In the meantime, here are a bunch of things that have been inspiring me …

This light fixture (sorry for the blurriness). I spotted it in San Diego, where I also found this …

Another light fixture. I can’t imagine a place I would put this, but it’s intriguing — and I’d rather be intrigued than bored.

Boyfriend and I took a drive to Echo Park and discovered a great tile store, Wells Antique Tile and Pottery. It was pretty pricey, but I just love this star pattern tile.

When I was visiting San Diego, I went to Balboa Park and took a look at the Botanical Garden. It’s in one of the oldest and largest wooden lath structures, built in 1915. It was beautiful. Even though I kill plants all the time (not on purpose), this makes me want to develop a green thumb … well, kinda.

Finally, this is a rug that was at the Marston House, one of the top Arts and Crafts homes in the country. If you find yourself in the San Diego, you should definitely check it out. It was such a wonderful tour and I left with so much more appreciation for the Arts and Crafts movement.

Well, they have been probably properly stripped, sanded, stained, and poly’ed. Are you ready to see the final results?

They look pretty nice, I do say. It only cost me two manicures, a few days, $130 bucks ($100 for the pair of nightstands, and $30 for supplies), and a lot of patience … but I’m pretty proud of them. The wood on the top turned out to be not as nice as the wood used for the rest of the piece, but I’m feeling better about it now that they are in the room. And not all the wood stained exactly the same color. Again, after I took some steps away from the project, I was able to see the overall beauty in them.

Too bad there is no rest for the weary; I’m onto my next home project — my first quilt. Hope that DIY moves as smooth as thing one.

So, this weekend I decided to get started on transforming these. I bought some paint stripper, donned my rubber gloves, and began the scrapping process.

I went to a party at my brother’s apartment right after he graduated college. He had our old kitchen table, and when I asked about an old burn on the top, he explained he had refinished the table and resealed it. A friend who was listening was surprised that my brother knew how to do that. “That’s nothing,” my brother responded, “We knew how to refinish furniture by middle school.” He wasn’t bragging about his skills, rather he was explaining the “normal” things my parents did for fun on the weekends.

When they weren’t dragging us to flea markets, thrift stores, or open houses, they were often refinishing, constructing, tiling, or building something that had to do with our home. And we were usually the “extra set of hands” required for the task.

But when it comes to woodwork and carpentry, I mainly think of my father. His parents had him when they were fairly old, and my father grew up in a house in rural New Jersey. Of course, his father built the entire house — the foundation, the electric, the plumbing, even the swing set in the backyard. My father grew up a handyman, and even though he worked hard to wear a suit to work everyday, he’s still a handyman.

When I was scrapping off the old paint, I took a minute to send my dad a text. It said, “Reason #542 why Dad and Lex should open their own furniture store: discovering jewels like this!” I’ve wanted to open my own home store for a while, with a workshop in back, and have my family contribute … (when they feel like behaving). My dad wrote back, “#1 reason why we can’t: Lex lives in LA, and Dad lives in NJ.”

I’m hoping that sometime soon I’ll be able to move back to the Carolina coast, and my parents will retire nearby. Then, we can open up that store. In the meantime, I’ll continue with my scrapping on this coast.

Next step is sanding, then staining. As you can see there’s some good old wood under there. I also found one other thing:

This fortune cookie. It was taped on the side of one of the nightstands, and then covered with a layer of paint. It says, “Your home is a place from which you draw your happiness.”

First up, this lamp from Empiric:

It’s Danish and wood and has the most amazing shade. At only $125, it’s a steal. I kinda want to buy a pair …

Just the other night, I was talking about how I hate orange and I would never have it in my house. Then, I saw these chairs. They’re campaign style and have canvas seats. The pair was $750. Maybe I don’t hate orange that much …

I’ve been having a serious rattan addiction recently. These chairs look super comfy and chic. $275 for the pair. I’d put these babies right by our pool, you know, next to the pool house …

OK, not rattan, but bamboo ($125/pair). I still want to buy these, but are these too tiki? That’s my fear.

Sorry this is so blurry. But it’s a beautiful chair, and would totally fit with those Danish lamps ($1200, a little too much for me).

After North Hollywood, I hit up Inheritance. I love this little baby. It’s from the 1800s (missing his crown), but like most things in Inheritance, it’s super spendy. Like $1500 spendy. I guess Boyfriend won’t be buying that for me anytime soon.

They also had this gold and white tea set. It’s so sweet. ($1000 for the set.)

Early American chalk dogs. So cute, but $500 for the pair. This is why I have a love/hate relationship with Inheritance. They have amazing things, but know that, and charge a lot for it. One day … sigh.

I did end up buying one thing though:

A pair of nightstands. They look a little rough right now, but once that ugly brown paint is stripped, and it gets a good sanding, these will look so good. And Boyfriend will finally have some storage on his side of the bed. He’s happy. Of course, this means another project gets added to the list.

Now, I really have to get better ’cause I have so many projects to finish. Check back to see the transformation.

So it doesn’t have the ideal hardware or faucet or floor … and it’s super tiny. But it has great windows and gets a lot of light. Sometimes when I wash the dishes, I like to pretend that I’m in a cottage in the Swiss Alps, and not just staring at my neighbor’s backdoor steps. As for the little plant on the sink, Boyfriend takes care of it. Though, now I have to see if he’s watered it recently. See? The anxiety?

A little more of the kitchen. As you can see, we have a bunch of glassware that doesn’t even fit into the cupboards. Granted, we only have a few cupboards … which means I can’t be an extreme couponer. Damn.

Pictures of the other side of the kitchen to come!

A year and a half later, and we love our tiny apartment. So the other day we had photographer (and friend!) Monica Wang over to take some pictures of the place. Eventually, I’ll put up a house tour section, but for now I decided to share a few.

This is one side of the tiny eating area. We originally had a large table, but gave it up for the piano. (I took 10 years of lessons, and I don’t want to lose it all …) I was never able to have a piano in any apartment because I was never on the first floor; that all changed with this place. I found this tiny gem on Craiglist for $20! Actually, that’s quite common ’cause many people want to get rid of them, but don’t want to pay to move ‘em. We paid for movers and a tuner, and now we have this happy little area.

The black and white pic on the piano is of my grandparents during college when they were dating. It’s one of my favorite photos because it’s so happy, and they seem so in love. In the photo, my Pop-pop (grandfather) is pretending to throw my Nan (grandmother) in a well. He’s smiling real big, and she has her head back and is laughing. (My Nan likes to add that right after the photo was taken, his friend shot her in the ass with a beebee gun. Haha.)

On the other side of the eating nook is our actual eating area:

Obviously, it never looks this clean, but it’s nice to pretend. Boyfriend picked out the table. We were walking past an antique shop in Venice on day, and the owner was working on this table. Boyfriend asked about it, but the man said he had a client that was probably going to buy it, but to call him later. I forgot about the table, but Boyfriend actually called. And the owner still had it. I ran over and picked it up. It is the perfect size.

The rug is a new addition. We found it at the Rose Bowl Flea Market — along with those blue Danish candlesticks under the fern. It’s supposedly Iranian and over 130 years old. It’s not as big as we would like; ideally it would be 9 x 12, but now we use it to cover up the terrible linoleum in the eating area/kitchen. The chairs are another DIY project off of Craigslist, but I’ll share that another time.

As for the kitchen … those pics are coming next. Stay tuned!

Emily has these are her coffee table right now, and they are darling. I love gold, the simple leather material is flexible and sturdy, and the octagon shape is starting to appear everywhere. Metallic Leather Coasters, $36.

I’m generally not a fan of fabric coasters ’cause they always looks little bit country — in a bad way — but these African-inspired cloth ones have me reconsidering. Coasters – Set of Four (Navy, Black, and Silver), $18.

At first I thought these needlepoint coasters were supposed to be hearts (anatomical), but now I’m not so sure. I just like the craftsmanship and the swirls of colors. Too bad I was too late on this one — already sold on Etsy. Boo.

These coasters are made of felt and all the crazy details are laser cut. I don’t know how great they would be at stopping sweat rings, but I like the different colors, and the creativity of the shapes. Funky Felt Coasters, $25.

Of course, finding an amazing vintage set of coasters would be heavenly, kinda like these metallic/pearl netting ones. Again, sold so fast …

The pros also have some nice coaster selections. These are from Jonathan Adler and are pretty pricy. These would be the “If I won the lottery …” coaster set. Jonathan Adler Hollywood Coasters, $68.

These might take the cake. Cowhide and gold … it’s pretty spectacular. But at $12 each, that doesn’t fit my budget. Designer Coaster Gold, $12/each. Belated President’s Day present, huh? Anyone, anyone?

Which ones do you like the best? Do you have any recommendations that are sturdy (so no letterpress), and have some gold in the design? Please share.

Me: You’re never gonna believe what I got at the flea market!!
Boyfriend: A bust of a sea captain?
Me: …………
Boyfriend: Wait, was I right????
Me: Suck it!

photo by Monica Wang

On the menu: Sprinkles cupcakes, blood orange soda, sweetheart candies, heart-shaped sugar cookies, pomegranates, watermelon, and strawberries. Yup, I like my food in a pinkish/red hue too.

photo by Monica Wang

Here’s how I got the look:

Picnic table: It’s the INGO table from Ikea, $69.99, and probably the cheapest table you can buy there. We applied a stain to this one, but have kept it outside, so it’s a little weathered and warped. (Not intentionally.)

Linens: I made the light pink linen napkins and runner. First official sewing project on my own. Pretty nice, if I do say so myself.

Plates: The white FARGRIK plates are from Ikea, $2.99/each, the pink plates are depression-era glass and from the Long Beach Flea Market, $7. The silverware is from West Elm, $29/set. I actually liked this rose gold set better, $39/set, but they were on back order. The small, gold rimmed glasses are also from the Long Beach Flea Market for $10/set of six. The ice cream glasses are from a local bargain restaurant dishware store, $1.99/each.

Vases: I used carafes from that bargain dishware store. They ranged from $2 to $6, and they were also used for the soda. The large octagonal-ish jar was a gift from Emily Henderson. And the little white/gold pitcher is from the Society of St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store, $1.99.

All the flowers came from Moe’s Flowers.

A huge thank you to Monica Wang. She’s a fabulous photographer, and becoming a fast friend. And Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone out there, whether you like the holiday or not. As Auden writes in “September 1, 1939,” his poem about the beginning of World War II: “We must love one another or die.” OK, that’s a tad bit dramatic, but what’s Valentine’s Day without a little poetry … huh, huh?

Even if it wasn’t February and Valentine’s Day wasn’t just around the corner, I would still buy all of these goodies. Why? ‘Cause I’m obsessed with hearts, and all things pink. Kinda like Lisa Frank, only I’m not so into psychedelic dolphins … Or am I?

1. Heart Pad-Printed Bowls, $8  2. Printable Party Favors for Valentine’s Day  3. Heart Mugs, SOLD  4. Cross Your Heart Throw Blanket, $69  5. Paper Mache Handmade Decorative Gold Heart, $15  6. Printable Valentine’s Wrap  7. Notecard Set – Gold Hearts, $16  8. Valentine Hearts Napkins, $11.50  9. Tiny Blue Hearts Stitched Paper Garland, $10  10. Heart Straws, SOLD  11. Brooks Of Bohemia Tablecloth, $228  12. Heart Wood Board, $19.95