I Spy: Campaign, Chrome and Brass

Who am I kidding? Is it fair to even call it treasure-hunting if I keep revisiting the same treasure chest? Let's not worry ourselves about that. Here is the truth: Cypress Point Antique Mall in Virginia Beach is one of my favorite spots in the state, and one of the main reasons is that every time I go, the merchandise has almost completely turned over. Also, the prices are seriously amazing.

Enough about that. Let's play I Spy. First up: a pair of campaign-style nightstands or shelves for $85. I can imagine painting them kelly green like this one, or popping lacquered white wood on top and using them to form a modern desk.

 Right beside the campaign furniture were these two chrome and glass side tables. Nothing gives a little shine and modernity to a space like chrome! These were also less than $100 for the pair.

 I don't need one, but this little midcentury cabinet would be perfect as a bar or for holding collector vinyl. It was $95.

 Someday, when I design my fantasy man cave for Sean, I want to put in framed shark teeth or arrowheads, like this set. Something like that looks really cool among paintings and photography in a gallery wall.

 Some brass sculptures just conjure memories of cheesy hotel rooms, but done right, a brass sculpture can really pop against a wall, like in this room. I think these butterflies would look sweet above a fireplace or in a girl's room. This one was a super affordable $35!

 This awesome man chair was marked $200 as-is. I didn't see the obvious problem with it, but that's a steal.

 I couldn't find a price, but these were very clean, very cool mod pendants that would look AHMAZING over a marble island in a kitchen.

 This was so freakin' weird, but it spoke to me. Half-moon shaped bud vase, $8.

 The color is totally washed out in this pic, but these pretty birdies were celedon-colored ceramic! So pretty, and would look gorgeous on a bookshelf. I think it was $25 for the pair.

 This midcentury cabinet was $325. If you took out the glass and middle shelf, that could easily hold a small TV! It could also double as a bookshelf, and obviously, a china cabinet.

 Is this hideous? It probably is. They had two of these rope-wrapped frames around black and white pictures of WWII-era boats and they seemed weirdly awesome to me. $10 each.

 I loved this gold-stripe vase! It looks both modern and ancient at the same time. It was $12.

 Who can resist a gold-and-ceramic elephant? Okay, probably most people. But it definitely reminded me of Young House Love and Sherry's obsession with white ceramic animals.

This brass lamp would look so hot with a red-orange drum shade, I think. Its price tag was all tattered, so I have no idea how much it cost!

And finally, this BIG, beautiful mirror was $85. EIGHTY-FIVE DOLLAS! I was thisclose to buying it just because, but I honestly don't have a place to put it. If I were renovating a bathroom, however, or had a big entryway, I'd snap that up. I think gilded, fancy mirrors like this look especially nice with spare, simple furnishings.

As for me? I ended up buying that brass vase you might have seen yesterday, and this really cool guy:

It's a walnut lazy susan! Perfect for condiments, or even jewelry or nail polishes!

Our Beautiful New Dresser!

Sean and I just had a pretty life-changing event: We bought a new dresser.

Hm, doesn't seem life-changing to you? Well, as you can see in the picture above, we were sharing one six-drawer dresser for all of our underwear, socks, exercise clothes, undershirts and swimsuits. It was a pretty desperate situation. The drawers wouldn't fully close. I literally lost a shirt in there that we found when we moved the dresser! It was not working at all. 

I loved the dresser, a mid-century style teak Swedish number we got from Sean's parents, and wanted something complementary, so about three years ago I began hunting. For some reason, years of Craigslist, thrift store and antique shop stalking yielded few results that were affordable or weren't snapped up immediately. But THEN...

My friend Becky introduced me to Era Vintage Shop, a new mid-century and retro goods shop started by her friend, Diana. Diana hunts down some killer finds and makes them available for purchase online. For Richmond-area folks, she offers delivery or pick-up, which is what we did.

I saw this Bassett long six-drawer dresser on her site for $175 and literally bought it immediately after a quick call to Sean to get the OK. It holds everything the old dresser held and we still have one empty drawer to fight over! The old dresser shifted across the room, where it now holds a bunch of hair stuff and make-up and accessories.

 Things that are surprisingly hard to do: style a long dresser like this! Maybe someday I'll get a couple matching lamps or vases and some amazing art to balance it out, but for now, I just scooped some stuff up from around the house. One of my many recent finds included this apology note Sean gave me when we were first dating. It says, "I'm a little clumsy with words." So cute.

On Sunday, I made a quick swing through one of my favorite antique shops in Virginia Beach after a bridal shower and picked up that brass vase for $8. I treated myself to some peonies, too!

It's amazing how a few furniture changes can dramatically alter the room. The long dresser actually makes the room feel bigger, and the added storage between the dresser and our new-ish nightstands is pretty dramatic.

My next project: I think I'm going to blow up a picture to go above the dresser. I'm thinking a picture from Ireland!

Tall Ships and Fireworks

We had another one of those weekends that makes me feel so blessed to live where we do. Norfolk was host for OpSail 2012, a once-a-decade event that brings tall ships and warships from around the world to our harbor. It was captivating...the ships came sailing in on Friday morning and were anchored in Norfolk for the weekend.

The event was also commemorating the commemoration of the War of 1812, and to celebrate both events, the city decked itself out in stars and stripes. I thought I'd share some of the lovely sights we took in over the weekend, starting with this apartment's lovely patio garden.

Yachts from around Hampton Roads.

In an 1812 recreation, a "profilist" hand-cut silhouettes.

This pair demonstrated fencing, which was really cool to see in person!

An Ecuadorian tall ship. Incredible.

Sean and I, on board the Virginia schooner. We didn't match on purpose.

The flag was so beautiful waving in the wind.

The golden eagle on the U.S. Coast Guard's tall ship.

Sun setting behind the tall ships and tents.

At night, the ships were decked out in cafe lights. It made me want to have the most amazing boat party.

The night concluded with fireworks, and AT&T provided these kaleidoscope glasses! So fun.

Our friend Melissa snapped this shot of Sean and I watching the fireworks. Thanks, Melissa!

It was such a fun and special event. We ended up knocking through five bottles of wine between four of us and the hangover was pretty serious business. Lesson: I am not 20 anymore! But it was still worth it for such a fun time.

Sunday Best v.110

Oh man, I have had such a busy weekend. I decided I earned myself some peonies, in a vintage brass vase I picked up for 8 bucks! I'll be sharing more about that later this week, but in the meantime, I hope you enjoy my favorite links from the week!

• An epic but awesome interview with stars and writers of The Wire.
• The most adorable video of a pig that's afraid of the stairs you will ever see.
• Cool blog about style and working for yourself.
• Jimmy Fallon and the Roots take on "Call Me Maybe".
• Oh, but to live like Karl Lagerfeld's cat.
• How the French feed their kids.
• Are you a big enough Game of Thrones fan to want to buy a replica of the throne.
• Forget bucket lists. Make a mighty list.
• Why you shouldn't skip the opening acts.
• How to know when a guy will never be interested.

Privet House at Target

Have you all checked out the special Shops at Target this month? Target is featuring several mini lines from great American boutiques, including Privet House. I wasn't familiar, but now I'm dying to go to the real Privet House in Warren, Connecticut. It looks like a Diane Keaton movie come to life!

It's owned and operated by Richard Lambertson and Suzanne Cassano, two fashion industry professionals who brought their passion for fine goods and antiques to their finely curated shop. They carry the world's finest and oldest brands — Cire Trudon candles, Santa Maria Novella soaps and lotions and cast-off hotel silver. I'd love to get my hands on a few of those feather dusters!

In the meantime, I have to keep my champagne taste at an Andre level, so I've been loving their Target collaboration, all of which can be found here.

I've managed to only walk away with the chevron outdoor rug (which is actually living in my bathroom) and the chalkboard mini easels, to complement my existing collection of zinc placecards. But I would be lying if I said I wasn't giving the palm tree candlesticks bedroom eyes, or flirting up a storm with that pouf. Anyways, get thee to a Target and treat yo self!

Get a Load of Them Knockers

 Just as I'm sure you suspected from my provocative post title, this is about front doors. ha!

Do you have a knocker on your front door? I'm pretty sure next to no one actually uses them these days, but I've always loved them. They're like earrings for your house's outfit! I don't have one (I rent, so I'm not allowed to experience joy), but I like to fantasize about my future front door. This anchor one was captured by The House That Lars Built, which has an entire tag devoted to front doors!

Some are cute and quirky and some are traditional, like this pretty one I found here.

Here are some of my favorites I spotted around the interwebs:

1. Hexagonal door knocker by the Nanz Company (no price, alas).
2. Dragonfly in oil-rubbed bronze, $110 by Michael Healy.
3. Ring knocker, $83 by Baldwin.
4. Claddagh knocker, $16 on eBay (hurry, hurry!)
5. Monogram knocker, $39 by Michael Healy.
6. Whale knocker, $20 on Amazon.

Which is your favorite? I really love the monogram one, but the whale is so whimsical and fun!

Hoarders Confessional

 Are we ready for truth time? TRUTH TIME: This is what my guest room closet has looked like basically since we moved in. I just kept tossing stuff on the pile like a sitcom character. But something snapped over Memorial Day weekend and I decided something had to give, so I did something unthinkable: I spent two weekends cleaning ALL of the closets in our apartment. And, because I'm a future episode of Hoarders waiting to happen, I unearthed a few treasures.

Like this reclaimed wood silhouette of Lincoln I bought Sean for Christmas, made by the wonderfully talented John Birdsong. Sean was like, "Um...what?" so I temporarily stuffed the 16th president in the closet until I could figure out my next move. Six months later, I pulled old Honest Abe out and popped him right on the wall of Sean's bathroom. Now he can feel like Abe's judging him while he pees. So THERE!

I also found these amber glass Austrian candlesticks I had bought many moons ago and randomly stashed in the closet. They are so pretty! My closets are apparently treasure troves.

So this has nothing to do with the closets, but I also finally set out some of my favorite Ireland souvenirs: rocks from Inch Beach in County Kerry. Sean also thought I was crazy for insisting on bringing these home, but I think they're beautiful and will look great on some mantel someday. At some point, I'm going to paint the location where I picked them up on the bottom. And hopefully continue the tradition when I go to other beaches!

Isn't this one cray in the best way possible? Loves it.

But back to the closet treasures. Hoarding runs in the family. Over Christmas, I asked my mom if we could start going through her hope chest, otherwise known as my childhood time capsule. She saved EVERYTHING from my childhood, including an entire bag of party hats from my second birthday. It's a little excessive, but sometimes it yields awesomeness. In a bag of kindergarten projects, we found this silhouette of me that neither of us remembered having...it was stuck to crumpled pink construction paper, but seemed salvageable.

 Of course I brought it home and stuck it in the closet, but this weekend, I finally bought a frame and stuck it to the white piece of paper that came with the frame, using tape just in case I change my mind and want to use a different background. I think it could be great on a little bit of patterned paper or burlap.

And, voila! A tidier closet I can actually enter when necessary. Cleaning is secretly awesome. Maybe I should do it more?

Tornadoes + Greek Fest

As I mentioned  Sunday, we had some pretty cray-cray weather on Friday, with a bonafide tornado touching down in the next town over while we were at the movies! It was alternately monsooning and clearing up during my commute home and I managed to snap this shot of a big rainbow.

Even though we were bummed our weekend plans changed, there was a silver lining: we got to go to the Newport News Greek Festival, which is one of my favorite annual events! What's not to love? There's tweens doing traditional dances...

Chicken pitas with tzatziki sauce and my new favorite ever: french fries with parmesan and Greek spices. These are serious business, you guys, and I might have to try that some time at home!

And no trip to Greek Fest is complete without loukoumades, fried dough with honey and cinnamon. They are sort of incredible.

I was bummed Sean got called into work to help with tornado coverage, but I was happy I got to wear my new hat. Target, bitches! I know one thing...I'm a firm believer in "bloom where you're planted," but I don't ever want to be planted somewhere without a Target.

Sunday Best v.109

It's officially summer, isn't it? We had a fun weekend planned to go up to the DC area for a birthday party, but a tornado watch in Hampton Roads had different plans. A tornado ended up touching down in Hampton, so Sean got called into work. I ended up getting distracted with cleaning closets (my new hobby, apparently), so I'm going to have to let Alexandra Valenti's painted photographs give me that summer feeling. (Don't worry, I've gotten some time in the sun! It's actually been kind of chill here this weekend.)

Favorite links I found this week:

• Presidential pick-up lines.
• Do you have a thing for bearded, sensitive guys who wear flannel? I present Bon Iverotica.
• This baby thinks a magazine should be an iPad.
• This new website is like an online closet swap!
• Remember Geocities websites in the late-90s? This Geocitiesizer will make any website look old school.
• A brave blog post from one of my favorite artists. Reminds me I'm allowed to use my blog to vent, not just to share pretty things! (although I do love to share pretty things...)
• Has street style photography lost its spontaneity?
• Inspiring! One music writer sends all his files to the cloud.
• What puberty feels like, according to Jeff Tweedy's teenage son. Very well-written and thoughtful.
• Do you get emails from the Obama campaign that are weirdly personal in their subject lines? Hairpin tackles the awkward friendliness.
• Ever show up matching your coworkers? Feast your eyes upon Work Twinsies.