Tuesday, February 4, 2020

New Second-Hand Furniture, A Steampunk Show, & YES I'M 41

Somehow I've accumulated a huge backlog of random life photos, so PREPARE THINESELVES.


...FOR GLOWY THINGS! (Globe-y things?)

John's mom flipped over this, said it reminded her of Rocky Horror Picture Show - which is the LAST thing I expected her to say. Um. I guess I'll have to google that?



Before the Labyrinth party we donated our front room furniture set to our favorite charity - both to make room for party things and because the 15-year-old couch & chair were showing their age.

So last month we started re-furnishing the room, and omigosh, gang, these two chairs are a dream-come-true:

I loooooove barrel chairs, they're so comfy for shorties like me. And these are practically new! We scored them from an office building nearby.

 Another second-hand score going in the room:


It looks like a porthole, right? Anyway, this thing was suuuper filthy. The wood parts were blackened and sticky (we think with tobacco tar) and we had no idea the legs would look like THIS after polishing:
I still need to take some beauty shots of the cleaned-up table. I'll post those with the finished room photos, which hopefully are coming soon. (We still need a console table, and thrift stores never seem to have those!)

Oh right, but here's a sneak peek at our new couch on the other side of the room:


I actually spotted Teddy last week on my way in to the office: they keep him sitting in a chair in the hallway for any kid/teen who wants to bring him in for their session. I'M NOT CRYING OK YES I'M CRYING.


Getting back to house stuff: it's perfectly normal to spend 30 minutes re-arranging your fridge magnets, right?

Most of the ones on the left are from Kicking Cones, which I highly recommend if you like cute punny art.

 (Close-ups by request! Click either to embiggen)


After I posted this next Story a bunch of you wrote in expecting me to do a tutorial on painting light globes, ha:

John tells me we can actually change out that glass, though, so I'll be looking for something more rounded.

Also I never take pictures of our bedroom ceiling - isn't it pretty? Those are Styrofoam tiles John and I glued over our existing popcorn ceiling. We bought them from Ceiling Tiles By Us years ago, and we have several other styles installed around the house. You can see a few more of our rooms with them here.

*****


So many of you liked my "before" brow that I've been experimenting with leaving them a little thinner. Just a little, though. (I do love a crisp chunky eyebrow.)

Here comes my first purchase for the party I want to throw myself this year:

How cute is this??

This ended up being my most commented-on Story in a loooooong time, but for a delightfully unexpected reason:

So many f-bombs. SO MANY. Bahahaha!

Anyway, I guess I haven't mentioned my age much? Gotta change that; I want to OWN being this ridiculous at 41, thankyouverramuch.

But for all those who asked: I literally have NO "skin care routine." Just good genes, chubby cheeks, and the style sense of a 5-year-old.

:D

Let's end with a quick trip over to Renninger's for their Steampunk & Industrial Show:

They host these shows a few times a year; follow them on FB to get notified of the dates.

Usually these shows are fairly low-key, but this time they added in a fashion show and costume contest, so there were people in costume EVERYWHERE. Really added to the fun!

Sometimes you have to stop and appreciate the geeky roses, my friends. If you're ever feeling blah, go be around people doing things they're passionate about. It's infectious, and never fails to lift me up.

I didn't take many pictures since we got there late, but I'll do better next time.

My favorite find wasn't actually part of the Steampunk show; it's a booth/shop that's there year-round:


This place is YA adventure book waiting to be written, y'all. 

The shop is open to the elements, so everything on the lower three shelves is buried under thick layers of dirt and dust:


We only had 20 or 30 minutes there before closing, so I'm looking forward to going back later this month.

I'll leave you with a panorama I took from the entry:


OoooOOooh.

Renninger's is hosting another of their big Antique Extravaganzas on Valentines' weekend, btw, so if you're local, go check it out! You may see me and John wandering around with you. :)

*****



I haven't mentioned it in forever because John and I are easily distracted and forgetful, but did you know we have an Epbot t-shirt shop?


It's through Threadless, so the shirts are beautifully soft with printing that actually lasts, and they only cost $17, even for women's fitted styles! Awww yeeeeeah. Click here to shop.


31 comments:

  1. Leah in WilliamsburgFebruary 4, 2020 at 2:13 PM

    Happy birthday! I am also turning 42 this year. I'm throwing myself a Roaring Twenties themed game night. I looked at your Fantastic Beasts party decorations for ideas, but unfortunately the stuff I liked the most was magic-related, which doesn't go with my more realistic theme, or was beyond my crafting skills. If you happen to make any art deco crafts between now and late March, I will be paying close attention!

    I made a Hitchhiker's Guide themed cake for a friend's 42nd birthday. It was actually my first time working with fondant. That green alien guy from the cover was really easy to cut freehand from green, black, red, and white fondant when the only tool I had was a knife.

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  2. I need a closer clearer shot of the fridge magnets. I also neeeeeed that cute octo giving everyone all the fingers. And the pencil cup on the fridge is genius. Is it weird that my fave part of this post is the fridge? OK, cool.

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    1. Bahaha! Not weird at all. Lemme go upload some closer shots of the magnets. :D

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  3. Ahhhhh!!!! We’re the same age-ish! I am so excited to be the answer to be the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything this year:)
    PS Thank you for the recommendation for Silvervine sticks for kitties! They were a huge bribe *ahem* hit with my brother's cats that the scaredy-cat even came out to play and love on me. ❤️

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  4. Give your guests little notebooks and washcloths as party favors. And seriously, you have to see The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Maybe not at a theater with a floor show, it may not be your cup of tea, but it should be on a streaming service or even rentable somewhere. Or, just wait for Halloween and it'll pop up on cable.

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    1. I think I've seen *most* of it in bit & pieces over the years, but never the whole thing through in one go. John says he used to watch it with his mom as a teenager, but even he doesn't remember the glowing globe she's talking about! She said it was at the very end?

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    2. The film closes with lines from the narrator, in his study. The screen fades to black, except for the illuminated globe, while he speaks the final lines. So there you go, you can tell John’s mum you know what she’s talking about 😉😉

      Also - 42?!?! No way!! 😁😁

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  5. +1 for the RHPS/globe reference! (I've been doing Rocky on and off for over 20 years so I can find references in anything at this point, ha). Also I'm going to be 39 next month and NOBODY believes me. High five!

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  6. Oooh, I've been wanting to visit Renninger's and I might actually be able to make it that weekend!

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    1. Yay! Let me know if you do, we'll see if we can meet up.

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  7. I'm also turning 42 this year (October), and I was thinking I needed to do something HHGttG themed! I hope your birthday is before mine so I can steal your ideas. :)

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    1. We need to start a Club 42! And yes, my birthday is in May, though I may push the party back so I can celebrate with another friend who is ALSO turning 42 this year.

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  8. Same momentous birthday here, I'm hoping to source a bulldozer and a shopping cart for my front yard when I have my bday party........(more excited for this one than when I turned 40)

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    1. I'm laughing because I legit googled "Bulldozer rental Orlando" earlier today. :D If you get one then you MUST share photos, pretty please!

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  9. It's so good to hear Teddy has landed such a great retirement job. I've wondered what folks do with such things when they no longer have a place in the house (even if they still have a place in the heart.)

    Also, Yay! Planned leftovers! I can't believe some folks don't like leftovers.

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  10. For a Hitchhiker's Themed party, I would absolutely serve something that was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea.

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  11. I turned 42 on Friday the 13th. I’m sure that means...SOMETHING, but I have yet to figure out what.

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  12. That glowing globe hits me right in the "While You Were Sleeping" feels. "There are two things that I remember about my childhood...I just don't remember it being this orange. I asked my Dad when he knew he truly loved my mother and he said 'Your mother gave me the world'. Actually, it was a globe with a light in it. But for the romantic that he was, it might as well have been the world." <3

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  13. On Wednesday, March 8th, 1978 at 10:30pm in London the BBC aired the first radio episode of Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy. This year marks 42 years since the first airing! Yep it's 42!

    So all of the 1978ers celebrating their 42nd birthday are extra special as they are the meaning of life, the universe, and everything...just ask their loved ones!

    I'm also doing a Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy party for my 42nd (I was born quite near the first airing time, so it is my geeky duty), and I expect to attend many others this year as well. 42nd birthdays are twice as epic as 21st!

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  14. You should add a link to that pencil holder to your Amazon affiliate links! I think that would solve all of my problems. WEll, maybe one.

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  15. I'm 42 this year as well and now I am thinking HHG2TG fun for the whole year - birthday and beyond. I can't believe given I keep telling everyone it's my favourite book I hadn't twigged the significance earlier!

    Also the globe being Rocky Horror I also had google. Though I am thinking I could add some globes to my Rocky Horror decorations I got in the FOE Christmas Ornament SWAP and there is potential for a theme tree!

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  16. Such a fun post! I love potpourri posts.
    Your 40s are even better than your 30s!
    I also like the before brow - it has good definition and is nicely dark.

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  17. I got a towel with "Don't Panic" embroidered on it for my 42nd birthday - best present ever :)

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  18. I turned 42 in November. I keep forgetting my towel.
    (Well, I keep forgetting to *change* my towels...that counts, right?)

    In a way I'm surprised people aren't sure how old you are, but then again, I get all your '80s and '90s references since we're contemporaries. I'd kind of figured as much (hello, fellow Jen), but then I think it was when you turned 40 that I went, aha! We're six months apart!

    ...Anyway. People also don't believe I'm my current age. I like to think it's because of all the preservatives in the food I ate as a kid. I ate a lot of Happy Meals, for example.

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  19. I'm turning 42 this November and no one believes me either. It's a blessing and a curse. My boyfriend turned 42 last summer and I got him a towel (naturally and embroidered with "Don't panic") and took him down to Philadelphia for the Marvel Comics exhibit at The Franklin Institute because that's what adults do, right?

    I don't know that I'll throw any kind of party this year for myself but, for my 40th, I rented a local indie movie theater and threw myself a Princess Bride themed birthday. Complete with themed food, puns, name tags and crowns, and a "pin the tail on the ROUS" game.

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  20. So much amazingness in this post! Those chairs!! Drool. And, I'm so glad your big bear is getting and giving some love.
    Now...that BOOTH! OMG. That's definitely my kind of place. wow.
    You mentioned it would be great for a YA adventure book and that makes me wonder what books you read. Do you have a list on here somewhere that I might have missed?

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    1. Thank you! And yes, I have a list! Click on "Book Reviews" in the header bar; I've starred all my top favorite titles in that list. (Although I haven't added to it in ages, gotta get back to reading again.)

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