the many moods of mr. jerry orbach

so, yeah, tomorrow ended up being two days late. it be like that sometimes, yes? without further ado, may i present...

on a whim, hours before my christmas party last december, i decided to craft a jolly santa hat for mr. orbach. i thought it was funny. the next week, i thought he could do with a new year's eve hat... and thus began a hobby that, i have to admit, i might enjoy a little too much. it's kind of like dressing up a dog. silly, but ultimately amusing.

i believe the source of this inspired plan can be traced to the halloween masks danielle thompson crafted for her vintage portraits last fall. and i spied something similar on eartha kitsch's lovely portraits this valentine's day, too! i plan on making jerry a fetching item for most holidays this year (he got pretty lucky with a costume change on president's day) and i'll be sure to share them here.

happy weekending!

spinning // la bella italia

i think i can safely say that the one purchase i will never regret splurging on is my record player. it makes me so happy and i love looking for new albums at the thrifts to add to my collection. i have quite a proclivity for picking up records solely based on their cover - you can blame this blog - and i've lucked out that most have been in decent condition. 

i actually drooled over la bella italia on project thirty-three awhile ago, so i was pretty happy to stumble upon it last week. and let me tell you, it's fantastic. quite frankly, i'm a nut for the accordion, but this album really is perfectly cozy, romantic, nostalgic and beautiful.

ciao!

vintage walk

after a pretty good estate sale score in the morning and an early afternoon movie (i saw the artist - it was great and really inventive! watch the trailer here), i decided to take lola on a vintage walk.

a vintage walk is what my friend calls a walk around an old neighborhood. it was the perfect weather for a long stroll with my iPod, camera, and favorite pug.

i love my neighborhood! there are so many interesting things to see on every street. so many amazing houses and buildings, especially. i love, love, love the pink and mint green cottage with the white picket fence (upper left) and the church (upper right) was built in 1856 - it's incredible! the victorian house (bottom left) is really stunning and it's purple (in various shades) from top to bottom.

but my favorite thing to look at every time i pass it? this amazing 1960s cadillac ambulance. swoon.

i always get a bit camera shy around this beauty - i really want to get interesting angle shots of all the little details, but i don't want to invade any personal property. i am determined to knock on the owners' door one day and ask for the ambulance's history and permission to shoot away.

i'm off to spend the night catching up on project runway all-stars (it's too much awesome with both austin scarlett and mondo) and downton abbey. yes, this is my saturday night and it's going to be great!

what are you doing?

friday the thirteenth

happy lucky friday.

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or friday the thirteenth if you're superstitious. did you know that there was an anti-superstition society in chicago? they held a friday the thirteenth party on december 13, 1940 and smashed (literally in the case of mirrors) superstitions. that's kind of awesome. check out the gallery of photos at life magazine. (if you're viewing in a reader, you might have to click through to the blog for the embedded gallery below!)

 

goldmine attic find

happy 2012! i hope the year of the dragon is off to a great start for you. with cool people, yummy food, and good conversation to start the year yesterday, i certainly can't complain.

i also can't complain about the a m a z i n g atomic era gold shadow box that was discovered in the attic of my rental house. my friends (and landlords) are moving for a few years and are storing some things in my attic. yesterday, to everyone's surprise, they discovered this fantastic piece under a pile of insulation.

i (greedily, i'm afraid) called dibs and they (graciously) handed it over. the decorative edge is missing what we think was probably once a mirror, but other than that? it's in perfect shape. and i already have a plan involving glitter and resin to add a bit of awesome back to the shadow box. nothing tacky, i promise. stay tuned.

if this is a sign of the vintage goodness to come in 2012, i'm stoked.

oh! and to start off the new year, i started a facebook page for file me away. if you'd like to like it, well, that'd be swell!

have a seat... or two or three (a before & after)

oh, hai. it's been a (long) while since i last posted anything and i actually feel a bit shy. it's been a crazy two months around these parts - packing to move, moving, unpacking, adjusting, settling in. realizing that i'm completely happy and in love with the new place and neighborhood. especially when acquaintances in the neighborhood have a garage sale and i score three danish modern chairs for $15.00.

on first glance, not too shabby. but let's have a closer look, shall we?

broken arm and loose joints.

dried wood with plenty of dings and nicks.

tears. lots of holes here.

the vinyl's not in that great of shape, either.

the worst? unsightly stains.

over the course of two weekends, i tried to fix up these garage sale finds to bring back some of their former glory. i used teak oil, mineral spirits, oil soap, wood glue, new screws, new fabric, and lots of time at the sewing machine.

i recovered the two smaller chairs in a black-and-white patterned suiting material. one is by the tv stand/art deco buffet and the other is next to my record player desk table (with a few christmas things out).

i chose a vintage style chartreuse chenille/tweed fabric to reupholster the side chair. i've never attempted a box cushion with piping before, but i think it turned out pretty good! let's just not look too closely at the mismatched corners on the bottom cushion... ahem. 

the wood prettied up real nice with teak oil. i have to admit, the green fabric was a second choice (some credit due to keith), but it works so well against the dark frame - i really love it. sewing with this fabric, however, was something else all together. the bottom cushion has it's own name and it's not very nice.

i was feeling charitable with my sewing machine after the top cushion came together much more easily than the bottom, so i put together a quick throw pillow using piping scraps and the houndstooth fabric i originally chose for the smaller two chairs.

i'm feeling extremely thankful to be in a place where i can spread out, refinish, sew, and fix things again! it's been way too long. i promise not to be gone for long - i have a lot of posts lined up for december and a house tour should be around soon!

thanks for being patient while i settled in,

estate sale finds // 09.09.11

today marks the beginning and end of my weekend, so, to make the most of my short time away from work, i decided to get out of town and hit up an estate sale in west ft. worth. let me just say that the 60+ minute drive was totally worth it, as this was probably the best estate sale i've been to in a long time. maybe ever.

before i show you what i picked up, let's talk about the house. this isn't the house that had the sale, but it's the one next door and the whole neighborhood was filled with amazing houses like this. the house with the sale had a huge apartment garage, a basement (in texas! this is a rarity.), butler's pantries (yes, multiple), garden rooms, back-of-the-house staircases, so many closets (all with custom built-in, beautifully painted shelves and organizational cubbies), dressing rooms, parlors, and bedrooms. it seems like an exaggeration, i know, but it's not. it was incredible.

call me weird, but i couldn't resist snapping shots of the bathrooms. the tile work was gorgeous and each bathroom was covered in either yellow, blue, or pink tile from floor to ceiling, with matching sinks and toilets, of course. it was dreamy.

so, what did i take home?

a children's art and music book from 1945.

an amazing (!!) pink bag/purse. i am in love with the color, shape, and details on this bag. and it was only $4!

a cuckoo clock wall pocket planter.

this shell pink milk glass piece will be my sister's christmas present. i'm always looking out for items like this to add to her collection.

how to own a dog and like it. i had to get this book just for the title.

i think i gasped a little (okay, a lot) when i saw this polaroid sx-70 land camera with sonar attachment. it is in almost mint condition and it was a total steal. i'm still excited and can't wait to order some more impossible film.

 another loud gasp for these. i got all three pieces for $15, which is crazy good for an estate sale.

 a few pieces of costume jewelry. i love the orange enamel flower and the daisy circle pin.

 i think i'm going to use this burlap-covered bulletin board in my sewing/craft/office room. i love the lemons!

finally, this double gooseneck lamp is going to be a makeover project. i have something in mind and i already stopped at the store to pick up supplies. i obviously have no patience and have to start on things immediately, even though i should be doing other things... like packing.

did you find anything today?

back to school

it's the first day of school around here and you know what that means: no more kids hanging out at the library all. day. long... at least, not until after school hours. woo. 

doesn't time go by crazy fast? i remember posing each year for my mom in front of my locker or classroom door and now i've been out of school for, uh, a long time. here's my favorite first-day-of-school shot. i was on my way to the third grade, where i would meet, in addition to my college freshman roommate, two of my best friends to this day. also notice the beginnings of a snarky personality and a love for black-and-white striped shirts.

so, whether you are sending off a little one to school or if the smell of school supplies just makes you happy, here are some great first-day-of-school photo memories.

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