Tuesday, July 24, 2007

House of Whimsy


Recently I had the pleasure of visiting Kimberlee Edgar's home in the East Bay. Kimberlee is a long time friend and antiques enthusiast. She has been collecting vintage items her whole life. Everyone in her family is a collector with eclectic and over-the-top homes. Kimberlee's Mom is an antique dealer/collector. Her Mom introduced Kimberlee to antiques when she was very young. They went to flea markets, estate sales and shops to uncover hidden treasures.





Kimberlee was fascinated with ribbons, ephemera and millinery items, and started her journey collecting as a young girl. Her Uncle was also a great influence to her collecting. He had an old barn set up like a prop museum with big chandeliers, taxidermy, top hats and more. Mesmerized by the barn, Kimberlee decided to sleep there instead of in the home. When she got older her Uncle would give her a trinket every time he saw her. They were always rare and unusual.

This really got Kimberlee going with collecting. Now her favorite things are top hats, holiday collectibles, dress forms, taxidermy, ephemera (paper) and anything unique. Her advice to newcomers collecting is to try and pick something rare and different which makes the hunt fun and interesting. Kimberlee and her husband Charles love to go antiquing. In fact, Kimberlee claims that Charles has an amazing eye for buying wonderful things. Sit back and enjoy the photos of their home. There is much too much to photograph, but you can get an idea of their whimsical house of curiosities! You can also check out Kimberlee's blog, Edgar and Edgar to see more of Kimberlee's unique finds. Thank you Kimberlee for the most enjoyable visit!









Friday, July 6, 2007

If You're Going to San Francisco...

Click on photos to enlarge...

Be sure to wear a heavy coat! Well, it's that time of year. Gloomy Summer. My favorite. Dreaming of sunshine and sitting in the fog. Brrrr...The rest of the country may be sweltering in the grip of record summer heat and drought, but we here in San Francisco are lost in a blanket of grey gloom. Our usually lovely view of mountains, Twin Peaks and the East Bay is a bank of fog. We can hardly see the cars in front of us while driving down the street. And everyone is all bundled up like we're in Alaska. Actually I think it's colder here than Alaska. It is 51 degrees and windy as well. YES, I just checked. It's 62 degrees in Anchorage, Alaska. Unbelievable! No one believes me when I say, "if you're coming to San Francisco in the summer, bring a coat!" Fisherman's Wharf must make huge profits in the summer selling thousands of sweatshirts to tourists trying to stay warm! Everyone is walking around in Bermuda shorts with sweatshirts of Alcatraz. Scary. As it is said, "the only seasons in San Francisco are Summer, Winter and Fog." Also, the overused quote, supposedly by Mark Twain, “The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco.” This is true.

So for all of you in need of air conditioning, please come to San Francisco. I guarantee you will cool off right away and start missing those sandals! I sure do!

Updated House Photos

Just thought I'd share some current photos of my home. Thanks to my friend Sandy who did such a great job with his professional camera equipment! And thanks Della Wilson for all of your help in completing the bedroom. I never thought I'd finish! I do love the Tiffany blue touch.

Be sure and click on the photos to enlarge...






Vito resting in the living room