My Favorite Finds of the Year!

As my first year of blogging comes to a close, I thought I'd reflect on the year that is ending too. I took a look through my old photos and realized that I really found some good stuff this year! Hit alot of great sales and stumbled on some real gems in this huge ocean of great junk!!! I think my all-time favorite finds were some vintage crinolines ~ this one being nearest to my heart!
This photo was my header in the early summer and features some wonderful doorstops that I added to my collection. Found these beauties at the Elkhorn Flea Market in mid May. I love the soft, time-worn colors!

I also picked up some awesome ironstone pieces this year too! I've used the big tureen in some fun vignettes and love the sweet little stack of butter pats!

I purchased these cute little guys on a birthday outing with some of my dearest friends. Perhaps thats why they are so dear to me ~ they remind me of a special day with some special people!

This 50's bracelet was so fun ~ sold of course!!

Love the curvy lines of this yummy, creamy lamp! We sell tons of vintage lamps at the Red Rooster! This one went fast!


I enjoyed my walk down memory lane! I hope that 2011 brings me as much luck junking as I had this past year!

May your New Year be full of many good and wonderful things and tons of "junk in your trunk!!"

I am also linking up with Debra at Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration Friday too!!

Holiday Wishes!!

Just a quick and simple wish for a wonderfully happy holiday season to each and everyone!!!

I have been blogging now for a year and can't believe how much I have been inspired, entertained, and sometimes moved to tears by all my newfound friends! Hope you stay safe and enjoy every moment! Love to all ~ Julie

My New Kitchen Revealed!!!!!!

After much anticipation, I am finally ready to do the big unveiling of my newly remodeled kitchen!!! The furniture store delivered my new table and chairs today, which was the final piece to the puzzle to complete this long drawn-out affair!! So ~ here it is ~ I fall more in love with it everyday!!
For those who didn't know what she looked like before ~ ~ ~ Here are some before shots, plus you can read my farewell post here.

Quite a change, HUH?!?

Pretty good view into my living room and my Christmas vignettes that I've shown before. This pic was taken standing by my kitchen sink.

Madly love my new island...and my countertops...and my floor...and my cabinets!! Oh my!!!

Taking out that penninsula really opened this space up! Makes the room look so much bigger!!!

Thanks for hanging in there with me and patiently waiting til I was ready for the big "showing"! I hope it was worth waiting for!
Since I still have many antique pieces and vintage Christmas on display, I've decided to join in the party over at Debra's blog ~ Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration Friday! Check out all the others that have joined in this week!

My husband and I are taking a much needed little 4 day getaway to Branson, MO! We leave on Sat. and will be back on Weds. Will try to sneek a little look at my blog if I can find a computer somewhere at our hotel! Until then ~ thanks so much for stopping by! I do enjoy our visits!

My Favorite Vintage Ornaments

The last couple Christmases I've decorated my tree with only vintage ornaments. I have several that have become my favorites! Some sentimental favorites are family heirlooms handed down to me... like this awesome paper Santa which belonged to my dad's mother! He is quite fragile so I handle him with care!
This sweet pine cone was given to me by my mother-in-law and it was my husband's grandma's!

I didn't add anything else to our tree this year but ornaments. Last year I had tinsel on the tree but it was so messy I decided to keep it simpler this year.

The next few are favorites because of shape and style...

adorable little mushroom

love the shape of this one ~ ice cream cone or hot air balloon?!?

I believe this spun cotton turnip or beet is probably my most valuable ornament. I've seen these priced in the $40 range!

Love this cute little duckie!

another unusual cone shape

This chippy paint pine cone is quite large, like the size of my fist!

Every year I like to add some new additions to my tree. But these have been my absolute faves for several years now and I hope to hand them down to my children too!


Hope everyone is having a good week! Thanks for stopping by!

Christmas All Around the House!

It was such a good feeling to finally get some cleaning done and get the last layer of white dust off of everything after our remodel project!! Then I could really dig into my Christmas stuff and work on some vignettes! I try to put at least a little something Christmas-y in every room! I put this fun basket together on this wonderful old chair in my dining room! You can see a little peek of all the snow we've been getting out the window that looks out onto our deck! We got about 10 inches Sat. night and all day Sunday! Now it's gonna get real cold! Yuck!
This vignette in my kitchen is my favorite that I put together this year!! It features all my Santas--most of them vintage! I also added a cute pair of child's skis and a sweet little tree with some prim Santas and quilt piece ornaments!

My favorite is the bobble-head candy container next to the boot with the tree in it!

I found the string of toy wooden beads and thought it would make a cute garland for this little tree! I can't take credit for making the little quilt ornaments. I bought them at a craft sale years ago and use them every year!


This table sits next to my Santa vignette in my kitchen.

I framed this old illustration I found in an antique children's book ~ perfect to keep out all winter long!

The little sheep are new--and totally cute!

The hooked wool tree in the silver sugar bowl was a gift from my friend Katherine from last year! I love it!

I love post cards with birds and have several!

I've had this old German print for a few years now and I love getting it out every year! It reminds me of my 2 girls, one light and the other dark haired! It hangs in my living room and is such a sweet vintage image!

Added a couple items to this vignette in my bathroom. A sweet little tinsel tree and yet another vintage post card featuring sweet little birdies on a branch!

My next post will feature my tree and some of my favorite vintage ornaments!


Thanks for stopping by and hope you come by for a visit again real soon!!

Vintage Christmas in my Living Room

I'm joining in the Christmas fun at the Vintage Inspiration party at Debra's blog ~ Common Ground! I have been collecting for years and am decorating more and more with vintage Christmas items. My tree is completely adorned with vintage ornaments and I decked my mantel with bottle brush trees and all my little paper houses...
I have quite the little village now!

Here's what it looks like at night...

Magical!!!

I have been accumulating for so long now that the overflow spilled into the bookcase next to the fireplace!

Counted and I'm up to 30 vintage bottle brush trees of all colors and sizes...truly addicting!!

I added a couple cute little wooden angels on skiis and a sweet little, pink snowgirl to this scene!
(click to enlarge for a better look!)

I bought this new silver tree last year and just love it ~ perfect for my smaller ornaments!

My husband asked me tonight why I have 2 trees?? He just doesn't get it I guess!

Holiday vignette on my hearth.

Downsized my snowman collection to just my favorites.

Someday this winter when I have nothing to do, I really need to thin out some of my Christmas stuff! It's amazing what you accumulate in 34 years and how your tastes change!

This is how I decorated my living room cupboard! I love the soft look of all the muted colors and textures!

Lots of sweet vintage "stuff"!!

I love this cupboard, but not nearly as much as my new one in my dining room!

Next I will be sharing some of the vignettes I've put together in other rooms and hopefully soon will come the big "reveal" of my newly remodeled kitchen!!

All the work is finished and my new dining room set is "in transit"!!

Soon, I promise!! For now, hop on over to Debra's blog and check out all the other wonderful Christmas inspiration being shared!!

Holiday Flea Market

We had a few inches of snow early Sat. morning and I think that really put a damper on the Holiday flea that I did on Sat. The crowd was pretty thin unfortunately!! As anyone who does any kind of markets, sales or shows knows how much work goes into these it can really be disappointing! Oh well, I think my booth was really pretty anyway!!One side of my booth had a huge window in it and I love how the sun came peeking through later in the afternoon! It cast some lovely shadows on my vintage Christmas!
I made a little village scene inside this antique aquarium. Of course it didn't sell, so I will probably take it to one of my booths.

These hinged windows I put together were the perfect backdrop since my booth was in a corner.

I had tons of vintage Christmas!

I loved this vintage store display basket that I used to display old boxes of Christmas lights!

I did sell the cute little picnic tin and the watering can!

I didn't do horrible, but compared to last year's show this one was not very good! I did have alot of fun buying some great stuff from the other dealers there and got some great deals!

Bought this sweet bottle brush tree that was still in it's original box ~ mint condition!!

Then my favorite buy of the day -- this little cutie............

I LOVE this darling little bottle brush tree! The pink beads on the frosty flocking make it look so sweet and feminine!! I just adore it!!!

I also bought the wonderful little tureen it sits in, one of two I got from the same dealer!
I didn't mind so much having to pack up most of my stuff knowing I came away with such sweet finds!

I can at least take my leftovers to my booths to sell. Hope everyone had a great weekend!!