The Unboxing and my new fur baby

Posey enjoying a banana treat

The big move is over finally over which means the HUGE stack of boxes have to be unpacked. Even with all the downsizing I've done over the years, I can't believe how much I still have! I decided to keep the big sectional sofa that was in the ADU because of Posey the resident chocolate lab. It's way bigger than I need but it works for her. There's also a big glass coffee table (5'X5') that weighs a ton. It's so heavy that I can't move it. It's been years since I've had a coffee table but having any flat surface is a plus in my world. Of course right now it has boxes stacked all over it. :) One of the last things I packed was my silverware, which I can't find. Makes it a little challenging when I want to eat my yogurt. :)  If Posey is in the backyard she will escort me to my front door and start looking for treats. Today I gave her some frozen banana in a Kong ball. Looks like I will need to get some fresh peanut butter!

The Big move and good luck omen

 

Yesterday was the BIG move day into my new place. I've been searching for the past 6 months but also patiently waiting for this place to open up. It's been a little stressful to say the least! I purposely packed up everything I could in small moving boxes so I could move them myself. Not knowing if I would have put everything into storage if I couldn't find a place.  For the things I couldn't move (bed, hutch, tables) I scheduled my moving guy Matt. He's moved me so many times he feels like family. :) 

So why the picture? In my small backyard I had several large plastic tub. There were all these dropping on them (think black sesame seed size) so I washed everything down a few weeks ago and sanitized them. I didn't think it was mouse dropping but I wanted to make sure everything was super cleaned. So during the move I had to get the bbq and patio table ready for Matt. I saw the dropping again and knew it couldn't be rodents. The tubs were out in the open and way too many droppings for a mouse to do in just a few weeks. I finally looked up and saw a nest and understood why the hummingbird was so aggressive when I was back there. I had to let my landlord know I couldn't take down the gazebo tent or lights because of the nest. Luck for me he agreed I could leave it until the hummingbird was done with it.  At my parent's house many years ago now, they had a lemon tree trellis (my dad training it to be flat against the house) outside the kitchen window.  Every year a hummingbird would build a nest there. I like to think this is a good omen but even if it isn't, it makes me smile.

Hand Carved Figures - MaxSold

Did I really need to buy these? No, but they came up for auction on MaxSold this week and I got them for only $7. Yes, I will flip them.

What caught my eye was the birds sitting on their heads, which I'm sure has some symbolic meaning. The woman is holding a baby or doll, guessing that's a sign of fertility. The man is holding what I can only guess is corn.  The pair turned out to be bigger than I thought because I didn't read the fine print. About 12" tall. Can't get any comps on these as they were hand carved, probably from some where in South America. 

 

Manifesting a new home

I picked up this door mat a few months ago, manifesting that I would put it in front of my new place. Didn't know where or when that was going to be.

I'm getting to slowly move my stuff in, my official move in date is April 1. The place has a few more things that need to be fixed. One of the first things I did was put down this door mat!  think is looks good! :)

I purposely pack what I could in small boxes that I could lift myself. At the time, eight months ago I had no idea if I would be able to find a place or have to put everything into storage. Being able to move most of my stuff myself was important. I'm taking a couple a car loads over every day this week before the movers come for the big stuff. Since I have a lot of time, I count moving the boxing as my daily work out. :) Good thing I drive a big car! 

Vintage Cook's Illustrated Magazines.

As a cookbook fan, I hit the mother lode of cooking magazines. Years ago I had a subscription to Cook's Illustrated  and loved it. What was great about the magazine was it didn't have any ads and the cooking tools or products they recommend were not sponsors. Always felt that I could trust what they were saying. Since Christopher Kimball left the company you could see the change. Sponsors products were being featured, so you had no way of knowing if their endorsements were legit or not. I also like the artwork for the covers on the older magazines. 

Now these older vintage magazines when Chris was in charge have no resell value (regardless of what people tell you) so at the store they're given away. I'm currently cat sitting so I have over 60 magazines to go through! Yes, I'm a happy camper!

 

Manifestation

On my last walk on the beach I was still looking for hag stones. I found this one on my way back to the stairs. Hag stones aren't easy to spot so I'm hopeful my manifesting is working. :) Looking for something also keeps your mind focus on something and not turning inwards with negative thoughts. It was hard to say good-bye to the house, it's been my sanctuary for so many years. It would be wonderful to own the house but that would be one huge manifestation!

Update - I'm currently cat sitting so I have access to wifi so I can post. I'm actively packing for my big move next week! So excited to be in what I hope will be my happy place!

Milk Street Cookbooks

Yes, I picked up a few more cookbooks. I'm a big fan of Milk Street so when I came across these cookbooks for just $5, I had to get them! One of the books is a recent one too - 2024!

I stopped by one of my favorite thrift book store here in Carmel  one last time. I was hoping I would find a book on Sashkio stitching which I'm planning on learning to do. I have a lot of denim shirts which need a little TLC, great to practice on. The Japanese textile book (32 year old art exhibition in Seattle) gives the history behind Sashkio but more importantly inspirational photos of garments I would love to sew. Really I hope to find garments to alter while thrifting because my sewing skills are just basic. 

 

Things I didn't get when out picking

Went to the Last Chance thrift store this morning before the storm hit. It's not a place I expect to find anything but when I'm super bored I make the drive. There is a section in the store that has a warning sign things are priced high. I spotted this Japanese Soma-Yaki punch bowl. I'm a fan of this style and I didn't know they even made a punch bowl. It's   famous for their tea cup sets. Priced at $55, I had to do the comps. There are several on eBay but none have sold, that's not a good sign. That also tells me that whoever is pricing things is just looking at listing and not the actual sold comps. I know the pottery kilns were shut down for various reasons (earthquakes, nuclear power plant, tidal waves) so these haven't been in production for a long time now. It's unique enough for me to think about it but knowing I couldn't resell it for even a small profit, I had to pass. :(

There were some artwork pieces I liked but I had to also pass for lack of wall space. The child like drawing of a cricket made me smile (don't ask me why) so it almost made it into my cart.  

Priced at $125

Priced at $5

 

The Window

The whole "when a door closes a window opens" moment. My window is that I finally got word that my move in date to my new place is April 1st! I've been waiting for months for this place (long divorce battle, theirs not mine) to be open to rent. Yes, I put all my eggs in one basket waiting for this place. My psychic friend told me it would happen and wanting to believe her, I just waited. Living with everything boxed up hasn't been mentally fun but I kept my eye on the end goal. 

Now why the picture. While down here at the beach house the Joining Hands thrift store has these amazing leather chairs. I love the color, the feel and it's amazingly very clean. There are two but I only really need one. I've been looking for a comfortable reading chair as I'm not really a sofa type of person. I'm doing a pros and cons list because the price is $325.00 each. Not a bad price but do I really need it? I like to think of it as a sign it should be added to my new place. :) 

Update - they have already sold :(

 

When a door close a window opens

We've all heard the saying "when a door closes a window opens".  I was told that the Carmel house will be sold at some point next year. The cost of keeping this very old house is just too much for my friends.  Many, many things have to be repaired or replaces so they decided it was best to sell.  One of the requests her mother made before she passed away was to open the home to people who wanted to walk the beach but couldn't afford staying at the hotels. Her daughter (my friend) did that for almost 30 years. It's been a sanctuary for me, a place to recharge and find peace. Happy that my grandsons got to experience the beach house. One of the few regrets I have in life is that we didn't buy the house when my friend first inherited it back in 1993. It would have been a huge stretch for a us to do that but I knew it wasn't the right move for them. Now it's a running joke that we should once again try and buy it. I listened to a podcast about manifesting what you want. One of the small steps is to look for hearts everyday. It's just to get your mind to focus on something. So I decided to not only look for hearts but to also look for the hard to find hag stones. This may be my last time here at the house unless I can manifest a few million dollars in the next year. The photo is what I found on  my beach walk last night. I haven't found a hag stone in a long time so I was thrilled when it popped up. Maybe there is hope I'll be able to buy the house!

Just love a super size tote bag.

Thrift stores get a lot of dirty and unusable junk. Sorting out all of that does take time as well as disposing of it. Most of my volunteer time is spent getting rid of the junk. 

 While I was talking to the handbag volunteer she tossed this over sized canvas tote in the "go away pile". I asked why and she said it was too dirty to try and sell.  It was very dirty, especially the handles. I liked it because it was oversized and thought I should up grade from using Costco or Ikea plastic totes.  I take my bedding with me whenever I go to the beach house so that takes a really large bag. Since I have access to a large washing machine while at my friend's house I gave it a deep clean. I think after three washes it came out pretty good. Doesn't look grungy any more and better than my Costco bag. 

Paper Quilling

6x6 cards and frame

There is a stationary store in Pacific Grove called the Quill. I always try to stop by and check out their displays and cards. This line of paper quilling cards are so impressive!  I can only manage a hedge hog when I've done paper quilling. :)  I picked up this one because when the town is known for their monarch butterfly park and it was some place I visited with the boys. I've been waiting for a square frame to come into the store and I got lucky once again. Fits perfectly and the black frame really sets off the butterfly. 

Share a little kindness

I don't do a lot of shopping on Amazon but friends keep giving me GC. I know there is a boycott with Amazon and I support it but I do want to use up my GC.  It's been hard as there isn't anything I really need or willing to spend twice as much for. 

A few years back I dropped something off at a friend's house and she had a cooler filled with bottled water for anyone delivering packages to her house. It was during the summer when it can get super hot. I always liked that idea so I finally got to do it this week. While at my friend's house it was safe to leave things out by the front door. They ask that all their packages be left by the front door and not their mailbox which is at the bottom of a very long driveway. If the driver can't get their trucks up the narrow driveway, then they have to hike up the hill. All the stars were alined, I had the drinks, an Amazon order coming and a box to put everything in.

Now the challenge is to use up that GC.  
 

Dress Form

This weekend we took in 3 estates in less than 2 hours. That was a whole lot of stuff! 

One of the estates was from a single professional woman who wore very stylist suits. No boring black or grey but colorful mixed textured prints. 

 She must have tailored her suits because this was her dress form.  Yes she was a tiny woman, her waist was only 25 inches! Hopefully someone can appreciate and use this dress form. 
 

Longchamp real or fake?

I'm a fan of Longchamp bags because they're practical and don't cost an arm and a leg.  As I was talking to the handbag person at the thrift store a Longchamp bag came in. She just glanced at it and said it was a knock off. I thought I would do a deep dive to see if it was really or a knock off. 

1) The handle looks like leather but it has a cord in it to keep it rounded. True Longchamp bag handles are just folded over. The edges are dyed black which is done on fakes. 

2) The logo is heavily embossed, so much so it will also show up on the reverse side. It's not always 100% but there should be a little showing, if not it's a fake. 

3) I couldn't find this color on the official color chart but colors aren't always clear online. 

4) Longchamp stamps the name of the bag and where it was made.  There's a circumflex (yes I had to look up what that thingy was called) over the e. It very hard to see but it should be there. 

There were a few other things to prove it's a fake but to me it still looks good. It was priced for only $7.00 because it was a knock off.  I plan to use it as toiletry bag since I now use a water pik and electric tooth brush which takes up a lot of room in my  average size toiletry bag. 

 

Antique Tansu Sewing Box

Antique Sewing Tansu

Every now and then something super special comes into the store. When this small tansu came in, I didn't know what it was as we were very busy so I put it aside to check out later. During intake of donations it gets a little crazy. Tansu cabinets normally have some type of damage because the wood is very light. When I finally had the time to check it out I was so surprised when I lifted the lid and the pin cushion popped up. It was a debate how we would display it as it can't handle customers "playing" with it and it's too tall to fit into our locked cabinets. So now it just sits waiting for space to open up some place safe. 

Googly Eyes For the Win

 While I have access to a large dining room table (staying at a friend's house) I've been busy making cards. I think I have another 75 to mail out this week! I've been looking for diamond glaze to make the eyes pop but with limited crafting stores around haven't been able to find it. So when I found a miscellaneous bag for googly eyes, decided to just go for it. I think it's funny but not sure how the church going folks in Ohio will feel about it. My friend asked specifically for more happy birthday and get well cards. Normally I don't add any sentiments to my cards making them an all occasion type of card. So what do you think of the big eyes?