From the Estate of Mme. Betsy Breckinridge...

Yesterday, I received an email about an estate sale that Estate Liquidators called, "One of their grandest sales to date!"  So this morning ma soeur et moi, along with all three young, headed out to Oak Bluff Court to see what the buzz was about.  My standards are high normally, but since our house is already brimming with wedding stuff and hidden clutter, I decided I wouldn't buy anything unless I absolutely loved it and couldn't live my life without it.  I didn't even bring my money in because I was determined to be discerning and downright persnickety!  FAIL!  Thirty minutes and one story in, I was running to the car to get my cash and asking myself, "Would $50 be enough?"  I just can't resist old shit with a story.  It's a weakness of mine.  While my sister was methodically sorting through Eastern ephemera and Asiatique planters and prints, I was stockpiling what my mom would call a bunch of junk.  So here are my treasures, they aren't worth much, but I sure do like 'em.

The man taking the money explained to me that this was the home of local celebrity Betsy Breckinridge and the paintings were done by her mother, Carolyn Wells, "in her younger years."  In addition to this quirky lady, I bought a landscape painting that reminds me of the Midwest in the '50s.

Enamelware!... and another Ball jar.  I can't help myself.

I thought this terra cotta pot had fabulous form and I liked it so much, I bought two.

  I buy scarves everywhere I go in hopes of one day framing them or making them into pillows.  Rarely I wear them, but I particularly loved the MC Escher-ish one with the navy blue houses.

These two dolls were a last minute find and I think they'll be cute as part of a hanging collage of framed pictures and things.

That's all for now,  I gotta run and hide all of this stuff before the old man gets home.  It's best that he discover these little treasures after they've been nestled into their proper places.  More to come...

I'm baaack.

The post wedding melancholies have descended upon me and I have decided to finally pay a visit to my long lost friend, The Avarice.  I have been gone so long, I have almost forgotten how this goes and how good it feels.  I am now ready to focus [almost] all of my attention on what I want to be when I grow up.  Did you hear that universe?  I'm ready!  Send those clients my way. 
My wedding weekend was fabulous and beautiful and gone too fast.  In addition to being a perfect celebration of a long-time-comin' union, it was full of little glimpses of what was to come and got me thinking that perhaps the universe had heard my requests and was finally ready for me to come out from under the wedding planning rock and do what makes me happy! 
Two friends mentioned using my "services" after seeing what I'd done with my own home.  It's possible that they were just being nice, but I will choose to think otherwise.  One of these fabulous friends was my wedding photographer, Ashley Brokop, who has become one of my all time favorite people and a truely inspiring creative who is enjoying wonderful success doing what she loves to do- she's inspiring and awesome to be around.  (Check out her blog http://www.ashleybrokop.com/blog/ )  Ashley was a photographer in the military and her husband is still in the service, so when she said she would love for me to come to her house and help her, I immediately thought red, white, and blue.  It sounds cheesy and contrived, I know, but the red, white and blue I pictured was clean and bright and done right.  This is probably not what she is looking for, in fact, it is very likely not, but it was nice to be inspired by something other than wedding goop for a change and it got me searching for some patriotic inspiration, if you will.  When I first started looking I found a lot of Americana-ish style, for instance:

Yuck. Period.  Sorry to offend, but this is not my cup of tea and not what I pictured when I thought red, white, and blue.  Further searching revealed some fresh and lovely options...

houzz.com

Images courtesy Domino Magazine

M Design Interiors

Domino Magazine

ELLE Decor

House Beautiful

ELLE Decor

House Beautiful

via Apartment Therapy

Apartment Therapy

Lonny Magazine

Desire to Inspire

Red, white and blue go together like Stabler and Benson.  I dig it and I'm so glad to be back.  I have done quite a bit to our little home and I can't wait to reveal it all in the coming weeks. 

Stay tuned...