That was a fun year! I always consider it a good year if I
don’t die. Mission accomplished. I don’t really have to make New Year’s
resolutions anymore on the grounds of I don’t give a f*ck but I do think it’s
important to make New Year’s goals. Goals are good. I also think it’s important
to set your goals high. Why not? No one gets anywhere with mediocrity. For
2016, I have given myself 3 goals. Wanna know what they are? Here goes…
#1-Cure myself of ALS. I’m totally bored with it. It has
been six long years and I have quite frankly had enough. It is time for me to
get up and walk again. This is the year I try to figure it out. That is about
as possible as me becoming an astronaut but I’m going to give it a shot. I will
drink more green juices, take more medication, research more, explore more and
basically just will it out of me. Stay tuned for that.
#2-Finish my book. This has proven difficult for me so far
because I don’t know what to add, what to keep out, what you would like to
know, what you don’t want to know, what lessons can I share etc. Let me know
your thoughts on this. Whenever I start to work on the book, I proofread the
chapter about how I had to tell Grace that her gorgeous mother has ALS, and I
cry so hard I can barely breathe so I stop working on the book and go eat about
500 cookies. Emotional eating at its best. But I promise, this is the year that
I finish!
#3-Expand my little shop. This will be a fun goal and I have
already been working on it for the past few months! Knowing that not everything
can be antique, I decided to add products to the shop that are not antiques but
have all of the charm of an antique. This brings me to the topic of today’s
blog!
With great enthusiasm, I am going to open the shop on
Thursday with all of the new products! More than 100 pieces will be available!
When my mother and opened our antique shop in Santa Barbara,
California our motto was, “Only sell what we love.” And we did just that.
Everything that was in the store was something that we would want in our homes.
That means we were incredibly discerning and only the best made the cut. And
this is how I decided to expand my online shop. I want to offer everything that
I love to all of you. Lamps, pillows, blue and white chinoiserie, accessories
and of course, antiques. And in the near future I will begin to offer furniture!
My ultimate goal is to re-create our shop, Circa, online. I have even brought
on an employee named My Mother. I won’t pay her, will make her work overtime,
no lunch breaks and she will probably sue me for workplace verbal harassment.
Just kidding! I will only verbally harass her a smidge! :-)
So, shall we take a look? The shop is now organized into
categories: Antiques, Lamps, Pillows, Accessories, Blue and White Chinoiserie
and Porcelain Flowers. (Furniture will come next month.)
Let’s start with the lamps. My mother and I are obsessed
with lamps. Decorating is like baking a cake. You start with the batter mixing in
all the good ingredients, baking the cake, adding the layers of icing and
finishing it off with a cherry on top. In decorating, you start with finding
quality base pieces (sofa, chairs, tables), arranging them just right and then
start adding the layers (rugs, curtains, lamps) and then add your cherries on
top (pillows, decorative accessories). Lamps are in the layering so therefore
they are crucial! A lamp can make or break a room. That’s why it’s important to
choose wisely. We have lots of lamps for you to choose from, all sizes, all
shapes and all dropdead gorgeous! Let’s take a look…
Mr. Wynn Lamp
Porter Lamp
White Alabaster Lamp
Horn Lamp
Art Deco Sunburst Lamp
Griffin Lamp
Next up we have pillows. The pillows on the shop are fun
pillows. These are not pillows for your living room! We will have those later
next month. The pillows on the shop are perfect for less formal rooms. Let’s
take a look…
Natural History Cricket Pillow
Miro Chicken Pillow
London Map Pillow
Simply Paris Pillow
Mediterranean Sea Pillow
The next category on the shop is simply stunning. Porcelain
flowers! I have discovered a woman who was inspired by the 18th
century tradition of porcelain flowers and has created hand-made, one-of-a-kind
floral bouquets. Porcelain flowers, tole leaves, terra-cotta pots! Nothing
could be more exquisite. Take a look…
Porcelain Lily of the Valley
Porcelain Cyclamen
Porcelain English Rose
And knowing that no house could be complete without blue and
white chinoiserie, I have added loads of blue and white to the shop! Lamps, vases,
jars, orchid pots… All sizes and shapes! Remember, one piece of blue and white
is never enough. Take a look…
Foo Dog Lamp
Ming Lamp
Peacock Jar
Chinamen Jar
Now, don’t worry, I would never leave you without antiques!
This month on the shop I have some very special items. Take a look…
French Riviera Yellowware Platter
circa 1870 French Champagne Coupes
Geisha Ware Tea Set
Chinoiserie Box
Voilà! The new and improved shop opens Thursday, January 7, at exactly 10
AM Pacific Standard Time. Everything except the antiques will ship from the US
and the shipping is included in the price. January is always the best time to
start decorating for the New Year so start your creative engines!
As always, I will be showing sneak peeks of the shop on Instagram
every day. Follow me HERE!
What are your New Year's goals?
