How Sweet It Is

or rather, How Sweet it WILL BE this weekend at Salvage Chic... As if a 20% off Store-wide Sale weren't enough to tempt you to visit, we're sweetening the pot with some Salvage Chic Signature Cookies to be provided by Hayley & Chris of the fledgling bakery Sweet Inspirations. For some serious Food Porn to get you salivating, check out Hayley's Blog "Buff Chickpea" on the list at the right. I'm not much of a sweet fiend but one look at today's Vanilla Layer Cake with Bittersweet Buttercream post made me want to go ransack the pantry for a Twix leftover from 2 Halloweens ago. Our friend Maddie (of the "Madly Patch" Blog) visited us at Salvage Chic today and informed us she was in on tasting the Salvage Chic cookies in Hayley's Test Kitchen, and they are 'adorable' and 'to-die-for'. Can't wait to see what Hayley & Chris will have cooked up for us on Saturday!! Sweet Inspirations is currently accepting small catering orders; we'll have the Details for you at Salvage Chic this weekend... Be THERE, or Be SQUARE!

A Day In The Life

Many people ask me what I do on my days 'Off' so being remiss in Blogging of late, I thought I'd regale you all with tales from Behind-the-Scenes. This rainy morning found me as most Monday mornings do, lounging in my PJs and looking forward to a Whole Day with Nothing To Do. Just as Izzy, Duff and I were hunkering down looking for a good Bad Lifetime Movie... Suddenly there was an email from a woman in Duxbury that Claudia was slated to deliver furniture to today, asking if another piece she had seen was still available and if so, could it be included in the delivery? Of course it could! So I headed off to Salvage Chic to help Claudia load it into her van and then decided to tag along for the ride. A short while later found us at the Cutest Little Beach-House in Duxbury - in some very nasty weather. Sort of like the weather that hit that same beach in the No-Name storm of '91 and inspired the movie "A Perfect Storm." Those houses aren't built on stilts for nothing! But I digress.

Soon we were back at Salvage Chic and I decided to take a ride to the Registry of Motor Vehicles because (and I really hope my Dad is not reading this...) I was recently informed that my Driver's License is expired! A whole other story but suffice it to say, I would board Dalmatian Puppies at Cruella DeVille's house before I would try to pass off an expired license to the Nasty Lady at Citizen's Bank in Halifax. To cash a check made out to ME, from another account owned by ME, no less. I guess being ME expired along with the license, according to the Bank Sheriff. But I digress.

Much like Ellis Island, down at the RMV I found a lot of tired, poor, huddled masses yearning to break free; or at least have their number called. The estimated wait was one hour and 20 minutes so I decided to hit an Undisclosed Location nearby to kill some time. Managed to waste a little over an hour and pick up some fun goodies, one of which (a 1982 Pac-Man mug!) has already been commandeered by my Husband. Apparently his 4th birthday at McDonald's in Marshfield, where he was gifted with Pac-Man for Atari was Quote: "My BEST PARTY Of My WHOLE LIFE" Umm, OK, I thought our wedding was a pretty cool party, but if Pac-Man does it for ya... Once again, I digress!

So back to the RMV. I whittled away so much time at the Undisclosed Location I all but raced back to the Registry (as much as you could dare race with an expired license) only to find there was still some waiting to do. There were no seats to be had, but OH GOOD, there were magazines! Specifically, Woodworker's Journal and Trains Magazine. SIGH. You'd think Duval could give up those pricey curtains in the Governor's Office and spring for a TV or 2 at the RMV. FINALLY another hour later my number was called, and soon I was again legally licensed, skipping to the Jeep thinking "I can't believe my Helpful Harry Dad did not remind me on my birthday to check my license expiration; like he's always so quick to notice when my Inspection Sticker is expired..." and then blinked disparagingly at the number 5 glaring at me from the sticker on the windshield. SIGH. Guess what I will be doing tomorrow??

By then it was edging on 4:00 and I had just enough time to go home and let the dogs out before meeting Claudia to venture out on our Monday Night Auction Date. You never know what you are going to find at this Auction Hall and tonight it was really... empty. Normally we are able to scoop up some good buys at Auction because the 'Real Antiquers' are so distracted by the mahogany and crystal that they fail to see the beauty of the 'Salvage Chic' Junktiques. But when pickins' are slim, people bid through the roof on ANYTHING just because they want to go home with SOMETHING. Tonight, however, the stuff was so bad the Auctioneer couldn't give it away. The Highlight of the Night? We sit in the front row and I was scarfing down my over-salted popcorn when this one particularly bad item came up for bid, and I reached up to wipe my mouth with my napkin. The Auctioneer exclaimed "Claudia's Friend! I almost thought that was a BID!" then muted his mic and said "but I realize you were just wiping your Cake Hole." THAT was funny. And we didn't leave completely empty-handed, so all was not lost.

So there you have it, A Day in the Life. And Now, like most days, I'm sitting here at 10 PM messing around on my computer, wondering "What did I DO all day?"

All the News That's Fit to Print

and apparently, there is a LONG WAITING LIST... but my Press Agent Claudia managed to wrangle me an interview with Reporter Julie of the Patriot Ledger, to be featured in the "South Shore Entrepreneur" column! Julie and her photographer Greg arrived at Salvage Chic early yesterday morning; (OK, so 10 AM is not THAT early.) The fact that I had had one of those "Final Exam Today and Didn't Attend the Class All Semester Let Alone STUDY" dreams the night before was surely a sign that I was anxious about the interview - but the ice was quickly broken when Claudia asked Greg where he was from and he answered 'Marshfield', to which I replied my Husband was from Marshfield... Greg took one look at my last name on the business card I had just handed him and promptly launched into a litany of stories about my father-in-law. Claudia and I almost wet our pants when he regaled us with the story that Big Kenny once won a Cadillac in a raffle and then refused to claim it because he didn't want to pay the taxes on it. Sadly, my Husband later informed me that was actually ANOTHER branch of the Family Tree Greg was referring to but still, it made for a good time. My rehearsed answers to potential questions went right out the window and when Julie asked me how I liked my newfound career in comparison to the corporate rat-race I left behind 3 years ago, I blurted out "Well, my EYE doesn't TWITCH anymore..." Luckily Claudia maintained her composure so I hope between the 2 of us there were enough Sound Bites for Julie to piece together an entertaining article. South Shore Residents - Look for it on a newsstand near you on July 7th!

True Confessions

Time to unload a burden that's been weighing on me for quite some time. I've been trying to make a concerted effort to clean out the shop's back workroom; I've SWORN OFF buying anything that requires paint, repair, or any other kind of 'work'. But sometimes... the Pickers come by with a gem too good to pass up and in order to get it, I have to buy the whole load. Stuff that requires WORK. I made a solemn vow to Claudia that I would complete at least ONE PROJECT a day, and have been chipping away at my backlog... but as they say, the Road to Hell is paved with Good Intentions. A day at the shop is filled with paperwork to do, website updates, clients to wait on, phones to answer... but Nonetheless, the backroom has been slowly clearing out. If you weren't worried about getting paint on yourself, you could probably do a cartwheel in there. I'd venture to say Claudia is even pretty proud of me and the way I took a vow, stuck to my guns, and labored full speed ahead toward a clean slate. If she only knew... where it's really all been going. (GULP) To my Storage Shed. Everyday when I leave I take something home; and drop it off in this grandiose shed the former owners used
as an art studio. To the point that when I opened the door (where I fully expected to meet my Husband and Candy & Jeff from A&E's INTERVENTION show every time I opened it) I could not possibly cram another thing in.







Monday I decided it was time to grab the bull by the horns. I took EVERYTHING out of the shed, organized all the Seasonal Stuff in bins and put the Christmas items up in the overhead, loaded the more desirable 'Projects' back in an organized fashion, then called Yard Sale Buddy to come get the rest. Some of it, even HE wouldn't take! He graciously made a run to the Dump with some of the Recyclable Items; the rest went curbside.









I was so excited that when Kenny came home I hurried to show him my newly organized Storage Shed; "I don't know if you knew how BAD it was in here..." He cut me off - "I did. I caught a glimpse of it last weekend and it was HORRIFYING. I wondered when you went to get the folding tables for my brother's graduation party why it took you 40 minutes to get back. And about the GARAGE..." SIGH. Baby Steps. That's NEXT WEEK'S project...

Sage Advice: Take a Road Trip this Weekend!

Just a reminder for all the folks who enjoyed the 4/30 "Market Fresh" Blog about my trip to the Sage Farm Antiques Monthly Marketplace in North Hampton, NH; This weekend is the June Market, "White & Breezy". All of the stock from the previous month's market has been removed and replaced with vintage Home & Garden Accents in White and Shades of White. I'm told it's one of their most popular themes each year, and regret I won't get a chance to check it out myself.

Market Hours Fri 10-7, Sat & Sun 10-5 THIS WEEKEND ONLY, and then they close to prep for the July market. Located just 4 miles off of I-95 Exit 2 in North Hampton, NH - visit www.sagefarmantiques.com for more info.

Oh and if you do go - Please report back to us all via the "Comments" page!!

Field of Dreams - For the Gardener

Next time you visit Salvage Chic, head south less than half a mile and you will find this horticultural gem known as Fieldstone Garden. Nestled on Union Street in Hanson on the property of proprietors Tammy & Chris Field, here you'll find a treasure trove of annuals, perennials, vegetables & herbs for sale, many of which Tammy has cultivated from seed. Claudia and I swung by today after our shop closed, she to buy some vegetable plants, and I to take some pictures. Since I'm a small business owner myself, I like to patronize the "little guy"; but I'm not much of a gardener (future blog about THAT!) so I'll just spread the word, and let the photos speak for themselves. Go visit Tammy - I guarantee her prices are lower than any you'll find at even the Biggest of the Big Box stores.



Lush beds of perennials just waiting to be potted





















While I was taking pictures and right about when I was thinking "My Yard looks like CRAP compared to this place..." Tammy sidled up and said "There's another Secret Garden out back." My eyes lit up. OH! You mean one I shouldn't photograph?!? "NO..." (she probably wanted to smack me) "there's nothing ILLEGAL there, you just can't see it because it's behind the shed." Check it out:



Speaking of the shed, talk about SALVAGE CHIC! Chris built it and all of these things for Tammy. (SWOON...) A talented carpenter, also available for hire.




Last but not least, a SQUIRREL NUTKIN STATUE! Purchased at, you guessed it, SALVAGE CHIC!! Worth a visit to see this alone. Go visit Tammy & Chris Thursday through Saturday from 10-5; and be sure to tell 'em that Salvage Chick sent you!! Oh and PS: Fieldstone Garden is DOG-FRIENDLY! So bring your leashed 4-legged friend along for a romp.

Design Star Challenge!

For those of you who've been noticing all of the exciting changes to the building that hosts Salvage Chic - Tomorrow marks the Grand Opening of the Bryantville Pizza Kitchen!! Owned & operated by the new landlord "The Handyman", who bought the property about 6 weeks ago from Billy Kidd. (and NO, he HASN'T raised the rent... what seems to be everyone's First Question.) We've actually been getting along remarkably well, so remarkably well that today, when The Handyman approached me with That Look that usually accompanies bad news, I waited for the other shoe to drop. "UM, Salvage Chick, I wonder if I could ask you a favor... you know that tomorrow is the Grand Opening, and UM, I have a lot of Friends and Family coming, so I, UH.." HERE WE GO! I thought. He is going to say something stupid like "was wondering if you & Claudia could drive your bikes to work so I have more parking spaces?" I waited. "I, UH, was wondering if you could help me decorate my bathroom." OH! SURE! We'd LOVE to! And I merrily skipped over to meet our Design Challenge.

Once there I was amazed to see that once again, The Handyman has not done anything half-way. This bathroom is decked out in travertine tile which, while lovely, didn't seem to lend itself well to "salvage chic". It cried out for dark & contemporary accents. I briefly thought to myself "Too bad I don't own the Bombay Company, then he'd be all set..." SIGH. Off to consult Claudia. She took a peek and we put our heads together, brought over some goods, brought some back, brought more over, all the while muttering "Does he know people BEG to PAY us to come do this kind of ****?" or more importantly, "Someone is probably robbing our store BLIND while we're over here obsessing." It's not perfect - but we didn't think he'd like us hammering into the tiled walls just so we could hang some fabric to 'soften' the place up. It looks much better in person - go check it out! And tell him Salvage Chick sent you... although you might have to order some food; he might think it odd that you just want to see the bathroom!!

Oh and PS - if you want to adopt any of these pieces, just ask at Salvage Chic! All items are still for sale.