Pics brought to you by my phone because it’s a wreck in here, so let’s not crisp up every detail of the chaos, K?

Otto has already tried to lay claim to the one he’s sniffing up there.

It’s covered in some sad, smelly microfiber nonsense, but I think they will look a little Wearstleresque in this….

He’s sad because he knows when the new fabric goes on, there might not be a place for him up there.  We’re going to try and do this ourselves. The loose structure of the top cushions made it seem like a good choice for our first fully upholstered project. We’ll see. It could go really badly, but we’ll never get the hang of this unless we get in there. Nervous, but excited.

It’s true…Long Liyuan just got a bad batch.

Brandy was the lucky gal who took this console home for $10!!!!

So did I get anything? Yes. Remember this from last month?  Mine for $45. I have NO business buying chairs, but you guys remember how I bemoaned it…it was meant to be.

I also got this knock off Panton Moon Lamp. The Things are in LOVE with it of course.

 Have a great weekend!!!

But then I discovered the quilting room. I don’t quilt, so I had passed it by with a cursory glance on the first round, but there were some great books buried in there. Oh, and an awesome brass bar cart in great shape with smooth rolling wheels. All for $38.00. Totally worth getting soaked for.

Remember how I wanted to find a cool cart for when we have Dim Sunday? I’ll now be the swanky Dim Sum Trolley Dolly of the ranch. A little Noxon will get her gleaming.

There was an amazing woodworking shop in the basement, but the pricing was high on the tools and they were not wheeling and dealing on opening day.

You thought I was going to show a picture of the Old Spice dude didn’t you?!  Filthy pigs.

The steam of a shower helps congestion anyway, but spritzing this stuff into the nozzle turns the whole thing into a eucalyptus miracle.  We’ve been using this spray for a couple of years, and the whole family cracks it out at the first sign of the sniffles. The label says you can spray it in a room, but it may damage your furniture…whatevs, who needs that?!  Keep it in your bathroom and thank me later.

Happy cold season everyone!

Those elves set off my coulrophobia. No. Can. Do.

How do you say, ah yes…Lèche?

I really, really loved this rattan and leather goodness.  Only $65!

Jesus in the egg plates…there’s a country song in there somewhere.

OK, so funny/creepy story about these chairs…kind of.  I was admiring them and considering dragging them home, (in order to ensure my holiday would be a lonely, sad place as the CC would pack up and leave me if I did such a thing right now) when this older gentleman came up to me and asked what I liked about them.  He wanted to know what “young people” look for these days.

Clearly this man hasn’t been to his eye doctor in awhile, since I don’t fall into that category by about 15-20 years.  I set him straight and chatted with him a bit, when my senses, dulled by the flattery, missed the cue that this story he was starting was going to be loooooong.  Mid story, he wiped his nose and an enormous booger appeared, and just sat on the end of his nose like a gargoyle on Notre Dame.

As the story of the table restoration dragged on, it was ALL I COULD SEE, obvs, thank you big sunglasses.  I kept listening for some sort of break in the story to make my escape, but I didn’t want to be rude…it’s the holidays!  Finally, he was winding down and before he could continue I made my parting comments and wished him well, when he started following me and asking what else the “young people” like!  Dude..really?!

I shouted over my shoulder as I scurried away “I already TOLD you…HAPPY HOLIDAYS!” and sprinted into the next building I could find.  Now I’ll have to be on the lookout for the Boogeyman every time I hit the flea.  Good Times.

Like last year, I’m trying to only pin things under $50 with the occasional splurge thrown in. I was going to delete all of last years gifts, but even if the ones I pinned are no longer available, they might be a springboard for ideas so I’ve left them up there.

Have a great holiday!

I found them dusty and grimy in a vintage store, and one was wired with a plug instead of hardwired.  Luckily, that’s not a problem over here.  We decided to take the easy path since we can’t access the ceiling from above and bought 2 converter kits at Home Depot.  The one we bought isn’t online, but is similar to this one.

So while the CC was wiring up the cans, I got to polishing.  Luckily, the chrome was in pretty good shape, so no soda was required this time.

Of course, they HAVE to be on a dimmer.  A complete MUST.

There is one small problem.  I think they are too high.  Currently they hang at 36″ above the table.  I think this particular fixture calls for 28-30″.  Thoughts?

Nothing is happening right away, since I really just wanted to get them up before Thanksgiving, but if I have to change the length and rewire them, I’m thinking that I won’t replace the chain..maybe black cloth cord?  I’ll listen to your suggestions and mull it over before making any decisions, but for now, I’m super happy to have a little dramatic upgrade from builder’s cans.

One of my top 5 favorite blogs is Chez Larsson.  Benita’s organization posts are true motivators in my attempts to banish clutter.  She is amazingly efficient, due in no small part to her systems and the arranged structure in her home. When I walk into TCS, I feel like I can possibly achieve Benitadom.

I’m a bit embarrassed to admit this, but seeing all the shelves of organizational porn made my heart beat faster, and I’m not talking metaphorically.  I was really, and truly excited because I love this kind of thing.  I get it from my Dad.  When I was growing up, his workshop was impeccably peg boarded and labeled down to the last tack nail.  Nothing out of place.  Flash forward, and I get a bit out of sorts when things get too messy and cluttered..I constantly crave order, but with kids, there have to be compromises….and systems!!!  Let’s look.

All over the store, the vignettes had notes on them everywhere for the big soiree tonight.

Wall after wall of colorful, tidy goodness…..

Lego building stations…..Hmmmmm….

I love the Hicks inspired wrapping paper, as well as the faux bois ….

Who doesn’t love wheels?

I really loved this….it seems to be TCS’s version of the Componibili.  It’s all powder coated metal and all the drawers swivel out like the top one.  It looks more slick in person, my poor camera skills aren’t doing it justice.

AND…I got some swag!!  Wheee!

The long blue thing is a folding form.  Now, I too, can fold a sweater just like in Benetton. (I think that just dated me horribly…do “kids today” even know what that means?  Do they even have Benetton stores anymore, because I haven’t seen one in years.)

Thank you Alexandra and all the crew at The Container Store for inviting me.  I am, indeed, your target audience and I can’t wait to go back and buy a few things…I’ve already started rearranging the mudroom area in my head…and the pantry…..Oh, and the closet….

These are the worst photos ever, desperately snapped right as we finished set up…and the camera never made it out again….sorry!

So if we decided to do another one of these gigs in the Spring…would that be of interest?