Diary of a Mad Antiquer

Tell us how you REALLY feel...

2012-01-27T13:52:00.001-05:00

Or even better, have a pin made. Someone actually did! I guess they were really not a fan of Nixon, huh? I mean, I can see sporting a pre-fabricated Nixon Sucks pin but to actually go to the trouble of having one MADE?!? Seems a little Extreme.

The Winner's Circle...

2012-01-21T14:23:00.001-05:00

Kenny & I recently happened upon a marathon of $100,000 Pyramid re-runs and we got so totally sucked in by the bad 80's Hair & Fashion that we ended up watching like 3 episodes. I confessed to him that my favorite part was always the Winner's Circle and I think I would be wicked good at giving the clues, at LEAST as good as their frequent celebrity flier Markie Post if not better. (what the hell ever happened to her, anyway?)

So today I got to thinking maybe on the off-chance that Dick Clark is really alive and well and not just a mannequin of himself at this point and they decide to revive this show and invite me on, that I should start practicing. Picture me on this snowy Saturday in my own personal Winner's Circle that is known as Salvage Chic, sitting on my hands and chomping at the bit to give clues. We have 60 seconds on the clock. Ready... GO!!

ME: "Snow."

YOU: "Things that are cold, Things that fall from the sky..."

ME: (shaking head) "Tom Brady."

YOU: "Things that need a haircut, Things that have too many random Baby-Mamas..."

ME: (nodding head encouragingly)

YOU: "Things that people think are good looking but it's just because they are tall..."

ME: (short bark of laughter) "Patriots Games. Patriots PLAYOFF Games."

YOU: "Things you need a ticket to, Things you watch on TV..."

ME: (shaking head again) "Patriots Playoff Games at Gillette Stadium."

YOU: "Things with a lot of drunk people at them."

ME: (shaking head furiously) "Patriots Playoff Games with Tom Brady. Patriots Games in the snow. Patriots Games with Tom Brady at Gillette Stadium in the snow."

YOU: "THINGS THAT KILL BUSINESS AT SALVAGE CHIC!!!!"

Ding, Ding, we have a winner! Come see me tomorrow and I'll give you a "Tom Brady is playing a playoff game at Gillette Stadium in the snow today" Discount. I don't really care if they win or lose, the Super Bowl is gonna kill business either way... SIGH.

Seller's Regret

2012-01-19T15:31:00.000-05:00

I mean, WICKED BAD Seller's Regret. Like, CHRONIC. I bought this sign from my Picker buddy Z today. From the get-go there was a small thought of keeping it niggling at the back of my brain and I didn't even have enough light bulbs for it to show it off in full-blown glory but it was SO COOL I just had to post it on the website and our Facebook page for all the world to see. Not that I thought much would come of it, I mean it was like, the middle of Thursday and all; but apparently that's what the whole world is spending their time doing in the middle of the workday, parked on salvagechicantiques.com and Facebook instead of actually working. I had figured I would have plenty of time for my slight interest in this sign to morph into full-blown obsession and probable adoption before anyone would discover it and want to fork over $195 for it. But seriously no sooner did I post it than the comments and emails started flying and EVERYBODY wanted this sign. Sigh... SOLD! Next time, I'll know better. Oh, who am I kidding, this happens like once a week.

To Flock or Not To Flock?

2011-12-13T16:58:00.003-05:00

That is the Question! One I asked myself several times as I whipped up a "Woodland Wonderland" wreath this afternoon.

I just wanted to kiss it with a little fake snow but unfortunately I forgot that flocking comes raging out of the can like Barbasol shaving cream on Red Bull; I think "Not To Flock" was definitely the answer. Luckily that stuff takes forever to dry and I managed to remove most of it with a feather duster. But now, I don't know... to me it just looks kind of "Flocked Up."

It's Always Darkest Just Before Dawn

2011-09-23T13:35:00.000-04:00

Actually, I think it's even darker when you decide to turn your shop's 1950's kitchen into a 1970's kitchen... only you forget to take the 1950's stuff out before you bring the 1970's stuff in. HOLY. SH*T. It's almost 2:00; think I can fix this by 5PM?

To Auction, To Auction,

2011-09-22T12:32:00.004-04:00

To buy a Fat Pig...

Came home with these drawers as well, Jiggety Jig!

When these came up for bid the Auctioneer looked at me & Claudia and exclaimed "These look very SALVAGE CHIC!"; which is his way of saying "These look like SH*T that only YOU TWO will like." Then he apologized that he didn't have the actual cabinet that the drawers belonged in and I was like are you kidding me?!? Then other people would be bidding on them!! He opened the bid and my card went up in a flash then I held my breath while they were "Going Once, Going Twice... SOLD! To Claudia's Friend!!" Whew, I was nervous there for a minute. $15 each, Get 'Em while they last!

Earning My Stripes

2011-09-08T16:27:00.006-04:00

Since I haven't exactly been Blogging much lately or, ummm, AT ALL... I'm sure everyone's wondering what the heck I've been up to all summer. With the advent of shows like American Pickers and Pawn Stars, we've had an onslaught of folks coming out of the woodwork with items of interest to sell. Now I should clarify that these are most often only items of interest to the person actually SELLING them. You guys know that I am not interested in the least bit in most things traditionally considered appropriate to sell to an Antique Shop but of course not everyone knows this; so as you can imagine there are a lot of pissed-off people who schlep in their grandmother's Limoges China or Tiffany Lampshade only to have Claudia or I accidentally blurt out "THAT'S HORRIBLE!" Sorry, we kiss a lot of frogs out in the parking lot so-to-speak and sometimes we just can't contain our Inner Antique Critiquer.

So anyway, back to items of interest, or NOT... Last week this group of young kids came in with a bottle they had dug up somewhere and asked if I could give them any information about it. I reflexively started doing my bottle spiel, "I don't know a lot about bottles but I do know a guy that does, let me give you his number, oh crap do I have him filed under B for Bottle or G for Guy?!?" then I thought wait a minute, these kids don't want to be calling some random guy let me look at the bottle first.

Oh. Well. I did know something about this bottle. And I wanted to joke that unless it came with 5 friends and they were really cold, I wasn't interested. But these kids were so cute they really thought they had a relic here so I put on my best Professional Shopkeeper hat and told them it was actually a fairly common bottle around these parts and probably worth more to them as a memory of where they found it than to someone who collects bottles; I went on to say since it had a UPC code on it it really couldn't be that old. This was met with somewhat blank stares so I clarified that it could possibly be from as early the 1980's.

That seemed to really impress them and they trotted off with their new prized possession, or so I thought. Later I found they had actually left it behind - and it actually looks well-merchandised here, doesn't it? I felt bad though, when I realized I should've told him that it was totally worth a nickel at the redemption center up the street.

With All Due Respect...

2011-06-17T13:07:00.002-04:00

"And I don't mean to sound flippant..." said the guy as he leaned in real close at the counter; (OH BOY, this oughta be good!) "But how can you call something vintage that says Made in Japan?"

"Um... Well... With all due respect... and I don't mean to sound flippant..." I leaned right back at him; "But I'm pretty sure Japan has been around for quite a long time."

I'm not saying everything we sell is old, but the item he was pointing at WAS. And in fact, a HUGE amount of antiques and vintage collectibles were made in Japan. Now, if he were pointing at something with a sticker that said Made In China, I could see his point. I'll be the first to admit if I think an item is of recent manufacture; but if I like the look of it and think you would too, in the store it goes. Perhaps the Antiques & Uniques sign on the window needs a new footer, "New-tiques"?

Things I Never Thought I'd Hear at Work

2011-06-02T15:05:00.003-04:00

"This is going in Giovanni Ribisi's Kitchen." Wait a minute... WHAT?!? I gotta start paying closer attention to people.
Turns out the kind woman who purchased a retro kitchen cabinet over the phone the other day works for Thunder Buddies, the Production Company that is currently in town filming the new Mark Wahlberg movie "Ted." Now, normally I would probably not be running out to see a movie about a grown man whose best friend is his childhood teddy bear... but for a chance to see one of my Salvage Chic babies on the Big Screen? I'm SO GOING. I can't wait to point at that cabinet and scream "I knew it when..."

What a Hoot!

2011-05-31T15:27:00.002-04:00

Or NOT.
Not only does it BOBBLE but the head also SPINS AROUND...
File this under "Things That Have Scared The Sh*t Out Of Me In My Own Shop".

URGENT Update for the Yard Salers!!

2011-04-22T15:00:00.003-04:00

The Saturday portion of the Yard Sale advertised in the previous post has been CANCELLED due to lack of merchandise. Many Thanks to all the Salvage Chic fans who visited today and helped make the sale a Smashing Success!

Now, back to the regularly scheduled Blog. (Although, it's more IRREGULARLY scheduled, isn't it? Sigh... sometimes life just gets in the way.)

Attention Yard Salers!

2011-04-20T23:45:00.003-04:00

One of my Prize Pickers is having a yard sale this weekend, this is a Must Check Out Event!! Just a short ride up Route 27 from Salvage Chic.

Multi-family sale with something for everyone! Lots of furniture, antiques, vintage, household goods, decorative items, kids stuff (including outdoor toys), double stroller, Schwinn bike trailer, even a truck cover for a Toyota Tacoma. Come check it out Friday and Saturday (4/22 &23) on Country Way in Kingston (right off of rt 27 near Silver Lake High School) from 8-2.

Boogie Down

2011-04-15T00:18:00.003-04:00

Or more often heard around our house lately: "Boogie... DOWN!" Yes, our new pup Augie already has a nickname. It came to be after the first week or two when he got comfortable enough to start testing the waters and it became clear that our former little gentleman has a Terrorist alter ego. One that likes to corner cats, eat potholders, and shred anything to do with fabric. I have read that it's important with a young pup not to scold them too harshly unless you actually catch them doing something wrong in the act. Pointing at a sock he chewed an hour ago and yelling "BAD DOG!" is just going to confuse him so at some point when I stumbled upon some Augie Aftermath I found myself muttering "You're such a little Boogie." Later I caught him right in the midst of something and accidentally blurted out "Boogie Bin Laden!! You are a Terrorist!!" Kenny overheard me and it totally stuck, the poor pup is forevermore known as Boogie. Now, before you go all Kardashian on me "Oh. Mah. Gahd! I can't believe you call your dog BOOGIE, you should be ashamed of yourself! There are plenty of people in third world countries who would love to own a dog and would never call him Boogie Bin Laden!" (Trust me, I do get these emails) Just take a chill pill and embrace him in all his Boogie-ness; we do.
He's so busy being a Terrorist I only seem to be able to get a photo of him sleeping these days; here he is after a long day out in the yard with his BFF Duff and a reminder: Tired Dogs are GOOD Dogs.

Haggling 201

2011-03-24T23:37:00.002-04:00

Well, the Haggling 101 post was such a big hit I thought I'd share some advanced pointers for those of you on the accelerated path. Or one more pointer, anyway:

HAGGLE DON'T: Try to De-Value the item in hopes of getting it ridiculously cheap. "I'd need to spray paint it to cover up all of this rust." Ummm, rust is actually a selling point for some people, particularly in the area of garden items; So No, I can't sell it to you for half price. "It needs an awful lot of work." I can appreciate that you might want to restore it to pristine original condition, but I can guarantee there are plenty of people that would snap up this Hoosier cabinet at this price and slap it into their kitchen as is, loving every single character flaw so again, I can't give you $100 off of this $199 item.

I don't mean to sound flippant in my responses to these people, but really, it's so frustrating. With almost 5 years under our belt here at Salvage Chic, we know our price points. We don't have a huge mark-up but we make our money on volume, high turnover keeps our customers coming back. Unfortunately the secondhand market is associated with haggling, but we're not at a yard sale here. Imagine if someone came into your workplace and said "Hey, how about you take a 20% cut in pay today?" And then handed you a credit card so it was actually closer to 25%. YAY.

Things I would never be cheeky enough to try: At my hairdresser's "Hey, I love this cut & color, but not at the $85 price point you're trying to charge me. I'll give you $60." Or the mechanic: "Awesome oil change, thanks, but it's not really worth $35 to me, I'll give you $20." And my ever favorite, at CVS: "I'll give you $1.50 CASH for this Chapstick, $2.99 is pretty insane since it's not even cherry flavor."

Little Orphan Augie

2011-03-17T23:21:00.006-04:00

Is an orphan no more! Kenny and I trekked up to NH last Friday to pick up the newest member of our family, a coonhound/rat terrier mix rescued from Tennessee. Here we are meeting him in the pouring rain:

I should've had my head examined ordering a puppy sight unseen off of Petfinder, but we really lucked out. What a little love; we settled him into the car for the long ride home from NH and after a few confused looks at us, he promptly passed out.

Augie had been hosted in a Foster Home for a month or so before he was transported up here at the age of 5-1/2 months. I was really worried I was missing out on his formative training days but am delighted to report he showed up a true little Southern gentleman with house manners and a basic knowledge of potty training. Our resident coonhound Duff, who's only 3 but acts like he's about 80, was pretty nervous about the prospect of his 'Mini-Me' at first.

Day 1 Duff wanted nothing to do with sitting near him; Day 3 he allowed Augie to share a piece of furniture with him; Day 4 he voluntarily jumped on a piece of furniture Augie was already enjoying and Day 5 after a busy playdate with my friend and her daughter, these 2 BFFs passed out together.

Sorry for the tiny photos, I shot some of them with my phone. But, you get the idea. Looking forward to sharing many fun Augie stories with you all in the future. And - just to clear the record for those of you who read the 'Tick-Tock' blog and thought my husband REALLY wanted a baby... I was talking about a pup the whole time. We are both delighted with the addition to the family!!

Haggling 101

2011-03-05T12:58:00.003-05:00

Trust me, the LAST thing I want to do is encourage people to haggle. With Salvage Chic being more of a boutique atmosphere than a yard sale, we have a lot of overhead and we're not one of those places that marks UP to mark DOWN. Nevertheless, people automatically associate the Junktique Business with Haggling, so it might be time for a few friendly pointers.

Haggle DON'T: Bring up every single small item that possibly piques your interest and ask "What's your Best Price on THIS?" and then mull it over with a disgusted look on your face before putting the item back and bringing up another one. That's just annoying.

Haggle DON'T: Insult me with a ridiculously low offer followed by the word CASH. Sure, I wanted to get $200 for it, but I'll take 75 CASH so I can stick it in my mattress with all my other unreported income... NOT.

Haggle DON'T: Assume your CASH payment means you're not going to be charged Sales Tax. I try this now and then at CVS and they always look at me like I'm an idiot so I feel pretty confident in looking at you that way too.

Haggle DO: "I'm kind of interested in this (insert significant item like a large piece of furniture). Has it been here a while?" If the response is that IT JUST ARRIVED, that means THE PRICE IS FIRM. If it's more along the lines of I CAN'T BELIEVE HOW LONG THAT'S BEEN HERE, I'M SO SICK OF LOOKING AT IT! there might be a little wiggle room... a LITTLE.

To the TICK-TOCK, Ya Don't STOP

2011-02-20T11:34:00.005-05:00

What WAS that ominous ticking? My Husband's Biological Clock. Apparently at 32, he is not getting any younger. He's been after me for months to add another member to our family. I told him when I was ready, Adoption would be the way to go, thinking that was a good stall tactic. (Do you know how much PAPERWORK is involved?) I even told him I had gotten the ball rolling on that front; that seemed to satisfy him for a while.

Weeks would go by and just when I'd think the coast was clear, there it was again: TICK-TOCK like a suspicious package left on the subway. Just when he appeared he was happy enough surfing online looking at potential candidates for his Adoption Pipe Dream, he'd suddenly be all "WHAT IS GOING ON WITH THE ADOPTION PROCESS?" Oh...I'd mutter a few words like 'Home Inspection' or 'I had to give them 3 more Personal References' and he would go away.

Meanwhile my Inbox was jammed with links he'd send me to photos of these really pitiful looking orphans. It was so depressing I made a rule to have my email view them as Spam and automatically delete them as they came in.

Finally this week, there it was again, TICK-TOCK TICK-TOCK and just when I was about to hit the Big Ol' Kenny Snooze Button, I realized... that was MY OWN CLOCK!

I finally caved. And managed to complete that 'Paperwork' pretty damn quick.

This little guy will be added to our family in just a few short weeks!! We're going to call him Auggie. I can't wait to meet him!!

Baby, It's Cold Outside!

2011-01-23T23:19:00.003-05:00

Or, "F.F." as my Mom would say. For those of you playing at home, one of those F's is FREEZING... I'll let you fill in the blank.

So now, for a little Warmth from Within. I was lucky enough to be off from the shop today and spent the day as I most LOVE to do on days like this, puttering around the house in my PJs. I swore I was going to do nothing at all except watch a Law & Order Marathon; Kenny bet me 5 bucks I would be off the couch by the end of the 2nd episode but I held strong through 2 and a half before the urge to putter got the best of me. Then I went on a tear in the kitchen, taking everything off the counters and cleaning it within an inch of its life before I put it back. I know on those HGTV House Selling shows they advise you should clear a kitchen of everything but the essentials so Buyers don't think your kitchen lacks storage. But I think done right, clutter can be a selling point. Not that I'm selling my house... but wouldn't YOU want to live in a kitchen with a windowsill as 'cluttered' as this? It just puts a smile on my face; hope it warms you up too!

The Right Frame of Mind

2011-01-18T20:52:00.005-05:00

I just haven't been in it lately, for Blogging, anyway. I know, I know, a lot of people have been disappointed to check in for the last 5 weeks only to be greeted yet again by the "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" post. A couple of nights I have sat down thinking "Let me just dash out a paragraph or two to calm the hungry masses," only to be stymied by what I can best describe as Blogger's Block. It really hit home when the calendar year turned and I saw that I had only blogged on average twice a month in 2010; what the #!&*! was going on?

To compound matters, people have started walking into the shop and before I can even get out a "Hi, How are you?" they're all "No New Blogs Lately, Huh." SIGH. So much for all the great changes in the shop; did you see how we made Christmas Happen, and then Un-Happen, once again in Epic Salvage Chic Proportions? Can I get a WOOT, WOOT for scrounging up the freshest, fiercest array of inventory possible and laying it all out on the website on a daily basis, so you can peruse it at leisure without leaving the comfort of your home or PJs? No, I get it... what you really want to know is what my dog has been up to.

As the Pressure to Blog continued to build with no good Subject Matter at hand, I said to Kenny: "Now I know how J.K. Rowling feels when people ask her when the next Harry Potter segment is coming out. Do you think she ever wants to reply 'when I Bloody Hogwort feel like it'? He laughed and said he understood how I must feel, but the look he gave me said "GET OVER YOURSELF!" I know, he's right... right?

So today at the shop rather than deal with the Blog Block I was in full Stop Procrastinating Mode, dragging all kinds of stuff out that's been languishing in the back room; when I came upon THIS lovely specimen brought in by one of my Prize Pickers.

Superbly Shabby Chic indeed, but it's an empty frame with no back, no glass, no hook to hang it. How the *!%#!? am I supposed to merchandise THIS? And how much would someone possibly want to pay for it?? Wait a minute... it kind of looks like it belongs in my sunroom. Another thing I've been meaning to Blog about, but it's just not QUITE done... I thought to myself, 'Too bad there's nowhere in there to hang it.' Or IS there?? Something started tickling the back of my brain so I brought it home tonight and, VOILA! Problem Solved. Now Kenny can't complain the TV looks dinky on the wall, and I have something to BLOG ABOUT!! I think I finally got my Mojo back. Now, if I could just figure out how to hide that stupid cord...

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?

2010-12-09T23:41:00.007-05:00

Apparently no one but my cat Slash, because who's going to want to eat off of my new vintage tablecloth after he gets done shedding on it? I should know better than to set a table next to a nice warm woodstove.

Wednesday was my Birthday and Kenny took the day off from work to take me Antiquing, or as I like to call it, "Market Research". We headed off to some Undisclosed Locations to check out the competition, I mean, Buy Me a Birthday Present.
I had been looking forward to this outing for a while and was totally bummed out to be both underwhelmed by the merchandise and overwhelmed by the prices. For example in one Antique Mall, it seemed every vendor had one boring piece of crackled Pilgrim Art Glass for sale at $18. Meanwhile, we have this stunning selection of the same at Salvage Chic for $6 each.

I mentioned this to Kenny and he was all "SEE why I never try to buy you anything vintage? It's like trying to make a movie for Steven Spielberg. He'd just do it better no matter how much I spent." SIGH.

I DID manage to find enough Christmas Presents to cross about 4 people off my list, but still was woefully empty handed on the Birthday Front as I approached the last booth and thought, There BETTER be something here for me. Sure enough, I found these awesome Vintage Vera Neumann Christmas Napkins, and a matching tablecloth. $45... WAY MORE than I would normally pay for something like this but after all, it was my Birthday. Now if I could just keep the #!@&*% CAT off of them!!

Wreath-Making 101

2010-11-23T13:47:00.013-05:00

Sunday morning started off quietly at the shop so I decided to reward myself with a little glue gun therapy for having survived The-Most-Hectic-Saturday-EVER. I don't know why, but there's something mind-numbingly soothing about gluing sh*t onto a wreath. Not to put Xanax out of business or anything, but I thought I'd share the process with those of you who might need a prescription for some holiday fun.

Start by finding a location to hang the wreath that's close to an outlet to plug your glue gun into and a table or counter or something to put your stuff on. Mine just happens to be hanging over the fire extinguisher in the back room, that's not really a requirement but it did come in handy that one time... OK, you know what, you should definitely hang it over a fire extinguisher.

Here's where I act all organized enough to have actually compiled all of my ingredients ahead of time. I do recommend that you do that, but normally I seem to be rooting through 16 boxes of Ornamental Christmas Crap with one hand while dripping hot glue on myself with the other.

I generally start with a "centerpiece" and some large related ornaments spread in a somewhat orderly fashion around the wreath.

Then I get bored with the basic ornaments and start adding more interesting pieces.

Before I get to the next step MAKE SURE you have a pencil or stick or some other foreign body to poke & tuck the filler elements into the wreath. Otherwise I guarantee you are instinctively going to use your finger instead and there is a 99% chance you will come in contact with the hot glue. If this happens, just remember that the word to scream is "FUDGE!" Especially if there happen to be small children nearby.

Now for the fun part, I just keep willy-nilly adding whatever catches my fancy.

Eventually my gut, or more often Claudia, will tell me that I'm done before it goes too-over-the-top.

The last step is naming my creation. I like to keep the titles playful yet relevant. This wreath has a lot of tacky elements in it but the red velvet gives it some richness, so I'm calling it "Velveeta". Because it's kinda cheesy - but I secretly like it.

Fa La La La La...

2010-11-19T00:51:00.005-05:00

Fa Fa Fa FFFFFFFFFF... I'll let you guess what I was trying NOT to say when I overheard two women in the shop last week: "Never mind painting it to look OLD, why don't they just paint it to look GOOD?" Umm, yeah. I strive really hard for Salvage Chic not to be one of those achingly quiet shops where you feel like you have to whisper for fear the meddling shopowner is listening to your every word. Really, I have better things to do than eavesdrop. But in this particular case they were like 3 feet away from me and I wanted to say "HELLOOO? I'm right HERE!" What is wrong with people? I go into lots of antique/vintage shops where I think "GAG ME with the mahogany" or "Are they KIDDING me with these prices?" but I generally keep these comments to myself and just breeze out if it's not for me. You would not believe the stuff people say! I might have to make this a weekly feature.

Oh yeah, and just for the record... it WAS authentically old crackled paint; and it SOLD in about 2 days. I'm glad SOMEONE shares my horrible taste in furniture finishes.

I've Got a Bone to Pick

2010-10-22T14:11:00.004-04:00

But then again, don't I always? Ha Ha.

Several people have actually asked me if these bones are REAL.

UMMM... Yeah they are, let me know if you're going to buy them so I can go rob another grave. Why do they cost 25 bucks? Well, that includes the vintage crate they are nestled in, and do you know what a bitch it is to boil the flesh off of a skeleton?

Seriously, People! I mean I'll float a doll head in a jar of fake formaldehyde (see Previous Post) but I'm pretty above selling actual human remains. And not just because there are laws against things like that; I tried it once and it totally stank up the shop. (YES I AM KIDDING!!)

Do you think I need a sign that says "No bodies were harmed in the making of this STYROFOAM skeleton"?!?

Scary Stuff

2010-10-11T22:56:00.007-04:00

More from the "SERIOUSLY?" Files... I swear I should just rename this blog "Seriously?"

I can't even imagine what 'real' celebrities have to put up with in the way of bizarre unsolicited feedback, but I'm pretty sure they must all have a really thick skin, which I am trying desperately to grow. I have been getting a great deal of shall we say, unsavory emails, regarding our creepy campy Halloween decorations made out of doll parts.

Maybe it's unfortunate I grew up in an unpolitically correct time (not that long ago!) when Halloween meant guys with their head sewn on with thumbtack looking bolts out of the sides (Frankenstein, anyone?) and skeletons did not offend everyone who happened to have a dead relative.

So I was overjoyed when Claudia kicked off the fall season with a few ghoulish creations she made out of doll parts she's been saving all year.

Come on now, do you look at these and think "ooh this woman worships Jeffrey Dahmer, damn her and her shop to hell!" Or do you think, dang that would make an awesome decoration at my Halloween Party. Honestly, you don't have to embrace it; People have, and excitedly bought these 3; but I understand it might not be everyone's cup of tea. You might think it's in poor taste, that's OK. I can appreciate that. I respect people's opinions and moral and religious views. But I think sending me emails saying 'stop with the creepy doll creations they are too evocative of dead babies' is a little over the top. You might want to find a clinic to picket instead.

I'd say 9 out of 10 people have given us rave reviews on these items; even if it's "I love that, I wish I could buy it but it would freak my kids out" I consider it a positive. But, let's see, just the other day there was one guy declaring to his wife "I don't consider THAT Art, that's disgusting." I wish I thought to tell him if it were really meant to be ART the prices would be a LOT SCARIER.

A Sad Tale

2010-10-09T00:19:00.003-04:00

Warning: Extreme Tearjerker.

A funny thing happens when you share your life on a Blog and it develops a following; people start to feel like they know you and are a part of your extended family. (Reference: anytime Kenny makes an appearance at the shop he's invariably met with a stranger saying "Hi Kenny!" accompanied by a look that says "you poor hen-pecked schmuck" while he innocently wonders, do I KNOW you? Poor Kenny.

And it's not uncommon for folks to ask me "How are your dogs?" A question which has had me for the past few weeks choking back the right response. So it's with a sad heart that I let you Dear Readers know that we lost our Izzy last week. Dog Cancer sucks.

Now that you've got your Kleenex out let's take a moment to remember some of the highlights of Izzy's life. She was only six but she packed a LOT of living into those years.

We adopted Izzy while on our honeymoon in Maine in 2005. Whenever I feel the need to point out that Maine was a lame-ass honeymoon destination, I remind myself that's where we got Izzy.

We were dead set on getting a dog on our honeymoon because we had lost our late great dog Shane a few months before the wedding. Kenny narrowed it down to three dogs at the shelter: one labeled "FEAR BITER", the second "Food Agression" and the third... a goofy-looking brindle Plott Hound named Chanel. This 'busy bee' with a 'melodious bay' had already been returned once to the shelter; we couldn't imagine why.

She didn't know the name Chanel and in keeping with naming all of our animals after members of the band Guns & Roses (Kenny!), we christened her Izzy and took her home to meet her new cat siblings Axl & Slash. On first introduction there was a bit of a scuffle and we ran into the house only to find 70-pound Izzy... standing on our dining room table.

Izzy was skinny and all legs and her exuberant style of running around the yard came to be known as 'spizzing'. She was a dog of many nicknames, and she responded to them all. You may know her by her gangsta rap name "Notorious S.P.I.Z." She won a Dog Grammy for the hit single "As Brindle as I Wanna Be".

Before opening Salvage Chic I spent many years in corporate hell as a project manager and contract negotiator. One day in the home office I was on a particularly hellish call when Izzy slunk by with one of my wedding shoes in her mouth. I wish I could remember which company's CTO got an earful of "IZZY!" because I sure as hell didn't have my headset muted.

The first time she howled I thought there was an ambulance in my backyard.

Once while loading groceries into my Jeep at Stop & Shop about a half mile away, I distinctly heard her howling all the way from my house. No wonder our neighbors never invite us over for dinner.

Weird things Izzy ate: 2 Netflix DVDs. Had to email them and they didn't take it well.

I know these stories about Izzy are starting to make that Marley & Me dog look like a martyr; but really Izzy turned out to be such a nice dog. The day we installed our fence was the day we realized "A TIRED dog is a GOOD dog."

In fact, we should call her Saint Izzy because she spent the last three years of her life with her menacing brother Duff's mouth around her neck, and never lashed out.

She loved her kiddie pool.

She liked to sleep in one of our spare bedrooms under the mattress pad. She would dig at it until the elastic pulled up and then cocoon herself snug as a bug in a rug. It totally stressed me out thinking of a dog on top of an undressed mattress but still I let her do it, it was too funny to hear her 'unmaking' the bed with snarfing sounds of joy.

More from the nickname files: We called her Bronwyn, because she was the Brown One; which morphed into Bronwinnie and then just Winnie. Every morning when I went to check on her under her mattress pad, I serenaded her with "Winnie in her Nest" (to the tune of Benny & the Jets... yeah, I know I'm queer. but it got a lot of tail wags.)

If you've read this far, you're surely a dog lover, and I thank you. Rest in peace my sweet Bronwinnie, I hope the mattress pad in heaven is snug.

Trench Warfare

2010-09-04T23:12:00.003-04:00

Ah, the signs of fall are upon us. Went to pickup my share from the farm on Friday; because of the heat this summer they've been a few weeks ahead of harvest schedule and thus, this week I received a bounty of winter squashes and pumpkins. Fall is my favorite time of year to decorate so I was shivering with joy as I rooted in the binful of Hubbard Squash (the green one in the photo). I guess all of the co-op members have been inquiring as to how to prepare this baby in the culinary sense so the woman on hand started volunteering cooking information to me. I smiled and nodded because she was just trying to be helpful but all I could think was "COOK it? I just want to DECORATE with it." and proceeded to analyze all from a visually-pleasing perspective.

Got home with my bounty and after I unloaded all of the tomatoes, cukes & corn into the fridge I unearthed these babies and Kenny asked "What are you going to do with THOSE?" I have been getting ultra creative with the veggies this summer in an effort to use them all up and he probably feared Pumpkin Protein Shakes were in his future. "Nothing, I'll just put them on the Trencher", I casually replied; and then left him to wonder what Kitchen-Aid appliance known as a Trencher came into the house under his radar. He was nervously scanning the counter-tops while I went and dug out THIS baby:

Here's where I have to admit once more to my little problem habit of adopting Jack's items from the shop to 'try out at home' before I buy them. This trencher's been on my table, off my table, think I like it, maybe should sell it, OH let's just see how it looks in the Fall. (Sorry, Jack...) It's a Keeper.

Once Kenny realized I hadn't snuck a small kitchen appliance in on his watch, he ambled into the dining room where I ranted "Don't you just LOVE it? Doesn't it look SO good? Aren't you amazed I came home with random vegetables from the farm and then WHAM BAM we have a new tablescape?" Deadpan response: "Yeah. I'm just surprised you don't have a color-coordinating computer mouse you swap out with the seasons." HMMM... I think he's on to something there!! I left the mouse on the table when I took the photo so you guys could see; wouldn't a burnt orange one be nice?

When Good Furniture Goes Bad

2010-08-31T23:05:00.003-04:00

It can turn on you at any given moment, even when you've raised it from infancy.

A friend of mine's parents are downsizing and she asked me if I could sell a few pieces of furniture for them that they didn't want to let go at yard sale prices. Sure! I said; Bring whatever you have... knowing that this family has impeccable taste in the spirit of Salvage Chic.

She arrived a few days later with some fabulous items and this old gossip bench that looked great at first glance but on further inspection, it had some issues. I guess they used it on their porch and there were some spots where the black paint had flaked off revealing pink underneath. It just didn't look right and I was about to say something when I realized - DOH! Her mom bought that piece from ME a few years ago! So much for that paint that was billed as one-coat-everlasting-coverage.

The bench landed in the shop's back room and sat there for a few days like that
Elephant In The Room that no one wants to talk about. I was vaguely toying with the idea of trying to find a fabric that would complement the black and pink to recover the seat with when Jack showed up with another needy piece of furniture and broke out his trusty sander.

For those of you who don't know Jack, he's like the Furniture Whisperer when it comes to painting and distressing; he can take the ugliest duckling and make it beautiful. So I said "While you're out here..." and brought him him my Problem Pet Bench which he started lovingly kissing with his sander. A smidge here, a smidge there, more little hints of pink started appearing. Still, it was not looking right to me and Queen of Impatience that I am, in a moment of madness I grabbed the sander from him. 10 seconds later I was past the point of no return and it was NOT GOOD.

I stood back, frowning, with my fist tucked under my chin like Tim Gunn from Project Runway, trying to find a nice way to say "This looks like s**t." Ever the optimist, Jack said "I don't know, it looks kind of like..." He struggled for words. "What, Jack, like someone tried to forcefeed a hyena Pepto Bismol and things ended badly???" Ummm... yeah. SIGH. Off to find some black paint.

Here Comes the Sideboard...

2010-08-30T22:39:00.003-04:00

All Dressed in White... Dum Dum da Dum da da Dum da da DUM DUM DUM...

Sadly, I have no picture of this awesome antique white sideboard I saw yesterday at My Husband's Cousin's Wedding; If I did it would be a REALLY GOOD Blog. But I thought you guys would get a kick out of the fact that I the Mad Antiquer was at this wedding, everyone was gathered around watching the bride and groom have their first dance, and then the bride dancing with her dad, which ALWAYS brings a tear to my eye even if I don't know the couple or dad in question... when Kenny turned to me with a smile. I know he was thinking 'She's so cute, she always cries at weddings, even on TV..." but I made the mistake of whispering "LOOK at that SIDEBOARD!" Credit to my Husband, he did say "You're so cute." Then he turned back to watch the real festivities. My sister-in-law was like "What's the Matter?" because I was all teary-eyed and he said "Nothing; She's just in love with that sideboard." Meanwhile I was trying to justify myself. "Really! That is Real-Deal old Antiqued White, not something made to look old. I would LOVE to have that for sale at the shop!" SIGH. I am such a loser. I kept meaning to go and snap a picture of it but I forgot until we were leaving. "Go Ahead!" said Kenny, my ever-enabling spouse but I felt like kind of a jerk. "Excuse me, bride on the dance floor, can you step aside so I can get a shot of that sideboard?" Um, yeah. even I wouldn't do THAT!

A Slippery Slope

2010-08-17T22:39:00.005-04:00

That being the scary stairs that lead down to the cellar in my 175 year old home:

Which, more often than not, I blindly descend carrying a mountain of laundry when what to my wondering feet should appear but...

My Brother-in-Law visited last week and got a special kick out of seeing THIS sign on the door to the cellar:

I felt a little bad because I know Kenny tries to be a role model to his younger brothers so I thought I had removed all evidence that he can be kind of an idiot. (There WAS a companion sign on the dishwasher that read "Insert Dirty Dishes Here, but luckily I got to that in time.)

Then I got to thinking, maybe there is a market for this kind of thing. Does anyone else need signs like this? I could totally make more and sell them at Salvage Chic. Hand-written, of course, so they'd be somewhat of a collectible. I could even tea-dye the paper, so it looks nice and vintage in your Country Primitive home. Hell, someone donate me a new Sharpie and I'll even make you one for free.

In a Pickle

2010-07-29T21:53:00.006-04:00

A kind reader just pointed out that I haven't blogged ONCE in July and I better do it fast before I break my record of having blogged at least once a month since I started the Blog a few years ago!! OMG no wonder no one is reading anymore. What the heck have I been doing with my time?? I had to do a Mental Rewind to see where the last month has gone...

For one, I joined a Farm Co-op this year where you invest a sum of money before the growing season for the farmer to invest in seeds, and in exchange you get a load of produce each week. I've been up to my eyeballs in vegetables and creative ways to cook them. The good news is, my husband and I have both gone down a pant size since we started 8 weeks ago; the bad news is, I think I'm going to turn into a summer squash. Here's a photo of last week's bounty:

Another upside of being a Farm Shareholder is you get to buy in bulk at wholesale prices, so I got the bright idea that I should buy half a bushel of pickling cucumbers for my father-in-law to turn into his famous bread and butter pickles. I should mention that cooking is my favorite hobby after Junk-tiquing and I've always wanted to learn canning but for some reason the whole process intimidated the bejeezus out of me. Meanwhile I have this father-in-law that won what equates to a Lifetime Achievement Award for canning last year from the Marshfield Fair/Agricultural Hall. Seriously this award is so prestigious they don't give it out every year but just when they find someone WORTHY, and I think he was the 2nd person ever to win it.

So I ordered the aforementioned pickling cukes and he was happy to turn them into pickles for me, but I thought it would be nice to actually see how they were made which brings us to yesterday. "I'll just dash these cukes over to FIL and watch the process then get on with my day..." Yeah, RIGHT! We sliced up all these puppies and set them to soak in the sink with salt and ice:

At this point I figured they needed to rest for a while and asked how long, he said about 3 hours and just when I thought Perfect! Here's my out, I'll run along and let him finish them! He said "But you'd be surprised, by the time we finish everything else it will be time to preserve them." OOPS. I forgot you have to sterilize the jars, make the pickling brine, bring the water bath to boil... sure enough, by the time we got all that done it was time to can! 4 hours after I arrived, we were left with 16 quarts of pickles.

The funny thing is, when he first asked whether I wanted to do up quarts or pints, I was all "Oh definitely some pints, I'd like to give some away to friends & family..." When we were done, FIL mentioned that my brother and sister-in-law would probably like some. After all the Time and Sweat Equity involved (did I mention how HOT it was slaving over that stove?) My Response? #!$*@! THEM! They can make their OWN pickles.

Keeping My Cool

2010-06-22T23:00:00.005-04:00

By now you Regular Readers know that much like the shop itself, this Blog is not just about things Antique but also things Unique, pretty much anything Cool & Unusual that catches my eye. Random, even. My Husband had mentioned he installed a small air conditioner in our dog Izzy's bedroom which she graciously allows him to use as his Home Office. The other night I was tucking her in when what to my wondering eyes should appear but THIS!

Nice touch Kenny, trying to hide this buggery by closing the curtains partway... But let's just zoom in a little closer Dear Readers and you can insert your own four-letter-word after WHAT THE?

In case any of you run into problems installing your own Air Conditioner, apparently shoving a T-Shirt, a pair of jeans, a Cisco Networking Professional Self-Study Book, 2 shutter slats and a pair of Dockers underneath it will fix them. Just so you know. No wonder Kenny won that "Best Troubleshooter" Award at the Company Christmas Party; and no wonder he's always complaining he has nothing to wear, LOL.

I'm REALLY not trying to get cheap laughs at my Husband's expense... I'm just hoping my Handy Father-in-Law will read this and come to my rescue!! Meanwhile, I'm cool with it. Seriously.

Seriously?

2010-06-15T16:09:00.007-04:00

Normally I try to keep the real venting to a minimum here but sometimes the SERIOUSLY? File in my brain gets way too full and I'm afraid I'm going to implode. So for the readers who like the snarky side of me, today is your Lucky Day!! First of all, let me just say it bugs the heck out me when someone walks into the shop and immediately screams HELLO? if they are not greeted within 1.2 milliseconds. I don't know why people treat antique stores differently then they would any business but seriously, Salvage Chic is over 2000 square feet and generally staffed by one person. Try walking into Jordan's Furniture and screaming HELLO? if Barry & Elliott don't immediately greet you; I'm pretty sure you'll look a little foolish.

Now, before you start thinking I'm a total jerk, I should mention that 10 times out of 10 when people come in and scream HELLO, it is followed by some really inane request. Like, "Those buoys that you have out front for $15 each, would you sell THREE for $15?" Ummm... No. "NO?" (incredulously) So incredulously, I felt like I needed to justify myself by saying that I probably paid more than that for them. "really? That's less than what you PAID for them? Do you mind if I ask where you GOT them?" Sure, we got them at an auction. "I see, really, and you can't sell 3 for $15, do you mind if I ask what you DID pay for them?" SERIOUSLY!! SERIOUSLY!! YES I DO MIND!! I mean, I'm all for haggling when I'm at a flea market or yard sale; but I would never insult someone with an actual business by offering them 1/3 of what they were asking and then act as if I were ENTITLED to it when they said no. Not even if I were in one of those antique shops that doesn't turn the heat on and gives you your stuff in their used grocery bags. I wanted to say "Hold On, let me call my landlord and see if he'll give me 3 months rent for the price of 1; and then negotiate 67% off of my telephone, internet and electric bills. You think the IRS would mind taxing me at 14% instead of 42% this quarter? Meanwhile why don't you go across the street to Cumby's and offer them 85 cents a gallon for gas and watch them laugh at you."

But I didn't. I decided the best way to end the conversation was to just re-state "The price of the buoys is $15 each." She left in a huff anyway; I guess I could've vented after all!

Get the Flock Out of Here!

2010-06-01T23:09:00.006-04:00

Claudia showed up this weekend with a complete Flock of Pink Flamingos and proceeded to cram them all into the old washing machine out front. They looked Wicked Cool but I was like, are you sure you want to do that? I mean we've been really lucky no one's ever taken anything off the sidewalk but I'm pretty sure if you look up "Things Screaming to be Stolen by Pranksters", you'll find this picture:

I had brief thoughts of being called on my day off and reprimanded by the Pembroke Police for aiding and abetting criminals who might wish to defile town properties with tacky lawn ornaments. Either that or my usually lenient Landlord calling to say "What the FLOCK is with the FLAMINGOS?!?"

Fast forward to today; I opened the shop back up and went out to hang the flags, pleasantly surprised to see the gaggle of flamingos intact. No sooner had I opened than a woman arrived and asked How Much for the Flamingos? "$6 each", I replied. Hmph I thought maybe that was too much since she didn't bite right away but a little while later she asked "What if I buy 12?" Ah, YEAH, I can definitely give you a better price... she and her daughter happily scooped 12 up to use as favors for a 6th birthday party.

They had barely pulled out of the parking lot when a gentleman came in and asked How Much for the Flamingos? $6 bucks... I'll take one! And as I was counting out his change he said You Know What? I Better Get Two. The screen door hadn't yet smacked upon his departure when all of a sudden in bounded another woman. Claudia saw her in the parking lot and jokingly whispered to me "how much for the flamingos?" and sure enough, the woman exclaimed "HOW MUCH FOR THE FLAMINGOS?" We about died laughing. She scampered off with two and we realized we only had four left! Make that two... you know I can't resist a kitschy garden decoration.

The other two flamingos sold within the hour to two other women who were just so delighted to hear how popular they had been, they had to have one. I only wish I had more as all day people were clamoring in saying "I saw some flamingos out front yesterday?" Sorry... All Gone!

File this under Things I Didn't Think Would Sell... or at least so quickly!!

Stay Tuned for Tomorrow's Blog: When Coonhounds Meet Flamingos. My money's on Izzy but I think the flamingos might get the better of Duff.

Chip Off the Old Block

2010-05-19T09:45:00.007-04:00

I was at my parents' house in Boston last week meeting up with my Mom to do some Junk-tiquing. No sooner had we left the house then something caught my eye. "What's THAT?" I inquired excitedly, honing in on what promised to be the Find of the Day. "Oh... THAT. We had our chimney cap replaced yesterday and Your Father saved that for you." I could tell by the way she said it she was thinking Canyoubelievehethinksyouwouldwantthat... Um, YEAH!! It is awesome. I was so touched my Dad would see a broken piece of sooty terra cotta chimney and think of me!! (Wouldn't you be?)

So here it is in my garden and I'll leave you with some other cool elements I've worked in this spring. Now before you go thinking "Gag me, she keeps all the GOOD STUFF for herself!" I assure you, some of this stuff was for sale FOREVER at Salvage Chic and then I couldn't even get rid of it at my Yard Sale. I mean, how long did that Brown Dog sit around before I finally took pity on it and took it home? (OK, I may be exaggerating here... but a few things WERE at the shop, I swear...) Happy Spring!

Calling Mary Tyler Moore

2010-05-09T23:03:00.005-04:00

plus Jackie O, June Cleaver, Betty Draper and everyone who longs to recreate the wardrobe of these fashion icons! Announcing FASHION WEEK at Salvage Chic, we're we'll unveil a ton of FRESH TO THE MARKET 1950's & 60's clothing & costume jewelry, shoes & accessories. Saturday & Sunday, 5/15 & 5/16, 10AM-5PM. TWO DAYS ONLY and then it disappears. BE THERE or be... caught wearing modern clothing that tries to imitate these fabulous things.
Over 100 garments and 300+ pieces of jewelry. An Event not to be missed!

Am I the Only One who gets excited about things like this??

2010-04-22T17:05:00.003-04:00

Probably Not.

Am I the Only One who wants to take the whole thing home and use it as a centerpiece on the dining room table?

Probably.

Kenny and Chris, Plus Six

2010-04-12T21:58:00.006-04:00

Thursday morning I awoke to find my Husband unexpectedly working from his home office on my day off, which put a serious cramp in my usual morning plans. Not that he is policing me or anything, but there's only so many times you can get caught watching a Law & Order marathon in your PJs exclaiming defensively "TODAY IS MY SATURDAY!!" without looking like a Total Loser.

So I was puttering around in my Going-to-the-Gym-Outfit when luck would have it he closed his office door for some conference calls and I sat down at my laptop to see if anything more enticing than the Treadmill came my way. I might have accidentally wet my hands and mussed up my hair a little but it's totally not my fault that when he emerged an hour later I was still sitting there, in what he might now misconstrue to be my Just-Came-from-the-Gym-Outfit.

"LOOK!" I pointed excitedly at the screen; "I just got this email from DFS and they want me to foster a litter of six!!" Of course he ran over expecting to find a picture of coonhound puppies and when he instead found these babies inquired "DFS?" You know, the Department of Furniture Services!! "Oh, RIGHT... that one in the middle looks like it has some Special Needs." Then he patted me on the shoulder, shaking his head as he went back to his office.

Later that day I headed down to Plymouth to pick up my charges and found them to be exceptionally less malnourished than I thought. So instead of maybe gluing or repainting them and finding them new homes by selling them at Salvage Chic, I decided to adopt them myself. SIGH; that happens more than you think. But don't they look great in my dining room? Now if only I could get Apple to make a Chippy-Country-Primitive laptop, the room would be complete!!

Good Help is Hard to Find

2010-04-07T16:35:00.003-04:00

FREE HELP is even harder to find, which is why I was wicked excited when my Husband and his Dad volunteered to help with the finish work in the new space we opened up last month. At least, I THOUGHT it was free, until I finally got around to reviewing the security camera footage from that day. Doesn't this guy making off with some merchandise look alarmingly like Kenny? Come to think of it, he does have a poster just like that in his office; I will have to keep a closer eye on him. But wait, he definitely has more hair than that... must be someone else.

Truth in Advertising?

2010-04-02T23:27:00.003-04:00

For those of you who can't get enough Salvage Chic updates on the website, or this somewhat-stagnant blog... you can also become our fan on Facebook! Where I try to post enticing status updates about auctions visited or exciting new inventory. And where in fact I posted these chairs on Wednesday after Jack dropped them off at the shop. I bet him they would sell before he made the drive home to Quincy, and in an effort to up my chances of being right, I posted them with this blurb on our Facebook page: "Adirondack Chairs, $65 each, GUARANTEED NOT TO LAST!" And a kind Facebook fan replied... "Funny Headline - maybe should say GUARANTEED TO SELL FAST?" Ummm, Yeah, THAT'S what I meant! And they didn't last, I mean, DID sell fast! Let's hope they DO last longer in the yard of their new owner than they did on my sidewalk.

Old Mother Hubbard

2010-03-22T11:26:00.004-04:00

Went to her cupboard
to get her poor dogs a bone.
When she got there,
the cupboard was bare
and so her poor dogs had none.

But I bet her dogs would not care,
if she had a cupboard that was THIS COOL...
They would just be glad she shopped at Salvage Chic
and fed them boring dry kibble.

DON'T MISS SEEING THIS, IT'S A BEAUTY!!

Seriously...

2010-03-12T12:40:00.005-05:00

Didn't I just have a Yard Sale? Why does my storage shed look like this?!?

Do you think I should be on Hoarders, the episode where the woman drops all of her shop's holiday leftovers in the middle of everything and then refuses to deal with them for 2 months?

Every time I open the door and see this mess I think "I can't wait until Halloween gets here and is over so I can put this stuff back in the shop..."

Over the River and Through the Woods

2010-03-02T18:19:00.004-05:00

to Grandmother's House I went... Not MY Grandmother's House, but that of a kind Salvage Chic Fan who's been taxed with clearing out her Grandparents' Old Homestead in preparation for sale of the house. She invited me over because she had a hunch the contents were right up my alley and BOY, was she right! It was like she opened up a Time Capsule and out spilled the 50's, 60's and 70's right into my lap! Or should I say, into my Jeep... the two of us got quite the workout yesterday schlepping all these goodies down from the walk-up attic to the 2nd floor apartment and then down to the front porch which was still two flights up from the sidewalk. I was kind of embarrassed to find myself panting like Duff on a Hot Summer's Day after about 2 trips. Needless to say, I slept like a baby last night. But Who WOULDN'T, with visions of THESE scrumptious sugarplums dancing in their head? This is just the tip of the iceberg... I'll be unpacking for DAYS!

My Loss is Your Gain...

2010-02-25T23:30:00.009-05:00

Who am I kidding, I should say My GAIN is Your Gain. This week we did an impromptu kitchen makeover and added upper cabinets, which we never had before. After living here for 6 years, I decided the Whole Kitchen Renovation was not going to happen anytime soon so I might as well add them now and live with a mismatched kitchen. Or more truthfully, I decided if I had to lean down into this dank dark cabinet one more time in search of the elusive EVOO, I was going to slit my ankles.

The GOOD NEWS is, I displaced all kinds of cool stuff that used to live on my walls & countertops/windowsills. This is just a VERY SMALL sneak peek at some of the items that will be appearing soon at Salvage Chic!

The BETTER NEWS is, I now have THIS lovely space to cook in. And the total cost of the project was $620 for the cabinets and about $100 in paint & supplies. Even Kenny commented that this morning he felt like such a 'grown-up' getting his cereal out of a cabinet at eye level. I guess he forgot we were both contemplating strangling each other or at least getting divorced while hanging said cabinets...

TAX-22 Situations

2010-02-22T23:58:00.005-05:00

So I've been using TOO BUSY as the excuse for not blogging lately but honestly, I've been suffering from a severe case of the Winter Doldrums and adopted the motto "If you don't have anything nice to say... DON'T BLOG." Seriously, I don't want people creeping around Salvage Chic scared to do anything besides browse for fear of the Evil Shop Owner lambasting them on her Blog. But this one is kind of harmless and happens a LOT so I thought I'd share an anecdote of things that frost me on a daily basis.

A gentleman walked up to the counter with an item, I can't even remember what it was but it was $8 and I took it from him, proceeded to wrap & bag it and then punched into the cash register $8 and announced the total, "with tax that comes to $8.50." He did a double-triple-quadruple take and then barked SALES TAX! while reaching into his pocket for the extra 50 cents like now he was going to have to cancel Christmas. I understand it's kind of frustrating to pay sales tax on used goods which have ALREADY had sales tax paid on them when they were new, but you know... I'm not running a yard sale here. It's not like I am pocketing the extra 6.25% and laughing all the way to an offshore account where I hide my unreported income. What Uncle Sam wants, Uncle Sam gets!

While I'm on the subject of Sales Tax (here I go!) the other thing that drives me nuts is people who have a Reseller's Tax ID who assume this means they are exempt from paying Sales Tax on ANYTHING. If you're a Dealer there's this Massachusetts Reseller's form you fill out whereby you swear whatever you are buying is for Resale Purposes, so you're exempt from paying Sales Tax because it's eventually going to get paid by the End Buyer. All well and good. But if you walk up to the counter with say, a Salvage Chic CANDLE... I'm pretty sure you're not reselling that. A "TAX-22" situation, to say the least!

On a related note, I went to CVS this week and was purchasing just 1 item; when the cashier rang me up I acted all chagrined and exclaimed SALES TAX!! ...she didn't have sympathy for me either, LOL.

'Twas the Night Before Moving Day

2010-02-07T20:07:00.010-05:00

and all through Salvage Chic... I got a little choked up because it was suddenly looking like we are going out of business. Have no fear, everything is just packed up for the BIG MOVE into the new space tomorrow!!

I hope my Dad is not reading this tonight because I forgot to tell him the entry into the new space is kinda angled weird so we are going to have to take all of this OUTSIDE and around the building to bring it through the front door of the new space...

My Mom and I jumped the gun tonight and moved the Fridge Door because we were so excited about the new cafe curtains we fashioned, in true Salvage Chic style, out of vinyl tablecloth fabric.

Finally, some more Sneak Peeks... Check back tomorrow to see how quickly it all filled up!

HOLD ON!

2010-02-02T22:33:00.002-05:00

The high turnover of late has really gotten people on the Bandwagon of putting things On Hold. So much so, I had to start posting "ON HOLD for So-and-So", because I was getting duplicate requests and can't always respond to everyone immediately via email before I mark it On Hold on the website.

Today an email arrived from a well-known address and when I saw the subject "Hold Request", I couldn't click fast enough to open the email and see what this guy was interested in next. "How much for Duff?" it read; "Can I put him on hold?" Now THAT was funny. (for those who haven't seen it, I put a pic of my dog Duff's handsome mug on the What's New page, billing him as our C.S.O. or Chief Sniffing Officer) Unfortunately Duff just signed a multi-year contract to serve as C.S.O. and as such I can't sell him at this time... Sorry Jerry! Too bad because I've been kind of looking for a loophole to get out of this contract, Duff put in all kinds of hidden riders like bottomless bowls of kibble and he has a tendency to fall asleep during board meetings while emitting noxious gas. But I guess I'm stuck with him for now!

Here We GROW Again...

2010-01-28T20:42:00.003-05:00

Given the State of the Economy lately, a lot of signs like this are cropping up all over the place. Normally the sight of a newly empty storefront leaves me feeling very sad, knowing some poor proprietor has had to hang up their hopes & dreams for the time being. Stumbling on this sign the other day left me with somewhat Mixed Emotions, because while it meant someone was downsizing, it also happened to hang in front of the space DIRECTLY ADJACENT to Salvage Chic. (Assuming that in some dictionary somewhere "Mixed Emotions" is defined as PRETTY FREAKING EXCITED) Even more so when I spoke to the landlord, and he was as eager to rent me the space as I was to take it over. Now if only March 1st would hurry up and get here... Stay Tuned!!

It's a Small World After All

2010-01-06T23:47:00.002-05:00

It's a SMALL, SMALL World...

Last week this couple came into the shop and after spending a long time browsing, decided they wanted a piece of furniture and asked if it was OK to purchase and come back to pick it up later in the week. OF COURSE! we told them, and as I was ringing up their purchases the woman mentioned that although it was their first visit, she has been a longtime stalker of the website. I took her comment to mean they were from far away so I exclaimed, OH! Where do you Live? thinking they looked kind of hip & urban like a lot of young couples who visit us from Boston or Cambridge. To my surprise she answered "Halifax" to which of course I replied I also live in Halifax; and then, since I got the sense they maybe were going to have to borrow a vehicle to pick this piece of furniture I asked Where in Halifax? because we do offer Delivery Services. She referenced this cul-de-sac neighborhood near the Country Club so again of course I had to volunteer that my backyard abuts that neighborhood and tried to describe where to her. We kind of danced around trying to pinpoint locations until for some unknown reason I blurted out "I'm the one with the REALLY LOUD DOGS." (Yeah, THAT's something I want to be known for...) Her eyes got huge. "The Hounds! You have Hounds!" Ummmmm.... YEAH. (Why did I have to say that? Now they totally hate me.) She was looking at her husband all Triumphant-Like "I told you they were Hounds" and meanwhile he was trying so hard not to laugh he was almost crying and all I could think was They Have Definitely Had Conversations About My Dogs Before. I could only guess that she bet Hounds but his money was on the 3-headed dog Cerberus that guards the Gates of Hell, because no mortal hound should be able to make that much noise.

So, needless to say I ponied up Free Delivery on the piece they bought, and pretty much any piece they buy for the rest of the time they live in that house, if they ever want to patronize the Lady with the Loudmouth Dogs again. Then I went home and told my Husband "I met our neighbors out back! They are really nice, they just bought the house in May, I could totally see us hanging out with them, do you think when I drop off their desk I should include some cookies or a bottle of wine, like a welcome-to-the-neighborhood thing?" His response? "That might be a little weird. But you know what they'd probably really appreciate? EARPLUGS." Sigh. Welcome to the Neighborhood!

Bah, Hum-Blog!

2009-12-30T11:25:00.003-05:00

I know that's what a lot of you are probably saying, if you even bother to check the Blog anymore... I'm Really Sorry!! Things got away from me a bit in the madness that is the Retail Christmas Season. I think maybe making all those wreaths zapped my Creative Mojo. Or maybe it was that if I heard one more Christmas Song I was going to throttle someone. The Good News is I'm fresh from a Christmas Getaway with my batteries fully recharged and ready to get back to work. Don't Worry, I'm not going to do anything Drastic like make a New Year's Resolution to Blog every day... even I know THAT'S not gonna happen.

Search & Rescue Mission

2009-11-24T21:10:00.005-05:00

Urgent 911 Call last night from an Undisclosed South Shore Location!! Claudia and I hopped in the Salvage Chic van and got there JUST in time to resuscitate a fantastic amount of merchandise. Luckily the other paramedics at the scene were distracted by a Mass Casualty of Cut Glass, Green Depressionware and Horrible Lamps and we were able to focus on some of our favorite patients. Not all names are being released at this time but you can definitely count Pyrex, Fire-King, Jadeite, Coca-Cola, and Hoosier among the survivors. Visiting Hours at Salvage Chic are every day but Monday, from 11AM-5PM. Come check them out before they are all discharged!

A Tisket, A Tasket...

2009-11-22T20:48:00.008-05:00

What do I do with this BASKET?

On Sunday nights after a busy weekend I like to reward myself with a little treat. Usually I just adopt something that's been haunting me at Salvage Chic but nothing was jumping out at me (did I just SAY THAT?!?) so Claudia & I headed over to a neighboring shop where I picked up this old market basket that was calling to me.

I had no idea what I was going to do with this basket and to make matters worse I came home to find Kenny COOKING DINNER so I had to spend time oohing and aahing over this miraculous event instead of running off and playing with my basket like I wanted to.

Finally the dishes were done and I was able to focus on my Decorating Dilemma. Really it seemed like this thing belonged in the pantry filled with foodstuffs or something but the last thing I need in there is another basket so I was racking my brain as I was folding laundry when AHA! I came upon the perfect use for it: TOWELS!

Poor Kenny was actually in the shower when I bustled in and started re-merchandising the bathroom. Luckily he is used to living with a Crazy Person so when I asked his opinion he ducked his head out and obliged; "Looks Good! Is that Safe?" What do you mean, I asked... "I don't know, I never had a metal basket full of towels on top of a marble slab on a radiator, I'm just asking!" Geez Louise, I think we'll live.

So since the pictures of my other bathroom were such a hit, here are a few shots of what I call Country-Industrial-Chic. I saw this framed print in a boutique catalog for a ridiculous amount of money. I thought it was so clever of me to find the print alone on eBay for $10 and ran off to Michael's with my 50% Off Framing coupon where much to my dismay, I paid MORE than if I had just ordered it from the catalog. We could probably have a whole other Blog about the Michael's 50% Off Framing Coupon Scam...

This old icebox is probably one of my Favorite Pieces Ever. When you live in a house with one closet you have to get creative and this piece is just PERFECT to hold the excess of toiletries I hoard because I can't resist milking those CVS Extrabucks, or as I like to call it, 'Ripping Off CVS'.

Last but not least Claudia and I are always finding cool random glasses but sometimes second-guess ourselves asking "Who would buy just ONE glass?" Ummm... ME!

Right now I know some of you are thinking... "She's so queer, I can't believe she doesn't have matchy-matchy red & white toothbrushes in there." I KNOW, RIGHT? I totally should. But sadly, pink & blue seems to be the only toothbrush color code other people in this house can understand. We all have our crosses to bear.

God Rest Ye, Merry Salvage Chicks

2009-11-15T22:28:00.004-05:00

We are looking forward to a day off tomorrow after this week's Smashingly Successful Holiday Open House. MANY Thanks to all of you who attended, we hope you enjoyed the baked goodies Santa's Elves whipped up, and the little Salvage Chic tape measure/key chains seemed to be a Big Hit. We raffled off 2 $25 gift certificates which went to lucky winners Bruce Clark & Stacey Sullivan, Congratulations to them both! The raffle was fun and I think we'll be doing that more often.

Claudia and I started Decking the Halls right after Halloween and worked straight up until this weekend transforming the shop into a Winter Wonderland. We heard lots of kind comments from shoppers; I think our favorite was from a friend with a longtime antique-dealing family: "I've never SEEN so much Christmas in one place!" Neither have we, and the surprises are not over... we have much more Christmas stock waiting to be put out over the coming weeks. In fact, we'll be visiting an auction tomorrow night where we hear more Christmas Goodies are lurking! (What's that I said about a day off? I guess we never REALLY take one. But this is NIGHT, it doesn't count as working, does it?)

Special Thanks to Santa's elves Amy & Connie for their yummy baked goods, our other elf Amy who whipped up some crafty creations, my Mom Kath for hanging out & providing an extra set of hands all weekend, and of course to my business partner and 'Creative Soulmate' Claudia, without whom none of this would be possible. As we were decorating we kept asking each other "can you imagine doing this ALONE?" and then the conversation would inevitably turn to me probably wanting to slit my ankles and die a slow painful death. THANKS CLAUDIA!!

And since I can't resist leaving you with a giggle... another often heard comment this weekend: "Your House must be SO COOL! Does it look like this?" UMMM... No. As I pictured my dining room table, which still looks like THIS:

Poor Kenny! What's that old saying, the shoemaker's kids go without shoes... and Salvage Chick's house is always one holiday behind. And probably will be, until December 23rd, when I bring home the aluminum tree from the shop and plop it down in place of that big bowl of candy corn! Sorry Kenny...

Let Me Just Say...

2009-11-06T20:25:00.002-05:00

That when your name is Christine and you've spent over 3 decades signing it... it's Wicked Hard to not write it instead of 'Christmas'. So if you find any tags in the shop that read "Vintage Christine" item... I'm SORRY!

Wanted: On 4 Counts of Criminal Nesting

2009-11-04T20:24:00.006-05:00

I know what you're thinking; that I've been redecorating my home again and about to bore you with the details. Wrong! I'm too busy transforming Salvage Chic into a Winter Wonderland to do anything more than make the bed before I leave the house these days. Which I do, I swear! See, here's evidence to prove it!

So WHY, when I get home at night, does the bed look like THIS?!? Was my home invaded by some weird form of prowler who likes to roll around in other people's beds?

Wait a minute now, before I call the Police... let's just zoom in a little further... AHA! I see the distinct signs of a dog-shaped nest.

Further evidence - a hidden rawhide stash!

For ONCE, Duff is off the hook because (1) he has bad hips and this bed is too high for him to jump on and (2) he would NEVER leave rawhide unattended... looks like Izzy had quite the party for herself today, huh?

Do You Know Where You Are???

2009-10-27T21:52:00.004-04:00

If your first thought was "You're in the Jungle, Baby!" then mark your calendar for the debut of the South Shore's most Rockin' Guns & Roses Tribute Band, "Dust & Bones", appearing Halloween Night at Basta's in Weymouth. For those of you wondering What Is She Talking About and Why is She Spamming us Blog Fans with an ad for a Headbanger's Ball??? I'll let you in on a little secret. Most of you know me as Salvage Chick, but I'm also... Mrs. Axl Rose. I know, I might as well invite the Paparazzi over for Thanksgiving Dinner, it's bad enough they found out where Salvage Chick lives when I had that yard sale, now I've disclosed that when Kenny sheds his IP-telephony Troubleshooting Clark Kent persona, he is a Rock & Roll Superhero! Axl will be appearing around 9:30 on Saturday at Basta's... the dog & the rice cooker are staying at home.

Oh and for all you ladies with their sights set on Axl, HANDS OFF! He's mine. And I'll be sporting fake tattoo sleeves so I'll be extra tough that night. Hope to see you there! The band is REALLY good and I'm not just saying that because I'm so relieved they're finally not playing in my basement anymore.

Greetings from the North Pole

2009-10-18T16:00:00.007-04:00

Just a note to all you Vintage Christmas Fans, our Holiday Open House is just FOUR weekends away and the Sweatshop, I mean Back Room, is already in full swing with preparations!! Claudia and I have our glue guns unholstered and are already churning out the famous Salvage Chic Christmas Wreaths. Today's torrential downpour made me wish I was home baking so I whipped up this little something with just the Ingredients I had on hand. Jam-packed with vintage kitchen tools & cookie cutters, plus old recipes putting it just over-the-top with Baking Whimsy, This would be the Perfect Gift for the Baker on your List! (Photos never do these babies justice, you must come to the Open House to see for yourself!)

And now a few glimpses of what else we've already unearthed. If these photos excite you... you should see what ELSE we'll be hauling out of storage!! See you at the Open House, Nov 14 & 15 from 10AM-5PM.

Grossed Out

2009-10-14T20:23:00.002-04:00

File this under SERIOUSLY?!?

I received this email from a kind Craigslist Shopper recently: "Youre stuff is gross and not very nice looking why would you resell that. And please stop the overposts, one link to your website is enough. We want to see private sellers not you."

Um, OK. So I sat here sitting on my hands for a few minutes trying not to type a 2-word response ending in YOU! or OFF! Or retaliating simply "Get a Life." I wondered if this poor soul would appreciate a lesson in the difference between YOUR and YOURE, and that usage of the latter does require an apostrophe. Also, Interrogative sentences generally end with a question mark.

Then of course, I remembered I AM running a business here and while the Blog Fans might appreciate my snarky yet cute sentiments, this person would not. SIGH. I couldn't just ignore them, so after much careful thought replied: "If it’s not your taste, it’s not your taste; no need to be insulting. In the future when you search furniture and the page opens up and you see search for: and in: there’s a drop down box to the right of in: where you can select Furniture By Owner so you don’t see ads from any dealers."

Wasn't that Professional of me? Meanwhile, I'm just glad so many of you share my same Gross Style of Decorating. In fact, I'm off to gross up some more merchandise right now!

The Hunt For Mr. October

2009-10-08T20:55:00.015-04:00

Red Sox Playoff Season is upon us and its arrival brings to mind thoughts of Mr. October. No I'm not talking about Reggie Jackson, I'm talking about the Husband who is suddenly miraculously able to stay up until all hours of the night watching West Coast Playoff Games. Sure enough, Mr. October himself sent me an Instant Message this morning, requesting I stock up on some of his favorite beer. Hmph, I thought; Whatever Happened to Kenny "I'm just not myself if I don't get my 8 hours" Pearl? June Cleaver that I am, happily obliged him with a trip to the Packie... but not before I had cooked up an Evil Scheme to go along with tonight's Enchiladas.

I'm really not a Nagging Wife (we do all recognize Kenny is out making an actual living here, thereby allowing me to frolic in the playground known as Salvage Chic, right?) so I try not to give him 20,000 things to do around the house on his downtime. But I did have one item on the 'Kenny-do' list that frankly, I was sick of looking at.

He caught me by surprise coming home a bit early from his Rhode Island office tonight but luckily I had already begun preparations for my little skit. He was bee-lining for the powder room after his long commute when something in the living room caught his eye and stopped him dead in his tracks.

The word CRESTFALLEN can only describe the look on his face when he saw that his beloved TV had been cordoned off like a crime scene. Then his jaw dropped even further as he read the accompanying note: "OUT OF ORDER UNTIL BATHROOM TOWEL ROD IS HUNG."

About an hour later Kenny had just finished scarfing up his beloved Enchiladas (did I mention I HATE Mexican food?) when he asked if I wanted to go hang out in the Living Room. I casually reminded him that the TV was 'Broken' and just as I was wondering if he was going to remember that there are other televisions in the house he could watch the game on, he suddenly got busy!! Neither snow, sleet, dead of night nor a dead drill battery could deter him from getting this done.

I do believe I heard a few utterances of "The THINGS Someone will do for Blog Material..." in between curses coming from behind the bathroom door but soon enough he emerged victoriously to reveal, my New Towel Rod! (Or actually, my Chippy Vintage Towel Rod, you knew I wouldn't buy a new one, right?)

He had to hang it way up high because the bathroom is so narrow (remember the previous post about the 'Charm' of Antique Homes? Knees practically hitting the wall while using the toilet is one of them...)

Now I can only pray that the Red Sox actually win tonight... THANKS KENNY!!
And since I cleaned the bathroom today while I was playing Happy Housewife, I'll leave you with a few more glimpses of my own 'Powder Room Antiques":

I can't resist any Vintage Dog thing so this old sketch of dogs peeing on the wall was a Definite Keeper. (Note: If you are going to decorate with Vintage Toiletries, alert all family members that they probably shouldn't USE them... we had one small Baby Powder that Burns Incident.)

Continuing the Dog/Pee theme, imagine my delight when I stumbled upon an old Avon Perfume bottle shaped like a hydrant!

My mom stitched together this little skirt for me so I could Velcro it to the underside of the sink, hiding the pipes and providing storage for cleaning products, extra toilet paper etc.

And last but not least, this is from that Catalog Barn. Having 2 rolls is really handy so you never run out; and No, I don't read Real Simple in the bathroom... it just looks cooler than whatever geeky video game magazine Someone Else reads, that is hiding behind it!

Technical Difficulties

2009-10-07T21:41:00.007-04:00

As we're all now painfully aware of, the Salvage Chic website was down for a few days this week. I first noticed it on Saturday night when I went online and got this giant "FORBIDDEN" message on my screen. My initial thought was "Ha Ha Kenny, very funny" as I figured he was playing a prank on me and blocking my laptop from going on the Internet. He had No Idea what I was talking about though so my next call was to the Hosting Company, Superpages. Where I found my account had been 'locked' due to an outstanding balance and they cheerfully informed me I could speak to the Billing Department on Monday at 8AM.

I spent the better part of Sunday fretting about what people were going to think when they logged on and saw THIS:

YOU ARE NOT AUTHORIZED TO VIEW THIS PAGE

Like, poor Jerry in Natick! His partner Wally is always playfully threatening to restrict him from my website... this could be a Relationship Breaker! And all my customers in the Corporate World, who will think that their employers wised up to the fact that they are wasting precious hours browsing my website on company time, when they should really be processing insurance claims or writing medical software code. One woman even emailed me to say she was going through withdrawal, she needed her daily Fix or the D.T.s were about to set in!!

So Monday rolled around and I hooked up with Nancy in Billing and we determined that the debit card that automatically paid the bill every month had expired hence the lock on the account. Only it wasn't a 'lock', they had actually DELETED the whole website. Seriously, it was like my whole existence over there had just evaporated. And this was only one month's payment missed, without even a phone call to see if maybe I wanted to provide them with a new form of payment before they annihilated my website. Nancy cheerfully forced me to sign a brand new contract and said there was a chance they could recover the data, as long as 72 hours hadn't transpired since they deleted it. We were now past the 48 hour mark.

I spent about 6 hours on the phone with Nancy on Monday, who had engaged the support of Technical Guy Jody, and they were very good about keeping me busy with Up-To-The-Minute Reports, such as "we are just waiting for Amber to get back from lunch to figure out why the Billing system is not synching with the Technical system so Jody can have the green light to try to restore your data." TICK-TOCK...

Finally around 4PM the website was (sort of) back online so I went off to an Auction with Claudia to try to forget about the whole sordid mess. Only to come home and find out it WASN'T entirely back online... SIGH. If you're still having problems accessing it a quick re-boot of your Router should do the trick, as it's probably cached the address of the old server that no longer has the data on it.

Now the kicker of it all is I had told Nancy "I have the $14.95 a month package" which she kindly set me back up with... but in the interim a rate hike took place so now I have less data storage & transfer bandwidth than I had, and I now have to upgrade to the $24.95 package to get back what I had. Hmmm, I wonder how many people they kicked off for being 1 day past due, in order to force them to sign a new contract at the higher rate. I smell a call to the Better Business Bureau in my future!

Word to the Wise: If you need a Website Host, don't go to Superpages; or as I know affectionately refer to them: SUCKYpages.

Yardsale Aftermath

2009-10-05T11:29:00.008-04:00

So we had the Grand Yardsale Last Weekend and in case you couldn't tell from the lack of Blogging, it took me about a week to recover. I wish I didn't wait so long because it's not quite so fresh in my mind now but the day began at 7AM with me, Kenny and my mom Kath hauling everything out of the sheds. It took almost 2 hours to get everything loaded on & around the tables & furniture we had lined the driveway with the night before, which put us just in time for the scheduled start of 9AM. With fresh ones and quarters in our pockets Kath and I were eager to start selling, while Kenny went off to take a nap. (Seriously!)

Some of the more memorable highlights:

A guy tried to buy this crock that has my name & address on it. TWICE. I tried to explain to him that it wasn't old, I'm pretty sure my in-laws ordered it from L.L. Bean or something, and plus, it had my NAME and ADDRESS on it. I can only hope that he had poor vision and thought it was some valuable old piece of stoneware, and not that he is a psycho stalker.

People actually respected the start time and other than the Creepy Crock Buyer were refreshingly honest. I would not expect people uncovering what they think are Hidden Gems at a yard sale to bring them to the Seller and disclose their True Value. "Um, excuse me, I just wanted to point out that this is a piece of Fenton Milk Glass" I know it is, but Thanks... "and this is worth about 25-35 dollars" (in 1987... Out Loud I replied Then you are getting a GREAT DEAL for just 2 bucks!!) Sadly, he already had that piece in his collection and placed it back on the table.

Another Good Samaritan sidled up and told me that the glass insulators I was selling for $1 each could be worth $80-$90 each (THEN BUY THEM!!!) Sadly he too left them on the table. There actually are some insulators in rare colors or shapes that are worth several hundred dollars but these were run-of-the-mill and just make a nice paperweight or if you are really ambitious, you could turn it into a candle sconce like this:

All in all it was a really busy day but much like rabbits all that junk on the tables seemed to multiply so at 3PM we started saying everything half off which made a lot of it go away and then at 5 everything was FREE except for a few select items of furniture. I started trying to keep too much but then told myself to BE STRONG - it was time to clean the slate and seriously, I will have no problem finding more Vintage Thermoses.

And here we have it... the Aftermath! Or rather... the AFTER Photos of the shed. I knew I had some organization under all that mess! Oh, and the MATH turned out pretty good too... time to start filling the place up again!!

Save The Date: Saturday, Sept 26th... YARD SALE!

2009-09-21T17:08:00.007-04:00

Mr. and Mrs. Salvage Chick request the honour of your presence at their home in Halifax MA on Saturday, September 26th, between the hours of 9AM and 4PM for what promises to be The Yard Sale of the Century.

OK, maybe not the Century, because I'm not sure I have quite as much stuff as I did at the last Gala Yard Sale Event in 2007. And I'm gonna have to stop pretending Kenny has anything to do with this, because when I warned him I was having a Yard Sale this weekend he started talking about how he completely stresses out over the Parking Situation when I have a Yard Sale. Have No Fear! I reminded him; Last Time the Halifax Police kindly gave me "No Parking This Side" signs to put on one side of the street. But still, if anyone knows of a good All-Day Lord of the Rings Marathon on Saturday or maybe a convention for people who Hate George W. Bush and prefer Macs over PCs, we might want to send him there to get him out of our hair.

Back to the Yard Sale! Claudia and I have been stockpiling boxes of items for this yard sale for months now. She has graciously volunteered to work at the shop on Saturday so I can have this sale On Location at my house, in close proximity to The Shed Where Furniture Goes to Die. You know how I am always blogging about trying to clean This Shed out? Well, there are actually 3 of them, and a Garage... it's time for a Clean Sweep!!

And before you go thinking "if you can't sell it at the shop, why would I want to buy it?" LOTS of these items have never even made it to the shop. Or we just have WAY to many of the same item (Thermos, anyone?) And as for those afraid of "eBay Duds"... I honestly don't have time to research everything. At my last Yard Sale, nobody bought this little Haunted House & Witch Doll I had marked $5. I put it away in my Halloween bin; when I pulled it out the next Fall, I had a little more time on my hands and looked it up. Woah! A Rare 1970's Girl's World Emerald the Enchanting Witch!! I listed it on eBay and the auction ended at $465!!

Even though you might not find a Treasure QUITE that rare, I hope to see you there.
Route 106 Halifax, between the Country Club & the Car Wash (300 Block of Plymouth St.)

PS. All That was just ONE SHED! I wonder what's behind THIS Door??

CLEAN-OUT at the Sleepy Beggar Tavern!

2009-09-15T21:11:00.013-04:00

Check out all of these Goodies just waiting to be loaded into the Jeep for transport to Salvage Chic! Fresh from a Clean-Out in Halifax at the home of a woman with the most amazing, ecelectic taste ever...

OK, so it was MY house, LOL. People always ask me "How can you bear to PART with this stuff?" and my standard answer is that It's Easy; when I get to be surrounded by everything in the shop all week, at home I'm finding I like things more stream-lined and uncluttered. Generally when I find something I HAVE to adopt, I make myself give something up so my house doesn't start to look like... Salvage Chic.

My Husband was on vacation today and mentioned the temperature's about to drop so we might want to load up on Firewood for the woodstove. I told him he could put it in this big wood box where I normally hide the Recycling Bins in our Carriage House and then while I was clearing it out realized that the whole Glorified Shed you walk through to get into our house was Gnarly with spider webs, dust and (!!!) mildew so that spurned a few hours of work with the Shop Vac and Murphy's Oil Soap.

Now, before you go thinking "Gag Me, Martha Stewart, as you unveil another wing of your sprawling estate" let me point out that Antique Homes, while they have lots of charm and lend themselves well to decorating in the Salvage Chic style, they also lack modern amenities like Closets. And Level Floors, or Level ANYTHING. And Windows That Don't Need a Stick to Prop Them Open. This c1833 House was built before Electricity; or Plumbing, so we have all sorts of weird retrofits going on. If you're still impressed, email me; my next-door-neighbor's c1808 home has been on the market for about 3 years and the price just dropped... AGAIN.

Back to the Regularly-Scheduled-Blog! If you go way-way-way back to the Beginning of the Blog you'll find the story of how Jack swindled me into storing some church pews for him and Lo-and-Behold, the Sleepy Beggar Tavern was born. So-named because we set up the pews with tables between them and a certain Hound named Izzy literally fell asleep while begging the first time we ate out there. My friend Karen who used to own My Favorite Place in Hanover was kind enough to make me this sign:

And now here it is, in all its Freshly Uncluttered Glory:

This old menu I got from Yard Sale Buddy when he cleaned out the old Hosea's Restaurant in Pembroke. Come to think of it, most of the accents in this room I got from Yard Sale Buddy... I think I was supposed to sell them for him but they kind of 'landed' here for a while (SHHHHH!)

This sign came from Brimfield, I think I paid $35 for it when I was out there in May. Notice the hours 7PM - 12PM? I think they meant 12AM.

Scored this old glass hanging lamp from a guy on the Cape that gave it to me for ONE DOLLAR just to tick off Yard Sale Buddy who was trying to haggle a little too much

One of my favorite finds ever; Kenny and I were at our Neighbor's yard sale back when we lived in West Roxbury. I said "I love that old workbench they're using as a table for the yard sale." He said I should ask if it was for sale, to which I replied "DON'T BE SILLY! No one would sell THAT!" Later that night I found it for FREE on the curb while out walking the dog.

The Wood freshly stacked in the Bin that inspired today's Project

And finally, this fun Old Mousetrap with a little Mouse made out of dough, that I got from Claudia. And WAIT, what's THAT? A giant BUG? Didn't I JUST CLEAN this place?!? SIGH...

Too Much of a Good Thing?

2009-09-07T20:00:00.004-04:00

Here's one from the "Is it TOO Salvage Chic?" File. A couple of weeks ago I bought this ultra-shabby sideboard from one of my Supply Guys. Normally I don't go for Art Deco but something about it appealed to me in a Homely Stray Dog kind of way and he practically PAID me to take it, so how could I say No. Now mind you, This Guy's Venue is really dimly lit and I have been known to make some regretful purchases there so after I left it to pick up later, I immediately started with the "WHY did I BUY That?!? WHO besides ME is going to LIKE That? Then promptly forgot all about it (DENIAL!) until a week or so later I went back to see what new stock he had... and was hit Smack in the Face with This Vision:

It was kind of like waking up in the morning after having one drink too many and recollecting fuzzily "I did WHAT?" (at least, from what my friends tell me; this has never really happened to me... Hi Dad!) So anyway I packed my purchase into the Jeep somewhat remorsefully and headed back to Halifax. Where, as it turns out, I happen to have a dining room trimmed out in Colonial Teal. 8 doorways and 2 windows worth. The period colors came with the house and it's too daunting a task to paint them so I just decorate around them. And re-decorate, and re-decorate... (in case you hadn't noticed).

So what do you think, LOVE it or HATE it? And is there really such a thing as TOO Salvage Chic?

Sometimes You've Gotta Kiss a Lot of Frogs

2009-09-01T11:38:00.011-04:00

before you meet That Prince. Luckily I already have mine so I've got plenty of time to do stupid things like purchase 40 boxes of random items, Sight Unseen. The 1st of the month always brings people out of the woodwork trying to make rent money and in this case it was one of my regular Supply Guys who drove up with a vanload of boxes. The Price was Right if I looked at it from the perspective of each box being a scratch ticket that may or may not be a big winner, so I gambled. And immediately regretted it as he started loading the boxes in the Shop's back room and I realized how many there actually were... and wondering whether I should file this under the "I Should Have My Head Examined", or the "Claudia's Gonna Kill Me!" file.

By the time he left I had a wall of boxes 5 wide by 4 high and 2 deep. Originally I had thought "if I can just tackle one box a day..." but when I conveyed this idea to Claudia she shot me a look that said she would have to kill me long before 30 days was up. (Did I mention space is at a premium back there?)

Luckily I was able to take advantage of the Monsoon that killed business on Saturday and tackle most of the boxes. I felt like a Scientist on an Archeological Dig as I unearthed and identified each Layer. "Ah, here we have the Leftovers From the Multi-Family Yard Sale: VHS tapes & Bud Lite Bottle Coozies"... "Ugh, the Dreaded Other Dealer's Duds: Enough Cut Glass & Tarnished Silverplate to Choke A Horse (still with price tags on)"... and then suddenly, right about when I was muttering "why the !$@*# did I buy all this crap?" AHA! The "We Inherited the House and Just Want to Get Rid of All This Junk So We Can Sell It" Civilization!! I LOVE that Tribe! And the Payload: lots of 1950's-60's Kitchen Stuff, Magazines, Cookbooks, Pottery, and More! I guess this beats Kissin' Frogs after all...

THIS is just the Stuff I got rid of; Don't you wonder what I kept? Stop in this weekend and see What's New... you won't be disappointed!!

Mad as a Hatter

2009-08-30T21:39:00.004-04:00

So today was such a smashing Sales Day at Salvage Chic I decided to treat myself to this lamp I've been eyeing since Claudia put it out the other day. She was calling it a "Mad Hatter Lamp" on the tag, which seemed appropriate for its fun & quirky shape. I brought it home to try it out and wasn't sure if I liked it or not; but Kenny immediately piped up "It looks much better in here than the old lamp what with the curtains & bedding that are in here." Hmph; either he was doing a really good job at channeling his Inner Decorator or he was just trying to shut me up. The REAL TEST, I said to myself, will be after dark when I can see it lit.

Fast forward a couple of hours and I skipped in to turn the light on and step back to admire the view. Something didn't look quite right... the bulb seemed a bit bright, so I went to check that out, but it was only 60 Watts. Still it just seemed, really HIGH up toward the top of the shade. That's when I remembered a couple extra clicks when I turned it on. AHA! It's a 3-WAY LAMP! Off to the pantry to get a different bulb. Only, Oh No, now the bulb is too tall for the harp the shade hangs on, it won't FIT!!
Right about this moment I started wondering how many people have gotten something home from Salvage Chic only to discover something slightly off about it that leaves them muttering "THAT *!@#? PLACE!" Was this the wrong shade for the lamp base, or the wrong harp for the lamp and shade? Oddly I happened to have a larger harp handy so I swapped that out and Voila. "Thank GOD!" I exclaimed which of course was enough to have Kenny inquiring from the other room "What's the Matter?" So I went in and told him the whole story and he got this little grin on his face and said "You're so cute, only YOU would happen to have the right spare lamp part hovering around" which I'm pretty sure is Husband-Code for "You're Freaking CRAZY."

So the real question is... Can YOU see the difference? Or am I really as Mad as a Hatter??

Mad Props

2009-08-25T16:45:00.003-04:00

I'm sure that's what the Critics will be rewarding the Set Designers at the Huntington Theater Company with next month when this Salvage Chic Find takes center stage for the performance of "Fences", a 1950's-based play based on the novel by August Wilson.

When the guys came today to pick up the table I tried to act all cool like Professional Set Designers come here all the time, but really it was just once before. And the guy wasn't exactly a Professional, at Set Designing anyway... he was a nice teacher from a pre-school in Duxbury where the kids were putting on Annie. So I loaned him a suitcase, and a strand of pearls, in exchange for a free ad in the Programme; and so-began my Set Design career. This time, they actually BOUGHT the table. I'd say I'm making progress! Hollywood, Here I Come!

The Way to a Man's Heart...

2009-08-05T20:59:00.019-04:00

is NOT Through is Stomach! Let's put that old theory to bed right now. Trust me Ladies, the way to a Man's Heart is through his... TV. Specifically his flat screen LCD model, which Kenny has been clamoring for for quite some time. Luckily I already have him in my Clutches so I was able to stave him off by telling him he could get one, WHEN (and IF!) I found the right piece of furniture to house it. He seemed satisfied with my excuse and I promptly forgot all about my promise until I stumbled upon THIS piece of furniture at Salvage Chic:

The key to converting a piece like this into a TV stand is it has to have the dust liners under the drawers so you can take the drawers out and house your cable box/DVD player etc. on the 'shelves'. My first step was to remove the bottom 2 drawers and spray paint the inside in a color of close proximity to the chocolate brown color of the piece. Then I had Kenny drill some holes in the back for ventilation:

By then he had already dismantled our old setup (insert horrifying Psycho stab sounds) and unearthed THIS mess of wiring:

The old TV cabinet from Target was put out to pasture or rather, the curb (HEY, we all make Poor Design Choices from time to time...)

Next I was bound, gagged and blindfolded and taken to Best Buy, where I don't really remember what happened but I suspect I racked up serious mileage points on my MBNA Mastercard.

A few hours later the New Technology was in place and Kenny was happily enjoying the Red Sox Game while his Trusty Assistants gave new meaning to the words "Dog-Tired".

I, of course, had seized the opportunity to completely re-arrange the living room and was unable to relax and enjoy the fruits of their labor, because my dining room table now looked like The Place Where Old Technology & Random Accessories go to Die!

SIGH. Luckily I knew JUST the place to get the last few finishing touches I needed; so after sleeping on it, I came home from the shop today with the tall French Windows I stole from Jack (shhh, he's on vacation, I'll just Blog a lot this week and he'll never read this post.) I tried to shoot the photos in panoramic fashion so you get a sense of the room; it's really an odd configuration because someone knocked a wall down at one point leaving a large but L-shaped room I've never been happy with the flow of. Fireplaces are cool to have, but only on HGTV are they the Focal point of the room; in real life, it's YOU GUESSED IT - the TV! And I have to say, I could tell my non-Antiquer friends I got the TV stand at Crate & Barrel and they'd TOTALLY believe me; of course, I'll proudly brag it's from Salvage Chic!! And even better, aside from the TV & the rug, I think almost everything in the room was bought second-hand... Now THAT's Salvage Chic!

This Little Piggy Went to Market... This Little Piggy Stayed Home...

2009-07-23T23:12:00.003-04:00

and THESE Little Piggies went to Teeka Lynne's Salon & Day Spa in Halifax tonight for a Pedicure. I've been getting a lot of nice compliments lately on my hairdo & color so thought I'd give a little shout out here to my Stylist Teeka and her wonderful staff. About a year ago I decided to finally Divorce my old Hairdresser in Needham because let's face it, a 4-hour round-trip for a cut & color was just unrealistic. Now, you ladies know it can be a REALLY DAUNTING TASK to switch hairdressers; I mean, I'd almost rather ditch my Husband and take my chances on Match.com than pick a new hairdresser, which was why I was still commuting to Needham. (I said ALMOST, Kenny, Calm Down!) Anyway I was so gun-shy about picking a new place at random I went to the Salon on a Spy Mission and got a pedicure. I had no idea what I was going to find in there, I wanted to make sure it wasn't an "Old Lady Hair Factory", you know? One step into the Salon and I knew I was gonna be a regular. And not just because the place is divided into little rooms painted in warm colors which TOTALLY reminded me of Salvage Chic! Teeka gave me the Pedicure on that Fateful Day and I had a grand time dishing dirt with a Fellow Small Business Owner. There's so much that goes on behind the scenes that people don't realize, I remember saying "People complain that I'm only open 4 days a week, but really, I work every day; it's not like when the shop's closed, I'm sitting around having a Pedicure!" She just looked at me, and then we both burst out laughing. Really, it's THAT kind of place, just a relaxed, un-pretentious environment. And have no fear, they have plenty of 'Normal' nail polish colors. But I'm really not a girlie-girl when it comes to nail polish so mentioned to them that 6 weeks ago when I came home with Pink Toes Kenny exclaimed "You think you KNOW someone... and then they come home with pink toes... (shaking his head). Imagine my delight when tonight I found this fun new aqua color they bought just for me. If you're looking for a new 'Do or need a relaxing Spa Treatment, go check them out just off Route 106 in Halifax and at www.teekalynnes.com. And Please, tell them Christine sent you (I'm not sure they know who "Salvage Chick" is, LOL)

Operation Motivation

2009-07-16T22:34:00.007-04:00

Since I've been hounding folks to send in photos for the "Salvage Chic @ Home" page I decided it was time to put my money where my mouth is and show off some of my own home. This serves two-fold as a Motivational Exercise to Stop Procrastinating and get things back in order. Once in a while I fall in love with something at Salvage Chic and if it doesn't sell in a timely manner allow myself to adopt it; but then I am faced with the items I displaced and a Husband Who Hates To Move Furniture, so I invariably end up with Large Ghosts of Furniture Past loitering for weeks & months on end. Today I decided it was time to tackle this room downstairs that's become known as "Izzy's Bedroom" because she likes to hang out there and I needed a Girlie Reason to Shabby Chic a room.

That's Duff on the bed, he doesn't mind hanging out in all this Shabby-foo-foo because he is very much in touch with his Inner Dog. The little chippy dresser is actually one that haunted me for the months and months it was for sale at Salvage Chic, so I finally bought it from Jack for the $60 he paid for it, he was just happy to have his money back. The window treatments I got at the Christmas Tree Shop (proving to Kenny that they don't just sell 'CRAP' there) at the bargain clearance price of $1.49 per pair of curtains, $9.99 for the white iron rod and $9.99 for the Roman Shade. Really, where can you fully outfit 3 windows like this for $65?

Here we come to a couple of Problem Habits of mine, collecting Quilts and old Samplers. Really, I've stopped, I swear... The quilt rack I bought for $5 at the Yard Sale on the Town Green in Halifax when I first moved to town; it's slated to be painted but Hey it's only been waiting 5 years.

These suitcases have all been for sale at Salvage Chic at one time or another but apparently I'm the only one who thinks Vintage Suitcases are cool so I finally got sick of looking at them and took them home. They serve remarkably well as a place to hide Christmas Presents (OOPS I think Kenny actually reads The Blog... Note to Self: Find New Hiding Place This Year.) The old coal stove I think I'm going to sell when Fall comes around and I can't for the life of me remember which larger radiator I was going to displace with that little one but somehow it landed in the fireplace and I definitely cannot lift it myself so there it stays!

Finally the bed if you can get past Duff's Handsomeness is a full-size Walnut Bed I bought at a Consignment Shop for $400 back when I had a 'Real Job'. Actually that's not too horrible of a price but I shudder to think I laid out that much money for something I don't even like anymore. Which is why this episode is called "Operation Motivation": I'm going to paint the bed. I've been wanting to paint the bed for a LONG time now but like that old saying about how the Shoemaker's Kids Go Without Shoes... the Salvage Chick's house has a lot of unpainted furniture. Now that I've blogged about it, I know every time I talk to my Dad he'll innocently ask "Did you paint that bed yet?" To the point that finally I will be so sick of him asking I will lie and say "YES." Then soon enough, he'll be coming to visit, and I'll be up until 2 AM the night before painting it. Stay Tuned... I'm sure it will be blog-worthy!

PS - What's this? An Empty Wall? I need something to fill it! And I know JUST the place to go shopping... see you all at SALVAGE CHIC!

Back in the Saddle Again

2009-07-09T11:04:00.006-04:00

Well, so much for all the Blogging I thought I'd get done during vacation... For the first 4 days it rained cats & dogs so I spent a ridiculous amount of time trying to coax Izzy & Duff out of bed.

I also watched a lot of that TV show, you know the one with the guy on the couch that comes on every night around 8 PM? It seems to coincide with Red Sox games.

Finally on Friday after Claudia & I picked up some furniture in Whitman, the SUN CAME OUT! so we literally dropped everything and ran. Unfortunately my pool still looked like THIS so I did not dare go in it for fear of needing a penicillin shot afterwards.

By the time Monday rolled around I was itching to get back to work, especially because I left everything a shambles when I dropped my Rainy-Day-Rearranging. What was I thinking? "Gee, I'm going on VACATION, I think after the HUGE SALE I'll move The Little Kids' Room over where The Office was and then turn That Room into a Giant Potting Shed so the former Country Primitive Area can become a Seaside Respite." No wonder when we re-opened on Tuesday the first customer that walked in the door asked "Are you MOVING?"

A few days later, it's finally all back together and we've been re-stocking with Boatloads of New (to us) Furniture. Even if you were just in for the Big Sale, I GUARANTEE it's worth a visit back. Hope to see you soon!

V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N... in the Summer Sun!

2009-06-30T23:49:00.005-04:00

Of course, there was no sun yesterday and Monday/Tuesdays are my usual day off so it didn't FEEL like vacation yet, and I spent the day doing the usual boring Monday Household Things. Indulged in one of my favorite hobbies, which I call "Ripping off CVS." Calm Down, I'm not doing anything illegal! I'm just a serial coupon cutter who likes to take advantage of those CVS Extra Bucks. One of those adjustments I made when I quit my obnoxiously-stressful-yet-ridiculously-lucrative job to open Salvage Chic. I stopped getting the Sunday paper for a while in a further effort to cut costs, but recently realized that was detrimental when Kenny ran out of deodorant and borrowed the household ATM card to go get some. I should've known better! He's one of those types that favors the additive-free granola-crunchie aisle in the store and came home with some deodorant that was gluten free and packaged in hemp but cost like, 12 dollars. SIGH. Back to clipping coupons... I'm not 100% brand loyal, with most things there are 1 or 2 brands I prefer so I'll tell you the key here to the 'Ripping off CVS' game: Clip any coupons for a brand you would buy; Read the CVS flyer on Sunday. If it's on sale AND you have a coupon, buy it. Even if you don't need it right now; it's not like in 6 months you're suddenly not going to need shampoo. So here's my booty from yesterday, and what do you think it cost?

2 bottles of 32-load Wisk HE detergent
3 cans of Aussie/Herbal Essences mousse
1 bottle Aussie shampoo
2 guy Speed Stick deodorants
1 chick Secret deodorant
2 tubes Colgate toothpaste
1 guy Edge shaving cream
1 box Bandaids
4 tins altoids (a treat for Kenny who eats them in one sitting like they are crack)

Well I'll tell ya... the pre-sale/coupon price was $68. I paid $32 bucks, PLUS I got $11 in Extra Bucks to use next week; so essentially $21. Pretty good, huh?

How Much is that Doggie in the Window?

2009-06-28T22:09:00.003-04:00

Turned out, the DOG was not for sale, but everything at Salvage Chic was 20% off this weekend, and it was truly a Smashing Sale Event! The shop opened early yesterday at 9AM and folks started trickling in. I was busy with last-minute things like putting out the flags, hanging sale signs, etc. when I noticed this cute little terrier wagging at me from a vehicle in the parking lot, but thought nothing of it. A while later Claudia mentioned she was getting worried about this little dog out there in the car, as the day was quickly heating up. I figured it belonged to this lady who had been browsing for a while, she was probably just about done, but just in case when she appeared around a corner I struck up a conversation. "Your dog out there is so cute, what is its name?" The woman looked at me blankly and said "I Don't Have a Dog." OOPS, sorry! gesturing at the car... I figured that was your car, it must belong to someone down at the pizza shop; "That IS my car, but I don't... OH MY GOD! I forgot, I am dog-sitting my mother's dog!!" Well BRING IT IN, we said, and a moment later she returned with just the cutest little bundle of wire-haired terrier we ever did see. Holly was a doll and such a polite little customer, sampling water out of a vintage Pyrex bowl we offered her and hopping up on the seat behind the counter when we invited her. Meanwhile her Big Sister/Dog Sitter mentioned that there were several pieces of furniture she was interested in, if she bought them could she pick them up after our vacation? SURE! I said, but figuring she'd want them sooner than later, mentioned that we offer delivery. Then proceeded to follow her around the shop slapping SOLD tags on about 8 pieces of furniture, all the while making small talk only to discover, she recently bought a house on the street where my mom works at a Dental Practice in West Roxbury! Small world. We discussed delivery logistics and I said since she was new to the area, when she needed a dentist she should visit Family Dentistry. "Only, not until after the delivery; if my mom finds out we'll be in the area she'll book me for a teeth cleaning." Her eyes lit up; YOU must be THE BLOGGER! (Sigh... Guilty as charged! and then more Salvage Chick Sarcasm came out: You have no idea how un-nerving it is to get a reminder postcard from The Dentist that you're overdue for a visit... and it's in YOUR MOM'S HANDWRITING!!) We spent some more time with our new favorite customer and then sadly, she scooped up Holly to make the trek back up to Boston. Of course as soon as they left, Claudia said we should've gotten a picture of Holly for the Blog! Duh. Maybe later this week when we make the Special Delivery... but please, don't tell my Mom we're coming.

How Sweet It Is

2009-06-23T22:35:00.002-04:00

or rather, How Sweet it WILL BE this weekend at Salvage Chic... As if a 20% off Store-wide Sale weren't enough to tempt you to visit, we're sweetening the pot with some Salvage Chic Signature Cookies to be provided by Hayley & Chris of the fledgling bakery Sweet Inspirations. For some serious Food Porn to get you salivating, check out Hayley's Blog "Buff Chickpea" on the list at the right. I'm not much of a sweet fiend but one look at today's Vanilla Layer Cake with Bittersweet Buttercream post made me want to go ransack the pantry for a Twix leftover from 2 Halloweens ago. Our friend Maddie (of the "Madly Patch" Blog) visited us at Salvage Chic today and informed us she was in on tasting the Salvage Chic cookies in Hayley's Test Kitchen, and they are 'adorable' and 'to-die-for'. Can't wait to see what Hayley & Chris will have cooked up for us on Saturday!! Sweet Inspirations is currently accepting small catering orders; we'll have the Details for you at Salvage Chic this weekend... Be THERE, or Be SQUARE!

A Day In The Life

2009-06-22T20:55:00.004-04:00

Many people ask me what I do on my days 'Off' so being remiss in Blogging of late, I thought I'd regale you all with tales from Behind-the-Scenes. This rainy morning found me as most Monday mornings do, lounging in my PJs and looking forward to a Whole Day with Nothing To Do. Just as Izzy, Duff and I were hunkering down looking for a good Bad Lifetime Movie... Suddenly there was an email from a woman in Duxbury that Claudia was slated to deliver furniture to today, asking if another piece she had seen was still available and if so, could it be included in the delivery? Of course it could! So I headed off to Salvage Chic to help Claudia load it into her van and then decided to tag along for the ride. A short while later found us at the Cutest Little Beach-House in Duxbury - in some very nasty weather. Sort of like the weather that hit that same beach in the No-Name storm of '91 and inspired the movie "A Perfect Storm." Those houses aren't built on stilts for nothing! But I digress.

Soon we were back at Salvage Chic and I decided to take a ride to the Registry of Motor Vehicles because (and I really hope my Dad is not reading this...) I was recently informed that my Driver's License is expired! A whole other story but suffice it to say, I would board Dalmatian Puppies at Cruella DeVille's house before I would try to pass off an expired license to the Nasty Lady at Citizen's Bank in Halifax. To cash a check made out to ME, from another account owned by ME, no less. I guess being ME expired along with the license, according to the Bank Sheriff. But I digress.

Much like Ellis Island, down at the RMV I found a lot of tired, poor, huddled masses yearning to break free; or at least have their number called. The estimated wait was one hour and 20 minutes so I decided to hit an Undisclosed Location nearby to kill some time. Managed to waste a little over an hour and pick up some fun goodies, one of which (a 1982 Pac-Man mug!) has already been commandeered by my Husband. Apparently his 4th birthday at McDonald's in Marshfield, where he was gifted with Pac-Man for Atari was Quote: "My BEST PARTY Of My WHOLE LIFE" Umm, OK, I thought our wedding was a pretty cool party, but if Pac-Man does it for ya... Once again, I digress!

So back to the RMV. I whittled away so much time at the Undisclosed Location I all but raced back to the Registry (as much as you could dare race with an expired license) only to find there was still some waiting to do. There were no seats to be had, but OH GOOD, there were magazines! Specifically, Woodworker's Journal and Trains Magazine. SIGH. You'd think Duval could give up those pricey curtains in the Governor's Office and spring for a TV or 2 at the RMV. FINALLY another hour later my number was called, and soon I was again legally licensed, skipping to the Jeep thinking "I can't believe my Helpful Harry Dad did not remind me on my birthday to check my license expiration; like he's always so quick to notice when my Inspection Sticker is expired..." and then blinked disparagingly at the number 5 glaring at me from the sticker on the windshield. SIGH. Guess what I will be doing tomorrow??

By then it was edging on 4:00 and I had just enough time to go home and let the dogs out before meeting Claudia to venture out on our Monday Night Auction Date. You never know what you are going to find at this Auction Hall and tonight it was really... empty. Normally we are able to scoop up some good buys at Auction because the 'Real Antiquers' are so distracted by the mahogany and crystal that they fail to see the beauty of the 'Salvage Chic' Junktiques. But when pickins' are slim, people bid through the roof on ANYTHING just because they want to go home with SOMETHING. Tonight, however, the stuff was so bad the Auctioneer couldn't give it away. The Highlight of the Night? We sit in the front row and I was scarfing down my over-salted popcorn when this one particularly bad item came up for bid, and I reached up to wipe my mouth with my napkin. The Auctioneer exclaimed "Claudia's Friend! I almost thought that was a BID!" then muted his mic and said "but I realize you were just wiping your Cake Hole." THAT was funny. And we didn't leave completely empty-handed, so all was not lost.

So there you have it, A Day in the Life. And Now, like most days, I'm sitting here at 10 PM messing around on my computer, wondering "What did I DO all day?"

All the News That's Fit to Print

2009-06-12T23:51:00.002-04:00

and apparently, there is a LONG WAITING LIST... but my Press Agent Claudia managed to wrangle me an interview with Reporter Julie of the Patriot Ledger, to be featured in the "South Shore Entrepreneur" column! Julie and her photographer Greg arrived at Salvage Chic early yesterday morning; (OK, so 10 AM is not THAT early.) The fact that I had had one of those "Final Exam Today and Didn't Attend the Class All Semester Let Alone STUDY" dreams the night before was surely a sign that I was anxious about the interview - but the ice was quickly broken when Claudia asked Greg where he was from and he answered 'Marshfield', to which I replied my Husband was from Marshfield... Greg took one look at my last name on the business card I had just handed him and promptly launched into a litany of stories about my father-in-law. Claudia and I almost wet our pants when he regaled us with the story that Big Kenny once won a Cadillac in a raffle and then refused to claim it because he didn't want to pay the taxes on it. Sadly, my Husband later informed me that was actually ANOTHER branch of the Family Tree Greg was referring to but still, it made for a good time. My rehearsed answers to potential questions went right out the window and when Julie asked me how I liked my newfound career in comparison to the corporate rat-race I left behind 3 years ago, I blurted out "Well, my EYE doesn't TWITCH anymore..." Luckily Claudia maintained her composure so I hope between the 2 of us there were enough Sound Bites for Julie to piece together an entertaining article. South Shore Residents - Look for it on a newsstand near you on July 7th!

True Confessions

2009-06-05T22:36:00.008-04:00

Time to unload a burden that's been weighing on me for quite some time. I've been trying to make a concerted effort to clean out the shop's back workroom; I've SWORN OFF buying anything that requires paint, repair, or any other kind of 'work'. But sometimes... the Pickers come by with a gem too good to pass up and in order to get it, I have to buy the whole load. Stuff that requires WORK. I made a solemn vow to Claudia that I would complete at least ONE PROJECT a day, and have been chipping away at my backlog... but as they say, the Road to Hell is paved with Good Intentions. A day at the shop is filled with paperwork to do, website updates, clients to wait on, phones to answer... but Nonetheless, the backroom has been slowly clearing out. If you weren't worried about getting paint on yourself, you could probably do a cartwheel in there. I'd venture to say Claudia is even pretty proud of me and the way I took a vow, stuck to my guns, and labored full speed ahead toward a clean slate. If she only knew... where it's really all been going. (GULP) To my Storage Shed. Everyday when I leave I take something home; and drop it off in this grandiose shed the former owners used
as an art studio. To the point that when I opened the door (where I fully expected to meet my Husband and Candy & Jeff from A&E's INTERVENTION show every time I opened it) I could not possibly cram another thing in.

Monday I decided it was time to grab the bull by the horns. I took EVERYTHING out of the shed, organized all the Seasonal Stuff in bins and put the Christmas items up in the overhead, loaded the more desirable 'Projects' back in an organized fashion, then called Yard Sale Buddy to come get the rest. Some of it, even HE wouldn't take! He graciously made a run to the Dump with some of the Recyclable Items; the rest went curbside.

I was so excited that when Kenny came home I hurried to show him my newly organized Storage Shed; "I don't know if you knew how BAD it was in here..." He cut me off - "I did. I caught a glimpse of it last weekend and it was HORRIFYING. I wondered when you went to get the folding tables for my brother's graduation party why it took you 40 minutes to get back. And about the GARAGE..." SIGH. Baby Steps. That's NEXT WEEK'S project...

Sage Advice: Take a Road Trip this Weekend!

2009-06-03T23:29:00.003-04:00

Just a reminder for all the folks who enjoyed the 4/30 "Market Fresh" Blog about my trip to the Sage Farm Antiques Monthly Marketplace in North Hampton, NH; This weekend is the June Market, "White & Breezy". All of the stock from the previous month's market has been removed and replaced with vintage Home & Garden Accents in White and Shades of White. I'm told it's one of their most popular themes each year, and regret I won't get a chance to check it out myself.

Market Hours Fri 10-7, Sat & Sun 10-5 THIS WEEKEND ONLY, and then they close to prep for the July market. Located just 4 miles off of I-95 Exit 2 in North Hampton, NH - visit www.sagefarmantiques.com for more info.

Oh and if you do go - Please report back to us all via the "Comments" page!!

Field of Dreams - For the Gardener

2009-05-31T22:53:00.018-04:00

Next time you visit Salvage Chic, head south less than half a mile and you will find this horticultural gem known as Fieldstone Garden. Nestled on Union Street in Hanson on the property of proprietors Tammy & Chris Field, here you'll find a treasure trove of annuals, perennials, vegetables & herbs for sale, many of which Tammy has cultivated from seed. Claudia and I swung by today after our shop closed, she to buy some vegetable plants, and I to take some pictures. Since I'm a small business owner myself, I like to patronize the "little guy"; but I'm not much of a gardener (future blog about THAT!) so I'll just spread the word, and let the photos speak for themselves. Go visit Tammy - I guarantee her prices are lower than any you'll find at even the Biggest of the Big Box stores.

Lush beds of perennials just waiting to be potted

While I was taking pictures and right about when I was thinking "My Yard looks like CRAP compared to this place..." Tammy sidled up and said "There's another Secret Garden out back." My eyes lit up. OH! You mean one I shouldn't photograph?!? "NO..." (she probably wanted to smack me) "there's nothing ILLEGAL there, you just can't see it because it's behind the shed." Check it out:

Speaking of the shed, talk about SALVAGE CHIC! Chris built it and all of these things for Tammy. (SWOON...) A talented carpenter, also available for hire.

Last but not least, a SQUIRREL NUTKIN STATUE! Purchased at, you guessed it, SALVAGE CHIC!! Worth a visit to see this alone. Go visit Tammy & Chris Thursday through Saturday from 10-5; and be sure to tell 'em that Salvage Chick sent you!! Oh and PS: Fieldstone Garden is DOG-FRIENDLY! So bring your leashed 4-legged friend along for a romp.

Design Star Challenge!

2009-05-29T22:28:00.003-04:00

For those of you who've been noticing all of the exciting changes to the building that hosts Salvage Chic - Tomorrow marks the Grand Opening of the Bryantville Pizza Kitchen!! Owned & operated by the new landlord "The Handyman", who bought the property about 6 weeks ago from Billy Kidd. (and NO, he HASN'T raised the rent... what seems to be everyone's First Question.) We've actually been getting along remarkably well, so remarkably well that today, when The Handyman approached me with That Look that usually accompanies bad news, I waited for the other shoe to drop. "UM, Salvage Chick, I wonder if I could ask you a favor... you know that tomorrow is the Grand Opening, and UM, I have a lot of Friends and Family coming, so I, UH.." HERE WE GO! I thought. He is going to say something stupid like "was wondering if you & Claudia could drive your bikes to work so I have more parking spaces?" I waited. "I, UH, was wondering if you could help me decorate my bathroom." OH! SURE! We'd LOVE to! And I merrily skipped over to meet our Design Challenge.

Once there I was amazed to see that once again, The Handyman has not done anything half-way. This bathroom is decked out in travertine tile which, while lovely, didn't seem to lend itself well to "salvage chic". It cried out for dark & contemporary accents. I briefly thought to myself "Too bad I don't own the Bombay Company, then he'd be all set..." SIGH. Off to consult Claudia. She took a peek and we put our heads together, brought over some goods, brought some back, brought more over, all the while muttering "Does he know people BEG to PAY us to come do this kind of ****?" or more importantly, "Someone is probably robbing our store BLIND while we're over here obsessing." It's not perfect - but we didn't think he'd like us hammering into the tiled walls just so we could hang some fabric to 'soften' the place up. It looks much better in person - go check it out! And tell him Salvage Chick sent you... although you might have to order some food; he might think it odd that you just want to see the bathroom!!

Oh and PS - if you want to adopt any of these pieces, just ask at Salvage Chic! All items are still for sale.

Lights? Camera....

2009-05-24T22:22:00.003-04:00

ACTION! A sudden thunderstorm hit Pembroke around 3 PM today and Claudia and I found ourselves without power and quite literally, In The Dark. The holiday weekend had been much busier than I expected so I was ready to call it a day; after all, who would stop to shop while it was pouring hailstones the size of golf balls? Just as I was wondering how hard it would be to turn everything 'OFF' before we left, Claudia said we should hang out a bit - maybe the lights would come back on. Plus we had our friend Amy from Brockton visiting who was waiting out the storm (and had brought us some fantastic cookies!) so it seemed like a good idea to kick back and squint at them both while I sampled the chocolate chip ones.

Right about when I moved on to the oatmeal raisins a car pulled into the parking lot and Claudia sat up straight - "See, here comes someone!" Sure enough a cute couple Nick and Kat had ventured down from West Roxbury to shop and were surprisingly undaunted by the lack of electricity. I dug up a couple of flashlights and they had a blast poking around like they were on an archaeological dig. They picked up a pair of salt & pepper shakers shaped like phonographs and an old camera and informed us they will definitely be back! While they were checking out another woman came in who was equally game to shop without the lights on. I had thought about offering everyone an "In The Dark" Discount but they didn't really seem to need any encouragement. HMMM, I thought, maybe we are on to something here... prices could be even LOWER without the overhead of 3 electrical meters to cover! But I'd miss some of the modern conveniences like, oh, THE CREDIT CARD MACHINE. Our 2nd shopper party happily unearthed a discounted accent table, a great spindly-leg kitchen table with a metal top, and 3 assorted painted chairs to use in her outdoor living space. Claudia and I managed to wedge it all into the middle of her mini-van, and I really hope it did not end up on top of her little daughter who was nestled in her carseat in the back row! As she was pulling out of the lot we headed back inside and wouldn't you know it, the lights came on! Just in time to shut them off again and head home to celebrate another Booming Weekend at Salvage Chic. Happy Memorial Day, everyone!

Old Mother Hubbard

2009-05-22T08:55:00.005-04:00

went to the Cupboard, to get her poor dogs a bone. When she got there, the cupboard was bare, and so her poor dogs had... NEVER MIND THE DOGS, CHECK OUT MY NEW CUPBOARD! Fresh from Brimfield, and what a Bargain, this one is a Keeper... for now. As you can see, my kitchen has no upper cabinets - and I got sick of standing on my tiptoes trying to reach the dishes. As promised, something had to go to make room for it; so my old hutch is for sale this week at Salvage Chic. "Out with the OLD! In with the... OLD." No wonder Kenny calls me a Serial Re-Decorator. Now, off to find those poor dogs a bone.

My Jeep Brim-eth Over

2009-05-14T15:50:00.008-04:00

With Goodies I picked up this week on a visit to Brimfield! For those of you who aren't familiar with it, the Mother of All Antique Shows is held three times a year on several fields in Brimfield MA, right after Sturbridge on the Mass Pike. The May show continues through Sunday the 17th, and new fields open each day this week so there's plenty of fresh stock remaining to be had. GO CHECK IT OUT!

Took a jaunt out yesterday there with my Mom and we had a blast traipsing around looking at everything. I had the best intentions of taking pictures all day long but my Dinosaur of a Digital Camera weighs like 8 pounds so I left it in the car. Here's a shot as we were driving in to park:

When I'm shopping at a place like Brimfield I try to keep an eye out for the Cool and Unusual. I really do wish I had been able to photograph some of the crazy things I saw, but at least you can see some of what I DID come home with:

Found This for my Husband, whom I recently learned coveted all things Smurf when he was little (remember how EXPENSIVE that stuff was?) This morning I asked Kenny why it was posed on our kitchen island on a piece of aluminum foil and he replied "He's Tanning." FUNNY! I hope he had sunscreen on.

And what's THIS still lurking in my Jeep? A fab painted hutch I bought for my own kitchen but don't fret... that just means the piece I'm displacing is coming to Salvage Chic soon! Stay tuned.

PS Click on the Blog List to the right: "The Antique Odyssey" for more tales & photos of Brimfield! Pam sums it up pretty well with a List of Things to Take, Do & Avoid!

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes...

2009-05-06T21:01:00.003-04:00

I wasn't kidding when I said we are in full-blown Spring Fling "Out With The OLD!" mode this week at Salvage Chic. So much so that yesterday when a woman inquired about buying one of our "Not For Sale" display cases, Claudia and I decided HEY, that's a way to shake things up... Today as I was emptying the shelves out before the woman came to pick it up I got an idea in my head; sometimes you just need to rearrange stuff that's been around a while and it literally starts flying out the door. So I cleared the room of all the kitcheny items and started piecing together this little boy's bedroom. Of course as luck would have it as soon as I start a project like this the shop got ridiculously busy and the phone started ringing off the hook. Every time I climbed up on the green nightstand & bureau to try to hang the Sesame St curtains there it went.... RING RING RING! Sigh. For the 3rd time in 10 minutes I jumped down in my stocking feet, tripped over my clogs and ran to answer the phone. "Hello, I'm calling about an ad you have on Craigslist for a green bureau and matching nightstands, do you still have them?" Ummm, yes we do... (thinking, you mean the ones I just climbed off of after I moved them because they have been sitting around for 3 months?) GREAT said the woman, I need them delivered to Quincy and here is my credit card number. OK - funny how that worked - I know I said stuff has a funny way of selling right after we rearrange it, but usually people have to SEE THE ITEMS IN PERSON!

Here's a look at the rest of the room, and what else might NOT be around for long... Stop in this weekend and get it while it's HOT!

Taking Care of Business...

2009-05-05T23:25:00.003-04:00

Every Day! Taking care of business, Every Way! I've been taking care of business, it's all mine! Taking care of business and working overtime, work out... so sang the Bachman-Turner Overdrive and hopefully that song's stuck in all of your heads now, too!

The week started off with a bang yesterday with a 10AM housecall in Pembroke where I bought some fabulous items from a woman with great taste whose house is so amazing it made me want to go home and de-crapify my house, paint everything white and live in a very tastefully spartan existence amongst a glorious array of old hotel silver. My only regret was I did not bring my camera to document the Jeepful of goodies I acquired!

Then off to the shop to unload the goodies and price & place some FABULOUS items that arrived Sunday; the goal was to make room for some stuff Claudia was going to help me pick up in Kingston that I bought last Friday, but luckily the woman had a last minute appointment so we got a reprieve and just in time for us to visit AN AUCTION where I was NOT SUPPOSED to buy any furniture but of course... I did.

So today, Tuesday, found Claudia and I in the shop with WAY too much new inventory trying to figure out how to get rid of some, shall we say, stagnant items. "We need Jack to come get this Art Deco bureau of his" she said, to which I jokingly replied "Call him." I really didn't mean to push that on her, I figured I'd just talk to him over the weekend but the next thing I knew, she was on the phone! "JACK! We didn't see you last weekend, we were worried about you, is everything OK? Just thought you'd like to know, we sold your church pew this morning, isn't that great? Oh and by the way - WE NEED YOU TO COME PICK UP SOME OF YOUR AWFUL FURNTURE THAT IS NEVER GOING TO SELL." Alright, I'm taking a little creative license here, she was much nicer than that. And Jack took it well, from what I hear... Special Thanks to Claudia for TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS. And it's not just Jack's items that need to go, so stop in Salvage Chic this weekend for some Real Furniture Bargains! The Magic Words are "I notice this has been around for a while, can you do better on the price?" And the answer is... "YOU BETCHA!"

Market Fresh!

2009-04-30T20:10:00.010-04:00

Today found me with some time on my hands and a beautiful day so I decided to take a jaunt up to NH and check out the Sage Farm Antique Mart. This lovely venue is open just one weekend a month, stocked by multiple vendors with quality merchandise and a fresh concept - each month's show has a theme, and after the weekend what hasn't sold must be removed so the place can be completely reinvented for the next month's show.

The trip took a little longer than I expected, as it was almost 90 miles from Halifax up to Exit 2 in NH, and I forgot to factor in my Wicked Ridiculous Fear of Driving Over Bridges; driving white-knuckled at 2 miles an hour over the Leonard Zakim bridge definitely slowed me down. But when I pulled up to the Farm and was greeted by all the wonderful junktiques on the porch, I hopped merrily out of the Jeep ready to do some shopping.

Thursday is the Dealer Preview day which I thought lasted from 10 to 1 so you can imagine my chagrin when I checked in at 11:50 and the woman looked at her watch and said "I'm not sure how strictly it's being enforced but you might want to shop fast, we close in 10 minutes." (Insert Psycho knife-stabbing sound effects here along with my horrified expression) Luckily my friend Audrey who peddles her wares at this Market was there working and assured me I could take my time looking around. Oh - and don't let the "Dealer Preview" scare you off, the Market is restocked all weekend long!

The May Market was called "Green and Simple" and was just chock-full of awesome chippy furniture and garden elements, all at amazingly affordable prices. Audrey graciously showed me the layout and there was just so much to take in I forgot all about taking pictures, trying not to rip the tickets off of everything I saw for fear I would fill my Jeep too quickly and find 'even better' stuff around the next corner. It was only when we hit a large room towards the back where Audrey introduced me to the owner Sharyl and her merchandise, saying "This is where the REAL Antiques are", that I remembered Claudia was going to kill me if I didn't come home with photographic evidence of the place.
Check out this phenomenal potting bench comprised of vintage salvage, complete with sink ready to be plumbed and start flowing!!

I felt like somewhat of a celebrity as Audrey was introducing me to all the vendors, many of whom seemed to be excited to meet "Salvage Chick" in person, as they had either heard of my shop or visited the website and had many kind things to say about Salvage Chic. I'm embarrassed to say I was not retaining names & faces because I was too busy scanning the merchandise so if I run into these folks again, I hope they will understand when I stare at them blankly!!

Here's a glimpse of my Pile of Booty right before I loaded up the Jeep for the return trip home and YES, this stuff will all be for sale at Salvage Chic this weekend! All in all it was a Great Day... despite being in the wrong lane on the way home and accidentally taking Route 1 South instead of staying on 95. Which eventually led me to Boston - via the Most Dastardly of All Bridges to Drive Over: The TOBIN! Yikes. Neither Rain, Snow, Sleet nor Fear of Bridges will keep Salvage Chick from garnering cool merchandise!!

Check Out www.sagefarmantiques.com for more info about the Monthly Marketplace, and mark your calendars for the 1st weekend of every month: ROAD TRIP! Oh, and be sure to tell 'em Salvage Chick sent you!

Dog-Tired.

2009-04-18T10:25:00.004-04:00

When they're not sniffing out cool junk for me to sell and hounding the South Shore to let them do cleanouts, Izzy & Duff are busy hunting wabbits... What can I say, that old adage "A Tired Dog is a GOOD Dog" is certainly true! I wish I knew that when Duff was going through his Couch-Eating Phase. Happy Spring, everyone!

Woodsy Goes A.W.O.L.

2009-04-12T16:42:00.005-04:00

Late yesterday our new friend Maddie came in with her Aunt and was dismayed to discover one of the Owl Salt & Pepper shakers she was coveting last week was MISSING! I couldn't really hear what was going on because I was way on the other side of the shop but I heard Claudia exclaim "I just NOTICED there was only one sitting there!"

A couple minutes later I joined them; "One of the owl salt shakers is missing? What do you think happened?" Claudia solemnly nodded her head and said she bet someone got interrupted in the middle of nipping them and only got away with one. I felt awful. To my knowledge, nothing's ever been stolen from the shop, except that one time I thought this guy stole my LP with Barry Manilow and his Beagle on the cover until I found it hiding behind something 2 weeks later. It must be all those Menacing Signs that Yard Sale Buddy gifted me with.

Anyway back to the owl, all I could think was "Who would steal an owl dressed like ELTON JOHN?!?" when a little glitter caught my eye and way down at the bottom of the shelving, there was the other owl perched in an old toy race car, like he was making a getaway!! Looks like Woodsy the Owl doesn't give a hoot after all.

Happy Easter, Bunny!

2009-04-10T22:47:00.002-04:00

I was talking to my Mom the other night when she casually mentioned she was making Easter Dinner and she didn't suppose I'd be coming. It's kind of weird having a work schedule that's the opposite of pretty much everyone I know; so I assumed the dinner was going to be in the middle of the day, as Holiday dinners tend to be, and politely declined. Well, maybe not so politely, I may have said something like "I have to WORK, the whole world does not celebrate EASTER." One of the things that distinguishes Salvage Chic from places like Never Open Antiques is that we have regular days & hours we are open, and don't just close on a whim because it's raining or snowing or the day ends in Y. Folks do come from all over to visit - especially on the weekends. I'd hate to have someone drive down from East Overshoe and find us closed on a Sunday. But then my Mom reminded me I'd be missing out on a Serious Family Tradition... my Dad has this 79-year-old Aunt Bunny. Her real name is Beatrice, but forever she's been Bunny, she's a total hoot and a lady of that era can just get away with being called that. Anyway, we all think it's a scream that once a year we get to exclaim "Happy Easter, Bunny!" Kenny and I decided we just cannot pass up the opportunity. Have no fear, Salvage Chic will still be open Sunday from 11-5; then we'll scoot up to my Parents' House in Boston for dinner; I hope there's enough ham to go around, as my Mom has not yet been forewarned. And for those of you not named BUNNY - Happy Easter to you too!!

Jack of All Trades

2009-04-09T20:59:00.003-04:00

So if you haven't figured it out by now, Mack of Never Open Antiques across the street recently defected to the Salvage Chic team. And since I hopefully no longer have to worry about him suing me for defamation of character, I can write about him using his real name - Jack. Poor Jack. He had a really hard time transitioning from the Land of Unsold Mahogany to the idea that Painted Furniture Sells. Chippy and Distressed are a plus, but Jack proceeded cautiously at first; he painted his items within an inch of their lives. Coat after coat of pristine paint that I'll admit looked wonderful, but all I could think was one ding on each piece was going to ruin its appeal. I mean, we sling a lot of furniture around and sometimes it's tough to navigate a piece out the door without knocking into something. So last Sunday Jack showed up announcing that he had a few new pieces to sell. I followed him out to his truck, inwardly cringing and half-tuned in to his "blahblahblah I was going to paint it... but then I thought I'd try just sanding it a little." Huh? He threw open the truck cap and I peered hesitantly in. Oh My God! I inhaled with delight. "Oh Jack! You are all grown up now, you are Distressing Furniture!!" Seriously I wanted to hug him. Then I accidentally blurted out that I was going to throw up if he had brought another piece in what I was starting to refer to as Jack Yellow. (Just ask Claudia, she's seen me 'accidentally' scuff his stuff while muttering "#!@*! Jack Yellow." Sorry Jack. You know we love having you aboard... and not just because your wife sends us cookies. Keep up the good work!!

Scoot on in to Salvage Chic this week and grab this masterpiece from The-Artist-Formerly-Known-as-Mack... I don't think it will be here long!!

Am I Blue...

2009-03-13T23:30:00.004-04:00

Most certainly not, with the way Sales have been going at Salvage Chic! February 2009 was our Biggest Revenue Month since opening the store in Fall of 2006, and March is shaping up to top it. This week, it just so happens that a lot of the furniture IS Blue. Now before you go thinking "Oh, Someone got out Their Blue Paint this week," let me dispel a myth. We DON'T actually paint everything we sell. In fact, we paint much less of it than you'd guess. What we DO do is shop for a taste that is the Salvage Chic brand, fun furniture & accent pieces from yesteryear that have sometimes been given new life with a fresh coat of paint - just not always by us. I'd be a liar if I said we don't paint ANYTHING - especially when I'm standing there talking to you with paint in my hair. And sometimes the tell-tale smell of paint thinner is in the air, although we try to contain that to really slow days. (Oil paint gives such a more durable finish than latex!!) If you're looking to match the color of a piece you're purchasing, just ask; we might be able to help. Or, if you're looking for a Diamond in the Rough you can refinish yourself, don't be shy; we often have quite a backlog of those lurking in storage. Meanwhile, scoot in this weekend to check out all of the recent arrivals, before they disappear Into The Wild Blue Yonder!!

Dumpster Diving...

2009-03-09T00:19:00.004-04:00

The phone rang at the shop Sunday and there was this horrible hum on the line so I could barely hear the caller but as far as I could discern it was this gentleman I had purchased some items from the day before. He had been cleaning out his late mom's house and found some more dishes that belonged to a set I bought from him and said he'd be bringing them by, then asked if I had found any cassette tapes in the boxes of loot he had dropped off. I only remembered seeing an empty cassette case, and everything I didn't want for the shop had already been sent on its way to Yard Sale Buddy's or the Dumpster; he sounded really disappointed as the tape had been a recording of his late grandmother. When I got off the phone I relayed the conversation to Claudia who recalled there definitely WAS a tape in the lot... SIGH. Off to do some Dumpster Diving! I slapped on a plastic glove and 2 seconds later I was out back frantically scanning for the 2 bags I had just thrown in that morning. Judy from the Sub Shop saw me headfirst in the Dumpster and yelled out the window, "HEY CHRIS - IF YOU ARE THAT HUNGRY, WE CAN MAKE YOU A SANDWICH!!" If only it were that easy. Finally I located one of the bags and skipped back to the shop with lettuce in my hair, proudly waving the bag. Which, of course, turned out to be the WRONG bag. Back to square one and just as I was thanking god it was not August so the garbage didn't smell TOO bad, I spied the 2nd bag and retrieved it. There, under 47 empty Dunkin' Donuts cups of Yard Sale Buddy's, I FOUND IT! Grandma's Voice, captured on tape for all time. Jack-formerly-Mack-of-Never-Open-Antiques was looking at me like I had 3 heads for going through all of these gyrations so I said pointedly "It's his GRANDMA on TAPE. I'd do the same for you." He just blinked at me, knowing full well I wouldn't. "OK you're Right... but I'd at least show you where the Dumpster was."

"If You Build It, They Will Come"

2009-03-05T09:52:00.005-05:00

This is the little mantra I chanted in my head last Sunday after a Record-Breaking Weekend at Salvage Chic. Not that Field of Dreams and an Empty Antique Shop have much in common but it seemed like as good a time as any to channel Kevin Costner. Claudia and I were walking around surveying the wreckage, marveling at the amount of stuff we sold all weekend but slightly worried about filling the place back up. Even Jack, The-Artist-formerly-known-as-Mack-from-Never-Open-Antiques, walked in and declared "This place is EMPTY." I didn't really feel like hearing it from him so I focused on silently chanting my mantra; I did alter it a little to suit my own needs so it ended up more like "If you have an empty shop, furniture will just show up." And you know what? It did! Granted none of it just materialized out of thin air but it dang well felt like it. Stuff has a funny way of turning up at Salvage Chic just when it's needed most. So if you were in last weekend and disappointed like the woman who exclaimed "Everything I want is either SOLD or ON HOLD!", I GUARANTEE it's worth a visit to see what's new this weekend. But remember - Turnover is HIGH so visit the website first... and if there's a Have-To-Have-It item, check out our Hold Policy on the FAQs page. Happy Browsing!!

Anchorage Aweigh?

2009-03-05T09:33:00.002-05:00

Here's one from the email files, received just last night: "hi- i found your site on the web and love some of the items. it may not be cost effective to have them shipped but i thought it was worth asking. i live in anchorage alaska. would you be willing to ship items if it were cost effective?"

I may be going out on a limb here but I'm guessing it would cost more than the actual furniture to ship it to Alaska. Especially given today's fuel costs... but part of me couldn't help but wonder how much someone would be willing to pay for delivery to Alaska; and if I could actually convince Yard Sale Buddy to hitch a trailer to his Chevy Truck and make the trek. I bet I could, if I mapped out all the Dunkin' Donuts stops on the way for him, and loaned him Duff as a sled dog. I just might throw it out there, to see if he nibbles... will Report Back later!

"I Just Don't Have Enough BANDWIDTH."

2009-02-04T15:29:00.002-05:00

That was One Phrase I hoped I'd never have to utter again when I quit my Corporate Rat Race job back in 2006; It was the politically correct way to respond when my Boss would call to assign me more work than I could handle. For some reason it was considered inappropriate to simply say "If you give me one more thing to do I'm going to slit my ankles and hope to bleed out and die a slow painful death right here in my Virtual Office." She was also referred to as my COACH, not my BOSS, and any inappropriate behavior could be deemed a 'COACHING OPPORTUNITY' as in let's document your behavioral problems and hope you still have a job next year. Needless to say I became quite good at this corporate jargon in order to avoid Coaching Opportunities so when she would call and say "Hey, Christine, can you manage these 23 call center installations next week... in Singapore?" I would say "Sorry, I just don't have enough bandwidth!" Or "I've got a little too much on my plate right now." Either response always seemed to satisfy her, and was sure to earn me an "OK, let's circle back next week and see what your workload looks like then." You Betcha. You know I love to Circle Back. Which was Corporate-ese for "Let's have a conference call to talk about the conference call we had last month to discuss next week's conference call regarding upcoming conference calls."
I could go on and on... but I digress! Why am I boring you with tales from the Ghost of Corporate Past, you ask? Because lately I've been having a heck of a time administering the Salvage Chic website, it's been running awfully slooooooow and I can barely add a picture before the whole browser just shuts down; so I called up my Hosting company to complain and that's when I was told "You just don't have enough BANDWIDTH." I about fell out of my chair. My immediate thought was 'Really? I'm not even busy right now' but then I realized the chick was not using buzzwords but talking about actual BANDWIDTH, meaning too many people are visiting the site at the same time, causing data transfer to be painfully slow. And for once, lack of Bandwidth was a GOOD thing to have! The site's being upgraded in the next day or two, so if you've been experiencing problems viewing it they should go away very soon. Now if only I could get the Corporate Jargon back out of my head...

Eight Days a Week,

2009-01-13T20:36:00.003-05:00

is not enough to shop at Salvage Chic...

I won't butcher the Beatles lyrics (OK, I'll admit I tried, but there's an alarming lack of real words in that song)

Suffice it to say YOU TALKED and WE LISTENED! Salvage Chic is now open SIX DAYS A WEEK, Tuesday through Sunday 11AM-5PM. Why SIX and not EIGHT, you ask? Well, there actually are not EIGHT days in a week and besides I heard Michael Jackson owns the rights to all the Beatles songs and he might sue me in an attempt to rescue Neverland from bankruptcy. Who knows, he might get enough money out of me to save like, 1 hedge.

Happy Shopping!

Spiderman, Spiderman, Does Whatever a Spider Can...

2009-01-08T21:47:00.004-05:00

except, apparently, GLOW IN THE DARK.

Another Blog from the Family Holiday archives; This one finds us at my Parent's house post-Christmas dinner with the adults itching for the kids to go to bed so we could enjoy some good, quality Adult Time, (i.e. play some cards and drink more beer.)

My almost-4 nephew Kyle came downstairs with his PJs on exclaiming how his Spidey PJs glowed in the dark and I needed to come see. "Oh, OK!" I said, knowing full well a trip upstairs could result in a long time before I returned to Adult Land; "Let's check them out in HERE" and pushed him into a little half bathroom off the dining room. Of course his sister Taylor followed calling "GRAM! Come see!", and I had to grab my husband, 'Uncle' Kenny, and then my Great-Aunt Bunny was walking by so I pulled her in for good measure and we all piled in to the bathroom, shut the door and blew out the candle only to behold... NOTHING. And there were me, Kenny, my Mom, Kyle, Taylor and Bunny trapped in the dark in like a 2x3 foot bathroom trying to find the light switch. I guess Kyle got his PJs mixed up! Needless to say a Meltdown ensued but still, a good time was had by all.

These Boots Were Made for Walking

2009-01-07T16:30:00.003-05:00

And That's Just what They'll Do;
One of These Days These Boots are Gonna...
Walk Into Your Antique Store and Steal a Stuffed Animal.

Pembroke Shopowners, BEWARE! This 4-legged bandit goes by the name of 'Cassidy'; she struts about Bryantville with her seemingly sweet owner who will distract you with funny stories while her dog is busy Casing the Joint. Just the other day they were in and I was too busy admiring Cassidy's BOOTS - yes BOOTS - to notice she had nipped this vintage Digger the Dog toy right off the shelf. Luckily my surveillance cameras caught her because I also figured out why she wears the boots - not to protect her paws from road salt (like her owner CLAIMED) but to prevent herself from leaving incriminating PAW PRINTS! That is one devious dog.

Elves on the Shelves

2008-12-14T23:55:00.002-05:00

Yesterday this woman came into the shop with her granddaughter, they are semi-regulars so I figured they were just there to browse but the woman made a bee-line to the counter and said to me quite pointedly "Someone told me you have an Elf on the Shelf for sale." I was not familiar with this term but replied as helpfully as I could "You mean those Kneehugger Pixie Elves? I have several in stock." And then proceeded to one area of the shop to show her some. Again she gave me this hint-hint look and said "These are the elves that sit in a house and transmit messages to Santa about how the Children in the house are behaving?" "Exactly! A new shipment just arrived from the North Pole, so look them over and see which one will best suit your needs." I left them alone and sometime later the lady and her granddaughter came back to the counter to purchase an elf. Meanwhile I had some more tricks up my sleeve, because I remembered the little girl's name. As I was ringing up the purchase she was off to the side checking out the toys in the case so I asked her grandmother in a loud voice, "This elf is going to VICTORIA'S house... Correct?" Victoria's eyes got as wide as saucers as her Grandmother replied with a grin, "Yes, and her sister Olivia too." OK that's great I said, pushing the cash register buttons so some beeping sounds came out; "I've activated the transponder so as soon as this elf gets to his new home he will start transmitting information to Santa. Please instruct the girls to be on their best behavior because this elf will be reporting if they've been bad or good." The woman thanked me as I handed her the bag, and passed it to her granddaughter who carried it reverently out to the car. It's nice to see there are still people who Believe. Happy Holidays!!

Baptism By Fire

2008-12-06T22:09:00.004-05:00

That is exactly how my Mom's new stove made its debut on Thanksgiving Day!! First, a little background information; my Parents remodeled their kitchen in 1987, right around the time my Mom went back to work full-time and gave up cooking. She pretty much only cooks for Holiday dinners like Thanksgiving and Christmas. The last 2 Thanksgivings, one burner of the gas stove has stubbornly refused to turn, let alone light. This last burner is only turned on at the critical gravy-making moment because the gravy pan covers 2 burners, and by this stage of the game my Mom is usually having a Hot Flash and throwing all the windows open while my Brother and I are freezing and taking turns trying to fix the stove while the other one drinks beer to help us cope with the situation. Both years my techno-savvy Husband has saved the day with the needle-nose pliers he keeps handy for such occasions, uttering something like "This d*mn stove must be made by Microsoft..."
So this year well in advance of the day we mandated that my Mom get a new stove prior to Thanksgiving or we would be boycotting the event. At first we were met with some resistance; "That stove is BRAND NEW!" Ummm... just because you have only used it 40 times does not mean it is BRAND NEW!! That stove is old enough to legally drink!!
Long story longer, my Mom obliged and had this fabulous stainless steel G.E. Profile range installed the week before Thanksgiving. She even heeded our advice to test-drive it a few times before the Main Event. So we figured, what could go wrong?
Fast-forward to Thanksgiving Day and I hear my Brother call to our Dad, "Harry, we need you to come take the Turkey out." The thought did briefly cross my mind to wonder why a 6-foot-4 39 year old cannot take the Turkey out himself but I figured he just did not want to upset tradition, plus I was busy whooping my niece's butt at Go Fish so I remained quiet. My Dad sauntered by to go get the Turkey and then seconds later I hear this "WHOOOOOOOOOSH" and my Brother is screaming "HARRY! HARRY! GET OUT OF THE WAY." Turns out my Dad was taking the Bird out of the oven in its flimsy tin foil roasting pan and the pan bent, spilling the juices into the oven, where direct contact with the heating elements caused a fireball to shoot out directly at his head. Luckily he ducked and managed to hold onto the turkey, and the few hairs left on his head were unharmed, as was remarkably the ceiling. Guess who Santa will be bringing a REAL Roasting Pan to this year??
Thankfully no one was hurt and there was actually enough juice left to make the gravy, although my Mom was worried there wouldn't be and walked around muttering "Freaking Harry." And for those of you who are wondering "You call your Dad by his first name?" the answer is... not exactly. A good friend of mine once asked why my brother's name is Mike and not Harry Jr. The answer? "UMMM... because Harry's name is really Mike." But that's a story for another Blog. Happy Belated Thanksgiving!!

And The Hits Just Keep On Comin'

2008-12-02T19:31:00.002-05:00

That's what Casey Kasem would say... if he were talking about my website! It was just a few weeks ago I celebrated the 10,000th visit to www.salvagechicantiques.com; not even one month later, I'm proud to report that count is up over 12,500! I know there are a lot of repeat visitors to whom I should say THANKS!! And now that the shop renovations are complete, I'll have a LOT more time to post updates and Blog. The downside about the increase in traffic is, I have to be a little more careful about the Blogging, lest I offend any potential Repeat Customers with tales of what a pain in the arse they were to deal with... the good news is, there are plenty of characters around here who are always fair game. Like my Husband, for instance; he just walked by and I asked him "Do you know how to spell Casey Kasem?" (OK, first I really asked him Do You Know Who Casey Kasem Is? and THEN I asked him How Do You Spell His Name. Sometimes a 5-year age gap is more of a difference than you'd think.) Anyway he said he had no idea how to spell it so I pointed at the screen and said "Does this look right?" He stared for a minute and then mumbled "I think so... Wait a Minute, it's not Casey KaseN? with an N?" SIGH. So much for husbands... Thank God for Google!!