Current Obsession: Watercolor Paintings….

Ever had a shopping moment that you found exactly what you wanted for the exact price you wanted to pay?

Well my friends, I had an out-of-body experience two weekends ago when I was able to score, not one but TWO original vintage watercolor paintings…….

I am currently obsessed with watercolor paintings…their softness, fluidity and ethereal quality.  I find that watercolors smooth out the sharp “corners” and bring a certain level of warmth to modern rooms.  However, these paintings have special meaning since they both are watercolors of my current home San Francisco.

So why am I so giddy about these two paintings, aside from the fact that I love them?  Well because I was able to score both of them for $2 from one of the vintage shops I like to frequent.

Yup.  Two Dollars.  Honest to goodness.  Cross my heart.

For that price, I think I can swing new mats and frames for them.  Now I just need to decide where exactly these new beauties will go in the house.

Speaking of great deals, did you enter my Shabby Apple Dress Give Away?  I am giving away a free party dress to one lucky reader!  Don’t miss your opportunity to enter!

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A Little Something I Picked Up…..Moroccan Tea Table

I had no business strolling through the thrift shop.  Laundry was piled up.  Homework sat unfinished.  Dishes in the sink had officially become a bio-hazard.  But I needed a break and the thrift shop around the corner provided the perfect quick get away for my frazzled nerves.

So I popped in and browsed.  Nothing struck my fancy but as I was exiting, the shop keeper was amassing a pile of odds and ends.  Evidently, these were the bits and pieces that were damaged, broken or had lost their mate.  I instantly fell in love with a brass Moroccan tea table that was missing its base.  Worn, pitted and tarnished, the tea table screamed “TAKE ME HOME” ….. well at least to me.  And at the price of $10, I couldn’t pass it up.

A little Brasso, steel wool and some elbow grease cleaned this beauty right up.  I bought a plate stand at Michael’s and found a home for it in our guest bedroom.

Homework is still here.  Laundry sits unfolded.  And fortunately, The Partner attacked the pile of dishes.  So while my weekend was as productive as I would have liked, I did make the house a bit more of a home…and honestly, isn’t that a full-time job in itself?

Did you finish all your weekend plans?

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You Light Up My Life……

If you know who sings the song referenced in the title, you get a shiny new penny.  All you need to do is send me a self-addressed stamped envelope to receive your prize.  I will be waiting…..

But as I wait for the piles of mail to start arriving, I can bath under the soft glow of this kick-booty lamp that I picked up at Urban Ore this week.  In my post yesterday, I mentioned that I passed up all the glorious pieces of furniture I found and actually went for something rather ordinary but special in my opinion.  Matter of fact, I unknowningly showed you all a sneak peek of what I bought….

I saw it sitting sadly on a shelf and it said “Buy me…..please”.  How could I deny such a polite lamp?  More importantly, how could I pass up the awesome wooden base and priced at $18, it was destined to come home with me.

The wooden base is in perfect condition, the brass bottom and top brackets, not so much…..

However, I think that with a little steel wool, the brass will taken on a really nice matte brass finish.  Now I just need to find a lamp shade and I am all set.  Then there is that pesky issue of finding a place for it in my house.   I have a location in mind but it will require some slight moving around of items.  If that doesn’t work there, then I have a client that it potentially could benefit from it.  But then I have to ask, is it odd (and slightly wrong) to give perspective clients my design cast-offs?