Before & After Sneak Peak #2! Four More Previews of the New House Makeover

Step by step things are progressing at our new Yucca Valley home. While no one room is completely finished, I’d say we are 83% of the way there indoors, 40% outdoors. Below is a little Before & After Sneak Peak of 4 of the rooms In Progress…(see the first 3 Sneak Peaks HERE) Full room reveals coming soon! SUBSCRIBE to see it all.

LIVING ROOM BEFORE…The vaulted ceilings in this room are about 24′ tall at the apex, with 20′ walls on the low sides, which were visually cut in half by the old red paint and (hello 1980’s!) wallpaper border. The borders were removed and the space was painted in Sherwin William’s Ultra White. It instantly opened the space up and now shows off all the beautiful wood beams (which you’ll see in a future post) and makes the ceilings soar high just as they should.

LIVING ROOM AFTER (IN PROGRESS)

I’m going for an artsy rock n’ roll sort of vibe in here with a Timothy Oulton influence. Eventually the art on the gallery wall will reach all the way to the ceiling. The sofa is new (thanks to a Wayfair “open box” deal) as is the magenta chair (also Wayfair). Everything else we brought with us from the old house. Except Gozer the Gozarian, whom we adopted about 3 months ago. This sweet little frug (part Frenchie, part pug) has claimed the chair for his throne, and we don’t blame him one bit. (Art: The “Black Heart” painting and the little drawing in the red frame are by Sandi Calistro, the Lucian Freud study painting I did in college, the “Satire Lounge” piece is by Kym Bloom, the red Yumiko Kayukowa print came out of a book, and the rest of the art are thrift store finds.

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ENTRY BEFORE

I know it’s hard to see it in the before pic, as there was a huge stair unit there that we had removed and replaced it with a simple loft ladder (there is a sleeping loft over the entry which you’ll see on a future post). The only real changes here was the removal of the odd stair unit and painting the main wall white.

ENTRY AFTER

The red acrylic box was an alley find we brought with us, and the beautiful raku pot I found at Collector’s Corner in Palm Desert for $20. The jack rabbit coat hooks are from Etsy. (And Jiva’s ratty old hat adds the perfect desert touch 🙂

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THE GREAT ROOM BEFORE

This crazy house is made for entertaining (which we hope to be doing a lot of post-covid) and has a very large great room in addition to the living room. We hope to host art events and small concerts in here eventually. Before, the green color was well, rather awful, and like in the living room cut the tall walls visually in half. We had the green painted over in the white, all the doors and windows black (Sherwin Williams Tricorn Black), and ripped out and replaced the ratty old carpet (Home Depot). (I apologize for the crappy before image, it’s all I have).

THE GREAT ROOM AFTER (IN PROGRESS)

Being that we want to host events in this room, I wanted a lot of open, low seating. I opted for sectional seating so it can be moved around easily. I looked for months for good-looking sectional seating and finally settled on Pottery Barn Teen Cushy Lounge Sectional Set as an affordable option. In a perfect world I’d have the Roche Bobois Mah Jong sectionals, but until someone hands me an extra $30,000 this is a great option at a tenth the price. The vase pair was a local thrift store score ($10 for the pair), all the leopard print pillows are from Etsy. Art: The “Space Whale” photo print I had printed on metal by Costco (it came out great!) with permission from the photographer. (We were married in front of the Space Whale at Burning Man in 2016 so it is a very special piece to us). Everything else we brought with us from the old house. Carousel painting is by Lonnie Hanzon, cat paintings are by me, crow and skull piece by MadTatters.com, and the resin pieces installation by Lauri Lynnxe Murphy. The other piece is a Goodwill find (I do not know the artist’s name).

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The MASTER BATH BEFORE

All we did in here was paint out the dark oppressive walls and ceiling white, which opened up the space beautifully, and replace the faucets on the sink and tub (which needed to be replaced due to leaking) and added new cabinet knobs. We left the beautiful old vertical wood posts untouched. It has a wonderful spa-like feel now. The light coming through the glass block during the day is marvelous. I did add lots of plants, some brought with us, some new.

The MASTER BATH AFTER (IN PROGRESS)

There is so much more to come! Please subscribe to see it all.

Carmen, an RV Makeover Love Story, Part 1 (of 3)

Please allow me to introduce you to Miss Carmen Amaya, a 1984 vintage GMC Vandura 3500 21″ Recreational Vehicle, made over in the name of that iconic Flamenco-dancing Bad-Ass Carmen Amaya. This lady has taken me on quite a journey over the last 4 months. She’s been pretty well gutted, and then glittered up, dangled and frocked within an inch of her life, and I hope now worthy of her glorious namesake. It took about 100 glue sticks, 2 packages of industrial staples, 3 big cans of spray adhesive, 4 gallons of paint, about 45 yards of fabric, 50 yards of gold gimp trim, countless trips to thrift stores for pillows, bedding, and assorted chotchkis and Home Depot for wood and screws and other industrial what-nots…Not to mention a world of bumps, scraps, bruises and hours and hours of labor. She is worth every bit of it.

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BEFORE

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That’s my friend Xavier, who was good enough to help me out with some of the early stages of the transformation. Couldn’t have done it without you bud!

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Fabulous Finds Spring 2017

Hello my beauties…I have neglected you, I admit it, and I apologize. Life has been, well, intense and fascinating! What’s been going on? Well next month will mark my 1-year Tattoo “Graduation” Anniversary! I am happily putting art on people’s skin at Preying Mantis Tattoo in Lakewood, Colorado with a bunch of great guys. (…and still painting of course 🙂 You can see what I’ve been creating at http://www.vlasicstudio.com, just click the “Tattoos” link. I have a few openings so message me to book your tattoo! In other news, We spent a week in my favorite city, NYC, a few weeks ago to meet some of my hubby’s long-lost relatives (Ancestry.com, we thank you for hooking us up with our fabulous “new” cousins!) It was a great trip, and we’d move there in a heartbeat if we could…This weekend finds us with a multitude of hounds in the house, ten in total,  (we are still dog-sitting, 4 years and counting!) and having lots of furry fun.

But what about the “Fabulous Finds” you ask? Well 2017 has thus far been a treasure trove of amazing from my favorite thrift store and more. Here are a few of the highlights so far this year…bagsshoes

Manolo Blahnik slides, Goodwill, $7.99, Marc Jacobs key holder, $1.99, lace-textured Botkier bag $8.99, and a Furla “Candy Bag” for $30 at Buffalo Exchange.

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3 Beautiful Bangles from Goodwill, left to right J Crew, Tory Burch and Kate Spade, $1.99 each.

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Burberry translucent blouse, $28 from the Buffalo Exchange outlet.

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Vintage Diane Von Furstenberg wrap dress, Goodwill $8.99.

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Stuart Weitzman blue suede envelope bag, $6.99 at Goodwill.

What amazing finds have you scored lately? Id love to hear about it in the Comments section…

 

It’s time for FABULOUS FINDS! It’s been a Great Summer for Designer Thrift Store Finds so far…

I’ve been having a blast trolling for labels at the thrift store this Summer! Last week I scored a gorgeous Tadashi gown ($8.99), 2 silk Nanette Lepore tops ($4.99 each), a Diane Von Furstenberg cocktail dress ($8.99), and 2 pairs of Tori Burch flats ($6.99 each)! How do I pay for all my thrifting fun you ask? Well I sell many of my finds on Ebay to support my habit. I’ve added the links to the pictures below.

tadashifront2Tadashi Shimmering Black Gown ( http://www.ebay.com/itm/121680037360?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l26490 )

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Nanette Lepore Silk Top ( http://www.ebay.com/itm/121679981503?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649 )

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Nanette Lepore Silk Top ( http://www.ebay.com/itm/121679987303?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649 )

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Diane Von Furstenberg Silk Cocktail Dress ( http://www.ebay.com/itm/121680022659?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649 )

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Tori Burch Ballet Flats (sold)

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Tori Burch Flats ( http://www.ebay.com/itm/121679890893?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649 )

It’s time for FABULOUS FINDS! Featuring Dolce & Gabbana, Vivienne Westwood and Nanette Lepore!

It’s time for another edition of Fabulous Finds! I’ve unearthed more delightful treasures from my favorite thrift store over the last couple of weeks. First off is this lovely pair of gold metallic heels in very good condition from Dolce and Gabbana! For $8.99! Yee haw, what a steal. Since I already possess a beautiful pair of gold metallic heels (Jimmy Choo! But that’s for another exciting episode 😉 I am selling this pair on ebay to help pay for my other treasures. You can see the listing here:  http://www.ebay.com/itm/121657032070?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

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Next up are these super-fun metallic gunmetal-color rubber heels by Vivienne Westwood. They are so funky, I love them! And surprisingly very comfortable. Only $9.95!

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Last but not least is this darling silver rain coat from Nanette Lepore. So cute, and a mere $8.99! This new addition to my wardrobe is getting lots of use with all the rain we’ve been having lately…

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I’d love to hear about your great designer thrifting finds! Tell me about them in the “Reply/Leave a Comment” section.

New Fabulous Finds 2015! Roberto Cavalli & Badgley Mishka!

It’s time for a New Edition of Fabulous Finds!

One of last week’s spectacular finds at my favorite Goodwill is this awesome pair of Roberto Cavalli Jeans in perfect condition for only $4.99! Perfect for the floral trend this Spring.

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I also scored these gorgeous and glamorous Badgley Mishka sparkly T-strap platform heels, looking like they have maybe been worn once! Grabbed these at auction on http://www.shopgoodwill.com for $19 including shipping! Yippee! I love these shoes!

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What amazing finds have you scored lately? I’d love to hear about it in the Reply/Leave a Comment section.

New Fabulous Finds! Manolo Blahnik, Celine & Dolce and Gabbana! And a New Source for Cheap Designer Goods…

I have some terrific new finds to tell you about! …and a New Source for Designer Goods…

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Here are two recent AWESOME finds at my favorite Goodwill: A pair of wool logo pants from Celine in perfect condition for $4.99, and a Dolce’ & Gabbana silver mesh one-shoulder top ($4.49). I love them both, but am selling the Celine pants on Ebay this week, it’s a great way to help me pay for my thrifting!  ( http://www.ebay.com/itm/121536231714?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649 ) They are great pants just not quite my style. (I’m keeping the top! Can’t wait to wear it this Spring.)

…and as promised, I’m telling you about a New Source. Ok, it’s been around awhile, but it is new to this blog. Goodwill has a national auction website listing all sorts of goods from around the country. The catch is, there is a lot more competition for the good stuff, and you have to pay shipping and handling, but sometimes great things do slip through the cracks. Yes, you are taking a bit of a risk buying off the pictures alone, but if the listing was wrong in any way, you can return the item (minus shipping of course.) A couple weeks ago I scored big on a nice pair of classic black satin kitten heel Manolo Blahniks in excellent condition. The photos were not very good, and I’m guessing that is why not many people were bidding on them. I took a chance and got a great deal, only $14! I did have to add shipping and handling, so the total was $21, still WELL worth it.

Here is the address: http://shopgoodwill.com Happy shopping! And here are the great heels I snagged…blahnik