What is it about porches? They beg to be sat on, played on and rocked on. They are peaceful...loving....endearing... They make reading the Sunday paper and sipping coffee with french vanilla cream an experience like no other.... When friends come thru the front gate they are welcomed into the arms of my front porch and they linger longer, smile more and leave happy. And, I am looking forward to more time on my front porch soon. After much prayer, encouragement from family and dear friends, I have given up my full time job so I can devote all of my... Continue reading

No matter what NOW says, for those of you younger than 30, that's the National Association for Women (for or of?)...anyway....if you grew up in the 70's like I did, Gloria Steinem was our hero. We love her...she loves us. Women could "have it all", a career, a husband, a baby, a family, the works...but we have found that we cannot...and that's OK. Oh, we can do all of that, and kill ourselves in the process. Men don't try to have it all...they have a wife to help them make it to the top. I want a wife!! The whole... Continue reading

You can only imagine my excitement when I saw this in my mailbox..... I quickly found the flea market section and lo and behold.....there we were! The only Florida market mentioned!!! How happy does that make me? Hello!!! I know....isn't this cute? I'm not a Hello Kitty fan per se, but I couldn't pass this up while I was strolling through Ross. I've literally had ladies chase me down at Walgreens and the grovery store to ask where I bought it. Ross...Dress for Less. I certainly do. Don't forget...La Petit Fancy Flea is on July 19th at the Lake Mirror... Continue reading

Can't you just see yourself on this adorable bike? We're giving one away at both the Plant City and Madison shows. All you have to do is register...no strings attached....absolutely free. See you at the flea! Happy riding! Continue reading

Manly Man and I drove to Madison this past weekend to finalize plans for the May 3rd show. I should say we tried to drive to Madison. Between the awful traffic and monsoon rains, it took us all day to get there from Lakeland! But once there, we had a great time. All the details have been worked out and I'm looking forward to the event. Cindy Poire of Madsion Antiques Market & Interiors is the lovely shop owner who asked me to bring the Fancy Flea to Madison. I was searching for a north Florida location and Madison fit... Continue reading

If you haven't visited Raven's Relics in Lakeland...you must make the trip. The shop opened a few weeks ago and I am remiss in not posting this sooner. A conglomeration of gals, including me, have our own little spaces in this charming shop located at 205 McDonald St right off of Florida Ave. in the Dixieland section of Lakleand. Across the street is Patio 850 which serves delicious food...you must try the pizza...to die for...not to mention the bacon popcorn...yum. Anyway, here is a quick peek at Raven's Relics... Cindy Childers of Glitz & Glam fame decorated the windows for... Continue reading

I'm trying to finish my kitchen. My kitchen is tiny...12x12....maybe. I've been working on this little kitchen for several months and still can't find the time to complete it. About 2 years ago I let the Manly Man make a decision on the wallpaper we would use to replace a red fruity waverly paper that had been on the walls for about 12 years and in need of replacement. I have always called the shots in the decorating department and thought it was time to share the decisions with him....wrong, wrong and wrong! We found some lovely wallpaper that had... Continue reading

Over the Thanksgiving holiday, the Manly Man and I decided to treat our oldest and youngest children, and their children, to a trip to Franklin, NC for a week. Please remind me that if I ever want to do that again...my husband will surely kill me. The 1, 2 and 8 years olds behaved much better than their parents. But, anyway...we escaped one afternoon by ourselves and found the most amazing salvage place. David Culpepper built this shop out of repurposed materials and it looks as though it's been there forever. When he told me he had been open less... Continue reading

Hi everyone! I'm using my blog to reach out to you to make sure you don't have any changes that need to be made to your exhibit space for the November 2 show. This week has been crazy with booth additions, adding power, putting friends beside friends and other inquiries. So, if you have ANYTHING that needs to change concerning your booth, please let me know by noon on Monday, October 14th. After that time, it will be hard to make adjustments. I'm sending the floor plan & booth assignments to everyone Monday night. Thanks for your help! Lori Continue reading

Thank you to everyone who posted a comment this past week. I'm happy to announce that the winners of the Fancy Flea Giveaway are: Celeste Rivera Marilyn Vreugdenhil Congratulations ladies! Please email your physical addresses to me at [email protected] and I'll send your packages out asap! Thanks again for all the lovely comments. I hope to see all of you at the flea on November 2 in Plant City. Continue reading

Exactly 30 days from today, the Fancy Flea Vintage Home & Garden Market will be here!!! In celebration of this, I have a cute little giveaway for you. A pink Fancy Flea shopping bag, insulated cup, our new "Vintage Life" sticker (hey, guys have Salt Life, we have Vintage Life), the latest Flea Market Style Magazine, and 2 passes to the Fancy Flea! Simply leave a comment here or like us on Facebook no later than Tuesday, October 9th. I'm giving away 2 sets, so you have 2 chances to win! Aren't these the cutest? This issue is packed full... Continue reading

At La Petit we had a sign up table for the upcoming, yet to be produced Fancy Flea Newsletter, and if you did sign up, you became eligible for some great prizes. So, with out further ado, the winners are: Dinner for Two at Harry's Seafood Bar & Grille/Downtown Lakeland - Jan Trask-Horeni, Lakeland $50.00 Gift Card to Black Swan Bazaar, Kentucky Ave, Lakeland - Carol Baulac, Lakeland $100.00 shopping spree at the Fall Fancy Flea in Plant City - Phyllis Strube, Keystone Heights, FL Congrats to the winners. I'll contact you this week for your mailing addresses. Continue reading

As you can see.... the first annual La Petit Fancy Flea... was a complete success!! Here are some photos of set up that morning.... Paula Davis had the most mind blowing "stuff". Her booth was fantastic.... I saw this little renovated baby buggy cart she transformed go rolling out at the end of the day! Here's Connie Neal putting all her pretties in place. The white chair on the left was to DIE for! Here are Pat & Lee with Leebirds...how they crammed so much stuff into their trailer is beyond me. It was amazing to watch them unload! More... Continue reading

We're looking forward to seeing everyone this Saturday at the Lake Mirror Center from 9AM-4PM. Listed below are the vendors who will be offering the most beautiful items for your home, garden and even your pets! Admission is $5.00 and children under 12 are free. Vintage Vibe - Amazing vintage jewelry & accessories Black Swan Bazaar - Home decor & Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Flea Chic Fab - Repurposed vintage jewelry Elisesplace - Shabby Chic & vintage garden decor Origami Owl - Personality charms you make yourself Chic to Antique - Vintage home decor & accessories Shelley's Yard Art -... Continue reading

Just for everyone's information, here is a list of the upcoming Fancy Fleas and La Petit Fancy Fleas: * La Petit Fancy Flea, July 20th, 9-4 @ The Lake Mirror Center, Lakeland (30 booths) * Fancy Flea Vintage Home & Garden Market, Strawberry Festival Plant City, November 2 (300 booths) * La Petit Holiday Marketplace, December 6-7, Sorosis Building on Lake Morton, Lakeland (30 booths) *Fancy Flea Vintage Home & Garden Market, Strawberry Festival, April 2014 (300 booths) * Fancy Flea Vintage Home & Garden Market, Madison, Florida, May 2014, (200 booths) I hope this helps everyone keep their dates... Continue reading

Well here we are in lovely Littleton, Colorado right outside of Denver for the Old Glory Antiques Fair. The Manly Man and I came to check out the show and glean some ideas for the Fancy Flea in November. The show is beautiful and the vendors are amazing. But, the most exciting part of the day was meeting Ki Nassauer of Flea Market Style Magazine and Jo Packam of Where Women Create and Where Women Cook and "where women do everything" I should say...she has quite a dynasty going. Here we are in the Old Glory Antiques booth which was... Continue reading

I've been remiss in posting since last week. Smokey has been gone a week now and it still hurts. I know time heals all wounds, but I'm not sure about a broken heart. Anyway, the Manly Man and I stopped in Cedar Key on our way to Madison at the beginning of May. This is the Faraway Inn Bed & Breakfast that we stayed at....lovely place. Isn't this tree gorgeous? We sat in that swing for a long time just looking at this tree. Here's a shot at the front of the B&B..and another beautiful tree. It was just lovely... Continue reading

We lost our Smokey today. Unexpectedly...he is gone. Liver failure...but no one knows for why sure. Sunday afternoon he was eating chicken pot pie with us, today he was buried in a corner of the front yard where I found this tiny gray kitten 6 years ago. He jumped out of the plumbago bushes as if to say "lady, today is your lucky day because I'm here!" and he was right. My son fell in love with him and the two were inseperable. After Randy moved out, he always looked for Smokey before he spent time with family when he... Continue reading

I have a vendor at the Fancy Flea, Shelly Underwood, of Shelly's Yard Art and she makes the most beautiful glass totems and other yard decor out of found glass objects. Anyway, I decided to try and make one...but on a simpler scale. I started with a 4x4 post and a punch bowl and super sticky marine glue. Then I added a vase (this was an FTD Princess Diana commemorative vase). After that, part of an old lamp......the Manly Man took 3 lamps apart for this project. Then a plate. I found this old green italian lamp at a yard... Continue reading

Although it just looks like an empty field..... It's going to be beautiful. Imagine all the lovely tents with their gorgeous wares spread out across the property with the oaks trees allowing dappled light to shine down on them. Live music...maybe bluegrass....maybe country....or acoustic guitar playing in the background as you wind your way through the rows and rows of gorgeous vendors. The heavenly smells of food trucks offering everything from fried chicken, fish tacos, barbeque, strawberry shortcake, fresh coffee and chocolate cupcakes....mmmmmmmmmmm....I can't wait! Each row will have its own little name on its own little sign ....Strawberry Lane....Fancy... Continue reading

A quicky post of some goodies found this weekend between Lakeland & Plant City. Nothing spectacular...just fun. Aren't these canisters cute? Can't decide whether to keep them or put them in the La Petit Fancy Flea on July 20th. Love, love , love this old globe. It will join the inventory of Chic & Shabby Vintage Rentals...my other "like you need something else to do" project. Odds & ends...cute magazine rack and tea cup; ball jar for flowers; enamel pot for scooping dog food...it's the perfect size!! Now this is a hand mirror. And for those of you who know... Continue reading

Back in 2004 my oldest daughter called to say she was engaged. And, to let me know she wanted to hold a brunch at my home the morning after the wedding. Great!!! I said as I wondered what I could possibly do to get the back courtyard ready in just a few months. So....since I have a garage with a 10x30 wall that faces the courtyard, I decided to paint a lovely garden scene. But no, I was making a lot of mosaic birdbaths at that time, so I decided to create a butterfly mosaic on this wall....no problem!! I'm... Continue reading

Just a sneaky peak at the site of the new Fancy Flea location....lots of trees....it will be just beautiful! More details soon. Continue reading

When the Manly Man and I set out for Madison, FL last Friday morning, he said to me "we'll stop at every yard sale, thrift store and junk place you want to"...and we did! I alotted my self $100.00 in small bills for the trip...figuring that would be enough, and if not, there's always an atm somewhere. I found this triple dresser, by Dixie, at a church yard sale for $25.00. It will go along with the little twin french provencial beds I'll have for sale at the La Petit Fancy Flea on July 20th. There's also a mirror with... Continue reading

The Manly Man and I set out for Madison, Florida last Friday in hopes of finding a north Florida location for the FF....and boy did we ever! This town is absolutely beautiful and the perfect setting for an additional Fancy Flea. We stayed at the Unity House which is owned & operated by a lovely lady by the nameof Linda. If you're ever in the area, look her up. The rooms are beautiful and the breakfast is to die for! Here is the Manly Man hard at work laying out the street. Honestly, The Fancy Flea would not exist without... Continue reading