le apartment // living room

first off, thank you so much for all your wonderful and sweet comments on my kitchen post! it's always nice (and reassuring) to receive positive feedback on my kooky sense of style.

today we'll take a peek at the living room. there is a lot (a lot, a lot) of stuff crammed into a tiny space. it's not that i have too much stuff, it's just that i have too small a space. yeah, that's it.

my front door is just to the left of the tv stand/buffet and my office space is just behind the small wall with the mirrors.

this yellow and pink chair is the first piece of furniture i picked up for this apartment. i got it at a local thrift store and because my volunteer at work also volunteers at the thrift store, i got it for $50 instead of $100. it was a haverty's floor sample and is missing one button. i got the needlepoint throw pillow at a garage sale at least ten years ago.

do you recognize the suitcases? i originally left them at a thrift store, but i kept thinking about them and went back to rescue the pair. without consciously knowing so, i've begun to collect ceramic owls.

more thrifted finds! the needlepoint was from the same shopping trip as the suitcases and the daisy plate was from an estate sale a few weeks ago. the print is my attempt at screen printing.

i procured this amazing vintage gooseneck lamp last year from a friend's co-worker who was leaving the country and had to sell most of her possessions. the brass is a tad tarnished (even after rounds and rounds of scrubbing with brasso), but i love its great color and whimsical cattail details.

the larger of the two lady baltimore suitcases is used to display my favorite travel photos: strawberry field (no 's') in liverpool, various beatles stops, and paris.

if i had to choose my favorite vintage needlepoint in my apartment, this psychedelic lady would be it. this is another case of oh, i'm not sure if i love it or hate it, so i'll just leave it thrift store mentality. i obviously came to my senses and went back and rescued it -- and it was 50% off when i went back, so hurrah!

the bunting over the window was made with recycled felted wool sweaters and binding fabric. 

all of the pillows on the couch are handmade because i could never find anything crazy enough for me, i suppose. the floral pillows are reversible and were made from anthropologie napkins. i made the owl pillow from recycled felted sweaters. the quilt is a lap quilt i made last year from anna maria horner's garden party fabric.

the quilt on this side of the couch was my first quilt and it was made with denyse schmidt's county fair fabric. i love it so much -- and so does lola! she can usually be found perched upon the couch pillow, looking out the window. i knitted the little monsters a few years ago using this pattern; they are also a favorite of lola's, as evidenced by one of the eyes coming out of its socket.

this little corner is almost a corner of childhood in a weird, hopefully non-creepy sort of way. the prints are from the amazing catherine campbell, a.k.a. my folk lover. my blue kidrobot display case has looked a bit bare ever since i moved my dunny collection to the office. i'll just have to get a few more, yes?

my mother has recently started a complete home organization makeover, which means i have had to collect all my odds and ends that have been in my old bedroom for years and years. one of those items was my very first big boy in the form of a bank.

this portrait is part of a new collection i've started: random estate sale portraits. i don't know why, but i love coming across old painted portraits at estate sales. they make me sad and nostalgic and i can't bear to not purchase them. i don't know if that's cool or creepy. the clock was picked up at the first estate sale i went to, years and years ago.

a few more childhood memories interspersed with thrifted finds. i love the slide viewer, the camera, and the musical bank - the car moves up and down as the the music plays. i got the white lockers at ikea to store my dvd collection.

i got this art deco buffet at an auction a few years ago and i love it so much. it has tons of storage and charm. please take no notice of how small my television is. it's sad, really.

another growing collection: nesting dolls.

i've been picking up sets of nesting dolls whenever i can find them. i have a set from london, russia, and germany and i've gotten a few more at estate sales and thrift stores.

my favorite set is the circus-themed set. i got these at an antique store in jefferson, texas and paid more than i normally would have, but i couldn't resist.

i got this amazing orange vase/container (?) as a birthday present last year. i love when my friends recognize my style!

above the tv is my colorful board game from 1942. please ignore the thumb tacks holding it up for now - sigh. i almost died when i found the two small needlepoint children on either side of the game.

they have got to be the cutest things i've ever seen! (if it's not obvious, i'm a girl and i live alone. a little bit of cute is okay for now, yeah?)

for now my thrifted $25 kroehler slipper chair is (inconveniently) in front of the tv stand. i'd like to reupholster the chair (is that sacrilege?), but it will have to wait. the hand-hooked rug on the floor was from my grandparents' house.

so, yeah, that's it. my cramped and full and sunny and colorful living room.

thanks for reading!

a selection of signage

one of the reasons i carry a camera (read: my iPhone) with me at all times is to capture snippets of my surroundings when i visit new (and sometimes old) places. and one of my favorite things to snap pictures of? old signage, no matter the shape or size.

i thought i'd share a few of my favorites from around the metroplex with you!









signing off now (i know, i know - so bad. but do i remove it? no),

the library // science tackles the afterlife

while working on the reference desk, the majority of the questions fielded are from face-to-face or over-the-phone transactions. sometimes we get an e-mail and, even less occasionally, we get a question via our chat portal on the website. people usually just pop up to ask our hours or location, but every once in a while you get a really good question. like today.

out of the corner of my eye, i saw the chat box pop up on the screen with the question: what is the process for donating a body to science in texas? i was immediately intrigued and i'm sure a huge smile appeared on my face (i realize that sounds completely morbid).

i replied that the question may take a bit of time to research and was there an e-mail address to which i could send my findings?

the chatter replied: yes, i have an e-mail, but if possible, i can wait.

it occurred to me that the chatter may have had the, uh, specimen on hand. curiouser and curiouser!

after a bit of research, i found that most medial universities have willed body programs and that only a simple form needed to be filled out; however, there was one form for donors who were still alive and one form for those donating a body with no "prior membership."

after narrowing down the choices to medical universities in the dallas area, i discreetly inquired whether the chatter needed a form for themselves or on behalf of somebody else.

the chatter replied: oh, it's for me.

then: OH MY GOSH, IT PROBABLY SOUNDS LIKE I HAVE A DEAD GUY ON ICE OVER HERE! LOL!!

why, yes, that's exactly what it sounded like.

cool stuff for cool people

my oldest niece, who is a junior in high school (a fact that absolutely blows my mind), mentioned a few months ago that when it came time to shop for prom dresses, she wanted to consider vintage choices. i immediately suggested that we stop in at lula b's, an antique mall specializing in mid century designs, vintage clothing, kitschy home decor, and just eclectic awesomeness in general.

lula b's is one of my favorite spots in dallas because:

there's always colorful stacks of pyrex.

there's also always a good chance of finding a pink suitcase. i don't need another one, but it's always good to know where to find essentials, no?

vintage globes add cheerful pops of school day nostalgia in almost every booth.

there's usually loads of paint by numbers, a real weakness for me.

underneath this western wear sign?

miles of texas-sized foot fashion. can i just say how much i love the patchwork boots at the far left? i do.

there's charming bric-a-brac at every turn.

and amazing furniture, too.

this would be the perfect size dining set for my small apartment.

i really wanted to take home this pink chair, but i was strong and focused on why we were really there.

and that was for vintage clothing. formal frocks to be exact.

 how cute is my niece?

and how pretty is my sister? even in a slightly puffy, extremely colorful, big-collared, uh, dress? we weren't quite sure if this was meant to be worn outside of the house or not. 

even though the prom dress she ended up getting wasn't vintage (who doesn't want to go to prom in a peach cape dress?), we all had a great time.

  

and we did end up getting something! i got these amazing vintage boots for my niece as an early birthday present. my sister has already claimed dibs on borrowing them and i just might have to, as well.

are there any dreamy vintage places near you? please share!

music // guster

i had the best time with friends and family this weekend and, as usual, sunday night has come way too quickly. after a great lunch at the spiral diner with my friend sara and her boyfriend on friday afternoon, i headed back to downtown dallas with my friend and her brother to catch jukebox the ghost opening for guster.

the show was at house of blues and here's a nice little tip if you ever catch a show at one of their venues: eat dinner in their restaurant first. if you spend at least $15/person in food and/or drink, you don't have to wait in line to get in the show. you get to cut through the building and you are escorted in before everybody queuing. score.

i'd heard jukebox the ghost from a hear ya live session a few years ago and i thought they put on a pretty great show.

their second-to-last song was a hilarious donna lewis cover dedicated to the guys in guster. *giggles*

i have to admit that i'm not fully aware of guster's complete catalog of work. my friend introduced me a few years ago and i've always enjoyed hearing their music, which some describe as alternative or folk rock or, tidily enough, folk alternative.

however they're labeled, i did pick up on one fact quite quickly. guster have an amazing cult following with extremely loyal fans. every song was sung in full force by the entire audience. most shows i go to have (maybe) one or two songs that everybody knows. friday night's show was nearly two hours of singalong awesomeness.

i was quite happy when they played the song that originally pulled me in. i love satellite - it's just a catchy, upbeat, and sweet song. does there need to be anything else?

if you're not familiar with guster, check out some of their videos on you tube - they're always completely original, interesting, and entertaining.

i hope you had a great weekend! i'll be back to share some vintage store love soon, but right now i need to cram for a presentation i have to give to the city manager tomorrow. it seriously feels like it's grad school all over again!

half of a noah baumbach film

it's saturday and you know what that means! yep, i'm dodging phone calls from weird food guy and explaining how to print only what you've selected at work. i'm also learning that i can't quite function on five hours of sleep like i used to. *yawn*

i really just wanted to pop in and show you something super cute that i picked up at an estate sale on thursday morning.



hee! it's too much! i spotted this cutie in an online photo cluster of items up for sale at an estate in dallas (i always do a bit of research the night before and make up lists and maps). the sale opened at ten o'clock and i arrived at 9:25 to find at least fifty people ahead of me.

because the sale had so much fine jewelry, the estate sale company utilized a bit of crowd control in the form of only letting five or ten people in at a time. cut to a 45-minute wait before i was allowed in. once inside, i had to wait my turn at the jewelry section, where i happily found my whale to still be up for grabs. hoorah!



he (because, obviously, gender is assigned to necklace pendants) came on a child's length chain, so i had to get something a bit longer. as i didn't have any spare necklaces at home, i checked my local thrift store, but no luck. i was meeting my friend at the mall later, so i decided to go to icing.

can i just say that i never, ever want to have to go into that store again? unless i'm with a niece or somebody under the age of ten. even then, i'm still not sold. but i got my chain and i'm so happy with my little buddy.

on feeling warm & fuzzy

how great is blogland? pretty fantastic, i think. they lovely miss cuppy and the brilliant mandy have shared a lovely award with me! *blush*

this makes me especially warm & fuzzy because it comes from two of my very favorite bloggers! cuppy is such a vibrant, stylish, and hilarious gal (and she shares my passion for david mitchell and nigella lawson) and mandy is a super witty, fun, and genuine friend with her finger on the pulse of up-and-coming nerd awesomeness (hoorah!).

in acceptance of this award, i'm tasked with telling you seven things about myself. i've listed a few before (and i would have totally shared more in 30 days of lists had i not been completely overwhelmed with work this past month - boo!), but here are a few more facts i've managed to pin down.

1. like cuppy, i once had pink hair. or, at least, pink bangs. every sunday night for the first semester of my freshman year in college, i happily touched up chunks of my hair with manic panic.

2. if i had written a list of my celebrity crushes for the 30 days of lists challenge, it would have looked like this: david mitchell, colin firth, bill nighy, martin clunes, stephen fry, and robert brydon. reviewing this list gives me pause because they are all middle-aged (or older) british gentlemen. interesting.

3. my undergraduate degree is in linguistics, but i didn't want to be a teacher. after wasting a few years, i decided to get my masters degree in information science because i didn't want to have to get a real job just yet. talk about motivational drive. sheesh.

4. when i was eight years old, my brother told me devil worshippers would kidnap and skin me alive on halloween. this horrifying revelation led to me sleeping on the floor in my sister's room for two years and my fear of the dark until i was almost twelve. i never went trick or treating again.

5. if i could live anywhere in the world, i would choose the pacific northwest or the united kingdom. preferably a flat in london and a cottage in scotland, but i'm not picky.

6. my last dinner would have to be cheese enchiladas with raw onions. it just doesn't get any better.

7. i'm still undecided about whether or not to get a tattoo (my dream artist would be thomas kenney). the last time i was in london, i chickened out and got my tragus pierced in camden instead.

eek! there are too many great blogs out there to choose from in passing on this award! obviously, i'd send this back to cuppy and mandy (but that would be quite circular), so here are a few more of my favorites:

keith from livin' in the past
sara from food, fitness, life & love
annie from wack delly
jessi and cassie from sparrows and arrows