Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Weekend Adventures


On the weekend, we literally went in opposite directions: on Saturday afternoon, it was into the country for the Aberfoyle Classic Antique Show and on Sunday afternoon, it was into the city for Toronto's big book fair called Word on the Street.


Aberfoyle is an open air antique market, just north west of Toronto, which runs from late spring until mid-fall. For the twice a year "Classic" antique show, extra dealers add their temporary booths to Aberfoyle's permanent collection of ramshackle stalls that sprawl over several acres of countryside. 

It was a glorious, sunny Saturday and people were out treasure hunting in droves.


I snuck this picture. Isn't this the perfect little outfit to wear antiquing? Perfect right down to the hairstyle and the bright red lipstick! She looks like she just stepped off a train in the 1940's. 


I had been looking forward to the antique show all week, but when I got there I find myself unwilling to concentrate on scanning tables crammed packed with all manner of things, looking for that gem amongst the lumps of coal.

Odd curiosities kept grabbing my attention instead: an ugly hatrack, an Olive Oil ashtray (Popeye the Sailor Man) and a basket filled with 4x5's of soft porn from the 1950's. The women in the pictures would be old women by now. Would they be proud of their youthful, full-figured beauty or horrified that those 4x5 pictures still exist?


Not everything was odd or quirky.


I have always thought that inexpensive buttons would make a great filler for one 
of those oversized decorative glass jars.


I know Shabby Chic has been all the rage for years now, but I have to say that, for me, there is a thin line between chic and just plain shabby. I ask you, is this chic or just shabby?


The cabinet had a great crackled paint surface though. I photographed it and stepped the pattern to create a texture to use on top of photographs. 

I have used this crackle texture with shameless abandon on all the photos in this post.

Anyway...I am rambling. So what did I buy, you might wonder? 


I broke my own self-imposed rule of only purchasing antiques with a practical purpose, when I bought this scale. (It may well have a practical purpose, but it is unlikely I will ever use it to weigh anything.)


And I bought a couple of mason jars to use as flower vases.



This basket has nothing to do with the antique show, but is rather a recent purchase. (I figured I might as well shoot it along with the other new acquisitions.) The set of three baskets is made of seagrass, which has a fresh, clean fragrance. ($6.99 at Ikea.)

I will close with a few brief highlights from Sunday afternoon's adventure: the Word on the Street. It was another beautiful fall afternoon, perfect weather for brousing through the publisher's book stalls set up in Toronto's downtown core. There were readings, books signings, cooking demonstrations and interviews with authors to enjoy.


One of the best parts of the afternoon was listening to Jian Ghomeshi's interview with Chef Michael Smith whose cooking shows you may have watched on the Food Network. Chef Michael was at the fair signing copies of his latest cookbook and promoting his new fall television series picturesquely set in his home province of Prince Edward Island.

We also got to hear a talk by Canadian blogger extraordinaire Neil Pasricha, whose blog 1000 Awesome Things has spawned two bestselling books: The Book of Awesome and The Book of Even More Awesome


Fellow Canadians may want to take note that there is a new Canadian gardening magazine available on news stands. I picked up a copy at the book fair and am thinking of buying a subscription. This issue includes articles by well known writers such as Liz Primeau, Judith Adams, author/blogger Niki Jabbour and author/blogger Gayla Trail.

21 comments:

  1. Hallo Jennifer,
    Thanks for taking me to the antiquemarket. And the scale is goudeous. If I had seen it I would buy it without any thinking. Your photograph of it is beautiful. Hope you can find a great place for it.
    Have a beautiful day,
    Marijke

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  2. What an amazing adventure you had at the antique fair. Love the scale you bought, I have one much like it, but it's not painted pretty. (And it really does work to weigh things.) I also love your pictures of the barn and horses and the lady all dressed up to go antiquing is just a beauty.

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  3. I love antiquing, although I rarely purchase anything. I just like to look. Love your scale, though. And the Word on the Street sounds so interesting. I love books. What a great weekend!

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  4. I love to go antiquing but I have no room anymore so I have to be careful what I buy. I am at the point where I could open my own antique store. That cabinet is pretty shabby but I know some people like them this way.

    Eileen

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  5. At first I thought it was an old postcard of that lady in the outfit. She really does look like she just stepped out of the 40's. I can't resist antiques and loved the pictures of your visit. and a new Canadian gardening magazine, well I can't resist those either.

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  6. Hey Jennifer,

    That's the most impressive post production work I've seen in a while. The crackle background was a great choice. Can't wait to see more of that kind of work.

    Thanks for taking me antiquing. Being a quad I don't get out that much. And I love these kinds of trips.

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  7. What a lovely weekend you had. Your photos are delightful.

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  8. Jennifer,

    Love each and every photo with the texture you captured. How lucky to live close to these adventures. We do have a Farmer's Market in the winter here but it more like a swap meet. Would love to go to yours. Added your blog to follow.

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  9. Nice job antiquing your images, Jennifer. Did you make it into an action for repeated use?

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  10. Beautiful photos, Jennifer ! I love the texture sooo much . You are an inspiration to me always .

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  11. Thanks everyone for your comments. We had great fun last weekend.

    Donna/Garden Walk, Garden Talk, I have never learned how to set up action scripts, but think that they would help me improve my efficiencies in handling files. (Resizing images in particular!) For textures though, I am not sure I would find them as useful. I don't tend to repeat my approach and vary the handling of the textures to suit the image. Even though all the images have the crackle, there are subtle differences in scale and direction for each application.

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  12. So lovely photos! The scale is such a nice treasure you have found!

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  13. What a fun weekend. I like the seafoam green scale too, and am with you in thinking the chest of drawers is quite shabby. Love that Jian Ghomeshi - I can listen to his voice all day.

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  14. Hello jennifer...Thank you for all beautiful photos. They are all delighful. Spendid color of flowers.
    Good day jocelyne

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  15. What a fun weekend! I enjoyed antiquing through your eyes. I love how you crackled all the photos. You have an amazing eye for detail and composition in your photographs!

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  16. Great pictures...love the crackled affect! That magazine looks great too...wish it was available in the states! Good gardening magazines are few and far between.

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  17. Your photographs are absolutely stunning, overlaid with the crackle effect! What an incredibly inspired and clever idea! I sat here, absolutely enthralled by every single picture, each one worthy of being framed and hung in a special place. I so enjoyed your trip to the antique fair and your entertaining commentary on what you saw and/or fancied or didn't fancy! The surreptitiously nabbed picture of the unnamed lovely lady is marvellous, especially o/laid with your crackle effect. That shabby (unchic) cupboard certainly had appeal, even if it wasn't the intended one ;)

    I love your old-fashioned scale - you have created a masterpiece using it as your main subject! The glass jars filled with your beautiful blooms make a striking statement. The seagrass basket with the pumpkins and acorns...yet another wonderfully composed and styled capture! Wow! To have YOUR talent! I am so envious ;)

    All in all, another outstanding post, Jennifer! Thank you!!!

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  18. I love the crackle look you gave your pictures. Thank you for sharing your adventure!
    Annie

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  19. What a perfect weekend!! I think the cupboard is too shabby but would be incredible if cleaned up a bit. I LOVE the pink daisy flowers in your vase!! What are they? They look like zinnias but I've never seen them that shade of pink. The scale is amazing!!! WANT!!! Fabulous photos, as usual!!

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  20. Thanks for your comments everyone.

    Tammy/Casa Mariposa, The flowers in this post are fall asters.

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  21. Jennifer, what a great outing! I love that kind of antique adventures. (and yes, that lady does look like she stepped out the 40's)
    Your crackle finish on the photos is really great. I think my favorite is the hydrangeas in the enamel pot. You have such a great eye.

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