Chateau De Fleurs, Part 2

Good Morning Sweetie Pies....

As promised, I'm back with with the second installation of 'Chateau De Fleurs' vintage show in Fallbrook, CA...it really was sooooo delightful!!

This booth belongs to Sweet Magnolias Farm ...do you not just LOVE those wreaths?? I'm sitting here kicking myself thinking, "Why didn't I buy one of THOSE?", as I look at the empty space on the back of my front door. {I feel a custom order brewing inside me} 

Everything they had was shabbified perfectly! This adorable Mother & Daughter team, Abbey & Sara, were so much fun to talk to. We talked about moving & Texas & humidity & the shows & our blogs & about getting PUBLISHED. You see, they make AMAZING aprons out of vintage linens like the one laying on the daybed & they just had an article published in Apronology. Congratulations Friends, how exciting, right! For more about Abbey & Sara check out their blog, Sweet Magnolias Farm...you may be feeling a custom order brewing too!

Then I was lucky enough to find this darling women...The Junk Fairy!!! Now who couldn't use their very own Junk Fairy? I mean really...I LOVE junk & I LOVE fairy's, it's a marriage made in heaven! Miss Fairy had a couple of things I just couldn't live without! She had a faded pink, horse riding ribbon from Fargo, way too cooool, {best movie ever} a stack of old cabinet cards, {gotta have those} & vintage baby shoes. {who can say no to old baby shoes?}

Then like the dingy that I am, I wanted a great cream colored vintage jewelry box she had...I thought I'd bought it. Driving home I was dreaming of all the fun things I could do with it when it dawned on me, I didn't go back & BUY it...I'm STILL mad!

{me & the fairy are in private negotiations about this as we speak}

Stop by & say hi on her blog Junk Fairy, she could use some more friends!  ;)

At this point, I had spent WAY too much time chatting & needed to get a move on it.

I adored this glammed up dress form, created by White Horse Relics, isn't she DIVINE??

and this cool booth is by another Mom & Daughter team, Lori & Jamie from Two Wild Roses! They were the hostesses of the Redlands show I went to a couple of months back & Jamie owned a charming little antique store next to mine for a while.

{picture courtesy of Jamie}

They have a wonderful & whimsical sense of design, along with some AWESOME antiques! Two Wild Roses can now be found at Country Roads Antiques in Orange, CA... one of my favorite antique shops in Orange County!

At this point, I seriously needed to leave, I was soooo late, so I did a quick tour of the last few vendors...

a different side of the Sweet Magnolias Farm booth, loved the Rose Queen window...

and finally I made it back around to my friend Shirley's booth of The Cottage Garden. I'm trying to talk her into creating a blog so she can get a little more exposer.

She is an Amazing Designer of clothing, pillows & purses, all made from Vintage Linen's.

Here's a row of her bloomers, don't you just LOVE all the white!

She has a very Magnolia Pearl feel to her clothing design, but at less then half the price. Now don't get me wrong, I LOVE me some MP, but more often then not, it's a little out of my price range reach.

So there you have it, a beautiful weekend spent in the roling hills of So Cal,

surounded by orchards & antiques...

who could ask for more?

The next Chateau De Fleurs is...

June 3rd & 4th, 2011

9:00am ~ 5:00pm, located at

1524 S Hill Ave.

Fallbrook, Ca  92028

You will find me there, wandering through the orchards & antiques, chatting up a storm!

That's just the way I roll  ;)

XOXO

vintagesusie

Chateau De Fleurs

Hello my Sweet Hearts...

I had the bestest weekend ever, I hope you had a wonderful one too!

I knew that on Saturday there was going to be a wonderful show, Chateau De Fleurs, at Christie Repasy's house in Fallbrook, CA. Fallbrook is a ways from my house & I wasn't sure I wanted to drive that far, but when I woke up to blue skies, the sun shining brightly & a temp of about 76 degrees, I knew I HAD to make the trek & I am SOOOO GLAD I did! It was truly FABULOUS!  ;)

First of all I fell in LOVE with Fallbrook. What a charming place, with all the small town quaintness of a little berg in Texas...I could TOTALLY live there!

Walking up to Christie's house,  I was greeted by this vignette with one of my favorites, a vintage bicycle with a basket full of flowers...I knew I was in the right place.

The glimmer of white tent tops surrounded me,

along with this wonderful vintage bed, set up right at the entrance...yummy!

You might remember, I just worked with Lisa Loria on a new blog design & I knew she was going to be at this show, which was one of the reasons I wanted to go. I love to get to know my bloggie friends better & really wanted to meet her & see some of her art in person...she is AMAZING! 

What a talent!! She & I talked like old friends for a long time & I adored everything about her. She lives not too far from me & I'm hoping we'll have a chance to get together again...maybe we could play 'ART'!

Thankfully, we will be working together soon, as she wants me to help her create a

cohesive look between her blog & print work.

Lisa's art is filled with so much whimsy & color, I just love working with it...I can't wait!

After talking Lisa's ear off I headed over to see Christie's shop, Christie Repasy Designs,

right there in her house. I mean really, a dream come true!

Who wouldn't want there store to be literally in their own backyard?

Christie is renown for her gorgeous floral designs, but it's her ROSES that takes your breath away & reminds you of a much sweeter time & place.

Her shop was delicious all in pink & hardwood, so feminine. Can you imagine falling asleep on this beautiful bed surrounded by roses? What sweet dreams one might have.

You can see Christie's work at her on-line shop, Chateau De Fleurs  & find out a little bit more about her on her blog. She has this show at her house 4 times a year & the next event will be June 3rd & 4th, so you just might want to mark your calenders & go...I know you'll enjoy it, I sure did!

Now along with Christie, another presenter of Chateau De Fleur is Rita Reade of Mammabellarte & blog fame. She is creative beyond belief & teaches classes in soldering, which I have wanted to take since I met her at a show in Redlands a few months back.

I LOVE her style, everything in dreamy creams & whites. Look at this birdhouse, screw the birds...I want to live there! LOL

So much more to see...I will have to break my day into 2 posts, or no one will ever get through it all!

That's just how much cool STUFF was at this show!!

Thanks for coming along with me, I can't wait to show you all the rest of my day at...

Chateau De Fleur!

XOXO

vintagesusie

Round Top, Here I Come Again!!!

I don't know if the great state of Texas is ready for me again or not....

but I know, I sure am ready for TEXAS!!

That's right y'all, vintagesusie is headed to the Spring Antique Festival in Round Top & looking to find some of her FAVORITEST things on this earth.

I'll be headin on over to the bestest booth in town first...does it look familiar??

That's right, it's the home of 'The Junk Gypsy's', conveyor's of all things filled with

JUNKY GOODNESS!

I gotta get me some tee's & some hat's & some junk & some...

Junky Love! {that sound's nasty!}

Then, I'll search out my favoritest bead & vintage charm booth...

have me some of Bud's world famous PIE...

& maybe get me a little pinch of this.

{how dare y'all, I was talkin about the horse...get your minds outta the gutter, lol}

I'll be hangin with some of the 'Bestest Bloggie Buds' in Texas...

Miss Charlene of 'My Heart's Ease' bloggie fame & Miss Diane Cook of 'rosa & josie's', jewelry designer & teacher extraordinaire, along with some of there girlfriends flyin in from every which way...

it sounds so incredibly awesome, I'm gettin excited just thinkin about it!

{she was sellin limes, isn't that odd...or were we drinkin Corona's, I can't remember}

Of course on Sunday, March 27th, we'll all be going over to Miss Teresa's of 'Garden Vintage Antique's' for her Blog Party...I wouldn't miss that for the world!

And if I'm really lucky, there will be a little...

'Trash Talk' & Miss Debbie & Cat Daddy love! {meoww}

There will be lookin for that SPECIAL can't live without it, something...

Lemon Sisterbelle's cupcakes...

fields that go on forever...

Texas skies...

and me, with a big ole grin, wearin my cowboy hat thinkin...

I'm the luckiest girl in the world!

Stay tuned, there's so much MORE to come..  ;)

XOXO

vintagesie

Vita Sackville-West & the Letter's of Vita & Harold

Hi Sweet Hearts...

Lately, I've been reading. With so many other things that I really need to get accomplished, I should have no time for books. But it seems the more I need to do, the less I want to do it, the more I want to read & play an annoyingly addictive Facebook game called 'Word Tornado'. It's like playing Scrabble on CRACK! {or at least what I imagine crack to be like, lol}

Vita Sackville-West

So, how did I come to find out about Vita & Harold one may ask. Through the Circle that is Life, I would answer. Here's the way it worked...I love the movie 'The Hours' which I recently watched again. The character that fascinates me the most is Virginia Woolf. While in LA recently, I wandered into a funky used book store on Santa Monica Blvd & found a Biography on Virginia that I bought & read...again, fascinating. The book talked about many of Virginia's literary works, including 'Mrs. Dalloway' which is so closely linked to the character's in 'The Hours', but also 'Orlando: a Biography', 1st published in 1928 & said to be "the longest and most charming love letter in literature".  It was inspired by one of Virginia's loves...

the married author, poet & aristocrat, Vita Sackville-West.

Who's Vita Sackville-West, we all ask? I didn't know, but I was going to find out. I then read 'Oralndo' which lead me to rent the movie, which prompted me to another BBC mini-series called 'Portrait of a Marriage' which I watched, written from the letters of 'Vita and Harold' which I had to have the book of, which I then read & loved, which brought me to this silly post in the 1st place! {excuse me..is my OCD showing??? lol}

Knole House

Vita was born Victoria Mary Sackville-West in 1892. The only child of Lionel Edward Sackville-West, 3rd Baron Sackville and his wife Victoria Sackville-West, who were cousins, she was known as "Vita" to distinguish her from her mother. Her ancestral home since 1603, was a 365 room Tudor castle in Kent, England called Knole House. In 1928, because she was female, the then laws prevented Vita from inheriting Knole House on the death of her father. The house passed, with the title, to her uncle. The loss of Knole House would affect her for the rest of her life.

Harold & Vita at Sissinghurst Castle

In 1913, Vita married Harold Nicholson, an English diplomat & had two sons. They had a very unconventional marriage, both having affairs, but through their amazing letters to each other over the course of a lifetime, the foundation of true, spiritual love always shines through. Vita had passionate & obsessive relationships with her lovers, but was always fiercely loyal and loving to her husband at the same time. Harold had a remarkable life in his own right being front & center during World War I & II, during the abdication of King Edward VIII & the coronation of King George VI {Queen Elizabeth's Daddy} & even refers to The King's Speech in one of his letters to Vita. Now that's coming full circle, considering 'The King's Speech' is my favorite movie this year! 

Sissinghurst Castle

{if you've stuck with me this long you should be appaulded & are probably a

history buff just like me, lol}

In 1930 Harold & Vita bought Sissinghurst Castle which had fallen into disrepair & ruin. Having once been owned by Vita's ancestors, it was the perfect place for Vita to try & get over the heartbreak of losing Knoles. Both avid gardeners, together they created what today is considered one of the most amazing gardens in England. Vita died in 1962 & Harold, 3 years later. Their beloved Sissinghurst was left to the National Trust & is one of the most toured Castles in England. Harold & Vita were passionately in love for more then 50 years...

not bad for such an unconventional union.

Moral of the story...

Just because it's an unconventional love, doesn't mean it's not LOVE.

XOXO

vintagesusie

Finding Heart!

In the mountains high above the hustle & bustle of Southern Cali, the sun is shining, the sky is blue, the air is cool & inviting & a little boy with walking stick in hand, wants to take a HIKE!

He wants to lead an expedition into the wilderness in search of a HEART...

Ya wanna come along???

He considers himself to be a professional & has all & any emergency equipment that may be required, stowed away in his Star Wars backpack. He has packed an army thermos with water, a rice krispy treat, 1 fruit snack & some pizza sticks. These are the rations we will survive on in the event that we get lost in this wilderness, but fear not, I have complete faith in our guide. He just LOOKS like he KNOWS what he's doing!

In an attempt to prove his prowess on the trail, he climbs to the top of some towering boulders & yells out to the group, "Monga, take a picture of me on this rock!", which I immediately do. Now remember, he's got all the FOOD!

He shimmy's into a hollowed out area of a huge pine tree, thinking this could be the perfect place to hide if a sudden storm blows over us. We all agree it's a great shelter, but I am keenly aware that the only person who will be safe from the freezing winds & rain & lightening strikes, will be him. 

He says "Listen, I here water!".

Looking down from the trail we see the river that will eventually lead us to...

Finding Heart!

Along the way, he took a minute to be photographed with a local LEGEND...

Jeremiah Johnson, who also goes by the alias of Grandpa.

After what felt like a mile or two of hiking forest trails, the sound of rushing water could be heard echoing through the trees. We stopped breathless for a moment, knowing we had to be close to

Finding Heart.

And then, there it was...

a piece of rock, made by time, in the perfect shape of a HEART!.

Magic, made by billions of drops of water over the course of millions of years,

in my own backyard.

Having arrived safely to our destination, our guide went off in search of the perfect skipping stone, leaving us to simply sit back & enjoy the view. Now these pictures are deceiving...the drop is probably about 75 ft & the other side of the river is about 50 ft across. In this picture you can see the wheels in Jeremiah's head spinning, as I had just commented on what a shame it was that the piece of wood was stuck in the pool, ruining the beauty of every one's photographs.

How was I to know after taking this picture & wandering away for a while to play in the river, that Jeremiah was hatching a plan.

Returning to my vista point, camera in hand, I was completely surprised to see this...no WOOD!!

Yes, my man had scaled down the rocky crag, crossed the swiftly moving waters, climbed up onto the rock wall above the heart pool, found a long, strong stick, sat in the hole in the rock above the heart & patiently & slowly worked the wood out of the pool & down into the river below, so he could take this picture of me sitting on the opposite side with a PERFECT Heart Shaped Pool behind me.

Now that's LOVE!

And I could take a picture of my baby with the perfect heart shaped pool behind her & she could take a picture of her baby with the...oh, sorry. Our guide shed huge crocodile tears cuz he was too scared to sit on the rock & was certain he would fall to his death into the river below. I have the up most faith in our guide, but I do have remember...

he's only 5!  ;)

Tears wiped away with promises of no more death defying pictures, happiness returns to our guide as we gather up our equipment {Star Wars backpack} & head back out to where our journey began.

Discovering an ancient cave dwelling, our guide finds a rock just his size that works perfectly as a recliner & yells out, "Monga, take a picture of me on this rock!" I obligingly comply.

Thanks so much Sweet Hearts, for coming along with us on our quest.

And to leave you with the moral of this story, as ALL of my stories have some kind of moral, LOL

it would have to be this...

when in need of FINDING HEART, don't forget to look in your own BACKYARD!

There may be some MAGIC waiting there just for you to find it!

{having just read this story to Kai, he insists on one change...

THE END

& he typed it himself! lol}

XOXO

vintagesusie