Vintage For Sale!

Abode is Moving to New York City!

All Cute Vintage Items Must Go!!

Items below are vintage, uber cute, and for sale!
Vintage postcards and photo, sweet tchotkies, and other adorable finds.


Mirrored Dresser and matching end table

Mirror is 30" diameter; Height of dresser is 66" tall, including the mirror, x 41.5" w x 18.5" d

The matching vintage end table is adorable and includes a glass top, big storage space and matching molding/design. 26" tall x 16" wide x 13" deep.

Super cute Vintage dresses!!!!

Cute trinkets, postcard display, and candy canisters!

Marble coffee pedestal table (two pieces); measures 16" tall and 38" in diameter. $75


Contact me ASAP if interested!

Kitty's Home to a Home

How does one go from a home full of kitty love, toys, nooks, special snuggle spots, and decorated cat place settings to nothing?

A week ago my beloved 13 year-old cat, Honey, passed away and it's been really hard loving my home because at its center is a hole.

So, how does one go from a home full of kitty to a home without? I'm not sure yet. I do know it takes time. The kitty nook in my computer station is staying, along with a few favorite toys; these things I do not mind so much as they bring back the good memories of her playing, being happy, or helping me work on the computer.

There are two household items though, that while they also brought her joy, make me feel that pang of sadness; that is her two favorite kitty rugs. One was hot pink and suited her well; the other was this silly fish mat I got from a client at work.

I'm not into fish motifs, but the colors fits perfectly in my bathroom and the minute I parked it on the floor, Honey declared it her own. Her eyes matched the rug perfectly. Stepping from the shower to this rug is no longer the same. First I see it and feel sad, then I feel it and it feels clean. There is no kitty fur sticking to my wet feet, nor loose bits of litter. I would give anything to have that icky, no longer clean feet feeling back, if it meant life back to normal with my sweet cat.

Va-Cay

Abode is going on Vacation through the weekend... since I'm having trouble activating my comments option here...if you have any... leave them on the first post of my other blog J's World. I'd love to hear your thoughts and ideas!

Have a good weekend...spring clean and create a space that is beautiful!

Is it weird?

...that I think these images are cool and totally inspirational for decorating?

I saw them in one of Yahoo's story about this new first-aid book... While the red signifies pain in the body, I love the hues and seeing the human body in another form.

Also imagine if these were wall art; then throw them on the wall of a girly room... they'd be so wrong, that they'd be right!

Leopard

Never underestimate the power of a dash of leopard print.

This classy, and yes sometimes trashy, print can add a spark of eclectic pizazz to your home. If you're not super into the idea, but want to play a little, simply add a pillow or small accessory wit the print, or go a little crazy and do a rug, like me. Whatever you decide, not only will you have that spunk of kitten, but you may just feel a little bit more feisty!

Little House... The Musical!?

Today I found out they are making a musical based on the Little House book series by Laura Ingalls Wilder, and guess who is playing Ma Ingalls? Melissa Gilbert!!!!!

Um, okay for you non-Little House fanatics, that's little Laura Ingalls from the television show!

In honor of this great bit of news, I say we all take a moment to think about those simpler times of home living.... okay yes there was no plumbing, but there were porch stools (if you had money like the Olesons); cute little churches/school houses—A simple black drape changed that building's function in a flash; and beautiful things like a velvet couch, or a pretty floral textile was truly cherished.

Oh and the Little House itself! Pa Ingalls worked so hard, down to his knuckles, to build that Little House with its cute loft for the girls, back room for the wife, and a cute matching barn! And of course a few years go by, business is good, and Pa gets to build an addition so Ma can have more room to cook and sew.

I was addicted to this show, for years—yes, obviously, I still am!—but not only did I adore Laura and her crazy antics, but I really did love the way they lived and remember nearly every part of that set from Oleson's Mercantile to Laura's first house as a married woman.

I was truly in awe of this house because it had steps, which to me, meant the Wilders were rich! It was my dream to grow up, marry manly (my first love) and be rich and have a huge house with stairs!

I could on and on, talking about the ginormous house they had to move in toward the end of the series. It had a big beautiful circular window, but Half-Pint hated that place.

While the show's ending was sad, the true tragedy for me was when—due to the ending of the series and the production company wanting the lot back—the writers, including the super hot, and now deceased Michael Landon, wrote the final episode to destroy the set. The story was that the evil Mr. Lassiter had bought out Walnut Grove and was going to take over the town; in retaliation, the characters took loads of dynamite and blew up their homes, and all the buildings that made up Walnut Grove. It was sad.

Aaah is that life imitating art? I tell you though, had they turned that lot into a Disney world for Little House fans, I would have been first in line!

Kitty Nook

If you have a kitty that is anything like mine, you'll want to create a kitty nook next to your computer so kitty and you can easily brainstorm up wonderful ideas together without kitty sitting directly in front of the monitor.
Here I found a random object at the Ikea clearance corner and paid a couple bucks for it and it turned out perfect! It's simple a cube missing two sides. It fits perfectly on my desk, next to the screen and not only provides a snuggle spot for kitty, but a place to shelf my computer so no glasses of orange juice or large vats of vodka accidentally spill on the computer!

Simple and sort of genius—well at least my kitty thinks so!

Try making your own kitty nook with an old milk crate or other plastic cube option from either a storage unit, or an old shelving system. Make sure to place a small blanket or cushion down so kitty can work comfortably.

Tablescapes

Escape away into an easy decorating task—make a tablescape complete with your favorite things for function and beauty!
Shown here is a favorite tablescape from my dressing room. Setting includes vintage dishes full of jewels, an angel mirror, fan, a gift from a friend's vacation, and a photo of the beautiful Betty Hutton.

Tchotchkeeper

On page 47 of this week's issue of Time Out Chicago, there's a small story about me and my design sense...Check it out!

Follow the flowers

As a nice prezzie, my friend Frank stopped by with a bunch of flowers and his expert green thumb!

This is all to build my very own tropical garden right here in Chi-town... well the flowers are more your midwest variety, but you get the point.

So the flowers have been growing out on my porch for about two weeks now... after some hungry black birds have come by, I realize I must pick up a pinwheel from the Market. Once I do that I'm sure they will begin to bloom like crazy and I will posting pics here as they grow... I'm really hoping my own green thumb will shine through.

Sweet Score

I found these cuties at my fav thrift store and I couldn't be happier! Does anyone remember these? What were they for? I remember them from my childhood, having a bunch of them, but I don't really remember how I got them...

I do have one vague memory of these plastic animals: I was playing with my neighborhood friend Jenae on her lawn when we saw our parents drive away together. We knew they were headed to go shopping for prizes for the neighborhood cul-de-sac pig roast (Um hello suburbia!) and I remember Jenae telling me "Don't worry I asked my mom to keep two extra glass animals for us." These were the animals. I'm pretty sure I got an elephant. But I had so many more thereafter! I tried doing some searches on the Internet, but couldn't find anything.

Suffice it to say I just love them.... four little 2" chunks of plastic, they could have easily gone to a landfill, but thankfully were saved and found their way into my home!

Here Piggy Piggy...

Good thing I no longer eat pork, because I'd feel real bad about my new decor obsession... collecting pig tchotchkies!
Now instead of longing for bacon, I long for cheap pig figurines... the pig pair on the right were 45 cents each! Hello! That's a way better deal to me than getting some bacon fat on my thighs!

I want a deer

I seriously want a giant deer in my living room, like Interior Designer Fawn Galli's living room shown here (Galli is shown in the inset). Image from Domino. That deer is so darn cute!

Today I love...

TOKIDOKI!

Tokidoki is the cutest collection of art work, fashion accessories, and toys all based on a quirky style of anime by Italian, yup, Italian, artist Simone Legno. Tokidoki, as Legno explains on his website means "sometimes" in Japanese. He chose this word because he loves Japan and what the word can convey.

He believes everyone waits for moments that change one’s destiny. As he says, "By simple chance, or meeting a new person, tokidoki is the hope, the hidden energy that everyone has inside them that gives us the strength to face a new day and dream something positive, that something magical will happen within us."

Oooh that’s so cute!

And you know what else is cute? Tokidoki Cactus pups! Love! love! love!
I also covet the uber cute new Tokidoki fashion bags made in collaboration with Sanrio's Hello Kitty. They aren't available in the states; these bags are selling for up to $200 on Ebay. Aye Yi Ya!

To keep up on Tokidoki, be certain read the Tokidoki blog!