Garage Sale Diva!

 

Julie headed up north to Mom and Dad's cabin in Eagle River Wisconsin for the weekend.  She headed up with her husband and three kids to get in some fun summer family time....but,of course, she had to squeeze in some garage sale-ing too!  She sent me some pictures of her finds and I decided to post them.  She found some great stuff!

Wow!  Can't believe she found all this stuff!

She got a whole box of letters.  The possibilities are endless!  What would you spell?

Look at all these old pennants!  So fabulous!  So colorful!  They would be so great in a little boy's room or at someone's summer home.  Or maybe at Mom and Dad's cabin ;)

Someone will find a great use for these spindles.  Personally, I think they would be great to add to a box or crate to make a coffee table.  And check out the box they are in....and old Barlett pear box. How fab!

If you see anything you like, head over to the Grayslake Antique Market next Saturday.  Most of these finds will be there!  

Local August Flea Markets

Here's a list of some Chicago area flea markets in August.  We'll be at the ones in red! Hope to see you there!

July 31 & Aug 1-  Kane County Flea Market.  Sat 12-5, Sun 7-4.   Admission- $5

Aug 7 & 8- Grayslake Antique Market.  Sat 10-4, Sun 8-3.  Admission- $6 

Aug 8- Elkhorn Antique Market.  Sun 7AM.  $5

Aug 21- Wheaton "All Nighter".  Sat 5PM-midnight.  $5

Aug 21 & 22- Highwood Street Market. Sat 10-6, Sun 10-4  $6

Aug 22- Sandwich Antiques Market. Sun 8-4.  $5

Aug 28 & 29- Randolph Street Market. Sat 10-5, Sun 10-4.  $12

Farmers Market Produce

I went to the Arboretum in South Barrington this past Sunday.  Season's Produce and Specialty market was there.  The fruit and veggies were so vibrant and delicious looking.  I couldn't resist taking a few pictures.  In case you love Rainer cherries like myself, they are amazingly good, and only $2.99 a pound!

I have never cooked with egg plant, but seeing these made me want to find a recipe to try.  They were so pretty.  As I'm writing this blog, Ina Garten , The Barefoot Contessa is on Food Network making an eggplant recipe.  This is perfect timing.  The recipe is call Eggplant Gratin, with ricotta and fresh grated Parmesan cheese. 

Aren't these peppers beautiful?

If you don't normally shop at farmer's markets, you should give them a try.  Stop by your local farmer's market this week.  

  

 
 

Muslin Ribbon tutorial

Since we had such a great response to our muslin ribbons the last two weekends, I thought I would share with you some info on how to make them.  It is very easy, and you can use any cotton fabric that is light enough for a stamp to show up on.

These are your basic supplies.  Muslin, rubber stamps, an ink pad that works on fabric, an iron, and tea.

I buy unbleached muslin, in 2 or 3 yard increments. I cut the muslin about every 2 1/2 inches and tear the strip off (depending on how wide I want my ribbon to be). 

I always start with a cup of tea for myself to enjoy.

 Steep the tea.  I place 4 or 5 bags of tea in the bowl of hot water.  You can even add a few drops of food coloring to the water if you want colored ribbons.

Mark your fabric with a pencil every 2.5 to 3 inches.

Start to tear your pieces off.

 

This is what your left with.

I dye the fabric strips in batches.  I usually let them sit 5 to 10 minutes.  Then I wring them out before I put them in the dryer.

You are left with an even more wrinkled mess after you dry the fabric.  You need to iron the strips before you can stamp on them.  You will then iron them again after they are stamped to heat set them.

    I use this same process when I make some of my paper tags.  However, I do not iron the paper tags.  I like them wrinkled.

The stamp pads I use have been picked because they are recommended for use on fabric, after a heat set.  JoAnn's actually has a chart in the isle that points out which ones are good for fabrics.

These ribbons are so cute and versatile.  I love wrapping gifts with them, and have even used them as curtain tie backs in my daughter's room.  I recently made ribbon for a wedding shower gift and used a great dress stamp my mom had.  It really was a nice addition to the gift itself, and made a nice keepsake for the bride.

Normally, I would use a longer ribbon, or even two to wrap a gift, but you get the idea.  I make mine with matching tags to store the ribbon on. 

Hope you enjoy making your own ribbons. Enjoy!

Maxwell Street Days, Mukwonago, Wi.

On July 17, mom and Anne and I headed up to Maxwell Street Days flea market in Mukwonago, Wisconsin.  It was great!  There were so many garage sales, we actually filled up our car before we made it to the flea market.  It was such a cute little town, filled with the nicest people!  I wanted to share with you what we found. 

Augie was such a little trooper.  He did take a break from his stroller for a quick ride in our shopping cart, which was his idea!

  Maxwell Street Days Flea Market 

  

Anne's adorable metal cabinet and old sheets.

 As you can see we picked up lots of fun little things on this trip.

 

 

 

Junking Journey

Today the kids and I headed out again on the search for more treasures.  We did pretty well.  I am trying to get ready for Grayslake on Saturday, August 7th.  Hope to see you all there! 

This oil on canvas is from a local St. Charles artist Dorothy Davison. Does anyone know anything about her?  I am having a hard time gathering info.  The painting is signed Davison 67'.  Either way, I love this painting.  I love the blue gray colors she used.

Another piece of artwork I picked up.  I love the vibrant green pears.  This one is not signed, but it is still great.

Tomato-Cucumber Salad

I found this recipe in the July/August issue of Country Living.  I'm addicted!  It is so easy and fresh.  Most of the ingredients are already in your kitchen and the rest you can stop at the local farmers market and pick up.  Bon Appetit!

Ingredients

2 beefsteak tomatoes, sliced

2 bell peppers, sliced

1 large cucumber, thinly sliced

Salt

Freshly ground pepper

4 ounce(s) goat's milk feta

Dressing

2 tablespoon(s) champagne vinegar

1 teaspoon(s) honey

1 sprig(s) oregano, chopped

8 basil leaves, chopped

4 tablespoon(s) extra-virgin olive oil

Directions

For salad: In a large bowl, toss together tomatoes, peppers, and cucumber and season with salt and pepper. Let stand for 20 minutes.

For dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar, honey, oregano, and basil; whisk in oil.

Pour vinaigrette over salad and toss. Crumble feta over salad; serve.

Arboretum Antique Market

We had another sucessful day on Sunday at the Arboretum in South Barrington.  It was a very hot and windy day.  There were tons of great antiques.  It's always fun to shop at these markets as well as be a vendor!  As an added bonus, we were able to listen the the Million Dollar Quartet who was there preforming.  We also met tons of really nice people, one of which was a vendor right next to us, Patrice.  She made beautiful pieces of art using vintage china which she used as mosaics.  Her things were amazing!

What a find! This old park bench is fabulous. The antique hand painted french coverlet resting on it isnt too bad either.

We had lots of interesting little stuff for this sale.  The antique chest I had used in my own home, and was sad to see go, but it was time to pass it on. 

There was a flurry of shoppers before and after the Million Dollar Quartet played.  That's always exciting!

I love this little floral picture. It is so sweet.

Thanks to all the shoppers, we look forward to seeing you in Grayslake on Aug 7th.

Josie's Antiques

We made a trip out to Maple Park, Illinois to visit Josie's Antiques.  She had advertised on Craigslist that she had 4 barns full of antiques and was having a sale.  We had to check it out!

 

This is the long driveway to her fabulous property tucked in the middle of cornfields.

LOVE this idea!  An antique cast iron sink rests against a potting shed outside.

  

Here's a full shot of the potting shed with the sink outside of it. Notice the adorable farm cat in the doorway!

 

She has chickens, goats, peacocks, and ponies.  Ohhhhh so jealous!

How great is this little greenhouse/shed made from old wood. windows and doors.  

Check out this one! FABULOUS!

This huge old barn is filled with stuff!

A shot inside the filled barn.  

 

 
Sorry I don't have many shots of the antiques....I was too engulfed in the surroundings of this beautiful piece of property she has.  She had 4 buildings full of antiques and we thought the prices were very fair. Definitely worth a trip. 

On the way home, we stopped in town and walked through the "Trading Post."  

Anne was in love with this banana box.  It was SO cool!

We saw a bunch of farms with building shaped like this.  Anyone know what kind of barn this is?  What it is designed to hold?  Such an interesting shape.  So beautiful!