Pretty spring makeover: start with one tableau

Spring has come to my apartment even though there were flurries for most of the day in Toronto, eeps.

I haven't posted on decor in so long as, truth be told, I have been uninspired in my space and haven't re-jigged it for months. Then, with a gal pal coming over for dinner last night, I looked around at all the (dust) and Persian carpets on the floor and dark colours and thought, "UG. I simply cannot make dinner until this palce has a fresh new look."

A whirlwindish afternoon of vacuuming and cleaning and tweaking set in. The final look is pretty. My inspiration: I tossed this piece of Ralph Lauren fabric that I've had (and meant to do something with) for years over the table and voila, there was my new spring tablecloth!

Then I added pretty bric-a-brac like a white cornucopia vase, a crystal tealight holder (both thrifted), a bamboo vase with bamboo in it (a gift) and a lovely chintz jug by  Lord Nelson Ware of England (given to me when my best friend's mother moved out of her home to an apartment).

Of course, tossing some of my fave flowers, orangy roses (that smell: do you know most roses these days don't?) into a thrifted silver vase was the ultimate way to create a pretty springtime look.

I kept the lamp base (which I thrifted at Sally Ann for under $10) the same but changed up the shade (thrifted for a few dollars and in mint condition) to a deep blue one, for contrast. The dark wood lacquer mirror was relocated from my desk and also provided a bit of grounded-ness to this pretty vignette.

This dark floral cushion, thrifted for $3.99 and actually from an old and now defunct Toronto store, is pretty yet provides important contrast too against the distressed silver wrought iron chair (found as a set of four for $20 years ago in a thrift shop and spray painted silver, by moi, years ago as well - like how the silver is getting that chipped beat-up look now).

This older tableau was fine for the winter, but I'm loving my new spring look.

This table area was actually the inspiration for re-jigging the rest of my apartment into a prettier look more akin to lighter spring weather. This week I'll show you how I did it!

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Maybe I really AM the Grunge Queen!

... so I said to myself when I came home one day recently, only to find that my sweetums had bought me this romantic gift: a string mop, bucket, and cleaner to clean my floors!

Now don't get me wrong: I used to have a mop, long ago when I would spend entire weekends cleaning my pad. Then I got a life. The mop got old and I chucked it; the bucket - who knows where it ended up? Perhaps it's buried in my storage unit, pining away for the lost mop - but they both vanished from my domestic repertoire. What can I say?

And since no lecture accompanied said gift - only the quietest and most well-intended of cleaning wishes - I took no offense. And, truth be told, with all the cat hair and furballs puked up and sopped with only a piece of TP or a rag, let's just say those floors were looking a little worse for the wear.

And so, dear readers, I have embraced my spanky new bucket and mop, which you see here in my (now clean) utility closet (with a thrifted lamp, in need of repair, hiding in the background!). They have been put to good use this very day, when the good 'ole Grunge Queen found herself rearranging chairs and rugs and doing a little re-org of sorts - you will see the final product soon enough!

So go forth in good stead with thy mop, fellow grungers - and if a man ever brings you domestic supplies, think of it as a little reminder that he's not trying to change you ... he really just wants to spend his life with you -- with clean floors!!

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Ow. My aching back. I spend 7 hours Sunday on me little re-org, and this little grungy girl is sore!

Here's a sneak peep at my new desk.

This little stack of papers represents the new direction my desk is taking: neutrals with little splashes of bright colour.

Here's the "new" old living room. I'm still tweaking it but I am liking the somewhat pared down look - yes this minimalist pour moi! I like the idea of doing away with the coffee table for now as the look is sleek and clean. Let's see if it's functional!

I tried to make things cozy with the lighting - I'm not just the Grunge Queen; I'm also the Lamp Queen and have over 20 lamps, most of which are thrifted!! I change them up often to create different looks. The wee wall lamp (thrifted for a mere $4.99) is perfect for snuggling on the loveseat reading, as is the higher placement of the brass lamp (picked up new for a fiver at my fave Toronto lighting store, Consumers Lighting on Dufferin St. and Castlefield Ave.). I'm so tired I think I'll flop down and do a little reading right NOW!

I love the John Lander print above the couch. I found it for $4.99, I think, at my fave thrift shop, Stretch Thrift. The glass was broken and it broke even more on the way home, so I just did away with it altogether. Now it's much easier to hang sans glass!

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Books, books, books, in and out of my apartment

Books. In my apartment.

More books. In my apartment.

And yet more books, in my apartment. But these are the ones I'm keeping.

These are the ones I'm donating, six bag full, as part of the biggest Grunge Queen apartment re-org to date.

Yes, I am decluttering massively. A former English major, I amassed a whack of books in the past - books which I have hung onto and faithfully moved from apartment to apartment, but books which I've never opened since completing schooling a decade ago.

So bye-bye 18th century novels, Canadian Confederation poetry volumes, and good books I've read once but will never read again.

This is only the beginning.

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Vintage belts & waists gone by

So it's been a reorg behind the scenes as I slog through drawers and closets in an effort to weed out and pair down.

I found this belt, which looks as though it was attached to a size 8 dress, in my Junk Drawer (more on the Junk Drawer another time).

It's not attached to the vintage wool dress in my closet because, well, I can't wear the belt anymore.

What freaks me out about vintage sizing is that peeps were so much smaller then. True, this was a size 8 belt, but the waist on it measures 22 inches!

The even freakier thing: this belt used to fit me and even be a little big on me.

As you may know I'm somewhat tiny. My waist is 27 inches, but as you see here, that belt isn't going to span the whole thing!

The first thing that popped into my head after trying that belt on my wast was, "That could be a headband!".

And ladies and gents, the scariest thing of all: it DOES fit me like a headband!

Maybe I can start a new trend of vintage belt-cum-headbands, for all the peeps whose heads are the size their waists once were!

Mmm, come to think of it, I haven't tried the dress that the belt was attached to.

Not sure if my ego could handle that today. Next time.

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