Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Road Trip Finds

Since getting back from my UK trip, I haven’t done a lot in the way of thrifting/junking. Recently after taking my #1 girl school clothes shopping, we made a mini road trip out the Plucky Maidens Vintage Sale. It was a beautiful day, great vendors and lots of shoppers.  I wasn’t really thinking I would buy anything, but I did come home with these.

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An adorable French fabric covered box, two vintage beaded purses and a sweet vintage coin purse with rhinestones.

We also went on another little road trip down to Salem and Eugene, where we stopped at several thrift stores along the way.  Lighting and lampshades were a theme for me.

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Vintage dresses were another.

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Love the sweet detail on this one.

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Even the back was cute.

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Love this little black and white square dance dress.

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Not sure if this one was a dress or costume.  Cute either way!

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This yellow and white gingham was a little homemade number.

My best score of the weekend had to be this though

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I’ve had one of these before and I sold it to Isabel before it made it to the antique mall. This one is kind of greenish gold in color and, I think, just needs a little cleaning before it makes it’s way over to Stars.

I’ll be back soon with another England post.

Thursday, August 25, 2011

UK Trip 2011~The Cotswolds

I’m a little behind in posting about my England trip. Isabel is doing a much better job at it and I apologize if you are a reader of both of our blogs as many of our pictures are of the same things. So, if you are reading this post and are feeling a bit of déjà vu, that is why.  Just one of the things that happens when two bloggers travel together.

Isabel had told me how much she loved The Cotswolds when she lived in England years ago.  The first thing to come to mind for me was quaint villages with thatch roofed cottages. Our first stop of the day was to a village called Stow on the Wold. It was raining quite a bit that day, but after finding a little shop to buy umbrellas, we are all set.

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Isabel and I, voted this cottage our favorite in Stow on the Wold. Maybe our favorite cottage the entire trip, but that’s like asking which of your children are your favorite, impossible!

We ventured on to a sweet village called Broadway.

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This picture would have been perfect if that dumpster wasn’t hanging out in front. This was a surgeon’s place of business.

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While in Broadway, we met a man out walking his dog, who told us about a little place nearby that they filmed part of  the movie“Four Weddings and a Funeral.” Snowshill was a quaint little “hamlet” with a pub, church and several houses.

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Our next destination was Stratford Upon Avon, the birthplace of Shakespeare.

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Couldn’t resist taking a picture of this pink house, right across the street from Shakespeare’s Son-in-law’s house (above)

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After driving a bit, we decided to find a place to spend the night. This time we landed at the Crewe Arms Hotel in Keele. Not as charming as our previous accommodations, but perfectly clean and updated rooms with comfortable beds.

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The next day we headed towards Manchester with a stop in the village of Buxton. I’ll share some pictures of that soon.

Just got back yesterday from a mini road trip with my #1 girl. Found a few cute things that I’ll share with you on my next post.

Saturday, August 20, 2011

UK Trip 2011~Part 2

On the second day of our trip, we headed to the lovely town of Bath. First order of business was to find a place to stay. We got lucky and found this place, right downtown.

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The Elgin House B & B was just perfect for us. Here is a view from the back.

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Just lovely!

We then decided to make our way to this place we found out about that was supposed to have wonderful fish ‘n chips. After asking several people for directions, we found it. Filled ourselves up and headed over to the Roman Baths.

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The Bath Abbey was stunning!

The next morning we walked around town and took in the sites and a few charity shops.

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By midday, we decided to grab a couple sandwiches for the road and head to our next destination, Oxford.

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The last two pictures were taken at Christ Church in Oxford. The gardens were so lovely!

After spending a couple hours in Oxford, we decided to make our way toward our next destination which was The Cotswolds and the town of Banbury was where we decided to look for a place to stay. Again we got lucky and found the Easington House, another charming B & B.

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Here is the Banbury Cross (not the original). You can barely make out the “lady on the white horse” in the background. I was tickled to find out the old nursery rhyme, “Ride a Cock Horse to Banbury Cross” was based on this sweet village. We arrived here in the evening when most of the shops were closed, but we did walk around a bit and got a bite to eat. The next morning, after a yummy English Breakfast, we hit the road. Next up, Stow on the Wold, Broadway and Stratford Upon Avon.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

A Little Bit about Me on the Stars Blog

Hi again, just found out that I am a featured dealer today on the Stars Blog.  Yeah! Click here to check it out!

Happy Wednesday!

UK Trip 2011

I had never been to England, but have always wanted to go. So, when Isabel invited me to tag along and keep her company while her daughter was at soccer school across the pond, I jumped at the chance.  We had planned on going on this trip for months and months, but didn’t make any specific plans about where we would be, only that we would end our trip in London.  So other than booking our airfare and London B & B, we didn’t have a plan.

Isabel, having gotten to Manchester (close to where her daughter was at camp) the day before me, picked me up at the airport.  Our first day was spent driving through the Snowdonia area of Wales. Gorgeous landscapes, quaint villages and ancient castles were on the menu that day, and I couldn’t have been happier.  Here we are at the beginning of our journey, stopping for a bite to eat at a farm shop/restaurant.

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Castle Dolwyddelan

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Castle Harlech

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The Old Mill House B & B. Paul and Paddie were the perfect hosts. This was definitely our favorite place we stayed on our trip.022

View from our room.

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Village of Abercegir outside of Machynlleth

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You can read about our first day on Isabel’s blog here. Coming up…Bath, Oxford and Banbury!