Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Shabby Shop

A day at work. Another blog. Trying to help my boss change up the blog for her shop. I'm truly not a whiz at any of this..... surely she will find me out!! Having fun with photos of all the vintage furniture and doo-dads...

Here are a couple ~
















Sometime soon the blog and the web site will be running smoothly, updated frequently , and looking oh so pretty! Check in on her progress at: www.nottooshabbysj.blogspot.com/

Monday, March 28, 2011

Uh Oh...They Know Me by Name!!

This is one way to get my shopping fix!! MasterCard called and they want to know if it was actually me at Goodwill in 4 different cities on three different days!....  not really - but they might! Because I have! After the Goat Hill Show maybe I won't have the desire to hunt anymore??!!!  Don't count on it....

So, if you're not tired of seeing some of the same style images over and over again, then here's from today~



great collection of stuff!

close up

details
MY! You've got such big close-ups!...     ~All the better to see you with, my dear!~


great country chairs - they're from Poland
Should have taken one last picture of the two matching side tables still in my trunk.... just didn't remember. By the end of this shopping spree I was treasure-exhausted! I wanted to get outside and bask in the first sunny day in far too long. It was time to start gardening again!

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Pitiful

Suffice to say that maintenance and decor at my house - both inside and out - have gone the wayside over the winter. Indoors has changed very little since Christmas! The tree and ornaments have long been shoved back to the garage rafters, yes! However I just haven't had the usual sense of urgency to switch things up; move furniture about, or get outside and start spring planting. Has it been that darn ol' gray weather I've barked about?

Today I took some BEFORE shots of the disaster in the backyard. I will try to remember and post AFTER shots when some of the revamp is done! Here is the sad state of affairs ~


general disarray


fallen gates

paths covered in weeds - can you even tell where to walk?

tarps everywhere...

a dead rose bush... It was so beautiful.. no idea what happened..

vegetable beds that need planting & composting

fallen leaves aplenty

And, in keeping with my blogs name and a somewhat common way of life around here - A NEW FIND!
Two raised beds that I scoped on a walk. They were about to be thrown out. They were FREE, and better yet the guy tossing 'em put them into the car for me!  SCORE !!



raised beds to place

Another spot to read my gardening (and other) exploits!
http://abundantpicnic.blogspot.com/2011/04/digging-this.html

Friday, March 25, 2011

Everything.. AND..the Kitchen Sink

I've Picked up strained to barely budge an item that I'm completely enamored of. Really not so attractive of a piece. But I do see it's beauty! I found it sitting curbside (again) just waiting for a home. I was alone, it was pouring rain and this thing probably weighs 200 pounds. Intrigued? Wanna see? ....... well, okay



This is the full view of a concrete double sink!  Hubby came to the rescue again. If I could've taken pictures of us getting this in the treasure wagon - you would be chuckling! Well, of course I couldn't stop mid-lift and have Hubby pose for a shot... so believe me when I say that it was difficult! We got 'er done pretty quickly though.

Here we have the interior view ~


In my mind this appliance was used in a utilitarian, hard working space.  Rather than sitting in a place of prestige like a woman's kitchen. Was it for use in a garage, or maybe a laundry area? When I check on-line for history of these sinks I'm unable to find anything.

Not sure if I'm keeping this or selling. Would be the second one of it's kind at our home. The other we saved is a single sink and I used it in the backyard as a large planter. If it goes to someone else they'll have to have a team to move it!

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Trash Talk

No swearing will be done on this page - I promise! Trash talk only means that I feel like telling a story(or two) from years past of my fondness for junking! Seems that I've been treasure hunting and thrill seeking since childhood.....
Yep, I said thrill seeking!

If only there were photographs of me along with my cohorts of brothers and cousins as we traipsed plowed fields to get to a lonely, dilapidated, abandoned farmhouse.  For a few years this place sat in an orchard a mile or so from our Grandparent's home.


this is not a photo of MY place, but looks much like it!    - photo from Limbloggercheese-
Our gang would while away hours inside, pretending it was our home. We would rearrange furniture, sweep and clean. Searching through all of the rooms and the barn too - looking for some special treasure. Funny, we never took anything away from that property! I'm sure the treasures were plenty, but we were merely children and had no use for anything. It was solely for the thrill of it all !  Years later this beautiful place burned to the ground. I've always wished I could've returned.

    *       *     *      *      *      *      *      *      *      *      *      *      *      *      *       *      *      *
Another age, another place, another story ~

Again, an abandoned building takes center stage. While on a weekend away with girlfriends to a small delta town...  levees and murky delta water, ducks and reeds, docks and boating. There stood a house that belonged to my closest friend's family. Down the levee were other homes - some  occupied, others vacation places, and numerous unused and abandoned shacks.  I remember going for a walk and turning off to look into the windows of a ramshackle mess. I decided to go in. In other words - not so kindly - to TRESPASS ! Of course I didn't think I was doing any harm, or breaking the law. That's the sort of thinking you have when you're 20-something years old. Most everyone else was NOT on board with entering! I sifted through piles and piles of junk. And then I stopped. I had in my hands an old High School Yearbook. Oakland Tech to be exact. I was more intrigued with reading the handwritten notes and scanning the photos than I was concerned with being found out, or with finding treasure.  The yearbook was the only thing I took from that place. I Swear Officer! I didn't steal anything of great value!  As I browsed the annual I came first upon a face, then upon the name. I checked and re-checked. Handing off to my friends to make sure we were seeing the right thing. This is who we saw:

Ain't his hair purty??  The yearbook I have is NOT Clint's own personal one, rather a classmate of his. I can't find hide nor hair of his autograph amongst the others.

That was quite a fun find!

*      *      *      *      *      *      *      *      *      *      *      *      *      *      *      *      *      *      *
Lastly, a dumpster diving story ~

I'm prone to climbing up the ladders on the sides of dumpsters to take a peek in and see what I might find. One of my walks past said garbage bin yielded a quite LARGE object one year.  Try as I might, I was unable to budge this object. It would have to sit there and wait for Hubby to get home from work. I was truly concerned that either a) the garbage truck would come to haul , or b) someone else would happen by and also want this lovely treasure. It seemed forever before Hubby arrived. He was game enough, as I remember it. Well, that surely changed after he saw the object in question!! I had found a HUGE, HEAVY cast iron cauldron. It was stuck way down, deep inside the trash. Poor, poor Hubby had to climb into the pit and lift this behemoth from the floor and up over the ledge to reach me, and the ground without dropping it. This was not an easy task, but he did it! And to this day it is in use and loved dearly by us.


So, goodnight for now. Story time is over. There's always more where these came from....

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Don't Judge

Just as in the saying - "don't judge a book by it's cover".... also don't rule out any spot for finding treasure! I am definitely not above looking in all sorts of unsavory places! I've been known to dumpster dive. I will sift through cast away objects placed out for the trash man. I've got stories to tell on rummaging through condemmed buildings also!

In many neighboring cities there are weeks when households are allowed to place ANY unwanted item curbside for the city to haul. I went-a-hunting this week.



nothing is forbidden...




table set in the weeds

a few great finds..
The white fencing is in pretty good shape and I scooped up many sections. Those columns are grand!
And speaking of grand.... damn if I couldn't lift this puppy into my car...>


Whaddaya mean I can't have it?? Wish I could've saved it from ruin. The rain has been never ending of late! So either Mother Nature was going to have her way with all of the junque piles, or the big green monster truck would be gnawing at them. Either way - I couldn't save them all!

oohh... maybe I'll tell you a couple of stories on items I have saved from trash heaps!

Sunday, March 20, 2011

All New

New business, new blog (or 2), new camera, new job, new ideas......
Sort of got myself in a pickle! An okay spot to be if I can keep up. Much is riding on all of it, but mostly the riding is my own. There's really no place to fall!  I say  ONWARD & UPWARD !
Out the front door each day and find my way....


One place I'm sure to find my way to is Spokane, Washington. For my ever loving dream of attending FARM CHICKS!! A friend has asked me along to become a cowgirl-boot sportin', apron string wearin', treasure hunting comrade! My head is in the clouds! This trip is a much anticipated first. Another ALL NEW! For many people this has become a yearly ritual. Watch this video, or go see http://www.thefarmchicks.com/




Hope to be giving the new camera a work out tomorrow. Will try to capture some goods for ya.....

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Chairs

Two new vintage chairs have come home with me. I seem to have an affinty for chairs. My hubby used to say "If a new one comes in, an old one needs to go out".  Wellllll...............

I do believe I'll be able to let go of these. Both will go up for sale at Goat Hill. The gold velvet upholstered chair needs to get a new frock! Wish I new how to reupholster myself. Maybe I should try to paint it. I've been known to do that before!

May do some research on the bentwood,caned chair. Not sure of it's make or age. It's very unique! Watch for a before and after on the beautes.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

My Treasure Wagon

You don't realize how badly I want to reference the Beverly Hillbillies.....(take a look at photo)

Since I mentioned Green Acres + the video on my last post - I felt inclined to NOT - lest you think all I do is watch very old silly TV shows!

a good day of junking (oh and some garden)
 The treasure wagon was filled to capacity! There's even more up in front that you can't see...


Have to do more of this in the upcoming months. Have a tent to fill for Goat Hill. Such fun stuff on this day. It will be hard not to keep lots of it!

Goat Hill

Green Acres  (Goat Hill) is the place to be.....

Farm livin' is the life for me....

Land spreading out so far and wide...

Keep San Jose, just give me that countryside!!


OH YOWZA!! What an amazing homestead! I wanna move in right now! This here place that will be the venue for the Goat Hill Show ~

firstly - the farmhouse...
a small part of the view
Add a few baby animals ~



Then take a few of us vendors


and move us on inside....







and.... TA-DA!! we have the beginning stages of a brand new, 1st Annual Goat Hill Show!! Coming to you on September17th & 18th, 2011! Stay tuned....

Good night


A Friend and A Barn

Start the morning with a friend + add one barn sale = perfect sort of FABULOUS!!



Amazing that in this big ole metropolis Silicon Valley we even still have a barn nearby. Believe me, we do! Too bad more of them aren't deemed historical places of interest so they might be saved for generations of folks to behold. I'm born and raised in California. I do remember the fields and the orchards......







Trying to stockpile for an upcoming event.  Setting up shop at Goat Hill for a Fall show. I will be sure to keep you posted as plans are put in place. Girlfriend and I will both be there with all of our finery - and a bit of not-so-finery too!  A touch of junk is always needed!

Our day ended with a wee bit of moo (not milk)...

Happy to have a cohort in treasure picking!

Friday, March 11, 2011

Backtrack

A wee bit of history. Just about the time a blog of my own was on the horizon, I had slipped out of the house and up the road to a very popular and much known flea market. Behold!... a surprise awaited! I had the privilege of meeting two of blog-dom, magazine-dom, flea-dom's most famous gals!


The lovely lady on the left is photographer extraordinaire, chicken-mama Heather Bullard. Pay no attention to the gal in the middle. On the right is the ultimate junking-repurposer, magazine editor Queen Ki Naussauer. I have known the names for many a year so you can see that I was quite happy to browse, chat and have pictures taken with them. Now that is the ultimate flea market shopping experience!

We were all pounding pavement at Alameda Flea Market. Always a delightful day... and, I do mean DAY -
this place is huge! In my book, one of the most perfect ways to lose yourself on a Sunday morning!







A quick side trip back in time. This type of journey is exactly what I hope to feature here!

Thursday, March 10, 2011

An Answer

I'm so completely enjoying my writing forays at Abundant Picnic that I'm now challenging myself....
Knowing that some folks may ask WHY...here is the answer ... cart before the horse as it were! The reason for a second blog is thus ~ my first is more of a journal, mostly personal, although YES! I know it is out in the universe for all to see. So this second blog ABUNDANT FINDS is to give me a place for my adventures in decorating; the new jobs that might entail (so hoping), and the upcoming business I may enter as a seller of things vintage and unique!!





THE DOORS ARE WIDE OPEN!!!


That's a shot of my fridge door that I chalkboard-ed! I have had that message up for a couple of months. Boy does it sum up the start to my new year! Lots of new possibilities.... and I'm goin' for it!


If you want to start at the beginning - as in my first blog - visit http://www.abundantpicnic.blogspot.com/