Decluttering For Oz

What do you do when you find out that your best friend, whom you've known since the age of 5 and who lives in Australia, tells you she's getting married?  You check out the airfare, have a heart attack and then you pick yourself off the floor and have the biggest garage sale of your life.  And that is just what I did.

 Monsieur and I had a garage sale at my mother's place as we live in a condo.  A neighbour of my mother's was having a garage sale and asked if we wanted to have one too as a neighbourhood event would likely elicit more interest.  Unfortunately, due to a mixup, we were told that the start time was 9 am when they posted ads stating the start time as 8 am.  So when we pulled into the driveway at 8 am, we were feeling very pleased with ourselves for making such good time for once and congratulating each other with "La, la, la, lots of time to unload the car and set up pretty displays." Imagine our shock to see the street packed with cars, lots of people shopping and, OH NO, driving away.  There wasn't time to take photos as we were inundated by people diving into boxes as we were hauling them out of the car.  It was like being surrounded by crazed sharks and we or our boxes of stuff were the chum.  These photos were taken later in the morning after the initial rush was over.  By this point, there wasn't much left.

I sold off tons of Pyrex and lots of cool vintage things.  I know!  Sacrilege!  But living in a condo means a lack of storage and no driveway to have a garage sale.  So I really wanted to make the most of this opportunity.  I only had 3 days to pull everything together so there wasn't much time to agonize over what should stay and what should go.  I might have done some extreme decluttering as Monsieur asked me at one point if I thought I was going a bit overboard.  Quite a few people complimented me on the unusual, good quality things I had for offer.  I might have priced things too low but my mother lives an hour away from me and, after 3 days straight of packing and pricing things to sell, I just couldn't face the thought of hauling it all back. I just wanted to sell as much as I could.

Of 13 boxes of stuff, not counting the large items that wouldn't fit into a banker box, I was left with 2.5 boxes of stuff.  All in all, a good result.  Sadly, I checked my email later that afternoon and my cable and telephone bill had arrived and it was for almost the same amount as what we made at the sale.  Talk about a deflating moment!  I might need to have another garage sale but Monsieur is worried that all we will be left with is the bed and the clothes on our backs.  At this point, I am not sure if I will make it to Oz but I know, if I don't go, I will regret it forever.  Maybe it is age but my thoughts have been turning more and more towards the land of my birth.  It steals into my dreams and, when I wake, I am filled with longing and sadness.  In the spirit of staying optimistic, I have been making a short list of things I would like to get should I go. The first would be compostable toothbrushes.

The Environmental Toothbrush

I know the thought of getting toothbrushes from the other side of the world sounds crazy but I have been trying, one baby step at a time, to be more environmentally aware.  These Australian compostable toothbrushes have such a luxe, spa like look and the cost is not exorbitant but, once international shipping is tacked on, it does make it cost prohibitive especially when compared to a cheapie, 99 cent plastic toothbrush.
I would like to check out some Australian organic skincare lines.  I cringe now when I think of how careless I was with my skin back when I was labouring under the delusion of the invincibility of youth.  Everyone has heard of Jurlique so I would love to check them out.

via Jurlique

  

I am definitely going to stock up on another Aussie wool blanket.  Of course, because the seasons are reversed, I might not find them as it will be high summer at the time of the wedding.  If you are an Aussie blogger in either Brisbane or Sydney and would like to get together for a cuppa and a chat around the New Year or first week of January, 2015, let me know!

And of course, with the mass exodus of stuff, a little thrifting was in order.  I was good though, I promise.  I stuck to useful things that I "needed".  Case in point, this amazing vintage German camelhair blanket.  It is huge as it easily covers a queen sized bed.  I have never come across a camelhair blanket before and it would not look out of place as a prop in a Ralph Lauren store.  It is so wonderfully dense and cozy, perfect for a frosty Winter night.

What?!  Pumpkins already?

I am not ready for Autumn yet.  Where did the Summer go?  Are you ready?

I am linking up with Sir Thrift A Lot, A Living Space, A Stroll Thru Life and We Call It Junkin.

A Vintage Picnic In the Garden of Eden

There are times when life hits a roadblock.  Recently, the downturn in health of a significant other has meant a trip to emergency, multiple blood transfusions and then daily visits to the hospital.  All of a sudden, yardsaling, home decor and writing about such things seem to fade away.  However, at the urging of said significant other, I did manage to go to a sale recently.  I have to admit that it was a very much needed stress release to get up, go saling and go to the hospital bursting with news of my find.  So what did I find?  I knew as soon as I saw it sitting underneath a table that it was a fabled vintage Redman picnic basket.

This basket is enormous, most definitely what could be termed a "family" picnic basket.  I opened it up and saw plastic cups, plates, vintage packages of plastic spoons and a vintage tablecloth.  It was as if time had passed it by.  I debated and debated the praticality of buying it.  How I loved it!  I loved it the more because everything you could possibly need for a picnic was in that basket and I just knew that it had seen many family outings full of summer sunshine and laughter.  But it was so very large and my home so very small.  And I thought of a certain person lying on a hospital bed who would surely scold me for making such a whimsical purchase. With regret and many backwards glances, I left it behind.

And yet, as you see, it is now with me.  I went off to the hospital with my regretful tale of the wondrous picnic basket that I left behind.  And what did the significant other say to me?  "I wish you had bought it.  Go back and get it."  And so I drove rather swiftly back, my heart in my mouth the whole way, thinking of the impossibility that it would still be there.

But it was.  And because the sale was winding down, I got it for 50% off.  I can't even describe my feelings when I went back and saw it there.  It was as if it was all meant to be and the basket was waiting patiently for me to find it and live days of sunshine filled joy again.

Remarkably, buried under the plastic cups and plates was the pie riser or shelf.  After all, a picnic isn't really a picnic without a pie.

And flowers of course.  And fresh berries.  After all, it is given that there will be beautiful flowers when picnicking in the Garden of Eden.

I'm linking up to Apron Thrift Girl, A Stroll Thru Life, Coastal Charm, Southern Hospitality, My Romantic Home, The Thrifty Groove, Her Library Adventures.

Birthday Flowers & Milk Glass Vases

There is something so wonderfully Springtimey about tulips, don't you think?  Perhaps because the bulbs slumber in the cold ground through the winter and then burst forth as the earth begins to warm and awaken from its long sleep.  As yesterday was my birthday, Monsieur presented me with not one but two bunches of tulips. One bouquet was purple as, lately, I have been leaning towards that shade and the other one had orange petals rimmed in yellow as he cannot resist those colours especially when twinned together in a flower.  I do adore being presented with bouquets of flowers.  When I was asked what I wanted for my birthday, I found to my surprise that I couldn't think of a single thing.  All I could think was, "I want to be happy."  Does that sound childishly naive or boringly grownup?  But who can resist opening the door to a smiling face and bouquets of Spring tulips?

For some reason, the orange and the purple worked well together.  And as luck would have it, I had recently thrifted another vintage milk glass vase, this time a fluted one.  I had found my very first milk glass vase a little while ago (the one with the orange tulips) and fallen in love with it.  You can read about my adventure in acquiring it here. 

A milk glass vase is very forgiving as its opacity blocks from view ugly stems and one's laziness in trimming the aforesaid stems or diligently changing the water.  And it's always nice to have a pair.

And these vases are the perfect size and shape for tulips.  No fiddling or arranging or messing with flower frogs.  I am very grateful for tulips' easy beauty as they make me seem arty and clever without really being that at all.

Milk glass bud vases turn up with fair regularity in the thrifts but I was looking for one in a size that would complement the one I already had.  Plus the one vase was beginning to look a little lonely in its solitary glacial splendour.  You can imagine how thrilled I was to come across another one that fit the bill perfectly.

And of course, a birthday isn't a birthday without cake.

 

Tulips in pretty vintage vases and a decadent cake.  What more could a girl want?

I'm liking up with Apron Thrift Girl, A Stroll Thru Life, Knick of Time, My Romantic Home, French Country Cottage, Thrifty Groove. 

Morning Glory

Long weekends make everything and nothing possible.  One can do whatever one desires or one can do nothing at all.  That is the beauty of the long weekend.  And what could be better than Labour Day long weekend to dally in bed a little longer and delight in breakfast whilst reclining grandly against sumptuous pillows and contemplating doing nothing particularly laborious?

There is something so wonderfully decadent about breakfast in bed.  The day patiently awaits one's pleasure.

Or rather, the entire world can wait as one bites in a buttery croissant.

Any day is perfect if one can start by inhaling the scent of a perfect white rose.

The frosty tartness of lemonade with floating slices of lemon reminds one of the golden days of Summer.

The morning dawns glorious when a loved one asks, "Would you like breakfast in bed?" and that touch of loving kindness suffuses the rest of the day, as it should.

I'm linking up to  A Stroll Thru Life,  French Country Cottage, A Delightsome Life, A Beach Cottage, Faith, Grace and Crafts, My Romantic Home, and Serenity Now.



Playing Miss Chatelaine

I have only come lately to the delights of flower arranging.   Forgive the pun but yes, I am a late bloomer.  For many years, I thought that faffing around with flowers was an unneccessary indulgence.  And as adamant as I was that it was an accomplishment more suited to the Victorian age, I am now a most fervent convert.  There is something so supremely meditative about choosing what blooms will delight my senses the most and then the careful, or in my inexperienced case, the not so careful arranging in a suitable vessel. 

I do realize that carnations have a humble reputation as being cheap and ubiquitous but, at $3.50 for a large bunch at the local flower shop, I didn't mind.  And I  found something quite charming in their pink frilly unpretentiousness.

And humble or not, a perfect bloom can elevate something quite simple and mundane to the level of the sublime.  

Ordinarily, I am not the most serene of persons as I am easily flustered but the cool composure inherent in the silky petals makes me feel wonderfully serene and  ladylike as I indulge in arranging and rearranging bouquets of flowers. 

I admit now that, in this rough and tumble world, this particular accomplishment of the Chatelaine of the home to be a most worthy one indeed.

 Linking up to A Beach Cottage, Between Naps On The Porch, My Romantic Home and Serenity Now.