Sunday March 18, 2012

I finally have a nice stack of white bowls. I need more- we go through bowls so quickly at our house, but this is a nice start. It makes me so happy to open the cupboard and see this cheery tower. Each piece has it's own unique personality, and yet they all go together. Hooray for white dinnerware!

Saturday March 17, 2012

I have been exploring and re-exploring thrift stores in my area in search of items for the Flea Market. I managed to hit a giant one that I had been to only once before the other night while Princess Stomping Foot was at Dance. It was a good haul, let me tell you. Unfortunately, I don't have photos of anything but this lovely chair. It was pretty rough looking when I found it- dusty, stained, and nicked up, but still well worth the $18.98 that I paid for it. I have been wanting a little barrel style cane back sitting chair for my bedroom for, oh, several years now. Just to show you my restraint- I bought this with the intention of re-selling it since I didn't currently have room in my bedroom for it. Today, The Rusty Knight got to moving furniture in the living room and took the chair that had been in this spot in the bedroom into the living room. Then he took this chair (which had just been stuck in a corner of the living room for now) and put it in the bedroom- stating that he liked to have a chair to sit in and out his shoes on. Well, I was not about to argue with that. A good vacuuming, a coat of furniture polish, and a gentle cushion cleaning later- and this is what it looks like! It literally too me 20 minutes to get this chair from a $20 thrift store chair to a $100 Antique store chair. It's still a little rough. Ideally, I would like to get  the caning fixed, spray it in a more modern color (white, gray or black), tighten up the cushions and have it reupholstered. But for now- it works just fine the way that it is.

Of course, now my old magazine rack looks really sad- must find a better alternative pronto.

Wednesday March 14, 2012

Today is a beautiful day (but not to go to the ER)
I'm wearing Apt 9 shoes form Kohl's
17/21 jeans
thrifted tunic (Buffalo Exchange)
H&M vest
vintage brooch
bangle from Forever 21

I had a doctor's appointment today- the only news I got was that my bone density is good. I mentioned to the doctor that I had hit my head the day before (got my melon stuck while I was shutting the car trunk), and he sent me to the ER for a CAT Scan. I waited and waited to be seen, and when I finally got to the doctor he ran his finger over my head once and sent me home. The I waited another 20 minutes for discharge papers. I finally just left- I figured there's nothing they can do to me.

The good news is that I hit some Antique and Thrift stores on the way home, and picked up a few items to sell at the Flea Market.

I found a travel bar- complete with the tag still on, a well loved leather suitcase, a vintage book (biography of F. Scott Fitzgerald's crazy wife), a pair of metal horse head bookends (haven't decided if I want to re-finish or leave  as is), and a wood frame that I think I will turn into a chalkboard. Exciting finds!

Monday March 12, 2012

You'll have to forgive the poor quality of these photos, I couldn't wait to show off my latest home improvement efforts!

Firs off, I have finally (FINALLY!) gotten the kids silhouettes framed and hung up. We got these paper cut silhouettes done at Knott's Berry Farm, and I found the frames at the Dollar Tree of all places. I like the KBF ones better than D-Land because they don't say the name of the place anywhere on it. They look like actual vintage silhouettes, and they even have a tiny little signature on them. I am still looking for two vintage hand mirrors to hang on either side of the oval frame, and I am considering a silhouette of my cat for the little square frame. How cute would that be? This is The Rusty Knight's dresser, and as much as I would like to clutter up the top with pretty things, he complains that they fall over when he shuts the drawers, so I am trying to be happy with a small gallery wall instead.

Here is the new table runner that I found for a dresser scarf. It's a perfect fit and great color- a little deeper than the gray in the pillowcase that I was using. That vignette is finally done- Yay!

Here you can see the relationship between the two pieces. On the other side of the tall dresser is a hook with our towels and my robe, and then the bedroom door.

A New Adventure!

For a long time now, I have been thinking about starting a business buying and selling things. I've always loved thrift/vintage/antique stores, garage sales, salvage yards, and old junk. Last month, The Rusty Knight and I went to the Rose Bowl Flea Market to check it out. It's HUGE, a very specific market, and only once a month. We had been thinking about trying out selling some stuff there, and Thursday night we decided to give it a go on Sunday. It was a lot of work to prepare. Luckily, I had been going through stuff and setting it aside together, along with doing pricing research. We spent Friday and Saturday cleaning, pricing, organizing, setting up displays, and packing them into the car, as well as running last minute errands. The day of the sale went really smoothly (although it was a long and early day due to the time change), I had a good time and we made some money. I'll be spending the next month finding new items, and we will be back again next month- hopefully with a little better spot and some cool new merchandise.