Rip Van Winkle

Every year I start off with a new laundry list of resolutions -- eat better, exercise (ha!), make stuff, be cooler -- but this year there's only one resolution that really matters: LEAVE THE HOUSE. Yes friends, I am finally out of the Guantanamo Bay stage of parenthood and IT'S AWESOME. Baby Ike is now magically entertained by salt shakers and menus, and wouldn't you know that mama's boy loves a good bargain. Whew! Thank jeebus he takes after me and not his thriftphobic daddy, because then I'd have to check the return policy on both of them. So, Karly and I took the Ikester out on thrift rounds recently, and I managed to score some great finds with my lucky charm in tow. In the spirit of my house sharing resolution, I snapped some pics so you could bask in the glory of my goodies, as well as in my delicious new freedom.

I almost had to scrap with some chick over my excellent new plant stand, which came from the Salvation Army for $25. Kinda steep, but it's heavy and has a mirrored bottom, and the middle thingie moves. Plus someone else wanted it, so of course that made me like it even more. But it does look pretty smooth with my new tulip chair, which is in dire need of a cushion. One day at a time...

I totally had the Lichtenstein post in mind when I picked up this set of dishes, although Karly says they look like a Bill Cosby sweater... we can both be right, can't we? $30 for the entire set, although I need more bowls. I found some replacements online, but two bowls cost as much as I paid for the entire set. Uh, no.

A closeup of the totally tubular 80s graphics. The Hunny stacked them all OCD like. I'm planning to display these babies on our newly installed kitchen shelves, which I was far too lazy to photograph today. What do you people expect??? I can't shop, and take pictures, AND clean. Priorities, priorities.

I snagged this vintage teapot for $1.99. It's marked Made in Sweden, which probably means it's from Ikea. Still, he is very handsome, no?

Ike picked out a few things for his room, too, like this Red Cross lightbox for $4.99, which is brand spankin' new. The hot gold lion came from Zid Zid, courtesy of Raina; Ike can look, but he can't touch mama's favorite stuffed animal. You can blame Karly for the boa constricted nightmare clown.

You can also blame Karly for spotting this badass giraffe head, a steal for only $4.99. Say what?! Yeah. It's HUGE.

Speaking of huge, these roided out lamps make Lou Ferigno look positively diminutive. I'm planning to give them a fresh coat of white paint from tip to toe, and top them with black shades for my new Bauhaus bedroom. Hopefully my nightstands won't buckle beneath them.

I scored some other sweet stuff, like a giant vintage painting and a ginormous mirrored picture frame (apparently I have contracted a severe case of megalomania), but I haven't found a home for them yet -- by which I mean they're still stacked in the entryway. The Hunny is not excited that I'm back to shopping, not that I'm going to let it stop me from adding to the piles of unused lamps, chairs and frames I'm "collecting."

Doesn't he realize that I have six months of thrifting to catch up on?

Now That it's the Future, Where Should We Sit?

Welcome to the flip side of our decadent, 10-day vacay.  I missed you all dearly, but I have to admit that I did quite enjoy an extra hour to sit on my ass every evening during my sabbatical.  In honor of my recent episode of R & R, I'm bringing you several chairs that I would have loved to park my fanny on over the last two weeks.

Artist Dejana Kabilo covers chairs in hair for her Pretty Pretty Heads series.

While this may not be most ideal for holidays by the fire, and there's a reasonable chance that I would end up in the kitty emergency room after Laser decided to make these locks her Christmas Dinner, I still wouldn't shy away from placing one of Dejana's creepy seats in my home.  Here are a few more:

Only slightly more practical are these chairs from design powerhouse, Lucy and Bart:

Prey-tell, do you suppose that is foam insulation spray wrapped around the legs of that otherwise sad chair?  How do you suppose they create the wonderful shades of turquoise?  I'm guessing airbrush.  What do you think the probability is of me recreating this dapper look for my house?

And on the opposite end of the design spectrum from L & B's voluptuous seats:

The slim and sexy seating of Vladimir Tselser.  I see these as the counter-part to the perspective chair by Pharrell Williams.

The Troll Chair by lop furniture is possibly the most holiday-fire-side-chat friendly of the bunch, and the exposed structure on the underbelly is lovely, but those legs seem like a cop-out.  Of course, the day this baby lands on Craigslist is the same day I get slapped with the world's largest traffic fine for racing across town to grab it.  Afterall, legs are replacable.

So, there you have it, my first post of 2010.  I still have family in town so I'm still on a bit of a mental vaycay, but we here at DC headquarters have big plans for the year, so pick your poison from the above and scoot on up to the screen:  it's going to be a life-changing year to remember.  Probably.

...Aaaaaand We're Back!

Whatup, whatup, pals -- welcome to 2010! Karly and I would like to wish you all a Happy New Year, filled with a heaping helping of awesomeness. Peeping around the blogosphere I see that many of you have been busy elves, posting your wee little hearts out. Must be because Apartment Therapy ran their biggo blog contest during the holidays, and everyone enjoys watching their stats raise the roof thanks to AT's traffic driving link love.

Guess who went on vacation during all the brouhaha? Oops. Because, had we been here instead of traveling and eating and boozing, we most certainly would have been big pimping, and you would have voted for us, right? Right. To those of you who did take the initiative to vote for DC without us gently prodding demanding that you do so -- much love and many thanks. Now we be friends 4EVA.

But The Homies ain't over yet. There are six finalists and we have two whole days left to convince you to vote for our favorite blog:

Door Sixteen. Because Anna is always mixing it up, posting fresh roundups coupled with witty insights. And, she works crazy hard renovating her New York Victorian home to spectacular result, which is obviously a labor of love. Somehow she also manages to be simultaneously timely and timeless -- no small feat. Plus she has cute bangs and two lovable pooches. What more could you ask for in a blog?

AT highlighted a motherload of greatness, so while I'm at it I'd like to give a shoutout to a few of my favorite homies. I can't possibly list all of them, but these high vote getters shine brightly because they all feature their own homes and design work. Everyone loves to read roundups and trend reports, but nothing beats a sweet reveal.

The chick from The Brick House slays me. Apparently she lives near Palm Springs, which is squarely in superthrift central. You have no idea how jealous I am of her finds -- Austin is the most picked over thrift scene in the universe. Pffft. Also, she's a photographer. And she's a teacher. And she likes black paint. Hmmm. Reminds me of someone else I know...

It's always martini time at Whorange. You gotta love the eye popping retro appeal, her feel good posts, and most importantly, her magnificent hair. Tula is the girl you want to go out on the town with, because you know she'll take you to all the best art openings, and she'll totally notice your fabulous shoes.

Who has impeccable taste and a penchant for moving... a lot? Whether in Paris, Seattle, or Atlanta, Ally of From the Right Bank makes each home uniquely her own. Plus she's about the sweetest blogger out there. Tune in to see what she does with her newest project out in the deep south, but you better hurry before she's off and moving cross country. Again.

Trendsetter AB Chao of hashai ignited a virtual firestorm when she painted her bedroom Farrow and Ball's Downpipe. After winning fan favorite in All the Best's bedroom design contest, she's landed a client of her very own. Now that's she's gone pro, we're all waiting with baited breath to see who she's designing for...

Last but not least, Raina of If the Lampshade Fits is our homegirl. The ex designer and shop owner is currently renovating her very own Barbie dream home, and if her daughter's new digs are any indication, it's going to be killer. My only question is, when can I move in?

That's it for today's shoutouts. There are so many amazing blogs out there that I read daily, and next year I plan to take a break from my vacation and vote for them all. In the meantime, I think maybe I should start posting more pics of my house, which I'm pretty sure is a great idea, but I'm also concerned about the amount of cleaning necessary to show my home to the world. I'm not trying out to be on Hoarders or anything, but the tot's toys have multiplied like tribbles, and Fisher Price is taking over our house.

Guess I better get to work on taking it back.