Weekend Finds

Remember that whole thing I said about being down 3 chairs? How I said I sold some and went on a chair diet? Yeah, well that's over.

Meet my new best friend. Yeah, she's the real deal. My first Eames. Feels neat. I like it. The Sea foam is the most perfect color in the world. She's going to get a new base as fast as I can make it happen. I'd love a walnut dowel base but I'm not sure how based in reality that particular want is. $75 on Craigslist. In Los Angeles that's a crazy bargain.

Let me stop right here and apologize for the photos. Weird things are happening with the light in my house and my camera. I can't seem to make it all gel. I also can't seem to find a good spot to photograph big items without the background looking messy and gross.

 I braved the rain for the Long Beach Flea yesterday. It was almost sunny when we left the house but 15 minutes into the flea it started drizzling, then rain, then a downpour. The scattered vendors that made it out were packing with a quickness so we hightailed it home and enjoyed the downpour from a cozy spot on the couch. I would stop short of saying it was a bust because I found this for $20:

Hurray! Storage!

Yuck to the photos. Maybe I need a new camera? Lessons? Paparazzi?

Dining Room Update

Some new stuff happened in the dining room. I wasn't all that happy with the flag placement. It felt awkward and maybe too small, or too big. I couldn't decide. I moved some art around and even since I took these pictures one of the aqua chairs has been sold. I have my heart set on these Blu Dot chairs and I'm hoping to make it happen via Craigslist.

In case you're wondering the light fixture is not my choice (landlady's/can't change) and I still love my 'For Like Ever' poster.

This is the only photograph of my family I have in my house. I'm not all that big with photos around the house. This is my mom and dad in the 70's. It was taken by my older brother who would of been 5 or 6 at the time. I think it's such an awesome representation of 70's cool.

This is the companion picture. My brother standing in the same spot pretending to be Napoleon

So in summation. Dining room has changed, Chairs are gone, Parents are awesome.

Rose Bowl

This Sunday was the Rose Bowl Flea Market. I was up at 7am and couldn't get back to sleep so I forced my husband awake and we went earlier than normal. I prefer that because it's less crowded, less carts and people stopping in the middle of the aisles for no reason. We did about two and a half hours of walking and only bought one thing.

This is a metal advertising tray for Orange Crush soda. Probably from the late 60's early 70's. Judging by the couple most likely early 70's. This was used in soda fountains, diners, restaurants etc to bring soda to the tables 'natch. It's rusted in some areas and some of the paint has flaked off but it's still pretty awesome.

Orange Crush has become a recent obsession of mine. Of course it's crazy collectible and goes for insane prices on ebay. I've always had champagne taste on a beer budget.

It's a fine line to walk when collecting stuff like this, one piece too many and it becomes a nostalgic 50's diner.

Living Room Update Update

Just a quick update from the living room. My pouf from Tunisia arrived along with a boatload of pillows from Turkey. Check it out:

There are currently six pillows on the couch which is a lot for me. I usually hold steady at four and I was planning to edit some of the Kilim pillows off but then I sat down and found this crazy comfortable place. It was like couch surfing nirvana. So I will not be editing and I will be trying to figure out how to live the rest of my life from that spot.

The Art of Mary Blair

Tuesday was my birthday and Bob and I went to Disneyland. I, being from Florida, have only been to Disneyworld and Bob went to Disneyland when he was four and the only thing her remembers was that Michael Jackson was there and he and his Mom chased him around the park.

We had an absolute blast. They gave me a pin and I got lots of 'Happy Birthday's and even a violin serenade. I saw about 20 other folks who were also celebrating their birthdays. Not a bad place to do it. Anyway aside from all the fun we had one of the galleries in the park was celebrating Mary Blair, who is a favorite of mine.

Even if you don't know her name you know her work. Mary Blair was an artist for Disney who did the designs for the It's a Small World ride and for the Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, The Three Caballeros movies among others. She was also a commercial artist for children's books and advertising. Her art is charming, vivid and distinct. 

If you've got a spare $200 you can check out the book on her art; The Art and Flair of Mary Blair, Or a less expensive option are the children's books she illustrated: I Can Fly, Peter Pan, Cinderella and Alice in Wonderland. The Disney books are written in a style that's entertaining for adults, definitely a sarcastic bent to them.

If you'd like to see the whole collection check out my flickr set.