Better than Mike Wolfe

Remember when I found this lamp at a tag sale for a whole $3?

Well, about a month ago, I was watching American Pickers and Mike Wolfe picked the same light!!  AAANNNDDD  he paid FOUR TIMES what I did at a whopping $12.  I totally get lucky every once in a while rock!

Take that Mike Wolfe! (And that is said with much adoration and respect of course, since I love American Pickers so much)

Before the weather turned totally rotten, my lamp got a much-needed coat of spray paint.  It's been hanging around for the past few months, patiently waiting to be rewired.  I decided when I got it, that my sexy deco desk light needed to stay true to itself.  That meant I had to hunt down a good source for cloth-covered wire.  I did a quick Google search and found Sundial Wire.  Jackpot!  Not only are they a local Massachusetts company, but their prices are fantastic!  It made me kind of giddy.

After New Years, I ordered 10 feet (extra just in case) of snazzy(that's right, I said snazzy) red cotton twisted wire

and a vintage style plug

Having never rewired anything before, I armed myself with tips from Handy Dad and watched this youtube clip: [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNcUst55t5s] It may have taken me a full hour to accomplish what she does in about 4 minutes, but I have a feeling that wasn't her first tango.

Check out what my deco desk lamp looks like today!

And look- it works!!

Pin and Tell: Conflicted Feminine

Welcome to my “Pin and Tell” weekly series. If you missed my previous “Pin and Tell” posts, check them out here. ___________________________________________________

This week’s Pin

Why?

As the title hints, I'm conflicted about this room.  There are elements that I absolutely adore which is why I'm showing it today, but there are also elements that leave me scratching my head.

Adore: the couch.  I'm kind of in love with it.  It looks cozy and chic, plus I'm a sucker for tufting.  I wish I could curl up into a ball in the corner of that couch and never leave.  At the very least, I want to pet it.  Its pretty and looks soft, so I want to touch it.  (I know that probably sounds a tad nuts...)  The coffee table is the perfect compliment- elegant, but current.

I'm on the fence about the amount of art, but leaning toward love on that.  I think if they just took away one or two pieces I'd be totally convinced.

The head-scratchers: wtf curtains, you ruin the room.  I like the graphic impact of the curtains... in a different room.  In this space, it seems a little schizophrenic.  The sofa, coffee table, and art have an effortless collected look to them.  The curtains look like they're trying too hard.  Same thing with the 'chandelier'.  It just seems flat in a space with decadent textures (pardon the pun, but its true).  Take away the curtains and the chandelier and I'll give it thumbs up.

Bottom line?  Can I take that sofa home with me?  Maybe in another color, but **swoon**.

A Punch Bowl and a Vise

One of these things is not like the other. As it turns out, however, no two things have ever said more about my personality than those two.

It was actually my dad's observation.  My parents came up from CT to my sister's again this weekend and I stopped by to pick up a few things from them.  The items that I picked up from my parents were things that were being passed on to me now that I had use for them...

A punch bowl that belonged to my grandmother (to use for B's bridal shower)

And a vise that belonged to my grandfather (for my basement work area)

To over-simplify:  tools + pretty things = happy Karen.

The older I get, the clearer it is how I turned out the way I did.  When my dad told me I could have his extra vise (because don't all dad's have multiple extras of pretty much every tool? or is it just mine?) he also told me he cleaned it up for me and repainted the original logo and details.  To quote an e-mail from him: "I was thinking as I was doing it what a complete waste of time it was and that you are one of the few people who would appreciate the effort.  Besides it was fun."  That's Handy Dad for ya.

I should also point out the stenciled table runner that I used as a backdrop.  Custom hand-made Christmas gift from mom.  (See, she's Handy too!)

And that's why I am who I am.

Any questions?