Crap I found My DNA!

My mom got me this for my birthday...
No more mysteries.
I am a little bit (99%) European and 1% South Asia. I'm embarassed to admit that I didn't realize Scotland was part of Great Britain until I got these results; but now I do and I'm pretty sure the majority of the 85% is the Scotland region based on my other Ancestry.com research.

My mom asked me if I was disappointed that I didn't have more diversity in my background, but I'm not at all.  I thought it was just as interesting to find out the ethnicities of which I have 0% as well including African, Native, Italy/Greece, and Scandinavia.

It's actually fascinating and blows my mind how DNA is passed down through the generations...How far back did I inherit the Iberian Peninsula (Spanish/Portuguese)?

The 1% South Asia is also pretty cool.  My mom always had a picture up of her grandparents on their wedding day.  Growing up I always assumed she was Asian until I learned she was Czech, but it had to come from somewhere right?

Unfortunately I had to cancel my Ancestry subscription after I got these results but if I ever get back on, I know several hundred pages of distant cousins that Ancestry feels strongly I am related to...pretty nifty.

Lighting

My mom found this on Etsy for $40.  She didn't like it because it was too bright and you needed to plug and unplug it to turn it off and on.  I thought it was cute and had potential and was hopeful we could find a place for it. Alas, it fits nowhere despite how cute it is. Offer Up didn't want it for $15.

Now, I'm thinking about trying to up-cycle it into a different kind of lighting.

Lighting is a big deal in a home.  It needs to be functional without being overbearing.  It needs to fit the mood and not be too conspicuous; The sun does enough of that, in the daytime.

My daughter gets it.  She prayed the other night that God would show us where to put the light "Because the other places didn't work." So cute...and such a good prayer, because finding the right kind of lighting for the right space isn't always easy, despite how aesthestically pleasing the outward lighting package may be...as in this case.

Give me time...I have some ideas...and it doesn't involve keeping the big, white, cord-thingy.  

Outdoor Furniture

I found 5 of these awesome metal chairs on Craigslist.  My husband went to pick them up from a couple who buys and sells crap (my heroes). I wish he hadn't lost their card because they obviously have good taste.  They spray painted these chairs the color they are now. I'm not sure what color they were before.  The white part is very sturdy metal (don't stub your toe on one of these bad boys), and the yellow is some kind of weave.  In the future I intend to paint them all yellow, legs and all.

Although they appear to be lawn chairs, they are used for my dining room chairs.  If I had two more lives I would learn to sew and make them some awesome cushions...but as it stands I will probably have to hire someone to make me some awesome, original cushions, as they are slightly too short for the table.  We've just been using pillows.  Hey, ghetto, I know, but I'm not just gonna buy ill-fitting cushions, c'mon now.

I love the brightness they bring my dining room.  They pop out nicely against the green.

To be honest, after we first got them, they were almost too much for my eyes and stomach to take in.  I actually had some buyers remorse for awhile because whenever I looked at them, sitting there around the dark, brown, dining, room table, I felt a bit nauseous; too much of a good thing.

Fortunately, the feeling and nausea passed and we didn't have to return them to the hero-crap-sellers.

Happy Fall by the way!

Drawer Organization: Before & After

So...silly me I forgot to take a before pic so this is about halfway through. In my previous post I mentioned how Marie Kondo's book: "The life-changing magic of tidying up" talks about using iPhone and other quality boxes to organize drawers and other such things.  Though I like the results I'm not so naive as to think that my daughter might "re-organize" this drawer by tomorrow, but at least I'll know how to "re-re-organize" it...

After 

New-found corner...

Before One

Before Two

So...I'm not sure what day of my Environmental-Challenge-a-thon it is.  My chalk board still says it's Monday, October 5th...so I'm definitely not oriented x 4 as we say in the mental health field. However, I finally found what was behind one corner of my house...cat hair and dust...didn't surprise me but it was nice to see the corner again even though there was no hidden change I could add to our slowly growing Disneyland fund (not even a penny)...this bookshelf was functional in that it held my books but it's definitely not art...I found another temporary place for my box-o-pictures and sewing paraphernalia and was able to move the remainder of the books to the other book shelf.  We dropped the shelf off at Savers.  They'll either throw it away or try to off-load it for $6.99 (just my guess).  I moved the piano bench over there, which is our unofficial drop off bench for stuff on its way to Savers. I'm happy I found a corner of my house...insignificant as it may seem...but it's just good to know it's there...verified by seeing it with my own two eyes...

After

Environmental Challenge-a-thon Day Whatever

I've already blown my challenge-a-thon and it's only the first week. I thought it would take at least a month to get behind.  Alas, I continue despite time and energy not being on my side.  This is all I could muster for today. I wrote the date on the chalk wall in our hallway...I really hope I can erase it by tomorrow because for some reason I'm not holding out that I will write tomorrow's date on it.

My hope is that my daughter will learn how to spell Monday and pretty soon she can take over...most days the chalk wall is empty except for the chalk dust and when we play hang-man.  How sad is that! What's the point of a chalk-wall without a picture or trite sentiment?

So, here it is...I'm giving meaning and life to the things in my environment...one day at a time, or one week at at time...

Every little bit helps.

Double-Duty Napkin Holder-thing: Environmental Challenge-a-thon Day 3

So...Day 3 got delayed...I'm not going to let it slow me down. That being said...here is my newfound solution to the paperwork that takes over this whole table.  I found the napkin holder at Goodwill.  I'm not an expert in napkin holder design, but I thought it did have a mid-century modern flair.

The napkin holder was initially used for napkins but they kept slumping over and falling out...maybe I wasn't buying the right napkins...or maybe, just maybe, this napkin holder was destined for something greater...that and, who am I kidding, we don't really use napkins...we use paper towels for napkin duty. Obviously this solution is temporary because the papers need to eventually find their way to their proper place in the trash, shredder, or filing cabinet...But for now...my mental space is a smidgen less cluttered thanks to this hard-working kitchen companion.

Environmental Challenge-a-thon: Day 2

Wow. I wasn't sure I would be able to complete my challenge for today.  I have to type fast before the baby wakes up.  So, this is a map of my current neighborhood.  It's upside down so that my one follower won't figure out where I live and come murder me.

Although I doubt she would do that because history tells me she's more likely to bring over fresh eggs from her chicken coop or or fresh salsa...or leftover hamburgers...or lemon pie...but you never know.

The blue dot thing is where I live.  The happy face is where I want to live; a difference of about a mile and a half.

I decided that I wanted to create a poster (my ex-co-worker calls them "vision boards) of my dream environment and put it up somewhere visible...

I printed out a map of my neighborhood and my dream homes are actually in the same hood as I am; just a few hundred thousand higher...I mean further.

Where I live, there is a definitive prejudice between the "East" and "West" sides.  I have my own prejudices; against the suburbs, or as I call them, "The burbs." Some say that someday suburbs will be the new ghettos.  And I agree.  They are isolated, un-diversified, cookie-cuttery, and lack history and authenticity (bring on the war of words).

I completely understand why Carrie in "King of Queens" always dreamed about living in Manhattan, versus Queens.  There's something comforting and energizing about the city.

As I was thinking about my dream environment I realized that it's impossible to find just one place to meet all the dreamy desires.

Where I live, my kids will never be able to bound down the stairs to open presents at Christmas in front of a large window, where outside it's snowing.  It would be akin to child abuse to even dress them in the cute, white, Heaven-like outfits the kids wear in the Pottery Barn catalogues.

Something in me has always dreamed of living in one of those homes where you go outside in the backyard, swim to the edge of the infinity pool and look out over the city lights...

My dream environment is also not in a small town like in "Win a Date with Tad Hamilton", where Kate Bosworth grows up and works at the "Piggly Wiggly" and (Spoiler alert) ends up with her childhood friend.

As it stands, once we win the lottery and move an inch and a half east, we won't be able to walk outside and feel a cool breeze, blowing in from the Ocean...although at work one time, I really thought I could smell the Ocean.  Wishful thinking...

No, my dream homes are nestled a stone's throw from the main street in the city; at least I consider it the main street. I could walk outside my front door and be at any number of Starbucks or Farmer's Markets or restaurants.

City life is where it's at and I know this may sound, obvious...but I could use a closer Starbucks.

365 Day Environment Challenge-a-thon

I'm embarking on a personal year long challenge to improve my environment; at least one thing, one day at a time. My rules are that the challenge cannot consist of general picking up and house cleaning.  It has to be something that is different, new, and that I believe will improve my living space.

I know it's common sense that our environment affects our mental health but I'm astonished at how myself and others neglect their environments and then wonder why they are anxious and depressed.

I have a high tolerance for environment chaos.  I just get used to things being inefficient, ugly, dirty, disorganized etc.

This table is my first example and will kick off my Environment Challenge-a-thon.  I'm excited to see how less neurotic I hopefully will become after it's over.

This table was given to us by a previous neighbor who of course was moving and didn't want it anymore.  We were also moving and are chumps for free things (not that that's bad), however, as other free-gans know, it can be dangerous when lines are not drawn.  This table served as our coffee table for a couple of years.  It's big, bulky, and reminds me of the Jetsons.  Futuristic is definitely not my style, at least for now.  However, we needed a coffee table because we didn't have one and so it served as a table for coffee...and trash, and Kleenex, and dirty dishes, and medicine, and gobs of my daughter's "journals", and books, and pens, and magazines, and DVD cases. It was a home for clutter and trash basically.

I made an executive decision that I wanted it gone.  Craigslist didn't want it, despite the price being dropped several times.  I wasn't surprised.  So, Savers inherited it and will probably try to sell it for $25, more than our lowest asking price.

As far as any immediate mental health results? Aesthetically, the TV room looks better, cleaner, freer, and now is not competing with baby's basinet. It helps my brain think more clearly....

My 6 year old keeps reminding me that I have no place to put my cup since I gave away the table...but I just nod, put it on the ground and know that the cup will go back to the kitchen now instead of end up on the table for the next millennium or until the dishes get done again, whichever comes first.

I'm excited to see what tomorrow will bring...or be discarded of...

"Perelandra" Art

I found this amazing work of high school art when I was purging clutter from my clutter-filled environment.  School papers have been a big culprit.  It's hard to let go of things that could someday be worth millions, once its value is finally recognized by the masses.  

In high school my English teacher would always have us do projects that involved artwork.  For those blessed with both writing and drawing artistic-ness, this was an easy and welcomed challenge.  They could both write like the wind and draw/paint like the wind.  I, on the other hand, could only write...that's why I took AP English, not AP Art. I hated how confused my teacher was about what should be the contents of class.  This  project was supposed to be a minimum of 24 lines of poetry accompanied by artwork.  

Again, I was screwed.  I never could draw and I found myself in an English class where my grade depended partially on my ability to express myself via artwork. I would always do my best and this is what would usually result.  Pictures with stick figures and awesome colored pencil shading work.  

Let it be said that I got an A on this project.  I think C.S. Lewis would be proud, as am I. 

It may contribute to my clutter, but it reminds me that I don't have to be an expert or perfect at something in order to get the job done.  

It also elicited some hearty laughs from my friends...especially the one with the dragon.  I like that one too. 

Blue Canister a la Target

I was looking for a Cereal Canister; one made just for cereal; like you see on TV.  Target had a small selection, all pretty expensivo. This was the only of its kind.  I was disappointed, hoping to find a plethora of these type of canisters in various sizes and colors...because it was the prettiest of course. It looks amazing on my kitchen counter, holding chocolate Chex or any other kind of cereal. I'm sure it would also rock snacks or a stack of brownies.  Hopefully Target will re-stock and I'll find more of its kind. Sometimes it amazes me how amazing stores like Target sometimes lack variety in certain items.  This is why the world has a variety of different types of stores, because in my humble opinion, it wouldn't hurt Target to expand its container inventory...Thank you to whomever left one for me...

Blue and White Pyrex Bowl

I found this cute blue and white Pyrex bowl at Savers I believe.  Pyrex is being snatched up like crazy these days.  The blue is such a pretty shade and has hardly any scratches; another Pyrex bowl I found at Savers is much more worn but still has its beauty.  I'll share that one later.  Can you imagine having the whole set of these? I'm not very well versed in Pyrex and the sizes and styles but I know this one is pretty (Sheepish emoji).  It makes me wish I had a nice kitchen to display pretty things like this; someday.  It doesn't really go well with the primary-colored Fiesta things in my kitchen so we'll see if she sticks around.

Fiestaware

I love Fiesta! I found these at Goodwill.  The OCD part of me is driven crazy that there is a gray plate missing from my find...but I guess that's part of the fun of Fiesta...random color combinations; no rules or color-mixing faux pas. I think these colors are Gray and Light Green at least that's what I gather from the Vintage Fiesta Color Guide.

When I was in line to purchase them, a woman behind recognized my fortunate Fiesta find and asked to hold them, promising she would give them back.  Reluctantly I let her hold them but watched her like a hawk.  She returned them unharmed...and bonus, I made it back to work on time...a lunch half-hour well spent.

SNACKS...Down with Labels!

I found this at #Savers.  I assumed the mix-matchyness was intentional, because what's more cool and colorful than mix-matchy food container parts? After some research, Pinterest, confirmed my doubts.  This container is part of a trio of containers that pile or "nest" on each other.  The green lid's mate is a missing "NUTS" container...and missing altogether is the yellow bowl...however in the pinterest pic the CHIPS and SNACKS are on different colored bowls...nevertheless...this retro 60's trio is going for $35 on Etsy, not including shipping.



I'm not sure what worth that puts my find at...

Due to the mix-matchyness, it's probably more valuable...at least to the creative and the random.  To the straight-laced and conventional, to the obsessive-compulsive, this find will drive you mad.  Look away! Avert your perfectionistic eyes! I intend to sell it on eBay.

Personally, I think it would be cool to use it as something other than "SNACKS"...as long as it's out of reach of those who are literal...like engineers, or children...you wouldn't want to poison anyone with laundry soap, disguised as candy.  If you decided to keep change in it, it may deter change- thieves who are there to quickly find valuables and leave...quite the decoy, especially if kept in the kitchen, where it would seem to belong.

It seems like our decorating culture is moving away from labels in general.  It's now the cool thing to find a random container from the trash, or thrift store, or consignment store and up-cycle it to be whatever one wants it to be.  The original purpose of any item can be changed with some spray paint and cleverness, in a matter of minutes.  We're such rebels.  We shall use this "SNACKS" bowl however we see fit and will not be deterred by the label! Down with labels!!

Make Life Sweet...That's a Command.

I found this at Goodwill for $4.99.  It's some sort of metal and heavy.  I tried to Google it but found nothing about this item. It hails from a company called "Creative Enterprises".

At first I thought it might be good for a child's room or an ice-cream parlor, but it hangs in my living room with all the other random art.

Word art is one of my favorite types of art, which is interesting because I have a gut reaction to cutesy, trite, oversimplified, sentiments...However, I'm not one to ever turn away ice-cream, or sweet food in general, especially, in Phoenix, AZ, where ice-cream has a cooling effect on the body that gallons of water do not...even when doused with electrolytes...Therefore, this specific command, coupled with the adorable mutt, advertises not only canine appreciation, which I'm all for, by the way, but also heat-hygiene.  That's right, heat-hygiene...In the desert, if one is not prepared for sudden waves of killer heat, (need I say dehydration and sun-stroke), then things could turn ugly fast.  So, making life sweet is not only a play on words, encouraging us to enjoy the good things in life, but also a public service announcement, commanding, in a friendly way to stay hydrated...or else!

I'm a hypocrite.  I've lived in the desert my whole life and have many times failed to wear sun-screen, inducing years of sun-damage, painful sunburns, and impending skin-cancer.  I've walked past college students selling water bottles on my way to the top, unshaded, level of the parking garage, to my un-air conditioned car, in the middle of summer...I'm a Phoenician, I got this...I'm like a Saguaro that can horde water and be fine...until, I start to lose consciousness and barley make it to a gas station before passing out...

That's why even, trite, cutesy, sentiments, aren't so bad at times...they can even save one's life and uplift one's spirit, when taken to heart.

With that said...let's make life sweet today...

Geen Vintage Bubble Pitcher

I found this at Savers for $3; it was half off.  Isn't it so cute? The internet says it's a 1970's-ish Milano Bubble Pitcher.  There are quite a few on sale through Etsy and eBay.  This is the most common color I come across, but I've seen brown and a really pretty blue.  It looks heavy, but it's fairly light-weight.

I've been analyzing myself lately and trying to figure out if I buy things because I think they might be valuable, or because they are aesthetically pleasing to me, personally.

I said this was cute earlier, but...I dunno. I'm starting to doubt if I think it's cute.  It's bubbly, that's for sure.  It's old; that's always a good thing.

The truth of the matter is, is that I haven't yet sold any of the crap I've bought.  A lot of crap, I would only sell if dire straights fell upon us, because I adore some of the treasure-crap I've been fortunate enough to stumble upon.
I'm trying to figure out this industry.  When I started this blog, I never thought about selling things.  As I've been researching the crap I write about, it's started to occur to me: "Hey put it in a box and ship it, stat". Now that I've started to shop with an eye for what might be re-sellable, I'm buying things that I don't necessarily love (no offense Milano Bubble Pitcher from the 1970's).

I'm also coming across a weird ethical question.  How long can an item be part of my household, before it's legally adopted? I was thinking about how weird it would be for me if I grew up in a household where one of my parents was always selling things that used to be part of the homey backdrop of my upbringing..."Hey where did that one picture go?  I loved that picture..."; "Where's the frickin' can opener, mom?" It would be unnerving for sure.

I don't want myself or my family to get too attached or used to something being there, and then one day...it just disappears...like "Gone Girl"...except it would be, gone-crap-from-thrift-store.  On another note, how do the items feel when this happens? One day they are proudly displayed on the kitchen wall; a retired kitchen tool, now basking in its vintage glory; then they next day...GONE...sold to the highest bidder...or only bidder. Ah, they're used to it.

Nevertheless, a lot of things I've purchased are in my closet, so as not to give them the wrong idea about their place in the family, and for us, a place in our hearts.  Why do inanimate objects have that kind of power? How do they nestle their way in to that sentimental part of our hearts? It's so annoying...Obviously material culture is representative of our identity and where we came from.  It's not easy to get rid of stuff.  I'll speak for myself.  It's not easy for me to get rid of stuff.

I look at the framed pictures at Savers and wonder if the person agonized over the decision to give away their grandmother's collection of needlepoint artwork, or if it was more like, "Ewww, this definitely does not go with the decor, good riddance." Sometimes, there's even frames with people's pictures in it, or personalized crafts, with personal sentiments, written or painted on them.  At least, take the picture out before donating the frame, I think.  But, who am I to judge? That person would probably come to my house, and think: "Did someone forget to do her spring cleaning?" Either that, or "Wow, those needlepoint DeGrazia pictures would be a great asset for a little place called...Savers...or Goodwill."

It takes all kinds to make the world go round...at least that's what I've heard. So, give me some space.  I'll sell stuff when I'm ready...and hopefully my 5.5 year old won't miss the can opener.  I know I will sad-face.