Hoppin' Around in Blogville

So blessed to be walking into this Easter weekend!

Instead of working like a crazy-person to publish a new post for the weekend,

I'm taking my sweet time, catching up on my most favorite blog pages, while also finding some new and inspiring blogs to follow.

Wherever you are and whatever your plans, have a wonderful weekend.

We have a Winner!

First of all, thanks so much to all of you who played along this weekend, in our fun little vintage giveaway!

My "assistant" asked to help me in doing the actual drawing today.

We were very professional...



And the winner is...



Christie @ Three Pixie Lane!

Here's her cute little blog button, if you want to say hi!


Congrats to Christie!
(A little vintage treat will be shipped to you shortly!)

Ya'll have a blessed week!
I'm off to prep for our first Spring market of the season...more details to come!

Vintage Faves & THE Giveaway!

Hi all.
I'm hoping that your week has been blessed with some fun vintage finds.
I thought I'd share a few of my favorite finds that have been with me for quite some time now.
Here's a pic of one of my favorite little areas of the house.


It's just inside the entryway, so as soon as folks enter the house, they know that they've entered a sweet vintage-inspired home.

All the way to the left is a creamer & sugar set.


No, they're not Fiesta, but they looked close enough to the beloved Fiesta, so I snagged them off eBay for almost nothing.

See the sweet little tea set?


These were actually designed by Sigg of Switzerland.
Sigg still makes those adorable water bottles that my kids are always wanting more of!
I found this tea set in Switzerland several years ago, and I'm really bummed that it was wayyyyy before I even had my business in mind.

It turns out that these babies are quite rare and worth some bank. They aren't leaving my house.
Not for anything!
I love these pieces. A lot.

The floral black tin was also a fabulous Switzerland find.


Next up is my most favorite enamelware bowl.


I use this a lot to display small items in some of my shows, but it's never for sale!
Love it.

The little black tea cups that are pictured are French and I featured them recently in this blog.


They were worthy of their own little write-up!

If you're wondering what all of these little things are perched upon, it's my most incredible find ever...

My German schrank.


I'll write about this sweet thing in a future post.
It's my end-all-be-all of vintage finds in Europe.

Okay, enough of my hoarding for now.

In March I promised that I would host a GiveAway upon returning from my buying trip.

And...here it is!

The giveAway starts right now (immediately!) and ends Monday night (April 18th), 8pm Central time.

The winner gets to choose from one (uno, eins, un) of the following items...

A set of 3 mini pewter chargers.
4" in diameter & each has a little hanging hole on the back.
Perfect for an Oma-inspired kitchen!


Or...

A fun little retro doily.
Measures 23 x 11" and is in perfect vintage condition.

Or...

This fabulous Victorian inspired doily.
Incredible jacquard weave and measures 15 x 8".



How to win??? It's quite simple.
-become a follower of my blog and leave a comment, letting me know that you've joined our little crew. In your comment, let me know which one vintage freebie that you would like to take home with you. (for those of you who are already following (God bless you...), leave a comment letting me know which freebie you like best!

for additional entries...
- "Like" our Facebook page.
-follow us on Twitter
-and...if you post a little something on your blog, telling your followers about this giveAway, it's worth an additional 2 entries.
If you do put this on your blog, be sure to let me know so I can count these entries as well!

That's it for now.
Best of luck to each of you & have a blessed weekend!


Linkys! Join us!

Vintage Bunny Bliss...

Besides dreaming of spring all winter long, I'm also counting the days 'till Easter.
I absolutely love to decorate for Easter.

I was super inspired these past few weeks in Europe, as every store I visited was loaded with Easter decor & trinkets galore.

Here are some fun pics that I took to inspire you as you get your home all ready for this springy occasion...



And don't forget the chocolate!


And more chocolate...


Kinder eggs!!!


Whether vintage or brand new, these are my favorites!



Inspired yet? I am!

I'm working like a crazy person to get all of our inventory ready for spring markets.

Woohoo!

I absolutely love market season here in Colorado.
Fabulous weather & fabulous folks!
Here's a little peek at what's in the shop right now for Easter...








Please note that shipping on Easter linens is FREE within the continential U.S.

Hoppy shopping! (I couldn't resist...)

I promised you all a fun little giveaway, upon my return from the buying trip, so I'm working on those details now!
If you want something vintage, delivered straight from Europe and FREE, then stay tuned!



Linkys! Come play with us!

Paris, Anyone? Part 5 (Cinq!)

Wow. I can’t believe we’ve already plowed through 4 weeks of Euro travel tips!

March 6th: Intro to Hopping the Pond

March 13th: Get Yer Transportation On!
March 20th : Where to Sleep?
March 27th : Eating your way through Europe...yummo.
April 3rd: Shop 'till Ya Drop! (that's TODAY!)

Now we’re onto the really fun part of Europe travel.

Shopping.

In true frugal mama style!

I’ll be covering my personal favorites, where I’ve found the best deals. You won’t see me posting about the Gucci store or Yves Saint Laurent. I just don’t consider those a good deal – ever! But, that’s just my style.

I’m actually going to go ahead and split this blog into two weeks. As I was typing this all up, it got long - really long! I have a lot to say here!

So this week we’ll cover Euro shopping for Housewares, Antiques, and Crafts & Fabric.

Next week we’ll head over to clothing, shoes and foods (ie; chocolate!).
Okay, so get your pen & paper ready (or printer!).

Here we go!

Housewares
While in France, look up BHV- the sister store to the fabulous Galeries Lafayette.

I definitely recommend visiting Galeries Lafayette, just so you can say you’ve seen it. I never thought that a department store could be considered “beautiful”, but this one is stunning.


Fun to visit, but high prices.

So anyway, onto Gallerie’s sister, BHV.
BHV is actually great for housewares, books, and I’ve found a few great deals on clothing. Most of their stores are @ 3 or 4 stories high, so you’ll have plenty of things to peruse.

In Switzerland, Interio is fabulous. IKEA-like prices, but more of a chic and somewhat shabby feel.
I’ve wanted to bring the entire store home with me several times over!

Crafty-Mamas...
By far, the best place for interior fabrics is Marché Saint-Pierre in Paris.
This is a fabric store that will boggle your mind. It's actually an outlet to the big-daddy fabric district of Paris, so prices are incredible.

I've written about this area of Paris previously...you can find it here!

I purchased this fabric for @ 10 euros per yard (@ $13 per yard)


Once I got it home, I realized that it wasn't just 60" wide - it was 90" wide! That's a ton of fabric, just waiting for a whole lotta fun!

For more crafty fun, again, I've gotta send props out to BHV in France (see above). Crafty supplies like I have never seen in any country. You will have fun!

My favorite location is in Paris, on Rue de Rivoli. (you’ll find crafts in the center of the 2nd floor – woohoo!).

Fabric Markets!
Most fabric markets throughout Germany and France and much of the Netherlands, carry the same fabric vendors, so if you can hit just one of these, you’ll be happy.

Just a warning that fabric prices are insanely higher than Stateside, but once you lay your eyes on some Danish fabric and trims, you’ll be opening your wallet several times over!


(fabric junkies: consider yourself warned!)

A wonderful resource on Euro fabric markets is Angela (one of my true besties…).

I’ll actually be posting a blog soon on a recent Fabric trip that she and I took just a few weeks ago. It was yummy.

Sorry to say that for now, I have no favorites in the area of crafty stores in Germany. They may exist, but I just never found them! I’m still investigating Switzerland and Italy for their crafty spots.

Antiques (savin' the best for last...)
Oooooo la la. My favorite subject.

Outdoor & flea type markets will be your best friend here!


And, no worries if you’re traveling in the dead of winter – they have these rain or shine or serious cold!
(I’m pretty sure I’m still experiencing frost bite from a Paris ’09 trip. It was crazy cold, but it was worth every frozen moment!).

My favorites for antique-lovin' markets are always in France...

For those seeking Paris markets, Why Go Paris has this great write-up that's full of info!

In Metz, France (in the Lorraine region), they have a wonderful antiques market hall.


All the antiques there are impeccable. If you want to see some amazing true antiques, this is the place to go, but be warned that the prices are a bit higher than most markets in Europe.

If you don’t find something that you want to spend some Euro on, you can always go just to look and eat. Here’s a pic of their “food court”.


You’ll be pleased.

The Sunday market in Tongeren, Belgium is a very popular market. You will find all kinds of info about it online. Here’s a good blog about it.

Tongeren is a lot of fun and offers a large variety of Euro antiques, but is also not the cheapest place to go. In my experience, the smaller, more unorganized markets offer the best deals.

In Germany, look for signs along roadways that read Floh-Mkt. These are flea markets that have a little of everything. New stuff, old stuff, weird stuff.
It’s all there.

And because they are not an organized and well advertised antiques market, the prices are much lower.

You'll find links to Italian markets here and here, but I can't vouch for any of these as of yet...I'm still working on my sources for Italy as we speak!

Now, just being honest here. I have my favorite little spots that are major suppliers to my business. It took me several years to find these little jewels, so I'm afraid that I can't divulge any info on these. These babies are my trade secret, so my lips are sealed...

No matter what market (or country) you’re visiting, don’t be afraid to bargain. I bargain with sellers all the time and I actually think they get a kick out of it!

If you don’t speak the language well, just carry a little notepad with you to clarify pricing between you and the seller. No matter what language I’m hearing, I always get 2, 12, and 20 all corn-fused.

A notepad could save you some serious pennies!

Last note about antiques & flea-type markets.
Cash is KING. Euro cash, that is.
You will not find near as many ATM's overseas as you find here in the States, so make sure that you load up every morning on your way out!

When planning your trip, please note that in most countries located in western Europe, there is no shopping on Sundays. I’ve found a few open stores on rare occasion in France, but I can guarantee that Switzerland, Italy and Germany are ghost towns on Sundays. Sunday is the perfect day to sight see or enjoy wine & cheese in the park. A day to rest your worn out shopping toes!

Or, you could always gear-up and head to Tongeren!

Smaller towns in Switzerland and several in France also shut down for lunch during the week. A lengthy lunch. Like, two hours typically. I told you that Europeans enjoy their food!

I think that about covers things for now.
I hope this helps and please know that this is info based on my personal experiences. You will find loads of Euro shopping info both online and in some great travel books - check out these on Amazon!

Thanks so much for stopping by!
I'm working like a mad-woman on prepping & pricing the new inventory and also putting together a few more Euro blogs!

Hope you're having a fabulous week!


Linkys! Come play with us!