color Archives

Back in April, my sister and I went to the City Wide Garage Sale (aka amazing monthly vintage show) here in Austin. Leigh Ann had just recently moved here, and she was looking for a few things for her home. I wasn’t looking for anything in particular…until I spotted this baby when I rounded a corner.

Without really even knowing what it was, I bought it. It was one of those vintage shopping moments when I knew that I had to act immediately. In fact, two different people were trying to buy it while I was completing the transaction with the seller. Step back, y’all! It’s mine!

I posted the above picture to Instagram, and a lot of you guys let me know it was a Pachinko machine (think Plinko meets a slot machine). I did some research on it, and this particular machine was used in a Japanese Pachinko parlor in 1976. We’re pretty sure that it spent the following 37 years in a barn, because it was disgusting – dirt, cobwebs, dead spiders disgusting.

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As a blogger, I do a lot of work while I’m bleary eyed and guzzling coffee – trying to get some things finished before my kids wake up for the day. Most of those early morning hours are spent going through the previous day’s email. Many of those emails are questions and comments from you guys (Love those!), spam comments (Hate those!), and numerous product pitches from brands all over the world. Probably 90% of those pitches feel the wrath of my delete button. But, some of them have presented me with some really fun opportunities that I would never have received if I wasn’t a blogger.

Like the one I got a while back that said, “Would you like to interview HGTV star David Bromstad?” Since David has been my long time favorite on HGTV, I jumped at the chance. I have followed his HGTV career since he won the original Design Star competition back in 2006 and then went on to have his own show, Color Splash. David has a fabulous sense of color and he is a former Disney illustrator…and we know how I dig Disney illustrators for their unique take on shape, color and whimsy.

David has designed two new limited edition bottles of Coffee-mate creamer that are only available at Target, and he is promoting a Get Inspired With Coffee-mate Sweepstakes that’s going on now (more about that below). I was so looking forward to talking him about how the differences in product packaging design versus room design. Just pretend that it’s me on the other end of his phone.

See? He loves me! I knew we would be BFFs if we ever had the chance to chat.

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Life is Like a Vintage Pachinko Machine

Coffee Talk with David Bromstad