The Olde Farmhouse Vintage Market

I survived our first vintage market/show today in Maple Ridge...from 9 - 4...after much sorting and painting and refurbishing and decisions on what to let go of.  These are before and after shots of our booth...

before...........

I made two sets of these shaker boxes for the show, finishing them an hour before we left for the market...but nobody snatched them up.
Figures!

and after.....

I would declare this show a success!

Bragging Rights

Over and over, I am amazed by the incredible creativity around me!  Once again, Roxi outdid herself (with Thomas' help) creating Ana's 6th birthday cake.  Ana wanted the birthday party to be 'Tangled' after the movie so this is the amazing cake...

AMAZING!

AND...
today Alison competed in Vancouver at the AHA in the New Talent category for hair stylists, at the Vancouver Convention Centre.  She was one of about 18 competing.  Being there was witnessing true works of art!

  Nerves...let's get the show on the road already!                                                                          

The competitor's had only 45 minutes to take their model from wet hair to completion.

The hair colouring was done a day or two before.                                                                                

                    Steady hands = perfection                                                                                

                   The judges deliberated...                                                                                   

         ...and the winners were announced.                                                                                     

 Christina did such an awesome job as her model!                                                                                 

Though she didn't win, she found out later that she tied for 4th!!                                                                               

Alison, we are so proud of you!  Grandma would be so very proud!                                                                                   

I always love reading maps...so on one of my recent jaunts to MCC, I dug thru the basket of maps they have and I found these beauties...

Don't you just love the names of English towns...

The old style graphics were such fun...

I found an old map of the city of Rome but I have a feeling not much has changed for a very long time...

 OK, maybe a few things...

April Fool's...please

I feel like the rain and cold in the Fraser Valley will never end this year even though my daffodils have been blooming for a week or so already...and then, I wake up just now to this sight...

Yes, that is real snow falling and sticking to our bbq and railing!
Here is where you see people golfing in January, mowing their lawn in February and starting to work on their gardens in March!  But I don't know if I've ever seen snow in April!

Don't Give Up!

My sister, who lives in the States, finds the most AMAZING treasures at the Value Village in her town...actual antiques that are priced as if they were junk for just a couple of dollars!  Vintage pieces that the pricing people have no idea how to price them.
I, on the other hand, can go back to my Value Village over and over and not find a single thing.  So, when I ventured in the other day, it was quite exciting to find these beauties...

I LOVE the style of art and these books are quite big, about 12 x 14".  I'm trying to think of a way I could use these pictures to resell on Etsy or at a vintage market.  Work brain, work!

                                                         They'd probably look wonderful framed!

We actually saw the cathedral in Rouen (left) when we were in France a couple of years ago.  Amazing!

                                                                                                                                                                                                          Its incredible that you can travel to these places today and though the fashions have changed, these buildings and bridges remain the same!

Mom's Infamous Marinated Carrots

Mom was always a wonderful cook and many years ago she started making these marinated carrots and would serve them often to company.  I've been missing her so much that I thought I'd put the recipe here to honour her...
She had a true servant's heart.

You will need:
3 - 5 lbs carrots
1 medium green pepper sliced
1 medium onion sliced
1 can tomato soup
1/2 cup salad oil
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup vinegar
1 tsp prepared mustard
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Slice carrots and cook for 10 minutes - drain and cool.
Meanwhile, mix remaining ingredients except for the green pepper, bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes.

Pour over carrots, add green pepper slices, mix and marinate in fridge overnight.

Yum...

Sweet Surprises

It's pretty cool when your son surprises you with a gift, not for any specific occasion, but because he saw something in the store and thought of you and thought you would love it.  My 'baby' surprised me last week and was so excited when he gave it to me (after he quickly snatched it back to take the price tag off)...

He knows how much I love candles, especially with yummy scents.  I was so moved, even more by his thoughtfulness...

He's going to turn 22 in May.  Do I still call him my baby?
Wow... I just love my family!

We'll Always Have Paris

So...I went in to Winners/Homesense the other day and my eyes lit on these and there was no looking back!  I am such a sucker for anything relating to or reminding me of...Paris or France.  We'll be walking those 'rue's again in about 5 months and I can't wait!  This time I will celebrate my birthday in the City of Lights!  Doesn't get much better than that, oui?

and this one too...

The top one is a large plate and the 2nd one is a bowl...not sure what I'll use them for but I didn't want to regret if I didn't buy them and then went back a few days later and they were sold.  For $3.99 each, they were a bargain!

...primitive, really?

This just came in the mail...

I am a lover of primitive style which I would take to mean as...

or...

I eagerly flip thru the pages for a quick glance at the potential projects and I see this...

Seriously people...I won't be renewing my subscription to this magazine if it doesn't do better than this!

I'm addicted...

I have discovered one more thing where I find I can waste hours of my time...

I already can tell that this could be really, really bad...I know if I wake up, grab a coffee and go to Pinterest before anything else, I'm in trouble.
For me its like sitting down in a room full of my favourite magazines and a pair of scissors...