Showing posts with label San Diego. Show all posts
Showing posts with label San Diego. Show all posts

8/29/2013

california loot

After gathering up all the items I purchased over the summer, I was amazed by two things.

1. That all of this actually squeezed into our Subaru Outback, along with our personal items.
2. That I didn't buy more stuff.

Most of these items were found at thrift stores.


First up, a poster from The Postal Service, which is rolled up behind the antlers.  We went to see them live in San Diego, and it was great!  We know this poster doesn't have our city on it, but that poster was orange.  I try to stay away from orange for my home, so I opted for this blue one instead.



Elk and deer antlers.  I didn't purchase these.  They were given to me from a family friend of Matt's who works for a national park in UT.  The elk ones look dingy, so I will see if there is a quick way to bleach them without having them sit out in the sun for months or years.  He gave me two broken deer antlers not knowing that I wanted to use these for home decor.  What would you do with broken antlers?  Luckily, there are some good antlers in there that I can use.



I'm slowly collecting brass animals.  It all started with the adorable whale that many people liked.  The pig came from the Rose Bowl Flea Market, and the eagle, giraffe, and snail came from a thrift shop.


Thrifted flower petal bowl.


IKEA bowls and mugs.  These will be used for organization in my sewing room.


Butterprint Pyrex.  I actually bought these at two different locations.  The small dishes came from a thrift store, and the two larger dishes came from an antique store.


Pyrex was ahead of its time for making this modern rooster and corn print in the 1950s.  Don't you think?


Matt and I had a really good time with this globe.  We played "Name What Year That Country Existed" game.  Using a country's border is a great way to date a globe or map if the date is missing.  We found out this globe was manufactured in 1950.  I found this at an antique store, and I got the lady to take less than what she was asking for.   I really love the colors, and I think that's what drew me in.  And it's a cute size.  All the globes I were finding at the Rose Bowl were plastic or in rainbow colors, so I thought this was a good find.


Okay, am I the only one in love with this thrifted basket???  I'm thinking of taking off the handle.



After doing a little research, we found out these jars were made in the 1800s.  Just check out those irregularities and air bubbles!  Honestly, I do not care if these are antique since I will be using them, but I was so happy to see they were selling for less than what I would pay in North Carolina.  I picked these up from a junk store on the side of a highway in Colorado.  The owner was really old, still had curlers in her hair, and openly swore about anything and everything while I was poking around.  The place was a dump with broken glass on the floor and with the tiniest aisles to walk through, but it was filled with some treasures.  Unfortunately at this point, I was not able to buy anything large.



This is the brass lamp I instagramed awhile back.  Not too shabby for $10 at a thrift store, huh?



So the story behind this sign is I was strolling around the Rose Bowl flea market.  I didn't realize how bright the sun was nor did I notice how bad my retinas were until I came home with the sign.  When buying it, I thought the colors were black.  Nope.  PURPLE.  Dude, I don't do purple in my home.  So this sign will go in my sewing room unless I can find a way to incorporate it into another room.



Doily stretcher found at a thrift store.  I thought this could make a cool peg board.



The yellow rug you see in some of the photos came from IKEA.  We needed a rug to cover the hardwood floors in the apartment.  Not pictured - These black and white pillows from IKEA.  I picked them up for my living room.



The large stack of fabrics were covered in this post.  I weighed it too, if you are curious in seeing that.  I'm pretty sure that stack increased my current stash by 200%.

So that's all the stuff we got while in CA.  Living there for the summer was really great.  The weather was nice the entire time, there was lots to do and see, and it was nice change of scenery for me.  We felt very blessed for the opportunity we had to live there.  Matt's internship with Qualcomm went really well.  It's so weird to think he is now an electrical engineer who's taking his education a little further by going to grad school.  I felt like the end was never in sight.  Ha!

Matt and Owen will be away for the whole weekend!!  This means I should have some time to sew and get things done around the house without a 3 year old needing my undivided attention 24/7.   That will be so nice.   :)

Have a great weekend!


peaceout

7/19/2013

Rose Bowl Flea Market

Wow.  This flea rocks.  Of course, there were some junky areas, but overall, I really wish I had a U-Haul to take back to North Carolina.  Raleigh, NC's flea market is pretty big too, but the Rose Bowl, which only happens once a month in Pasadena, CA, is at least 3 times the size of Raleigh's market.


I started out a little late getting there around 9:30 a.m.  There were lots of clothes, antiques, new items, home accessories, and of course, vintage items and collectibles.





I thought this art could be a fun DIY project.


I was drawn to this X for some reason.


I really, really wanted one of these signs, but they were so heavy and cost a little more than what I was willing to pay.


Old children's books turned into art.



For some reason I wanted this picture.  It was only $10 too, but I was afraid I was going to dislike it once I brought it home.







Lots of hardware.


Book page blocks.  I was going to buy a few these to go on a bookshelf, but I opted out.  I thought maybe the print was too small for guests to see, so it might come across as just a large black rectangle when looking at them across the room.








I should have taken a lot of up close photos of the items in this booth.  This was probably my favorite booth there.  Lots of fantastic vintage items.  I was particularly drawn to the Borden milk box and old metal canisters.



Um, how cool is that fan?





The funny thing about this post is I forgot to take photos of the things I bought.  I didn't buy much.  Okay, I only bought two items.  A sign that said "N St" and a small brass pig.  Yeah, I am shocked too.    I walked in there with the idea to spend some money on some items for our home back in NC but the nagging reality of having to make sure it fits in our car was in the back of my head the whole time.  So if you are ever in the Pasadena area during flea market time, go check it out!  But remember there is barely any shade, and this flea goes on and on and on.  There's lots to see!

Have a great weekend!  I am spending the weekend with Grandma from OR, and we are taking Owen to Sea World today.  Yippee!


peaceout

5/31/2013

Apartment Tour || Video

*I packed my bags for the summer and moved from North Carolina to California.  This means my blog packed its bags too.  owen's olivia will return to its normal schedule of sewing and home decorating sometime in late August.


I am embarrassed to say this video tour of our apartment is not edited.  If you are a parent, I am sure you can relate to children having what I call "the phone radar."  It's like they are quiet and peaceful, and then they are screaming or asking you questions the SECOND you are on the phone.  Well, it apparently applies to video recording too.


Apartment info:

Neighborhood: University City in San Diego, CA
Square footage:  600
Price per month: $1800 (and that's after a discount!)
Apartment came furnished
Rented






I find it interesting I am so readily willing to share with you our rented space, but back at home in North Carolina I am not.  Maybe it's a subconscious thing.  I know I did not decorate the space, so I am more willing to show its flaws.  Whereas back at home, if the space looks terrible, it's my own fault.  Can any of you relate to this kind of experience?

Have a great weekend!


peaceout

5/24/2013

Road tripping across the United States || winner of the Roly Poly Pinafore

*I packed my bags for the summer and moved from North Carolina to California.  This means my blog packed its bags too.  owen's olivia will return to its normal schedule of sewing and home decorating sometime in late August.

He's my little Elton John.


Well, we made it!  If you follow along on Facebook, which you totally should, you may know that we have settled into our new place.  Road tripping across the United States is serious business.  Get two adults and one child into a small car, and well, I'll let you guess the rest.
 
Can I tell you the lower part of the United States is beautiful?  We drove through NC, TN, AK, TX, NM, UT, AZ, NV, and CA.  If people tell you the US is overpopulated, they are lying.  It's just that a lot of people want to live in the same places, and there's a lot of open land in the Southwest.   It may be owned by farmers or whatnot, but technically speaking, there is plenty of land for everyone.  
 
My least favorite drive was from Copperas Cove, Texas to Cedar City, UT, which we broke up by staying in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  There's just nothing out there.  And most of it was flat with lots of dirt and rocks. 
 
We will travel the middle part of the US on our way back to NC.

The only sewing I did while I was in the car were these few hexagons.  I spent the rest of the time playing Candy Crush.  Shame.on.me.




Here are a few pictures from the road.

Arkansas 




Wind mill farms in Texas.




New Mexico



New Mexico


Shiprock, New Mexico

 

Four Corners.  Four state lines touch each other: New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, and Utah.  It's so freaking hot at Four Corners, and I am wearing jeans and wool slippers.


Arizona
 


Nevada



Alien Fresh Jerky - Nevada. 




Bryce Canyons, Utah








Cafe Rio -  A MUST try if you are ever near one.  I had the sweet pork barbacoa salad sans lettuce (go ahead and laugh) and Matt had the enchilada burrito.  To die for.  You must try their mint lemonade too. Oh, and kids eat free! 



While we stayed in Cedar City, UT, Matt's good friend hooked me up with antlers!  Amazing, right?!  Not sure what I am going to do with them yet, so if I start pinning antlers like crazy, you will now know why. (You can find me on Pinterest here.)


 We were fortunate to find a furnished one bedroom apartment on Craigslist.  We didn't get scammed.  Hooray!  This apartment is the least kid-friendly, family-friendly apartment ever, but we are so happy to have a place in a nice district and didn't need to rent any furniture.  Do you want a tour of the apartment?  We are within walking distance to many shops and restaurants and we have access to a nice pool and workout gym, tons of trails, bike paths, and sidewalks, and the beach is 4 miles down the road.  Oh, did I mention the LDS San Diego Temple is right behind our building?


You do not have to be Mormon to appreciate the beauty in LDS temples.  They are simply downright gorgeous structures with the most well manicured lawns and landscaping you will ever see.

It's a bit of culture shock for me living in an apartment with a family, and most people live in apartments here.  I cannot send my son into the backyard anymore, and if we forget something at the apartment, that means carrying everything back up three flights to go get it.

Did you know San Diego is hilly?  Random yes, but I was thinking since we were on the coast that it would mostly be flat.  Pacific coast is very different from the Atlantic coast, and I am sure a fault line or two has something to do with that.  Oh, and the weather!  The weather is just spoiling me to death out here!  Low humidity, cool temperatures in the mornings and evenings, and warm sun during the day.  I am already dreading going back to North Carolina!

So in summary, I am really liking the place so far.  As I spend more time here, I can talk more about San Diego, but just let it be known that it's very easy for someone to become a total bum while living here.  It's just that great.  :)

If you want to stay updated, follow me on Facebook or through bloglovin' or RSSGFC is going away this summer.  I hope you'll tag along!


Random.org chose Katie from Simple Simon and Company as the winner of the Roly Poly Pinafore by imagine gnats.  An email has been sent.  Congrats!


peaceout
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