Second Chance Tuesday #16 - A Summer Reverie

Welcome to Bella Rosa Antiques, home to Second Chance Tuesday. This is where you get a chance to see something, write about something, repurpose something, or give something a second chance. The possibilities are endless!

It is mid January and I've got the winter blues already. Bad. So today I am giving "Summer at the Beach" a second thought....

First, the following items are from my shop which remind me of the beach:

Little paper umbrellas and some fruit smoothies while sitting in my beach chair with a good book. I'll trade these heavy sweaters and big 'ol slippers I'm wearing in an instant.

Summer and fourth of July go hand in hand.

I'll take the heat about now thank you!

I can see these vintage paper lanterns swaying in the breeze off of my beautiful deck overlooking the beach and crashing waves. Did I mention I was a dreamer? So far I have the lanterns.

Pop open a cold beverage (in this case Sarsaparilla) while overlooking that beach and crashing waves. Throw a burger on the grill for me, will ya?

This little cutie is quite old but brings back some memories for me... I worked for a game show in 1990 located in Atlantic City called "Trump Card." And no, I did not meet the Donald.

And now for the second part of my SCT... reliving some fun moments while vacationing last summer with my familiy:

Ahhhhh! The epitome of summer... lifeguard stand with row boat.

Someone pinch me...I think there's snow and sleet outside right now.

We had such a great time taking family pics out in the sand... shhhh! Don't tell the hubs he is being shown on the blog. He hasn't read my blog in ages so what he doesn't know won't hurt him.

Nephew and Neice in a great shot taken by my Dear Hubs. We hired the boat to go floating by at just the right time... ha!

Bebe was playing "Peek a boo!"

Well I don't know about you but I'm feeling warmer already. Only four or five months to go and I'll actually be here taking in the sunset!

If you'd like to join Second Chance Tuesday here is a Mr. Linky to make it easy for you:

Antiquing Sparks New Ideas

There is a spring in my step but it is not because I see signs of a thaw or leaves budding on the trees. This past weekend I had some alone, "Mommy Free" time and spent it looking for new inventory for the shop.

There is nothing like finding new goodies to build up my motivation. While these photos are not from my shopping excursion (I forgot my camera) they are old pics from my own booth near Hershey, PA.

The things I found over the weekend sometimes inspire new ideas for me when I take photos, decide how to sell something, or even when to sell it.

I found a CUTE chips, nuts, and candies set similar to the one above that a sparked an idea for Fourth of July. I can't wait to start planning items for that holiday even though it is six months away!

I tend to buy similar things each time like jewelry, books or porcelain items with roses on them. Besides the snack set, I did run into a stack of vintage rose fabric which I am excited about. I'm trying to change it up a bit and offer something "new" for a change.

There was a really nice dealer there who specializes in postcards and he saw me standing, hunched over his trays and trays of postcards... he came over and offered me a chair which I was so thankful for. Then he must have gotten curious about WHY I was still sorting through them all and asked me what I was looking for. I told him I really wanted to find postcards from Paris. Well this gave him incentive to help me knowing he could make a few sales if he could find them quickly for me... and he did! So, now I have what I wanted for my store and he sold some of his inventory. I love a win win like that. And so did my aching back!

Seriously though looking for antiques is fun for me. I'm so blessed to be able to do what I love while I get to stay home and take care of my Dear Bebe.

I'll be showing what I picked up on my fun day of antique hunting later on in the week. Stay tuned!

A Pink Shout Out

This week I'm using my Pink Saturday space to give a special shout out to a special website. If you are ever in need of graphic or website design, I highly recommend Taylor of Enchanting Web Designs.

Here is a snippet from her site, which helps explain what Enchanting Web Designs is all about:

Enchanting Web Designs specializes in creating affordable custom and premade boutique templates. We offer many different styles from hip and chic, scrapbook style, altered art, elegant contemporary, children's/baby boutiques, retro and shabby chic web designs. If it's girly or feminine we'll have just the design for you.

(Example sof one of her designs)

Taylor is not only brilliant but she is ultra helpful and generous! She VOLUNTEERED to help fix the glitches on my site! And she succeeded! I'm so thrilled to have come in contact with her. Her designs are not only beautiful and well made, they are also very hip and trendy! Not only amazing but well.... enchanting!

And now, Bella Rosa Antiques dot com can now be seen in all of its glory by all browsers. Yay! We had been operating with a handicap for about two years.

Thank you! Thank you!

For more fun pinks check out How Sweet the Sound

What's New to Bella Rosa: Early 1900's Valentine's

And a few of my favorite things! Below are my latest additions to my shop:

All three of these sweet sentiments were printed in Germany.

While these look like regular 'ol vintage cookie cutters they are more than they appear to be. Much smaller than the normal cutter they are for a teeny tiny toy kitchen or baking set. Very hard to find in this shape and size.

We have snow here on the East Coast of the United States but I'm already thinking about summer and the 4th of July. These little vintage souvenirs make great add ons for your displays!
I have one already which is why I'm passing this one on.

I thought this old aluminum soap case was the neatest! Even better when....

it is filled with beads to craft with or just for fun!

More vintage Valentines from the turn of the century...printed in Germany.

Guess where I found this little beauty? From my own shelf in the living room! I actually can't

remember where I found it originally. Maybe an auction a few years ago. The light green lustre combined with the light pink roses make this one a real charmer!

I just had to list this hat. The lavender makes me think of springtime and Easter dresses! Can't wait!

This old Valentine card is intriguing! It looks like it is homemade but I'm not quite sure.

The sentiment on the inside is sweet but could have been printed at home? You decide!

All available in my shop PLUS MORE at BellaRosaAntiques.com

Second Chance Tuesday #15 - The Vanity of It All

Welcome to Second Chance Tuesday where I like highlight things deserving of a second chance. Could be an old story, and old blog post, items from your shop that haven't been highlighted in awhile... you name it is possible for this linky party! If you'd like to particpate just add my SCT logo to your post and sign up with Mr. Linky below. (Linking back to my blog is ALWAYS appreciated!)

Today I'm showing things from my Bella Rosa store normally found on a vanity. After all, this is where I get a second chance to look better in the morning!

I just loved this lipstick holder with it's vintage bling. So cute!

I'm always surprised at what I find in my shop that hasn't sold yet. This perfume bottle has a sterling overlay. STERLING and it is still here!

Sweetie glass trinket box....

Cottage jewelry or glove box...

And a perfume tray .... also available is the pretty pink Jack Rose bath crystals jar (for sale with the original perfume bottle too.)

If you'd like to join SCT here is a Mr. Linky to make it easy for you:

Snow Fun!

As much as I do not like snow, you can't help but have fun with a little one around.

We put on Bebe's little purple snowsuit, new gloves from Grandma, and new snow boots. She was very excited.

While there wasn't a lot left from our last snowfall, there's more on the way tomorrow so we'll be back out playing in it again.

This is such a fun age!

Pink Inspiration ~ Vintage Dinnerware: Love My LuRay Pastels

If you are reading this you are more than likely a follower of Pink Saturday. This means you like the color pink and are inspired by it in some way.

I've been inspired by pink for a long time now and I'm sure the first things that inspired me were ballerina costumes and toe shoes. But now that I'm a Mommy I'm often inspired by my little sweetpea Bebe's toys and room decor.

But I can't always be a Mommy, I need inspiration from other things. Which is why I love to go antiquing.

Back in 1992 I was inspired to start collecting pastel colored dinnerware called LuRay and really haven't stopped. Two to three years earlier I was in college and browsing a Salvation Army looking for something different for my everyday dishes. After seeing a stack of PINK dishes I was convinced this was it for me. It spurred me on to go to the library to research what type of dishes they were. I don't know what the name was stamped on the bottom, but that day I found a pretty set in a book about vintage dinnerware. Now, 19 years later I see this LuRay Pastels collection in my kitchen cabinets and it cheers me, especially in the winter months.

What's not to love???

What's your pink inspiration?

Today I'll be linking up with PINK SATURDAY over on Beverly's blog, How Sweet the Sound. (I'm currently having problems clicking on links and uploading but hopefully this problem will be resolved soon. We are still trying to finish the computer debacle that happened on Christmas Day. All this to just say I can't upload the Pink Saturday logo right now.)

One Goal for 2011 Down: A Million Minus One to Go!

Now that our celebrations are over I can finally get back into our regular routine. What is that exactly? I think I've forgotten.

Well, each week I seek out some of the most unique, beautiful, and fun vintage finds and list them in my shop. I've been out of the hunting loop for about a month now and I'm excited to get back into it.

Valentine's day is coming up and I have a few vintage candy boxes to list along with some old ephemera. (The paper items are my favorite as they are easy to ship!)

In February we have our annual Valentine's Day tea at the antique mall where Dear Hubs and I share a booth.

Last year or the year before, I can't remember now, I made these:

I think I'll make them again or something similar.

This weekend I'll be looking for "NEW" goodies to place in the Bella Rosa store. Can't wait!

I'm also excited about some repairs that have been made to the template in my website. I found someone who could fix a browser issue and she is a real gem! Now it is visible by all internet broswers without any problems. It used to push all of the items down to the bottom of the page which was not good for folks with Safari, Firefox, and more. This problem is gone! Yay!

One goal for 2011 down... about 999,999 more to go...

Second Chance Tuesday #14 ~ Out With the Old SALE

Happy New Year everyone! It feels great to start off with a fresh new blank canvas ahead of us. Three hundred and sixty plus days to accomplish lot of great things. 2011 is going to be filled with lots of vintage fun!

So to kick off the new year I'm having my second annual "Ring out the old, bring in the new SALE!"

Holiday items and more have been added to the FLEA BELLA category. If you'd just like to check out the holiday category, click here.

Join me for SECOND CHANCE TUESDAY by signing up with Mr. Linky, below.

A Band Aid Fix, Kind of Like Santa Here

My computer is up and running again, although I feel like I'm not completely my computer self.

We think I was hit by a virus, but are not sure. Dear Hubs restored my computer which means everything was wiped off and I had to start with a clean slate again. Luckily he had backed up my computer but that was AWHILE ago. Anything I had saved since then is gone!

We decided to load the newest version of Microsoft word since we were starting over. All of this has brought about some issues for me.

1. It is different and I'm not used to it.

2. My Outlook Express is not operating and I have to go to the internet to obtain my personal and Bella Rosa emals. (Please bear with me as it slows me down a lot as Bebe is not as patient as I)

3. The internet was not working so Dear Hubby is using some special thing a ma jig to bring it into my computer. (Can you tell I had no idea what he was talking about when he explained it to me?)

4. I feel "virtually" handicapped. All of my photos, documents, templates, etc were stored on my computer and using my laptop was okay but I didn't have all of my tools. Plus, my laptop was not hooked up to a printer. (Difficult to process my Bella Rosa orders without my usual set up.)

So I'm back but with a limp. No, more like a pair of crutches.... with some wood glue! But I'm not letting it stop me.

And I do have some fun news. I found a pink santa ornament or tree topper while I was out with my Dear Mother earlier this week. But when I brought him home I noticed his buttons are missing. The dots are just the glue remnants! And most of his face is covered by his ivory beard. That's okay, he's still cute. I'll find something fun to glue on maybe with a little glitter to give him some extra sparkle.

And pretty soon I'll be running as good as new on my computer too! This New Year's Eve we'll be celebrating with my Dear Father who arrives that morning to visit with us.

Hope you have a fantastic NEW YEAR! I'm joining up with linky parties "Thrifty Thursday over at Bloggaritaville.... and also for "Pink Saturday" with How Sweet the Sound.