Second Chance Tuesday: Beautiful Antique Book Ladies of the White House

Not only is this a beautiful antique book for display, Ladies of the White House is full of wonderful information about the women who were not only married to some of our earliest United States Presidents but also took on the role of being the First Lady. What did that mean in their time? From Martha Washington to Dolly Madison to Mary Todd Lincoln and more, read the life and times of these Ladies of the White House.
Copyright 1881 By Laura C. Holloway

(Available in the Bella Rosa Antiques store... link to by clicking the name of the book. Never before discounted... but it is today!)

Farewell to Summer: Looking Back at Vintage Bathing Suits

We've come to a point in the year where we enjoy the last bit of summer and look forward to fall.

But before we do let's take a look back at some of the bathing suits our Grandparents (and parents) wore. They're fun to decorate a beach house or lakeside cottage... just hang on the wall and voila! (Photos are from Cottage Living)


This one is considered unisex and was made of wool, by Catalina. I cannot imagine wearing wool in the heat of summer, on the beach.... but it happened! It is very rare to find a suit like this that has not been eaten away by moths.

This suit shows how styles were changing... logo by Jantzen. Synthetic fabric mixed with wool.

Some of these vintage suits can cost you a pretty penny....hundreds of dollars now!
This one is a bit more affordable at 200.00!

This Catalina suit is too pretty to wear to the beach! And it is a whopping 500.00.

Around the 1940's for this style. Here is another cutie.... a "Bubble suit" moving along to the 1950's... a coral pink!

This one is adorable! I love the rickrack border. According to the writer of the article, this 1960's suit was found at an antique mall for 20.00!

The aqua bottles with simple greenery, combined with a seashell, make this a great beach vignette. Try it in the laundry room for year round fun!

We're going to try and make it down to the beach one last time before Labor Day is here.

One last walk along the water and a stroll along the boardwalk...hoping

that the memories keep us going until next year!

As noted by Country Living, some of the suits were found on GlamourSurf.com

Vintage Treasures: MZ Austria Rose Plate, Art Deco Clocks, World War II Ephemera, "Mad Men" Jewelry, Flapper Girl Purse

What a week for the East Coast... an earthquake and now a hurricane!

So hunker down, stay in, and browse through my latest vintage treasures... and if you're not bracing for a hurricane, just take a minute to check out some neat old finds:

Beautiful, embossed, pointed edge MZ Austria petite roses plate.
This one was hard to part with!

Two sets of (5) Haviland Limoges plates.
A romantic trio of things... antique Paris (Le Tour Eiffel ooh la la!) postcard, large brass skeleton key hanging from a pink ribbon, and a World War II soldier's photo. I love the push pin holes to show how often his photo was pinned up.

The reverse side of the Paris postcard. In French!

A sweet petite point Flapper girl style purse. Very old, showing some shabby wear but a great

example of vintage fashion. There is a belt loop on the back to show it was worn.

Vintage baby fork and an antique 1908 family photo postcard.

Gold is back this year! I see this awesome "feather swirl" pin

on a black, red, or ivory sweater for this year's holiday season.

Vintage 1968 Baby Cheerful Tearful.

Looks brand new. She has red hair too!

Brass skeleton keys tied up with ribbon.

Antique song book sheets, old brass keys, and baby pink ribbon

put a song in my heart.

Vintage wooden folding Christmas tree fencing. This one is larger than the norm...

I counted 13 ten inch pieces plus the two shorter gates.

This will definitely fit around a larger tree.

I saw these pins and thought of the show Mad Men.

Vintage retro is so much fun!

And so are these clocks. I LOVE the art deco design of the square clock.

Both by Ingraham. And they both do a lot of tick tocking!

Sitting next to each other, they were driving me crazy.

Wind 'em up each night before you go to bed, just like Grandma did!

A Gregorian copper watering can. I did not take a copper cleaner to it. Some

people like the vintage patina... so I'll let the new owner decide.

And some bits of history from old War War II letters.

In high school I was in the musical "South Pacific."

This photo made me think of the song "Nothing like a Dame!"

I think mixed media artists and scrapbook lovers will

enjoy this collection of ephemera.

Thanks for taking a moment to check out my finds....there are a few more surprises left on my website. (Vintage Atlantic City beach pennant, Tuck's postcard, Check them out, here.

I'm also linking to Pink Saturday!

Shake, Rattle, & Roll

The earth is an amazing thing. Yesterday I was completely taken off guard when the earthquake rumbled up and down the East Coast.

Guess what I was in the middle of doing? Taking pictures of my latest finds for the shop!
I can't even remember now why I was moving from my "studio" toward the staircase when I heard a VERY loud rumbling.

It was a gorgeous day yesterday (as well as today) so I had all the windows and doors open.

I thought the noise was some loud trucks rumbling by on the highway nearby.

But then I heard my LuRay teacups shaking and rattling. My first thought was EARTHQUAKE?
Then I looked for Bebe and saw her playing under the table. She was safe so I moved down the hallway toward my kitchen. I looked at my teacup stand holding my LuRay Pastels cups.... it was still rattling back and forth. I had to reach out and put my hand on it to stop the motion.


This was definitely an earthquake (or something), I thought. Then my phone rang and it was my Mother. "WE JUST HAD AN EARTHQUAKE!" Well this confirmed everything. I knew it was something big if we both felt it in two different states!

Now I know all of my bloggy pals out on the West Coast are laughing about now. We're just not used to this kind of thing.

It sure did make the afternoon interesting.

Anyway, all of this to mention that I never finished taking my photos!

Hopefully tomorrow evening I will be back on track, rolling along as usual!

What is Country French?

This weekend a magazine caught my eye. It was called Country French. Inside were pages of beautiful looking homes, decorated with none other than ANTIQUES.
I discovered it was a special publication put out by Better Homes and Gardens. Looking at their website today I discovered their definition of Country French:

Country French is defined by its elegant look, with a touch of nature and country mixed in. The French manor look can be yours by bringing in these elements: antiques, blue and yellow, florals and nature inspiration, gilded elements, rustic country-inspired details, trims, and finishes (fringe, lace), and decorative faux finishes.

Well I'll have a little bit of that and MORE, thank you very much.

Loved this look and I'm excited about searching for antiques to fill a new category on my website. You just never know when inspiration will hit. (By the way, we were in Costco when I happened to find the magazine at their discounted price!)

Stay tuned!

Vintage Finds: French Poodle Figurines, Spats Hook, Word Game, Edgar Allen Poe, Vintage Sarah Coventry Jewelry, Vintage Donald Duck Puppet

Summertime and vintage go hand in hand. Here's what I've just listed:

Old wooden and metal ladies shoe forms in sweet pastels, tied in a bow.
ADORABLE chalkware puppy. Was he a carnival giveaway? I'd love to know!

Ms. Fifi is out taking her sweet pooch for a walk... love the hat!
Her rose decor on top is not perfect but she was too precious to pass up.

Antique spats/button hook (company advertised on the handle made socks)

The two gals in the real photo postcards come with this set.

I couldn't resist making a name for myself out of this vintage word game.

I could have done ANTIQUE or VINTAGE but why would I do that?

Bella Rosa was so much more fun!

Create your own words with this old Parker Brothers Crosswords Lexicon game!

Pretty face powder box by AVON. Has the good housekeeping seal on the back.

I'm thinking fifties?

Vintage Sarah Coventry pin. Also has an attachment to wear it as a pendant.

Donald Duck! Loved this old puppet... he is marked on the back of the neck W.D.P (Walt Disney Productions) and also has the original fabric tag... he was an early GUND toy.

A little spooky Edgar Allen Poe for you... Halloween is right around the corner.

Did I just say that? I dare not rush summer along!

This antique framed print is marked "SLUMBERLAND" on the lower left corner.

Old wooden frame is painted in a gold wash. Very old piece.

Check out the rest in my JUST LISTED category, here.

There are more treasures like an antique brass hanging scale, a Schumann Arzberg Pink Rose Cup & Saucer, a Victorian pink rose pitcher/creamer by Homer Laughlin, and more antique postcards / books.

Thanks for stopping by!

Linking to Pink Saturday too... stop by and visit all of the other blogs.

You never know who you will meet or what you will find!

It's Worth What? New NBC Game Show Jumps on the Antiques Band Wagon

(Photos courtesy of NBC.com)

"It's Worth What?" is a game show, hosted by Cedric the Entertainer, coming this September 22nd to a television near you.

Pulled from the NBC website, here is some information on what the show is about:

"It's Worth What? is a game show that taps into America's curiosity for cost and value, such as the hidden gems found in one's attic. Through set imagery and a never-ending flow of collectibles, antiques and near priceless treasures, America is brought into a world with seemingly endless doors behind which are various objects, ranging from a night at the "Jersey Shore" house to a cave bear skeleton from 150,000 BCE. "

"A pair of contestants is taken through a series of challenges that escalate in level of difficulty, tasking the contestants with discerning the price of the items in each round. If they successfully complete the challenges, contestants can win up to $1 million"

Now this is kind of weird for me to be writing about this because I used to work for an NBC affiliate...and now I have become an antique dealer. It is like my two lives have collided!

Anyway, back to the review.

The show will have bits about old things... common things...how to care for them, what to collect.

And how much someone paid for this "8 Elvis" picture by Andy Warhol, at auction.

There is even a tissue used by Scarlett Johansen after she was on a Network talk show...auctioned off for $5,300.00. And a used, thrown away dog food can from Paris Hilton's trash, sold for $300.00. Not exactly antiques... so this is where the show and I part ways.

If you're just in it for the entertainment then you'll enjoy this show. If you're a die hard antiquer and love shows like "The Pickers" then this may not be for you.Sounds an awful lot like a modern version of "Let's Make A Deal" meets "Antiques Road Show" without the funny get ups. (Oh wait, that is what Cedric is for!)

Has NBC grown desperate for ratings and jumped on the antique TV bandwagon? Shows on cable like Pawn Stars , The Pickers, and more have grabbed tons of prime time viewers over the past few years. Remember Lara Spencer, the host from Antiques Roadshow? She is one of the Executive Producers. Let's hope her guidance makes this show the real McCoy and not fake reproduction! We'll see coming up this September...

SNAPSHOTS: Decorating with Vintage Photography

I love vintage cameras, film reels, film projectors and of course, old photos.

This old KODAK camera, available in my shop, is a great piece to use for display in a movie room or office.


After looking online for some ideas of what to do with some of my vintage photos I've collected over the years, I found something really cool!

The photos above and below are from apartmenttherapy.com

I just love how they pop through the glass, as though there is a magnifying glass over them.

Easy to do and gives another creative way to use those old jars and bottles we find at fleamarkets!

PS....Today is my Bella Rosa Blog's : BLOGOVERSARY! I just found out from a friendly blogger... thanks so mcuh! Let me guess...it has been 3 years since I started this Bella Rosa Antiques blog. Whoo hooo! Thank you all for helping me to keep it going...

Celebrate!

Well it has to happen at least once a year.

My birthday.

(Image courtesy of the Daily Journal)

I'm hoping for one of these sweet rides with a big shiny bow.

Or maybe some of these...

But I think I have everything I need.

Bebe and I went to the store and picked out bakery fresh cupcakes as a special treat.

It was so much fun watching her eat one. When she laughs, I laugh.
She is my special gift and spending time with her makes it all complete!

Linking with PINK SATURDAY!

Won't you help me celebrate?