Botanical Style

My inspiration today comes from a book by Selina Lake called BOTANICAL STYLE. I think I have always called it "garden style." At any rate I love it all.

You may know some of her other style books: Romantic Style, Pastel Style, Outdoor Living, and others. This one is on "decorating with nature, plants, and florals."  Here is a link to her beautiful Instagram.

I'm showing a few recent vintage finds that fit the theme.

I found a pair of tiny McCoy pots in white to add to my collection. They are only about four inches high.

Summer white linens fit in anywhere! This piece is an antique seersucker bed sheet or coverlet with wonderful details.

If you love botanical prints, you will love the ideas in this book for displaying them.

This small decorative table has exactly the tone I love in painted vintage furniture. Loads of character and chippy original paint. 

You may know that I love old ironstone jugs and pitchers. This one is a little outside my usual pick.  But the elegant shape made me see it with white flowers inside.

This is the third French green glass cloche which I found recently in California.

The little porcelain cup and saucer came from a Santa Barbara thrift store.

Hope you enjoyed the show and tell!

Happy Summer Days!

Jacqueline

Join me at

French Country Cottage~Feathered Nest Friday

Savvy Southern Style~Wow Us Wednesdays

Shabby Art Boutique~Create, Bake, Grow & Gather Party

June. Where did you go?

It seems such a long time ago since I got these shots of the roses at the start of June. I had to include them here to show you something pretty to look at! It hasn't been the summer of showing pretty pictures on the blog.

I went through my scant stash of phone and camera photos mostly to jog my memory of what I have been up to so far. If it weren't for Instagram I would have few "cottage" pictures at all. (I just grabbed this crate to gather roses and then saw what a great shot it made.)

But even Instagram (which is supposed to be easier) has turned out to be a big challenge for me. Not sure if it is a good fit, but we'll see. At least I always have my phone with me. I have hardly picked up my camera at all so far this summer.

The summer kickoff started with getting ready for the shop garden event. We loved getting these water cans lettered.

After the big event I have been AWOL from the shop a lot. But so excited to have visits there from some of you!

I have taken a stab at learning to take pics with my phone and editing them for Instagram. I also finally learned to download them from phone to computer. (I know. what took me so long???) In addition, I had a lot of computer problems with my new Asus. (Yes, I am naming names.) It drove me crazy the whole time I owned it. Finally after replacing the hard drive at my own cost (so that I didn't have to live without it by shipping it off) it heated up and went dark. I took it in to the Geeks and told them I had a lemon. They agreed, and Best Buy replaced my laptop at full cost. I wasn't paying attention, but it happened to be the VERY LAST DAY of my warranty! Whew!!!

I still manage to stop in markets wherever I travel and found this adorable child's tea set for five dollars!

But our grand girls have moved way beyond the "dress up and have tea" stage, so Granny Camp has taken a more vigorous turn for outdoor pursuits that keep people off of the gizmos once in a while. Not as pretty for photos, and almost too busy to stop for photos anyway.

 My only daughter seems hardly more than a girl herself.

We are taking the girls in smaller batches this year and the three sisters had only two extra cousins this time. They love to pose of course.

But I love to get a ton of live action shots better. (In this case, a "ton" was maybe ten.) Some of you have seen these ladies on the blog since they were just babies. We were on a mountain picnic here.

On another trip earlier to see my two Texas grand girls ballet recital this is the only pic I managed to take (of the recital hall) before I got totally engaged in the show.

And on our recent road trip to Santa Barbara. this is the only photo I took just across the border to Arizona from New Mexico. I guess I was still feeling fresh! We cancelled our plans to fly because flights though Phoenix were being delayed and even cancelled due to extreme record high temps. One of our gasoline stops was at 111 degrees! Travel near Los Angeles was INSANE! Even a long way out traffic is C R A Z Y !!! And on the way back home we had a seriously close call in a blinding sand storm. OY!

SO. Pretty pictures needed! And nothing gets my heart rate back down quite like lots of white and gorgeous linens. (Tho chocolate helps!) :0)

A little time now to get a breather back home before MORE! 

I plan to get back here on the blog before the end of July!

 But who knows!?

I hope summer is being good to you too!

Happy Days!

Jacqueline

The Old Barrel Tea Company and The Art of Display

It's not just a refreshing sip of tea that awaits you on a visit to this adorable tea shop hidden away in Albuquerque Old Town. It is also a charming space decorated to highlight the atmosphere suggested by its name: Old Barrel Tea Company.

From the clever and trendy chalkboard signs, right down to the pleasing vintage displays, it's plain that the owner knows about more than just tea!

My thirteen-year-old granddaughter who shares a long tea connection with me was just as enchanted as I was on our visit here. It was like walking into the pages of a favorite decorating book. And as a vintage shopkeeper I got a big kick out of all the wonderful and professional ideas for display that I found. 

The way that things are shown here are exactly what I would like to achieve in my own retail space. I mean, having wonderful pieces like this adorable tea cart to show off the wares. No one is ever going to buy the piece right out from under this carefully crafted vignette. It's not for sale! But in a vintage shop that is really what you want to happen. It is frustrating to a buyer to find too many things in a vintage shop that read "NFS" (not for sale).

We just enjoyed all the lovely touches like this dried eucalyptus hanging from the rafters. Simple and beautiful.

A chippy metal grate is a wonderful way to show off tea mugs.

And a weathered old gate does the same job with a few hooks and a metal shelf attached.

Even the window display has wonderful vintage touches like an old crate and a rusty metal chair to support the merchandise.

A tempting zinc watering can is just for show...

But a few great looking reproduction pieces are for sale like these fabulous tin pitchers.

I loved this enamel painted flower sign.

And the bunting and lace are the perfect touch at the windows.

The shelves on this wall of the tea shop are filled with vintage touches too. More wooden crates, and an old multi-pane window.

This antique trunk has a small metal shelf attached right inside it, but I loved how the old wood blocks elevate it in an interesting way. So clever and great looking too!

Using an old suitcase for display is not a new idea, but always useful and fun.

I even love the plain brown bag packaging and jars.

A garden sieve frames a few sweet quotes beautifully. And live plants in pots are scattered here and there.

An old weathered head board serves as an interesting backdrop overhead.

There were a few of these popular metal lockers holding merchandise.

Same for a handy vintage typewriter stand.

Soaps are gathered in this chippy old tin first aid box.

A natural companion to tea, honey and bee themes are all about too.

This old and grey hive body still holds signs of life inside!

Another cute tea cart groups honey things.

We think this old fridge makes a fantastic and original display shelf. 

Even the original metal refrigerator shelf makes a nice place to hang stuff.

A simple old wooden table, a cool looking blue refrigerator drawer (turned upside down), and a sweet embroidered cloth look adorable here with still more vintage objects to show the wares. 

Such a sweet little corner to visit again and again!

I hope you enjoyed the look around with us!

Happy Tea Time!

Jacqueline