Friday Favorites

This week has gone by in a blur. Think that is how the last week before returning to work from a break always goes, extremely fast. Here are a few of my favorites from this week.

FAVORITE SHOPPING EXPERIENCE
Even though ReBlossom has been in business for a while, I just became acquainted with it when it moved locations and is now right down the road from my house. I am a huge fan of used kids clothing. It does not make much sense to buy something new for a child who is designed to get dirty and grow as fast as a weed. I am even a bigger fan of classy used clothing stores. I love not having to sift through ragged clothes to find the one diamond in the rough. ReBlossom has an excellent selection of clothing that does not look like it has ever been worn. I have a good system of selling clothes and getting new-to-us clothes with my store credit. So, basically, I plan to use ReBlossom simply as a clothing exchange. Good stuff.

FAVORITE CRAIGSLIST FIND

I have been scouring Craigslist for new furniture. I love the game of Craigslist. I like wheeling and dealing. I put our couch on Craigslist on Monday. I received over 30 inquiries within three hours of posting the ad. I was shocked. Our couch was nice, but not amazing. I received a number of emails with very personal stories and begging for the couch. At the end of the day we sold the couch to a man for $25 more than we advertised, since we had so much interest. The man drove over an hour to get the couch. When he saw it he said, "Oh, I thought it was micro fiber and cleaner." He still took the couch, so all was well, but I keep wondering if he was satisfied. 

I wonder how many inquiries have been made about this one-of-a-kind jewel. I like to think of it as usable art. The ad adds some richness to the whole situation. The seller really believes in this chair and has a vision for it, so much that he is charging $200. 

"I made this chair myself out of a shopping cart. Cushions would make a nice touch but they really aren't necessary; it's really comfortable as is. The edges have been smoothed where I cut, so there are no sharp edges. Unique, funky, and comfy! A conversation piece and a sturdy piece of furniture for your porch (or wherever else you want it to go). " 

FAVORITE TUBE

I stumbled onto one of Amaka's YouTube videos when I was researching the easiest way to make skirts for Lucy. I completely abandoned my research after watching a minute of Amaka. I became engrossed in her YouTube station. Why is she not a sensation? She has so many quotable lines and her banter is hysterical. I also love her choice of DIY projects. YouTube is made for folks like Amaka. Or, is it that folks like Amaka are made for YouTube? Either way, I am hooked. 

Source

Happy Weekend!

Furniture Finds

I have been MIA for the past couple of days. The days quickly slip past me, especially since I am coming to the end of my maternity leave. Also, anytime the weather is as nice (and so strange... 75 and sunny in February?) it's hard to stay inside long enough to post something.

Yesterday John and I officially put in an offer on the little "Artist Bungalow" around the corner from us. I am still shocked that I am in the stage of life where "putting an offer on a house" if part of my dialogue. If everything goes through with the Artist Bungalow it will be very exciting. I am happy that our first home will be one that is small and creative. Our goal is to always stay small. I never want to have a house that I am forced to buy more furniture in order to fill it.

Since the Artist Bungalow is on the smaller size, we have to be very deliberate with our furniture and decor. This is a fun challenge. Today I bought a fun couch. We found it on Craigslist. Since John was at work Lucy and I had to go alone. I know, I know, never go on Craigslist ads alone. I was somewhat freakish about planning my escape if the seller turned out to be a wacko. I spoke with the dude who was selling the couch yesterday on the phone, and I made sure to make some small talk so I could find out more background information, just in case John needed to report things to the police. Even while I was looking at the couch I kept prodding for more information. Now I know where dude graduated from, where he works, and that he is having a hard time maintaining his saltwater fish tank. The fish tank conversation was more out of curiosity, but who knows, maybe it could be useful information. As I was gathering some hard facts I realized that if homeboy decided to kill me it would all be useless, given the fact that I would be dead. In the end, though, the seller turned out to be a stand-up guy who has unfortunately accumulated too many couches to fit in his townhouse. He's a banker, but not super attached to money. I talked him down to $65 for this comfy couch.

Now all we need is to move into the Artist Bungalow.

The lighter marks are actually stripe designs. I am guessing this gem was designed in the very early 80s.