home goods: the one i grew up in

my parents have been giving their home a much needed face lift for the past year. my mom purposely signed up for a home tour so that she would have a goal for completion. (great idea but i am pretty sure right now she might be having second thoughts about that decision. they had a plumbing leak the other day that added stress to the stress.) it has been a long tedious road for them (and for my amazing sister-in-law who has scraped, peeled, sanded, primed and painted her way to china and back.) but the end is near. the tour is november 14th. i can't wait to see the finished results which will include: refinished original wood floors, white slip-covered sofas and wing backs, subway tile, new kitchen floor, re-plastered and painted walls and ceilings, new colors, antiques, custom linen drapes, needlepoint pillows and much much more. it is going to be a far cry from the home i grew up in which had wall to wall carpet and wallpaper. there are some amazing homes on the tour and i can't wait to share photos with you all after i get back.

sentimental goods: frame an envelope

being sentimental AND a pack rat is a bad combination. i am both. so, in my attic are huge plastic tubs filled with shoe boxes. inside these shoe boxes i have saved- from my childhood- every single letter and every single note anyone ever wrote me. notes from my friends jr. high school. letters that my parents wrote me while i was away at camp. hundreds of birthday cards. journals. you name it. every time i try and go through these boxes i tell myself, "don't get sucked in... no... not this time. just open and toss, open and toss." but every single time... i get sucked in, spend three hours devouring the letters, fold them back up and shove the boxes back into the attic. (sigh.) i have yet to come up with a solution as to how to deal with my collection. save? or toss? well, for now i'm going to save. i did however come across a brilliant idea for showcasing a most special note, letter or card. i was sitting at the allergist waiting to get my first of many many many allergy shots and opened up the october issue of southern living. voila. a brilliant original idea that showcases being a pack rat and a sentimentalist (did i just make up a word?) perfectly. well, it's brilliant for one letter. not sure what you do with the other four hundred. i guess i have a lot of editing to do.

blog goods: new friends and sweet giveaways.

so far, i have to say, the best part about blogging is discovering other blogs. i had no idea there was such a blogiverse out there. i am constantly inspired by what other bloggers are putting out there. what i love the most is seeing galleries of these bloggers homes. i was blown away when i found michelle's home. that girl's got style! check out her bedroom...

another fun thing about finding other blogs is the giveaways. do you like anthropology? do you like incredible design books? head over to fiona&twig to get the scoop on how you can enter to win these things. good luck!

grandma's goods: design*sponge is after my heart

here is an example of what kate did when she actually did inherit two of her grandmother's danish mid-century chairs. (see yesterday's goods if you are confused.) this beautiful before and after was posted on design*sponge today. talk about drab to fab! go here for the full post.

"this next before & after comes from one of my favorite people, designer kate lydon of saturate and civil twilight. these danish chairs were a favorite of kate’s from her grandmother’s home way back when. after inheriting them she decided to repair and clean the frames and update them with affordable ikea fabric. thanks for sharing, kate!"

two dollar goods: grandma's ugly chair

this past sunday i picked up this chair at my church's Oktoberfest white elephant sale for $2.00. yes. that's right. t-w-o d-o-l-l-a-r-s. originally, i liked it because it has cushions that are easy to remove and recover and it wouldn't require re-upholstery. but after i got it home and looked it over i began to think that this "ugly" two dollar chair might be something a little more special and possibly mid-century. i proceeded to find the exact same one on ebay. the ebay listing calls this chair a "danish mid-century modern lounge chair". i also found out that the "baumritter" furniture company was bought out by ethan allen in the 70's. i guess grandma's old ugly chair is making a come back...these types of chairs are all over ebay. sets of them (nicer than this one) are selling for $500-$800 per pair. the only thing better than paying $2.00 for one would be to inherit one from your actual grandma.

animal goods: i'm into racks these days...

...deer racks, that is. this is a perfect example of something that a few months ago would have totally turned me off...but then i see a blog or a magazine article that *WHAM!* jumps out at me and changes something in me, instantly. it's kind of annoying when your design style changes on you like that. don't get me wrong. i love evolving and growing as a designer but it seems when i say- "ok. for sure. i will never in a million years like deer antlers on a wall"- i am totally taken by surprise like i was when i saw this home on design sponge. who knew that antlers could be cool anywhere but in a hunting lodge? these are some of my favorites found on design sponge, houzz, and style/swoon.

midwest goods: my heart just skipped a beat

amy has done it again. new fabrics for us to feast our eyes on. i just love it that she runs her business from good old ohio.

bed goods: are you kidding me?

ok people. seriously? what are the chances? i'm looking around on style swoon and there it is. look familiar? (if not...look here.) isn't it beautiful? now i love it even more. darn that bed.

too many goods: sofa

there seems to be a pattern lately with me finding amazing furniture that i can't afford, don't need, but am hopelessly in love with. here is a beautiful sofa that i found at a local thrift store. sorry the pictures are so bad...the conditions weren't great. the fabric is pristine blue velvet. it is in perfect condition. again...can you say antique booth??? i really need to start saving my pennies!

craig's goods: the list, not my husband.

oh craig. craig. craig. why do you taunt me? (again...not referring to my husband, who is also craig.) i found this bed on the list a few weeks ago. i paused, thought to myself, "wow...it's too bad we already have a bed."...then i went about my day. i did think about the bed from time to time wondering if anyone had bought it. hoping someone had bought it. much to my dismay...this weekend i found it on there again. re-listed. top of the list. taunting me. for a brief moment after consulting with fellow blogger, michelle, who also thinks it's a "craigslist score", i was determined to own this treasure. with some paint and new upholstery that baby would be a show stopper. craig even thinks so too. (husband this time.) but craig reminded me that we don't need a bed. darn. where is my antiques business when i need it? someone please buy this bed and do something fabulous with it!!! please!

skinny goods: first date

i just bought my first pair of skinny jeans. sigh. i really didn't want to give in. but i did. it's not so much about the jeans as it is about the boots that i bought that are begging for the jeans. pegging my curvy boot-cuts from GAP and shoving them in my new kicks just isn't going to work. so, skinny it is. since i'm thinking of this as a skinny "first date" i went with an affordable pair. 7 for all mankind can wait until i'm in a fully committed relationship. we headed to the mall yesterday. i ended up with the premium stretch skinny from GAP. girls...they are skinny! i think i'll be hitting the gym monday. and every day after that.