PPM

I'll be upfront. This is plainly a Poor, Pitiful Me post. Nothing interesting here, no fabulous projects or cool thrifted stuff, just some complaining.

This is what my laundry room looks like right now. Yes, that is dirt you can see below the metal floor joists. Suffice it to say, we're not exactly having the best few weeks ever.

In the last three weeks, there hasn't been a single day when one of us hasn't been sick. Maren started it the first Monday back to school after Christmas break, then The Mister was hit with the flu for the remainder of that week. Porter was sick on Sunday and then Monday afternoon Maren came home sick again and spent the remainder of the week on the couch, ill with not one but two strains of the flu. On Sunday I woke up sick and the next day, Monday, Porter woke up with it too and we're still suffering. I don't think Porter and I actually have the flu, just a really nasty respiratory/sinus infection. And I have a big canker sore, can I whine about that one too? Compounding the illness is the issue that I haven't had a decent night's sleep in weeks. While the kids have been sick they've been up multiple times per night, and guess who they want? I feel like a zombie. A hacking, sniffling zombie.

And then there's the issue of the basement. Two weeks ago we noticed that our sump pump was going off repeatedly, all day long. The Mister ventured down into the crawl space below the house to check things out and found it wet. We called the insurance and a plumber, who found that the pipe leading from the sump out of the house had a crack in it, so the water was leaking right back down. Because this was behind a wall, we're not sure how long it was leaking but it was long enough to completely rot the subfloor in that corner of the room and cause mold to grow. The day after the plumber arrived, a recovery team came in to get everything dried out and to remove all the moldy and rotted materials.

Once they finally finish (which will likely be sometime next week) we will have to get a reconstruction team to come and fix it all. They'll have to put in new drywall, retexture the walls and repaint, put in new subfloor, remove the remaining vinyl flooring and install new vinyl flooring. I think we're looking at another 2 weeks or so of work once they can finally get started.

In the meantime, I have no washer and drier, which I realize is not an emergency-level crisis. Plenty of people live in places with no W/D and survive just fine. For crying out loud, we didn't have one the first 2 years of our marriage because we lived in an apartment so it's not like I'm not capable of hauling my clothes somewhere else to be cleaned. Having sick children and being ill yourself doesn't make that task particularly pleasant, however, and I'm lucky to have plenty of friends who have offered the use of their washers, for which I am truly very grateful!

I realize that everybody has problems, most of which are probably far greater than my own. You know that saying about how you probably wouldn't want to trade troubles with anybody else, right? By next week Porter and I will feel better, progress will be made on the basement issues, and I will start drugging my children if they don't quit waking me up in the night. Okay, I'm kidding about that last one. Maybe.

If you've made it through all this whining, please feel free to leave a complaining and whining comment of your own! Go ahead and let it all out and I won't judge you or tell you to quit being a complainer--that's what friends do. Then we can all just pull up our big-girl pants and get on with dealing with our troubles, right? So, spill it.

Weekend Junk Finds

In my quest to lighten up my basement, still no thrifting for me! I even took another box to the consignment store and made another pile of stuff to donate, so I'm making progress! Feels good, but I won't deny I miss the treasure hunting. :) Here are some more past finds I haven't shared.

This trio of beautiful vintage NOS postcards is from an antique store but they're in almost pristine condition-- in fact, I think I'm going to frame them! I have always loved this style of postcard, where the name of the place is in big letters that are filled with pictures. Also, I love to collect travel souvenirs from places that are significant to me so these are perfect! I especially adore the one in the center. It's from the valley in southern Colorado where my parents grew up and my grandparents still live. And yes, they grow potatoes there. :)

In fact, I found this cute vintage chalkboard in a thrift store in that very same valley! This one went into my Etsy shop and sold soon after.

I found this beautiful shabby platter on a fun trip with some girlfriends. It was on the top shelf in the loft of an antique store, covered in thick dust. I'm going to hang onto it for a future pink/blue/shabby style booth that I'm planning for an outdoor vintage market this summer.

I found this globe on the same trip. Actually, it was the same trip where I bought the globe I showed last week. Two globes in one day! This after we swore we were limited to buying only things that would fit in our purses. HA! That was one packed car heading home, let me tell you. Lucky for me that I was the driver, or I'm pretty sure I would have made the trip with a globe or two on my lap! This globe is not particularly old or decorative (like last week's 1939 beauty) so I'm almost tempted to do something fun like cover it with chalkboard paint. We'll see.

And one darling find from the local thrifts. This cutie pie mug has two sides. If you're feeling chipper when you wake up, you can drink your morning coffee from the "Good Morning! Darling" side with the warbling bluebird.

And if you're feeling cranky, you can use the "Good Morning You Ole Grouch" side with the owl in the rain!

The mug is currently available in my Etsy shop here.

Did you make any fantastic junk finds this weekend?

In my Etsy shop: Winter Whites

Things in my basement are NOT GOOD right now. A leaky pipe, a rotted subfloor and mold mean that my food storage/laundry room contents had to be completely removed and shoved into the rest of the (already full) basement. Not sure how long it will take to fix, or how much it's going to cost. Suffice it to say, things are not happy. I have no idea when I'll be able to do laundry again so I'll be toting my dirties over to friends' homes for the next few weeks. Dee-lightful!

One of the reasons my basement is already full is because that's where I store of all of my inventory for my Etsy shop. So in an effort to clean things out and make the basement a little less crowded, I've been on an Etsy listing spree. This week I've chosen to list a bunch of white things in a section called "Winter Whites". I may add more listings as I find more items in my stash to fit the theme, but this is what I have so far:

A trio of white milk glass handled sugar bowls. I have two of the bottom version. I love how they look like trophies!

https://www.etsy.com/listing/120727361/vintage-milk-glass-trophy-shaped-sugar

https://www.etsy.com/listing/120726871/pair-of-vintage-milk-glass-trophy-shaped

A gorgeous ironstone leaf-shaped bowl dating from the 1800s:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/120539904/antique-1800s-white-ironstone-china-leaf

A sweet little white bowl with a perfectly shabby patina:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/120538367/vintage-aged-white-cream-brown-patina

 An antique Homer Laughlin dish with markings that date it to February 1921:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/120537566/antique-vintage-homer-laughlin-hudson

Another antique ironstone bowl dating from the 1800s:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/120541583/antique-1800s-white-ironstone-bowl-dish

And a vintage Sterling China bowl with a gorgeous shabby patina:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/120542806/vintage-white-cream-shabby-chippy-patina

A beautiful carved Mother of Pearl necklace with a rosary-style chain. This would be so pretty on a bride! Love the glow from Mother of Pearl.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/120725277/vintage-antique-mother-of-pearl-rosary

 Two different sizes of new old stock vintage German pressed glass buttons:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/117480631/vintage-glass-buttons-white-and-gold

https://www.etsy.com/listing/117754018/vintage-glass-buttons-white-and-gold

 And a vintage aluminum Cuban cigar tube filled with vintage Mother of Pearl buttons:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/58803203/vintage-shell-buttons-in-a-vintage-cuban

I've brought up my inventory boxes from the basement and I'm hopeful that I'll be more likely to get it listed if it's staring me in the face, so to speak, rather than buried down in the cold basement. Wish me luck!

My new obsession: My Flat in London

If you're a long-time reader of this blog, you may already know that I'm a total Anglophile. I spent a semester in London when I was in college.  I can look up from my computer to see the darling Union Jack bunting that I bought on my most recent trip back in 2010 when I got to visit with my mom, and turn my head slightly to the right to see the "Keep Calm and Carry On" poster I picked up in the Cabinet War Rooms museum. If I turn my head left, I see the Union Jack pincushion, framed London postcard and gorgeous velvet bag all from one of my favorite British designers, Cath Kidston.

So it may come as no surprise that when I stumbled upon the new My Flat in London line in a Brighton store right before Christmas, that I was instantly smitten!

During our little Vegas getaway we happened upon a little boutique that sold Brighton that had a big MFIL display right in the front of the store and we got some background from the saleslady. My Flat in London is a line of mostly handbags and some other clothing and accessories by designer Jan Haedrich that she produced from 2002 to 2007. Ms. Haedrich lived in Germany while working for another designer but would escape to her flat in London on weekends to get away. In London she found inspiration for her own line that became the first MFIL products. She retired the line in 2007. Last year, the founder of Brighton approached Ms. Haedrich to relaunch the brand exclusively in Brighton stores and it was released in Fall 2012.

I'm not really a handbag kinda girl but I LOVE charm bracelets and charm necklaces, I LOVE pink and I LOVE London, so the MFIL jewelry is right up my alley! When we were in Las Vegas I bought myself a little treat:

When I came home and showed my Mom she fell in love with them too, and the next week while on vacation she bought herself some baubles:

When I saw the little pink phone box I HAD to have it! It's all sold out in the stores around me, but the kind folks on the Brighton Facebook page directed me to a Brighton store in a mall about 45 min. north of me and yesterday I went to get it. Now my pretty necklace looks like this:

And then this morning, I found on eBay the exact same pink phone box charm for $3 less than retail and free shipping! Darn it. Right now, the My Flat in London line is sold exclusively in Brighton stores and some Brighton authorized retailers, but not every Brighton store or authorized retailer even carries it. Apparently the line has been very popular and many items are sold out in individual stores but I can tell you that the store I visited yesterday had a fantastic selection! You can call Donna at the Flat Iron Crossing Brighton store at (720) 887-9222 and she can help you out and even mail items to you. The charms are my favorite, but there are also many different necklaces, bracelets, earrings and handbags that are just darling. Very girly, lots of pearls and sparkly rhinestones and cute British motifs. I love it all!

On the Brighton Facebook page they mentioned a Spring line coming out sometime soon and maybe even making the MFIL line available online. They haven't said exactly when those things will happen so for now, I'll be saving up my pin money so I can add more charms to my necklace!

Snowflakes

If it was over 10 degrees here yesterday, I'd be surprised. Brrr! I mentioned last week that it was COLD when were visiting in Utah. On one of these frigid mornings it started to snow but because it had been so cold overnight and was still so freezing, the snowflakes didn't melt when they hit surfaces. My brother-in-law Jean borrowed my camera and braved the cold to take some really marvelous close-up photos of the snowflakes. They show up so well because they're on the dark-tinted windows of his car.

The photos are really extraordinary and I encourage you to click on them to make them larger so you can really see the details. What beauty is in nature!

Weekend Junk Finds

Full disclosure: none of these things were actually found this past weekend. The temperatures here were of the frigid variety and The Mister had to work so I never even made it out of the house. And honestly, I'm feeling pretty overwhelmed by the amount of STUFF in my house right now, so I really don't have any business bringing in more. I do have a few older finds to share, though!

When I was in Utah after Christmas, my Dad and I went to explore an antique mall recommended to me by Shirley of Zetta's Aprons. I had really hoped to find some awesome post-holiday discounts on vintage Christmas stuff but only one booth had anything marked down, and they didn't have anything I wanted! Disappointing, since the dealers in the big antique malls around here have awesome sales after Christmas. I did manage to buy two baggies of old mercury glass beads. I love to use them in my crafting and these are about the size of marbles, which is larger than any I have in my collection.

I also found this cute 1960s Hearts game.

I thought the box would be so fun to display at Valentine's Day, but I also love the cute lettered dice inside!

This globe is from a fun trip I took back in November with some friends. We junked until the car was completely full! I found this beautiful old globe on a really fantastic wooden base. There are websites you can use to help you date your globe based on the names of the countries shown, and this particular model dated to 1939! I sold it in my Etsy shop.

Not too exciting, but I just can't pass up LuRay when I see it! Even though I have ZERO use for teacups.

Last, this cute vintage Bobbsey Twins book was the perfect pre-Christmas find! It's a lovely shade of green with red lettering and white snowflakes all over the front. It was just the thing to use in my Christmas decorating this year.

Did you make any fabulous finds this weekend? I'm linking up with Apron Thrift Girl's Thrift Share Monday.

Las Vegas getaway

For Christmas, The Mister surprised me with a trip to Las Vegas that he'd sneakily planned and coordinated with my parents. Las Vegas is a six-hour-drive from Salt Lake City and my parents graciously allowed us to leave the kiddos with them for a few days while we had a little getaway!

Because we flew to Utah, we had to rent a car and ended up with a gray version of this beauty:

Pity that it was 20 degrees for most of the way down so we couldn't take full advantage of the convertible top! We did, however, lower the top (and crank up the heater!) on the first evening as we drove down the Strip. :)

We stayed at the all-suite Palazzo, which is attached to the Venetian hotel. Our room was on the 36th floor and it was absolutely gorgeous! It looked exactly like this one.

The room was huge! Easily bigger than my kitchen and living room combined. The living room area was sunken down a few stairs and the big window had shades and curtains that we maneuvered with a remote control. Our window looked out on the back side of the Strip--we had a lovely view of the airport, LOL. But I can imagine having that huge view of the Strip all lit up at night would have been pretty impressive!

Even the bathroom was huge and beautiful. Ours looked just like this, only flip-flopped (the tub was on the other side). I fell in love with that little red velvet bench where I got to sit while putting on my makeup and jewelry. And we watched TV in our bathroom as we got ready, just because we could. ;)

Our trip was a quick one. We arrived on Wednesday afternoon and had a fancy dinner that night at a restaurant in the neighboring Venetian called Valentino. The Mister ordered black spaghetti in curry sauce, which I have to tell you looked for all the world like a pile of black worms. He said it was delicious, despite its horror-show appearance!

On Thursday we at pizza for lunch at Grimaldi's (who say they've installed special water filters in all their restaurants so that the water used for the dough is the same as they use in Brooklyn) and spent the afternoon at the Fashion Show Mall across the street from our hotel. The mall is a mix of normal mall stores (The Children's Place, Bath and Body Works) and some very upscale stores (Kate Spade, Henri Bendel). I think that Vegas started to get to me after shopping for a while because I started to wonder why exactly I don't own a pair of sequined hot pants. It seemed like every other store we visited was carrying a few. Do that many people really wear tiny spangled shorts? If so, where are they going in them? And in the winter? (even in Las Vegas, it was only in the low-50's. Pretty chilly for hot pants) It was baffling.

That night we got dressed up again and walked across the street to The Mirage hotel, where we saw The Beatles LOVE Cirque du Soleil show.

We had fantastic seats! I will tell you, it was not my favorite Cirque du Soleil show that I've ever seen. I'm a huge Beatles fan so of course the music was AWESOME, but the storyline was just plain weird! I know that's generally the case with CdS shows but it's never bugged me before, mostly because the acrobatics and other performances were so jaw-dropping that it never occurred to me that there was a storyline I was supposed to be following. There were talented acrobats and aerialists at The Beatles LOVE show, but not as many and not as impressive as some of the other CdS shows I've seen because I think they relied more on the music and visual effects and costumes. If you're a big fan of the Beatles' music, then you may find enjoy it; otherwise, I might try out a different CdS show as there are several playing in Vegas.

Our little getaway was such fun--we have no family nearby and so we don't ever get to go away without our kids (the last time was back in July 2011 when we went to Washington D.C. for The Mister's graduation) so it was a real treat to get to do that! I know my kids LOVED every second of all of the attention and spoiling they got from being under their grandparents' care without their parents around enforcing rules and bedtimes and stuff. We may not have gambled on our trip, but I know we were winners all around!

The Nutcracker

 One of the things I've been looking forward to as a girl mom is taking my daughter to see "The Nutcracker" ballet. I have fond memories of getting dressed up in my fancy Christmas dress and going to see it when I was younger, and I even danced as a Mouse in the Nevada Opera's Nutcracker!

This was the first year that I've felt like Maren was old enough to really enjoy and appreciate the ballet (given the cost of tickets!) but I just couldn't find a time for us to go before Christmas, and then we were headed to Salt Lake City directly after the holiday. Then I realized that Ballet West's performances of "The Nutcracker" extended beyond Christmas and even better, going in Utah meant that my mom could go with us!

We started our outing with a ladies' lunch at the very delicious Blue Lemon and a walk through the new City Center shopping mall, with a stop in Nordstrom to check out the lipsticks at the MAC counter.

 

From there, it was a short walk to the Capitol Theater, where we posed for pictures before heading into the opulent red-velvet-and-gold theater to watch the performance.

 One other nice thing about going after Christmas--the theater was fairly empty so it was no problem to get great seats! We were very close and a had a great view of the show. I purposely chose a matinee performance because I didn't know if Maren would be able to stay awake in an evening show, and it was a good thing because it wasn't too far into the second act when her eyes got heavy!

It was such a fun occasion, one I hope we can repeat for many years to come!