How a Clock Inspired Me to Decorate! (and a Review)

True Confessions: I have decorating-phobia. I know, it seems kinda strange, the art teacher who takes wild and wacky fashion risks has a fear of hanging a single thing on the wall, but it's true. I am fully aware that my taste level is questionable, at best. The beauty of fashion is that you can take off that rainbow wig, those cat eye glasses, fish net tights, faux fox stole and that telephone print dress (you think I'm making that outfit up? Get yourself here) and try again tomorrow. With decorating tho...well, things are a little bit more permanent. I guess that means I have a fear of commitment. Don't tell my hubs.

So when Regency Shop, a modern design retailer out of Los Angeles, contacted me and asked if I'd like to review their Nelson clock, I readily agreed. I flippin' adore anything mid-century mod and, after taking one look at that clock, I fell in love. The problem was: where was I going to put it? Most of my house is decorated to the point where I'm kinda happy (is it just me or is decorating a continuous work-in-progress? WHEN WILL IT EVER END.) However, we do have a spare room that sits over our garage which the real estate lady called a "bonus room". Over the last seven years, I have referred to it as "the bogus room", "that room the cat likes to vomit in", and "that space where I occasionally attempt to exercise". This past summer, it became "the book-writing room" and, having spent months creating in this open space, I realized I really enjoyed being in the bonus room. What I didn't love was the look of the place. But I had no idea what to do about it or where to start. 

When I got the Nelson clock in the mail, I was immediately smitten. It put me in the mind of Mary Blair and the Disney ride she designed It's a Small World. The painting I created inspired by Blair was one of the few things I'd actually got around to hanging. I decided to pair the two pieces together and see how that worked. 

Just seeing this clock and thinking of Disney makes me smile!

As soon as the clock was hung above the painting, I was inspired! I started pulling out all of my favorite thrift and estate sale picks from over the years and playing around. 

One thing I always struggle with when decorating is a color palette. I know you need one...but I love ALL THE COLORS. As strange as it may sound, that clock helped keep me in line. I used the burnt orange, black, gold, shades of sky blue and avocado green as my guide. It really helped me decide what worked (according to my wacky vision) and what didn't. 

After putting together this wall, I decided to create a gallery wall along the stairway. I've always wanted to make one and I had stacked of framed works of art ready to go...but, again, decorating phobia stopped me.

I was so inspired by how well my wall had come together, I thought, what the heck!

Again, I used the colors in the clock as my guide. Those amazing molas and the basket were thrift store finds, if you can believe that. The prints are REAL and signed Charley Harper prints which I got a decade ago when a print shop was going out of business. In the stacks of matte board they gave me, I discovered these signed prints. I had no idea what they were until years later. The wall sconces are from Anthropologie's sale room (do they have any other rooms in that place? Because my wallet says they don't) and the LOVE signs are from my friend Bebo. 

This is the view from the stairs. I spent a whole lotta hours at that table this summer, working in air dry clay, writing and snapping photos (I'll keep you posted on dates for the book as we get closer, eep!). I purchased an extra large foldable table a year ago as an inexpensive and expansive work space. I love to cover my work surface in oil cloth because it's happy and easy to clean. By the way, did I mention that I like color? And prints. Love me some pattern-y goodness. 

This area was given an update as well. When my husband and I first bought our house, our main priority was to pay the house off. (My hubs is very monetarily minded. True Story: the day I met him in the computer lab where I taught, he asked me two questions. One, "do you have a boyfriend?" and two, "do you have any college debt?") That meant very little cash was left for much else. For that reason, almost everything in our house is from the thrift store, a discount joint (we love Big Lots) or homemade. That ottoman on wheels? I made that with some lumber, foam, wheels and IKEA fabric. 

Of course, anything we do spend cashola on has to be Asha-colored since it's sure to become covered in cat hair. When we went furniture shopping, the hubs carried around a tuft of Asha hair to make sure that it would match. I can't even make this stuff up.

One decorating phobia I DON'T have: overdecorating for Christmas. I just can't stop!

Storage in a craft room is a big deal, as y'all know. I love using this vintage sewing box for my paint stash. Also, that chest of drawers is filled with art makin' supplies. 

Our bonus room has a wet bar which is never used. In fact, we filled the wine area with our books!

Y'all don't even know how happy this room now makes me. I still have a couple more projects I want to do to make this room feel complete but, for now, it's in a really happy place, I think. 

 Thanks to this guy. By the way, the clock operates with a single AA battery. The white base is metal and rock solid. The entire clock feels heavy and solid, not flimsy or fragile. I'm in love. 

And so thrilled with my new space. Just had to share with y'all! Happy Thanksgiving if you are stateside and have a wonderful week!

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What the Art Teacher Wore #68

This picture cracks me up because it kinda makes me look all sweet and innocent and whutnot. Which is SO TRUE. Except instead of sweet, I'd say "sarcastic" and innocent I'd say "something-that's-not-innocent-but-really-lazy-and-kind-of-annoying". Hey, I can't help the way I was raised. dress: vintage, The Hip Zipper in Nashville, shoes: Crocs; hair flower: H&M

 DUDES! You won't believe what just happened! I am so humiliated and mortified, you don't even know. But before I get to that, I've gotta first tell you the prequel of said Humiliated and Mortifying Event. Because it will totally set the stage for what just happened and will reaffirm your very correct thoughts of my ridiculousness. 

(I know what you're thinking, "Ahem. Giveaway winner, please? I didn't come here for no story time." To which I say, "Patience is ... oh, crap, what's the saying again? Oh yeah...Patience is a Virtue. What does that even mean? I have no idea, just scroll to the bottom, you impatient virtue-less beast.)

A buddy and I decided to take a day and explore some dusty old antique shops which, by the way, are the very best kind. The prices were crazy reasonable (I scooped up 3 amazing vintage dresses priced at $10 each which the owner sold to me for $8!). If you live in Tennessee and find yourself in between Columbia and Thompson Station, drop in Carters Creek Station Antiques.

 Okay, so, a coupla days ago, I scheduled some dudes to come out and clean my gutters. Which, if that sounds naughty to you, than you obviously have your mind in the gutter and should consider a good cleaning. I was told they'd be here around 8am which kinda worried me as I planned to be meeting up with a friend to hit estate sales (I'll share my drool-worthy spoils here in a sec). The gutter-cleaning-secretary-lady assured me that it wasn't a big deal as this was an outside job and they wouldn't be needing me. Cool.

Did I ever tell you about the time my crazy neighbor came over while I was planting ivy and said all soothsayer-esque, "I predict that ivy is going to take over your whole yard." To which I replied, after punching her in the nose, "Oh yeah? Well, how come you didn't see that comin', huh? Because my fist just took over your whole face!" Okay, not really. Like most nose-punchings, that only happened in my mind. But it turns out she was kinda right. And I kinda like it. dress: vintage, thrifted; belt: Pin Up Girl Clothing; shoes: TJMaxx

 So, woudn't ya know, at 7am I'm at the kitchen table eating brekky when the doorbell rings. And I suddenly get that watery-bowel feeling that only comes when you just so happen to be sitting at the kitchen table in your nastiest, shortest bathrobe with nuthin but undies on underneath and you are wanted at the front door. Oh, but wait, there's more: one of the things that sold us on our home was the fact that you can stand at the front door and see all the way into the kitchen. Which means door-bell-ringing/gutter-cleaning dude could totally see me. Fortunately, I had my back to the door. So all he saw was me hop up from the table and take off running.

More antique store goodness.

This vintage dress is one of my fave thrift store finds. It's so hard to find good, polyester-free vintage in the thrift stores these days that when I do, I feel like I've struck gold. dress: vintage, thrifted; pin: vintage; shoes: BCShoes, old; belt: made by me for my glow-in-the-dark Christmas dress

 And I was like a maniac as I didn't even know where I was running to. My fight or flight instinct was telling me: Get some more clothes on! Brush your teeth! Did you even wash your face last night because you look like a member of Kiss! Oh, never mind, just hide in the closet and hope he goes away.

Which I totally was going to do. But then he rang the doorbell again.

A sweet gem from the antique shop. I love the excitement on that little one's face.

I knew I had to get to the bedroom for some flippin' clothes. But the main set of stairs is right at the front door so my only option was to take this sneaky back set of stairs from the kitchen. And as I zipped up those stairs I thought, "perfect, I'll just slip on some shorts and a t-shirt and go see what gutter-cleaning-man wants." 

And then I remembered: I had to cross the top of the stairs which you can see from the front door. Crap.

top: thrifted, Banana Republic; skirt: thrifted, vintage; bag: Enid Collins, ebay

As I stood at the top of the stairs, I weighed my options:

A. Go answer the door. In nasty bathrobe. With Kiss-face. And be the laughing stock of all gutter-cleaning-man dudes.  

B. Run across the top of the stairs. Be seen by gutter-cleaning-man in my nasty bathrobe but only in a flash as I move lightening fast. Come downstairs in appropriate attire and act as though nothing happened.

I went with option B. And then I vowed, like took an oath, that I would never ever just sit around in my nasty bathrobe and not-much-else again.

Are you seeing this?! I scored big money at an estate sale this week with over 20 vintage dress patterns in my size! Can you believe the luck?! 

 Which now (finally) brings me to what just happened. So, it's after 12 pm, I've just had my lunch and I'm wearing appropriate teacher-on-summer-vacation attire: my pajamas. Look, my oath was very specific, it said I couldn't sit around in my bathrobe and undies anymore. So I upgraded to a paint-splattered t-shirt from college and a pair of waistband-busted sweats. What? I like to keep it classy yet comfy. Kinda like a Forever Lazy. Just not as swanky.

If I didn't currently have another dress on my sewing table, I'd make this one. Sadly, what I'm  currently working on is making me homicidal. So if I call you to come over for tea, don't. There's a good chance Ima gonna kill you in a fit of this-dress-pattern-is-driving-me-homicidal rage. You've been warned.

 This time Ima sitting on the couch in full view of the front door when the doorbell rings. My fight or flight totally started screaming for me to run for it again but it was too late. Gas-man was staring right at me. So with one hand holding up my waist-band-busted sweats, I opened the door.

I have a confession to make: I love rainy summer days. They're all snuggly and easy-going. Perfect for pajamas-til-way-after-noon kinda days. Which should be everyday in my book. dress: vintage; boots: Hunter

 And the followin' went down: 

Gas Man (looking at me gingerly): Hellooo, ma'am. Um, you were sent a letter saying that we would be doing a service call in your area at this time. Did you get the letter?

Me: Um, maybe?

 

Gas Man: We also sent out an email, a text message and a voice mail. 

Me: Oh, yeah, yeah. I'm sure I got that [vaguely recall throwing away said letter, deleting said text and voice messages and not even bothering to open said email. Oops.]

Gas Man: But if you are sick we can come back another time!

Me: Oh, I'm not sick! I'm just on summer vacation. In my pajamas. I'm going to go change now. Be right back.

And that's when I made an oath addendum: I will never ever sit around in my pajamas or my nasty bathrobe again. Although, in all seriousness, that's just not an attainable oath for me. So, now that I think about it, I'm going to have to do another oath rewrite. Here goes: I will never sit in full view of my front door. And I will always keep random piles of clothing around the house in case of an emergency. Like in the kitchen cabinets. Or the fridge.

 But enough about all that, let's get to the giveaway! I was so super excited by those of you that entered and totally wrote down all of your ideas so I can steal 'em one day. Which was apart of my evil plan all along, heh heh (did that sound maniacal? I was going for maniacal.) But seriously, some of you wrote the nicest things and it truly made my day (and earned you bonus points. Just kidding [no I'm not]). But in the end, there can be only one winner and that would be...

Yay, Jessica! Here's what she wrote:

"I've been a mildly obsessive reader ever since I discovered your blog a few months ago. The fabric is just calling out to be an apron. A full apron with pockets in a contrasting fabric. For cooking things from the Betty Crocker Outdoor Cook Book."

 Congrats, my dear! 

As for the rest of ya, keep rockin' that bathrobe and remember to always keep a spare set of clothing in your kitchen. Trust me.

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What the Art Teacher Wore #34

Monday, Monday: top: vintage, gift from a friend; skirt: vintage, scooped up at Regal Retro; shoes: when am I not in these shoes? By Indigo by Clarks.

 I don't know what life has been like in your world this past week but mine has been crazy. Cruh-A-Zee. And the crazy doesn't appear to be slowin' down any time soon. Which I suppose is okay. Keeps me off the streets. Or off vintage shops on etsy which are equally as dangerous in my (pocket) book. 

So instead of showcasing art work or featuring an artist along with my outfits this week, I'm giving you a peak into my world. It should explain a lot. Or not. I'm too chuck-full-o-crazy to decide. 

 Oh! and thank you for taking the time to vote and leave a comment about my latest dress alteration. I appreciate your thoughts...especially since they appear to be leaning in my direction. And if you've not made yourself heard, there's only two days left to vote. What are you waiting for?

Chat with you soon!

Holy French Painter! This skirt was meant to be mine. Such a perfect fit for this year's theme.

Pack Your Bags Tuesday: This skirt came in so handy when chatting about luggage tags, suitcases and travel stickers. black tank: Target; sweater: Ann Taylor, thrifted; belt and shoes: Anthro; skirt: PastTimesVintage

I shared with you a sneak peak of the kids' self-created passports here. Full lesson to come, I promise. I just knew the kids and their crazy art teacher would lose those little passports...so we've been creating these portfolio suitcases complete with a passport pocket! They have loved carrying them around the room and stamping their passports. We are almost ready to jet off to France!

Wednesday: sweater: Target, years ago; belt: Anthro; beret: from a doll's hat, made by me; dress: gift from a friend, altered here; shoes: Indigo by Clarks

In a feeble attempt to get my room ready for this coming week's Open House, I've been staying late into the afternoon. No biggie, I love it. I have missed my usual routine of catching up with friends in the afternoon though. So it was kinda funny that one of my "little friends" inscribed this message on my car window this week. I'm just glad it was done in lip gloss...not nail polish as I feared. I've yet to find the culprit.

Picture Day Thursday: Last year the theme in the art room was Ancient Egypt. One week I dressed as King Tut. A month later, I spent the week dressed as Queen Nefertiti. It just so happened that Picture Day fell during Queen Nefertiti Week which resulted in the photo below. This year's theme isn't nearly as dramatic, but I did decide to go Parisian this Picture Day. beret: made by me; dress: bought in Germany; belt and shoes: you know...I am a repeat offender with these items!; scarf: vintage, thrifted

My ID badge from last year. The photography folks were not happy with me when I sat down. The girl said: Take the hat off. I told her it didn't come off. She rolled her eyes and snapped this photo. You don't mess with Queen Nefertiti (or Never-Teetee as the kids and I took to calling her).

Freaky Friday: We made it to Williamsburg, VA for the opening night of their Halloween event (they call it Howl-O-Scream) at Busch Gardens. We had a great time there and at Colonial Williamsburg. More details to come. And my dress was quite the hit! dress: Horror Flick Dress; my theme park shoes of choice: Chacos

Being a huge fan of Hitchcock's The Birds, I loved the entrance of Howl-O-Scream. Super Spooky! So looking forward to more weekends of haunts.

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What the Art Teacher Wore #33

Purple Tuesday: Can you find what's wrong in this picture? How about my dress...notice anything unusual? When I was getting dressed Tuesday morning, I foolishly tugged on a little loose string at the bottom of my dress. Once at school, someone pointed out that my hem was coming undone (after I'd snapped this photo). Geez, I wonder why.  A work buddy helped me tape that hem back into place. You get to know someone really well when you lift up the tail end of your skirt in front of 'em. dress: Anthropologie, new with tags, my favorite Goodwill score to date; shoes: John Fluevog

Well, Happy End of the Week to you, kids! I totally enjoyed having last Monday off in celebration of Labor Day. Did you notice there wasn't an outfit photo for Monday? Yeah, I bounced between four different looks that day: pajamas, exercise clothes, yard working clothes and back to pajamas. Thought I'd spare you.

So included in this short What I Wore this Week is one of my favorite fabric designers: Florence Broadhurst. Because I'm toying with the idea of creating my own fabric, I've been pouring over the designs of some of my faves. My bedside table currently has a stack of fabric design books and Florence is at the top of the pile. If you've not heard of her, I highly recommend Florence Broadhurst: Her Secret and Extraordinary Lives.

Florence Broadhurst in her Paddington (an eastern suburb of Sydney, Australia) wallpaper design studio, early 1970's. Her vibrant and outlandish designs were a complete reflection of her character. All images pulled from pinterest.

Florence lived more lives than a cat. Born in 1899, she grew into adulthood during the roaring '20's. In full flapper garb, she toured Southeast Asian and China in various singing and comedy troupes. In her later designs, the influence of Asian art is strong.

Brown Wednesday: That's right, we are still wearing colors this week with kindergarten. This totally helped me get dressed in the mornings...although I've missed wearing my Frenchy-themed garb. dress: vintage, picked up at an antique store in high school; shoes: Frye

Always the entrepreneur, Florence established The Broadhurst Academy where she taught voice and instrument lessons in Shanghai. From there she moved on to England where she married, divorced, remarried and had a son. When World War II hit, she volunteered to help.

One of my favorite Broadhurst designs. At her wallpaper design facility in the late 1960's and 70's, this print could have been purchased on metallic paper. This was completely revolutionary at the time.

Black and White (with a pop of color) Thursday: top: vintage, thrifted. I love it's Matisse-esque design; skirt: Target; shoes: Softee

When reading about Florence, I found that many of the 800 wallpaper designs were not actually created by her. Her eyesight was failing and the task of creating all of those designs would have been impossible.  So she hired graduates from local art schools to come work for her. Some of  their designs she would claim to be her own. For photo ops like the one above, the palette and the brushes where simply props.

That's not to say she didn't have a heavy hand in the direction of the designs. This is another one of my faves.

Wear Your Favorite Color Day: Turquoise! dress: vintage, thrifted; belt: gift from a friend (thank you, Anna!); shoes: Anthropologie

Florence with all of the designs created in her studio. I love her vibrant fashion sense (dyed bright red hair, oh yeah!), even well into her 70's. She was known among her friends for her flamboyant style. Sadly she was murdered outside of her studio in 1977. Her murderer was never found and the reason is still a mystery.

Regardless, her designs are such an inspiration. I find them to be so beautiful and modern looking. Have you heard of Florence Broadhurst? Do you have a fave fabric designer?

Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoy your upcoming week. Mine is going to be spook-tacular! More details soon.

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