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.

I can fix this without even leaving the house. I loathe rug mats/pads. I know they are a necessary evil with fine rugs, but for a $14 Target rug…Hell NO.

I can’t take credit for this idea…I saw it somewhere years ago…maybe Martha?

Whip out some silicone caulk (you can get squeeze tubes if you don’t want to mess with a gun.) This is the waterproof stuff used in bathrooms etc…I chose clear because, well, it’s clear and less noticeable. Even though it’s on the under side, I’ll know it’s there. Call me Stevie Jobs. I digress.

I used a spreader because I buy them in 10 for a dollar packs, but a piece of cardboard or even your finger will work too.

Hit that baby with a bead of caulk that zigs and zags like Heather Locklear’s drive home and then smooth the bead with your tool of choice.

The point in spreading it is to keep it smoother underfoot and to adhere better to the fabric.  Just don’t smoosh it in too deep.

I go to put it in the bathroom and it’s too damn wide.  Figures.  The kids and puppy have been trashing my rug at the front door, so how about there?

OK, so not a total waste.  I still need a bathmat though.

One day, we would love to be in Asia for the new year and take in the beauty of the festivities to the fullest extent.

Previous lunar new year posts can be found here.

Lion Dance by rlam50

Dragon Dance by barakasin

As you know, I find cool stuff on Craigslist from time to time, but this weekend I found something with serious BLAMMO impact.

I’m sure this is going to be one of those love it or hate it things, but I’m loving.  Behold the new wall adornment in the bedroom.

$10 for a handsome sized framed Walasse Ting “Blue Horse” Poster. I found the exact same one selling online here:

I was all pleased and smug with my bargain, enjoying the splash of color, when Thing One said it creeped him out.  REALLY?!  Why?  It seemed a friendly horse….”NO.  It stares at you when it’s dark and you’re leaving the room.”

Who knew?!  Must I now call him the One Eyed Blue Menace?!?

“But the cobra that sits on the bedside table doesn’t bother you?”

“NOPE.”

Kids these days.

Recaps for previous years here:  Year One, Year Two

Around the house:

We got rid of the dining room chair rail.

I built a temporary patio/firepit.

I made an ass for myself.

Hosted a huge Halloween Party.

We’re always switching things around in the furniture department.

I seemed to cook a lot of food this year.

We contemplated chickens, but opted instead for a puppy.

I talked about my bedroom wishes (NOT THOSE) but didn’t follow up. I did indeed buy that Home Depot drop cloth after all, so now my mattress on the floor issue is gone.  Yay for $30 solutions! I also got new night tables off Craigslist I never showed you.

Otto has decided he must be the supermodel of all my interior shots….every time I’d try and take a photo, he’d settle himself right into the shot.

Yes, that is the Monopoly Man trophy you see. I NEVER win, but managed to pull one out over the holidays so it’s finally my turn to proudly house the trophy…until I lose the next game.

Elsewhere:

We had a big travel year, and while in New England, I had my heart broken at Brimfield. I seem to have better luck within my budget on my local flea excursions.

We hit up the local Rennaisance Fayre.

Had a big sale.

Doesn’t look like we got a whole lot done compared to past years.  But it felt like a busy year…oh yeah, WE BUILT A TREEHOUSE!!!!  And it took a long time.

We still haven’t painted the interior, and are beginning to wonder if we really need to. I realized after the leaves fell that I could finally get some decent shots of it so you can see how it relates to the house a bit better.

In summer, the treehouse is almost completely obscured by foliage….but now, it’s quite naked!

The sleeping bunker/level two building plans are on hold to address some more pressing needs around the ranch.  Namely a pantry, to keep the dog out of the foodstuffs, and if all goes well, a real bathtub.  I always thought we’d do the half bath first, but the lack of proper bathtub in the house is starting to become more and more important to both of us.  The CC has been playing soccer on weekends and as he limps home stiff and sore…he’s starting to want a good soak as badly as I do.  Time and money will tell.  I’ve been pinning ideas for it here.

As for which outlet I should choose to sell my finds? There’s pros and cons to all of them and if I can manage it, a hybrid of the options might be best.  Maybe an Etsy shop for smalls and E-bay for big pieces? We’ll see…I’ve actually been pretty busy this winter redoing some dining chair sets for other people.  Once I get my last set finished and out the door..it’s time to start selling again.  Hope everyone is looking forward to a good 2012…I love the optimism January’s clean slate can bring.

Thanks for hanging out with me and being so supportive. When we moved here 3 1/2 years ago, I did not know a soul….(turns out I did, but I didn’t know it then!) and sharing the renovations online with my friends and family in different corners of the world made me feel a bit less lonely. Sorry, it’s late and I’m getting sappy on you.

That said, we are starting to feel more settled here and I’m now at a crossroads for how best to proceed. I closed the booth this year for many reasons, but mainly to lower overhead and to open up the ability to sell upholstered pieces. The lack of HVAC at the mall made it impossible to take upholstered furniture down there without it getting covered in railroad soot from the open bay doors. I’ve been teaching myself upholstery beyond the simple stuff I already knew, and I got a pneumatic staple gun for Christmas…whee! So what’s my next creative outlet?

Do I open an E-bay or Etsy store and deal with all the shipping hassles so a broader audience can buy my finds, or do I find another antique mall better suited to sell my wares? Decisions, decisions!

All I know is when I see a beat up piece of junk with good lines, I feel compelled to save it and there’s not enough room for all of my rescues.  Some people run animal rescues, I run a furniture rescue and I think my darlings are breeding in the basement since I can barely get through these days…and I need to clear a bigger area for my upholstery workspace. What advice do my readers have for me?  I’ll keep mulling things over as I start pulling together a round up for Thursday…you be thinking too, so we can discuss. Out with a pup shot.

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!

There were Ninjabread Men…..

and Star Wars Pancakes….. (Thanks LBJ and JJ!)

We made our very first Gingerbread house!  It’s never been my thing, but after seeing an A-Frame at Trader Joes, I couldn’t resist.  We had a blast making it.  Next year we might try again, baking all the pieces ourselves…The CC thinks we should make a mini treehouse!

and there was daily Elfing…..

A road trip…..

…and back home in time for Christmas.

The first signs of doubt…heartbreaking.  Hoping this wasn’t our last year for the magic…but if it was, I like to think we made the most of it.

Of course, there were gratuitous puppy shots…..

On New Year’s Eve, we hosted a slumber party with an art project…the ubiquitous crayon melting project.

This was mine……

and here’s the gallery of the kids’ creations….

I showed them photos from here and here in order to give them more ideas with different styles.  I loved how everyone made something unique, and they had such a good time.  There was (outside) doubt about whether boys would get into such a project, and when they were done and so proud of their creations, I felt quite pleased that maybe all my ideas aren’t so bad after all!

For what it’s worth, here’s my take on this project.  I found that the embossing heat gun (white one above) was the best tool.  The hair dryer puts out too much air, so we tended to use that to create splatter patterns and not so much for melting.  A tea light flame isn’t quite strong enough and gets extinguished easily, so we subbed out a taper candle.

Time to start packing up the decorations and get organized.  We haven’t printed out the annual list yet, so lots to do to ring in 2012…Happy New Year!

UPDATE: Hung the yellow piece in the bedroom. Things are still deciding where to hang theirs.

The big fat man is coming…..