I'm busy packing my home and am moving back to California. Whittling my possessions from a five bedroom home to fit into a
one bedroom apartment has been a challenge. I've donated boxes of books, tons of room decor, and all of our outdoor goods. We've sold our treadmill and
sofa set. I've given away house plants that I could not
have imagined I would have let go of. There are certain things I'm taking with me, however, that make me feel happy every time I look at them.
I snagged this print called "Cobalt Skies" from Ikea in San Diego in 2003. I recall suffering moral guilt over buying mass produced art at the time. My other favorite Ikea purchases include a TV stand and my Barbar bird tray (top).
This green lamp from Target is one of the first things I bought for my house in 2006. It's beautiful and functional. If you get close you can see tiny glazed cracks in the green ceramic.
Update: My lamp did not survive our move. The movers dropped it on the sidewalk. While the ceramic part was okay, the fall bent the part where the lightbulb is inserted. When I tried to bend it back into shape it snapped off completely.
I bought this watercolor block from artist
Erin Williams in 2009. She was selling her artwork at a beachside park in Santa Barbara. In addition to birds, William painted vegetables, flowers, and landscapes, all creatively mounted on canvas and woodblocks. I loved every single item she had for sale and regret not buying more of her paintings that day.
Update: If anyone has seen my bird block would you please let me know? It's gone missing amid the move and I'm genuinely sad about it.
Occasionally my husband makes smarter choices than me. One of them was choosing this colorful Joe Boxer Prizm comforter over a tan comforter that I wanted. When we opened it up at home it unfolded like a vivid Korean
bojagi! Another nice thing about the comforter is that it's lightweight and machine washable.
It's not easy finding reasonably priced, attractive plant pots. These days I lean toward organic-looking, glazed ceramics. I bought this small orange pot at my local greenhouse. Combined with a Mother-in-Law Tongue plant, it totally does the trick.
Cooper, our seven pound, senior Chihuahua is definitely going with us to California. He's been with us for the past seven months. Sadly, our other dog Ginger died from kidney failure in March, so Cooper's moving with us as a solo dog.
A casualty in our move is my Nelson Bubble Lamp. Our realtor repeatedly scoffed at the request I take it with me, and to keep me from exploding like a nuclear bomb, my husband promised we'd get a new one. I hope the new homeowners keep it up or at least sell the lamp for a few hundred bucks. If it ends up in the trash then BAD KARMA on our realtor!
