Fancy Schmancy

The Chimney Sweep by Joseph Mann

2009-11-15T09:02:00.000-08:00

The Chimney Sweep from Joseph Mann on Vimeo.

2009-11-15T08:45:00.000-08:00

My initial reaction to this concept was repulsion, but really, spaghetti and wieners are a normal thing. I think it would be a fun and easy thing to make for kids or strange parties. Just cut the dogs into 1 inch chunks, break the spaghetti in half and pierce pieces through each dog chunk. Then cook in boiling water according to the spaghetti directions. You could serve it with chili. Maybe even Cincinnati chili!

2009-11-11T09:08:00.000-08:00

I cannot stop staring at this Enzo Speedster from PlayForever. This is like one of those toys that you would display and later it would become valuable.

Shop News!

2009-11-09T16:34:00.000-08:00

Here is a sneak peak at my Avant Garage shop. I have been working on it for the past couple of weeks. I have some real vintage gems to offer. Arne Jacobsen spoons! A Smith Corona typewriter with script font! Fabulous vintage shoes, leather jackets and handbags and so much more that is yet to come.
Have a look see and enjoy FREE SHIPPING on all orders!!

2009-11-08T14:58:00.000-08:00

Two great diy projects by Elsie from A Beautiful Mess.

Thanksgiving Pumpkin Project.

DIY Woodgrain Rug

2009-11-08T04:00:00.000-08:00

I just finished pillaging Apartment Therapy. Check out these great finds.
Philippe Starck kitchens for Warendorf. I love the bookshelves that surround the cabinets.

Beautiful water cooler by Aquaovo.

Fill line tub decals. Totally cute idea.

Great lamp from the Supon house tour. I actually still have hundreds of the edge banding strips that I need to do something with.

Fantastic diy Christmas card idea!

And end it all with the trailer for "The Fantastic Mr. Fox". I had forgotten how giddy I was when I saw this trailer last month.

2009-11-08T02:48:00.000-08:00

2009-11-03T13:15:00.001-08:00

The Future of Food

2009-10-29T14:02:00.000-07:00

We decided when we moved into this house (that is way out in the country) that we would not spend the nearly $350.00 each month for internet and cable tv. Instead we are working our Sprint card to the max by running 4 computers and a VOIP system off of it. We watch a lot of HULU to get us by. I have to say- I am quite liking it! We get to discover a new series and watch the entire season commercial free in one night.
Last night we stumbled upon "The Future of Food". A 2003 documentary about Monsanto's genetically engineered seeds.
"This stylish film is not just for food faddists and nutritionists. It is a look at something we might not want to see:
Monsanto, Roundup and Roundup-resistant seeds,
collectively wreaking havoc on American farmers and our agricultural neighbors around the world.
In the end, this documentary is a eloquent call to action."

Pretty interesting and scary stuff! It has fueled my desire to embrace the local farmers in my new found homeland. I have been sorting through Local Harvest all day.

2009-10-29T03:49:00.000-07:00

We found our way to Bellingham WA. today and I have to say that I am in love! It has both big town and small town feel. It has a great art scene and a vibrant heartbeat. I know I will be spending a lot more time there.

Deception Pass-

This is the bridge that you have to cross to get to our home. It is super high and when the tide below it is coming in or out it looks like a toilet is being flushed.

2009-10-28T11:24:00.000-07:00

Just snooping through the free section on Craigslist and I cannot believe how nice some of the stuff is in Vancouver!

2009-10-28T09:43:00.000-07:00

Our beaches here are completely littered with driftwood. Plenty to go around! I am thinking about creating a few pieces with it. Something modern but also nature related. I have always loved the pieces at Bleu Nature.
I am currently investigating how to treat the wood to rid it of fungus and bugs. I found this extensive page on just how to do it here.

2009-10-27T17:10:00.000-07:00

One of my biggest fears about having a daughter is the fact that at least once in our lives I will be forced to take her to one of those paint your own pottery shops. Where I will be forced to pick out an over priced piece of ceramic and then have the privilege of paying out the wazoo to decorate it myself. I will more than likely sit frozen with a brush in hand trying to figure out what to paint on my piece. Flowers? Hearts? Words? Nope. I'm going this route! Bloody fingerprints! Thank you for the idea Circa Ceramics.

2009-10-27T16:26:00.000-07:00

We just came from the post estate sale of the late Ron Nicolino, aka- the creator of the "Bra Ball". I had not hear of him until today, when I walked into his garage/studio and spotted a giant ball of bras on a wagon in the corner. The guy there told us the story of Ron's bra ball and ended by saying that he never would have guessed that he was going to marry this guys daughter.
That's not the best part- we went to his house because his daughter had placed an ad on Craigslist saying that everything was free today. That's in my budget! I scored a mutha frickin J Schatz Egg Feeder too! Mr Hubby score some Ampzillas that he says are worth a fortune.

Regretsy

2009-10-22T21:04:00.000-07:00

My newest blog crush- Regretsy!

p.s. I am gearing up to reopen my Etsy shop with some awesome new products!

2009-10-21T16:32:00.001-07:00

2009-10-19T20:14:00.000-07:00

We have arrived! We have actually been here for over 2 weeks now. The house is small and it was full of country bumpkin stuff. We had to pack up everything and put it in their shed just to have room for our stuff. Which left us furious! And they did not get it. We have been paying rent since 9/15/09 but they were not even ready for us by 10/6/09! This place should have been move-in ready!!!
The jacuzzi was disgusting. We spent 3 days flushing it out with nasty chemicals. The carpets were urine stained, they did replace them. Pergo floors, bleck. Our bedroom is only large enough for a bed. No headboard, no side tables, no lamps. Just a bed.
We gave notice of departure upon arrival. I think we will be out sooner though. We have a live-aboard slip for the boat and are seriously considering moving on it and leasing/buying office/warehouse space.
By the end of each day we have thought of nearly 100 different ideas. Our lives are changing so fast. So dramatically, I cannot keep up.
One day we want to open a restaurant. The next day a lamp shop.
Today we found a fantastic, brand new storage facility right next to the marina that we can start a business in. We are starting the process of putting in an offer. We have lots of minor legal issues to figure out. We plan to turn it into "creative space" where we can prototype some of our most interesting ideas.
The picture that I have in mind is of some ultimate artist studio! The shit that you dreamed about when you where 18 but to the tenth degree!

Later Gator

2009-09-28T09:55:00.000-07:00

Today is D Day! Today we pack the truck! We have sold just about everything we own. It was a blast! We had 3 days of successful estate/moving and eventually a yardsale. After it was all done and counted we all decided that maybe we should be pros at this stuff. "Professional Yardsalers"

Oh- here is an odd thing. We called Out Of The Closet to pick up the remains of our stuff and when they showed up they were total bitches and just picked though it and took what they thought was nice. They left behind so many valuable items. We even told them that some of the stuff was actually purchased from their stores but they just thought we were lying. So no more Out of the Closet donations from us. I will take my business elsewhere.

In just a little bit I will have to pack up my computer and will not unpack it until sometime around the the 7th (my b-day!) The boat will be hauled out of the water and onto a truck on the 2nd. I can't wait for this to all be over. My stomach is in knots.
Wish us luck on our long haul to Washington state.

Autumn Magic

2009-09-28T09:28:00.001-07:00

Autumn Magic

Kitties!

2009-09-23T10:46:00.001-07:00

Hi There

2009-09-23T09:36:00.000-07:00

Jess Brown dolls

Just taking a few minutes out of our busy messy moving to surf the net a bit. Something I have not done in over a week now. Not that I have not been online. I have! Just posting stuff to sell tho.... In today's down market you gotta push your goods extra hard. It is really amazing what people are telling me too. They are saying that they never bought stuff second hand but now they never go into stores, just yards sales and whatnot. Nothing like a recession/depression to change peoples outlook ey? I have such a great appreciation for my grandparents now! I hope our world doesn't get that rough.

Nic Cave exhibit

Our moving sale was a huge success. It was pure chaos tho. The dealers were at the door at 7. Alot of great people and a lot of horrid people. We had to throw someone out because she was trying to steal from us. Lots of old women trying to confuse us into selling them crap without having to pay but we are slick. We were on to them.

real glass slippers

This week I have sold a few more large items. Today I think I have already sold a dresser and Brian's executive desk. Yay!
I will find a charity today to come pick up the remainder of the stuff that we do not want. I think I will try to plan for them to come Saturday afternoon and then I will try an "impromptu yardsale" to raise a bit more cash.

Beautiful mushroom lamps

Subway map dress

We decided to take our boat with us rather than sell it. Where we are going we will use the hell out of it. We have everything set for October 2nd. We will pull it out of the water and put it on a truck and then we will follow the truck with the "wide load" signs and lights. We only have to follow the truck to the top of California. After that he does not need a lead car so we are going to take out time and explore Oregon a bit.
We just secured a live aboard slip. we do not plan to live on it but we like having that security.

The rocking horse

Taurus pistol with mother of pearl grips and gold accents. Yes I do own guns. It is my right and I am very responsible. Don't hate me.

The Ancient Art of Chinese Noodle Making

2009-09-23T09:33:00.001-07:00

2009-09-16T08:43:00.000-07:00

Our lives are such a disaster right now! I cannot wait for this move to be over so we can start looking forward.

Here are a couple of snapshots of what I am dealing with this week. We are planning a moving sale this weekend. Since we are trying to turn as much of our stuff into cash, we are going to hold it as an estate sale. The way they do when someone dies. We are going to allow everyone to just walk thru and buy whatever they want. So I have been merchandising our home, which is really weird.

The back patio where a lovely set of furniture once sat. Now has been taken over by the contents of our storage unit. Mostly industrial packing supplies and sample boards from out now closed business.
I will be tackling this today so that I can drain Sophie's pool to give to her neighborhood gal pal. We gave her the castle yesterday. I have a feeling it is already trashed. This kid is very different from Sophie. While Sophie is really becoming an awesome little human being. This girl still acts like she is 2 years old half the time. I think her mom is just too passive....

We had a buyer for the truck but the kid just could not get all the money together so that fell through. We also had a trailer on hold for us but that guy could not come up with the dang title. So now we are just building a box on the back of the truck and we are going to use that as our "covered wagon". It should be done and painted by the end of the day. We have a guy dropping off a ramp for us today too. If all goes well we will have it mostly packed by sunset today. Cross your fingers for us.

2009-09-11T02:44:00.000-07:00

Beautiful bike, wrapped in baseball glove leather and it has a flask under the seat. They were thinking of me.
Testube succulents. (I actually have some of these extra large test tubes somewhere....)

Dotty sailboat

Hand sewn canvas envelopes with custom plaid postage stamps.

Bill & Co.

Workplace

“Hidden Design, Hidden Forms” by Franco Clivio

Zoohangers

Veneer bows. (i'm totally making these for Christmas!)

I think I love you by Katie Cupcake

I love this only because we just went to Disneyland on Tuesday.

Seasaw inspirations.

Desire To Inspire

2009-09-11T02:04:00.000-07:00

Free patterns here.