Raise a glass ... or two, or three

I have some cheap IKEA wine glasses at home for when the gals and I slosh back the vino; they're cheap, and though unattractive, they're replaceable.

For more special occasions, I found these retro faceted multi-coloured glasses, in two sizes, at my local thrift shop for .99 cents each.

Aren't they nifty looking? I've never seen anything like 'em.

There are three big and three small - I'm guessing the weeny ones are for liqueurs, which I don't drink, but they were so pretty I had to nab the whole set.

Think it's time to donate the IKEA ones back to the thrift shop.

Read More

Grunge Queen Stuff Sale success

Ever had a garage sale in your apartment?

I did this past weekend.

I donate a lot of stuff to charity and hold an annual clothing swap for the gals, the leftovers of which are also donated. But I wanted to clear out a whack of nice stuff so I invited my gal pals over and sold my hoard at rock bottom prices.

I gotta say, it took hours to set and clean this up, but it was fun and worth it.

The jewellery, which I sorted into categories on my dining room table of $2, $5 and $10 (I separated each by a ribbon) was a real hit.

Some surprises: the $2 bag chair, pictured here, didn't have any takers. And I had gorgeous new BCBC and Jones New York leather purses for $10 and no one bagged 'em!

And no one was enlightened by a $5 lamp shade (do you know how expensive lamp shades are?).


The clothes were a real hit.

My gal pal Andrea happened to look fab in all the dresses that have never worked on me, like this 100 percent silk Planet dress I paid $300 for and wore once!

Next time I may do a few things differently: forget about the loonie ($1) and twoonie ( $2) knic-knac table - people looked but didn't really buy and I thought that would bring value, but I was wrong.







I also had a pile of free stuff - not as nice items, true enough - but not too many took advantage of that either.

Here's my sis trying on some Essex Made in Canada costume jewellery peals that someone else snagged! She ended up getting a fab silver-tone necklace instead, though.

My pal Parm, who took all these great photos, bagged this $2 'gold and ruby' ring that looks great with her skin tone!

All in all I think every one walked away happy, and I made a couple hundred bucks (good for the low prices I was selling stuff at) to pay down my painting (see post below).

Exhausting, but I'll definitely do again. I've even had some gals who couldn't make it ask me if there's any jewellery left!

TIPS:

I believe in good Karma so I don't sell gifts given to me, nor do I over price thrift shop goods I picked up for a few bucks.

New items that are in mint condition and still in style I priced more. My Planet dress was $60 and one suit was $20, but those were the priciest items.

In truth most of the clothing went for $5 a piece.

My man dropped off a French cake (the sweetie) and I served that with sparkling mineral water - easy peasy! Every one just wanted to shop so don't worry about feeding people much; just make sure they stay hydrated!

I scheduled it for 4 hours from 1-4. Every one came at the beginning and no one stayed or arrived past 3:30. Next time I'd make it 2-3 hours tops.

Let me know if you try this!

Read More

Romance & trash: my balcony project

Romance and trash? Definitely a doable combo.

Two things for my current patio project were given to me by men I've dated/am dating.

An ex gave me the silver hanging box planters - yes, he found them in the trash!

I plan on putting herbs in them. I know, it IS a little late in the season but I'm a novice balcony gardener, ok?







See, I even have the pebbles in the bottom, ready to go!

Mmm, come to think of it I got the pebbles from the business of the man I'm dating now.

And to be honest, he bought me my flowers and herbs, the sweetie.

After I told him I needed a tiny wrought iron table or some such thing for my patio project, 'lo and behold he found me this brass marble-topped table that was left behind.

Isn't it just perfect?

Romance and trash: it works. My legs are jelly, really!

Let's see if I can get him to drill holes in the concrete for my sheer curtains ... Grunge Queen isn't so handy....

Then I can make him dinner as thanks - and serve it on my new balcony!!

Read More

Canada Day parties & sisterly inspiration

Yesterday's post should have been my Canada Day post as I featured red and white roses, but here's an entertaining post for those of you who are BBQing today.

My sis hosted a party the other day and decorated with pink everything. You can tell she's related to the Grunge Queen 'cos she kept her decor cheap n' easy.

The pink roses were plucked from the rose bush in the front of her home, and all she did was snip 'em and plunk 'em in some plain white bowls and voila: instant centre-pieces!


I love the cake - so girlie, so sweet, so preety - and so easy!

All she did was put yellow, pink and orange smarties on top - you see they match the dollar store napkins she bought!

Way to go, sis. Lovely party.

And Happy Canada day to fellow Canadians!

Read More

Tea party patio a la cheap

My patio project (see post below) has gotten me thinking of past patio projects - which have been few given I've lived in apartments for my time in Toronto.

Three summers ago when I was just getting in to freelance writing and junking in a big way, I wrote a piece on having a tea party in your outside space - from there I created a romantic tea party look on my ugly fire escape so I could have a pretty photo accompanying the article.

I hung up dollar store sheers to cover the icky white brick, plopped my fave piece of Ralph Lauren floral fabric over a ratty fold-up table I had painted red (same table will be part of this year's patio project!), and threw together some pretty tea cups and a silver tea set I found at the thrift shops. The gold-tone shawl hanging on the silver chair is still a fave for draping over chairs and such - I found that at Value Village for $6.99 or so.

Some creative touches: an old watch as a napkin holder; spray painting the wrought iron chairs silver and recovering them with fabric from a dollar store tablecloth!

I even made the crustless sandwiches for my photo shoot, which I styled myself (and broke my sister's borrowed camera in the process - talk about spending money to make money!).

Here's the article I wrote about putting it all together along with some tea trivia; just double click on it to get a better view:

Read More

Room redo great for entertaining

I'm like a proud mommy with this one: I know I've already shown you this thrift store and garage sale corner arrangement - you know, the dining room area I lugged the green loveseat into after I lugged another loveseat in and out after I took the dining table out?

I love the spring-like pops of colour here in the thrift store painting and lampshade coupled with the green velvet sofa and silky cushions - it just makes me happy to look at.

But I realized the night of my dinner party (see post below) that this tableau is functional for another reason beyond the unobtrusive TV in the corner thing.

As I prepared salad I invited my date to sit on the loveseat across from the kitchen doorway - that way he wasn't sitting around the corner where I couldn't see him, but rather in full view while I puttered in the kitchen.

Just goes to show, sometimes a room redo can make more sense once you settle into it. Now I have a place for my guests to sit while I play hostess - I'm so excited because it means I can join in on conversations and not feel like I'm ignoring the people I've invited into my home!

And no, the TV will not be on.

Read More

Dinner party table

I had a dinner party last night and decorated my rarely used dining table for the occasion....

An easy yet glam way of jazzing up your table is to plop a mirror on it that can function as a receptacle for flowers, candles and a lamp, in my case.

I picked up some lovely Yves Rocher scented candles from the dollar store and plonked one in a teacup saucer and the other in a silver tub - easy peasy chic!






The purply tea roses were lovely and all, but then my date brought me my fave kind of flowers: orange-y roses, a dozen of them!

Gee, not only did my heart melt - I was also thrilled that they matched my dining table display to the tee!

The tableau looks way better with his flowers - everything matches but it's not too matchy-matchy as the black tablecloth provides some contrast and the mirror a bit of bling.

If you look closely you'll see that I wrapped the neck of the lamp in a pink ribbon. Hey I was dressed up, why not dress up my lamp a little?

I was temped to ring my dinner bell (see Emotional Decorating post from a few days ago), but since this was a party of two I thought it would be gauche.

I'll be posting another entertaining tip soon - I scammed it from a friend who had me over for dinner a few weeks ago and it's a charming idea!

Read More

Emotional decorating, part deux

I truly believe we shop and buy largely for emotional reasons - when we're stressed, sad - even happy. Grunge-queen is no exception, except I revel in decorating my home and even injecting a bit of nostalgia in my wardrobe with items that conjure up happy times from my past ... all found at the thrift shop, natch.

On my way home tonight I took a quick peep in my fave local thrift shop, Stretch Thrift. I saw a glass or crystal bell on display that was pretty garish, but I thought how lovely it would be to have a little tinkle sound to announce, say, dinner or maybe even drinks.

Lo and behold my eye zoomed on on this darling brass number made in India - a dinner bell JUST like the one Mom and Dad had while growing up (except the one from childhood HAD no bell and I always missed it)!

Price? Two bucks.

Now I'll have to have a dinner party. Or maybe I could use it for the cats in the morning? Not that they need a bell to remind them, ferociously hungry felines that they are ....

Meanwhile I grew up with a clock EXACTLY like this, an Ingraham of Toronto clock in this exact green hue that Mom and Dad hung in their retro 1950s kitchen, in the decorative wood yoke above the sink.

I found it in a junk shop for $15 (bartered to $13 as that's all I had) and was so pleased to find it worked.

Crazy that I can be emotional about a clock, but hey, I used to dash down our killer steep 13-step stairs when getting ready for school as a teenager and would glance at that thing umpteen times to ensure I'd catch the school bus on time (we lived in a rural area so yes, the school bus was a necessity even for an 18-year old).

Now I have this positioned so that I can see the time when I leave and come into my apartment.

And this painting, which I've posted elsewhere, I bought at Stretch Thrift for $39.99 'cos it reminded me of how I saw Heaven as a child- as a desert wasteland of sand and sun where people slept on the rooves of houses like the one depicted here ....

I love having these emotional reference points surrounding me in my little nook of a pad - they reinforce where I've been and who I am and give my soul a sense of home.

Read More