Since I’m a vintage girl (I was made in 1979 to be exact), I shop a lot at antique malls, flea markets and thrift stores. I’ve been doing it since I could shove my first silver-plated fiddleback spoon in my mouth, and I’m pretty sure my first word was “ironstone,” so the dos and don’ts of second-hand shopping are second nature to me. I know thrifting and flea-marketing can be overwhelming (and yes, there is a lot of crap out there) so I’ve come up with some tips (or shall I say secrets) that will help you get a vintage collected look, without all the junk.

1. Start early and shop BIG first. Don’t go into the stalls or booths unless a BIG piece of furniture grabs your eye. All the best furniture gets bought first, mainly by dealers/store owners, so if you take your time and meander slowly, all the best pieces at the best prices will have been snatched up. I literally race through, like a crazy person at 8am, because there is nothing worse (ok, there are probably worse things) than seeing the perfect dresser, finding out it was $40 but was just SOLD. Doh!

More Shopping Tips

Moment #1: Um, Winning!
Let’s see the most memorable moment of the show would probably be…oh geez…let me think…maybe..WHEN I WON MY OWN TELEVISION SHOW!!!!! AHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! BREATHE…breathe…breathe…. I remember looking over to the right and seeing my TV screen still on while Michael’s screen had turned to black. My mouth dropped and shock set in, but the good kind of shock, the-I-just-won-something-so-much-better-than-the-lottery kind of shock. BOOM, I get the career of my dreams. Just like that. I knew all those HGTV hours I was logging in the last 7 years were going to pay off. Who knew that my reality show addiction could lead to my dream job? I’m a lucky, lucky little blonde duck.

Moment #2: Meeting the Other Designers
We all met each other the day before we filmed the first episode, at the big photo shoots for marketing. But we weren’t able to talk to each other until the cameras were on us that first morning in the studio! We were going through something so foreign and surreal and not being able to talk about it was tortuous, especially since we are all HUGE talkers. I mean they didn’t cast us because we were shy. So the second that we found out names and what everybody did was a huge and total burst of excitement and adrenaline. I think we all thought that we would just fall in love with each other and live like the Von Trapps in The Sound of Music, except Real World style.

See the Rest of My Memorable Moments