Stephanie's Pumpkin Martini

During the holidays my daughters and I love to dream up a signature cocktail for our celebration.  This year I am blessed enough to have Thanksgiving holiday with my daughters in Northern California in the wine country.  In preparation for the holiday festivities, my youngest daughter concocted the perfect Pumpkin Martini in which I was lucky enough to be the taste tester.  You be the judge of her final recipe.  This is a great party mixer and can be made and stored ahead of time.


Stephanie's Pumpkin Martini



Stephanie's Pumpin Martini in a Tumbler

Stephanie's Pumpkin Martini

Chill Martini or chosen goblet
Use Chocolate Magic Shell on chilled glass and then re-freeze for 10 minutes
In a martini shaker prepare 1 oz. milk
1 oz. Hiram Walker Pumpkin Spice Liqueur
1 oz. Pinnacle Whipped Vodka
1 oz. Fulton's Harvest Pumpkin Pie Liqueur
Garnish with whipped cream, nutmeg and sprinkles of your choice.

We were able to purchase all liqueurs and vodka at Total Wine.
Enjoy and please drink responsibly.

Annual Halloween Event at Aubergine Emporium

Come join the fun on Sunday, October 30, 2011 at Aubergine Emporium in Simi Valley.  We are having our annual Bobbing for Discounts.  Cookies and refreshments will be served.

Our store is a wonderful mix of vintage and antique furnishings.  We offer an eclectic mix of home decor to suit just about everyone's taste.


Fall at Aubergine

We look forward to seeing you.

Starting a Blog Can Be.....

STRESSFUL!!!!  I am on day four of blogging life.  Before I started on this journey, I read two books on blogging and how to set up a blog.  After getting what I thought were all the facts, I decided I did not have the technical skills to set up a "great looking" blog so I had a professional help me out.  I do love the design of the blog and Catherine at The Avalon Rose did a beautiful job for me.  In my naivete, I thought all I had to do was post pictures and blog.  The first night went fine.  Got the job done fast.  I was so very proud of myself.  I tried to do a blog the following evening.  That night I had trouble uploading my photos.  Took me an hour to do one little blog.  Last night my daughter suggested I start making a list of the blogs I follow.  Should be easy; right?  It was, but for me to figure it out took me two hours.  Okay...you are getting the message.  I am technologically challenged.  That would be an understatement.  Everything is easy when you know how to do it.  Now I have crossed that hurdle and maybe I can just work on what I have learned in the last couple of days before I move on to the next easy task.  There definitely is a learning curve to learning new computer skills.

I don't have any photos of myself ready to smash my computer so I will just add a photo of one of my walls at Aubergine Emporium.  This is one of my cupcake signs.  I put it on two hangers and hung it on the wall and then mounted two decorative brackets on the wall to rest the sign on to make it an awning.  I had the windows and the shutters so I just made a vignette out of it.  I am happy to say the sign sold pretty quickly.

Flea Market Finds

I live in the Los Angeles area.  There is a major flea market every weekend and even some smaller ones in various locations if you don't feel like driving very far.  It's best to get there early.  As you can see from the first photo, I was there before sun up and found a whole pile of treasures from one dealer. 

 I love old luggage and this set is pristine.  They are Samsonite.  I found the two large pieces from one dealer, and then upon scouting out more treasures, I found the smaller one that was an exact match.  These had the person's initials on them.  In addition, I found at least a dozen old drink crates including several from soft drink brands that are very hard to find.  There were even a couple from Bethlehem Steel.

I put them all over my space and up high on shelves.  Old crates are so useful.  You can attach them to walls for magazines, use them for kid's toys or even store your pet's belongings in them.  The possibilities are endless.

It's Raining Pumpkins

We love to decorate for fall especially in our front yard.  I found these orange paper umbrellas at a sale a few months ago and put them away for the perfect Halloween decorations.  All it took was a little black craft paint to transform them into the perfect Jack-O-Lanterns.  Our little Cindy had a howling good time helping us.

                                She even put on her spider tiara to really get into the spirit of the day.

                                                          And voila!  The end result.

Last year I did this with cloth umbrellas that I painted with orange spray paint (available at this time of year).

I put them in between the shrubberies and let them peak out.  The neighbors loved them. 

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Fall Decor at Aubergine Emporium

Hi everyone.  This is my first blog post and I can't believe I am actually doing this.  I have planned this for weeks and just got my new blog format from The Avalon Rose so I am ready to give this blog thing a try.
I have been a dealer for many years and love to create projects, and I plan to share many of them with you.

Right now I will just share some pics from this wonderful little store I am in called Aubergine Emporium located in Simi Valley, California.  I think it's one of the best eclectic mixes of home decor close to the Los Angeles area.

Eclectic Mix of Fall Colors

A lighter shade of fall

The owner of our shop is constantly cooking up new vignettes to keep the store looking fresh.  She has a keen sense of design style.


If you are ever in the area, be sure to stop by and see us.  You will find old and new and lots of great ideas.