#secondhand swell

[paigerushing]

harper spotted this owl ($9.99) at our favorite thrift store recently. she fell in love immediately and refused to be separated from her ceramic friend. not even for a purse.

gotta say, my girl h knows what she's talking about! we may paint him--she will insist on pink or purple, while turquoise or white will get my vote. for now, though, he roosts happily in the dining room in all his faux bois glory. which is kinda growing on me...

[paigerushing]

maybe craigslist stars will align and i’ll score this vintage typewriter table for my guest bedroom. i’d totally spray paint the metal base something bold, like yellow...

can’t you just see it???

[paigerushing]

our humble kitchen took a turn for the worse last week when the refrigerator's compressor kicked the bucket. a repairman quoted me $800 to $1000 to fix it. ugh! the fridge was slated to be replaced anyway when our kitchen steps up to bat in the great home renovation, but who knows when this may be? josh and i briefly entertained the idea of buying a new fridge and setting it outside the kitchen in the soon-to-be pantry (the current spot is too small for our dream fridge)--but we decided very quickly that this is madness! instead we bought an old, cheap, style-challenged fridge that complements our calico-colored-appliance mélange--we now have a white microwave and dishwasher, a black and steel stove and an almond fridge.

we like to think of our new fridge as a kind of recycling--extending the life of this old trooper (a service sticker on the back says 1993) gives him a second (or considering the gold accents, third) shot to be part of a family, offering up our morning yogurt and evening veggies.

josh swears that when he walked out of the kitchen this morning after breakfast and glanced back, our old boy seemed to stand a little taller than when he was dragged in off the truck a few days ago. "i believe him, yo, i don't know why but i do." ~half baked

[paigerushing]

[paigerushing]

i totally fell in love with this cheese mould (spelled with a "u" in honor of its heritage) in amsterdam. the antiques dealer i bought it from said the bowl is 150-years old, but he could have told me it dates to the 15th century and i wouldn't have known the difference. i always get a little antsy when i buy something from a dealer rather than a garage sale or thrift store. it's just fancy, you know? doesn't really matter--i didn't pay much for the mould and each time i look at it i will remember josh's and my first vacation alone since our young'uns started arriving.

now, where am i going to put it? and should i paint the metal rims turquoise??? :)

[paigerushing]

sitting outside puccini, an amsterdam café, enjoying cappuccinos and two heavenly desserts, josh and i witnessed this labor of love. i would have followed these intrepid women, snapping pictures of their passage home--maybe even catching them use a fabled furniture hoist--but, well, i just couldn't abandon my fruit torte or chocolate mousse cake. or trust my life companion to leave my portion uneaten until i returned. ;) in all fairness to josh, had the tables been turned, i couldn't have been counted on to make the right decision either....

after our snack we followed the same route the women took through the archway and arrived at droog, where we bought a few gifts and--in retrospect--unwisely, civet poop coffee for 28 euro (which figures to whopping $302.32 a pound) for coffee that has been handpicked out of feces. why? why!

[paigerushing]

hannah, my thrifty partner in crime, and i spotted this black globe at an estate sale over the weekend and i snatched him up for my kiddos' playroom. he's only a little beat up, but my crew hasn't even noticed. they're too busy spinning him 'round and 'round. pretty sweet, huh?