Saturday, January 22, 2011

We Are Roomies!

Yesterday Maureen and I made our monthly pilgrimage to Room With A Past. It is a collective warehouse sale put on by a bunch of women who love their homes, love to shop and love to turn things around after a time so they can actually have room to do that shopping and nesting they enjoy. As I have said before it is recycling at its best. Those who partake in this fun exchange can be thought of as "green' for sure.

I found this perfect pillow for my
Welsh Church pew for $6.00!
It goes great with the copper,
bricks, black and tan in the kitchen.

What I love best about the place is it is filled with items that have character, a past, and in some cases are new, but made by excellent artists. Plus the prices are reasonable and makes getting a few items a lot of fun without breaking the bank. I get a feeling when I am in Room with A Past, the women who do this do it for the love of collecting, their camaraderie as a group, and not just to make a fast buck.

The fact that they love this art of nesting like we do, makes me want to support them all the more. Sometimes we come home with several things, sometimes maybe only one, but regardless, we always have fun. The shop owners of Room with A Past have dubbed their faithful followers "Roomies," thus the title of this post.

If you know me at all, you know I love decorating and I love the embellishments that make each vignette in a room interesting and fun. I love a relaxed comfortable look, never stuffy. I find whimsy and the element of surprise wonderful. I would never buy a room ensemble because I really enjoy adding to my rooms piece by piece, one purchase at a time and knowing they will enhance what I already have and love. That to me is the secret to good accessorizing.

This tiny dresser bottle is so hard to photograph.

I must have tried a dozen shots but you really have to see it in person. The embellishment is over the top. It is whimsical and perfect colors for me and plainly just fun! I want you to see the real deal someday!

It has these fru fru ribbons thrown about its neck like a winter scarf, but underneath the artist has embellished the bottle with old jewelry pieces and other fun things. The bottle is about 1/4 full of seed pearls and is a real eye catcher. There is a metal button on the top with a big M on it and the word 'memories' around the bottom edge. I will keep it on our dresser with some other things.

It is such a treasure hunt!
This is sitting on a mirror
It is just a little cup.

Last month I found two little amber candle holders with the rhinestones for the same dresser top. You just never know what you will find each month. Maybe $4.00, I can't remember for sure.

I like buying from little shops and shops that don't gouge you, at flee markets, thrift stores and garage and estate sales. When the time is right to pass it on, I do it with no regrets. But for the most part I keep the things I love best for a long time or until I completely redo a room which is rare, believe me. Here are a few little things I found for my bookcase top in the entryway. I like to put seasonal things here.

I bought this little cherub candle holder and it came with a white taper candle and a chimney. But I had this great stained glass candle holder with the red glass so I switched it out for Valentine's Day...the candle holder goes great with the oval mirror that I bought there last year.

I also bought this fun fabric and paper
collage to go with the candle holder!

I like how it all turned out!
I bought this last month for the bathroom!

It is by the same lady that made the little dresser bottle! She is great with the vintage fabric pieces and I am crazy about them~the detailing is amazing!

This month I found this one for the opposite wall.

The script that is diagonal across the upper left hand corner says, "Girls Are Sweet!" It has a tiny leather shoe on top of the picture to the right. We cannot figure out how this woman makes a dime on these they are so sweet and inexpensive and unique. Maureen bought one of her items as well. We have so much fun shopping together once a month at Room With A Past. Would you like to join us?

This I did not get at this sale but I just wanted to show it to you. Jennifer bought it for me at the hospital gift shop when we were in Utah. I just love it and put it in our laundry room where we do have some blues. The quote is hard to read in the photo but it says,

"If you live up to your privileges
the angels cannot be restrained
from being your associates."
Joseph Smith

I that!

2 comments:

sistersusiesays said...

I was surprised when I looked through my house! Things which belong to my parents that have been here for years, look much like many of the collectables you have recently got. There is a pitcher and bowl set that has a shaving mug and toothbrush holder which mom and I purchased while living in Key West. It was 50 years old when we bought it and that was in 1965!

You got me to start looking around my house for things I have just looked over!

Happy shopping!
Blessings on you and yours,
Susie

Caroline Craven said...

I just have to plan a girl trip out to Concord. I would love to go visit this little shop with you and Maureen, visit with Timme and other friends and just have a good time catching up with friends. But alas, I have bills to pay first! I love your little touches and whenever I was in your home, it just felt like a cozy comfy place you'd love to stay in for awhile. I've tried to recreate the feel of your home in mine, and although we love our home and the spirit here, it lacks the little touches yours has. Just loved your cozy warm home.