a year in pictures

In 2010....

 We spent Christmas in Canada. Okay, technically that was in 2009, but it was the very last week of 2009!

 I went flea market shopping at the Rose Bowl with Eddie and Jaithan (and Janet and Grace, too!)

Then we rented a giant truck...

packed up our things ...

And moved to San Diego!

We had lots of visits from family and friends.

We took an Alaskan cruise...

with the entire family!

Then I soaked up the sun in Cabo San Lucas with my besties.

And tried not to burn too badly;)

We were heartbroken when Jemima had to have surgery for a herniated disc, then we cheered and celebrated when she began walking again. Here we are with her during visiting hours at the animal hospital  :)

And then we got to watch as my parents raced in, and completed an Ironman.

We also went to Disney World, Scottsdale, Seattle, and more, but my favorite pictures from the entire year were taken right here at home...

Happy New Year!

And thank you soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much to every single person that has read white waxflower in 2010. I love you all! 

my newly-decorated living room: part one

Yes, you read that right ... part one! There's so much to show and tell about, I really have no choice but to make this at least 2, maybe three posts!


My sweet mama came to see me this weekend, and we had SO much fun getting my new little townhouse all spiffed up. She treated me to a new rug, houseplants, patio furniture, some adorable beachy pillows, and ... this:

Did your heart just skip a beat? Because mine does every time I look at it! It's a portrait painting by Stanislav Rembski. He painted F.D.R, Eleanor Roosevelt, and (ironically) one of the old professors from Ole Miss ... the school in the south where my husband and I met and fell in love:) My mother and I didn't know any of this when we spotted it at the Ocean Beach antique fair, though. We just fell in love with how her hair was in a flapper-esque bob, her cute and mischievous smile, and the fact that she matched my house perfectly! I've been collecting house wares in turquoise, pink and red since I started registering for wedding gifts almost 3 years ago, and to look at our house now, you'd think it was decorated to match this adorable painting, because she fits in so perfectly.

There's no need to go on about how much I love early-to-mid 20th century portraits. I've gone on and on and on about them already on this blog! This one was painted in 1921. I ADORE the 20's, it's my favorite decade, so that makes it even more fun to own. I'd give anything to know more about this cute lady. She must have been very stylish, she's already sporting the long-waisted, low-hipped, minimal-bust-line look that was so popular throughout the 20's. 

Here she is enjoying her new home. My mama and I think she looks like a Mitzie. What do you think? Mitzie is an old-fashioned nickname for the name Miriam, and I can just imagine her at a fabulous 1920's party, introducing herself saying "Hello, I'm Miriam, but my friends call me Mitzie":)


If those chairs look familiar, then you are a faithful white waxflower reader! I first started working on this project just after Christmas! You can read about it here, but this is the original chair ... the one on the left:

We un-upholstered it a few weeks after Christmas, and I was all set to re-cover it when I started thinking that it really needed a mate. I just couldn't think of anywhere where it would look cute all by itself. I held on to it, in it's un-upholstered state, until just a few days ago. I was browsing Craigslist ads, and found this chair for sale for only $50 (but we ended up getting it for $35!)

We bought it from a lady who said it belonged to her mother, who is still living at 104 years old! I was thrilled to finally have a buddy for my other chair, and got to work painting and upholstering them both. It was by far the most difficult thing I've upholstered, and the seat of the one on the left actually needs to be re-done, but I'm pretty proud of how they turned out:)


Come back tomorrow for the living room: part two! It includes homemade shelves and a captain's bench!

flea market style

My sweet bestie Jillian gave me this book that I've been wanting for ages ... the Flea Market Style coffee table book. Oh my goodness, that book is absolutely beautiful! I've been dying to take a minute to hunt down some images from the book that I could share with you, and I hope it leaves you feeling as inspired as it made me feel!

You might remember this last image from a post I wrote a few months ago. This is the one that sent me into a fever looking for old vintage portraits! The hunt for them continues and if you ever see one on Etsy or somewhere, please inform me!

Thanks again, Jilly for my sweet birthday gift! I can't get enough of it:)

{PS check out her blog for some adorable cupcake-ness}

my recent vintage purchases

Today I'm showing off my loot from the Pasadena Flea Market! I actually have sort of a sad story (for me). While we were walking (practically running) through the flea market with Eddie, hitting up all the booths he wanted to talk about, I spotted this ADORABLE yellow bench. It looked like it came from a hamburger stand in the 1960's. I had no time to stop to buy it, and it was much too big to carry around with me anyway, so I waited until the class was over and went running back to that booth to buy that bench.

I got there just in time to see a man pick it up and walk away with it. He had JUST bought it! Heartbreaking!!! All that to say, I didn't buy much because I was saving my money to go get that bench. So I didn't come home with quite as much as I'd planned, but I'm very happy with what I got:)

How cute is this vintage green vanity case? It looks like something Nancy Drew would pack for a weekend trip with Bess and George, which will inevitably be the start of a thrilling mystery adventure, of course.

The lining of this had seen better days, and I'm almost done getting it all fixed up. Tune in tonight or tomorrow to see the "after"!

This one needs a bit of sprucing up, it's a bit worse for the wear, but I'm up to the task!

Don't you wish you could know more about Mr. or Ms. F.A.A.?

Sweet vintage silk scarves. I have big plans for these guys, too! I already made a lampshade out of one of them!

I am hosting a book club meeting soon, and this tablecloth will most definitely be in the spotlight. I can't wait to use it!

better than new

I love the base of this lamp, but the shade is just a teeny bit bland.

This is a vintage lamp shade that was ready for a makeover!

I peeled off the fabric and the plastic ridges that gave it it's shape. It was kinda gross/kinda fun!

Then I recovered the shade in this sweet vintage silk scarf that I got for $1.30 at the flea market on Saturday. Isn't it precious? I know not everyone is as into the Bohemian/Granny Chic look as I am, and you may think this lamp is just awful, but I love it!!!!

flea marketing in pasadena

Yesterday I went to the Pasadena Flea Market for a super-fun group shopping trip with Eddie Ross. Here's a little recap in pictures of all the fun!

We started the morning at 10:00am, getting our name tags and meeting the friendly and fun Eddie and Jaithan. Then we were off on a whirlwind tour of the Rose Bowl Flea Market!

Eddie had such fun ideas for ways to modify these chairs. He recommends breaking sets up and putting them in different rooms around the house, and I LOVE that idea. I don't like matchy-matchy sets everywhere.

Great ideas for table settings for this tablecloth. I actually bought this very one he's holding, and I am extremely proud to say I had picked it up and was about to pay for it when Eddie spotted it, said it was pretty, and started talking about ideas for it. Knowing I picked out something Mr. Senior Style Editor for Martha/Top Design himself loved is like the ultimate compliment! Haha;)

After the tour was over, I went back for a second look at all these fabulous costume earrings and brooches. Eddie has such a fun craft idea for these ... modify them to be used as magnets! Click here to read about it on his blog.

So much pretty silver. Eddie knows a thing or two about collecting silver!

Couldn't miss the chance to get my picture taken with Eddie and Jaithan after it was all over. Granted, I'm only 5'3'', but those guys are really tall!

Couldn't resist posing with these vintage glasses. They look just like Jaithan's!

If you get a chance to take one of these little tours/classes, you MUST do it. Eddie is a fountain of knowledge about everything from furniture to flowers, and I was feverishly taking notes on my phone the whole time. The great ideas just kept coming!

Stay tuned for a full post tomorrow about all the fun stuff I bought:) And later this week, two fabulous crafty projects that I'm doing with my vintage finds!

Eddie Ross is comiiiiiiing to toooooown

(to be sung to the tune of "Santa Clause is Comin' To Town").

I'm sooo EXCITED! He'll be in Pasadena on March 14th for the Rose Bowl Flea Market. I'm all signed up and ready to go, and I am counting down the days!

isn't he adorable?

You can click here to read all about the event, and stay tuned for tons of pictures from me of the big day! March 14th also just happens to be my birthday, and I plan to buy myself a few birthday presents while I'm there;)