A Little Life Lesson

Do what you don't feel like doing.  I wrote this and posted it up on my inspiration board last night.  I was struggling with what to write, criticizing myself and generally not getting anywhere.  I began to think of reasons why I couldn't write.  I thought, I'm too tired and the baby is being challenging tonight.  I told myself I need to go to bed because I haven't gone to bed at a decent hour in weeks.  Then poor me, no one reads this blog anyway.  Sniff. Sniff.  Eventually leading to, I got myself into too big of a challenge with this one thing every day for 365 days. What was I thinking?  But those words, "Do what you don't feel like doing" kept popping into my head.

I remembered one night when Hank was around two months old he wouldn't stop nursing and go to sleep.  Anytime I tried to take it away he would scream and want it back.  I was getting desperate for my own space, for him to fall asleep and for there to be peace in the house.  As I began to cry I thought this same thing, "this is too big, I can't believe I chose to have a child, what was I thinking?"  But just as quickly as I had the thought, it passed, and I realized then I must do the thing I do not feel like doing.  I learned a lot that night about what it means to be a parent.  I also learned that this baby, who, God willing, will become a little boy and then a man is going to teach me a whole lot more than I will teach him. 

So I continue on this journey to write every single day for 365 days even though there will be nights where I don't feel like doing it.  Days when things will be overwhelming and I might not have the time.  I must do the thing I don't feel like doing because the reward that I get from writing and sharing is far greater than the one I get when I am keeping everything inside.  

Organizing with a Modern Tray

 

 

Here's another way I use modern trays in my home:  To organize my note pads, pens, tape dispenser, stapler and push pins.  I keep all of these things out in my dining room and it's totally ok because they are neat and contained.  An old blue mason jar holds my pens and scissors. A tiny vintage juice glass holds my push pins and I have the cheap plastic version of a lucite stapler and tape dispenser.  Vintage staplers are hard core, have stood the test of time and throw out lots of style. I could easily go there too.   Also paper, I love to scribble notes on paper, so having that readily available is important. Stacks of it. Come on people.     

 

Using a small vintage plate in a retro pattern to hold my business cards makes them feel like they are just hanging out ready to be served up. 

 

This arrangement actually changes all the time. But there it is, for now.  I had two lamps on this piece of furniture, but we let our friends bring their dog over, who chased our cat and now there is one lamp.  I will tell that story soon. It's a good one. 

 

 

 

 

 

Bright Colors, Found Ojects and Favorite Things

 

Organize a focal wall or entry space with a collection of objects and paint it a bright color.  Think of the design in three pieces. The main piece is the console table, here I used a vintage hairpin leg table. The second piece is the space above the console table, the wall space, which I filled with my growing collection of black and white photos, some are old and some are new.  The third piece is the space underneath the console, ottomans are the best for this space as they are both decorative and useful.  I can pull the ottomans out and use them anywhere around the room. 

 

 I gathered up similar objects from around my house. Glass, coral and succulents make up the majority of items. I tried for mostly green objects as a contrast to the teal wall, but ended up with one large teal statement piece as well. Black acts as the neutral that brings it all together.     
 

 

The middle photos are some of my favorites. They are original photographs of my grandfather posing with models for an eye glass marketing campaign. He was an actual salesman in the company and someone whom I never got to meet.  Since I am using a mix of old and new frames the trick is striking the right balance. The Goodwill or other thrift stores is a great place to get old frames. Look for frames with clean lines and a little texture. Stay away from anything ornate or decorative as that can look messy and be distracting.

 

 

There is so much industrial vintage out there. Start mixing it in. I love these old frogs in a rustic green metal. And a stack of design books with a lamp on top, gave me that little bit of height that I needed.

  So take your boring entry way with it's coat racks, key holders and safe wall color and give it a little pizazz.  Steal objects from other parts of your home and combine them in a different way to make them new again.  Think bright colors, found objects and favorite things.  You'll be greeted with something both lovely and functional.  

Sunday Vintage Shopping

Sunday vintage shopping is a favorite for my mom and I to do together.  I give her total credit for raising me to love and appreciate vintage.  She would drag me as a kid to the flea markets of LA and various antique shops.  She'd drag, but I'd always end up with something cool.  When we lived in south Florida it was trips to places like Deco Don's where pink flamingos and rattan furniture were a serious business.  We were collecting more than decor, we were collecting things with value.  One of a kind finds with a soul.  So while a lot has changed since the late 80's in South Florida, one thing hasn't and that is our love of Sunday vintage shopping. 

I heard about this new vintage shop in Sellwood called Vintage Design Collective through Emily Henderson on Twitter of all places.  Sellwood is a small neighborhood in Portland that is packed with families and vintage shops.  It's a great place to take a walk on a warm day and an even better place to grab a coffee and browse through some junk on a rainy day.  Please note, I lovingly refer to vintage stuff as junk.  My husband looks at a piece I want to buy and says, "But it has some scratches on it", I say that's because it's vintage.  It's been used and someone else probably thought it was junk and decided to get rid of it.  Now we are going to take it and love it, thereby making it special again. 

 

The store is located inside of an old theatre.  That's the first thing that's really cool about this place.  Then there are the antique rugs hanging from the ceiling. Number two thing that's really cool.  And finally, they have a variety of good vendors, open space, lots of natural light and a general good vibe.  Please go there and rescue this currently sad looking brass chandelier, spray paint it red and put some round bulbs on it. STATEMENT PIECE!!! By the way, I just sang those last two words.

 

Are you dying over these teal and green French chairs? Somebody please buy them. I'm crushing on them something awful. 

 

A little modern handmade in the mix...two thumbs up!

 

I wanted to tell you about these alabaster pedestal bowls. I keep one in my bathtub with soap in it. It is hands down the most beautiful thing in my bathroom, I feel so fancy when I go to reach for my bar of soap and who doesn't deserve a little fancy in their life?

 

This vendor was adorable.  From her glasses down to her little red shoes.  She has amazing little treasures and I love her organization.  I ended up buying a little something for my mom-in-law as well as a letter for Hank's letter wall.  

 

So rush down to the Vintage Design Collective and pick up your treasure. 

 

You are sure to find one.

What's Inspiring Me Right Now

It's the weekend and for me that means quality time with my husband and son.  It also means more time for relaxing and enjoying things like movies.  I have two recommendations for you to check out.

The first is Jiro Dreams of Sushi.  It's streaming on Netflix right now, and I highly recommend it.  A wonderful documentary about a man in Japan who is famous for making sushi.  Just that. He has a 10 seat, $300 a plate restaurant and the only thing he serves is sushi.  I felt inspired by his devotion to his craft.  A few of my favorite quotes from Jiro:
 

"Once you decide on your occupation you must immerse yourself in your work.  You have to fall in love with your work.  Never complain about your job.  You must dedicate your life to mastering your skill. That’s the secret of success.  And the key is to being regarded honorably." 

 

This sets the tone for the film and I felt such a strong connection to it.  It's easy to give up, but it's not worth it.  The reward for working hard is so much greater.  Success does not come easily.

 

"Always doing what you are told doesn’t guarantee success."

Jiro as a child behaved very badly, he grew up and changed.  When it came time to tell his two sons how to behave he had a hard time deciding what to tell them.  The quote above was his advice. 

 

"If I don’t keep working my body will become worthless"

 

So true! 

 

 

And finally, if you want to laugh your ass off go and see Django Unchained...HIL FREAKIN' LARIOUS!

A Vintage Lunch Tray Get Together

Let's do a get together of vintage lunch trays from Etsy.  These are a great way to organize small things like paper clips, push pins, pencils and post it notes.  If you were to organize your desk drawer with one,  there could be a slap of color and a pop of wow as you searched for those boring, oh so useful, paperclips.  Better yet, leave it out on your desk, be like my husband, easy to find, easy to grab.  While doing this, you'll be a little bit less stressed and a tiny bit cooler.  Oh you!

Check out these vintage Yellow serving trays from Amelia Bedelia Vintage.

And these incredible red and turquoise trays from Arks Endeavor.





Better yet, go for the industrial look and pick up some aluminum ones over at The Relic Trail.

My new favorite color, a true mid century classic, turquoise.  Brought to you by Lare Furbish. 

Finally, this structured US Military mess tray is a must have for the truely organized in you. Shop Via Olivia now.

 

Floating Letters

One of the best ways to organize and re-energize your space is to put similar things together. So often when decorating we buy objects that we love, bring them home and insert them somewhere.  Most likely if your anything like me, you buy similar items.  I go through color phases, object obsession phases and must have trendy phases.  Then all of a sudden I realize, I have a collection of something and I need to put it all together.  Perhaps the collection has grown and it all needs to be taken down and either re-located or re-arranged.  This is where the fun begins.


When I set out to design my son's bedroom, I browsed through image after image of boy's rooms and nurseries.   I knew I wanted his children's books to face outward.    There is so much wonderful art on children's books.  I wanted to display it.  I put up these three white shelves from Ikea.  But I only had a few books at the time.  So I started to add things like the three-dimensional letter H (a gift from my mom-in-law who loves to add letters to her decor).  I added the N and the S (letters from our wedding decor) and various objects to the shelves. Somewhere along the way a fourth shelf was added.  What I was left with was a wall with shelves and stuff on it, but no real wow factor.  I just decorated the wall. That was it.

I knew I had to make a change.  Down came all the stuff and the shelves as my husband cringed.  Then back up went the shelves at a kid friendly height.  Next I added all of the books, without accessories.  By this point the books had grown.  I immediately got my wow factor.  It needed something else above it, something three dimensional, like letters. A random collection of letters.

 

Now, it's not just me who is adding letters but my friend Susan who gave him the W and the Q and his Grandma who gave him the tiny H.  I have my eyes on a B at Anthropology, meanwhile I'm considering painting the white letters that I picked up at a vintage store a black or green, maybe even yellow. 

For now, when I'm rocking Hank to sleep, I look at the wall and imagine that the letters are emerging from the books, literally jumping off the pages, floating up the wall...

Saying, "Look at me Hank...Learn your letters...Dream up new stories to tell..."