I Have A Bad Feeling ABout This...

A car ride means one of two things...Vet or THE GROOMER. Oh, the horror!

I don't do well on car rides, so Mom doesn't feed me before the ride :(
( She gives me extra treats when we get home though. :)


I had to serve a short jail sentence before my appearance before Judge Sherrie.
She handed down my sentence. A #4 clip. What's this mean Mom? I'm scared.


I kind of like the #4. I can see again, and I feel so much lighter.


Check out my profile..I'm a handsome little devil.


Back home on my favorite pillow. I'll be taking that nap now...

I'm just nuts about this little guy. Can you tell?
And just for the record, I do like the way he looks when he's shaggy,
but it's too high maintenance for me right now.

The Mattress Game

I hope everyone had a nice Memorial Day Weekend. Ours was pretty uneventful, unless you call going to the mattress store special. So I did a little homework on mattresses and got the biggest chuckle after reading this humorous post on mattress shopping.

"Here's a fun game I play. First, I walk into a mattress store and ask what's on sale. Then, I throw my hands in the air and shout along with the salesman, "EVERYTHING'S ON SALE!!!!" Oh how we laugh, the salesman and I. And while he's still chuckling, I turn around and walk out, because I fricking hate mattress salesmen."

Oh, how I wanted to play this game , but for those of you who know me personally, you know I would never have the backbone to do it. :)

This particular store had been running a radio ad all week and they said it ended on Memorial Day. Yeah...right. They also said if we purchased today by 2pm, we would be sleeping on our new mattress the very next day! Yeah...right.

I really dread shopping for a mattress for two reasons. #1 - I hate the thought of spending nearly $2000 on something as boring as a mattress, and #2 -there are TOO many choices. So when we went in we made up our mind in advance to only lay on 2 different makers. Simmons and Sealy, although that Vera Wang display of mattresses almost had me! We laid on our backs, tossed & turned on about 6 different ones before deciding on a Simmons Beauty Rest. As we are paying, he punches some keys and tells us that the mattress we purchased is the "most popular" and is currently out of stock. He sold 20 today...mmmmhmmm... sure you did. It will be delivered in one week. A slight let down, but we're okay with it. Since we are getting a King this time, I would like to get a new headboard. I'm leaning towards having one made like this...



or just buying an old door and doing it ourselves. When I told my husband that this morning, he groaned..."are we at least going to sand it and paint it?" Seriously though, he doesn't really care..he was just teasing me because he knows how I love things with peeling paint.

I found the one below from Martha Stewart.com, but I think it's a little taller than I would like ours to be.



This one would be a dream come true, but it's a one of a kind.
I'd love to hear from anyone who has used an old door as a headboard, or had a custom one made.

You Know It's A Holiday Weekend...

when the Silver Strand State Beach lot is filled to capacity with RV's, and you see 20 plus kite surfers riding the waves. As I made my way to work along the coast highway, I see row after row of flags waving proudly above the RVS, people relaxing under their awnings and sun worshipers.



This is my view to the left as I am on coast highway to the shoppe. I see the One Way sign to my left but do I have to? That ocean looks pretty tempting :(

It's a time for picnics, barbecues and family gatherings. Enjoy your day but take time to remember them. On this Memorial Day, I am thankful for the men and women who have served our country with great honor. Let us not forget our fallen soldiers.


Flags along Orange Avenue in Coronado.

One thing is for sure...

We can still make each other laugh.


Disneyland : 1971


That headband I'm wearing scares me. Seriously.



A memorable trip to Cancun Mexico - 1987
I was married just 2 years later.



My BFF Theresa, stopped by my store for a visit on Wednesday. It's been about 4 years since I've seen her but we've known each other since the 3rd grade. We were inseparable during the 60's and 70's. We were best friends. We had matching 10 speed bikes. We hung out at the roller rink every weekend and skated to Strawberry Fields Forever. We developed crushes on the same boys, but we rarely fought. We dressed alike and shopped in the boys department. Levi's, Hang Ten shirts and Wallabees. We listened to Neil Young, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin and the rest of the greats while we gazed at our bedroom walls covered in black light posters. We tanned baked at the beach in pure baby oil, which I now regret. Geez..from my expression it appears I was regretting it even then!


ahhh..to be young, carefree and skinny. :(


We're a lot older and a little wiser. Married with one child each. We still live in San Diego, but rarely see each other. We stay in touch via email and my blog, but she doesn't have one yet so I'm trying to convince her to start one. Hopefully we will be scheduling a lunch date once a month. We need to make each other laugh again. Okay Theresa? I'm not saying let's put on a bathing suit and run off to Cancun, although that would make for some great laughs. I know you are reading this. Let's not make it another 4 years. How's June 18 or 22nd sound?

Thanks for sending me these photos and giving me the best belly laugh EVER.

Planning a trip to San Diego?

Be sure to visit Coronado if you are planning a trip to San Diego. Coronado beach was rated #4 on America's Top 10 Beaches List! Hope you enjoy the tour video.

WHITE it is!

And SOLD it is! ... one of the more popular pieces we've had.


Last week I posted on 2 pieces of furniture which we had lined up for painting. Click here to see the before shots. Although the blogger votes came in with black being the clear favorite, we went with white for two reasons.#1- We do sell more white pieces and second, we already had a few black painted pieces in the store. We're happy with the results and the pieces are getting a lot of looks!

Kim Kelly Did It!

I just had to share the news...My friend Kim Kelly of Bella Rustica in Coronado, was recently published in the June issue of Better Homes & Gardens! Her pillows are wonderful...go take a peek! Bella Rustica Market will be up soon and I can't wait to see it. Congrats Kim. :)

Burger Lounge in Coronado

Today was Mom & Daughter day. We did a little shopping and then headed over the bridge to Coronado for lunch. Ever since I discovered the Burger Lounge just last week, I have been raving about it to everyone so I just had to take my Mom. I love everything about this place...the decor, the friendly employees, but most of all... the burgers. They are beyond delicious, and for good reason.


Mom looks a little worried when she sees the size of the burgers. I think she was more afraid that I was going to snap a picture as she took her first bite. :)


We each ordered our own, but half way through I realized that we could have split one, so go there hungry! If you can't decide between onion rings and fries, no problem. Order the 50-50 cup. We couldn't finish those either, but they were oh so yummy! They also offer turkey and vegetarian burgers which I plan to try next time I visit.

After lunch, we headed over to The Attic for a little peek. Mom hadn't visited since late March and today we got her stamp of approval. She said it looks better than ever. Thanks Maw. :)

Cards, anyone?

Playing cards have been around for over 100 years, but it wasn't until recently that I discovered people actually collect these cards just for their designs! It seems that it's a collecting craze and people actually swap them. I probably wouldn't know a valuable card if it were laying in front of me, but I did just purchase 3 on eBay simply for their beautiful graphics. My reason for purchasing them is not to start another collection, but to copy them to use for jewelry cards in the store. I really like the way the earrings show on these cards...much more than the generic earring cards.


The more desirable cards are usually sold as singles or doubles on ebay for an average of $1-3 each. I will eventually have them copied on card stock, but for now I photocopied and applied them to manila tags. We are also using them to display pins and some necklaces. I especially love this Deco lady and bird. I can see where one could easily get swept up in collecting a certain category of cards. My favorite would definitely be the art deco era.

Time Out For Mom

Many of my closest friends no longer have their Mother in their lives, so I feel fortunate to have mine near. We are actually next door neighbors!


Even though she just a short walk away, there are many days that I am so busy with life, that I don't even get the chance to sit down and and spend quality time with her as often as I should. Our loved ones are not with us forever, and I'll admit... I take it for granted that Mom will always be here. She loves to get out and go thrift shopping so I'll be taking her along with me, when she doesn't have rollers in her hair. Yep, she still rolls her hair and if it's one of those days, she locks herself inside and no one can see her. :) I WILL be making a lunch date with her at least twice a month, and take her a dinner plate when I am home to cook. Mom is from the old school of early bird eaters so by the time I am eating dinner at 7pm, it is way past her mealtime. She will be celebrating her 80th birthday shortly, and we have planned a surprise celebration for her. She doesn't have a computer so there's no worries about spoiling the fun. We will have many out of town guests who will surely surprise her, and I can't wait to see her reaction. I couldn't have asked for a better Mom, and I'm going to go next door right now and tell her just that! Wishing all of the Mom's out there, a Happy Mother's Day.

A Garden Crown

I loved this old garden fencing the minute I saw it, but I really wasn't sure what to do with it. It was white and chippy and I knew I had to have it! I'm sure many of you junk sisters can relate. We know darn well we will have a use for that found treasure someday! When we visited La Maison Rustique barn sale this past month, I saw a similar crown out of a newer rusty finish edging. I immediately thought of the fence back at the shoppe. A few days ago, I pulled out the wire cutters and started bending and cutting.


The I added the vintage floral headpiece above around the front. I found this at one of my favorite thrift stores for under $5. I just fell head over heels in love with it! I attached this with floral wire. I wanted to add vintage rhinestone buttons along the top, but decided on an old shoe buckle. It's missing some rhinestones, but it's still charming. It slipped right over the wire..as if it were made for it. Very simple, and I LIKE simple! Since this was my first attempt at a garden fence crown, I'm keeping it for myself. If you are interested in one, let me know as we will be making them over at the store. The price will depend on the embellishments, but drop me a line if you are interested. I will be looking for more vintage tulle to try to recreate this lovely old headpiece from the 1940's or 50's.

Black or White?

This was a good morning for finding furniture...found this neat chest with side shelves with a thick glass top, and this large buffet server.

Both pieces will be painted and taken to The Attic. I'll be posting the after pics sometime next week.
We would have left this one as is, but the finish is too worn in areas so it will be painted.The question remains...white or black?

Friends, Laughter & A Little Too Much Fun

We had a grand time at our Mother's Day store event today! A day filled with friends, laughs, too many sweets (my poor pancreas was working overtime) and too much almond champagne for one person. I actually forgot where I parked my car, but don't worry..I waited around and drank lots of water. I can blame it partly on age. :)

It was a huge success with a steady flow of visitors throughout the day. I was so tired when I got home that I was in my jammies by 7pm. My feet are numb, but it was all worth it. Thank you to our attending artists...Gina from Lizzy B., Tamerie Shriver and Shirley Castellanos. Gina & Shirley do not have their blogs up yet but I will link them as soon as they do. Your contribution to our store event made it all the more special! We appreciate you girls so very much. I will post the photos of our day on the store blog so take a peek tomorrow.

Preparation

Today was spent preparing for our Mother's Day store event on Saturday. My first stop was the local strawberry field where I picked up some berries. This is as fresh as it gets! Along with the strawberries, our guests will enjoy homemade Almond Cake, Toffee Nut and Snickerdoodle cookies, compliments of our resident baker, Kandi. She makes the best cookies, and lord knows I don't bake! I decided to pick up some Wilson Creek Almond Champagne this time around since I have heard rave reviews on it. Anyone tried it? I then headed over to the store where I met with my partners to finish up the arranging and planning for Saturday. In between this, our local newspaper reporter came over to take a photo in store for an upcoming article on the 3/50 Project. You can read about the 3/50 Project by clicking here. When I got home, I was ready to relax until I received an email from one of our guest artist who is unable to attend tomorrows events after suffering a broken toe. :( After a few emails, and some nail biting, we were able to secure a replacement, at nearly midnight, who will be bringing some beautiful things to The Attic. Tamerie's a life saver and I will be sure to share all the photos on Sunday.
The weather report predicts possible morning showers, but we won't let that dampen our spirits! If you are in the San Diego area, come on over the to The Attic and join us. We'll be there from 11-6pm.