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The Greatest Flea Market on Earth

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So where do I begin? Anyone who reads flea market type magazines has heard of the Pasadena Rose Bowl Flea Market. I myself have been fascinated by stories about it for a long time. So when my youngest daughter Bethany moved to Pasadena I was thrilled to have the the chance to check it out for myself.

It is billed as The Greatest Flea Market on Earth! I don’t know if that’s true or not but I’m here to tell ya’ that it is ginormous! We started off shopping the circle around the perimeter of the arena first before we realized that there was another huge section over the bridge and behind the arena. Row upon row of junk, glorious junk!

There were handcrafted items, vintage clothing, antiques, Steam Punk, rustic, industrial . . . but enough talking already, come along and see our day at The Greatest Flea Market on Earth!

Decorated Hats

Vintage Jewelry

Classy Furs

Crystal and Silver

Fun Old Cameras

Clocks Galore!

And my favorite part . . . the furniture!

Look at this table full of old hardware!.

Next came the beautiful light fixtures.

Weathered Wood and Rust

Industrial Chic

An antique horse on wheels!

A lovely old carriage

A cart full of goodies!

A birdcage I guess, but can you see it as a lamp?

Filigree

Mama and pups

Gorgeous old paintings

Mountains of French grain sacks

Of course we couldn’t possibly see it all. There comes a point in the day where you just can’t take any more in. But it was wonderful and fun, there was something for everyone, the prices ranged from a bit too high to great bargains, especially as it came closer to closing time and the vendors were offering discounts. I was restrained in my buying (a fortunate thing I guess) by the fact that I had only one bag to bring home on the plane and it was already full with the flowers I bought at the L.A. Flower Market. We escaped the market with only one small purchase for my daughter’s apartment (which is darling by the way and well done on a student’s budget, but that is for a future post).

So was it The Greatest Flea Market on Earth? I’ve never been to one better, and in the end it was a great day of sunshine, people watching, eating, shopping and spending time with my girl. I would definitely do it all again!

Blessings to you,

I’ve been known to link up to the following great parties!!!
Sunday:
UnderTheTableAndDreaming, TheDIYShowoff, TheTablescaper,LifeOnLakeshoreDrive, SuburbsMama,
NiftyThriftyThings
Monday:
Tuesday:
Wednesday:
Thursday:
Friday:
IHeartNapTime, WeCallItJunkin’,
Saturday:

How to make a Spring Wreath for a Chandy

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This is my crystal chandy. As I’ve shared before, this was the first birthday gift given to me by Mr. OTN in our first home together. So while I love it “as is”, I find it fun to change it up a bit with the seasons (my favorite was my Christmas Chandy which you can view HERE).

21-Undecorating the Christmas Chandy 033To usher in the warmer weather I’ve created a Spring wreath (of sorts) for my chandy, with flowers purchased at the L.A. Flower market (to read more about the market and see the amazing flowers you can link back HERE).

I began with two different types of flowering branches. I have no idea what these flowers are called though I wish I did. Does anyone know what they might be?

I laid down three of these pretty green branches first, across the arms of the chandelier.

Then I placed three of the white flowering branches on top.

After a little twisting (to connect the ends of the branches together) and a little tucking (to hide the bare ends and the wires) . . .

. . . VOILA! A Spring wreath for my chandy!

You can see in this picture that it is another sunny day on the lake, for a few minutes anyway. This time of year the weather is so unpredictable and it has been sunny . . . rainy . . . cloudy . . . sunny all day.

The shining sun causes the crystals to send off rainbows of color all around the room. Be still my beating heart!

So that’s it. A Spring Wreath for my Chandy.

It was fun decorating her for Spring but I’m already thinking ahead and wondering what her summer decor will be. Shells perhaps?

Blessings,

 

I’ve been known to link up to the following great parties!!!
Sunday:
UnderTheTableAndDreaming, TheDIYShowoff, TheTablescaper,LifeOnLakeshoreDrive, SuburbsMama,
NiftyThriftyThings
Monday:
Tuesday:
Wednesday:
Thursday:
Friday:
IHeartNapTime, WeCallItJunkin’,
Saturday:

The L.A. Flower Market!

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A couple of weeks ago I took a long weekend trip to Pasadena to visit my youngest daughter Bethany. It was so great to spend time with her and to soak up some warm southern California sunshine. Bethany had a weekend of “things to do” and “places to eat” planned out for me. One of those things was the L.A. Flower Market. We walked through acres and acres of live flowers and it was fantastic. Are you ready for some floral loveliness?

Orchids.

Hydrangeas.

I don’t know what these are but they look like moss on a stick and they used them in several pre-made arrangements. Loved!

One of the vendors created all of these amazing succulent displays in driftwood and she graciously allowed me to take pictures. What at artist!

Reminders of the Hawaiian Islands.

Ferns.

Can anyone help me with the name of these flowers? I love their lime green color and I bought some artificial swags of this plant to make a wreath for my Spring Chandy (post upcoming).

More succulents.

More hydrangeas. I would love some hydrangeas in this color for my yard.

The blooms were gigantic.

This is my daughter Bethany, prettier than any flower 🙂

Roses, roses and more roses.

The L.A. Flower Market was phenomenal! I’ve shown you pictures of just one shop, the original market, but there are several smaller shops, many with complete arrangements available for immediate purchase. We weren’t allowed to take pictures but I have one arrangement “in my head” that I’d like to try (hydrangeas, roses and moss). Yes, it is because of people like me that pictures aren’t allowed! We walked through several of the artificial flower shops as well where some of the flowers were hard to tell apart from the real thing. I purchased some artificial flowers to bring home with me because the prices made them too hard to pass up!

Our final stop was at a street vendor in the market where we enjoyed grilled, bacon wrapped hot dogs with all the trimmings. Onions, tomatoes, avocado, cilantro, ketchup and mustard. Wowsers! I’m already planning a BBQ at my house where we’ll serve these delicious L.A. Hot Dogs!

What a perfect topper to an already wonderful day and just the beginning of my weekend fun (more posts upcoming).

Blessings,

I’ve been known to link up to the following great parties!!!
Sunday:
UnderTheTableAndDreaming, TheDIYShowoff, TheTablescaper,LifeOnLakeshoreDrive, SuburbsMama,
NiftyThriftyThings
Monday:
Tuesday:
Wednesday:
Thursday:
Friday:
IHeartNapTime, WeCallItJunkin’,
Saturday:

Happiness in a Vintage Strawberry Crate

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1-Vintage Strawberry Box Centerpiece 001Do rainy days make you happy? Sometimes I like the rain, but not when it continues day-after-day, week-after-week, without a single peek at the sun. One Saturday morning just a few weeks ago, our day began with a shroud of clouds and drizzling rain that seemed to mirror the gray feelings inside me. Enough with the rain already!

On this drizzly day Mr. OTN and I decided to “escape” from home. We escaped our lists, our piles, our things-to-do . . . and spent the day just JUNKING.

5-Vintage Strawberry Box Centerpiece 016

As we walked down Main Street of a quaint old town Mr. OTN caught sight of this wonderful vintage strawberry crate all alone on the sidewalk. It caught his eye, not because it was something he’d like for himself, but because he knows me . . . and he knew it was something that would delight me.

3-Vintage Strawberry Box Centerpiece and St Patti's Day Decor 007I have childhood memories of a strawberry crate much like this one. One week in summer. One long, hot week picking strawberries. In between the strawberry fights and sweet berry juice running down my chin, it was the hardest work I’d ever experienced. In fact, it was probably the only REAL work this city child experienced. But I was motivated to do the work in order to earn spending money for our family trip to California.

And what did I do with my hard earned $14.00? I bought a souvenir gift for each of my friends. I was quite proud of myself . . . but not proud enough to go back to the strawberry fields again the next year. Like I said, it was HARD work!

While Mr. OTN was making the purchase I was already making plans in my head for what I would do with this weathered and rusty old crate.

Once back home I began by laying down tablecloth and table runners, then lined my crate with vintage lace.

6-Vintage Strawberry Box Centerpiece 028I filled it with everything needed for a dinner with the one who knew that this strawberry crate would bring sunshine to my day and warm me from the inside out.

3-Vintage Strawberry Box Centerpiece 009I tucked in a few floral branches to remind me that Spring is right around the corner . . .

4-Vintage Strawberry Box Centerpiece 0119-Vintage Strawberry Box Centerpiece 048

. . . and as I prepared to take some pictures, the sun broke through the clouds . . .

. . . turning one gloomy, drizzly day into a day filled with bright happiness!

Blessings,

I’ve been known to link up to the following great parties!!!
Sunday:
UnderTheTableAndDreaming, TheDIYShowoff, TheTablescaper,LifeOnLakeshoreDrive, SuburbsMama,
NiftyThriftyThings
Monday:
Tuesday:
Wednesday:
Thursday:
Friday:
IHeartNapTime, WeCallItJunkin’,
Saturday:

St. Patrick’s Day Shenanigans!

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Aw . . . ’tis St. Patrick’s Day. What a lovely excuse for a wee party, a bit ‘o singin’ and a dancin’. That’s what my Irish father would have said in answer to my childhood plea, “Speak Irish for us dad!” I used to love hearing my father put on his Irish brogue to entertain me and my friends. He might also say, “I’ll whip your bloody behind if ye don’t behave!,” which always caused squeals of delight.

St. Patrick’s Day decorations are a nice way to transition into Spring. I’ve removed the snowy winter display from my coffee table cloche and replaced it with this happy Irish leprechaun.

He even has his own pot of gold!

Is this a leprechaun or an Irish Priest? Either way he’s a sparkly addition to St. Pat’s.

And this fun little frame-within-a-frame can be changed out with each holiday.

I have a whole set of different holiday pictures, courtesy of The Graphics Fairy of course!

This little guy can be seen around my house the whole year round.

You never know where he might pop up . . . kind of like The Elf on the Shelf.

Last year on St. Patrick’s Day I wrote about our family tradition where each grandchild received their own personal leprechaun from my father. You can read more about that tradition HERE.

Right now he is hanging out on the bookshelf beside my Irish Papa’s picture.

Sooo . . . this is where the “shenanigans” part of this post comes in! Sasha is all dressed up and ready for another holiday.

She looks so very patient but can you see the pleading look in her eyes as she longs for the treat in the bottom of her mug? “Can we eat now mom, can we, can we?”

“Ohhh, that was delicious . . . but WAIT . . . is that a piece of cookie I see on the table?”

“Should I do it? Do I dare?”

“Got it!”

“SASHA!!!”

“I’m sorry mom but I really couldn’t help myself. Besides, do you see what the sign says?”

“Is there anything more holy than a table covered in cookie crumbs?”

Happy St. Patrick’s Day and an Irish blessing to you too,

I’ve been known to link up to the following great parties!!!

Sunday:
UnderTheTableAndDreaming, TheDIYShowoff, TheTablescaper,LifeOnLakeshoreDrive, SuburbsMama,
NiftyThriftyThings
Monday:
Tuesday:
Wednesday:
Thursday:
Friday:
IHeartNapTime, WeCallItJunkin’,
Saturday: