Well, a lot has changed since my last post. A lot has happened in the living room; we’ll get to that in just a minute.
First:
My partner took this picture of me snugged up to the best creature I have ever known. You can’t tell in this photo, but her paw is inside my sleeve. That pup melts my heart.
Second:
These moccasins are by far one of the coolest things I’ve found thrifting. Unfortunately, they’re not my size. I plan on completely copying them to make myself a pair (!) and then gifting them to someone very special in my life who will love them almost as much as I do.
Third:
I spent last weekend with some friends in a cabin in the Appalachians. One of our friends brought homemade apple pie flavored moonshine. It was all of my southern hill dreams come true. Last weekend will forever live in infamy.
Fourth (this is getting annoying, but stay with me):
Okay, before I get too excited, let me tell you the truth about this living room set. I found it at Goodwill for an insanely low price. It had all of this bad ass original upholstery that matched these (also stamped “MADE IN DENMARK”):
(I found these a few weeks before finding the living room set.) The living room cushions were slightly stained and I knew I could work some magic and get that crap out. But, as soon as I got them in my car… they REEKED of cat piss. Let me tell you that there is no worse smell on planet earth than cat piss. I love cats as much as the next twenty-something lady, but DAMN. So, I got them home and immediately threw them in the fecking trash. Hence, why I have no “before” picture.
So, yesterday my beloved old couch hung out of the back of my station wagon to Goodwill and I said, “FROM WHENCE YOU CAME, PINKY!”
…and the living room is back to squalor until I make some badass cushions for this living set.
The moral of this story?
Don’t buy pseudo Native American woven “art work” on a whim. When you get it home and on your wall you will have buyers remorse. Trust me.
Lately, I’ve been on a constant quest to conquer the living room. I’m always acquiring new (to me) finds. Several times a week, I skim my local shops for goods and sometimes I’m successful; sometimes I’m not.
Sidenote: Let’s just say the local Goodwill has been really slacking lately, though my partner would contest that statement. When all we’re finding is Hulk action figures, he’s having a field day. At least someone’s happy!
Anyway, the biggest problem I have with the living room right now is the sofa situation. It’s coral/salmon colored and it’s cloth and it’s just not working for me anymore. I need something leather and preferably BROWN (though I would take white, black, or gray too). I love brown. Check out this screen shot of my recent finds:
BROWN. BROWN. BROWN. BROWN. Dogs, food, and music too. Now you’re pretty much up-to-date on what my Instagram feed looks like. You’re really missing out.
With all the restlessness, I thought that I’d paint the living room white. I love white walls. And then I remembered how much work it is to paint. And that nixed that.
So, while chatting with one of my favorite pals, I expressed my restlessness. She really understands, you know? She’s pretty much an enabler and she’s absolutely to blame for my obsession with baskets. I did not love baskets before I met her and saw her collection. Thanks for years of therapy, Elizabeth. You’re the best!
During my fit, I decided to take photos.
Then I thought, what if I layered two rugs in the living room to give it a more luxurious look? Like this (Dooce’s living room styled/designed by ABC):
Because, you know, I’m so luxurious and wealthy!
HA!
So, I played with the idea of using something I found at an estate sale a few weeks back.
And I got this:
I liked it. For a minute.
Then I talked to my friend and went out pickin’ to clear my head, you know, not to “find” anything.
And what did I find?
Oh, just a sexy rug for a steal. I’m not just saying “steal” to justify my purchase. It really was a STEAL, folks. (Hello, boots!)
So the rug whipped my world right around and I decided to rearrange the living room.
I love the new layout! I love the new rug!
…but my sofa is still pink.
Well, it’s been a minute since I last wrote! I’ve had lots of good finds I’d like to share.
There’s a couple posts in the que, but I’ll leave you with this little vignette from my home:
In a previous life, I lived in western Oklahoma among some of the most amazing people in the world. I’m talking about the shit-kicker wearing, horse-having, cattle-raising, tobacco in the cheek people. The real shit. Real down to earth people. Sometimes these people are looked down on by city slickers, (such as myself, previously) but there is so much to be learned from these folks*. There are a lot of life lessons to be learned from someone who may or may not have castrated a bull by the time they were 16. Seriously.
Growing up in metro-Detroit, I was not exposed to these things. I was exposed to several dangerous things, being from one of the top five murder capitols in the USA, but shit. I was not exposed to things like “Tornados” and “Cows”**.
Not only did my time in Oklahoma expose me to some of the most beautiful people on the planet that I now gratefully call friends, it also exposed me to some very unique fashions. If anyone woud have asked me, at the age of 18, if I would ever think Ken Salzar had an amazing sense of style I probably would have laughed in their face. If you would have told me at 18, that at 26, that I don’t just like his style, I LOVE IT, I probably would have punched you***.
Long story short, one of the most important things I learned from living in the middle of nowhere Oklahoma is a deep and great love for leather boots.
Of which I now currently own FIVE pairs, three of them being legitimate cowboy boots.
Let me introduce you to the newest, sexiest member of this crew:
I found these little numbers in the men’s section at a place called “Value World” for all of $16. In my size.
YEE HAW.
*Though we rarely agreed on political/world views.
**Lots and lots of cows. SO MANY COWS.
***Okay, not really. Though I am from Detroit and we tend to have that stereotype.
Disclaimer: I have a problem with shoes, but am quite strictly adhering to the house rule of “one in, one out.”
Here’s a few little gems I’ve found in the last few weeks:
Small ceramic vase:
Striped pillowcases:
Mexi-blanket. Because, you know, I don’t have enough textiles.
Two lovely baskets, my favorite finds in a while:
I’m working on a post about that lovely table that’s finally been finished. Also an upcoming post: our dining room is semi-finished, so that’s AWESOME. It only took five months.
Cheers! And happy pickin’.
Hello, my name is Lindsay and I have a textile addiction.
First there was this:
I found this orange, subtle beaut on a random trip right after we moved. I thought it was just a one-time lucky visit. The store I found it at is not a place I would normally find anything. It’s a store geared more toward european-style, high-end antiques; I find these places fun to look around and not purchase anything. Never failing, they had a clearance/pile-of-junk room where I found this lovely blanket jammed up on some nasty table covered with kitschy “Native American” pottery that was most likely made in China. Anyway, I left with it feeling very happy, but I knew it wouldn’t happen again.
Well, fast-forward four months and I’m on my second visit to this museum of a store. What the hell do I find on that same horrible table? Behold:
Oh, and say hello to Raleigh! She’s a stout little beast that fully approves of this fun textile obsession problem. I thought she looked particularly beautiful next to a blanket that compliments her black and white coloring.
Uhm, hello. Second visit? Please don’t curse me forever that I’ve had luck both visits.
On the same day I found this at another unassuming store:
Really.
Today, I found this:
I might explode.
I mentioned that little sexy wooden table in my last post, and unfortunately, I haven’t had a chance to re-finish it yet. It’s sitting in my dining room begging to get a make-over. That would be fine if the weather here would cooperate. When I get home from work, it’s either thunder storming already or right about to. The rain is beautiful, and we need it, but it’s really cramping my style. It’s been like this for two weeks.
The rain, however, has not prevented me from going thrifting. In fact, it actually encourages me to go. Generally when it’s raining out, there are less people at the thrift stores. I don’t know, maybe I’m the only cheap person in this city that enjoys going out in the rain? Either way, I dig it.
Local thrift for the win, again.
Last week’s haul:
Vintage flower print, brown cowboy boots, semi-new basket, and a blue/white skirt that I will use for fabric.
Those brown boots are so handsome. The leather is this deep, worn-in brown that I could probably kiss if they hadn’t belonged to someone before me. This brown leather is what dreams are made of. And by dreams I mean a super-sexy brown leather couch that’s all worn in and has clean, modern lines and is somewhere in this city for less than $100 and will fit in my car without problems. It’s not too much to ask.
Hopefully I won’t jinx myself by saying this, but I’ve had some pretty good luck with thrift finds lately. The best part about it is that I’m not actually looking for anything specific. That’s mostly how I do things: I can never find what I’m looking for, so I dont look for anything.
A few weeks ago, I ended up traveling to a store north of town that donates a good chunk of their proceeds to children with cancer. Finding sweet thrifts and donating to a local cause? I had to check it out.
I was expecting a small, unassuming-type store with some cute little old ladies trying to work a credit card machine to no avail. Wrong. This place was a thrift warehouse! Two parking lots, and loading docks in the back. Rows upon rows of clothes, Christmas decorations and STUFF.
I ended up with this haul:
Including a vintage greenish porta-file, vintage clock, and a weirdly shaped ceramic bowl.
I also found a wooden end table (making a nice cameo in this photo), but that’s for another (possibly more exciting) post.
The best part: I may or may not have been electrocuted by the vintage clock.
Stay tuned. Next post: another sexy wooden table!
Per the suggestion of one of my good friends, I’ve started a blog about Domestic Charm and my thrifty finds.
Hopefully this thing doesn’t turn out to be so painfully boring! Go us! We can get through it together.
After moving to the southeastern US, I had a bit of what we can call a “creative dry spell”. Poor me. I didn’t know where the thrift stores were, didn’t know where to start.
Turns out, there’s this rad thing called Google. I typed in a few key words and found EXACTLY what I was looking for. The internet is pretty rad.
So, I went out for the first time a few weeks ago and what do I find?
Oh, just this little gem:
“But, Lindsay!” You might say, “There are terrible water rings from neglegant people treating beautiful wood furniture like dookie!”
Fear not, I saw the stains. And I thought about negligence. And I remembered that on one of my favorite home reno blogs, there was an amazing tutorial on how to restore vintage wood. Morgan from The Brick House blog is awesome. She finds thrifty things that I am very envious of. You should read her blog and DIYs.
Anyway! So, I brought that little table home, followed the tutorial, and BAM:
That hot little thing is looking super sexy. It took me all of an hour to fix it.
Oh yeah, and I only paid $10.50 for the table. God bless America.
