Merry Christmas

It's hard to believe another year is almost gone...but the holidays are always a special time to visit with friends and family & to reflect on the closing year.

From our family to yours, we wish you the Merriest Christmas and Happiest New Year!

Lucy & Stella enjoying the Christmas Tree.

Cheers ~ Lara

Thrift Share - Jonathan Adler Lamp

Not my usual vintage find, but I'm dedicating this weeks Thrift Share to one item.  I've been on the lookout for some furniture for my honeys office...so when I saw the Habitat Restore last week in OC I did a quick stroll through. Though I love the ReStores, unless I'm on the hunt for furniture or starting a construction project I don't stop in too often.  But, it was my lunch break on a Friday afternoon & pouring down rain, so I decided to stroll around for a bit.  Standing amongst the some of the furniture I spotted an interesting tripod style floor lamp.  I noticed the tag hanging off of it said Jonathan Adler and the original paperwork attached to the cord matched the maker.  

 Unfortunately it was missing the shade & the finial (is that what you call it on a lamp?) and priced at $50 so I didn't really give it much thought.  Kinda thought maybe Adler was selling for Target or something.

I don't know why I didn't google it on the spot, but low and behold, I left it behind.  An hour or so later while sitting in my next account, a quick search revealed the "Ventana Floor Lamp" was priced at well over $400 on several websites.  Yikes!  I was already a 1/2 hour away, on a Friday afternoon in pouring rain (translating in SoCal traffic to 1+ hours drive).  I emailed my man the link & said what do you think?  In about 30 seconds he called and said "Go Get It!"  You see, he hated the lamp we had in our front room!

This is the "Hated" lamp! lol

I called the ReStore, the lamp was still there so I made the trek back to get it.  I did a little digging around once I got there, and found the matching round finial attached to a small table lamp in another area.  I showed the picture of the lamp to the store manager and he let me take the finial too.  Too bad I couldn't find the shade anywhere.  Thankfully I have a few spare drum shades around, though I can't decide which I like better?  What do you think???

Option 1-  a plain simple drum

Option 2 - A little geometric touch shade

I love the lamp, but will have to say that I would have never paid full price from Adler for it.  It's not well made, not real wood, and there is no mark anywhere stating Jonathan Adler so if I ever chose to resell it I don't know what value there would be (this is why I prefer the original vintage pieces, lol).  I guess I'll just need to store the paperwork somewhere safe.  So now it's sitting in our weird front living room, that I'm in the process of re-doing.  But I think the lamp works in the bay window for the time being.

Oddly enough, Tim came home last week and asked if I'd seen the new Cotton commercial featuring Emmy Rossum from Shameless (one of our favorite shows).  He made me watch it on youtube, and what do you know...at the opening & final scenes of the commercial, theres our lamp! Lol

I can't wait to see all of the treasures you've unearthed this week.  I'll be linking up to Selena & Sophie's thrift share parties so see ya there!

Cheers ~ Lara

Behind the Scenes: Living Room Re-Do

A few months ago I posted about our living room couch.  If you remember, our dogs ate the 1st one that I posted about here...and we finally found a place to order a new one that I posted about here...

So without further ado...heres the new couch!

Turned out pretty cute huh? 

Now it's time to tackle the rest of the room, cause its just a mess!

Here's another view of the couch, with some leftover chairs in the background.  

And here's a view from the other direction.  We still have the nasty old dog couch in the room! Eek! See it back there, covered in leftover pillows??? The window treatments are also horrible & I know the room will never really come together until I switch out the drapes (my excuse: it's a rental & those belong to the owner!). I've got a different coffee table in the garage. And lastly, I'm not happy with the current art situation. But 1st step for sure is to get that nasty couch OUT!!!

We were so happy with the way that the new gray sofa turned out, that we've decided to have a pair of chairs made by the same company.  I'm definitely feeling something 50s 60s modern with a fun fabric.  I want to keep an eclectic style in the room with a modern base. What do you think?  Here are a few chairs...

And a few fabric swatches.

I really like the idea of a little bit of print, but it's probably smarter to stick to a solid and accent with pillows.  If I do go solid, I'm definitely going to have them in some fun color!

Here are a few inspiration rooms from my Pinterest Boards and I'll keep you posted as I get further along!  

I'd love any suggestions too!

Cheers ~ Lara

What Do You Do & Studio ReDo!

I reorganized and de-cluttered my studio Sunday...and in the process realized how many unfinished art projects I have laying around! Half painted canvases and scratch pencil drawings galore!  I really should challenge myself to do something with the unfinished canvases.

I'd love some feedback from you other creative gals.  I wonder how many projects you work on at a time?  What do you do with projects you start and never finish ...do you revisit and rework them until you get to a point of completion?  Do you repaint the background of canvases and start over from scratch?  I'd love to hear more about each of your processes.

A journal entry & rough sketch for my room redo

I've really been enjoying the Creative Courage e-course I've been doing hosted by Stephanie Levy.  Last week, one of the topics focused on Improving Your Workspace.  Stephanie challenged us to really take a look at our studios and envision a place where we feel relaxed, inspired & excited to work.  

I'd posted several pictures of my "before" studio here and here.

Part of the problem with my workspace had been that I had been adding so many things to the room that I just didn't have any place to spread out.  The top of my desk was so cluttered that I had no room to lay out supplies while I was working & that was putting a slight cramp in my creativity.  So I fixed it!

I started by rearranging the furniture.  I picked up a new bookcase (thanks Goodwill $12.99 ~ score!) so I was able to completely clean off my desk and make a proper worktable.  Not only that, I can now just swing my chair around and work easily at the desk or easel!

I'm on the lookout to find a longer worktable...but the newly de-cluttered desk is working much better already!

I may resell a lot of vintage goodies in my Etsy shop, but I hold a special place in my heart for thrifted art & books. I tend to collect a tad too many paintings & framed prints.  By keeping the larger pieces of furniture offset from the wall a bit I have a place to store what isn't hanging.  This is much nicer than before where it was all just lining the walls. Though I already had some inspiration pieces hanging on the walls, I filled in a few more of the open spots with some of my own art along with pieces from my Thrift Art Gallery.

New Bookcase & Art Storage

I'm so much happier with the space now!  I'm feel more relaxed and creative, and have had so many ideas generated throughout the process.  

I have to admit though, I'm not the only one enjoying the new room.

 

Stella seems to have found her new spot too...I even caught her napping up here this afternoon without me!  Silly dog :-)

I can't wait to see whats coming up this week in Creative Courage!  I'm feeling so grateful that I signed up for the course!  Thanks again to Stephanie & the other amazing women in the group.

Cheers ~ Lara

Thrift Share - Craigslist Crazy Holiday

Happy 4th of July weekend to all of my US Thrift Hunting blogger friends!

Whilst yard sales aren't as plentiful on a holiday weekend I hope you all managed some great finds!

I'm super excited about what I brought home...though it was quite a task to acquire it.

If you've been following my blog a little you probably remember how frustrated I've been with changing up our Den.  I can't find the right pillows or table & just overall not happy with the space.  I moved the oversize ottoman back, returned the brown pillows, and picked up these new Yellow & Color Burst ones from West Elm this weekend.  I think they are OK, but not perfect.  What do you think??? 

So on to my find...

A couple of weeks ago I shared my envy when Morgan at The Brick House found a perfect coffee table for their room on Craigslist...and I knew it would be perfect in my room too.  Our ottoman is ok, but there's no where to put drinks & we really need a harder surface.  So guess what....I FOUND ONE!  Well, not exactly the same, but pretty darn close!  Yesterday I was scrolling on Craigslist and thought "What the Hay", and checked in San Diego listings.  We had nothing going on & it's not too far of a drive...when low & behold I found the pics on this listing!

I called, the table was still available & for only $75 and a drive to San Diego it was mine.  Sounds easy, but with the 4th of July traffic it took 4 hours to get there.  Regardless, I've got my project for the rest of the weekend.  The table is great.  I'm going to sand & stain it a little darker & reseal the travertine & I'll have some pics for you next week (maybe with different pillows, lol).  We were all exhausted after our drive, but hopefully it was worth it in the end!

I hope that you have a safe and fun 4th whatever your day brings & I can't wait to see all of your Thrifty Things....so once again I'm linking up to Flea Market Finds & Thrift Share Monday.  

Cheers ~ Lara

Decorating Dilemmas

We've been living in our Long Beach home for a little over 2 years now.  It's a rental, so we can't do any major changes like painting or remodeling ~ so I do a lot of tweaking to our furnishings.

My biggest decorating challenge has been our back room~den.  It's an odd shaped room off the kitchen and along the back of the house.  The door & window open up to the patio.  It's very long & kind of narrow and I just can't get it right.

View into Kitchen...say Hi to Stella!

I know hanging curtains would make a world of difference.  In a dream world, I'd knock all those windows out and put sliding glass doors across the back of the house!

Back corner of Room

View from Kitchen...notice how the TV has to be hooked up on this wall.  It makes area where brown couch is awkward.

I've rearranged the furniture several times & lately have been moving paintings & accessories in from other rooms.

This was a while back, notice all the red accessories.  They look great, but I'm sick of staring at the same colors for over 2 years and just needed a change.  Also, notice the bench & couch are angled differently?

I just changed up some of the pillows & the coffee table (this is the 3rd that I've tried).  I love the shape and height of this one...but the mirror is just not practical in this busy space.   Too many smudges & too much dog hair.

Also looking for new pillows.

Morgan at the Brick House just found the perfect coffee table on Craigslist in LA...it's EXACTLY what I've been looking for!  Why wasn't I scouring LA Craigslist last week???

I'm so jealous...wouldn't this table be perfect!!!  

I guess I'll keep tweaking till I get it right...and I'm open to any Decorating Suggestions!!!  You probably can't tell from the pictures that the tags are still attached to the pillows. lol.  But I'm still not decided on the brown floral pillows.  I wanted some more color, but think they feel a little too "patio furniture" inspired.  Thank goodness Home Goods has a 30 day return policy, I just don't know if these are right.

The hunt continues!

Cheers ~ Lara

Behind the Scenes

Staying organized as a reseller is a job in itself.

A few weeks ago Amanda at Tall Glass of Water blogged about her "Dirty Little Secret" and asked the question of how to best stay organized with inventory as a reseller.

Unfortunately I can't say I'm a role model as I have stuff stored throughout the house & garage

(Tim tells me I've invaded every space of our place),
but I have to say I've impressed myself as I've found a place for most of my things.

Stella feels inspired for a nap!

My Art Room is overflowing.  I don't take as much time to create in here as I should, but the closet in this room is perfect for storing my supplies & some of my inventory.

My art obsession lines the walls.

This is where it starts to get messy.

I did save myself a little space to create.

The garage is where you'll find most of the breakables.  We have a fun little workshop filled with drawers & cabinets just perfect for holding all sorts of little treasures.  Almost everything out here is for the shop.

Did I mention that the cabinets don't really close?

Oversized frames & mirrors.

What would you expect to find in the library??? Well books of course!  I thought I may have a hard time filling the shelves in here, but nah!  Heres a little peek from when out Xmas decorations were still up.

Vintage clothes are housed in the guest closet & all of my inventory is logged into a little Composition Book as it comes in.  I give myself enough room to write a small description, measurements, and price paid for each item...it's getting it onto a computer spreadsheet that proves to be the bigger challenge.  

Basically I guess it's just slightly organized chaos...but it's fun & I enjoy every minute of it!

Hope you enjoyed the Behind the Scenes peek of NowSoLA Vintage!

Cheers ~ Lara