Three Flew Over (to) The Magpie's Nest

You all know that I love meeting my blogging friends in "real" life and have had the pleasure to do so on numerous occasions. This past Saturday, Jane of Artfully Graced, Tracy of Ms. Bake-it and myself had plans to attend a vintage flea market in central Florida. The three of us have met on several occasions and they've both become dear friends. Another blogging friend, Becky of Junk to Joy was coming over from the east coast to meet up with us. The good thing about Florida is that it's a skinny state and getting from one coast to another is do-able in one day. So, the Gulf Coast Gals were meeting up with Becky and then we were all flying over to see Sheila from The Quintessential Magpie. Well, actually we took my car, but when I was trying to come up with a name for this post Three Flew Over (to) The Magpie's Nest just seemed appropriate. It was going to be my first time meeting Becky, but most of you know that Sheila and I have become very close friends. We've lunched and shopped and partied together for close to a year now and talk on the phone several times a week. Our ancestors were neighbors in the 1600s, so our connection goes back a loooooooong way.

The plan was for Jane, Tracy, Becky and myself to visit the flea market, have lunch and then drive over to Sheila's for dessert. Everything went beautifully, except that Tracy ended up having to work at the last minute. Knowing how much she loves thrifting, this was a true tragedy and we were all disappointed Ms. Bake-it couldn't Make-it.

Jane and I drove together and Becky, coming from the opposite direction, met us there. Let me tell you this flea market was a FEAST for the eyes! So many fabulous goodies from antiques to repurposed, repainted furniture, handmade baskets, hand-sewn purses, dresses, signs, soaps, candles, paintings………I could go on and on, but the jest is that everything was made, painted or repurposed by a group of incredibly talented and delightful women! There were no tube socks at this flea market!

The Fancy Flea happens in Lakeland, Florida twice a year, once in the Spring and again in the Fall. We ran into other bloggers and many of those displaying their wares have Etsy shops. I've been to many arts and craft shows and often run into people who don't want you to take photos, they don't care if you have a blog and getting two words out of them can be a challenge. Not true here! They "get" the whole blogging thing and by the time we moved on, my jaw was sore from talking so much!

I should probably tell you that the morning started out nice and cool, but the temperature rose to 94°F by early afternoon. The good news is that there was a nice, cool breeze and the street was lined with shade trees. It was a lovely day, spent it with lovely women!

Look at some of the cool stuff we saw:

One Eighty Designs

One Eighty Designs

Loved everything here! Then I found out they have their goodies in a shop just a few miles from where I live. Summer House is located at 3517 S. Manhattan Ave. Tampa, Florida. Several other women I met have goods there also.

from Lori, Founder of The Fancy Flea

Loved this table and Lori was just as nice as good be! All the painted furniture I saw at the flea market and in Blogland has inspired me. When I get moved later this year to Neptune Beach, I'm going to paint all my furniture! Gone with the stained wood, I'm going all out in beachy colors — bright and tropical!

Now this next lady has created such fun pieces, don't you think?

Only One Originals by Joann

This next one was my favorite from from Joann, a piano table, very cool!

I don't know who to credit this Little Piggy with, but I just had to show you this cute, whimsical piece…

The little Piggy was AT the market

I thought of so many of you when I saw this…

Infinite Caboodles

Her collage work is so gorgeous and unique. I love this one for dog lovers…

Infinite Kaboodles

The photo slips out so you can add one of your own. 

AND she has an Etsy Shop called Infinite Caboodles.

Victoria's Whimsy products from Used To Bees

Lovely soaps, bath salts and more from Used to Bees, a mother and daughter run operation. They have a storefront for their home decor and repurposed items located at 104 West Reynolds Street in Plant City, Florida, they do events in Florida and they have an Etsy Shop featuring their Victoria's Whimsy product line pictured above.

Next up is Vintage Soul Linens…

Pillows from Vintage Soul Linens

Pins and hair bows from Vintage Soul Linens

I'm so glad you can't see me sitting here drooling by my computer. I fell in love with these pillows from Vintage Soul, but do you want to know my favorite item of the day? These…

Bags from Vintage Soul Linens

Oh my gosh, shut the front door! I love, love, LOVE these bags!

They are light as a feather and oh, so girly! I swear my heart stopped when I saw these lovelies. I'm on a very strict budget, but if I was able to buy one thing that day, it would have been one of these!!!!!!!

Debbie of Vintage Soul has a shop located at 1020 New York Avenue in St. Cloud, Florida. Her shop is full of shabby chic furniture, accessories and more. You can see more of her fabulous goodies on her blog. Yep, Debbie is one of us out there in Blogland.

Of course, there were lots of flowers for sale…

fun, whimsical art…

I'm telling you,

The Fancy Flea

was made

for you and me!!!!!

I met so many wonderful, creative women and I can't leave without showing you the talent of Three Sisters Basketry. Look at these handmade baskets…

Three Sisters Basketry

Know you know I fell in love with the one shaped like a pineapple, but I'd love to have the wine and glass basket to take to the beach for a picnic or to watch the sunset. They were the sweetest ladies and although they don't have a blog, I did encourage them to open an Etsy Shop. Please, please, PLEASE!

Birds of Hope

I was so impressed with these two young girls! They sell little cloth birds and t-shirts to raise money to buy bio-sand filters for the people of Zambia, Africa. I spoke with the youngest of the two and folks, let me tell you she was a wealth of information on the water crisis in Zambia and the only thing brighter than her smile was her passion for this cause. You can learn more about their mission to change lives at Birds of Hope.

I just spoke on the phone with Debbie of Vintage Soul and she shared with me yet another blogger who was there. Kim, is a professional photographer and writer whose work appears in magazines such as Cottage Style, Romantic Country, Somerset Life and Artful Blogging. Not only will you LOVE her blog, Dear Daisy Cottage, she really captured the Fancy Flea experience beautifully, do stop by and see much more of what was available. Trust me, it will make you hop on a plane or jump in the car in November when the next event will be held! The Fancy Flea is blogger's paradise! Oh, and Jane and I are planning on being vendors there ourselves!

Meeting Becky of Junk to Joy for the first time was such a treat. What a darling, talented woman she is and a fellow Floridian. Look what she has in her Etsy Shop…

There was so much to see, but we had another destination that day. The lovely Mrs. Magpie had invited us to her home for dessert, so we dragged ourselves away from The Fancy Flea and made the drive to Sheila's. Like I said, we live in the skinny state and we were already in the middle, what's a couple of hours when you're talking dessert? And for those who know her, you know that Mrs. Magpie would have a delightful tablescape for our arrival.

We were first met with a beautiful wreath in red, white and blue in honor of the Royal Wedding and Sheila greeted us wearing a lovely gift from our friend Lindsay of The Cross Stitch House who just recently was visiting from England.

Now take a gander at this Spring/Easter table…

There were bunnies and chickies galore, this was my favorite…

Well, at least until Mrs. Magpie brought out dessert…

In case you're wondering, yes, we had chocolate ice cream too!

Of course, that wasn't enough in The Magpie Book of Entertaining! We each got the cutest gift bag filled with a flower headband, chocolates, a little chickie of our own, gardening gloves and flower seeds…

and in honor of the new Duke of Cambridge she included these seeds…

Sheila is the BEST!!!! We all talked and laughed for hours and I finally got to meet one of her dearest friends who has plans to become a blogger herself. Yes, the family keeps growing.

I also delivered to Sheila one of my driftshell hearts she had ordered for her MIL for Mother's Day. She put it on a table where she has a wonderful beachy vignette set up, so that she could take a photo…

Oh my gosh, doesn't it look gorgeous! She made me look good! Then my dear, sweet friend decided she wanted if for herself and ordered another for her MIL! I was in heaven! Thanks Sheila!

I've had other darling friends take photos of their driftshell goodies at their homes and post them on their blogs — Sue @ I Need Mom posted here and Janey of Constant Chatter of the Crazy Chick posted here. I can't tell you how much this means to me, I swear the tears just start flowing when I think of all of you.


Our day was magical; time spent with blogging friends is one of the most rewarding experiences you'll ever have. If you haven't done this yet, I encourage you to plan a lunch, a shopping excursion, a day at the beach or whatever else your heart desires, with one of your blogging pals. I have made some of the best friendships through blogging and I can't imagine my life without all of these remarkable women.


Well, if you've made it this far and you're still reading I want to share one more bit of advice I got from Joni @ Desert Dreaming…

Enjoy Every Sunset!

Today's Ocean Fact: Much like wetlands on land, coral reefs act as a nursery for the sea, providing space for fish and other marine life to spawn, hide and feed. –Earth Gauge