Just Out For a Walk with My Giant Troll Doll

I guess I am going through garage sale withdrawal. I came across an ad Saturday which was titled Estate Liquidation! They stated they had bought out 7 estates last month and will be getting rid of everything priced .50 to $50!!! Well, that was the basic idea of the ad anyways. I figured it was a bit of an exaggeration but 7 estates? Surely there is something of interest to look at!? I was correct about the exaggeration. I'm pretty sure 1/4 of my "estate" is more than they were selling but my brother spotted this guy as soon as we walked in so it wasn't a waste of time.

He was $10 but is huge at over 16" and he is made by Dam so I'm sure he was very expensive 20-ish years ago when he was new. Now, maybe he is worth the $10 I paid? Especially since his bright yellow shirt was mostly eaten away by a mouse. But he obviously needed adopted plus I wanted to freak out Mark when he got home by sitting this guy on the couch.

Upon purchase the seller asked if I wanted a bag. Nah, I don't need to waste plastic. Then I remembered we had parked a block away from the shop in a busy downtown area.  I got a few odd stares but meh, I'll assume they promptly forgot. If I had been holding a conversation or dancing with him maybe it would have stuck in their memory better.

 He looks happy to be amongst some other freakishly large friends and is probably the cutest of the bunch...if one can consider trolls cute that is.

Shagadelic Rugs

 

I like our closet carpet.Yes, I said it and it is shag avocado green. I'm guessing it originally graced the first floor area and must have looked groovy with the freshly painted fireplace (which I wish they hadn't done). Last weekend, when the topic of a living room rug came up I said "if only the chimney and linen closet didn't cut into the closet it would make a nice area rug!" Mark, "What? Are you serious!?"

Umm, Yeah I am! It would be a nice 8'x9' section of glorious green shag! Unfortunately the chimney and linen closet are there so it is still banished to the closet.

 I did decide I didn't want to sheepishly snitch the shag rake attachment I spied in my parent's collection of Kirby attachments a while back so maybe it is for the best we ended up with something a little less shaggy. 

It was claimed immediately so we knew it was a hit with the critters.

It's still a little flat here but you can see it doesn't require the vacuum rake, I hope....

Yay! The living room is a bit more organized. (looking this direction, behind me is a different story) I'm still brainstorming ideas for the mantle. Yes, my alien poster I put up months ago as a joke is still there.And yes, the seating is too big (not to mentioned ripped) but I'm still working on ideas to get rid of those along with the "entertainment center" and it's 5,000 wires.

I dunno, maybe it's just the bright red furniture clashing but it doesn't seem to blend with my $3 coffee table and other blond furniture I'm accumulating. Right now I'm thinking the rug should go in the bedroom, the bedroom rug to the spare bedroom and a lighter rug? in here. For now I'm enjoying its fuzziness so it will stay put. Our lack in rug ownership does allow for some future rearranging.

Vintage Wallpaper Find

I was out at the salvage store the other day and of course I can't leave without checking the free pile!

What did I come across but 3+ rolls of this lavender, gray and blue butterfly 1940's? 50's? wallpaper in decent shape! 

 It is stamped United Wallpaper on the back.

I think there is enough to do the back wall in the currently troll/office room which will someday be my spare purple bedroom with my fancy iron bed. (another project still in the back of my parent's garage)

Misc. Around the House

I had Friday off this week due to January 1st being a Saturday so yes I could catch up on some things around the house including my blog entries I've been taking pictures for. Finally, I feel like I am maybe getting organized and am digging out some of my stuff.

I decorated the hutch which is most likely moving away if my brother ever gets a house so that wasn't smart. I could probably talk him out of it but it's too big for my dining room and I have that nifty Lane Perception buffet eventually heading my way. I do have a plan for what to do with this stuff in my currently non-existent kitchen decorating shelf space so it should be OK.

I like crazy colors so I'm having issues displaying my Lucite even though I love it too.

I really only wanted to collect Fiesta I could use but as soon as my family found out I had Fiesta dishes they decided to donate the stuff sitting around their houses to my cause. I do like the older colors which just can't seem to be achieved without the lead and radioactivity.
The plates and also the cover-less onion soup bowl and the yellow salad bowl on the top shelf came from a house my Dad's uncle (or someone on his side) rented out and these were the "crappy" dishes he let the renters use. The mixing bowls are from grandma (on mom's side) and the others are garage sale finds.
Yeah, I know the syrup pitcher lid isn't original though I'm pretty sure it cost less than $1 so I'm not one to complain.

The mixing bowls came from grandpa's grocery store and according to grandma he "was always bringing this (Fiesta) junk home." She finally got tired of it, boxed it up and donated it somewhere. This happened back in the 50's/60's and these bowls must have been forgotten up in the cupboard. When grandma gave them to me she told me she used to have a small cobalt one too but she couldn't remember what happened to it adding she probably broke it but didn't care because they were all ugly anyways.

The lesson from this blog entry: The elderly do NOT like Fiesta dishes!

I hung owls above the bed. Now I need a cute headboard. I was thinking of making one. Ha! We'll see how far I get with that one!

Yay! My little wall owlies! The display looks somewhat dignified at the moment but I know I will take it too far and by this time next year the wall will be on overload.

Mark got a "new" chest which has been sitting in my parent's garage and originally was in my grandma's basement. (mom's side, not the house I recently blogged about)

He thinks my display is girly though his favorite color is green and I thought I stuck well with the theme. I agree the head makes it girly. He said my slightly offensive instrumentalists also are girly. I knew if I let him decorate I would be looking at a Pokemon bank with no lid, some half used lip balm containers and a Burger King receipt.

Bathroom Walls

OK, I should never post progress on anything until I am completely done because it takes me so freakin' long! Yes, here I am finally getting around to skim coating that nasty bathroom though I can only seem to average 10 minutes tops a night working on it. The failed texturing? clumps o' plaster? previous owner put on easily scraped away. Most of the loose (probably lead) paint has been scraped away too so my skim coat might stay on?
I did discover a spot in the bathroom which has never, in it's 95 yr existence, been re-painted.

I washed off the dirt to reveal a light tan and you can also see the outline of the original small mirror and then a larger one. Now, I can understand why it wasn't painted when the mirror was there but obviously it was changed out and then knotty pine was added mid/late 60's? on the lower part. Above the faux tile and knotty pine? Wallpaper must have covered it until the texture "incident" occurred. Most recently there was a circa 1997, precariously hung mirror covering this area which fell down and broke before we moved.

(Yes, the texturing was only done AROUND the mirror and not behind)

Above the faux tile, the walls saw a few interesting color choices. The poo brown is my favorite. Really!? Who seriously paints a bathroom poo brown!? Dark teal followed and I have also seen some hints of pink before it went gray and then into the wallpaper in the 60's. I've been pushing pink but Mark seems to get offended when I mention anything pastel.

Here is the current status of the plaster repair:

It looks pretty smooth from here. Too bad my lack of skim coating experience shows in person though it is getting progressively smoother.

The tiles went on sale for 10% off their already reasonable price so I bought them thinking it would inspire me to work harder but they are still sitting boxed on the floor.

So sad! My biggest dilemma is the 250+ pound tub. Plus, the only other shower we have is in the basement which is currently averaging 50 degrees. Maybe, MAYBE in 3 months I'll be getting rid of that carpet?

Random Shots Around Grandpa's House

These are some random, sporadic shots around the house since we did make kind of a mess in our organizing and digging.

The original Egyptian themed fireplace. (ignore the 70's metal cover and the TV tray)

Close up of the tiles. I definitely get the 1920's Egyptian revival vibe from these.

One of the original kitchen cabinets. My grandma originally had pink to go along with the blue but I guess between the bathroom and this grandpa was on pink overload so he painted it white one day to "surprise" her. She was surprised. I'm thinking he had burnt food to eat that week though it stayed white so he thought he won.

The milk door. It originally (it might still be there) had a door also leading outside where the milkman could deposit the daily dairy products. It is lined so everything would stay cool. I would say it might also have been for icebox ice but I think this house originally had a snazzy electric icebox.

Yes this is an old 1960's dishwasher. I can't say I have seen many (or any) of these. We just used it so it still works. It did rust out but grandpa, being the frugal fellow he was, somehow replaced the part.

Giant novelty Tiki utensils have always hung on the kitchen wall. Well, ever since I can remember.

Ooh, a cupboard full of goodies to look through! It's mostly odds and ends of dishes. I did snitch the pink dish on the first shelf already.

It looks like California pottery and it has some dings but I like the pink-ness and it must have looked fantastic in Grandma's pink kitchen 50-ish years ago. I'm sure I'll find other snitch-worthy dishes in here.

For some reason I am fascinated with the pull out cup holder. They look so neat and tidy hanging out up there.

The original (or maybe 40's/50's?) lined sugar and flour drawers.

Moving to the basement we see Mr. macrame owl perching with some paneling.

The bathroom isn't quite as festive but we still find some re-purposed TV cabinets down here.

The large mountain faux painting in the corner of the living room/entry area.

What else (besides the pink dish) isn't going to make it out to the estate sale? Yes, my family knows I'm snitching these. I mostly get the feeling they are relieved they don't have to deal with the stuff. One of my cousins said sympathetically, "Ohh, you need a dining room set?" Need? Not really. Excited about a "new" 60's one which belonged to my grandparents? Yes, very much.

It is made by Lane and my grandma even tucked the original hang tag into buffet drawer.

The record cabinet with roller doors and there's a rogue chair to the dining set.

The couch I haven't decided on yet. It is in decent shape considering it has been in the sun room for the past 40 yrs. I think my cousin's cat got the corners but otherwise it hasn't faded. I love the mod little legs which probably is the reason this will end up in my living room. My ripped, vinyl 80's couch really doesn't hold a special place in my heart.

Endangered Pink Bathroom

Sadly the days of this cheery pink bathroom are probably numbered. I can picture a new owner covering this bathroom with brown/gray slate tiles.
I would move the toilet and vanity to my house but that would be silly not to mention I don't have a spot. Wait! The basement DOES need a new toilet. mm, no, my family thinks I'm weird enough for wanting the furniture. Taking an old toilet would be crossing the line.

The sink vanity my grandpa made from salvaged televisions. I hate to think of what he was salvaging television-wise in the early 60's. Poor little guys but I guess they were heading to the dump anyways.
The sink he salvaged from The Brown Palace Hotel. I'm not sure how. It wouldn't surprise me if he was driving by, noticed they were doing some remodeling and went back later to dig through their construction trash. He may have gotten it legitimately as well but the other way is funnier to think about.

The linen closet (seen through the mirror) also made of salvaged TV bits.

I love the tile on the counter and floor. The grout is a little dingy but it has held up well through the years.

Kind of an awkward shot but pink tiles surrounding the tub and the glass block window.

What 60's bath would be complete without some coordinating fishies?