Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving! Many blessings to you.....

I have been wanting to decorate for Christmas but decided to hold off until after Thanksgiving. It's been hard to do that, so I added a wreath to a dress form in my dining room to help soothe the decorating urge.

It's the perfect wreath for this dress form.

I recently added a cement cherub into my dining room. I found these two at an estate sale and decided to keep the one on the left. It has a pedestal for more height and the aged patina is extraordinary.

I have been so busy keeping my space at Carriage House Antiques filled with vintage Christmas. Christmas sales have begun in the store and we are focusing the specials on certain items each week.

The Shops at Ridgefield  are having their Holiday Open House this weekend of November 29. I stopped in last weekend and found this awesome pixie tree and vintage beaded ornaments at Vintage VanBorg. 

All I did was add a vintage receipt holder to the bottom.  Love it!

I bought this fabulous Victorian bassinet from Steeplechase Antiques in Barrington.  I had been eyeing it for sometime and when the price was right, I had to have it! I'm fooling around with evergreen decor and wreaths right now to decorate it out in my sun room. It is the perfect amount of chippy and rust.

Here's another angle...

I'm still fooling around with this door also. I had bought this door a few years ago and couldn't let it go. Recently I found this super cute Santa picture at Warehouse 55 and decided to put the two together. I'm still working on it but I like it so far.  It pays to hoard vintage tinsel. I can't wait to incorporate it into my Christmas decor.

I was looking for the most delicious pumpkin muffins at Fresh Thyme Market today but they didn't have them. Chocolate muffins would just have to do.  While checking out, I began talking to the lady behind me. She was buying pies and a beautiful orangey potted mum. After I checked out, she handed me the mum and said, "Happy Thanksgiving!" I was so touched and thankful that I gave her a spontaneous hug and she happily hugged me back. That act of kindness brought a tear to my eyes and warmth to my heart. Bless her for her kind actions. May we all do a random act of kindness to bring some small joy to another's life!

Enjoy your Thanksgiving!

Happy treasure hunting! Get ready for Black Friday and Small Business Saturday.

Welcome November

As I sit here typing this, we are expecting a few inches of snow. Again! Who would have thought that on Halloween we had 7.1" of snow.

At least we had some snow for the Holiday Open House at the Carriage House. It got everyone in the Christmas spirit! It was a fabulous Open House. We had people lining up a half hour before we opened. Then it was crazy busy for the first three hours. It was great!

These were from a recent estate sale that I took to the Open House. My heart always skips a couple of beats when I find vintage Christmas.

Just like it did when I found these musical ones. Those white chippy posts were an estate sale find also. I wrapped some poinsettia garland around them.

They look super cute for sitting on a mantel.

My trunk was so packed with vintage Christmas that I was taking to the Carriage House Open House that I couldn't even see out of the rear view mirror.

My space turned out really well....if I do say so....

Santa welcomed everyone coming out of a "chimney". Then vintage Christmas filled my space.

and more....

it felt like a toy store....

I can't wait now to start decorating my house for Christmas.

While at Christmas at the Farm, I found this elf for myself. I saw it across the room but since the flow of shoppers was going in one direction, I couldn't skip out of line.  Good thing no one else wanted him.

Another fun place to visit was the McNeil Mansion in Elgin. They had a Holiday Open House for the past two weekends. I finally visited it! They had the best dark chocolate salted caramel candy. I actually went back the next weekend to get more. The felted slippers, bags and hats were exceptional. So many other crafts and antiques were mixed in.

Here's the entry into the Christmas room....

There is nothing like visiting all the Open Houses or shows this time of year to get you in the Christmas spirit.  It's my favorite time of year!

Urban Farmgirl in Rockford has a fun open house. They had a great hot cocoa bar and while you're on line paying, they come around with fabulous sugar cookies. An added bonus to shopping there.

There's also a fabulous farm truck out front of the store...

Make sure to keep checking for local sales. There are still estate sales going on as well as craft shows and local housewalks. Get in the spirit of the season! I know I am.

Happy treasure hunting!

My Mind is On....

My mind is on Christmas.  Vintage Christmas. November 7-10 is the Holiday Open House at the Carriage House.

I have bin upon bin of vintage Christmas to bring so I'm planning my displays.  It's my favorite time of the year.  Hope you can make it!

Here are my fun finds from the last Elkhorn Flea Market of the season.... You know how I love my vintage Santas.

I wanted to share a fun find from a garage sale.,,,

Isn't this awesome?

My house doesn't have overhead lighting. Each room needs a lamp.  I have always loved and admired the homes that had overhead fixtures. I knew that my bathroom would be so great with a chandelier in it. I was right! There is an overhead fan fixture that I hung it from even though it won't be plugged in anywhere. It's great to just have the look.

I bought that fabulous floral painting years ago on my birthday. It's one of my favorite paintings.

There are some fun events coming up to get you into the holiday spirit.  Nov 1-2 is
Christmas at the Farm in Belvidere.  Other stores are starting their Holiday Open houses at the same time. Keep checking for your favorite shops.

November 8-9 is Three French Hens in Morris.  The same weekend is Urban Farmgirl's Holiday Open House in Rockford. It's a cute store that last year had the most amazing hot chocolate bar.

There are other craft shows popping up now for the holidays. Check your local areas. I like to start getting in the holiday spirit early!

Happy treasure hunting!

Happy Fall!

Happy Fall!

I kept my fall decorating simple. I like the look. It's hard for me to keep things simple. I usually like it a little flashy and lots of stuff. This is a huge change for me.

Here's another inside idea....

Recently I was gifted this fun tray and really cool vintage fabric from a friend. Notice the tray in the above picture?

My outside decor is also simple but cute.  Watch out for Christmas decorating though when I go all out! No simple decor then.

Sometimes I buy things that I have a hard time parting with. Usually I'll get rid of something else in order to justify keeping it. This was one of those things....

I fell in love with this picture and frame. When I found it at a garage sale, the lady looked at me like she couldn't believe someone actually wanted it! Of course I did. It's fabulous. I rearranged the paintings in my basement and decided to sell a barn scene painting. This painting is so worth it!

This Saturday, Sept 28, is the Johnny Appleseed event in downtown Crystal Lake. It's a family friendly event. Sunday, Sept 29, is the final Elkhorn WI flea market for the season. October 6 is the final Cedarburg WI flea market.  October 6 is also the Historical Museum's Cider Festival in Union.

Keep looking for those garage sales and rummage sales before it gets too cold for them. They are out there!

Happy treasure hunting!

It's Been a While

I know, I know. It's been a lot longer than I thought since my last post. I'm so sorry. Life just got away from me.

I'll try to catch you up:

I saw fabulous paper lanterns in a vintage magazine and thought I would never find any. Well, at an estate sale there they were! Someone else had put them down and I snatched them up. So, I hung them in my sun room for a 4th of July get together.  Loved it!

Look at the details on them.

Fast forward to the middle of July. I always get into the Christmas creating mood in the middle of July when it's hot. I just put on some music and get out my little trucks and create. 

And here's some more....

These will be at the Vintage Christmas Open House at the Carriage House in November.

Here's an exciting find for my Statue of Liberty collection....another item I never thought I would find but thanks to a garage sale there it was.

It's a light and it works!

One of my favorite flea markets is at Holy Hill in Hubertus Wisconsin. It's held once a year at the end of July.  It was a beautiful day to be there and the hot dog tasted delicious.

Here's a bird's eye view from the top of the cathedral (yes I walked all the way to the top).

We spent some time with my family in New Jersey and Pennsylvania in August and made sure to visit another one of my favorite flea markets in Saylorsburg PA. It's in the Pocono Mountains.

Besides the two Santa blow molds that I found there, I also found these other Santa's at an estate sale in New Jersey....

Look how great this one is....

I found a few other wonderful items while on my trip. A few pieces of ironstone:

and another Statue of Liberty for my growing collection...

We always stop at Wendell August Forge in Grove City PA on the way home to look at the aluminum.  I love to look in the museum at my favorite pieces...

and this one....

Back at home estate/garage saleing, I came across this really great purse....

and here is the back....

I'm going to incorporate it somehow into my Thanksgiving decor.  I'll let you know what I come up with.

Look at the lower left hand corner on this shelf for my newest flower frog addition.  It's a turtle shell...

A few months ago I showed you this really great metal plant stand. I just popped a pumpkin into it for some quick fall decor...

The Carriage House just celebrated the beginning of their 16th year in business during the Vintage Finds off Route 14 shop crawl. We redid the whole store.  I especially love how this wall in my space came out...

Today was the St. Gabriel flea market up in Hubertus WI. I finally got to go! It was super fun and one that I will go to again.  Tomorrow is the second day of the Pecatonica IL flea market. Sept 21 is the flea market in Belvidere IL. A fun event in downtown Crystal Lake is the Johnny Appleseed event on Sept 28. The last Elkhorn WI flea market for the season is on Sept 29.  On the same day is a Farm Stroll put on by the McHenry County University of Illinois Extension Master Gardeners and local farms. Its a go on your own tour.

Now on to October: Oct 4-5 is a vintage Shop Hop with over 300 (maybe more) shops in IL and WI participating. Carriage House is on it.  The last Cedarburg WI flea market of the season is on Oct 6. The same day is the Union Historical Society Cider Fest autumn event. Three French Hens in Morris IL is on Oct 12. Autumn Drive in Woodstock is on Oct 18-20.

There are still many sales going on.

Happy treasure hunting!