What I Found Today

Went to our local antique mall today (one of my favorite activity) and brought home this adorable vintage Peter Cottontail wind-up toy. His ears are missing but that doesn't bothers me at all (He looks like a seal without the ears, so funny! I'm planning to find a little hat for him to cover up the holes.) The wind-up part works, too, click the movie to hear it.

Bottoms Up Antique Market, KC

Just want to show you some photos from an antique market that we went today. If you like this kind of style, I recommend this book; it's really a visual treat! To see more photos, please go to my Antiquing Flickr folder.

What I Bought Today

I got this cute lion cookie jar at Anthropologie today. It was on sale, lucky me! It totally reminds me of Swedish ceramic artist Lisa Larson's work. I am not sure if this lion is based on her design (no name on the bottom of the piece), but it sure looks like one of her creations which I admire big time.

Diary: This Weekend

First, my mom is here visiting me for 40 days... so if I am less productive during this time, that's why. :)



On Friday Robert and I went to the regular monthly "first Friday" treasure hunt, and I got lucky again (last time I got the "Mixies", remember?). I got two awesome framed owly prints by Margaret Layton, titled "Blinky" and "Winky". Look like they are some sort of hand-colored prints, and they are really lovely. I do need to replace one of the glass, re-paint the wood frames, and add mats for both of them. But I only paid $38 for the pair so I am not complaining.



Also I got a little owl container as well. I already had one of this; now I have two!



Because it was the "First Friday" (On the first Friday of each month, Kansas City's Crossroads district's art galleries, studios, and restaurants open their doors to showcase local and national artists, and the area is always packed with people.), after work we went to Mattie Rhodes Art Center for their Dia De Los Muertos exhibition. After that we stayed and listened to a blues band playing on 18th street (pardon my bad camera). It was kind of chilly but the perfect weather for such an activity.



And today I took my mom to Mattie Rhodes Art Center again and showed her around the artsy neighborhood. It was a perfect fall day.

Mixies is now on my Flickr

As I mentioned in my previous post, I got lucky and found this amazing set of Mixies cards in a local antique shop for $3. The illustrations in this deck are absolutely stunning. It took me a couple of hours scanning and cleaning the images, and now the Mixies set is on my Flickr. I tried to track down any information regarding the illustrator but couldn't find anything. If you know anything about it, please let me know!

Also, while I researched online, I found this blog posted by The Jacky Winter Group, an Australian agency for illustrators, and how they put together a set of promo piece using Mixies as their inspiration. Check it out.

Mixies® is a product by Ed-U-Cards, ©1956

Lucky Find + Super Cute Music Videos

I got lucky today! I found a box of "Mixies" in a local antique shop for only $3! Here's just a teaser. It will take me a little bit of time to scan everything, so stay put. (Mixies ©1956 Ed-U-Cards Mfg. Corp. L.I.C. N.Y. Prid. in U.S.A.)

Also to kick start the long weekend, here are two super dooper cute music videos by U900, a Japanese Ukulele Duo. They will for sure put you in a good mood!

Nate Williams Pillow

Got this awesome Tree House pillow by Nate Williams at Urban Outfitters this afternoon. I love the artwork and the fact that the cover is removable. The insert is really soft too! There is another design (see it here ) but the shop didn't have it, otherwise I would get it too...

Look What I've Got

(Photo taken from pixiegenné's Etsy listing of the item)
I recently bought this amazingly beautiful suitcase from pixiegenné's Etsy shop. It was the last one in her shop and I just had to get it before it was gone. It is so well made, decoupaged with images from vintage children's books, and it looks so good and I have to put it in my office to admire it everyday. Visit her Flickr page to see more of her amazing decoupaged creations!

Red, red and more red!

I love red! Even though I did not paint any wall in my house red, I love seeing it as an accent color. It's just so full of energy and makes me happy. So when I found this red boot in the local antique mall for only $4 I just had to get it. I plan to put it on my office desk and use it to store my Micron pens. Also, I found a super cute giant bowl and a matching plate with birds and florals motif on sale at Anthropologie (I knew it was bad for me to go into that store... but I couldn't help it). I love the color combo of red, deep blue and white. It's so yummy! I only wish that I had gotten two of each instead of one... Heehee, I am greedy!

Antique Cowgirl Boot Lamp

My sweet friend got me this lamp for Christmas gift and it was a total surprise. I saw the lamp when we went to the antique mall a couple of weeks ago. I loved it but I had to put it back when I saw the price tag. Until last Friday, he gave me a big bag, as I opened it I saw this lamp! I couldn't believe he went back and got it for me. It's an antique bronze cowgirl boot design; I absolutely love the elaborate florals on the boot and how it tapers into a tiny foot... so cute! I outfitted it with a sage green Martha Stewart shade (which I might pimp up later, not sure yet) and I am going to put it in my office so I can see it everyday! Thanks, Robsie!

My New Old Chandelier + Some Other Thoughts

YAY!!!!! I finally got my oldie chandelier installed this morning. For the longest time I don't have proper lighting in my dining room and I've been searching for a fancier (but not too frou frou) old chandelier over my table. I saw this wood/brass fixture in a local antique mall for $225... I LOVED it but it was too much for me. However, couple of weeks later I was lucky enough to see someone was selling the exactly same one for only $35 on eBay. Well, not exactly $35 cause parts of it broke druing shipping and I had to take it to the lamp maker to get it fixed, plus I hired an electrician to install it for me this morning, which leads to another story: after the guy left, I changed the light bulbs to chrystal ones and I tightened them up a little too much, and as soon as I flipped the switch on, my dimmer got burned. I had to call my electrician back right away and he got me a new dimmer and fixed it for me. The lesson learned here: don't tighten the light bulbs too much when you deal with an antique fixture... it might cause a short in it. Now I know...


I've been trying to only post about my own works on this blog and keep all the other stuff (like this post you are reading) on my sleepyjellyfish blog, but I am wondering maybe I should just keep everything on this blog since it's all about my life anyway plus this one has more visitors... Perhaps you can give me some suggestions!

I am gonna take a soldering class all afternoon tomorrow. I've never done that... this should be interesting! In my perfect fantasy world, once I learn it, I can make beautiful charms like what Sally Jean make... Of course, it's not that simple and easy but I am still really excited! I will keep you guys posted! XO