This past week has been a little crazy for Kristen and myself, and we have not been able to post much. We are now back and have a few fun posts planned for the rest of the week! As many of you know, Kristen and I share an Etsy shop called Lucy + Ellen. We named our shop after our grandmothers, Lucy and Ellen, who have always been fabulous in everything they do. Being inspired by these two amazing women, we found our own passions to combine our love for design with our love for finding fabulous items.

Those of you with Etsy shops and other online stores know that there is a lot of planning going into this holiday season, so we have been updating our Etsy shop with some great new finds. From pretty silver pieces to quirky items, we have unique one of a kind items we have found through weekends of flea market and estate sale adventures. How are you preparing your Etsy shops the holiday season? Let us know!

xoxo Jennifer and Kristen

Although the weather is cooling and people begin to spend more time indoors, I still love to spend time outside in the warm afternoon sun. Personalize your outdoor space with a quick and easy style solution by adding a vintage bench to your patio. The great potted plants and vintage wicker basket all bring a neutral feel to this outdoor patio, with the one brighter hue of colour; the yellow painted wall. We made sure there was a connection between nature and style in every piece of decor in this image, and created a space that we love to enjoy for that much needed peace and quiet.

Kristen Beinke

xoxo Jennifer

This past weekend Kristen and I headed up north to Nipomo, Ca, to an amazing event called the, Remnants of the Past show with special guest, Rachel Ashwell from the beautiful Shabby Chic website and stores. The event was at a remote location in Nipomo at a beautiful old barn nestled within an avocado orchard. There were fall colours and amazing scents of pumpkins and other fall favorites amongst this neat little setting. It felt as if it were something out of a fairy tale, with amazing decor and friendly people.

As if the beautiful setting wasn’t enough, there were so many neat things going on inside the event. Rachel Ashwell was signing books and talking about her most recent design book. She was so kind and was really interactive at the event. She spent time talking about her experience with design and answered questions from her audience of listeners. It was really neat to hear!

There were also so many beautiful booths with amazing antique and vintage furniture, beautiful linens and textiles, and adorable handmade pieces from many vendors. Many of the booths were very soft and elegant, much like the style of Rachel Ashwell, but also with a touch of industrial style. Everything was was really amazing! Take a look at some of the very pretty booths shot by Kristen!

Here are some of the beautiful booths that were actually inside the barn. There was beautiful lighting and a fun atmosphere inside! I loved it!

Kristen shot some amazing photos for this post and I’m really happy she captured how beautiful the day really was! We definitely will be back at their next event this coming Spring. We’re so happy we made it up there because it definitely was not a day to forget!

xoxo Jennifer and Kristen

Last weekend, Kristen and I headed to Pasadena for an early morning adventure to the famous Rose Bowl Flea Market. We’ve made this trip down from Santa Barbara many times before, but it seems to get more exciting each time we go.

Besides the very early morning wake up call, we LOVE spending the day searching through aisles and aisles of amazing vintage finds, including furniture, clothing, and beautiful jewelry. It feels like we are two kids in a candy store, trying to move quickly through each aisle to see everything the market has to offer, only having to make stop after stop, making sure we don’t miss any opportunity to find a great piece.

The photos above come from one of our favorite booths we always make sure to pay a visit to when at the Rose Bowl. These exhibitors come down from Utah for this flea market, and have some of what we think are the best finds around! They always have beautiful furniture, amazing vintage bowls and baskets, and tons of beautiful burlap bags.

This booth always has amazing vintage pieces along with vintage replicas. Check out these awesome wooden crates and amazing glass jars! Beautiful!

We can’t wait for the next Rose Bowl! LOVE!

Images courtesy Kristen Beinke Photography

xoxo Jennifer

I am a self proclaimed flea market junkie and you can imagine my delight when I visited the Paris flea markets this past month. The Paris flea markets were amazing in so many ways! It was so neat how each vendor had their own little room where they could show off their goods, instead of a booth how we typically do it here in the States.  These vendors don’t have to worry about packing up their beautiful finds early in the morning to set up; their items are always on display, no matter if they are open or not.

When I first arrived at one section of the flea market, there was a flock of Parisians and tourists sifting through amazing tables full of vintage accessories and beautiful antique furniture. Some of the furniture wasn’t just antique as in 100 or 200 years old, but I was looking at a few pieces that went back to the 1600′s!

The vendors did an amazing job of merchandising their spaces and I really shopped until I dropped! I tried taking photos of many of the neat old antiques, but was turned down by many vendors. Although I was turned down by some, there were many vendors very happy to let me photograph their items!  Take a look at some of these awesome flea market finds. Let’s just say that by the end of my trip I had to buy an extra suitcase for the flight home.

Can’t wait to head to another European flea market in the coming years.

xoxo Kristen