Ok, this site is in need of a serious makeover. More white space! It’s so bad that every time I come here to write, I get discouraged and go read other blogs instead. This is not good for me nor for my wallet. Makeover coming soon! Soon I tell you!

In other news, I just spent a lovely afternoon thrifting with Robyn. This early fall day is sunny and lovely (do I talk about the weather a lot or is it just me?), and just right for walking around town looking for just the right thing. There are some great thrift stores in Portland, though at least one has started researching their wares on eBay, which makes for some surprising pricing. I often wonder if they get the full price they’re asking. I found some great vintage wallpaper with delicate yellow flowers on it, which Violet needed to investigate immediately.

I also found a matching trivet set from the same era with a pretty ugly/cool plaid on it. Or maybe it just looks ugly against the backdrop of my dining room table.

That was it for today, though I’m kicking myself for not picking up these mushroom-shaped spice jars the other day. It wasn’t a complete set and I thought, “What do I need a mushroom-shaped allspice container for? Do I even have allspice?”

Is it not supremely annoying to type in a domain name at register dot com only to find that someone owns it and isn’t using it? And they don’t even intend to use it. They just want your money so you can use it. Grrr…

And is it maybe just a little annoying when you find yourself thinking, “Maybe I’ll just pay the money and consider it an investment”? Grrr… again.

We pullled it off! We hosted our first ever house concert last night, though you wouldn’t know it today—aside from having all our furniture in new and exciting places, and what with the exhaustion we’re all feeling. As in, can’t drag butt off the couch, can barely reheat leftover Indian food for lunch, kind of exhaustion.

Our friends Peter and Sally are on a national tour promoting Sally’s album and we managed to convince them to play that hot Portland nightspot known as “Tonya and Neil’s Living Room.” Amazingly, they were happy to do it, which meant, shit, we have a ton of work to do! Invites went out, a menu was planned, and when they pulled in town on Wednesday with their dog, Sampson, we were ready to go.

I let Neil rearrange my (my!) living room and dining room to accommodate his vision for the show, and though I disagreed then, I’m willing to admit publically that he was right. His vision involved a lot of furniture moving but it ended up creating the ultimate salon setting for the show. A setting that will not show well in my photos below. Somewhat because we had a small house filled with people and therefore could not move into the proper photo-taking positions, but mostly because I’m a bad photographer. There, I said it.

So the scene was set, food and drink was put out (including some generous donations by Maple’s Organics and Zarra’s Monumental Coffee House—Thank You!), and the house filled with people. Friends, I’m so impressed! Thank you for coming and making for one truly lovely evening of music and laughter. Also impressive? I think your combined donations to the band amounted to more than some of their gigs have paid. For real. You are very generous and I (and they) thank you!

Here are some rather bad pictures from the evening. Some funky setting on my camera takes these fuzzy shots which I kind of like and mostly don’t.

Sally and Peter play on our poorly lit stage.
The sound was incredible which had a whole lot to do with their amazing talent and a just a teeny bit to do with the acoustics in our house. I’m thinking about hiring them on as our house band. Actually, I’m thinking of hiring them to be our kitchen help, too. Aside from their musical abilities, they cook and clean like dream houseguests. Love that!

One side of the living room and a glimpse of the dining room. I swear it was more crowded than this makes it look.

And just one more photo from last night, which I like to call, “Sweet Potatoes Is Good.”

The newest book of the month is brought to you by Cory Schnaible, age 8.

Originally printed in 1987, Mad Balls was an instant classic. Any book that you write as a child and is laminated by your parents is a keeper. I would pick an excerpt to share with you, but I couldn’t pick just one. You’ll see why. With Cory’s permission (right, cory?), I will reprint it in its entirety.

“Mad balls are MaD like skreeming mamy and skullface and fistface and BadGuy like wolfBrat SlimBall and [illegible] and sik ones like slim Brothor and fistface and wolf Brat and one [illegible] madBall. and his name is momy Mad ball and their #16 Madball and their some Madballs are siko dont you think so?
I do! I do! me to! me to! I do! I do! me to! me to! I do! I do!”

Brilliant, brilliant stuff.

When you’re the thrifting kind, you’re always receptive to the perfect items calling out to you, tempting you with their cuteness, awesomeness, and general must-take-me-homeness. It doesn’t always happen, but it’s these thoughts that bring you back to thrift stores again and again hoping for that lucky find. Thrifting luck is usually defined by finding a matching mug for your vintage pyrex set, or snatching up the retro fabric before someone else sees it. Well, that’s my definition anyway.

My friends, luck was redefined yesterday and I’m trying really hard not to be jealous. My friend bought a vintage purse over the weekend and spent a few minutes cleaning it out yesterday at home. What was inside? Three hundred dollars inside a very old envelope.

Remind me not to go thrifting without her.