I hope you’ll join me on my never-ending search for beautiful pieces, with history, for your home. Find my curated treasures, in Booth #154, at the Antique Trove, in Roseville, CA. ~ Barbara

Trend Watch: Otomi Fabric Has Gone Wild

By Barbara Bussey | January 16, 2012 |

I have been hearing and seeing so much talk lately about Otomi fabric. While I had seen the pattern, I didn’t even know it’s name, until now. It’s finally getting the recognition it should! It’s timeless and simply beautiful. I found Jane at Empress of the Eye, talking about hand-stitched Otami recently on her blog, along with an introduction to Spoonflower, a company that will create your fabric designs. They’re offering “Otomi” design replicas on easy to care for fabric! Amazing! Followed by Elements of Style, talking about Otomi and Spoonflower Otomi fabric replicas. Low and behold, this morning, Abode…

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Antique Show in Stuart, Florida & More

By Barbara Bussey | January 16, 2012 |

What do you do, on vacation in Florida? Why, go to an antique show and flea market, of course! Yesterday was cold and grey, here at the beach, but today is beautiful, even know it’s pretty breezy. Before heading out to the flea market, we toward the beach, pool and Mr. Wonderful’s favorite, the barbecue. This would be a great meet place up with the kids! < /> On the way to the flea market, we found an antique fair! This lovely woman was “holding court “at her booth, wearing a fur pelt coat! She asked me how old I…

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Queen Isabella Stopped By

By Barbara Bussey | January 12, 2012 |

Well, I kind of made up the story about Queen Isabella. But it seemed like an appropriate name for the person in my new oil painting, at Veranda. Isn’t she fun? Certainly can’t miss her! No, I didn’t paint her myself. I found her standing by herself at the Alameda Antique Fair. I finally found something that holds most of my pillows. It’s a bakers rack and seems to work just great. I saw this darling Valentines day banner on Etsy. It looked pretty simple to make so I whipped out the sewing machine today and put it together. Doesn’t…

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Pillow Love

By Barbara Bussey | January 11, 2012 |

Since my pillow addiction seems to be growing more serious, I’ll soon be adding an on-line pillow shop to my blog! My tech wizard, Ann Marie, is going to start the process next week and I’m so excited! Pillows will be available as simply a cover, if you have your own inserts, or with poly or down/feather inserts. If you remember the fur muff I found at Veranda, It has evolved into a little lumbar pillow! I found another pretty lambs hair muff on eBay that should be here soon. Pillow, anyone? While out and about, I stopped in at…

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Our San Francisco Condo in Transition

By Barbara Bussey | January 9, 2012 |

Well, hopefully this post will appear more organized than I feel right now. Over the weekend, we moved, sold, packed up and cleaned our 2nd home, in San Francisco. Now we’re trying to find a place to put everything. I shouldn’t be complaining, because Mr. Wonderful did all the hard stuff. Fortunately, we have storage space for the furniture we’ve decided to keep, but you can imagine what’s involved, since you know what moving’s like! I looked back at some pictures tonight, of all we accomplished in our little get-away. Mr. W. got to really put his woodworking and painting…

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My Pillow’s Famous!

By Barbara Bussey | January 8, 2012 |

Well, I guess my Kravet designer fabric pillow isn’t an actual “celebrity”, but the fabric was featured on this month’s “House Beautiful”! My pillows are available for photographs, if any of you paparazzi want to stop by, Thursday through Sunday, at Veranda! I think this fabric would mix well with… And even… What do you think? On a slipcovered sofa? Or on dark grey velvet or corduroy chesterfield? Hmmm… Are you a yellow and grey lover, like I am? It’s a new week! I hope it’s a great one for us all!

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Temptations at Veranda Antiques

By Barbara Bussey | January 5, 2012 |

Well, I had the pleasure of working at Veranda today and as usual, had a ball! I always meet the nicest people, including my new BFF, Amy! The only problem, if you can call it a problem, is that I usually end up being the best customer if the day. So be it. If that’s as risqué as my life gets, I’m in pretty safe waters! Today’s favorite acquisition is this wonderful fur muff that I’m going to turn into a small pillow. I learned this little trick from a favorite blogger at for the love of a house who…

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Open Kitchen Cabinets – A Huge Money Saver and a Great Look

By Barbara Bussey | January 4, 2012 |

Updating a kitchen can cost a “boat load” of money, if you’re not careful. I’ve heard stories of the $100,000 kitchen and beyond. In many cases, homeowners update their homes far more than they’ll ever recoup when they go to sell, which is unfortunate. Then, there are those that never plan to sell and can afford all the “bells and whistles” and I say go for it! If I were moving into a first home, or wanted to update the one I had, without breaking the bank, I’d remove the cabinet doors, fill the screw holes and paint the shelves.…

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Map-Love

By Barbara Bussey | January 3, 2012 |

I was lucky enough to inherit my parents old world map, when they passed away. It’s big and beautifully framed and I spent far too little time studying it, when I was a child. Now, it has a place of prominence, in our living room. I love the colors found on maps and best of all, I can see where travels have taken me and where I’d still like to go. Come along and see a few other maps I found on Pinterest… I dreaded the moment Mother de Chantel would pull one of these maps down, in class, for…

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The Best Time To Post Your Blog

By Barbara Bussey | January 1, 2012 |

If you’re like me, you’ve grown your blog by trial and error and by following the example set by more experienced bloggers. Many of you have been my “teacher” and I thank you! Mr. Wonderful, a mortgage banker, sent me this graph, indicating early morning to be the best time of day, to send out blog posts. It makes sense to me. Typically, I read blog posts first thing each morning, with my coffee in bed. What a treat! If I don’t do it then, it doesn’t get done. WordPress allows you to choose what time of day your blogs…

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Barbara Bussey

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