In The Pink Antiques Blog

Showing A Little Leg

2010-10-16T17:04:00.001-04:00

My friend Polly called me yesterday morning and asked if I felt like taking a spontaneous ride up to Cincinnati to do a little bit of window shopping with her. The completion of Polly's custom Jimmy Nash home is just a few weeks away and she is just itching to start her furniture selections. I love watching Polly when she is in shopping mode; I can see the wheels turning in her head and I enjoy her passion for the hunt! Well, it was a beautiful fall day, so how could I possibly pass up what I knew would be great company, beautiful scenery on our ride, and fun to boot? Little did I know that I would be the one to come home with a shopping bag, but I am SO happy that I did! I found these fabulously chic heavy linen pleated slip covers and I fell in love with them right away! Being that they were at the Ballard Designs Outlet for only $19.00 a piece made them a no-brainer! I replaced my pretty Shabby Chic white floor length damask slip covers that I have had for YEARS, with these for a fresh more modern chic look. I absolutely LOVE the way the legs of the chairs are now exposed and I also adore the way they pull the grey tone out of my wallpaper and rug and give the room an extra pop of color.

If you want to see what's going on during Polly's custom home build, you can take a peek at her blog at http://polly-pollyshouse.blogspot.com Polly has a wonderful way with words, and her taste is fabulous, so I know that you will really enjoy reading about her journey and seeing the pictures as well.

Ciao for now,

Sanya

The Sweetest Thing

2010-06-10T19:32:00.006-04:00

When my precious niece Kristen was born 22 years ago this past April, I was so in love with her and beside myself over her being born into our family, that I had never really thought about her getting married someday. Kristen was like my first born child. We are a really "tight" family; what's mine is yours, and what's yours is mine kind of thing, and children are no exception. We love deeply in our family and she was everything I had ever imagined, and as she grew, and grew, and grew, that never changed. Kristen has never stopped being "Tetka's Princess" and one of the greatest loves of my life. That sweet and precious baby girl is all grown up now. She just graduated from Auburn University in Alabama, Suma Cum Laude I might add, and an amazing young woman. She is an amazing dancer and uses her gift to teach and inspire others.

There is so much I can say about my brother's first born, but I think by now you all see that she is amazing and loved immensely! When Kristen asked me to do the flowers for her wedding I was so honored. Her husband Jon's Aunt Michelle is an amazing local florist in Alabama as well as an incredible event planner, so to say the least I was touched. Kristen wanted simple elegance and more than anything, I wanted to give her that. We had sooooo much fun picking out the flowers together, and let me tell you, seeing the excitement in her eyes in that huge cooler at the flower wholesaler was such a treat. Kristen is such a happy person, so excited about everything, passionate and life loving, that all of this was such a joy!

Kristen wanted her bouquet to be romantic and elegant and she hand picked each flower herself, so it was easy for me to put it together for her. Excellent taste runs in the family, but seeing her face when she saw her bouquet was priceless, and something I will never forget!

The Roman Catholic Church in Montgomery that Kristen and Jon were married in is spectacular as you can see, so it did not need much in the way of decor. Just simple rose orbs and small bouquets of white flowers.

Another great part of this wedding was having our family together. This is my gorgeous mom, Jovanka, with Kristen and my other beautiful niece Michelle.

And this is my other precious niece Veronica. She is such a love; she and I were slow dancing at the reception and I whispered to her that it looked like she was having a great time, and she told me that it was the best day of her life. I cried!

I just love this picture, it makes my heart smile!

This is another of my favorites.

The smile on Kristen's face is always there. It is one of the things that I love most about her. She is a joyous person and that just spills over onto everyone around her. Her happiness is contagious! They waited 4 years for this!

This wedding was truly a family affair; Kristen's Godfather, Al made the wedding cake for Kristen and Jon as a gift. I just got to have fun doing the finishing touches.

I had to finish with this photo. This is Kristen dancing with her maternal grandfather. Their faces say it all. When people asked me to tell them about the wedding I told them all the same thing. It was THE SWEETEST wedding I have ever been to. There was so much LOVE and the two of them were SO HAPPY and GIDDY that my heart will always be full from the memory of that day. I will for always remember them being pronounced man and wife and the way that they held onto one another in the sweetest hug. I could go on for days and tell you one memory after another of sweet moments, but I will stop and just say that I wish everyone the same joy and memories that our family had on that magical day, May 21, 2110.

Thank you my sweet Kristen and Jonny for they way you love each other and for allowing us all to share it with you.

Love,

Tetka

Can You Ever Have Too Many Flowers on Your Kitchen Table?

2010-04-13T08:25:00.007-04:00

Spring in Kentucky is absolutely stunning and I have the allergy problems to attest to it, but it is all worth it to have abundance like this in your own yard, available to you at any time for your pleasure!! I am one of those people that likes to take full advantage of what is in our yard to add to the beauty of our home inside. Whenever I buy a plant I always think about what it will be able to produce for our pleasure inside as well as outside. Abundance always helps. And to be honest, I will take as much as I please from the outside and bring it in. Now, don't get me wrong, I LOVE when the neighbors are all out walking and they stop to admire the yard, but it doesn't stop me from going to town with the clippers to have fresh flowers in the our bathrooms and other rooms in our home. As I was clipping the lilac tree on the side of the house yesterday I could hardly contain myself that I actually had such beauty growing right in my own back yard!!!

So when we are blessed with having such incredible beauty in our yards, I encourage you to clip some and bring it in and enjoy it! You can see I went to town on our crab apple trees, but I figure it is good pruning and I always tell myself that it is because I clip them so much for my indoor arrangements that they look so pretty each year when they blossom!

Viburnum, this puffy green ball that almost looks like a mini hydrangea is one of my most favorite plants in the whole yard, and I have decided that I am going to let mine get really BIG! You can keep them small or let them grow like a tree, so I am going to see where ours goes. I figure that the larger I let it get, the more abundance of flowers I have for the house!

Seeing our girls faces when they came home from school and into the kitchen for homework and snack was icing on the cake for me. It touches my heart so much that they love flowers as much as I do and that they can appreciate the blessings from God that we have in our own back yard.

I hope I have encouraged you to go out into your own yard and create something beautiful of your own, you never know what you may find!

Sanya~

What's Been Going On

2009-09-26T08:27:00.008-04:00

I feel very blessed and loved that so many of you have sent me personal emails wondering where in the world I have been and letting me know that you miss my blogging and posts. It is quite humbling to me and I feel very blessed and my heart feels quite full, so thank you!!!

I have been very fortunate this year to be busy with weddings and other aspects of my floral business, so I thought I would share some photos of some of the work I have done recently. I would love to hear your feedback, so please do not hesitate to post your comments on the blog, I always LOVE hearing from you!

I hope you enjoy these!

With love,

Sanya

Roscoe-Vitali Wedding March 20, 2009

The isle flowers were in pretty white tin cones tied to the pews with hot pink ribbon.

The garden outside of the church had a heart wreath of baby's breath with baby's breath bouquets flanking the entrance.

The altar flowers below...

The bridal party flowers looked stunning in this tall pedestal etched vase.

Who wouldn't love a pink cake???

I just LOVED doing the arrangements for the urns in front of the church! I filled them with blooming cherry & peach tree branches. The wreaths on the doors were made of baby's breath, and looked so soft and beautiful!

The bridal party bouquets. Stunning, if I do say so myself!!!

The wedding centerpieces consisted of pink narine lilies, pink peonies, pink dahlia's and Esperance roses.

The corsages.

I had planned on adding more pictures of other weddings, but when I did, they went right to the top of the page & I could not move them around, so I think I will have to do a new post with other pictures.

It's Finally Done!

2009-04-27T19:19:00.003-04:00

Well for those of you who follow my blog, you know that we had some serious damage from the ice storm a few months ago. It was not fun living through the construction, especially trying to run a home based business with clients who I normally meet here in our home, which I absolutely could not do, and the other thing I really missed was entertaining our friends and family. But now it is finally all done and I could place my pretties back, although I did move things around a bit. A new rug in the entry, with a lamp added to the table as well, I love it.In our office I moved some things around as well. I brought up a mirror from the basement to put behind my desk with some sconces I had up in the attic that have not seen daylight for the past 5 years, and we also brought up the piano. The room is a lot cozier and I love listening to Charley and the girls play the piano each night. So life once again, it back to normal, I had a great meeting with a new bride last week and was able to book her wedding, so all is well again in our happy little home.

Thank you for all of your good thoughts and kind emails while we went through this process, it meant the world to me!
Love,
Sanya

Out of Sight, Out of Mind...

2009-03-14T14:27:00.005-04:00

I learned something very interesting about my kids a couple of weeks ago that I thought I would pass along to the rest of you. You see, I am a "fruit in the fridge" kind of gal. I love a crisp cold apple as well as a nice cold juicy orange, so that is where I have always put our fruit as soon as I came home from the market. Well a couple of weeks ago we had a ton of food for some reason which didn't leave me any room in the fridge for the fruit, so I just placed it all into bowls on the kitchen counter. I was shocked that within 3 days it was all gone. Apples, bananas, pears, the oranges, all of it! They went for the fruit in front of their faces instead of going into the pantry for a salty, perhaps, less healthy snack, and I found that all their little friends that are always over followed suite. And you know what else? We adults ate more of it too.

I guess the point to this post, is break out your pretty bowls and fill them with some delicious fruit and nuts and maybe the same thing will happen in your home.

XO~
Sanya

Is It Just Me???

2009-02-19T16:52:00.003-05:00

I don't know about the rest of you, but I feel like I am constantly fighting a never ending battle to get our girls to put their things away where they belong, and quite frankly, they just seem too old now not to be able to do it themselves & do it properly while they are at it! Below is a photo of the desk in our kitchen where the girls do homework, crafts, draw, work on the computer, etc. and I am sure that many of you may just pass out from the sight, but I am secretly hoping that I am not alone in this struggle. And dealing with this mess while our home is in the state that it is from the construction....
like this photo below with two rooms combined into one, I am feeling a bit unnerved at any mess, even if it is a pair of shoes that haven't been put away, or a folder that belongs in a backpack or Barbie's that didn't make it back upstairs.

I feel like a new person now that I bit the bullet and cleaned up the mess myself. I will tell you honestly that I am going to iron fist the girls with a serious guilt trip talking to when they get home as well as bit of fear thrown it for good measure. All 3 girls always just love how pretty everything looks when it is clean and organized, but then they can't seem to bring themselves to put the markers, pencils, scrap paper, coloring books, etc. back where they belong, no matter how many containers I put on the desk for them, so I am not sure what the answer is!

In the mean time, I think I will just enjoy this space for the way it is for today, because I know that for today, it will be clean, pretty, and organized, and who knows what tomorrow will bring!

Sending you clutter free wishes,
Sanya

A Belated Valentine

2009-02-16T12:22:00.005-05:00

A Happy Belated Valentine's Day to all. I was very grateful to be be busy with lots of Valentine's day flower orders this year. One of my favorites is in the photo below....

But I have been receiving some very thoughtful and loving emails wondering where in the world I am and if all is okay. Well, thankfully I am here, at home, although it is quite torn apart. We had some serious damage to our home from the ice storm last month and it will be quite a long process to get it all taken care of. In the mean time, we have furniture in rooms that they don't belong in (note the mess in the backdrop of the photo above), and Valerie displaced from her bedroom.....I KNOW it could be SO much worse, but it is still a lot to deal with and looking at the damage day in and day out gets a bit overwhelming. Below are some photos of the process. They don't even begin to show all of the damage...

Entry & living room/my workspace...

Living room ceiling & staircase

Valerie Jane's room...yes, that is the sky you see through that hole! It is hard to believe that something so small could create SO MUCH damage!

Needless to say, we are counting our blessings, and are extremely thankful for home owners insurance, and great contractors! I am telling myself each day that patience is a virtue and that all will go back in place soon enough, it is so small in the big scheme of things. Fortunately this does not seem to be phasing our girls, they are rolling with the punches and are as happy as ever. They are all working me now to change bedrooms and redecorate.....One day at a time!

I hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day & I hope you know that you are always near and dear to my heart!

Love & Blessings,

Sanya

Pretty Papers....

2009-01-20T16:29:00.005-05:00

My friend and one time babysitter Alli will be getting married on March 21 st this year and I have the honor of creating all of the flowers for her wedding. Our two younger daughters will be flower girls and Victoria, a junior bridesmaid. Alli loves all things pink as well as antiques and has even started her own antique and decorating business, so when we were all planning her shower I knew that store bought invitations would not do! I created the ones above, and I truly believe when she gets hers in the mail tomorrow, she will be thrilled. The invitations are so gorgeous that I decided that I have to sell them as stationary on my website, so hopefully they will be up for sale either tonight or tomorrow....it's all up to Charley ♥ I think you will just LOVE them as much as I do!

As a side note, today is my big brother Tom's birthday, so I could not help mentioning it! I admire him so much as a brother and person and as an American I appreciate the 27 years of service he has given our great nation so far! Happy Birthday Colonel Ruby! I love you!

Seeing Things Clearly

2009-01-07T14:12:00.005-05:00

I want to start by saying Happy New Year to everyone and to wish you a year of good health and happiness with all the love you can imagine. I truly believe that those three things give us true wealth in our lives, so it is what I genuinely wish for all of you.

As I was taking down the Christmas decorations in our home over the past two days, (with my moms help, thank you very much) I started to get excited about how I would rearrange all of my pretties (others without a sickness call them "accessories"). You see, every year when I take down our Christmas decor, I like to put things back in different places. I love the change and having fresh things to look at, even though I have had some of my pieces forever, seeing them somewhere else makes them feel new again. When everything was finally gone and put away and I started to take out my "pretties", I could not help but want a sense of simplicity, at least somewhere, and that is when it hit me. I took several of my glass pieces, old and new and put them on my linen chest in the dining room, and I really love it. It has that clean Swedish decor look, and for a while I am just going to leave it that way and enjoy the simplicity of it all......

Here's to seeing things clearly in '09!
With warmest blessings,
Sanya

Seasons Greetings

2008-12-03T15:13:00.010-05:00

I know that it may seem that I have been quite remiss in keeping up with my blogging, but I have a few good excuses! I can thankfully say that I have been busy with holiday decorating, both corporate and residential, which I love! I helped to decorate the Crown Plaza Campbell House Hotel the week of Thanksgiving and just finished up this past Saturday, and the week before that I worked on St. John & Myers Antique & Period Jewelry Salon. The hotel was like nothing I had ever done before. It was a HUGE job and an amazing experience! I will take photos as soon as I have time, maybe next week, but I am not sure, the next 4 days will be filled with holiday decor as well, but I will try. I love sharing projects like that will all of you and hearing your feedback.
In the mean time, I hope you all had a blessed Thanksgiving. This was the first Thanksgiving in 11 years that it was just the 5 of us, no other extended family or friends. It was quiet and sweet and we spent the day (and a couple of others) decorating for Christmas. The girls were very excited and we had a lot of fun, so I thought I would share some photos of different vignettes in our home. I did all close up shots with the exception of the front door because I really wanted you to be able to see the details up close, so come on in.

I truly love using fresh greens whenever possible, and cedar is my favorite to work with. It smells so good and it stays very fresh and does not dry out. I also added some pine cones dusted with white paint and glitter for a snowy effect.This is our dining room table...I will leave the rest to your imagination... I attached these beaded wreaths to the slipcovers on our dining room chairs with different vintage brooches. It is an unexpected and elegant touch.

The dining room buffet above

The pink buffet in the family room was my favorite to decorate this year. It turned out so pretty, it makes me smile each time I walk by it.

The mantle and coffee table....

I hope you all enjoyed this "tour" I did not do the tree becuase the light was not very good today. I am not sure when I will have time to post again because of my schedule, by try to stop an take a peek, or sign up to follow the blog!

Wishing you all peace & love,

Sanya

Romantic Wedding Flowers

2008-11-19T09:25:00.006-05:00

I thought I would share some photos with you of the flowers I recently did for a wedding this month. The bride was looking for romance with an antique touch. For her bouquet above I used garden spray roses. They have a ruffled romantic petal and the open up into lots and lots of layers, so they are perfect to use in wedding arrangements an bouquets. I also used a rose called Costa Rica, it is a huge ivory rose with stunning soft pink tips, and I also added Queen Anne's Lace for a finishing touch of laciness and romance.

All of the brides maids in this wedding were thin and pretty tiny, so she wanted to have bouquets that reflected them and their dresses as well. She also wanted each bouquet to have a vintage brooch like hers, so that they could have a gift from her special day. The roses I used for the brides maids had a darker deeper pink on the tips to pull out the color that was inside their dresses.

The altar arrangements were really huge, so hopefully when the photos come back from the photographer you get get a better look at how lovely they truly were. There is a close up below...

These smelled absolutely heavenly and were also used at the wedding reception on the fireplace mantles.

There were two door arrangements on the inside of the church and then they were at the reception as well.

The sweetheart table....

The dining room.....

I just LOVED this idea! Instead of having one large wedding cake, the bride ordered 5 different varieties of cake from my fried Julie of Julia's Desserts. Not only was the table stunning, but the guests LOVED their dessert!!!

I thought this was a sweet touch. The grand piano was covered with a table cloth that the bride's grandmother who had passed away had given her, as well as her grandmothers favorite hat. It was such a sweet and thoughtful touch.

I hope you enjoyed the photos & I will post more as soon as I get them from the wedding photographer.

XO~

Sanya

Fall Fun

2008-11-06T18:21:00.002-05:00

Today I was in the kitchen washing out my flower buckets getting ready for the big wedding that I have coming up this weekend and while I was looking out the kitchen window I realized that I really needed to rake the yard, if for no other reason so that the kids could have fun jumping in piles when they got home from school, so that is just what I did....They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so I will say no more.
Enjoy!
Sanya

Stepping Stones of Love....

2008-10-20T12:20:00.004-04:00

My mom was down in my workroom with me the other day and she could not help but rifle through some bags that she thought I had forgotten to unpack thinking that she was going to stumble upon some fantastic treasure when I burst her bubble and told her that they were just full of broken china that I was saving for a project. "What project, and when are you going to do it?" she asked, knowing that I have about a million "projects" swirling around in my head with not a million hours to get them all done. "Why?" I ask, "is there something that you want them for?" well to make a long conversation & story short, she said that she wanted to make me a gift, so of course I let her take them. Above and below are what I have received so far, and I just LOVE them. Mom says that I have 2 more "curing" at her home that she will be bringing over, but I just could not wait to share them with you. They are almost just way to pretty to step on...
I wish that the photos I took showed the color in the china better, but you can just take my word for it that they are to die for & made with some of my most favorite pieces of china that have been broken by accident and that I could not bear to part with.
I just about died when I saw this one! The added touch of the raised cherub is magnificent, and the platter that this stepping stone is made from is a late 1800s Limoges piece that was hand painted and the cherubs are just surreal, so I am beyond delighted that they have been turned into pieces of art that I can treasure for a lifetime and pass down to my girls someday. I told my mom that these could be my Christmas gift because I love them so much, so if any of you out there are artistic and have broken china sitting around, go make someones day!

XO~
Sanya

New Creations

2008-10-08T14:29:00.003-04:00

I organized the basement this past weekend as well as my work/storage space there and I realized that I had quite a few items that needed painting before the weather becomes too cold for this type of thing and I came across a gold vintage vanity tray. I knew that I did not just want to paint it, but at the same time I was not sure what I wanted to do with it. In my process of organization that I have been doing these past few weeks, I have come across a lot of treasures from my old jewelry designing days and I thought of some of the aqua Swarovski flowers that I have. I always have loved them because they remind me of the ocean & that is when it hit me~I needed to embellish this piece with sea shells and crystals. I really love the way that it turned out and I hope that you will too. I will be posting this piece in the "In the Pink Exclusives" category of the website this evening sometime. Below is a close up....
I also decided that this vintage Italian made frame could use a bit of sparkle as well so I added baby blue Swarovski flowers to it & it is to die for! This piece will be available this evening in the "Flea Market Finds" category of the website along with some other gorgeous treasures.

Well, I have truly enjoyed these past two days of creating, and now I am off to do some more, I hope you enjoy the photos!

Ciao,
Sanya

It's the Simple Things in Life.....

2008-10-05T21:11:00.004-04:00

With so much chaos going on in the financial world right now, it is the most important things in life that I love to focus on and cling to, my family. Their love is free and the best gift that I have, so I wanted to share our latest goings on with all of you. Jacqueline, our youngest, is now in kindergarten, gone all day like her big sisters. She just had her first field trip to the apple orchard, and we had a lot of fun! That is her "In The Pink" of course! being shy...

Picking apples.....

and showing them off....later that day, we all left for a 3 day weekend to my sisters in St. Louis, Mo. for a visit......

Here are our fabulous kids, minus one nephew who was still in school.....
Aren't they so sweet!
Here is Mason, my oldest nephew. He just got done scoring a touchdown and two extra points. His team won, of course!
I thought I would also share some fall decor that I have put out around the house. I love that it makes our girls so happy. I polished my silver & I have to tell you, I forgot how pretty it looks when it is done. I always use the excuse that I love the look of old silver with a patina, but nothing beats the shine of freshly polished old silver! I think my Mom will be happy when she comes over.....
This is the buffet in the dining room. Most of our furniture is white, and I really love this old antique piece and the depth that it adds to the room. It is the perfect piece for a fall vignette.

I hope that you are all enjoying the simple splendor of fall and all of its gifts. Cooler nights and mornings, crisp breezes, the low sun, beautiful rich colors surrounding us, and laughter coming from playing children rolling in falling leaves and running from spooky Halloween decorations.

XO~

Sanya

Being Busy Feeds My Creativity

2008-09-22T09:00:00.007-04:00

I have to tell you that I have not been very good about blogging for the past two months because I have been so blessed with being busy in all areas of my diverse business. I was hired in the beginning of August by four separate clients for 5 completely different events in September, and 4 of them were within 3 days of each other and they were large events as well. It was wonderfully fun and I felt honored to be hired by these amazing people to trust me with their events. I have a few photos below of the events. The phtos are not that great or detailed, but I was so busy making sure that the events were going on smoothly since I had coordinated everything from the invitations to the food to the flowers that I didn't have time for good photography! The first 3 photos below are from the grand opening of St. John & Myers Antique & Period Jewelry here in Lexington. Their jewelry took my breath away, and working with Olivia and Louis Scholz, the owners of this magnificent establishment, delightful as well as educational, I just love jewels! If you would like to see more photos of this event, you can go to http://www.topsinlex.com/

The photo below is from the Miller home in Nicholasville, KY. The night after the St. John & Myers grand opening, the Miller's hosted a political fundraiser for one of our state Senators and they hired me to bring it all together. It was fantastic and any time that I can be around Clay and April is a pure joy and honor as well!

Eastern Kentucky University has become an incredible client recently, hiring me weekly for large events. The day after the Miller event, EKU needed 30 of the flower arrangements below.
The photo below is an arrangement I did for a wedding table setting for EKU. I love these color combinations!!!
The photo below is of a silk arrangement that I did for a client who has a very large home and a grand entry with a spiral staircase. They wanted something really pretty for fall, and I just loved the way that it turned out, and thankfully, so did they!
The trio of flower arrangements below I made for a client last week who placed her home for sale and she wanted fresh flowers for her dining room, kitchen & powder room. She has a more modern style of decorating so I had a lot of fun with her arrangements & she was thrilled with the way they turned out.

I wanted to show you one of the arrangements that I made this past Friday, I loved it so much. It was a gift for a clients mother and he wanted something that she could take back home with her to Indiana and enjoy for a while. I loved the container that I found, and the flowers looked stunning and soft spilling out of it. The next time I see her ( she hired me for her daughters wedding in November), I am going to ask her what she is using the container for...
In between all of the flowers and event planning, I have also been making jewelry. I started making jewelry about 13 years ago and I sold to Nordstrom as well as other stores around the country and some overseas as well, but when our second child was born, it just got to be too much and our girls have always come first with me, so I turned my energy in other directions. I have had a lot of fun lately playing with these pieces and I have listed some on my website, so be sure to take a peek when you have time. Below, are a couple of photos of my latest designs...

So, now I am off to meet with a client and then go & pick up some more sterling wire so I can finish up a couple of more necklaces, and then I have to pack orders and take them to the post office....I must say, I am enjoying being busy, it is a joy & when the girls get home from school, I am all theirs. It does not get much better than this.

I wish you all joy, peace & love,

Sanya

What's In A Name?

2008-09-11T16:49:00.003-04:00

Okay, this California girl is going to admit something, I had never been to Hobby Lobby before today, and I cannot believe what I have been missing. I could have stayed in there for at least another hour scouring each aisle, but time was not on my side. You see for the last 3 years the name has kept me away, it reminded me of the 80's ducks and powder blue (sound familiar?), but I could not have been more wrong. Scroll down below to see some of the treasures I picked up today....
An etched mercury glass vase for $5.00, two iron crown hooks for $3.00 each, the crystal and fleur de lis decorative piece for $3.50, and my favorite, the cut glass container....$15.00.
Hobby Lobby is like Home Goods, Michael's and Garden Ridge all wrapped in one, but even better! On my way back home, I stopped at Home Goods and nothing compared to what I had just walked away from, and since they got a new shipment in today, I will have to make time to go back tomorrow to see if I can find any more treasures....I cannot believe that I lived here for four years and never went in!
Now, I will admit, the cut glass container did not come this way, I added the crystals to it myself. When I was on vacation back in CA this past winter, one of my best friends had pieces like this all over her home, and she let me know that they were expensive and she could only get them from a home show that another friend of hers had occasionally. Well I was bound and determined to find them and scoured the wholesale Mart in Atlanta and not one vendor had them. My mother in law, being the extremely intelligent woman that she is told me that she was pretty positive that those had been bejewelled by the seller herself, so when I came across this gorgeous piece today, I could hardly wait to get home and get to work! Now that it is all done, I think I will fill it with some pretty pink bath salts and put it by my spa tub so that I can see it each day. The moral of the story being, don't judge a book by it's name, or its cover for that matter, since in this case, their logo does their store no justice. It is worth going ladies!

XO~
Sanya

Summer's Sweet Ending

2008-09-02T15:56:00.002-04:00

I must admit that I always look forward to fall each year. I love the cooler nights and the anticipation of the turning leaves and crisp mornings. I will miss the days at the pool with our girls, (for those who ask why, pools are only open here in the "south" from Memorial Day to Labor Day, and the sun in the pools heater. Unheard of for a native Californian, but I am getting use to it), and the "freedom" of summer, but I am so glad that they are back in school and on a bedtime schedule and that the sun is setting earlier each day. This a picture of the sunset Sunday evening from our backyard. The girls love sunset, and posing even more, can you tell?
Another thing I love about summer winding down? It's football time. I love football. I grew up going to every UCLA sporting event as a child. It was such an fun thing, one of my fondest memories of family time, is tailgating with our friends that held season tickets as well. My mom worked for a bank in Westwood, CA for 20 years and handled all of UCLA's athletics, so my brother and I really felt the perks of that. We got to meet and spend quality time with incredible athletes, many of whom went pro in different sports, so needless to say, staying up late to watch Rick Neuheisel, who often ate dinners at our home while he was quaterback at UCLA, lead the Bruins to a win last night, is worth being very sleepy today. Our girls love football too, so going to the UK games with them is fun as well. I hope that they can grow up with some of the same sweet memories that I know my brother and I did.
Lastly, I have been busy creating lately. I made these mosaics for the website and I will hopefully be posting them sometime this week in the In The Pink Exclusives category. I had so much fun with these, and I am so happy to be using some of my broken china pieces that I have not been able to bring myself to throw away. Ugh, I can barely write those last two words.....

Well, I hope you are all looking forward to fall with sweet thoughts and saying goodbye to summer with a smile knowing that there are good memories to be made in the months to come.

XO~
Sanya

Family Milestones & Memories

2008-08-14T10:00:00.005-04:00

Well, this is truly a milestone, my last baby is off to elementary school. Can you believe it? Those are our 3 precious girls getting ready to leave for their first day of school yesterday. Victoria started Middle School, Jacqueline, Kindergarten & Spanish immersion no less where she will learn in Spanish half the day, and Valerie Jane, sweet as pie, a seasoned pro going into the 3rd grade! It was a tough morning for Mom & Jacqueline....

Thank God for big sisters who hug and console their little sisters who are very nervous and are not "too good" to be seen at elementary school with their little sisters on the first day...what a blessing!
Valerie Jane gets right to work!
This is my stunning cousin Heidi & my gorgeous uncle Bernard. Heidi got married this past weekend in Seattle. I took Victoria & we had an amazing mother-daughter tip. Our family is very close and I could not imagine not being there to see Heidi get married, so I thought I would share some photos with you. It wound up pouring at the time of her photos and they had to reschedule the wedding from Magnolia Park which is breathtaking, to the site of their reception, The Fairmont Omni Hotel, which was to die for amazing! Heidi never fussed and you would never had known that it was pouring rain, she was just beaming the entire time!
These are Heidi's sisters Tanya & Simone & my Aunt Marilyn. I think that they are just all stunning!
Another wonderful part of the trip was that we got to spend so much quality time with my cousins, & since we stayed at Simone's home we were able to spend a lot of time with her daughter Presley as well who just ADORED Victoria and pretty much followed her everywhere she went. It was so precious and sweet, it melted my heart!

This a the beach on the Puget Sound where we went to play for a while one day.
Simone & Victoria at the Seattle Center Park on the Log Ride...
Victoria & I at the Rock & Roll Museum & Sci-Fi Museum at the Seattle Center
Yep, we went up in the Space Needle & the view is below...

It was magnificent, and so hard to choose just one photo. We loved our trip to Seattle so much, we will have to take the whole family for a vacation next time, but these are milestones & moments we will surely never forget!

I hope you enjoyed them!

Sanya

Breakfast, Beautifully......

2008-07-22T16:05:00.002-04:00

I don't know about the rest of you, but our home is practically a hotel during the summer. We are always having family and friends stay with us this time of year, which is such a treat, and since they take the time to visit us, I like to make our loved ones feel special and appreciated. One of the ways that I do this is by serving delicious foods and creating an atmosphere that is not something they would have everyday. I thought you might enjoy seeing some photos that I took of one of my special breakfasts. Since it is summer, I love eat outdoors as often as possible, and mornings are perfect since the weather is generally pure perfection that time of day.
I love going all out for my out town guests and using my silver flatware and making unique flower arrangements in unexpected containers.

I also love bringing some of the indoors outside like pretty pillows & rugs, it makes your space look like an extension of your home, which only makes your loved ones feel even more special. I also like to use other things like this bench to hold the extras that we may be using during our meal, it adds a relaxed feeling to the environment, especially when you are using so many pretty things that others may think are too nice to use for a breakfast....

I hope that you have enjoyed these photos and that maybe they have inspired you to do something special sometime soon.

Sanya

Wedding Bliss

2008-07-06T21:56:00.005-04:00

No, this is not a model from a bridal magazine, this is Heather Foley, and I had the honor of creating all of the flowers for her & Shane's wedding, which was such a joy. Not only is Heather stunning, but she is extremely intelligent and sweet as the day is long. She and her family were amazing to work with over this past year, and I just felt so blessed to be able to contribute to their day of joy. I hope that you enjoy looking at some of the photos from their wedding!
This is one view of Heather's bouquet. I used peonies, roses and wax flower with gold wire ribbon woven underneath for a more formal look...
I also surprised Heather with this antique brooch as an extra embellishment. It is something that she can use and treasure for the rest of her life and possibly hand down to one of their children for their wedding day.
Here Heather shows Shane the brooch on her bouquet. I was so touched when I saw this photo. I knew that she was thrilled when she first saw the bouquet, but it made me so happy to know that she loved it this much!
This is Heather's mother Linda who is just as sweet and loving as Heather, and is the epitome of southern sweet and a true lady. I made small bouquets of pink & white spray roses, freesia, wax flowers and greens, for the mother of the bride and groom to carry instead of the traditional corsage and they both thought that it was very special.
The bridesmaids bouquets were made of pink spray roses with pink lisianthus and were wrapped with gold ribbon...
The flower girl carried a basket filled with fresh pink spray roses, wax flowers and greens.

The pews down the center aisle of the church were adorned with bouquets of pink and white roses, pink lisianthus and variegated ivy trails and plump white ribbon and tulle bouquets.
The altar was decorated with large bouquets of baby's breath and a centerpiece created in a large vintage milk glass bowl filled with pink & white lisianthus, pink and white roses, and lots of pretty greens. It was given to Linda, the mother of the bride, after the wedding as a gift.
The unity candelabrum flowers were a larger version of the aisle bouquets...
Heather wanted low centerpieces so that all of their 200+ guests could speak to one another without anything in the way. It truly was an elegant room! The cake, as you can see, was quite elegant with simple flower bouquets and sprinkled rose petals. All in all, the evening was amazing from start to finish, and I do feel truly blessed to have been able to contribute to such a special day in two such incredible people's lives.

I hope that you enjoyed these photos! If you have any questions, just send me an email to sanya@inthepinkantiques.com, or just leave me a message on the blog!

Sanya

What's Been Going On......

2008-06-29T17:29:00.003-04:00

Well the month of June pretty much just FLEW by, so I thought I would let you know why I have not been a very good blogger this month. First, Valerie Jane had her tonsils removed at the beginning of the month, so the first 10 days were rough to say the least, bless her heart. In the mean time, Victoria was working on getting her yellow belt ...

Which she did get, hurray for Victoria! All while also going to...
Drama camp at the University of KY every day from 10am to 3pm.
Meanwhile, I have been refereeing a lot of this that you see above, as well as going to swim lessons M-F and still running a business all at the same time. HELP ME!!!
Valerie Jane turned 8 on the 21st and had a really fun cheer leading themed party with her closest girl fiends and...

real cheerleaders from Henry Clay High School here in Lexington. They taught the girls cheers and they did stunts as well. They liked doing the stunts more than anything!

With the exception of the daily minor cat fights that 3 sisters are bound to get into at some point or another, I feel extremely blessed. These girls are my life and I thank God every day that I get to take them to the pool and see the joy on their faces when we are in the water together, or the trepidation in little Jacqueline's eyes as the teacher is letting go and she has to try and swim on her own. Watching Victoria in her play yesterday was awesome and Friday nights VBS performance was amazing as well. I know I will never get this time back, so when I am weary and starting to get crabby with the million requests that are being thrown my way from these little miracles, I try to remember that that is truly what they are, miracles, and I could not imagine a better way to spend the summer.

I hope you are all enjoying yours as well.

XO~

Sanya

A First For Me

2008-06-12T20:04:00.005-04:00

I am honored to have received my fist award from the blogging community and it is even more special because it comes from someone that I truly admire, Melissa Seley of Charm School Jewels, who by the way has a blog that you MUST check out, Charmed Life. Okay, back to the award. It is the Arte Y Pico Award, which is "dedicated to many who nourish and enrich the spirit and creativity". You can find out more about it by going to http://arteypico.blogspot.com/ and scrolling down and you can see the explanation and instructions in English, otherwise the blog is in Spanish. I am really quite thrilled, also because I get to nominate 5 other people that inspire me, so here I go....

1. Elizabeth Maxson, Elizabeth House Designs - Elizabeth is a whirlwind of inspiration and when you meet her in person, she exudes so much positive energy and creativity. I love pouring over her blog and reading each word she writes, it is a true joy, as is she.

2. Holly Abston, Holly Doodle Designs - Okay, if you have never visited this blog, you will FLIP when you see Holly's creations! I am lucky to own one of Holly's crown creations which I keep on a shelf above the desk where I work in my office. ALL of Holly's designs are unique and I see them as heirloom pieces that I will one day hand down to my daughters.

3. Jo-Anne Colletti , Vintage Rose Collection - Jo-Anne inspires me on sooo many different levels!!! I love her artwork, her home decorating, and her writings, but mostly I love her honesty and integrity. I love that she is REAL and that I can talk to her girlfriend to girlfriend! On Jo's blog she has so many inspiring stories, poems etc., it is a must visit, you will be addicted!

4. Holly Snelling, Pink Grapefriut Style - Where do I begin??? I LOVE Holly S.' blog with it's vibrant colors, gorgeous photography, and fabulous STYLE!!! Holly is always baking something tasty or cooking a healthy and delicious meal that she shares her recipes for as well as providing lots of upbeat inspiration with her blog posts. Whenever we have gloomy days, Holly's blog is the first place I go for a bit of sunshine!

5.Shawn Ostrowski, Eclectic Whimsy, Auntie Pea - Shawn is the incredible artist that helped me create my blog and my pretty banner that I love so much. She was very patient with me ans listened to my every need and whim. Shawn has a wonderful blog, Auntie Pea, that is a must read where she offers lots of inspiration and great music picks. Her talents are endless.

Again, I say thank you Melissa, and to all of you who take the time to stop by and say hello or not say hello and just read and explore!

Enjoy your day!

XO~

Sanya

And The Winner Is..........

2008-06-09T16:12:00.003-04:00

BunnyB, is the winner of my first In The Pink Antiques Blog give-a-way. I want to thank all of you for participating & I hope to do many more in the future! In case any of you are wondering, I went on to Random.org to get my randomly generated number. I really was tempted to have the girls pick a number out of a bowl, but I thought this might be the best way to go!

I truly adore all of my blogging friends and I hope that you keep the comments coming!
Congratulations BunnyB!
XO~
Sanya

Fabulous Pink Give Away!

2008-06-02T11:46:00.002-04:00

Okay Ladies, and the occasional gentleman, I am having my very first blog give away and I am so excited! All you need to do is post a message on the blog and next Monday, June 9th, I will choose a randomly generated number and that post will win all of the loot in these photos, which together value at over $140.00, so make sure that you leave me a message on the blog!
These pretty garden wrens are sold on my website www.inthepinkantiques.com and I just love how sweet they are. The silver mica is perfect for any craft project to add some pizazz and sparkle and the vintage double circle heart will look fabulous on your spring coat!
The English cup and saucer set is the prettiest shade of pale pink with gorgeous plump pink roses that are to die for. I found this pretty silver footed dish with a print inside at a flea market and it makes a wonderful holder for this gorgeous carved soap of a other & child.
These last 5 pieces are my most favorite! The Hip Chick Clip Board will make anything you are working on seem much more fun with its pretty star pattern, and it makes an incredible gift as well. The Set of 25 Chic Place Mats in the Belle pattern will be perfect for your next summer party, and if you are having a baby shower or birthday party for your girls, then the Vintage Inspired Garland will be the perfect finishing touch. You will also love the Iron Rose Easel and the journal, both so lovely!

I hope that whoever wins this treasure trove will enjoy them or give them away as gifts for others to enjoy as well. More than anything, I will enjoy reading your comments and wishing you all good luck!

XO~

Sanya

It's All Coming Up Roses

2008-05-28T16:01:00.003-04:00

My mother in law emailed me the photos above and below of her glorious roses in front of their home, so I just had to share them with you. California has so much warmth and sunshine that roses bloom for long periods of time and profusely as well! The roses in their front yard are beyond gorgeous, and even more stunning in person.
More gorgeous roses!

This is a climbing roses in our back yard. For a climbing rose, the flowers are huge and look stunning in an arrangement, as you can see in the photo below. I am hoping that in a few years, this plant will be large and full like one of Bette's, but I won't hold my breath!
This is a bouquet I made today from flowers in my garden. I could not help but snip that peony right off the bush (my first that opened this year) and get it into a vase. The bachelor buttons look so pretty with the large yellow roses from my trellis and the delicate white iceberg roses, and the plump peony. There is just something magical about being able to create something so pretty from your own yard.
This is one of my favorite roses, it has so many layers!
More peony's getting ready to open...
This rose reminds me of my Nana's lipstick when I was a little girl, "hot orange" is the only way to describe it.

I hope that you have enjoyed this little garden tour. I don't know when I will blog next because our oldest daughter Victoria will be graduating from grade school on Friday and then Valerie Jane will be getting her tonsills and adenoids removed on Monday, so I will be busy celebrating the right of passage of one, and then happily nursing the other back to health.

I wish you a very happy end of May and happy beginning of June!

Love & Blessings,

Sanya

Therapy

2008-05-21T17:00:00.005-04:00

I don't know if any of you other mom's with kids still in the home suffer from this too, but there are days that I just can't take it. It seems as if the moment everything is back where it is supposed to be, it just gets messed up, and walked away from without the slightest thought. The once orderly and ever so pretty home no longer exists. Seeing the mess downstairs today just hit me harder than normal and I knew that I needed to do something to get myself motivated to organize my own things before giving the lecture when the girls get home and have to pick up their stuff and fix the messes they have made. I decided to do a little bit of "self help therapy" and reorganize my ribbons. As you can see, they were a mess, although I did try to organize them, the baskets I had were the wrong size, so when I happened upon some pretty new ones, I knew that they would be perfect for the task, so I turned on the TV to AMC and listened to an old western with Donna Reed while I worked, and then another with a young & quite sexy Clint Eastwood. It was great!
cozy blankets on the floor and area rug mushed up.....
Play Station & games left out on floor with random artwork & Jacqueline's vanilla milk cup from the morning....
my spring & Easter decorations are still out, help!
kitchen table is a total mess, I won't even show you the dining room table, it is too embarrassing!
Finished ribbon organization! Hurray!
I got this idea to use this shabby old tool box for my ribbon remnants from my friend Holly over at HollyDoodleDesigns.com and I LOVE it!
This basket tray is shallow, so it was perfect for my smaller rolls of ribbons
I use this box for the ribbons I use most when gift wrapping, the other larger basket I used for my thick rolls of specialty ribbons and the medium basket I used for all my rolls of tulle that I use mostly for wedding flowers. I really felt great when I was done, and I was able to get the kitchen table cleaned up and the dining room table is almost done. Lord only know when I will get to the "spring" decorations with this week and next being the last of the school year, but I know its not going anywhere, and hopefully, neither am I!

By the way, it worked, I feel better!

Ciao,
Sanya

Sweet Surprise

2008-05-08T21:55:00.003-04:00

This morning I packed up my orders and when I got back home from running my errands there was a box on our porch for me and this is what was inside.....
A gorgeous antique luster tea cup, yummy butter cookies, a pretty pink antique soap dish filled with tea and sugar with the sweetest Mother's Day card from my friend Becky. I was so taken aback because I love to give gifts, but I don't generally expect to get them out of the blue like this, and I must say that it really made me feel so special. Truly the greatest blessing that has come from having this business has been making friends with incredible women that I have never even met in person. Becky is one of those women that I bonded with right away. Her husband Rod is in the military and has already been to Iraq and will be going back again soon. Becky and Rod are so sweet and love to use their antiques daily because they know that each day is special. I will treasure this gesture as well as the beautiful treasures Becky has bestowed upon me and each day when I see them in my kitchen I will think of her and her thoughtfulness and say a prayer of thanks for her love & friendship.

I will be working hard for the next few days with a large wedding on Saturday and lots of flower orders for Mother's Day, so I will not be posting any new Flea Market Finds until next Monday, and hopefully I will have some good wedding photos for the blog.

Happy Mother's Day to you all!
Love,
Sanya

Tri State Flea Markets Opening Day

2008-05-04T20:11:00.005-04:00

I am still on the high from today's trip to Indiana for the Tri-State Antique Market. I am truly having a hard time adjusting to not having year round flea markets like they do back in California, so opening day was a really big deal to me. I almost felt like a drug addict driving to get my fix, and the worst part was that I had to set my cruise control so that I would not get a ticket like I did last year, and it was a doozy! I about fell over when I saw this set of antique French Furniture above, and had I had an extra $1,200.00 with me, I would have bought it in a heart beat! There were 4 chairs and a settee, which I can only imagine will look beyond spectacular when taken and upholstered. I am thinking that maybe the flea market gods will be with me and they will be there next month....this rarely happens, but it has a couple of times, so I am keeping my fingers crossed! I had so much fun looking at all of the architectural pieces and dreaming where they could possibly go or who would be going home with them or what shop owner was lucky to stumble upon them.

The crowd was good and cheerful and the vendors were so sweet and happy to see familiar faces. I love getting to know these people who love to hunt for treasures like the rest of us do and to hear what they did over the winter.
The photos above and below are of my friend Pam's booth. She is so talented and lucky that her husband Jeff is handy and talented as well. I always find something I love at Pam's and our home has lots of hers & Jeff's creations.
The piece she made above is filled with antique sheet music and photos, it was just gorgeous!
Deweesea and Cheryl are my favorite vendors of fine china and I always make a b-line to their space. They are the sweetest ladies and have exquisite taste and find the best pink pretties for me to buy, I just love them! Their booth looks more like a shop than a space at a flea market, and I can't help but try to remerchandise their displays for them when I have finished pillaging through them. I am so glad that they tolerate me!
This is what my cart looked like after I got done shopping in just their booth alone. I had to go and dump it out so that I could continue shopping. Needless to say, the day was a great success and I am thrilled that the season is back in full swing again. I missed all of my sweet vendors, and you know what? I even missed the grumpy ones too, and I find that as long as I keep a smile on my face, all is good.

I hope you enjoyed my little jaunt, and I hope that you will pop over to my shop and check out all of my treasures. I will be posting them starting this evening....

Enjoy!

XO~

Sanya

Sharing Natures Gifts

2008-04-28T07:47:00.004-04:00

I think some of you may think that I am a bit obsessive about spring this year, but FYI, I am like that all of the time, I just LOVE flowers, and my garden! This is the front yard of our home, at least part of it, and I wanted to show you how pretty it looks with the petals falling off of the crab apple trees and the bulbs blooming. We have so may walkers in our neighborhood and I love to see their faces when they are on thier way past our home and the smiles on their faces as they enjoy the garden, and if we are out in the yard, most can't help but say something kind regarding it. My hyacinth's have had their day and are no longer bloomed, I wish I had photographed it then, but I did some close ups for you of what is left, so enjoy!
A pair of pretty pale pink tulips with wide open white behind them and peony tulips in the back, don't you just love the petals on the ground!
Blooming branches look gorgeous in a vase, so if you are trimming your trees, bring them indoors and enjoy them. I even made some arrangements for some of my neighbors and they were just thrilled!
I am so in LOVE with these peony tulips, I can hardly wait to buy more bulbs this fall!
My nod to the sea, it will always be in my heart!

These muscari are so pretty, they are always the first to bloom, and they last so long. These are so pretty in a bud vase in a large bunch, and look so lovely on a nightstand.
These white daffodils look so pure, and I am enjoying their late bloom.
This row of pretty tulips is on the other side of our yard, and they are so tall and gorgeous, the colors are spectacular!
A peek inside....
Our lawn looks as if there has been a light snow, and most likely by the end of the week, this will all be gone, and the blooms will be replaced by healthy bright green leaves, but for now, we are just happy to enjoy these gorgeous gifts of nature, and I hope you have as well.

Ciao,

Sanya

Shades of Delight

2008-04-23T11:15:00.004-04:00

(Jacqueline's whimsical beaded pink Chandelier)

I am pretty sure that some people will think that odd things are delightful to me, and that is okay, becuase I have to admit that I love a good shade. Not the kind that you get from the branches of a large old oak tree, but the ones that go on pretty chandeliers, sconces, and lamps! I thought I would share some of ours with you, so enjoy!

Tori's antique glass lamp with fun shade!
One of my all time fav's, the large oval in Rachel Ahswell's Shabby Chic fabric
Another pretty Rachel Ashwell shade graces Jacquelines room & shabby chic lamp
Pretty pink beads hang from these silk chantung shades in the kitchen breakfast nook
More pretty beaded silk shades in the dining room

These ivory silk chantung shades feature rosettes as well as beads
I love the way these antique reproduction beaded blub covers look on my antique glass sconce!
A flirty French fluff for the powder room is perfect against the traditional toile in the powder room!
This precious sconce shade is made of white tulle with embroidered pink roses, too sweet!

I would love to hear about your favorite shades, so send me a note!

XO~

Sanya

Pretty in Pink

2008-04-16T14:29:00.003-04:00

I know that my last post was about flowers as well, but I just couldn't help myself. My mom brought these from her yard this morning and they look so pretty in the pink mercury glass votive vase that I sell on the website. It is just the pick me up that I needed today, so I just had to share it with you as well.
Enjoy!
Sanya

Spring Blooms

2008-04-06T16:48:00.003-04:00

I thought that I would share these gorgeous spring blooms with you. My mom surprised me today with these branches from the Bradford Pear tree in our front yard in one of my antique pitchers and I just love it! All of the streets in our neighborhood are lined with these trees and it is such a stunning site to see! We have had 2 sunny days in a row (imagine that!) with temps in the high 60's so spring is just exploding here.
I am so glad that my mom did this for me so I thought I would share it with you so that you may be inspired to do the same thing so you can enjoy the beauty of the outdoors inside.
I recently finished this arrangement for our front door and I am thrilled with the way it turned out! I used a large antique wall urn that I found at a flea market. I had no idea what I was going to do with it when I found it, but it was so large and unusual that I had to buy it!! It turned out to be the perfect piece for an arrangement for our front door and I like that it is not your typical basket or wreath. Here in Kentucky, Forsythia blooms are the first sign of spring. I made the silk arrangement above for a client and they placed in their very large and grand entry on an elegant round table. Normally I do not make a whole lot of silk arrangements, but I have really enjoyed doing them lately.

I hope that you have enjoyed this post and the pictures. I would love to hear about the different ways you bring the outdoors in and how you like to decorate your front door.

Ciao!
Sanya

Mom's Home Sweet Home

2008-03-26T17:28:00.003-04:00

Well, it has been a few months, all of the boxes are unpacked, and things are not quite finished, but since I have received so many requests, I thought I would show you some pictures of my moms new home here in KY. The photo above is of her parlor. It is a cozy room which gets lots of afternoon sunlight, a perfect place to curl up and read a good book!

These pictures are of my moms master bedroom. Both of us about fell over when we saw this antique reproduction bed in the store. It is absolutely breathtaking! I am so glad that I was able to twist her arm into buying it! ( She never wants to spend the big bucks on herself, just us kids!)
I love this sweet little sitting area of her bedroom. Her fancy antique petitpoint chair and vintage mirror go perfectly with her awesome bed!

My Mom did not know what to do with this amazing door that she had fount at a Santa Monica Flea market back in CA, so I convinced her to hang it over the fireplace mantle in her living room. Now I just need to find some huge fabulous sconces for each side!
This is one of my Mom's guest bedrooms, quite romantic. The furniture used to be in her master bedroom when she lived in CA, but it is perfect for this sunny room. It has been put to use quite often by my nieces since she has moved here, and she could not be more thrilled. And speaking of thrilled, that is what I am to have my mom living only 2.1 miles away, instead of all the way across the country.

I hope you enjoyed this mini tour of my Mom's new home. We still have some work to do, and when we get it done, I will post more photos.

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO~

Sanya

New Look, New Items

2008-03-17T11:38:00.003-04:00

I am so excited because I just LOVE the fresh, clean, and elegant new look of my website! Charley and I have been working on this together for quite some time now, and I love finally seeing it all come together. Not all of the categories are hooked up quite yet, but they will be by the end of the week, and there will be more items added to the "Home Accents" category by the end of the day today.
If you have any qustions about any of the items that you see on the site, just send me an email to Sanya@inthepinkantiques.com & I will be happy to help you.

I would love to hear your comments about what you think of the site & it's new look, so please post a note on the blog!

Have a fabulous day!
XOXO~
Sanya

Flu Season

2008-03-10T16:43:00.004-04:00

Well the flu has arrived full force at the Pallos household. Now we only have one out of the 5 of us that has not been hit (little Jacqueline) and after 6 days, I still can't shake it, but the worst thing is that Charley now has it, hence the photo above. I know it may seem mean spriited, but I think men turn into little boys when they are ill, they just can't take it. So I go from having 3 girls, to 3 girls and one boy, but I honestly don't mind taking care of him. Charley is the love of my life, an incredible daddy and positive role model to our girls, as well as a wonderful provider that works day & night to make sure we have what we need, so I allow the lapse back into childhood with love in my heart. Needless to say, this is throwing the launch of the new site & products way back, but it is what it is, and I know everything happens for a reason and the site will be up when it is the right time. So for now, I wish you all good health and happy spring wishes!
XO~
Sanya

Thinking Pink

2008-02-27T16:55:00.002-05:00

Well, I went back and forth on this, but I just could not help myself, especially after seeing the Tote Alongs featured in the latest issue of Country Living! I am just so excited!!! These are some of the items that I will be featuring on my website as soon as the new design is all finished. Charley, ( my gorgeous hubby and designer extraordinaire) has been squeezing me in between money paying clients and staying up into the wee hours of the morning so that things will be just perfect. I am blessed! The items above from right to left and then center are as follow: Belle Tote Along $42.00, Belle Venti Tub $78.00, Belle Must Have Bucket $53.00, Blush Fleur Votive Glasses $15.00/each, and Belle Place Mats $23.00/set of 25 mats. All of the items from the Mac Beth Collection will be sold in other colors & styles as well, and can be custom ordered with monograms. If you have any questions, be sure to send me an email and I will get back to you promptly.

I hope you enjoyed this sneak peak of just a small fraction of the gorgeous items we will be offering for your elegant and ever so chic home!

XO~
Sanya

Meet Me in St. Louis

2008-02-21T12:53:00.004-05:00

Our family traveled to St. Louis this past weekend to Celebrate my baby sisters 30th birthday which was February 17th, and it was just sooo much fun!
We actually celebrated all weekend long, and I thought that you all might enjoy hearing about all of the fun things that we did, so here we go...Friday night we drove out to Alton, IL and experienced the legend of Fast Eddies Bon Air, and it did not dissapoint us at all. It was great people watching and the food was incredible & cheap! I even got to dance with Charley, but I could not get my sister out on the dance floor, not matter how hard I tried. If you are ever in the area, you just have to go, it was great! The next morning we arose a bit tired, to say the least, but onward we went! We took all 6 kids to the Magic House, which is St. Louis' childrens hands on science museum, then Charley took the 5 older kids home (we took pity on him and kept the 2 year old with us) so my sister & I could have some girl time. We headed straight to Jilly's Cup Cake Bar at the loop for a light lunch & dessert. All I can say is WOW! I had an incredible bowl of veggie soup and a TO DIE for carrot cup cake. I thought I was in heaven. Then we were off to go antiquing and have another wonderful treat...
We were lucky enough to meet up with Elizabeth Maxson, woman extrordinaire, who I so admire! I am sure that many of you know her through her various features in Romantic Homes Magazine, but her talents go so far beyond that, so make sure that you take the time to check ut her blog. Her talents are truly amazing and she is beyond sweet, it was so fun to spend time with her. It was extremely generous of her to make time to take us to some great shops where I was able to find some fabulous treasures for my website. Just talking shop with Elizabeth is invigorating! Rada and I had just enought time to go home & shower and get ready for dinner with our husbands at Maggiano's where we ate LOTS of delicious food. The next morning, Rada's actual birthday, we went to Church and then Rada and I were off to mall to do some damage, it was so fun!!!
Later that night we were off to Bingo with lots of other family members, (don't laugh, it is what she really wanted to do) & we had a lot of fun. She won once and so did Charley & I.

Needless to say, by Monday morning when we left, we were all beat, but we made a lot of great memories and I am so grateful to have my sister in my life and live close enough that we can get in the car and be there in 5 to 6 hours. Our children adore eachother and it breaks my heart when they are sad faced at the thought of saying good bye to one another. There is nothing like family & I am glad that they can feel that at their young age, and I hope they never forget it.

I hope you enjoyed my visit to St. Louis, it is a great city with so much to do, so if you ever find yourself there, I hope you will try some of the fun places I mentioned!.
XO~
Sanya

Valentines, Girlfriend Style

2008-02-11T18:08:00.000-05:00

Last month our oldest daughter who is 10 (going on 22) asked me if she could have a Valentines themed slumber party for her girlfriends to celebrate their friendships & I could not bring myself to tell her no. Although the thought of having 10 girls all under the age of 10 running around screaming, dancing and being sassy can be frightening, this is a pretty great group of girls and I think I may have had just as much fun as they did. We had to do it this past weekend because Valentines Day is the busiest day of the year for me with my flower business, so I am grateful that it all worked out, and we get to enjoy all of the pretty decorations a bit longer too!
We ate heart shaped pizzas for dinner (Papa John's) and yummy cup cakes for dessert. Then we did crafts... Custom made flip flops for the older girls, tiaras for the wee ones....
Then it was time for a dance off..they even wanted me to join in the competition, and I must tell you, it was just too much fun! I am sure there is video out there that my daughters & their friends will be bribing me with one day. I only wish that I could have had my best girlfriends there too...they all live in othere states, but they are always in my heart & with me in spirit.

I wish you all a Valentines Day filled with love, wheather from the love of your life, your best friends, or your family, and if you are lucky enough to have it all, never forget it!
XO~
Sanya

Raindrops on Roses....

2008-02-06T11:35:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I know you are thinking, what the hec does the title of this blog entry have to do with the stunning crown in the photo??? Well, let me tell you! Last night we had severe storms and had to take the girls down to the basement at 1:30am and had to stay down there for nearly an hour. So being a good mom (at least that is what I tell myself) I am keeping calm and chipper so I don't scare our girls any more than they already are. The Sound of Music is one of our families all time favorite movies, so I kept thinking of the song, but I wanted to replace words with "stunning hand made crowns with pink and aqua feathers, soft silky ribbons, and stars made of shaved silver that sparkle in the light..." I know it does not make a whole lot of sense, but it made my happy.

My friend Holly from Holly Doodle Designs custom made this magnificent crown by hand for me. ALL of her treasures are custom one of a kind pieces, true works of art, and I also look at them as heirlooms. I am so in love with this magical piece that I keep it on a shelf behind me in the office, and sometimes when no one is home, I take it down and wear it when I am working at the computer. I am going to eventually order 2 more so that each of our girls will have one for their own. I think I will give it to them on the day they move out of the house. I am sentimental that way, I think of weird things to do when they grow up years from now, but they are my life, and I hope that they will grow up knowing that and feeling that love always.
Holly uses all vintage pieces, like the brooches, and vintage velvet flowers that she hand embellishes with crystals.
The stars on this crown are made from shaved sterling silver and will age with time, even the ribbon she uses on her crowns are simply the best.

You can see more of Holly's incredible designs & creations by visiting her website & blog at Holly Doodle Designs You will LOVE everything you see.

Enjoy!
Sanya

A Different View

2008-01-31T15:55:00.000-05:00

I had a wonderful surprise today when I was doing my photoshop work for my website. I was scrolling down to adjust my hue saturation on the photo above when I accidentally clicked on "desaturate" and this is how the photo turned out. I was just tickled because I think it is such a romantic photo, so I had to share it!

Enjoy!
Sanya

Sneak Peek....

2008-01-24T15:18:00.001-05:00

Okay, I am just beside myself, and I truly wish that I was not sick because I would have these fabulous new items on the website TODAY!!!!! This is my first arrival of new products that I ordered from the show in Atlanta. I know when you see what all these different items are that you will be as excited about them as I am . I know that more treasures are on the way, so I will keep you posted as to what is coming up, but be sure to check the site regularly and if you want to be a part of my e-mailing list, please send me your email address and I will make sure that you are notified of new items and specials that are for my preferred customers.

Stay Tuned!
XOXO~
Sanya

It's A Snow Day!

2008-01-22T18:13:00.000-05:00

What a blessing today’s snow is for our family! Two of our three girls are sick, (Charley too), so I am glad that they have an extra day to rest without having to have an absence from school. It was an adventure today when I tried to get back up the driveway after taking the girls to the doctor’s office. Thankfully we have a wide street, so I backed into the driveway across the street and gunned it up into our driveway. You know when we were house hunting, I never thought about how difficult it would be to have a steep driveway, but it makes for fun, at least the kids think it is! I know that those of you who live in the northeast will have a good laugh at out measly 3 inches of snow, but for us southern California transplants, we are just tickled even if we have flurries! We have found that our area of Kentucky has such wonderfully mild weather. It is never too hot or cold and we don’t get severe weather either. Harsh weather tends to go either above us, or below us, so we just get a touch of everything. I think that is why it is so beautiful here, but even if we have a single digit weather, it generally will not last longer than a day, although those who were living here during the ice storm of 2003 may disagree with me! For us today’s snow was a blessing and a joy to see, even the dog’s had fun playing in it and as I drove to the market to buy goods to make some homemade chicken soup, I saw the neighbor boys making a great snow man and I have not been able to stop smiling since!

I hope your snow days bring you all joy as well!
Blessings,
Sanya

Inspiration

2008-01-17T10:08:00.001-05:00

Well the Merchandise Mart in Atlanta was definitely full of inspiration for me! The show was amazing and the home accessories that I ordered are just to die for! Super elegant, yet relaxed and chic, with lots of whimsy as well. There were a lot of beautiful showrooms but the photos in this post were my favorite. Some of the showrooms did not allow photos, which I completely understand, but I am very grateful that I got to take these.
Most showrooms actually had real flower arrangements which were to die for, so I really got some great inspiration from those.
I know the photo above is a bit blurry, but I could not resist!
This show was so huge and spanned three high rise buildings, which literally took us all three days to do. My legs were hurting by Sunday to say the least and although we had a great "girls weekend" I was so happy to get home!

The large urn arrangement was my favorite of the show, grand, yet very simple. I just LOVE Forsythia, it is the first sign that spring has arrived here in Kentucky, and as you can see from the arrangement above, it is stunning when used in floral arrangements.

My first batch of treasures should be arriving this week, so be sure to keep checking back, hopefully they will be up no later than this time next week.

Enjoy,

Sanya

It's Adventure Time!

2008-01-10T13:58:00.000-05:00

Well I am off to Atlanta tomorrow morning, so I thought that the photo above was only appropriate since I like to think of myself as Scarlett O'Hara, but that is a topic for another day! My girlfriend Nikki & I are off to Atlanta to go to the gift show to find some fabulous new items for my website. I am so excited about expanding my business that I have to pinch myself at times. For those of you who have not known me long, I once had a large site that I sold lots of beautiful home decor items on called twoshabbychicks & it was a lot of fun, but lots of hard work and with 3 girls under the age of 5, it was just too much! Now that the girls are bigger & in school longer hours, I feel that I have the time to devote to a venture like this again. It will be a very long weekend, but a very fun one as well and Nikki is the perfect friend to spend a "girls weekend" with, so I feel very blessed!
Yesterday I traveled to Louisville, KY and met my favorite vendors from the Indiana flea market that I attend March through October and I was able to purchase lots of incredible pieces from them, so be sure to check the site Monday through Thursday for my new posts in the coming weeks. The photo above is just a teaser of some of the fabulous items I brought back.

I will be sure to write when I get back from Atlanta, I am positive I will have lots of good and exciting news to share with you.

Enjoy your weekend!
Sanya

Bragging Rights

2008-01-06T18:34:00.000-05:00

Okay, I know all of us mom's like to brag about our kids now and again, but this time I think my bragging will be truly justified! Our oldest daughter Victoria, aka Tori, who is 10 1/2 ( I have to say that) decided that she wanted to donate her hair to Locks of Love. After seeing some pictures of little girls with cancer that have lost their hair sitting in their hospital beds, she thought it would be a good thing to do. Now I have to tell you that her goal in life is to be a STAR, and I capitalize that because she really means it. Drama Queen is what she is through and through, an excellent and very talented actress, and a tad vain as well. She LOVED her long hair. It was part of her identity and she was terrified that she would be made fun of tomorrow when she goes back to school and that she would possibly "look like a 2 year old", and when she saw herself when the ponytail was cut off she even cried, which completely broke my heart. But in the end when all was done, she knew she did the right thing and most of all she felt good about it. Today when we were in Target a complete stranger walked up to her and told her that she loved her hair and that she looked like a model. She was thrilled to say the least. Below is a photo of her & her new do, the after shot if you will.

To say that I am proud would be an understatement. I always say that what matters most to me as a mother is to raise good, caring, loving children that will grow up to be amazing women that love and care for others, especially those in need that they may not even know.

I think we are off to a great start!

If you have any similar stories, I would love to hear them, go ahead and brag!

All my best,

Sanya

Happy New Year!

2007-12-31T22:56:00.000-05:00

The ocean is such a source of renewal for me, and looking at this photo of our girls at the beach that I took the other day I think that it is because the water is so symbolic, like the cleansing waters of Baptism. That is how refreshed the ocean makes me feel, and since I don't get there very often these days living in Kentucky, I truly treasure seeing our girls frolic in the waves, especially in late December! If there are any rough days ahead in the new year, I will look back upon days like this and remember the smiles on our girls faces and the joy that was obvious in their hearts.
I wish you all a blessed New Year filled with good health, much happiness and prosperity, it is all there for the taking, we just need to open ourselves up to it.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Sanya

We're Going Back to Cali....

2007-12-17T22:03:00.000-05:00

We are leaving in the morning for California where we will be spending Christmas with Charley's parents, our grandmothers, and lots of other relatives. I am beside myself to see my cousins, one of them has a little girl named Presley that I am just dying to see in person! My girlfriends are planning nights out or us and we have our family trip to Disneyland all maped out, and I just cannot wait to see the girls faces when we get there. If you are you are lucky, I may even post some photos from the fabulous chocolate party that my Mother in law throws for the girls in our family each year. It is spectacular and something that I have missed for 3 year now.
I am mostly looking forward to morning walks with my grandma and time spent holding hands with her and just loving one another and having the girls get to spend some quality time with their grandparents and great grandma's! I do have to say that I will miss having a white Christmas this year, but being with my Baba will most likely make me forget all about it.

I wish each and every one of you a joyous and most blessed Holiday season with best wished for a healthy and happy New Year!
With Love,
Sanya

Our Families Hero

2007-12-09T19:31:00.000-05:00

Two weeks ago I had the honor of attending my brothers promotion ceremony at the Air Staff Command College in Montgomery, Alabama where he is the Vice Dean. He was promoted to Colonel, much to his and our families surprise. When he decided to go and get his doctorate a few years ago, everyone told him his chances of being promoted to Cololnel were slim to none if that was the path he would chose, but after much prayer with his wife and family, he knew it would be the right thing to do. He LOVES teaching and is so passionate, this we all knew about him, but there were so many things I learned on this special day, and the emotion has not yet left me, and most likely will not. My brother has served in the USAF for 25 years now, and he would have it no other way. Intelligence is his specialty and he travels a lot to Europe to teach at international military colleges, specializing in the teaching of ethics in war. He is on a comittee of high ranking military officials that is trying to figure out a way to end the war in Iraq in a peaceful manner, bringing home our troops safely, and has served in Iraq 3 times. He is my hero and I am so grateful to have heard all that I did on this most interesting and humbling day. You see, as a human, I have mostly seen him as my big brother. Someone I adore and look up to, someone who can seriously annoy me, and someone to vie for moms attention with, but I never knew ALL the things he does and has done. It was mind boggling! And standing in a long reception line with him and our family afterwards was even more surreal. At least 100 military men and women that I regard as heros congratulated us on our amazing brother. What an honor to shake each soldiers hand and thank them for their service to our country and for attending the ceremony. I am so grateful that I could drive there with my mom and youngest daughter & my sister also drove all the way from Missouri with one of her sons. Those three days were a gift that we will always treasure. My brother for all of his accomplishments is very modest, and quite humble. He is above all things a man of God, and a man devoted to his family with all of his being, an amazing father of 4 brilliant loving children. My true hero! As the holidays are upon us, I would hope that eveyone will take a moment and pray for the safety of all of our military personell around the world who are serving our country selflessly, and for their families as well, for many are not with their loved ones and are surely missing them dearly.
Nik and Veronica, Tom's youngest pinning Daddy!
Our sister Rada, Tom, and me.
Nik, Veronica, Jacqueline and Bryce.

Sleigh Bells Ring....

2007-11-25T21:17:00.000-05:00

Well it seems like the very second we were done eating our Thanksgiving meal at my mom's new home here in KY, the girls were asking when we could put up our Christmas decorations. I had been avoiding bringing this up with them this year because we are going to be spending Christmas in California this year with my Grandma and Charley's parents and all our other relatives and friends that we miss dearly, so I was not sure what I was going to do. Needless to say, their little eyes just touched my heart too deeply not to put up some things, however, the big tree did not come out & I have not made up my mind on how far I am going to go on the outside of the house, but that can wait til next weekend! I decided this year to just do some simple vignettes on the mantle, the pink buffet, somethign pretty for the cofee table, and one one the low china cabinet that is in our entry. In the setting above I placed some vintage mercury glass beads in a crystal bowl and placed 3 of my vintage blown glass santas that are no longer in perfect condtion, but that I cannot part with. I placed the bowl on a silver tray with some candles and lots of pretty vintage pink glass ornaments and it just looks gorgeous on my cofee table.

The mantle above is simple, but I love winter whites and soft pastels at Christmas, and this year I left ALL the reds upstairs in the attic. My dearest friend Tracy sent me these gorgeous white feather trees as a gift this year, and I LOVE the way they look on my hearth. She is so generous in every way, but her friendship is my greatest gift!
On the pink buffet shown here above, I just put some pretty winter fruits in one of my favorite antique bowls, and I love this vintage white feather tree that I adorned with vintage mercury beads and some pretty blown glass birds.
On the low china cabinet in my entry I almost always place this tree with my most favorite antique ornaments and the girls love our pastel glitter christmas houses. I must say though, at night, when the sun has gone down, this tree gives me much joy, and as I walk up the stairs each night, it makes my heart fill with joy and I hope that I am creating good memories for our girls.

May the joy and peace of the season fill your hearts and be with each and every one of you!

Sanya

A Week of Thanksgiving

2007-11-18T19:05:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving is one of my most favorite times of the year. I have always loved that a specific day is set aside to give thanks. In our home we talk about thankfulness daily, but I love having an entire day devoted solely to it. This year I have so much to be thankful for, and of course on the top of my list is my sweet Baba's triumphant surgery to remove her lung cancer. We found out today that the lymph nodes that were removed were cancer free, Hallelujah! She actually went home from the hospital today and sounded so much better with some drugs out of her system. She's been sounding pretty loopy to say the least! Secondly, my mom is here. What a blessing. After living apart from her for the past 3 years, having her move here to KY is such a gift! My brother and his family will arrive in town on Tuesday and for the first time in decades, we will all be together for Thanksgiving. Last year Tom was in Iraq and my mom drove up from Alabama with my sister in law and the kids, and we all were missing him terribly, so this year will be extra joyous. There is nothing like family. I am sure at some point in the coming week, we will all irritate each other in some way, but that is life, we love each other warts and all, so we tolerate our differences and try to embrace them with as much love as we can.

I am going to spend this next week just loving on my family, so I will not be posting new items on my website, but the sale is still going, don't miss out, it ends next Saturday night. I may post a bit on the blog, I will just see if something happens that I have to share, or maybe I will find something that will inspire me that I think you will all need to see. I will tell you that I will have some fabulous new specialty items to post next Sunday as well as some amazing antiques (I do have to say I love all of them or else I would not buy them) so be sure to check it out.

I wish each and every one of you a blessed Thanksgiving. I am grateful for you all.

With Love,
Sanya

The Purest Justification

2007-11-15T20:34:00.001-05:00

Today was much more hectic than most, my feet are killing me from being on them most of the day, but today was beyond meaningful as well. I recieved an amazing and very unexpected gift at a luncheon that was held in honor of the PTA presidents of our school district today. I was presented this letter from my two oldest daughters along with some other neat things, but the letter is something I will treasure for the rest of my life. You see I got a lot of heat and I mean A LOT of heat, from my friends and family for taking this position, and I know it was out of love, they all worry that I do too much, but how do you say no to the school principal and your kids? I can't when it comes to things like this. I know that there are a lot of you out there just like me, lots of irons in the fire, burning the canlde at both ends, but we do manage to get it all done, don't we? Sometimes it may not get done perfectly, but it gets done, and generally people are pleased. I want my children to grow up with a sense of responsibility to serve others and get a good warm feeling in their hearts when they do and hopefully they will pass that on for generations to come. I faxed this letter to my in-laws today and I can't wait for my mom to see it in the morning, I know she will not be able to read it without crying ( I cried all afternoon), and I don't think Charley will ever grumble under his breath about the time I spend on PTA stuff again after reading it when he gets home from work. The greatest gift was this letter and knowing that our girls wrote every word themselves, together (and without hurting eachother) and that it comes from their hearts and they are proud of their mom. Could you think of a better reason to be involved in your children's school? I can't! If you have a minute, click on the photo and read the letter, I am so blessed!!

Enjoy,

Sanya

My Favorite Lady

2007-11-14T09:52:00.000-05:00

My 84 year old grandma had surgery yesterday to remove a cancerous tumor from her lung, and she made it through with flying colors. She quit smoking 35 years ago, but somehow it still got to her. Luckily the doctor says that she has the heart and lungs of a 50 year old and ties that to her daily walks of 84 blocks. She has never driven a car, she has walked everywhere her whole life and it has kept her very healthy. This is a picture of us from last year when she came to KY from CA to visit our family, I did not want to let her go back! Is she not just the cutest thing? She is the sweetest soul I know, and I pray daily that I will one day be as wonderful a grandmother to my grandchildren as she has been to us. I can hardly wait till December when we go to CA for Christmas and we can be with her, it has been hard to not be with my grandma for the past 3 years on Christmas, but she will never leave my heart.

For those of you who are blessed to still have one, give them a call or send them a note and tell them how much you love them, and if you are a grandma, know that your love is a love like no other, it is the most precious gift for grandparents love in such a non judgemental way, and can spoil and do things that mom & dad just cannot do. What a blessing!
Sanya

A Letter Just For You

2007-11-08T13:37:00.000-05:00

I could not resist buying these fabulous charms for the website! I love them and have one for each of my girls names, I may even add them to a bracelette with mine and Charley's initals as well. I also purchased some gorgeous charms with antique lace in them from the same artist and I am hoping to have them up on the site for all to see tonight along with the alphabet girl charms. I am thrilled to have found Shari here in Kentucky and I cannot wait to add more of her fabulous hand made treasures to my website. Charms sell for $16.50 and chains are $2.00 each

Enjoy!

Sanya

I'm So Excited!!!!

2007-11-04T15:41:00.000-05:00

I think that the title to this post says it all! I am truly beside myself over the new look of my blog. When I first started this little venture I had no clue about blog customization and I was so unhappy with the way that my blog looked because it did not represent me and what I love in any way! For a couple of months I tried to make the best of it until I was blessed to find Shawn from Eclectic Whimsy. She is my blog angel, and I just cannot thank her enough for making my blog so fantastic! She has been very patient for the past 2 months, making sure that everything was just right and adding things for me here & there. I was determined to have my brooch that I love so much as somthing special and she created it perfectly for me. She truly took all of the elements that I love and put them together for me to create something magically beautiful, so if you like the new look of the blog, we all have her to thank! The world wide web is such an amazing thing, I get to make friends with such wonderfully talented people that I have never met face to face, yet with whom I share many of the same passions, and creativity, I feel very blessed!
Thank you Shawn from the bottom of my heart!
XO~
Sanya

Something New For My Office

2007-10-26T16:19:00.001-04:00

I found this fabulous display cabinet at the flea market last weekend and I was so excited because I needed something to store all of my china that I have for sale on the website in. I like having it in my office so that when I sell something I can just label it right away. The cabinet was in its original state of a dated dark wood when I saw it and I said out loud to my mom, "just imagine how beautiful all of the details will be when I paint this piece white!" The gentelman who was selling it about fell over and said he would not sell it to me if I was going to do that and his wife promptly told him to walk away and cover his ears because she was taking the cash! He turned out to be very sweet & made my promise to take a picture for him so he could see how it turned out. It is perfect for this space and I have been searching for the past 2 years for just the right piece, so I am thrilled.

The other wonderful thing about this piecce is that the stunning painting my mother in law painted for my for my birthday this past summer looks marvelous hung over it and I get to look at it all day while working from my desk. I fell so blessed and very loved being given something so priceless. The painting even has a portrait of my oldest daughter from when she was younger in it and it is tiltled "A Study in Whites". I could not imagine anything more perfect!

Enjoy!
Sanya

My Strange Addiction

2007-10-17T16:19:00.001-04:00

I am sorry to say that it’s not as juicy or racy as the title may suggest, since antique berry bowls are what I cannot manage to walk away from, but it is seems strange to me. I mean, with the exception of all the different sized plates I own combined, and I cannot stop buying them. Maybe in the back of my mind I am making sure that there will be enough of them for all three of our girls to divide equally, although I am sure they will have more than they will be able to use as well. (Hopefully the crazy collecting gene has been passed on to at least one of them!) Maybe it is the delicate size and the sheer beauty of something so petit, or maybe it is simply the romance of it all. I just love the thought that there was a specific piece of porcelain for mostly everything one ate not too long ago! I love to imagine a well dressed gentleman serving fresh berries to a beautifully dressed table of girls with good manners, clean clothes and fresh faces in a garden surrounded by pink and white roses…. But in our home, we use them daily, in the morning for our breakfast cereal or oatmeal, for a side of cut up apples at lunch, and in the evening for dessert with ice cream, fresh strawberries and homemade whip cream, with girls in clothes that have been played in all day and smudged faces. I have my business cards in a gorgeous pink rimmed berry bowl on my desk and many of my clients remark that it is clever and I enjoy the compliment. When setting up for a party I also like to use berry bowls to hold sugar cubes and packets of sweetener, I also scatter them about the house filled with something salty or sweet to snack on and it just looks so lovely! Berry bowls also make great soap dishes in a vintage or antique inspired bath. No wonder why I cannot get enough of these little treasures, they are pretty, but practical too, and nothing inspires me more than surrounding myself with pretties!!
Enjoy,
Sanya

It's Always Something!

2007-10-14T17:55:00.000-04:00

Well, to say that this past week has been trying would be a bit of an understatement, but today was just nearly more than I could take. Last Tuesday our little runt of the litter poodle Ginger was lying on her bed shaking so I took her to the vet & she is still there now on Sunday very sick and not responding very well to all they are trying to do. As you can see sister Brittney is looking very sad. While I was at the pet hospital today visiting ginger with our two younger daughters, Daddy called to tell me that our oldest, Victoria broke her foot & will need to go to the Pediatric Orthopedist tomorrow. It all comes on the heels of me having the stomach bug last week and bronchitis this week and I just am trying to count my blessings for all that is good. I know that the foot is minor (I hope, they say there are 2 broken bones) and as for Ginger, I am trying to come to grips that she may not make it. Needless to say, I did not have time for photos or packing orders today with all that is going on, so my friends, please bear with me over the next few days, I will pull it all together & move on because I am counting all my blessings, and I have lots!

Sanya

Something Sweet

2007-10-10T16:48:00.000-04:00

One of my dearest friends Julie has an incredible gourmet home made dessert business that has helped me to gain a significant amount of weight over the past year ( I wish I was joking, but I am not). I have done all of the photography and styling for her site and it has been a lot of fun working with her and her incredible family. The other day we did a photo shoot for the new wedding favors that she is offering, so I thought I would share a few of the pictures from it with you. They are not even on her website yet, so you are all truly getting a sneak peek. You can find out more about Julie & her fabulous desserts by going to her wibsite http://www.juliasdesserts.com/

Bon Apetit!
Sanya

Fall Whimsy

2007-10-08T18:02:00.000-04:00

Okay, I hope no one takes this the wrong way, but I have never been one for “festive garments” as I like to call them, so I was truly tickled when I happened upon these precious pieces. I could not help but smile when I found these fabulous Halloween charms that are made by an artist here in Kentucky. The little witch girl is my favorite, most likely because that is how I see myself at times (my youngest decided that she wants to be a witch this year and she wants mommy to be her twin. How can I possibly say no to that???) and I finally found something that I would enjoy wearing that is “festive”. I love all of these precious vintage inspired charms and I will be offering them on my website http://www.inthepinkantiques.com/ for $16.50 and they are perfect for all ages! The charms will be listed in the “In The Pink Exclusives” section of the site, so try to stop by an take a peek!
Enjoy!
Sanya

A Rose By Any Other Name.....

2007-10-04T16:36:00.000-04:00

Is just NOT the same!!!! I had to share my excitement over finding these Iceberg roses today!! Iceberg roses are my most favorite breed of roses and I had lots of them in both my front and back yards when I lived in California. I have not been able to find them here in Lexington at a nursery anywhere, so imagine my excitement when I saw these today. I was out hunting for white mums (which by the way are also hard to find here), so I ran into this roadside nursery because I saw their white mums from the car and I spotted the roses at the back of the nursery and thought I was seeing things! The old lady that owns the place said that she is the only nursery in town that grows them and they are her favorite as well. I bought some for myself as well as for my mom (who was also just beside herself!), and the nursery also had gorgeous pink English roses that were to die for, so this weekend will be a fun weekend for my Mom and I to bond over some gardening before going out to the horse races.....but that I will leave for another day....

Enjoy!

Sanya

Squeeze Them Tight!

2007-10-03T11:55:00.000-04:00

I really struggled with writing this entry in my blog today, but I obviously came to the descision to go ahead with it. I recieved a flower order last night for a funeral arrangement for a 6 week old baby boy. Any mother reading this will know immediately that my heart was crushed on many different levels. Did I read extra stories to my girls last night? You betcha, and I am sure I will tonight too. I will lay with them longer as well and maybe there will be ice cream after school today for "no reason except for that I love you". Not that we don't do these things from time to time anyway, but in the daily grind of life, it is easy to get annoyed with the gazzillion questions that are asked, the shoes (piles of them because I have 3 girls) that I am always tripping over, hair acccessories that are everywhere I look (including Hannah Montana wigs), and messy rooms that "I have worked so hard to make pretty for you!" Refereeing the cat fights that ensue between the three of them can make me feel like I need an IV of sauvignon blanc inserted directly into my arm. I LIVE for my girs, as frustrated as they may make me on a daily basis, but the truth of the matter is that just seeing their precious faces each morning when I wake them is the thing I cannot imagine living without. I know that I am blessed beyond reason to have had 3 healthy, sassy, smart, talented, very good, gorgeous, LOVING girls to fill my life with a joy that has exceeded all of the dreams that I ever had. So squeeze your loved ones a little tighter and longer and give thanks for your blessings.

With Love,

Sanya

The Cloche

2007-09-24T15:32:00.002-04:00

There is something very elegant to me about the cloche. I just love placing something pretty and unexpected beneath them. Today I decided to take 3 of my favorite Dresden lace pieces that remind me of my girls and place them beneath with an antique pink linen doily. Pieces like this that can be moved around the house and displayed differently thrill me because I love to change things up and I never know what new treasure I will come across that I can play with! A cloche also works really well if you want to display something sentimental. One of my best friends Maggie, has a HUGE, cloche on a table in her bedroom with some of her late mothers treasures beneath it. Everything Maggie does is beautiful, her eye is amazing, although she will never admit it out loud. This vignette of her mothers treasures that she has always has and always will take my breath away.

Long gone are the days that a cloche was used for practical reasons! We are lucky that we live in a time that we can use them simply to display the things we love and add a touch of elegant whimsy to a room. So the next time that you are out hunting and you run across one of these lovely pieces, just stop and close your eyes and imagine all that you can do with it, then hurry up, buy it and get home to start having some fun!

Enjoy!

Sanya

Happy Birthday Charley!!!

2007-09-19T19:10:00.000-04:00

So it is my gorgeous and beyond talented husbands 36th birthday today, and even though he offered, I could not let him work on my site tonight. We just finished a wonderful family dinner at our home and the girls are in the bath, so I am off to tend to mommy duty, but I wanted to share a photo of my true love with you (and one of Jacquleine dusting the cake as well). Now you can see where the girls get all of their good looks from!

Happy Birthday Charley!

I love you to the sun!

S-

P.S. The home made chocolate bundt cake was to die for!!!

Mom Moves to Kentucky!!

2007-09-17T11:18:00.000-04:00

Okay, so if any of you have been wondering why I have not updated my blog in a while, I have a VERY good reason! My mom moved to KY on September 7th and I have spent all of the last 10 days shopping for new furnishings with her and helping her unpack, which we are nowhere near finished doing! We did manage to find some gorgeous pieces at the flea market yesterday, which was a ball, and I must say, having my mom with me again & being at the flea market with her was amazing! When I lived in CA, we would go together nearly every weekend, so this was really sentimental for me, especially after being away from her for the past 3 years. So she gave up her condo by the beach in gorgeous Santa Monica, CA and moved her to KY, 2 miles from our home, to be with us. I call that being blessed!

Her home is a beautiful ranch in a gorgeous neighborhood and when we have it all fixed up, I will post some photos for you all to see, but for now I must get myself into the basement to unpack all of the amazing TREASURES that I found yesterday, and pack up the orders from last week for my lovely ladies.

Have a gorgeous day!

Sanya

My New Space

2007-09-05T15:44:00.001-04:00

Starting this blog has really gotten my creative juices flowing again, and I think having the girls go back to school has helped with this as well. This past Saturday my personal computer that I do all of my business work on died. I was instantly in a panic and my husband offered up his Mac laptop to to work off of since he has another huge system in the office that we share. Well, I started to sit with him at his desk since my "dead" computer is on the other side of the room on my desk which is all built in and very elegant, but this is the one room in the house that I have not "made my own" if you know what I mean. Charley has clients that come over here as well, so it is the one space that I left "unpinked" if you will. As much as we love each other, sharing a desk is not very fun.

So I got to thinking last night that the parlor would make a gorgeous office for me! Being the incredible (and handsome) hubby that he is , Charley took the day off to help me with the girls since I had surgery on my foot yesterday, and little did he know that he would be moving around furniture and helping me create a new space for myself. I love the freedom of the laptop and I do not think I can go back, so this will be a perfect space for me, and this magnificent antique Danish desk was going to waste in our bedroom and the bench and vintage table that were in the parlor will get used for sure with a new seating area in our romantic bedroom.

I love this new room , and I love my desk, and just sitting at it to work is inspiring to me, but truly , nothing gets me going more than moving some furniture around, I love making old spaces feel new again and using rooms for things that they were not originally intended for!

I hope you enjoyed my small room make over.
All my best,
Sanya

Finding Space for a New Find

2007-09-03T16:32:00.002-04:00

I came home from the flea market yesterday with this fabulous mirrored shadow box and was trying to figure out where I wanted to put it , because you see, I usually don't think about where I am going to put something when I am buying it, especially if I am super excited about finding it to begin with as was the case with this fantastic shadow box! At first I took it right upstairs to Valerie Jane's room, since I just renovated that one and I am trying to get the finishing touches done, but I really was feeling a tad jealous at the thought of it being in there (I know that is awful!) so I just hauled it back down the stairs and as I was doing that I looked over at the dining room and I knew what needed to be done! The shadow box is very heavy so we had to make sure that it went into studs and we used the appropriate hangers as well, so when all is said and done, I have a new place to display my favorite cups that are touched with pink as well as my favorite bisque lace babies. The change is refreshing and scale wise, the shadow box looks much better than the framed rose print, which now I must say looks marvelous hung in Valerie Jane's room, which I hope to be showing you sometime soon.

Enjoy,
Sanya

It's All Coming Up Sunflowers

2007-08-30T20:47:00.000-04:00

I had the honor of making 50 centerpieces for a gala at the historic round barn at the Red Mile Race Track here in Lexington Ky that had its opening race in 1875. The gala being held is a fund raiser for Cardinal Hill Rehabilitation Hospital of Lexington and although I do not have finished photos of everything completely set up, I thought that you might enjoy some of the beauty of the wonderful state that I am blessed to live in.

I received a phone call tonight during dinner from Dana, one of the event coordinators that hired me for the event telling me how happy she and the rest of the staff were. Sometimes simplicity is best. I am super big on lots of frills and pretty, but when they told me the setting and what their linens looked like, I knew it had to have a more "south of France" feel of simple elegance, and luckily they agreed. I was promised pictures of the event with everything completely set up, so when I receive them, I will post them as well.

I remember the days when a couple of my favorite magazines used to devote entire issues to blue and white, and even though my passion is pink, there is something clean and fresh about that color combination and when you throw in the yellow I realize why I love it so much, blue for the ocean and sky, white for the puffy clouds and yellow for the sun that lights our days.

Au revoir!

Sanya

Treasures on Display

2007-08-27T13:21:00.000-04:00

I just love displaying my favorite things, and often I get questions for suggestions as to how and where to place your most loved pieces. Wall curios are deffinately one of my most favorite ways to display the smaller pieces I have collected and they are perfect for antiques such as cups and saucers, small figurines, bone dishes and dessert plates. As you can see, I have a mixture of pieces in this curio which gives it a bit of whimsy and keeps the eye looking. I also think it is important to take everything out of your cabinets now and again to rearrange them and give your home a breath of fresh air, especially if you entertain on a regular basis, your guests will really enjoy seeing something new the next time they come over to your lovely home.
Enjoy!
Sanya

Creating Romance with Touches of Old

2007-08-23T12:42:00.001-04:00

When I saw these prints, I knew instantly that they would create a sense of romance in any home, and that those of us who love all things old and pretty, especially when they include roses, would fall in love as I did with these lovely framed prints. There is such a difference when you walk into the home of someone who decorates with treasures from the past than when you enter the home of someone who had "the decorator from Ethan Allen" help them with their home. Both are lovely I admit, and I do so admire many of the "new" pieces, but there is just something that pieces like this add to a home; warmth, a sense of history, and most definitely romance!

I am so grateful that I have a husband that enjoys my sense of style and appreciates treasures from the past. Our home is a haven for all things old, and from time to time, we joke and say that our home is "where 200 year old pieces of china come to die" since with three little ones things get broken now and again, but they are never thrown away. I have a VERY LARGE box full of broken china, just waiting to be used to create something splendid that can be passed on to our daughters, and maybe someday their daughters too!

My Baby Turns 10!

2007-08-22T08:34:00.000-04:00

It is hard for me to believe that my oldest "baby" Vicotria just turned 10 on Monday, August 20th. It honestly feels like yesterday that I held her in my arms for the first time looking into her wide open eyes that seemed to be looking at me as if she had known me forever. We are blessed that she is so good, quite a little lady, and talented to boot with 2 younger sisters that think she hung the moon.
If you are a regular to In The Pink Antiques, you know that I have been a bit preoccupied since the beginning of August with visiting relatives, school starting and being PTA preisident for the first time, so I thought I would share this bit of a very precious moment with you.
Enjoy!
Sanya