she was a hoarder just like on the show

i saw an ad on craigslist a few weeks ago for a warehouse sale full of goodies. when trudy and i arrived i was completely overwhelmed. everything there belonged to one woman; a woman who liked to shop. she was/is a hoarder and was evicted from her home. her neighbors decided to help out and have apparently been selling her things for weeks. when i talked to the woman in charge she told me that there used to be 5 times as much as what i was seeing. i would say 80% of everything was untouched. meaning still in the wrapper. it was just insane. so i bought this little stand brand new. i unscrewed the legs, painted them green and now it looks way better. yay.

probably my biggest passion

my laptop hasn't been working because the charger won't hold a charge. when are they going to make better chargers for laptops? it's been a bit frustrating. trudy and i took a trip to utah for a little bit and just got home. so i guess it's been nice because it sort of forces me to get things done. i brought back some goodies from utah and thought i might as well share some of my favorite finds around the house. or at least some that are in our front room area.

first off is this little trash can. i found it at an estate sale along with the painting below. i re-painted the little stump legs gold and my plan for the base is to add my monogram. it's going in my bathroom with some needlework art that is in the same color family. i only wish my monogram was a little cooler. ya know? i always loved the way "brittany barnes" sounded but two b's in a monogram? not as fun. either way i do love the classy feel of monograms. especially paired with the cute border that is already on the trash can.

i've really been into original art lately. and now i notice it everywhere. i love to draw and paint too and i found myself having the urge to paint something all the time. always late at night. for me, the colors used in a painting are the biggest thing. which is why this one stood out. i love color. i don't know why people are afraid of it either. it brings so much joy, happiness and just freshness to a room. this persian rug was found at an antique mall right by our house. it's kind of a long story that i don't feel like explaining but it basically fell into our hands. most definitely meant to be. it's hard to see how beautiful it is but the colors are amazing and the pattern is just what i had dreamed about. i love that red and navy are the main colors but when i had daydreamed about the perfect persian rug, having orange in it was a non negotiable for me. 

i had been in love with letterpress drawers for a long time. i knew it would be a perfect way to display my rock collection. so when i came across this one at an estate sale last year, i was thrilled. it's hard to see how beautiful all the rocks are unless i take an up close picture of every one. the bigger rock on the ground is so gorgeous. it has sparkles everywhere. i picked up the vintage yard sticks in all different places and the spool i found at an antique mall. the locker bin's (wire baskets) were also found at an antique mall and they are one of my favorite finds. the number's on the front are the best part.this gorgeous chair is a very recent find. i just brought it back from utah last week. i paid $50 for it and i felt that was more than fair considering that everything is original. in my experience it's pretty rare to find furniture with cane detailing that isn't broken or ripped somewhere. infact that is always what i look for whenever i find any piece with cane detailing because i have NO idea how i would replace it. so not only was that in perfect shape but the blue/purple velvet fabric on this chair is so vibrant it's as if nobody ever sat in it. someone suggested that i paint the chair part white and i don't think i will because the camel color in the wood looks so pretty against this color. chairs are kind of my weakness... but according to debra needleman... you can't really have too many.this is also a pretty recent addition. i found her at the coolest indoor flea market and fell in love instantly. i'm pretty sure egyptian ink is what the artist used. i still need to take everything apart and clean it, you can still see the sticker on the bottom. also the butterfly is somewhat off center because the man who sold it to me was trying to show me more about it's history and all around value under the back and things got a little shaken up. i really love it though. when i spotted it, my heart kind of felt all warm and fuzzy... as if it was just waiting for me. ;)saving the best for last. this is the other thing that i just brought back from utah. and the picture just doesn't do justice. i bought it from a couple who had moved from california. they left a beautiful home and extremely successful business to help their son out in utah. they could only bring a few things and chose this mirror as one of them. it's hard to tell in the picture but the size of this estate mirror is outrageous. it weighs SOO much and it's basically as big as me. this truly is something that could cost  hundreds of dollars, not just because of it's size but also because of how old it is. i'm not sure i will find a place for it in this rental home, but i knew that $60 was a steal and that i would never regret buying it. it's just breathtaking.and finally the mother of them all. a blue campaign dresser that became mine only 4 days ago. i found it on craigslist here in albuquerque and it's amazing. the woman said it's original brown color wasn't cutting it for her so she painted it blue because "blue is just pretty!". i don't know if we will keep it blue forever but for now.... i'm not even going to think about changing it. all the hardware is original and it too weighs SOOOO much. i thought we could switch it out for the dresser in our room in hopes to break up the monotony of our bedroom set that i've spoken about before. however we found that it was just way too low and not practical for that. i was kind of disappointed until grant pointed out a place in the entry way that ended up being perfect perfect perfect. i think the biggest secret to finding beautiful things is to always be looking. my eyes are constantly peeled no matter where i am. that and if you have a smart phone and don't have the craigslist (and ksl for utahn's) app then you are dumb. you just can't expect to find what you are looking for unless you are really looking for it! :)

the gold and black feathers

a few months ago i was at an estate sale. i've had a new fascination for original art and i've really enjoyed collecting different pieces from all over. i went to this particular sale hoping to find a beautiful painting. i was worried i wouldn't find much since it was the second day of the sale. fortunately, i found a beautiful floral painting and bought it for half off. but i don't know even know why i'm talking about that when that isn't even what this post is about. while i was going through the rooms i noticed a big bookcase full of books. there was a complete encyclopedia set with a price tag next to it that read $50. the books were in great condition but i wasn't too into the idea. while walking away there was a smaller collection of books on the bottom shelf that caught my eye. it was a set of reader's digest books. the patterns on the front were adorable. i went to ask the woman in charge how much they were... hoping that they wouldn't be priced like the encyclopedia set. she looked at them and said... "five dollars?" i quickly replied, "sold!" and took them all home. i'm not positive but i think there is at least 22 books. 22 for $5?! i was so happy i asked. it never hurts to just ask. i wish i had a huge house with a million rooms, i'd easily use any of these books as an inspiration piece. the colors and patterns are so pretty. 

changing it up

shortly before grant and i were married, my mom told me that her and my dad had planned to buy us a bedroom set for a wedding present. i was ecstatic. extremely grateful with an extra ounce of guilt. it just felt too generous. which should probably be my parent's middle name. oh i love them. and miss them :(. the set has been great for us. we got lucky here because our bedroom is huge and our set is too. but now that we've finally been able to spread them out and really enjoy them, we'd like to break up the monotony of the pieces. we're prepared for how HUGE of a project this is but excited for the change too. eventually when we buy a house, i'd love to put different pieces in different rooms but we don't have that luxury for now. 

for awhile i've really wanted to find a pair of vintage sconces. i love a little hollywood regency influence but am learning fast that too much of it can go in a gaudy direction. back to the sconces. so one night i was telling grant about my love for them and what i pictured etc. i hadn't really put any effort into searching for some because... well i don't know? not even three minutes later he had found some on ksl (utah's amazing classified source... seriously NOTHING like it in any other state)(craigslist doesn't even hold a candle to it). they were everything i pictured and MORE. czechoslovakian crystal sconces from the 50's. complete with european electrical plugs (we have to use a converter). which in our humble opinion, only makes them better. one thing that makes these eclectic treasures slightly inconvenient is that the light fixtures fit only european size bulbs. but thanks to ebay and only a few dollars we had them here in 2-5 business days. we didn't know where we were going to put them but knew that they belonged in our home somewhere. 

a few weeks later while we were out and about estate sale-ing, we stumbled upon an old junk shop. we were out in the back in a barn when i spotted a big gold mirror on the wall. $15 dollars later it was ours.  after trying every wall and not finding a good spot, we decided to take the mirror off the dresser and put  up our new beauty. after that we added the two sconces and voila! we are planning to change up the dresser but for now, here is our before and during. oh and i better make sure it's known that grant polished every single dusty crystal. which made quite the difference and now the lights are super shiny! and hopefully i will figure out how to conceal or distract away from those annoying bulky cords. linked up here.

before:

during:

but i don't wanna put it all away

i'm having a hard time wanting to put away all the christmas stuff. that may or may not be because i am being lazy. grant has been sick this week, lots of throwing up and yuckyness. then trudy got sick. she has actually had a cold for a week or so but the last two days have just been so miserable for her. last night she had a fever and i could barely handle it. i have never felt so helpless. i am very excited for it to go away.

i've kept my thoughts and feelings to a very minimum on this blog. i have many reasons behind that but i think it's mostly because of things that were said about me on another blog. reading what was said unfortunately added to my deep deep insecurity of feeling like all people hate me. i'm feeling uncomfortable being this revealing about my thoughts but something is making my fingers keep going. i don't say that to search for comments like "what? nobody hates you", it just really is something that i can convince myself of about pretty much everyone. and since i consider myself to be pretty introspective, i feel frustrated that i don't know why or where that insecurity came from. when i think about some difficult things that i have been through the last few years and then this "everybody hates me... i'm just gonna go eat worms" complex i have, it puts me in a sad place. i don't feel too ashamed about admitting that because i feel like it's very human and mostly people do the same thing with their own insecurities. i have found myself thinking way too much about what people will think of this or that. i don't have a big warm and fuzzy solution to all this. in fact i don't even know why i'm typing it. prayer helps though. prayer helps with everything.

i can't leave the house because of trudy and so i've been watching 3 shows every day. the nate show (which i usually try and watch every day anyway), anderson cooper and dr. oz. here are some random things that have bugged me this week... yesterday on anderson cooper he had on the man behind "thedirty.com". i had never heard of this website before but it's basically a place where you can go post crap about anyone. it's so stupid. nik, the creator, spent the whole episode trying to explain to anderson (and the entire audience) how he is god's gift because when people are exploited like they are on his site... they end up becoming better people. i really couldn't believe what i was watching. you'd think the concept of the site is ridiculous enough but to make it even more lame... if someone writes crap about you and you want it removed, you then have to pay a monthly fee of 12.99 AND that doesn't even guarantee removal of your posts! all it does is put you at the top of his priority list so he can review what has been said and then decide himself if you are really what other people say you are. what a freaking tool. you can watch clips from the episode here.

i love watching dr.oz. i always have. i find his passion for health and explaining things to be very refreshing. i always love when people are passionate about something. however it's annoying to me the way he goes about drawing people in to watch his show. whether it's him or the way they advertise for it, it's stupid. it seems like the main goal is instilling fear in america. i can hear the announcer guy in my head right now "don't miss the HUGE bad habit YOU are DOING RIGHT NOW that may kill you tomorrow!" i mean really? like i said, i think dr. oz is great and i don't need titles like "how you are giving yourself cancer"to make me want to watch it. there are things that we need to know but putting fear in me just makes me feel stressed out and uncomfortable. like i'm not buying all the vitamins we need and the coke i am currently addicted to is going to kill me. so anywayyyyyyyyyyyyy onto happier things.

we made this little banner from this tutorial. i wish i would have done mine bigger
like hers but then sometimes i like the size of ours.

i found rifle paper's holiday card collection at anthropologie on sale and snatched it right up. who doesn't love rifle paper co? i'm really looking forward to framing them and putting them up next year. i found the tin at a thrift shop and loved it. it reminds me of the cards.

i got this a few years ago at a flea market. it's our advent calendar.
it's really fun to turn to the next day. i hope our kids love it!

and here is a little anthro inspired diy snow globe project.
 i'm sure you can find a tutorial just about anywhere online. kinda fun.

and finally trudy's first ornament. it's rudolph from the classic rudolph 

that plays on tv every year. it reminds me of my childhood. and it's way cuter in real life.

bye bye christmas!

linked up here.

paradisiacal- a place of ideal beauty or loveliness

i think i visit T.J. Maxx or Marshall's about once a week. it is for sure my favorite thing to do. i don't understand why people don't give these stores a chance, even if you do have to do some searching. i happen to love searching for treasures. shopping really is therapeutic, agree? so for anyone out there who doesn't see why they should shop at these fabulous off-price companies then this post is for you.

things you may not know...

people get a little confused about the merchandise that is sold at these kind of stores. here are the actual facts: you might see the same merchandise at T.J. Maxx and Macy's on the same day but with a SIGNIFICANT price difference. T.J. Maxx is an off-price buyer, which means that they benefit from ordering mistakes made by mainstream retailers. but not the mistakes that you are thinking of. usually it is because of over-production. so if a vendor has enough fabric to make 600,000 blouses but a department store only ordered 500,000, off-price buyers will purchase that extra 100,000 blouses. it doesn't necessarily mean that T.J. Maxx's inventory is from last season either. they actually promise that at least 85 percent of it is in the season. also, T.J. Maxx (whose parent company owns Marshalls and Home Goods) is the largest off-price retailer in the U.S. and competes closely with Ross and Big Lots. AND the buyers for T.J. Maxx only look for merchandise that can sell for up to 60 percent less than what the department stores sell it for. if that doesn't make you wanna jump up and go shop... i don't know what would! here are just some of my latest finds.

Latte Bowls: 4 for $4.99

they look identical to the famous anthropologie ones right? except at anthro you get 6 for $30.
so that is $5 each. compared to my just-over-a-dollar bowls? helllooooooooooooooooo?

Sugared Citrus Hand Wash

i think this was $4.99. i'd never seen it before, all i know is that it smells like orange sherbet
and must have come straight from heaven. actually grant told me that he doesn't like it because it makes him hungry. 

DDF Sulfur Therapeutic Mask $16.99

i almost peed my pants when i saw this. (really i almost did, i had to go so bad and i HATE having to go when i shop). reasons why i put it in my cart immediately: i'd already been planning on buying this at sephora. during my pregnancy i started SERIOUSLY researching beauty products, from skincare to makeup to body lotion. the reviews i've read on this mask are great, you can read them here if you are interested. the normal retail price for this baby is a whopping $38! so to find it for less than half the price? plus i heard that sephora will not be selling DDF anymore. score!

Set of 5 cute headbands: $2.99

i'm not really a headband wearer but these had me kinda re-thinking that.

Pride & Prejudice Penguin Classic Hardcover $12.99

to buy this book anywhere else you'll be paying $20. it's so pretty in real life.
it's like the perfect mustard color.

i also just found a ralph lauren dress and a marc by marc jacobs swimsuit.
both were less than half of the original price. does anyone else have some good finds?

hope i inspired someone to go treasure hunting... good luck!

"this cold has got to be killing animals out there"

so last summer, i found a bunch of old old old valentine cards at a yard sale. besides the fact that they are super cute, some of them are signed and have little written notes on the back! i especially like seeing the names, there is one that says "to: momma love: art". anyway they are all so sweet and simple and make me happy. i love february and valentines day. just wishing it was a bit warmer outside... i've been listening to this over and over today because i love her so much and this was the same performance that jess and i saw. still gives me chills. 

it's coming along...

so i tried to attempt an inspiration board for our living room. this is pretty much exactly what it looks like... but some things are a bit different. one thing i have learned from this fun project is that good things really do come to those who wait.

for example... who knew that ottomans were SO expensive!? geez louise. i had been looking everywhere. and i do mean everywhere. and then one day i walked into a thrift shop and there she was. a camel leather ottoman with a beautiful engraved design on the top. the store was having a half off sale so... my total? $2. and that sure beats the $65+ that i was finding everywhere.

second miracle... the green chair. i am obsessed with kelly green right now. i have been searching for the perfect green chair for about 3 months. i found a few online that fit what i was looking for and i really really liked them. however i didn't like the price. with all the deals that both grant and i pride ourselves on (any "thrifters" and bargain shoppers out there know what i mean) i couldn't stand to name all the prices we've paid for items in our living room and then look at an armchair in the corner with a cloud above it and $430+ in that cloud. and maybe down the road i could justify that (probably not) if we were doing something custom, but not in this case. ANYWAY so i was laying in bed last night checking my craigslist app (what i do every night... part of my nightly routine) and all of the sudden up pops a green wingback chair. i really think my heart skipped a beat. especially when i saw that the price was $60. we bought it earlier today for $50 and let's just say i'm one happy camper. again... good things come to those who wait. looking for an armchair is all i've done for what seems like a decade but it totally paid off.

third blessing... reclaimed wood. if we, as in grant and i, were a type of wood... we wood be reclaimed wood. we're obsessed! we've been planning forever for grant to make a barnwood (farmhouse) table. finding this sacred wood for a good deal? nearly impossible. it is truly a prized possession. we found (via craigslist) wood that was almost $1.50 cheaper a board than the average price we kept seeing. the wood is now in the garage just waiting to become a beautiful table.

in the beginning, trying to decorate seemed overwhelming. but now it has become such a treasure hunt and i think it's so much fun. i've tried to live by jonathan adler's ten commandments and things are looking good so far. he knows how to keep things fun.

since the room is not entirely done, there are still some things we're looking for. top on the list is a floor lamp. any suggestions for places to look? we'd prefer something industrial and so most stores carry nothing like that. i do love the pottery barn tripod lamps but the $$$? yucky. and by the way, i will admit that some things really are worth spending money on.

there are these certain chairs... that will soon be arriving... that were quite the pretty penny. took us two months to actually make the decision :) but hopefully they will be in our family forever, including their heirloom quality. any guesses on which chairs? here are some hints... they are all over the internet (unfortunately), they are as versatile as they come, they stack, indoor and outdoor....

a falling star fell from your heart and landed in my eyes

can't stop listening to florence and the machine. cosmic love specifically. it is the kind of song that makes me want to scream the lyrics in the middle of the street. with my arms flailing in the wind. like if i were doing it in a music video, the camera would be circling around me. getting the picture? i love music so much. i love instruments. i want to play in a symphony or be the conductor of one. i dream of it all the time. anyway and it's really just the way this song sounds that makes me feel so free and encourages me to live more lightly. without worry or stress. to just trust in god. i'm listening to it right now. it's impossible for me to keep my arms down in the chorus... "THE STARS! THE MOOOOOON, THEY HAVE ALL BEEN BLOWN OUT!"

 today i am feeling  

so blessed. i saw an ad on craigslist that made me feel sick. i'm so determined to help. have you ever had people help when you really needed it? i have. sometimes knowing that people care just makes everything seem easier. which is the very reason why serving others is so important. i need to work on serving more. time to pay it forward.

p.s. where in the world did august GO? 

for my cousin meagan

so apparently i believe in blogging whenever i'm in the mood. which is the way it should be right? 3 posts in one day is a record. might be a little random but here is a small recap on everything below: i had been looking for a globe for a while and found this one a few months ago. and now i may have more than one or two. i love the trend of collecting things (so does grant but his collections are not as cute as mine). i've been collecting green glass since i was in college. i loved this green pitcher. the next is the cutest pot holder i had ever seen. i felt pretty cool when i found the book in picture #4. vintage bedding just makes me smile, on our bed now we have some vintage pillowcases that my great grandmother sewed. the pillow cases below are so fabulous. and if i don't use them on a bed, i have fun plans for what i could make out of them. the sheets in picture #6 just screamed for me. they wanted me to buy them. books. oh books. you just can't have enough. this is a very small portion of all the old books we own. can't wait to find creative places to put them one day. and finally the pillow. i mean i could put that practically anywhere.

it's just in our blood

so i decided to do a little showing off. unfortunately most of our favorites from thrift stores, yard sales and antique shops are locked in a storage unit miles away. we have lots of finds from home decor, clothes for both of us and even things for our future children. i only included stuff for me in this post, all things found in utah. it is funny how feminine these all are, i used to be very very feminine. floral prints everywhere and anything sparkly. there is a lot of that still inside me, however i feel my style has headed more into a classier and simple direction. when wearing or using any of these items, i try to balance the femininity with more masculine styles (darker colors, sharper angles and stiffer fabrics). mixing things up is the best part. 

austrian earrings from the 1940's. the woman i bought these from has a yard sale every summer in orem. she has an english accent and knows a lot about her things. she has a love for antique costume jewelry and has collected A LOT over the years. the minute these sparkled before my eyes... i had to have them. they are more gorgeous in real life and i'm excited to pass them down.

i just love vintage suitcases. i found the one on the left at a vintage shop in salt lake. it happens to be my temple bag. the one on the right is from deseret industries in provo, utah. i paid $2.00 for it. on our cruise in february i used it for all my bathroom products and i'm not gonna lie, i felt like the cutest thing carrying it everywhere.

i have never bought a clutch anywhere other than a thrift store. 

i love both of these so much. they also came from deseret industries and were .50 each.

don't remember the price on this. from "decades" in salt lake. i love the birds and the gold chain. 

it is in perfect condition. wish i could have known its previous owner, i'm sure we would have gotten along.

oh the butterfly dress. the best part about this dress is that it fits perfectly and i didn't have to get it tailored. 

i feel very happy when i wear it. don't remember where i bought it but i do remember that it was $17.

i love belts. i rarely pay full price for a belt. belts can be ridiculously expensive. i have a lot of belts in lots of colors (except for these three brown), i like to get different textures to add visual interest to my outfits. the second is real snake skin. gross but pretty.

no definitely definitely not from a yard sale or thrift store. not even from an antique store. my girlfriends gave this jewelry box to me for my birthday years ago. even though it isn't antique, there are a lot of things inside that are. i absolutely love everything about it. i think they got it in the mall somewhere in a store that is not there anymore (i wanna say "bombay"?).

its where i keep all my jewelry except for necklaces and some dangly earrings. you can take out this top part and basically have the whole box to put stuff in. i keep bracelets and extra buttons (that come with clothes) and some other stuff in there. this is the type of thing that reminds me of old movies. maybe a scene with a little girl watching and admiring her mom as she gets ready and pulls fabulous jewelry out of this box to accessorize with :). a lot of my jewelry is from antique malls and flea markets. i just love being a girl. 

one thing i know about treasure hunting is that you shouldn't buy unless you absolutely love it. and if you ever see something that just tugs at your heart, you better grab it. 

or you will be very sad and most likely never see it again. :(