After decades of Living in the Arizona Desert you would think I'd know better when the temps begin to soar into the stratosphere... but it seemed like a good idea at the time, you know.
This Month's SWEET SALVAGE Event was 'Summer Luvin' and I figured if I got there 45 minutes early & procured a decent place in line, perhaps I could get a good look at all the delightful Summery Vignettes before they were picked clean, 'score' a few Treasures and take some Awesome Photos to Share with you before the crowds descended to a point where I'd have to bail since I don't do crowded situations well.
But after 45 minutes of standing in line in the intense heat waiting to get in, I just found myself utterly drained and devoid of stamina or desire to do much shopping, photography or handle how crowded it became from the get-go. So I only lasted about 15 minutes once inside... that's right... it was a Beeline to where I thought my items might be to Marathon Shop, snap as many pixs quickly on the side of the Shop I was on before people would be in every frame, head for Check-Out before it formed a line... and vamos without seeing 3/4 of the Event. Sad but true... it wasn't as Fun as last Month for me... BUT I did totally snag some 'Wish List' Items quickly & get in and out in record time to hit even more Shops as they opened, so it was all good & Mission Accomplished! *Winks*
But what little I did behold was absolutely as Fabulous as always... this Gorgeous Antique Dress especially... if I were this diminutive size I'd definitely be considering adding something like this to the wardrobe... its very "Me"! *Winks*
And there was a Sea of Lovely Beach & Surf Inspired Hues, Vignettes and Inspiration... so I would have liked to have lingered longer if I'd had it in me... but alas, I didn't & had to keep it real... once I'm not having Fun anymore, it's time to go.
And unfortunately, in my haste to get to my few Treasures {which were AWESOME and just what I was looking for BTW}... and get in and out as quickly as possible... I couldn't focus on Photography & capturing Beautiful Images to Share... sorry. So most of the Photos I did manage to hastily snap were out of focus, had folk's hands grabbing at the items and were too crappy to even Photo Shop... so for once, Editing was no problemo... it was delete, delete and more deleting of the Photo Card! *LOL* But that's also very disappointing because what Images were salvageable shows how Lovely everything was Styled and impeccably Displayed. I know that a tremendous amount of hard work and effort go into planning, sourcing, styling and staging each Event and how little of it is probably captured for posterity. Memories can be fleeting... Images last so much longer and with more clarity & detail... which is why I probably Love Photography so much.
And fortunately for the both of us, I still happened to be passing by some pretty spectacular Photo Ops in my brief stay and particularly enjoy taking Close-Ups, which is fortuitous since getting the big picture & panoramic shots was entirely out of the question... and I have become quite adept at snapping a lot of frames quickly & just hoping for the best possible results. *Smiles* God I LOVE Digital Photography... no waste like Old School methods! *Winks*
Though you had to be quick as a blue arse fly to Photograph it before someone grabbed it, got into frame or unfoofed it! *LOL*
If you hesitated for even a split second, your Photo Op was gone... and so was any item you might have been contemplating a Purchase of! This Gorgeous Sea Fan Bottle was a prime example of something I would Love to own & add to my Bottle Collection... but wasn't sure I could have gotten through the crowds in one piece since it appeared so fragile & would have also meant taking no pictures once it was cradled in my hands. *Le Sigh* See what I sacrifice for a Blog Post! *Winks* Well... it wasn't on "The List" anyway, so no tears shed... *Smiles*
I'm always beyond amazed at how the 'Sweet Team' always outdo themselves with each Event. The Inspiration, Displays, Hard Work to bring something Fresh for each Event's Theme, Styling and Sourcing of Found Treasures is what has made these Events such a Mad Success Story and drawn the immense crowds that are willing to show up early & stand in line even when it's over 100 degrees and brave the elements in anticipation to experience it and make their 'scores'! And Graciously new Umbrellas have been added to the front portion of the line, where peeps have stood & endured the longest... and Icy Bottled Water handed out by the 'Sweet Team'. Loved these Turquoise Industrial Drawers & was tenacious about getting at least one Image of them... though a Lady was Guarding them closely so I suspect they might have gone Home with her?
And I really liked these License Plate decorated Buckets... they'd make Interesting Planters for a Garden Style Decor.
And check out this Cute Vintage Gypsified Beach Bike! How Cool would it be to ride this down the Boardwalk or on the Beach Collecting Driftwood and Seashells?
And you all know how anything under Glass piques my Interest! *Winks* I have Crazy Cloche Love!
And the touches of the Ocean are another Favorite of mine... I have a ridiculous Collection of Seashells, Starfish & Coral at Home... you'd think we lived by the Ocean instead of in the middle of a Desert! *LOL*
I also Love Altered Bottle Art... though I have yet to get around to taking a Class so that I can Create my own from The Man's stash of Old Bottles he's gleaned from years of Hunting & poking around in the Desert & Old Town Dump-Tips.
Actually one of the things on my Wish List of Items to 'score' this time were tiny Metal Flower Frogs... but the smallest ones were apparently snapped up with lightening fast speed by those who got there first and so I missed out on that goal.
And Romantic Florals...
This Vignette I actually quickly re-staged for the shot because a Lady was taking it apart as I was trying to Photograph it... and luckily decided to pass on purchasing any of it so I could still show you the Awesome pieces that constituted the Vignette... my speed-foof Version of it anyways. *LOL*
Not the best shot of this Vignette since peeps were piling up behind me patiently waiting for me to hurry up & take the damn picture & get out of the way *LOL*... but I HAD to try to show you as much of that Killer Re-Purposed Old Door in a Divine Hue that is now an Awesome Table!!! LOVE IT!!!
And wouldn't this Vintage Motel Chair in an equally Awesome weather worn Hue look great cozied up to that Door Table?!?
And now that I'm deep into this Post I'm realizing I didn't do half bad at capturing some decent Images of the small portion of the Shop I traversed in record time... for a 15 minute Shop & Snap I did good... if I do say so myself!!! *Patting Self on back... LOL*
Only those of you who were actually there would even recognize that I only got through the front entryway and down the lefthand side of the Shop... ALMOST to the back, but not quite... before giving up and bailing! *Winks*
And one of the things I lament is that almost all of my Patriotic Theme Images taken at the Entryway didn't turn out worth a crap and had to be deleted... including the Sweet Boho Farm Vignettes, which were so Adorably Vintage Americana with their yummy Farm Fresh Products. Hopefully some other Blogsters were able to capture and cover that for you... I did see some other die-hard Photographers trying to immortalize the Event in Photos.
Blessings from the Arizona Desert... where we have plenty of Beach... just no Ocean... Dawn... The Bohemian