Happy Mother’s Day to any woman who had a hand in raising someone, through the good, the bad, and the uncertainty.

{My mom, Barbara, 1965}

Scout Living has been around for almost two years now, opened by the husband-and-wife couple of Stefan Betz Bloom and Erin Boyle. They are also dealers, who formerly sold at a store in San Francisco. When they moved to Sacramento, they brought the concept here and opened up shop. As a collective, there are approximately 25 dealers who rent floor or shelf space, putting us/them in charge of curating each space and inventory. Because of this, there is a fantastic and eclectic array of gold to be found inside.

There is a hearty dose of mid-century and Danish furniture and accessories, perfect for the minimalist/Mad Men junkie/small-space dweller. I have come to be a big fan of the clean lines and bold designs.

We also have dealers who like to sprinkle in industrial goods and unique gadgets…

We have chippy, shabby chic collectors…

A whole room devoted to couture fashion, accessories, and sparkly things…

A section with a focus on vintage and rare menswear…

And dealers who bring their handmade flair…

{Schmitt Design}

{Two Accordions}

{The Find Sac}

My stash is a very eclectic, constantly-revolving mix. I sell mainly accessories and wall art, but occasionally bring in one-off furniture pieces, too.

If you’re in Sacramento and are into the vintage scene, I highly recommend stopping by Scout Living. It’s been a great addition to the retail scene in town, and the local kids just love it.

As for me, I sell under the name Monday Pie. Odd? Yes. You can read more about that on the MP Facebook page. If you’d like to keep tabs on my offerings, or just like to see pictures of old stuff, you can follow along at the links below.

• Monday Pie on Etsy – Though the main inventory is at Scout Living, some items do end up online for your shopping pleasure across the interwebz.
• Monday Pie on Facebook – New items posted here as they arrive.
• Instagram – I’ll occasionally post photos of refurbishments-in-progress, new shop items, and the vintage goods that I squirrel away for myself. Periodic snaps of the nifty window displays we put together, too, one of my favorite parts of the job.

This week has been a busy one for the Pie shop. Lots of searching, buying, hauling, cleaning, researching, and inventorying going on. Viva la hunt!

Happy weekend, all!

Tomorrow is the big day, of course. We’ll be having our own little micro-party here at home, complete with the juleps, derby pie, and introducing (supposedly traditional) Benedictine spread sammies, which I just found out about. It’s a type of crustless cream cheese and cucumber finger food. Works for me! We may even make some obnoxious hats to go with. Probably just me, but whatever. I love the crazy ones people at the track come up with. If I ever go for real, I’ll certainly choose to don some monstrous horse/steeple/rose construction on my head over frilly bows and flowers.

A couple years ago, for the 137th running, I made this illustration of the different jockey silks, which are one of my favorite aspects of the whole thing. I dig all the color and logo designs. This was the year that Animal Kingdom won (green with the red V).

I pick my horses (that I don’t bet on) by pure instinct and superficial like rather than odds and all that past performance nonsense. If I HAD put money down last year, though, I’d be riding high on I’ll Have Another’s winnings. Because when “Another” refers to cookies, that’s where my money goes. This year, I’m feeling Revolutionary and Oxbow, with a side of Falling Skies. Did you also know that there are TWO horses this year with Kitten in their name? There’s Charming Kitten (meh), but then there’s my fourth pick, Fear the Kitten. Gotta go with that name. The only glitch is that he races only if one of the other 20 horses drops out. Wah wahhh.

Enjoy the weekend, cookies!

You can always do your part by protecting trees, planting more, or just recycling and reducing the amount of paper you use. Wipe up spills with a rag instead of paper towels. Use cloth napkins instead of paper ones. You get the idea. The Arbor Day Foundation is also still going strong, and is a great resource for all things tree.

Here’s a little gouache painting I did on recycled paper (and P.S. – Happy belated Earth Day, too!).