Thursday, June 7, 2012

You take the good. You take the bad. You take them both and there you have the facts of life.

Yes, I totally reeled you in with promises of reflections on Tootie and Natalie and the gang - but today's word isn't about those lovable scamps.  It's about painting (I wish that I had funky backup singers who could repeat key words after me to give them more impact. Let's pretend that I do.) This post is about painting (painting!) and junkin' (junkin! aww yeah! )

First the painting. Oh boy howdy. We got the walls in the foyer and hall redone and the horrible painted-over, peeling wallpaper is buried for nobody to shudder at again. We even got the dust cleaned up. Hallelujah. Now we're on week two of paint picking. Somebody just shoot me now.



This little slice of Mondrian madness is the foyer.
There are three more colors on the other wall that you can't see. 


And this little road to nowhere is our hall...

where we currently have no less than twelve paint splotches painted. 
Because thirteen would be overkill. 

There is a certain madness in an artist (the Mister) being married to a picky person (me). You know what that madness makes me want to do? That's right! Escape! Let's talk about some really happy stuff.

First, my friend Dawn kindly clued me in that one of our audio crushes at the ranch, Mr. JD McPherson was playing on Conan last night.  I think he and the boys did a pretty smashing job:


I probably should have warned those of you down front about the virtual granny underpants flying towards the stage.  

Know what else makes me happy? I promise that it does not include me stripping off my skivvies.  It's  estate sales with the girls! Last weekend, I went to a couple of awesome estate sales with Rae and Lisa and had such a great time. It's really fun that we all share the same love for the sales. I think that Mister Kitsch paid them to be friends with me so that he doesn't have to spend hours with me in strangers' houses but hey, whatever works!  Here they are in the basement of our first house:


Ain't they sweet? They kept me laughing all morning. I think that the best quote of the day came when Rae told Lisa that her bouffant was blocking the light in this shot. That sign about clothing being mandatory? Totally aimed at me.  See that golden glow about them? That's none other than a paneled basement. I always give houses bonus points if they have them. Who needs windows when you've got the glow from some sweet faux wood? (faux wood! aww yeah!)

This basement also had a monkey cage! (monkey cage! awww yeaaaah!) Yes, a monkey cage. We were all intrigued by it, I'll admit. Luckily, Jamie stopped by the sale earlier and smartly got the scoop on what happened to the monkey. It turns out that one time, the monkey got loose and the father (or grandfather?) tried to fire a shot up into the air to scare the monkey out of a tree that he'd climbed. Unfortunately, the shot hit the monkey and well, the monkey was no more. If that isn't the stuff of family legend, then I don't know what is! See...that's why it pays to talk to the people whose sales you go to. Because we did, Rae got to meet the lady that wore this amazing skiing squirrel dress as a child. Also the co-owner of the monkey. This is all getting confusing, isn't it? Anyway....

We found tons of amazing stuff at that sale. Here is a trunk shot as we were leaving:

There seems to be a dog theme running through our finds, huh?

The next house was pretty interesting. I talked to a neighbor who told me that it has been closed up for many years and it was easy to tell as it was in pretty bad disrepair. The most intriguing things about that particular house were:

1. This fantastic duck


2. The QVC Room. There was an entire room stacked full of boxes of sealed QVC purchases. The owner of this home really loved to shop! You should have seen the women in that room, ripping open boxes in a foamy frenzy, trying to find treasures. Rae and I briefly visited before realizing that new crap ain't our bag.

3. Vintage Sequined Dresses. Lisa found the most amazing dresses with the tags still on them that fit her perfectly. It was a fate moment. And a real sweaty bathroom moment. She'll tell you about it here

Here's are some of my favorite finds of the day:

Oh, Marshall Matt Dillon with your beautiful, piercing eyes.

(No need to duck again, buckaroos!  My passion is squelched by remembering his years in that sad Jake and the Fat Man TV show. Underpants firmly in place. )

Lassie (fake well not included)

Vintage packaging. One of my biggest weaknesses. It confuses people. It confounds people. Poor Rae gets brownie points for listening to me prattle on about a 1980's bottle of lemon Joy detergent. And for finding me that A&P tomato juice can! Whoot! 


Luther. (Luther! Aww! Yeah!) Oh let me count the ways that I love Luther. He was in the basement and Rae revealed his glory to me. I couldn't leave without him and promised that I'd leave him to her in my will. Isn't he beautiful? I can not resist his smile. The lady who wore the skiing squirrel dress and her family owned Luther when she was a kid. They also owned the monkey. Gah, I'm suddenly realizing how that lady was the luckiest kid on the planet!

She told us his name and about how he was such a sweet dog. I always feel like a bit of a freak show when I buy other peoples' family portraits in front of them but she seemed pleased when I promised that I'd treasure him. Or maybe she just wanted me off of her porch. You know how sometimes it's hard to tell? Thank goodness I didn't prattle on about how I'd treasure the vintage litter box that I bought.


However, in retrospect, I do wish I'd asked her if she could show us some pictures of the monkey.

Until next time,
x's and o's,
Eartha





21 comments:

Catherine said...

omg! I want to see monkey pictures! I totally understand your need for vintage, I only wish I lived close by so we could shop weekly!

OP SHOP MAMA said...

Ha! I love estate sale posts. We don't have estate sales here in New Zealand so we don't get to gawk at people's houses = bummer! We have garage sales - in garages or driveways.
Love the packaging too. How do you store or display your collection of it? Do us a post on that!
Happy Days!

Eartha Kitsch said...

Catherine: I know! I'd love that! I guess we can only imagine the monkey pictures. I'm picturing him in little suits.

Op Shop Mama: That's definitely what garage and yard sales are missing - that peek into the lives of the people who the stuff belongs to. It's completely fascinating!

So far, I just have my packaging in a cabinet with glass doors so that the kitties can't get to it. I'll post more of it sometime. The collection seems to be growing!

What Remains Now said...

I too love your estate sales posts. I love your sense of humor and your heart. Sounds like it was a super successful day, especially since like-minded friends were a part.

Leah said...

Have I mentioned how jealous I am of the estate sales? 'Cause I am! Just like Op Shop Mama, I haven't seen any around were I live.

Oh, and Luther? Omg too cute!

Rae - Say It Aint So said...

ahhhh when did you hear that monkey story??? i'm so intrigued! did they have knit outfits for him too? and sweet sweet luther. i love him lovingly posed on the couch with the light shining down on him.
oh man i had so much fun! i haven't even looked at sales this weekend, i'm trying to be good and resist. we'll see how that goes.

Eartha Kitsch said...

What Remains Now: Thank you so much! That's really sweet of you. : ) it really was successful and just the fun that i needed!

Leah: I so wish that you had them there! They're unlike anything else in the world.

Rae: Jamie told me a couple of days ago when we were talking about the monkey. You KNOW there had to be outfits. My guess is that the whole upstairs that we couldn't see was a beautiful shrine to the monkey. I had a blast too! I'm not letting myself go this weekend either. No ma'am. : )

BEESTLYproducts said...

phew! that was a journey! we've had paint chips hanging on on walls for no less than 2 years. maybe it's time to paint some swatches, too? i like the yellows. i would paint everything i own yellow (or gold). haha.

i want to marry jd mcpherson (in a state where that sort of thing is legal, of course).

a monkey cage? people have monkey cages?

Betty2Tone said...

I never knew I needed a vintage kitty litter box until now. Someday when my cats are pooping in vintage style, they will have you to thank!

Lesley Jean said...

Things I wish:

*that we were smart enough to swatch paint before we bought it, painted an entire room with it, and hated its freaking glowing green guts.
*my husband would pay some amazing ladies to go to estate sales with me!
*my family had a monkey legend as opposed too "my cousins ate a car" story.

Your finds are amaaaazing. Love that dog painting. And old folks totally go nutso for QVC. My grandmother was a hoarder and had tons unopened in her home when she died. I've witnessed it on the show Hoarders as well. I'm well versed in the show unfortunately. It's quite common.

art deco dame said...

Love JD!
AND OH MY GOSH!That looks like a fantastic estate to shop at,total score on the smiling pup photo.Your back up singing had be cracking up through this post.

Stacy @ Stacyverb said...

Whew, looks like you really needed that day out with the girls after all the household stress you've been dealing with! I've been blogging about restoring my vintage glider, which is really hard work and a huge mess, but not nearly as traumatic as what you're going through at the ranch.

Oh, and I must tell you, I've been listening to JD McPherson all.the.time. since you posted about him previously. Love his whole album! Thanks for helping me discover it.

Atomic Auntie said...

That vintage litterbox is perhaps the single greatest vintage find in the history of the universe.

Sara In AZ said...

Ok, I will try this comment one more time! :)

LOVE Luther!!! And yeah, that little girl was pretty much the luckiest girl ever - to have a monkey AND Luther AND a skiing squirrel dress...totally jealous!!!

That vintage litter box is FAB!!!!!

*fingers crossed* a paint color is decided on soon! I just know it will look fantastic with whatever you decide!

And yes, you had me duped into thinking you were going to do a whole post on The Facts of Life!!! I was so excited too! Maybe one day........

cheshirecat666 said...

Good Lord,this is one of those ultra mega posts so packed with joy that I have to take notes cos by the time I get to the end I forget what I wanted to comment on!

You totally got me addicted to letschipit.com,I can't tell you how many Flickrite's streams I have used that in,if I even hear a faint whisper about the question of a color,I FREAK!

I feel so close to the Mister right now! I TOTALLY relate to the horror of being in strangers homes for long periods

I love that big...Bavarian folk?...round tray under that yellow dog!

Oh GOD,vintage tray puzzles from TV shows/toons,LOVE!

DUDE,that green Lay's chips tin!!! The Maxwell House can! The Russel Stovers tin!

um...I think that's it. *phew*

Mr. Tiny said...

Wishing that I lived in TN right about now. It looks like you guys had so much fun AND got some great loot. We're getting ready to go see JD tonight!!! Any messages you would like me to pass along?

Jen said...

Well, believe me, I can sympathize when it comes to paint colours! Good luck choosing...just don't rush into a colour.

And those estate sale finds are AMAZING! We've had the worst year yet so far as yard & estate sales—one thing found in three weekends. ONE thing. And it was just an old ashtray with "Camp Grayling" (there's a Grayling in Michigan) and three handsome horses painted onto it.

If someone is going to have all the luck, I am very glad it's you. ;) The old packaging is wonderful! And that litterbox. Amazing. Do we get a Pip response photo?

nancyworegreenstockings said...

How weird is it that the litter box is my absolute favourite find and I totally want to see more pictures of it?

To the Toy Box and Beyond said...

I can not believe you left the sunburst (starburst) clock behind. I would have bought that in a heartbeat

A Day in the Life of One Girl said...

WOW - wowzers. Cool old tins! I am a sucker for old tins.

Anonymous said...

The world is getting smaller and smaller! I just started reading your blog on a regular basis a couple wks ago (I may have left a comment re the Omni Hut) and here I find that you went to an estate sale that was right down the street from my mom's house! I was at the same sale, but I guess the monkey cage was gone by the time we got there. All I bought was a sparkly light switch cover.