OohLaLa the perfct little bedroom!

I love this room from Apartment Therapy today. It's small but no less striking. I think I will use this as inspiration for my little room which is still not done yet.

Ooohlala my birthday!

I'm off to celebrate my 35th birthday. I'm quite excited about it. I actually feel like I've grown younger. I am very grateful for all that I have learned and all the great people that I have met through my experiences over the past year. I can't wait to a year full of new lessons and new relationships! Thank you everyone for being such a sweet inspiration in my life! I know you've all been wondering what that might look like, so here's a pic!

Oooh La La Simple Chic

I've been adding the finishing touches for my place and streamlining everything I have. It's a hard thing to do but stripping away and leaving only the essentials that make you giddy with happiness is really the way to go! Put that urn your aunt gave you that you hate away! You know what I mean. Here is some inspiration from Living Etc.





You don't need a lot of money or a whole truckload of new things too look chic!

Oooh Lal La The Big Reveal!

So the big day has come and I am ready to show off some of the new place. Not all of it as the bedroom and kitchen are still works in progress. Here's how I approached this.

My Mission:
To furnish an entire apartment without buying 1 new thing and only using items that already exist in the world.

The Style: French Vintage Industrial

The Rules:
1.) No mass produced items that have never been owned by anyone else (i.e. West Elm, Pottery Barn, etc) unless they have been used by someone else (i.e. found on Craig's List). With the exception of 2 rugs and a refrigerator. However, I still sold both refrigerators (someone left one in my new place that was too small for me and I had one in my old place that wouldn't fit in the new place) to people who really wanted them. They did not end up in landfills.

The Budget: $0 dollars
Do this without spending anything. How did I do it? Well my budget came from selling all my old furniture on Craig's list and this became my new budget which came out to about $1,500. If I wanted something I had to sell something I already had. So you can see why I've been gone for a little while. I will do a whole post about the Craig's list experience. It was awesome and I met the most amazing people. Now almost everything I own has a story and a sense of history. Also, all my old stuff now has gone on to have meaning in someone else's life. It's great to give stuff to Goodwill or a charity but it's also really nice to meet the person who is going to be using your stuff and have that personal interaction. For instance I know that my old dresser went to a lovely young couple who is expecting their first child. They were on a budget and had very little space so it was going to double as a changing table. Talk about giving something new purpose!

The Reason:
Why would I do this you may ask? Well, I just got tired of all the stuff in the world, all the stuff I owned, all the stuff in stores. There's just stuff everywhere. I walked into a 99 Cents store the other day and I said to my friend Deb, look there are 2 isles of air freshener. What's going to happen to all that when nobody wants it for 99 cents? Where's it going to go? That stuff doesn't biodegrade! IF we don't start doing something about this we are going to drown in our own stuff. Literally! Pretty soon the world will just be a bunch of stuff with no meaning. It's simply not necessary. Also, quite honestly, the vintage finds are made better, more interesting and will last a lifetime. I will never have to replace them. That is money well spent!

There is also the flip side which is to keep stuff just because it has meaning is not good either. I gave away enough stuff to fill a Goodwill store I think. It feels great. If you only keep what is functional in your life you will be more efficient and fulfilled. I think overall you will just be happier. You can think about what you want to do today instead of why do I have that! If things have a purpose than they will fit easily into your life. Once something stops serving a purpose in your life give it to someone else who can give it a purpose. Like my dresesr.

The New Rule: Use it or loose it!

Okay enough jibber jabber, time for some pics!

The Place: a wonderful 100 year old apartment overlooking the reservoir that I found on Craig's List: Silverlake, CA: a wonderful artsy bohemian part of LA:

(On a side note, all rights reserved to all pictures here. If you would like to use one on your blog please let me know and add a link back to me! Thanks so much!)

The before:
Cute right? Nice, white, hardwood floors. At only 800 square feet though, definitely a challenge.
The After:
Couch: Crate and Barrel - from a friend who was moving. Other couch (the blue one) is also from Crate and Barrel and was bought over a year ago. It's their eco-friendly Audrey couch. Wonderful seagrass rug from Overstock.comMy photograph The Key on 4x6 canvas

Industrial trunks and fan are from the best store in the whole world called This Is Not Ikea. Alexis salvages furniture he finds in flea markets and estate sales. I will be doing an interview with him next week. If you are in LA you must go see him. I could not have done this without him. It would have taken me a thousand years. The slide projector was from Goodwill. A great place to find stuff is thrift stores.
Handmade coaster set of a photograph I took in NY of street artist Swoon's work in the East Village.An old shabby chic bench/coffee table that I bought on Craig's List a few years ago. I had it recovered in a used burlap coffee sack that I got for free from a coffee shop. Dry cleaned it comes out very soft and durable. This one was from Panama. All I had to pay for was the upholstery..French movie poster of My Life As a Dog, my favorite movie ever.
Feed bin now mail bin from This Is Not Ikea.
Vintage swedish ceiling light from Amsterdam Modern, a great vintage store in Van Nuys. Same below. I bought ones that had slight flaws for a discount. You can't really tell. That's always a great way to work on a budget.My photograph Blah Blah, Blah on 4x6 canvas. Chairs - Anthropologie - purchased a few years ago. Dining Room Table from Alexis (This Is Not Ikea). Her name is Skinny Marie. Alexis and I have started naming all the furniture. It's cracks me up. She's in love with my silver bedside table that he aptly named Fat George.

Industrial rolling rack - CB2 - from a lovely couple I found on Craig's list who were moving back to Brooklyn.Rug from Costplus World Market. Wonderfully soft for a natural fiber rug. I highly recommend it and for a 6x9 rug for $100 quite a deal.
My collection of vintage cameras:My velvet show helmet which they don't use anymore. My duaflex cameras that I shoot my photographs through.
A gorgeous tripod I got from This Is Not Ikea. It was love at first site.
An old bookcase now shoe rack and also, my charging station made out of an old tool box named Hansen (literally) and a Chinese wood box. All from Alexis. Cool vintage blue fan from my dad. He has great taste!



Directions are always good in a small apartment. You don't want to run into a wall!

My wonderful medical cabinet that gives added storage for my tiny bathroom that has none! Also, from Alexis. It fit within 1/16th of an inch. It was just meant to be. It also provided a great place to put my hair dryer and towels.


Rug, West Elm - sale last yearI love this scale. It's called the Health-O-Meter. How great is that! It will last forever I think. I got this off of Craig's list from a guy named Stephen in Manhattan Beach who's dad was a doctor. He was sad to see it go but I promised him it would be loved!
Handmade tile backsplash (an idea I got from Apartment Therapy here). I handmade each tile from a photograph I took over a year ago which surprising is of a wall just around the corner from my new place. I guess I was meant to be here.

Industrial swedish vintage accordian lamps from Amsterdam Modern. These are one of my favorite items. They are my bedside lamps. My bedroom isn't quite finished yet so I will have more pics later.



A wonderful old silver trunk, named Fat George, now bedside table from Alexis.

My photograph of Door 164 taken in NY on the lower east side. I shoot this same door every year. I have a whole series that this will be a part of.
My photograph Wednesdays At The Office

My photograph called Possibility of my friend Sarah's legs. A photograph I took in Santa Cruz that now hangs with many others in the L'Auberge Hotel Spa in Del Mar.
Two of my favorite items (this chair and the bench above). My industrial office chair that I got for free. I then recovered the seat in a coffee sack (dry cleaned) that was also free. Once they are dry cleaned the sacks soften up and are very durable. It makes a great fabric. The view I've been raving about! The picture does not do it justice. It is quite wonderful!That's all for now! Would love to hear your feedback! I hope this inspires people!

Remember, USE IT OR LOOSE IT!