My last REAL ezine ended with Chris Wade stopping by the store and the two of us doing a little day drinking. LOL, so I guess it is only fitting that this one starts out with Chris Wade and me going to Boots & Brews this past Sunday night.

If you remember, I took him to that amazing “Outstanding in the Field Dinner” hosted by some of my favorite customers Tina & Tere Cruz this past May, so he knew he had to take me to something just as fun. VIP tickets to Niko Moon, Micheal Ray and Jon Pardi at Surfers Point came pretty close….We had a blast.

First we had appetizers at Lure with our Solo Cups in tow…..Hahahaha

Welcome to Lynn’s Latest #0009

Thursday, October 19, 2023
Volume IV Issue 0009

The concert was super fun…I think Niko Moon was the most entertaining of the bunch! If you were there, what did you think?

Since I haven’t written one of these in a Looooonnnng time, I think it is time for an eBay score! This one is crazy. I pick up these EMPTY Jose Cuervo boxes whenever I see them and I probably paid $5. This one sold for $127.49. Isn’t that incredible? Check out the listing here.

As you know, I have been giving you little snippets of my life in the weekly “New Arrivals” emails, but to recap the last 6 weeks (OMG) I will do some highlights!
LOL!
My September was all about having company (which I LOVE). First Jo Dallas arrived on September 6th to help me while both Cindy and Sandy were on vacation. What a lifesaver! She helped me in the store with customers, filed paperwork and even helped clean up my deck. It is looking soooooo good at my house these days!

In that photo you can probably make out Carlos if you look really carefully. I know that I gave you a little bit of the history of him going missing….but here is a recap. I was watching my friend Marty’s dog, Willy, and Willy chased Carlos. Carlos climbed a tree and got stuck. I called the fire department and they came and got him down…thank God!

Here he is in the Fireman’s arms…a little blurry because he was freaking out.

That was Wednesday night, September 27th. Carlos never showed his face again, the entire time Willy was at my house. I started leaving food and water for him under my deck, because that is where I thought he was. Marty picked up Willy on Monday, October 2nd. Still no Carlos.

Normally, when Willy is here and leaves, Carlos knows immediately and comes right out. He didn’t show up Tuesday or Wednesday and I started freaking out. I was still leaving food and water under the deck and some of it was disappearing…but who knows…It could have been a neighbor’s cat eating it.

By Thursday, I was beside myself and asked Marty to go under the deck and look for him. I feared the worst….that Carlos was dead and under the deck. But thank GOD, he wasn’t there.

Later that night I went outside and called him and I heared a Meow, Meow. I followed the sound and found him in a different tree in the neighbors yard. It was short enough that I could grab him and he fought me, but I was stronger and dragged him into the house. He tried to run back outside so I closed the doggy door. I fed him and kept a close eye on him. By the next morning everything was back to normal. I am soooooo relieved. Literally, I couldn’t sleep those three nights after Willy left because I thought I had killed my cat.

Here is a recent photo of Carlos and Cha Cha….How cute are they?

While Jo was still here in September, Mo (Maureen) came out from Palm Desert to work on eBay and hang out. So much fun! And Indiana and her friend Larissa also showed up that same evening.

I LOVE having a house that can sleep so many people comfortably! We all went out to happy hour at the Saloon…one of my favorite happy hours (but it is only Tues, Weds, Thurs).

I called this post on Instagram….”When Worlds Collide”. Because Jo was here from my hometown of Bellingham, WA, Mo was here from my 2nd hometown of Palm Desert, CA and Indiana and Larissa were here visiting from Marina del Rey & Brentwood. I lived for 6 years in Brentwood….some of the funnest years ever!

Jo left the day after that picture was taken and the other Palm Desert girls rolled into town on September 15th…Kel & Candy to join Mo and me for a Palm Desert Girls weekend in Ventura.

These girls are my posse….my favorite group. Do you know how it is when you find a group that just clicks? Well these are my people. I have known them for over 20 years. We became friends because our boys played baseball together. Thank God for having children and the wonderful friendships that come with all of that!

They came out to celebrate my big birthday….Yes, the celebration continues. Hahaha! They took me to Prime Steakhouse for dinner. So much fun…Mo doesn’t like having her picture taken, but here I am with Kel & Candy.

Kel & Candy left on Sunday, September 17th and Mo stayed until Thursday the 21st. It was really nice to be alone again…LOL. I had had “wall to wall company” (as my grandmother would have called it) since September 6th. OMG, that was 15 days! Let’s be honest…I LOVED IT and would do it again in a New York second. Hahaha.

Well, I laid low for a few days, put my nose to the grindstone and worked super hard at the store and on eBay.

Then it was National Daughter and Son days. I really enjoy posting cute pics of my kids on these special days.

Since I am a super proud Mama, I just have to share some fun throwback pics of my kids. The first one is when Indy was Homecoming Princess her Junior year and got to ride on the back of a convertible on the football field and the next one is when Houston was Prom King. Love these kids sooooo much!

When I was up in Bellingham for those two weeks in August, I went to a Theresa Muers Sale at Assumption Church. I got the best stuff! A set of French Stainless silverware for $10.

Just sold two of the salad forks for a best offer of $40. Amazing! …Check out the listing here. Pretty fun since I was able to do the listings from my mom’s beach house and I took the photos on her weathered picnic table. Then I just shipped the set back down to Ventura so that we can ship out from here when items sell. I would have put it in my carry on luggage, but knives & forks are a big “no no” these days on airplanes!

The week after all of my company left, Indiana had a comedy show in West Hollywood at the Virgil and it was in the bar that A Star is Born used to film the drag queen segment with Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper. So much fun and a great show!

So amazing to see Indy perform on the same stage that Lady Gaga performed on back in 2018.

The weekend after Indy’s show, Houston and two buddies came out to go biking up to Ojai. Love having the kids visit. Here are Houston, Alex and Nolan before we went out to dinner. And then a snapshot of them in the front Halloween window….creepy!

October 2nd is always a tough day for me. It is my sister Kiki’s birthday. She would have been 54 years old this year. Kiki passed away in 2012 at the age of 42 from Cancer.

August 28th was my good friend Jodi Cadman Chalfont’s birthday and she would have been 60 this year if Cancer hadn’t taken her at 40. Not cool Cancer….

Here is one of my favorite pictures of my sister Kiki (what she is really saying is F* Cancer) and a great picture of Jodi that her sister Kim posted on Instagram on Jodi’s birthday this year. Miss them both so much!

Isn’t life so strange sometimes? I was in the store on October 3rd and I heard Sandy say from the front, “This lady knew your grandmother”. What?

I jumped out of my desk chair and went to the front of the store. What, How, Where? She had seen the “Cheryl Leaf” sign and the newspaper articles about my grandma that are up on the wall and couldn’t believe it……Turns out she and her husband used to have a jewelry store in Bellingham back in the 1980’s when my grandmother was making a lot of jewelry. She sold to them and also bought from them. Small World!

It really made my day and I felt like it was a little “Godwink” from my grandmother. Business has been tough and I feel like it was Cheryl Leaf’s way of saying, “You are doing a great job & it will all be OK.”

Here I am with Terri Krantz.

Oh, before I forget….let me interrupt this program for a word from our sponsors 🙂

The store still needs a bunch of stuff, but we are super full right now, this is a wish list for later…..Main Store

Small Mirrors
Dressers
Desks
Matching Table Lamps
Floor Lamps
Shelves
End Tables
Side Tables
Coffee Tables (I do have room for coffee tables now)
Baskets
Cool Garden Pieces
Metal and Wood items

We will eventually need Sofas & Sectionals in very good to excellent condition.

Please text pictures of larger items to my store manager Sandy for pre-approval prior to bringing in. 805-628-6025

For the clothing store….

Larger Size Tops
Designer Purses (have been selling really well so thank you for those!)
Higher end shoes/boots
Fall Colors
Long Sleeves
Knitted Sweaters
Crewnecks
Flannels
Lightweight Jackets..think Fleece & Denim
Ventura LOVES Casual Dressy!

Great Selling Brands: Cabi, Free People, Johnny Was, J Jill, Ann Taylor/Loft, J Crew, Chicos, Eileen Fisher

Hours in Fun Fashions

Weds 11-3
Thurs 11-3
Fri 11-5
Sat 11-5
Sun 11-3

To make an appointment please call or text.
Land Line 805-628-9208
Cell 805-470-6493

OK, October 7th was going to be my favorite Indy performance of the year. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Pepperdine Improv Troupe Alumni Show during Parent’s weekend. I was so excited to go and then Indy text me on the Wednesday before and said, “I have been exposed to Covid and I may be opting out.” Ughhhh

Here is a pic of her in last year’s alumni Improv performance.

I know I may be repeating some things in this full length ezine (from my shorter “new arrival” emails) so please forgive me! If I do repeat, I am trying to add some new and unseen photos. LOL. Thanks for playing along!

So the next morning, Marc Kettles called and invited me to the USC/Arizona game on the same Saturday as the Alumni Improv Show. I told him I had to wait to see if Indy was in the show or not and he was a great sport.

Turned out she couldn’t perform and I got to head to LA for that nail biter of a game. We won in triple overtime! Yikes! Here we are on campus as the Marching Band marches behind us…just like when we were students!

Indiana had a doctor’s appointment in Ventura on Tuesday, October 10th. So she and her friend Larissa arrived to spend a few days here. I stayed FAR FAR FAR away from them. But we did have some fun and carved pumpkins at a distance.

OK, a little plug for my friends. My friends Janette (Island Girl Spray Tan) and her daughter April are super talented. Janette is the best spray tanner around and April is attending beauty school at the Simi Valley School of Cosmetology. Here is a pic of the three of us out celebrating Janette’s birthday last June. How is it October already? Yikes!

This past Thursday I drove up to Simi Valley to get a facial from April at the Cosmetology school. She is the best! She will soon be doing facials etc. here in Ventura, but for now you can get in touch with her and schedule something at the school. She is on Instagram as Angel Aesthetics by April and her cell number is 805-814-7412.

Check out my skin after the facial…It felt amazing! Thank you April!

On Saturday, Indy was supposed to have a show in West Hollywood. I was so excited to see it, but once again she had to drop out because she was still testing positive for Covid. I am soooooooo OVER Covid! How about y’all?

Marc had invited me up to Ojai to watch the USC/Notre Dame game with a bunch of his friends so I did that instead. Loved his friends…they are siblings (along with their spouses) from Quebec and I have been instructed to only call them Quebecois and NOT French Canadians. Noted!

The game was terrible…ugh! But we had a fun time.

Sandy had a great idea for a sale in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month. We have tagged specific inventory with bright pink tags and an extra discount amount. Look for these tags around the store. Here is an example.

These Thomasville Night Stands are down to the lowest price of $237, but for this sale you will get an extra 30% off making them only $165.90 each. Sweet!

OK, one last eBay score before we share the new arrivals. Sold this darling PHB (Porcelain Hinged Box) for $52.20 last week and it shipped to Australia. The buyer LOVED it! These little trinket boxes do very well. Even in the store, if you have any to consign, let us know. Check out the listing here.

And now, for what most of you have been waiting for….our new arrivals!

Grey Sofa Faux Leather $795.00

Giguere Morin Cherry Wood Table w Matching 6 Chairs w/ Leaf $2495.00

This gorgeous set was made in the French section of Canada….maybe it is also Quebecois?

Small Decorative Asian Chest $145.00

Antique Carriage Lamp Lantern Ceramic 1800’s $1995.00

Custom Painted Oval Coffee Table w/ Decoupage $195.00

Herman Miller Equa Rocker Chair $195.00

Burlwood Inlaid Small Coffee Table $295.00

Old Trunk $95.00

Roy Rogers Limited Edition Acoustical Guitar NIP $125.00

Edward Borein Etching $225.00

As I end this ezine, I just want to say THANK YOU so much for reading these and mentioning it to me in the store or by email.

I LOVE to hear that you enjoy reading these and it makes my day!

Again, thank you all for supporting me, my family and my businesses as I work on expanding….as you know I am building my empire!

eBay with Heart
Decorate with Heart
Dress with Heart

I try and do everything in my life in a big way and with a lot of heart! Thank you for joining me on this super fun journey. Take care and we hope to see you soon!

Sandy, Val and me. Sandy is back in the store, thank goodness! Val is still out and needs all your prayers and good thoughts for her family. We miss her!