I’ve always known Burlington Coat Factory was a great place for cheap clothing for kids.  Today I found myself exploring the home goods department and was rather delighted to see this discount store had a few accessories and some furniture that were quite stylish, and inexpensive compared to their designer twins !

I spied these moroccan end tables for $50 at BCF, and found them a few places online like right here for $200 !

Do you love the Filigree Urn by Z Gallerie ?  I adore it, but it is almost $100 dollars.  A similar version at BCF is $30 bucks and also comes in blue, green and white. 

That $12 dollar smaller one came home with me.  :-)

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Well, top of the mornin’ to ya folks, hope your weekend was fabulous !  Mine was exceptionally great, especially since I had the opportunity to go to the Antique Faire here in town, the one I mentioned here that was written up in Country Living a few short months ago. 

The weather was perfect and so was the company – check out these lovely ladies who drove from all over the Bay Area to pay a visit to our Antique Faire !

Emily and Jillian; moi; Marie, Pauline from Struggling to Be Stylish; Claudia from Viva Frugality, and Kim from Yep They’re All Mine.

The group split up to hunt for treasures but met up later for a fantastic lunch.  Here’s a glimpse at some of the cool antiques I spotted.

This gorgeous bow front chest with bonnet top hutch.  It was a soft gray, I loved it !

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Many towns across America have their festivals every year which draw the local crowds.  Ours happens to be the ‘Butter & Egg Festival’ on the last weekend in April and it draws folks from all across the county to the tune of 25,000+ people.   The ‘Butter & Egg’ title has something to do with our town’s long poultry history, but I choose not to dig into the details.  Anyway, the ‘Butter & Egg’ kicks off with the Cutest Little Chick in Town contest before the big parade. 

When we first moved to this town twelve years ago, we never would have dreamed we’d be interested in a contest like this.  But then you go and have offspring of your own and something snaps inside of you, and all of a sudden, you want your kid to be crowned the Cutest Little Chick in Town.  It’s a small town pageant where nervous parents parade their ‘chicks’ before judges for the title and $50 bucks in cash. 

Many nails are bitten.  Grandparents pace back and forth.  The competition is fierce.  Every parent wants their critter named The Cutest Little Chick in Town.  I often wonder what the parental penalty is for not smiling on cue in front of the judges. 

A sampling of the candidates before their debut, and their secret thoughts:  

“I’ll endure the paparazzi as long as the lollypops keep coming.”

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Hey all, how are you this fine spring day ?  I hope you all had a lovely Easter weekend!   Me ?  I’ve been running around like mad and am in need of a little R&R for a few days.  My munchkins are out of school all week, so I’m taking a mini spring break too. 

I’ll be back in the middle of the week, but I thought I share some photos of one of my most favorite places to frequent when the weather gets warmer – the farmers market ! 

Here’s a glimpse from last week’s visit. 

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