Vintage Dinnerware: an Obsession

Noritake pattern 1357

Noritake 1357 plate

I am a collector and one of the things I love to collect is vintage dinnerware/china.  It all started with my wonderful collector of a mother. Her most proud collection, as I was growing up, was her Lenox china collection, filled with decorative bowls,vases, and ashtrays. She would seem to freak out if I even looked at her collection, as if that was a bonafide way to break her precious china. I get it....she was protective over her Lenoxware. I guess with a small child in the house, you tend to be careful about breakage with expensive, fragile items that you love so much you never dare use. (Reminds me of my mom and her "good bathroom towels" that we couldn't use either, but that is a story for another day.)                                                                       

 Now I do believe I inherited my love for the finer things in life from my Mom, you know the petite lady who rivaled Audrey Hepburn in the style department....

However, I am not so much a China nazi, as she was with her china. It was because of this, that I swore when I got older and had real stuff of my own, I would make sure to use it!! Well, in the real world, you can't always find time after work on a week night to unpack the china and wine glasses for Taco Tuesday. But I try to find reasons to use the "good stuff", other than just holiday dinners. 

I have found that over the years, as in all of us, we find our tastes have changed. I also find myself asking "What do I do with all this china?!!" It turns out my mom's china (Romance by Diamond) which we ate off of during Thanksgiving or Sunday dinner, was something she picked out when she married my Dad.

Mom's China Pattern "Romance"

 Every once in a while, I would notice a china pattern with some green pattern on it. I cannot remember what exactly was on those plates,but they were kinda ugly....so ugly that not one person looked at them when I tried to sell them at a yard sale. I later found out that the other incomplete set belonged to my Dad's mother and was passed down to my Mom. She also managed to have her mother's punch bowl, as well as her very own. Now when I was married, I picked out a modern,cool pattern that I thought was so me. The pattern was cream with a gold/black/ brown leopard print on the rim and over the leopard print was a gold  decorative pattern. It was modern,yet elegant. I loved it! My husband and I never ate off of them together as we never had an occasion to use them, as we lived with my parents. We were awaiting a place of our own, but that day never came. Eventually, I got to proudly eat off of my leopard plates sans husband. I loved displaying them in my china hutch, once I had a place of my own.( I tried to locate a picture online of them since they are packed away right now but couldn't find one.) However,after my Mom passed in 2007, I inherited her china, as well as my Grandmother's and both punch bowls. What to do? The china was not my cup of tea,(no pun intended) but I felt guilty getting rid of it and I felt like I wanted to have an heirloom from my Mother. I ended up using her set on Easter as it has an air of springtime. The ugly china with green things on it , met its demise in the garage as it was leftover (once again) from another yard sale and somehow the table ended up turning over and broken bits of china ended up all over the cement garage floor. 


It is amazing that I like dinnerware at all, considering I hated setting the table as a child! Now on holidays, that was a different story. I liked adding the centerpieces, vases of fresh flowers, or candles to the table. I liked placing the teacup on the saucer, folding  the linen napkins and the elegance of a linen tablecloth. Table linens are another obsession of mine!! Anyway, I wish I had a storage closet just for extra dinnerware, like one for each holiday. My Mom bought me a beautiful,festive Xmas dinnerware set from Tienshan, when I was married. My family used it every Christmas while I lived with them and I continued the tradition when I moved out. However, it wasn't convenient to use the past few Christmases, but I normally love to have it on display for the whole month of December. 

Deck the Halls (my Xmas set)

Since acquiring my leopard set of china, my tastes have changed a bit and my decorating has as well. I used gold accessories back then and now I have been leaning towards more silver accessories. I have a huge appreciation for vintage items...more than I ever did before. I particularly like mid-century modern sets with their starbursts  and use of the colors , aqua and pink. 

One of my faves Franciscan Starburst

I do not own any starburst patterns as of yet due to space restraints. I own various dinnerware and glassware to be used in the Autumn and at Thanksgiving time. I also stumbled across a terrific deal at a local antique store to add to my Deck the Hall Christmas set. For around $40, I  received several other dinner plates,teacups and saucers, not to mention a coffee/teapot,sugar bowl and creamer, serving platter,serving bowl and a gravy boat in the shape of a sled. Even though, I didn't really need the extra plates etc., the deal was too good to pass up. I figured over time, dishes break etc. so I might need the back ups. 

As I got more and more into vintage dishes, I had a difficult time deciding on just one pattern. To this day, I am still torn. But I started collecting a vintage set from Noritake. (1357) I love the pattern and the colors pink,black and gray. I have always wanted a pink kitchen, so my heart went out to this pattern. I have bought several pieces off of Ebay, but am a long way away from having a complete collection. 

There are just too many patterns to choose from!! It makes me wish I still had a house, instead of a puny apartment. (My house was destroyed by a fire a year ago and I was forced to sell the land and find a new place to live. The house has since been knocked down by the new owners. All that remains is my Dad's shed.) My china collection keeps expanding, but unfortunately, my closets do not. Before the fire, I had a set of "everyday" glasses and dishes that I adored. I tried to replace them on Ebay but the set I got was much smaller than the original and yet it was the same maker and pattern. And the glasses are rare to find, and are very expensive. The Novoctime set I had was black and octagonal. The glasses were also octagonal. I loved this set so much and was so heartbroken when I was without them. I was so excited when I ordered them off of Ebay,but quite disappointed when I unpacked them from the box I received in the mail. They looked the same but were somehow much smaller. The soup/cereal bowls are the perfect size for dip. I could try finding another set but I decided to mix and match this set with another I found that I fell in love with at Target.

my beloved Novoctime

Damask set from Target

Project Living Room:Part 4 ~Accessories

If you are like me, then you love the little details, the finishing touches that tie a room together. These little details that can make or break a room are the accessories. They can turn a boring,sterile room into an warm, inviting, interesting room in just a short amount of time. It is amazing what some throw pillows, pictures and some simple decorations can do to a room!! Let's not forget the importance of color, but that topic is for another day. 

Today, I want to share with you some of the fantastic accessories I found for my living room in my apartment. However, before I do that I have some very good news to share. First, my amazing chrome and mirrored cabinet I have been very patiently awaiting since January finally was delivered correctly last week and I absolutely love it!!! I say correctly because an attempt was made 2 weeks ago to deliver it. It turned out they had someone else's mirrored dresser and mine was in Atlanta. Luckily, I only had to wait an additional week for them to return with the right piece of furniture. It took 3 delivery men, plus my boyfriend to carry it up the stairs and that was without the doors on it!! That sucker weighs in at 350 lbs. so it won't be moving all over the apartment. I dread what happens whenever we move. But luckily we do not need to worry about that just yet. I haven't put out my decor yet as the room is still a work in progress, but I managed to snap a pic after we set the tv back upon the top of the new console.

I LOVE this!!!

So is it gorgeous or what?? I am so thrilled to  finally have it in my possession. While I was waiting for them to re-deliver the correct piece of furniture to me, I did some research online about my vintage ello cabinet. I haven't been able to find a definitive date for it. I have seen it described as mid-century quite often, but also have heard it was from as late as the 1970's or 80's. I find the later dates more believable because to me it appears more modern. For whatever it's age, it is actually in very  good condition. To me, it looks brand new. I found out ello made several other pieces similar to this , in various sizes with the same matching door. I saw everything from single door, to tall ones, as in an wall entertainment center unit, up to 6 doors. The 6 door version,  like the one I have, is supposedly very rare. I found ello cabinets priced from $1800-$5500. Very grateful, my cabinet was priced no where near there. I will post more pics as I get more items situated. 

My second bit of good news comes from Macy's. I received an email that my back-ordered furniture is now able to be scheduled to be delivered. My delivery date is on April 16...not long now. I am so anxious for that as well since I ordered it on Feb. 17. The customer service people at Macy's even oohed and ahh'd over the living room suite I picked. Technically, I do not know if you can call it a suite, since it is only a sofa, chair and ottoman, but I digress. I ordered from the Reyna Living Room Collection. The fabric I am told was called Bella ( like my missing collie) and the color is Granite. I also loved the Berry color, which was a red wine/burgundy color. I would have picked that but I always seem to go for dark colors and I am trying to go lighter in my color choices. Believe it or not, granite is not as dark as it sounds,maybe a medium gray. So things are progressing nicely on that front. 

Back to the original topic at hand...accessories. I love them! I am very much a detail-orientated person. As mentioned previously, I love  deals and am tickled when I find a good one. And I did find quite a few. I don't have pics of all the new items yet, but will post them in the future. I found a really nice iron floor candelabra on ebay to put in the corner. For a piece this size, the price was not bad. I cannot remember because I got it over a month ago but I think with shipping it might have cost around $30-40. I saw these neat ivory color scented LED candles at Tuesday Morning (love that place!) and thought I might use a set there for safety reasons. I still love candles as much as I ever did,but after losing practically everything I own ,including my house and almost being killed in a house fire, I am a bit skittish now around anything "fire" related. So honestly, I wasn't holding much hope for LED candles, as I thought they would be very fake looking. I ended up very much surprised. I love that they have a scent...never knew they could come that way. They actually are wax on the outside, so they feel real and they are sculpted on the edges to look like a real melted candle and the flickering bulb on the inside looked so believable. Also, the candles come with a timer. I haven't used it yet since it only lets the candles "burn" for  hours and I use them much longer as I really like them. They really provide a cozy, warm,romantic feel with no heat or worry about knocking them over. The vanilla scent is rather faint though but other than that I am a happy customer. $15 bought me 3 candles in 3 different sizes.

Above is my LED candles display...about 4 feet tall. To give off scent, plugged in next to the candles is a wallflower from Bath and Body Works. They are wonderful and last over a month!! I found a wallflower plug or whatever they are called in a hip Moroccan design of a quatrefoil/ogee curve that matches my room. Right now, I am using a scent called "spring" and it really is quite delightful. The best way to describe it is like a meadow of perfumey fresh flowers. I note a strong scent of either honeysuckle or jasmine. I think it is jasmine though. Every time, you enter the room it is like another world. In my bathroom, I have Japanese Cherry Blossom. However, that scent is rather mild in comparison. I like it but for the bathroom,let's just say I would prefer a stronger scent.  I thought it would be a bit stronger as Japanese Cherry Blossom was always one of my favorite scents from BBW. I had the whole shower collection and it always smelled nice and clean but brisk, if that makes any sense to you. So now, it at least might seem like my candles have some scent. I grabbed a bunch, since they were on special for $2.50 a piece and normally I think they are around $6. Plus I had a coupon for 25% off so I did good.

Speaking of quatrefoil/ogee curves, on a whim a purchased a tray on clearance from Target for around $10 and it looked really cute online but in person it was even nicer looking. Because of the way the picture was displayed on the website, I thought it was a white cheap plastic tray with a black design. Instead, it was very well made of glass and durable plastic decorative insert. It was really so much prettier than I ever thought it would be. Target really surprised me...too bad their selection of black lampshades wasn't as nice! 

My most recent find was on my local craigslist. Someone listed a new quatrefoil wall mirror they bought at Hobby Lobby for $70. I had seen them there and they were very nice but I thought expensive since I already had another pricey mirror in mind for my living room. On craigslist, they were asking $45 which I thought was reasonable for such a nice mirror nearly 3 feet wide. I may end up using this in my dining room area which is open to the living room. Either way, the other mirror I was planning for over the sofa would work in either room. The other mirror is made up of rhinestones and pearls...gotta have some sparkle!! I have a few other cool pieces which I will share with you soon. Until next time....xoxo

tray from Target

Craigslist find

Splurge from Seventh Avenue

Quest for a Black Lamp Shade

I never knew buying a lamp shade could be such a difficult thing, but it is. Since I bought a pair of gorgeous vintage lamps, without shades, I did not know for sure what size I needed to purchase or even what particular style would look good with the lamp base.I was open to new possibilities. In my minds eye, I pictured a couple looks that I thought would look good but kept changing my mind. Eventually, I decided I wanted a uniform look to match my new floor lamp, so the shade would have to be black. I thought it was a drum style shade I wanted but the shade isn't totally straight vertically like the drum style is. It is slightly flared out on the bottom. I think it is a barrel style which is very similar. It really is confusing how many different names they have for a style/shape of a lamp shade. Not to mention all the different types of fittings they have and apparently the most common type of fitting is now almost impossible to find!! That has made my task rather daunting!!

 


My lamps in the first picture have a harp and a beautiful crystal/lucite finial, so they require a spider fitting to attach the shade. Most lamp shades have a spider fitting that the shade sits on and then you screw in your finial. I ordered 2 cute black lampshades with a silver metallic lining from Target and was so excited to open the box and try them out on my lamps. I couldn't wait for a visit from Mr. Mailman and when he did finally visit, boy, was I disappointed!! I tore open the box and found out that had a Euro fitting, one where you cannot use a harp or finial because the light bulb screws into place to hold down the fitting for the shade.Now I could have removed the harp and not used the finial and I could have made it work,but I loved the finial and didn't want to lose the look of it. So rather than send the shades back to Target, I thought I would drive to the nearest one to return them to see what else they had. I always loved Target and since we don't have one in my town, I always jump at the chance to go to one.But oh, my quest had really just begun!!


So my boyfriend and I took a ride to Target and returned the black lamp shades. Now off to find ones that fit. Hopefully,I will find one in a similar shape to my floor lamp, pictured above. So we find the lamp/lamp shade aisle and I am not feeling too confident. One aisle from top to bottom had nothing but lamp shades with Euro fitters. One tiny section, with maybe half a dozen shades with the spider fitting,only one black and it is way too huge. Everything they had in this tiny section was huge shades,like floor lamp size, not for table lamps.So I was rather disappointed with Target.I went to a few other stores and also didn't find anything.

 A friend recommended I try Hobby Lobby, so I was eager to see what they had. Hobby Lobby recently opened up in my town and from what I had seen, I really liked their home decor items, so I was hoping that they had what I needed for my living room lamps. I am sad to say, they had a million and one lamp shades with Euro fittings and very little with the spider fitting that I so desperately needed. There was not one lamp shade I liked that I could use....they were all some form of brown and you know how I feel about brown!!! LOL I have been keeping my eye out online but most websites do not specify what type of fitting and I am not having a repeat of the Target incident. I don't know what I will do next but am open to suggestions. One thing is I don't want to spend a lot on a plain lamp shade. I spent over $50 on my bedroom shades and they are gorgeous but were way more than I wanted to spend....if they didn't tie everything together so well in my bedroom, I never would have splurged. My comforter set cost less!! (lol I bought a second hand one on ebay.) 

So now I am on a Quest...for the Holy Grail of cute black lamp shades!! At least that is what it feels like to me. I never realized this could be such a difficult task, but I would like to have the new shades before my new furniture gets here, I have some time....maybe a month, give or take a week either way to find them but it is just annoying looking at a bright bare light bulb. I have so many cute touches I want to add to my lamp shades once I find them and I can't wait to get started but until I find what I need I will have to. In all my research, I found for some reason spider fittings for lamps seem to be going the way of the dinosaur and the Euro/uno fitters seem to be the new kids on the block. Also, while out shade shopping, I found some other goodies for the living room that I will share in my next blog which I will devote to accessories. Until next time....xo

                                                                                                                                                         

Project Living Room:Part 3 (Update)

It has been a while since my last post concerning Project Living Room, so I thought I would give you an update on the progress. I have had several  personal issues that required my immediate attention dropped on my lap, so I have had to spend my time tending to other parts of my life. Hopefully, everything will all be fully taken care of by next week and then I can blog more. Yay!! I have felt like a juggler who is about ready to drop a bowling pin!! Not good. 


Thanks to my very dear friend,Mr. Mailman, I have another lovely little addition to my living room. And I have no idea who my mailman is or what he even looks like but when I hit Amazon or Ebay,his visits tend to be quite frequent, evident by the boxes blocking traffic in front of my screen door! I need an ottoman and the one ordered with my new living room suite will not be here until mid-April at least, so I found a simple, but really cute ottoman to use in the meantime. It can probably be used as an extra seat in a pinch. It is so me!!

The ottoman is black velveteen with rhinestone/crystal buttons. I love it!! It feels very firm and is actually higher than my sofa.I haven't truly used it other than propping my feet up momentarily in the excitement of it's arrival. I am sure it will get used very soon. It might be a bit of a tight squeeze once my furniture gets here, but I thought it was small enough to fit in a corner somewhere or at the bottom of my coat closet. I must say it is the most elegant ottoman I have ever seen! Never before in my life did I ever think I would get giddy over an ottoman!! 

The majority of what I have planned for my living room is still on order or in the process of being shipped,however, a few new pieces are already being used. I can't believe I got such a fashionable,cute rug at Walmart for under $40 and it is a 5'x7'. They have a few cute styles in various colors at this price point but I chose the classic"black and white". 

The above pictures are samples and did not come from my actual living room. But, I will  be posting pics as soon as the room is finished. I so love the rugs striking bold geometric pattern. I am seeing it everywhere online. I even saw an almost exact copy of this pattern rug on Joan Rivers' Fashion Police show on E! I was bowled over that my taste was now that popular. When I decided to decorate my place in the "Hollywood Regency" style, it was not mainstream at all. I have loved it for years before I even knew there was a name for it! This quatrefoil or ogee curve pattern is becoming a favorite of mine. I found matching pillow covers, as well. I need to order pillow fillers from good ol' Wally World. They have them in a 2 pack for around $7-8. 

So it seems like things are fitting into place nicely. I managed to find a similar patterned runner for by the front door and a small 2'x3' to go in front of the sliding glass door leading to the balcony. There were no other sizes of the area rug I purchased and the ones I found that matched my pattern and had various sizes,  costed more than the area rug I bought itself, so I decided against those. Besides, it is my opinion that such a large bold print , all over,in such a small space would be over kill. The same geometric print in different sizes I felt might work. I also limited the number of patterns over all in my living room for the same reason, overkill. I found these similar rugs also online from Walmart and they were cheap like under $10 a piece and the difference is the pattern is on a smaller,less bold scale and the white is not as bright. The website says it is beige and depending on the light, it looks either beige or a slightly off-white. I think these should work despite the differences. Plus, I wasn't wanting my look to be too "cookie-cuttery". You know, everything matching perfectly. Matching details I love but a bit of variety is good too. I want my room to look like I choose every item in it carefully,not like I just bought out an entire collection from a going out of business sale!! 

So I am still waiting for my entertainment unit/console. It is due to be delivered later on this month and I am very,very anxious as I ordered it in January.I cannot fathom why the shipping is taking so long. To see the piece I am referring to,please read my "Project Living Room:Part 1". Also, I am waiting on my living room suite, which is on back order and due to come into their warehouse in mid-April. Thinking back, I do not think I ever revealed which set I decided to go with. I posted pics of both contenders on my "Project Living Room:Part 2" blog. I was torn between a very good priced,gray velvet tufted, 2nd hand sofa, I found on craigslist. I also knew where I could order the matching chair, but it had no ottoman. And the second choice,but first love, was the gray tufted sofa with the gorgeous rolled arms from Macy's. I knew which one I really wanted in my heart, but was trying to stick to a smaller budget. A friend advised me to go with my heart because the price difference was not that huge, in her opinion and she shared her own experience of buying a living room set. She spent more money than me, but hated her set. She taught me to love what you buy or rather BUY what you LOVE!! I am going to be the one who has to live with it and sit and look at it every single day, so the choice became simple....I am happy to announce that I went with the Macy's set!! The reviews of the set were all 5 stars or else I would have had a very difficult time buying a sofa sight unseen. That still is a bit weird to me,but I am confident with Macys. The sofa is so popular it is on back order, so that is what is holding up my order. I can't wait until it gets here.

 Meanwhile, I am trying to be patient and trying to find some artwork to hang on the wall. I also am trying to nail down an accent color for the living room. I originally thought red because it goes so well with black and white and gray, but I feel that is so overdone. I was thinking of some more modern color palettes, like maybe hot pink or turquoise. I love the color aubergine/eggplant, you know a dark purple but feel it would be too dark a choice but a muted version might look very elegant next to silver/gray. I also am loving yellow with gray! It looks so fresh and clean, especially with white in the room. I don't have a lot of white,more black but I am shocked how much I am digging the color yellow. Now the color gold, either metallic or not, I love! I used to have my old living room painted gold,unfortunately, the apt. complex where I live, does not allow tenants to paint. Everything is painted a horrible off-white color, so to me, everything looks dirty and in need of painting all the time. And we are forced to live with it. A bright stark white would look so much better to me, perhaps with some gloss to it. I don't care for this matte paint they chose for all the apartments. Anyway, until next time I will be trying to come up with some accent color ideas. If anyone has any suggestions , please just let me know in the comments section. Thanks xo 

Delays!!

Sadly, my console table, the one I was planning on using for an entertainment center to hold my new flat screen tv has not shipped out yet. It won't even be picked up until next Thursday I believe and delivery is set for sometime in March. I have been waiting over a month for this thing and I am anxious!! 

The lady I purchased it from on Ebay was a bit snooty with me when I complained how long it was taking. She said if I chose curbside delivery I would have had it in 10 days but since I chose "white glove service" it would take longer. First off, I don't know what difference that would make either way what kind of delivery I had as to how it would affect delivery time and secondly, I did not simply "choose" white glove delivery. They informed me my shipping cost (which was outrageous by the way) was for curbside delivery only. It was costing me extra for being a  residential  delivery, plus extra for a lift gate, but they would not bring it in my house. I only paid the high delivery price because I wanted that cabinet so badly.

 She then gave me an even higher quote for them to carry my item upstairs to my apartment and inside one door and drop it and go. I don't believe they unwrap or place it anywhere special for you but yet I was "choosing" white glove service. I just wanted it upstairs and preferably in place that's all because I can't carry it. I didn't ask for anything fancy, just what you would expect from a furniture delivery.

 Next thing you know she changes shipping companies and said she thought it was for the best and she said the price was slightly higher but she paid the difference.I thought that was nice of the person. But now I don't know because after I complained and I was very polite and nice about it,suddenly it was my fault it was taking so long as the shipping was out of her hands. (Because they do not do the actual shipping, they hire the shipping company.)Then she acted so put out because she is going to work a whole hour early to accommodate the shipping company's schedule. If I ran a business of my own, I would expect no less from myself. That is what you do when you run a business...sometimes you have to go out of your way for your customers to make them happy by following up on things, not just assuming things. You do what you have to do. It is not even really go out of your way, it is good customer service. Anyway, sorry for the rant I am just frustrated. I wanted to take the opportunity to let you know the major decision I made for the living room but I ended up going on about the cabinet. Oh well, next time!!

Project Living Room: part 2

I found out today that my beautiful mirrored console cabinet will not ship out until Valentine's Day. Actually, the shipping company is scheduled to pick it up then, so I am assuming it will be shipped out then but I am not sure on that point. That news disappoints me big time!! I was so looking forward to it. Plus, the apartment complex I am living in is having an inspection on the 12th and I was hoping I would have it in place by then. Oh well!                                                                         

There have been some changes to my original plans for the living room. The sofa that I was planning on purchasing I changed my mind on it. It looked nice and the chair felt comfy but there was no oomph! to it. When I thought about it I realized that I am a passionate person and I just wasn't passionate about that sofa set. The color was gorgeous and I have always wanted leather but it really didn't do much for me. I heard myself describing as a "nice red leather sofa" but there was never really any excitement in my voice when I described it. And if you know me, you know that is just not me. When I am pleased with something my excitement is contagious.( I was told that once by my boss when I worked at Lowe's.) Anyway, it boiled down to I needed a place to rest my butt and that fit the bill...plus, it was cheap and locally available. That is not the reasons I want to buy a couch!! I decided maybe I need to spend a little more and actually get something I am really happy with...something that might last a little longer than a furniture outlet sofa. So I thought about what else might look nice with what I have planned. 


I realized what I like is very stylish in all the design magazines but not actually in the furniture stores...only in very,VERY expensive boutiques where the love seats are a few thousand dollars!! I also realized that I am starting to hate the color brown!!! It is EVERYWHERE!!! Cocoa,beige,cappuccino, espresso , mocha, chocolate,mushroom,coconut, tan, khaki, buff,chestnut, mahogany, toast, ecru, coffee ...... AAAHHHH!!! Not only is brown now the only color most things come in but sofa styles all are kinda the same....overstuffed,puffy microfibered cookie cuttered sofas!! I liked the style at one point but I am just not feeling it when it is in every store in some form of another in some shade of brown or another!! Enough already...what happened to creativity?? Well, that's just my opinion. 

I decided I wanted something a bit different. Something possibly vintage styled but not necessarily vintage itself. It had to work with my Hollywood Regency look I was going for so I couldn't really do this big puffy modern looking recliner type sofa. Even though I did want a recliner style sofa, but it turns out I do not have enough room for them in my matchbox of a living room. My dream would be an old school sectional, the kind that wraps around the room, not those L shaped ones with the chaise,that are popular today. I do not consider them a true "sectional". It is not a "section", it is one whole sofa so I don't know where they got that it is a sectional!! lol But anyway, we know I am not going to be able to fit one of those bad boys in my living room any time soon. So they are off my list for now. I love contemporary usually but I was thinking something modern yet traditional. I absolutely fell in love with something from Macy's. But I am not sure if  I can afford or justify spending almost $2000 on new living room furniture when I spent so much on the mirrored cabinet due to the high cost of shipping. But here is what the sofa set looked like.

The good news is the set is on sale. :)And we all know how much I love a good sale??!! lol The fabric is a luxurious velvet and the set is all on sale, plus an additional 10% off but it is still Macy's so it is still expensive. The sofa alone costs what the original red leather sofa( that I was going to get) AND the loveseat cost!! I love the styling of this piece. Especially the rolled arms...so classy. And I love the fabric but again the price is a bit much. We all have to have a budget, right??  (Can you hear me whining, "But I LOVE this one!!"?? lol) I splurged on one gorgeous piece of furniture...one that is versatile and that I love, so I have to compromise a bit here on the sofa/chair etc. I managed to find another slightly similar piece, also gray, also velvet and also with the terrific tufted back, but just not the rolled arms which sadly, was one of my favorite parts of the sofa!!:( I kept my eye on the, let's call it the Macy's knock off (lol) and kept doing more online research. The price on this was reasonable = way cheaper than Macy's. Then I do a search on my local craigslist and find the identical twin to the knock off!! It may be the same sofa. I don't know. It may be the knock off of the knock off but it was half of the price and only 5 mos. old and appears to be in excellent condition. I am planning on going to check it out very soon in the future. To give you an idea, of what it looks like. I will attach a photo.

It is similar, not identical to the Macy's style but it is very nice and I do really like it from what I have seen. I am very anxious to go see it in person and "test it out". Sorry this blog has been so long but so much has been on my mind lately concerning this project. It means so much to me to turn my home into something to be proud of. I never had much opportunities to do this before. Either I didn't have the time,money or space. Not that I have that much space or money but I have time and a huge desire to transform my little corner of this planet. We shall soon see. I will let you know how it goes when I visit the sofa. Keep your fingers crossed that no one gets there before me!!!

I love a good Bargain...

Being a shop-a-holic , I of course, appreciate a good bargain, no matter what it is on. I do not discriminate against bargains!! lol Whatever saves me $$$ , either right away or in the long run is good to me.I love to find bargains, especially if they are not advertised . It is like my own private treasure. Advertised sales, usually have things at a good price but sometimes if you don't get their right away all you end up with is junk or crap that no one else wants! 


I managed to do good in January...I visited Claire's Boutique because I am addicted to celebrations, therefore I love holidays and Claire's always has a decent selection of holiday themed jewelry and other accessories. I ended up getting a faux hair piece (braided headband) that matches my hair exactly. It had a tiny hint of fuschia and green sparkly strands thru it, but that only glams it up. For a dollar something, I wasn't going to complain because it didn't even look Xmassy to me. I also got a green glittery headband which I thought could also be used for Saint Patrick's Day. I also founf a red,green and white beaded necklace and bracelet set.Each bead had white rhinestones on it. Very cute. The best thing of all I got was the cutest pair of slippers, red velvet with white furry trim.  Embroidered on one slipper was "Naughty" & "Nice" on the other and they both had jingle bells attached so with every step, you hear a jingle. I saw these online and wanted them immediately. 


I knew if they had anything Christmas left in the store, that the pickings would be slim but should be on sale so I decided to stop in my local Claire's. The slippers, originally $15 were now only $2 and change!! And they had 2 pairs left and one was in my size!! Total spent was $14 and change for everything I got. I can't remember what else I got...I know it had to be more stuff because everything was severely marked down 75%. If I discover what else I got I will add it.


To kill time a few weeks ago, my boyfriend and I wandered into Michael's Arts and Crafts store. Right up front was the discounted Valentine's Day stuff. Very slim pickings. There was a nice red vase marked down to a dollar something but I really couldn't see a use or place for it. I don't really have a lot of red in my house but liked the color. There was one thing that immediately caught my eye though and I thought for sure it got placed on the table, by accident. It was a crystal heart paperweight. The light sparkled off of it , so of course, I was distracted. lol I inquired how much it was and the cashier asked an employee working on the floor and he responded that they were marked way down and there weren't any more left. But he told the cashier to give it to me for 50 cents!! I was like "SOLD". I proudly put it in my cart and felt quite giddy inside that I discovered such a deal. I noticed similar paperweights that were diamond shapes for selling over $5 a piece, so I was convinced I got a good deal. I knew just where to put it too. In my hallway, I have a shelf that spells out the word, "LOVE" on it. In fact, each letter is a shelf itself. I decided to put all things romantic or dealing with love on there.

As you can see,  I have my framed collection of LOVE stamps, something I always just liked. My statue of the Eiffel Tower, that I got in Paris. My "Kiss Me" frog prince that I found one year on Valentine's Day. Next to that is my sand castle made out of genuine sand that I bought one time on a beach trip. I also have a 2 halved heart bottle, which is another Valentine's Day clearance leftover. Another frog prince is my music box that plays "Someday my Prince will Come". Next to that is a mosaic candle holder with a heart on the front. Below we see that amorous skunk, Pepe Le Pew and his feline sweetheart. And lastly we have a present from an old friend, Garfield juggling hearts and next to that is my new 50 cent heart!! Isn't it pretty??