Elkhorn Sneak Peek...The Softer Side

 ....to tickle your fancy

... plumes

...delightful, delicious, de-lovely!

See  you Sunday!

Cleaning up the Hitchhikers for Elkhorn

Yep, it's here.  Elkhorn weekend.  The Elkhorn Antique Flea Market is this Sunday.  We'll be loading up tonight and setting up tomorrow.  My first task today was to clean up these great little parts bins.  They'd soaked for awhile before I attacked them with a brush. They cleaned up quite nicely. ("Quite nicely" = your fingers won't turn black if you touch them but you may want to work on them a bit more if you are the the sort that likes things to be 'squeaky clean'.)

I call them hitchhikers for two reasons. When I stopped to pick some things up from a favorite supplier, he took me to see part of his stash; amazing industrial finds that he's not yet ready to part with. But, he did decide that these could leave him and hitch a ride home with me.  Secondly, they're small and can catch a ride on your locker baskets or other containers, providing additional storage without taking up a lot of room.

This card file is also coming along to Elkhorn.

It looks like a few drawers got left in the...

As usual, Kathy and I will have an eclectic mix of industrial, primitives, shabby, girly, and artsy items; you'll just have to come dig through our booth to discover it all!

Day Off - Fun in Milwaukee with Kathy

 

 Sometimes girls just wanna have fun!  Kathy & I headed down to Milwaukee's Third Ward where we started with a little make-up update at Blush. 

Next was a stop at Broadway Paper where we were inspired by the flowers in the window and a flirty paper dress. 

After that we walked over to Anthropologie where we wandered around taking in every detail.

We topped the afternoon off with a late lunch on the deck at the Milwaukee Ale House.  The Island Salmon Salad was superb.  (Thanks for treating, Kath!)

 Tomorrow - back to work.  We'll be sharing a space at the Elkhorn Antique Flea Market on Sunday with fun finds for all...see you there?

 

White Wednesday - In Paper

White Wednesdays are hosted by Kathleen of Faded Charm and I love checking out all of the beautiful posts.  All of the whites below are from an Edwardian era scrapbook.

Road Trip Savings - Hotels at a Discounted Rate

After a conversation with a friend this weekend, it occured to me that perhaps many dealers and shop owners are unaware of a great way to save money on lodging for business travel.  If you don't have a vintage pink trailer for your travels, you may be looking for a good deal on  hotels.  CheckINN Direct negotiates low rates with major hotel chains. You simply register on their site, and put a credit card on file. 

Is it worth it?  I've used CheckINN many times and my answer is "yes!". For example, recently I went to Iowa for a show.  I called the Sleep Inn & Suites which had been recommended to me and the lowest available rate was $99.00 plus tax.   I then asked to reserve using the CheckINN card  The CheckINN rate was $40.18 and with my plan, CheckINN charged my card for $52.95 which included tax and the $7.95 nightly fee.  That's a substantial savings.

Last week I took a little road trip and stopped at a Country Inn in a popular tourist area.  There were two rooms left and the lowest rate I could get by simply walking in was $114 plus tax.  I presented my CheckINN card and was later billed by CheckINN for $63.20, ($50 for the room, $7.95 fee and taxes). 

How it works:  Go to CheckINN Direct. When you need a hotel search for one in your selected area. Choose the one you want and make reservations if you like or simply show up at the hotel and mention the CheckINN card. You pay nothing to the hotel; they bill CheckINN.  CheckINN then charges your credit card for the room rate/taxes and a $4.95 or $7.95 nightly fee, depending on the plan you select.

To register on the site there is a one-time $9.95 fee. That fee will be waived if a member sends you a link with the info.  If anyone would like for me to send the link please e-mail me; I'll need your first & last name as well as the e-mail address you'd like the link to go to.  If you decide to join you can then send the link to your friends; there's no benefit for sending it, but I think we all need to help each other out in these tough times. I know we'd all rather spend our avaible cash on old treasures than hotels!  

Kane County Flea Market and My Baditude

The needle on my attitude meter normally points to the positive but I'll confess that at Kane it leaned the wrong way for most of the weekend.  Perhaps it was my "neighborhood"; the soy candles nearby and imported shopping carts next to me. Or the guy on the other side selling t-shirts printed with code for a very crude phrase, which I listened to him explain all weekend. Or perhaps it was the lady early on that walked off in a huff when I wouldn't sell her two $12.00 items for $3.00.

At any rate, I've snapped out of it and am feeling cheery once again!  The show was a success overall and the good moments outweighed the bad; especially the visits from Terry, Marcy, (Haverford House), Suzzi, Polly, and the always encouraging Jeanine, (ChiPPy-SHaBBy!) and Candyce, (Altered Ever After).  Thank you all for the smiles you brought me!  It was also great to meet Sharon who owns "American Junk" in Lake Barrington, Illinois. I hope to visit her shop one day soon.

I didn't get a chance to get out and shop, but as I was leaving I ran into Anita & Judy, (Iowa Junk Gypsies), and  had a nice little chat.  One of these days I'm determined to shop their booth before all of their treasures are snapped up!

Driving home I had an unexpected "gift". Six hot air balloons were floating over the country side.  I altered my route until I ended up on a tiny country road and could stop to enjoy their beauty close up. It was a glorious sight.  I guess God knew just what I needed to turn my "baditude" into "gladitude" by the time I arrived home...it worked!

Kane County Flea Market This Weekend

The van is loaded for the Kane County Flea Market, Saturday 12-5, Sunday 7-3, St Charles, Illinois. We're bringing our usual eclectic assortment of old treasures including this great typing table,

lots of flour sacks like these

and so much more.  We'll be in the Dairy Cattle shed, space 9.  Hope to see you there!