Flea Market Finds Pour La Semaine Cinquante-Deux

Bonjour beautiful ones!

I hope all my East Coast friends are fending OK through Sandy?

I have been praying for you all.

What a horrible and frightening experience.

We're having our fair share of flooding here in the Pacific Northwest as well.... Not that it compares. 

I think we might have broken Mother Nature.......

But on a completely separate note It's time for ....

FLEA     MARKET    FINDS!!!

Where I make a lot of noise and brouhaha and pretend that I found something fabulous for a song *winks*

More often than not my hopes of finding the Picasso in the attic are dashed, And I probably pay way too much, but this week I think I did pretty good! I have my fingers crossed that you'll agree?

I was making my rounds as usual at the Value Village (Quickly becoming my absolute favorite thrift) and I spied something sparkly in their front showcase. When I looked a little closer I realized that there was a whole LOT of sparkly!

Oh happy day!!

What is it about a crown or tiara that brings out the inner princess?! Am I alone in this?

As the sales clerk pulled out one crown after another I just kept saying "wrap em up!" I was feeling more than a little giddy!

I couldn't believe there were so many there at Halloween time. I ended up taking 6 in total (all but one) They are sooooo blingy fun! And large ones too! I believe at least a couple of them are Amaranth crowns? Maybe all of them? I don't know for sure. It looked like a beauty queen had decided to let em all go! Some are missing a few rhinestones so I'll be on the hunt for those. Do any of you peeps know a good source?

This is one of my favorites, it's very regal.

I think this more organic looking crown with colored stones is my favorite, but I keep oscillating....

Or maybe this one?...The blingiest of them all. This one looks like an Amaranth crown?

I tried this Amaranth crown out on Jeanne and she likes it! It's the plainest of them all, but maybe that's why it suits her. Simple peasant girl that she claims to be *winks*

Glory Issabella couldn't make up her mind so she tried on three at once!

Jeanne liked this one too, but in the end preferred the more simple style.

Glory eventually decided that this pretty tiara set in gold was her favorite. It brought out her lovely alabaster complexion *winks*

Speaking of crowns I found this lovely Marie Antoinette-esque boudoir doll on ebay and couldn't resist placing a crown on her also. Here she's lounging with her best girlfriend.

Isn't she pretty?! She has such darling blue eyes.

This boudoir half doll was also an ebay find. She has an 18th century look to her and is made from paper mache.

 As usual their faces are a little chipped *sighs*

 Her little friend came to me via etsy. I've named her Justine after the seller I purchased her from. She was lovely to deal with.

That's all my finds for this week. I hope you're all staying safe and dry with the power on!

I also hope you'll leave me a comment.

I LOVE to hear from you!

I apologize for not getting out and visiting all your blogs earlier. Lots of family health issues again. I'll be catching up with everyone this week! I can't wait to see what you've all been up to!

Vanna

I'm joining Sherry at No Minimalist Here for:

And Paula at Ivy & Elephants for:

Debra at Common Ground for:

Courtney at French Country Cottage for:

And Cindy at My Romantic Home for:

Flea Market Finds Pour La Semaine Cinquante et un

Bonjour mon amis!

It's that time of the week again.....Time ....for.......

FLEA MARKET FINDS!!

 YAYYYY  YAHOOO!.......Lots of thrills chills and cheap adventure!

OK once again I make much ado about nothing.
Forgive me for the faux fanfare *winks*

However I did find one bona fide bargain!...Well I hope you'll agree......

No sooner had I stepped into my local Value Village,when I spotted this out of the corner of my eye and bee lined for it with the intensity of a bull chasing a matador!

Huddling over my find to protect it from all potential treasure snatchers, I gazed at the price tag....And could NOT believe my eyes!!
I actually happened to have a coupon in the car for an additional 10% off, so I handed this heavy "thing" off to my husband to guard until I came back.  Whilst he was browsing the men's tee shirts one of the sales clerks came by and asked if she could take it up front for him? He said "I'm sorry my wife will divorce me if I let it out of my sight for a second"
I LOVE that man!! Lol!

Isn't it fabulous?.....Alright well maybe not "fabulous" but really cool at least?

It's a Victorian marble top fern/plant stand.

And the price tag read.....$9.99!! This is so NOT like their regular pricing (Which isn't bad, just not this good!) I wonder if it was priced and kind of hidden for an employee to purchase? It was placed between two other larger furniture pieces....... Well I found it first! (Insert evil witch cackle and the rubbing of hands together) *winks*

But wait there's more! Lol! It's almost a match to one I found years ago! What are the chances? Apparently pretty good! You can see they're slightly different in size and the lower finials are a little different too.

.... But when I placed them on each side of my settee they looked pretty good!

I don't think I'll be leaving them like this, but it will work for now until a new home is found.

I also gathered a few more additions to my boudoir ladies collection.

This sweet lady lamp has Rapunzel like hair....

But what makes her really unusual are her chalkware feet. I've never seen one quite like this before.

It's also unusual to find one with a full body like this doll. I'll be looking for the perfect outfit for her.

I love this lady's vampy expression!

And this cutie is glamorous in her mink and pearls even without arms and a chipped nose. *winks*

This frenchy chair was $14.99 at the Goodwill. The upholstery is stained and really yuck. So I finally have something that my husband will let me paint and reupholster!....That man is allergic to painting wood! 

Also at the Goodwill was this Italian damask bedspread with golden angels and lots of fringe.

I just love me some cavorting angels!

Lastly this vintage petticoat was a find from a local antique mall for $24. I loved that it's hooped and has vintage pink millinery roses at the bottom.

Aren't they smooshed and sweet?!

 I thought it would make a wonderful lampshade. What do you think?

That's all for this week.

 I hope you'll come back next week for more flea market finds. I scored some super cool stuff!

I can't wait to share!

Thanks for stopping by.

I hope you'll leave me a comment.

I LOVE to hear from you!

Vanna

I'm joining Sherry at No Minimalist Here for:

Debra at Common Ground for:

Courtney at French Country Cottage for:

And Cindy at My Romantic Home for:

A New Addition And a Not So Speedy Chat And Question about The LV Speedy

Hello my sweet friends! 

I'm kind of bypassing the flea market finds this week to share what has been a long awaited dream piece for me, a Louis Vuitton boite chapeaux (or hat box)

I finally found the perfect one on ebay (where else) after looking for one that wouldn't bankrupt me for years! *winks*. Now I'm the proud owner of one of my very own! Yay!! They come in different sizes. This one is the boite 40. (or 40 centimeters)

I've been collecting LV for nearly 30 years and my favorite LV pieces are the trunks and hard cases.

I just LOVE em!!

So I had myself a little photo shoot-o-fun with my new case and some of the older ones.

OK well there is one flea market find.....this pink feather demi hat that I found at the thrift for $5 *winks*

And with hats packed and ready to travel....

This is a stack of predominantly cosmetic cases with a couple of umbrellas thrown in for good measure

The checkerboard case toward the bottom right is in what is known as the damier pattern. This pattern pre dated the LV monogram pattern that is currently most commonly used. However the damier pattern is also still used today. This case is called a damier centenaire. It was only made for one year to celebrate LV's one hundred year anniversary (1896-1996) Strangely it's the 100 year anniversary of the monogram pattern (Louis Vuitton itself started out in 1854) and they released the centenaire items in..... damier????....but I digress....... There were only 1000 of this style case ever made and mine is numbered 144. So it's my favorite, and another dream of mine is to collect a whole set. (Which could easily take me another 30 years lol!) The little case at the top was made to hold jewelry and is called a boite a tout. It's also an unusual and hard to find piece. The suitcase at the bottom dates from the 1920's.

I thought this umbrella as awning was kind of fun.

And with my new boite chapeaux on top.

Which now brings me to my speedy 30, my favorite bag/purse of all time! And many peoples first  LV purchase. There's a reason for this, it's classic, timeless, and iconic. The speedy bag was created in 1930 and in 1965 Audrey Hepburn asked Henri Louis Vuitton if he could create a smaller version of the bag that she could carry daily. He did, and the speedy as we know it was born.

Now love or hate LV? I have to tell you that its quality is exceptional.

This speedy below started my whole love affair with the brand. 

In 1986 I fell in love with a co-worker's speedy bag. I asked her what it was? And when she told me, I knew I HAD to have one!!  Finding one however turned out to be difficult since we didn't have an LV boutique in my state at the time, and they couldn't be purchased anywhere else. So I had my husband pick one up on a business trip. He came home and handed me a nearly flat parcel. I could see no way that it could possibly hold a purse, but it did! Yes the speedy folds flat for travel *winks* I was completely underwhelmed. Made of vinylized canvas it didn't look like much up close. And it cost $225!! Was this the same "dream" purse that my friend had carried? Somehow I remembered it being way more interesting/wonderful than this! Now $225 was quite an expensive bag back then. An average nice leather bag at the time might have been  purchased for around $20-$25.And the only leather it possessed was on the handles and trim! But once I popped that baby up and filled it with some stuff it was starting to grow on me. It has continued to do so for almost 30 years. I have carried this bag nearly every day since 1986, and I still receive many compliments on it. And an extra added bonus is that I could turn around and sell it today for more than I originally paid for it. LV bags NEVER go on sale. The current price for the speedy 30 is $790+ tax.  They come in different sizes so there's a perfect size for everyone. Expensive yes, but maybe worth it? There aren't many purses that last as long and hold their value quite like Vuitton (The Hermes Birken and Hermes Kelly also come to mind, but cost considerably more)

Here is the chic Audrey Hepburn carrying her speedy bag.

So what do you think? Is it insane to spend so much on something like a handbag? Or does it make sense to go quality over quantity? After all how much money does the average lady spend on purses that wear out  or become outdated over 30 years?  Have I changed your perspective at all?  Are you just the littlest bit tempted to try one out for yourself? (If you haven't already)*winks*

I'd love to hear your thoughts....

Vanna

I'm joing sweet Sherry at No Minimalist Here for:

Debra at Common Ground for:

 Cindy at My Romantic Home for:

And Courtney at French Country Cottage for:

Flea Market Finds Pour La Semaine Cinquante

Bonjour beautiful people!!

It's that time of the week again....

For... Flea Market Finds!!!

Yahoo!! Yippee!! Hubba Hubba!!

Yeah...... I know overkill in the extreme. 

I've got to drum up all the excitement I can though ya know....*winks*

I'm continuing with a couple more finds from my friend's garage sale last week and as usual I'm starting with my favorite find first.

It was actually a two way tie this week between two statues.

You'll see what I mean.....

This Auguste Moreau statue "the lovers" was from my friend's sale.

It's pretty large and super heavy and made of some type of old plaster I think?

Here it is a little closer. Isn't it sweet? I haven't decided if I want to keep it or send it to etsy so I'm not sharing the price on this one.

And the piece that tied with the Moreau statue...

I was wandering the Goodwill as I try to do each week, when I spotted this wonderful bust in a shopping cart in front of the showcase....My heart skipped a beat! (I have a "thing" for classic busts as evidenced HERE)...But did the cart belong to anybody? I waited and waited and nobody showed up, so I hedged closer and still nobody......So I grabbed that baby up and ran straight to the check out, heart pounding and little paws sweating and paid for it faster than you can say "where'd she go?" I ran right to my car to hide it away before I went back in to scope on some more!......Am I a bad person? I felt so guilty......But I didn't want to chance that it would get away!

Thankfully it turned out to be a cart full of stuff to go to the shelf! The clerk just hadn't been able to get away from the showcase to get started on it. So I sheepishly confessed my snatch and run and she laughed at me and told me that shoplifters would often fill the carts and then ditch them. Really? You know it's bad when you have to steal things at the Goodwill! But*Whew* I really was relieved that I hadn't take it from somebody else that had wanted it first. *swipes brow* She's titled "Sapho"  and cost me $9.99. She's chalkware and little chippy, but I LOVE HER!!....HAPPY DANCING!!!

Then I found this charming porcelain lady to add to my collection on the dresser at a local antique mall for $15. She's just a little naughty hanging out in her skivvies *winks*

She's a German Miss (RW Rudolstadt) I love the little flowers on her shoulder.

I also added a new boudoir doll to my collection. She is a turn of the century pin cushion girl.

Her skirt has an overlay of French lace.

As usual she has some chips to the nose *sighs* She's still very charming!

Aren't her little shoes cute?!

Then I found this sweet antique molded wax baby Jesus. I can't wait to display him with my creche set at Christmas. He is about 11" long. The applique lace table topper he's laying on was $3 at my girlfriend's sale.

This vintage boudoir doll dress was a find at a local antique mall for $5. I couldn't resist all the pretty lace and flower trim.....I mean come on for only five bucks? Somebody put a lot of time and love into this dress! This was the only doll I currently have that needed a pretty dress. It's a little bit too grown up for her. Good thing she loves to play dress up..... *winks*

Close up on the pretty details.

And a shot with the two babies together.

I also couldn't resist these cute tapestry shoes with faux fur at the Goodwill for (I think?) $7.99. They even have leopard interiors! Don't they look Marie Antoinette-esque?

I haven't found a place to wear them yet,but they look great displayed in my closet!

.......Well that's all for this week.

I hope you'll come back next week for more Flea Market Finds. I have a special dream piece to share *winks*

Which do you prefer the Moreau statue or the Sapho bust?

Have you ever had a guilty moment while out thrifting?

I'd love to hear from you!

Vanna

I'm joining the sweet Paula and Patti from Ivy & Elephants for:

Sherry at No Minimalist Here for:

Debra at Common Ground for:

Courtney at French Country Cottage for:

And Cindy at My Romantic Home for: