Rose Bowl Flea Market: My Items

As promised... here are the great finds I found at the Rose Bowl Flea Market with Eddie!


First we passed a huge pile of fabric scraps and this striped yellow fabric "spoke" to me - I am going to attempt a bolster pillow out of it! It was my first purchase, and only $5.


I then found this beautiful watercolor/graphite piece. It reminds me so much of Degas. I'm really really hoping that it's a real watercolor... I haven't pulled the backing off to check yet (It may be a print). I can't quite read the artist's name either, but underneath the name it reads Paris '87. Even if it's just a print, it was well worth the $15.

I was thinking of painting the frame a glossy black, but I kind of like the junky bluish/grayish/black that it is now.



I found this beauty ($8) on a table full of antique glass. This used to be used in a barber shop. I wasn't sure what for, but I asked my husband when I got home and he said it was probably for after shave. Smart guy! I put clear soap in it, and it's now sitting pretty by our kitchen sink.

(Hubby was making homemade pasta when I took the picture, I'm such a lucky gal)



This vintage wire basket ($15) was my last find of the day. I LOVE it so much. I didn't really have a purpose for it when I purchased it, which goes against my cardinal rule of shopping, but I know I'll find a use for it. I'm thinking of putting it beside my bed to catch magazines.

I bought one more thing, my favorite purchase of the day, but you're going to have to wait to see :) It's the item I'm giving away here on the blog in honor of selflessness, check back on Wednesday night for more details!

Amazing Steal!

I stumbled upon this amazing Console table at Peir1.com. It's only........ [drumroll].......

$39!



Those little feet make my heart flutter.

Have a great Saturday!

Thinking outside the Dresser

I'm not typically a fan of wall decals. I had to make an exception when I stumbled upon a new way to use them.... on dressers!

{country living}

{A Merry Mishap @ Scoop}

Aren't these fun? And the best part - if you get sick of it, you can always peel them off and try something new.


I did a little make-believe of an inexpensive, fun dresser for your inspiration.

I picked the simple Kullen dresser from Ikea ($59.99). I thought it would be pretty painted in a light blue; this one is Handkerchief by Martha Stewart. Then I picked these awesome poppy decals (I love poppies!) in a bright California sunshine golden yellow ($30).

The whole project would cost you around $100*, not too bad for a brand new dresser with tons of personality!

*If you want to do the project for even less, check out Craigslist of junky old dresser that are practically given away. You could probably keep the project under $50, all you'd need is a new coat of paint!

$300 Elegance

As you know by now, Domino has been canceled. Like all my fellow bloggers, I am seriously bummed by this, especially since I got a 2 year subscription for Christmas... :-/

Between now and when their site will officially be shut down, I'm trying to c+p as many inspiration photos from their site into my Photobucket as I can.

One inspiration photo in particular stands out in my mind... in their August 2008 issue, they took the simple yet perfect Hemnes bed from Ikea and painted it white. I just about died! It's so elegant in white.... and I've filed it away for a future guest room for sure.

Here it is:




And in Domino's room:

(I'm not totally in love with the room)

I imagine this bed in a future soothing almost all white in-law suite:

(also from Domino)

A valuable lesson is learned here: buy something inexpensive, add a coat of paint, turn it into something stunning.

It's a Ghost! Sort of....

Overstock is at it again - have I mentioned how much I love Overstock.com? Yes, I think I have.

Well I stumbled upon something amazing today... a knock-off Ghost Chair. Yeah, so it's not the real thing, but since the ghost chair trend is sure to not last why not buy one for cheap, $159 to be exact?



Click here for the link - it's currently sold out, but Overstock.com has a service that emails you when it becomes available again. However, the same chair without the arms is still available.

March 8th

I'm so excited! Eddie Ross is coming to Los Angeles on March 8th for a Rose Bowl Flea Market shopping trip! And you know I was quick to sign up. I'm so excited, not only to meet Eddie but also to check out the Rose Bowl flea market. Since moving to Southern Cal, I've been meaning to go and now I have the best excuse.



I'm saving up my pennies so I can get some great stuff while I have the resource of Eddie on my side. I'm starting to make a list of things to search for, considering the flea market will be a little overwhelming!

Here's a start....

1.) Large vintage jars for succulent terrariums

{credit Design Sponge}

2.) A funky antique bowl to hold my wedding rings in at night

{credit Flickr}

3.) Small antique storage (maybe a side table?) for our dining "room"... a little beat up so I can paint it white; something simple and art deco. I am imagining something like Eddie found...


4.) A vintage chair I can easily recover myself for our office desk, like this chair from Eddie.


5.) Whiteware! I'm so glad for our wedding we registered for all white dinnerware... I'd love to add vintage whiteware to our collection. Someday I will host a huge Christmas at our home with both sides of the family present. Who has a better collection than Eddie? No one!



I'm sure I cannot afford everything I'm looking for, but I'm definitely going to try and find inexpensive items that need lots of DIY love.

Click here to see more information about shopping with Eddie!

Urban Life

When I think of Urban Outfitters, I think of a trendy teens to twenties clothing. I really like the store, but often many of their clothes are just too trendy for me. I'm a simple girl and I could never pull off most of their stuff....



However, have you checked out their 'apartment' stuff? It's so chic and doesn't screen TRENDY! Check out their items that I'm drooling over:

I would bring this sofa with me into my 30's


This headboard is so Charlotte from Sex And The City, I adore it.


When I grow up, I want this velvet ottoman in a walk in closet. I would sit on it every morning when I put on my shoes.


See the little tree motif on this chair? Pure love right there. I'd buy four of them and put them around a round white kitchen table.



I could go on and on... and the best part are the prices. They aren't too unreasonable. They don't have the "designer markup".

A leaky plant turned project!

Yesterday while I was vacuuming the house, I noticed our one house plant was leaking everywhere! The husband and I frantically dragged it outside and cleaned up the water before it ruined our laminate floors. Well, after I stood back to take a look, our dining room corner suddenly looked larger - and had potential!

Here is a before, a way before:

Before the new pendant and chairs, with plant

And, the after (sort of):

It was a completely free re-design. I grabbed a side table from one of the guest rooms, a bowl from the kitchen, a couple vases that were lying around and two white frames that were left over from the office art project.

It's not complete, though. I would love to find a side table/trunk/console (Craigslist, Salvation Army) that has a little more character. Also, the frames still have the Aaron Brother's fillers in them. I'm in search of some great art prints, preferably inexpensive. Does anyone have any favorites? Etsy?

Speaking of art, I have been meaning to share with you my art wall in the office - I'll get to that in the very near future :) Believe it or not, only 3 out of the 11 pieces hanging in my office are actually purchased art - the rest was found art from many random (and free) places.

Stunningly Styled

Do you blogroll Eddie Ross's blog? If not, you are crazy not to!

I had to share this amazingly styled thrift store find he just blogged about. Salvation Army is my new favorite place for furniture (and yes, the selection here in Lake Forest, CA is just as good as Eddie's New York City stores!)

He found this:


And turned it into this:


All the furniture at my local Salvation Army is less than $300. You can't beat that!

Hosting this year?

Can you believe it? The holidays are coming fast and furiously.

In this economy, unfortunately decorating and furniture are low on people's list - but if you are one of the few out there who needs more space for the upcoming holidays, check out this gorgeous dining room set from Macy's Martha Stewart Collection:




This set is the perfect equation of feminine, masculine, traditional and modern. I love the linen fabric, and the bamboo detail makes this traditional set cheeky and up-to-date.

The best part? The full set (6 chairs and table) was originally $8593.00. It's now $2499. What a great deal, PERFECT in time for the Holidays!

These newlyweds are not in the market for a new dining set, nor are we hosting Thanksgiving or Christmas, but this beautiful set and this beautiful price is too great, I had to share!

I imagine it in a room like this....



The walls would be a medium-dark gray/brown color, a fantastic leaning mirror (this one is from Z Gallerie, but I'd get mine at Home Goods), a casual jute rug, an antique buffet, a glamorous chandelier paired with a casual floor lamp.

(Isn't that antique buffet FABULOUS? I found it online here, for $650.)

New Guy In Town

Have you seen it? The new Ikea catalog? When I took my first look I was immediately drawn to this guy:


Karlstad Sofa - $599

It has my three top criteria in sofas:

1.) Clean lines
2.) SLIPCOVER! (with a dog in the house who knows no boundaries, couches are the first thing to get ruined... I love the fact with this sofa I could take off the cover and bleach the heck out of it.)
3.) Inexpensive (as I stated in criteria #2, no matter how cheap or expensive our sofa is, it will get abused. I cringe at our current sofa knowing that it's a Thomasville and the in-laws paid a pretty penny for it.)

Added bonus: I sat on this sofa at Ikea the other day, and it's actually comfortable, too!

Too bad we our bank account is not in the market for a new sofa.

Change, Change, Change

Sometimes I'm amazed at how much my style has changed over the last 5 years or so. I used to be all about the swirly iron art, the faux finishes, the scrolls.. but now I'm all about clean modern lines. I'm not the only one though - if you look at Pottery Barn's new items you'll be amazed at how modern they have become. I used to shudder at the thought of modern, but I'm amazed at the type of things I'm drawn to now.

When my mom was in town we went to Ikea - they have some great new things that I spotted. I fell in love with this chair:


The color is titled "gray-brown", my favorite... and it's actually so so comfortable. I've added it to my want list - I think it'd be perfect as an extra seating for me and my laptop while Matt is sprawled out on the couch leaving me no room :)

Speaking of couches, I plopped into this one at Ikea and was amazed at how comfortable it is:

I adore this couch but unfortunately Matt would never go for it. Because he spends most of his life laying on the couch, he has a big say in what we get (I kid, I kid but seriously - what is it about men and couches and sports? Those three things are a bad combination). I will just have to stick to the chair for now.

Have I mentioned...?

That I love the blog "A Life's Design"? (link on sidebar). This morning I found this picture on said blog (from Architecture's Digest):



Soo many things to love about this kitchen - the cabinet hardware (black hinges!), the chandelier (why can't I find something similar for over our dining table?), the blue subway tiles (are they glass? that would be even cooler), and finally the metal stools.

I love the contrast of the brushed aluminum stools and the Early American style chandelier. There is something about mixing modern with country that I love!

While I hunt to find a similar chandelier - I found the stools for only $99 here.

Ikea Saves The Summer

To me, Ikea is fun to look at but I rarely purchase anything from them. (unless it's small stuff like votive holders, etc).

But they blew me away with their summer collection! I finally think I can outfit our backyard for pennies, just in time for the weather to get "outdoor dining" ready!











Steals and Deals I'm putting on my wish list:


Outdoor Dining Set - $139


Folding Table - $20


Black & White Chair Pad - $29


Outdoor Lanterns - $15


There are so many more great things - check it out here.

Curiosities

When browsing on one of my favorite blogs, apartmenttherapy.com, I stumbled upon a home and garden site that had a section called "Curiosities". I thought - how clever! That is exactly what defines those little antique and random items that serve no real purpose other than to just collect and look at. You can find these unique (yet rather expensive items) here.

Ebay and Etsy are great sources to find inexpensive "curiosities". Here are some I've found that has sparked my curiosity:


Antique Medicine Bottles


Large Gray Vessel


Vintage Bingo Roller


Antique Brass Skeleton Keys

There is a fine line between "curiosities" and junk... and I think the key is to display your "curiosities" proudly and be selective on what you collect.

I've shared this image before, but in a bookshelf with glass doors is a great way to display your finds!

Inexpensive Design

I love finding great design at great prices. I just added this to my Birthday Wish List (on the side of my blog, It's two months away but hey never too early to start wishing!).

I love the modern lines of the chairs - and the price! At Wal-Mart it's $179 and I've seen it in a BB&B Mailer for around $125.

I think it will be a great first piece for our patio.



I can just imagine it with a white long tablecloth that touches the ground, a lantern in the middle with candles and some nice juicy steaks with our best friends on a warm summer night.

Here is a little inspiration for future nights outside:




From gardenrooms.typepad.com