Christmas has come early

Just a quick note that I must have been a good girl as Santa has granted me my Christmas wish early.


We now have a Hobby Lobby in SoCal. And it is within 15 minutes of my house in Temecula. In the old Mervyn's store building to be exact.

And I couldn't be happier.

All is now right in the world. I don't have to be jealous anymore.

I just need to come up with some cash.

Fall Inspiration

On Saturday I was able to go to my favorite store, Tai Pan Trading in Rancho Cucamonga. I had a coupon for 25% of my entire fall or Halloween purchase.

I was so excited. I felt like a kid on Christmas morning. I could hardly wait to see what was in store for me.

And the store didn't disappoint. Today I will share with you photos of some of their fall displays.

I loved the fall bouquet of flowers used in this tablescape.

I always love to see how they have their gazebo decorated.

And don't you just love the colorful crystals on this chandelier? You can buy the hanging crystals to put on your own chandelier. These would definitely make your chandelier scream "Fall".

Another fabulous fall tablescape. The flower centerpiece sure makes a statement.

I loved these sunflowers.

I think this is my favorite fall color.

And what is fall without fall leaves & pumpkins.

I love, love, love these artichoke statues. Or whatever they are.

I loved this vignette.

Especially the copper pumpkins.

And finally a "fall" tree. Itchin' to get your Christmas tree up? Why not. Just decorate it for Fall and you are all set till Thanksgiving. Then you can redecorate for Christmas. Heck, why not leave it up all year & redecorate for every season. Sounds good to me. Now just to convince hubby. But I'm not holding my breath.

Tomorrow I will share their Halloween displays. That is the real reason I went there. I just love Halloween. My niece and I were in Halloween heaven.

So stay tuned.....

Free is the ultimate in thrifty shopping.

I am so excited. I just got my first perk from blogging. You see a couple of months ago I blogged about my new favorite store Tai Pan Trading.

Well, I got an email from the manager of Tai Pan Trading's Rancho Cucamonga location which is here in southern California. She was happy to see that I was blogging about Tai Pan Trading & specifically their location. So she said that she was going to send me a gift card that I could use at their store.

ME!!!! She was sending me a gift card. That equals free money!!!

Well my $25.00 gift card arrived in the mail on Thursday. By Saturday my gift card was burning a hole in my pocket. I couldn't wait another minute. Hubby & I jumped in the car and drove the 45 minutes (no traffic) to Tai Pan Trading.

I had a hard time not speeding to get there. I had to keep reminding myself that a speeding ticket in California is over $300. You see money always motivates me. Especially when you don't have any.

Well we finally arrived & we spent about 2 hours roaming the store. I had a hard time deciding what to spend my free money on. They have so much to choose from.

Before I show you what I got. I'll take you on a little tour of my favorite things I saw this time. Each time I have been there it's like visiting a new store.

Of course, patriotic decor was a theme at the store. I almost bought the blue glasses. They were only like $1.99 each. But I passed on them & decided to keep looking.

I loved these cute flower buckets. But then I adore pink & green together. The flowers were corrugated metal. Can you say cute???

They have this iron gazebo that sits inside their front door. I want it. I love the green & yellow color combo as well. To me, lemons just say summer. I have a hankering for lemonade all of a sudden.

I loved this rooster pail. But no, I didn't get it.

And speaking of pails, I love these zinc pails. But I passed on them as well.

They had this fabulous capez shell hanging. I think it was like $20.00. I thought it looked cool, but I have nowhere to hang it. It would get too dusty at my house. And can you see the large blue crystals that are hanging? They were fabulous. Perfect for summer.

This display just screamed summer to me. I loved almost everything in this display. But no, this is not what I purchased.

These boxes would be perfect for your collections.

And here are some more of those fabulous zinc pails.

And more patriotic decor. I'll give you a little hint. I did purchase some patriotic items. But not from this group.

I loved these red clocks. But then I have a thing for clocks.

There is so much more that I didn't show you. They have a big selection of purses and jewelry. But I'm more into the decor stuff.

Even though Tai Pan Trading has great prices. They also have some bargain sections including clearance, $5.00 or less, $10.00 or less or $20.00 or less. Plus they have monthly specials. So if you know me, I had to get the best deals possible with my free money.

Ok, I've teased you long enough. So what did I get with my free money?

This little wooden "Family" sign was only a buck. That's $1.00!!! And I wasn't even at the dollar store.
This wood star box was my most expensive item. It was $10.00. I kept putting it in my cart, taking it out, putting it back. And as you can see, it ended up coming home with me. I decided since I was spending free money, I could splurge on this. So glad I did.

When I first saw this "America the Beautiful" sign it was marked $9.97. I put it in my cart & then took it out. But then I saw that it was actually a monthly special. It was only $6.49, not $9.97 It was on sale!!! So in the cart it went and now it's on my wall.

And with my blog name being Starshine Chic, you have to know that I love stars. I picked up this rusty star for $3.98. And it wasn't even on sale or in the bargain section.

I've even given you a little sneak peek at my patriotic decor.


My best deal was this white pitcher for $3.00. It was in the $5.00 or less section but none of them had a marked price. I figured it would be $5.00. But it rang up $3.00. Boy was I happy. Did I need another white pitcher? No. But when you collect white pitchers it's hard to pass them up. Especially when you find one for such a good deal.

So I got 5 items with my $25.00 gift card. I thought I was pretty thrifty with my free gift. It was hard deciding what to get. I wanted to get as much as possible. I'm very happy with what I chose.

I want to thank Michelle at the Rancho Cucamonga Tai Pan Trading store for sending me the gift card just for blogging. Yes ME!!! I still can't believe it.

I'm happy to blog about their store even without getting something in return. But free stuff is pretty fabulous. And I wouldn't turn it down. But it in no way altered my comments about their fabulous store.

So if you are lucky enough to live in southern California or in Utah, be sure to visit your local Tai Pan Trading store. And if you don't, you need to move there or at least take a vacation so you can shop there yourself.

Be sure to check back later to see how I decorated my family room for the 4th of July.



Linking to:

Today's Thrifty Treasures at Southern Hospitality

What's in Grannys Attic?

One of my favorite places to go antiquing is at Granny's Attic Antique Mall.


Granny's Attic is located a few blocks from Old Town Temecula. Because it is not located right in Old Town, it has much better prices.

Now I love to go antiquing, but I don't have any money right now. But I can still window shop.


So how about you come along with me and help me window shop. I'll show you what I would buy if I had money. Come on in!!
Even before we go in, I spy something I would love. This beautiful fountain!!! But it's not for sale. It sits out front of the store. They have to chain it down to keep it from being stolen. And I can see why.

Look, milk glass pulls!!! I want them. I already have some clear glass pulls & knobs, but aren't these milk glass ones to die for?

How about these galvanized tin pots, buckets or what ever you would call them? Looks like a big tin cup. They are huge. They would make a cool planter.

I just love anything old & rusty. How about you? This would look great in my back yard.

And I love these. Medallions, or what ever they are called.

Why can't I remember what anything is called while I'm writing my posts? That is why I could never be a writer and hated writing my descriptions for stuff I would sell on eBay. I forget what everything is called.

No matter what they are, they are fabulous. Wouldn't know what I'd do with them, except just admire them. And maybe drool some.


I adore these glasses. They would be great for a tablescape. I can't remember how much they were. My brain doesn't work sometimes. I'm blonde you know. Which is a great excuse for forgetting things. Comes in quite handy. I use it to it's fullest advantage.

How about this chandelier? Maybe I could talk my son into getting it for me for Mother's Day. I'd love to put in my bedroom. Do you think I could convince hubby to give up the ugly ceiling fan? And I would hate to dust all those crystals. Maybe I could talk my son into getting me a maid as well.

I want one of these rusty metal letters in the worse way. But they are like $30.00 a piece. Way out of my price range. And I didn't see a "K".

I want this scrolly thing! It's only $14.00. I don't think it's old though. Looks like someone just made it. I asked hubby if he could make me one & he said YES. Now if only I can get him to actually make one for me. And where would I put it if he does? How about on top of my TV armoire in my family room? Oh hubby........

I just love, love, love this silver brides basket. But it's like $90 something dollars!!! I did find a cheaper brides basket at a thrift store a few years back for just a few bucks. Not as nice as this one, but it works for me. Don't you just love the shape of the handle on this one?


I love the carved birds on this hat stand. But alas, the hat stand is not for sale. It it were, I'm sure it would be out of my price range.

I think we need a little sunshine. How about we go out back to the garden area? Lots of cool stuff out here that I would love to take home. And everything is on sale!!!

This iron gazebo needs to come home with me. Right now!!! But not at $1000 it won't. Too bad I didn't win the Mega Millions lotto last night or it might be.

How about a bird cage? Too pricey. If I still had my cockatiel, I might be tempted. Heck, I'm still tempted. But still too pricey. Ooh, look at the gargoyles. I love gargoyles, even though they are creepy. Reminds me of Paris, or maybe Ghostbusters. I prefer Paris.

I'd love me some iron gates and/or fencing. The rustier the better. Wouldn't iron fencing be great around my estate, I mean house? Iron fencing with ivy growing up through it. Perfection.

Why oh why is everything I love too pricey? My mom always told me that I have champagne taste on a beer budget. And I don't even drink.

I hope you have enjoyed our little trip to Granny's Attic. Thanks for coming along. Can you believe that I did not spend one cent? Me niether. I think it was a first for me.

Don't you wish that you had a granny who really had such fabulous stuff in her attic just for you? And you didn't have to spend a dime?

Well a girl can dream can't she?

Tai Pan Trading

On Saturday I was invited to go shopping with my SIL & one of my nieces to Tai Pan Trading. This was only my 2nd time to this store, but it definitely won't be my last.

For those of you lucky enough to live in either Southern California or Utah, this is a DO NOT MISS store. There is only one store here in southern California. It is in Rancho Cucamonga, which is about 40 minutes from my house (without traffic). So when my SIL said they were going & invited me to come along, I did the happy dance.

We went to get ideas for an upcoming family wedding. Here are some of my favorite things from this trip.


I loved this color combo of red & green. Normally you think of Christmas with this color combo, but not here. I loved the fairy. But then I love fairies. But alas, no fairies will be allowed at this wedding reception (per the grooms request). But she would look fabulous in my yard. But I had to leave her at the store. I only allowed myself at $25.00 shopping budget and I had other things in mind.

I loved the Adirondack chair, the flower ball & the large daisy like flower.

Hanging birdcages with flower balls. I love it!!!

I just adored this tablescape. I think I love pink & green combo more than the red & green.

I loved the tall flower arrangements on this tablescape. They sat on top of this tall glass vase. The bottom of the vase was filled with nest like stuff & eggs.

I almost bought one of these flower balls. But for $12.95 I figured I could make my own for less (if I use Dollar Tree flowers), so I passed. But I love this green.


Another idea I want to try is putting an arrangement inside a tall glass vase.

They had a nice selection of apothecary jars. I love apothecary jars. But I think that I already have too many. So I didn't get any on this trip. But we may get some later to use at the reception.



When we first walked into the store they had this huge mirrored table. It was fabulous. The photo doesn't do it justice. But it was $1200. A little out of my shopping budget. They had the top filled with mercury glass apothecary jars, candles, vases filled with flowers & mirrors.


Above the table was this huge iron chandelier. They had placed branches across the arms and then hung greenery, moss and candelabras.

I wish I was better at taking photos. This was really fabulous in person.



I also loved this iron gazebo that was covered in grapevine, greenery and huge sunflowers. But sunflowers were nixed for the wedding as they are "too country". But I thought they were fabulous.

We got lots of wedding ideas from our trip to Tai Pan Trading. We were thinking of a Enchanted forest/garden theme for the wedding. Sort of like Edward & Bella's meadow in the middle of the forest from Twilight. But the bride & groom have yet to really chime in on what they want & they could take us in an entirely different direction. At least they are open to ideas.

We loved the idea of an old iron gazebo with hanging greenery, vines & moss. Only problem, we don't have an old or new iron gazebo like the one above. However, I do have the one below. But the canvas top and the side screening has fallen apart from the weather. So all I have left is the metal frame. Picture the above with just the metal frame. We think it will be perfect to use at the reception to hang greenery, moss, lights, etc from.

I really enjoyed our trip to Tai Pan Trading. I can hardly wait to go back. Hopefully in the next week we will have a wedding date & colors. That will make planning a wedding so much easier. I'm just thrilled that I get to help.

The only direction we have been given so far is: No Fairies, no Victorian, no Shabby Chic, no Pine trees. Other than that, we are good to go.

And what did I buy? I'll show you later in the week. Nothing exciting. Just a couple of things to spruce up my mantel and hutch.