Thrift Whore Thursday

Y'all, the Brooklyn Heights Housing Works WERKED me over recently when I stopped in for a Thrift Whore session. Look at all this sensual candy:

Imagine that gumdrop reupholstered in some fab fabric, like a graphic plaid or geometric, then the wood trim all turned out bright white, or in an accent color lifted right out of your fabric? Dripping gorgeousness!

If y'all haven't saddled up for a ride atop the brass train yet, go ahead and spread, 'cause it's BACK in full effect-- as far as home decor goes! And not the chintzy, cheap variety...I'm talking about 100% real deal brassness...lucky for us whores, I see it ALL THE TIME at thrift stores, like these babies:

Those little bits and bots of brass are perf for those of you out there who aren't convinced that this home decor moment is really upon us...they're small, really inexpensive and will pizazz-ify y'all's shelves, mantles or coffee/end tables. Go brass or bust!

These busts kinda stopped me mid-skip in the store...I'm intrigued, slightly creeped out-- in a good way-- so naturally they worth sharing:

I would probably rock those out by painting them all white or the same color, like hot pink-- gasp wood-o-philes & art snobs-- it would totally modernize and take the hibee geebs out of 'em, right?

These lil guys just winked at me and are giving us full-on toe play...yummy:

I don't often bother with fashion while whoring...but c'mon, black COWBOY boots??? Y'all know you want them-- in your MOUTH!

Aren't these ladies just like Precious Moments statues?

They just need to be good and worked over, like most of us thrift whores! Lose those skirts and swaddle them in new amazing fabrics, ahhhh, they'll be LIVING in yo house!!! Their curvy silhouettes are giving us ALL BODY, ALL THE TIME!

This one here, style slapped me full on when I rounded the corner!:

But y'all know it's the kind of sting we thoroughly enjoy-- and SEEK OUT! More curves, round and stone-- YES! I always encourage my clients to go for the round (or oval) when selecting end tables, coffee tables, even dining tables...learned this trick from Tae...hey Tae...round is obvi feminine, it helps to break up all the masculine lines that most spaces are full of and it's easier to navigate around...keeps the energy flowing in a space.

But then again, so does this bamboo beaut:

What would she do to y'all's lives if she were painted an awesome parrot-green? You'd constantly be RIDING HER-- that's what!

And make no mistake about the one she's currently riding...

Y'all can't go wrong with these types of dressers...they're unbridled work whores! Great for storage, great as entryway tables, buffet & consoles, changing tables...sometimes y'all will need to retro-fit them for your specific needs, and of course, a can of paint in a cool color and some new knob or pull action will absolutely transform this piece-- and ultimately, YOUR LIFE!

And that's really the whole point of being a thrift whore, no? Happy Whoring!

Thrift Whore Thursday: FOOD Edition

Y'all know how much a I just j'adore Thrift Whore Thursdays...and as much whoring as I do, I've seen A LOT of cra cra in these thrift stores, but I still get backslapped when I come across food! Damn!

And lest y'all forget, may I present:

But WAIT, there's more y'all:

I'm pretty sure mixed grains would be the last thing your baby would be getting from this box...happy whoring folks!

It's Friday and y'all need some FREE SHIOT!

And look what the streets of NYC has served us today:

Only in NYC would y'all find authentic mid-century furniture in da TRASH...what! what!...this is Kartell's Componibili 2 drawer side table, which rest assured, costs a pretty penny...vintage or new:

And then we pull back for a wide shot and see another section of this baby, buried beneath the first section...shiot:

See, y'all this is what this side table looks like when she's at her best, not chillin' in a trash can:

So, now y'all know why I was tots backslapped when I found this lady in a trash can!!!...the shade:

See, this treasure hunting is exactly why me and my genius Trashinistas (Alane & Andy) partnered with Mark Mark Productions on a tv show concept called, Trash NYC that we pitched to networks (featuring the FAB Carly Hughes)...which y'all can watch for y'all-selves below:

Now got out and get y'all-selves some Free Shiot-- from the trash, the curbs, dumpsters...there's some style lurking about, just aching to be discovered and Trashformed!!! Happy Friday!

Thrift Whore Confessions

Y'all I stumbled upon some major thrift treasures at a Salvation Army while out whoring the other day...check this shiot:

That's full-on marble atop that sassy round side table! Then I saw the price and was style-slain:

YES, biotch, you're not seeing things...it cost $39.99 value damn dollars!!!

And just what do I spy here, but some kinda cheesy-yet-chic Americana cookie jar?:

And not to be outdone on the cheese-o-meter, this statue presented himself for consideration:

Well, shut the FU$& y'all, how to choose? Don't...and buy them BOTH, they're so cheap! Scandal! The cookie jar I'd leave 'as-is', but statue face I'd repaint...maybe even in matte white? Or a fun & unexpected poppy color? He'd be soooo cute on a salon-style gallery wall amongst the right mix of art...speaking of, somebody shat out all kinds of tremendous 80's GIANT-ass paintings at this store, that had me choking:

AND

Oh, but WAIT, there's more!:

These yarn art lovelies gave me shivers:

And:

Absolutely style-slapped! This was fun too:

What a rush, y'all!!! Happy whoring AND happy Valentines Day-- hope it's filled with all kinds of hotness?!?!

It's Friday and there's Free snow for the taking!

Well damn if NYC and vicinity hasn't had it's fair share of heinous weather and now Nemo is upon us!!! In fact, as I type this, there's some sort of air strike sounding siren going off in the distance and I'm not quite sure what it's alerting me to? Snow? Ice? Nuclear fallout? Since when does NYC use sirens in neighborhoods? Just more drama to add to an already high drama alert situation? YES! See, I wasn't already amped up enough by all the media coverage on Nemo, so let's sound some alarms, that probably haven't been used since the 50's, to heighten the scene even more! Speaking of, today's Free Shiot Friday is a real doozie, check it:

Yeah, in case that pic isn't clear enough:

There's just so much wrong with this scenario...but one of the highlights of wrongness here is, 'hi, I've got a pig's head I need to throw out, so I'm gonna go to the trouble of bagging it, but I think rather than just throw it out in the trash bins in front of my building, where I normally throw out all my trash, I'm gonna walk across the street, meander down the sidewalk a bit and then dump this bag in Prospect Park'...wtf? I know our neighborhood has some real issues with cleanliness, as witnessed by the endless parade of all things chicken strewn over the sidewalks at any given time (and season!), but this one kinda just takes precedence...

Y'all, happy Friday...awwww, I heart NYC...remember, sometimes just b/c it's FREE, doesn't mean you want to take it home!

Apartment Shoot

Y'all, I shot bits of our apartment back in April 2011 with the uber-talented, Bob Martus:

Catch the rest of those shots in my portfolio section...anyway, We always knew we weren't finished with the shoot-- we just didn't realize it would take damn near two years to make it happen!?! Well, here we are, getting back in the photo groove and finishin' what we started:

No, I'm not moving, y'all...

This is what goes down when you get a photographer and a prop stylist all up in yo grill-- in yo face with jumblin' up yo shiot like you was movin' but all your really doin' is takin' a picture of yo house! That's called GLAMOUR and consider yo-selves, schooled!!!

And here in NYC, we grab power WHEREVER we can scrounge it up...this one kitchen outlet is powering a photo shoot AND tonight's dinner, simmering in the slow cooker! YES! Y'all know I'm all about double-value in my house!

Even my poor dog was all wide-eyed and feelin' bamboozled, wandering from one mess to the next:

Cant' wait to share the fab pics soon!!! Patrician Court realness can't be denied! XXOOOO!

Free Shiot Friday in full effect!

Oh she's a cold one out there today, y'all...but you know some Free Shiot Friday will warm y'all good-n-toasty like nothing else! Like this gal here, who's sitting all pretty:

Hanging hardware still intact and looking operational (someone must've just smashed this poor girls door in a fashion frenzy one morning and here she is, out on the street...the shade!):

LOVE the fun yellow and white stripe party happening in the back of the interior of armoire...'cause y'all know the front is all business and shiot:

What's great too is that back can be changed to fit whatever party you got going on, if you're not vibing yellow and white mountain alps Ricola-realness! Paint it out, add a different patterned paper, or fun fabric...I mean, just let loose like you never knew you could on the back of an armoire, people!!!! YESSSS! Free Shiot Friday is about freedom and the USA!

Here's another shot that details the clothing bar...

Or boombox, or bar or World Britannica Collection or...Happy Friday y'all! Go out and get some Free Shiot!

Thrift Whores-- our theme song!

It's a 'special sauce' kinda Thrift Whore Thursday up in here y'all...we got us a theme song! YES! Y'all know your whorin' always goes that much better when you got some kinda beat or rhythm to shake it to! Well, get ready to get your groove on to this sassy situation...it's AMAZING!:

Happy Whoring, y'all!

I'm getting back onstage...through a Time Machine!!!

Y'all, I'm just beyond delighted to share that through a really twisted, yet divine, turn of events I am dusting off my make-up kit and getting back on the stage! YES! (Some of you Dazzlers may not know, but before all my decorating & styling hilarities, I used to be a full-time actor-- it's the reason I moved to NYC in the first place!) The show is a pop musical experience called, Totally Tubular Time Machine

It's being billed as, "New York City's only interactive, intergalactic, pop music experience!" Also, it's a "reality based pop musical that you to time travel and party up-close and personal with a cast of 'celebrity' pop stars (past and present) performing live: Madonna, Britney Spears, Michael Jackson, Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, etc." And many more:

Aptly, I am playing the Queen of the Decades-- which trust, is a REAL stretch, y'all-- who's kinda like the emcee of this whole situation-- and I am having an absolute BLAST!!! (This also explains my total skank-ness for being MIA the entire week.....sorry!) The show has a soft open tonight at Culture Club, and will be running Saturdays at 8:00 PM...check the TTTM website (link above) for ticket and more show info. and get yo asses to this show...it's hysterical and everyone in it is absolutely inFU&%ingcredible!!!WERK!!!

Free Shiot Friday

Y'all, some FREE Shiot you don't want-- like this raging flu that had it's way with me (and the rest of the planet it seems?!) for several days...it's been next to impossible to get my dazzle on around here! But then this little lady saddled up to the curb, all woody and cute-like and brought me right back on the road to my former sassy self:

Y'all, clearly someone has just emptied their entire bedroom on the sidewalk here...scary, but then table lady had even more to reveal than just her scalloped decolletage:

Well, Style Slap-- she SPINS, y'all! Can't say I've ever come across a table with a spinning top! And I can totally see why it would be super-functional albeit slightly unstable, for a dining room table, but this one threw me even more b/c she's a side table, or at least, based on size/scale, that's how I'd use her. But, perhaps she was a potter's wheel/table, or some sort of model making or other art table? Whateve's-- she's unique, in great condition and with some very minor TLC, she'll be livin' it up with Debbie as a side table in her new place...woohoo...I just LOVE it when cool, Free Shiot finds a new, loving home!:

Happy Free Shiot Friday y'all and stay healthy!!!

"The hills are alive...with the sound of thrift whores!"

Y'all there's very few things in life that compare to thrift whoring in the mountains of Tennessee!!! Prepare y'all-selves for this very special Tennessee Mountain Magic edition of Thrift Whore Thursday!!!

And what to get for the person who has everything? Oh this:

Awwww, don't y'all just LOVE the south?? Football figurines...and then this:

How AMAZING is that?!...Just about as amaaaaazing as this:

This place couldn't STOP reminding us of the season at hand...and I for one, couldn't get enough:

Fa la la la la...la la la la..and the gifts kept on coming, y'all...looking for an easy way to decorate your table for that uber-special occasion...try this:

This baby was begging to be brought back to NYC, and trust y'all that we hashed through all the different ways to make it work, but sometimes even I have to play thrift whore hardball...

And damn if we weren't completely torn asunder by Orange-adorbs, this biotch finished the job:

Yellow mid-century molded-plastic file cabinet realness BEYOND! And I know exactly what y'all are gonna be saying when you see how much she costs:

Here's to the happiest and whore-eriest 2013 to all of us!!!

The Teens are upon us, y'all!

And if there's one thing about me that most of y'all know, I enjoy some Teen...(I AM Teen Tawny, afterall y'all...do have a listen to my songs here!!!):

So a HUGE Happy New Year to my grandbaby dazzler's!!! May 2013 bring y'all health, wealth, love and perfect self-expression-- by way of sparkly headbands and panties!!! LOVE! I also LOVE my new chic porcelain gnome light I scooped up recently on sale at Target:

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This little guy makes me sooooo happy-- I've decided he's my 'good luck gnome'...Target might be sold out b/c he was value-priced to sell, but don't fret, y'all can score one here:

IMG_2630

Commence 2013 dream fulfillment!

I'm gonna serve sass at upcoming "Art Enology." Pop-Up Gallery in Harlem!

For those of y'all who are able, please join me this coming Sat 12/8 at Art in Flux Harlem, where along with several other interior experts, I'll be dishing on how to decorate your home for the holidays and how to incorporate art into the home setting! Slain! It's also a wine tasting with some nosh and an exhibit! Woohoo! Art-realness!

The event is part of "Art Enology." Twenty Artists on Wine exhibit to highlight Harlem's growing art scene. Exhibit runs from Dec 2012 to Jan 2013. Here's a more official, proper blurb b/c y'all know my jank description above is so not pitch perfect:

'Tis the Season…for Art & Wine: Sat. Dec. 8th 1-3pm. During the holiday season there is lots of celebrating and decorating to do. In this event, participants will receive tips from experts in art, wine and interior design on how to incorporate art and wine into the holiday season. Questions that will be answered include: how to select art/wine as a holiday gift; how to select the right wine for a Christmas/New Year’s party; and how art and wine can be used to decorate the home during the holiday season and all year-round. The event will also include tastings and an artist meet-and-greet. Fun! Right y'all?? But wait...there's MORE:

Art.com will be showin' some love by offering some prizes during the event...'cause that's how it is when you're an 'Inspired Insider' with art.com...did i mention art.com? The events’ sponsors include Simone International/Papi Wines, Ebony.com and Cuisine Noir magazine, with production by Souleo Enterprises, LLC, an event/media production company.

This is all going down at Art in Flux Harlem, 1961 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd (7th Ave.) at 118th Street, in New York, New York. 646-340-3479, info@artinfluxharlem.com and click here for even more info. Hope to see y'all!!!

Sandy is SERVING it, y'all!

But so am I:

Biotch Sandy isn't the only one going all Girl Gone Wild around here! Oh Shiot! That bread aisle was already ravaged by the time I did my dance routine down it, but that's ok...I still had a captive audience begging for more AND made out with some Stove Top! Be safe, y'all!!!

Y'all, Christopher Columbus has a nice a$$!!!

One of the greatest benefits to living in NYC is getting to experience some cool shiot-- from restaurants, museums, shops, shows, and tranny's. There's this amazing art exhibit happening right now presented by the Public Art Fund, Discovering Columbus by Tatzu Nishi.

If y'all can't tell what's going on here, it's basically a giant "living room" that's been built on a platform surrounding a pre-existing statue of Christopher Columbus in Manhattan's Columbus Circle. And it's WAY cool to be able to get so up close and personal to something that's normally 75 ft high! In this exhibit, Christopher "stands" atop a coffee table, (y'all know, where ALL of us keep our statues):

And shut the FU$& you, Christopher with this view:

There's armchairs, a sectional sofa, a bookcase with books, even a flatscreen tv (this IS America, y'all):

One of my fav decorative elements was this 'licious pop art toile wallpaper...

I also LOVED how we were encouraged to get all cozy in the living room as if it was our own...which naturally, Dyl and I took full advantage of...

For those who are able, get y'all-selves to this exhibit, which runs until Nov 18, 2012...for the rest of the folks who can't get some of this action in person, soak it up, there's a lot of HOT a$$ up under those skirts:

Y'all, get some gourds...it's FALL!

I love Fall, always have. And it's one of the BEST times to be in NYC. It's also a great time to think about our decor and how to reflect the change in seasons inside. Here's an inspiring article on how to get really creative with gourds. Enjoy, y'all...

IT’S DECORATIVE GOURD SEASON, MOTHERF&$KERS.

BY COLIN NISSAN - - - - I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to get my hands on some f&$king gourds and arrange them in a horn-shaped basket on my dining room table. That sh*t is going to look so seasonal. I’m about to head up to the attic right now to find that wicker f&$ker, dust it off, and jam it with an insanely ornate assortment of shellacked vegetables. When my guests come over it’s gonna be like, BLAMMO! Check out my shellacked decorative vegetables, a@@holes. Guess what season it is—f&$king fall. There’s a nip in the air and my house is full of mutant f&$king squash.

I may even throw some multi-colored leaves into the mix, all haphazard like a crisp October breeze just blew through and f&$ked that sh*t up. Then I’m going to get to work on making a beautiful f&$king gourd necklace for myself. People are going to be like, “Aren’t those gourds straining your neck?” And I’m just going to thread another gourd onto my necklace without breaking their gaze and quietly reply, “It’s fall, f&$kfaces. You’re either ready to reap this freaky-a@@ed harvest or you’re not.”

Carving orange pumpkins sounds like a pretty fitting way to ring in the season. You know what else does? Performing an all-gourd reenactment of an episode of Diff’rent Strokes—specifically the one when Arnold and Dudley experience a disturbing brush with sexual molestation. Well, this sh*t just got real, didn’t it? Felonies and gourds have one very important commonality: they’re both extremely f&$king real. Sorry if that’s upsetting, but I’m not doing you any favors by shielding you from this anymore.

The next thing I’m going to do is carve one of the longer gourds into a perfect replica of the Mayflower as a shout-out to our Pilgrim forefathers. Then I’m going to do lines of blow off its hull with a hooker. Why? Because it’s not summer, it’s not winter, and it’s not spring. Grab a calendar and pull your f&$king heads out of your a@@es; it’s fall, f&$kers.

Have you ever been in an Italian deli with salamis hanging from their ceiling? Well then you’re going to f&$king love my house. Just look where you’re walking or you’ll get KO’d by the gauntlet of misshapen, zucchini-descendant bastards swinging from above. And when you do, you’re going to hear a very loud, very stereotypical Italian laugh coming from me. Consider yourself warned.

For now, all I plan to do is to throw on a flannel shirt, some tattered overalls, and a floppy f&$king hat and stand in the middle of a cornfield for a few days. The first crow that tries to land on me is going to get his avian a@@ biotch-slapped all the way back to summer.

Welcome to autumn, f&$kheads!

(Click here for the story as it appears in McSweeney's and here to go to Colin's website for more tangy writing! Pic above from The 2 Seasons blog story on how-to make a gourd centerpiece.)

It's 5:00 PM somewhere!

So y'all know what that means? Time to get your drank on!!! And it just so happens that I'll be enjoying mine from my new bar cart! Oh shiot, lookee here...warning...HOT AFTER ACTION:

This is probably one of the easiest diy's I've ever done! And I just j'adore how it turned out...It's amazing to me how you can completely transform something from it's intended purpose into something else entirely-- with the easy addition of some custom cut glass.

Here's how I made this all happen...

*Create a template for the area that you wish to put glass atop/on. If you're blessed to have a cart with a square or rectangular situation, then this project is even EASIER and you're a biotch! BUT, if, like me, you have an irregular shape that you're working with-- pear, rotund, obtuse c'ankle-- what have you...then y'all have to make a template for glass cutter to work off. I made mine out of craft paper.

*Next cut a rough approximate shape from paper. Holding that shape firmly in place, trace the underside/bottom edges of the basket where your glass will eventually sit inside of. Make sense? This allows ya'll to get the exact shape of the area you want glass cut for.

*Lastly, trim off about 1.5" more from the tracing line you just made in the paper edge with scissors to allow for some clearance of the glass, so it won't scrape against the metal of the cart, once cut. Now you've made your template, which should look something like this:

And there y'all have it! Remember to always measure twice (or even three times) and cut once. Also, as a back-up back-up, if you're just nervous as all hell to trust your template-making skills, you can always bring your cart to your glass cutter. Y'all want at least 1/4" thick glass with a safety edge. My two pieces ran me about $60/each...so, not dirt cheap, but not cra cra either. And this little lady may not always be just a bar cart in my space-- she can now become a side table or console of sorts, etc...so the minimal investment has yielded double and potentially even TRIPLE value, y'all...and that's not something we take lightly here at Blog-A-Dazzle!!! Triple Value!

Cheers!

Grocery Cart Goes Glam!

Y'all, I've had this amazing vintage shopping cart for almost a year:

Such an amazing score!

And honestly, she's just so chic, AS IS, sitting all side table-like in the corner of my salon-- uh huh, I typed salon-- but that's just way too easy for the likes of me. This gal is becoming our new bar cart! Oh shiot, y'all were just style-slapped!!!

I'm going to have glass custom cut for the bottoms of each of the basket levels, so they become usable/level surfaces from which to get my drink on. Bottoms? Basket? This post sure is gettin' good, y'all-- damn! And I'm not even done yet!

Once I add my bar (bottles, ice bucket, maybe some glassware, cocktail napkins, etc) and viola...it's happy hour!!! This is probably one of the easiest repurposing projects I'll ever do...so, naturally it's taken almost a year to get done, but whatev's...it's going to be amazing, so stay tuned to get some hot AFTER reveal action, y'all!

More Hot dropped in July-- Janet Jackson style!

July just keeps on giving up bounty y'all! Check out my latest prop styling in this month's Prevention Magazine featuring Ms. Jackson, if you're NASTY, which I certainly AM. Shot by the amazing and effervescent John Kernick! I was also privileged to get to work again with the incomparable food maestro, Lori Powell, whom I first met and worked with back at Real Simple...she's tearing it up as the Food Director at Prevention now! Tear Lori! And of course this shoot wouldn't have been nearly as zany without Prevention's spitfire Photography Director, Marybeth Dulany, who changed all of our lives forever by singing One Direction's, 'What Makes You Beautiful'...check out these highlights:

Go out and grab yourselves a copy! Also, HUGE shout out to the REAL Nasty Girls on set, Andrea Greco and Nidia Cueva without whom I couldn't have done this story!!!