"New" Living Room Set

Last summer the neighbors finally sold their house (after letting it sit empty for 3+ years) and they finished cleaning out what they had been storing there. I was a frequent customer to their trash pile rescuing this among other items. I thought they were done cleaning out but then I spotted this (plus the matching chair (still in my garage)) waiting for the trash man.

My husband has made it clear he will not partake in dumpster retrieval so it is all me. Upon first glance, I figured it was a lightweight aluminum set and it would look cute on my porch...or somewhere. I went to grab the chair and realized what I was up against. It was heavy chrome and the cushions had springs in them. Luckily the cushions were removable so I hauled those separately which made the chair movable but the couch was still tricky. I'm sure adrenaline had something to do with my ability to get it securely into my yard. I decided to give the couch from my grandparents a rest since the leg broke again and the upholstery and foam cushions were shot! This set was freshly upholstered with zippers on the cushions so I washed them up and they look like new.

 

 I searched "chrome couch" on the interwebs just so I could see how other people decorated with them (not like I would have time for anything other than pinning those decorating idea photos) and found several very, very similar ones designed by Kem Weber for Lloyd Manufacturing Co. in the 1930's. The armchair is exactly like these seen here (except for the new upholstery) but the couches are all a tad different so I can't say for 100% sure.

 

Weber, a German immigrant, designed some truly drool worthy Art Deco furniture and these would have to be one of the more generic sets. The article here gives a good synopsis of his life along with some photos of his fancier furniture. Why didn't the neighbors have any of those pieces to throw away?? 

Virtual Clutter and a Toy Kitchen

I have been trying to organize my photos and computer files. Virtual Clutter is the worst! You can forget about it because you don't see it yet it is there lurking, getting messier and requiring more and more of your time to organize!
Switching subjects, this is going to show that my obsession with oddly colored, vintage kitchens goes back to my childhood. I don't know where it came from as everyone in my family had white 80's appliances with wood colored cabinets. This was the sink I picked out to use in my Barbie house.

It is for Penny Brite who is a bit shorter than Barbie but I guess it must have blended enough for my 10 year old self. Unfortunately I don't have the rest of the set so Barbie's fridge and stove were the 80's model, which is pink, so I guess it works. I do remember being bothered by the odd upper cabinet. I never knew what was supposed to be there and without the internet, there was no easy way of knowing! When I came across this in my Barbie stash, recently unearthed from my parents basement, I was excited to find what was missing. It turns out it is a set of doors which were supposed to look like patterned glass. hmm. I can recreate that!

I had this contact paper which was here when we moved in? I don't know where it came from.

and a plastic box from a Christmas Present.

A little measuring, cutting and this is the final result.

It's not quite to scale as nicely as the original but I can't beat free plus 10 minutes of my time.

It Took 18 months...

It took 18 months but I finally finished the curtains in little one's room!

My downfall was I had gotten tired of looking at the blank, white shades and hung them, without finishing them.

Whew, all shortened and functioning. It's nice not to think about having to fix them every time I walk in the room!

My Brother's Craigslist Score

Another pre-Christmas story. My mom told me my brother got something off of Craigslist but he didn't want to tell me what because he was afraid I would break into his house and steal it in the middle of the night. He didn't even tell her what it was as he wanted it to be a surprise. We were both intrigued but had made a good guess since he was lacking a stove in his kitchen.

He doesn't have to worry about me stealing it because there is no freakin' way it would fit in my kitchen!

(I think my camera phone decided to tint everything green to match the tiles)

$100, including delivery, so you can't really beat that! I think he said it was working except for one of the burners??? Sorry Frankie, I can't remember what you said! Especially since I think I was out of the room for part of the story... It is very clean and pretty looking though!

Something New for the New Year

Blogging on a regular basis? Nah, I can't promise that one! I know myself too well. Resolution-wise I would definitely be the person going to the gym for about 2 weeks in January.
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For the New Year I thought I would try making my own laundry detergent because I hate spending money on boring things. I also have a high efficiency machine which means the detergent is even more pricey (though supposedly you use less? My husband seems to be liberal in his detergent usage.)
Someone had posted this recipe on facebook and I thought it sounded doable as it didn't involve 5 gallon buckets and finding giant bottles and space to store all of this homemade detergent. I then lost the recipe but googled it and found about 50 other bloggers with the same recipe sooo I don't think I need to post detailed photos/directions. Google "homemade concentrated laundry detergent" and you will see what I mean.

All of the ingredients were right next to each other in the laundry aisle at Wal-Mart so that was easy. It took me longer to talk myself into venturing to Wal-Mart. The mason jars I had hoarded in my basement. I don't know where they came from. One maybe had apple butter given to me in it so my best guess is that one multiplied. It happens often at my house. Things multiplying.

Of course after melting the ingredients together one is instructed to divide the concoction evenly between jars. They post cute photos of perfectly divvied up jars.

umm, I think mine are even??

Anyways, after letting them soak and blending them the detergent came out the consistency of mayonnaise as it should. One of the sites said to clearly label these so no one mistakes it as food. I asked my husband if I needed to and he said "umm, what would I think it was??"
Me: "mayonnaise?" Wait, who would keep mayonnaise in a mason jar?"
Husband: "The same type of person who would make their own detergent!"

I didn't print out a cute label for these. I can hopefully assume no one will try eating this because I normally don't store food by the washing machine...

 I have used it on sheets, my clothing and a load of diapers and it seems to be working. My kitchen smelled fresh after making this and it also did a nice job of cleaning up the pot I used to melt it. Now if I can get the husband to try it out I will be in good shape as he is the biggest offender of using too much detergent.

I'll include the recipe I used. As mentioned earlier, I have no clue where it originated. The 50 other bloggers have detailed directions and photos if you need some!

-bring 4 cups of water to a boil

-grate and stir in the Fels-Naptha (apparently other bars of soap work too?) and bring temp down to medium high/medium

-when this has melted (15 minutes-ish) stir in 1 cup Borax and 1 cup washing soda and stir for another 15 minutes-ish

-pour (scoop) them evenly into the quart sized jars and fill the remaining space, up to where the jar starts to curve, with water and turn upside down for 4-5 hours-ish.

-put the jar right onto the blade of your blender and let it rip for a minute until it looks like mayonnaise.

-One tablespoon at a time is all you supposedly need to use and it does seem to do the trick.

Recovering From the Holidays

Yikes, it appears I have accidentally taken a month hiatus. I wish I could say I was up to many exciting things but nope! Just recovering from the holidays, I guess? I also guess my parents didn't know what to get me for Christmas because:

Though my mom said the most she paid for any of it was $6 for the individual casserole because she thought it was so cute. Oh, and my brother got me the huuge snowflake dish. I amazingly have found a spot for all of it except the Friendship casserole. Everything stacks nicely but I want to see the pretty lid on that one!

My mom also found me a lovely, near mint Enid Collins owl Purse.

The original tag is taped inside.

And along with some new trolls, I received a "new" shack for them to hang out in.

I'll hopefully get a chance to catch up on my blog posts I have in my head and on the camera memory chip! We shall see! I hope everyone had a great holiday season and are getting back to the "normal" routine!

My Secret Desire to be a Hipster Artist Revealed

A couple of years ago I convinced my husband to go on a historic house tour in Council Bluffs. Ever since then I have been fascinated with their houses and have been trying to convince him we should move. But alas, being a native to Omaha, he has this random dislike for Council Bluffs and kindly refers to it as Council-tucky. This is apparently a common phrase as just last week I heard a radio DJ say "Council-tucky" in a casual conversation so the people of Council Bluffs are indifferent to this? I guess I will have to live vicariously through tours and  I saw another home tour was on for yesterday with Christmas décor. Historic houses AND Christmas decorations!? Yes please! Unfortunately the husband said we could go only knowing it was going to be snowy and gross so he knew I wasn't going to want to make the drive. Darn it! Lincoln's Christmas tour this year consisted of a couple houses in a new housing development by the interstate.
Anyways, I was browsing real estate listings for Council Bluffs just to see what was happening over there and one of the houses I really liked on the house tour a few years ago is for sale! I tried again to persuade a move but for some reason my husband is just not as fascinated with this house as me. "Come on honey, you can find a good paying job there, right?" Good paying it would have to be as I can't imagine what the utilities would be! Victorians aren't known for their efficiency. At least now I have some photos of it since they don't allow photos on the tours. It is listed by Deeb Realty and here is the description:

Only 3 families have ever owned this historic Beauty!! So many fabulous features, including original Steuben fixtures, intricate woodwork throughout, Butler's Pantry, wrap around porch, addtl rooms on 3rd floor (642 sf) waiting for your special touches (area is finished, but not updated or heated), stunning hardwood floors, library w/ fireplace, unfinished lower level can be made very useable. There is an ADORABLE full sized doll house out back, which will win your child's heart! Don't wait!

Here is the link to the listing and there are more photos to be found there:
http://www.godeeb.com/properties/details.asp?mls=21315144

It's only $169k which I think is a good price. I see it backs a parking lot and the start of downtown and that equals convenience right? This will also reveal my secret desire to become a hipster artist. They had the house all decked out with Eames and Bertoia with some primitive antique pieces in the mix and I thought it was really cute. Both Victorian and 50's purists would disagree but obviously I have eclectic taste and I can't seem to limit myself to one era.

OK, the black/gray color gives it a funky Goth feel and it would be good for a couple of Halloweens but I'm more of a purple person so that is eventually what I would do to the exterior. Maybe blue. Blue and Purple?

I do like their color choice for the front doors. All the little details are fantastic in the gingerbread and those cute screen doors. It seems like there should be some stained glass in the window to the right, if not both windows.

The cute back porch, with another cute screen door.

Front entry with lovely staircase and light.

One of the parlor rooms/library. They apparently didn't feel the need to spend money on putting expensive parquet in the middle of the room where a rug was going. That was resourceful...until one needs to find a new rug in that exact size or bigger I guess!

Bookcases for all of my fine leather bound books? Who am I kidding, they would contain novelty books (i.e. Awkward Family Photos, Stuff on my Cat) along with an assortment of tacky tchotchkes. 

Lots of room in the kitchen with a back staircase and view of the back porch so I could enjoy that cute screen door while I cooked. If I ever cooked. Maybe I would if I had this house?

Plus there is a pantry where I could display all of my fine china er, Pyrex?

The hipster artist in me likes this bathroom. I can see it on Pinterest with a little more wall décor and a tag leading everyone to a tutorial about framing your bathtub. On a side note that bathtub must be a pain to clean around!

More hipster artist coming out. I like the white painted floors. I couldn't figure this out when I was on the tour and still can't figure out. You can see it better in the bathroom that these are really crappy, gummy pine wood floors. It's such a fancy house, they wouldn't have such crappy flooring in all of the bedrooms. My only thought is something was on top which got wrecked?? and this is the subfloor?

There aren't any photos of the 3rd floor but this is the staircase continuing upward. I recall it had a hallway with that red carpet and several bedrooms up there. See, more of that crappy subfloor-ish wood for the second floor hall.

And if the main house isn't enough, there is a super cute playhouse in the back!

 

Here is the link again: http://www.godeeb.com/properties/details.asp?mls=21315144

Feel free to buy it and then keep us updated about your projects!