The "ThAnKsGiVinG" Prep!*!*!

I'm sure a good number of you have already made out your ThAnKsGiVinG "to-do" List... ~ I sure have!!! This morning I've begun pulling out all my "special adornments" for Thursday's delicious celebration...

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I have these adorable "Squirrel Place Card Holdlers"...
I bought them from Pottery Barn a couple years ago...


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I have a couple Vintage ~ 1950's "leaf tablecloths" which I drape over a larger white one...My "Most Favorite" Thanksgiving whimsy is the small Turkey Salad Plates!*!*! I also have a Turkey monogram on the napkins along with a leaf napkin holder rings...

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My husband surprised me a few weeks ago and bought me these darling "Acorn" side dishes!!! Jeff is soooooo thoughtful!*!*!

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This GoRgeOuS ViNtaGe Set of Silverware was a wedding gift from my sweet Aunt Loretta who recently passed away... Teary-eyed, I found her wedding card to us tucked inside...


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I just LoVe the picture in the silverware's box top...

LoVe these TEXAS BOOTS!*!*!

As long as I can remember, I've always loved the look of "Cowboy Boots"... They look soooooo FaBuLouS with jeans... Years ago in Nevada, I used to go line-dancing & had a pair of shoes that looked liked the lower part of a boot, but didn't extend up the leg ~ I loved them and wore them out... This year, as I was planning my trip to "Warrenton"- Texas, I thought " now is the time to come home with some FaBuLouS Genuine Texan Boots"!*!*!

I tried on many a boot at the Texas Flea Market... Some used... Some new... The BeSt Boots all around were "Old Gringo" ~ which I found in the "Junk Gypsies" Booth... Oddly enough , we had some guests from Texas, at our home a couple days ago... ~ What was she wearing??? ~ YES!**!**! ~ The AwEsoMe "Old Gringo" Boots above... I LoVe the look ~ & Elizabeth said they are soooooo amazingly comfortable ~ no breaking in necessary...

Junker's Essential Car Kit!*!*!

The other day I stopped at our local "UpScale" ~ Sendik's Grocery Store... I just love shopping there!*!*! It reminds me of "Gelson's" in California... Sendik's is always in tune with seasonal displays... I think I'm going to start taking pictures of their inside vignettes... All their holiday greens are now outside - welcoming daily shoppers... I was feeling a bit sad looking at the greens & the price tag that went along with it... In this economy I need to watch my pocket book along with just about everybody else... Sooooooo - do I go out in the dark & chop branches off of other people's pine trees or what?????

After grocery shopping I was driving down a residential street... THERE IT WAS ~ This hugh pile of freshly cut Pine Tree Branches ~ set out at the curb for the City Crew to pick up along with the end of season leaves!*!*! These branches were hugh!!! Like a Girl Scout, I'm always prepared ~ I almost always have the complete "Junkers Essential Travel Kit" in my car ~ which consists of: bungie cords... blankets... bags... tools... cardboard... gloves... & clippers!*!*!

I love my "Smith & Hawken" clippers... I'm sad to hear that ALL their stores are closing...

Sendik's Crates filled with greens...

Sendik's greens arranged in pots...
$50.- I don't think soooooo... ~ Although this would look lovely in some old chippy cement urns on either side of the front door!!!

I love the store logo - the truck is darling!*!*!

I keep posing this ChiPPy-SHaBBy lettering because I love it so!*!*! I found an AwEsoMe Old Board/Door in Warrenton, Texas this past Fall - in hopes of mounting these letters on it... It should make a FaBuLouS Display piece at my SaLeS!*!*! Mariann should be delivering my finds in the next few weeks ~ getting anxious!*!*!

OMG!*!*! ViNtaGe PiNk Bottle Brush Wreath...

JuSt GoRgeOuS!*!*! ~ While antiquing Sunday Afternoon, I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw this Absolutely Stunning ~ Drop Dead Gorgeous ~ 1950's PINK BOTTLE BRUSH WREATH!*!*! It is sooooooo hard to find ViNtaGe PINK ~ FaBuLouS SHaBBy Color!*!*! It is such a lovely shade - not salmon, not coral... (click to enlarge pics... click on comments to leave feedback...)

The white snow-like coating is still nice and bright ~ not dingy, - enhanced with glistening flecks... It still retains it's "original pink bow" ... Even the Old "mercury glass balls" have taken on a wonderful time-worn patina...

PeRfeCt for your SHaBBy HoLiDaY Decor!*!*!

I'm starting to think "SHaBBy ViNtaGe ChRisTmaS"!*!*!

Jeanine's AMAZING Watering Cans!*!*!*!

OK ~ for weeks now I've been soooooo stressed about getting "SHABBBY" (my car) in the garage BEFORE Winter hits us here in the Midwest... I went to Round Top/Warrenton - TEXAS this Fall INSTEAD of having my usual ChiPPy!-SHaBBy! FALL SaLe... So much work goes into my sales that there was NO-WAY I could do it after I returned... I sure have the inventory for our 2010 SaLe on Saturday, May 22nd... (click on pics to enlarge... click on comments to leave feedback...)

Some of you might not know, put my "Major Collection" is ViNtaGe Garden Items... I started collecting them in the early 80's when I lived in Nevada - the Desert of all places... I have over 400 Vintage Watering Cans in my collection... It's rare that I buy one anymore - it has to be something pretty special if I do... Shape/form - color - patina - & size are all taken into consideration... These cans are hanging from poles in our garage ceiling... It's sooooo fun to see them when I drive the car in!*!*!

Since we don't have a barn, I try to set up some type of display in our garage so I can enjoy my ViNtaGe Garden Collectibles... I always mix in architectural salvage & concrete pieces...

View coming down the steps from the house - into the garage...

The colored watering cans on the tiered bench stand are some of my "crude" favorites...

I just LoVe the Old White Wire Gate I picked up a few weeks ago... Other Vintage Garden items I collect are Seed Cabinets... Seed boxes... Sprinklers... Rakes... Hand tools... Seed Packets... Orchard Signs... Flower frogs... Seed Jars... Concrete Statues & Garden Advertising...

I LoVe these Old APPLE SIGNS!*!*!
These Watering Cans ALL have labels...

Most of my cans are American... My cute smaller-sized cans are inside the house...

Hubbard Avenue Diner... Thanksgiving Dessert!

Whenever Jeff & I go to Madison - Wisconsin, we "have to stop" at "HUBBARD AVENUE DINER"!*!*! This AwEsoMe Restaurant is actually located on the outskirts of Madison, in the town of Middleton... We discovered it some years ago when we would visit a favorite antique stop of ours ~ that unfortunately is no longer there... Hubbard Diner is such a happening place!!! I love sitting at the counter... ANYTHING is delicious on their menu... We always purchase a peach & blueberry sconce for the 2 hour car ride home... If we lived closer ~ no way would I bake for ThANkSGiviNg...*** That says a lot - at one time I owned a "Bakery" called "Jeanine's Sweet Treats", in Boulder City, Nevada... Everything was baked from scratch, muffins being our speciality... I was fortunate enough to be in County Living Magazine!*!*! More on "Sweet Treats" at another time... Click on pics to enlarge... Click on comments to leave feedback...)

Yes, their pies & cakes are as delicious as they look!*!*!
~ Hubbard Avenue Diner ~

The outside of the building has a more contemporary streamline look to fit in with this "urban area"...

I'm making "Pumpkin Waffles" this Sunday morning... If you need some ideas for a "Thanksgiving Holiday Hostess Gift" ~ "Williams Sonoma's" Pumpkin Waffle/Pancake Mix is an excellent choice - already packaged in it's attractive "Tin Canister" ~ ready for gift giving...

Batch number two...
With a filling breakfast like this, I think we better hit some antique shops today!*!*!

Shops ~ Plymouth Wisconsin...

I had the day off from work on Thursday... I spent the morning at a friends house watching a 6-part series (Sundance channel) she recorded for me ~ "Man Shops Globe" - Keith Johnson - buyer at large for Anthropologie Stores... The first one in France was my favorite!!! After lunch Jeff accompanied me for an afternoon outing of antique shopping in PLYMOUTH, WI ~ about 25 miles north of us... (click on pics to enlarge... Click on comments to leave feedback...)

First Shop we hit was the RED ROOSTER...

Red Rooster is a mix of old and new...
Everything is displayed... Linda does a great job! I've bought many an antique from her store over the years... I enjoy going to the seasonal store "open house" events...

The Red Rooster's HoLiDaY Open House was last week...
Unfortunately I was unable to attend... What chippy finds did I miss in those first few minutes???

Jeff saw the "concrete" planter... Without lifting a finger - his back started aching... He remembers the year I was concrete/cement CrAzY!*!*!
Upon closer inspection ~ the planter was a re-pro, exceptionally done ~ being light as a feather was the give-away... No, it did not go home with me, sorry Julie... I'm a purist snob...

More and more I'm running into customers of mine!*!*! Donna lives in Green Bay & drives down to Cedarburg for the Maxwell Street Flea Market, where I have a booth... I remembered her buying a metal garden table from me last May & she also watches my Ebay Listings in the Winter Season...

The other "girl shop" in Plymouth is "Fibber McGee's Closet" ~ although maybe it's name is changing??? - I saw some wording on the front window saying "Countryside"???? I've bought from Katherine for years!*!*!

ChiPPy Cupboard at Fibber McGees...

I love just about anything with birds...

Unfortunately I did not come home with a thing from the Red Rooster or Fibber McGee's ~ most likely due to the Holiday Open House just a week ago... However, I did come home with a few trinkets from a couple other shops down the road... The swagged wall shelf is just adorable - perfect for a perfume display... The mini urn adornment will tuck nicely in a shadow box... I just LOVE the old celluloid lamp finial - it will go PeRfeCtly with the shabby lamp I also found!*!*! These delights will be available at our MAY 22nd BARN SaLe 2010... Mark your calendar!!! I'll update my blog as it gets closer... and of course you'll get our usual mailing piece...

Plymouth has a lot of old architecture...

Jeff and I enjoyed a mid-afternoon cup of coffee ~ then went for a walk... We saw lots of interesting things off the main drag...