Not eco-friendly.
Not cheap. ($495)
SOOOO not necessary.
But really, really pretty.

Orla Kiely

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

This is not the lamp I bought at IKEA this weekend, but it’s nearly identical. (I can’t find the actual lamp that we bought on the website.) This is the FOTO lamp, and it’s 10″ across at the bottom. Our “mystery lamp” is 15″.

I liked the simple, cheerful shape and not too shiny, not too dull silver color.

The best part was the price: twenty bucks! It’s no yellow tin lamp from CB2, of course, but it’s still makes me very happy. Maybe one day when I need something fresh, I’ll hit it with a coat of yellow (low-VOC) spray paint.

Have you moved?
Do you need to register again?
Do you know where your polling place is?
Do you need to figure out how to do an absentee ballot?

http://www.rockthevote.com/
Has information on registering

http://www.vote411.org/pollingplacebystate.php
Can help you find where you vote

The League of Women Voters, which runs the Vote 411 website, has good
voting information.
http://www.lwv.org/Election2008/index.html

posted from Apartment Therapy

Wew! What a weekend!

We started off at Jen’s house for a “Crepes and Cupcakes” party for Stu! on Friday. Saturday, we visited the Hell’s Kitchen Flea Market, and later attended Rooftop Films on the Gowanus Canal. It was a series of short films, some of which I enjoyed, one that was fairly offensive, and one that was so boring I reached over, tucked my fingers into Rob’s hand, and “declared a thumb war”, which we tried not to giggle through.

Sunday we hit Brownstoner’s Brooklyn Flea Market on our way home from our first trip to IKEA. In the weeks since it started back in April, we’ve been several times. It’s evolved into an actual flea market. When it began, there were a lot of vendors who were selling new things, and it seemed more like a craft fair. Sunday, there was lots of vintage clothing, bicycles, a booth dedicated to artifacts from Mad Men which was cool, because I recognized some of the props from the show and plenty of bakelite. There was a vintage red suitcase I wanted, but we didn’t have cash and the ATM was broken, so I’m chalking it up to another purchase for another day. Monday we went to IKEA for a second time after picking up another dresser from Craigslist, and then I spent the day getting shower curtains up while Rob finished the backyard. It’s finally clear of most of the broken glass, and the dogs are happy.

I need a weekend from the weekend!

Rob turned to me after we watched this and said, “This is exactly how we moved in as freshmen.”

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfqEG7ZPO1k&hl=en&fs=1]

Sometime before this weekend, I’m itching to check out Sweet Charity. It’s packed with pretty things, and part of their proceeds go to help Best Friends Animal Shelter in Utah and Farm Sanctuary in New York.

I love a social conscientious shopping experience!

You’ve heard of Freecycle, right? It’s a Yahoo!-based message-board system operating on the the idea of “gifting” usable but unwanted items to other Freecycle users. By putting something you don’t want on Freecycle, you avoid the hassle of selling and the guilt of filling a landfill with something someone else might love.

In the past two years, I’ve given away tons of stuff, including some ice cube trays, two ill-fitting bikini tops, a pool table and a few dozen magazines. I’ve gotten a few pieces of furniture off of it, too, including a CUTE 1960′s faux-bois and vinyl table and chair set for my kitchen.

Right now I’m “shopping” Freecycle for a few old dressers. The closets in this apartment are HUGE but they’re completely unfinished. At 5×10′, and with 10′ ceilings, they’re more like tiny bedrooms, and have HUGE potential to be glamorous, as-seen-on-MTV’s-Cribs walk-ins. However, brand-new closet innards from California Closets or The Container Store are hella expensive, especially in the size I would need, and even IKEA’s PAX series is more than I want to spend.

I’m hoping a few dressers (painted with the large assortment of leftover paint I’ve accumulated, maybe?) and then some clothing racks in there for the hanging things will be a charming, quirky, anti-consumerism alternative to buying new, Sex in the City-type closets. I can add shelving and a large full length mirror and create my own private dressing room.

Rob can shove his clothes under the bed!

Best quote from TV in a while:

… or as McCain says, “There’s no place like home, like home, like home or like home.”

Rob and I were in IKEA last week checking out one of their small, chic mock-apartments, where they make a fabulous, airy-feeling living space out of hopelessly tiny place. The one we were in was about 230 square feet and we discussed how much smaller they could possibly go. Possibly under 100 square feet? I said 70 square feet was impossible.

The people behind the Tumbleweed Tiny House Company have proven me wrong. Check out this house tour of founder Jay Shafer’s house. At 96 square feet, it’s not even the smallest one they offer. The tiniest of them is a minuscule 65 square feet!

It sounds scary, but looks pretty cozy to me. I don’t think it would work out too well for more than two people, though. Could you do it?

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbRvsWuWNUM&color1=11645361&color2=13619151&hl=en&fs=1]