Waterman,Waterman everywhere

I love stacking my rings. Along with the "wow" factor, Cathy Waterman rings just seem to look better served up two or three at a time. So, naturally when I found another Waterman ring on Ebay studded with tanzanite jewels that match the color of my eyes (*flirty flutter of eyelashes*) I knew that I would have to have it.

The ring arrived and I do love it, but I just don't like three rings stacked on my fingers on a scorcher day in Phoenix. Although I have what I like to consider "delicate" hands, my fingers swelled up like little sausages when I was outside on one of the first 100 degree days followed by another hour or two in an unairconditioned building. Unfortunately, I was left with wrestling the rings off my finger and stashing them in my bag for the day. Not so happy about this but I suppose I should look at it as my newest fall/winter accessory. Perfect! Wonder if I should do some finger crunches in the meantime...

If you're happy and you know it

What is your passion? I'm not talking about what you and your significant other do to create passion (get your mind out of the gutter, reader) but rather what is it that makes you happy? fulfilled? complete? What is it that floats your boat? What do you love,love,love, to do? Your bliss? Your joy?

Maybe it's buying and selling on Ebay, taking photographs, writing, decorating, painting, helping others, exercising, cooking, sports....the list is endless. How fascinating that there are so many choices, so many avenues, that allow us to be delighted just by doing this thing and being joyful while doing it. And how fabulous that your passion may not necessarily be my passion yet we can still encourage each other to go after that said passion.
And perhaps this could prove to be a problem as well... do you know what you have a passion for?
Could you make a decision to go after your passion today and see how it effects your future tomorrow?
To tie this all up with a big beautiful bow and segue into why I'm writing about passions on this blog is that every passion has a story... what's yours?

Merry Go Round

"The wheels on the bus go

round and round,

round and round,

round and round".

That cute, although annoying, childhood song was my life this last week. No; I was not a school bus driver but rather, an innocent victim of vertigo.

For those of you who have experienced it...count me as the newest club member. For those of you who have only witnessed Arrested Development's Liza Minnelli create the dizziness for comedy...trust me, it's not near as funny!

When you wake up and get ready to jump out of bed...BOOM! You are instantly transported to a merry go round for 30 seconds or so. When you reach for your coffee cup...BOOM! When you drive your car and look both ways to cross traffic...BOOM! It was not a good week.

BUT, my gaping mouth friends...I believe the worst is over. Woke up today with a spring in my step and not one merry go round ride the whole day! Hallelujah! Life is good once more and I hope to be childlike in only my imagination and not my balance anymore.

The Thrill of the Hunt

The power of the Internet and the convenience of EBay makes collecting whatever floats your boat as easy as a click away.
When a good friend and I shared a millinery business in the 1990's our focus was creating vintage inspired ladies hats that were woven with romance. Unfortunately with no EBay "back in the day" we had to travel to Los Angeles to fabric shops, we cruised antique malls, and we read "Victoria" with a passion to find the ribbons and flowers that would become a part of our hats. We ordered things by phone from the east coast and the Midwest crossing our fingers that when ribbons, flowers, and other accoutrement arrived we would be delighted.
One weekend when my friend and I were in Los Angeles to search for embellishments, we parked our rental car in the maze of parking lots offered in downtown LA.
"Should we take this parking ticket with us or leave it in the car?" we asked each other.
"We should leave it in the car, so we don't lose it."
We didn't lose the ticket...but, we did lose our car.
Seriously.
Downtown LA.... with not a whisper of an English speaking voice besides our own. Two white women, rental car, and both of us with no knowledge of what type of car we were driving or where we had parked it. The sun had set and it was getting late. I began to panic. All I could remember is that we were parked close to (as bizarre as this may sound...) but what I thought was a Chinese deli.
As the minutes ticked by and I became more and more anxious we spotted our soon to be heroes. Los Angeles' finest. A male and female police officer. We rushed toward them and rattled off our tale of woe and desperation feeling a bit like Blanche Dubois depending on the kindness of these strangers. They agreed to drive us around the area so we could possibly find the unknown car. Street after street, parking lot after parking lot they drove becoming involved in our not so amusing treasure hunt. And then my friend spotted the vehicle. "That's it! It's the red car!" (it was red?? I hadn't a clue...)
I cannot remember what we found that day for our hats but I do remember the thrill of the hunt. It was an amazing adventure.

What was she smoking?

I'm sure there are lots of unusual ebay auctions out there but I just happened to see this one while browsing in the sofa section. I have edited the content to save you some grief:
"This piece was custom designed and made for the foyer in our Connecticut home. The piece has curved sides and is upholstered in silk damask with custom silk 10" bullion and jasper trimmings. I waited 18 months for the fabric to be hand loomed and shipped from France. It's an incredibly elegant piece as well as comfortable. It's only been sat in maybe 3 times as it is in the foyer of a house that we don't visit much and entertain in the livingroom rather than the foyer. The 2 antique pillows shown on the piece are not included."
STARTING BID= $13,999

Hello, not many of us live in a hotel where this belongs. And color me crazy....but, does this look "comfortable" to take your shoes off,spread out on, and watch a little sports on a weekend? Or would I ever spend fourteen thousand dollars on an upholstered pepto-bismol shade of a white elephant? Ebay for the Donald Trumps of decorating....crazy.

What's in a name?

There was a fabulous slipcovered sofa I was auctioning off in February of last year. I just felt like I wanted a change and I was going to go for it. I actually loved the sofa...deep, oversized, in a kidney bean sort of shape and great for those TV naps. Slipcovered in white denim and white matelasse with a beautiful candlelight velvet for the winter.
I posted the auction and there was a bid but before the auction ended I was having second thoughts. My husband was getting knee replacement surgery and I didn't feel like he needed any complications and movers and everything else that can go on with a furniture auction. I let "charming bungalow" (the potential buyer) know and she was very understanding and conveyed that if I ever did want to sell...she was there.
Fast forward a few months and I find a gorgeous Ralph Lauren chocolate leather sofa that a friend is offering. I love it and it would be perfect with the Spanish colonial vibe in my home. I contact charming bungalow to see if she is still interested in the dreamy slipcovered sofa I still have. She is. She's perfect. She arranges everything and it's a no brainer.
Now, here's the best part...
When we first began our emails, I found out her name was Tiffany. And when we exchanged phone numbers, etc... I see that her name is Tiffany Deimund.
I'm thinking "no, it couldn't be..." and so I just had to ask.
YES!! It was pronounced just like the mother ship of diamonds and jewelry stores.
And even better...she wasn't born with the last name! How crazy is that?!
She said that the shopgirls at the iconic jewelry store go nuts when she slaps down her charge card for a purchase. Just goes to show what can happen after a girl kisses a few frogs in her life...she ends up with a real Deimund.

Newlyweds

and the newlywed's sofa


from Henredon, one of the best when it comes to sofa construction. Plush comfortable style and bought on Ebay for a fraction of the price it would have cost brand spankin new. It was given to my daughter, Audrey, and her husband, Josh (a.k.a. the newlyweds), for their apartment.
When I bought the sofa there was no clue as to where the two would live and when they found this adorable little place in Santa Barbara, CA, I thought it would be perfect.
On moving day my daughter arranged for a few of her male college friends and her fiancée to help move in (what would soon be called) the "monster" sofa to the second story apartment.
Imagine if you will:
Three men precariously balancing the upholstered beast on a metal railing while the fourth took the front door of the apartment off its hinges. It resembled a dangerous teeter-totter and with one wrong move, the sofa would come crashing down on someones parked car two floors below. Hello neighbor!
The sofa finally allowed itself to be pushed through the tiny doorway where it has remained for the last year. Happy Anniversary!
As stated, Henredon is one of the best manufacturers for upholstered pieces, but the weight + size of the monster sofa= a great auction for a Henredon sofa on the next moving day from this Santa Barbara apartment. Pick up only. Bring lots of manpower.