The Object of My Desire: Summer Fun

When I saw this old croquet set decorating my pal Deb Kelt's yard a few weeks ago, I was once again reminded of all the summer fun my sister and I used to have at my Grandma Churchill's deep down in the Missouri Ozarks. And yes, we did play croquet.

However, the British imagery that you might associate with croquet may not describe the sort of matches we played on my grandma's farm just a few yards away from a droopy clothes line and a silvery propane tank on one side and a gooseberry bush and a meadow of mooing cows on the other. We loved taking a mallet and whacking the ball all over the yard, even though I never remember following any official rules.

Another British lawn game we loved was badminton. It never failed that our nets were tangled and torn or our birdies looked like they had been chewed by a dog or quite often lost their rubber nub when struck by a racket.

As for the birdies' official name, we would never have used the British term -- shuttlecock -- to describe these badminton essentials. Can you imagine? A kid deep in the Ozarks talking about serving a shuttlecock.

Grandma Churchill would have probably thought I was talking about lunch time or threatened to wash my mouth out with soap!

Noticing the changing colors of the treetops from my window....

The Elegant Thrifter

Always Frugal, Always Fabulous!

For more vintage memories, pick up The Find: The Housing Works Book of Decorating with Thrift Shop Treasures, Flea Market Objects, and Vintage Details at Borders, Barnes & Noble, Amazon or

Read more from this post in Shopping blog »

The Object of My Desire: Maybe Two

We all know deep-down that "things" don't make us happy. I realize, like most people, that my attachment to certain objects is based on the warm memories they evoke or the sentiments they stir -- not their designer labels, their lofty pedigrees or their rich price tags. Here are two things that make me happy -- not so much that they are a couple of objects among the many that fill my Manhattan apartment, but because these two pieces offer a slice of my own history and a nudge of inspiration each time I gaze upon them.

Obviously, there's the image of me with Dolly Parton, taken several years ago when she was on her "Halos and Horns" tour. I'm painfully reminded of the amount of hair I once had on my head and the wrinkles that have appeared on my brow and around my eyes, especially next to Dolly whose skin is smooth as a baby's behind! But that's a story for another day.

I always get a kick out of this photo because I was so nervous at the time that I didn't realize that Dolly was touching my arm. She had probably just responded to my silly remark," I feel like a five-year old meeting Santa Claus for the first time," to which Dolly responded, "Why, I'm just Granny Claus!" I'm always encouraged by Dolly's rags-to-riches story, think of all the good she's done for others and applaud her moxie for taking what she truly loves and turning it into a gazillion-dollar business.

I place my treasured photo atop this silver fork easel made by the fabulous Sharleen Reeder of Luticia Clementine's in my hometown of Independence, Mo. Every time I look at this fork, I'm reminded of my childhood shopping for back-to-school clothes on the historic Independence Square with my mom and sister. In those days, it was the hub of the Kansas City suburb, with major department stores and specialty shops encircling an old white court house where Harry Truman once worked.

Sharleen has a shop just steps away from the court house, and is known for taking odd pieces of silver, sugar bowls missing their lids, and even the lone lid itself and refashioning them all into decorative items packed with with and whimsy. Sharleen's creativity and skill alone makes you want to get out the hot glue gun and the sewing kit and jump head-first into a project!

Here's hoping your week is filled with people who inspire and memories that warm your heart.

For more vintage memories, pick up The Find: The Housing Works Book of Decorating with Thrift Shop Treasures, Flea Market Objects, and Vintage Details at Borders, Barnes & Noble, Amazon or Powell's.

The Elegant Thrifter

Always Frugal, Always Fabulous!

Read more from this post in Shopping blog »

Reuse & Repurpose: Bottled Up

Have you got a bunch of hot water bottles lying around that you just don't know what to do with? Maybe they just happen to be color coordinated and look pretty together but, blast it, you've just got too many of them?

If you're the display folks at the Italian jean maker Energie , you just slice an opening in the side of the bottle, pour in a little water and group it together with all your others on a wall as hanging vases for assorted wildflowers!

For more ideas on reusing everyday objects, pick up The Find: The Housing Works Book of Decorating with Thrift Shop Treasures, Flea Market Objects, and Vintage Details at Borders, Barnes & Noble, Amazon or Powell's.

The Elegant Thrifter

Always Frugal, Always Fabulous!

Read more from this post in Shopping blog »

The Find: Glass from the Past

Glass jars, like the beautiful apothecary variety that Jen over at at Pear Street Studios showed off yesterday, provide the perfect vessel to display almost any treasured collection. The trick is to gather similar objects -- either of shape, color, nomenclature or size -- and isolate them in the confines of a glass structure.

Et vôilà! Instant collection.

Two of my favorite examples of glassed-in collections were photographed by Jim Franco for my book The Find: The Housing Works Book of Decorating With Thrift Shop Treasures, Flea Market Objects, and Vintage Details.

This whimsical example above was discovered on the Fire Island getaway of Saltaire. Tall beer glasses, easily found at thrift shops or discount stores, are filled with multi-colored sea glass where their hues and translucence capture the eye from their perch on a screened-in back porch. You could even use dissimilar shaped glasses to create a collection, provided they don't have distracting, inharmonious embellishments.

I also adore the way that Yasmine McGrane, owner and founder of Maison Rěve in Mill Valley, California, gathered clothespins and Scrabble tiles in apothecary jars for a thoughtful display. For further appeal, she separated the French wooden clothespins from the American variety.

Just last month while visiting Yasmine at Maison Rěve in Mill Valley and celebrating the launch of The Find, I rummaged around in her workroom and snapped a photo of these wooden Lego blocks, grouped together and plopped inside what looks to me like an over sized pickle or mayonnaise jar.

For more ideas for creating eye-catching collections, pick up The Find: The Housing Works Book of Decorating with Thrift Shop Treasures, Flea Market Objects, and Vintage Details at Borders, Barnes & Noble, Amazon or Powell's.

Collecting my own thoughts on a beach getaway myself!

The Elegant Thrifter

Always Frugal, Always Fabulous!

Read more from this post in Shopping blog »

The Gift of Thrift: Snack Time

When a box from Independence, Mo., arrives, you can bet that the contents will be intriguing. In the past, my mom and dad have sent through the mail things like Rice Krispie Treats and a vintage bean pot, as well as forgotten phone chargers and computer cables. Now I was forewarned of this arriving package that contained a sampling of an estate sale Mom and Dad recently attended, and just look what was inside.

A gorgeous Betty Crocker's Picture Cook Book!

Printed in 1950, the recipes eschew butter in most instances, and lean toward "salad oil" or shortening. Some of the cooking tips are quite rib-tickling. Worried about how to increase the size of a dish ? "Use exactly twice the amount of each ingredient." Making a smaller portion? You guessed it! "Use exactly one-half the amount of each ingredient." I also adore the Dutch floral motif printed on the cover of the cookbook so much that I'm going to try to incorporate it into a re-do of my hideously ugly kitchen. (More on that later!)

Then there is the box labeled "Small Fork." Yes, in quotation marks. My dad specifically picked these pastel-hued, Japan-made, mini-forks. I imagine these cute forks are from the 1960s and are perfect for spearing an hors d'oeuvre, such as one listed in my new, old cookbook. Take a stab at a cucumber-anchovy canapé or chili-sardine snack.

And I've got the perfect recipe!

For more entertaining ideas, pick up The Find: The Housing Works Book of Decorating with Thrift Shop Treasures, Flea Market Objects, and Vintage Details at Borders, Barnes & Noble, Amazon orPowell's.

The Elegant Thrifter

Always Frugal, Always Fabulous!

Read more from this post in Shopping blog »

The Find: Two Times Two

Today's entry looks a little different today because I'm reposting a guest blog I did for Kim over at Twice Remembered. Her blog is full of inspirational ideas and written with a genuine sentiment. If you haven't met her, go introduce yourself!

Guest Blogger: Author of "The Find", Stan Williams

{Please help welcome today's guest blogger Stan Williams, author of the book The Find: The Housing Works Book of Decorating with Thrift Shop Treasures, Flea Market Objects, and Vintage Details . Thanks for sharing, Stan!}

---

ello to all the talented followers of Twice Remembered. I’m honored to contribute a guest blog, especially since Kim’s work embodies exactly the kind of innovative talent that’s featured in my book, The Find: The Housing Works Book of Decorating With Thrift Shop Treasures, Flea Market Objects, and Vintage Details. I wrote The Find to inspire people to try their hand at decorating with vintage and thrift finds. And the most common question I get is “How do I know what to buy?”

Now I know that for the most part, Kim’s followers KNOW what to buy, because I see it in your own blogs, but here are a few ideas for those who might need a little jumpstart.

1. Set a budget. Going into debt buying vintage and thrift items defeats your thrifty fun. I always say pay with cash if you can. It gives you great negotiating power, and when it’s gone, well, you stop shopping.

2. Try to buy your vintage and thrift treasures in the condition you’ll use them, or in a state that you can easily clean or repair. I avoid items that are going to turn into messy projects or that I don’t know how to refurbish.


{New York decoupage artist John Derian bought this crusty metal chair and welcomed its weathered patina into his home. Photo from The Find by Jim Franco.}

3. Buy quality over provenance. I never worry about a brand or a label that’s attached to a potential piece that attracts me. Instead, I am a stickler for quality. Watch for thin laminates, drawers that don’t open easily, and furniture that’s over wobbly or warped. Now there is NOTHING wrong with collecting specific brands and marks, especially if it’s your passion. It’s just not mine.


{Hallmark VP and design whiz David Jimenez took this common Thomasville server and with a coat of black paint turned it into a focal point in his Kansas City dining room. Photo from The Find by Bob Greenspan.}

4. Paint is your friend! A shabby desk or a distraught table might gain a fresh new lease on life with a fresh coat of paint and new hardware.


{Jimenz found this chair at a yard sale and with a fresh coat of paint he turned it into a bedroom treasure. Photo from The Find by Bob Greenspan.}

5. Color is a great unifier. Dissimilar pieces all of a sudden appear as old friends with a consistent color story. This is especially useful when putting together a mix-and-match collection of china.


{Prop stylist Joe Maer used blue and white hues to unify his mix-and-match china. Photo from The Find by Jim Franco.}

6. And finally, only buy what you love. If you are just so-so about a piece, well just leave it for the next shopper. Thrift karma rewards those who are not greedy and leave a little something for someone else. Also, if you are truly drawn to an item, then if you buy it, it should be easier to to incorporate it into your décor, even if you have to get rid of something else.


{From the Birmingham, Alabama home of Coastal Living's Heather Chadduck. She loves decorating with numerals and everything French. Photo from The Find by Jim Franco.}

If you’d like your own copy of The Find, it’s available at Barnes and Noble, Borders and on Amazon. Being The Elegant Thrifter, it’s my frugal duty to inform you that the best price is at Amazon! Come visit me atwww.theelegantthrifter.com. I look forward to meeting you.

Always Frugal, Always Fabulous!

Stan Williams
The Elegant Thrifter

Read more from this post in Shopping blog »

Sublime Sundays: Spruce Up Your Space!

Here's the piece that Open House ran about The Find this morning. Here, I'm in the Chelsea apartment decorated by Mark Ciolli of Carl & Co.

Enjoy!

LXTV - Great Finds That Will Spruce Up Your Space

Shared via AddThis

Read more from this post in Shopping blog »

The Gift of Thrift: Freshly Squeezed

Once again the gods of thrift were watching over me as I recently hit the thrift shops in Austin, Texas. I was seeking one item: a platter upon which to serve my pineapple upside-down cake at a celebration for The Find: The Housing Works Book of Decorating With Thift Shop Treasures, Flea Market Objects, and Vintage details, hosted by Leann Stephenson, The (might I add FABULOUS to her name) Vintage Laundress.

I found my cake's serving platter in nothing flat, knowing that my thrift karma was in good shape. But while was rummaging through all the dishes and odd plates, I found a little plastic bag of metal coasters for $1 celebrating the state of Florida. Immediately, it reminded me of my pal Mark Ciolli, principal at Carl & Co., who when he's not in New York, resides in his gorgeous Fort Lauderdale home.

I simply bought these because I loved them, and know how much Mark adores his Florida get-away. So I stacked them up, wrapped a satin bow on the set, and stuck them in my bag to offer Mark as an appreciation gift, not knowing that the six metal coasters would have much more significance to him.

Mark remembers as a kid growing up in the 1970s spying these metal coasters for sale in the 1970s at the Tasty House restaurant and gift shops, which were part of the brand-new-at-the-time Days Inn hotel chain., where Mark's dad was vice president/director of openings and operations.

For me, the coasters bring back fond memories of my family's trip to trip to Orlando, Florida, also in the mid-1970s. We drove all the way from Independence, Mo, in our 1973 Chevrolet Impala to Orlando, which must have been a two-day trip of full-time driving knowing how my dad likes to drive. It was the first time I touched the sandy beach of the ocean, and just the second time we'd ever stayed in a motel. And off course, we went to Disney World where Space Mountain was a fantastically scary roller coaster for a 10-year-old.

For more vintage memories, pick up The Find: The Housing Works Book of Decorating with Thrift Shop Treasures, Flea Market Objects, and Vintage Details at Borders, Barnes & Noble, Amazon or Powell's.

Here's to many more memories of summer fun!

The Elegant Thrifter

Always Frugal, Always Fabulous!

Programing Note: I'll be on the New York edition of Open House, 8:30 a.m. this Sunday, August 9, on NBC Channel 4. Crank up the DVR!

Read more from this post in Shopping blog »

Reuse & Repurpose: Knife Work!

Last week I shared with you a "spoondelier," and today, I offer a Silverware Skyline. As I walked by the window of Fishs Eddy the other day, I saw New York in a whole new perspective, thanks to this Empire State Building made mostly of knives, a smaller, neighboring structure crafted out of spoons, and a Chrysler Building (not in this photo) made of forks and plates, all emulating the Manhattan skyline in flatware!

For more ideas on how to mix and match your dishes, pick up The Find: The Housing Works Book of Decorating with Thrift Shop Treasures, Flea Market Objects, and Vintage Details at Borders, Barnes & Noble, Amazon or Powell's.

The Elegant Thrifter

Always Frugal, Always Fabulous!

Read more from this post in Shopping blog »

The Find: As Is

When hitting the thrift stores and the flea markets, my one word of advice when considering upholstered furniture is to seek items that you can buy and use in your home as-is. Certainly, there are a gazillion examples of fine furniture discoveries where the purchaser has graciously invested in a reupholstery job to fabulous effect. That is fantastic, and even better if you know how to do it yourself.

But you're talking to The Elegant Thrifter, here. Like many of you, I have never attempted an upholstery job, but I do know it can cost a lot of money, especially if it's done right.

Here's an example of an incredible thrift discovery that I photographed when doing my research for The Find: The Housing Works Book of Decorating With Thirft Shop Treasures, Flea Market Objects, and Vintage Details. Mark Ciolli, principal of the New York

design firm, Carl & Co., told me a story in The Find about how he purchased this elegant,tuxedo sofa at a Housing Works Thrift Shop. "For Ciolli, it was a perfect find: the gold-and-white jacquard upholstery was in pristine condition, so he kept it the way it was. The price was right at $245, and it measured 110 inches long -- perfect for lounging his 6-foot, 1-inch fame" Says Ciolli of his discovery in The Find. "I love it because it's the first sofa that I can actually sleep on if I want to.' '

For more examples of Ciolli's marvelous work, pick up The Find: The Housing Works Book of Decorating with Thrift Shop Treasures, Flea Market Objects, and Vintage Details at Borders, Barnes & Noble, Amazon or Powell's.

The Elegant Thrifter

Always Frugal, Always Fabulous!

Read more from this post in Shopping blog »

The Gift of Thrift: Message in a Bottle

My pals over at The Hired Guns recently took a few select folks on a cocktail sea cruise around Manhattan, and here are the invites! They took easy-to-find bottles, glued a copy of a vintage map on the front and rolled the the invitation through the opening for a clever invite that definitely grabbed people's attention.

When I saw the paper portion of the invites, I suggested they go a step further and make the edges look weathered and rustic....sort of like the things we did in Cub Scouts. Now I'm sure there are other ways to do this (rip the edges and apply shoe polish, stain the paper with tea, and so on....), but I looked to my inner pyromaniac and burned all 40 or so pieces with a lighter myself.

I didn't realize what a project I had taken on, let alone how much smoke I would create, prompting several office mates to "jump ship," and the janitorial staff to make an unexpected visit. Either way, I love the way they turned out. Note the little red wax seal on each bottle that gives them an even more personal touch.

For more unique party ideas that won't break the bank, pick up The Find: The Housing Works Book of Decorating with Thrift Shop Treasures, Flea Market Objects, and Vintage Details at Borders, Barnes & Noble, Amazon or Powell's.

Drifting off for the weekend!

The Elegant Thrifter

Always Frugal, Always Fabulous!

Read more from this post in Shopping blog »

Reuse & Repurpose: Spooning

How can you not love this "spoondelier" made out of vintage silver-plate flatware from a company called Cake? It was featured in Home Accents Today as a highlight from the Atlanta Market, and I've searched high and low to find out more about this brand, but to no avail. I do know someone, however, who creates all kinds of crafty magic out of old flatware and vintage china pieces, and that would be Sharleen Reeder of Luticia Clementine's in my hometown of Independence, Mo.

While this creation has a retail price tag of $1,500, according to Home Accents Today, I bet Sharleen could make something similar at a fraction of the price. She's already known for taking odd pieces of silverware and turning them into jewelry, fan pulls and miniature easels. Why, she's even been known to take teacups and their matching saucers and refashion them into gorgeous garden accessories.

I featured Sharleen's talents in The Find: The Housing Works Book of Decorating With Thrift Shop Treasures, Flea Market Objects, and Vintage Details. When I interviewed her, she said it pains her to take an entire set of silver and cut it up into pieces for resale. "But I feel like if I can turn these things into somethign that people will actually use, then at least someone is enjoying in the home," Reeder says in The Find.

Here's a photo that Bob Greenspan shot of Sharleen's work while we were photographing The Find. You can see that her bent-fork easel is a whimsical way to display photographs, business cards or even recipes.

For more of Sharleen's charming handiwork, pick up your copy of The Find: The Housing Works Book of Decorating with Thrift Shop Treasures, Flea Market Objects, and Vintage Details at Borders, Barnes & Noble, Amazon or Powell's.

Always Frugal, Always Fabulous!

The Elegant Thrifter

Read more from this post in Shopping blog »

Fabulous & Frugal Fun: Secrets Revealed

Sonya at Dime Store Thrift is a sly gal. After weeks of chatting in the blogosphere about her own passion for thrift shopping and my giving her some tips for her vacation to the Kansas City area, she finally talked me into giving her an interview, and it was a doozey! I can't believe all the of the details that she dragged out of me! Read it here.

So charming is Sonya, combined with my own gift of gab, that she, for the first time ever, finagled out of me the top-secret recipe for my famous pineapple upside-down cake. It's similar to the one featured in the Los Angeles Times, the one I made for Sharleen Reeder at Luticia Clementine's in Independence, Mo., the one for Yasmine McGrane of Maison Rêve in Mill Valley, Calif., the one for a Bastille Day party that The Vintage Laundress threw in Austin, and the one for the New York VIP dinner celebrating the launch of The Find: The Housing Works Book of Decorating With Thrift Shop Treasures, Flea Market Objects, and Vintage Details in May. Until this morning, I've never completely revealed how I make my cake.

But it looks like the cat is out of the bag!

I can no longer demure a request for my pineapple upside-down cake recipe. Thanks to Sonya, you can attempt your own version of my cake with the recipe here. But what I can tell you is that if I make a cake for you, you'll never know which version I used -- the boxed or the scratched. Like I told Sonya last night, many fancy folks have feasted on Betty Crocker and left not a crumb!

For your own copy of The Find: The Housing Works Book of Decorating with Thrift Shop Treasures, Flea Market Objects, and Vintage Details head on over to Borders, Barnes & Noble, Amazon or Powell's.

Always Frugal, Always Fabulous!

The Elegant Thrifter

Read more from this post in Shopping blog »

The Find: High Strung

While I was thrifting my way through the streets of San Francisco a few weeks ago, I dropped into a Goodwill in Pacific Heights and was greeted right inside the door by this funny hodgepodge of guitars and ukuleles. It was an instant collection ripe for the picking. Provided you had the space, I imagine an entire walled filled with these stringed treasures, hung just as they are, or even painted -- all one color or a mixture of hues -- for a visual treat.

These plucky items also made me think of a wall decorated with old tennis rackets that I relished when I was scouting locations a few summers back for The Find: The Housing Works Book of Decorating With Thrift Shop Treasures, Flea Market Objects, and Vintage Details. Hanging on the front porch of a beach cottage on the Fire Island community of Saltaire, a couple of the rackets had popped their guts, one was cracked and another was still hanging in its protective wooden frame.

The rackets appeared as if they were just waiting to be grabbed and toted off to the tennis court for a neighborly, early-morning match. Maybe they had hung there so long that when newer technology finally replaced them, they maintained their place of honor. Or maybe the trio is purely decorative. Either way, they serve up a pleasing focal point in this dreamy, relaxed locale.

For more images from Saltaire, pick up The Find: The Housing Works Book of Decorating with Thrift Shop Treasures, Flea Market Objects, and Vintage Details at Borders, Barnes & Noble, Amazon or Powell's.

Always Frugal, Always Fabulous!

The Elegant Thrifter

Read more from this post in Shopping blog »

The Object of My Desire: A Thank-You Note

Writing The Find: The Housing Works Book of Decorating With Thrift Shop Treasures, Flea Market Objects, and Vintage Details was a pure labor of love. It truly means so much to me to hear from everyone who has been touched by its photos, its words and its mission.

I am also deeply grateful for all of the talents featured in The Find. Each of them gave so freely gave of their time, their efforts and their creative energy. For without their gracious contributions, this book would never have been published. Then there are all the people who have purchased The Find, and all of my fans in the blogosphere who boost my morale every single day: you are true treasures who have become like cherished friends to me.

The other day I was feeling a little blah. Nothing serious -- just one of those steamy New York days when nothing seemed to be going the way I had planned. A friend told me that he'd seen the book on display at Rizzoli, the exquisite book purveyor in New York City, So thinking that seeing my book featured among some of the best art and design books in the world would boost my morale, I hopped a train uptown to check it out for myself. (I also had a gift certificate, with which I purchased The Private World of Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé, an amazing book documenting the couple's private residences and showcasing their talent for inspiring interiors....but more on that later.)

I walked right into the shop, and there on a table among all the other gorgeous design books from around the world was The Find. I watched for a few minutes as shoppers flipped through its pages, and then went to the manager to ask if I could take a picture of my book on display. He said yes, but only if I signed the copies in the store. Of course, I had my brown, calligraphy pen on hand, and happily signed them all.

For your own copy of The Find: The Housing Works Book of Decorating with Thrift Shop Treasures, Flea Market Objects, and Vintage Details at Borders, Barnes & Noble, Amazon or Powell's.

Always Frugal, Always Fabulous!

The Elegant Thrifter

Read more from this post in Shopping blog »

Reuse & Repurpose: My Cup of Tea

Today's unexpected use for everyday objects comesfrom Swiss designer Laura Pregger, via Design*Sponge. According to Design*Sponge, Laura is known for taking manufacturers' seconds and re-crafting them into new forms and purposes If you love the fanciful teacup chandelier like I do, click on Laura's link above to witness the chic lighting she makes out of bowls as well.

For more ideas on how to repurpose common household discoveries, pick up The Find: The Housing Works Book of Decorating with Thrift Shop Treasures, Flea Market Objects, and Vintage Details atBorders,Barnes & Noble, Amazon or Powell's.

Always Frugal, Always Fabulous!

The Elegant Thrifter

Read more from this post in Shopping blog »

The Find: Go! Go! Go!

One of my favorite locations we photographed in The Find: The Housing Works Book of Decorating With Thrift Shop Treasures, Flea Market Objects, and Vintage Details, is Go-Go's Jane Wiedlin's downtown LA loft, decorated by my fabulous pals at Jonamor Décor. I love this location because it exudes Jane's quirky personality, lit by imagery from girlie pin-ups, space-aged objects and a lust for originality and humor.

I also like the way she incorporated what could have been eyesores, like the columns that run through her space, and turned them into pleasing focal points. The column on the right was painted an intergalactic silver, and then ringed with metal shelves to show off her collection of pin-up cocktail glasses and retro barware. And oh, there's me standing in front of the fireplace made of river stone, crafted by the creative folks at Skellramics.

Oh, she's got the beat!

For more space-aged looks into Jane's space, pick up The Find: The Housing Works Book of Decorating with Thrift Shop Treasures, Flea Market Objects, and Vintage Details at Borders,Barnes & Noble, Amazon or Powell's.

Always Frugal, Always Fabulous!

The Elegant Thrifter

Read more from this post in Shopping blog »

The Object of My Desire: A French Fan

These days, I seem to be cast in a French theme as I consistently find items that remind me of my favorite place on earth: France. While perusing the Allemany Flea Market in San Francisco last week, I spied this trio of cardboard hand fans promoting Air France, and all the places it must have flown in the day. I sneaked one of these fanciful fans into The Vintage Laundress LeAnn Stephenson's Bastille Day themed Hooch Bag a few days ago.

These fans reminded me of the first time I flew to France, on Air France, in 1985, on my way to a year of study at the University of Bordeaux. It was the first time I'd flown overseas, and I had to fly from Kansas City to New York's JFK, and change terminals to make my Air France flight.

Once I entered the plane, it was glamour abound. Coupes of champagne, French flight attendants dressed in crisp uniforms, dinner menus, china plates and Paris! I was headed to Paris, where I would meet a group of fellow students who would spend a week in the City of Lights before snaking down south through the Loire River Valley and finally reaching our destination, Bordeaux.

It was one of the best years of my life, and I visit France as often as I can. But for now, I'll take one of the fans I saved for myself, and dream....breezily.

For more dreamy inspiration, pick up The Find: The Housing Works Book of Decorating with Thrift Shop Treasures, Flea Market Objects, and Vintage Details at Borders, Barnes & Noble, Amazon or Powell's.

Always Frugal, Always Fabulous!

The Elegant Thrifter

Read more from this post in Shopping blog »

Fabulous & Frugal Fun: Bright Eyed and Bushy Tailed!

Whew! What a difference a great night of sleep makes! (I slept until 9:30 this morning, and I NEVER do that!)

Last night's Bastille Day blowout at Austin's Uptown Modern hosted by LeAnn Stephenson, The Vintage Laundress, was one of the most amazing nights on my book tour. She went all out with delicious snacks, and created a guest list of wonderful people to celebrate The Find: The Housing Works Book of Decorating With Thrift Shop Treasures, Flea Market Objects, and Vintage Details.

Here's a snap of me with LeAnn and Jean Heath, who so graciously opened the doors to her fantastic Uptown Modern, an Austin emporium for amazing mid-century finds, for our get-together. What makes this photo even more special is that it was taken by LeAnn's incredibly talented daughter, Olivia.

Like mother like daughter!

Always Frugal, Always Fabulous,

The Elegant Thrifter

Read more from this post in Shopping blog »

The Find: Bleary-Eyed in Houston

I just got off the red-eye flight from San Francisco to Houston, en route Austin for tonight's blowout at Uptown Modern, hosted by The Vintage Laundress, to celebrate The Find: The Housing Works Book of Decorating With Thrift Shop Treasures, Flea Market Objects, and Vintage Details. My day has already started out with a sign of things to come: Redbook's August issue features The Find on page 140!

Since my body still wants to sleep, I'll share with you some of the things it might have been dreaming about -- like Yasmine McGrane's latest finds for Maison Rêve. Hey, it is Bastille Day, so I'm dreaming in French!

For more about Yasmine and her Maison Rêve, pick up The Find: The Housing Works Book of Decorating with Thrift Shop Treasures, Flea Market Objects, and Vintage Details atBorders, Barnes & Noble, Amazon or Powell's.

Always Frugal, Always Fabulous!

The Elegant Thrifter

Read more from this post in Shopping blog »