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Vintage Dux chair

Over the weekend I visited a little shop that was a cross between a garage sale and a thrift store. Most of the stuff was overpriced, but just when I was about to give up I spotted a vintage Dux chair that was marked down to $6.

The chair is currently living in my Dad's garage, so I didn't have a chance to snap a photo. It basically looks like the chair in the photo above except someone had started trying to refinish it. They also did a pretty crappy reupholstering job with what look like old sheets....Any way, the plan is to finish the refinishing and upholster new cushions. But, I'm not sure what fabric to go with. I want something kind of funky that speak to the chair's midcentury mod roots. I like these, but I'm still looking. Suggestions?

The first four are from Maine Cottage, the bottom two are from Fat Quarter Shop and Fabric.com respectively.

I need a new bed...

Our long beloved Malm bed has finally given out and the time has come to sleep on the floor or chose a replacement. I'd like to chose a bed that will last us for many years and we won't get sick of, but we do have a limited budget. So, I've found a few that I like but I'm not sure any perfectly meet our requirements. I'm open to any suggestions as well....The possibilities:

West elm, Crate & Barrel, Room & Board

Housewarming Gifts

A friend recently asked for ideas on what to give as a housewarming gift, and I thought I would share what I told her with all of you.

I believe that the best housewarming gifts are the ones that help make a new house feel like home. So, to that end, here are some ideas:

1. A cute bucket (such as the plastic Michael Graves mop bucket from Target, which doesn't appear to be online) filled with high-end, nice smelling cleaning supplies.

2. A really cozy throw, gourmet popcorn, and a really great DVD (or book).

3. A binder filled with menus for local restaurants/take out places and a couple of gift cards for the new home owners to use while they're still unpacking their pots and pans.

4. Breakfast for their first morning in their new home -- chocolate croissants, gourmet coffee, and a French press.

5. A custom return address stamp or labels.

6. Have a photo of your friend's family enlarged, framed, and ready to hang in their new home.

7. A nice bottle of sparkling wine and wine glasses to toast their first night in their new home.

8. A metal pail or toolbox filled with all the things you need when moving into a new house, but inevitably forget -- light bulbs, extension cords, cable cords, picture hangers, felt pads, furniture polish and scratch remover, furniture movers, super glue, level, tape measure, etc.

9. A small fruit tree (the gift that keeps on giving) to plant in their new front yard. Year after year they can watch it grow and enjoy its fruit.

10. A personalized doormat using their new address instead of their last name.

image from www.williamssonoma.com

Shoe Paper

Olli and Lime tag themselves as being exclusively for kids, but I have a strong desire to paper my closet in this shoe print.

Cardbored? Not Us...

With the wedding, then Christmas, then an amazing sale at Nine West, we were starting to feel a little boxed in (sorry, I couldn't help myself) by cardboard boxes. It felt like a waste to get rid of them all, so I started looking for ideas to repurpose them.

First, I took the shoeboxes from the shoes I bought at a Nine West store-closing clearance sale ($80 for four pairs of shoes, a purse, and a wallet). I glued them together, covered them with white contact paper, added a few little details, and voila -- a new dollhouse for Ava! It didn't turn out quite as nice as I'd hoped, but I think she'll have fun with it for a little while.

I found a bunch of other ideas online that I'm hoping to try out soon, like this oven and this puppet theatre. And I'm also thinking about making a little bulletin board or two.

By the way, this is what Ava was doing while I was working on the dollhouse:

DwellStudio sale at Target

Not only does Target have an adorable new collection of baby goodies from DwellStudio, but they are all on sale this week. These are my favs.

Schoolbook Pillow on sale for $7.64
Farm Girl Curtains on sale for $12.74

Zebra Rug on sale for $152.99