies!

Vacation or not I'm always on the hunt for priceless junk. As many of you know, being a pack rat is simply a way of life. Here are some of the goodies I added to my nest of treasures. Above is my favorite find... Vintage Hawaiian Milk Caps. I love these! They even have palm trees on them! I thought this was a great find because I also bought them in Hilo at a great little antique shop. So these are a souvenir as well as something I can play with later.


I also found these stamps at the same shop. A little poking around online tells me that they are also from the Big Island, (which name is Hawaii actually). Apparently the "City of Refuge" at the bottom of the stamp refers to the fact that the city the park was in was originally a sactuary for tabboo-breakers and war refugees. The city is on the Kona side of the island (we didnt make it over there this time) and its called Puuhonua 0 Honaunau. It became a national park in 1961 and the stamps were issued in 1972. I think they'll make great pendant necklaces ... and look~ the shell beads I bought match them too.


Here are more shell beads that I picked up. I liked how the tiny seashells had been made into little loops of shells. Perfect for springtime and summer earrings. I also loved these seasehll pendants. I'll be showing you what I come up with soon :)


This small seashell dish was also in an antique store. I just had to have it. Its adorable and looks great on my dresser. It will always remind me of my trip to The big Island of Hawaii with my Sistah! Alexis also found the "A" pin in a secondhand shop and I can't wait to make a necklace for her out of it :)


Back on Oahu I found another vintage shop that had these great vintage pin and earrings sets. The were from an old jewelry shop that went out of business in the late 60s. The stones are pink coral and peridot and I can't wait to transform them into a necklace and earring set. :)

So there you have it.. a peek at my new found treasures! yay!

Have a great weekend!

The Armoire is ready for a new home!

The armoire is finished at last. That last coat is time consuming, and potentially lethal (fumes) but is usually well worth it. Just look at all the wonderful detail it helped bring out in the carvings and the feet. I also couldn't get a great shot of them...but the handles have this wonderful natural aged patina to them.
Here are some new goodies to decorate the top. I LOVE busts so we always have some in the store...I also love the new Mercury Glass Frames from J. Devlin Glass Art. ...But my absolute favorite are those antique fabric stamps are new and they are FABULOUS. I will probably dedicate an entire post to them soon. They are just amazing, and each one is different! I didnt order these from a catalog, I bought them from an importer. They are handmade one-of-a-kind pieces of art...and you can use them! I just adore them and already have several decorating my home and studio! :)

New Transformations

Everyone loves this armoire. Its a great size and has such a sense of charm. It was in beautiful condition when we got it in, just needed a little tune up. It's currently going through the Michelangela finishing process :) and it already looks great. I just finished a second coat and I cant wait to put on the top coat. Its a stain coat that brings out all the wonderful brushstorkes, highlights, carvings and curves of the piece.


These pieces are great because even though they are old they are so versatile. People walk into my store and ask for "Entertainment Centers" all the time. Obviously there weren't many around before TVs took over the world. The armoire is a great compromise. The furniture has character, adds to the uniqueness of your home, and hides the ugly tv in the bedroom or living room. :)

Happy Friday! I'm going to the Metropolitan Opera tonight. We will be seeing Verdi's Il Travatore :) I'll tell you about it tomorrow!

Out with the Old...In with the New

Just sold this great Secretary we had in the shop.. . on the same day I got this new piece delivered. (Well its not new, but it is to me!) Its a beautiful Chaise Lounge in perfect condition. I just LOVE it. I only wish I had it before Valentine's Day for the window! But I think it will still make a great "Welcome/Where are you? Spring" display. :)


I have it right in the middle of the store. It looks perfect with these old vintage bags and some dried flowers. I think its screaming "Take me Home!"