Thank You Subscriber Give Away

Happy Friday!!

I wanted to send out a huge thank you to everyone for all of their support in reading my blog. This has been such a fun new stage for me and I am overwhelmed by the compliments and interest I have received from family and friends. It truly means the world to me. I wish you could be here with me and see me skipping around the apartment every time someone registers or sends a comment. I have become obsessed…in the best of ways, for starters it keeps me away from facebook stalking.

To all of my wonderful readers, thank you, thank you, thank you! And to show my gratitude, I’m going to give something away for one lucky subscriber. So if you haven’t signed up yet, please subscribe – I promise, no junk mail! I will give the gift away March 16. I haven’t decided what it will be yet, but it will be goood!! More details to come…

Have a wonderful weekend! Tonight, I will be pub crawling for Graham’s birthday party; on Saturday we have a black tie event to attend and Sunday my cooking club is coming over. I love what we’ve got in store for this weekend. On top of all that, I’ve got projects, projects, projects to work on. Stay tuned…

Here are some parting shots that make me happy…

Photo Credit: Domino

Photo credit: Just Imagine Design

Photo Credit: Palmer Weiss

Get the credit cards ready: Liberty of London Coming to Target

I was flipping through the latest Oprah Magazine, when I came across the cutest bike I have ever seen.  This bike is so cute that it belongs up on a wall of a loft, not to be used on the street….what if dirt gets on it?!  Okay, okay it would be great to ride as well.  Put a cute straw basket on the front, wear a fun flirty dress and soon you’ll actually look cool on a bike – minus the helmut.  (Unless your one of my male readers then you might not look so cool in a dress on the bike).

This bike is from Liberty of London Target Home Collection and it will hit stores on March 14 (a bff’s birthday – perhaps she will get a target item).  Liberty of London is an iconic design store that opened its doors in 1875 on Regent Street in London.  Click here for the Liberty of London website.    I was not given a press kit from Liberty of London, even though I had 77 people look at my blog yesterday (record high for me), so I do not have access to very many of the items.  You can go onto Target’s website for more information.  Here is what I could scrounge up for you on the internet…

I would buy the bike, canisters, stationary and the platters.  What do you think?  What would you buy?

It’s All Coming up Turquoise?

I know I’m a bit behind on the New Year, but I did only start this blog in February.  This is not new news for the decor world, however lets discuss: the color authority, ‘Pantone’, picked turquoise as the it color for 2010.

The It color

Turquoise, really?  I mean I think it looks fabulous in fashion trends that we saw last year.  Like, who can really forget Lily’s (Kelly Rutherford on Gossip Girl) beautiful turquoise chandelier earrings?  My  God, they were fabulous!!  And who doesn’t look good in a nice turquoise dress with a tan?

Lilly's Turquoise Earings

Photo Credit:  Traveling Boutique

Angie Harmon in turquoise dress in 2007

Photo Credit:  Pop Sugar

To be completely honest, I don’t know that I’m feeling it in decor.  Don’t get me wrong, I think turquoise is a fabulous pop of color for accent pieces.  But I think if turquoise is overdone, it can look a little too beachy.  That’s fine, if you live in Jamaica!  But, for all of us living in the middle of the country or even 20 miles away from the beach, please use the color in moderation.

Okay, now that I’ve got my rant and rave done and over with, let’s take a look at some turquoise decor shots done correctly.  I could be totally off base by questioning turquoise – I mean, who am I to question Pantone.  So please let me know what you think about the color.

On Sale at Amazon.com: Southwest Turquoise Decor

Photo Credit: Amazon

Hot as accent pieces!

Photo Credit: Bright Bold Beautiful

Photo Credit: House of Turquoise

Bold and beautiful

Photo Credit: House Beautiful

Love the pops of color

Photo Credit: Connecticut Cottage and Gardens

Okay, perhaps I can be converted.  I mean it is such a happy color!  What do you think?

Happy Birthday to my Hubby

Today, I must take a break from interior design to talk about the man who makes my home feel so happy: Graham.  My hubby has finally hit his late 20’s; he is turning 28 today.  Yippee!!  We are going to go for a walk as the sun is starting to peak through the heavy gray clouds; then Graham will be off to school because Booth gave him the gift of Hank Paulson (he’s coming to campus to speak today); then Graham and I are headed to a nice dinner and finally home to homemade cake.  Today is going to be a good day!

Hubby in Botswana on safari

Dearest Graham,

Happy birthday, my man!  I hope that your day is filled with joy and laughter and that this year of your life greets you with happiness and good fortune.  I am so proud of you and I love you very much.  Thank you for all the dances, hugs, kisses and jokes.  You brighten up my life.  I am so incredibly blessed to have you as my bubsy.

Hubby and me - cheers!

My ETSY Site Soft Opening

My etsy site is finally up!  Click here to take a look.  I only have three pillows up for sale because I am having trouble taking good pictures.  I also don’t understand how to get the photos to the correct size.  If anybody out there in cyberspace is reading my blog, I would love some help on changing the size of pictures – if that is doable.

Here are my pillows that are for sale…

Love Water Bouquet 16 Inch Amy Butler

These are 16 inch by 16 inch pillows with zipper enclosures (each pillow sold separately).  I used Amy Butler’s fabric and the color is midnight – a deep. deep purplish/navy color.

Sky Lattice Joel Dewberry 16" Pillow

This pillow is my favorite – lattice print!  I actually made myself two of these pillows for our living room.  It has a red zipper enclosure.  I wish that I had a better picture of it.  I have had camera troubles but I will try to figure it out.

Drawing Room Trellis, Rose, 16 Inch Pillow

I love the color that this pillow brings to a room.  In my dreams, I have a sun room that is predominately white with these pillows and other bright pink pillows as pops of color.  This pillow has a pair, if you are interested, let me know.

I wish I had more up on my site, that’s why I’ll call today my soft opening of my store.  Once I get more items up, I’ll throw a huge party and have the grandest of grand openings.  In reality, I guess I’ll just have more stuff up and I may be brave enough to post about it on facebook.  Hmmm.

Soiree Stationary with Pizzaz

If you’re ever having a festive party, the best way to set the tone is through the invitation.  Whether it is playful, sophisticated or humorous, guests will delight in actually receiving mail that is not a bill.  We have been receiving Save the Dates for this summer’s weddings and they are such fun to open up and see what the bride and groom have picked out.  I’ve been spending the morning addressing and stamping invitations that are going out for my best friend’s bridal shower.  And well, what better place to toot my own horn than at a blog about myself? …they are really cute shower invitations!  Here’s a round up of invitation stationary that would have me skipping from our mailbox to our refrigerator with a magnet in hand.

This adorable Save the Date can be found at Wedding Paper Divas.

I would actually like this as a save the date to set the tone for a huge party.  Also found at Wedding Party Divas

This beauty can be found at Tiny Prints.

I’m looking forward to all the birthdays, weddings, bachelorettes and general soiree’s I’ve got coming up this year!  Bring on the bubbly…

ETSY Shops I love

It’s the final countdown until I get my ETSY site completely up and running. My profile is up right now; I am just not selling anything, as of yet. I must take phenomenal pictures (somehow) because all of the articles I’ve been reading say that a great picture will get the product moving. Guess I should use more then just my I-Phone

On to sites that I love…

If you are ever in the mood to treat yourself to some fabulous jewelry, look no further than Crow’s Catch. Irene Wood, from Seattle, has the greatest earrings and necklaces out there! She hand makes them and all are truly one of a kind. The vast majority of my earrings are Crow’s Catch, and whenever I wear a pair, I get tons of compliments on them. Here are a few that I’m currently lusting after. As soon as I make some mullah, and the purse strings loosen back up, I will be going straight to her shop!

A Boy, A Girl Earrings: crowscatch @ etsy

Silver Leaf, Smoky Quartz Lariat Necklace: crowscatch @ etsy

Coral, Turquoise Lucite Earrings: crowscatch @ etsy

Baby crazy! Who, me? Never. Okay, okay …I may be baby crazy. I am not pregnant, nor am I trying to be, but who can resist the cutest baby clothes in the world? If you have little ones, I suggest shopping at Frances Reid Clothing. All clothes are handmade by Bridget Dolfi in Oakland. She is a one woman show designing magical pieces. They have a timeless look to them as she uses vintage patterns and chooses fabrics that will have you hearkening back to the good old days. I had her custom make a tweed jacket for my two year old nephew. He looked so dapper in the jacket!

boy's lazy afternoon shirt size 3: francisreidclothing @ etsy

girls queen kitty jumper size 6 months: francisreidclothing @ etsy

My last ETSY crush of the day goes to Kelly Galvin Robson of High Street Market. She sells the most wonderful flea market, vintage finds for your home. I aspire to one day have a business just like hers…but alas, I must take everything one step at a time. Kelly has been featured on many of my favorite blogs such as Apartment Therapy, Decor8, and LONNY. She’s got a fantastic eye!

Vintage Brass Horse Head Wall Hook: highstreetmarket @ etsy

Vintage Chintz Rectangular Vanity Tray: highstreetmarket @ etsy

Happy shopping to y’all!

Debutante Dumpster Dives

I don’t know what is a worse admission – the fact that I was a debutante or the fact that I dumpster dove. To be truthful, I think that I get out of both admissions; therefore, the title may be a bit sensationalist. You see, I was a debutante when I was a Senior in high school. I’m now almost 30 and married; I think I have sufficiently been presented to society. Therefore, I believe the title of debutante is no longer relevant. I also did not exactly dive into the dumpster. As my siblings can attest, I have never been able to dive off of or into anything properly. I merely found a coffee table beside a dumpster and one of the legs had fallen off of it. I then opened the lid of the dumpster to see if more goodies were inside but none were to be found. Finally, my strong husband carried someone else’s trash into our apartment. So therefore, he is the one who “dove”. Those are the details and here is the coffee table…

I’m thinking of painting the top chevron style, decor8 blog was the inspiration. There is a tutorial on how to paint chevron style at Sunset Magazine. If you click on the photo below, it will direct you to their site.

Lesson learned: Someone else’s trash is my treasure.

Grown Up Entryways

Ah, yes – the grand entryway. The creme de la creme of interior design. This is where your guests make their first impression, and let’s be straight, we all go act on our first impressions. Such a small space demands massive attention. That is, for everyone, but me. You see I don’t practice what I preach. Instead, I bring guests in blindfolded for the first four feet of our apartment – an alternative solution to decorating. My entryway is painted in this horrible way that is supposed to look fake stucco – esque (landlord said that we can not change it). We line up one side of the hallway with our wet, dirty, grimy, salt ridden shoes (happens to everyone in the winter in Chicago). Then just to the left of our shoe massacre, lies my latest furniture project. Currently, there is a drop cloth down with a beat up, poorly painted, black coffee table, that’s waiting to get a face lift. My poor husband will sometimes come home from a long day at school and won’t even be able to open the door all the way because I’ll be delicately painting in the entryway. I’ll tell him to come in cautiously, to step over the three cans of different colored paint, the ten paint brushes, the sander and the blade (for sanding). Once over all the obstacles, he must then take off his grimy shoes in about ten inches of space. But then he’s finally out of the hallway and at home sweet home. Gotta love love and marriage. So here is an homage to beautiful entryways. One day, when we are grown ups, we will have a sophisticated entryway and I will have a studio for my work; we will also be paying one hell of a hefty mortgage. Oh to be grown ups.

Apparently you can arrange dirty shoes in a graceful way

Photo Credit: House and Home

Yet another example of high style and high functionality

Photo Credit: Donkee House

Love the blue seafoam paint

Photo Credit: Home Interior Design Themes

I adore chocolate and pink together

Photo Credit: Home Interior Design Themes

Ha ha - so far from my own reality

Photo Credit: Donkee House

Sew Fun!

I’ve been having a great time sewing away. Today I sewed two throw pillows and now my living room side chairs feel complete. I like the color they bring to the room.

Unfortunately, I can’t keep everything I make, so I will be selling throw pillows on my ETSY website. Once I get some inventory, I will start my site. The goal is for later this week. Here is one of the pillows up close, which I will be selling.

And I’ve purchased so many interesting fabrics. Can’t wait to see how more of the pillows turn out…