OK! Happy Halloween! It is almost November…How did that even happen? Our trees are up, Christmas ornaments out and believe it or not….they sell year round!
I am trying to get this ezine out before it is officially November, but we will see…I have been a little bit busy and some big changes coming.
Welcome to Lynn’s Latest #008…
Monday, October 31st
Watch for it every Thursday or every other Thursday, Friday or Saturday!
Actually, lets be honest…watch for it whenever I get one finished hahahaha
Volume III Issue 008
I honestly don’t know where the time goes. Seriously? Ideally, I would write one of these every two weeks and then on the off week, I would send an email with new merchandise. I am going to make an “end of the year” resolution to do that for the next 8 weeks. Wish me luck!
Houston’s car broke down recently…well it is really my dad’s car that he left to Houston when he passed. And the car originally belonged to Bill Gates. It was a lease trade in at the Mercedes Dealership in Bellevue when my dad bought it. It was (literally) my dad’s pride and joy….and that is why he left it to the “Goose” aka Houston.
Anyway, funny story, the car has 4 batteries…and apparently one of them was for the land line that Bill kept in the car so no random person could intercept his phone calls. Sketchy? Or extremely interesting? I am not sure! Here is that “famous” car after I got the batteries all replaced ($1100) and had it detailed!
Houston never drives his car….strange huh? Because like the song says “Nobody Walks in LA”…However, he does bike everywhere…including to and from work. So, I had the car here with me in Ventura (since Jay from Jay’s Automotive fixed it…we LOVE our local mechanics! Shout out to Herb from Star Motors as well)….Anyway, long story short I love driving this car for two reasons. 1. It brings back great memories of my Dad and 2. I can’t help but think if I am sitting in the same place that Bill sat I can channel some of that billionaire energy…LOL!
We do have confirmation that it was really Bill’s car because my brother found a photo of Bill driving it on the 405 in Seattle and had a shirt made for my dad with that image. Crazy? but so fun!
Here is my dad wearing that shirt with me, my brother Lee, Houston, and my mom when we toured the Annenburg estate, Sunnyland, in Rancho Mirage back in 2015.
Speaking of Houston’s bike riding, he showed me some amazing pictures that a photographer friend took of him recently…just had to share…so cool!
Time for an eBay score don’t you think? This one is super fun because I bought this tiny oil painting when I was redoing my room for my housewarming party back in May. I bought it at “Antique Adventures” and since I was going with an ocean theme it fit. But later on looking at it, it didn’t really fit. I wanted more beachy, ocean wave, sailboat etc. types of oil paintings. I think I paid $50 or $75…can’t remember.
I had Mo (my trusty eBay assistant) list if for me on eBay and we recently sold it for $260! Nice ROI (return on investment) don’t you think? It went to North Carolina to a first time eBay buyer…pretty cool! Here is a link if you want to check out that listing.
The beginning of October had me celebrating what should have been my sister Kiki’s 53rd birthday on October 2nd. I found this picture of her drinking a Modelo beer in Acapulco back in the days when she was Houston’s nanny. However, on that Mexico trip, she became known as the “drunk nanny” which was fine with me…she wasn’t driving him anywhere!
So on her birthday, I met some friends down at Aloha Steakhouse and had a Modelo beer in her honor. The bartender was so sweet, I told him the story and he comped my drink. I love Ventura and the people that live here….Y’all are awesome!
We used to travel to Mexico A LOT and I do mean A LOT. My mom went a little “time share” crazy (back in the day) and so we did Puerta Vallarta, Cabo and Acapulco on the regular. Here is a story from my “2nd 100 Best Things I’ve Sold” book, “Money Making Madness” with more about all of that.
Indiana had sooooo many shows in October, it was a little bit overwhelming! She actually let me off the hook for a few of them 🙂 I still attended 5 out of the 6….83.33% is pretty good! She is getting better and better. It is so much fun to watch her progress. But more about those shows later…..
The weekend after Kiki’s birthday weekend, I was headed to Encino to attend the celebration of life for our friend Bart Miles. Bart was Melanie’s (my best friend from high school) boyfriend, for 4 years. I really didn’t want to go and I called Mel on the way and she said “You don’t have to go”……I said “I want to honor Bart and I am going.” So that was that.
I recently found this old pic of Mel, Bart, me and Hank. Hank is one of my best friends from USC and the four of us used to do stuff together all the time. That is us at Expo in Vancouver, BC back in 1986. Gotta dig those crazy fashions….LOL! But Bart, he was always very cool and in fashion!
I totally lost it when I was reading the program and it mentioned his dog Whitney. That was the black lab that Mel and Bart got together up in Bellingham. Whitney lived with them in Brentwood and I LOVED that dog. She got hit by a car and passed away. Mel & Bart broke up soon after that.
Mel had asked me to tell Bart’s mom hello for her. So after the service, I went up to Octavia and said “You probably don’t remember me, but I used to visit you at your Brentwood Condo with Melanie.” She said “Of course, I do” and I gave her a big hug from Mel. Such a sad day…. This photo of Bart with Whitney was on one of the Memorial boards and Melanie was the one that took that photo.
Thank you for letting me share…so sad to lose someone so young with so much more of their life ahead of them. Let’s get back to the store. Fun Fashions got a huge overhaul recently….and it was much needed!
Rachelle, Martha and I redid the entire store by size and color and I must say it looks amazing! And things are selling like crazy! We also added more items to the 50% off clearance garage…come in and check us out!
After much consideration and running the numbers, the clothing store portion will only be open Friday, Saturday and Sundays for the month of November (but also by appointment any of the other days the front store is open). With the current economic situation and the high cost of staffing in California…. this wasn’t an easy decision, but one that had to be made with my head instead of my heart. I LOVE the girls back there, but had to do what is best for my business.
This won’t take effect until the week of November 7th….so keep in mind that for the month of November these are the days and times it will be open.
Tuesday, November 1st through Saturday, November 5th 11 am to 5pm
Sunday, November 6th 11 am to 3 pm
Friday, November 11th to Saturday, November 12th 11 am to 5 pm
Sunday, November 13th 11 am to 3 pm
Friday, November 11th to Saturday, November 12th 11 am to 5 pm
Sunday, November 13th 11 am to 3 pm
Friday, November 17th to Saturday, November 18th 11 am to 5 pm
Sunday, November 20th 11 am to 3 pm
Friday, November 25th to Saturday, November 26th 11 am to 5 pm
Sunday, November 27th 11 am to 3 pm
Thank you for your understanding and we will revaluate for December hours!
After Bart’s memorial service weekend, there was some good news! Mo was coming out from the desert on Monday the 10th to work for me! As many of you know, she is my trusty eBay assistant and has worked for me for almost 20 years. Holy Moly!
This trip was ahead of the Palm Desert girls weekend that would take place the 14th, 15th & 16th when Candy and Kellene would drive out to join us.
Mo and I had a lot of fun and managed to get lots done both in the store and on eBay. Some fun nights out and we also celebrated Carlos’ 3rd birthday. How did that even happen? My little scrappy street rescue kitten is now 3 years old! He was living on the streets in Oxnard when he was rescued. If you can survive that you can survive anything…LOL!
Our next calligraphy course is Sunday, November 13th from 12:30 to 2:30 pm.
Joy’s last class was a huge success and my mom took it and LOVED it! and these are being taught by one of my very first consignors…Joy Goldowitz!
She is a teaching dynamo! Her course “Calligraphy: The Art of Beautiful Lettering” will be offered on Sunday, November 13th from 12:30 to 2:30 pm.
The course is just $59 and includes a gift box full of calligraphy supplies! What? This is unreal 🙂
Joy is a retired (after 37 years) elementary school teacher. She is a lover of the relaxing art of hand lettering, beautiful inks and stationary of all ilks. She is a passionate teacher who happily loves sharing her techniques with others. She will guide you on a journey creating lovely letters to embellish words, names, addresses, cards, gift tags etc.
Sign up here.
Talking about Mo visiting and eBay, I think it is time for another eBay score. This is an EAPG (Early American Pressed Glass) piece that I picked up at an estate sale for about $2. It sold for $173.99 this month and was shipped to Seattle, Washington! You gotta love eBay! Check out the listing here.
The store has been getting some amazing things in recently…seriously! We took in some wonderful Tiffany style lamps. I think this floor lamp with dragon flies is my favorite and at only $795 it won’t last long. You can check it out here on our website.
While Mo was here visiting, I had a blind date and he & I were supposed to meet in Woodland Hills. Being the great friend that I am, I dragged her along with me for protection. LOL. I dropped her off at a bar while I went to meet Steven at a pretty nice restaurant, Il Fornaio. It was actually a pretty fun night and Mo got to meet my date after our dinner.
The best news though was that the Palm Desert girls were headed out to Ventura to go see Tim McGraw with us at Surfer’s Point on Friday, October 14th. VIP all the way baby! I had so much fun at the concert and was talking to this guy Patrick who had gone to Pepperdine (older than me), but when I told him about my store and that he should visit, he said “I am from Nashville” so I asked why he was there and he answered “I’m with Tim”. LOL, I hung out with him all night.
Before I get into more about my recent girls weekend, I just wanted to remind you about our clothing store! If you missed the email saying what we are looking for in clothing…please read it here before you come in. Thanks!
Wanted…Boots, Furs, Jackets, Coats, Sweaters anything WINTERY
Also, start collecting your Fall and Winter Items. We are taking in FALL/Winter now. Call or text the girls to set up an appointment.
Land Line 805-628-9208
Cell Phone 805-470-6493
The day after the Tim concert was going to be super fun. Indiana had an alumni PIT (Pepperdine Improv Troupe) Show at Pepperdine on Saturday at 4 pm. The girls and I drove my dad’s car down to meet the kids for lunch at Ollo before the show. Houston hadn’t had his/my dad’s car for about 2 weeks and this was the best way to get it back to him. The girls and I would uber home after the show.
Indy and Houston had picked Ollo for lunch as it was a place that we all loved. Right down the hill from Pepp and we frequented it a lot over the years. My dad, my mom, my brother and even the kids dad, William, have all eaten at Ollo. Indiana invited a ton of her PIT friends to join us and we had a table for 14. I just love hanging out with these kids. Makes me so happy! Check us out!
The PIT show was so much fun and the girls weekend ended on Sunday after a shopping spree at my store. Then it was time for me to recoup and get ready for all of Indy’s shows coming up at the end of the month…seriously…she had 5 shows at the end of October and I would make it to 4 of those. Yikes!
I missed her show on Tuesday, October 18th and she understood. I really needed to regroup and recharge. I am getting older you know. LOL….NEVER!
The show that she really wanted me to attend was on Friday night in Weho (West Hollywood) at the 4th Wall Comedy Cafe and it didn’t start until 10 pm. OK? Can I do this? Maybe an Uber could solve that problem. Luckily, the day before Indy text me and said it had been moved up to 8pm. Whew! I can do that!
We always try and go to dinner together before every show…me, Houston, Emma, Indy and whoever I take with me. It makes for a great evening and a chance for me to reconnect with my kids. The 4th Wall Comedy Cafe was near nothing but strange Thai restaurants. I did my research and told the kids we would meet at “The one & only Jitlada” at least that’s what their propaganda told me. LOL.
Once I told the kids, check out this text I got back from Emma. I guess I did OK? But, yes the neighborhood was super sketchy….Here is the text and also my Instagram post while I waited for the kids.
The show was AMAZING! Indiana had the audience in the palm of her hand…seriously, it was one of my favorite shows she has ever done. So proud of her!
Right after that show was a sudden trip to San Diego. OMG…How did that even happen? Well, let me tell you. I was scrolling through Instagram one day and saw this post from Kacha…the famous furniture painter who we had just hung out with in New Orleans.
If you don’t remember that from the last ezine, the funniest part was that her husband’s name is Carlos and when Sandy and I had lunch with them, I told them that my cat’s name was Carlos and that my dog’s name was Cha Cha and that I have an Instagram account for them @CarlosnChaCha….LOL. Carlos was like, “that is just like us ‘Carlos n Kacha'”….anyway we totally bonded over that.
We had already decided to start carrying “Redesign with Prima” (Thank you Sandy) in the store so this seemed like a no brainer. Sandy and I needed to be at that event. I emailed the Prima Sales Rep and asked her if they would be available over the weekend to help me place an order.
She immediately emailed back and said “Why don’t you come to the retailer/stockist event on Monday the 24th”. Holy shit! That was only 4 days away. Somehow we made it happen! Got approved as a new Prima retailer, found someone to take Cha Cha and got a hotel a block from the store. LOL…life works in funny ways, doesn’t it? When something is meant to be…it is meant to be!
So, on the way to Temecula, Sandy and I stopped in Weho/Silverlake to have dinner with the kids at Messhall (seriously cool restaurant) and see Indy’s Plant Mob show. Here are a few pics.
After the show, Sandy drove us down to Temecula so that we could spend the night close to where the stockist/retailer event would be happening the next day. OMG…what a long day of driving for Sandy. Yikes!
The next day turned out to be soooo amazing. So fun to reconnect with Carlos and Kacha and learn more about Redesign with Prima. Here are a few fun pics from the event. We are sooooooo EXCITED to be bringing you this whole new line of transfers, moulds, stamps, decoupage etc. in the next few weeks.
This company blows IOD (Iron Orchid Designs) out of the water. Their range is huge and they are so consumer/retailer friendly. A seriously cool family owned business (we love Pom the owner and all the employees) that really strives to give great value. Lots of great things happening at Lynn’s!
Check out the piece that Kacha was working on during the retailer day….She totally changed her mind and did it all gold (with no transfers) for the finished product. So interesting to me how a piece can change during the artistic process.
As the Redesign event ended, I mentioned to Pom (the owner) and I can’t believe I haven’t even told Y’all this yet…. that the LA Times was coming to take pictures of my store the next day for an article……How cool is that?
Pom, the cute lady in the picture above also owns a winery in Temecula called Prima and she gave me a bottle of wine to give to the LA times reporter/photographer. LOL! Life is so strange and yet so fun….am I right? Or am I right?
But more on that later. After the event ended, everyone was going to head over to the Cheesecake factory for dinner. Sandy and I were exhausted but did need dinner etc. before our long drive home.
Y’all may or may not know but the Cheesecake Factory has some bad memories for Indiana. She worked there for about 4 months and was sexually harassed. So it isn’t the best of memories for her. I posted something on my Insta story like….Oh NO…Not the Cheesecake Factory and the kids took it in stride but posted some seriously funny blow back. LOL. Check it out.
OK, let’s get back to the LA Times story…About 2 weeks ago, Peggy answers the phone and says “There is someone that wants to talk to you about a photo shoot”. I roll my eyes…because that is what I usually do…I don’t trust anyone….LOL. But then she says “LA Times” and in my mind I think “LA TIMES”!!!!! So cooooooool!
Apparently, there is an amazing staff writer who is doing a destination piece on Ventura and it’s amazing Thrift and Consignment Stores. At this point I am all in!
The photographer will be in Ventura the Tuesday after my crazy last minute trip to San Diego…Oh, will the fun never end!
I try to confirm the time and no one gets back to me. I am never in the store on Tuesdays, but decided I should be there just in case. Good move on my part! I am sitting in the front of the store when a gal with HUGE cameras all over her body walks in. LOL…”Are you from the LA Times”…YES! I immediately give her the bottle of wine that Pom wanted me to give her and we are fast friends.
Dania was amazing and so humble. For God’s sake she is an LA Times Staff Photographer…what does that even mean and how do you get to be one? We had a great time and she told me that the article was already written…HUH? No one had interviewed me or my staff…whatever! I don’t care we are going to be in the LA TIMES!!! Here she is with that bottle of wine!
Dania took pictures of Peggy painting a table with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and a portrait of Rachelle in the clothing store…..sooooo good! Here are the before and afters of Peggy’s table. Now for sale in the store….$245.
The next day I am in my office when I hear “I am back for more wine”….LOL…It is Dania and she is standing outside my office door. What? She explains that the destination story about Ventura is going to run on Sunday, November 6th on the front page of the Weekend insert. OMG!
And that it is between me and one other store for the cover shot. SERIOUSLY? Her editor sent her back to get more high quality shots with extra lighting. Fingers crossed that it is our picture on that COVER!!!!! I could scream…..this is so beyond exciting!
Some of the new products that we will be carrying from Redesign with Prima include Decoupage papers that Sandy says are AMAZING! Sandy recently completed this project piece with one of their $15.99 papers. Can’t wait to share all of this with y’all and show you how easy it is. Two shots of this darling dresser…one when it was green and one after Sandy decided that blue over green would be better. Sandy is so talented…just like Peggy! For sale now in the store at $295!
So at the last minute Indy got invited back to do the “Hump Day Cabaret” Show on Wednesday, October 26th at the El Cid on Sunset. Such a great venue! My friend Steve had been wanting to join me for a show so luckily he was available. Once he committed, Jeff & Joanne decided to join us. CRAZY! Steve & I ubered to their house and Joanne drove from there. Champagne and Vodka cocktails for the ride in. Indy did 4 minutes of stand up and 4 minutes as Ed Sheeran. So fun!
And then I found this crazy meme of a baby that the caption read “This baby looks more like Ed Sheeran than Ed Sheeran”. LOL!
After the show we got a great group pic and then my crazy friends decided they wanted to bar hop all over West Hollywood. I was like, OMG….I have to go to another one of her shows tomorrow night….I can’t.
They won! Here we are watching the bartender, John, pour our drinks at the “Employees Only” Club. God save me! I am exhausted!
Attention Consignors:
What we need for the main store…..
Anything Beachy
Shelves
Bookshelves
Desks
Dressers
Chair Sets
Pairs of Lamps
Floor Lamps
Farm House Dining Tables
End Tables
Consoles
Also project pieces for painting!!!!
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. I appreciate you!
Since this is coming out on Halloween, here is picture of my kids with their roommates prepared for this year’s festivities….so Bella, Houston, Indy and Emma in their Disney costumes. Not sure what show this is from, but they assure me it was a thing!
Take care and we hope to see you soon! Some of my crew! From left to right, Shawnna, Kailen, me, Houston, Pegg, Indiana, Mor Mor, Candy, Val, Susan, Cindy and Jo Dallas! We appreciate y’all so much!
Thanks for reading my ezines! I appreciate it….as always!
eBay with Heart, Design with Heart & Dress with Heart………Lynn
BTW, we now have a blog on the website where you can read all of our past newsletter
Link to Blog.
Past Newsletters
1 https://tinyurl.com/lynnslatest1
2 https://tinyurl.com/lynnslatest2
3 https://tinyurl.com/lynnslatest3
4 https://tinyurl.com/lynnslatest4
5 https://tinyurl.com/lynnslatest5
6 https://tinyurl.com/lynnslatest6
7 https://tinyurl.com/lynnslatest7
8 https://tinyurl.com/lynnslatest8
9 https://tinyurl.com/lynnslatest9
10 https://tinyurl.com/lynnslatest10
11 https://tinyurl.com/lynnslatest11
12 https://tinyurl.com/lynnslatest12
13 https://tinyurl.com/lynnslatest13
14 https://tinyurl.com/lynnslatest14
15 https://tinyurl.com/Lynnslatest15
16 https://tinyurl.com/lynnslatest16
17 https://tinyurl.com/LynnsLatest17
18 https://tinyurl.com/LynnsLatest18
19 https://tinyurl.com/LynnsLatest19
20 https://tinyurl.com/LynnsLatest20
21 https://tinyurl.com/LynnsLatest21
22 https://tinyurl.com/LynnsLatest22
23 https://tinyurl.com/Lynnslatest23
24 https://tinyurl.com/lynnslatest24
25 https://tinyurl.com/lynnslatest25
26 https://tinyurl.com/lynnslatest26
27 https://tinyurl.com/lynnslatest27
28 https://tinyurl.com/lynnslatest28
29 https://tinyurl.com/lynnslatest29
30 https://tinyurl.com/lynnslatest30
31 https://tinyurl.com/lynnslatest31
32 https://tinyurl.com/lynnslatest32
2nd Year….Volume II
01 https://tinyurl.com/lynnslatest01
02 https://tinyurl.com/lynnslatest02
03 https://tinyurl.com/lynnslatest03
04 https://tinyurl.com/lynnslatest04
05 https://tinyurl.com/lynnslatest05
06 https://tinyurl.com/lynnslatest06
07 https://tinyurl.com/lynnslatest07
08 https://tinyurl.com/lynnslatest08
09 https://tinyurl.com/lynnslatest09
010 https://tinyurl.com/lynnslatest010
011 https://tinyurl.com/lynnslatest011
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/
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