Vintage Inspiration Friday

Old, vintage suitcases
have always provided me with plenty of inspiration...

and lately,
they have also provided me with plenty of space
to hide the things I want to take with us to our new home.

As I continue to de-clutter my home
in order to get it ready to be leased,
I will be filling them up
and getting them ready for the big move...

They seem to be a lot sturdier
and they definitely look better than boxes
when displayed in my living room...

They were good for many travelers and immigrants before us,
and they are still perfect for one more trip!
That's why I wanted to share them with you
in this Vintage Inspiration Friday....

Coming up roses...

Guess, what was the first thing we did on our first day of "retail retirement"????

If you said Shopping:
1- You really know us well
or
2- You are just like us: can't pass a vintage goody in need of a good home

Here is what we found...

A group of darling china pieces with the sweetest roses...


A sugar dish...(wouldn't this be cute on a lady's desk holding pens?)..
...dessert plate...perfect for mix and matching!

A Victorian creamer...
A dessert platter perfect for the glass cloche shown in the first picture!

As we were putting all our goodies away, we could hear this little voice saying:
"Etsy or Show??"

Oh Oh!! Did we hear show?? (Hint, Hint!)

Well, let's say that for now our pretties will have to wait a little while inside the cupboard..(unless YOU really need to have something!)

Hey, our retirement needs to last at least a few weeks!!!

Another favorite...

...Antique Ironstone Pitchers...

From the kitchen counter...

to the bathroom....

and every space in between.

By themselves...

...or in a group...

...these pretties are a cottage classic and another one of our "must haves".

We love them because:
they are fairly easy to find,
most of the time reasonable priced,
and they work hard holding everyday items like flowers, milk, syrup or water while we get to enjoy their simple lines and beautiful shades of white...

For more pretty white stuff, visit Kathleen's White Wednesday at "Faded Charm"!

Blog Party Time!!

Today we are participating in the Etsy Cottage Style Blog Party and since Marcela already wrote about the subject on that blog, this post it's all about me and "What makes my heart skip a beat"

This is an easy one!!
I would totally jump out of a moving car to grab white architectural pieces in a garage sale...

I will get out of bed early, very early in a Saturday morning just to find perfectly shabby-ed (is that even a verb????) windows...

I will definitely dive in a dumpster if I can walk away with old wooden pieces to add to my collection of candlesticks...

What can I say?...It doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful!!

If you would like to share what makes YOUR heart skip a beat, visit the Etsy Cottage Style Blog and sign up using Mr. Linky...fun, fab stuff will be shared there!!

Clara

This week we love...

This week Clara is in love with her new old....

Pair of huge urns...so vintage...so chippy

....so empty!

A little sand, moss....

...candles and voila!!!...Perfect during the day...

And oh so romantique! at night....

In the meantime, Marcela is loving...

The vintage folding kid's chair that just joined her ever growing collection...

"Number 9" found her perfect companion...

...and together they wait to hold the next generation of Cavaglieri-DiGiuseppe kids!

"Do I love you because you're beautiful,
Or are you beautiful because I love you?"
~Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II~
Cinderella

PS: they are also loving their new blog background...Thank you Background Fairy!

White...Oh white!

White...Oh white!

"White...is not a mere absence of color;

it is a shining and affirmative thing,

as fierce as red, as definite as black...

God paints in many colors;

but He never paints so gorgeously,

as when He paints in white."

~G. K. Chesterton~

As easy as ABC...

How easy it is to fall in love with vintage letters?...Very!

They are, for the most part, very inexpensive, easy to find, easy to take home, and they make a huge impact when they are...

...displayed among other treasures....

....or displayed to spell inspiring words...

And for us, they are another fun obsess...oopsss....I mean collection!
Here are some "C"'s for Cavaglieri....

...And some "D"'s for DiGiuseppe...

"Words have meaning and names have power"
~Author Unknown~

About old doors and windows....

We always knew we loved old doors and windows. We love them as salvaged art, as a way to add texture to a room... We loved them because of their chippy paint and their cool hardware... because they are usually very inexpensive and because they make a great statement in any room....

but we never knew we had so many!!!!

Take a look at just some of the old windows and doors Clara and I found in our own homes....

A pair of huge doors, rescued from a construction site, turned sideways welcome friends to Clara's entryway...

Old cupboard door with sweet green paint and original glass knob is now enjoying retirement on a shelf...



The opening on this window was perfect for a kitchen blackboard...

A window frame now holds Clara's Baby's Shoes collection...

When one of our Dealers brought this cutie from Tennessee, I knew I had to have it....

I also had to have this little led glass window...

and this mirrored door that has just been moved to my bathroom...

This poor thing was under the rain when we found it and drove around town with me for three days until was finally moved into my living room....

We wonder if this qualify as a collection, a fascination or just pure obsession!..