Take time to enjoy the outdoors amidst the daily hustle and bustle of life.
Take a drive up a mountain, or ride your bike up one like my boy does.
Be amazed at how nature can overcome adversity and realize that you can too!
Friday, May 6, 2011
Thursday, May 5, 2011
1930's Hollywood
Ever since my mom started following my blog, she has shared with me a lot of vintage goodies she brought from her home country of Guatemala. She lived with her aunts for much of her adolescence and inherited some pieces of their estate. One of the items being a year's collection of Cine-Mundial from 1935. I've had a lot of fun looking through the magazine, appreciating advertisements of the time as well as their wonderfully illustrated covers.
Here is a peek at some of the goodies:
A couple of wonderful ads:
Here is a peek at some of the goodies:
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| Irene Dunne February Cover |
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| Amelia Earhart with Cary Grant and Myrna Loy before her flight from Honolulu |
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| Joe Louis on his way to becoming a champion |
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| 11am- In line to watch the movie "Power" at Radio City Music Hall |
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| What the stars are wearing.... |
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| How darling... Shirley Temple |
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| Cary Grant and Joan Crawford on set |
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| Katharine Hepburn |
A couple of wonderful ads:
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| So healthy for you... |
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| Maybe it's Maybelline |
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| Marlene Dietrich- April Cover |
Sunday, May 1, 2011
A bit late but.... DIY Easter Egg
I wanted to share my latest DIY project that I did for Easter. Since I was in Florida I was going to be with my nieces and nephews which meant doing something for Easter. In the past I have bought plastic easter eggs and filled them with candy but I did not want to go that route this year. I then came across a cool blog with a project that I couldn't wait to try.
Some sticky and sore fingers later...
I filled my eggs with Reese's and some little wacky finger toys. My youngest nephew tore them apart in less than 2 seconds! All that hard work...
Unfortunately this is the only picture that I have of the eggs that I made. I had a picture that showcased them but I managed to delete it from my camera before I uploaded it. Don't you just hate that!
Some sticky and sore fingers later...
I filled my eggs with Reese's and some little wacky finger toys. My youngest nephew tore them apart in less than 2 seconds! All that hard work...
Unfortunately this is the only picture that I have of the eggs that I made. I had a picture that showcased them but I managed to delete it from my camera before I uploaded it. Don't you just hate that!
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Hunted:: Gathered: 05/01/11
I hope everyone had a great thrifting week. I did not do my usual thrifting rounds this week but I did manage to go to a couple of the usual spots.
This is my loot for the week:
I picked up this Nambe bowl because after seeing many of these in the past and passing them up I finally reached my limit. This one is in need of a good polish but does not have any major nicks and dents like others I have seen. I am always attracted to the modern lines that these pieces have and I love that they are hand buffed and polished. There is definitely an element of craft to their products.
I also picked up a roll of vintage drawer-liner/ wallpaper that the Nambe bowl is on at a local estate sale. It was only .25 cents. It is pretty thin and almost feels like wrapping paper so I'm not sure what to call it. I think I am going to use it for a small project that I have in mind.
I also picked up two Heller trays designed by Massimo Vignelli. I am not convinced about this purchase but this was actually the second set I found this week. I think it was a case where 4 trays were donated and two ended up in one thrift and the other two in another. I passed them up at the first thrift when I was at the register, I just couldn't do it a second time.
Here is a small enamel plate to match my snowflake one. There is something about enamel plates and cookware that I cannot resist. The fact that it is blue doesn't help either!
Last but not least I found another Iittala piece. This one was designed by finnish architect Alvar Aalto. It isn't in perfect condition but I was too excited to leave it behind. It also has a fused decal on it that I am trying to remove. Luckily it is on the bottom of the piece and is barely noticeable.
I also found a cute Pyrex apple juice pitcher that is currently holding some fresh squeezed orange juice. The boy likes to buy 25lb bags of oranges and we are just two. I decided to make some orange juice with a vintage glass reamer that I recently bought. It has seen the most action out of all of my thrifted/ garage sale purchases!
I hope you've enjoyed my short post. Happy Hunting!
Linking up this week with:
This is my loot for the week:
I picked up this Nambe bowl because after seeing many of these in the past and passing them up I finally reached my limit. This one is in need of a good polish but does not have any major nicks and dents like others I have seen. I am always attracted to the modern lines that these pieces have and I love that they are hand buffed and polished. There is definitely an element of craft to their products.
I also picked up a roll of vintage drawer-liner/ wallpaper that the Nambe bowl is on at a local estate sale. It was only .25 cents. It is pretty thin and almost feels like wrapping paper so I'm not sure what to call it. I think I am going to use it for a small project that I have in mind.
I also picked up two Heller trays designed by Massimo Vignelli. I am not convinced about this purchase but this was actually the second set I found this week. I think it was a case where 4 trays were donated and two ended up in one thrift and the other two in another. I passed them up at the first thrift when I was at the register, I just couldn't do it a second time.
Here is a small enamel plate to match my snowflake one. There is something about enamel plates and cookware that I cannot resist. The fact that it is blue doesn't help either!
Last but not least I found another Iittala piece. This one was designed by finnish architect Alvar Aalto. It isn't in perfect condition but I was too excited to leave it behind. It also has a fused decal on it that I am trying to remove. Luckily it is on the bottom of the piece and is barely noticeable.
I also found a cute Pyrex apple juice pitcher that is currently holding some fresh squeezed orange juice. The boy likes to buy 25lb bags of oranges and we are just two. I decided to make some orange juice with a vintage glass reamer that I recently bought. It has seen the most action out of all of my thrifted/ garage sale purchases!
I hope you've enjoyed my short post. Happy Hunting!
Linking up this week with:
My Recent Trip to Florida
I recently returned from a trip to my hometown of Miami. I went for several reasons. Firstly my mom's birthday was last month and I couldn't make it. It was a milestone birthday. Secondly, my nieces from Jacksonville were going to be in town for their Spring Break vacation. Thirdly, I really needed to see some outdoor wedding venues in person.
I was there for one week and it wasn't nearly enough time. My mom and I were driving non-stop throughout Miami. I did manage to spend some quality time with family friends which is always great. I was also able to appreciate several places that I had never been to despite growing up there. I also went thrifting one day but came back empty-handed. I did however inherit some items which I will be sharing this week.
Happy Weekend!!
Pictured above are Matheson Hammock Park, Bill Baggs State Park, The Barnacle and Cauley Square Historic Village.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Say hello to my little friend...
One of the latest projects I embarked on was cleaning and polishing a solid brass lamp. A lamp that I happened to find for $1 at a local Salvation Army. All of the lamps were one dollar that day and this one was placed in an odd spot in the store so it was overlooked I'm sure. Can you believe I actually hesitated to bring this home? I thought the boy would have my head. Luckily I convinced myself that for only $1 he wouldn't mind.(Something I do often.)
The lamp has a sticker on the bottom that reads Frederick Cooper Chicago. I came home to find that these lamps sell for close to $600!!! Here I was with my $1 lamp and I was ready to make it shine again. The lamp was in decent shape but the base had some oxidation spots. I researched ways to clean this up and tried several to no avail. I started off with good ol' ketchup known for its superpower cleaning abilities and that didn't work. It also made the lamp smell like, how can I put this, KETCHUP! I then tried some white household vinegar and that didn't work. I mixed the vinegar with some salt and flour to make a paste and that didn't work either!
How am I supposed to clean this thing?! I guess I'm going to have to resort to a real brass cleaner.
I looked into Brasso but read about the *new formula* not being as good as the old one. I then remembered other bloggers working with Barkeeper's Friend. He is a true friend indeed. With my two buddies, Mrs. Elbow Grease and Mr. Barkeeper I started cleaning up the lamp.
Here is what it looked like after some good ol' scrubbing a la Cinderella.
I must note that this was my first time cleaning brass. See all of those little bright spots, that's where the oxidation was worse. I thought those spots would end up looking like the rest of the brass on the lamp but instead they cleaned up brighter. Uh oh. I then realized I was going to have to clean up the whole lamp. After A LOT of scrubbing and Barkeeper's friend here is the bright and shiny lamp.
I also ended up buying some Brasso to lightly protect it from tarnishing again.
Does anyone have good experiences about cleaning up brass that they would like to share?
The lamp has a sticker on the bottom that reads Frederick Cooper Chicago. I came home to find that these lamps sell for close to $600!!! Here I was with my $1 lamp and I was ready to make it shine again. The lamp was in decent shape but the base had some oxidation spots. I researched ways to clean this up and tried several to no avail. I started off with good ol' ketchup known for its superpower cleaning abilities and that didn't work. It also made the lamp smell like, how can I put this, KETCHUP! I then tried some white household vinegar and that didn't work. I mixed the vinegar with some salt and flour to make a paste and that didn't work either!
How am I supposed to clean this thing?! I guess I'm going to have to resort to a real brass cleaner.
I looked into Brasso but read about the *new formula* not being as good as the old one. I then remembered other bloggers working with Barkeeper's Friend. He is a true friend indeed. With my two buddies, Mrs. Elbow Grease and Mr. Barkeeper I started cleaning up the lamp.
Here is what it looked like after some good ol' scrubbing a la Cinderella.
I must note that this was my first time cleaning brass. See all of those little bright spots, that's where the oxidation was worse. I thought those spots would end up looking like the rest of the brass on the lamp but instead they cleaned up brighter. Uh oh. I then realized I was going to have to clean up the whole lamp. After A LOT of scrubbing and Barkeeper's friend here is the bright and shiny lamp.
I also ended up buying some Brasso to lightly protect it from tarnishing again.
Does anyone have good experiences about cleaning up brass that they would like to share?
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Hunted::Gathered: 04/17/11
Hey all! I hope you've had a great week. I've been feeling just a tad under the weather and didn't blog as much as I would have liked. I did manage to go out thrifting but did not come home with too much loot.
I found another bag that quickly replaced the one I was planning to take on my trip to Florida. I couldn't resist the springtime glory that it embodied. It just needs a good wash.
I also found this cute Dansk Kobenstyle Butter Warmer.
Surprisingly I also found a set of 3 Iittala Festivo Candlesticks designed by Timo Sarpaneva. They aren't etched on the bottom with TS so I believe they are newer. I found a 3-ring (not pictured), 4-ring (not pictured), and a 5-ring. It's the first time I've gotten an Iittala item so I was pretty excited.
I don't know why I have been on a jewelry kick. It really isn't an area I'm comfortable in but I haven't been able to resist the urge. I found two pairs of silver earrings. The first ones are by Shube Manufacturing located in New Mexico. They mainly did Native styled pieces but these earrings didn't strike me as such. Their mark is like that of a dollar sign and it was fun doing the research for it.
This second set was made in Mexico. The earrings were really dirty on the back so I couldn't read the label on one of them. I took a small gamble. They are pretty after all.
I decided to include just two of my book finds this week. The first one features several homes that incorporate both living and working spaces. They also include plans that I can study which is what I like most about the book. This book can be found at very low prices but when there are so many design related books out there it's hard to keep track of them all. I just buy them when I see them because I would not have known about them otherwise.
Just like this History of Modern Furniture book. This used to be a part of the FDIM library but someone decided it was time to take it out of circulation. That's ok with me because I still find it plenty useful. Now if only I could get my hands on a vintage Modern California Houses: Case Study Houses by Esther McCoy.
Linking up with:
I found another bag that quickly replaced the one I was planning to take on my trip to Florida. I couldn't resist the springtime glory that it embodied. It just needs a good wash.
I also found this cute Dansk Kobenstyle Butter Warmer.
Surprisingly I also found a set of 3 Iittala Festivo Candlesticks designed by Timo Sarpaneva. They aren't etched on the bottom with TS so I believe they are newer. I found a 3-ring (not pictured), 4-ring (not pictured), and a 5-ring. It's the first time I've gotten an Iittala item so I was pretty excited.
I don't know why I have been on a jewelry kick. It really isn't an area I'm comfortable in but I haven't been able to resist the urge. I found two pairs of silver earrings. The first ones are by Shube Manufacturing located in New Mexico. They mainly did Native styled pieces but these earrings didn't strike me as such. Their mark is like that of a dollar sign and it was fun doing the research for it.
This second set was made in Mexico. The earrings were really dirty on the back so I couldn't read the label on one of them. I took a small gamble. They are pretty after all.
I decided to include just two of my book finds this week. The first one features several homes that incorporate both living and working spaces. They also include plans that I can study which is what I like most about the book. This book can be found at very low prices but when there are so many design related books out there it's hard to keep track of them all. I just buy them when I see them because I would not have known about them otherwise.
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