A Goldendoodle, 2 Adults, 3 College Students, and a 3 Hour Car Ride…. What could possibly go wrong? Hahaha

Welcome to Lynn’s Latest #01…

January 9th
Watch for it every Friday or every other Friday! Or even on a SATURDAY like today!
Volume II Issue 01

 

When we found out we were getting a DOG, I reached out to Tina at Aloha Grooming for advice. She recommended Stacy Ayub for training. Stacy is AMAZING! Since I don’t have a photo of Stacy, here is one of Tina with her Alpaca who came to shop in the store this past Halloween. Just remember that all animals (of any size) are welcome to join you when shopping at Lynn’s!

One of the things that really stood out to me from our time with Stacy, was that the more exposure you can give your puppy the better. She said “Make sure she meets 100 people in her first 100 days, Take her to Lowes, Get her in the car, etc., Take her to the park…. because the more she experiences as a puppy, the less she will be afraid of later on”

Sooooo, over New Year, I decided we would take the familia and Cha Cha to Palm Desert! Why not? It would still be our “safe” family pod, but we would be in a new environment. Gotta shake this Covid thing up somehow! And, this would allow my mom to fly out of Palm Springs directly to Bellingham for her return trip. The PSP airport is a breeze and is so much easier on her than flying out of LAX. And Palm Desert is sooooo beautiful this time of year! It was going to be a win-win for everyone! or so we thought?

My mom and I headed out with Cha Cha on New Year’s Eve. The kids wouldn’t join us until New Year’s Day. We did OK with Cha Cha getting out there (but it is definitely a 2 man job). We had an appointment at 11 am at Barkingham Palace where Cha Cha would spend the day in Doggy Day Care so we could go thrifting!

Immediately after dropping Cha Cha off, we hit the thrift stores and yes, we hit them hard! I found a ton of flatware…probably 25 or more sets this trip. One of the sets was a Reed & Barton for only $8. Turns out that at high retail, this set adds up to over $1,000. I usually sell for about 1/2 of high retail, so that will be quite the ROI!

I got these listed in 16 separate auctions while I was out in the desert. As you can see from this recap, it does add up to over $500 and these are the lowest prices that I would accept for these pieces. If they don’t sell at auction, they will get listed in my store at a higher fixed price…the high retail from Replacements. Here is a link to see the current auction listings.

Hey, before I forget, I hope y’all had a very Merry Christmas. Ours was mellow, just me, my mom, Houston, Indy, and my brother Lee. Oh, but of course I am leaving out the most important people…how could I forget Carlos and Cha Cha! Notice Cha Cha’s Christmas sweater. It lasted about 10 seconds on her!

Here is a throw back photo of Carlos’ first Christmas in 2019 in his super cute sweater and next to it a photo of him wearing that same sweater in 2020. Still fits…kinda?

Oh, what a difference a year makes! And that is NO JOKE!

A high point of Christmas was that my brother made it down from San Francisco. Here is a cute photo of him and my mom and one of Cha Cha giving him some love!

Here is my brother at the store shopping in the Baggu section. He got some really cool pieces and believe it or not, he just text me to say, “The Baggu Mask with Stars is my current favorite mask”.

Just a heads up, the Baggu Masks are amazing but are sold in a 3 pack of $32. Not very convenient. So, we at Lynn’s Consignments, have started selling them individually at $10.95. Come in and check them out!

And finally, a last-minute selfie was taken as my brother was leaving to prove that we were all together for Christmas!

OK, so that wraps up Christmas! Let’s get back to the Palm Desert Fun!

After hitting about 10 thrift stores, it was time to go and pick up Cha Cha from her “doggy daycare”. When I got there I asked the girls how she did. They said, “She walked in like she owned the place!” That’s my girl! They also told me that she was much more interested in socializing than eating. Seriously, Cha Cha is just too much fun!

Once we secured the “package-aka Cha Cha” we drove to our hotel to check-in. Here is my mom chilling with the Cha Cha while they finish getting our room ready. Such a good girl!

Once we were settled into the hotel, it was on to the task of what to have for New Year’s Eve Dinner. Couldn’t go anywhere and it would have to be Take Out. I suggested Cactus Jacks because it is right across the street from the hotel and I LOVE that place!

When I lived in the desert, it was one of our hangouts and I used to frequent it with my good friend Max. I miss him! He moved to Puerta Vallarta….ugh! Here is an old Insta post from August of 2015…Ancient History! But it is all of us at Cactus Jacks for lunch….Oh the shenanigans!

That 2015 photo at Cactus Jacks lead me to an old ezine I wrote in September of 2015 right after dropping of Houston for his freshman year at Pepperdine. I started my Instagram during that time and the post I just shared was only my 4th ever. I only got 3 likes! LOL, thank you Kimberly Wallace.

That ezine that I wrote in September of 2015 was a really big one for me….I had just dropped off my firstborn at college…..Lots of lessons in that one….For those of you who want to check it out, here is a link. Interesting reading (especially for me)! Lots of tears. Here is a photo from that ezine.

OK, thank you for letting me go down that rabbit hole! Back to reality, when I called Cactus Jacks to place the New Year’s Eve order, Joan told me about the NYE special, Steak and Lobster for $59. I was buying & two dinners was out of my budget during this “Covid Christmas” so we settled on Cheeseburgers.

About 15 minutes after the order was placed, my mom said, “You know we could have shared one”…Oh crap! She was sooooo right. I was sooooo bummed that we missed out on Steak and Lobster, but as my mom reminded me “a Cheeseburger is the imperfectly perfect way to end 2020”. We got a good laugh out of that one. Especially, after we flushed 2020 goodbye!

Toilet photo courtesy of Valerie Harrington (my first Lynn’s employee)! LOL! BTW, her husband Ron is COMPLETELY cancer-free and he is even back to work! God is GOOD! Praise the LORD!

The next morning it was up and out early as we had TWO estate sales to attend! As my grandmother used to say, “Never a dull moment” and I truly try and live my life that way. I am always looking for my next adventure!

It was my plan to drop Cha Cha back off at Doggy Day Care so that we could shop alone, but alas, it was not to be. “Barkingham Palace” was closed on New Year’s Day. Luckily at our first estate sale stop, my good friends Jack and John, were more than happy to take care of the Cha, while I shopped!

Here is Jack with the little lady. She was sooooo good for him and she loved the attention.

I got so many fun things from the boys! Great finds and we will see how they do on eBay and in the store. It is always so fun to see them…they are good people! As I was shopping, a Duran Duran song came on, “Hungry Like the Wolf”…that was my sister’s favorite song (for those of you who don’t know she passed away in 2012 from lung cancer at 42 and left her two boys, only 3 and 5 at the time) and hearing that song, made me know that she was there with me. I wrote the boys a check for $599 and it was on to our next estate sale.

At the next sale, as I was shopping I spotted an ink blotter with a green slag backing. I knew immediately that it was Tiffany (without even looking for a signature, as my grandmother had the exact same Pine Needle patterned Stamp Box in her collection. It was then that I knew my grandmother was also with me on that New Year’s Day.

Here is a photo of my mom holding the ink blotter in the car.

As I did some quick research on my phone, I found an identical one for sale at $599! OMG, That was the amount of the check that I wrote at the first estate sale! Such a Godwink moment. My grandmother & my dad were looking out for me and handed me a score that would cover almost everything that I spent that day. WOW!

I think it is time to talk about the store and we can get back to the Desert trip later (hahahaha didn’t they call Coachella for the old folks with The Stones etc. the Desert Trip)…OMG!

We have been doing some super fun decorating. This past Wednesday, Val, Wayne, Adolio, Sunny, and I took down the Christmas Trees! What a huge job! Don’t forget, that through this upcoming Sunday 1/10…all Christmas is 25% off. But, only 2 more days! Don’t miss out!

Here are the guys taking down the trees….what a huge job!

Here is the front window display that Val and I replaced it with. Kind of Luxe and Fancy….right? Darn it though! We already sold the beautiful dresser from the corner. UGHHHHHH! I hate it when that happens.

And this driftwood look dresser just arrived!

Back to the Desert and that Ink Blotter. Here is my listing for the same ink blotter, but mine has a green slag background. I started my auction at $299 and will be thrilled to get that much for it! Click here to see if it has any bids yet!

Here is a story from my 1st “100 Best Things I’ve Sold on eBay” Book about the Tiffany Stamp Box that my brother inherited from our grandmother.

I love this picture of my brother and my grandma! It was taken at my wedding back in 1994. I couldn’t find it in color so will share one of my mom, Lee, my sister Kiki, me and my grandma.

Back to Palm Desert, it was only day 2 out in the desert and my mom and I had already had sooooo much fun! Next stop, was a visit with Sandra my former neighbor at Lake Mirage. She is retail royalty and her husband Alan was a top executive when I was a buyer at May Dept Stores Los Angeles. How crazy is that many years later she would be my neighbor? I love talking “shop” with her as she has some brilliant advice. She got to meet Cha Cha this trip!

I took Cha Cha on a little walk while my mom and Sandra visited and strangely enough she made a beeline to our former house. Didn’t want to go in any other direction just headed straight for our old patio. Strange, huh? I do think pets have a sixth sense. Here she is checking out the Lake and view from our former residence.

The kids arrived in Palm Desert just as we left Sandra’s house. Yay! We met them back at the Duplex. Do you think Indy missed her Cha Cha?

Then it was time to start talking about dinner. The kids grew up in Palm Desert so were throwing out all of their favorite restaurant names for take-out. I suddenly had (what I thought was) a brilliant idea! I do that sometimes 🙂 What if I called Cactus Jacks to see if they would extend the $59 Steak and Lobster for one more day? I called and Joan asked the chef…they said yes!

We decided to order one prime rib/lobster for Houston and two steak/lobster dinners for the 4 girls to share (me, Indy, Emma and my mom). It was a win-win and we were FINALLY starting 2021 off right! Check out that big bag of Cha Cha’s dog food in the photo. LOL!

My mom was flying out of Palm Springs the next morning (Saturday) so it was a great end to our holiday! And after dinner, we played Trivial Pursuit and had a blast!

The kids were going to be leaving Saturday as well and the plan was for me to stay until Sunday and drive back ALONE with the Cha Cha. I started to rethink that….not a great idea with a puppy.

The kids and I went thrifting Saturday and grabbed Islands for lunch. Here they are in a few of their new “old” outfits. Soooo cute!

The kids agreed to take Cha Cha home with them Saturday afternoon (WHEW) and since there was going to be a lot of traffic out of the Desert on Sunday because it was the end of the New Years’ weekend, I decided to stay until Monday. That way I could see the Palm Desert girls who had either been working or with the company. FUN!

Sunday morning Mo and I headed out to thrift and then we were going to head up to La Quinta to Candy’s house for drinks and appetizers. As we got off the freeway in Sun City and headed towards Angel View, my steering wheel stopped turning. SCARY! See, what could possibly go wrong on a road trip with a Goldendoodle? Thank God the Goldendoodle was safely back in Ventura!

Somehow I managed to pull my SUV into the parking lot and we called AAA. I had no idea how long my car would be in the shop, so we unloaded a ton of boxes of thrift items to take with us. Ughhhh! You can see the Angel View Sign (that we never made it to) in the background.

Luckily Candy was able to pick us up and I dropped off my keys at my old mechanics, European Auto. Then we headed out to Candy and Ron’s house for appetizers and drinks. We even watched a movie, “The Way We Were” and then called it a night.

The next morning, my mechanics emailed me an estimate…at first I was shocked with the $5k and then I looked closer. It wasn’t work that needed to be done right away and some of it not at all. Lilly let me know that $180 for power steering repair would get me home and being so sweet they did the work for me first thing that Monday morning! Yay for that!

I picked up my car at 1:30 and did a bit more thrifting. Thank goodness I would be able to drive home the next day which was Tuesday (day 5 of being in the desert). I was starting to feel like I still lived there.

But it was back to reality and the store! Check out the new paint kits from Annie Sloan that we have in stock! Purchase now for her “Big Paint” that will be taking place in February….Can’t Wait!

Click here to order yours now!

Here is more info about The Big Paint & It will be virtually taught by me at the store (an independent stockist that’s me :))…..

“The Big Paint is an international online painting workshop that you can enjoy from the comfort of your own home. Hosted by Annie Sloan and her network of independent Stockists, The Big Paint workshops will be taking place online in countries all over the world during the same week (1st – 7th February 2021). Reconnect with friends, family, and the wider Chalk Paint® community whilst nourishing your soul with some soothing creative therapy.

Your workshop kit will be sent directly to you by your local Annie Sloan Stockist and will contain everything you need to transform an authentic Indian tea tray. Included are 120ml tins of Chalk Paint® in Aubusson Blue, Scandinavian Pink, and Chicago Grey, an exclusive stencil design, a small tin of Clear Chalk Paint® Wax, a Flat Brush and the tray.

On the day itself, you’ll log on to your online hosted workshop, and follow along with other upcycling ticket holders as your Stockist demonstrates the ease of applying Chalk Paint® to create high-end finishes at home.”

Check out what comes in the kit and all of the creative different ways you can finish your tray! This is going to be FUN!!!

In more epic Lynn’s Consignment news, I actually cleaned off my desk! I know, I know right? Who would have ever thought that would happen? And in even better news, one of our new consignors sent in a dining room table with a glass top.

Unfortunately, the glass got chipped and Tom was going to take it and throw it away. I asked him if it might fit on top of my desk (so that I would have a smooth surface). We measured it and it was too big. Tom, being the awesome person that he is, offered to take it to get it cut. Seriously? Y’all here in Ventura are too darn nice!

Fast forward to about 30 minutes later and Tom shows up with the glass and patiently waits for me to clear off everything on my desk so we could place it on there. I am sooooo grateful to Tom! Check out my new and improved office AND my mom even painted that little cubby in Annie Sloan fun colors for me to use as desk drawers. Way to go Mor Mor!

OK, do you remember this eBay auction from the last newsletter? I had hoped it would sell in the $250 range. Here is the link to check it out. I paid $12 and started the auction at $99. Darn it! My bad in judgment.

Since it was over the holidays, I should have started the auction where I hoped to sell it. I was thinking (incorrectly) that it would get multiple bids and go over my $250 estimate. Didn’t happen. It sold for $146.38 with only 3 bids. UGHHHHH….I hate leaving money on the table!

Since I haven’t been in the store much, I haven’t been able to take pictures of the new items coming in….so please stop in and see us. We have so many great items!

Here are a few of the new arrivals!

Also, do you remember those really neat botanicals that we carry at $4.95 each? The ones posted up high on the wall? Here are some of the original ones up on the wall.

We just got in a ton of new beachy/unique ones. Please come in and browse through our notebooks full of them. They are 11 by 17″ and tea soaked for a distressed appearance. They are great just taped up on a wall, decoupaged on furniture, given rolled up as a gift or framed. Here is a sampling.

Just a reminder of Our CURRENT HOURS:

Tuesday through Saturday 11 am to 5 pm
Sundays 11 am to 3 pm

 

Time for an eBay score! I don’t think I have shared an ACTUAL score yet, but before I get to that….our eBay business is off the charts! I am NOT kidding! Cindy had to ship about 45 packages last weekend. It was crazy! Here is a picture of her with all of the boxes.

OK, here is a score for y’all. I am so sad that Houston is leaving in two days to go back to OKC. It has been so nice to have him home! Ughhhhh, but this score is definitely Houston-related because my little guy (well not anymore) still loves his choo choos. This is a railroad plate that I paid $1 for and listed during the first Covid lockdown back in April. It sold for the full asking price (less 10% from a sale I had running). Score! Over $75! Check it out here.

Regarding Covid, I just want to reassure you that we are taking this very seriously and following protocol. We sanitize, wear masks, request that you wear a mask (unless you have a health issue that exempts you), and have a very large store.

With over 5,000 square feet our max capacity is 88 people. WOW, I wish I could have 88 customers at once when covid is over! Wouldn’t that be amazing? Just kidding, but kind of serious.

Bottom line is this, even at 20% of capacity (which the Governor is suggesting), there can still be 17 of you in the store. We never get that busy, so please feel safe and please ask us if you have any special requests. We are more than happy to make your shopping experience a great one!

I have to apologize here to both y’all and to Carlos. This entire newsletter (AGAIN) has been hijacked by Cha Cha. Although, Carlos did get some representation with those cute sweater photos…am I right?

OK, so here is a screenshot of a video I posted on my Instagram stories. Carlos was diligently cleaning Cha Cha and it was sooooo cute. They really love each other!

OK, now back to Cha Cha. Hahahaha. I met one of my high school friends, Marty Mundell, in downtown Ventura yesterday to walk our dogs and get some drinks. It was super fun and here is Cha Cha meeting Willy for the first time. They had a blast as well!

And I will end this ezine with two fun pics of Houston and Indy trying to pick up their newest bundle of joy.

Let me wrap this up with a HUGE thank you for your continued support of me and my small business! You are keeping us going and my gratitude is immense! THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!

Finally, a great photo from back on March 1st, 2020 before all of this madness began and we could all be together.

My team, from left to right. Indy, Val, me, my mom, Sandy, Steve, Peggy, Joanne, and Kathy Rutan. Those were the days my friends! Soon to come again I believe…Keep the faith and keep smiling (as my dad would say)!

Thanks for reading my ezines! I appreciate it….as always!

eBay with Heart & Design with Heart……Lynn

 

P.S.  All of the professional photos I use on Instagram, Facebook and in these newsletters were taken by my friend Denise’s daughter, Jaclyn Sabo.  She is amazing!   To learn more about Jaclyn….https://www.jaclynszabo.com/

P.P.S.  If you have a friend who wants to sign up for this newsletter.