Viva - Saturday

Matching shirts are the best!

Saturday morning I was up bright and early to run over to the airport and pick up my old roomate.  We hurried back to the hotel and got her wristband.  We likely should have gone straight out to the car show but we hung out for a while in the hotel room and then got lunch and soon it came to be the scary hot part of the day.  Undeterred though we headed out and made our way through the vendors and eventually got to the cars.

I was wearing my new Re-mix wedges and my Whirling Turban corselette so I was feeling quite stylish and relaxed but the sun proved to be too much for us and we headed in for a break.  I was sad to miss Buzz Campbell after having seen him this summer at Cars and Guitars but the heat was just too much for this True North Gal.



My latest fav - a flat red truck!

 My friend tried to take a much needed nap and after changing and putting on more sunscreen and a hat I went back out to take some more pictures and I made sure I was there to see Big Sandy and the Fly-Rite Boys.  They were awesome despite the sun it was just too good not to enjoy.  I even got to hear the new single they have out on 45 (Don't Go to Far With the Girl at the Bar).  I then went over to the Pool to catch the couples swimwear competition which ended up starting way late but was a good shady break with a mojito and a giant glass of water.  I made it back for Duane Eddy which was fun but still really hot and then my friend and I met up and went and saw the rest of the cars and listened to the Ventures.

The Fly-Rite Guitar Men!

After that we rushed inside to get in line to see Deke Dickerson's The Guitar Geek!  Which was truly the best thing I did all day.  Riddle with surf & even more celebrity this year.  We were 3 rows from the front and saw JD McPherson up close and personal without having to fight the crowds, saw Nokie Edwards and Duane Eddy close up and all the other performers in the line up that was just truly phenomenal.  Other things I have to mention was how much I loved watching TK Smith and Ashley Kingman play together!  This is the best and the sound is awesome and then when there was already too many awesome things we got to hear charming Sandy Nelson play the drums.  Cannot say what an awesome time this was but that was far from the end of our day...

After some food we made it back out in our evening outfits mine just my stand-by black halter dress to go see a bit of Wayne Hancock which was too crowded to really enjoy and after perusing the vendors a little we set ourselves up in a good spot to watch the dancers and see JD McPherson who was like a machine playing his whole album and never missing a beat.  It was then time to walk my friend back to our room after her already 18 hour day and I decided to get changed and go catch the end of the Big 6 and the Bellfuries who's CD I bought and had autographed!  After that it was bedtime for me as Sunday was now arrived and another days activities would start before too long.

Viva 15 - Wednesday / Thursday / Friday

I left for Viva late on Wednesday and had a stop over in Vancouver.  It was hellish all the way drove the rental car the wrong direction!  I almost kissed the bed in the hotel room when I finally got there.  So, Wednesday, arrived = accomplishment.

Thursday did some errands.  Went to Trader Joe's for groceries, went to Lee's for booze (got the new Absolut Grapevine which is heavenly) and some minis for good measure.  Got my wristband and wore my jeans and ivory/silver cowboy shirt to see Justin Curtis.  Ah music at last even had a chair to relax in.  Next went back to the room and freshened up my drink and got ready to go see Big Sandy and the original Flyrite Trio.  Amazing.  I cropped this from a video clip I took of Thru Dreaming.  TK Smith smiling is one of the best parts of the show as I it seemed he might of been happier playing from back stage.  Highlights included Kaw liga cover and flask and "Flask and you shall receive."  Had many good intentions of going back but to be honest I was plain tuckered out at this pointed and decided to save my energy for the rest of the weekend.

Friday I was determined to get some vintage shopping in before Saturday's action-packed agenda.  I made my way East to Buffalo Exchange and got a awesome black tooled belt for $10 and some gold shoes $10 regular $85 never worn (or at least not enough to where away the nordstrom tag).  Then it was off to the antique mall in hunt of all that is awesome -that turned out to be very little in my price range but I did get a collection of vintage Vegas postcards which I think might frame up nicely in my new house.  Then it was a quick stop at In and Out Burger before rushing back to the hotel to see the Charles Phoenix slideshow of pools and patios.  Fabulous as always (I know you know).

After that it was time to get changed and I decided to where my atomic diamonds dress.  I did my hair pinned up and had to mix and match my navy cardigan with my black Miz Mooz shoes (bad packing).  I checked out the vendors and ended up buying a pair of Re-Mix wedges despite myself.  I saw the Blue Collar Combo (all very cute and talented) and then Ruby Dee & the Snakehandlers (wild and crazy), the Planet Rockers (Eddie Angel :) ) and then part of Si Cranstoun before retiring.  Saturday was yet to come and things were shaping up to be awesome!

Tale of 2 Bathrooms or How to Lower Property Value

So it is almost a month now that I have been living in a house!  Wow time flies when you spend it moving, painting and destroying.  The tub surround downstairs is gone, the cement board is up, the tile is purchased and almost booked for installation and then we will be on to finishing the drywall, installing new lights, flooring and trim!

In the mean time I painted the hallway upstairs BM White Chocolate and the bathroom upstairs BM Pink Cadillac.  Unfortunately the glory that was my pink bathroom was short lived when it was decided that we should unclog the trap and found the ABS trap had been connected with a chrome pipe (which was completely corroded) to the cast iron drain.  The drain had insufficient slope which lead to the formation of what mostly seemed like a rock formation in the pipe.  This combined with the scary electrical we found lead to the removal of the wall and now my 2 bathroom house is a 1/2 and 1/2 bathroom house!  All because the sink was clogged and we thought we would clean it the "right way".

But hey I'm leaving in a week for Viva...what about that well hopefully somethings will be resolved this weekend and if not I have at least booked a hair appointment for Friday and I did manage to buy a dress so maybe just maybe by Wednesday morning I will have my bag packed and ready to go and maybe there will be one complete bathroom when I get home...

Here are some photos from this month:

note the hallway has no light (ie this paint was not helping)

ochre color taped off white chocolate to come

clean a trap lose a wall (grey pipe bottom of sink)

connector removed

beginning of the end of pink wall and notice lovely black door trim at least that was not for nothing... 

The wall is now gone stay tuned for the updates and I will try to grab some updated photos of the basement as it is progressing as well.  Working on my Viva calendar for now and will try to check back before I leave.

Home on the Range

Eek! 2 weeks 'til I am living on terra firma instead of in strata space.  I can't wait to get started sprucing things up.  I went tile shopping this weekend for the downstairs bathroom.  Here are some before pics to the reference upcoming changes.

On my list is good-bye to the crumby new addition white cabinet by the stove and hello to an old 40" stove.  Good-bye ugly super long brushed chrome bar handles on my original cabinetry hellow rejuvenation or ebay handles.  Good-bye burnt yellow paint and overscale fans.  I also have big plans for the yard and I can't wait to have a fire in the fire pit but all in good time I suppose.

 

 

and the crazy bathroom (if it is possible the goal is to move the toilet and sink against the wall as right now it is kind behind the tub) - tileboard is klassy with a k hopefully it will soon be tile.

inspiration for the new bathroom is this vintage poster I found at alltheposters.com

California Part 2

Well brave adventurers we are we set off once again on the bus headed to our hotel in Orange County.  Saturday was my free day so after we got to the hotel and got rid of our luggage I took off for Orange Circle determined to get the most out of my all day bus pass.

Along the way I unexpectedly found a Target and got supplies for Disneyland the next day which was great and some cheap Elf make up brushes (read $1 to $3).  I did finally get to Orange Circle though and learned that it is the geographical center of Orange County and definitely worth a walk through for the lovely mix of places to eat and antique malls and stores.  I once again had my handy retro shopping map but really didn't need it once I got there because it was easy to get around fun to wander.

I was thrilled to add a Cherry Red Bakelite bangle to my collection at 30% after some digging through a display case and generally thrilled just to walk about and see some of the coolest furniture on the planet at I place called Woody's (check out that ta-booth in the window) and then right next door a cupcake place that was feature on the Food Network mmm delicious :)

After wearing out my feet and my eyes I knew I better head home so I'd be ready for the big show the next day (Disneyland).  On my way to the bus stop however I was smitten by two more sights one of which I will catch you up on later but for now here are some last looks to hold you.

Travelogue - California

Early Thursday morning I left our crazy cold snap and flew off first to Vancouver.  From there we made our way through customs and then go on a plane to take us to John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana!

The weather was lovely when we arrived and we eventually caught a bus that took us down the highway to Long Beach.  I was intent on doing some vintage shopping and more than anything exploring what there was to see.  It was a long trip but we made our way to our hotel and saw all the coast on the PCH on the way!  On our travels we met a man from Seattle who couldn't get home because the airport was closed and who was staying in Laguna Beach.  He had all sorts of tips and advice and it was definitely a nice start to our vacation.

First thing Friday, we went walking about and found our way to the bus information place just north of the Pike on Pine and we bought all day passes and after a fine breakfast set about exploring.  We made good use of the shopping map I had printed from http://www.shoppersmap.com/

Unfortunately what we didn't realize was that things were more laid back than we had allowed for and all the shops on 4th Street weren't open until noon.  So we toured  the area for a bit I bought a cute purse at the AIDS Assistance Store for $3 and then we caught the bus up around the Signal Hill area where the antique malls are and thing were open.  I found most prices were commesuate with the internet but it was thrilling so see some things I've never seen in person here like all the Heywake furniture and cornicopia of signage.  I was looking for a thermometer for my new house and after reviewing the prices and thinking about how important it is to have the temperature in Celsius in Canada I went for a really cute reproduction piece along with some awesome deco stove S&P and some great 1940s postcards that I'm intent on framing.  One of my other finds was some vacation slides which I want to maybe turn into a cool lamp like Erica did http://www.ericamulherin.com/blog/2010/01/07/the-most-awesomest-lampshade-ever/ my slides aren't as cool and I only have 80 for now but it is a start and I'm hoping to collect some other older ones as I go along.

After having a snack we caught the bus back to 4th Street (seen here the corner of 4th and Cherry) and had a great time shopping I looked long and hard a vintage Mexican circle skirt but in the end decided I'd never be bold enough to wear it and instead picked up some great soveniers (robot ice cube tray! guitar spatula!) and swooned over more furniture pieces.

We had supper on our way back to the hotel at a place called Creme de la Crepe where we hit the end of happy hour and got to order off the lunch menu at or maybe after 4 PM.  It was delicious after a long day shopping and was not far from Downtown Darling which we checked out along the way.  After all that it was nice to get back to our room and put on some warmer clothes.  We went out and checked out the ferris wheel and pier and then came back to our room for some well deserved sleep.  Saturday we journeyed back to closer to the Airport in Orange County.

And then it snowed

Well the mercury has dropped to -29C/-20F but I soldiered on and walked to work today.  It is all good except for the fact that I like to wear my glasses to work and there is no practical way to wear glasses and a scarf and not have the glasses turn into a foggy mess but hopefully this won't last for too long.

I am waiting on the girl who has an offer on my condo but things look bleak on that front and I'm starting to lose patience. In the mean time the plumber who changed the sink valves last week needs to come back again and I am wondering if my car is going to start when I need to use it or if I should re-insure it as a block of ice.

I bought my ticket for Viva and it appears after much plotting and discussion with my friend I also have an extra ticket should someone want to buy one.  Flights here were on a big sale here for the last week so my flight is all booked and I booked the hotel way back in May so I'm covered there just for now on my own in the big city which is not the end of the world but frustrating that it is so hard to co-ordinate things with other people.

The sun is shining despite the temperature so that is the plus and my vacation to California is coming up and I found this cool site that has vintage shopping maps for places around CA so I'm pretty excited to put them to the test and see what I find.  http://www.shoppersmap.com/  The new house could use some retro-fittings so I will be bringing a suitcase with a lot of empty space to fill :) and hopefully getting some great deals to share.

When I get back it will be crack down on my diet time and get packing for the new place.  Hopefully the condo really will sell this week but if it doesn't I guess there's nothing I can do except keep busy and try not to think about it.  The change in the mortgage rate (drop 0.5%) has been a bonus so I guess it will all even out eventually.

I'm working on an embroidery for the new house 10 points if you recognize where this border comes from!  Until next time stay warm.