Attention SF Dog Owners

Dear San Francisco Dog Owners or maybe all dog owners,

It has come to my attention that most of you pick up your dog droppings. This is great! The human species has accomplished the first step of living civilized in a world of pets. This is not my concern. My concern is that half of you dispose of the bag somewhere OTHER than the trash...? I'm so glad that you have taken the effort to use a bag while walking your dog but I believe you have forgotten the last step. The most important step. Stop me if I'm wrong, but the bag is supposed to be disposed of in a trash; not on the sidewalk, not on the beach, and not in someones yard. I would like to remind you, the community would much rather have nature take its course in decomposing the remains your dog left behind rather than leaving it bottled up in a plastic bag where it will remain forever. Next time, I'm leaving it on your porch.

Love,
me

Table Restoration Project

Ben and I spent Saturday afternoon working on my table since we finally decided how we wanted to fix it up.
We love the worn look of this table but the top is hardly appetizing. We talked about doing many different things but in the end decided to simply strip the top of the table and leave the old charm of the rest.BEFORE:
Supplies for paint stripping: Paint stripper-I like the paste and I like the strong stuff-you know, the kind that says poisonous on the front. Thick, chemical resistant gloves are a MUST. In fact, buy a couple pair because the first pair started to bubble and burn through even though they were supposed to be chemical resistant. Steel wool for rubbing the paste around. Masking tape for protecting anything you don't want to remove paint from. Plastic Shovel-like scraper for scraping off paint. The citrus shield is to protect unfinished wood if you odn't plan on re-painting it.
Step 1: Tape any edges you need to protect from the stripper.
Step2: pour paste onto surface and spread around with your scraper tool and steel wool and wait a couple minutes. (working on smaller spaces keeps the paste from drying up to quickly if you are working in the sun. I would say 2x2 feet is a workable amount of space.)

Step 3: The paint will start to weaken and can then be scraped off with scraper tool and also rubbed off with the steel wool. (the scraper gets most of the paint and the steel wool gets the last of it as you rub. I also used the steel wool on the edges around the table)

Tip: Make sure to scrape and rub with the grain. While you can't tell while you are working, you will once the wood is cleaned off.
Last step is to sand the surface to refine the feel of the wood. You can do this by hand or mechanically! If you are not planning on re-painting the wood, rub on some finishing wax and you're good to go!
AFTER:
I love how clean and simple the table looks now. I'm so excited to put it in my apartment!

I think I will eventually make some cushions for the chairs to add a little color and personal style but until then, here it is!

Disclaimer: Make sure to be careful with the stripping chemicals! They are incredibly strong and can really burn you if you leave them on your skin for even a minute. Also, make sure you have proper ventilation or you'll probably pass out.

A Home for my Peacock

This peacock has been haunting my thrifting. It has been weeks and I haven't been able to find a frame for it. I was starting to think I never would...until last saturday. Somehow, the garage sale angel was with me.On my way home from Home Depot, I saw many garage sale signs along the street. Each one screamed,

"Maybe they have THE frame!"

Surprisingly I refrained from stopping at any since I needed to have some time to work on my table. There happened to be a garage sale across the street which didn't look promising but I stopped by anyway. It only took a minute for me to zone in on this mirror. I had found it! Out of all the garage sales and all the searching...what are the chances I would find this treasure across from my own house?

This mirror was so cheap, my eyes almost popped out of my head when the girl told me the price...$15...I literally felt like I was robbing someone. What a steal. Not to mention the fact that I ran this thing home before anyone could change their mind.
Only another week until this beauty is hanging in my new apartment.

Apparel Temptation

This weekend a friend and I stopped by a store called Buffalo Exchange after doing some estate sale hopping. We didn't find much at our estate sales but I did find something unexpected elsewhere...

I have been drooling over this dress for a few weeks now. It's from Anthropologie and of course it's $90 after being marked down from a much higher price. I had been looking at it for too long and was about to give in to my apparel temptation.
UNTIL....coincidentally, I found a dress incredibly similar to this one at Buffalo Exchange- a store where people can bring their old clothes and sell them for cash. Everything is second hand and some things are actually vintage. It has great prices and quality clothing. While this dress isn't the one from Anthro, I love it even more. It's vintage and totally glamorous...Oh and did I mention cheap? Yes, I bought this dress for $15.

You can't tell from the picture but the bottom of the dress has two layers of lace. They give the dress a twenties feel. I also adore the scalloped hem and sleeves. Thank you, Buffalo Exchange and Elise for making me try this little number on.

Estate Sales

Estate sales are a great place to find some vintage pieces. They are typically advertised on Craigslist and often a lot better than garage sales because they aren't full of peoples' unwanted junk. A lot of times an estate sale is meant to liquidate nearly everything sellable from the home because someone has passed away or is moving. Here are a few things that interested me at my first one...
I thought this little handkerchief was precious. My guess is that it was a wedding gift given to the couple many years ago and it was kept throughout their marriage. Love this gold mirror selling for $175 Interesting little chair $45 old wooden hutch- can't remember how much but fun!

Retro Living

Can you say new favorite store???? Love love love looooovveeee!!!!
Can I please live here?
I just couldn't get ENOUGH of this store...Hence the many pictures.

The thing I LOVE about this furniture is that it's so artistic. It's not often the furniture itself is a unique piece of artwork. All of their furniture is refurbished vintage furniture and all of it is VERY expensive...but so wonderful. I found a couple of accessories that could be recreated but most of this furniture is just one of a kind.

San Fran Second Hand

Mickey's Monkey is one of the second hand stores I found the other day. It was fun poking around and talking to the guy who was working there. (Mostly because I was finding out the tricks of where they find their pieces so I could find them before they are get into a store like this!) Is that horrible? The owners of this store are basically hardcore estate sale goers and buyers. I mean, literally waking up at 4 or 5 AM on the weekends to get into a sale first. Looks like I'll be taking up that weekend hobby!

This little treasure reminded me of a clock my grandma Tygerson had in her house for as long as I can remember. I'm sure there are many Polaroids lying around with that clock in the background. Didn't think much of that clock back then but I'm just in love now.

Feel free to buy this for me :)

A Familiar Find

Recognize THIS??
Today I did a little exploring and found a jackpot of vintage furniture stores off of Valencia in San Fran. INSIDE one of them was this table and a set of six chairs...Looks slightly familiar doesn't it? That's because it is almost an exact match to the dining table and chairs I bought and sold a couple of months ago! Check it out here.What are the chances?? Apparently this mid-century stuff is pretty popular here therefore retail takes liberties in their pricing...Glad I found my set for $105!

A Little Stroll

I decided to take a quick walk last night. These are a few of the pretty things I saw the ten minutes I was outside my door. I couldn't make it too far since it was getting dark. I love all the colors here. For anyone who knows me, that's not really surprising. These pictures don't even show a sliver of all the beautiful architecture and fun homes in San Francisco


Love this.

Lovely Garden Table

I went to week 2 of the clothing drive this morning. I didn't find as much as I was hoping. However, the morning redeemed itself when I randomly stopped at a garage sale and found this charming little piece. The guy was asking $20 so I offered $10. He couldn't refuse so I'm now the proud owner of a table in need of much love. It's the perfect size for our little apartment!
The table and chair are all hand painted with these little details
My favorite part of this table is the carved edge.
I wish I would have taken a picture of this table AND all four chairs AND two humans stuffed into my dad's Chrysler 300 (which is NOT a truck OR SUV) Compliments of my resourceful husband, Ben. He might have been overly determined to make it in one trip.
How the heck am I going to redeem this thing from its grave?? Thoughts? Concerns? Let em roll

Refashioned Boy Shirt

And here's my after picture I promised! I lowered the neckline, took in the sides a tad and tacked the sleeves to stay rolled up.

Clothing Drive Find: Boy Shirt

This picture looks like one of those pictures you're supposed to find what doesn't fit. Can you guess? Okay I'll tell you...there's a boyish looking girl in a very pink room. Welcome to my pink room by the way! Yes, this is where I sleep right now. The shirt I'm wearing is one of my finds at the clothing drive. It's actually a boy's shirt which explains my boyish look today. Trust me, I found a way to make it look much more girly. Promise.
The only thing I really loved about this shirt and the reason I gave it a chance was 1. It was free and 2. The fabric is awesome. It's a jaquard knit and it reminds me of a knit sweater we have at Anthropologie right now. So obviously I had to take it.
P.S. Apologies for taking a photo RIGHT in front of the window. It's the only full length mirror around here unless you want a Myspace bathroom shot...Didn't think so.

After pictures coming soon!