Antique Mall Adventure: Avonlea Antiques in Jacksonville, Florida

Treasure hunters have told me the tale of a giant antique stop that sleeps along Phillips Highway, Avonlea Antique Mall. I envisioned a wunderkamer museum paradise with vintage and oddities shining bright within protective glass cases. When I happened upon it this Saturday it was time to boldly explore new terrain.

Avonlea is less Wunderkamer and more like a traditional Florida Southern-style antique mall, but I was impressed by what the winding mazes inside offered. I let the shop's magic take me deeper down the rabbit hole.

Avonlea has over 40,000 square feet of retail space to explore, making it the largest Antique Mall in Florida's First Coast. You can make a whole day of exploring this beast and still not examine every square inch! If your body aches for sustenance after a long day of hunting, Avonlea has eats available in their indoor restaurant  the Olde Florida Café.

Two of my favorite booths were side by side, an atomic era themed booth with a carefully curated selection of only the best Mid Century Modern space age goodies Jetson's fans have wet dreams over.

Then right beside it this jar-lined booth filled me with an equal amount of inspiration. Both booths group likes for a dramatic, appealing, and cohesive look. It made me want to get to work on my own booths!

The ample amounts of pop culture and vintage graphic design made me want to create. I've been looking through the dozens of photos I took while exploring for motivation.

Do you explore thrifts and antique stops for inspiration? Sometimes it's nice to relax, window shop, and take a break from hunting.

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Yo Ho A Sketchy Life for Me

This month's local Dr. Sketchy's art event had a pirate theme. It was hosted at my friend Emily's bar, Underbelly (where these awesome crafts were made). As always, the set design and costumes were impecable and I left feeling inspired.

 Aaron (A.K.A Miss Titties or Tremendous Tits) kicked off the show by singing us a velvety, sultry sea shanty to get us in the mood for sexy pirate fun.

 The Pirate's Booty- what a treasure. The beautiful set is decorated with flea market and thrift store finds and other items owned by the collective Dr. Sketchy's crew. See- thrift enough and you can make your home a sexy pirate lounge. Pretty tempting...

Ready for battle! Loving the ambient lighting, from the candles to the string lights.

Who's ready for some thrifty pirate crafts and art projects? A piratey event is the perfect way to kick off summer.

Past Dr. Sketchy's Events: Chasing the Rainbow Muse with Dr. Skethcy's and Dr. Sketchy's Thrift Porn Inspiration

This blog post is linked to Thrifty Thursday / Get your Craft on Tuesday / Strut Your Stuff / Transformation Thursdays / and Show off Your Stuff

Christmas in St. Augustine, 2009

My Favorite Shot of the evening.

After dinner with the family and the present exchanging session was through Mike and I drove 40 minutes south to enjoy the empty, charming streets of St. Augustine. Here's a few "Postcards" of a very Florida Christmas.

Thrify Magic City: St. Augustine the Twilight Town

Approximately 41.1 miles south of my home is a little piece of ancient Europe. (The nation's oldest city.) St. Augustine is my playground, and a rather thrifty destination for weekend fun and exploration.

The Lightner Museum, St. Augustine. Wonderful Destination for Thrifters & Crafters, various collections of buttons & yarn within, among other things...

St. Augustine reminds me of my childhood in Naples, Italy. I really miss Italy, European design, street artists, texture, and culture. St. Augustine fills the void.

"Ruins" in Jacksonville, Florida & Portraits

I was raised in Naples, Italy. I'm debating it, but I think I miss the "ruins" more than the food.



The picture above is from our family albums. I miss places like this. History, texture, nature reclaiming the land. There's very little of this in Florida.