Today I’m linking up with Dandelion House, Happy Go Lucky Blog, and Chubby Cheeks Thinks.

I have had a love for all things vintage and slightly chipped and worn and almost matching for as long as I can remember. I used to beg my department store-loving mother to take me downtown to Toronto’s Kensington Market so I could hunt for treasures from my favorite thrift stores. The concept of used clothing totally skeezed her out so most of the time my dad and I would go together – and more often than not, he’d find a treasure himself!

My husband however, is not so down with vintage stuff. I’m not going to get all psychological here, but he’s defo the kind of guy that likes new and shiny things. He likes sets of things that match. He likes new and matchy things even more than I like vintagey things, so a very long time ago (over a decade ago anyway) I stopped bringing random old cups and mismatched plates home and instead started hitting up Ikea and Pier 1 and if I’m totally honest there may have been some Crate & Barrel and even some Pottery Barn going on as well. Last year we bought a very pretty house in the woods of Central Ontario and we were slowly filling it with catalog wish list goodies. Then my husband was offered a situation he couldn’t refuse in Los Angeles – so off we went!

Fast forward to a few months later. We came down here with just a small trailer of absolute necessities. We packed light for two reasons – we didn’t think we’d be here very long and we knew we had to declare every single thing we were bringing aka ‘importing household items’ for CBP. After some bitching about how lacking my LA kitchen is (and truthfully the rest of our apartment is equally lacking), my friend Vanessa brought over some thrifted cups and cutlery for us to use because she’s super sweet like that, and one of those cups is now my husband’s hands down favorite cup of all time. He oddly likes that there isn’t another one of them in our little collection, which of course spawned a conversation about the possibility of creating a vintagey apartment down here and it was like 1000 Christmases rolled into one when he said he was totally down with it. All I’ve thrifted since that convo is a zebra print plate and a Little Miss Chatterbox cup, however last night? Oh last night I spent hours on Etsy looking for just the right picnic basket.

I proudly found this $60 wagon at a streetcorner ‘yard’ sale for $15 a couple of weeks ago and can now pull my two smallest wee ones to the farish park that’s perfect for picnics. Vanessa and I took the kids there for a picnic once already but picnics are always better when you’re rockin a beautiful picnic basket, right? Right?

These baskets are all amazing. I adore them and once I complete my actual shopping list of things I need for our new place I’d love to get a couple more and start a collection. I’m not including the basket that I picked in these pictures, I’m going to wait until it gets here and show it to you on a picnic!

This is one of the first ones I fell in love with. It’s $50 but there’s no domestic shipping on it! The fabric inside it melts my heart and I absolutely adore the double lid.	I crossed this one off my list when I decided that I had to have a double lid, otherwise this was a strong contender because it’s so roomy and I’m always packing a picnic for at least 4!
The charm of this basket is that it comes full of goodies (4 each; large plates, saucers, coffee cups, drinking glasses, forks, knives & spoons). I came thisclose to picking this basket and it’s dishes.	Are you kidding me?! A pie basket?! I love this!! I think it might be a bit too small for us though and again, as sweet as this one is the one I picked is even sweeter!

In this Etsy adventure I also found a really adorable little something for my sister – shipping on it to Canada is the same as here, so I could even have it shipped right to her so I’m not paying shipping twice! I also came across a lot of really painfully cute plastic picnic baskets from the 70s for the kids, but I’m not sure I can justify getting one for all of us and then another one! There is one more picnic basket that was in the running that I’m not going to post because it is perfect for patio picnics and I can’t wait to show it to you – on my patio!

Obviously, I’m obsessing over all things picnic (summer has officially hit LA, but of course coming from Canada even their ‘winter’ is official summer to us) and all things vintage (getting the thrifty green light from my husband has me totally over the moon with excitement). I apologize to everyone who reads this blog and loves all things shiny and new because I have a pretty good feeling that all of my Window Shopping Wednesday posts are going to focus on all things slightly worn. 😉

I will leave you today with some vegan picnic inspiration, courtesy of Mama Pea. I haven’t coughed up any recipes from this book yet because I really think it’s worth picking up – but Mama Pea gives you this recipe on her blog.

I’m aware that I used a piece of bread and the recipe clearly calls for a tortilla. Since I snapped this photie, I have made them properly and they amazing either way. They’re perfect picnic food too and will absolutely find a place in my new basket. <3

This week’s Window Shopping Wednesday is a special one!! I love this shop and have bought Scrabble tiles and trays for crafts and baker’s twine for wrapping up kitchen creations here. Keeley, of Keeley Behling Studios not only agreed to do an interview with me about her shop and crafting in general, but she’s going to give one of you a present! I know right?! You’re so lucky!

As you know, I have a serious weakness for baker’s twine and Scrabble tiles. What item do you find you sell the most of? Twine, twine, twine! There are so many color options and so many things you can make with it! I think it is also one of the things I use most in making other items. It’s great for card making, gift wrap, embellishment, and so much more. It’s the first thing I grab when I am in a rut when making something. Do you ever buy stuff for your shop and love it so much you can’t part with it? All the time! That’s actually how I started my little shop. I would go treasure hunting (thrifting) for vintage items and craft supplies, bring all the wonderful treasures home and have them sit around and never be used or enjoyed. One of several reasons for starting my shop was to sell some of those items to others who truly had the time/ space to enjoy them. It’s gotten easier over the years to let things go but occasionally I will find something and hang on to it.
What is your favorite item in the shop right now? I would have to say my favorite item in my shop right now is the really small cobalt blue jars. I love the deep blue glass and there are always so many uses for them. Right now I have some that I am using to make my own essential oils. What do you find yourself crafting when you have the time? I really enjoy crocheting. I am one of those people who can’t just sit and watch TV, I have to do something too. I constantly need to keep my hands busy so my mom taught me to crochet when I was really young and I have not stopped since.
Starting your own business can be challenging under the best circumstances, what spurred you to get started? I had wanted to start my own business for several years but didn’t know really what I wanted to do or how to go about all the details. I was asked to do a show at a friends house and found that all the things I was worried about were not as difficult as I had originally thought. Within six months I had my etsy shop up and running. There was very little focus in the beginning for me. After all, it started out more as a hobby and something that I just enjoyed doing. It took me a year to discover where I really fit and how I wanted my shop/ business to become, a place where others could find unique, quirky, and unusual items.
How do you keep personal crafting / life separate from the shop? Well my personal crafting and the shop have to share a room like siblings. It can get a little chaotic at times but it all works out in the end. Usually my personal crafting becomes a gift, something I put in my shop or take to a show. As far as my life and my shop that’s a bit more difficult. Because I run my own business it’s up to me to keep everything afloat. There are never enough hours in the day to do everything I would “like” to do, but in the end the have to’s get done and the rest can wait til tomorrow.
What is your favorite dish to cook or bake? I have a bit of a sweet tooth so when we go to large gatherings I love to make this yummy chocolate fudge brownie trifle. What are you reading right now (or what was the last book you read)? Well I’m not much of an avid reader. I enjoy perusing design books and cook books for inspiration. My husband and I recently purchased our first house so I am always looking for ideas, how to fix something or the grand idea, “I could make that…”. I started receiving a subscription to Better Homes and Garden’s this year and have thoroughly enjoyed reading the latest issues. Pinterest also takes me to some amazing blogs and articles that help in my inspiration process