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8 Things To Entertain Yourself With During Lockdown

ISN’T THAT THE TRUTH?  GRACIOUS!  Um, ok – so, we are where we are.  What felt like semi-normalcy about a week ago has since escalated to utter insanity and uncertainty, to a zombie apocalypse degree.  The best advice I’ve heard thus far is this:

Even if you don’t have symptoms, self-quarantine and distance yourself socially as if you DO have it, so as not to perpetuate the spread of this thing.”

And we’ve probably all seen this but it’s about all you need to see to get the picture – video version of it here:

Plus Gaga said basically the same thing and when she talks, I listen.

This is going to be tough on and impact EVERYONE for a million different reasons… but let’s stick together, shall we?  Cuz WE ARE ALL IN IT.  Sales people can’t go out and sell.  Hospitality has to be losing their a$$.  People who work in sports stadiums have no stadiums to tend to.  Health care workers are going to be worked to the bone.  People like grocery store checkout folks and UPS drivers are completely exposed to the virus because they don’t really have the option to self-quarantine.  How do people who DO still have to go to work care for their children, whose schools are closed for at least the next few weeks?  Chris is a medical sales rep and since the surgeon general just advised that all elective surgeries be halted for the time being, he’s basically out of work for a month.  There’s no one this thing isn’t touching.  Quel mess!

And, the smallest potatoes (seriously) but: we’re going to have to reschedule our April 4th destination wedding which has taken a solid year to orchestrate…it’s a stinker and a pain in the arse and it’s disappointing – but really, no bigs… There is absolutely nothing we can do about it and we certainly can’t afford to put anyone at peril.  Plus… this way in the Summer we’ll all have tans, I guess?? (#silverlining).  And it’ll be plug & play.  Luckily, all of our vendors are AMAZING and have graciously agreed to transfer our deposits to a future date – for which I have a few on hold.  The only thing that hasn’t been so easy to swallow is THIS situation, which I’m sure anyone & everyone with a vacation rental coming up is also dealing with, to some degree:

ANYHOW.  Here we all are – sequestered in our individual casas, twiddling our thumbs and wondering if we have enough food to last us for the next few weeks.  Whatchagonnado????  Welp, those of us who are fortunate enough to be able to work from home, we can work from home.  And I have a LOT of work catch up to do.  But outside of that – I can think of a few things:

1. VIRTUAL MUSEUM TOURS (here): Hey. Let’s be honest – most of us are glued to social media to a brain-melting degree and could all use a little cultural timeout.  Includes some of my favorites like the Musée D’Orsay in Paris, the Uffizi Gallery in Firenze, and the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.

2. (FREE!) COREPOWER YOGA CLASSES ONLINE (here): HPF isn’t quite the same when it’s not 105 degrees, but hey.  I’ll take what I can get!  Safer than going to the gym and touching all the sweaty things with cooties.

3. NETFLIX & CHILL.  Here’s what’s on my watchlist:

Homeland Season 8 – GASP!  Literally one of the most gripping shows on television.

CREDIT: SHOWTIME

Super interested to watch this.  I’ve always been pretty lukewarm on Hillary, but I do think she’s smart as a whip and I certainly respect her.

CREDIT: HULU

Um, this is our friend Steph Turner!  She wrote, directed AND starred in Justine.  You gotta be a talented mofo to do that.  Cannot wait to watch.

CREDIT: NETFLIX.

And if you haven’t binged any these below yet, you’re in for a treat:

CREDIT: FX

CREDIT: COURTESY OF ©NICK BRIGGS/CARNIVAL FILM AND TELEVISION LIMITED 2015 FOR MASTERPIECE

CREDIT: IMDB

4. PAINT SOMETHING, PICASSO!  Or whatever crafty venture tickles your pickle and takes your eyes away from a TV or computer or iPhone screen for awhile.  I have canvases & oil paint in a drawer that I bought almost 2 years ago that I haven’t even opened yet.  And a cross stitch kit so I can stitch out one of those: “Please don’t do cocaine in the bathroom” things and hang it on the wall.

Or, maybe this one would be more appropriate this week:

5. GO OUTSIDE & PLAY.  We live in a place with tons of open space so we’re super lucky, but surely even a walk + some fresh air is good for the soul, right?  Just don’t hug or like, make out with any passersby.

6. SPRING CLEAN!  I mean… what if we all come out of this thing with closets that look like Athena Calderone’s???

Anuschka Rees’ Closet Detox Cheat Sheet is a good place to start.  If I can get Chris to do this with me it’ll be like the 8th wonder of the world.  Pretty sure he is holding on for dear life to drawers-full of unmatched socks from high school.

Honestly… I am also seriously considering going through my iPhone pics (all 30,000 of them – #brainexplosion) and deleting the goofs and filing the others into folders if need be.  Sounds about as fun as watching paint dry but would feel so cleansing.

7. DO YOURSELF A LITTLE SPA DAY. Got Epsom salts, a nail file and some nail polish?  Treat yo self!  My dome is currently marinating in Olaplex and I’m about to do a deep soak in a lavender epsom salt bath.  If you soak to prune-y perfection, you can give yourself a scrub with my favorite $3 exfoliant – Domino Granulated Sugar – and then slather on some coconut oil.  You’re welcome.

8. GET INSPIRED BY VINTAGE COVET LIVING POSTS!  haaaaaaaaaaa.  Wait I’m actually not kidding.  I do a favorite things-esque post almost seasonally (which is filed under “Mishmashes & Musings“) – compilations of the most beautiful things on earth I’ve seen.  I go back and troll them often and am always re-inspired.  Have at it!  I’m long overdue so maybe I’ll write a new one this week.

What else??  What did I miss?  What are you guys doing this week to be productive (or not productive) and entertain yourselves?

Everybody stay safe and hang in there.  Sh%* is nuts, but maybe we try to think of it as a way to remember what’s really important… to pare down, reconnect with your family, and reconnect with yourself.  Good juju like that.

xoxo,

 

Goodwill Hunting, San Diego Style

Palm Trees, San Diego | Covet Living
If you’ve ever sniffed at this blog, then you know I have a deep affinity for scouring estate sales, antique stores and thrift stores for diamonds in the rough.  All over my house(s) lie shiny turds that I’ve polished into golden nuggets.  Like these guys:

(BARNWOOD FRAME, $10, via a pile in some antique store.  DRESSER, $125, via Habitat for Humanity in Mt. Pleasant, SC.)

Antique Dresser and Barnwood Frame

(BUFFET before version via a Salvation Army somewhere in Columbus, OH that I should’ve NE-VER walked into without a bulletproof vest, $25)

Goodwill $25 buffet

(BUFFET after version – see it behind the settee! – in my C-bus dining room.  The table was $30 on Craigslist and I refinished it the night before Thanksgiving Day one year for extra seating…  gold tipped flutes were $0.50 from Goodwill…  you get the idea.)

Columbus Dining Room

(VINTAGE DRESSER, $40 via High Street consignment shop in C-bus, sandblasted and shellac’d in green.)

Green Dresser 1

Green Dresser 2
…you get the idea.  It pays to go thrifting!  It had been awhile since I’d ventured out and waded through piles of misfit furniture, or had one of those perfectly indulgent fiddle-faddling weekends, so that’s what I did: made zero plans except to sleep in, take Gus dog to the beach, go to yoga, drink a whole pot of coffee while I get lost in the glistening sea of Pinterest, peruse the Cedros Design District, hit up Mexican + Margs with a girlfriend…  then hit a gaggle of new thrift stores on Sunday.  Those kind of weekends are to me what March Madness is to dudes – utter bliss.  Anyhow – kids (!)  Purell your hands & put on your big girl pants – cuz we’re going thrifting.

CEDROS DESIGN DISTRICT, Solana Beach

First, let’s clarify: there’s nothing entirely thrifty about this little North County slice of heaven – peppered with vintage finds and John Robshaw pillows and sparkly gems – but it’s a good source of inspiration, and it’s where I spent my Saturday afternoon. Plus Solo was having their annual sale, so that counts… sorta.

SOLO

I bought that vintage “pas de bon cafe sans chicoree williot” jar.  $88 $20.

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I need to find candlesticks just so I can pop some of these pretty tapers in them.

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Salvaged metal turned cool frame.  Solid addition to any Bachelor Pad.

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These are kinda funky but a friend of mine in Charleston used to make them, too. They’re decorative vinyl “rugs” – perfect if you have a rental with a godawful/unsightly, say, kitchen floor you can’t do anything to overcome.  Just cover it up with one of these.  I think they were about $45.

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The sweetest little peanut who wanted to take Gus home with her.

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Little hearts to corral your jewelry on the bedside table.  Or coins.  Or gold teeth – whateva.

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I always scour Solo for kantha quilts, since they did me so proud on the prettiest one I ever saw that I made into euro pillows.  This bluesy denim-hued one was cool, but pricey at $148.

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PS – this is also the place where we got the Bolivian blanket to re-do Karrie’s dining chairs in.  Did you miss that post?  Here she blows.

karrie's dining chair redo

Kinda greyish/kinda greenish seeded glass margarita glasses.

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Kewl tumblers.

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Sharon & Gus also fell in love – right by the back door and the Bolivian blankets. She’s one of the sweet ladies who works at Solo.

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Favorite sighting of the day.  These glorious occasional cane chairs.  Which would be perfect anywhere… opposite a living room sofa, as host chairs in a dining room, in the window in a bedroom with a little footstool.  I die.

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BIXBY & BALL

Love the shape and patina of these wood trays.

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The Wall of Robshaw never disappoints.  I usually just walk in that little vignette and stare at it awhile.  The kaleidoscope of color is also a reminder that sometimes, when you put together all the things you love in one space, it just works.  And the curtains don’t *always* have to match the drapes if you know what I mean.

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That chair + that pillow = serenity.

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-BRICK LANE-

…the little shop next to Lockwood Table – always good to peruse while you’re waiting to be sat for brunch.  They have a good selection of kanthas as well (a huge stack)…  some are new – which also means they’re stiffer/not as soft, and that they haven’t been washed a million times and the color could bleed or fade, so I skip those and go for the vintage ones.

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Hey Gus – make yourself at home, buddy.

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I found this one at the bottom of the stack.  The colors are perfection, and it’s gorgeous on both sides – usually kanthas are fugly on at least one side.  This is one of the best ones I’ve ever seen.

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I bought it thinking I’d upholster something with it, but I think I’m gonna leave it as is at the foot of my bed.  Oh hey Gus!  Comfy?  Can I get you a cocktail?

Steph's Cali Bedroom | Covet Living

CASA MACHADO

If you haven’t been to this little hidden gem that overlooks the Montgomery airport, you gotta put it on your list.  If only for the jet fuel margs and the carnitas tacos.

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That’s my friend Hope before we hit up the Mexican joint (note how gorgeous she is sans makeup).  Gus feels like he has to clobber her every time she comes over.  Also super pumped that he dug for treats in the dirty clothes basket to bring her.

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RARE BIRD CONSIGNMENT HOUSE

This place is a good little staple that should be in everyone’s diet.  Not cheap but not unreasonable.  Always has great finds.  Someone should go snag these little mirrored cubes stat.

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This is also the place where I found these cane chairs a few months back.  See what I mean?  The owner/buyer/whomever has a great eye.

vintage cane chair - rare bird

EMPIRE CONSIGNMENT & THRIFT

This is one where you’ll wanna bust out your Purell, cuz yer gonna haftah dig and it may not be pretty.  And it kinda smells like the mothballs in Grandma’s attic.  But everything is currently 20% off of already reasonable prices.  So there’s that.

I bought this 6-piece set of Midcentury campaign furniture (there’s also an armoire, headboard, and a chest of drawers).  It was a STEAL.  Plus it’s been awhile since I dusted off my power sander and pulled a Bob Vila, so I figured it was time.

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Chair – about $69.  That sucker’s begging to be spray painted and reupholstered.

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Funky artwork / an easy addition to a gallery wall.  I think this was <$10.

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Demi-lune entry table, just over $100.  If I needed one, this would’ve been a goody to revamp.  But the finish is in great shape as is.

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MATTSON CO ESTATE LIQUIDATION & THRIFT

I didn’t buy anything here, but there were a few cool pieces.  It’s a consignment shop downstairs and a thrift store upstairs.

Asian brass coffee table, $150.  I don’t need one, but it was definitely boss.

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Antique walnut headboard.  It wasn’t priced, but the ones around it were not $$.  Maybe $25.  I’d lacquer this thing in white and pop it in a sweet little girl’s room.

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I mean, maybe if Cleopatra had a baby this would be fun hanging in a frame over the crib?  I love the colors.

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Antique armoire.  There were a pair of these and this was the smaller of the two.

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I think you would have to juxtapose this with something modern and a little edgy in the room to keep it from going too WWII era-Granny (like this baller Mid-Century Modern Lucite + String fella from Chairish, or some Tord Boontje garland lights hanging over the nightstands or something – know what I mean?)

Midcentury Lucite and String Light, Chairish | Covet Living

Danish console, $1499.  NOT a thrift store-esque price but solid, in great shape and definitely worth the $.  About 90″ long which makes it a perfect living room console.  They’re getting ready to have it professionally refinished, which will drive the price up some.

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I was surprised to find a few antique Turkish Kilims there too.  The light was funky in there so the photos don’t reflect how rich and gorgeous the colors really were.

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That’s all I got!  Hope you guys had a great weekend 🙂  I’ll keep you posted on my Geppetto-esque progress on the campaign furniture.  I’m going to have to buy out Lowes’ stock of sandpaper, and probably rent out an industrial space to do it, but they’ll be fab when they’re finished!

xoxo,

Steph's Scanned Signature