Fall Decor

Unfortunately the weather prediction is rain the next 4 days, so my sale is being postponed until Saturday, Nov. 8th, barring any more rain. It's kind of nice though because it's given me a moment to breathe and to do a little fall decorating around my home, something I've neglected so far this year.

I didn't do much, just used what I had, but here it is.

The antique dresser (my paternal grandmother's) and mirror in my entry way - BTW I scooped up that darling little silver tray at a yard sale for $1 and the amazing crusty gold frame was given to me by a friend. The crotched piece was a bridal shower gift from my grandmother and I got the wheat from my mom's stash. Pretty good for about a buck, huh?





This is above the bookshelf in my living room. Another awesome frame from the friend's sister. These women have these things shoved in cabinets in their garages (!) and every once in a while they say "Hey Kari, I have this junky old frame. You want it?" Um, YES.



Not too much, just a little beaded garland on my birdcage and a nice sparkly pear atop a bed of excelsior in a darling silver cup:





This isn't specifically fallish but the copper patina puts me in mind of fall:






Fall dried and sparkly fruits in the apothecary jars in the kitchen:



Again, not specifically fallish but that brown and white plate is new, from my Mom. Thought it looked fallish with the green plate behind it and the little transferware/ironstone pitcher and artichoke finial:



above my hutch in the dining room. I put my faux artichokes under the "chocolats" dome and redid the arrangement to include feathers and some mossy berry things:


Just redid this arrangement on the crown moulding ledge above the couch. Reminds me of fall with the colors.



That's it for now. To the approximately 4 people reading my blog (:-) I have loved seeing everyone's fall decor and sorry if I've been MIA in commenting... I am still here! Thanks for coming by!

-Kari

What I've Been Up To

I am trying to finish the last couple of pieces of furniture for my upcoming sale and then price everything and get it organized by 10.31 for the sale 11.1. It's not going to be a very big sale, because I'm really just doing this as a hobby, but I have about 6-7 small pieces of furniture that I have redone and then I have a bunch of smalls to sell. I am collaborating with a neighbor who does hand-painted furniture as well (but very much more detailed, with designs) and that will beef up what I have for sale.

My husband kept telling me to wait till spring and then do it big, but I want to get this stuff out of my workshop (aka my garage) and move on. I didn't want to invest in any big pieces in case the sale is not a success. So, this will be me putting my toes into the water so to speak. Here is a peek at what I've been working on:

This last round piece is so cute I may end up keeping it for myself. Herein lies the problem in buying things to fix up and sell.....

Recent Thrifting Finds

In preparing for my upcoming sale, I have been hitting my local thrifting resources hard. Of course, in the process of buying things for the sale, I have found a few treasures that had to come home with me.

Here is my .50 washboard, .50 vintage plate, and $2 vintage french postcard from the Alameda flea market... hanging in my laundry closet:
(excuse the terrible photography; it was impossible to photograph this w/out flash)




Notice the postcard is of 2 women doing laundry... how could I resist?





Next are 3 cream/milk bottles from a local family creamery. Not sure if they're old, but they're definitely cute and look really great on the window sill in my kitchen:




I got this cheese dome/cloche for about $3 and it looks great on my stack of glass cake plates:



The ironstone/transferware plate in the background was scored at Alameda for $7.50 (in mint condition!) and the artichoke finial was $2:


This bag had been a woman's mother's carry-on for when she traveled. It is hand lined with baby blue asian print silky fabric and is in pristine condition. It was so sweet, and for $3, I couldn't resist:


And lastly, the soup tureen of my dreams. I had seen it at Goodwill for at least a month but in that setting it just didn't call out to me. Finally one day I asked the price (it was at the front counter with the "good" stuff) and when the clerk said $6.99 I decided it was too good a deal to pass up. Now it sits proudly in my hutch in my dining room. I LOVE IT! I can't believe I didn't snatch it up before... all 4 pieces were included in the price. Love.

Botanical Love

When I was at the Alameda Flea Market, I came across a dealer who had an entire booth almost exclusively of botanicals, many of them vintage, and my heart almost leaped out of my chest, for you see I *heart* botanicals. He also had tons of egg prints, all of which I wanted to take home, but at $40 for a 5x7, I decided to go the traditional botanical route. What I ended up with was a large poster that was an enlargement of a seed catalog for a "potager" or kitchen garden in Paris in 1884. Hello? How could I possibly resist. It was so hard to get a picture of it as it's hung high on the wall above an armoire, but here she is:

I added her to my growing collection of botanicals. These 2 were an anniversary gift a couple years back from a great friend:



These 3 were purchased at Ross on clearance... I think $6 each!


And although this is not a botanical, it is a very cute green ball on top of a very cute urn next to a really cool stack of weathered Shakespeare books, so it's along for the ride:

Belgian Style

Have you seen the most recent issue of House Beautiful? Ina Garten's Hampton's Barn is featured and it is gorgeous! As she explains in the article, she was inspired by Belgian architecture and style. Click here for all the pictures; following are 3 of my favorites:




I love this style too, in all it's utilitarian, earthy, country pared-down chic, but I feel like I could never achieve it in my own home because I like a little more (muted) color and I have too much stuff. Notice the empty top of the armoire in the first shot? At my house, this would at least have a basket, a topiary, a stack of white dishes, something on top of it. I would try and keep everything limited to grain sacks and clear glass, but at some point, I would throw in too many candlesticks, too many pillows, a red wall, something, and the whole thing would be off. Also, is it me or does this style feel a little tiny bit cold to you? It's not very cozy, and although I drool over these photos, part of me feels I couldn't really be at home in a room like this.

Which brings me to Boho Belgian. You know Kirsten Hollister, the one who won Oprah's decorating contest last year? She has started her own company, Boho Belgian, and she has really made this style warm using earth tones, more accessories, and more pattern, but still kept it true to it's burlap-and-pared-down-swedish roots.

Have you seen her home's recent feature in BHG's special magazine "Decorating"? It's so pretty! Take a peek:

I love the earthy, muted colors, the use of things we all love: urns, feathers, topiary, trays, books, mirrors, apothecary jars, and shells. I *heart* the grain sack slipcovers in the background of the 2nd picture.

Will definitely be keeping my eye on Boho Belgian's website. Really great stuff.

A Paris Flea Market Sidewalk Sale announcement & pics from Alameda

It was a beautiful day on the tarmac today in Alameda. So much so that we had our jackets off by 10 am and I got really, really burnt on my arms. But we had such a blast walking the aisles and looking for goodies. I got 2 silver trays, an ironstone platter, a small table with 2 drawers that I will be painting and shabbying up, a little step stool, a great botanical print, an antique window, and much more!

A lot of it will be for resale, when I debut my latest venture, A PARIS FLEA MARKET Sidewalk Sale by Reese & Marie on November 1st at my home.

I will be featuring repurposed items, chalkboards, painted cottage style furniture, cake stands, lavender, shabby items, beautiful handmade beaded jewelry designed by my sister, Jonna, and much much more. It is my first foray into resale and I can only hope it goes well and I actually make a little profit. I will of course cover it in my blog, but if any of you live near Berkeley, CA, I am only about 20 minutes up the road and I would love to meet you!

Now back to Alameda. I took some pictures of my favorite booths and hope you enjoy them:

These first pictures are from an adorable shop in Roseville, CA called The Tattered House . Just adorable stuff and the owners were really friendly. They have a blog also, so check it out.

I thought I had died and gone to heaven when I saw this settee with burlap sides! I have seen this in magazines, but never in the flesh and I was swooning! I so want to recover my funky old chair in my family room like this!

This last pic is of grain sack custom hand made pillows and lampshades, by Carmela Janssen. Her home was featured in Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion Mag a couple of years ago. Beautiful work but at $100 per pillow, a bit out of my price range.

Hope you enjoyed the tour!

Take care,

Kari