My love affair

Like most people out there, I love to shop. Generally it doesn't matter what it's for - food, clothes, home decor, shoes, whatever - I like it. But thanks to blogger dooce.com I was introduced to Etsy. The most fantastic shopping known to man. I am not even exaggerating.

Etsy has become one of the greatest loves of my life for many reasons. How do I love thee, Etsy? Let me count the ways:
(1) It has anything and everything you could ever want on it
(2) All of it is handmade, recycled and/or vintage
(3) Everything is lovely
(4) You can find items in every price range
(5) Everything is unique

When Mat and I were not in the process of buying a house, I used to devote about $20 every two weeks to a purchase from a select seller on the site. Now, however, I just ogle at all the fantastic finds that come through on the daily Etsy Finds email.

On how I love these emails. I look forward to them everyday. They usually reach my inbox around 10am. And once I see the little (1) in my gmail window, I look to make sure it is indeed my Etsy mail. I then go pour myself another cup of coffee and proceed to delve into the deliciousness of the Etsy finds of the day.

I have purchased items for Birthdays, including this little gem for my sister's birthday and these inscribed cuff links for Mat's Birthday (I had the underside inscribed with "Your girl" and "I *heart* you"). I have also used Etsy to purchase DIY (do it yourself) baby shower invitations, which turned out so cute. And I have purchased many-a-items for myself, including these and this.

I have absolutely loved all my Etsy purchases. They have all been high quality and super cool, fun and unique. But a couple weeks ago I spotted a very special find on the daily Etsy Finds. It was awesome and I just had to have it. I immediately clicked on the shop's profile to find that the item was sold out (by the time I get the email, the promoted Etsy Finds are usually sold out). I was devastated. But I decided to contact the artist to see if there was any way that she would be producing more of these, and if so, would she mind contacting me. She immediately contacted me, asked my size, and it turned out that she had one left. I immediately ordered it and it came in the mail on Monday. Here is my newest lovely.

And you better believe I'm going to rock its socks off.

Check out Etsy ... you will too have a love affair.

A table only a mother could love

Two days ago I sold this table to a couple that responded to my craigslist ad. I had it listed for a few weeks. First at $100, then after a week of no interested buyers $75. So, when I finally got a call I was a bit relieved. But more than relieved, I was sad.

This table was a special piece of furniture. It was the first piece of furniture I acquired while on my own. A classmate my second semester of school gave it to me. Her name was Shelia - a cute little lady probably in her late 50s early 60s. Shelia and I became pretty good girlfriends. She told me all about her life and I told her all about my roommate's and my wild and crazy apartment adventures. I told her about our fine furnishing, which consisted of a cardboard box and a tent in our front room in order to use up some of our space. After hearing all my stories I think she was torn between three distinct feelings toward me (1) I think I reminded her of her youth (2) I'm sure she felt sorry for my lack of well everything and (3) I'm fairly certain she thought I was crazy. The feeling sorry for me part won. She offered to give me, for free, a dining set that her sister and husband were getting rid of. I promptly went over to her house to see the table. And it was truly a treasure.

What stood before me was a 1970s brown-tinted glass-top table with four beige leather chairs. And the fixtures were light-stained wood and brass tubing. The glass was cut in an octagon, giving any room a little geometric flair!

I loved this table. This table moved with me to all of my apartments thereafter - my studio; the boyfriend's and my loft and then the house. It wasn't always being used; it was often in storage. But I could never get rid of it. We moved it from the garage into the house for our Halloween pumpkin carving party last year. And we never moved it back. Instead we gave it a semi-permanent home in the kitchen even though we already had a nice kitchen table. And when anyone came over instead of sitting at our nice table, everyone congregated around the 1970s table.

Well, I decided to sell my little vintage table. The boyfriend and I are moving soon, and most likely we will be moving into storage. So we don't want to have to move, store and then move again anything we aren't going to end up using. But I was determined to find the perfect owner for this table. I wanted to find some cute person who loves vintage items. And who would find this table just as special as I found it. Is that too much to ask? I just wanted this table - that has really accompanied me through my adult life - to have a good home and good owner that would appreciate all its 1970s flair!

Said person was not found. I'm sure the table has a good home and fine owners now, but I'm sad that the perfect person didn't come-a-callin'. I'm sad that I totally sold out and sold my table for a measly 65 bucks. But the good news is that I sold the table, and I think I sold the table to a couple that needs a table. Maybe the love and appreciation for that fine piece of furniture will come in time.

Home Decor

There is one word that can describe every place I have lived, whether with my parents and family, or the places I have lived on my own. And that word is comfortable.

My mom's home was always really warm and comfy. And that has transcended into my own places. My apartments and house have also been really nice and comfortable. Friends have commented that being in my house feels like being at home, which has always made me feel really good. But recently I wish other words could describe my house. Words like cool or stylish would be nice, but I don't have anything really cool or stylish, which poses a slight problem.

In the past few months, I have been reading some design blogs, and they have some extremely stylish and cool ideas for the home. I fall in love with something everyday. Some people out there are just so creative and so stylish and it makes me terribly jealous.

Most of the stuff I see is expensive, really expensive. So it not only makes me envious, but it also makes me kind of depressed that I won't be able to have all of this home decor and style right now. But I'm thinking that even on a budget - a very limited budget - I still might be able to add a few little items here and there. So let me introduce you to my first stylish home addition:


I ran over to the crafty people store, Michael's, and found these. I thought they were pretty cool and perfect for the usually empty vases that live on our kitchen table. They remind me of over-sized dandelions, and I like that. These were fairly inexpensive and make me excited for my next item. So hopefully, I be able to share some more new home decor in future blogs.