On our Alameda road trip Amy and I popped by to see my friend Doreen. I have met Doreen once before in person and have become good friends with her from her commenting on my blog for years. She lives in southern Oregon, so her house was on our route. I have seen some of her fun eye candy on her IG feed (@elfhead) but seeing it in person was a treat. A real treat.
The minute I walked in the door my jaw fellow open. (I think Amy's did as well)
This post is VERY HEAVY ON EYE CANDY photos. Your sweet tooth will be aching if you make it to the end.
I could have spent a full day just poking through the cabinet above. Shelf after shelf of crazy fun stuff.
This little elf holds a bouquet of spun heads! An elf after my own heart.
Doreen has been a Etsy customer of mine and it was fun to see my creations scattered about her house. I also saw goodies from other Etsy shops.
This holiday themed cabinet was crazy fun.
Mixed in with these mica elves are Snow White and the Seven Dwarf mica figures.
Doreen IG account is Elfhead and I think you can see why.
Besides those elves there was Christmas stuff to oggle.
ALL OF THE EYE CANDY so far was in one room. Now we are headed into the dining room.
We are about to head into another room and I am thinking perhaps I should do this post as part one and two. Nah...I think I will just make this the LONGEST post in my whole blog post history and continue the field trip tour.
This pair was a total favorite of mine.
This tiny umbrella is another vintage favorite. It has the cutest duck print ever.
Next on the field trip is the head vase bathroom.
Lots to attract that Magpie Ethel in me with all this bling and shiny stuff.
Not the best photo, but Doreen has an amazing collection of head vases. I don't even own one!
Amy and I chatted with Doreen for about an hour. I think I either took photos the whole time or was distracted by all the cuteness and my eyes darted around like a frog looking for a bug.
Doreen even let us peek in a couple of drawers. Spun head angel envy.
Loved, loved this field trip.
Longest post in my blogging history. And I could have made it even longer with more eye candy.
Thank you Doreen, for sharing your house and collections...truly amazing.
Phew!
My pockets would have been full of treasures. Doreen has so many neat collections. I'm glad you were able to take us along on your personal tour. PS. Loved the picture of you and Amy on her IG feed, but I still think you needed to get a selfie of the three of you together!
Posted by: Musings from Kim K. | May 06, 2015 at 12:54 PM
Loved the tour of my own house! I even noticed things in your pictures that I didn't noticed before LOL!
It was really fun visiting with you and of course meeting Amy! Totally made my day!
Posted by: Doreen | May 06, 2015 at 12:59 PM
I think I see a Dime Store Chic creation in there! Such a thrill to see Doreen's house. She is a good customer of mine too even though we live 3000 miles apart. Thanks for posting this lovely house, Laurie!
XXOO, Beth
Posted by: Elizabeth Fedorko | May 06, 2015 at 01:57 PM
Um, how do I enroll in this School of Vintage & Kitschiness so I can attend these field trips?
Posted by: Melissa Kurek | May 06, 2015 at 03:16 PM
Wow wow wow! Thanks so much for sharing Doreen's fabulous collections. I really enjoyed seeing it. She has some great things and everything is displayed wonderfully. I think I remember my own teeth hurting when I visited a very special M.E. studio, so I know just how you felt.
Posted by: Danielle | May 06, 2015 at 03:40 PM
Oh. My. Good. Golly. I am speachless!! Thank you for sharing the candy!
Posted by: Kathy | May 06, 2015 at 05:01 PM
Wow, I have a question, how does she keep it all clean? I love her collections. That snowman at the end do you know who it was made by? I bought a similar one this past winter. Mine has a stake on the end and a different pose but the face is the same. I was told it was used as a yard ornament even though the snowman appears to be paper over wood. I have never seen another until this post. I'm glad you had fun on your trip!
Posted by: BethAnne | May 06, 2015 at 06:16 PM
Loved the tour! Thank you for sharing and thank you to Doreen for opening up her house to all of us.
Posted by: Yolanda | May 06, 2015 at 06:42 PM
There aren't enough words in my head to comment on Doreen's incredible collections, but I will say.....A) I think your heart would stop if you went to an estate sale which looked like that, and B) You and Doreen could never, ever go to the same estate sale together, or you'd have to split everything 50/50....:)
Posted by: Maria (Magia Mia) | May 06, 2015 at 06:47 PM
Speechless! Well, maybe two words...DUCK UMBRELLA! :)
Posted by: Erica | May 06, 2015 at 08:04 PM
So fun to see this all again through your camera's lens, Ethel. Doreen has an amazing eye for vintage and everything is so thoughtfully displayed -- I loved all the intriguing bits and pieces of her collections. Many. many thanks to Doreen for inviting us into her wonderful home and for taking time to share this with us. Thank you, internet, for bringing us all together. :-)
Posted by: Into Vintage | May 06, 2015 at 08:45 PM
I am always amazed by the things that Doreen posts on IG. and she reminds me of you Laurie with all of her awesome collections. How lucky you are to have been able to visit with each other.
thanks for posting all the pics! wish I could have been there in person!
have a great day my friend!
xoxo
Posted by: vivian | May 07, 2015 at 04:29 AM
I have loved seeing Doreen's collections on IG but you really managed to capture the magnitude of her displays! And I thought I had a lot of things! It's always so much fun seeing how other people display the things they have. I got some great inspiration! Thanks, Laurie & Doreen!
Erica
Posted by: Erica | May 07, 2015 at 05:31 AM
I think Doreen is a long lost relative of yours! Better contact Ancestry.com! Lol! Lots of fun stuff I love the pastel cupboard and all it's goodies and I LOOOOVE those head vases! Hugs! karen....
Posted by: karen | May 07, 2015 at 05:58 AM
Her collection is amazing! Just jaw dropping.
Posted by: Jan | May 07, 2015 at 06:56 AM
It's always fun to see Doreen's posts on IG, but these pictures are just amazing! I, too, wonder how she keeps it all dusted - certainly a full time job right there! But what fun collections! Thanks so much for sharing, Doreen and Laurie!
Posted by: JoyceG | May 07, 2015 at 08:11 AM
Wow! I need to start over and look at it all again... after I've rested my eyes! What fun.
Posted by: janet | May 07, 2015 at 08:36 AM
I think I see the entire internet crafting world represented in these pictures! It's fantastic. I wonder how many U-hauls you would need for her stuff, your stuff and mine. Let's throw in Musing from Kim's stuff too just for the heck of it! We would need a fleet of trucks! :) Your road trip is the thing dreams are made of - junking, milkshakes and meet ups. :D
Posted by: Shara | May 07, 2015 at 09:31 AM
Oh my goodness. What a fun field trip! I will be revisiting this post again and again. There is so much to see. Such delightful displays. Thank you for sharing.
Posted by: cherrypit | May 07, 2015 at 02:03 PM
Wow!!! My pinning finger is getting tired. So much eye candy all in one place!
Posted by: Pam @ House of Hawthornes | May 07, 2015 at 06:07 PM
Sure could create admission for her house! Museum of cuteness!!
Posted by: Melissa's Antiques | May 08, 2015 at 07:15 AM
She could charge admission for her house. Museum of cuteness!
Posted by: Melissa's Antiques | May 08, 2015 at 07:16 AM
Doreen is one of my favorite Instagram friends! She has such amazing collections! I spy one of my doll faces in a photo too!
Posted by: Molly | May 08, 2015 at 03:10 PM
Wow, such incredible stuff. I'm madly in love with that chubby little pony. Are you sure you two weren't separated at birth?
Posted by: Betty | May 10, 2015 at 11:34 PM
Just incredible. You two ladies inspire me to "just keep collecting"!
But, who the heck dusts all this stuff??
Posted by: BeckyKay | May 11, 2015 at 11:36 AM
Holy Cow!!! Makes me want to put more stuff out just when I think there's no more room at our house!!!! HA HA!
Posted by: Elizabeth | May 13, 2015 at 05:27 PM
Now I "recognize" her! She's bought some items from my etsy shop and I even see one of them on display in one of your pictures! How fun is that?!!
Posted by: Elizabeth | May 13, 2015 at 05:32 PM
I LOVE your stuff!! I have a lot of the same things!! Fun! New ideas on how to display!!!!
Posted by: Geri Ann | July 05, 2016 at 10:42 AM
I love how over whelming it all is. You have some very expensive vintage items on hand there my friend. It was a pleasure to see all your wonderful finds. Thanks for sharing.
Posted by: Angie | July 05, 2016 at 10:46 PM