Two bike posts in one week?

Yes, it is necessary. Why? Because I posted this photo the other day:


And Fifi Flowers painted this:

Mon dieu! Merci beaucoup, Mlle. Fifi, pour votre fabulousness (not sure of the French translation for that word :-). What a lovely surprise to have gotten this morning! Certainly a better surprise than the three work projects I need to wrap up by tomorrow...

Quick-n-Crafty

This past weekend the local Ladies Auxiliary was having their annual bazaar. And, while I really, really love the Ladies, there's another form of the word bazaar I would use to describe a lot of the stuff (ed. note: redacting other "s" word, despite its appropriateness in this context) people think is sellable! Seriously. I draw the line at toys with tooth marks and products with a hint o' mold. I'm not sure I'm even exaggerating. I know it's a rummage sale and all, but please. Who had the nerve to donate this stuff?!

That said, I bought (and thoroughly washed. Twice.) these glass candle holders at $1 per pair for a quick-n-crafty project.

When I spot them, I also buy (cheap!) interesting vintage china dessert dishes at yard sales, flea markets, and (if I'm really lucky) places like Anthropologie on the sale table. This peach of a plate was $2.99:

I use epoxy to affix the candle holder the underside of the plate, let it set upside-down overnight, and voila:

Funky dessert stands! Pop a cupcake or some homemade cookies on there and you've got an instant birthday or hostess gift. I originally got the idea at a tea room I went to that used these at each place setting. I had an "a ha!" moment midway through stuffing food into my mouth that their fancy tea service pieces were simply plates adhered to candlesticks. The mismatched creations looked so cute loaded up with finger sandwiches, mini scones and other sugary treats. What a great way this would be to set a table for a shower or similar gathering of ladies who lunch. And, if you were feeling benevolent, each guest could bring theirs home as a memento of the day.

Just hand wash (and don't submerge in water) and you'll enjoy for many festive occasions to come.

Update, July 30: Appears there are more fabulous DIY cake stands in the blogosphere. Check out Design*Sponge for Kate's Recycled Cake Stands. She used those white "throw away" vases you get flowers in (I'd call it the standard issue Hospital gift store vase). I love it as a base -- looks like milk glass!

This is how I roll.

When I was over at the delightful Fifi Flowers’ blog recently, I saw this little bike painting and was reminded I’ve been meaning to peddle down to the beach for a photo op with my old set of wheels. I bought a 1957 Raleigh last year for $45 from the coolest bike store (Glendola Bike Shop in Wall, NJ). Owner Paul was so happy to see the bike go to a good home (I think I salivated when he brought it out to show me, so he made an informed decision that mine would be a good home) that he scoured around his work room to find a vintage wicker basket and a big fat bell that he threw in (and installed) for me. Fabulousness, thy name is Paul.

So here’s my bike, fresh from a trip to the farmer’s market to fetch sunflowers and corn (admittedly the photo op was arranged to coincide with purchase of colorful props). Another woman stopped to take a photo, so I was feeling pretty good about my retro self.

And speaking of Fifi Flowers, do you know you can win an original painting by Fifi Flowers of your favorite photo just by leaving a comment on her blog this week? It’s true! Hop over there and take a look at her blog that’s bursting with her colorful work and fun design ideas. I love her recent post using sketches and inspiration photos to show her bathroom remodel plans. It’s a great blog, and if you haven’t been now’s certainly the time to check it out.

Shopping at...Nest Home Garden & You

Spring Lake, NJ, is the one of the closest things the Jersey Shore has to the Hamptons. Minus the Long Island Expressway logjam, or six week-out dinner reservations. Which, if that’s your thing, is totally fine. But as usual, I digress…

Amidst the insanely beautiful clapboard houses and luscious hydrangeas in Spring Lake, you’ll find Nest Home Garden & You (1317 Third Avenue) -- a relative newcomer in this little seaside hamlet. As soon as I walked in the door I turned to my mom and said, “I could live here.”

There’s a well curated mix of old and new; a down stuffed chaise with a vintage melamine ice bucket and sterling mint julep glasses perched nearby would be right at home at Nest. And what I appreciate most is that there is something at every price point. If you wanted to make a serious investment in solid piece of furniture that would be with you forever (re: drop a lot of coin on a classic) you could. But, if you wanted to spend under $20 on a gift, you could do that, too. Like these lovely beaded tea light lanterns hanging from these branches for $12:

I would love this simple chair and ottoman for my living room. Compact and comfie, with carved dark wood legs:

I really wanted one of these buffet lamps ($70) for the “landing strip” table inside our front door:

The silvery-blue shade would be perfect against the Benjamin Moore Patriotic White on the walls, and I just loved the damask design on the shade.

But when I got home, I realized there's no outlet by the door. Alas.

I did scoop up this pair of wrapped canvas egg prints for only $22.

I was eyeballing the pair of seashell prints in the photo at the top of this post ($38 for the pair!) but I’ve been fearful of overdoing the whole “seashells by the seashore theme” thing. The egg prints are slightly smaller, so I'll easily find a home for them in the shore house.

Which is not to say I won’t go back to Nest for the seashell prints.

House Tour, Ocean Grove

This past weekend mom and I enjoyed the annual Ocean Grove House Tour. We first went a couple of years ago, and each tour has ended with me going back to my apartment and bundling up at least one super sized Hefty bag to bring to the Salvation Army. (House tours have a way of making you feel so inadequate. Like you’re a filthy, crazy pack rat. Or is that just me? And should I have been using my quiet inside voice just now?).

Anyhoo…Incidentally it was that first house tour we went on that got me to thinking how I’d love an older home on the Jersey Shore. And, wow…how truly fortunate I am that the mister and I are there now, splitting electrical cords and shimming up creaky floorboards. Bliss.

The house tour is a fundraiser for the Ocean Grove Historical Society. Each year about ten generous homeowners and inns open their doors to the 400 people who buy tickets. I only took a few photos as it was hard to get shots with so many people traipsing through. And, at the one house that I really wanted photos of (the kitchen, in particular), I was smacked down (metaphorically speaking) by a docent (doing her job, so I respect). Other homes welcomed photos so I’m not sure if it was this homeowner in particular or what. In any event…totally understandable, and here’s some highlights of the tour I was able to get. I’m saving the tents for a separate post. (“Did she say, ‘tents?’” Yes; she did. About 114 families live in tricked out tents here in the summer, and if that doesn’t deserve its own post I don’t know what does!).

The very first house we went in was probably my overall favorite. It was like going into a lovely historical inn…but it was someone’s home! Here’s the outside:


I love how they staged the dining room! Good thing I had just eaten ‘cause there’s no telling if I would have been able to exercise self control around the cupcakes.


An amazing silver set was on one side of the room (my arms are tired just thinking about the pre-tour polishing ritual that took place)…

…and this extensive collection of souvenir ruby flash glass from turn-of-the-century Ocean Grove and Asbury Park beach kiosks were displayed in the window behind the dining table.

The butler’s pantry was fantastic, and connected the dining room to the kitchen (I’m not used to seeing this sort of “breezeway” layout. And those floor to ceiling cabinets on either side – to die for!).

The master bedroom was a similar color to mine, which made me feel a little better about my paint.

Their black and white toile bath was gorgeous, and hello: that’s a wall o’ window there. Swoon.

Oh, these pillowcases. I. Want. Them.

This cozy one bedroom cottage was midway on our tour. What a fantastic use of space! The freshly remodeled home won an award this year for historic preservation.

Check out this dining nook. It is teeny tiny, but could easily sit six comfortably:

Outdoor space is at a premium in Ocean Grove, as the houses are built thisclose to one another. The cottage’s outdoor garden was an adorable use of a very small space. If it wasn’t 100 degrees Kelvin out, I would have plopped down right in that chair and sat a spell.

One house was filled with fascinating objects from around the world (“No photos.”). The owner’s father was a pilot back in the early days of commercial aviation, and the beautiful screens from Egypt, drums and carvings from West Africa and silver from Europe were displayed lovingly. Her grandmother was obviously a gifted artisan – take a look at the detail work on this bedspread!

Every bed in the home had one.

One home, only four houses in from the beach, was pretty large by Victorian standards. When the house behind them came up for sale, the owners bought it and joined to two together (!!!). So now it is huge. This is the bathroom that connects the two houses. And it is good.

And I love the antique swimsuit as art. (Note reflection of the Atlantic Ocean in the glass. So lucky!)

They also had a billiard room that kind of put ours to shame. The fireplace is taller than I am.

Next is the house I mentioned earlier that I really wanted pictures of. It was a freshly redone house that I’m sure will be an award winner next year.

I did manage to snap what I think is the most creative use of a small outdoor space: A mini shower cabana!
The last house we went in was a large pink Mansard Victorian. They had a matching pink dining room scattered with rose petals and ready for company.

And, their breakfast nook right off the kitchen was charming. The skylight made the room feel huge (and look closely…there’s a hot tub right outside the door. More creative outdoor space use!).

Isn’t that cabinet beautiful? They use it as a bar, and presumably enjoy their libations in the nearby hot tub before settling down to dinner at that inviting little table for two. This homeowner gets extra points for preparing punch for guests (yes; I did mention 400 tickets are sold) in a beautiful crystal punchbowl. I think I need to become friends with them.

While walking around town, we spotted a couple of candidates for next year’s tour. I just love to see this. These old ladies are going to shine once again!

Hope you enjoyed your abbreviated online tour. This year I only filled up half a Hefty bag when I got home. Progress!

I Bogo'd.

As my focus has shifted to dressing up my house, I realize that dressing up my self has taken a very distant back seat. I've barely bought so much as a tee shirt since we got the house in December, and if there was one word to describe my general appearance of late it would be: Dowdy.

Yikes.

Those "Buy One Get One" ads for Payless Shoe Source finally got me thinking I should give them a whirl. I know; it's not exactly haute couture but my one and only trip to Payless a couple of years back landed me the cutest pair of summer shoes I've ever owned. And still do! My "fancy shoes" certainly haven't held up as well. Plus, I'm digging the whole canary yellow shoe thing that's been big for summer, but I'm not sure I'll still be digging it next year. And I know I'm not digging it to the tune of $100 or more for a pair of shoes. So I decided to take up Payless's offer to let me buy one, get one for half price and walked out the door with these two pairs, for $22 and change total for both:

And you know what? They're comfie as all get out.

I also found some cute dresses that I like, but unfortunately they don't come in my size. Oh, to be three-years-old again. That's right; these fabulously fashionable frocks (holy alliteration, Batman!) are for the toddler set. And the very talented designer Kathleen gives them away on her blog. You've read correctly; gives them away. If you have a little girl in your life run, do not walk, to Kathleen's blog Grosgrain Fabulous. The photos are outrageously cute, and the dresses amazing. The dress in the first photo -- my favorite, and one that I would wear in a New York minute -- is up for grabs until end of day Monday, July 21. What are you still doing here? Go, go, go!

Step into the Green Room

Where the term "green room" originated, no one seems to really know. Some say it goes back as far as 1678. Shakespearean actors apparently fancied surrounding themselves with plants to create a more oxygenated environment for their vocal chords. I was told in a college communications class that guests on The Milton Berle Show (one of the first TV shows to keep company with “A-List” celebs) relaxed in a room that happened to be painted (what else) green. So much for my education, I guess, if that Shakespeare story pans out.

What isn't up for speculation is that "The Green Room" is a place for guests to comfortably chill and enjoy some laid back quiet time (or not, if that is their wont) before the "big show." While the only "big show" our guests are asked to perform in takes place on the porch each night (and involves a blender and margarita fixins'), we want to make them comfortable during their special alone time nonetheless.

So we've created our very our green room.

In these pictures the wall color doesn’t "read" well. But the color, Benjamin Moore's Castleton Mist (HC-1) is a soft, not-quite-chartreuse-kind-of-a-bright-pistachio-with-yellow-undertone that apparently does not photograph well, no matter what camera or time of day you attempt. I surrender, Castleton Mist! This evening shot shows it a bit better but not much (and the online paint swatches on BM web sites make it look more like a color that should be called “Khaki Gone Bad”):

It’s a very small room (occupied by metal bunk beds and intense blue walls by the previous owners...blue that is still being scraped off of woodwork) that I wanted to brighten up and give a “B & B by the seashore” feel. And talk about a room on a budget!

The bed was my Grandma and Grandpa Fairweather’s (awww!). I think they’d be happy to know it’s still in the family. The sea life prints above are really wonderful; the photos don’t do justice to the texture and graphic design. And a $16.95 a pop, they were a deal (from Home Goods, which I think I should lobby to rename, Laura’s Home-Away-From-Home Goods).

I’ve mentioned in the past that I’ve actually scooped some stuff up at The Christmas Tree Shop, but when my mom delivered me this bedspread that she got there for $9.99 I couldn’t believe it. It matches the walls perfectly…and she had no idea what color the walls were when she bought it! They could have been magenta for all she knew (though not likely). She simply bought it because it was a good deal. (Like mother, like daughter.) The scallop-edged matelasse coverlet at the bottom of the bed is another happy little find. It’s got an interesting crosshatch design, and I picked it up at an antique shop on Magazine Street in New Orleans eight or so years ago for $10. It’s not quite twin, not quite full, but quite fabulous.

And that abstract fern throw pillow is from blogger The Laundry is Never Finished’s Etsy Shop, Blisshomegoods (stop by and check out her adorable cushion covers. “Quite a Pear” would make such a cute shower gift! And she’s happy to do custom covers in any size.). The pillow adds a nice little modern punch. And those larger quilted white pillows are OLD school Ikea. I bought them for my first apartment, and since I was broke at the time I can't imagine they were a lot of money. I tell you, washed in a little bleach they come out good as new every time.

The (very heavy!) wall mirror was a castoff from Aunt Peggy that I gladly popped in my trunk. Almost tore muscles, but well worth it. It needed nothing but a quick polish and some re-wiring to hang it vertically.


I gave you a sneak peek earlier of the green lamp scored at One Woman’s Cottage Life’s online yard sale for $7, topped with a $5.00 Target shade. “Fancy Framed Lady” you already know I love, and at $10 she may still hold the title of the house’s “Best Thrifty Find.” Both are perched on (and above) this amazing dresser from the Antique Emporium of Asbury Park. The store houses vendors with incredibly “overpriced-for-what-it-is” stuff, but every now and again you score. This $280 dresser in very good condition was one of those times.


The side table is from the dearly departed Bombay & Company (moment of silence). I grabbed it at their going out of business sale for $35 before I even officially had a house to put it in.

We (and by we, I mean the mister) also replaced all of the doorknobs on our cheap looking (non-original) doors on the second floor with these glass babies from Anthropologie. I tried flea markets and online shops to find antique knobs, but finding four matching sets was a challenge, and on the rare occasion I did find them the price was way out of my thrifty range. These were $28/set in the store I went to, but marked $38 online (odd, no? Hmmm…).

I hope you enjoyed your very thorough tour through the very small green room.