CALIFORNIA NIGHTS

ahh california nights...no, i am not talking about spending lazy nights in monterey by the beach. california nights is a monthly neighborhood gathering of beautiful, fun people and a fabulous vintage crawl which starts from augusta and ends around division. all the people buzzing around seem to know each other but if you are not from the neighborhood and love vintage furniture, old books, clothes and colorful pop up shops, good tunes and sipping wine, you will fit right in. starting off you pay $5 for a "cup" of wine which bears the california nights logo which will be your ticket to get a refill for beer or wine at all the stores you stop by.

we started the evening at the arborist, with its gorgeous vintage finds including a bench which would be perfect for the foot of my bed if my bedroom was 5' longer. Sigh. I still visit the page to see if it is gone. and it is still there. calling my name. the price was so good. i wake up in cold sweat in the middle of night thinking of that price and that bench. maybe i should buy a storage space just so i dont have to let these dreamy vintage deals pass me by. sigh- moving on, i bought a gorgeous black & white mask there and enjoyed some tunes and talked to a few lovely people. outside, there was a small group of budding stars playing the violin. their ages ranged from 4-10 year old. what a treat. next door was the fun shop vintage quest, which is named just right! it's like you walked in to someone's great aunt martha who just happened to be a hoarder. we spent a good amount of time looking through old records , old black and white photos, a collections of shot glasses from michigan state, old lock boxes from US mail, old books, and a vast intriguing collection of sorts that could keep you busy for a few hours. nirvana playing on the record player, i tried on a few hats and went on to the counter to play for the records. the owner is one sweet guy who made everyone roll a couple of dice to figure what the discount would be. ours was 11%. score. what a fun place!

after stopping at other shops, our last stop was humbolt house. an eclectic vintage store filled with a bohemian and mid century vibe. i always love stopping by here. after drooling all over the assortment of kilims they have covering the space i spent a good half an hour checking out their new inventory which changes almost everyday. the collections vary in era but beauty and functionality is guaranteed with anything you see. the place is filled with beautiful textiles, modernist art, vintage housewares, my favorite was the wall mounted nutone stereo. i want me some!

participants include humboldt house, vintage quest, meadowlark, space oddities chicago, peanut gallery & the arborist along with several pop-up shops filled with vintage and boheme goodies. every 3rd saturday from 5-9pm between Augusta and Division on California Ave.

See you there!

xo
HM