Monday, October 28, 2013

Monday Morning Eye Candy


Happy Monday! Here are some images I found on Pinterest. I am always lured to the dark colored rooms-especially when you pop jewel tones against them! 

Dalliance Design

Miles Redd as seen in House Beautiful
House Beautiful, link found here

Boxwood Interiors, Pinterest link here

Design Crisis link here


I'll be back this week with some updates on the projects I started tackling this weekend: organizing my closet and paperwork. And of course, looking at those gorgeous images above, I'm desperately taunted to repaint my charcoal wall. Teal, anyone?

Sunday, October 27, 2013

Inspired by: Dalliance Design

You guys. I was on Pinterest the other day and looking for images of dark rooms (because that blasted charcoal wall is staring at me in the face every day and I still can't decide if I am going to keep it) and I stumbled across this image of a teal and pink combination and I fell hard. The gorgeous jewel tones are stuck in my head! So I started shopping around for ways to bring this look home.
Bold Jewel Tones

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Holiday Gift Guide for the Dog Lover

Hi, everyone--I'm back with another quickie post today, since this week is very crazy for me and by the time I get home, I'm too tired to do anything but entertain my kid until bedtime. When it's her bedtime, it's been my bedtime! Here's another Holiday Gift Guide, this time for the Dog Lover... I'm crushing on the "Woof" mat and the uber posh doggie bowls on the mat. (Though, really, if you get the bowls with the mat, you don't need another mat under it.... Woof.

Holiday Gift Guide for the Dog Lover

(Sorry the pictures are so small--this week for some reason when I import Polyvore boards to Blogger, it makes them too big and they overlap into the sidebars, so I have to make them smaller than usual since I have no time to figure out the technical glitch... anyone else have this problem before?!)

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Holiday Gift Guide for the Glamorous Decorator

I owe you a post of the weekend update and what I've gotten up to, but I just haven't had time! I started staining my deck on Sunday (remember, Master Procrastinator-that is me!) and didn't finish (it's a HUGE deck), so yesterday I left work a couple hours early to try to beat the rain and do more of the deck. I finished the main floorboards and steps but now I still have all of the railings and the bottom latticework to do. Such. a. pain. So that is why the radio silence the last couple of days.

In the meantime, until I can get an update and some pictures for you--did you know Christmas is only a few months away?! Just the other day at Walmart, standing in the checkout line, Peyton and I saw a magazine that featured Halloween, another magazine right beside it that featured Thanksgiving, and below... da da dah! A magazine that featured Christmas. Way to really savor each holiday, magazine folks.

In any case,  I have family members asking me for my Christmas lists, so I have been scouting around online for inspiration. I thought I would kick off this week with a Holiday Gift Guide for the Glamorous Decorator. I have that faux fur blanket (so soft) and whoops, this past weekend I might have hit Target and bought those marble trays. Such a steal! I still need to find them a home. Happy Shopping!


Holiday Gift Guide for the Glamorous Decorator

Friday, October 11, 2013

Happy Friday!

Happy Friday! I'm headed to a field trip with my daughter for a half day today, and then we plan to hit the mall after school/work and find a couple of cute sweaters for our holiday pictures. My brother has some free time this weekend, so he is going to take our pictures for our holiday cards.

Then, provided nobody does any rain dances, I hope to (finally!) finish staining my deck. The weather has not been cooperative the last few weeks. C'mon, Lord, mama needs some sunshine!

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Other Blogger's Craft Projects

It occurs to me I owe you an update on my sneak peak craft project.  I started two craft projects a couple of weeks ago, and kept forgetting to post about the completed projects, because I was already moving onto the next project (I know, there are 20 other unfinished projects I need to do....). Both projects were ideas from other bloggers that I have read. As I mentioned, following other blogs is great for ideas and inspiration. So is Pinterest... don't get me started on Pinterest. I could (and do) lose hours of my life browsing the great creativity out there. But I digress. Back to the crafty projects.

One of my favorite blogs is the Hunted Interior. Kristin was the inspiration for both of these projects. Kristin has a pink tray she painted, and I have always loved the pop of pink it had. Plus, you can probably tell my living room color scheme is shifting to include magenta, right?!  So here is where the inspiration began.

I loved the pink tray and the spiky little gold fellow on top and when Kristin posted about how she made the urchin, I thought, "I can do that." And I am a huge fan of lacquered trays. I have one from West Elm that I keep on my coffee table, and it literally saves my sanity (and table).  Unfortunately, West Elm does not carry them in pink. (Dude, why not?!) Then I remembered I had a sad reject tray somewhere in my basement and I started to hustle. 

It was just an old wooden tray that I had bought from Target years ago that at one point I attempted to be crafty and painted the interior of the tray with a sea-foam paint I'd had on hand. I knew very little about paint in those days.  Project Fail and to the garage sale pile it went.  I give you Exhibit A: 

I ran to the craft store to pick up some pink spray paint and came home with what I'll call "Hello, Kitty" pink (in actuality, it was Krylon's Watermelon).While I was there, I also picked up the other supplies for the sea urchin as well. 



Then I did everything wrong. I remembered to sand, and wiped the sanding dust off with a tack cloth. But then I committed the worst painting error ever: I failed to prime the surface. The tray sucked up the paint like a hoover machine.  Here is a shot with one coat of the Krylon Watermelon pink:


It was...very pink. It would have worked (maybe). But I definitely decided that the color needed to be more raspberry pink than "Hello, Kitty" pink. So I went back to the store and picked up a can of Valspar's Plumberry. Here's a quick snapshot of the cans side-by-side.


So after a few coats of Plumberry (and one unplanned coat due to the weather dusting some rain on the final drying coat...), I finished with Krylon's Lacquer spray.  And let me go on record and say "not a fan." I let the Lacquer coat dry for the recommended 24 hours before I styled it up. The other day, (a full week after finishing the tray) I placed a coffee cup on the tray for less than 5 minutes and it smudged the paint and left a ring on the top of the tray. Grrrrr. So I suggest you use poly instead of the Krylon Lacquer spray paint. Others have said they love it, but it did not work for me. Not sure if that's because it was layered over gloss spray paint or what, but it is not my friend. 

So here is the finished product: 


Do you see the second project on top of the stack of books? That is the sea urchin that I followed the tutorial from the original source Kristin cited, from the blog Craft and Couture. I basically followed the steps and tah-dah, sea urchin complete. 


Peyton made one too and spray-painted hers "Hello, Kitty" pink. Not sure I've ever seen a pink sea urchin, but it was kind of cute. What do you think--pink sea urchins are completely normal, right?? 



Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Dollar-Palooza

Getting Peyton to do her chores every day is very frustrating. I often have to remind her several times to pick up her dishes, pick up her toys, brush her teeth.. and I am not a gal who likes to repeat herself. So while searching on Pinterest, I looked for "Chore Boards" to see what other enterprising moms out there have done to whip their children into shape. One option was particularly intriguing to me--I thought the magnet chore board with chore magnets would be an interactive way for Peyton to get involved and have fun marking off her chores. The Chore Chart was from Abbie's House on Etsy:

Abbie's House, purchase here

I wondered, though, if the magnets weren't too "young" for her. But at 7 years old and me still reminding her to pick up her dishes after she eats, something's gotta give.  I also wondered if she would really use the chore chart. So I thought I would invest in something a little cheaper to give the Chore Chart a test run.

Enter Delightful Order. They offered an instant editable PDF download (how's that for instant gratification) that had teal and chevron stripes on it. At $7, I was sold. Sure, I could have probably created something similar myself, but why recreate the wheel when I like it? Plus, I figured it would be the fastest way I could get Peyton using a Chore Chart, instead of waiting for shipping time. So I placed the order and roughly 10 minutes later, I was downloading the document. I put it on the fridge and told Peyton I wouldn't remind her anymore to do her chores.



Then we talked about what she would get if she does her chores every day. When I was growing up, I had to earn my allowance. We had little reference cards with various chores on them and we would have to do the chores every week to get our allowance. So I figured I would do the same thing with Peyton. But I also want to teach her to save money, and I got the idea for "Family Money" from Abbie's Etsy shop. Sure, I could have shelled out the $3 for the downloadable PDF for the Family Money, but I wanted to do something a little more fun with Peyton. So we designed our own Family Money.


For every day that Peyton marks all items as completed (and actually does them), she gets $1.00 in Family Money. (Note: our actual Family Money has our last name where the image says "insert Last Name.") The only chore on her list she does not have to do daily is to clean her room. She has to do that one at least twice a week. If she cleans more than twice, she gets an extra dollar for the week. Granted, $1.00 is not a lot-and it only adds up to $7 for the week (or $8 if she cleans more often), but she is still at the age where she thinks $1 is the moon. I figure as she gets older and the chores get harder (or we add more), I can up the amount. When she does something super nice or good that is extra deserving, I can use it as a reward as well. But for now, she gets super excited when she gets her $1.00. She has a special envelope she puts them in and is saving up for an easy bake oven.

At bedtime one night, I asked her what her favorite part of the day was. She thought for awhile, and I was there thinking of everything she did over the weekend (painting, her cousin's soccer game and shopping with grandma, a movie night, crafts on Sunday...). Then she answered.

"My favorite part was.... doing my chores and I got $1.00!"  Now that's Priceless.

How do you get your kids to do their chores?

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Domino is Back!!!

Four years ago, when the economy went bad, a lot of home decorating magazines shut down. Domino magazine was one of the magazines that stopped publications. Four years ago, I was just starting to be interested in home decorating and realizing that I wasn't the only one who was addicted to home decor and everything related. I had a few issues of Domino before the magazine stopped publishing. I wasn't a huge fan. I was still discovering my style, and four years ago, I was more Traditional. In fact, it was only a few years ago that I found myself drawn more and more to the modern vintage style.

Remember my magazine hoard?


Roughly two to three years ago I re-read my Domino issues and I just loved them. I bemoaned the fact that the greatest magazine was no longer published and that I had only 4 months of the magazine saved. I bought the Domino book, bought every "Special Issue" publication they printed in the past year and loved every word, every picture, in the book and magazines. Then, just the last week, I heard Domino was coming back.

And the other day, I was walking through Barnes & Noble and I saw it--the first issue of Domino magazine!!

Domino magazine Holiday Issue link here
So of course, I bought it! It was a little pricey for a magazine-$11.99, but it is quarterly. And Domino is back! So it was worth it.  As soon as I got home that evening, after I fed Peyton and got her busy with a craft project, I sat down to read it. I loved the home features--I was amused even, when I saw a home featuring a charcoal/black wall. Seeing the individuality of the homes that were featured was great.

But I was not a fan of the items in their shopping feature. Their new "gimmick" if you will, is online shopping for the items they feature in their catalog.  In theory, it's a TERRIFIC idea--you get to shop for items you see in the magazines.That made me so excited!  But, this first issue was a holiday issue (it boasted of a "10 page gift guide with loads of items less than $50"), and it featured a lot of fabulous home decor and other items you can purchase on their site. I was shocked at some of the items they picked--the majority of items are seriously out of my price range. I snapped a pic of one page and sent it to my friend, because I just stunned at what they considered a "gift". A scone for $2,075?! A tumbler for $271?! I don't know who is buying these gifts for their friends and family, but if you know someone with that budget for holiday gifts, hook me up, mmkay?

Domino Mag, Holiday issue, page 73

That said, there were a couple of fabulous homes I liked looking at. This picture in fact, was very inspirational and felt like an easy look I could "bring home."  

Domino magazine link here
The magazine has a few pieces you can use to "bring this look home" and then if you hop onto the website there are a few additional pieces. (The cheapest item. by the way, for sale in the magazine or online was a yellow pillow for $43.)  But what drove me nuts is that the item I really liked, the scones on the bookshelf, said they were from Lamps Plus in the text. But there was no source or name so you know where to find/buy from Lamps Plus. I am assuming they do not sell any longer, because I did a search on Lamps Plus for something similar and all I could find was this: 

Weathered Brass Black Shade Hardwire Swing Arm Wall Lamp, Lamps Plus

So I was a little bummed that the shopping feature is out of my budget and thus, invaluable to me. Was the magazine worth it? Definitely. Will I keep buying the magazine? Without a doubt. Do I still love Domino? But of course. It's Domino after all.




Monday, October 7, 2013

Impatience is a Girl's Best Friend

I admit it. I am very impatient. I like everything now and I absolutely hate being patient and doing "things right the first time" because usually it turns into a very long, drawn-out, slow process. (In fact, this is why I keep project hopping and projects are "charmingly imperfect", because I get bored and then it's on to the next thing!) I am all about instant gratification.

The mid-century dresser I bought has been impatiently waiting for the day when it can become a true TV credenza. My grand vision included replacing my sofa and moving the credenza to the charcoal gallery wall. I was, like a good girl, going to wait until I sold the sofa and then bring up my leather sofa from downstairs until I found the right couch. But I'm still indecisive on selling the couch on Craigslist or waiting until I can do a garage sale, so until I get my guts up, I'm stuck with the couch.

And its HUGE. It's very comfortable, but it is far too huge to put anywhere else in the room but the one spot it is in. So, I did what any impatient decorator would do. I split it up.

By myself. Without waiting for my Papi to come help me move the heavy stuff, like the 42" TV and the old TV stand, the new dresser, and ... oh yeah, the sofa. See. I told you I was impatient.  Thinking about it now, I should really rename this blog to "Things you should never do."

The new layout is certainly temporary and made me more determined than ever to get rid of the hulking couch, but I like it. It makes me feel more like an adult--and while "cozy" it definitely lends a more open air to the room. I took a few (very bad) iPhone snapshots to show the new layout:




It's certainly not completed, and there are a few pieces in the room that aren't meant to stay (the sofa and the brown end table, for example, in the picture above) but it is one step closer to where I'd like to be.

I should also point out, I added another piece of artwork to my gallery wall:


Check out the print at the top left. It is Elizabeth Mayville's "Braid 2" print. Here is a closeup:

"Braid 2" by Elizabeth Mayville, Etsy

I love the print, and am so glad I bought it. It adds a pop of yellow and it totally reminds me of the days when I wore my hair long and braided and was very "bohemian." (Actually, one of my nicknames in college was "Bohemian Kelci.") I'm not sure my own braids ever looked this good, though.

So the gallery wall is getting there, though not quite done yet, I don't think. But it's good. And now, sitting on my sofa opposite the Gallery Wall, I get the pleasure of looking at all the prints.

What do you think? Anyone want to buy a great hulking (but comfy) sofa?!

Sunday, October 6, 2013

My First Craigslist Encounter

I mentioned in a previous post that I was on the hunt for a mid-century credenza or dresser to use for a media console. I FINALLY found it when searching on Craigslist. It was more than I felt I could justify spending so I emailed the seller and asked if they were willing to reduce in price at all, and they were! We negotiated it down to a price that didn't make me choke (too much) and I set out on the journey to bring this baby home.


I say "journey" because this was my first Craigslist purchase. And I, being a very trusting soul, (and having seen the movie "The Craigslist Killer") believe everyone on Craigslist is a serial killer.  So it was with no small case of nerves that I reached out to the seller. The seller's email signature included a Facebook page name with a "Like us on Facebook!" So, naturally curious as to who the seller was, I logged onto Facebook and searched for them. What came up was.... quite scary. It was a page full of Anarchy-posts talking about guns, and images of rabid dogs and massive amounts of cussing.  It made me very nervous.

But in corresponding with the seller, she came across as a very nice and friendly lady. I did a quick Google search for her and a perfectly normal lady came up, with an Etsy page and completely normal job. Even knowing serial killers often appear to be "friendly next door neighbors", it didn't quite add up. And, to be honest, I really wanted this dresser. I  could see it retrofitted into a media console with the top two drawers flipping down for media component storage. And it's measurements were perfect for my smaller living room. So I continued to talk to the seller (who was currently out of town) and made plans to view the dresser.

In the course of the conversations we were having, I learned that the seller picked, and traveled all around Iowa searching for items for her customers. I was 98.76% sure I was looking at the wrong Facebook page and that the seller wasn't going to follow me home with a knife. I even went as far as texting her an image of a smaller credenza style that I was looking for and she said she would go on the hunt for one.  But just to be safe, I hauled my papi along for added protection.

The dresser was in fabulous shape, with just few battle scars, and I fell in love with it. And the seller turned out to be a perfectly normal lady and she even gave me a business card to the correct site (perfectly legit)! So we hauled it home. Isn't she beautiful? I can't wait to get my sofa sold so I can bring this room closer to completion!




Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Getting my Craft on

The great things about reading blogs and browsing Pinterest is you get a lot of great ideas and inspiration. 

The bad thing about reading blogs and browsing Pinterest is you get a lot of ideas. 

The good thing is usually the crafty projects are cheap. Usually. (Do you have whiplash yet?!)

Here is a sneak peek at supplies for  two projects in the works.  


Monday, September 23, 2013

Happy Monday!

I had a very productive weekend--probably the first weekend in a long time that I've been able to actually have enough energy to do things.  I did massive amounts of laundry, cleaning, patching some holes and re-painting them, and doing some general busywork around the house. I'm hoping my productive streak lasts through the week!

Remember my deck?


There were several broken and warped boards that needed replaced before I could stain my deck. So a couple months ago, my dad came in and replaced them with new boards. Then I got sick. So my deck has been sporting a lovely stripe pattern for quite some time now. 


Before the boards could be stained I had to pre-treat the new wood. So that is one thing I did this weekend. Like any normal, sane person, I wait until fall to finish my deck. You know, right when I can no longer use it. Yeah, that's me. Procrastination with a capital P.  

So the deck is one project I hope to finish this week! 


Sunday, September 22, 2013

the Saga Continues...

I finally got all pieces of my artwork in, and I was a little too impatient to do the smart thing and wait until I get a new TV credenza and move furniture around before I threw them up on the wall. I was dying to see if the pieces played well together. Let's start with a preview before I go into detail, shall we? (Sorry for poor pic quality.. once again iPhone + user incompetency = poor pictures. Bad Blogger. I promise, once I get some of these projects done I will buy a new camera!!)



So this is where I landed today. I wouldn't say I'm there yet. But I'm also trying to give the "grand plan" a chance and wait until all of the pieces are in alignment. Then I'll fix it.  Part of the "grand plan" involves buying a mid-century credenza (which I may have found--stay tuned!!) and moving the TV to the credenza, in the middle of the gallery wall. That is why there is a blank spot in the middle, taped out.  I promise, I'm not totally crazy.

To kick it off, I mapped out all of the pieces using my daughter's craft paper and then I played around with the various layouts until I found one that worked.  Here are the various layouts I tried. 

Option A

Option B

Option C

While I was mapping out all of this madness I was texting my friend with pictures and we both ultimately thought option C was the winner. I initially started with only 6 prints and quickly discovered that 6 was not the magic number. So I hunted my house and found another print that worked with the color scheme, but I am not sold on its wood frame, so it is kind of a stand-in for now. Then, I put everything up on the wall.


Then, seeing it on the wall made the left side look very sad and empty. So I moved a couple of prints around, and landed on the one below. But I need to keep playing around with it because Option C worked really well when the two white frames stacked on top of each other, as above. I just need to fix the emptiness on the left side.



What do you think? Ultimately, I think there are two pain points for me: the wood frame sticks out and I miss the symmetrical stacking white prints on the right. I also think once I get the credenza and TV in, I will do some smushing and move the prints closer together. I did toy briefly with the idea of spray-painting a couple of the frames gold, thinking it might make one wood frame more acceptable if there are four different frame colors, but just not sure yet. I figure I can always break out the spray paint down the line. 

Prints are, from left to right: 
  1. Kelly Hall Ligurian Houses art print from Minted 
  2. Destiny Womack "Hope" print, from Etsy
  3. Painted canvas print, artist unknown, from Target years ago
  4. Non & Oui Indecis print, from MadebyGirl
  5. Heidi Carlsen Rogers Fine Art print, from Etsy
  6. Trellus print from Michelle Armas
  7. Circus Animals on 33rd Street by Bettman from Art.com 
So that is where I am today. What do you think? 

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

SnapShots V.1

I always like hearing or reading about what people are currently hooked on. I myself am so fickle that things change in the blink of an eye, so I thought it would be fun to capture what I'm currently into.

Snapshots V.1


LISTENING to Kari Jobe's "Where I Find You" c.d. Kari has a GORGEOUS
voice and I was lucky enough to hear her live at Women of Faith this year! Image above from KariJobe.com

WATCHING Revolution, on NBC. Actually, since I'm not current on T.V. or movies, I'm watching prior seasons on Netflix to get caught up. But I. am. hooked. This series shows the world with no electricity--the power went out and a team is fighting to get it back on. Amazing action sequences, and really makes you think about how life would be with no electricity/power. Image above from NBC.com 

READING Sophie Kinsella's Wedding Night. Sophie is such a funny author--I first read her with the Shopaholic series and she has since written other novels. I have read every single one of them. They are such funny, lighthearted reads. Image above from Barnes & Noble 

EATING Peyton, my mom and I went to Applebees the other night and I tried a new item on their menu-the Honey Pepper Chicken and Shrimp. It was delicious and I'm already thinking about getting it again!!! Image above from Applebees.com

So there you have it, a Snapshot into the current happenings in my life. What are your snapshots? 

Monday, September 16, 2013

Gallery Wall in the Works!


I think I have finally selected all of the pieces for my gallery wall! I am really into magenta, pink and yellow right now, so I have used that as my color "triad" for this room. And of course, I selected all of the pieces with my favorite Lee Jofa La Fiorentina fabric in mind. Someday, sweetie, you will be in my house, oh yes you will.

In the meantime, as I (impatiently) wait for the various art pieces to arrive, I thought I would do a mood board showing the direction I am headed and the various pieces I have selected.  I also had to throw in a little kitty kat and the fabric, of course!

Gallery Wall

Here is what I've selected:

  1. Michelle Armas "Trellus" print
  2. Destiny Womack "Hope" print
  3. Made by Girl "Non & Oui Indecis" print (A side note on this one--is this perfect for me or what?!) 
  4. Heidi Carlsen Rogers Fine Art print
  5. Kelly Hall "Ligurian Houses" art print from Minted
  6. Nora Quinonez Leopard Print pillow from Etsy
  7. Lee Jofa La Fiorentina fabric

There is one more print I ordered, that I can't import onto Polyvore (presumably due to copyright): "Circus Animals on 33rd Street" by Bettman.  I thought my gallery wall needed something other than abstract art, and a little bit of quirky thrown in. Plus, ever since an elephant ate my cotton candy when I was little, I've been fascinated by them. I mean, you have to figure if an elephant likes cotton candy, that makes them awesome.  And an elephant's tushy walking down the city street? Tell me that ain't funny. 

What do you think of the combination of the prints I've selected? Against that charcoal wall? I wonder if it will make me fall in love with the wall after all. 


Sunday, September 15, 2013

Do you Birchbox?


I admit I am one of those people who love free makeup and skincare samples. And yes, I am also one of those people who think putting the word "free" in front of something makes it justifiable even if you are shelling out more than you are getting for "free." It's okay if you are fully aware that you are being illogical. 

I am a VIB (Very Important Beauty Insider) with Sephora. What that means is I spend a ridiculous amount of money on makeup and skincare and they want me to keep spending more ridiculous amounts of money on makeup and skincare, so they entice me with points and free samples

I love samples. A daily makeup routine? Not so much. Most days I am lucky if I remember to throw on mascara and lip gloss. But with all of the samples I've tried over  the years, I have found some items that I consistently return to. I thought I would do a roundup of my top ten favorites.

Top 10 Makeup & Skincare picks


  1. Bumble and Bumble Bb. Thickening Dryspun Finish, Sephora. This is relatively new to the market, but I love the texture it gives hair!
  2. Klorane Gentle Dry Shampoo with Oat Milk, Birchbox.com. I've tried multiple dry shampoos and I've found this one to be the best for my fine hair. 
  3. L'Oreal Youth Code Dark Spot Correcting & Illuminating Serum Corrector, drugstores. I have a few sun spots on my face that have started to fade since using this serum. 
  4. NARS Lipstick in Flair, Sephora. This lipstick is so creamy and non-sticky and it doesn't dry out my lips like some other brands. 
  5. Stila Lip Glaze in Black Cherry, Sephora. A little sticky, but shiny and pretty. 
  6. NARS Lipgloss in Dolce Vita, Sephora. I go through this gloss like crazy-it's my favorite one out there!
  7. Benefit BADgal Lash Mascara, Sephora. I've tried a lot of different mascaras and this one makes my lashes look all fluffed up. 
  8. Shiesdo Bio-Performance Advanced Super Revitalizing Cream, Sephora. I love this stuff. It's super moisturizing and makes my skin feel so soft. It's definitely pricy but a little goes a long way. 
  9. Lady Gaga's Fame perfume, Sephora. I first scoffed at a perfume by Lady Gaga. Named Fame, of all things. (I mean, honestly, can you sound more pretentious?!) But then I smelled it and fell in love. It has Belladonna as one of its ingredients. Hm, poison, in perfume? I likes it. 
  10. Clinique A Different Nail Enamel in Black Honey, Sephora. My new cult favorite. I love the dark color on nails!!! 
But back to the free sample thing (you knew I couldn't let that go, right?!). A few months ago, I subscribed to Birchbox. I had read about monthly makeup and skincare sample programs and Birchbox seemed like one of the cheaper versions to subscribe to. At $10 a month, they are not free samples, but I have to admit, it is super fun getting the beauty box in the mail each month. Peyton loves it, too--she squeals when she gets a funky nail polish color or perfume sample. Me, I'm in it for the lip gloss and skincare samples. Because even though it's not free, it's still the same fun feeling as seeing "free samples with purchase" at the makeup counter in the mall.  


Image from Birchbox.com/



What's in your beauty bag? 


Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Can't get no Satisfaction

Who sings that song?! It's been in my head the last week. I've been thinking about customer service lately, or rather the lack of it. I am the first to admit that I am impatient and want everything now, now, now. But I've had a series of moments lately that just don't make sense to me.

  1. I found a bamboo chair on Craigslist that I just loved. I could see the fixer-upper potential. So I emailed the address and received an almost immediate response saying it was still available. I immediately email back and say where would you like me to pick it up at? Now... 8 days later and I have not heard a peep. Even more maddening is the posting is STILL showing on Craigslist as available. 
  2. I ordered two prints from two different Etsy vendors. One print came within 4 days. The other print? I am still waiting. No tracking number, either. I received an email the day I ordered it saying I would receive a tracking number and the item would be shipped out within 1-2 days. I didn't get the tracking number, so after a few days, I contacted the seller. Still, no response. I contacted the seller again and finally received a response apologizing for the lack of response (they said they didn't get my first email), and that it was shipped out via first class mail and if I don't receive it by Friday, let them know and they would re-send me a new one. So... at least I know I will get one, but it is now 9 days past the original order date! 
  3. Another Etsy vendor I had emailed asking for a quote for curtains. The seller was fabulous and provided me with a quote the same day I had contacted them. The quote was very helpful-# of yards of fabric, and the costs for their labor. But, as I had mentioned when reaching out, I was pretty sure they were too expensive for me. After I received the quote, I thanked her and said I was afraid they were out of my budget at this point in time, but could she also give me a quote possibly on roman shades in that fabric? That was 12 days ago and I haven't heard anything back. Now it could be the seller was insulted and thinking I was wasting their time, but if I were the seller I would be picking up on the fact that this potential buyer really loves this fabric and really want to order something in it and is trying to find an item she can afford "at this time." So, again, if I were the seller, I would either respond with "sorry, the roman shades cost more than the curtain," or I would respond with a quote and also suggest if it weren't in my budget that they also sell a pillow cover in the same fabric, and would I be interested in that? Mind-boggling. 
One could say I should stay off of Etsy and Craigslist, but I am really trying to find art items for this gallery wall I am (very slowly) working on. I don't want to throw just anything up there! 

Right now, I have two photos and two on the way. Currently, they are both residing on the slice of wall between my window and door to the backyard. I absolutely love them!


**Update: Sorry for not citing sources, I think I mentioned these prints in a prior post and forgot to document the sources again! Print on top is Michelle Armas' "Trellus" print; print on bottom is Heidi Carlsen Rogers' Garden Petal-Pink-Yellow-Modern Art Abstract-Minimalist-Pastel.

How about you, have you ever had moments of dissatisfaction with Craigslist or Etsy sellers? Please tell me it's not me, people, and that I'm emitting some kind of horrible vibe when I very nicely reach out to people!!!

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

My New Best Friend

I have been sick as a dog the last week and a half, and a huge project due at work on Friday and absolutely no brain cells or energy with which to do it. Fun times, folks, fun times.  That said, I was (finally!) catching up on my magazine reading and read my House Beautiful issue and LOOK what I saw!!! This is the "Instant Room" feature, and Betsy Burnham put this one together. My jaw hit the floor.



Those are my curtains!!!! I might have shrieked and said, I WANT THAT! Those curtains would cost me $500 smackaroos like I mentioned... so hard to justify it. But just look at how amazing this room is--those curtains totally make it happen! Leopard, stripes, teal and green... I swear, Besty Burnham gets me

Thursday, September 5, 2013

Teaser shot!

I got one of my new prints in the mail today! From Heidi Carlsen-Roger's Etsy shop. It came very nicely packaged with a pretty pink bow and a handwritten note thanking me for my purchase and to have a happy day. 

Looking at this picture, I think I will!  Look at how good it looks up next to the Trellus print from Michelle Armas!


I can't wait to get my third print from Destiny Womack! 

Pink Curtains on the Brain

I mentioned in a recent post (o.k., stop laughing. it was recent a month ago...) that I had made the jump and painted my living room wall charcoal.


I have been living with it for awhile, and while I don't hate it, I am not in love with it. I think it's the carpet that throws me off. The wall looks fantastic in the dining room, with the floor, but when I see it with carpet, something just throws it off for me. 

But I know when I started down this road of a dark accent wall, I had a vision. I am all too often too impatient to see a vision through to the end. So more often than not, I yank out the paintbrush and start on a new vision before I've given the old vision time to grow and evolve. And lately, all I am hooked on are images of white rooms with bright pops of color.  I think Emily Henderson's design for Bri Emery's room exploded onto the blog world and everyone, everywhere, wants it. I am weak. I too, want it. (Check out the link with its gorgeous pictures and tell me you do not want to live in that yummy goodness!) But, before I cross into the light, I am going to try to see this one through. 

So here is where I started... I wanted to bring up my white leather sofa from downstairs and offset it with teal accents,  a mid-century modern credenza for under the TV, and an art wall full of my brother's gorgeous photos

Inspiration


West Elm italian sofa / Thrive midcentury furniture / CB2 media storage furniture / Mod furniture / Robert Abbey lamp / Jonathan Adler turquoise home decor / Ballard home decor / West Elm antique brass furniture / CB2 stackable shelve / Bamboo side table / Blake Side Table | Ballard Designs


Well, somewhere along the way I got tired of teal being the only color in the room, and all of a sudden, pinks and yellows were shouting my name.  I stumbled across Michelle Armas' prints and ordered this one. And... well, you can't have an art wall without more than one print...So, I started looking for more artwork on Etsy. And I ordered two more prints: this one, by Heidi Carlsen Rogers; and this one, by Destiny Womack. I am hoping the bright pops of color (magenta, yellow!) will pop off the dark wall and offset the TV.

And all of this is of course, fueled by a dream of having curtains in my favorite fabric-of-the-moment:

Lee Jofa Groundworks La Firoentina fabric in magenta/wine
I may have to settle for a pillow in this fabric, it is so pricey and hard to justify such an expense. But, so yummy.

So that is where I am-drooling over pink curtains and waiting with impatient breath for my new artwork to arrive!