Easy Monday Project...

Don't you love when projects come as easy as 1...2....3....Done!??

That's how this display-container-thingy came around...
1-We saw something very similar in another blog (we are soooo sorry but can't remember where!)

:(

2-We found the baking pans for $.25 each, the metal candle holders for $1.99 the pair and the glass candle holders we already had but they were not being used...

3-We glued the 2 pans to one glass candle holder...the metal one was a little too short so we'll keep it for the next project...

3. DONE! We told you it was fast and easy...

We are using it to hold supplies on our work table but we think it could hold pretty much anything...jewelry, soaps, flowers or succulents....even cookies or napkings on a buffet table...

Note that we are still inspired by seashells even though Fall displays are popping up everywhere...We think that if we keep using seashells, Summer will be here forever...Denial, sometimes, is a great thing!

PS: If you know where we could possibly had seen the original project, please let us know...we'd love to give our blogger inspiration all the credit she deserves!!

Nesting Monday...

Mondays is usually the day that Clara and I work around our own homes. We try to get some fun stuff around the house done in between cleaning , laundry and runs to the supermarket.
Most of the time is just a little re-arrangement or a seasonal display, nothing major...just a little "nesting fluffing" for us to enjoy the rest of the week!...

We wish constructors will not add those generic cabinet built ins...
They are usually in the upstairs hallways, by the stairs...
They are practical, we know, but if they were not there, we would have a lot more room to add a vintage, sturdy, very cool cabinet or hutch that would provide the same storage.
... But the point is that they do add them...at least in our area they do.

They are usually an awkward space to work with, but with a few simple things you can transform them from this:

...into this...

A few family photos, (avoid a huge collection of frames, if possible!)...
...an old frame with burlap background for texture...
...a shabby candle holder...
and a vintage pottery piece with potpourri...

Displaying a few of your favorite things will prevent those spaces from becoming a dumping destination like this one....

or even worse...YIKES!!!

Hope we inspired you to do a little fluffing of your own!
XOXO

Red, White and Blue

We enjoy decorating the store for Memorial Day Weekend and 4th of July because it gives us the possibility to play with a fave color combo:
A little bit of Red...

A little bit of White....

A little bit of Blue...

And our Memorial Day Display is done!

There's just something about the American colors...so crisp, so summery....

...so Red, White and Cool!!!

If you are in the So Cal area during Memorial Day Week End, don't miss our store wide sale:

20% off all Furniture

15% off all smalls

Hope you can make it!

This week we are loving...

We couldn't wait until Thursday, the day that we usually post our week's favorites because this week we are really, totally, absolutely loving:

The super cute,

...perfectly shabby-ed,...

...vintage cart that Clara game me for Mother's Day...

Tons of possibilities with this cutie: in the bathroom holding TP or towels, in the bedroom holding magazines...but to be honest I don't want anybody to touch it, so for now is in my entryway holding vintage pretties and just doing what he does best: looking beautiful!!!

Clara's new love is: the perfect piece of furniture for "that wall in the living room". She tried different tables, different arrangements, but this is the winner!

Worth the wait!....she found it...

...she finally found it...the best antique dresser with empire lines and original white paint...

...perfect linens and silverware storage!

How about you?...What are you loving this week?

The "ugly" people in my life...

Not really, not to me anyway....That's how Clara calls some people that "hang" around my house...
This was the first one I brought home:

I don't know if it was the shabby white and blue frame or her pink cheeks that spoke to me, but I snatched it right after my friend Mary, The Junk Diva, displayed it in her booth. She moved around my house several times and resides now on the entryway. People always ask me if I she is an ancestor or someone I know, the answer is No. People usually follow with a weird stare and a long silence...Thankfully I don't get offended by these kind of things...To me, she has a lovely "je ne sais quoi"

My second girlfriend was found in an antique store and she touched my heart with her sad expression and her killer frame:

She looks like she has lost something, so I bought her a pair a boots that match perfectly with her beautiful dress...what girl doesn't like shoes???

My friend and her boots live in my downstairs bathroom.

My two other girls like to play on the stairs...one is a toddler that had her arm scratched by her kitty. She is not really a pretty girl, it's not an antique, just a repro...but I had to have her....

Her little friend has not been given the gift of the good looks either, but she is working hard feeding her animals. She's being around for a very, very long time.

An antique canvas transfer with signs of age all over, good shabby charm all around...

And the last one it's just a baby I fell in love with. My friend Kathy owns the original oil painting, and for my birthday she gave me a copy of it because she knew she could never get rid of her.....

Andrea ,one of our Dealers, transferred the copy to a canvas and finished the sides, giving her a gallery wrap. She makes me happy from one of my bedroom walls.
Clara always says she doesn't get why I have those "ugly people" in my house, but I also have the beautiful people displayed....

Ugly or not, I love them all!!

A man's face is his autobiography
A woman's face is her work of fiction.
~Oscar Wilde~

Say it with a sign...

To me, no house is really finished until a couple of signs have been displayed.

Signs are like the ultimate expression of the people that live in that home...

They keep reminding us of what is important...

and how much someone loves us....

Very often, they are the last thing we read before closing our eyes....

And sometimes the first thing we read in the morning...

They let you know that we you are welcomed and appreciated...

no matter where you are coming from!

"I love quotations because it is a joy to find thoughts one might have, beautifully expressed with much authority by someone recognized wiser than oneself."
~Marlene Dietrich~



This post was inspired on Clara's sign collection...Do you have any signs around the house that inspire you? Come on, tell us, what's your fave quotation?

Bye Bye Wall!!

New look here at Nice & Easy! We got rid of the wall that divided the back of the store in 2 small rooms. Here's a picture of the store at 8:45 am, before the demolition started....


We planned this remodeling before Christmas time and finally did it! Clara and I dressed for the part on Monday morning, please notice the headpieces and you will know who is the "Boss" and who is the "Working Bee"....

This is the "destruction" area around 10:30 am....

And this was our new space by 1:30 pm...

It looks and feels a lot bigger, brighter, and the merchandise shows a lot better. We really love our remodeling and we hope you'll enjoy it as much as we do! Next improvement: get rid of the carpet in the same room and paint the floor...

"If nothing ever changed, there would be no butterflies."

~Author Unknown~