Antiques * Vintage * Primitives
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A few months ago, my sister Tanya,  from The Vintage Verandah, called me up and asked if I wanted to go on a Junking road trip.  My first reaction was of course …YES!!

A little history here…we grew up on the prairies, in a small town north of Winnipeg, Manitoba.  Today, I live in Maple Ridge, BC and my wonderful sister lives one province over in Cochrane, Alberta.  So when she mentioned a road trip, my first thought was maybe we would meet in the middle and go on the hunt for treasures.  Then I thought, maybe she wants to head back to the prairies….a perfect place for us to find some farmhouse treasures.  But no…she had somewhere else in mind!!  “Let’s go to Junk Bonanza in Minneapolis, Minnesota!!!”  she said.  Well, that’s not far at all!! LOL!!  I don’t shy away from a good old road trip, so before I even considered how long it would take us, I said “buy us those early bird tickets!!”

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Here are a couple maps to give you an idea of where we went.

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My husband, our two kids and I went from BC to Manitoba and my sister and her husband went from AB to Manitoba.  I left Tom and the kids at his parents house and I hopped in the truck with my sister and brother in law.  We headed 8hrs south to Shakopee, Minnesota…the home of Junk Bonanza!

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We had a great time exploring a new market.  Junk Bonanza had about 150 vendors and is hosted by Ki Nassauer, the editor of Flea Market Style Magazine.  Our first day was Thursday, and we had early bird tickets, which got us in 2 hours early and a shopping bag.  Our anticipation was building….we couldn’t wait to see what was inside!!

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Doors opened and off we went.  Kids in a candy store I tell ya!!!  Here are some pictures of some booths, to give you an idea of what I am talking about.

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Check out these cute carts that the ladies behind us in the line up made!!  They added bling, and cup holders!!  Super cute…

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Something new to me was actually taking a mid-day break, to have an afternoon ‘beverage’.  Minnesota loves it’s Bloody Mary’s and beer!!  They opened the stand first thing in the morning!  We found a comfy stool and enjoyed sitting and chatting about our finds, favorite booths and gathering some energy to haul out everything we bought!!   Thank goodness for the buffet of snacks on my sister’s drink!! A pick me up snack!!

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Day two was just as exciting as the first!!  Vendors added new items to their booths, and it was fun going around and visiting with them again.

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By the end of the second day, we had a trailer full of fantastic treasures and tired bodies!!

Leah and Tanya

On Saturday we headed back to Manitoba, where my family anxiously waited for me to arrive.  I spent the next few days hanging out with the family and  visiting with some of the friends that I grew up with.  It had been 5 years since I had been “home”, so it was fun taking a tour of the 3 houses that I grew up in, showing the kids my old schools, taking them tobogganing on my old sledding hill, eating at the restaurants that I used to visit.  It was a trip down memory lane, and I had to keep reminding myself how long it has been since I lived there.  It seems like only yesterday.  Flashbacks of walking home from school with my friends, back to our homes where we would spend the rest of the day playing a neighbourhood game of hide and seek.  Driving the “main street” where I took my drivers test….I am not even going to think about how long ago that was!! LOL!!  We even drove up the lane of the last house I lived in with my parents, and I snuck a quick picture.

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  I didn’t have the nerve to go to the door and say….”could I please come into your house and look around”….It didn’t quite seem like the right thing to do!! LOL!!

There is something to be said about life long friends… friends whom you have pictures of at every birthday party you ever had!!  Starting kindergarten together and graduating high school with, celebrating milestones with and finally seeing them being  parents… and their children playing with my own.  Nothing beats those kinds of friends.  Where you can sit down at their kitchen table and share a cup of tea and stories from past and present.  Like no time has past since the last time you were together.  I am grateful to have these friends in my life, and to have the wonderful memories of growing up with them.  I can only wish the same for my children, that they will know true friendship like I have.

I guess that is part of the reason that I love hunting for old treasures.  Everything has a story, and I get nostalgic thinking about who it was that used an item that I just bought.  I love hearing the stories from vendors, when they know the history of a particular item.  I think the majority of the wonderful people that I have met through The Olde Farmhouse feel the same way.  All the vendors that gather together to put on The Olde Farmhouse Vintage Market are amazing, wonderful individuals and we have all connected through the love of everything old!  Excitement builds for the vendors as the date of the market approaches….not only to meet all the wonderful shoppers and help them to find what they are looking for…but also because we truly enjoy being with each other and developing a wonderful friendship within the vintage community.   New friends in an old world…..that is something special and I am thankful to have had the opportunity to have met so many wonderful friends through the markets.   I am so excited that this year we will have some new friends to welcome into The Olde Farmhouse family.

 I can’t wait for June 14th…and whether you are a newbie or a return shopper, I look forward to seeing you there!!  So we can all surround ourselves with a little bit of history and wonderful friends.

Happy Junking!!!

Leah

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Bring on the JUNKING!!

January 13th, 2014 | Posted by Leah in Announcement | Vintage Market - (27 Comments)

2014 Market Dates!!!

I am so excited to announce the 2014 dates for The Olde Farmhouse Vintage Market!! 

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  Mark your calendars and get ready for some fantastic days of JUNKING!!

Saturday, June 14th and Saturday, November 15th

9am-4pm at The Albion Fairgrounds in Maple Ridge, BC

There will be over 50 vendors with treasures that are one of a kind.  Everything from vintage, farmhouse, antiques, jewelry, handmade, re-finished, re-purposed, shabby chic, household collectibles….the list goes on!!

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 The past 3 Olde Farmhouse markets have proven to be days filled with fun, friends and fabulous finds.  All the vendors do such an amazing job of creating their own little shops, just for you!!

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Applications for the June 14th, 2014 market will begin on January 27th and will end on February 14th.

All vendors will be notified by February 19th.

Applications for the November 15th market will begin June 23rd and will end on July 11th.  All vendors will be notified by July 16th.

Please use the application form under the Vendor category  to submit your information.  Space is limited…so don’t delay!!

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Whether you are a vendor or a shopper, you don’t want to miss The Olde Farmhouse Vintage Markets in 2014!!

I can’t wait to see you on June 14th and November 15th!!

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Happy Junking!! 

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Valley Girls Vintage Market and Red Door Farm held their vintage sales this past Saturday.  What a lovely day!!  My daughter and I headed out from Maple Ridge in time to be there for the 10:00 opening…..ok, so we got there before 10, I admit I love being first in line!!  Rain was forecasted but it turned out to be a beautiful day to visit all these wonderful vendors!!  Our first stop was the Valley Girls Vintage Market.  Frances, from  The Nostalgic Nest hosted the market in her gorgeous backyard.  It was a perfect setting for it!   Everyone was so cheery, and all the vendors had wonderful treasures ready and waiting for shoppers to arrive.

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Here is Joanna from Cottage Kisses (http://www.etsy.com/shop/CottageKisses) .  Nothing but smiles from this wonderful lady!!  Maybe  you saw the picture I posted on Facebook a short while ago, about my new green “frog” for my desk, well that was from Joanna!  I noticed she had another one similar to it at this market. I wonder if someone scooped it up??

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Ken & Lisa from The Rustic Gate (http://www.facebook.com/TheRusticGate)  had a beautiful selection of furniture…I am loving the white and teal combination!

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Colleen from Sweet Mangarae (https://www.facebook.com/SweetMangarae)  had a beautiful collection of items!

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Isn’t that the cutest little owl??

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Janice, from Jan’s Vintalicious  (https://www.facebook.com/JansVintaliciousCollectibles?ref=ts&fref=ts) had a booth full of fantastic vintage items.  My daughter was eyeing up the two beautiful sewing baskets that Jan had just found.

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Jeanne, from Salvage Style (http://www.salvagestyle.net/)  had her wonderful collection of vintage magnets, notepads, jewelry and cards!  You could spend a lot of time standing and looking at all the different pictures on these items.  So much fun!!

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She also had a table full of goodies…I love the large spool!!

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And some old airplane parts!!  How cool is that?

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It was so wonderful to see Tracey, from Raggy Girl Vintage(https://www.facebook.com/pages/raggygirlvintage/162066930536644) She always has beautiful items and she is just so lovely to talk with.

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Loved that door and the window frames!!

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Here is a closer look at the door…and check out the color of that bucket!!!

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This is one of Frances’ favorite finds!!  She could have sold it many times throughout the years, but she is not going to part with it!! Can’t you just picture some little boy playing with that truck??  What a great color too!!

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Allison and I were ready to re-do her bedroom when we saw all these gorgeous pieces that Frances, from  The Nostalgic Nest (https://www.facebook.com/NostalgicNest)  had done!  The bed, the lights, the nightstands, the dresser, the trunks, agh!!!  We loved it all!!!

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This is the most beautiful table and chair…notice how the back of the table folds down?

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Goodies, and more goodies for your kitchen!!

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I love this belted coat!  Very classy!!

Well after shopping and chatting with everyone here, Allison and I headed off down the street to Red Door Farm!! ( https://www.facebook.com/pages/Red-Door-Farm/164637970235532?ref=hl)  We had to go and visit with Cheryl and see what we could find!!

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Walking along the path to the cottage there were lots of goodies to grab along the way!!

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Yummy!!

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Yellow bowls…my favorite!!!

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Cheryl has a beautiful collection of pillows and blankets inside her cozy cottage.

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I would love to just sit at this table and enjoy the wonderful atmosphere that she has created.

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I love that green metal box, and look at that old cooler!!  That would be fun to use on the patio to keep drinks cold!!

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Allison couldn’t leave without this darling little bag made by Cheryl.  There is even lace on it that was her grandmother’s!!  Allison also found a vintage book on Friendship, full of cute poems that she is looking forward to sharing with her friends.  I am tickled pink that she is into the “Vintage World” !!

Well hopefully you had a chance to make it out to these sales and do a little shopping of your own….but if not you will have a chance to see many of these wonderful vendors in September at The Olde Farmhouse Vintage Market!!!  (https://www.facebook.com/events/148745518651654/?ref=22)

Thank you everyone for a wonderful Saturday filled with treasures and good company!!!

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A Step Back In Time

August 23rd, 2013 | Posted by Leah in Road Trips | Summer Fun | Vintage Market - (14 Comments)

This week I stepped back in time and  went to Burnaby Heritage Village….in Burnaby, BC.  I have decided yet again, that I love the 1920’s!!  The houses are just my style….with running water and electricity of course!! LOL!!  If you have never been to the village before, I would highly recommend you go!!  They have it set up like a small town, and you go into homes, stores, a school house, movie theatre, real estate office, barber shop, ice cream parlor, post office, etc.  They also have a trolly to walk through and a carousal for the kids (and adults) to ride!!

Here are some pictures that I took along the way….

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Isn’t this the cutest house??  It was originally built on this site in the 1920’s and was deemed quite fancy as it had electricity and indoor plumbing.

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I love all the built in cabinets in the dining room and living room!  This was considered a formal dining room.  The men had to wear a suit and tie, dresses for the woman and  the children had to wear their best clothes to eat dinner in this room.

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What a bright and cheery bathroom!!

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Love it!!

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The wood table, chair and counter look so nice in this white kitchen.

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I love this butter churn too!!

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Here is the General Store….there are some wonderful items in here!!

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All the tins in different shapes and sizes look so cool lined up together!

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I am sure a young child had that rocking horse on their wish list!!

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Look at all those wooden cheese boxes!!!

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What would your favorite item be?? So many great things on these shelves!!

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Crocks, crocks and more crocks!!

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Here is the Newspaper print shop.

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What a beautiful desk!

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This classroom would have children from Kindergarten to Grade 7!

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Don’t forget to stop into The Ice Cream Parlor for a cool treat!!

Walking through all the shops and homes in Burnaby Village has gotten me so excited for The Olde Farmhouse Vintage Market!!!  I can not wait to see what wonderful treasures all the vendors are bringing with them!!  I know for sure that I will be doing some shopping myself, to add to my favorite collections at home.  Do you have a collection of something at home?  What will you be shopping for on September 28th??

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Lovely Shops

August 2nd, 2013 | Posted by Leah in Decorating | Vintage Market - (10 Comments)

This week I spent some time driving around delivering postcards for The Olde Farmhouse Vintage Market!!  I started off on Monday heading into Vancouver.  I met some very nice ladies who were happy to hand out cards to their customers.  These were shops that I had not been into before so of course I had to have a look around!!

First stop was Meuse Boutique  .What a gorgeous store and the young woman in the store was so nice!! The store was a mix of home decor, jewelry, wedding decor rentals, and some beautiful dresses!

https://www.facebook.com/MeuseBoutique

http://meuseboutique.blogspot.ca/

Next stop was Heather Ross.  I was so sad to find her shop closed on Mondays, but that didn’t stop me from window shopping!!  I have this shop at the top of my list to visit when I get back from holidays!!  It looked beautiful!!  On Tuesday I called the store and spoke with her and what a friendly, nice woman! She was happy to hand out cards as well and  I look forward to going back and meeting her in person.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Heather-Ross-natural-eclectic/131330576926944?fref=ts

http://www.heatherrossinhouse.com/

I was then on my way to The Cross Decor & Design.  Once again I was greeted by friendly staff and they welcomed the cards for their customers.  This is a store filled with a variety of items for your home…make sure you have some to look around!! There are lots of great things in this store!!

http://www.thecrossdesign.com/

Throughout this week I have been popping into my local shops here in Maple Ridge.  I really love the feeling of a “small town”.  The businesses here really look out for each other and support one another.  Everyone was so excited about the market and so happy to hand out cards.  Some of them had already heard about or had been to the past markets, so they were excited to find out about the upcoming fall market.

Monkey Business Kid’s Boutique is a wonderful children’s clothing store.  They have beautiful items and very friendly staff!!  I love this shop!!  I couldn’t resist doing some shopping….are you surprised??  I must admit that delivering the market cards is dangerous for a shopaholic!! Going into all these wonderful stores…I am a kid in a candy store!!  Anyways….I just happened to find a couple items for my daughter and guess what?  They also carry TOMS shoes for kids and LADIES!!!  They just happened to be having a 30%off sale on shoes, so one thing led to another….and I couldn’t leave the shop without these awesome wedge Toms shoes!!  And Yes, I did remember to leave the cards for the market! LOL!

https://www.facebook.com/MonkeyBusinessKidsBoutique

http://www.mbkidsboutique.com/

Down the street is T’s Once Upon a Tea Leaf.  Seeing how I love drinking tea, this is a favourite shop as well!!  Even if you are not a tea drinker, you still must stop in.  They have so many other things as well…jewelry, hair accessories, hats, purses, mugs, travel cups and some home decor.  A couple of the vendors from The Olde Farmhouse have their items in the shop for sale too!!  I came away with a new flavour of tea to try….there are so many to choose from!!

https://www.facebook.com/OnceUponATeaLeaf?fref=ts

If you are in the mood for some fresh flowers around the house, you must visit Sandra at Westgate Flower Garden.  I met Sandra many years ago ( I am afraid to start counting…roughly 15yrs…yikes!!) when my parents introduced me to her when planning my wedding.  The moment you start talking to Sandra, you love her!!  She is so sweet and her love of arranging flowers comes across in everything she creates!!  If you need an arrangement for yourself, family, an occasion or just because…this is the place to visit.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Westgate-Flower-Garden/236756436389696

http://www.westgateflowergarden.com/

OK, my next weak spot in Maple Ridge is Favorite Finds Located inside Valley Fair Mall is a wonderful boutique and the most friendly ladies who are so helpful!!  With a mix of items from clothing to jewelry, scarves, home decor, soaps and lotions and more!!! Antonella has created a beautiful selection of items (and some of them are made locally) that are perfect for unique gifts, or something special for yourself!!  They have the best jeans and really unique, gorgeous sweaters, dresses, tops and scarves….Oh I could keep going on and on!! Go check it out for yourself…grab a Starbucks from across the way and then take some time to browse through the shop.  

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Favorite-Finds-Home-Btq/369557373063744

Welcome Home is a wonderful corner full of vintage items and furniture inside the Home Hardware in Maple Ridge.  Noreen and Roxanne have been vendors at the last two Farmhouse Markets and I love their style!!  They  have gorgeous  items that are always changing, so be sure to check back often!  You never know what you will find!  These ladies are also your go-to for CeCe Caldwell Clay & Chalk Paint.  A wonderful Eco-friendly, Non-toxic paint that can paint over anything!!  No need to sand your furniture first!!!  Noreen and Roxanne will again be at The Olde Farmhouse Vintage Market with all their treasures as well as the paint!!  They bring lots of cans of paint, brushes, samples, and can explain and show you how to use the product.  They always have beautiful pieces painted up in fantastic colors, to buy or to get an idea of how your furniture would look in a certain color.

https://www.facebook.com/welcomehomedecor

http://welcomehomedecor.ca/

Well that concludes my tour of Lovely Shops for this week!! Maybe you will find yourself in the area of one of these stores…be sure to stop in!!  I still have more market cards to deliver so I will be sure to fill you in on where I go next!!  If you have a favorite shop in your neigbourhood, I would love to hear about it!!  

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