Thank you Ventura for your support!  It is greatly appreciated!  We LOVE you all!

We are going to see how this week goes and the store is still 10% off.

So, the store is still up in the air as far as it’s future is concerned, but I am relieved to be back writing my regular newsletter.  It gives me a sense of normalcy.

Just so you know, no matter what happens with the store, I will continue writing, because I LOVE doing these and I have been writing them for almost 22 years.  Crazy!

Here is what my ezine used to look like.  This is issue #11 from Volume 6 and it came out on June 17th, 2010.  Crazy!  Right?

In this issue from 15 years ago, I talk about taking Houston to a VIP Dodgers experience (where he got to meet Manny) if you want to read about it….. Here is a link.

There are also a lot of great eBay tips in this newsletter.  In case you don’t read it, I just have to share these priceless photos from that day.

Manny signs a ball for Houston and then drops it!  Check out Houston’s face when Manny picks it up!

Welcome to Lynn’s Latest #000046

Thursday, May 22nd, 2025
Volume VI  Issue 000046

Since my last real ezine was two weeks ago, let’s catch you up.  Here is the tiktok and reel that I posted last Thursday morning.  Thanks to the podcast Ventura Forward mentioning it we had over 5,000 views on Instagram.

Click here to watch the reel on Insta or here on TikTok.

The Saturday before Mother’s Day, my friend Rebecca Rudenko and I went to see the Shawn Jones Trio at The Grape.

Shawn is soooo talented and it is always a treat to see him perform.  We got there late and it was packed…so we had to sit off to the side.

Soon after we arrived, Shawn gave Lynn’s Consignments a “shout out” recognizing how important small business is to Ventura. Thank you Shawn!

During the break, we got a photo.

I hadn’t seen Rebecca since we went to see Pete Yorn in LA and I am so mad at myself for not getting a photo of us at the Grape, so here is an oldie but a goodie.

This was at her Halloween themed birthday in 2018.  The dressed up clown is a really weird silver boy that she bought at my store…LOL!  Gotta love Rebecca!

The day after Shawn’s concert was Mother’s Day and bless her heart, Indiana came home late Saturday night to take me to breakfast on Sunday.

We both had to work on Sunday, so we arrived at the Harbor Cove Cafe at 9:15 and if you can believe it the line was almost to the parking lot.  “What in the World?” as my dad would have said.

You can barely see Indy in this photo, but she is last in line.

Here is the sweet post that Indy put on Instagram.

Indy also got me the best card because she knows how tough it has been for me with the store this past year.

AND while working at the Brentwood Country Mart she had found a kiosk where they were helping little kids make gifts for their moms and she made one of the cards for me.  Hysterical.  Best gift EVER!

After a lovely breakfast, I made it to the store on time to work and I was out in the back clearance area explaining the pricing to a young couple.  He was standing up and she was on the floor looking at frames.  She looks up and me and says….”Are you Indy’s mom?”

“Yes”!  And she was like, “I am Becca and I was in PIT (Pepperdine Improv Troupe) with Indy”.  Seriously?  How cool that on Mother’s Day someone recognizes me as Indiana’s mom?

So, we had to do a TikTok.  LOL!  Check it out here.

Before I forget, we hit 1,000 followers on TikTok and we only started posting daily on April 1st.  Pretty awesome!  Thanks for the support!

We actually have 1,121 followers as of Wednesday.  Pretty cool!

Then Susan, her husband Brad, son Bronson and their dog Pootie stopped in to say hi and brought me champagne and flowers! So sweet!

Oh my gosh!  We are only caught up a little bit and I am exhausted…time for an eBay score!

I am happy to report that eBay is picking up!  That is great news…now if the store would just do the same 🙂

I bought this figurine four years ago at an estate sale and paid $10.  I did put a high price on it, but I was ready to let it go and accepted a best offer of $150 last week.

Here is a link to the listing if you want to check it out!

I had been trying to get up to Bellingham to help my mom for a while and when I made the announcement last Thursday about the store, I knew it was time to get out of dodge and help her.

I found super cheap airfare on Allegiant…only $114 round trip out of LAX.  I text the girls to see if they could watch Cha Cha and it was a go!

So last Thursday, I drove down to Indy & Larissa’s apartment to leave the Cha and uber to the airport.

It was fun, because I got there early enough to hang out for a bit.  Here they are in their super cute new living room.  Just a heads up…much of the wall art comes from Lynn’s Consignments!

Oh and also the couch and the throw pillows…..are from my store!

The Allegiant flight out of LAX was basically empty…well half full and I got an entire row.  Seriously!  All the way across.  Sweet!

And in even better news, when I landed, one of my best friends from high school (Kathyrn Tice Ann Rutan) was there to pick me up so that my mama didn’t have to go out at 9:30 at night.  Love you KTR!  And she brought her darling puppy. LULU!

OK, time for another eBay score before we get into my WILD time in Bellingham.   Just kidding…it wasn’t really wild, it was mostly about helping my mom and trying to get her house sold.

I bought this Anri figurine for $5 at a thrift store.  I know all about Anri and Ferrandiz from growing up and working for my grandmother.  Very collectible and they have a pretty big following so I always pick them up if affordable.

Sold it for a best offer of $75 since it had been listed since 2020.

Check out the listing here.

OK Back to Bellingham.  Not back to the future, but more like, back to the past.  Bellingham is my past and Ventura or maybe Europe is my future.

This transitional time with the store is really making me think about where I want to end up and what I want my future to look like.

I have a daily calendar from Unf*ck Yourself (Gary John Bishop) and this showed up the other day…really got me thinking.

My first day in Bellingham was Friday.  My mom and I made a list of everything we wanted to accomplish and got to work.

First up, I ordered a banner that my brother had suggested about 6 months ago.  If any of you have noticed when driving in LA, almost every apartment building has a banner on it so when you are in traffic you can look up and see “If you lived here, you would be home now”.

We thought that would be a great selling point for my mom’s home because she is right on the road where people wait to get onto the ferry to Lummi Island.  Her home still has the same great views (maybe better) and low bank waterfront, but you don’t have to take a ferry to get there.

Here is the finished product.  What do you think?  And you can see the Ferry Landing in the background.

Next, we met with the realtors who came out to the house and we dropped the price of her house from $800k to $780K.

Then I took my mom to a doctor’s appointment, ran some errands and got my mom a hip xray (because she needs a hip replacement).  Then we met my high school friends, (Leslie and Kathy) along with Kathy’s mom for a late Mother’s day celebration at Anthony’s.  Sooooo fun!

The next day I worked on paperwork for my mom and found some really great antique trade beads and sterling silver flatware to list on eBay for her.

We also went into town and picked up prescriptions, shopped at Costco (where I was checked out by a high school classmate Rob Walston…totally random LOL) and then got Taco Time for dinner.  I LOVE Taco Time…wish we had them in California just like everyone in Washington wished they had In-n-Out.  Hahaha!

Here are some of the awesome items I listed for my mom on eBay that day (Ok some of the items I listed when I returned home on Monday, but I got them written up and photographed up there)!  OK…I am so tired just thinking about everything we got done.  No rest for the wicked.  But am I really wicked?  I think not.

Here is one of her auctions that has two bids already.  Yay!

Out of the 36 items I listed for her, I never thought that this one would get the first bids.

These are called white hearts or Cor da lindo allepo. My mom inherited these from her mother, my grandma, Cheryl Leaf.

Check out the listing here. 

Since these white hearts have a bid, I thought I would share a story from one of my 100 Best Books about the same type of beads and just to note, I was wrong in my title and description.  UGHHHHH and I can’t change the listing now because it has 2 bids!

This is story #1 from “Money Making Madness”.

OK back to present day, I am still in Bellingham and later that night (Saturday), Kathy and Leslie were going to hear a band in Ferndale.  I wasn’t sure that I was going to meet them, but then I thought, Life is short and I LOVE these girls.

So, I rallied and met them at 8:15 in Ferndale.  Yikes!  That is a late start time for me…I love early evenings and happy hours.  LOL.  In any event, we had a great time.

While in Bellingham, I text Zach and said “Honey, can you please call me while I am with Mor Mor?”.  We would love to catch up.

On Sunday, right before my flight, Zach called.  It was great to hear his voice and he has already done 624 miles of the PCT (Pacific Crest Trail).  Wow!  Almost 25%.  I am so proud of him.  I asked about his favorite food so far…tortillas with peanut butter, pepperoni and jack cheese and/or tuna fish.  ughhh!  And his favorite protein bars and candy…snickers (I let him know that the snickers bar is named after a race horse) and Zach said “Well the candy bar is more famous than the race horse” and we laughed.

I said to him “How are you doing”? and he said “I have never been better”….Wow!  What a great attitude.  He also let us know that he had been drinking some Proseco on the trail.  Oh well! Whatever it takes to get you through the night!  Zach is only 19.  But that is the drinking age in Canada….and he is on his way to the border!

Zach shared this picture of him in Idyllwild with the Mayor of the town, Max the dog.  Hahaha!  Zach looks good!

My mom drove me to the airport on Sunday and I love the Bellingham airport because I can arrive at 2:15 for a 3:15 flight.  I had checked in for my flight on my phone and it automatically gave me a center seat.  Not happy about that, so I went up to the counter to buy a better seat.  The gal was so sweet, she moved me free of charge and put me in an aisle with no other people.  Score!

The flight took off on time and we had a tail wind and arrived at LAX in only 2 hours!  Crazy!  Indiana picked me up with Cha Cha and I was back home in Ventura by 7:30.  Amazing!

We sold a little white dresser on Wednesday to a super cute couple and they said “Are you Houston’s mom?”  What?  Two sightings in a week of my kids friends.  LOVE this!

It was Zach and Lauren and they went to Pepperdine with my kids.  They recently moved to Ventura.  I told them that Houston may be living with me next year and Zach was happy to hear that as he wants to cycle with the Goose.  I did warn him that Houston (aka Goose) takes his cycling very seriously.  LOL!

Got the funniest email from Chris Stalcup about my options for the store….

“You’re the best,  Boss Lady.   Your team is great.   Product is great.  I go with your flow.  Been a great run – and for Option 4 – I say you and your team get your own Show and go transform similar stores across the USA.   For real.  Millions would watch!!!  Big budget Big salaries Big Happy!

I really really really don’t want to write this email. I would much rather be writing my normal ezine. This is so sad for me that I am on a plane to Bellingham as you read this because I can’t bear to hear “how this is your favorite store”, because it certainly is mine.

Or what we hear every day….”We are so glad you stayed open”. For those of you who don’t realize how hard it is to be a retail brick and mortar owner, I will tell you these past months have been the most difficult of my life.

As you know, I was going to close the store in December of 2023. Because of all of you (my wonderful consignors, customers & staff) and your support, we were able to rally and remain open. Thank you!

However, the past 16 months have been extremely challenging. Sales have never returned to the level that it takes to sustain the overhead for a 5,000 square foot store. We are not even breaking even at this point. Ughhhh.

I need to make a very difficult decision by the end of May.  This gives us about 2 weeks…here are my options…If you have any other ideas, I would LOVE to hear them!

1.  Do we close and look for a smaller, more affordable space?
2.  Do we close forever?
3.  Do we see if our amazing customers/consignors can rally around us in the next 2 weeks and see if we can stay open?

As of today, I am voting for Option #3.  Ventura please help us survive!  Tell your friends and family about us and help save a small business!

We are having a “We Don’t Want to Go Out of Business Sale” for the next two weeks.

The store will be 10% off this week.  No additional discount on the 50% clearance in the back building.  No additional discount on the 20% off Annie Sloan & IOD.

Main Store Hours
Weds to Sat        11 to 5
Sunday              11 to 3

And since we did get in some really cool stuff this week…here are our new arrivals.

Chaise Acme Vendome Patina With Two Pillows Gold $695.00

Buffet with Iron Work $295.00

Rustic Chest $196.00

72″ Sideboard Collins Natural Walnut $595.00

Dining Table Trestle Legs Coaster Bexley Live Edge $595.00

Coffee Table With Drawers Name Brand Flower Shaped Cream (Ivory) $295.00

Writing Desk Woodbridge Marseille French Country Bordeaux Brown $595.00

Burlwood Harp Small End Table $295.00

Mission Hand Made Small End Table $69.50

Antique Tile End Table $150.00

Stickley ? Mission Arm Chair $495.00

Counter Stool Hawkesbury Tan/Black $95.00 – 4 in stock

Ottoman Homeroots Amelia Brown Cotton Square Cube $69.50

Oak Hall Tree $95.00

Interior Design Wood Sign $65.00

Pyrex Pink Daisy Divided Dish $49.50

Johnny Was light grey embroidered floral tunic $65.00

Johhny Was sleeveless bright floral boho breezy dress $79.50

Lime green linen halter dress with bow at neck $48.50

Thank you for your patience and understanding during this difficult time.  Lynn & family

P.P.S  For those of you who don’t live close to Ventura…don’t forget you can shop our store online!

A very quiet week this week!  Yay!  Did meet Sandy for dinner at Prime on Friday night.  That was fun to catch up as I haven’t seen her in weeks.  We also ran into one of our favorite customers, Jen, and her family.

Thursday we filmed some Tik Toks about my eBay assembly line listing technique.  You can view that video here.

Later that night I got a text from Indiana and she said….

Welcome to Lynn’s Latest #000045

Thursday, May 8th, 2025
Volume VI  Issue 000045

I was like “crap, what are they saying about me that is bad?”….So I checked out the comments.

And one gal said “She invented this y’all”.

And I am not proud of the way I responded when I said “Do your research.”

I also included this article that eBay wrote about me in 2015.  I hated it at the time that they called me an eBay Legend…but it came in pretty handy this week.  Hahaha.

You can read the article here.  If you want to!

Then I text Indy and told her what my response was to the TikToker and this is what she wrote back….

And then Indy schooled me on “popping off”.  Back in my day, “popping off” was being rude.

Apparently, these days it is a good thing.  LOL.

Well that was exhausting!  Time for an eBay score!

Bought this framed print back when I lived in Palm Desert for $35 and had not listed it when Covid shut us down.  Finally got it listed in 2020 and just took a best offer on it of $250 this past week.

Then we couldn’t find it.  Oh no!  It was not on the shelf it was supposed to be on.  Luckily, Kevin found it out in the back garages and I got it shipped on Monday.  Score!

Check it out here.

Saturday morning I went out to an estate sale in Camarillo and then hit some Ventura garage sales before working all day in the store.

Found some fun things to bring back to the store….including some rustic metal shelves and a French Fish platter.

Check out the new arrivals section for pics of these vintage finds!

Sunday, I listed on eBay and then Sandy text me and said “Come hang out with me at the street fair and bring a bottle of wine…a big one.”  LOL.

I finished my eBay listings, grabbed ChaCha and off we went.  It was a fun day and the Cha got worn out!  Always a bonus.

Monday was Fit Buddha and then Martini Monday.  Marc and I headed down to Dukes and since it was Cinco de Mayo, I thought it would be crowded, but it was not.

I was happy to spend Cinco de Mayo with a good friend because it was the 8th anniversary of my dad’s passing away.  Of course, he had to pass away on a holiday….Papa!

On Tuesday, Susan and I headed into Pasadena to visit the Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts.  30 different designers each take a room and it is definitely worth visiting!

Lots of design inspo for our next design job.  Who will it be?

It rained most of our drive to Pasadena, but we got lucky and it was just overcast for our visit.  It was pretty crowded, but we got right in and had a wonderful lunch on the grounds as well.

The Bauer House only had two owners in it’s 100 year history.  The original owners were the Bauer family and he was the CEO of SCE.  The second owner was writer Stephen J. Cannell.

He was responsible for many awesome tv series, the Rockford Files, Hawaii 50, 21 Jump Street, etc.

He passed away at only 69 years of age from complications due to Melanoma.

I was really inspired to see his office and the original desk where he sat to write (he used an electric typewrite) so many hits.  It really inspired me to get to writing my novel or novels!

Time for an eBay score that has something to do with Mother’s Day…since it is coming up.  Just sold this coffee mug for asking price of $43.99 and I didn’t pay fmore than $1.  Sweet!

I think every mom deserves a “Bad Ass Mama” Coffee mug.  Too bad I don’t drink coffee!

Check out the listing here.

Now would be a good time to wish my mama a Happy Mother’s Day.  I need to get up there to see her at some point this month.

Happy Mother’s Day Mor Mor!  This is one of my favorite pictures of the two of us.

Oh my!  I forgot to tell you about my big boo boo last Thursday right after my newsletter came out.

I was trying to fit a blue chair into a corner of the Beachy room and I knocked a night stand off of the top of other nightstands and there were glass vases and lamps on top.  Yikes!

Luckily, I only broke 5 things and most were store inventory.  I paid the other consignors for their items and it was quite the adrenaline rush!

Brittany was a trooper and cleaned it all up.  Here is the tiktok if you want to watch it.

We took in a hanging library/parlor lamp from a new consignor this week and it brought back great memories from my days in my grandma’s store.  We always had these lamps for sale.  My grandma LOVED her lamp department.

Here is Kevin wrangling to put it together.  You can see the finished product later on in the new arrival section.

In honor of my grandma and her love of lamps, I thought I would share story #2 from Money Making Madness about a hanging lamp that I sold for big bucks.

An update on my nephew, Zach’s, Pacific Crest Trail Hike.  We were texting back and forth and since he shared his location with me, I could see that he was in the San Bernadino area.

I offered to pick him up if he needed a break, but he did not!  Way to go Zach!

An update on Larissa and Indiana.  They booked a commercial together.  I am soooooo proud of them and it will film later this month.

Larissa also just did an ad for Apple.  They both have agents now and are getting jobs.  I am so happy!

Things we need for the store…..

AND PLEASE NO CONSIGNMENTS ON WEDNESDAYS….this is our big furniture take in and catch up day.  THANK YOU!

Night Stands
End Tables
Rugs
Lamps…both table and floor
Nice Throw Pillows
Wicker/Baskets
Metalware
Woodenware
Garden
Outdoor
Dressers
Desks
Oil Paintings

Susan and I are ready for our next design job! There are so many great things in the store and we have the inventory to do a beach house or any other style you may be considering. It can be a small job or a big job. Reach out for more details!

And now what you have been waiting for….The new arrivals!

Antique Oil Painting Woman $495.00

Josef Joseph Lavos 1807-1848 Oil Painting Portrait Lady $995.00

Josef Joseph Lavos 1807-1848 Oil Painting Portrait Man $995.00

Gustav Canvas Picture $39.50

Framed Misha Koala Art ’92 $29.50

Boats on shimmery water $32.50

Framed Woman Print Louis Icart $49.50 each – 2 in stock

Modern Wire Lamp $48.50

Antique Gold Mirror $95.00

Framed Misha Emu Art ’92 $29.50

Gold Gem Mirror $69.50

Antique Ornate Tall Floral Mirror $795.00

Crate & Barrel Capiz Charger $14.50 each – 13 in stock

Bombay Miniature Chest $395.00

French Inlaid Marquetry Game Table $995.00

Empire Style End Side Table Marble $595.00

Large Pelican Picture $95.00

Metal Cabinet Name Brand Accent Foldable With Wheels Light Green $149.50

3 Tiered Metal Rustic Garden Shelf  $39.50 each – 2 in stock

Round Brown and Floral Ottoman $64.50

Spin Top Light Wood Stools $29.50 each – 2 in stock

Cherub Metal Lamp Red Lace Shade $49.50

Picasso Print $95.00

Riverboat Picture $42.50 each – 2 in stock

Vintage Hanging Library Parlor Light $195.00

Vintage gold  tape dispenser $32.50

Crystal Tall Candle Holder $95.00

Crystal Medium Candle Holder $75.00

Oak Childs Booster Chair $84.50

Glass Multicolor Crab Wide Vase $28.50

Vibrant Glass Sculpture Menorah w Studded Texture $65.00

Brass Jester Bookend Pair $125.00

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

From left to right…Whale, Indiana, me, Val, Sandy, Susan, Cindy and Tina.

eBay with Heart & Design with Heart……Lynn

Past Newsletters can be found on my blog. 

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