Flea markets and antique fairs are always hit or miss.  Over the weekend, I stopped by the Renninger’s Extravaganza in Kutztown, PA and had a whopping (sarcasm alert) 45 minutes to run through a few hundred stands looking for small treasures for my new house.   Since when do I have so many meetings on a Saturday?   But I digress…

One of my favorite finds were these octagonal metal plates I found at one of the last booths I stopped by.   There was a whole set of 32 plates broken down into (8) large dinner plates (8) salad plates (8) dessert size ones and (8) itty, bitty plates that I have no idea what they are supposed to be used for.  The dealer told me there were from the 1950′s… never used… and could be mine for a bargain price. 

Here are some of the plates back home, all airtight sealed in plastic bags that look like were sealed at least a decade ago.    I took my scissors and opened up each package, picked at the price tag stickers, and threw them into the dishwasher.    There was a warning on one of the old, faded stickers saying to avoid using a dishwasher since it would fade and age the plates…. but that’s exactly what I wanted… so into the Bosch washer they went….

When I get around to it, I’m planning to actually mount the plates to a wall in the new house.  I love the idea of pewter-y silver against dark gray walls.    In my other house, I’ve mounted plates to walls, too.  I love the look!    Here’s my front porch with pie tins against a blue painted wall….

And here are my handmade reglazed silhouette plates in the craft room.  More plates, the better!    (PS-The metal stools in this room were moved to my new house into the craft room there.   They looks so much better in the new house!)

Okay, isn’t this outdoor dining room set-up gorgeous?  When I took a look at my digital shots on the plane ride home from Los Angeles, I was so happy with this end result.

One of the other projects I worked on in LA was a makeover on the backyard of Access Hollywood co-anchor Maria Menounos.   It was filmed for a segment on the upcoming "Access Green" and was also shot for the pages of Life and Style magazine.   Because it was shot for the magazine, I can’t share the "overall" images, but I couldn’t resist sharing a detail shot with all of you.

This long farmhouse table was filled with a simple galvanized bucket from the hardware store and wildflowers.    JCPenney simple white dishes were stacked up (ready to be filled with yummy salads and sandwiches), pink glass JCPenney tumblers brimmed with organic lemonade, and my favorite JCP capiz shell lanterns were waiting to be lit up.

I loved the look of Maria’s old deck chairs, so I thought all they needed was something fun to dress them up.  Our lead stylist Jules Moore came up with this clever idea using JCPenney bamboo throw rugs:

How fresh and modern does that look?    So simple and so perfect.

Anyway, that’s all I can share.  I will say Maria was absolutely wonderful and engaging; we had so much fun shopping and shooting the segment at the JCpenney store in Glendale, CA.   Thank you to the professional and kind associates there; you made it easy!

I was recently in Los Angeles for a couple of work projects.  One of them was a visit to the Stella McCartney store in Beverly Hills to scout the location for an upcoming charity event I’m helping to put together.  The event is going to benefit Baby2Baby, a non-profit organization that collects lightly used baby items and gives them to mothers in need in the greater Los Angeles area.   

When I was at the store, we decided the backyard garden space would make the most ideal spot for the fundraiser.  Stella has always been a sweet rose in my book, so it makes no surprise that the store itself is nothing but a gorgeous English rose garden.    Here are some pics:

This topiary blows my mind… it’s a horse!   A little green whimsy for the garden…

At the side of the backyard is this rose vine covered greenhouse.   The dewy, fragrant smell of roses permeated the air around the store.

Here’s the entrance to the greenhouse.   The crushed stone and potted plants add to the horticultural feel.  I think this greenhouse would make a lovely potting shed for the party.  I’m thinking guests could come in and fill an aged terra cotta pot with organic soil, pop in some flowering bulbs, and take it home as a gift.  I think an antique chandelier needs to hang inside….don’t you?

And here’s the entrance leading to Beverly Blvd. in front…the only reminder you’re still in car-heavy Los Angeles.   I think we need to line the walkway with clean-burning Method candles.

Can’t wait for the event in a few months!   I hope we raise lots of money for Baby2Baby, too!

Okay, so I had a blast in Boston at the Method Detox Boston party.   Method, the eco-friendly cleaning supply company, opened a "pop-up" shop on Newbury street to help give people in Boston a chance to try Method products and stock-up on all the latest and greatest. 

One some of the nights, I hosted small parties to a group of local people to introduce myself and do a fun crafting project together: reglazed silhouette plates.

We picked up a bunch of old plates from Goodwill, some bakeable porcelain glaze, brushes and 8 1/2 X 11" sticker paper to make these plates.   I thought I would share some of the creative plates the guests came up with!

The Method logo on a plate!   

One of my favorite ones: grassy green glaze with yellow glazy dotes in the middle of each daisy flower.

A very cool plate: a blue and white porcelain plate with yellow glaze on top.   You can still see the transfer pattern below, but it somehow looks updated and more modern.    Stickers spelling out EAT peek through…

Here’s my plate: a silvery, grassy plate.   Just random strips of stickers slapped on, two coats of silvery porcelain glaze, and that’s it!  You can see the old pattern of the plate peeking through.   And, how funny: my Blackberry right next to it.   Hmm…I might be a crackberry addict!

On Sunday, I co-hosted a small party at the Caravan Store in New York City in celebration of Earth Day.   Co-hosting the event was model and presidential niece Lauren Bush who has a wonderful program supporting the United Nations World Food Program’s School Feeding operation.

When you buy a FEED bag, it feeds one child for one school year.  To date, the program has fed over 37,500 children in need around the world.

I’ve known Lauren since I put her in the pages of Organic Style magazine years ago and I’m impressed she’s used her name for such a wonderful and solid cause.  I encourage all of you to pick-up a FEED bag to help the cause (and get a cool, strong, durable bag in the process, too!).