If I were king (sized)

What's up Pottery Barn?  You make a king quilt in this ikat print, but no king shams?  Not even a coordinating solid black king sham?  I can't do that other pattern you're showing with.

This guy

Someone has a birthday tomorrow!  It's a bit of a milestone.  He's mildly wigged out, but I guarantee if you put him in a lineup with 9 other guys his age he'd be the best looking and youngest-appearing dude there.

We're heading to Chicago for a weekend of expensive steaks, plentiful cocktails and general fun.

The trip is my gift, but he got something else cool too.  Shown below on Brett's wrist is the Rolex his mom bought his dad when they got married in 1950.  He wore it all through his tour of duty in Korea and for decades after.  Cleaned up and refurbished, now it's Brett's to wear.

Quality lasts, be it time pieces or boyfriends.  Happy birthday baby!

Sometimes it works out alright

Our maiden voyage selling at Bottoms Up was okay.  Friday's weather was just as hellish as it's been around here lately, so after a flurry of traffic in the morning it was pretty slow.  And hot, even with a big fan in our window.  Still, during that flurry I sold a few things and made rent.  Unsurprisingly, its the "odd object" that sells.

The weather was better on Saturday and the crowds were much bigger, so we all sold a few more things here and there.  It's a fun environment, but because the shops are in old industrial warehouses climate control is an issue.  If its cold this winter I've got great sweaters and jackets to keep the chill at bay, but in the heat of August there's only so much you can take off.

Because I've been out of business for a few years I didn't have that much merchandise to contribute, luckily Connie and Linda just moved out of their mall so they had plenty.  I went to tonight's auction at KC Auction Company in an effort to amass some stuff.

While furniture was what I was mostly looking for, there were a pair of Marbro lamps that looked promising.  They can sell high on eBay so making some money there would help me stock up for our space.  I let go of the first one, and it ended up selling for 80.  I liked it, but only enough to sell, so losing it wasn't the worst.

The orange one pictured here, well, it could totally work in the traditional/contemporary/asian thing we've got going on at Chez Malaise.  So when I bid and nobody else did I could hardly contain my excitement.  Its in perfect shape, including what looks like the original shade and finial.  Interestingly its painted metal rather than the porcelain I originally thought.  With a new shade its probably a keeper.

The booth didn't come away empty-handed though.  In spite of some woman hell-bent on buying all the furniture in the gallery I picked up this Asian-flavored chair.  The green color looked promising in this picture from the auction house, but in person it's not so great.  Even worse, that's vinyl covering the seat.  Both of those things are easily fixable though, so I've got another project to get on.

We'll be back at it on the first full weekend of September, which I believe is the 7th and 8th.  I'm hoping to have a small sideboard and a little drop-leaf table painted up and ready to go.  Also some vintage glass I picked up tonight, and with any luck maybe the chair.