Wooden candlesticks from Barneys New York

Adieu Barneys

The posh Barneys New York department store is liquidating its stores.

Wooden candlesticks from Barneys New York
Wooden candlesticks from Barneys New York

I saw these wooden candlesticks in Domino magazine, perhaps its first issue (its first incarnation). The feature was about using a boho outfit as inspiration for interior decor. I kept the picture to see if these still appealed to me and decided that I *had* to buy the candlesticks from Barneys New York.

Memories.

More pics:Read More »

#thejanuarycure Assignment 14 get rid of paper clutter #apartmenttherapy

Assignment 14 of Apartment Therapy’s January Cure is to get rid of paper clutter.  The pictures below show BEFORE and AFTER.  The papers in the bankers’ box contain personal information, and I plan to shred these papers.  Trash includes papers without personal information such as receipts and expired coupons.assignment 14

I re-discovered the paper at right while I was sorting papers. I received this bad fortune when visiting a temple in Japan 🇯🇵. I took a container filled with sticks, shook it around over my head, and drew a stick. The sticks are numbered and the number corresponds to a cubby hole where I drew the fortune. As you give a little money to get your fortune, I suppose the idea is draw fortunes again and again until you get good fortune. 😃 More pics:
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#thejanuarycure Day 1 – declutter a drawer

I’m undertaking the January Cure from Apartment Therapy.  Day 1’s task was to declutter a drawer.  I chose my socks and underwear drawer.

Socks and underwear drawer
Socks and underwear drawer

and yes, those are my pink socks.

I used sock organizer boxes and spring-loaded drawer dividers from The Container Store to organize my socks and underwear.


Source:

Williford, T. (2019, January 02). This is the Year for Your Best Home Yet-And it Starts Today! Retrieved January 18, 2019, from https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/drawer-organizer-task-january-cure-2019-265497 Assignment: declutter a drawer

January Cure #apartmenttherapy

I’m undertaking Apartment Therapy’s January Cure, its month-long mission to getting our homes into top shape for the year ahead.

I posted this on Instagram to shame myself into cleaning my bathroom and closet:

Source: Williford, T. (2019, January 02). This is the Year for Your Best Home Yet-And it Starts Today! Retrieved January 6, 2019, from https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/drawer-organizer-task-january-cure-2019-265497

8 life hacks for laundry

How many of you are like me and do laundry only when you’ve run out of clean underwear? 🙂

Woman using wringer washing machine
The happy homemaker and her wringer washing machine (1940)

Photo credits | Permissions

Here I share 8 life hacks for laundry.

  1. Take a cue from Linda Cobb, the “Queen of Clean.”  Every now and then, remove buildup from your washing machine by filling the tub with hot water and adding a cup of white vinegar to the water.  Run as usual.
  2. Remove blood stains by pre-treating with a stain stick like Resolve Spray n Wash.  The enzymes break down the blood. It’s best if the blood stains are relatively fresh.
  3. Use less detergent than recommended on the label.
  4. Use hot water to dissolve powder detergent.
  5. Soak soiled clothing before reaching the maximum water level, stop the washer, and let it sit.  The detergent is more concentrated.
  6. Put matching socks into mesh bags to keep them together.
  7. Wash delicates separately from the rest of your clothing.  Run them in either the delicates or hand-washables cycle.  I use Forever New, which a salesgirl at Trousseau, a lingerie store in Northern Virginia, recommended for washing delicates. I don’t know if Woolite has changed its formulation, but I quit using it because its fragrance was too strong.  I have separate mesh bags for bras, hosiery, and silk pillowcases (an indulgence).  Choose the absolute finest mesh for bras: on more than one occasion, the hooks have gotten entangled with the mesh bag, and all I could do was to cut the mesh.
  8. Remove clothing piece by piece from the washing machine, shake out each piece, and then put it into our clothes dryer.  More surface area, don’t cha know??  Popular Mechanics says that it’s difficult to detect a noticeable difference when using dryer balls (aside from extra noise).

I have not tried the KonMari approach to folding clothes, but since Marie Kondo is from Japan, I liken it to origami.  Profiling! 🙂 There are nearly 400 holds on The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing before I can check it out from my local library.

JC Penney’s new home department

Everyone knows that JC Penney is suffering: changeovers in management, an ad campaign that sounds like abject apology.

Today I received the flyer for Penney’s housewarming event for its new home department.  Penney’s (as I call it) is taking a page from Target’s playbook by employing well-known designers and taste makers such as Michael Graves (who had a collection for Target), Martha Stewart, Jonathan Adler, and Sir Terence Conran  to revamp its home department.

I’m a nut for footed bowls, and this acacia wood bowl from Michael Graves Design caught my eye:

Michael Graves Design acacia wood footed bowl
Michael Graves Design acacia wood footed bowl

What do you think of Penney’s new home department?   Has anything caught your eye?  Does the home department revamp have legs?  Will it rescue Penney’s from the doldrums?

Areaware Desk Accessory Set Giveaway

The Style Page is sponsoring a giveaway with AllModern.com, an online vendor of modern furniture and home accessories.

For this giveaway, I’ve selected this beautiful desk accessory set from Areaware:

Areaware Desk Accessory Set

This desk set consists of a letter opener, tape dispenser, stapler, and a pen and letter holder. It was created by Indonesian designer Singgih Kartono, who returned to his home village to teach carpentry skills. He follows sustainable practices, in which trees are planted to replace those used in production. The desk set is made of naturally harvested mahogany and sonokeling wood.

Several bloggers have said that ContestMachine has been acting up lately. If you find you can’t enter via ContestMachine, fire an email to me at thestylepage [at] yahoo.com or enter your name and email via comments.

All Modern has a fantastic selection of modern furniture and home accessories from many leading designers. Part of CSN Stores, All Modern is just one of over 260 retail sites that offer a diverse array of products from Herman Miller’s popular Aeron Chair to cookware by Rachael Ray.

Delirium and Co scented candle giveaway

What if your store sold coveted brands of candles such as Rigaud, Slatkin & Co., Voluspa, and DL & Co.? You might want to create your own brand of candles. That’s what Los Angeles boutique Candle Delirium has done with its Delirium & Co line.

The Delirium & Co line features two collections: The Silver Period and The Blue Period. The Silver Period collection features light fragrances, while The Blue Period features deeper fragrances.

More Than a Pretty Face is giving away one candle in Scarlet Grapefruit from The Silver Period and one candle in Blue Absinthe from The Blue Period. Both Delirium & Co candles were introduced just this year.


Delirium & Co candle in Scarlet Grapefruit from The Silver Period collection

The Silver Period candle Scarlet Grapefruit is described as “a crisp sensual merger of ruby red grapefruit, red currants, apple, mandarin, jasmine and amber.”

Delirium & Co candle in Blue Absinthe from its Blue Period collection

The Blue Period candle in Blue Absinthe is described as “an intoxicating masterful brew of Absinthe, vetyver, blonde woods, basil and rosemary.”

One winner will receive the Scarlet Grapefruit candle, while another winner will receive the Blue Absinthe candle. To enter, indicate your preference: Scarlet Grapefruit or Blue Absinthe.

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