out with the old, in with the new-ish

I don't know what it is about spring-time that makes me want to shed all the extra layers, clean out, throw away, give away, and simplify, but I love it. This time every year I find myself full of energy and inspiration to organize, garden, eat better, and clean! Here are a few projects I've been working on lately.

Composting! I confess: I've never done this before. I read that before you go out and buy the supplies to make a large compost pile, you should start with "container composting" to see if you'll actually keep up with it. I sort of followed these directions, then piled in some not-so-fresh bread, fruits, veggies from the fridge. So, (bonus!) beginning composting also prompted a much-needed fridge clean out session. So far all I can say about composting is this: it's gross, but it's gross in a fun way ... like the green slime from the old school Nickelodeon game shows.

I've also been stripping away layer after layer of paint and rust off of this old trunk my friend Becca found out on the street, awaiting the garbage man.

I know this might sound crazy, but I actually asked her if I could re-furbish it for her. It's just so old and awesome and has so much history, I wanted to get my hands on it and fix it up as well as I could, for the trunk's sake:) It's made entirely of metal and wood, no laminate or plastic to be found. I felt a bit like an archeologist as I started working on it.

I know it's hard to tell from the picture, but underneath all that white paint, the inside was once lined with this adorable pin-wheel pattern art deco wallpaper. Under that was cheesecloth, I guess to even out the lines between the wood.

And underneath the turquoise paint on top were green and yellow stickers. I tried so hard to remove the paint without scraping off the stickers, but it was nearly impossible. All I could make out was an R, L and a P (I think) on the top row, an A, L, and L on the middle row, and F, S on the bottom.

Here's the trunk in it's current state.

Not exactly picture-perfect, but it's coming along nicely and I'm having fun doing it!

You may recall that just last week I was blogging about my love for art, well, I have two new additions to my collection! This awesome line drawing (I just adore line drawings) of Greta Garbo came courtesy of one of my favorite stores in San Diego, the Newport Avenue Antique Center.

She didn't look like much to write home about in that cheap, ill-fitting gold frame, but it's amazing how much better she looks now that I've found her a new home in a nicely matted black and white frame:)

I'm also pleased to introduce a new addition to my 20th Century Portrait collection!

Isn't he handsome?

He needs a name, and suggestions are welcome! I couldn't have been more impressed with all of your excellent suggestions for this gentlemen, who ultimately ended up being named Colonel Milton Edgar Randolph III (AKA "Milt"), which was a compilation of as many of your suggestions as I could fit into one man's name!

But back to the original point of this post, I wish I could say that my back patio always looks like this, but that would be a lie. It currently looks like this:

The first thing on my spring cleaning list is the back patio. It's been neglected over the winter, and the fence and furniture need to be scrubbed, the seat covers and pillows need to be washed, and the floor needs to be thoroughly vacuumed. Another patio problem has already been addressed: I pruned back the palm, the impatiens, and I replaced some other dead and dying potted plants.

But that's just the beginning of my spring cleaning list! What's on yours? If you're having trouble getting started, check out this list my mother emailed me recently. It's handy!