The San Diego Vintage Flea Market!

Back in October, when I went to the Rose Bowl Flea Market, I came back to San Diego wishing that we had something similar.  

Then, a few months ago, I heard about the fledgling San Diego Vintage Flea Market.    This past Sunday I was able to attend and boy am I glad I did.  

Admittedly, it can't compare to the Rose Bowl in terms of scale, but there was still plenty to look at and the quality of the merchandise was fabulous.  (Check out the eye candy below to see for yourself.)

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These jars are the work of the talented ladies at Stitched.  Walking into their booth was like walking into your favorite Pinterest board:  it was filled with tons of vintage items, many of which had been repurposed or reinvented.  

I think this bird cage light fixture was also from the Stitched ladies, but I'm not 100% sure.  I had to include it though, because isn't it fun?!

The magnets below were from LottieHop's booth.  I just love the idea of repurposing old buttons as magnets.  The best news is that you don't have to live in San Diego to buy from her because in addition to selling at the market, she also runs an etsy shop (found HERE).

This next booth from The Salvaged Home was also totally swoon-worthy!  Check out the terrarium and the fun burlap wine bags.  (Or pick up your own at her etsy store, found HERE).

I do believe these rolling pins were hers as well, but I might be getting confused.  (There was just so much good stuff to look at.) 

Again, I'm not sure which vendor was displaying the vignette below, but isn't it fun?  I especially love the phone.   

The next seven pictures are all from the same booth.  I was a little obsessed with it and bought several items there.  Unfortunately the woman who ran the booth has no website or etsy shop to link to.  Her name is Karen and her wares were a-maz-ing!  

I mean seriously, check out these succulent arrangements (planted in old colanders).  If that isn't the mothership calling me home, I don't know what is,  (Check out my own succulents planted in thrifted milk glass found HERE.)

Or how about these guys planted in an old boot?  (Okay, it might actually have been a planter made to look like an old boot, but still, it's a whole lot of awesome!)

She also had this giant letter U which appears to have been decoupaged with old book pages (?)  If my name were Ursula, I would totally own that thing right now. 

Also seen in Karen's booth was this lovely vignette.  Check out the painted mason jar.  Looks like something right out of Mason Jar Crafts Love, doesn't it?  The stool was pretty nifty too.

I believe the items below were also from the same booth though, again, it was hard to keep everything straight.  

Of course, not everything was so shabby chic.  There was also plenty of mid-century modern goodness to drool over...

Not to mention vintage appliances painted in cool colors...

Vintage turquoise oven?  Yes please!

And y'all know how I like to recycle old frames.  (Wait, you don't?  Click HERE if you're interested.)

Much like at the Rose Bowl, there was no shortage of vintage suitcases...

And if you're going to buy a vintage suitcase, you need to have something to put in it...

Sold by Charlotte Del Rose

(Don't forget to pack your dead stock bikini.)

See at The Girl Can't Help It's booth.  Click HERE for their website.

('Cause if you're going to skip the housework in favor of Vegas, you want to look your best.)

This fun tray was being sold by the people who run the whole market.  You can check out their etsy shop HERE.

So that's it folks, just a small taste of the wares at the third San Diego Vintage Flea Market.  

(And you can bet all of your Vegas winnings that I'll be attending number four!)

To see what I actually purchased at the flea market, follow THIS link!

The Midas Touch

Have you heard the news?

In the blogosphere, gold is the new burlap.

More popular than paint chips, or chalkboard paint, or (dare I say it?) even mason jars...   

Okay, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration, but gold (be it in home decor or fashion) has become quite popular.  

And while I don't necessarily embrace every trend I see, I am totally down with the gold.  

Exhibit A is this $1 plastic elephant that I found at the thrift store.  A few coats of spray paint and, voila!, instant decorative accessory!  

Exhibit B?  Shells from a recent trip displayed in a gold-lidded mason jar:  

Look closely and you'll notice that I painted a few of the shells gold to tie the whole display together.

Spray painted shells have been kind of a "thing" for me lately.

Last week my daughter and I made "silver" earrings out of painted shells.

This week I sprayed some of my larger shells gold...

...with a surprise pop of turquoise on the flip side:

I am absolutely loving the way this one turned out.

The last of my recent gold projects is Pinterest-inspired, and I totally "cheated" when I made mine.  It's a "Miniature Mounted Menagerie".

If you visit the original source (found HERE), you can read all about how she painstakingly cut the plastic animals in half to make her display.

I'll admit, I've always loved this project, but the thought of cutting the animals in half kept me from doing it.  (Knowing me I'd probably lose a finger in the process.)

But then I found the magnets pictured above.  (You can buy your own set by clicking HERE.)  I simply paired them with this metal display board (purchased for about $2.00 on clearance at a local shop) and I had myself a knock-off mounted menagerie.

With gold heads, of course, because that's how I roll these days ;)

Hello Apartment Therapy!

Hello Apartment Therapy readers!  If you're stopping by today, I assume it's because you want to see more of the Red Carpet Themed birthday party that's featured there. 

The best way to do that is to visit the actual party posts which can be found by clicking HERE (for the photo booth)...

...or HERE (for the photo booth props)...

...or HERE for the popcorn cupcakes.

Also featured at the party (but not on the blog) were these cute favor boxes.  I used paper popcorn boxes from the grocery store, wrapped them with cellophane, and tied them with baker's twine.  It was a convenient way to contain all the little knick-knacks that the party-goers took home.  

And if you're interested in this, I can only assume that other party-related posts might be of interest as well.

Click HERE to learn more about my younger daughter's sleepover birthday cake.

Or you can click HERE for one of my most popular posts, the punch box tutorial.  (It's a great alternative to a pinata!)

And if you like what you see, consider signing up to receive my blog via email.  (I promise not to spam you or share your information.)  Just enter your email address in the form below.  And thanks so much for stopping by!

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Tropical Industrial Chic Home Tour

One of the things that bloggers are supposed to be good at (that I am decidedly UNgood at) is home tours.  

This is a shame because I know a lot of people with really cool homes.  

A good example of this is the (not-so-great) home tour I did of my sister-in-law's (extra-great) home back in October.  You can see that (rather incomplete) tour HERE.  

Another person I know who has a really cool home is my cousin, Paula.  She and her husband Anthony have amazing tastes and Anthony can build almost anything they can visualize.  So when we traveled across the country to see them last month I brought along my big camera solely for the purpose of photographing their home.

But you see, in addition to having a backyard that looks like this....  

Yes.  That's basically a full kitchen back there.  And they use it.  A lot.

They also have a kitchen that looks like this....

And although the kitchen is small, every last inch of it is functional.  This is important because in addition to being amazing decorators, Paula and Anthony are also amazing cooks.  

Like A-MA-ZING. 

So when you show up at their beautiful home, you can also expect a delicious meal...

And while you're eating the meal around this gorgeous table (that Anthony built himself), you can also expect great conversation.

And if you're not completely immersed in good food and great conversation, you might be busy looking at all the little details around the house, like this desk area tucked under the stairs.

 

I meant to ask Anthony about these cool lights on top of the lockers.  I'll bet you anything he made them himself.

Now, if you weren't so busy eating and chatting and enjoying the view, you might think to walk up these stairs and photograph the master suite with its attached balcony and outdoor jacuzzi tub.

I, however, couldn't pull myself away from the table (which is a shame, since I dragged my camera 3000 miles away from home) but oh well....

My husband had a hard time pulling himself away from this island just outside of the kitchen.  You see, right there, on top of the poured concrete counters (done over a decade ago, before anyone else had heard of such a thing) is where Paula eventually set out the desserts.  (And my husband is a huge fan of dessert.)

It's also where this cute succulent arrangement lives.  

Anthony made this little planter from a block of wood.  Then he painted it with some chalkboard paint.  It probably took him less than a half an hour.  

(Because that's how he rolls.) 

I did try to capture the living room, but my pictures do not do it justice...

The over-sized mirror (seen below) once lived in my cousin's salon.  Did I mention that she also owns a salon?  If you live in Miami I highly recommend her, especially if you color your hair.   But I digress...

Here's a better view from the living room taken two years ago.  And no, you're not imagining things.  The couches used to be orange and now they're gray.  Seeing how Paula and Anthony switch things up is always fun to do!

Now, if I were better at home tours, I would also have ventured into their daughters' room, where built-in bunk beds (each equipped with its own TV) look like something straight out of the Pottery Barn catalog.

And I would also provide you with some "before" photos.  Because, you see, this amazing four bedroom/four bath home with a pool was once a tiny, two bedroom/one bath cottage without a pool.  When they purchased it the kitchen cabinets had no bottoms.  As in, there was just a dirt floor when you opened them.  I kid you not.

But as I was saying in the first place, I kind of stink at home tours, so I didn't do any of that.

(Or maybe I'm just looking for an excuse to go back ;)