Oh Happiest Day!

Back in June upon reading this decor8 entry which featured this picture...


I was haunted. I showed everyone I knew this exquisite portrait. I had to have one of my very own to hang here...


So I spent hours googling "painted" + "dog" + "portrait" + "cone" + "wearing" and while this search blessed me with him I was still no where near finding a coned canine to call my own.

Today the search has ended and sometime between August 6th and August 12th my very own Kranker Hund by Michael Sowa will be waiting for me at home. Thank you design*sponge for this morning's living in:amelie which featured the picture that ended my multi-month long search...

I feel decidely unhip as the print I have been lusting after for months was from a well known movie and I failed to recognize it. C'est la vie... it will soon be mine!!!

Fresno: Making Dreams Come True??

24 days from today, if everything goes according to plan, I will be an official finisher of the San Francisco Marathon. Of course a huge part of me decided to run a marathon to challenge myself, learn about hard work and dedication, and prove to myself that things I think are impossible can be achieved one step at a time. The other part of me, however, thought that a marathon would be a fantastic excuse for a trip and where better to travel then one of my favorite places San Francisco. My excitement for the trip has been mounting. I will see family and friends all the while achieving something pretty cool. However, today while digitally perusing some pictures from my March trip to the Bay Area, I started to feel a little resentful towards the 26.2 mile jog that's bringing me down to my city by the bay for the weekend. With all of the carb loading, resting, and nearly 5 hours of running how on earth am I going to be able to go shopping? This resentment turned into panic as I looked at pictures from the Alemany Flea Market in Bernal Heights that I had taken and I saw objects that I CLEARLY should have purchased at the time but didn't and now during this trip I will not be able to go back!

With less than a month left until the marathon it is hardly the time for me and my dream (running 26.2 miles) to come into conflict. There will be more trips to SF and there will be more flea markets. I let it go.

A few hours later though I started to think about the recently planned trip to Fresno I'm taking the weekend after this one. What will I do while I'm down there? A run. Reading by the pool. Watching my parent's cable. Eating. After naming all of these activies that I am absolutely and immensely looking forward to I remembered an INCREDIBLE thrift store in Fresno's Tower District with an even more incredible name -- Yoshi Now! And the great thing about this store is that it's not simply incredible by comparison. What I mean by that is this: Fresno, for me, is a little less than alluring. When I am there for too long I get frustrated, antsy, and, I'll say it, downright cranky. Anything even slightly interesting can easily be labeled as extraordinary when you're that desperate for something new. Yoshi Now! is not only exceptional for Fresno but it would be exceptional anywhere and in this respect Fresno has a leg up on Seattle. It is a treasure trove of the finest quality because it's huge, chalk full, and CHEAP!!!!

I hope they ship because a week from now I'm on my way!

A Needed Breather...

It's been a rough day at work. Cases that are more complicated and emotionally draining than I have dealt with before seem to be pouring in and I can feel my mind shutting down in an effort to block the experience before it reaches my heart. I have been pretty good about leaving emotionally distressing experiences in my cubicle when I go home at night but today after a client said, "Amanda, what has happened to this planet? How did it get so out of control out there?" I know some serious distractions will be in order to keep my mind off the woe's of the world. My concern is that I am going to seek out these distractions by way of J. Crew, Nordstrom, or Anthropologie. Especially when this long coveted gem is on sale:

{www.jcrew.com}

Knowing that my shopping allowance has been spent I am trying to focus on my other distractions that are ultimately more fulfilling and far less guilt inducing. First up bingo-karoake at the Greenwood Senior Center (so much rowdier than it seems) followed by a trip to fair Canada for a weekend of friends and 13.1miles of running fun.

Hope everyone has a happy, relaxing, and rejuvinating weekend.

OLIT

Take A Load Off...

Last Tuesday as my friends and I squeezed on my couch (with one or two of us having to sit on the cold, hard floor) watching Glee I thought "Self, you sure could use some more seating." Seemingly I am in the Universe's good graces because as if by simply thinking the thought I stumbled upon not just seating but golden brocade seating fit for a regal 85 year old woman (and let's not forget her 3 cats). What was the proverbial frosting to this cupcake? The $25 price tag!!

It was clear this was not a chance meeting. What I was experiencing was an act of fate. I had to act quickly and so I handed over the cash without considering where in the apartment it would go (or without doing a sniff test first). I so strongly believed in this match I would not allow common sense to play any part in our union.

When we arrived home (and thanks to the help of Colin and Alexis getting it up the stairs) it was time to figure out where the new addition would go. I tore the living room apart trying to figure it out. I knew that my shopping partners had a little bit of doubt about the chair. I had ignored it. But now that it was just me, the chair, and an already granny chic room I too started feel the pangs of uncertainty. But after rearranging a little bit I found a spot near a window that I thought would keep the chair happy...


It was still missing something though. Time to get creative...


A pop of color and contrasting textures in the pillow helped but the walls were too bare and I had run out of "spare art" to fill the space. Think. Think. Think.

That morning, at a 6 family rummage sale, I bought some incredible bird fabric (I'm a sucker for bird fabric). How is that useful??

Then I remembered that I had some extra frames from a Goodwill outing. So I cut up the fabric, stuck it in the frames, took the mirror my sister brought me back from Morocco off my dresser, put it all together, and then stepped back to see what had transpired...


That'll do. That'll do.

Now I just need to clean up the mess I made while tearing the living room / dining room apart trying to make space for my latest find. But as they always say, "Why do today what you can put off until tomorrow (or the day after tomorrow)?"

Good night.
OLIT

Really? Wednesday already?

When starting this blog I fully intended to update nearly daily and now here I am almost a week after my last post with very little inspiration to work with. I have some ideas but am feeling a certain amount of laziness and so will put them off until tomorrow or maybe even Friday if I feel like it. But in the meantime I will put up some pictures of the centerpieces I worked on this past weekend for my grandmother's 80th birthday party.

My aunt, mother, and I headed to Lowe's on Friday in search of flowers to use but were hit by divine inspiration and opted for potted herbs and vegetables the guests could take home and place in their own gardens.

That evening I hammered out and flattened forks to be used as table number holders in the pots.

The next morning after my mother and aunt transferred the plants to terracotta pots my cousin and I made numbers for the center pieces, wrapped the pots with ribbon, and inserted the flattened forks.


Once we arrived we were able to put the centerpieces down, check with the seating charts, and finally add numbers to each plant.


All in all I was very pleased with the final results!!! Nothing like a good centerpiece project to get me going!!

More soon.
OLIT

Weekend Update...

I spent this Monday recovering from my wild weekend of vending. My partner in entrepreneurship and I had our first day of business selling some of our "boutique vintage" finds at the Fremont Sunday Market! All in all a success. We are hoping to be back again next month which means TIME TO GO SHOPPING for more goods!

I am still quite exhausted and have very little creative inspiration today. So I will leave you with a picture of two merchants and their wares!!


Respectfully Yours,
OLIT


Next on Old Lady in Training:
Your friendly OLIT goes to WWE smack down. The following night she attends a heavy metal concert. Don't ask... just say a prayer and wait for pictures.

All My Boyfriends

Last night I returned home from a long and arduous Thursday to find Mr. Henry J. Whiskers waiting for me with candle light and a home cooked meal. What a guy.

Happy Friday!

A Beginning to the Inevitable...

After badgering and begging friends have finally succeeded in convincing me to start a blog. When I sat down to begin the task I thought about the blogs I enjoy reading. I spend countless hours pouring over design and lifestyle blogs. I did not think I could write a compelling blog based soley on design as I lack experience and perhaps a sound opinion of my own when it comes down to it. But this being said I cannot imagine who wouldn’t want to read about my forays into interior decor in addition to my culinary, exercise, and shopping endeavors. A lifestyle blog it is! Now that I had deemed my day to day compelling enough to write about I needed to brand it.

“Self, what sort of lifestyle do I lead?” The question had to be asked and the only way to get to the essence of me was to explore my surroundings and my day to day activities. Looking around my apartment I made note of the thrift store deals and estate sale treasures. I admired my floral paintings and the smattering (okay, a tad more than a smattering) of animal artwork and collectibles that litter my windowsills, walls, and shelves. Looking around I felt proud of the personal design aesthetic that I had always attributed to my “Granny-chic” sensibilities. Keeping this in mind for a possible blogosphere moniker I moved on and thought about today’s activities. I started my day off bright and early enjoying a cup of a tea with a neighbor and soon met up with a friend for a brisk walk. Then I hopped over to the senior center’s Chinese New Year celebration where I helped serve food and chatted with patrons. It started off lovely; the participants dazzled me with their sweaters featuring embroidered owls, their magenta pleated slacks, and blindingly beautiful crystal clip on earrings. But all glitter fades and when the raffle winners were announced the meal’s sweet and sour sauce suddenly lost its sweetness for me. As a volunteer I was not able to participate in the raffle. This seemed fair… … initially. But as each wrinkled raffle winner unwrapped her prize to find delightful doilies, beautiful bird figurines, and charming heart-shapped candy dishes the green monster inside of me wanted out. Why should I be discriminated against because of my age? Why do they get the magnificent prizes simply because they’re old???? What’s so different about us anyways?? I get up early and drink tea! I take morning strolls to keep the old joints working!! Don’t I deserve an addition to MY miniature spoon collection too????!!!! After reliving this shameful memory I ended up in a very uncomfortable place. Perhaps the label of “granny-chic” that I had always proudly awarded to my lifestyle needed to be rethought. What had started as a search for a blog name had turned into self discovery of catastrophic proportions. Soon I realized I had been living a lie and the true nature of my lifestyle was not one of flea market fancy with a slight tinge of geriatric glamor. What I truly am is “granny-envious” and this is simply un-bloggable.

In all reality this painful self discovery came not a moment too soon. Luckily I have not yet carried out any of my schemes such as the well planned “trick the sweet old lady into ‘donating’ her exquisite hand-embroidered monogrammed hankerchief her mother sewed for her as a child to a fake charity helping little people with chronic sneezing disorders” or my favorite “convince the old man with the to die for walking cane featuring a dog’s head as its handle that he walks just fine without it and that his nursing home crush had been overheard talking about how cute he would be if he just got rid of the darn stick”. After this self exploration I’ve realized that, God willing, someday I too shall be old and I will be able to reap the benefits of aged-ness. Until then I need to be happy for my elders and the treasures they have accrued in their years. No my granny-chicness need not be stifled! No I do not need to stop collecting bronzed cat statues with piercing turquoise eyes! I simply need to remember in my moments of envy and rage that I too shall have my day and in the mean time I am in training – an Old Lady In Training.

It is my hope that this blog can help me meld my delight in all things old with my still youthful disposition to result in a semi-regular account of my day to day musings, treasure hunts, and other such matters. I hope you enjoy. Please bare with me as I brush off my grammar text books and give writing another shot.

Respectfully Yours,
OLIT
(Old Lady in Training)

(note: Initially I decided I would call this blog “Old Maid In Training”. Given my current dating situation, or lack there of, I did not want to tempt fate and settled on a more general term leaving room for a husband or at least a beau or two in my future. If any reader knows of any Old Men In Training please send them my way.)