Showing posts with label Vintage. Show all posts

Z Goodness on Sale

Did anyone else catch the 20% off sale that Z Gallerie had from the 11th - 15th?

Well I caught it, but I resisted, and now think I should have picked up a pair of window panels that I think I like, but am not sure really work in the house. Decisions!!!

So I was thinking... don't you kind of just wonder what my wish list was from the sale? Yes, yes I thought that you did.

1) Oh what I would give to have the kind of space that a standing, 3 foot tall, mercury glass, has-absolutely-no-purpose-other-than-to-look-good vase, could go in just to look pretty. Maybe a few twigs, as they suggest. Or, what about some itty bitty purple buds. Or I could just stare at the mercury glass all day...

2. Obviously I need a large silver bowl for display. Obviously. You do too.

3) A small mercury glass hurricane lamp? Don't you think my mercury glass 3 foot tall vase would need another friend... a hurricane lamp?

4) And what about... okay, enough about the glass, just know I love it as much as it sounds like I do.

5) And yes, believe it or not, I am in the market for another Little Table. I know, I know, some will say I have simply fallen off the wagon, only to repeat the mistakes I made before going into a 2-year period of Little Table sobriety. But I SWEAR I need one for beside my best so I can move my actual nightstand across the room and build out a little sitting area. See what I mean? Major need.

Printed Vintage Book Pages

Along with the new bed (are you tired of hearing about it yet? I didn't think so.) my master bedroom is getting a bit of a mulligan. With the addition of the new bed frame, and then sending my lovely white painted bookcase off to a very good home, the room now leaves some space for new things!

Do I pull in a new color? A new little table? Maybe a chair - something to... right, throw dirty clothes on. Look I know myself and if there's a place to throw clothes, I'll do it, which means chairs are NOT allowed in my bedroom, ever. Not even a desk chair unless necessary because clothes will end up over the back of it, I can promise you.

I've had all these great frames - some empty, some with prints, some with glass only - that I've been waiting to use and collecting the last few years and so there is something telling me they can go on the long [now blank] wall in my bedroom. I just can't figure out how, though. I suppose more on those another time.

But in the meantime I was roaming around Etsy (always dangerous) and found a whole world of prints on antique book pages. I went bananas. These aren't my favorite, but I do like them. The favorites will be shared when you see the post where I actually bought my favorites and they found a new home on my bedroom wall!

What do you think? Cluster? Alone? I just like the whole idea of them...

The first set (lemon, spoons & bicycle ) can be found here.

The second set (coral, iris, & peacock) can be found here.

The Best Laid Plans...

It's true, the blog hasn't been updated in a bit - which was mentioned to me today. True. Fact. All the way.

I suppose life keeps getting in the way, which is so strange since I really do enjoy writing here and sharing my decorating finds and the like. A few weekends ago I took a quick trip back to Aldie, VA to visit Bella Villa - one of my most favorite vintage shops in the area. I picked up a few gifts, some antique wrapping paper (which I, of course, gifted since I only use my one signature wrapping paper!), and some other cute little finds.

There's also been a trip to Las Vegas in the mix. Yes, really. No, never again. It's not like it's bad or anything, but I think I didn't really get a real flavor of what the city was like because I was at a conference and then entertaining clients all day/evening - so getting out wasn't really an option, and even if it was, it was between 111 and 115 degrees the days I was there, so.... yeah, I would have melted.

Then there is today. Do you ever have what you think is the perfect plan for the day, thinking everything will work out like its scheduled and supposed to, and then it just doesn't? I guess for a variety of reasons, but it just seems like everything you try doesn't work - and you have no choice but to think that it's for a reason, and it wasn't supposed to work out. Disappointment, or whatever the feeling may be, that there's this overriding notion that what your plans were were not the best for you - or anyone - and that's why they didn't work out.

The life of a former and recovering control freak is not always an easy path. And despite the jokes and laughs, it really is former, and recovering. People in my current day-to-day life don't know how much effort I put into not making the assumption that little I could know the plans that have been set for me - be it meeting times, or life plans. It's not easy - and I fail miserably all the time - but I know the plan before me is Good, and despite my failings and misgivings, and total lack in judgement at times (like today), that these are the reasons I need a Savior.

I suppose some days I am more thankful for that than others!

Addicted

Yes, I've now become your enabler.

Houses in movies? Check.

Tiny houses? Check.

Old houses? Check.

Funny houses? Check.

Bad MLS photos? Check. (And funny!)

Might as well save this one for a Saturday morning - you'll spend a good hour on your first looksie through Hooked On Houses...

Glen Echo Echo Echo Park

One of my favorite things about living in Washington, DC is that I am constantly finding new places that I didn't even know existed. And I say this being a pretty adventerous Saturday-without-a-map kind of person.

I remember when I discovered Middleburg, VA and was so happy - new town, new feel, new experiences (new antique shops!).

Along those lines, a few weeks ago I was visiting the opening of a friend's photo exhibit and thought I was just going to some building or strip mall with a studio in it. Couldn't have been further from it!

I arrived at the address, which ended up being Glen Echo Park right on the Maryland border. I'm not really sure how to describe the park except that it feels like you just stepped into the 1950's - from the buildings, to the decor, the feel, the rides, the swing dance hall. It's wonderful.

The exhibit was a sucess so a few friends and I went over to an Irish bar right outside the park and spent hours on a beautiful spring night talking, drinking wine, cracking up, and enjoying each other's company.

But first while it was just dusk (hello, best time for building shots!) or a little before, I snapped some of the below. I could have taken pictures for much more time than I got even though it's not a big park.

Maybe another trip across the river for some more shots one of these days!

You Said WHAT?!

I got the nicest compliment I've ever received about my house and decorating the other day.

My temporary roommate had a few friends in town. After they walked in and took the [tiny] tour, one girl said (sit down for this, dear reader):

"Your house looks like a spread out of an Anthropologie catalog."

Be. Still. My. Heart.

Now I don't think that's necessarily true, mostly because on home items I find most of them at bargain stores, Luckett's, or furniture flees - but hey, I'll take it any day!

I rearranged some furniture recently in the family room, so here's what it looks like for the moment (the photo wall & tv are off to the right....)

Sweet Caroline

Last weekend I made a last minute trip to Middle America to visit S, who is expecting a new baby in approximately five weeks (yay!), but also has so much life business going on.

A very important work initiative, selling their house, buying a new house, decorating the new house (yes, very important!), having her first baby…

… you get the picture.

Thank goodness she has an uber supportive and involved hubby, and together they are a get-it-done couple. My quick trip was a good hang-out time with her, and probably the last time before it is just her, before Baby comes!

We had a great time of normalness – seeing the new house, buying appliances, packing their kitchen into boxes, dinner out, Easter church, and a city council meeting (that’s for another time).

Speaking of that new house, it is a beaut!!!

It’s a lovely white home in a neighborhood with mixed home types, which I just adore. It’s in the cute town of Kirkwood which has a great little downtown area, parks, and community centers.

(Even the street name, Caroline, is so fitting!)

The house is about a hundred years old, has recently refinished wood floors throughout, and the original hardware from the floor vents to the door knobs and windows. It has so much charm it’s a bit hard to look away because everywhere your eyes go, a new little bit of character peeks out.

The 9-foot ceilings, classic-shaped windows, oversized and bold moldings, and interesting pass-ways and halls make this house one that I would die to get my hands on. Thankfully, S lets me spout off about all the things I would do if I, in fact, moved in like I am threatening to do!

A quick peak before they get their furniture in!

Meet Lilly

Yes, I named a buffet. Though, I do name most things in my life – cameras, cars, houses, you name its.

Lilly is a new lovely buffet that turned out to be just the right piece I needed to complete my kitchen. Remember where that white bookcase was in the itty bitty eat-in part of the room? Now Lilly occupies that space nicely!

I saw her at a Middleburg antique and consignment shop, and it was love at first sight. The piece was on sale because the shop was moving down the road to a new location, and though I knew it would need a fresh coat of paint, it was the exact thing I’ve been looking for.

No wonder I couldn’t decide on anything for so long… there was a one-of-a-kind piece just waiting for me to adopt it!

Do you just adore the pretty detail on the front panel door? And the original knobs? Glass knobs might go on it eventually, but I am liking the metal originals at the moment. It is a bit too “shabby chic” for my taste, but for now with a table runner and accessories, Lilly fits in just right until another coat of paint gets thrown on!

*****

Jewelry Box

Someone once told me – and hopefully not someone reading this blog, because I forget who it was, and that could be mildly embarrassing – that they read in Southern Living that your powder room should be like a little jewelry box.

Meaning, you should open up that door to the little room and inside should be totally decked out, decorated in a way that you would never do the larger and more lived-in parts of your home, and could contain some more over-the-top décor.

Once I heard that, I have never turned back!

While my powder room isn’t quite the little jewelry box that I wish it was just yet, I keep adding items to make it more interesting.

When I moved in the mirror in the room was just one of those slab mirrors held in by clear brackets. It was better than I just made it sound, and actually did fit with the retro/vintage bones of the house, but I wanted something cuter.

Quite some time ago I found this off-white mirror and ordered it off Target.com. I believe it was $60, which as you home décor friends know, is quite a steal.

While you have to excuse the mistaken anchor hole to the side (listen, no one gets it right the first time!), I think this mirror adds a lot to the itty bitty room. I also recently found the larger wall art at Home Goods, and added something else small with it. The two probably needs to be built out with a hook or another little jeweled frame, but there is time… there is time…

Home Very Goods

Do you know about Home Goods, and do you frequent as much as I do? Of course you don’t, because you are a normal human and I am not.

I might visit Home Goods every weekend. Might. I may have visited this weekend and bought to Audrey Hepburn pieces and some kitchen towels… and a vase… and a frame… and a table runner…

… and I may have gotten FR addicted too. Oops!

My little find today was that Home Goods has a blog, and there are some great ideas from the three writers!

GIRLS LIKE CARS TOO