~ Black and White ~

"Even the birds get dressed up here."

"Simply Elegant"

"Certainly changes the old saying that less is more."

"One of her customers appears to be diving right into the goodies."

" Oh Dear, not exactly organized is it? Reminds me of my house."

With Spring here and pastel colors overflowing, I decided to take a u-turn and do a color change. Not me exactly, but Amy at the Funky Monkey here in Keller has it going on!. I will visit her shop this week and take a peek at her new displays, but for now I am posting some old photos from a few months ago. I love the combination of black, white and silver. It is very elegant in its own way. Of course, the way it is decorated makes a huge difference. We sell black furniture at Golightly's nearly as much as the cream furniture. And why not? it is as elegant in the proper setting. I can envision a media room dressed in black, silver and white surrounded by old black and white hollywood photos. Or a dressing table with mirrored drawers and black and white accessories. The possibilities are endless, and thank goodness for other colors or this world would be quite boring. Oh by the way, I did visit my storage today and see for yourself what I have going on......

~ Sneak Peek ~

Yes, this is the corner of my bedroom. Can't believe I am such a mess!!!

Bed that I painted cream and stained with the beginning of pillow collecting....

Dining room archway that was wall-papered and painted and all my gold goodies....

Bed comforter-love the colors and the texture, but need to store it for the summer....

An old twin headboard-love the green and the cherubs. Will paint it cream and maybe change the picture to something black and white in the center. I think this would fit nicely over a window-kinda like a cornice.....

I can't believe I am doing this, but I decided to get a few photos of some of my goodies in my house. Look past the disarray- one day I WILL get it all together. I love my stuff, but I find that I need that sudden burst of inspiration in order to get things done. Look out when I get going! I have started gathering "good" pillows (you know the type that cost a fortune and you can only buy one at a time.) My bedspread is new, but more for the Fall look. The idea is to have cream on cream with the background silvery blue walls. The corner of my bedroom is a MESS, but look at the stuff! I am planning to put that old armoire piece above the bed where the window is. I still need to stain it, but that is the easy part. When I decide on the right brown for the bathroom, I have an old crackly fireplace mantle that I think will fit around the window. I have linen cream colored sheers for either side of the bed and now I need to figure ought perhaps a wall of gold gilt mirrors. I want a chandelier on either side of the bed as well. The endtables are second hand finds but I love used items anyway. Maybe a nice rug at the foot of the bed and I do have a great bench, but it needs reupholstering as the color matched my last house and not this one. I am very fortunate to have the beautiful things I have-now I need to get my rump in gear and pull it all together...Tomorrow I am heading for my storage-Lord help me.....It is full to the top with goodies, but where will they all go?

~ The Darker Side ~

" Love those old leather books-much prettier than the girly magazines hidden under SR's chair."

" Clockcase all prettied up."

" Old hollowed out clockcase with embellishments and goodies."

" The man obviously spends alot of time on the phone."

" SR's great great grandfather's picture "

Ok, now that I have posted nearly every inch of Lynn's house, we have yet to enter the SR zone. Hold on to your panties ladies it is a secret and dark area of the house. Located at the end of the hall-quite similar to the Exorcist-it is there that one will encounter the darkest of cream tones, and yep! black furniture and accessories. We all knew that SR had a dark side and I will prove it to you. As you enter the vintage double dark french doors you will find leather chairs, black furniture, spackled dark cream walls, and a huge,huge.....TV (no SR this is not about you this time, it's about your TV.) Old radio cabinet, vintage dressers,torn lamps,and old family photos abound. This is where all the babies gather as well. The babies being the sweet doggies of which they have 3. When SR is not decorating the house-and boy is Lynn glad that that seldom happens-this is where you can almost always find him. And why not, who wouldn't love to relax in this room. This just goes to prove the point that lighter isn't always better if it is decorated well. Sometimes it is very refreshing to have that one area that is entirely different from the rest......

~ Rejuvenation ~

Well, now that we have all had the chance to "let go" a bit, I thought we might have a Zen moment and relax while looking at dealer booths.... There are several major changes going on at Golightly's Gallery-all good of course. I think the pics will be posted on their blog so go take a looksy. New dealers, leopard spotted stairs, stained concrete floors to name a few. Spring will be officially here tomorrow and the decor is now light and bright. Dang! I sound like a TV commercial! Cupcakes have made their debut in the tearoom as well....Ms. Barb-one of our employee type- dealer type ladies has been taking singing lessons so she will serenade you upon entering the store. Her favorite song is Mama Mia from the broadway musical. Although Pierce Brosnan won't be there to accompany her with the backup lyrics, you will certainly be in for a treat! Imagine yourself gliding on the new stained floors and climbing up those animal print stairs while eating a lemon cupcake, and all the while Barb will be doing the high kick behind the counter. Sounds like Spring is here!.....

~ Dirty Laundry ~

"Maybe we can get a better deal if we bargain all together at one time." Kids if you run around the store and distract one dealer we will barter with the other one. They will be in a hurry to get rid of us thinking something in the store might get damaged. Run, run as fast as you can-Mommy is making a deal!"

"I think that everything has its price. Not the price I am willing to pay, but a price."

"Suzy said she purchased a full-size bed for $20.00. Maybe I can get one here for that price? Of course the thing is, the bed came as a donation from the local prison and was covered in gang graffiti and nasty photos, but her husband loved it!" Said it was the best buy she had ever made."

" I own half of Dallas, but I looooove a good deal!" Bargaining gets my blood pumping. Nothing smells sweeter than a steal of a deal." (Hmph! Well, for us dealers the smell resembles fresh crap!!! And for that we have a bathroom. Go and make a deal there!)

Wow!!!! Venting is sure good for the soul....Thank you ladies for partaking in the doldrum therapy session. I work again tomorrow-took me all day to get over yesterday. I did manage to put a hidden camera upstairs, and I will be posting pictures of a few of the offensive shoppers. Today's lesson is how to handle those customers-and you know who you are-who set off chronic hot flashes in us poor dealers.

~ Dealer Doldrums ~

"Is the muffin tin half price because it has no muffins?"

"Is this doll half price because she lost her head?"

"Is the lamp half price because the lampshade is ripped?"

"How about those shoes? Are they half price because they smell like feet?"

This sweet Cherub's face says it all........And no, he is not half price."

Today I will concentrate on venting. This is not the kind of venting that a hole in your pants will take care of -if you know what I mean. Although SR might disagree with this...(just kidding). While working today, as has been happening quite frequently for some time now, I find myself highly frustrated with situations in general....people bartering on prices if bartering is even the proper word to use here. Don't get me wrong, our business is based nearly entirely on customers purchases whether it be a dealer or regular purchaser and we truly appreciate the business.. I guess my point is that I wish that people would realize that we are trying to make a living as well-and our financial situation is probably about the same as everyone elses if not worse. It takes alot of work to do what we do, but sometimes I think people lose sight of that fact. The finding of the item, the painting or fixing, the hauling of it back and forth, and the displaying that goes along with it. It's not an easy task. So when people walk in and immediately start asking for better prices even when it has been marked down, I get a little steamed. Sorry to be soooo negative, but this seems to have become an epidemic. I wonder if these same people walk into other shops-for example Macy's-and ask what their best price is? I am willing to bet that hasn't happened yet. Maybe I can give it a go myself-let's see I think I will visit Lexus and ask them if I can have the latest model SUV for a 50% discount. I am willing to bet that I will be leaving in my Dodge truck with a footprint on my butt!!! Let us now relax and look at some soothing photos.....

~ Tea Stained ~

I attempted to tea stain some lace last night while on the phone with Lynn getting instructions on the correct way to do it. It seems a simple task but I must say that some people do much better than others. Mine turned out ok, but I might let a few more pieces soak a wee bit longer. I finally picked through my garage a bit today with my parents. Once again, my mom left with a truck load of what should have been Goodwill items-sorry dad....I found my lovely old silky pincushion so I took a picture of it, some of my freshly stained lace, and a few of you know who's ironstone pottery (stained to perfection)....