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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
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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!
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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!
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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!
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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!
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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!
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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.
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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!
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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!
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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?
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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!
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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.
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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.
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Here are some night pics of the right hand side front window. We will get to the left hand side soon enough!
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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!
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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.
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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!
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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 Washinton 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.
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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
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Then we went out and got some pillows and artwork to add to the inspo.
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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!
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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.
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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!
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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.
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The next intermission was her making mustard pancakes as a 1950's housewife. She really is so clever. So proud of you Indy girl!
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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!
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And these darling end tables painted in Annie Sloan Svenska Blue. There are two of them at only $135 each.
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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.
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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.
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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!
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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.
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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!
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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.
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And a really fun large basket with willow stalks in it for only $95. What a great decoration for your entryway!
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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.
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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.
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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!
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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.
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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?
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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.
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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.
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Then I sent her a photo of the coffee mug and I love what Audrey wrote back.....
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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!
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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!
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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 interuptions. 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.
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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.
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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!
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Just a reminder of Our CURRENT HOURS:
Tuesday through Saturday 11am to 5pm
Sundays 11 am to 3pm
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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!
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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)!
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