TMI

Partying with B&E


The vanity space I shared with you in the previous post verged on becoming a wee bit personal after all it's the intimate space I have for myself, but today's post feels to me like it may just be too much information. The difference being regression.

It all started around three years ago with the ever so crotchety Eeyore. I picked him up at Disneyland and have since managed to acquire four stuffed animals - for a women verging on thirty four may be four too many. But just yesterday this humble collection managed to grow by, oh... seven! And I have to say eleven is definitely too many. But they are cute, vintage, and have sentimental value.

As you may know if you've been reading this blog from the beginning Scott and I are helping his parents clean out their home of twenty plus years, and with this comes a lot of stuff. Most of it has been taken to the Antique Station but when I showed up with a garbage bag full of stuffed animals there were some we just couldn't part with.


They gossip - I work


It's fitting to perch a monkey surrounded by music atop a 1930's chest, don't you think?


Ahh... Goofy

Boudoir

The morning ritual of pulling the chair away from my vanity and saddling up in front of the mirror surrounded by pretty things while I leisurely beautify myself conjures up a feeling of connectivity with past generations of women. For those couple of minutes that I sit at that table before the rush of the day ahead I feel like a lady. I spritz on perfume, powder my face, work at my hair, and rummage through four generations of jewelry.

My personal vanity once belonged to my Nana on my mother's side of the family. Back when Nana owned this piece of furniture it acted as a sewing machine, today it's covered with a large scarf to soften up the boring wood below and crowded with womanly goodies and remembrances on top.

Claudia over The Paris Apartment is collecting photos of vanities from women around the world for a new book that she is working on. If you aren't already a visitor of this blog take a minute to check it out, and if you have a vanity take pictures of it to contribute. You can get in touch with her here: theparisapartment@gmail.com

Be Safe and Have Fun!

Uncle Sam on top of the world


I love birthdays and what's not to love about America's birthday?! It's when the entire country is on vacation, the day is filled with BBQ's and pool parties, friends and fireworks, and the roads are packed with cars headed out-of-town filled with people on one mission - to have a great weekend!

Happy 4th to everyone, be safe and have fun.

x's and o's

Collecting

Hundreds of Star Wars toys from Scott's collection packed for the Antique Station

The habit of collecting is a hobby I never fully understood since I never thought of myself as a collector. But when you break it down I'm willing to bet that everyone is or was a collector of something at some point. Two obvious types of collectors are those like myself who don't fancy themselves collectors and those like my now live-in-boyfriend Scott who border on hoarding.

Although I do feel like a complete fake calling myself by the term collector, it's been quite the epiphany realizing the collector of my childhood. Isn't it safe to say that all children are collectors? I collected Barbie Dolls and Cabbage Patch Kids, granted they were my toys and I did play with them, unlike Scott who has hundreds of unopened Star Wars toys and boxes of unopened baseball cards, I had more than three and in one bloggers opinion that constitutes a collection. The difference - his are pristine and mine, well... they were sold in a yard sale years ago.

Early Birdies

Prepping for an early morning tomorrow, rise and shine is 7am - hitting the sales with a gang by 8am! I've just compiled a gnarly list of yard sales from WEHO eastward, three pages to be exact. Why you ask, I'm unsure, it's far to many for one day! And since I hate to be selfish with my time I thought I should offer to share - if there's anyone out there in LA who'd like join my yard sale email list (so far it's just me) hit me up at SELLINGVINTAGE@GMAIL.COM and I'll forward it along to you whenever I compile one! It's not every week but hey, why should we both do the work.

Also, the list will change weekly, some days I'll be hitting up Santa Monica and others the Valley or OC so you'll never know what you get. Surprise, surprise lovelies.

Vintage Mag Ads - Oh My!

Sorry I've been MIA this week my darling readers, really there is just no good excuse. But I'm coming back at you with this fantastic collection of magazine ads ranging from the early 1900's to the 1970's. They're inspirational, they're fun, and... they're for sale! Most anyway.



Wrangler 1978



Foster Grant 1967 featuring Woody Allen



Carlye 1952

Liliann 1954



Peck and Peck 1952



Ship 'n Shore 1952



Monte Sano and Pruzan 1949



Himelhoch's 1949



Acme Gloves 1949



Revillon 1925



GD Corsets 1902


Aren't those little gems fun. I can't tell you how much in love with magazines I am - always have been. It's such a shame what has happened to that industry due to this "recession" that we are in, all of these fantastic magazines have gone under. I can only dream that when things pick up again we'll see a swarm of new and wonderful titles hit the shelves.

Ojai - City Guide

This weekend I was finally able to mark Ojai off of the day trip agenda. After living in LA for five years, after wanting to visit Ojai and always visiting Santa Barbara instead the clouds parted, the sun shown through and I finally made the pilgrimage to the artist enclave North/East or West/East according to signs on the 101, of LA. I picked up my new-to-me Jeep Liberty on Friday and bright and early Saturday morning Scott, Lucas and I packed up and headed out.

As with a trip to any town it started out with a quick perusal of my Iphone Yelp application to scope a fine eating establishment and local thrift stores. Here's what we found.

WHERE WE ATE:

Jersey Mike's Subs
423 E. Ojai Avenue
Ojai, CA 93023

We ended up here for two reasons, one - it was cheap, two - they had tables outside and Lucas could join. There were a lot of restaurants on this little strip in Ojai but only two others had outdoor seating and Scott wasn't feeling Mexican that day. Jersey Mike's is simply a great sub shop with freshly saved meet, basic ingredients and a heavy helping of olive oil and vinegar.

WHERE TO SHOP:

Second Helping Thrift Store
108 Fox St
Ojai, CA 93023

Don't mind if I do take seconds when they're coming from Second Helping Thrift Store. The prices are great which is number one on my list of a good thrift store, as for the selection of clothing, it was as if no person with an ounce of taste had stepped foot inside. I found three purses, three wool scarfs, two silk scarves, two pairs of gloves - one leather, the other felt, and two shirts. What a day!

Hidden Treasure Thrift Store
Located a couple blocks past Fox Street on the opposite side, it's right on Ojai Avenue.

A little overpriced but fun quirky items - I didn't buy anything but it's worth a visit.

Community Thrift Store
North of Ojai Avenue on Montgomery

Closed after 2pm.

TO DO:

Old Creek Ranch & Winery
10024 Old Creek Rd
Oakview, CA 93022

Great things were said about this winery when my girlfriends learned I was trekking to Ojai, it has excellent Yelp reviews, and given more time it would've been a necessary stop along the way. Even so, it's still on the list for another day, another time.

WHERE TO STAY:

Ojai Valley Inn & Spa
905 Country Club Rd
Ojai, CA 93023

Having never visited the Ojai Valley Inn & Spa it's surprising that I am able say it has an aura about it. Of course that's a direct effect of advertising but it also receives rave reviews through and through. I'm longing for a romantic visit with a stay here... hint, hint - Scott you better be reading this. ; )

FINAL SAY:

A real artist community with cute shops and restaurants. If you're looking for a great day trip from LA visit Ojai, the air is fresh, people friendly, the town is peaceful - a place to breath. And if you're looking for thrift stores they are plenty, but Ojai has a lot more to offer.

We ended the day with a drive past Lake Casitas and back to the highway home.