flea market results

we survived the selling at the flea market event yesterday.  made about $100, lots of nice comments about our selection of product.  really?  then why aren't you buying it.  but i digress.  it was a good experience and i'm thinking we'll do it again as we do have a nice bunch of stuff.  the man in the booth next to us is a regular and he said the traffic was pretty slow, it was rainy, and we thought we got pretty good traffic so feel inspired and the holidays are coming up and we have some nice gift stuff.  and the shoe junkies in size 8 1/2 , you reallly missed out.  i'm gonna try selling the really nice shoes on craigslist being that i've done extremely well selling on their recently.  and because i know some of the most wonderful people in the world, i was able to sell a piece of jewelry and it looks like there's gonna be a wedding june 18th.  it's kinda freaking me out a little but i truly believe it's a good thing.  i was going to try and do a visual merchandising project out our outing to the flea market, being that visual merchandising is the one class i'm missing from having my interior design certificate.  ya know, that whole thing was alot of work and while it looked nice it didn't get the attention i wanted to give it.  and we left the pretty purple table covers at home.  i do recommend the table coverings if you're going to sell at the flea market.  while there are good table to use, they show there use.  of course, i can't help but wanitng to make everything look interesting.  it's coming down in buckets outside so it's domestic goddessness for me.

only the good die young

i heard today a coworker who has been in the hospital died on tuesday.  i am most sad.  while not a good friend, i knew her well enough to know she was a warm, compassionate, wonderful person.  and she was my age. it was cancer.  my mother always says 'if you live long enough, cancer will catch up with you'.  and she's certainly at an age when your friends do start to die regularly.  i hear us saying 'at least she didn't suffer very long'.  but suffer she did and i wonder if people say that to ease their own pain at the loss.   it's always tragic when a young person dies but as i get older i find it most painful when someone my own age dies.  we expect to die when we're 'old' but what defines old.  my deepest condolences go out to her family.  i am blessed to have met her and had her add to my life.  appreciate those who are close to you and let them know you love and appreciate them.

fall changes

now that the weather is truly going to change and there is apparently nothing i can do about it, i broke down and starting changing out my household curtains, pillows, etc for winter.  during the summer my windows are covered by beautiful sheers and the rooms are light and airy.  however, i have original windows in my home and the insulation is not the best so i opt for heavy curtains for winter.  my living room drapery has already been changed out.  i made these drapery myself.  i also have an agreement with a friend that if i ever start talking seriously about doing it again, she's to slap me until i get over it.  but the drapery is beautiful.  a deep cranberry color with gold dragonflies, they cover most a wall.  the side windows are covered in a silk like gold fabric and bring in a beautiful golden light, when there is light.  in case i haven't mentioned it before, i hate winter and the lack of sunlight.  my bedroom is on my schedule for this weekend.  taking down french embroidered sheers and replacing them with a dark brown and blue woven drapery.  it actually makes for a wonderfully cozy room.  the bed coverings are changed to a pale floral quilt.  now that there is a man living in my space, i have agreed to look at different bed coverings so as to tone down the girly look of the room.  however, i didn't agree to do it any time soon.  as much as i fight the seasonal change, changing out the colors and accessories in your home is very gratifying.  i love instant gratification.  most people do.  so taking an hour out of your day to change out curtains, pillows, art work, etc is worth the effort.  i'm loaded with ideas if anyone is interested. 

Clearing clutter

the plan at my house is to go to the flea market at the fairgrounds on the 23rd and see a bunch of stuff.  my house and garage are complete disaster areas and i have uncovered stuff i haven't seen in years, as has steve.  it's time to clear out stuff we dont' need and meld our combined stuff.  i have moved 5 times in the past 7 years and i eliminate all kinds of stuff each time i move so i'm naive enough to have thought i wouldn't have alot to go through.  silly me.  however, it is most therapeutic and i would whole heartedly suggest to anyone, especially anyone who at a critical part of their life and are, or need to, begin a new direction.  it allows to you reconnect with old stuff, decide what you need to keep and what you are able to give away.  the senior center in paradise has made, i'm sure, a tidy amount of money from my donations.  one of the things i had to do was open a crate that contains the belonging of my step daughter, janel.  i haven't seen or heard from her in years,which breaks my heart, but i know she avoids me because she is making bad decisions in her life and she doesn't want me to think badly of her.  she is making bad decisions in her life still at nearly 30 but i would never think badly of her.  i am, however, most sad that she had chosen this path for her life.  i opened the crate, looked at what was in it, and couldn't make any decisions about the contents.  it wasn't my stuff.  i closed the crate and it's on a shelf in the garage waiting for her.  but i did find some things i thought were long lost and made me feel warm, fuzzy and a little weepy.  my rooms are a mess from all the boxes of stuff that need to stored in the house and the garage is an open space,with new shelving going in, that is waiting to collect new stuff we think we need to keep.  it makes me feel like steve and i are a family.  i've never felt that way before. 

doing design/home show

i'm pretty excited that i get to go to the home show at the fairgrounds this weekend.  i haven't been in years and the weather is going to be nice for it.  i don't think i can get to much home improvement information and wonderful ideas.  i'd really like to put a gas fireplace in my living room so i'm planning on pricing one of those. 

i've always planned to do interior design as a retirement job but miss having a creative outlet which i got from going to classes and doing small projects for friends.  i am short one class to get my interior design certificate.  the class is a day class only and i just don't see me missing a day from work each week.  and the class, visual merchandising, doesn't seem critical to me.  so i've decided to announce that i am available to do design consulting at $25/hr.  first consultation will be free.  i can give advice on your design, create and implement a design, consult on color, shop for product, organize your space, and stay in your budget.  my next blogs will cover what i consider important in making selections for your space.  space is important and affects so much about your being.  as soon as i figure it out, i'll post my business information.