Kitty Genius

Discovery!

I'm sorry this is a very local-to-Portland post, but I think most everyone can relate to it. I have noticed in Portland that produce (specifically fruit, but some veggies too) do not impress me that much. I know, I know it's CRAZY, preposterous even, but it's kind of true. Berries, I am not looking at you.

In St. Louis the two locally owned grocery stores I went to, Schnucks and Dierbergs, (p.s. I thought every major city worked like this and had its own good non-national supermarket) had AMAZING fruit. And yes, most of it supplied by nearby farms. Sure, they flew things in from South America, etc. and yes, I support eating what is in season, not just what you want when you want it, and all that stuff that we agree on for the most part. And no, I don't know their politics.

I am just saying very simply I thought when I moved here I would be knocked over with the abundance of impressive fruit. New Seasons (like a local Whole Foods) is great but expensive and I love farmers' markets but sometimes I just need to run and pick up some veggies any ol' time I want. SO, moving to this neighborhood I was a little afraid of what my neighborhood grocery would have to offer.

Well, now you CAN knock me over with a feather when we went to Portland Fruit Company. I was honestly prepared to be disappointed but oh my was I wrong. And the prices!!! This is what we bought for UNDER $20

They have like 3 or 6 lbs or something crazy of brown bananas for 50 cents (banana bread is literally in my oven). The owner waited on us and was as NICE as can be. He said it would be their 17th anniversary soon, and it made me so proud to be in my new neighborhood. They even offer to hold your bags so you can walk to the other grocery store and not schlep your purchase from them with you. And they offer discounted prices when you buy by the crate. I mean peppers for 65 cents! And it is all really pretty. We are making corn chowder right now and opening that corn up was almost like a present, it was so pretty and perfect. I am not much of a cook but this being so close by… I am really excited.

An important read

In the age of the internet we all know art, ideas, inspiration come faster than ever before and are only a Google search away. After a horrible case of plagiarism which you can read about here and here, the exceptionally talented Julia Rothman, with the help of her lawyer, created a comprehensive must-read answering copyright questions.

Now to switch subjects very abruptly (my apologies) there are few things I love more than a great deal. It feels like a grownup treasure hunt. Also, buying things I love or need when they are on sale (not buying things because they are on sale) allows me to save money—and splurge on things that shouldn't or don't come cheap, like art, handmade, buying locally, and of course coffee. In my never-ending hunt to find great prices, my friend turned me onto Retailmenot. How did I not know about this!?! Normally I just type "promotional code" into Google with the name of the store I am looking for.

For a good deal today here are some Egyptian cotton sheets for under $60 (even queen and king size). They have some for $49 but no reviews yet.

Advice

SO, I have been on a sofa search since I was… umm 18 or 19. Granted, I had different taste back then and a much different budget. I ended up with a $75 tufted, crushed blue velvet couch. That was a good good couch. In fact, it is now reupholstered and living in a coffee shop in St. Louis. That couch saw me through six moves.

Then when we moved to Portland we got our current Ikea couch. I like it enough but from turning it into a bed often for guests and HOT nights it's sort of rickety (the back won't stay in the more reclined position) and I do almost all of my work sitting on the couch (I try so hard to use a desk but it doesn't last long). Not having arms on the sofa has turned out to be a HUGE detriment. There are pillows that act as arms but they are removable and not my thing. Again, great in theory.

I want a deep couch. To me that means a minimum of 42". Lately I have seen 48" sofas but they are exxxxxpensive. So, I think I found my dream sofa (44" thank you very much). I am 99.9% ordering it. And then say this is it for as far into the distance as I can see. I want to imagine not needing another couch for at least 10 years. But this is a really popular couch so I was curious if anyone had any experience with it or if you know of another awesome couch?

it looks much sleeker without the throw pillows. Microfiber velvet means easy to clean, so I am not afraid to go with such a light couch. Also, August 29 through the beginning of October, Crate and Barrel is having 15%–25% off custom upholstery!

Ok, so any couch advice will be much much appreciated. : )

pssst… if you want to purchase something from Crate and Barrel that is not on sale the best thing to do is to create a registry. They're not just for weddings anymore. You can select a very general "celebration". And really isn't every day a celebration? So, you create a registry and select a date that is in the near future (a week or two). After that date passes, as a thank you (even if no one purchased anything on your registry) Crate and Barrel will send you a 10% off coupon good once online and once in person off your total purchase! On a couch, that can be a few hundred dollars. If you were purchasing multiple items that is HUGE savings. Even 10% off a set of silverware is great.

Weekend

Howdy! I hope everyone's weekend is wrapping up nicely! Mine sure is. A few tidbits to share. We have notebooks available at Urban Outfitters (unfortunately they are not on the web site).

They are super sturdy, beautifully bound and like $5.00!

No weekend is a weekend to me without a strong cup of coffee. I cannot get enough cinnamon in my coffee lately (in the afternoon, though; morning coffee has to be just straight up coffee for me), and please note I still love my Via Venezia more than any other piece of kitchen equipment. I even got one for my mom for her birthday and my best friend bought one too. Hmmm… they seem to be out of stock but they were on super sale about 6 weeks ago at the Starbucks around here and in St. Louis.

I went with my friend Danni to a coffee shop neither of us had ever been to, Cartola. I loved it there.

Just look at a bit of the decor.

Marble tables, tufted seats, taxidermy, old photos, gilded mirrors, and lovely light fixtures all in a tiny space? Yes. And you KNOW who this place made think of.

Happening upon goodness

My, my. Today I had to run a few errands and we had to go to the bank and whatnot and I am feeling a little stir crazy with the whole working frenzy, not-leaving-the-house-much thing… SO, I convinced Drew to run with me very quickly to an estate sale. It was AMAZING. She worked for the paper for over 50 years (the ad said) and had a love of books, nature, and art (I gathered). I felt very sentimental looking through her watercolors.

I walked away with some amazing things. I have been very careful to only buy what I LOVE or NEED in terms of home stuff lately… because 7 moves in 7 years… you give a lot of stuff away.

I have always wanted a record cabinet like this (not for records though) and this one was in the basement for $15!!

Currently I have books on top with these amazing porcelain hares I'm using as bookends. Of all places they were at a Tuesday Morning that I wandered into. I don't think I will go back there but I found sunglasses and the two rabbits that are a bit too sinister and designey to be for easter. And they were $6.99 each! My, what long ears you have.

Also from the estate sale I picked up this piece. It needs a new frame but the colors are fantastic. It's a print of a de Staël.

Also only $15.

This little book:

And last, but certainly not least, this cuckoo clock.

Drew's holding it far away, in part because it still has a dead spider or two on the top. But it's lovely, heavy, made in Germany and reminds me of my grandparents.

For Drew there was an old camera and an old comic (figures). I really feel like I found a little treasure today.

Necklaces? Irons? Brunch? I am a Girl.

I just wanted to mention the Etsy seller Baddins Design. I ordered the necklace I'm wearing in the picture from her. In addition to loving the necklace, it was so nice to receive a thank you note and sweet little extra in the package from her. The thank you would have been more than enough but I really appreciate when Etsy sellers take the time to say thank you or acknowledge a sale in some way. I do it as a seller and it's wonderful to have it reciprocated as a buyer.

Today I got to wear my new necklace when we went out to brunch with one of Drew's best friends, Jared. He's in town just for something ridiculous like 24 hours helping his sister move back to St. Louis. Seeing an STL folk made me very excited to go back to St. Louis in September for Drew's 30th birthday!

And today I FINALLY went to a real life thrift store. It felt so good. I needed an iron and it was like iron jackpot there (maybe there are always lots of nice irons, I just never needed one). A t-shirt and two books rounded out the very practical thrift store experience.

Have a good day!

For Cats Everywhere

    In our new apartment there's nowhere to hide the catbox. Since it has to live  out in the open, and very near to where we keep our linens, we thought we should buy a covered one. I was very excited to find the Booda Dome Cat Box. I know this is going to sound ridiculous, but it's sooo cute. It looks like a little igloo and is light purple. It comes with a filter, but even without using it, I haven't smelled that catboxy smell. The other great thing is that there are no latches on the catbox.  I'm really lazy, especially in the morning, and I thought I would get rather annoyed if I had to unlatch a cat box lid everyday.

Why am I writing about a cat box? Because, it's one of those things you just expect to be an eye sore and kind of gross.  This one is so not offensive, that people coming to see the new apartment keep commenting on how much they like it.  Two of my friends already went out to buy one. I bought mine for $20, but the link I have listed has it for $12.99. Lastly, and most importantly, My cat loves it too.

My New "Desk"

When Drew and I moved into our new apartment I was finally going to have a big work area, so I thought it was definatley time to have a better desk than the funny corner computer desk I've had since I was 15. I'm sure my old desk is great for a clunky computer (unfortunately, I have a laptop) and it's not so good for drawing or crafting or SPREADING OUT, which is the absolute most important thing for me.

I love love love all the long modern white desks/tables that I see again and again in design magazines. They remind me of lego pieces. Unfortunately, they are a couple thousand dollars out of my price range. So, I got to thinking about the ugly wood laminate top tables from my art classes. Ugly? Yes. But, also sturdy and super practical. I went on a mission to find a white, 6-foot version of this table. The picture above is the table I ended up buying. It looks white, but it's actually a very light speckled grey, and I'm just fine with that.

I bought it at Office Depot, which has free shipping on purchases $50 and above. There was only one hitch. I ordered a little bit fancier of a table than the one that Office Depot delivered. The one I recieved was great anyway, but I had seen the same table at Home Depot for $25 less. Office Depot was really easy to deal with and refunded me the difference. How great is that? So, the table ended up costing me around $50 and it was delivered for free! So far my new desk/work table/dining room table when we have guests is awesome. It looks clean and modern and my computer lives on one end and my sewing machine on the other and there's plenty of room in the middle to draw or set up my light box or cut out pictures from magazines or pay bills. The best 50 bucks spent in a long time.

Forever Slutty One

Just the idea of Forever 21 (or Forever Slutty One as we call it around here) I find both horrifying and exhilarating. It has instantly obliterated any self esteem I had as soon as I walked through the door countless times, and yet I keep coming back for more. And here's why: they have awesome long shirts. The shirts are super cheap. They often come in great dark and earth tone colors. And many (the only ones I will buy) are not 100% cotton, so no shrinking.
Now, I would never ever ever wear the shirts on their own.  I am not a small girl, but even tiny girls end up with lumps and rolls from the too clingy, too transparent material most of the clothes are made from. That fact aside, many of the staples in my wardrobe come from Forever Slutty One.
At the height of the low rise jeans boom I simply could not find any shirts long enough or any jeans high enough. In addition to the figure flaws most ladies face, I had another one. I had recently lost alot of weight and I didn't want my extra skin spilling over my pants for the world to see. So long shirts really did and still do make a huge difference. Forever 21 was the first to start carrying them and although every place at every price range now has them, F21 is still the best.
Seriously, see for yourself.  Go there wearing a shirt you like, but it makes you just a little self conscience when you raise or arms or sit down.  Now, don't get overwhelmed, scan for length and color only.  When you see something long in a color you will realistically wear look for a large... seriously. If they have more than one, try them all on. They're cheap so each one can fit entirely different. Move around in the shirt. If it's too tight it will roll up and that's just the worst.  If it passes the roll test, put the shirt you came with over the new shirt and admire the slimmer looking, less self conscience feeling you. Now, go look at their sweatsirts and then get the hell out of there!

Good Hair Thing

I've used these little biters everyday for at least the past three years, and they're the absolute best. I have long, thick hair so it's hard to find a small clip that can hold alot of my hair. When I want a Bridgette Bardot ponytail I place one of these biters right below my rubberband to create and maintain the bouffanteyness. These clips have somehow saved me on many a bad hair day when my hair looked (because it was) really dirty. They work great, blend in well, and can handle alot of use and abuse. I've yet to have one break, although I do have a problem with people stealing them. They're just one of those things that don't seem like anything special but end up becoming a daily necessity.