~SB and fresh air~

Hello peeps,

Happy New Year to you all! I am never too sure how to address my posts, and usually start with a “Hi Peeps”, but then my Mom was reading my blog and said that didn’t sound like me, which perturbed me as this blog is the real me!! What do you think?

Anyhoo, my vacation week was not quite what I had planned as the sniffles descended on our home and I basically only dragged my sorry self out of bed to feed the family or drive the kids where they needed to go. It was rough! So not much accomplished on the “to-do” list front, but I did get to spend tons of time reading all your lovely blogs, being inspired and amazed all over again.

I also played around a bit with Windows Live Writer so we’ll see how that goes, and I installed Picasa, which is so much more user friendly than I remembered, so we’ll see how that goes! And I got to think and think some more, sometimes life gets so busy there just isn’t much time to “think”!! Oh, and there was lots chocolate around being Christmas and all…

~~~~~~

Well we did manage to see the New Year in despite the sniffles, and by noon today when we were all still mooching around in our pjs Mr RGV decided we all needed to get some fresh air. What!!! Eventually with the bribe of a steaming SB I dressed my sorry self and off we went.

I’m so glad we did! We headed out to our local river, which is about 10 mins drive away. Okay, 15 if you factor in SB stop on the way  Ooh look, Windows Live just did that smiley thing for me. {I think we’re going to get along just fine}. It’s a really popular spot in the summer, but today it was quiet, just a few folks out walking their dogs and kids. It was clear and mild and NOT RAINING and of course the boys all headed for the water to skip rocks while I wandered around snapping photos and taking in my fresh air, as ordered.

Picasa put my SB in the centre there, I promise. I do love my family, really. And my steaming SB. Isn’t that a cute shot of the guys all gazing out across the water, I think they were choosing their target. First the water. Then the log. Then the hole in the log. High tech stuff like that. It was the fresh air I think.

We headed back for a late lunch with my parents and brother and SIL, where we played some intense boggle. Good thing I’d had my fresh air. Then we ate more chocolate and to-die-for turtle cheesecake left over from last night. There was other stuff too but I’m sticking to the important details.

Hope your January is off to a great start!

Tracey

~check. check. check.~

* finished up work for the summer

~check~

* got the kids through the last week of school stuff

~check~

* had fun at the Ivory Vintage Market

~check~

wait, did i just say vintage market?

floursack dishtowels and french pillows

that's right, a fantabulous day

yummy vintage kitchenware and chippy window frames

got to take a couple of quick shots as the door opened, here's a peek at some of my goodies...

~"provence" tray (chalk paint and wax - love this color)~

my first peonies

and my favorite part of the day?

~meeting up with my bloggy friends of course~

~love the shabby detailing on this tray~

{yes, i had a hard time parting with this one but i know it's new owner truly loves it!}

like Janis of Rust and Ruffles 

Barbara of Hodgepodge

Tracy of My House of Giggles

Lady Pamela of Lady Pamela's Cottage

and what a treat to finally meet Tracey of Tracey Ayton Photography

all these Traceys in my life!

~hen and chicks in vintage silver sugar and creamers~

Wendy M thanks for stopping by, other Wendy thanks for saying hi

(wow, all these Wendys in my life too, my Mom is also Wendy!)

my good friend Sari who was also a vendor at the market

(hope I didn't forget anyone...)

~starfish, a hot seller~

and of course my wonderful Mom and Dad who always support me in all my crazy ventures, help out with the kids and bring me a Starbucks on market day!

thanks Mom and Dad, you're the best cheerleaders a gal could hope for:-)

~vintage zinc caddy~

now on to summer

oh, just one last thing

*noticed the house is a BIG mess

~check~

:-)

Tracey

p.s. big thanks to mr. keeper and my two awesome boys for getting up super early to help me unload

~plum worn out~

i've got to tell you peeps

june has me plum worn out

vintage linens

all the extra end of year stuff with the kids

and then our Vancouver Canucks hockey team went and made it to the finals!!

(go Canucks!)

which means lots of cheering and viewing and burnt burgers 'cos no one can leave the game to watch them!

vintage pillowslips in the breeze

~i am counting the days till summer break~

and hopefully the sun we haven't seen too much of yet

summer strawberries

but i am thankful for the breath of fresh air a visit to your blogs is to me at the end of a long day

always inspiring as i catch a glimpse of your lives and projects

i appreciate you and am looking forward to spending more time with you all in the summer:-)

oh yes, and I am super excited to receive my chalk paint order from
 Robyn Story Designs and Boutique
 can't wait!!

Robyn is still generously offering free shipping, yup, FREE SHIPPING
go check it out!

Tracey

~blogger gremlins~

well peeps, i have been reading your sweet posts

and i know some of you have been reading mine

but blogger gremlins are not allowing us to leave comments, grrr

and i am so NOT anonymous!!

i know, it's super frustrating 'cos we all have a lot to do in a day!

here's some advice from Rochester girl (thanks Cristina!)

i tried the first piece of advice and it did work

#1. when you log in with your username and password, uncheck the "stay signed in" box

#2. in your settings, change from "embedded comments" to "pop up box"

so it seems i am able to comment on some blogs again

but if i don't respond to your comment, you know why....

thanks for understanding, and here's hoping things are back to working soon:-)

Tracey

PS. i had more photos for you but blogger is rotating all those today too!

~vintage market rocks~

this weekend we had the very first Old School Market in the quaint village of Clayburn, Abbotsford

~AND IT WAS AWESOME!!!~

 now if you're wondering what all the fuss is about peeps, we don't have a whole lot of vintage market going on up north here

~OR SO WE THOUGHT~

Lily and Rachel from Bird and Birch put together a fabulous event

i know i told them a hundred times already, i am so impressed by how well organised the market was, down to the tiniest details

AND they still looked cool as cucumbers, fresh as daisies, the whole day!! take a look at my photo, not so cool cucumber:-)

okay so here's some photos of my booth space taken by the incredibly talented Sari

go here to see them all

the market was packed out much of the day, and it was so exciting to see how many wonderful folks came out who appreciate vintage and handmade products

{just look at the wonderful sash windows}

the very best part of my day : undoubtedly meeting wonderful vendors and bloggers, many of whom i "knew" from blogland and our local bloggers network

it really is true, i already felt like i knew a bunch of the gals from their blogs, and they are all even sweeter in person - thanks to each of you who came by and said hi

Colleen of Vintage Home, lovely to meet you, and Shelley, at last. your antics in the corner kept me entertained and added a lot of energy to the market:-)

Rosie of Roses and Rutabagas, you gave me the best hug of the day and thank you for my sweet treat box to keep me going (can you believe I didn't have a chance to open it till market was done!!). Rosie has been a huge encourager to me since i started my blog journey a year ago

Sari of The Lovely in Life, my faithful friend, photographer, artist extraordinaire, thanks for visiting with me and taking photos and always thinking everything i do is fantastic whether it is or not. everyone should have a friend like you!

Janis of Rust and Ruffles, thanks for coming all the way out there and for always being so supportive of what i do and make, we want you at the next market girl. thanks for introducing me to blogland!

Lori  E of Family Trees may contain nuts , first market post i saw up in blogland!! thanks for stopping by and also taking fab shots, what a sweetheart

Becky of Cupcakes and Ruby Slippers, just love your blog name, thanks for saying hi and making yourself known

i know there were others, so forgive me if i left you out, drop me a comment and i'll add you in

so do you want to know what i sold?

a little bit of everything to be honest, the vintage goods were as popular as my handmade items

but i would have to say the all white pillows with graphics were the most popular item, they flew off the table, especially those with the french birdcage...

and La Tour Eiffel

i could write another whole post telling you about all the fabulous features of the old heritage schoolroom we had the market in (with a creek behind and church across the road ~ swoon, can you just picture life there a hundred years ago or what??)

i'm about ready to move to clayburn right now!

anyway, this was my very most favourite feature in the building, i could not stop looking at them all day and finally bugged Sari to take a photo for me

aren't they great!!! vintage schoolroom lights ~ i'm trying to figure out where in my home i could hang one....

anyway, if you've heard all the buzz about the old school market and you missed out

~DON'T WORRY!!~

June 25 we have the Ivory Vintage Market coming up in White Rock, you don't want to miss this one!

and if you were there and loved my booth, i have TWO tables at the market coming up

that means twice as much stuff

and i promise to have lots more wonderful pillows and treasures!

thanks for coming out and making the vintage market such a huge success!

hugs,

tracey

PS. Thanks Cath for showing me your beautiful heritage home afterwards, that deserves a post of it's own, i'm coming back in the summer with my camera:-)

~etsy treasuries~

~i love etsy treasuries~

it's always a treat to have my handmade items included

my runners seem especially popular recently

i love the assortment of items that are put together

reflecting the diverse tastes and interests out there

and you get to see other etsy stores you might not have found otherwise

i always get a kick when i see other bloggers i know featured too

here's are two recent treasuries for your enjoyment

~a little bit of country~

~in my darling cottage~

Tracey

~ vancouver blogger and love stampington publications??~

hello vancouver bloggers!!

if you live in beautiful vancouver, canada, you will know it can be quite a challenge to get your hands on stampington publications

but it is so worth the hunt, i am always inspired by the creativity and beautiful photos showcased in each issue

so i thought i would share where i have been able to find some of their mags

and if you know of other sources, you can add them in the comments, and i'll  update this post

so here goes........

~Chapters - get quite a selection of different mags in, but only one or two copies of each, so it's hit and miss. i have asked repeatedly why they don't carry more, but am told they stock what they are sent by their supplier. i have seen Somerset Life, Artful Blogging, Digital Media and various scrapbooking and mixed media publications there.

~Wendels in Fort Langley, i've seen Somerset Life there, they have a fair selection of international magazines and you get to have coffee at the same time in a quaint village!

~there's a scrapbooking store in surrey, on 176 St right next to Essential Packaging, but I can 't for the life of me remember what it is called. anyway they have recently started stocking Somerset Life again. anyone help me out with the name of the store??

~ if you ever shop south of the border, Joanns in Bellingham stock several of the publications. they usually have 10% off their magazines, so you can no longer use a coupon, but they usually have a fair number of copies of each

~Barnes and Noble, also in Bellingham, have the best selection I have come across, including Where Women Create, Where Women cook, Apronology and they also seem to have multiple copies

~DID YOU HEAR???~

 Costco is going to be carrying some Stampington publications, yay!! However, i don't know if that applies to Canada or just the US, i haven't seen any in our local Costco. i did see Where Women Create in the Bellingham Costco this past week. Best thing about Costco : cover price $15.99  Costco price $10.49. big saving.

~finally, there is always the option of subscribing, which i have done this past year for Somerset Life, it is no more expensive than buying them off the shelf, even with shipping. however, my issue often does not arrive until a good two weeks after i may have seen it on a store shelf, and i hate having to wait that long...

so, Vancouverites, let us know where you find your publications!! i am out in the valley so i'm sure there are more places, these are just the ones i know about

what are your favorite Stampington mags to buy? and why?

how do you like to read them? flip through? savor with a cup of coffee?

i saw this one for the first time this week, how adorable is that!!

didn't buy it yet but i got to browse in the store:-)

happy shopping!!

Tracey

all photos courtesy of Stampington