Make It Last

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Make It Last

Berry season is on it's way.  Strawberries and blackberries are a staple in my home.  We eat berries on our cereal, on peanut butter sandwiches instead of jam, in our dinner salad.  I'll often buy a flat at the farmer's market which will last through the week, sometimes longer.  I keep the berries fresh by rinsing and then air drying them in a colander, before putting them in an airtight container. My trick for making strawberries last is to cut their tops off and slice them in half. This prevents them from shriveling and becoming mealy.   

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Dipped Docksta

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Dipped Docksta

We got Ikea's DOCKSTA table for our kitchen nook when we moved in 4 years ago, because it was functional and looked more expensive than it's $179 price tag.  Two kids later it has taken one hell of a beating.  The base and leg are made from a heavy duty plastic, and the top from an acrylic fiberboard. Chairs slam, feet scuff, forks gouge, food stains. It has been looking like the junky floor sample found in the cast-off section by the check stands. I was ready to part ways and get the next best thing from CB2 (no Knoll for me).  Then the dipped leg craze started up.  I was seeing wooden spoons and chair legs and vases all with a pretty dipped paint coat.  Could I do this with the DOCKSTA? A wipeable color on the base would solve all my problems. I decided were I to go for it, I would need to give it a little more finish than a dipped look. Borrowing from that school of thought, I decided on a geranium color for the base and a soft white for the table top. 

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The One That Got Away

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The One That Got Away

My antique savvy mother-in-law stopped by today after checking out an estate sale in North East Oakland.  She'd spotted an "Eames-Style" mustard yellow upholstered occasional chair in excellent condition and thought it might be pretty valuable, though she didn't know the designer, the paper label under the chair said Knoll. Yup. My reaction: Is it still there and how much were they asking?  It sounded WAY undervalued.  We hopped into her car and by the time we got there it was still sitting in the living room, but no longer available, as they'd decided they should probably get it appraised. I was left wondering why I wasn't hitting estate sales more often. I've been on the bandwagon for a while, but the only real mid century pieces I own are part of my Drexler dining room set. If that's going to change, I'm going to have to be ready to swoop in on a deal like the one that got away today. The website estatesales.net list sales in your area, with item previews. Craigslist also has estate sales listed under furniture and garage sales.  Bring cash and go early.   

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