Decorate Your Soul

Do you ever visit friends’ homes and admire their crafty technique for decorating with accents? When I think of these homes, there is warmth, fullness, and perfectly matched mismatched items that just “fit” together in ways I wouldn’t have been able to see if items were standing alone. I love these homes, and long to have the gift of accenting like my friend Cindy from Montana that now lives in the central CA coast: Man that woman can decorate! I’ve never seen more lace and rust in one person’s home that just works together.My friends Anna and Amy both create hearths that would appeal to magazine ads and effortlessly create a warm environment in their home that is perfectly put together with a little this and a little that. Finally, my friend Susy is a (really good) bargain shopper and amazes me at her finds from the Pottery Barn outlets and similar great deal stores and finds just the right pieces that complement her furniture, and vice versa. If you are one of these friends mentioned, I am really amazed at your skill and would love your hands and creative eye for decorating with little “eclectic” finds. I am pretty sure that I do not have an inkling of that gift.

But. Yesterday I ventured out to the Antique Mall about 30 miles north of here, dragging my little ones with me to see what I could find. It was a rainy day after all…  I didn’t set out with anything in mind, but when I saw “it” or “them” I would know that it needed to be in my home.

So, it happened something like this: I came across the coolest $15 hat box stacked under a table in the dark corner of the mall. It was screaming “newborn” shoot all over it. Really, it did. I inspected it and it had all the right scratches and  stickers peeling off from the 1940s travels (I’m not sure of this date, but let’s pretend), so I picked it up and brought it to the counter. Ah, a cool find (pictured below, right):

You will notice a blurry photographer on the left of that photo up there, that was my second cool find- a vintage Kodak Duaflex III camera. I had my reservations about purchasing an old beat-up camera, but man, it just looked classic. After a little google search, I found that I can try out a technique with some grungy, warpy look called TTV- or Through the Viewfinder, so I’m excited.  I’ll report on that after I get enough nerve (and light) to try it out

And while I was in the disposed camera section, I came across this little gem below– in its original packaging, nonetheless. It was more of a splurge, but I couldn’t let it go. It’s a Rollax Photo Master. It feels like a toy in my hands and weighs hardly anything. The pamphlet/ instructions said it’s original cost was $3.98- it’s gone up in a value over the years! It has such a classic snapshot camera look that I thought it would be the perfect addition to my budding collection.

Ashleigh thought it was pretty cool, too:

So after my new finds, I feel like I am on to something here. How cool would it be to have a photography themed room? Today I came across a book at Barnes & Noble that was ALL about the camera. I added it to my wish list, so you know, incase anyone is feeling generous out there, I can e-mail you my address

Kidding, of course.

Now I just need my design savvy friends to come over and help me put it all together. This is where they are collecting dust right now:

As my mom said, “One man’s junk is another man’s treasure.” True dat.