Desert Dreaming

The hubby and I are going on a cross-country road trip in a few days so the blog posting of recent has been a little dismal. We're driving from Southern Ontario - so let's just call it Detroit - to Morongo Valley, California. We'll hang out in California for a bit and then head back via New Mexico.

Joshua Tree

Creosote bush drying rack

Joshua Tree sunset

A few years ago I did a Southwest roadtrip solo and I put zero planning into the trip. I left California without an itinerary, phone, GPS, or even a map. As a lone woman, it was liberating and exciting, and the prospect of adventure was my priority. I stayed in crappy motels, slept in my car, picked up a hitchhiker, lived off Lay's chips and Walmart pastries, met some really nice people, and got terribly lost more times than I can count.

Now that I'm doing this with another human being and the distance has been multiplied, a lot more forethought and planning has gone into it. Some personal requirements need to be met, expenses are split so we have a bigger budget for hotel rooms, and wasting time circling back on freeways will be more frustrating when we have destinations we need to get to.

Pioneertown

My friend's trailer in Pioneertown

Desert cat

But there are numerous advantages to having a companion as well, especially someone as loquacious as my boyfriend. He's a constant joke and storyteller, a calm and decisive navigator, and my best friend (he's also pretty to look at). It'll be nice to have someone to talk to along those really tedious 8 hour stretches of driving through flatlands; it'll be nice to have someone to curl up to at night when you're in a shitty motel bed and the temperature drops; and it'll also be nice to have someone to share those breath-taking moments when you're at the top of a mountain overlooking a desert valley.

Met this cool guy at the Yucca Valley swapmeet

Peace

Super excited!

- J

Cactus Garden

Finally repotted my cacti. Some of them need a re-repot as I didn't do a stable job first time around. Also found this little bench at Goodwill the other day. It needs a repaint but I like it on the front porch right now. Also happy that my once domestic cacti are finally getting a bit of sun.

Love this little cacti set-up by Justina Blakeney:

Eclectic ceramics

- J

Thrift Haul: I Love Lamp!

It's my 2 week anniversary at Memory Lane Antiques, and so far I've sold 6 items totalling $111.05 (the uneven amount is on account of discounts provided to other vendors). That's my gross profit right now but I wasn't even expecting to make $100 in my first month.

On to the thrifts!

Goodwill

Found this lovely Kroehler end table for $10. Wood, handmade, and it has a center mount drawer bracket rather than tracks on the sides, which I love. It slides in and out with ease. 

These next items didn't even make it home. Went straight to the store afterwards.

4 Atomic Starburst highball glasses, $14

Sadler sugar and creamer set, $8

So that's how my booth looks now. 

Value Village

Bakelite worry beads. These need to be restrung.

Vintage Shillcraft rug in # 172 Pansies. I bought this because I'm obsessed with hooked rugs at the moment. Little did I know these things go for several hundreds of dollars on eBay.

Two lamps: one midcentury wood lamp w/ marble base made by Sunrise Lamps that I'll be selling and one porcelain lamp (that's actually light blue, but light blue never shows up, as my wall is also light blue) that I will probably keep

Goodwill again

Large oil painting with wood frame. Measurements are 33.5" x 27.5" so it's quite big. Signed LE. It's hanging in my foyer at the moment.

Not gonna lie, I spent more money on myself in the last few days than I have on stuff to sell. So, I better get on that. But I did sell a pair of J Brand jeans on Kijiji and these Amoeba whiskey tumblers on Ebay yesterday!

Happy Tuesday!

- J

Thrift Haul: April Flowers

It's probably safe to say that I've found my niche. I'm the glass lady. Here's what I found on Friday.

Salvation Army

3 vases. Love the bright colors.

8 Wedgwood shot glasses, which are perfect for the incomplete set I have. 

Cute lemon yellow metal lemon juicer. Keeping this.

Value Village

2 flower glasses.

3 flower glasses.

Not a set but they'd go well together.

6 Cutler pussy willow tumblers. Love the frosting and the raised pussy willows.

4 pink stripe tumblers.

James Kent Old Foley Eastern Glory tray.

And for me, two small oil paintings, simply signed ROGER.

Alright, off to Memory Lane to drop some of these off. I feel like the nice weekend weather will encourage people to buy more vernal glassware.

- J

Thrift Haul: Catch-Up

Do you ever notice that once you get a little behind on doing something one day, it snowballs, and then a week later, you're incredibly behind?

I mean, I don't have a schedule to meet or anything but I've missed a couple Thrift Haul posts and shit's been piling up in my office. I also solved the mystery of the missing pitcher. It showed up on my sales report today with a vendor's discount so I'm guessing another vendor in the mall saw it and then hid it so they could buy it today. Makes no difference to me, as long as it was bought.

Kind of ironic that these are up in my work space. Anyway, I hope to get rid of these soon because they just remind me of a child's bedroom and you know, I hate kids. They're made of fabric, have padding, and grosgrain trim. For sale here, $30.

Vintage Durwood John Walter and Sons wood sconces that I picked up at an estate sale. I showed up early and the best items were already sold. Made in Canada. For sale here, $25.

Sam Edelman black suede "Petty" ankle boot. Size 5. For sale on Ebay here, $49, or on Kijiji, here, $40

I liked these a lot but they were a tad too small for me.

 I also loved these but they were way too big. Can't remember the designer either, but they reminded me of Roger Vivier. 

Two carboys, the one on the right is made in Mexico. The left one is for sale here, $12.

And while I'm here, some things I've newly listed. 

Metal tree jewelry holder. Bracelets not included. For sale here, $15 each.

PC bamboo tray. For sale here, $5

You can see the tray in action, although the contrast is awful.

Vibrant orange enamel-coated cast iron cooking pot made in Poland. For sale here, $35

Jacksons of Piccadilly tea tins, for sale on eBay here, $45

Set of 6 Federal Atomic Amoeba sherry glasses. For sale on eBay here, $55

Vintage Lyle & Scott 100% lambswool tartan scarf. For sale on eBay here, $25

Vintage Ayers 100% wool blanket. For sale on eBay here, $40.

As always, I'm willing to ship.

- J

The Cruelty of April

APRIL is the cruellest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots with spring rain.                       - T. S. Eliot, "The Waste Land"

It's been two days since I rearranged my booth and three more items sold. Which may not sound like a lot but that's a 300% increase. I also had some good luck in some other endeavors of mine, putting me in an excellent mood yesterday, but of course with fortune follows the immediate misery. 

Yesterday I had a very, very unfortunate experience with an eBay buyer who tried to take me to the cleaners. She paid for her item after the auction was over but then she immediately sent me a threatening email, claiming that my shipping costs were "outrageous" and if I didn't lower them, she would "tell ebay and leave me a bad review." Like a seven-year-old. 

The item: Women's top. 

Weight: 0.15kg

My location: London, Ontario

Her location: Seattle, Washington

My shipping costs: CA$16.00 = US$12.50

Shipping from Ontario to Washington, which is almost cross-continent, was actually $17.46, so I was doing her a favor. Please, if anyone out there could provide some insight into the outrageousness of this shipping cost, please let me know. 

And it was just all downhill after that. I offered her a full refund, she didn't respond and then she filed a dispute with Paypal, claiming that "the seller will not agree to reasonable shipping charges." And then demanded a refund, which I couldn't do because the funds were being held by Paypal...due to the dispute. 

It's over and done with now but it ruined what was otherwise a good day. I also found out last night that one of my items in the store is missing. This guy:

I went in today to look for it around the store, in hopes that the pitcher had just been misplaced rather than broken or stolen, but no luck. Kind of a hard item to steal, huh?

Has anybody else had any bad experiences with eBay buyers/sellers? I'd love to hear your stories. Also, what do you do when an item in your booth is missing?

- J