PresentPast Collection

A Sprinkling of This and That

This antique bread bowl is one of my favorite pieces because it's so versatile. I've used it to hold tortilla chips and bread at parties, small garden plants under a window sill, Christmas ornaments and of course, fresh picked lemons. I thought they were so pretty I just had to share.

I think I mentioned before the fact that although I was born in Vegas, my luck has been somewhat dismal. But......times are a changin'!

I won a prize! This pink patchwork belt with the fab rhinestone buckle from Bari J. She makes also makes beautiful handbags and clutches and incredible French ribbon brooches. I told her that I felt so lucky to win something that I think I should go buy a lottery ticket. Who knows?

I also received my order from Andrea at One Hundred Wishes. She had some delightful Spring and Easter goodies to add to my collection. Aren't they packaged so pretty?

I think these two friends have the dearest faces. It's a Nicol Sayre gift box and tucked inside was a small pink heart. I know I will cherish this for years to come.

New to the shop, I've added these Crown Bath Bars. These artisanal soaps are all hand milled with the finest ingredients such as goats milk, honey and vanilla and smell amazing. They have been very popular at the barn and I thought it would be nice to offer them to my online customers. Hope you enjoy them too!

Weekend Social at the Barn

Did the gigantic cupcakes grab your attention? They sure made a big impression at the barn this weekend. Two lovely ladies all the way from Lake Havasu, Arizona brought them from their favorite bakery.

From the left we have one of our new dealers, Joy from The Vintage Rabbit, next is Anita, myself and Tammy who are friends with Joy and my sister-in-law and own a shop in Lake Havasu called Bella. Be sure to visit their blog The Pink Funny Farm and if you're in the area I would definitely make a trip to their shop. Just check out how stylish these girls were!

Isn't Tammy's belt buckle amazing!! She made it herself and I believe she will take special orders if you'd like one for yourself.

Here's our refreshment offerings, not quite cupcakes but still enough sugar and caffeine to get you through your power shopping. This of one of our younger customers enjoying her donut hole. Yes, we start them young here. Isn't she adorable? I just love her pink cheeks and colorful outfit, especially those tights!

This is one of the things I bought. Now I just have to decide where I'm going to put it so I can look at it everyday! And my friend Linda bought this one....

My friend and fellow dealer Sherrie made some great restyled vintage jewelry pieces and had some gorgeous garden displays.

Here's the most darling Italian girl you'll ever meet, Rita. She is our "head cashier" and also makes beautiful soldered china key chains and charms, builds the cutest vintage style locker cabinets and ceiling tile mirrors and says things I don't understand but wish I could. Adore this gal!

I got to meet so many great women this weekend and lots of family and friends stopped by to visit. Here is my sister-in-law, Kay. She has been an interior designer for years and just started her new blog. She has lots of plans in store for her blog and I know you will enjoy getting to know her and seeing what creative touches she brings to everything she does.

I also wanted to thank Jackie from The Art In You and her sweet friend Jane for being a part of our fun weekend and so many of the other bloggers who came by to say Hello. Even with the rainy weather, friends and shoppers came by to brighten our day!

Springtime At The Barn

I can see by my last post how much we all love flea markets! Many of you asked which one I went to and it happened to be the Long Beach Flea Market which is held on the 3rd Sunday of every month. I try not to miss this one because I usually find better deals here than at the Rose Bowl. But of course, I shop that one too! You never know when you'll find a treasure. I've been collecting inventory to update the website with more vintage items.

As promised, here are a few sneak peek photos from my spot at the La Maison Rustique Barn Sale. It's full of Easter gifts and goodies and lots of fantastic vintage finds.

The large antique gathering baskets are from one of my French importers. I think the Copper Wire Nests look so pretty all piled up in them (these are also back in stock on the website). Of course, they'd be great filled with sea shells, garden pots or magazines as well.

I wish I had more photos to show you but most of the ladies are still busy setting up their wares. But come Friday everything will be ready for your shopping pleasure. I plan on being there Friday and Saturday from around 10-2 and Sunday from 11-2 and I hope that some of the local gals can stop by so I can meet you in person! The Barn Sale hours are 9:30-5:00 Fri & Sat and 11:00-5:00 Sunday. The location is 39195 Avenida Antonovich in the beautiful wine country of Temecula, CA.

Let's Flea!

Sunday morning was spent browsing the flea market for a few hours. Would you like to come along with me? Let's go!

This vendor had some spectacular hand painted pieces. Aren't they just lovely?

There were tables and tables full of vintage kitchen textiles. I love buying these for my garden tables because the colors are so cheerful.

I saw a lot of religious santos and other artifacts from France. This vendor imports containers full of great finds. Notice all the red SOLD tags? His things were selling like hot cakes!

And there was plenty of silver to be had. It's always good to look through them because you never know when you might find your initials engraved on a piece or two.

So Heather, what'd ya get? Well, since you asked.......

Sometimes it's better to buy the entire hat just for the millinery flowers.

Here's a silver plated handled basket, rhinestone buttons, a beaded coin purse, a vanity jar and a box of mother of pearl buttons and buckles.

Wallpaper, vintage linens and the most fabulous ribbon of all time! It's about 6" wide and a gorgeous pale mint color. I can't wait to use it on Easter baskets!

I bought quite a few children and baby cabinet photos and French calling card ephemera. Oh, and the creamy white ironstone bowl and floral platter underneath all this stuff.

I also picked up a cute pink sewing basket and a giant wicker basket full of wooden spools. Kind of interesting for a gal who doesn't sew.

There is hardly a wooden garden tote or tool box that I pass up. And the small pots were from the French dealer, I think I should give him a call and buy the rest. I'm in my gardening mode you know.

Ok gals, that's it for today. Thanks for coming along with me! Some of these goodies will end up on the website, some are going to the Barn Sale that starts next Friday and some are staying home with me. Now, I just need to decide how I'm going to divide all this up!

This week I'll be setting up my spot at the barn and if you've never been able to make it before....this is the month! I promise you won't be disappointed. I'm bringing out more items than ever before and the Present Past Collection space will be stuffed to the brim with all kind of new treasures! I promise to post some previews this week. The event starts Friday the 22nd through the 24th. Hope to see you there!

What Saturdays Are Made For

The morning started off with an hour long walk with my sister and then some coffee. After I got home, The Man and I went to the garden center to pick up some flowers for the patio containers. They have been seriously neglected all winter. Then we stopped for lunch and a quick trip to the grocery store to pick up a few ingredients for our barbecue dinner.

Most of the early afternoon was spent watering, weeding and adding some colorful blooms to the backyard.

I added a few fresh cut flowers and some pretty seashells to one of my birdbaths. Instant beauty!

This is one of my favorite stepping stones in the garden. A friend of mine made it for me when I owned a home and garden boutique here in town. She would press fresh roses into them and add whatever saying you would like.

Here's my garden buddy Bella. She followed me all over the place today and wanted to play fetch for as long as I would throw the ball. I should have taught her how to pull weeds.

There is still lots of cleaning up to do in the yard. Most of my tables, potting bench, swing and furniture need a good scrubbing. That will have to wait for another day!

Next it was time for a little break and I headed inside to make a yummy snack.

There were fresh strawberries at the market but they weren't quite ripe, it's still too early in the season. I decided to dip them in chocolate because that's a sure fire way to make them taste better!

No laughing at my technique. I couldn't get the dark chocolate to thin out enough and my drizzle ended up more like dollops. Nobody complained though and they have all been gobbled up.

After some more yard work it was time to have our barbecue hamburgers. Perfect after a full day of fun, hard work and sunshine!

Here's the view from my dinner seat at the picnic table. The Man made the table for me for my birthday a few years back. It's my favorite place to sit in the entire garden.

The perfect place to watch the sun set through the trees. Happy Saturday everyone!

New Cavallini & Co

Just in time for Spring I've added some brand new Cavallini & Co stationery products. There are gorgeous Butterfly Stamp and Sticker Sets and a great Rubber Stamp set that has terrific numbers, symbols and words to play with and then there are two new small purse sized notebooks with vintage Spring Birds and Butterfly images. All the other Cavallini items I carry have new product photos so you can see what comes inside each keepsake tin. I hope this helps with your shopping and that you enjoy the new Spring items as much as I do!

Happy Valentine's Day!

It's been such a busy week around here but I can't let the Day of Love pass by without wishing all of you a very Happy Valentine's Day! I know how hard all of you work to make this day special for your loved ones and hope that in return it fills you with lots of love and happiness.

Thought I'd share with you what happened in my garden overnight. The temperatures have been in the high 70's and my trees are very grateful for the sunshine.

For those of you still covered in snow these are for you! Spring will be here soon.

On another note, I'm still waiting for 3 Calendar prize winners to contact me with their names and addresses so I can send them their gift. Hopefully their responses didn't get lost in my spam box. Please refer to this post to see if it was you, the winners I'm still waiting on are Amy, Laurie and The Farmer's Wife.

Romantic Inspirations and Random Facts...

Romance is in the air. Whether we share it with our sweethearts, children, pets or friends it will surely be marked with sweets, flowers, jewelry and gifts. Who can resist such lovelies? Earlier in the year I picked up quite a few Valentine treasures and for the life of me can't find a single one! This weekend will be spent doing a search and rescue for them. Why do I buy things so early? Why do retailers set out Valentines before our Christmas is boxed up and put away? Hey....that's where they could be! In any event, if you are in need of a little Romantic Inspiration you can visit some of my Flickr Favorites for Valentine's Day.

I was tagged by Shelley to list 7 Random Facts about myself. This was sooo hard to do. I even had to ask my Mom and Sister and still....it was hard to come up with 7. So please bear with me if they are not very exciting.

1. Tivo has changed my life. I don't watch very much TV to begin with and now being able to fast forward through commercials and pause live TV makes it so much more enjoyable. For instance, I had 3 Martha shows recorded and whizzed through them in no time. Love that!

2. Thanks to my Sister, I can now order my favorite drink at Starbucks without sounding like a complete dork. Tall Double Skinny Vanilla Latte please? Translated for you non-coffee drinkers: Tall (size small) Double (2 shots of espresso) Skinny (non-fat milk) Vanilla (sugar-free) Latte (the actually drink) I won't bore you with how I used to order them, pathetic.

3. The SUV I recently purchased from here was made in the UK and because of this the navigation system speaks to me with a British accent. Even when I don't follow her directions she stays calm and never gets angry which is why I named her Dutchess. Has anyone else out there named their car?

4. I was born in Las Vegas and weighed 7-11, which is suppose to make me very lucky. Key word here? Suppose.

5. My favorite outfit would be pair of jeans and flip flops which is my usual work attire unless it's freezing. Then it's those ugly boots around the house but never outside. You know, the Uggly ones that are so warm and cozy.

6. I come from a large family. 4 girls 1 boy. He has moved to Florida, which is about as far as you can get from California without dropping off into the ocean. I try not to think our estrogen overload drove him there. But all the girls live in Cali and close by.

7. Whew, finally. I adore frozen yogurt from this place. I could eat it every day. Sometimes it makes me so cold just eating it that I have to take a hot bath. Even my finger nails turn blue. Will I stop? Doubt it, too yummy!

Thanks for making it through this list. I believe I should tag others but because it was difficult for me I'll let you decide if you'd like to play along. Even though I don't like making my list I love reading others!

I Heart Etsy

After reading this post on Dede's blog (who also happens to have an Etsy shop) I had to make my way over to French Kiss right away to find myself a treasure! Tammy Fischer is so creative with her jewelry designs and incorporates incredible vintage surprises into her pieces.

And need I remind you about how much I adore packaging? Details...it's all in the details. I could lie awake at night dreaming of ways to adorn and package things and never miss loosing sleep. Someone could even give me an empty box, beautifully wrapped and I would be just as thrilled as if there were diamonds inside.

Here's what I purchased. Love, love, love. I think I may wear them forever. I can't wait until she's added more to her shop so I can spend my kids inheritance.

Here is my recent stash of tags that I purchased from Brandywine Boutique. Brandy makes absolutely lovely tags that look so weathered and elegant. I especially like her birds, nests and eggs. I'll be using these for my items going to the barn sale this month.

I've been collecting soldered charms for about a year or so and really love the quality from Dove Grey Art Studio. I purchased the square beveled charm and the one above it from this lovely shop. I love looking at my growing collection scattered all over my Inspiration Board.

These mini bottles of glitter are the work of Marilyn Healey. The stoppers are made from rolled up paper and then wax sealed. Will I ever use them? Of course not! Too pretty. They make me smile just looking at them. I don't know if she still carries them but she does have lots of great German scrap and pretty paper packs. Cerri of Little Pink Studio carries small shaker bottles of German glass glitter and mica flakes. She's also having a giveaway on her blog and the drawing is on Wednesday the 6th so hurry on over!

Anytime sweet Rebecca Sower adds her wares to her Etsy shop I know to go while the gettin's good! Her offerings are so lovely and she truly inspires me to be more creative. Her artwork is so genuine and reflects her unique style. I want to be her neighbor one day and live down the road in the Nashville countryside. I'll pretend that I need to borrow a cup of sugar while I absorb her creative surroundings. Sounds fun doesn't it?

Teresa of French Poppy has a beautiful greeting card line. She has some French inspired cards along with birthday, holiday, all occasion and super cute chandelier designs. Her shop is a great place to find that unique card for your special someone.

There are so many more, but I have to stop somewhere on this post! Let me know if you enjoy my favorite Etsy shops and please support these talented women! If you'd like, I can do more posts on my Etsy Love since I shop there quite frequently!

Vintage Valentines

You never know when you're at a flea market or estate sale and a new collection might begin. Some years back I was at the Rose Bowl Flea Market and came across a bag of vintage valentine cards. The dealers at the Rose Bowl are very knowledgeable about what they sell so I didn't expect much of a deal.

Much to my surprise the dealer said $2 which lead to my next question..."each"? Nope, 2 for the whole bag. Sold. There were 39 valentines in that bag all with hand scribbled elementary school signatures and most dated 1921.

Isn't she the cutest? I usually set them out in bowls or scatter them along the mantle. This year I plan on scanning them and printing out some larger sizes on my new laser printer.

Do you collect Valentines? I'd love to hear some ways you display them or use them in your artwork. I think they would be beautiful hung on a long ribbon as a garland or nestled in a wreath. Perhaps after I scan them I will use them in more adventurous ways.

I've added some gorgeous Austrian Crystal Earrings to the shop. They are unbelievably sparkly and when I wear them I almost always receive compliments. I hope you like them too! They would be the perfect little Valentine surprise!

And I've restocked the Copper Nests as well. Just in time for Spring!

Well, I'm off to get started on my To-Do list and because it's Monday, I have fresh energy and the possibility of actually finishing it. But then again, I might get distracted and find myself at Panera Bread for lunch or making a quick trip to Anthropologie. Hmmmm, doesn't that sound like more fun?