I am beyond grateful….Indiana gets to graduate in person with her classmates!  What a blessing!  As you read this we are heading to Malibu for the ceremony.

Only 2 tickets per family, but somehow I wrangled 4 (Thank you Kimberly Barkis!).  It will be me, my mom, Houston (who is flying in from Oklahoma) and the kids’ dad William.  My brother is also in town, but I couldn’t swing a 5th.  Ughhhh!

Look how cool this graduating kid is!

Welcome to Lynn’s Latest #07…

May 22nd, 2021
Watch for it every Thursday or every other Thursday or Saturday!
Actually, lets be honest…watch for it whenever I get one finished hahahaha
Volume II  Issue 07

 

This will be a super short ezine…famous last words!  There is just so much going on this weekend with the graduation.  We are going to Geoffreys for dinner after the ceremony and then Sunday we are having a Grad party at the house.

Let’s start out with an eBay score!  This bowl sold for full price (almost $100) and was shipped to the set decorator for ACS (American Crime Stories) the Impeachment episode about Bill Clinton.   Hahahaha!  It will probably be in the oval office on set.  How cool is that?  Check it out here. 

Mother’s Day was fun this year!  Indy came home and we went to the Front Side Café for Breakfast.  That place is soooo cool!  Food was great!

Interesting how the colors are blue and orange…Pepperdine colors!  Coincidence?  I think not!

Indiana is up on campus today getting her “regalia” for commencement tomorrow.  Look how cute she is!  She looks pretty happy!

Don’t forget these AMAZING stained glass lamps that are in our front window.  I know several customers are watching them and waiting for the next price mark down. If you are interested, you should buy them NOW as I don’t think they will make it to the next mark down.

The Green Peacock Eye lamp is currently $796 and will not have another markdown until June 1st.  The Floral Floor Lamp is currently at $1,116 and won’t have another markdown til June.

Along the theme of graduation, this picture popped up in my time hop this morning from 7 years ago.  It is Houston and Indiana in Mass Dress for the end of year assembly.  Indiana was a Freshman and Houston a Junior.

Their high school, Xavier College Prep, gave out 5 awards to each class at this assembly.  The awards were “Open to Growth”, “Intellectually Competent”, “Religious”, “Loving” and “Committed to Doing Justice”.

Most kids go their entire high school career and never receive one.  It was crazy and such a blessing that 7 years ago, they each got an award!  Houston was awarded “Open to Growth” and Indiana received “Religious”.  What an honor!

I forgot to tell y’all, but once I was home from Florida, I decided to head to Palm Desert.  Well long story short, I needed to get out to the desert to thrift and pick up some merchandise from Mo.  I was going to head out over Mother’s day weekend, but didn’t have anyone to watch the Cha Cha.

Turns out that Emma was going to be staying in Ventura through Wednesday, so it made perfect sense for me to head out a few days after my return from Florida.  Yes, I am crazy!   Here are the girls with the pets right before I left.

First stop on my way to Palm Desert was in Palm Springs at Revivals Thrift Store.  Found this awesome set of China!

They were Limoges by Reynaud in a super interesting pattern called Jumieges.  What is that you may be asking?  Jumieges it turns out is an old Monastery in France and this design comes from a drawing on cardboard from one of the monks.  What?  How cool is that?

Check out the history behind this design.  Do you see why I love selling on eBay?  I love the hunt and the research.  I always wanted to be a detective…so this is the next best thing!  And I make money doing it!

 

OMG!  We called and you answered!

Our consignors are an AMAZING group….Thank you Thank you!

We were a bit overwhelmed with all the LOVE and merchandise (hahahaha), but you must stop by the store and check it all out…..so much goodness 🙂

That is Indy, Bree Cochran (owner of the Vent), me and Marc Kettles (owner of Fit Buddha) and of course Cha Cha.  Then Judy Kitchen and Rebecca Rudenko.

Welcome to Lynn’s Latest #06…

April 29th, 2021
Watch for it every Thursday or every other Thursday!
Actually, lets be honest…watch for it whenever I get one finished hahahaha
Volume II  Issue 06

 

I am writing this ezine on my way to Tampa, Florida.  It has been YEARS since I have written on an airplane.  It used to be the norm.  Back in the day, when I wrote my strictly eBay ezine that went out to 20,000 people I was writing from the road all the time.

Since I started writing this store ezine back in January of the COVID year 2020, I haven’t been able to travel much…duh!  It was kind of fun this time to pull out my big checkable suitcase and pack like I really meant it!

One of my best friends from high school, Jo Dallas, and her husband Jon recently bought a condo in Florida.  Jo and Jon were high school sweethearts.  Aaaawwwww!  He was a baseball player and she was a cheerleader.  We all attended Sehome High School in Bellingham, Washington and our colors were green and gold and we were the Mariners!

Here are a few photos of the two of them from back in the day!

Many of you may have met Jo in the store as she makes it a point to show up for all of our anniversary parties (except for year 1…she was there for year 0, year 2 and year 3).

When she was here in March, she asked me if I would like to spend a week in Florida at their condo on the ocean….what do you think my answer was?  Got that right!  YASSSSSSS!

Here we are with Cha Cha this past March 1st at the party!

Before I forget and since we are on the subject of high school….and Mariners and Green & Gold….some amazing news!  Drum roll please…..Houston got his first official JOB.  I am beyond proud of this kid!  For those of you who don’t know he graduated in May of 2019 from Pepperdine and Immediately left for South Bend, Indiana to start his Masters in Education program.

It is a two summer program with him teaching for the ACE (Accessories in Catholic Education) program in Oklahoma City at Mt St Mary’s Catholic High School during the 2 school years on either side of that summer.  By doing this he gets a Masters degree tuition free…..so much work!  Brutal actually and my poor kid never got a break.  Went from one college frying pan right into another one!

He will graduate this July from Notre Dame (and fingers crossed we will all be there in person to cheer him on).  He has been diligently looking for a position back here in Cali!  Praise the Lord!  I miss my Goose!

His dream school was Saint Monica’s in Santa Monica, California.  After numerous Zoom interviews and a grueling application process, my kid just signed his contract as a new high school history teacher starting in the Fall of 2021.  Beyond proud!  And guess what?

They are the Mariners and their colors are Green and Gold.  Coincidence?  I think not!

OMG, that Saint Monica’s mascot is a little bit creepy.  Si o no?  He kind of reminds me of Willy the Wave.  Sorry to throw you under the bus Pepperdine, but I just had to.

This picture with Willy was taken during Parents weekend in 2015.  Houston was a freshman at Pepperdine and Indiana was a junior in high school.  Time flies!

And by the way, in more HUGE amazing news…my little Indiana will be graduating May 22nd from Pepperdine with a degree in Theatre and a minor in Spanish.  What an epic year this is turning out to be an epic year!  Here is what she looked like at her High School Graduation.

Let’s get to an eBay score before I get into more shenanigans from the past month.  And of course there are going to be more shenanigans…..

Many of you have already seen this one, but I just MUST share it again.  I bought a tiny set of LuRay pastels all shrunk wrapped together for about $12 in Palm Desert.

The small chocolate set creamer sold for $512.99. OMG!

Let me give you a run down on the other 7 pieces that came in that tiny purchase and what they sold for at auction.  There were 7 chocolate cups and saucer set.

2 Green  $107.50 and $100.00
2 Blue  $100.99 and $100.00
2 Pink  $71.00 and $50.99
1 Yellow  $86.55

Wow!  The Chocolate Cup and Saucer sets added up to $617.03.  Add that to the creamer and my grand total was $1130.02.  Amazing what eBay does to make mine and many other’s lives better!  I literally raised my kids as a stay at home (really just work from home) mom because of eBay.  What a gift!

Here is a photo of us back in the day (2007 to be exact) hauling in my weekend eBay finds.  This photo was in an ezine I wrote on March 22nd, 2007.  Here is a link if you want to visit the archives.   Hahaha.

That is my mom, my sister Kiki, me, Houston and Indiana.  OK, must point this out…do you see the tongue out to the side on that girl’s face?)  Indy has ALWAYS been an actress!  She comes by it honestly!

Please keep in mind that a successful everyday eBay business is not made up of all scores, rather the day to day little victories that keep the money coming in and allow you to make a great income from home. AND we all know what working from home looks like these days don’t we?

Let’s check out what has been going on at the store. I have been meaning to redo both of the front windows forever, but just never got the right statement piece (or pieces) to get me motivated. I need something BIG for inspo!

Well, amazingly enough this past month there was plenty of INSPO. First, our consignors Brad and Dean (who owned an Antique store in Santa Barbara for many years) brought me their personal collection of hand made and exquisite Stained Glass Lamps! NOT kidding, these are out of this world (OMG my grandmother used to say that when she really loved a piece). Miss you Cheryl Leaf!

Here is a fun picture of me and the infamous Cheryl Leaf at an antique show in Seattle or Portland circa 1985. Such fun we used to have!

Here are some photos of those lamps.  These are going to go fast.  They are absolutely stunning!  The green table lamp came in at $995 and the amazing floor lamp came in at $1,395.

The lamps were the inspiration for the front window on the right hand side when looking at the store from outside.  We ended up going with a deep teal (thank you for the amazing teal couch Sandra that is for sale…down filled and practically brand new at only $1195) and green.

Here is a shot with the sofa.

Here are some night pics of the right hand side front window.  We will get to the left hand side soon enough!

I finished writing my last ezine from Bellingham, Washington while at my mom’s house helping her with her eBay business.  Strange, but true, it is easier for me to write when out of town.  I don’t know why…just kidding…let’s see a store to run, an eBay business to run, a puppy, a social life, hitting the gym hard etc.  LOL!  Life has been crazy.

After I hit send on that last ezine, I got a very special surprise.  I didn’t know if we were going to be able to see my sister Kiki’s boys or not that trip and Praise the Lord, they agreed to meet us in Smokey Point for lunch on Saturday the 27th of March.

They both had soccer games later that evening in Lynnwood that we were invited to attend.  That just wasn’t going to work as Lynnwood is about 2 hours from my mom’s house and it was going to be cold, dark and we wouldn’t be able to visit at all.  So we were thrilled to make the 1 1/2 hour drive to Smokey Point and sit outside in 58 degree weather for lunch.

Check out these handsome young men.  The second two pictures are Kiki with the boys a few months before she passed away.  My sister would be soooooooo proud of them!

While I was home in Washington helping my mom, we FINALLY got to do something that I have been wanting to do forever!  My dad had always told me the stories of him growing up in Bellingham and having to wait outside of the Coconut Grove while his oldest brother Earl was inside drinking.

My poor dad (who is/was just the nicest person ever) would wait patiently in the truck and freeze so he could drive his brother home.  BTW, my dad was not a big drinker at all.

I have been wanting to check out the Grove for years so my mom and I stopped by for a quick drink after a trip into town.  Not much to see there, but I felt that I was walking in my dad’s footsteps.  I always miss him this time of year.  He was diagnosed with Cancer in March of 2017 and passed away too fast on Cinco de Mayo of the same year.  Always makes me sad.

My main goal in helping my mom at the end of March was to help her sell through on her old inventory.  We put her oldest inventory on sale at 41% off and I sent offers diligently every day.  My mom usually sells about $3,000 a month on eBay.  With my help, we have her up to $4,500 a month.  So awesome!  My techniques really do work 🙂

Here is one of my mom’s eBay scores.  It is a pantsuit that she bought out in Palm Desert when I lived there and the photo was taken out on my patio.  She took a best offer of $50 for it and probably paid $5.00.  Way to go Mor Mor!

Time for one of my eBay scores!  Because it’s always time for good news.  I love this one because it is for an item from Bellingham.  I inherited this from my grandmother and it had been in her antiques store.  It is an original door bell from the Fairhaven Hotel and it’s claim to fame is that Mark Twain (aka Samuel Clemens) actually stayed there.  OMG!  He might have actually touched this door bell.

From my description…

“Samuel Clemens aka Mark Twain once stayed at the Grand Fairhaven hotel in 1895.  My grandmother bought these when the Grand Fairhaven Hotel in Bellingham Washington was dismantled.  It was originally located at 12th and Harris and was still standing until about 1953 from what I gather.  It was not a functioning hotel at that time.”

Sold for a best offer of $125.00 and went to Mt. Vernon, Washington.  Check out the listing here.  Pretty cool!  Mt. Vernon is 30 minutes south of Bellingham and where my grandfather, Elmer Leaf, grew up.

OK, I lied. Did not get into any real trouble this past month–no shenanigans darn it!  Lots of gym workouts and sticking to my program.  Pretty boring, but hopefully will have some tales to tell after my week in Tampa!

Some fun at the store though…I had been wanting to redo the left hand side front window for a while.  Especially since we sold most of the mid century stuff that was there.

I was thinking Green, spring and garden, but again had no anchor piece for inspiration.  Always need some type of anchor piece. Then on a Tuesday afternoon, I got an email with a greenish grey toile covered settee and BINGO!!!  I was off to the races….at least in my head.  Hahahaha

Then we went out and got some pillows and artwork to add to the inspo.

Here is how the window turned out!  Please stop by and check it out.  Not sure if it is French Garden or British West Indies, but one thing I do know is that it is FUN!

Let’s get back to the pets…Cha Cha has been with us for six months now…so crazy!  Here are photos of how it started and how its going.

Indy’s most recent lead role in As You Like It was another epic moment in her life.  Seriously, she was so funny and entertaining as the jester.  Check her out with the remote control.  In the slow parts of the play, she fast forwarded the actors….hahahaha!  I loved it!

The Zoom presentation was so awesome and for the intermissions, the director asked Indy to put together a few videos.  The first one was a 1980’s aerobic workout video.  HYSTERICAL!  As my friend Steve would say.

The next intermission was her making mustard pancakes as a 1950’s housewife.  She really is so clever.  So proud of you Indy girl!

Thank you for indulging me and letting me talk about my family (Indy and my sister & her boys).  Now let’s check out what is going on at the store!  Because of all of you amazing consignors the store is jam packed with amazing finds and special items.  Check out this lovely dresser.  Only $495 and antique and well made!

And these darling end tables painted in Annie Sloan Svenska Blue.  There are two of them at only $135 each.

We also got in three very very EXPENSIVE killer bar stools.  These retail for $595 EACH.  Our price just $249.50 each. These won’t last long.

Let’s take a break from the store and talk about the pets.  Sorry, that there is no dedicated section for them anymore…this is just because they have taken over my entire life and my entire ezine!  hahaha!  Cha Cha got a new white fluffy bed recently and OMG, when I go to check on her sometimes I can’t tell if she is in the bed or not!  It is actually hysterical.

Carlos escaped the other night at 3:30 am.  OMG!  I HATE getting up in the middle of the night to let Cha Cha out, but when duty calls there I am.  On this particular night, Carlos made his escape.  WTF?

I was out there on my hands and knees trying to get him out from under the bushes.  I just couldn’t leave him out there….could I?  No way!  I love that Kitty too much.  So I grabbed one of his “crack” treats (thank you Marnie at Sailor’s Pet Supply for these amazing treats) and put it on the ground.

Of course, he came running for the treat and I was able to surprise him and grab him by the neck.  He was having none of it and bit the shit out of my hand.  Not kidding, it was extremely painful.  Here is a pic.  I ended up having to get antibiotics.  Oh the joys of being a pet owner!

What this made me realize is that Carlos wants and needs to have some outside time….just like his little sister Cha Cha!  Poor old man must be so jealous watching all of Cha Cha’s outside play time.

I grabbed his old harness to put on him and was all set to let him chill outside when I realized he has put on quite a bit of weight.  HAHAHAHA.  He eats most of Cha Cha’s food.  She is not a foodie, but boy Carlos has sure turned into one.

Here is Carlos back in his more svelte days in his little harness.

So I ordered him a bigger harness and couldn’t wait until it arrived. Once it got there, he was so excited! I am not kidding! That cat is so friggin smart….he knows that when I say “Carlos, do you want to go outside?” that he has to jump up on the table for me to put the harness on him. I am SERIOUS. I can say that and he will come running from anywhere in the house. I am going to do a Tik Tok showing this because it is CRAZY.

I put the harness on him and then hook him into the 50 foot red leash we got for training Cha Cha and that cat is HAPPY! Here is a pic of when he did escape recently from that new harness. LOL. We did find him!

OK a few more fun items from the store.  A really neat navy blue cabinet that is only $249 and would be great as a TV console.

And a really fun large basket with willow stalks in it for only $95.  What a great decoration for your entryway!

OK, let’s do one more eBay score before we get to my shenanigans that apparently I had been saving up for Florida….can’t wait to tell you about my super fun trip that I am still on 🙂

This is a Dansk Animal that sold for a best offer of $50.00 and it was shipped with 2 other similar animals to France.  Check it out here. 

Animals always remind me of my sister Kiki.  As I write this, today is April 27th, and it is her son Zach’s 15th birthday.  I just called him and left a message.  His mom (my sister Kiki) passed away almost 10 years ago from Lung Cancer.  He was barely five years old when she died and has had to grow up without the “fun full of life” love from his mom.  It makes me so sad.  I miss her and all that could have been.

Here is the kindergarten photo of her sweet Zach, which was taken shortly before she passed away.  I look at this photo a lot and often wish that he never had to experience all of the loss that would come after it was taken.  This is the last true photo that shows no loss, no sadness and just the pure joy of being a kindergartner.

This picture reminds me of the end of innocence.  What really gets me is that I had to grab the photo from my sister’s Facebook page.  She posted it 5 months before she died.

My sister smoked for almost her whole life.  She started in high school and just could never quit.  If you smoke or know someone that does please stop.

In any event, I flew into Florida last Friday and ever since I have felt my sister with us.

I keep getting Kiki sightings or reminders.  I am here (as you may remember) with my high school pal Jo Dallas.  She, Kiki and I traveled together on a few fun adventures and it would be just like my sister to poke her head into our fun.

The first Kiki sighting was at Jo’s condo when I wanted to pet a neighbor’s dog.  I asked the dog’s owner the dog’s name and it was ceasar.  Really?  That was my sister’s dog’s name and that dog meant the world to her.  She loved that dog almost as much as her kids.  Caesar passed away from lung cancer (due to second hand smoke) right after Zach was born.  God knew that Kiki couldn’t live without caesar so thank god for giving her Zach.  Not kidding!

To show you how much we all LOVED Caesar the dog, let me share a story from my 1st 100 Best book.  And yes, that is my grandma with Caesar.

Next Kiki sighting was at Home Goods shopping with Jo for her condo.  As we rounded the corner to check out there was this mug…..Everytime I called or saw my sister she would say “Hola Chica”….and now there is a mug with that on it?  Seriuously?

Then we get in the car and Duran Duran is playing….not only is it Duran Duran, but it is her favorite song…Hungry Like the Wolf!  I just say “Hi Kiki”  Glad you could join us.  We have missed you!

This morning my time hop showed a photo that says so many things.  It was 4 years ago today (4/27) and I was looking at retail space in Bellingham (not Ventura as it was not even on my radar yet).  I had called together my former employees from Cheryl Leaf Antiques to look at the space.  Here is my post from 4 years ago.

Left to right, Audrey Angel, my mom, Grace Jones, Henry, me, Indiana and Houston.  We were in town because my dad was fighting cancer and I was still trying to open my store there.

I ended up texting that photo to Audrey as I haven’t heard from her in a while and we started a text exchange.   This text is from Audrey, my first Cheryl Leaf Antiques employee when I moved back home in 1993 to run my grandma’s store.

Then I sent her a photo of the coffee mug and I love what Audrey wrote back…..

OK, one last Kiki sign and then I will fill you in on my Florida Shenanigans.  We were watching some Netflix show last night (Girlfriends Guide to Divorce) and one of the main characters walked in and said “Calgon”….and I knew what was coming next….”Take me Away”!  That was my sister’s favorite saying EVER.  “Calgon, take me away”…Miss you Kiki!

Florida is sooooo much fun!  We have already met with one Annie Sloan Stockist in St. Pete’s, his name is Keith and his store is so adorable!

Then I got the cutest text (well Instagram DM) from Annie herself!  She is the bomb!  And by the way, she does tell me that she LOVES me!  Made my day!

My favorite shenanigans from this trip is that I talked Jo Dallas into taking Paddle Board lessons with me.  HAHAHAHA.  What a friggin trip!  It was windy, we drove clear up to Dunedin Marina…..and got in the water at 5 pm.  It was scary!

We both did great, but did not stay out long.  It is a lot of balance work and my feet were killing me.  I bought a balance ball on amazon and will be practicing for my next excursion.  In the meantime, here is the only photo I have and it is blurry, but that is OK.  It is me!!!  I did it and did not fall….so flippin proud of myself.

Oh and by the way, I also got up early and did a Zoom workout with the VENT gym 3 times while on vacation!  Indiana even joined in the 3rd workout from Agoura Hills.  Too fun!  And we both had on the same workout tank top that we bought at Rains in Ojai last week.

Since I was going to be in Florida for 8 days, I didn’t want to have to board Cha Cha. Indiana is in her final month before graduation and there was no way I could ask her to watch both animals. Too much! I text Emma (Houston’s girlfriend) and asked her if I could buy her a plane ticket to come out from New Jersey to watch the pets (I would also pay her)….she agreed!

Made me so happy to know that they would be with “family”. Emma and I coordinated so that I would fly out Friday morning at 11 am and she would fly in at 11 pm Friday night and I would leave my car at LAX for her to drive back home. Super idea? I think so….until I got to LAX and there was no short term parking. OMG! I drove around for 30 minutes and could not find ANYWHERE to park.

Panic at the disco! That is sooooo something my sister would have said! Finally got lucky and left my key on the tire for her to find. Fingers crossed it would all go as planned.

Well, praise the LORD it did go as planned and Emma found my car and drove it back to Ventura.

Crazy story though.  When I bought my ticket from LAX to Tampa on Alaska airlines it was only $100 more to go first class and it was a direct flight.  Score!  About 3 weeks before the flight, I get an email that says I will be rerouted through Seattle.  What the Heck?  I was going to cancel and just buy a direct coach ticket on Delta when I asked Houston his opinion.  He was like….go first class…then I asked Indy…same thing.

Also, I figured I could write this ezine on the plane and no better place than in first class and no interruptions.  When I landed in Seattle from LAX I had to laugh.  OMG, I had forgotten about all of the trains that you have to take between terminals.  Back in the day whenever we would leave Bellingham we had to go out of SEATAC….it really is (and was) my home airport.

Those trains reminded me soooooo much of my grandmother and all of the times I picked her up from her international flights.  Lots of great memories.  Check out my Instagram post.  LOL.

Another benefit from flying first class was that I met a cute guy who was sitting next to me!  Seriously, we had a blast from Seattle to Tampa.  I didn’t mind that extra flight leg at all 🙂

My trip in Florida is coming to an end as well as this ezine.  It was a long ezine wasn’t it?  Here is one last great shot from the dolphin cruise we took tonight.  They played Duran Duran’s Hungry Like the Wolf and again, Kiki is making her presence known.

Oh, before I forget….the girls (Indiana and Emma) completely redid our picnic table.  It was a mess!  Wait until you see the before and after shots!  They sanded it and painted the top in Annie Sloan Provence and the seats in Svenska Blue.  I absolutely LOVE IT!  Way to go girls!  I am going to go on vacation more often!

For those of you with project in mind, please come in and see us.  We are more than happy to help you pick out paint and guide you on your next fun upcycle!

Just a reminder of Our CURRENT HOURS:

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

Can’t wait to see you in the store! Don’t forget we have gotten in 100’s of new consigned unique items. You WON’T want to miss out!
And a final photo from our 3rd year anniversary this past March 1st!

Some of my team, from left to right. Peggy, Mor Mor, me, Indiana, Jo and Val…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.

 

Thank you to everyone who came out to support us for our
3 year Anniversary Party!

We really missed having our professional photographer (Jaclyn Sabo) with us for the day…but we did get some great shots anyway!  Thanks Claudio!

Left to right, my mom, me, Indiana, Cha Cha, Val, Cindy and Sandy!

Welcome to Lynn’s Latest #05…

March 26th, 2021
Watch for it every Friday or every other Friday!
Volume II  Issue 05

 

Looks like I am only writing one ezine a month.  Oh well!  Things have been crazy lately.  Lots going on as the world and my little slice of it seem to be going back to normal.  Praise the LORD!  Let’s start this one off with an eBay score!  Why not?

Bought this at a recent estate sale for about $10.  Listed it on January 8th of 2021.  Pretty cool piece!  Sold it at full price (less 10%) the beginning of March 2021 for $139.99!  and she got shipped to Valencia, California…how crazy is that?

Oh, by the way, the eyes on that statue are how my eyes look these days!  I am dazed and confused and so behind on everything!

I think that the reason that I am behind in every aspect of my business and personal life is because I HAVE A PUPPY!  OMG, what was I thinking?  I know she is Indiana’s dog, but Indy won’t be able to take her full time for a while and this dog is definitely cramping my style!

I have to leave work several times a day to take her to puppy play time, go to obedience classes on Saturday mornings at 9am, get interrupted a ton of times every day when I work from home to let her out & grab Knives, remote controls/etc from her mouth, take her on our nightly walk etc. etc.

Oh and did I forget to tell you?  She is currently in her teen age years now that she is 7 months old?  In a matter of seconds, she chewed though all of my bank/credit cards, my favorite pair of shoes and a television cord.  OMG!

Lucky she is cute.  Seriously?  Here is a selfie I tried to take of us this past week.

I had better recap our FUN Anniversary party now or I may forget!  My mom and one of my best friends from high school, Jo Dallas, flew in the Friday night before the party (which would take place on Monday, March 1st!)

It was great having them both in town and they were here for a week….so it was CRAZY time!  Here are some photos from the actual party day (the day that should have been my dad’s 87th birthday).

Here are some of our staff photos from year 3. Unfortunately, they are not perfect…but oh well! What do you do when you don’t have a professional photographer?

Here are some photos of our customers/consignors, friends, employees!

Finally, some photos of me with Cha Cha and my friends…Jo Dallas, Claudio and Steve…after the party was OVER!

OK!  Time for another eBay score….well a score in the making.  A consignor brought in a set of Villeroy & Boch that they had inherited and wanted to sell.  They thought it was worth about $400.  I did my research and found that I could pay them $463.50 for the set and everyone was happy!  It’s an all skate!  Do you remember those from back in the day at the roller rink?  So much fun!

In any event, here is a listing for one of those pieces….Strangest thing ever regarding that set happened a few weeks later, but I get ahead of myself!  I have this Summer Days Goblet up at auction with a starting bid price of $39.99.  No bids yet!

BTW, Villeroy & Boch is my favorite brand of dinnerware ever!  When we went to Heidelberg, Germany to visit Houston back in 2017 (he was doing a year abroad there with Pepperdine), we headed to their stores.  Couldn’t buy anything over there to bring back and sell here.  Way too expensive!  But their showrooms were beautiful!

Couldn’t talk about Heidelberg without sharing a few photos from that trip. First photo is all of us (me, Houston, Indy and my mom) in the dining room of the Pepperdine Germany house where all the kids lived. Pepperdine bought the house in 1963…that was an excellent year BTW!

Second photo is Houston and all of his Heidelberg buddies, known as the Milchmen (long story) and us out for dinner (Schnitzel). From left to right, Noel, Indy, Reilly, Alec, me, Logan, Houston and Mor Mor!

OK, back to reality and the store! Check out this darling little salesmen’s sample or child’s doll dresser from one of our first consignors!

After our Anniversary party on Monday, March 1st, my mom and Jo were still in town until Saturday, the 6th.  We worked at the store, took day trips to Santa Barbara and Ojai and Jo made me clean my garage!  Seriously?  What are great friends for?

First photo is our neighbor’s son visiting with Cha Cha while we clean.  Second photo, the clean garage!  Thanks Jo!  And Yes, I do still have some of my eBay inventory in my garage.

The Friday night (March 5th) before Jo was headed back to Bellingham and my mom and I were headed to Palm Springs (my mom would be flying back to Bellingham from the Palm Springs Airport with a direct flight on Allegiant), Staci and Tiki Jason showed up!

We were supposed to head to Ventiki to hand out and drink Tiki drinks, but OH NO!  There was a 3 hour wait!  I invited the crew back to the store to drink what was left from the Anniversary party….hahahaha!  It was super fun.  From left to right…Mor Mor, Jo, Valeri, me, Joanne Carolan, Staci and Jason.

Before, I get back to my extensive travel this month let’s check out some of the store vignettes….

Here is one of my favorite new vignettes.  LOVE how we are mixing outdoor furniture with the indoors.  Why not?  There are no rules!

Here are some more new items that we have in store and they are also available on our website.  Lynnsconsignments.com

After that fun night at the store with my crew, Jo Dallas left the next morning for LAX and my mom and I drove out to Palm Springs.  We stay at the Inn at Deep Canyon when I have the puppy with us.  It is kind of like one of those old motor hotels and is kind of kitchy.  Swimming pool in the center and pets are free!  Clean and reasonable.

Here I am with my Palm Desert girls out to Happy Hour at Skip’s Little Bar.  Cha Cha is always welcome!  How cute is she hanging out with the girls?

We did some great thrifting out in the desert and one evening we headed to Mo’s house to hang out and write up stuff for eBay.  The Cha came with us and let me tell you, she was a little wild!  Check her out going for Mo’s arm?  OMG, she looks like an attack dog with HUGE teeth!

After that evening at Mo’s, the next morning I dropped my mom off at PSP for her flight to Bellingham, and Cha Cha and I headed back home to Ventura.  It had been a whirlwind….tons of fun with my company and the Anniversary party, but boy was I ready to be ALONE!  Check out my tuckered out Puppy with her little (big) head on my console as I drove back to Vtown.

OMG, when I was out in Palm Desert, I picked up a set of 7 LuRay Demitasse Cups and Saucers all shrinked wrapped together. I started listing them last night and within 30 minutes I got this question….

When that happens, it is time to do some RESEARCH!!!!  I never spend too much time on research unless an item is really rare.  I have learned from over the years that research can be a serious waste of time.  However, when you get tipped off like this…it is time to go to work!

I immediately hopped on Replacements.com and typed in LuRay 2″ cup.  Often, you can do your research on this site with just the dimensions.  Really helps save time.  I saw immediately that the set was not a demitasse cup and saucer set, but a seriously rare Chocolate cup and saucer set.  The only one with a price listed was a yellow cup ONLY for over $89.95.  I think I have a score on my hands!

I had started all of my auctions at between $9.99 and $14.99.  Once I knew what I had, I changed the starting bids to $49.99 each.  Check out this auction that already has a bid at the $49.99.  Fingers crossed they go even higher!  And the great news is that I still have 3 that are not even listed since they are duplicates.  SCORE…HAPPY DANCE!

A nice eBayer sent me a picture of what the entire Chocolate set would have looked like if still intact.  Interestingly enough, she let me know that the 239 number on the base of mine “should” mean that it was made in February of 1939.   How crazy is that?  82 Years ago!  WOW!

OMG, as I am writing this, the same eBayer sent me another question about these items.  Apparently, I have a score on my hands!  Straight FIRE!!!!  BTW, there ARE pictures of the bottoms of every item I have listed.  DUH!!!

OK, enough about the LuRay Chocolate set…..Once back in Ventura (after my first PSP Palm Springs/Palm Desert trip of the month) I jumped right back into working at the store.  We got some really cute displays done.  Check this one out.  Very Springy…don’t you think?

Check out that darling white desk that Sandy upcycled with white Annie Sloan paint and Green Iron Orchid Design Palm Transfers.  Soooooo cute and fresh!  Only $395!

In the midst of all of this madness, I had an eBay for Business Podcast interview scheduled to do with Griff!  I LOVE Griff so of course had to do it!   You can listen to it here.  This photo of us is back in the day at an eBay Live event.

On top of the first half of March being SOOOOO crazy, it was going to get even crazier as Houston was flying home from OKC on Friday, March 12th for his Spring Break.  Because I hadn’t seen him since Christmas, I went ahead and planned some fun things….Always trying to make memories people!

First off, was two nights in the Carpinteria Cottages.  How cute are these cottages?  I am not kidding.  We had a blast and they are so charming, I have the biggest cabin already reserved for a return trip of 3 nights in June.  Can’t wait!

BTW, I had to close the store early on that Saturday because I had no one to run the store.  I sent out an email and y’all were so nice about it.  I really appreciate that!  Family time comes FIRST!

While in Caprinteria, Houston did a few bike rides and we walked all over town.  Such a special town and such a great getaway for me, the kids and the Cha!   I even made the kids breakfast one day!  What?  Will miracles never cease?

Oh BTW, Houston got a mullet…..Not a fan, but whatever!  You are only young once.

We also spent some time at the Beach…I would say that a great time was had by all!  Even the dog!

While Houston was home, I arranged for a pretty sweet meet & greet for him.  In early March, a Rally Cycling car parked in front of my store and I got to meet Karen Aaron (wife of the owner of Rally) as she was heading to an appointment.  I reached out to her and asked if we could get a tour of their facility….she got back to me and said that there was no facility, but that she would be happy to drop off a t-shirt and hat.

How cool was that!  Check out Karen and Houston in front of the “sick” vehicle!

OMG, do you remember thinking that last March was the LONGEST month of your life (because of COVID and the shutdown)?  Well, I think this March may be the longest month of my life and even LONGER than the Covid March.

Why?  Well, let’s see….

March 1st Anniversary Party
March 6th Ventura to PSP (Palm Spring)
March 9th PSP back to Ventura
March 13th Carpinteria
March 15th back to Ventura
March 21st Ventura to PSP
March 23rd Flight to BLI (Bellingham from PSP)
March 28th Flight from BLI to PSP and then drive back to Ventura

I am exhausted just putting it on paper…well into an ezine!

OK, so before Houston went back to OKC on the 21st, we all headed down to the Malibu Cafe at Calamigos Ranch. Always sooooo much fun!  Of course we took Cha Cha!

And while he was home, Indiana, Houston and I were able to do a Cross Fit class with Bree at the Vent.  My favorite thing to do these days!  In fact, I am still at my mom’s house in Bellingham and will be getting up at 6 am tomorrow morning for a Zoom work out.  OMG, Who have I become?  LOL!

Before I forget, I was on Thrifty Business with Tiki Jason last Thursday.  Soooo much fun as always!  You can check out the You Tube Show here.

The show was super fun because Houston, Emma and the Cha stopped by during the live show!

OK, back to the crazy shenanigans that have become my March 2021.  Emma (Houston’s girlfriend) flew out last minute to see him…we love Emma so that made everything super fun!  Out to dinner one night at the Water’s Edge,

Here are Houston and Emma at dinner with their Roy Rogers and Shirley Temple cocktails…yes Brian added Jack and Vodka to those kiddy drinks!  Hahahaha.  Then a group shot and the theme was purple…I did not have any purple to wear!  Not one thing 🙂

At dinner that night, I mentioned that I really needed to get up to Washington to help my mom start paring down her eBay business.  She just has too much stuff that is not listed etc.

I was lamenting that I just didn’t know what to do with Cha Cha & Carlos (can’t forget the original pet)….well Emma to the rescue…she hadn’t bought her return ticket to New Jersey yet and offered to stay and watch the Cha & the Kitty…OMG…A gift from heaven!

This all happened on a Saturday evening and next thing you know, I have bought a plane ticket from Palm Springs to Bellingham to fly out on Tuesday, the 23rd.  Sunday morning finds me headed out to the Desert…..  OMG!  What the heck?  My life is crazy and yet pretty fun!

When I got to the desert, I met up with Mo and Kel for some thrifting.  When we walked into Revivals, I spotted an entire dinner set of……drum roll please….you won’t believe this…Villeroy & Boch Summer Day!  I have NEVER seen this pattern before and now (within the span of a few weeks) I have purchased two almost complete sets.  The one at Revivals was a bargain at only $200!

In the photo above, I have circled two items, the Breakfast Cup & Saucer and the Coffee Mug. Why did I do this? Well, the Breakfast Cup & Saucer lists for $109.95 each on Replacements and they have no Coffee Mugs in stock. I think this could be a score! Fingers crossed!.

On my way driving out to the desert, I saw on Instagram that my friend Robin Kanter (Robinette my pet) and her husband Harvey appeared to be in the desert. I sent her a text to ask and she said, “We are here til May come on over!” Does it get any better than this? I have known Robin since my first day as a department Manager at the May Co California. That was 1985 and we have been friends FOREVER!

Her husband Harvey (Herb) has been CEO of Eddie Bauer, Moose Jaw and Blue Nile. Harvey is currently the CEO of DXL Big & Tall. He is a brilliant retailer and has even written an excellent book, “Choosing to Lead”. You can purchase it here on Amazon.com.

It was so great to hang out with them at their AirBnB in Palm Springs.  For those of you who saw me on the recent “Thrifty Business” You Tube show, you may recall that the store has been struggling with all of the Covid fallout.

I even considered closing at the first of the year, but have decided to give it another year.  I was so lucky to bend Harvey’s ear about the business and he is going to help me with my business planning.  Nobody better!  So excited to circle back with him next week!

The picture on the left was from 2006 in Dallas and the picture on the right from a few days ago!  I LOVE these two 🙂

Let’s check out some more of the new merch coming into the store!

I am now safely up in Bellingham after some terrible turbulence on the airplane!  My mom and I have a game plan and have been clearing out aisles in her garage storage area.  We have made great progress!

Time for one more eBay score since I have eBay on my mind!  It is a piece of art that belonged to my friend Steve’s mom, Paula.  We LOVE Paula!  She passed away about a year ago and we all miss her and her wonderful sense of humor.

Here we are at her 80th birthday party a few years ago.  That is Peggy, Indy, me, Paula and Brandon.

Here is one of the pieces of art that I am selling for Steve.  His mom had great taste!  We don’t know enough about this to position it correctly, so we started it super high and we are asking for help!  Click here to see the listing on eBay.

Just a reminder of Our CURRENT HOURS:

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

I just placed a ton of reorders for items that sold out over the Christmas season. Please stop in the store to check out what is new in stock. We have replenished Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, Iron Orchid Designs, Royal Design Stencils, Recycled Ornaments, Driftwood Hearts, Gurgle Pots & Chirpies, Throw Rugs, Throw Blankets, Baggu, etc. etc.

Baggu has the BEST face masks and instead of having to buy a 3 piece set for $32, we are now selling them individually at $10.95. Come in and check us out!

AND Baggu just came out with a bunch of new designs. So much fun! We have a lot in stock 🙂

Finally, a cool picture of me and my best friends from high school (Kathy Rutan and Jo Dallas) and my mom out on her deck last night.  I am still in Bellingham and having fun! And helping my mom go through her eBay stuff!

And a final flashback photo from March 1st, 2020 before all of this madness began and we could all be together.

My team, from left to right.  Emma, Val, Mor Mor, me, Indy, Cindy and Peggy.   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.