SuNdAy*** "Grayslake Flea Market"...

This past weekend was GRAYSLAKE FLEA MARKET... Even though we're working on getting my car in the garage for winter, how could I not go with the "gorgeous weather" we had - 67 degrees in Chicago!*!*!*! and Milwaukee wasn't that far off either... I'm sooooo glad I went!!! ThAnK You Dealers for ALL that you do!!! (click on pics to enlarge... Feedback is appreciated - click on comments...)

LoVeD this Radiator!*!*!*!

BEST OF SHOW!!!!!
Diane almost always has the best displays ~ she is so talented!*!*! This AwEsoMe Old Wire Gate went home with me ~ it's a keeper!!! ~ Endless possibilities year round...

I loved this chippy old table in the center of Diane's booth...

I just had to take another pic of this piece after Diane added the PeRfeCt Adornment "Snowy Day" & "no" I did not go home with it... Regrets???...

Kathy is the "Chandelier Queen"!*!*! I too have a passion for those glistening crystal delights!!! Thank you Kathy for sharing all those little "enlightening details"...

Joan's Booth is ALWAYS interesting... ~ She puts sooooo much effort into her unique displays... A real detail person...

Joan filled up "Old Glass Battery Containers" with ornaments/greens/clothes pins...

I almost always find a treasure in Georgeann's Booth (hope I got your name right...) YOU are such a pleasure to chat with! I would say her main collectible/love is "Vintage Linens", although I've come away with some FaBuLoUs chippy... shabby... crusty... rusty... finds over the years too!*!*!*!

You can find anything from vintage barkcloth, 50's table cloths, doilies, & chenille in Georgeann's booth...

With the GoRgeOuS weather, there were lots of outside vendors... Janice is one of my favorite sellers!*!*! I love chatting with her on the run... I've bought some key keeper pieces from her over the years... Janice you are a treasure!*!*!

Outdoor Booth "Architectural Salvage"...

As I was leaving the flea market this AwEsoMe ViNtaGe Car was in the parking lot... If you look closely you can see the old "Picnic/Thermous" pack hanging on the back seat!*!*!

Delafield Antique Show...

Yesterday I took off work just a bit early in order to go to the DELAFIELD ANTIQUE SHOW... This show is held twice a year in a fancy hotel about an hour from us... In my opinion, it's a rather stuffy show - with "mint condition" antiques - definitely NOT CHIPPY-SHABBY... It's still fun to look and on occasion Jeff has been known to come home with a bottle for resale... It's RARE that I find something...

I LoVeD these chairs - AS IS!*!*!
I wouldn't re-upholster them for the world...
GREAT LOOK!!!

I Love "French" Wall Sconces...

I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw this "Exquisite" French Mirror...
I could not stop thinking about it and visualizing where it might go in my jewelry nook...

This sweet door stop had wonderful patina...

I love BIRDS!!!!
This is an old Shooting Gallery Target Bird with AwEsoMe Patina...

Architectural SaLvaGe
Just not chippy enough for me...

FaBuLouS Old Paint Brushes...
My Dad was a Painter... ~ Wish I could get my hands on his old brushes...

Great Display!!!

Funky Old Jewelry Art...

My husband looking at flasks...

I sooooooo fell in LOVE with this little French Mirror...
The blackened patina was just PeRfeCt...
I couldn't stop thinking about it...

My "Sweet - Sweet" Loving Husband
BOUGHT ME THIS SPECIAL MIRROR as a gift last night!*!*!
He knew it was SOOOOOO ME! ~ & that I just had to have it...
Love & Kisses to you "Froggie"...
I have it already placed in it's special spot above...

"JEWELRY Nook"... & Mary Frances Handbags!*!*!

My "most favorite" place in our entire house is my "jewelry nook" !*!*! I just love ALL THE BLING!!! Here is just a "sneak peak"... The chippy BUST - "Norah Rose" is my main focus on top of a plateau mirror... I adorn her with necklaces & vintage millinery... I have a large chippy white shabby candelabra to the left that holds most of my necklaces - it's a beauty!*!*! I love mirrors with patina - this one makes a PeRfeCt back drop... (click on pics to enlarge... Click on comments to leave feedback...)

I collect I-Rice Bottles... LoVe the flower perfume tops!!!
The "Phinney-Walker" Clock with Rhinestones is an AwEsoMe Find from a Minnesota Antique Trip!!!

These "Mary Frances" handbags are THE BEST!!! I almost always acquire one when I visit Boulder City Nevada, where I use to live... My Dear Cousin Amy, flew me out to Nevada this past August for a Mary Frances Purse Party - which MARY FRANCES HERSELF WAS THERE!!!!!!! Check out the "Party - Pics" on my Cousin Amy's Blog (far left hand side of blog) www.themagictutu.typepad.com/

OMG!*!*!* I might have to get this one with the HoLiDaYs just around the corner...
Hope it's not retired yet!*!*!*!

Panache Store ~ St. Charles, Illinois...

After the Flea Market last Saturday, I stopped at "PANACHE" ~ a FaBulOuS store I have not yet been in, in St. Charles, Illinois... I was pleasantly surprised ~ there was a darling out-building that contained all sorts of ARCHITECTURAL SALVAGE!!! Although the pieces had a hefty price tag, I really enjoyed the eye-candy... The inside of the store was just as darling!!! - It reminded of me "Anthropologie" - my most favorite store!*!*! There was a mix of 2-die-for T-shirts ~ scarves ~ jewelry... Most of the display pieces were vintage... I definitely will go back when I have more cash in my pocket!*!*!*! (click on any picture to enlarge... To leave feedback - click on comments...)

FaBuLouS Architectural Header!!!
PeRfeCtLy ChiPPy!!!
~ I won't tell you if this one went home with me or not!~

Outdoor Shed ~ Picture does not do it justice...

Inside Shed...

I have such a weakness for "Architectural Salvage"!*!*!*

KANE COUNTY Flea Market - Illinois...

I drove to Illinois on Saturday to the KANE COUNTY FLEA MARKET - Just shy of a 3 hour drive for me... I knew this would probably be the last of the outdoor markets for this season... It was sooooo cold and windy... I had my "down coat" scarf, & gloves on... Lots of the vendors were displaying their Christmas items with the HoLiDaYs just around the corner... (click on pictures to enlarge... Click on comments to leave feedback...)

Iowa Junk Gypsies Booth...

This darling "Radiator" went home with me!!!!
It's going to be the main focus for my Christmas Vignette!!!

I Love ViNtaGe BLUE Items for Christmas!!! I always do our guest bedroom with them... It was refreshing to see this color display...

As I was hunting around in this lady's outdoor booth, I come to find SUE SHOPS AT ALL MY SALES IN CEDARBURG!!! ~ She even had one of my tables there in her booth from an '08 Fall SaLe!!! Sue & her husband are from Wisconsin - about 30 miles from us!!!

As always, I made a "pit-stop" at my dear friend, Terry's House before hitting the road back home... Terry lives less than 5 minutes from the fair grounds... We had a moment of fun with these witch hats blurred in the mirror on Halloween Day!!! Doesn't she have FABULOUS HAIR!!!!!

I decided to take the backroads home... It was just about dusk when I drove through LAKE GENEVA... It was sooooo beautiful... The road is right next to the water... In the winter it freezes over and cars drive on it...

Sweet "Aunt Loretta"...

My "just darling, sweet-sweet" Aunt Loretta passed away early Friday Morning at the the age of "97"... She was such a cutie!!! Almost always she would adorn herself with sweet little pins/brooches, along with matching earrings and handbag... - A real detail person!!! - I must take after her... She found fun in being a "Red Hat Lady" ~ LoVeD Pansies ~ Had seasonal displays on her door wherever she lived... Up until a couple years ago she still E-mailed me and did her own laundry... Her Singer Sewing Machine kept her busy with major alterations - zippers - hems - sleeves... She loved shopping at the "Turn Around Store" and would do alterations for both herself and others. She ALWAYS brought joy to others - had an amazing light spirit about her - always accepting the way things were and knowing that we're never given more than we can handle. Living so long she had a heart breaking family life - a husband with alzheimers for 8 years - and 2 daughters both dying from cancer - one just 2 weeks ago... In her 90's she had to move 4 times - so hard for an older person... With each move she would round up a volunteer or handyman to get her little furniture & wall hangings placed just right!! - Fussy like me!!! I think I took after her more than my own mother... I will truly miss her phone calls... She passed on in a season she loved - "Fall"...

RED HAT LADY...
I just LOVE this picture of Aunt Loretta in her RED HAT!!! Most certainly she was having fun with the girls!*!*!*!

I had postage stamps made for her with the Special Red Hat PICTURE!!! photo.stamps.com I mailed them to her using the stamps"... They stirred up quite a conversation!!! I will treasure the letters she sent to me with these stamps... Look at her beautiful handwriting...

Aunt Loretta & Me... Look at her cute "Pansy Pin"!!!

A Fall Visit to Cedarburg... Aunt Loretta in her PLAID FALL PONCHO!!!

FALL was one of Aunt Loretta's favorite seasons... Each year I would send her a box full of "Bittersweet Berries" for her to decorate with. We both looked forward to this harvest... Oddly enough, we do not have any growing on our property... I have a secret hiding places along the wooded railroad tracks where I would get them...

MYSTERY PACKAGE... Just a week ago on our doorstep I received a "Mystery Package" addressed just to me - It had 2 LIVE BITTERSWEET PLANTS - male and female... THERE WAS NO SENDER'S NAME ON THE BOX - just the company name where it came from in Michigan... Somehow I think it was her that sent them...



Jeff and I planted the bittersweet and tagged them with orange ribbons so we can recognize them in spring... Whether they were sent by Aunt Loretta or not, they will bring a smile to my face come Fall, as I fondly think of her and our love for the season and each other... "Bittersweet"...

~AUNT LORETTA~