Come Fly Away With Me: Vicarious Vacationing

We're all thrifty here at The Thrift Shop Romantic. I mean, if there's a way to have big fun on little money, we know all about it, right? So that's why today I'm taking you on my Thanksgiving trip to the Florida Keys...

And you'll never have to pay a dime for airfare... You won't have to worry about accommodations... And the food? It's a feast for the eyes and totally skinny on the wallet...

Are your bags packed? Well, just blink, and we're there!...

Ah! Here we are in Florida. Just feel that balmy breeze! And what do you know?-- it's Thanksgiving Day. Thanksgiving means you folks, and my dad and I will all be going to the Whale Harbor Inn for an amazing buffet dinner....

Because, ya know, it's hard to bring turkey and all the fixin's on that plane. Airlines have gotten so restrictive about what you can take in your carry-ons. (I hear the turkey gravy can only be in three ounce bottles.)

Well, no worries here, because the turkey is all you can eat...

But if turkey's not your thing, there are more seafood options than you can shake a crab claw at...

And don't forget the dessert! Key Lime pie and flan are just two of the choices...

I simply can't move, can you?

Courtesy of the Whale Harbor's helpful fun house mirrors, here are Dad and I before we ate, all nice, skinny and svelte...

And here we are after eating, fat and a bit blurry... Overindulging will do that to you, I guess.


So let's all go outside to walk it off. And gosh, what a view!


And we meet some local color...


And some more, er, local color...


The next day, we drive to Miami for a bit of antiquing and thrifting. Our route is through the Everglades...




Our first stop is Homestead, in an area of historical buildings and quaint shops...



There's a wide variety of things, including Depression glass, furniture, Victoriana, and even 70s retro finds. (I'll show you what I uncovered on this week's "Treasure Box Wednesday" post. You are, um, too busy finding great things of your own to see what I got.)

Heading up further, we hit the Goodwill thrift store, and the Antique Mall Y'All (I will never tire of that name).

Then, exhausted, we have a bite of dinner and head back South to the Keys.

The next day, we get up early to go garage saling and hit the local flea market! I uncover a few other goodies that I'll unveil on Wednesday (you negotiate for your favorite collectibles). And then we head to the Florida Keys version of Sea World, "Theater of the Sea"...

Here we see some very friendly dolphins...

Encounter the introspective and whiskery sealion...

Chat with some feathered friends...

And give a solemn nod to our elders in the deep...

And then we head home. Me, I am winging my way northward as we speak, back to the world of snow and gray skies.

I hope you all enjoyed this little virtual vacation with me! I'm always glad to have you along.

Treasure Box Wednesday: Christmas Mantles and Tablescapes

With the Christmas and New Years holidays headed our way, I thought this Treasure Box Wednesday you all might be-- like me-- looking for a little decorating inspiration. So I've pulled together a collection of different Christmas tablescapes and mantles I've done over the years, and if you have time to stick around, I'll also show you the very, very early plans for Christmas decorating this year.

This was my dining table last year. I went with greens, deep purples and golds-- an excuse to use my crystal Waterford/Waffle Depression glass. In the center of the table was an elaborate candelabra (from the thrift store, of course!) some jeweled fruit, and a very realistic-looking faux pine bough...


You can see the tablescape from a slightly different angle here...


This was the mantle in that room-- I'd gone with a bit of a Sugarplum Fairy theme with fairies from TJ Maxx, more pine boughs and lots of ribbon...


This was over to the right side of the fireplace mantle...


And this was the themic Christmas tree... Just a $10 tree I got from Family Dollar with leftover fruit, fairy and butterfly ornaments and--yup-- more ribbon...


You can see a close-up on that tree here...


Here is the same diningroom, done up for a previous year...



There I went with a lot lighter colors-- more of a Shabby Chic influence, and fewer Victorian jewel tones. You can see a close-up of the table here...


And the centerpiece here...

This was the matching mantle....


On it, you'll see some bisque cherubs, some handpainted Victorian plates, more tinsel and beads than you can shake a stick at (if you're the stick-shaking type). It was pretty much an explosion of color and shimmer.



And now, as we step into the entryway, this was my entryway sideboard tablescape from last year...


And here, a little snow scene of cardboard houses set up in the very same room...


As we pop upstairs to the spare room, these were some tablescapes from last year...



I'm not really sure what direction I'll go with it this year. It really depends on how the other rooms shake out.

And what's been going on this year, you ask? Well, given the large quantity of ShinyBrites I'd found at the thrift stores, I thought it might be fun to do some small ShinyBrite trees-- something hearkening back to 50s tinsel trees and strong color combinations. So when I saw some flocked pink trees on sale at Michaels, I thought I'd give it a go...

These are not done yet, but this is the direction they're headed. Here we have the diningroom again...

I think I'll use my great-aunt's cream and pink china plates on the chargers this year. The tree and mantle really need some ribbon... I want to balance the intense pink out with a soft light green.


Still, all the ShinyBrites on the pink look a bit like decorated cotton candy to me. It's sort of crazy right now, but I think it will work once I'm done noodling with it...


Here are some ShinyBrites in the centerpiece bowl. Some of these are just waiting for me to unpack the ornament hooks. And some of them are slightly damaged and so are safer to sit happily in the bowl...


It's very bright and a bit groovy, I know-- and still somehow doesn't clash too much with the actual Victoriana. I wanted to balance the "atomic age" look of the ShinyBrites with the Victorian time period of the house. So I think I'm headed in the right direction. Like every year, it's been a lot of trial and error-- and it ain't over yet!

And here in the entryway, I've been messing around with this little tree.


Where with the diningroom tree, I'd been trying to keep to the color palette of the dining room-- pinks and greens and golds-- the entryway tree, I'm trying to use more pinks, turquoises and reds. I think color-wise, again, I need to tone it down a bit. But that could just be because it's the only Christmas decor currently in the entryway....

It's a bit like bringing Mae West and Liberace to a military funeral-- They're bound to stand out.

So we'll see how it goes.

Anyway, that's where it all stands for now. As I'd mentioned before, I'm on the road right now (will still be checking in to respond to comments, etc.), and Sunday's post will be found here on http://thriftshopromantic.blogspot.com only, and not on the main page of www.thriftshopromantic.com, as I can't update that from a distance. I promise to do that when I return.

I hope you all have an absolutely wonderful Thanksgiving, for those of you in the U.S. who are celebrating. And to my non-U.S. friends, take care and I will be talking to you!

Holiday Road: TSR's 2008 Thanksgiving Vacation in Postcards

Ah, pack your Aloha shirts and sandals, my buddies, and break out that sunscreen-- because The Thrift Shop Romantic is headed to the tropics! For Thanksgiving this year, I'll be hitting the skies and flying to the Florida Keys to visit my dad. So I thought I'd take you all on a little preview of my travels, as through this pack of 1940s Florida souvenir postcards...


Because, ya know, my trips are exactly like 60-year-old tourism shots. In fact, you'd be surprised how colorized the world looks when I go on vacation. It's weird.


So here we are on the way to the Florida Keys, a string of islands right off the Florida peninsula. And because it's Thanksgiving, you know we'll be having the traditional Thanksgiving holiday feast main course--

Roasted coconuts!...

What, you mean you don't have to climb coconut palms to get just the right coconuts for the Thanksgiving table? You don't husk that coconut and then pop it in the oven for 7 hours to roast it just to perfection? You don't carve the coconut at the table, and have coconut dressing, and mashed coconut, coconut slaw and finely aged coconut wine?

You mean you don't finish with coconut cream pie?

Hm. I could swear everybody did that. Like, the Pilgrims, and just, well, everyone.

Strange.

Well, I bet after your big holiday feast, you all make sure you get in a nice bit of canoeing. We always do. A perfect way to work off those calories!


Then we go visit our neighbors...


As you can see, they like to canoe, too. You know, there's simply nothing like a little Thanksgiving fellowship, spending time with the people you care about.

If there's time, we'll all get together and help Farmer Joe nearby pick some of those ripe juicy oranges from his orchard...


Okay, so Farmer Joe doesn't exactly know we're helping him. In fact, it's best to keep an eye out for Farmer Joe and his men when you're picking... And don't forget to duck when the shotgun bullets whiz past your head.

But there's nothing like the feeling of helping your fellow man do an honest day of labor.

That's something to be thankful for!

Once we return home with our Thanksgiving oranges, we drop them off and head back out to peer in our other neighbors' windows and watch the football games...


Why, we don't have TV, but that never puts a damper on our finding out which college trounced the other. We like to keep informed, dontchaknow. This works out really well, as long as we don't accidentally lean on a window and trip the neighbor's alarms.

Darned ADT home protection! Well... lesson learned, right?

Now me, if I'm not delayed by the local law enforcement at this point, I always like to take a nice walk in the Everglades swamp just around dusk. There is simply nothing more beautiful than the sun setting over over mangrove trees, the palms, the three foot tall mosquitoes and the alligators...


Of course, for two years in a row, the gators ate the breadcrumbs I was leaving behind me, and I totally lost my way back to the fanboat. Who knew gators were so big on croutons? So, I found myself just wandering around lost at night, with only the stars to light my way.


Eventually, I ran into some Cuban refugees, who were just as lost as I was. It was really nice to have company, and I appreciated how Juan and Carlos beat off that gator from my leg. You were very brave Carlos. Juan and I still miss you. Rest in peace, hermano!


Ah, it was a beautiful dawn that morning. Juan and I stood on the shore, looking on the light of a brand new day, as the sun rose over the Atlantic.

Or perhaps.... just perhaps...

I've been making mountains out of molehills today.

Ya never know!

A note to my regular readers, due to the wonders of technology and the fact my hotel seems to have Wireless, I'm going to attempt to continue posting this Thanksgiving holiday long distance, and will try to respond to comments as often as I can.

Treasure Box Wednesday will be posted as normal, and barring technical problems, Sunday's post will be posted here at the Blogspot address only, and not on the Thriftshopromantic.com address. (I can't update that part of the system long distance.) That will be updated when I get back.

Sunday, I plan to share with you some photos of what I actually did over the holiday. And (ahem) yes, I'll give your regards to Juan.

• If you missed last week's Treasure Box Wednesday, click here. It was a massive Shiny Brite find!

And perhaps I'll see you all Wednesday!