My Recent Buy-a-thon

I'll admit it: I shopped when I was across the border, so this post is about stuff.   Stuff stuff stuff. Because Hubby & I don't buy each other gifts - ever - we are able to set aside a little money to treat ourselves to something nice every once in awhile. 

I think I must have been inspired by the vintage magazines we found in our holiday rental because I splurged on a brightly hued soft-as-lamb Marimekko wool blanket on our trip to Finn Style.  It is such a bold, cheery (kinda retro) colour - and it was on sale!  Our house can be chilly, so I'm looking forward to curling up with my new blanket, and a homemade latte, on the sofa.  But it also looks good on our bed . . .

I had another blanket that my grandma crocheted tossed on the bed prior to the arrival of the Marimekko blanket.  One will live downstairs by the sofa, and the other in the bedroom because I am too lazy to move a blanket around as I need it.  It also feel too much like something a toddler would do.

If the pink one stays, I think the paintings (which I have been dying to tweak) need some brightening up.  See my horrible rendering below.

One thing to note about the blanket is that it shed a bit of pink fuzz. Bah! So I washed it with my Eucalan, line dried it and now it seems to shed less and less. That's why it's a bit wrinkly in the photos: it's already been through the wringer.

I also scored this Marimekko dress - the same one in the Lucky article that drew me to the store.   It was 80% off and covers my skull-crushing knees.  Happy dance.  I was going to picture it actually on me, but no one needs to see my winter-hairy legs. I'll show you in the summer.

The Lucky article. Spot the dress? Top right, inside the red box.

At T.J. Maxx I bought this Dooney & Bourke purse for a song.   I don't normally go ga-ga for brands but I have been burned by random-brand leather handbags from Winner's.  I spent so much money having a particularly annoying leather bag fixed that now I only buy labels I trust.  In real life, this purse is a gorgeous chalky grey with a hint of purple, trimmed in a lovely shade of purple-ly/plum (Hubby hates when I start naming colours this way).

That's my haul!  Lucky for me, Hubby only bought some teeny-tiny-tool-a-ma-bob so there was plenty of space in his suitcase for my finds. 

Did you make any fabulous post-holidays purchases?  Were there good sales in your city?

1960s Magazine Eye Candy

Over the holidays, when we took a break from looking at this view . . .

. . . Mom & I could be found rummaging about in our oh-so-random vacation rental (see this post for even more photos of the home).

Because of our rummage-y efforts, we stumbled across two vintage home magazines from the 1960s and had a blast flipping through them. 

 My-oh-my, there sure were a lot of ads for paneling. 

House & Garden, September 1968

And thick, coloured carpet.  So much carpet.

House & Garden, September 1968

 
Some of the ads were strikingly familiar.  Without the ick carpet (what was with carpets?) couldn't this be a contemporary advertisement?  Although, contemporary ads seem to show more skin . . .

House & Garden, September 1968

 
There was lots of glorious eye candy too, including a couple of spaces with bold, organic stripes and shapes painted on walls.

House & Garden, September 1968

House & Garden, September 1968

Maybe a bit bold for me, but I can't stop thinking about the two rooms pictured above.  I think the stripes/shapes, painted on a canvas, would look fabulous with all-white walls.  You can see why these 1960s rooms appealed to me.  Mmmmm.  All white walls. 

But the colours used were much bolder than I normally pick.  Take a look at these saturated colour suggestions:

House & Garden, September 1968

I also loved the use of the word "blah," one of my favorite words, in a 1968 ad.  I love it more now that it's a vintage-cool word.

House & Garden, September 1969

P.S.  Because my blogging was a bit sporadic during the holidays and when I went to visit my grandfather I posted a bonus post on Saturday, sharing the anonymous comments I received from the "What I Like About Your Blog" blog hop.

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Nerdy Girl Guide to Duluth, MN

There are a lot of bloggers out there who are "cool" and heralded as "style-makers".  I'm just a nerd who uses words like heralded and doff.  I say this because I don't want you to expect recommendations for anything avante-garde.  This isn't even a comprehensive guide.  Hubby & I just love to travel - anywhere - so I decided I want to start sharing tidbits about the places we visit.

Due to the proximity of my hometown to the American border (Thunder Bay even shares Lake Superior with Duluth) I have visited the city of Duluth, MN too many times to count and, as a result, have my favorite haunts:

Favorite Site:

Glensheen Mansion

Glensheen Mansion is a gorgeous mansion with an incredibly interesting, but also tragic, history.  The rooms (especially on the "women's floor") are awe-inspiring and the technology (like an intercom system and clothes "dryer") was remarkably advanced for the time.  Definitely splurge and take the expanded tour.  The only problem is that there is no photography allowed inside.

Photo Source

Favorite Place to Shop:

Father Time Antiques

I love this antique store because it is spacious (9,600 square feet!), clean and always freshly stocked with great finds.  Also, because this city can be COLD in the winter, it is nice to ogle the wares of more than 70 antique vendors under one cozy roof.  No website for this shop, but here's the info you need:

Father Time Antiques
395 S. Lake Ave
Duluth, MN  55802
218-625-2379
FatherTimeDuluth@aol.com

Favorite Place to Dine:

Lake Avenue Restaurant & Bar

With a fabulous location in the historic Dewitt-Seitz Marketplace in Canal Park, surrounded by inspiring galleries and fun shops (like Father Time Antiques), Lake Avenue Restaurant is definitely convenient.  But that's just icing on the cake because the food is phenomenal - I recommend a pizza.

Photo Source

Favorite Place to Chill:

You already know I'm not a spa-gal so what do I do to relax?  I stare at Lake Superior.  No joke.  Even when I visit my hometown I like to grab a snack and park my car in a spot with a perfect view of the lake and just sit there.  Even if you don't rent a spot with a view of the lake, go for a walk along the beach.  Can getting your toe nails clipped beat this?

Favorite Accommodations:

Rent a house or waterfront condo from VRBO (Vacation Rental by Owner).  I'm planning a post on the ins & outs of renting from owners (for both Canadian & American rentals) but the bottom line is this: you get much more value for your dollar.

If you can't find a nice rental or are only staying a few days, here is my recommendation for a clean hotel with lots of amenities: The Inn on Lake Superior.  We have stayed at this hotel many times because the view is amazing and the location couldn't be more convenient.  Plus, the customer servive is great and the staff work hard to remedy any problems/issues.  But really, DIY waffles at the well-stocked breakfast bar & evening s'mores make the stay.

The view
Photo Source

P.S. As always, I haven't been perked in any way for dithering on about my favorite places.

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Historic Haunted House Holiday

My parents, Hubby & I typically vacation this time of year but don’t tend to stray too far from home (although for our December honeymoon in 2008, Hubby & I travelled to Greece by our lonesome).  The last few years have been spent in a gorgeous townhouse equipped with the comforts of home (but better) and placed on Lake Superior.  Perfection.  But this year we rented an historic lakefront mansion (that’s what any home larger than 1400 square feet is to us) in Duluth, MN.  The experience has been . . . different.

(Here is the map Hubby made for us to find the house):

This home was once glorious: three bedrooms, 2.5 baths (not including the maid’s bedroom, with full en suite bathroom), a living room the size of our townhome’s main floor, a spacious light-filled sun room and a dining room that can easily seat more people than we know.  It is hard not to put an exclamation mark after every feature.  Hardwood floors, floor to ceiling windows and a sprawling yard (with a tennis court!) have us green with envy.  But the home has fallen into disrepair and the current owners, who do not live here but keep this home as a vacation rental, have done little to maintain it. 

Here are a few glimpses but please, please note that I have not touched any of these rooms for the photos.  You have no idea how much I want to stage, clean, de-clutter and otherwise organize.

Living room

Kitchen

Dining room

3rd bedroom (the two in use by us are now too messy to document)

Vintage pink and green bathroom

Blue bathroom with amazing built in vanity facing the lake

What would have been the maid's room (by the kitchen)

The maid's bathroom (which I kinda heart)

Here's the odd part:

The former owner, an elegant woman named Florence (who had three husbands and a degree in interior design) lived a fantastic life here, a life we have weirdly experienced via personal artifacts left abandoned in the home.  Photo albums, letters, cards, clothing, scrapbooks, home décor items, kitchen wares, books, etc., all tell an interesting story and shed light on life in the 1940s, 50s, 60s and 70s.  But rifling through them feels so indescribably strange. 

Staying here is akin to squatting in the once glamorous home of some famous heroine from a classic novel.  Working on my computer from my lakeview perch on an antique sofa, I feel like I should be writing a novel instead.  To be here for any other reason seems wrong.  (Indeed, fittingly there is no internet and my blogging has been done outside a motel with unsecured wireless, late at night). 

My favorite room

I love the living room because this is the view:

Living room view

Lake Superior

P.S.  Florence’s second husband died unexpectedly in the house in 1965.

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