Happy Halloween Weekend!

Lazy Sunday

Between traveling, a crazy week at work and coming down with a nasty cold, I haven't had any time for projects! The plan is to do some ebay listing this afternoon but...... we'll see how that goes.

Last weekend Will and I drove down to LA to meet two new members of the family: Will's new DR-Z 400 motorcycle and our 6 month old nephew who made the trip all the way from Serbia (with Mom and sister in tow, of course)!

This weekend I did a whole lot of nothing and it was wonderful! It's been a long time since I've had a weekend where I let myself totally relax and veg out on the couch all day. I even slept in!

While in relaxation mode I watched two really great documentaries: The Cove and Food, Inc. Before you start thinking too highly of me, I also watched 'When in Rome', and yes its as dumb as it sounds.

'The Cove' documents the capture and slaughter of thousands of dolphins every year by Japanese fishermen. It features Ric O'Barry, the head trainer for the TV show Flipper, who became a leading activist in freeing and protecting dolphins. It is sad and emotional but I am happy there are people like Ric O'Barry out there that are devoting themselves to those beautiful, intelligent animals. Check out their blog!

'Food, Inc.'...... wow. This should be required viewing for every American. Have you ever wondered where your food comes from and the processes involved? This film challenges you stop living in oblivion to the corporate and political control over our food sources and demand a healthier way of life for yourself and our planet. We've already started discussing making better use of our local farmers markets and trying to find a source for locally raised, organic meats.

A small local farm east of San Simeon.

Quickies

Just a quick post of some recent mini-projects. All three are yard sale/ flea market finds that I got for under $3. They were all originally bare wood that got a quick coat of paint for instant gratification.

It was really, really hard to paint this plain white! I wanted my jewelry to be the main focus but I may add some color to the sides later.

In other news.....Ebay did not treat me so well this week. The eggnog set didn't sell! Thats ok though because I am slowly working on setting up my Etsy store! I've read some great articles on what it takes to be successful on Etsy and Im excited to try a mix of handmade and vintage items. Hopefully it will be up in the next couple of weeks!

Who Wants Eggnog?

Yesterday was a beautiful day but we didn't have alot of luck with yard sales. We did go to a couple of interesting ones though. One was in our neighborhood and was what appeared to be the lifetime collection of an elderly couple. There were a lot of his old woodworking tools and her various sewing notions. The sale was big and had so many interesting things to look at. There were several photograph albums of trips to brazil from the 1940's, pharmacist diplomas from the late 1800's, hundreds of old road maps, and lots of treasures collected over the years. Judging from the sale, these people led an interesting life. I purchased a flower pot, some vintage ribbon and was given a cool cigar box with a sliding lid.

Conversely, we went to a sale that left me just feeling sad. It was my first true estate sale held by an outside company. You were allowed to walk around the sparse home of an elderly woman who had passed away. Everything was priced (high) but in its normal place, even the items on the bathroom counters. It was just cold and sterile feeling and I made me wonder where her family was. I didn't buy anything.

Yard sales were a bust, but my luck changed at the Goodwill......

This is a McKee eggnog set from the 1930's or 40's. I bought it for $13. I had no idea what it was when I bought it but I remembered reading this post on The Ebay Life about Fire King glass and thought it looked similar. I did a ton of research (I literally had dreams about pyrex and milk glass last night) and it turns out that, like Fire King, McKee is highly collectible. I am going to put this up on ebay today and Im excited to see how it does. There is alot of McKee on ebay but nothing quite like this set.

This was an innocent little plant that sprouted from some compost in a succulent pot. It has now taken over my garden and is attempting to conquer the neighbors backyard as well. I finally cut these today and have no idea what I am going to do with them. The heaviest weighs 12 lbs!