Palm Springs Baby! Yeah!

Here we come!

See you in a week or so... 

~XO

Ladders in decor?

I don't know about you but lately I've become intrigued with old ladders.  Reichel over at Copy Cat Chic did a post today about ladders being used for display and found some great options.  Be sure and check out her blog.

Image from Brocade Home via Copy Cat Chic

I found this one a few months ago and have pressed it into service in our garage, the most popular space in our home since we turned it into a combination teen hangout, man cave, and home theatre!

It definitely comes in handy and does double duty as a charming magazine rack!

(This is the room where the pond yacht and shell type-tray are going to live just as soon as I get it cleaned up and photo ready!)

A photo op

Many of you are familiar with my friend Steven Small.  He is the talented photographer behind the amazing photos that I showcase each month from The Alameda Pointe Antiques and Collectibles Fair.  Come to find out, his daughter Megan Small, is also a  gifted photographer!

 

 

She resides in Southern California where she has her own photography business, Megan Small Photography.  It seems she does it all... weddings, pregnancy, showers, babies, children, family, parties, dogs, life ~ you name it, she'll photograph it! 

The Life of Riley

Now, for the photo opportunity!

Megan Small will be in the SF Bay Area between April 14th and April 20th.

If you are interested in booking an appointment please visit her website at megansmall.com

Recent finds

Thought I'd share some treasures I've found recently. 

The dolphin is a brooch that is made to sit on your shoulder.

I've never come across such an unusual plant stand.  I wasn't too thrilled with the circle of finials around the top at first.  It wasn't until I got it home that I really fell in love with it!

I found this pair of glass cubes with soldered copper edges containing these gorgeous butterfly specimens.

I think they were originally displayed on tiny glass stems which have fallen down.

They are still lovely as is.

This is a classic brass magazine holder from Breuners.

I love how reflective the shiny brass surface is.

I found this cool burlap wrapped lamp at The White Elephant Sale.

It features Picasso's Blue Period.

I scored the perfect lampshade today at Marshall's!
I need to find a smaller harp but it's the perfect size, shape and color!

Another score of late is this tall bamboo & lacquer plant stand.

I found this large vintage milagros at the same sale.

Milagros are small devotional charms that are generally composed of gold, silver, copper or brass

Love the shape of this vintage wicker basket!

A wonderful plaster ceiling medallion.

'

I'm considering putting it in my Dining Room.

Am I the only person who gets excited over a humongous ball of old rubber bands?
I found the awesome old wire basket which provided the perfect container for my curious find!

I love this beautiful vintage statue of Jesus and his Mother Mary

I love how there is a place for a votive candle.

I have a weakness for ships and found this model of a Coast Guard Ship.
USCG BARQUE EAGLE

I'm completely smitten with this set of 10 silver plate spoons and their unusually large Fleur de Lys motif.  On the backside of each spoon are a set of engraved initials.  I think they are probably European.

Just today I found this cool vintage camera at my favorite consignment store.

I have no idea of it's age but it still has the original instructions!


Happy Hunting this weekend!!!!

Do you remember your first?

Do you remember your first ebay purchase?

(Mitchel Robertson lll   1928    Hingham, Mass.)

I'll never forget mine.

I typed in chinoiserie and there she was!  It was love at first sight.  I opened an ebay account and placed my bid.  There weren't options like "maximum bid" or services like "bid snipe" then.  Looking back it was all so straight forward.  I kept vigilant watch over the auction for days.  When the final hour was at hand I sat in front of my computer with butterflies in my stomach as the final seconds ticked away.  Suddenly it was over and she was mine!  I was overjoyed!  The sweet smell of success was intoxicating.  The next morning I received an email asking me if I wanted to sell the monkey!

I was confused!  I opened the email to discover that someone in San Francisco was offering to buy my chinoiserie monkey  that I had just won but had yet to receive!  I emailed back and asked them why they wanted my monkey.  They replied that they had her mate which they had purchased from the same seller a few months earlier.  I asked why they hadn't bid on her and they said they had been out of town and missed out on participating in the auction.  My response to them was,  NO...  but did they want to sell their monkey?  They said NO. 

So, my sweet chinoiserie monkey resides with us in Alameda while her mate lives 20 minutes away in the City by the Bay.

Inspired by India... Hicks that is!

I'm obsessing over pond yachts.

They keep popping up which is fueling my obsession.

I found this gorgeous photo of pond yachts in Paris on the blog Reverie.
 It was taken by Melanie's talented photographer husband, Sean Patrick McArdle.

 While reading one of my favorite blogs, Starfish and Sundresses, I came across this post on India Hicks'  Hibiscus Hill Home on Harbor Island!  Right away I spied my beloved pond yacht!  I love how she placed it in front of the bookcase.

It wasn't the first time I've been completely smitten with something in India's fabulous island home.  I've coveted this image of her desk area with the shell type-setter tray for years!

A few weeks ago, I completed one of my own!
I will be hanging it soon and promise to post photos.

 I guess what you focus on expands because as things go...
I just happened to be browsing One Kings Lane a few weeks ago and there it was!  It arrived last week.  I've been waiting for the right moment to ask my husband to help me assemble it.

He put it together last night...

and I took this photo this morning.

Thank you India!!

Happy! Happy! Joy! Joy!

I'd like to thank Megan, the hilariously funny and always charming blogstress of 1 Funky Woman for passing on the HAPPY 101 AWARD to me.  She has one of the most entertaining blogs I've come across and her wonderful sense of humor might only be rivaled by Jenny of My Favorite and My Best.  I know it's going to be a good day when I start it off by reading her blog. She makes me laugh out loud... and that my friends is why she has received this award twice!! 

And now 10 things that make me happy~

1.  GOD

2.  GRATITUDE:
(Joanny from The Dowser's Daughter left me this beautiful quote that sums it up perfectly.)

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, and confusion into clarity…. It turns problems into gifts, failures into success, the unexpected into perfect timing, and mistakes into important events. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow. by Melodie Beattie

3.  MY FAMILY:
I've been blessed to be married to my best friend for 27 years and together we've raised our wonderful son who we are getting ready to send off to college in the Fall.

4.  HEALTH:
Being blessed with good health makes me happy.  As my wise Grandmother always said, "health is wealth".

5.  BLOGGING:
Blogging has opened up my world and connected me to people in ways I could have never imagined. It's an amazing platform for sharing my thoughts, ideas, experiences, and so much more! I cherish the friends I have made and the relationships that I'm cultivating. I love being a part of this global village!

6.  THE THRILL OF THE HUNT:
Nothing makes me happier than treasure hunting.  I tried to stop a couple of times and I went into a low grade depression.

7.  BEING CREATIVE:
When I'm honoring my gift of creativity in whatever form that happens to be...  I'm the happiest.

8.  STAYING HOME AND PLAYING:

I love our home and am the happiest when I am here whether it's working around the house or in the yard, watching my husband cook a fabulous meal, or taking a walk with our neighbor's dog along the water while taking in the views of San Francisco.

9.  THE FARMERS MARKET:

I'm always happy when I'm at the farmer's market, especially the Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market which takes place every Saturday morning at the Port of  San Francisco. I promise I will do a post on it soon. It is the most amazing farmer's market you've ever seen!  We are so blessed to have it in our backyard. We just hop the ferry a few blocks from our house.

10.  DINNER & A MOVIE

And now I get to pass the HAPPY 101 AWARD on to 10 fellow bloggers

SPLENDID WILLOW

COMFORT & LUXURY

THE ZHUSH

DUMBWIT TELLHER

STARFISH & SUNDRESSES

FANCIFUL DESIGNS

SECRETS OF DOMESTIC BLISS

LISA GOLIGHTLY

PARIS BOUTIQUE HOTEL

MY FAVORITE AND MY BEST

Smitten with Spring

This is the start of my favorite time of year...

when everything seems possible... even when you're sick with a cold like I am today :)

(Please let me know who to credit the image of the mud maid to if you know, thanks!)