Wednesday, June 20, 2012

treasure in bremerton

Yesterday I took a little trip across the water to Bremerton.

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I had a mission in mind: to visit a little shop called Flea Market Chics.
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I had never been to Flea Market Chics, but discovered them via Craigslist. Lately, every time I find an item I like it's being sold by this particular shop. So I thought a visit was in order.

It's no secret that I LOVE vintage shopping and that I take immense pleasure in the fact that it's a requirement of my job. However, I am on the hunt for some very specific things these days.

As I mentioned in a previous post, Joe and I have a bunch of home improvement projects scheduled this summer. The biggest project is one we have been wanting to do since we bought our house 6 years ago: remodel our basement. That's right, next month we are ripping out the hideous carpet and popcorn ceilings and installing bamboo floors, recessed lighting, new drywall, and crown moulding. I cannot wait. In addition, we are tossing all the old, worn out furniture down there that has followed us around for years. Hallelujah!
I have a whole design and color scheme planned and it's my personal mission to find interesting vintage pieces that will help complete my vision.

On the work front, I am beginning the photography for a new cookbook later this month and the design theme is, you guessed it, VINTAGE. Specifically, desserts styled with a vintage feel. Things don't get much more awesome than that.
I have a good amount of older cake stands and antique dessert plates but I could definitely use more. Having options is extremely important when shooting cookbooks!

So, back to Flea Market Chics.
Ladies and gentlemen, it DID NOT disappoint.

Check out the interior....

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On top of being charming and full of awesome vintage goodness, everything in this shop is priced so reasonably. It's more than worth the 1-hour ferry ride out there, (which earns you a 10% discount off your purchases by the way!) In addition, items in the shop are updated DAILY! That means that every time I visit there will be new things!! How much better could this place be????

So, on to what I bought...

Check out this cool chippy chair-- perfect for a shooting surface or as a plant stand on our porch.
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Cute little table
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See all that great stuff below? It's all from Flea Market Chics. Note the awesome old cabinet I got for our guest room, the chalkboard made out of an old frame, the chunky candlesticks, (for our future rocked-out basement), and the lamp frame I am going to use as a huge candle holder....also in our basement.
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How sweet is this vintage dessert stand? I see brownies on it in a future cookbook....
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These last few items were purchased at another shop but I had to share them anyways. How cute are those salt and pepper shakers? I think those will be staying in our home. :)
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Stay tuned for my next vintage-seeking adventure!

**UPDATE ON UPCOMING WORKSHOPS: A few spots  have opened up in my Natural Light Food Photography workshop this coming Saturday. Go here for details.

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

new (to me) flatware

My current project? Getting rid of all our matchy-matchy, modern flatware and replacing it with mismatched vintage pieces.

So much happier.

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Monday, June 4, 2012

raised beds

Joe and I have a whole bunch of home projects scheduled for this summer and the first one was completed last weekend.
I am happy to say that we have our very first vegetable garden! Woo hoo!

Now I just have to make sure I don't kill everything. I have never been awesome with plants so, to give myself the best chance of success, I enlisted the help of Meg Brown, edible garden specialist and owner of Brown Dirt. She helped Joe and I develop a plan, drew us a color-coded map of what to plant where, and gave us a very thorough list of instructions on how to maintain and harvest our future bounty.

Check out the before & after pics below.

Note the overgrown craziness. That sure was fun to rip out. NOT.
(Oh, and please ignore the ugly chain-link fence. It's our neighbor's, and we plan on hiding/covering/replacing it as soon as possible.)
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After a bajillion hours of backbreaking labor, we finally had a cleared space.
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Joe building the raised beds.
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Almost there...
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Ta da! It looks sparse now but, trust me, there are a lot of seeds planted and I am hoping for some great results. Wish me luck!
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