Hey There

 Hey, psst, you there, we've moved over here... www.octavia-brown.com

AND

We've got a giveaway going on with our friends from Knock Knock (just cause we like you). Come check us out.

TO YOU....

and some Thanksgiving goodness, my Mom's apple pie. Yum!

DON'T FORGET!

Don't forget, we're blogging over here now:  www.octavia-brown.com

And we've found some adorable letterpress coasters just in time for Holiday cocktail parties. Come check them out...

DRUM ROLL PLEASE...

That's pretty much what I feel like doing. After months of labor and a whole lot of love, I'm pleased to announce the new Octavia & Brown website. www.octavia-brown.com It's a one-stop shop for all things Octavia & Brown including sales, upcoming events, info about the Flea and the BLOG. That's right my little blog is moving over and has gotten a brand new look.

So I hope you'll celebrate with me and come check it out. Hope to see you soon!

Hip Hip Hooray!

Hip Hip Hooray! I've got some exciting news to share about some wonderful changes that are happening at Octavia & Brown. Tune in tomorrow...

HOME GOODS

I just got back from a quick buying trip. I can't wait to share my new vintage finds starting tomorrow...

While on the road, I stopped by Home Goods. Have you been in one recently? I found a ton of really cool items at pretty reasonable prices. Here were a few of my favs...

How cool are these cheetah lowball glasses?

I first spied them here and have been looking for them ever since...

This loveseat with the nailhead trim is fantastic.

Loved these lamps. They'd be perfect on a pair of nightstands.

These plates had a great ikat-like pattern in slate gray.

They had Riedel glassware for a steal. I definitely stocked up...

Have you picked up anything recently at Home Goods or TJ Maxx (another fav)?

BRINGING IN THE OUTDOORS

Have you seen this? I literally shouted with delight when I saw it! It's scrapwood wallpaper made to the look like the great outdoors. Now you can get that log cabin feel you've always been looking for...

It comes in a few styles and is eco-friendly (of course)...

Trying to figure out where I could use this maybe a hallway or bathroom would be cool...

I SPY WITH MY LITTLE EYE...

Yesterday I spied these fantastic glasses from Nest Interiors in the latest issue of Lucky Magazine. 

I realized that the reason I like them so much that I already have a pretty similar set in my shop. They are from the era of Mad Men and are the rack makes a perfect display (and easy access) for a party.

Set of 8 Roly Poly Glass Set

What would serve in these cool glasses?

FIND OF THE DAY: DROP CLOTHS

I expanded my booth this weekend at the Brooklyn Flea. While I would have loved to cover all the tables in this fabulous Marimekko fabric, it was a little out of my budget. To cover the extra tables, I picked up these painter's drop cloths from Home Depot.

They've got a great natural canvas color and they're hemmed. I chose the  6 x 9 ft for my tables, but you can get them in different sizes and the best part is at $10 a piece, you can easily replace them if they get stained, etc.

Here they are in action...

WHAT TO DO WITH LEFTOVER PUMPKINS...

My home state of Delaware often faces some serious teasing for it's small size. (Think Wayne's World). The fact that you can drive through it in an hour really doesn't really help things.

But besides chickens, Delaware is known for a very fun event, The World Championship of Punkin' Chunkin'. For those of you not familiar, punkin' chunkin' is the art of launching a pumpkin through a corn field for distance. Competitors develop some highly engineered machines to increase speed, distance, height and accuracy when aiming for objects.

Here's a fun video from Discovery to get an idea...



Half the fun of going is for the people watching. Both competitors and spectators take their outfits very seriously...

If you're interested in making the trek to Delaware this weekend, here's the info:

Nov 4-6
Royal Farms
18657 Sussex Highway
Bridgeville, DE 19933

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Happy Halloween! So happy I am back from all my crazy traveling to celebrate my favorite holiday...

My love for Halloween definitely comes from my Mom. Growing up, costumes and decorations were always home-made from items we found in the basement. (Anyone looking for a last minute costume idea, a gypsy is easy to put together from vintage clothing and big costume jewelry.) This weekend, I ventured back to PA to enjoy a haunted house at her antique store, Pack Rats Place. Here are a few of my favorite pics...

Imagine seeing that creepy rabbit head in a dark basement as a kid...

My mom made her own electric chair from spare wood and lights. 

You never know what you're going to find in the basement: Here she used my red hoodie from college and blouse and skirt from an ancestor

The eyes on this Halloween prop moved and every once in awhile you'd catch him looking at you. Creepy!

FOOD TRUCK ART

I love it when something so common on the streets of NYC, as food carts are recreated into works of art. Check out these great prints by LA artist, Sean Finnocchio.

Be sure to check out his series of taco trucks, SF dim sum and LA apartments too!

HALLOWEEN GOODNESS

Ever since the Halloween, my mom and I created a haunted house that spanned our entire basement, I've loved decorating for Halloween. This year, I scoured Etsy for some vintage Halloween-inspired finds...

Tickets and Fabric

Alphabet Cards

Frankenstein and Glass Head

Target

Doll Head and Flash Cards

1940s Skeleton

RAINY DAY

A few pics from a rainy day in the Village...

 

Here's hoping the sun comes out tomorrow.

CLEANING UP...

Working at the Flea hasn't left me with a lot of time to clean my apartment. (Think laundry everywhere, storage containers piled high and a sink load of dishes, ugh!) Yesterday, I decided to tackle the mess. I found these great tips on Real Simple for tackling cleaning problems with ordinary products (think fewer chemicals.) My fave, cleaning silver with baking soda. This might save me some serious scrubbing time.

Also liked this one, have got to remember to do this before my next party...

 

Definitely doing this one. Much better than picking up the trash from the bottom of the bin.

Check out more helpful hints from Real Simple here. What's your best trick for cleaning your home?

MOVING ON UP...

I've got some exciting news (and part of the reason I've been a little quiet this week). This Sat, I'm going to be setting up a brand new booth at the Brooklyn Flea in Fort Greene.

The Fort Greene location has tons of vintage finds, delicious food (passion fruit glazed donuts, um yes!) and some serious celeb spotting. Writers from Lucky Magazine just wrote about this flea market (and other fabulous markets around the country), check out them out here.

Last week I introduced my new fall look for O&B and this week, I can't wait to make it even better. If you're around, come out and say hi.

FOUND IT! CAMPAIGN NIGHTSTAND

Ever think something is meant to be? I picked up this amazing campaign style nightstand at a thrift store in Dennis, MA for $10! I literally squealed and ran over to it. (Mine looks just like this, but with a little more character). 

My love affair with campaign style furniture started when I spotted this dresser in an issue of Lonny. I wrote about it back in August 2010 and have been dreaming about finding reasonably priced one ever since...

 

 My little nightstand needs a little work, but hopefully soon, it will look like this...

I'll keep you posted on the progress. Other cool finds from the weekend, coming tomorrow...