Wish List 2

I changed my mind. I want this necklace instead of the locket. Except I love them both...

ha ha! This post is purely selfish.

Gold Wishbone Necklace

Wish List

Because I am not too smart with this Blogger thingy, I cannot figure out a way to add a Wish List without just making a post. So here goes. If you are not my husband or family, you can ignore this.

The Sak Bag (I just bought a brown leather one in a different style, and it's amazing!)



Origami Locket



Nate Berkus, Home Rules



Darryl Carter, The New Traditional



And this Eucalyptus hand soap (because I can never find it anywhere in stores). Weird wish item, I know.



Actually this whole wish list is kind of scattered, but I really don't need anything, so I just thought of items I'd like!

Where Have I Been?

Well for starters, getting married! The wedding was just over a month ago and since then we have been traveling quite a bit.

The day of our wedding turned out to be gorgeous! 70+degrees, sunny, and perfect. We couldn't have asked for a better wedding day and weekend. Everything was exactly what I hoped for: relaxed, fun, and beautiful. The decorations turned out great! I especially loved my handmade chalkboard menu and the last minute burlap runners I found on Craigslist. The turquoise balls jars, the pink roses, the wedding tree, all of it, was exactly us. I am glad I put effort into these details because it really did make the wedding special.








I hope to start blogging "regularly" again. All of that DIY wedding stuff has made me want to help other brides! So if you have any questions or ideas, feel free to contact me.

Flea Market Finds

The D.C. Flea Market was a blast! Meeting Eddie and Jaithan and walking around with them made the flea less intimidating! It's big, let me tell you. And every time I go to one of these, I want to buy something and feel this pressure to get the most unique piece I can find. Eddie's tour was so helpful and made me look at things I would have never looked at it. Instead of just going right for furniture, which I usually do, I scoped out glassware, barware, and smaller, more unique items.

This is what I came away with:

A pair of French opaline glasses (in my favorite robin's egg/turquoise blue)



This great oil/vinegar cruet with a greek key pattern (Eddie wanted to steal this!)



Overall, it was well worth the money to tour the flea with Eddie! I'll definitely be back next year and hopefully meet more fellow bloggers.

DC Flea Market

Tomorrow afternoon, I am heading to the DC Flea Market (actually in Chantilly, VA) and I am meeting Eddie Ross! I cannot wait! There are still spots left I think. Check it out here!

And if you haven't seen his new home with partner Jaithan Kochar, you can view it here in the first issue of Lonny.

Been a Long Time Since I Rock 'n' Rolled

I realized I haven't posted since the end of June. That's a long time... I guess summer adventures and wedding planning kind of take over! We had a great week in Narragansett, RI where Brian's parents built a beach house! Thank goodness for my in-laws :) Now we have a new place to vacation every summer.









There was a bridal shower and our mothers met for the first time. My sister was there, as well. It was all very fun yet overwhelming. The wedding will be here in less than a month, and we'll be so happy to stop planning and enjoy our time together with no worries!

Hope you all enjoyed the summer. I am glad fall is almost here. It's my favorite. Just like smiling--smiling's my favorite. I need a vacation again...

Apartment Therapy

I was featured on Apartment Therapy as part of their Great Outdoors series. I am beyond thrilled! Here is the post...

Thanks to AT! I read them everyday.

Whole City of Toothpicks

I saw this today on Apartment Therapy and thought it was so good, I had to post it again. This guy amazes me. Check out the video on youtube.

He built the city of San Francisco over a 30 year period with toothpicks! It's 7 feet wide and 9 feet tall.

More Chairs and Flowers

Holy cow! It's been three months since I've posted. I guess that's what wedding planning will do.

Anyways, now that I've essentially missed spring (on this blog), let's jump ahead to summer! Every summer, I plant flowers in pots on my porch. I guess it's my way of convincing myself I have a garden...

I found these two cool chairs in someone's trash on the way to work one day. They have great lines, and the cut outs are awesome. I wanted to use them inside, but really didn't have room.

Here is what they looked like before. Not bad, but the fabric was all dirty and the wood is kind of ugly:



And here they are after:



Project Breakdown:

Chairs--FREE!
$8 white paint
Ikat fabric (already had)

So the total of $8 for two new chairs that can be used outdoors/indoors = SWEET!

And here the chairs are with my newly potted flowers. Oh yes I also spray painted some of those pots silver.









Please ignore that ugly fence in the last shot. There's nothing I can do about it since I rent...

Mother and Daughter Team Up!

I came across this mother/daughter team in Traditional Home while I was waiting at the dentist's office. Not a day or two later, I've seen this cute apartment circulating all over the blog world! And why? Because it's so fantastic. Simple and serene, yet playful and a bit feminine. I want to get rid of everything I own and start over. That's what good design does, right?!

Mother and daughter, Suzanne and Lauren, have a great blog called goodbonesgreatpieces.com/blog.

Here is Lauren's sweet apartment:







Don't you love that lucite bench with the antique desk, the yellow gourd lamp, and the ticking loveseat? Oh my! Such great stuff here!

Calico Fabrics!

Well, I ventured out of the house finally! We had 2 and a half feet of snow over the weekend, and needless to say, I needed my shopping fix! ha ha! So I went to Calico Fabrics.

I love their fabrics, but the saleswomen are incredibly snooty. They don't even say hello until you've been wondering around the store for 10 minutes. I was eyeing this beautiful ikat fabric when the woman asked if I needed help. I told her I had a lime green sofa and throw pillows in this aqua color and exact pattern (see below). She tried referring me to some other fabrics with lime green and aqua, and I didn't like them at all. I said, "I love this ikat fabric so much I want to make it work," and she said, "well it's not working." Just like that. What the hell does she know about my taste? I was so annoyed. So you can't mix patterns now? Ugh! Why would I want matchy matchy? Oh well.

Here are the swatches. Maybe they don't work, but I love them! And they're just throw pillows for crying out loud! Plus the shapes are similar...





And here's the lime green couch:



Is it too busy? I don't think so.

Dream Room

How do I make my living room like this?



When it looks like this?



I want a lighter, airy feeling to this room. I'm not sure how to achieve it with the green sofa and yellow curtains. The curtains could easily change, but the sofa is harder to replace. Any suggestions? I have great light in my apartment, so that's not the problem. I also have a lot of dark wood furniture. Perhaps replace the coffee table? Ugh! I want all new furniture.

Kristan Cunningham's Rental

I stumbled across Kristan's home on the LA times awhile back, and then was thinking of it the other day. I always liked her on Design on a Dime! So I did a search and found it again, with more images this time. I am so in love with this place. I will let the images speak for themselves. But what I really want is those silk grey curtains and wingback chairs. I die... Seriously where I can find those curtains.

Chair Makeovers

I like chairs, alot! See my other post on another chair makeover. My mom sort of collects chairs, too, and now I'm following her obsession.

I made over two chairs this past week. It was nice and sunny, so I set up on my porch and went to town. Luckily I was painting both glossy black, so it was much easier.

Here is chair number one before:



I acquired this chair at work for free. I work in an art department, and this was leftover in the photography studio. The little cushion was when I was into that burgundy color, which now, I hate! What was I thinking?

Here is chair number one after two coats of glossy black paint, an IKEA sheepskin and a pleated pillow (both I already owned):



Here is chair number two before. I lie, I forgot to take a picture because I was so excited to paint it and recover it. I bought this little chair for $7 at my local thrift store, Yesterday's Rose. It had a black vinyl seat cover and a kind of bland brown wooden frame.

Here is chair number two after two coats of glossy black paint and Sophia fabric from IKEA:



And here's the full vignette with art on the walls:



I am so in love with this striped fabric. It's dramatic, a little carnival-esque. I also like how the striped fabric mimics the lines of the chair. Oh happy day!

So here is the cost breakdown:

$0 for chair number one (picked up at work)
$7 for chair number two
$8 for paint for both chairs
$4 for Sophia fabric

Oh yes $19. Now that's what I'm talking about.