The lamp's new home...

Today I'll show you where the lamp ended up.

Here's what the dresser looked like pre-lamp:

Post lamp:

Now, I know you're looking at this thinking "Wow that would look great if the TV was gone". I couldn't agree more.

I think it looks fantastic without the tv. The only problem is the guy I married. He's staunchly pro-TV. My suggestion was for him to get an ipad and then he could watch TV in bed that way and he's ok with that but the economy sucks and we just don't have ipad money to throw around.

So for now the tv stays. Compromise is a bitch.

Craft Break

Monday night I decided to take on a craft project I had never tried before. It was around 10pm and I was bored. That's when craft happens.

I had this lamp I picked up while thrifting with Morgan:

It had been sitting around since I bought it and it's a goliath of a lamp and I was having trouble finding a shade for it. So I popped the only massive shade I had on it. Honestly it was on craigslist for a few weeks. I was ready to be done with it. Then inspiration hit!


I saw this picture and was immediately drawn to the lamp.

House Beautiful/Roman Alonso

So with help from google and some super awesome teal canvas I made this:

It was pretty simple really. The macramé 70s trim just peeled right off. I laid the fabric on the floor and rolled the shade and traced it with chalk, cut that fabric. Then used spray glue and clothespins. Thankfully my husband was there to help. Otherwise it would've been tricky. You definitely need an extra pair of hands.

Tomorrow I'll show you where the lamp lives now.

Contents may have shifted.

Sorry for the sporadic posting. I'm trying to get settled and find a rhythm with the blog but I'm failing. I've been really busy with both etsy shops (Lolabags and Motherfudger). I'd like to get the House Tours going again but it takes a lot to get them on the blog. Lot's of emails and back and forth. If you'd like to do one shoot me an email.

In the meantime here's another shot of my open cabinet.

New pieces have come in, old ones out. (Here's the old post about it). 

Art Shuffle

 So a while back I was watching TV and I saw this awesomely huge framed California state flag. I can't remember if it was an episode of Hoarders or this documentary I watched on unclaimed corpses. Either way it's a pretty strange place to grab decorating ideas from.

So with I was bitten by that little bug (god I hope it wasn't a Bed Bug) I started searching for a flag. It was going to have to be a California flag. This is my adopted home state. My Mom's family is from here and I spent a few summers here so I claim it. Suck it Florida. I don't care what my birth certificate says.

There's a lot of cheapo nylon flags out there but when you search for a vintage flag nothing comes up. Go ahead go to eBay and search "vintage california flag". I'll wait.

Underwhelming huh?

My persistence finally paid off and I found a Bicentennial flag. My ultimate goal is to frame it with a white background and frame but for a 3x5' flag it would be pretty costly.

So for now I've got it on a curtain rod. At first I secured it with fabric tape but my Mom said that could bind with the fabric on a humid day and cause some permanent damage. So I put two tiny stitches on either side in matching thread. When the time comes I can just snip the stitches and leave no damage.

FYI did you know that it was originally supposed to be a PEAR on the flag not a bear?. The request to the designer was misunderstood and the bear stayed.



So the flag is now in the dining room. Here's what was there before:

and now:

I love that the flag is imperfect, it's tattered and stained. When it's framed it's going to look so great.

So the three pieces that were in the dining room got moved to the hallway:

I love it.

Living Room

I am prepared to show you the whole front room. Ready? Good...

This part you've seen but some minor changes happened to the mantel.

Here's the view from that mustard yellow chair:

This is the other side of the room, near the front door:

and a view from the front door:

The next rooms to finish is my studio and the bedroom

Rose Bowl

I went to the Rose Bowl Flea Market this Sunday and it was amazing! There were deals to be had everywhere and so many good finds! I have had NO luck at the thrift stores here so it seems my mojo kicks in at the flea markets.

Sadly these are things I did not buy:

This is the stuff nightmares are made of. I believe the eyes light up as well. CREEPY

Who doesn't need a Dolly Parton trash can? Right after I snapped this picture two guys came up and started taking pictures with it, like it was actually Dolly. I really hope they bought it.

I found four things and two of them were such great deals, like deals so good I felt like I stole them.

Wanna See?

That Pyrex is more teal than the photo. They guy in the booth selling it was amazing. There were tables and tables surrounding with him in the middle and he was barking out prices and saying everything was from his "Auntie" and making phone calls about the price of silver.

The lucite stool I saw last month and I wanted it then but we bought the chairs and art and were at our budget limit. The vendor still had it and for twenty bucks it was all mine.

The suitcase...oh the suitcase! It's from the Samsonite Fashionaire line from the 60's. It something I have pined over for a long time but they go for a hundred or so on ebay (plus crazy shipping prices). The line was reissued in 2007 for a limited time and that was sold out fast. We were just gearing up to leave when I spotted it in a booth with clothes and shoes on the ground. The guy wanted $25 for it. TWENTY FIVE. Sold.

The outside cleaned right up, it's in fantastic condition. There's some very slight yellowing from age but that's it. All the stitches are still in place. The inside is pretty beat up. There is some staining and the divider is missing but I'm not all that concerned about it. I'd rather the outside look good than the inside.

The Long Beach Flea Market is next Sunday. It'll be my first time there. I'm excited to see how my luck pans out.

Preparedness.

George Takei was on CNN last night and he said something pretty powerful: 

"At a time like this, We are all Japanese".

Like most people I have been totally unnerved by what is happening in Japan. I have only been through two small earthquakes in my life and on Friday I came to the realization that I have nothing to rely on in case of an emergency...nothing.

We have no kit, no plan, we've never had a discussion about what we'd do. That's all about to change. Bob and I both grew up dealing with Hurricanes. Those are easy. You have plenty of warning to get supplies or vacate. With things like Earthquakes, Tsunamis and Tornados you have not warning.

Because my fear is immediate I bought a kit from the red cross and will be adding anything I feel it lacks (cat food, a multi tool etc). If you would like to put together your own, and you should this week, there is no reason not to. Here are some helpful links:

Red Cross List of Preparedness including Earthquake Safety and Pets and Disaster.

Be informed, make a kit and have a plan. You should be aware of what types of disasters could happen in your area, have a plan (and have practiced it), have a kit and preferably one member of the family should be trained in CPR and first aid.

If you are busy and don't have the time buy a kit (50% of the product retail price goes directly to the lifesaving mission of the American Red Cross, a 20% portion goes directly to your local chapter).

Be safe. Don't forget the elderly folks in your life and your pets.While you're at it and motivated throw a little cash towards the Red Cross Japan Relief effort.

Photo Friday

This is a mirror wreath hanging above the bed. It throws light around like the disco ball. I love it. From this window you can see the Hollywood sign and Griffith Observatory. Two incredible Los Angeles landmarks and you can see them from my bedroom.


This Sunday I'll be heading to the Rose Bowl Flea Market again, hope your weekend is wonderful. It might be better if you throw a little money towards the Red Cross for those in Japan (terrifying isn't it?).

New to the Shop.

I just wanted to share with you guys my newest endeavor...Pyrex Art!

They're all available in my etsy shop and for you guys 10% off when you use the coupon code "ILOVEPYREX".  I have some hanging in my kitchen and they look fantastic next to the real deal.

Partial Bedroom/Partial Nudity

Careful this post contains (slight) nudity!

I'm not quite ready to show you the whole bedroom, I'm still figuring things out. Frankly I'm still figuring the whole place out. There's a lot of shifting going on. Even the rooms that I've shown you have changed. Art is trading rooms, things are getting donated. There's a lot of editing happening and I'm pretty happy about that. I think we took on too much stuff int he last place, scratch that, I know we did.

So here is the view from the bed.

I just picked up the mobile at CB2.  I love the teal in it but not the green. I thought maybe I could spray paint it all white...I'm still not sure.

Just looking at the picture I know I can lose the vases by the TV. I would love a nice white flat screen that would just blend in with those posters but sadly, I don't have the spare $300 to splurge on something like that and that little TV keeps on going. It's entering it's 23rd year of service. It's older than the cable guy who installed it's cable. 

Thoughts? Lose the mobile? Paint it? Leave it?

Better with Before Pics

 A while back I found this brass bust of JFK while thrifting. He was attached to this wooden weirdo base and had some odd stains on his head (insert tasteless assassination joke here).  Today I was going through some stuff and was about to put the 35th president in the sell pile but then thought "maybe I can clean him up a bit".

Like the title of this post implies, it would be much better with before pics, the best I can do is this one:

He's off the wooden base but in some serious need of cleaning. Now normally I don't like to polish brass. I just prefer the way it looks tarnished but I thought I'd give it a whirl:

Not too shabby right?

I let him sit in a bowl of warm water and Bar Keeper's Friend, then I used the paste of powder that had formed of the bottom of the bowl and cleaned him up. The strange stains came right off.

Actually they came off in one piece leading me to believe they were glue or something like it. Mr. President polished right up and of course I'm not giving him up now.

All of that leads me to this: My favorite cleaning products (boy I wish I was getting paid for this)...

I think these are the four hardest working products you can use. 

Magic Eraser: Great for cleaning off dried paint, food bits off of Pyrex, weird gunk etc. I haven't found one thing that I couldn't clean with a Magic Eraser. FYI: The knock-off ones from Target work just as well.

Bar Keeper's Friend: Fantastic for cleaning and polishing brass, porcelain and any unidentified metal.

Murphy's Oil Soap: Great for cleaning up wood floors and furniture. I just used it on a bench I've had for years and was amazed how much cleaner and brighter the Murphy's made it.

Howard Feed-N-Wax: Usually if I'm using the Murphy's I'm using the Feed-N-Wax after it. It rehydrates  dried up wood, shines it up and makes it look amazing. I even used it on my new chairs, usually the normal thing to clean up fiberglass chairs is petroleum but the Feed-N-Wax worked like a charm. It restored the shine and filled in a lot of scratches.

Worth a mention is the Tibetan Almond Stick. It's a fantastic smelling stick that fills in scratches and dings on wood.

Palm Springs Thrift.

 Here's my tiny haul from Palm Springs. I spent $8 total.

This tray I found at the same store I found my awesome tulip candlesticks at. I'm not sure if it's teak or not. Boy was it dry...I could hearing it begging for water it was so DRY.

 I cleaned it up with Murphy's Oil Soap and Feed-N-Wax and it just shined right up. You can really tell in the last picture how shiny and happy it is now.

My other find was this sweet little cooler. There's something about me you should know; I can't resist a good cooler. I don't even like to camp. I think it has to do with me being so compartmentalized. My dream is to find a metal one. Someday my prince will come.

 It was dirty. Nothing that a little Magic Eraser (best cleaning tool ever) couldn't take care of.

I'm ready to fill it up and camp out in the living room.