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I’ve got my mind set on you . . .

Posted on May 19, 2011 by CT | Leave a comment

My collection of succulent plants has been growing. I just picked another one up on our uber-quick trip to Alabama (more about that later). One succulent I’ve been on the look out for is a ZZ plant (Zamioculcas Zamiifolia for you green thumbs). My mother-in-law has had a few for a while now and they are really hard to kill, good for not-so-great gardeners like me (you know, the ones who think they are good but really aren’t!). One of the Plant Department helpful workers at Home Depot told me that they had switched plant vendors and lo and behold, a ZZ plant of my very own. (But seriously, the people at our Home Depot are so helpful, it kind of freaks me out every time.)

I love my ZZ so much that I want it to be happy and live forever. It needs a better home than the plastic pot it came in perched on a Target rip-off Aalto stool. And that got me thinking . . . . what would be the perfect home for ZZ (PS – I wanted to name it Zappa but JT didn’t agree. I name my plants. Well some of them. It makes it that much harder when they die).
This is his perfect home:

The bullet planter! In white! Heaven. Preferably this heaven would also be vintage although you can also buy them new from Design Within Reach. I’m going to have to start saving my pennies now for Zappa to have his happy home.

I also found this interesting option (below) at West Elm, in case Zappa and I just can’t wait any longer. It’s more affordable, but with no West Elm store in the STL area, I imagine shipping this gorgeous beast will be an arm and a leg.

So, that’s where my mind is these days. I’m a fixater. But it’s also like sending out a silent prayer to the thrifting gods — how can they know to send me a $5 garage sale Bullet Planter if I don’t ask for it? Exactly. For the other fixaters of the world, here’s a little musical enjoyment for your day, from my favorite Beatle. Hmmm . . . maybe I should name the ZZ “George” . . .

Blog World Meets Real World

Posted on May 11, 2011 by CT | 1 comment

The interwebs just got a little smaller — I met a St. Louis blogger last night — Mister Modtomic. His blog is a great one to follow with daily posts that keep you coming back for more. Speaking of those daily posts, I’m not quite sure how he does it, but I’m definitely not there yet!

So how did I get so lucky as to meet Mister Modtomic? I was doing a little blog ~~stalking~~ reading and saw that he had a Mid-Century Modern fireplace tool set up for grabs. I grabbed! Up ’til now we were rocking the Target nondescript fireplace tool set that was missing the brush since JT accidentally used it instead of the poker one night and ALL THE BRUSH HAIR BURNT OFF. Yep.

So here’s the newly restyled fireplace in all its glory:

We still have the nondescript Target fireplace screen though . . .

It’s a small detail, but the tripod fireplace tool set base lets it fit more compactly and efficiently onto the hearth. Those MCM designers were all about maximum usefulness and didn’t forget design either.

According to Mister Modtomic’s blog, the tool set came from the Forest Park Salvation Army, the same place I totally struck out a few weeks ago. (See Mister Modtomic’s post about its origins here.) Thrifting is definitely a hit-or-miss venture. I have been meaning to the check out the latest Goodwill location — where they are selling things by the pound – at the old Famous Barr warehouse along Highway 40 near Grand.

Here’s what the Goodwill website had to say about it: “The Outlet Store is the largest Goodwill Outlet Center in the country, boasting more than 20,000 square feet of retail space, and 93 bins full of merchandise that rotate every three and a half hours. More than 2,000 new items will be placed on the floor every 20 minutes, including clearance clothing, shoes, accessories, housewares, glassware, some electronics, books and toys. “
Hopefully that won’t be a thrifting fail — I’d better put it on the calendar!