LA DOLFINA

At The Oakland Museum's White Elephant Sale My first stop was in the H ousewares D ept.     where I immediately spied this lo tus bowl t o add to my growing collection.   I love its simplicity and the fact that it was made in Italy!   I've been want ing one of these spray misters ever since I learned from my friend Ka thysue t hat you should mist your orchids for them to thri ve. Each year I alw ays seem to fin d one special bottle... This one still had its original cork! Love the etching above the labe l.   The label is not too bad either . Of cou rse it is made in France . Moving on to the K nick K nack D ept., I found this wonderful pair of heavy wooden legs or balustrades with the most wonderful painted blue patina. They have be en re-purposed into candle holders which are perfect for our coastal inspired man cave. I couldn't pass up th...

On e of the things I always look forward to in the month of January is The Oakland Museum's White Elephant Sale. I went to the " P review Sale" yesterday with a dear friend that I haven't seen for awhile. We had lots to catch up on while wait ing in line together. A lot has happe ned in her life since I last saw her ... fir st and foremost b eing the bir th of her first child, an adorable ba by boy named Isaac.   Once i nside, we got caught up in the fren zy and I forgot to t ake photos. (A lthough I di d manage to snap a few, mostly in the Art Dept.) I like to call the White Elephant Sale or WES, "The H arrods of Jun k ," becau se it is set up by department and each one is run by a group of volunteers who do things "th eir way ." I t's a b i t frustrating because you have to wait in line in each department to pay for the items you w i sh to purchase before being allowed to look...

I forgot how much I loved this post from my 1st year of blogging. Her e it is ag ain for those of you who might have missed it. Enjoy! NICKNAMES If Laura, Kate and Sarah go out for lunch, they will call each other Laura, Kate and Sarah.   If Mike, Dave and John go out, they will affectionately refer to each other as Fat Boy, Godzilla and Four-Eyes.         EATING OUT When the bill arrives, Mike Dave and John will each throw in $20, even though it's only for $32.50.  None of them will have anything smaller and none will actually admit they want change back. When the girls get their bill, out come the pocket calculators. MONEY A man will pay $2 for a $1 item he needs. A woman will pay $1 for a $2 item that she doesn't need but it's on sale. BATHROOMS A man has seven items in his bathroom:  toothbrush and toothpaste, shaving cream, razor, a bar of soap, shampoo ...

D eep Discounts !     After receiving this email this mor ning , I headed straight for the nearest J. Crew store to see what I could find... Let 's just say I didn't leave disappointed. On the contrary!  I found just what I was looking for.   First up were some new boxer shorts for my hubby. At 50% off the Final Sale price of $6.99, I picked up what they had left in his size. Oh , d id I mention that when I arrived at the store I was told everything in the sale section was an additional 50 % off , not 40%!   So when I found this gorgeous Thomas Mason for J. Crew dress shirt in my hubby's size, it was a no-brainer at 50% off of $59.   I love a man in a blue gingham dress shirt! I snag ged a p air of my son's favorite cords at 50% off $29 . And last but not least, some thing th at I ha d on my wish list... a new pair of white denim jeans.     The best d...