Shopping at the Roadside Boutique!

Those of you who know me know that I have a way with dumpsters. It is not the most delicate of my pass times but it has a sweet new name "The Roadside Boutique". I can't remember which of my dear friends came up with that (was it you Inka?) but if it is you leave a comment and I will give you credit for a glamorous name to my garbage addiction.



I found this old chair out by the trash bin behind my house. She seemed to call 'Rescue me"as I got in my car. When I came home to find her still sitting with her shabby arms and tired old faded fabric... well she ended up in my work room.




I have a large collection of fabric samples. A friend's Mom used to save them so they wouldn't end up in the land fill and give them to me. For years I have made the most lovely colorful things from these squares.














This is the tag off the collection of samples I used for this project. A wonderful chintz stripe in several different colors. I never recovered a chair before. Oh... I have done the seat of a kitchen chair but never a whole chair.

The blond wood chairs were also out by the bin in the back. I have 4 of them and the matching magazine rack and book shelf. Each day a new piece appeared and each day I carried them up to my work room. The Law of attraction was providing me with new furniture! I just love that. The final result was a great new look for my work room and a wonderful purpose for my documentary print sample squares. This whole project cost me $3.75 for a box of little nails and gave me a wonderful sense of satisfaction.
It isn't perfect but it works. LOL Hot glue and nails and a great determination to do it were my tools.

My vision board was a gift from my secret sister Katie. I love it! Thanks Katie, it is now one of my favorite things. I will be adding to it and hanging it proudly on the wall when the room is finished. Note that I put the tag from the fabric on the vision board to inspire me all along the way. Stay tuned and you will see the final result as this room gets a paint job and is turned into a great place to create treasures for Lilli Blue's Vintage Rescues . Have a fun week and be sure to visit us at Make Mine Pink for Romantic Bed and Bath Pink Friday! Blessings, Lilli

Trash to Treasure

I share a dumpster with the mini mall behind me. In the mall is an alterations shop called Valentina's. This woman does beautiful work and is known all around town.



About a week ago when I took out the trash I found the most beautiful scraps of fabric on the top of the dumpster. The fabric was all from beautiful beaded evening gowns. I carefully picked them out. I had no idea what I would do with them but I had to rescue them.

I have been cleaning and organizing my supplies. I found the scraps the other night and this is the idea I came up with. They are not finished but I thought I would give you a preview of what I have been working on.

I'm making greeting card with matching gift tags. I have made some satin gift bags and these will complete the sets I hope you enjoy them!

This Pink Friday is "Bling" it should be an exciting event and sparkling things all around!







The last thing I would like to share is a great piece from my vision board. This was created by my favorite altered art artist, Carrie of Noelle Garrett Designs. I have written about her before. Her work is elegant and detailed. She sees in a way that is special and all her own. This tag is a gift I cherish. She is a lovely lady and has become my friend. I can't wait till we meet and I can give her a big hug. Check her out at Make Mine Pink!

Thrift Store Heaven

Last week Tom and I took a road trip not to far from home but just far enough to leave our worries behind.

Ventura, California still has great shopping. I visited many Antique Malls but one really stood out as a great place to shop.

When I walked in Neil Young was singing in the background and the owner , a friendly man who had an air of x hippie to him named David greeted me from behind a desk covered with papers. Among the papers were a child's drawing, it stood out reminding me that we are all old enough to be grand parents now. I am officially vintage. 50 years on the planet. I'm a collectible. LOL

It was a trip down memory lane for me. I first came to Ventura years ago in the late 80's with a girl friend to shop for the day before returning back to L.A. with bags full of vintage finds and wonderful cloths .

We would have lunch on the pier and then hit the thrift stores. You can never really recapture the past but I was looking forward to today's version of that experience.

The vintage finds were harder to find now. Prices seemed higher I do believe that Make Mine Pink has spoiled me . The vintage goodies at Make Mine Pink are the best you can find now. For everything I saw I remembered a shop at MMP that had something just as wonderful at a better price.

The Ventura Antique Market was the only place that could compete.

I saw so many wonderful unusual things. This crazy doll looked like Lucy dressed as Carmen Miranda!

I fell in love with this painting of a woman with a bird resting on her arm. It had an old world charm that took me out of 2008 and sent me back in time. I guess that was the best thing about this shop. I was constantly transported to another time.

My body was flooded with memories of friends and loved ones long gone. I was buzzing with memories of myself at different times in my life. I saw a bowl and pitcher set from Avon and I remembered opening that very set on Christmas as a new item when I was about 12 years old. Now it is a vintage find! LOL Well retro at least.

I shared a moment with Dave that neither one of us will forget. He was such a great man . The gentle way he honored my moment.

I have been talking about my Mom a lot lately and her presence is very strong. I have a feeling she is trying to get my attention from the spirit world. If that makes me sound like a nut... I'm good with that because it is my truth. I don't believe in death I believe life takes another form.

Well I have a tea set my Mom gave me when she knew she was passing. It is wonderful ,so her. Autum colors, leaves and berries.

Before I left on the trip one of the plates to the set broke. It made me feel sad. They are very expensive on Replacements .com. and they didn't have the one I broke. Later in the day I was at a local thrift store and from out of the back one of the workers came with a stack of dishes. They were 99cents each and they were all the desert dishes to the set Mom gave me! All 6 in mint condition. Of course I bought them.

In the antique mall while I was enjoying all the goodies and listening to all the music of my youth I could feel my Mother. She would have loved to do this with me and what I believe is that she was, I walked into a booth and there were those dishes again. This is old German China what are the chances I would see it so many times in one week? I turned to Dave and told him the story I had just told you. I didn't really need more plates but these were the luncheon plates to go with my desert dishes so I was going to at least look. On the back of the plate was my name. My given name is "Debra" the name of this line of china was "Debra". My dishes at home did not have this on them.

I burst into tears. I realized Mom is never going to be very far away again . She will always be shopping with me and this was a really clear message. The physical world separated us with miles but spirit is with out boundaries. She was there and I allowed myself to feel her presence full on.

I didn't buy the dishes. They could not bring me any closer to Mom in owning them. I did however understand they were a tool in my healing and the development of my eternal connection with the spirit of my Mom.

I kept snapping pictures of things I thought you would enjoy seeing. These next photos were taken in a shop that requested I stop taking pictures. I honored the request and agreed not to name the shop but I had to share the photos for the sake of saying whimsy is alive and well in Ventura, California!The hotel we stayed in was located behind the historic district of Ventura. These wonderful old houses were a few that I enjoyed seeing. One of them, my favorite was for lease. It reminded me that things I dream of do become available and exist in the world.

I went to the thrift store and returned to my hotel room with several bags filled with wonderful clothing. When I did the fashion show for my boyfriend he was so surprised to hear that the 6 shirts I bought him and the 12 things I bought myself only cost $36.00! I have not lost my eye for great clothing finds and I have not lost my love of Ventura thrift stores!

These lovely little masks caught my heart and I went back and asked if I could photograph them. The father of the children gave me permission with such a sense of pride. I love this photo. When I looked in the window as I walked by several people were living in a studio apartment. You got the sense that even though they didn't have much they had what was important love and creativity. Sweet memories of this trip to Ventura and a reminder to cherish what I have right now.

If you visit Ventura stop and say hi to David Marcus

at The Ventura Antique Market at 457 East Thompson Blvd. and for the best thrift stores hit Main Street.

The Battered Women's Thrift. It's clean and organized. The people are friendly and the prices have not changed in 20 years! It really still is thrift store heaven.

Have a great week! Pink Friday is Vintage Linens!

Blessings, Lilli

I've been tagged! Show and Tell Monday!

I have been tagged by Debbie of Cozy Cottage. OK ..... I'll Show and Tell! LOL I am to tell you 7 strange and /or random things about myself. I have given this much thought. So here goes.......

1- My first kiss was Tom Jones.

2- My mother and I made a pack that she would contact me after she passed by using the song "Autumn Leaves". I have been playing Debbie's music from her blog while I am writing this and wouldn't you know that as I type this the song Autumn Leaves came on in her line up of songs from her blog. I am so awed. All I can say is "Hi Mom" and Thanks Deb!

3-Brace yourselves for this one....are you ready... my favorite color is not PINK. I know..... after the smelling salts get passed around I'll tell you that I love green. All kinds of green. My engagement ring was not a diamond but an emerald.

4-My favorite affirmation is " Don't wait for your dreams to come true. Your dreams are waiting for you to come true."

I had a friend who was a character actress. Her name was Kathleen Friedman. She was in all the Jerry Lewis movies. You would know her face in a moment if you saw her she worked all the time. She sang in the choir with me at church. Even though she had great success she always had wanted to be on Broadway.

Long before " The Secret" we studied The Science of Mind together at our church. She was a Practitioner. That is something you have to study for 3 years to achieve.

She set the intention that she would be on Broadway. She was a powerful clear thinking woman. A friend of hers was offered a part in a little play in San Diego called " The Full Monty" the friend did not want to do the play so she recommended Kathleen. Kathleen took the part because it sounded like fun even though it was just a small part.

The play was a big hit and went to Broadway and Kathleen was nominated for a Tony Award for her role. They invited her to do her number from the show on the Tony's. Kathleen was in a hit show on Broadway the day she passed away. She was living the dream. She is the one who gave me that affirmation. Everyday to the best of my ability I "come true".

5- I lost a job as a showgirl in the Follies Bergere because I am afraid of heights. The opening number starts at the top of hundreds of stairs and I was afraid to walk down them. They made the stairs really small so it would look like there were more of them and my foot was bigger than the step. I was so afraid of those darn steps. I tried to act cool but they could see me shaking all over.

The girl that got the job fell down those stairs during her first show and broke her leg. By the time I got the call that I could be her replacement I had already moved to L.A. Years later I ended up working as the assistant to the director of the Follies. He lived here in Los Angeles. I guess when you are meant to do something it doesn't matter what you do it comes to you.

6-My first pet was a black and white rabbit named Freckles.

7-I didn't learn to drive a car till I was 40. I got my drivers licence on my 40Th birthday!

OK I get to tag 4 people.........Ha ha

Carrie of Noelle Garret Designs

Momma Bear ( Joyce Lucas)of Make Mine Pink and Cottage Collections

Patricia Rose of Patricia Rose A Potpourri Fragrance,Fabrics, Findings and all that jazz LOL

Dianne of Mama's Pocket Book

Have a wonderful week. See you on Friday for a fun event filled with VINTAGE LINENS!!! Pink Friday will be a blast this week! Blessings, Lilli