Frank

I was in Los Gatos, California on business last week having dinner when my built-in rust radar spied these pieces of architectural salvage hung outside of a little shop.

As I got closer, I started to swoon as I realized that this place was just my thing.

All kinds of rusty metal, chippy paint, and great concrete garden statues; "Frank".

The owner's great eye for styling and appreciation for all things whimsical made this place unique and exciting.

Pink paint-washed shoes in a birdcage. If I didn't have to fly this stuff half way across the country, I would have done some serious damage.

I'm pretty sure that this is what heaven looks like.

I was with some coworkers and we had a dinner reservation, so I didn't have as much time as I would have liked to really explore.

The owner was terrific. It is so fun to share interior design styles with someone. They will always give you a fresh idea or some snappy inspiration. I have the sconce below in cream from where? The Curious Sofa, of course.

And this was a piece done by a local artist who is into shoes. The owner was explaining some of her other work. I love anything that incorporates broken dishes, of course.

And I did manage to squeeze this rusty sign into my suitcase. Please support local shops in your neck of the woods so we can all enjoy fabulous shops like Frank.

The Weekend Was Like Buttah

I was able to put the finishing touches on my buttah dish this weekend.

I found the cute cow on Ebay.

I used some fun buttons I got from Anna, a new friend I met on Etsy. Yeah!

No one on the block will have a buttah dish quite like this one.

And also from Anna, these great plastic prisms that look awesome on a switch plate and maybe even on a fancy birdhouse next.

I also did some rearranging.

Jar o' frozen Charlotte parts . . .

Great baby found on Etsy.

And I moved my great mannequins from the living to the family room for everyone's viewing pleasure. Ha. (Found the great iron fenial at Antiques on Broadway).

And I am in love with this antique flamingo painting found at . . . where else? The Curious Sofa, of course. Dana pointed out the weird phantom flamingo that didn't quite get painted, very strage. I would love to know the story behind that one. All in all, such a fantastic weekend!

Happy Birthday Brendan!

Brendan's birthday weekend was awesome. We went to see Marcy Playground which proved to be both extremely bizarre and really fun, we found Brendan the perfect bike, and he enjoyed spending time with his brother and his friends. I am the luckiest mom ever.

Quick Fix

I started home last night and my car just mysteriously steered me toward The Curious Sofa.

This chair would be great in my living room. She actually had two!

Loved these old Frenchie chairs. I wouldn't change a thing! (Love the old drawers, too)

Perfect garden chair.

Petite iron stone.

And now that I've found my family room chair, I need to work on a sofa. Hmmmm . . .

Flowers in Bloom

The weather in Kansas City over the weekend was fantastic! It really put me in the state of mind I needed to knock out some garden flowers to send to Sister's in Iowa.

It's fun coming across old tins in thrift stores and garage sales. I can't often afford the ones I find in antique malls, but sometimes I do luck out. Brendan helped me pick out the center for the one below. It's made of a cool wedgewood blue tin.

Anything with an English AND a fruit cake reference is bound to be awesome.

I had never glued buttons to the leaves before, but I found a great two-part apoxy adhesive that will hold anything, so that's opened some doors. Wait until I post more of my progressively crazy birdhouses . . .

And here's a little of this and that from around the house. The fabulous Lori Buntin (not an artistic medium she can't master), picked the frame and matting for this great silhouette of Brendan from 1997 when he was 3!

When I was junkin in Welda, KS a couple of weeks ago, I bought a jar of shells and was stoked that this little doll was hiding inside!

I got the "FLOWERS" letters on Ebay.

And here's another junkin find from Welda. My heart nearly stopped when I spied it from across the room for $10!!!! Original frame and the picture is on some kind of canvas that has deteriorated perfectly! Who were these people? I would love to know.

And along with my metal flowers, I got some real ones planted this week, too. I skipped right over the pansies, so I'm hoping our nights will be warm from here on out.

I decided to keep my Valentines out for awhile, no need to confine them to February.

I am very into concrete chickens as of late . . .

Jason took me to a place called The Garage Cafe in Birmingham (Alabama, not England) once. They had all kinds of crazy antiques laying around outside in a garden setting. We're working on our own "Garage Cafe" in the backyard so I've been collecting some interesting odds and ends.

And the very best part about my weekend was hanging out with my nephew, Kiran. So cute! Just look at those chins!