Happy New Year Sale

From all of us at Viva la Cottage!

Open every day through Jan. 2nd.

Big, big sale!

20% to 70% off store wide.

Celebrating The Holiday Door County Style

A couple of things came into play when I decided to publish this post.
First of all, after telling my best gal Carol that we had between 40 and 50 "young adults" at the house last night for an "Ugly Christmas Sweater" contest, she was surprised to know that there were that many kids in the county.
WHAT?!?!

The other item was a certain blog that I follow (BB), where she put a dream worthy post about the Christmas Tea that she and her four beautiful daughters have each year. Everyone adorns lovely outfits, the girls help out, the food is so enticing and the tea features a special visit from Santa.
Before I continue, one of the many reasons I follow BB is because I don't have a daughter. I love my boys... so much, but there are times that I just wish I had a daughter... you know, skipping those years where they hate their Mothers... to just chat with, hang with and to create special memories, but I don't.
Oh, and one more thing, this is how the college kids in Door County put on a party, at our house.
Allow me to present "Ugly Christmas Sweater Party"... sigh.Sammy won a prize. Only in Wisconsin.

A close up shot of Ben's hand made ugly sweater... clever.

Ugly sweaters, but darling girls... you might find it interesting to know that these girls have families in DC that are postmasters, organic farmers, innkeepers and teachers.

Sometimes, we even invite "summer people" to come to the party.
But, they have to be very special.

Can you imagine the floors the next morning?

Actually, out of these great gals, there are a couple that I could get a daughter fix from if I needed to.

This is one quirky group of young men.
We enjoy each of them for different reasons.... the hair is just one of them.

Let me just say that the lovely Claire on the right helped Ben host the party and I can't tell you how charmed I was after spending two hours in Woodman's fighting other grocery carts to see the fresh cookies, pineapple, pound cake and sweets being prepped for the party, in my house with me having nothing to do with it.

John and I came down from the upstairs long enough to take pictures, but just short enough to not be "un-cool".
Upstairs, we could hear the loud buzz of people laughing and having a great time catching up with college experiences.
The old walls of this house just soaked up the happiness of it all.

I love living in our small/town/winter Door County.

Holiday Sparkle Arrives at Viva!

Kris paid us a visit and left us with some of her newest creations.
These all have a bit more bling and sparkle, perfect for the holidays and brightening up the winter days yet to come!This one with the ivory button is my favorite!

These are called "big sweets" and are loaded with charms and sparkles.

"Sweets" for an elegant, more simple look.

The earrings are new to Kris, who prefers creating necklaces, but realized that some of you want a more matching look. These earrings do not disappoint!

We also have some lovely vintage jewelry, check out the fabulous necklace on the mannequin!
Hope you are all enjoying the holidays.
Make sure to take some time for yourselves.
Peace to you all.

And Home Again, Home Again Jiggety Jog.

Holy cow, is all I can say.
Went to Santa Fe for a meet and greet at Ben's new school.
Supposed to be home Sunday evening... got home Tuesday night at 1o:30 pm.
In our back field was a pattern that looked like one of those corn crop cuttings... all swirls and patterns, surrounded by mountains of snow drifts.
Yesterday morning, my hubby and I took our coffee outside (at this cheap hotel... more later) and sat in the sun with just sweaters on.

However,
I have never been more happy to be home.

Will post tomorrow.

Who knew that nine degrees and sunny could feel so good?
Hope this finds you tucked in and warm.

Tales of Home and The Gift.

Now that winter has landed and decided to make itself at home, I've started decorating the house.
The day before the real cold hit, it was probably 30 degrees and sunny with us putting away patio furniture and winterizing the outside.
I was so charmed and surprised when I was heading to the barn and saw this.
Our sweet Mr. Bill who decided to take us in last summer.
I've told you about him? Just a kitten crying at the corner of our garage, and now look.
Not a great shot, but I love it. (his pal Ms. Lafe is hiding in there as well)
Back to the house... two years ago I found this fantastic old coffee tin at the Gibraltar Antique show.. It says "Edward Gillies and Co." at the bottom and on the front top "French Breakfast Mocha Java" I paid a pretty penny for it. Have been online trying to get info about it and have seen plenty of items, but nothing like this. I think I may have a gem.
Anyhoo... empty-ish nest makes me want to decorate my house in cream, gold and pink.
Love these bottle brush trees with sparkly ornaments tucked at the bottom.

I filled this great jar with white, brown and gold ornaments and at the last minute decided to throw in some silver baby cups and my hubby's and my baby shoes.

Some of you know that my younger son stayed home this semester to figure out what he really wants to be doing school wise. He was lucky to be the pizza thrower for the Wild Tomato, but when winter hits, work is not to be found in Door County. He has had several weeks just being home.
Most of his friends are away at school, and being nineteen in quiet Door County can test the entire family.
He had been staying up way to late and sleeping too long.
There are only so many "chores" I can give him and he was just zoning out.

Then one night I could sense from my bedroom that the garage lights were on. I could just make out that it was Ben and couldn't imagine what he was up to... and thought I probably didn't want to know. I found out the next day that he had been going through boxes of mementos that had been stored out there. He found my husband's seersucker double breasted suit that he had worn leaving our wedding, his great grandfather's leather bike jacket and plenty of wonderful items from when he and Danny were tiny.

The next night I could sense him out there again, but in the morning I left for work before he was up.
Can you just imagine the smile that spread across my face when from way down the road, I could see this on the side of our barn? It's five feet in diameter and shines for all to see!

Ben is a gift.
Our Christmas gift.

And, far as Ben goes... Santa Fe University of Art and Design.... signed, sealed and as of January, delivered.

I did forget to mention that last night I went to bed without a Christmas tree, and woke up to a tree in it's stand ready to be decorated. I didn't ask....

Clean Up After the Show

We had such a great show! The down side is that with so much being sold, I spent a lot of time putting together new displays and bringing in new items for the shop.
Here is the "before".This gal is the bomb. She must have been on top of a trophy. Pigtails, holding a bat as well as a drink to toast her victory!

Happened upon these wonderful, huge horse shoes, and the autograph book is just loaded with sentiments.

I found this neat old tape measure with really strong graphics and twined it throughout the display like a garland. Ledger, keys and me!

Darn it!

We are opening a new "department" in the store.
"Ephemera". So many of you are looking for fun vintage smalls to use in your art projects. I don't know why I haven't brought these things in sooner.

Click on the picture to enlarge and see all the goodies!

Found this really neat fruit press. It's perfect for holding holiday greenery.

Letter boxes in great condition with the folders still in tact.
Buttons and threads.

Shot of almost after.

Somebody flipped the switch and winter has officially arrived in Door County!
I hear we're going to get a nice snow on Thursday and should be lovely for the weekend.
Come and visit this weekend!
Hope this day finds you well.

Vintage Holiday Market Pictures

Viva hosted the Vintage Nest Holiday Market over the weekend, and boy did we have a ball.
This time of year is hard to draw a crowd to the county, but we were
so happy and surprised at the turn out and can't thank you all enough for coming and supporting our vintage show.
As you know my camera went kaput, and these photos are when things were really picked over, but you get the idea.
I will have more photos soon.... let's just say vintage coats were all the rage at this show!
Who knew?!Like Walmart, we had a store greeter. She didn't actually say much, but her skates were envied by all.

The great thing about owning the store is that I got to poke through everyone's things after they had left. I found this box and saw a bit of tinsel sticking out. I couldn't resist putting it together Saturday night. Just look at it!

Mint condition and all parts, plus extras.

One of the fabulous vintage coats.

It's just like Katie not to miss a detail. This was on the back side of a big display, yet she even wrapped the candles in bits of sheet music!

Love this idea!!! A stripped lamp shade holding a bowl full of goodies.
Heck you could serve out of this!
(it was full of goodies earlier in the day)

Small Town Vintage always takes a new twist on hand made.
What a wonderful gift for a cook.

Picked over... but you get the idea.

Carol always has great jewelry at her shows. This display reminded me of getting ready for an evening out on the town.

Two of my favorite locals even stopped by to model some of the vintage coats we had.

I'll post more soon, but again cannot begin to express my gratitude for all of you that came.
Retail has been so hard the last few years.
I knew we had to start thinking outside the box, not only to find a way to make money to pay bills, but also to entice and inspire our customers.
While the money is so important to keep us going, so is the creative side of this biz.

I wish you could witness the after hours, the planning and plotting, the concerns and discussions.

Katie and Carol eat and sleep ideas. What will customers want to see, how will it be different this time but still have my signature look, and what new ideas can we introduce to make you think about your own home with a fresh perspective?

Look through your attic, basement and closet to see what you've put aside that could be used to put a new twist on your own style.

Sweet dreams.

Holiday Market This Weekend!

Can you believe we opened the store straight up 10:00 yesterday... In a Haystack and Small Town Vintage made Viva look like a dream!
Vintage coats were being tried on right and left.
Grab the camera... battery dead... charger at home.
Darn it!
I will try to post some pictures at some point tomorrow, but let me tell you it's stunning.

We still have cupcakes and cookies and plenty of vintage and new holiday shopping.
Today and tomorrow, don't miss it!
Angie

Safe travels and warm wishes.

Vintage Holiday Market This Weekend

Are you ready for this week?
I have kids coming home and lots of cooking to do. Do you?
We'll eat way to much good food, tell stories on each other and laugh a lot.
Then, probably get on each others nerves and someone's cranky radar will
start to rise. But that's okay. I read on someone's blog the other day that "it's not Thanksgiving until someone cries".
Love that.
Real life.
But then guess what?!?
The Vintage Nest is coming to Viva!
Sweet vintage goodness.
I spent today clearing the two front areas so that Small Town Vintage and
In a Hay Stack could display their wares for you to....

Be ready to find the most creative and wonderful finds in all of Door County.

Come and see us, and enjoy music and nibbles as you shop for decorations
for your home and gifts for your "dearests".
(rumor has it that coconut cream cheese cupcakes are on their way!)

Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Come and join in the merriment!

We Have a Winner!!

I am thrilled to announce that

Diane from

Passionate For White

is the winner of our

Winter Wishes

Angel!

(I wish you all could have won).

Just Kickin' Around Town

Went kicking around town yesterday and popped into a couple
of resale shops. Hadn't really planned on finding anything, but did
come away with a few goodies.
This cook book is huge!
The graphics on the front are richer than they appear in
this photo.

Some interesting silver. Double click to enlarge.
A really lovely woman is on the ends. I've never seen this pattern before... have you?
Three real hob nail goblets and some vintage fringe that will find its way to a project.

Some old game cards. I'd say they are 6x8 in size.
Really heavy stock. Would be good for a scrapper.
Let's call it ephemera, shall we?!

Not bad for running in between errands.
Someone once told me that real hob nail is sharp
on it's points.
Have you ever heard this?
These are sharp, so I'm calling them the real deal!

Winner Will Be Drawn Tommorrow! Still Time To Participate.

Here's one last look at our Winter Wish Angel. If you want to enter into the drawing, just leave a comment, become a

follower or link you blog to mine.

Winner will be drawn tomorrow at noon!

Good Luck!

Foof, Fluff and Another Peak at the Prize

I've removed the sideways pictures, and then realized they are on my computer
at work!
Just call me a ditz.
That's okay, I'm just about to post some new things... went junking today!
Anyway, below are some sweet pictures of the shop.

Love these little birds.

Just a few pics from the retro area.

The Santa bubble lamp is new. He's adorable.

Check out the roller skates, complete with traveling

case and key.

We re-ordered these little felted slippers.

Too cute.

I found a great stash of these vintage mugs.

They say "Egg Nog" on the other side.

Lumps of cole abound.

I don't know why they just "showed up" here, like

someone's trying to tell me something.

Now go and enter the giveaway!!!