Thursday, December 30, 2010

Happy New Year!!!

Happy New Year Wish

My Happy New Year wish for you
Is for your best year yet,
A year where life is peaceful,
And what you want, you get.

A year in which you cherish
The past year’s memories,
And live your life each new day,
Full of bright expectancies.

I wish for you a holiday
With happiness galore;
And when it’s done, I wish you
Happy New Year, and many more.

By Joanna Fuchs

Have a Happy New year!!!

Mandi

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Merry Christmas to all…

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From our home to yours…we hope you had a Merry Christmas.  Ours was spent with family and friends, in my hometown of Anaheim (CA!).  Where ever your holidays were spent, may they have been everything you hoped for.

Peace on Earth!

m

Merry Christmas Eve!

Spending time with family in friends in Orange County! A few of the festive things we saw on our shopping trip in Old Towne Orange. Always colorful outside Victoria Co:

FABULOUS vintage finds!

Have a Merry Christmas EVE!

m

Sunday, December 19, 2010

It looked a lot like Christmas!!!

The December opening of the Paris Flea Market opening was to.die.for.  Spectacular from top to bottom.  It was glitz and glam, sparkles and snowflakes, a winter wonderland indeed!  A few of the highlights…

Stationery, tags, cards and gifts by Mementos (there was hardly anything left in this cabinet at the end of the sale!)

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GORGEOUS handcrafted journals, altered bottles, velvet hearts, and much more from the very talented Sharon:

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Vintage Christmas from Julie, the ‘Queen of Rustica’:

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And the always lovely room of special finds from DebiO, the QUEEN of beautiful things!!

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Much of what you see isn’t there anymore because it went home with happy customers!  That gives us fleas a feel-good feeling, one because we LOVE to sell our wares, but also because we REALLY LOVE to SHOP!  And the more we sell, the more we get to SHOP!

We’ll be open after the first of the year with more amazing home décor, beautiful things to keep or give and, as always, lots of one of a kind items.

Happy holidays!

m

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Ho Ho Ho–Off to work I GO!

The holidays are so much FUN at Room With A Past!  Our last opening of the year is this weekend – starting today (Thursday 12/16!) we will be open for four MARVELOUS days of shopping.  And let me tell you.

It is the BEST shopping you’ll find ANYWHERE!!! 

Starting from the moment you walk in the door…

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At every turn…

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This month our shopping guests get tickets for a chance to WIN THIS TREE – AND a $100 Gift Certificate for a shopping spree!!!

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Mementos went ‘boutique’ this month, lots of CUTE holiday gift ideas!  Gift card holders, POPCORN stocking stuffers, candy cane treats…all wrapped up ready to take to the office or stuff in a stocking!!!

Stay tuned…more pictures to follow!  Now I must be off to shop…er, WORK!

Happy Holidays!

m

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Happy Ho-Ho-Holiday Boutique!

The last of the holiday shows for the season was at my sons school.  We made up a lot of fun boutique-y type crafts, sold lots, and gave a % of the sales to the Hadsters 5th grade class for their overnight camp later in the year.  His little candy grab-bags were a hit, sold at $1 each and all the $ will go to camp too.

Lots of cute things, popcorn treats ‘Have a POPPY Christmas!’, gift card holders, Christmas Countdown’ Calenders (with a chalkboard insert so you can change the day – quite clever!)…

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‘Ho-Ho-Holiday Hot Cocoa to Go’ cups, candy cane holders, and of course LOTS of vintage image tags and greeting cards.  Something for everyone! 

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We had a great time, saw lots of friends from school, and were able to make a nice donation to the Camp fund! 

One last shop opening for the year, Room With a Past is open NEXT weekend, stop by their Website for more info on what will be an amazing opening! 

Happy Ho Ho Holidays!

m

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Happy Thanksgiving

From our home to yours…

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May your day be filled with the wonderful blessings of family, friends and love.  And food…don’t forget the food!
Here’s to a joyous holiday season!

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Home for the holidays…

One of my favorite places in the whole world is tucked away in an quaint antique shop in Pacheco California.  As you stroll through Antiques and Things you’ll find wonderful collections of prim, cottage, rustic, vintage and antique furniture and décor, and collectibles.  Something for everyone, as they say.

I love this shop…love the people…love the ‘feel’…it’s like a home away from home for me.  It’s the place I go to see dear friends (and fellow dealers, I was in the shop for about 4 years!), and get a round of hugs every time I walk in the door. A wonderful group of people that have become so much more than just friends over the years. I love to spend time there shopping, visiting and just soaking in the wonderful ambiance of this lovely shop. it was so nice to see all the festive décor!

Here is my favorite spot in the whole shop…

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Nothing soothes my soul more than a peek at my friend Bobbi’s space.  Her wonderful old fashioned, colorful, barn-board and chipped paint downhome COUNTRY STYLE.  When I walked in her room (above!) today, she was sitting in the white chair on the left.   I said outloud what I think every time I walk in her room… “if you put a bed in here and I could LIVE here!”.  So comfy and cozy, so crafty and country, SO ME.

Visiting my sweet friend inspired me to come home and start decorating for the holidays, a week early!  I think I’ll start with the kitchen…I bought the most adorable tiny tree with twinkly lights, tiny wooden apples and sweet red gingham bows.  I plugged it in as soon as I got it home, put on a pot of cider, popped a pan of gingerbread in the oven…

Let the holidays BEGIN!!!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving week!

m

 

Friday, November 5, 2010

Christmas – Farm Chicks Style!

In case you missed it…this is my new FAVORITE book ever!

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Ohhhsooo lovely and filled with the most amazing photos, stories and holiday inspiration.  While I have to admit to loving every photo in the book, a few have me thinking of some of my favorite memories of Christmas…

“Happy Memories” talks about sweet memories of childhood holidays…remind me of wonderful Christmas mornings at Grandma and Grandpas home  (circa 1964!)

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And “At Home for the Holidays” makes me think of their mountain home in Crestline (CA!) where we spent a lot of our holiday break hoping we’d get snowed in!

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Every page of this WONDERFUL book is pure Christmas eye-candy.  Full of colorful pictures, ideas and holiday inspiration.

Join Sarina at the Farm Chicks Blog  to read all about her ‘virtual book signing’, and more about her book.   I know you’ll enjoy it as much as I do!!!

“It’s the most wonderful time of the year”!

Cheers!
Mandi

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Remembering Alamo 2010…

Busy week at the Country Collective – an ‘all handcrafted’ show!  Great fun, uber-talented women with lots of crafts for holiday gift-giving and decor.   Mementos did Halloween:

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And Christmas:

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And PARIS!!!  

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Ohh La laaa…I had a great time!

On to the holidays!

m

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Spooky Stuff…

The Resident Witches at the Paris Flea Market have been working their magic to bring you the spookiest opening yet!  A taste of the haunting things you’ll see when you get there ~ ~ ~

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 “The Flea” is open this weekend, starting tonite (Thursday 10/7, 6-9pm, Friday, Saturday and Sunday 9-4).

See you there my little pretties!

m

Monday, September 27, 2010

A confession, and a winner!

I have a confession!  I’m hooked on, addicted to, have to use METHOD products!  About 10 years ago I went on the hunt for the best ‘natural’ (no dyes, fragrances etc) products available.    Back then there were not many choices, and most were expensive.  Now they are everywhere and REALLY AFFORDABLE! I’ve tried many brands, Method has me hooked for life!

One of my other ‘loves’ is Danny Seo.  He is the go-to guy for everything ECO-FRIENDLY and has the most amazing blog called ‘Daily Danny’'.  Stop in to see it at: www.dailydanny.comYou’ll learn a lot about re-using, re-cycling and making your world a safer place to be.  I’ve been a reader since 2006 and have learned so much about eco-friendly living!

I’m going on about this because Danny has amazing contests and I WON one of them!  Not only did I win, but I won METHOD products!!!

Let the cleaning begin!!!

I took a week off from all things Mementos to re-group, get the studio re-organized (with an amazing find from Room With A Past!) and then it’s time for Halloween!  Holiday shows are just around the corner!

Have a great week!

m

Photo credit www.dailydanny.com

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Fall into something new!

Fall is a great time to add a few new things to the ever-growing repertoire at Mementos.  Paper, printing, fabric…all studio favorites so how about combining them?!  Introducing pillows with some of my favorite images!

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And burlap.  Nothing says fall (or French country!) to me more than nubby ‘ol burlap!!! It made it’s way into bottle holders, pillows and table runners this month. 

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How about burlap AND a silhouette of kids marching in the spooky Halloween Parade?  This fun piece didn’t last long at the Room With A Past opening this weekend, it sold shortly after being hung in my space to a collector all things Halloween (her words!)!

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This is just the beginning of lots of new things here at Mementos, it is time to change things up a bit.  Can’t wait to show you what is coming up next!

Have a great week!

Mandi

Friday, September 17, 2010

Fall…

…into Room With A Past this weekend, you’ll LOVE what you find!  Outdoor Flea Market Saturday and Sunday, the best of the year! 

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See you there!
m

Friday, September 10, 2010

Spectacular!

Custom vinyl lettering on an antique mirror…


done for amazing artist!

Have a great weekend!

Originally posted 9/10, re-posted 8/24/11...

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Quite Fabulous…

Custom framed art – by Mementos!

2010 pics from green Nikon 084

Stop by the Paris Flea Market this week (open Thursday – Sunday) to see these and much, much more.  The “Fleas'” have outdone themselves again, it is a shoppers dream!

See you at the Flea!

Mandi

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Shopping at Nancy’s Attic

We visited Monterey for a few days and while I didn’t get much shopping in (!), I did find the most wonderful shop in Pacific Grove, Nancy’s Attic. I walked in and knew I was HOME. Loved it, here is why:



The cabinet above is FABULOUS. I dream of having a piece like this! And she something for every taste…French Country, Shabby, Vintage, Toys and gifts…oh I could go on and on!







Lovely at every turn!!! I enjoyed my visit, and chatting with Nancy. I’ll be back there again real soon!


Photo credits: first and fourth, Nancysattic.com, second and third are mine.


Mandi

Monday, August 23, 2010

Monterey

Some of the hi-lights of our trip to Monterey…

A visit to Fisherman’s Warf

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A walking tour (led by my amazing history-buff friend Thom!)

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And look what we found wandering a Pacific Grove neighborhood! They were enjoying treats of banana (peel and all!) and apples that residents leave for them. The family of deer (mama is in the back) live in a grove that the world-famous ‘Monarch Butterflies’ return to every year…though the butterflies won’t be back until October.

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The Hadster and The Herb visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium.  Had LOVES going there and had lots of stories to tell about things he saw.

A memorable weekend, spent with family (that’s my mom in the photo with the flowers!).

Wishing you a wonderful week!

Mandi

Friday, August 20, 2010

Warming up the color palette…

…at Room With a Past!  The ‘Room’ is open this weekend and there is something for every taste!  You’ll find a lot of yummy summer finds (seashells and starfish) and sun-washed colors (shabby whites and pale blues and greens). And shabby at it’s finest, I adore this space:

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Warmer colors are creeping in for fall, and what is more fall than burlap?! 

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Mementos added burlap table runners and wreaths this month, they are ooohhh so French country and a cozy addition to any decorating style for any season.

The Room is open today and this weekend, Friday, Saturday and Sunday 10-4. 

Happy shopping!

Mandi

Monday, August 16, 2010

Ahhh…summer…

Or what is left of it!  We took a quick ‘road trip’ to Anaheim to see family and have a last bit of fun before…well you know…summer ends.  We got alot in!

The Orange County Fair - farm animals, LOVE ‘EM!

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Rides – RODE ‘EM, even the really tall ones!

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 We celebrated my moms birthday at our favorite Mexican restaurant – Mi Casa!!! 

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And then…Knott’s Berry Farm (bet you thought I’d say Disneyland?!)!  It’s not my Grandmother’s Knott’s Berry Farm, she used to love going there in the 60s and 70’.  They put an amusement park in around the Ghost Town, but it still has a lot of the old Knott’s nostalgia I remember…

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Yes, that is The Hadster on the right…ready to launch wayyyy up high – NOT my favorite place for him to be but he LOVED IT and went four times (in a ROW!).  We rode the train after that!

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No trip to Knott’s would be complete without tossing a few coins (make a wish first!) into the fountain in front of Mrs. Knotts bakery!  It was one of my favorite things to do as a little girl.

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And I remember sitting here for pictures when I was a little girl…

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And of course…I had to go SHOPPING!  No pictures, but a visit to Country Roads in Orange is a MUST on every visit.  Stop by The Country Roads blog, you will be inspired!

On to the rest of summer…

Mandi

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Paris Flea Market !!!

Some of the sights at the ‘Flea’ this month:

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Mementos gifts for customers this weekend!  I was a featured vendor!!!

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Stop by the FLEA to see what everyone is talking about!  You have one more day to do it…and then the doors close again until September 9th.

See you there!

Mandi