my non-vacation to Ghent

Last January, I was so thrilled when we planned our big summer trip to Europe. I grew up in Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands, and it's been four years since I've been back – we were way overdue for another visit to see my Oma!

While we would in part be crossing the Big Pond to attend a family reunion, we knew we wanted to spend some just-us time in Belgium – time to relax and roam the streets in search of good food, excellent beer, and amazing ambience (okay, and chocolate!)

Sadly, we've had to cancel our trip but I thought I'd share some of our intended stops here, just in case any of you find yourselves in Ghent with nothing to do.

We were going to stay at this amazing bed & breakfast called De Waterzooi. We are huge fans of Belgian B&Bs – for some reason, they all far surpass most American versions and they're often cheaper than hotels.

Check out "our" little apartment – complete with sitting room and indoor window peeking into the bedroom:

Love the painted brick wall – instant character, no need for artwork!

And the bathroom left me speechless...

One of the things I was really looking forward to was to scour antique and flea markets for European little trash and trinkets for my assemblage art. The Prondelmarkt in Ghent was on the top of my list:

Then there's the shopping... ah, the shopping... One of my favorite finds during our last trip was Dille & Kamille, a chain of kitchen/home stores that's a nice mix of modern-meets-vintage with a dash of organic and eco-friendly thrown in for good measure:


And finally, for some colorful fun kitsch, I was planning to visit Zsa Zsa:

So there you have it: my non-vacation to Ghent, Belgium! Maybe next year...

feelin' sea foam

My baby sister is getting married next year so our whole family is buzzing with wedding plans. She recently picked her official wedding color (sea foam) in part because the whole event will be right at the beach. What better place than Etsy to find some inspiration:


Here's where you can find these lovelies:
1-4 – Irene Suchocki • irenesuchocki.etsy.com
5 – Creations By the Bay • creationsbythebay.etsy.com
6 – Oktak • oktak.etsy.com
7 – Madison Craft • madisoncraft.etsy.com
8 – PixiSette • pixisette.etsy.com
9 – Olio Designs • oliodesigns.etsy.com
10 – AAA R eal Gem • aaarealgem.etsy.com
11 – PixiSette • pixisette.etsy.com
12 – Tweedy Lane • tweedylane.etsy.com
13 – Bayan Hippo • bayanhippo.etsy.com
14 – AN Original Jewelry • anoriginaljewelry.etsy.com
15 – Abe and Elsie • abeandelsie.etsy.com
16 – Bake It Pretty • bakeitpretty.etsy.com
17 – Cake Box Cookies • cakeboxcookies.etsy.com
18 – Abbey and Izzie Designs • abbeyandizziedesigns.etsy.com
19 – Daisys and Dots • daisysanddots.etsy.com
20 – Cake Box Cookies • cakeboxcookies.etsy.com
21 – Amy Interiors • amyinteriors.etsy.com
22 – Humble Collection • humblecollection.etsy.com
23 – Pillow Happy • pillowhappy.etsy.com
24 – So Inviting • soinviting.etsy.com
25 – Maria Elena Events • mariaelenaevents.etsy.com
26 – Nomsa • nomsa.etsy.com
27 – Angel Heart Beads • angelheartbeads.etsy.com
28 – Spindle Tree • spindletree.etsy.com
29 – Melinda Milkshake • melindamilkshake.etsy.com
30 – Oktak • oktak.etsy.com
31 – Jazz Turtle • jazzturtle.etsy.com
32 – Knit Knit • knitknit.etsy.com
33 – AN Original Jewelry • anoriginaljewelry.etsy.com
34 – Lux Bead • luxbead.etsy.com
35 – Madison Craft • madisoncraft.etsy.com
36 – Karin Grow • karingrow.etsy.com

camp cactus

I'm excited to tell you about a fun artists sale happening this weekend in NE Portland: Camp Cactus is having their annual summer sale with 5% of all proceeds going directly to the Oregon Food Bank!

Artist Jane Russell will transform her darling studio into a bustling little shop stuffed to the brims with pottery, mosaics, assemblage pieces, home & garden art, and much more.

I'll have some Cecily Ink product for sale at blowout prices and I also decided to offer up several of my assemblage pieces (click here). Hope you can stop by!

CAMP CACTUS
NE 45th & NE Brazee • Fri 6-9 • Sat 10-6 • Sun 10-6

more farm chicks faves

I'm still shopping at Farm Chicks in my dreams at night, sigh... I had such a wonderful time hunting for treasures, admiring the amazing displays and marveling at the ingenuity of all these talented Chicks! Here are a few more of my favorite vendors:

Second Childhood Girlfriends • 503.669.7746 and 503.665.6753
Like so many of the Farm Chicks vendors, their booth was filled to the brim with this and that – you just had to go in and check it out all.


The Rusty Bird • Virginia Shawver (208.623.2150)
If you like to feather your nest with bird-inspired décor, you'll love Virginia's work! She creates these little nests complete with feathers and eggs, so adorable! Plus she paints some wonderful watercolors of birds and their twiggy homes.


Anemone • www.handmadepaperflowers.com
I'm a paper nut so when I saw these floral creations made completely out of paper, I was thrilled! What a great keepsake idea for a bride. And I love the twigs with dogwood and magnolia flowers – a great way to have blooms that won't wilt after a week!


Seabold Vintage Market • www.seaboldvintagemarket.com
I loved the simplicity and elegance of Liz's display. Narrowing the color palette down to just a few colors tied everything together so nicely. I wish my whole house looked like her booth! All the gorgeous bedding and pillows are from Bainbridge Blues - you just want to dive right into bed.


Last but not least, here are my own personal treasures that I couldn't leave without. Lots of little bits of this and that, mostly letters, to use in my assemblage art:

Love the little cabinet. I found the perfect place for it in the dining room:

fave farm chick: candywinkel

Well, I am no longer a Farm Chicks virgin! And yes, it was everything I hoped it would be – and then some!

Hubby Todd and I left at the crack of dawn Saturday morning to make the 5+ hour drive to Spokane, Washington. We arrived at 11:20 am and already saw hip 'n savvy Chicks leaving the building, their arms overflowing with vintage lovelies.

I got a bit worried – the show had only been open for a little over an hour and these ladies were already done? Did we drive all this way for just a measly hour of antiquing?!

Upon spotting my puzzled look, one of the Chicks explained: this was only Round One being brought out to the car! Phew, big relief.

Once inside...just one word describes how I felt: WOW!!! I was overwhelmed and didn't know where to look first – so much shabby goodness and so many trinkets and treasures!

First stop: to see my dear friend Amy Smith's booth at Candywinkel. And boy, was it a show stopper! She really outdid herself with the display: all white furniture and draperies allowed her yummy candy concoctions and sweet soy candles to shine.

Besides Candywinkel's vintage containers filled with nostalgic candies, Amy's creative juices were working overtime when she came up with this best-seller: chocolate-covered sunflower seeds packaged using French seed pack illustrations! How cute!!!


Another thing flying off the shelves were vintage containers filled with 100% pure soy wax candles. The soy washes right out after it's burned down so you're left with the gorgeous container – how's that for up-cycling!

One of her most brilliant ideas – in my humble opinion – was her creation of the doily lamps. They were definitely a show stopper and you can see why:


These fun lanterns added so much ambience and flair, I'm thinking I may have to borrow her lamps for my sister's wedding next summer! (pretty please, Amy?)

I have some more photos to share with you from Farm Chicks later this week, including all the treasures I walked out with. Needless to say, this show is definitely a do-againer for us!