Where in the world ...

... have I been?

While I could fill this space with the long story, I'd rather just share this photo of a super lovely globe I found while browsing Etsy! I consider myself pretty lucky to have found two vintage globes at really good prices. I consider myself silly and forgetful for not going back to that one booth at the flea market I was at this weekend to pick up #3 for less than $10 ... you know the feeling, don't you?

Plant one on us

If you've read this blog for any time now, you probably have gathered that I have a short attention span. I also have pretty big ambitions and sometimes my eyes are bigger than my stomach.

Enter succulents.

I have this thing for succulents right now. I've never been a green thumb, but decided its time to update my faux plants for some real ones. And for some reason, I think I can handle some succulents. Plus it's a good excuse to do some browsing on Etsy to find some super cute planters! I'm very drawn to these kitschy animal ones.

What's your latest ambition or obsession?

Etsy Therapy

I try to be a good girl, I really do. I try to put my money directly from my PayPal account to my checking account.

But sometimes I shop.

Here's a couple things I ordered this week.

I've developed an obsession with donkeys. It's fairly new, so counting the original Donkey this cute lil guy will make number 3. I bought it at kitschandcurious ... the name says it all!

I've been thinking about pillows a lot lately and decided I was in need of some vintage decorative ones. I fell in love with this one from enhabiten. It's the reason I make my bed now.

I'm off to transfer my money before the rest of it is gone!

Today I like ...

Aprons.

But who doesn't?

Click on the photos to be directed to the Etsy shop!

Vignette-ing

The other day I decided it sounded fun to use some furniture and pieces from my Etsy inventory to play an interior designer (at heart)'s idea of dress up. Vignette-ing, I called it.

If nothing else, it was a great opportunity to dust. I did have some fun and realized that I really need to get cracking on getting a booth space in a local antique mall.

Here's a couple options I came up with.

This is when I decided Chester and Donkey needed booth space.

And that's when I started decorating for myself. I hung some pictures from my shop in my dining room ...

And add some branches (that I trekked in the snow for) to my pitcher. I liked the look of something rustic in something so elegant and rich looking!

Then I added my $5 chippy table to the mix, along with some more recent finds.

I love these wire baskets! This one is filled with some vintage fruit that belonged to my grandma!

Vignette-ing can be a lot of work, but it sure is fun to have lots of goodies on hand to switch around my decor!

Catchy!

I daydream more than any adult probably should, but usually they are fairly creative and useful dreams. Today, while watching the snow fall in the Midwest, I played around with my new photos on Photobucket. I'm a big fan of Photobucket if you didn't know by now ... it makes me feel a little bit like a "real" photographer.

I was thinking about Chester and Donkey becoming its very own store, maybe on a Main Street in Somewhere, USA. I decided that I'd need a slogan ... a catch phrase, maybe. So I came up with this!

Though I've never been, I kind of have a thing for the "Virginia is for lovers" slogan. Maybe because Virginia is my grandma's name or maybe because I'm a helpless romantic at heart ... umm, where was I? Oh yeah ... Vintage is for lovers, according to Chester and Donkey.I love my little swans ... I think they're pretty. This one is kind of a play on words, because I think it's funny how we say things like "that was pretty difficult". Pretty = very, I guess, so its pretty vintage and (very) pretty vintage.

I definitely wanted to use these cute little salt and pepper shakers. After much (too much, actually!) thought I decided to tie in the number of pieces with Chester AND Donkey ... two heads are better than one!
Though I won't be adopting a catch phrase any time soon, I do enjoy editing my photos ... and trying to be witty!

I can't get enough ...

... of art deco. I guess it's the "architect" in me.

I have a big thing for the colors - I always think of turquoise, red, gold, and black specifically. I am enamored with the clean but ornate lines and designs.

My eye is drawn to just about everything that matches my idea of art deco. You might notice while browsing through Chester and Donkey that I have a few items tagged art deco. I decided that it was also worthy of an Etsy search and I was not disappointed!

Like this frame? I'm really thinking about buying it. I wouldn't even put pictures in it, would you? And this stapler? My desk needs this ... I don't even care if it works!
I think McCoy really embodies art deco. See what I mean about clean lines? They are so simple, but they make such an impact.

I couldn't resist the chance to show off this beauty.
What's your favorite architectural style?

Giveaway!

We're blushing tonight, really!

We're doing a little advertising over at one of our favorite blogs, The Shabby Chic Cottage. The best part? We're also able to do a GIVEAWAY!

What will you be in the running for? A pretty little plate ... perfect to set a glass dome on top of! A cute little crochet coaster would be a nice accent for a candle or maybe your favorite tea cup. And finally, an ornate gold frame bone - we loooove these! All these items are just what you ned to start a shabby little vignette!

Click on the photo to be taken right over to Gina's post to be entered. And be sure to nose around her great blog and Etsy shop!

Today in history

I noticed that today, February 3, is Norman Rockwell's birthday. While I've never been a huge fan of him myself - I think there's something that anyone, especially the lover of all things vintage, can appreciate in his work.

I searched through a few pages of his work and found three to share with you ...

My favorite one? The middle ... simply because of the lady in the bottom left with the fancy hat. I love vintage hats! There's something so lady-like and elegant about them.

To celebrate his birthday, what's your take on Mr. Rockwell?

New Directions

Well hello!

I've been giving this little blog o' mine a lot of thought and decided that it needed to go hand in hand with my Etsy shop. I'm doing updates little by little, so sit back and enjoy the ride!

Since Valentine's Day is coming up, I've been giving some ideas in my item descriptions for some pieces I think could easily be a gift for someone special!

I've been lucky to run across some very well made vintage doilies and I really love this one! The scalloped, layered edge is so fancy, isn't it? I think its perfect to display a pretty milk glass vase on. It could also be framed and hung on the wall for a festive V Day vignette.

This perfume bottle and mirror is so nicely detailed and styled like a vintage piece, although it's not quite at that 20 year old mark. I think it's a perfect piece for a young lady to put on her dresser.
If you love crazed, loved pieces ... this cup and saucer will surely still your heart. It's got so many shabby details - some fading and worn spots, but wow - is it a beauty! Maybe take a special cake over to a friend on V Day on this special plate!
Come back soon, but in the meantime check out the above items and much more at Chester and Donkey on Etsy!

I don't do window(s)

Treatments, that is. That's right, ladies and gents. I don't have a single curtain on a single window in my home. Unless you count the old shower curtain I threw over my bedroom window.

Am I weird? Yep.

Thinking about my orange kitchen, I decided a good way to add an extra pop of color - and brighten up my mood on these dull wintery days would be to add some curtains.

My idea of curtains? A few years ago, my cousin made her own curtains out of either napkins or placemats - that detail escapes me - but I do recall they were super cute. I decided that I could do the same thing and do a no-sew version.

The plan is to find some pretty orange goodies, like these.

And simply drape them over my windows. Do I think it'll work? Probably not. Ok, so it might but it most likely won't be that easy.

What do you do for window treatments? Got any simple (and I mean SIMPLE) ideas?

I decided that my favorite ...

... color is orange ...

... for the time being.

I change obsessions like I change clothes. Being on Etsy 22/24 hours (ok, not really) a day doesn't help either! I always find something that I get hooked on ... be it decor, kitchen stuff, the way someone takes pictures, whatever.

I scored an awesome set of Butterfly Pyrex casserole dishes at Goodwill that I just love, Love, LOVE. It's sparked a craze of sorts and now I just want to decorate my kitchen in orange. I realized last night that that'll be easy ... I already have a lot of orange stuff!

I'll post pictures later this week when my decorating is finished, but for now - enjoy this picture (and check out the shop) of the mixing bowls I want so badly to add to my collection!

See you later this week for the Kitchen Reveal!

Dream House

While catching up on blogs, I made sure to stop by Vintage Junky first and see what Michelle had been up to. She's been on a house hunt, which led me to post about a house I recently drooled over.

I am a wishful thinker ... when I found this on Realtor, my mind immediately went to work. This was going to be THE HOUSE. The house that all my blood, sweat and tears went into. The house that 20, 30, 40 years from now would hold Thanksgiving and Christmas for my kids and grandkids ... yes ... my mind travelled that far into the future.

With a house like this, to me, it was hard not to. It was build in 1870. It has 2 fireplaces, 2 sets of stairs ... character that you just don't find in new homes. But, sadly it won't be mine anytime soon. With the (un)helpfulness of an agent, I found out it went to auction. Excuse the quality of the photos ... I grabbed them off of the listing.

Dreamy hardwood, plantation shudders, brick .... ahhhhhhh, this truly is my dream home.

Its about TIME!

Can you believe I haven't blogged since last year?! Ok, since the beginning of December ... but it does feel like 365 days ago since my last post.

I did not do as many Christmas projects and decorating as I anticipated. I slowly started to realize I needed more prep time. A handmade Christmas can't happen over night. And with that, I'll quickly turn this into a Resolution post!

I've realized that I have a lot to work on in 2010 to truly make it "my" year. I have lots of goals ... big ones, small ones, some that will take a day, some might take the entire year to accomplish. I've got my work cut out for me but I'm attempting to not get ahead of myself.

One of my focuses is my Etsy shop, Chester and Donkey. The entire month of December, I did a lot of window shopping on Etsy to see what's out there. I got lots of ideas, lots of info, and created many an obsession for myself.

I'm experimenting with taking better photos. By now, I think we all know that lots of natural light = lots of good pictures. To get creative juices flowing, I've also been taking photos with props so you can get ideas on how to display my lovely items in your own home. Here are a few of my favorites, which all have the same little tarnished silver creamer (not for sale - sorry, I like it too much!!!).

For the rest of January, I'll post more snippets like this with my resolutions. Hope you're having a good start to your New Year!