One of the things that I miss about LA is driving past yard sale signs, slamming on the breaks, and parking the car to go hunting for new (to me) items on the cheap. Though I know that I'm not guaranteed to find anything vintage, yards sales are a great way to buy second-hand goodies without having to dig through a thrift store. In fact, yard sales, vintage/thrift stores, Craigslist, and flea markets have always been my main source for home-decor shopping. I guess I just really enjoy the satisfaction of finding something rather than picking one-of-many off the shelf.

This Saturday morning was perfect for a yard sale. It was bright and crisp but the only thing missing was, errr, a yard sale. In London - due to the obvious lack of lawn space - they have community car boot sales instead. These sales, often located in church or school lots, began with people hawking items directly from the trunks (or boots) of their cars. Now the norm is to set up tables or lay everything on the floor or on a blanket. This was only my second car boot sale but I've quickly learned that to find even one thing that you like, want, or need, is to call it a shopping success. Here are the items we found that made us pretty happy...

1) A single cotton pillow case that will make a great set of napkins - i love little sewing projects!

2) Pair of heavy duty glass containers that we can use for anything. They hold our grains for now but I think they'd be great as vases, too.

3) A lock for our next trip to Paris. You can bet we'll be throwing the keys into La Seine :)

4) A nicely textured brass vase...perfect for displaying the cabbage flowers we bought later that afternoon at Portobello Road Market.

Still on our list of items to buy for the home are dining chairs and a side-table. I think I'll have to go down to Sunbury for that as they seam to sell more furniture than any other London-city market. It'll be a great excuse to pick up a few items for the shop, too ;)