Dining Deal

Need to update your dining or kitchen area? Throw in some cool chairs. Some inexpensive newbies over at World Market and Ikea.

I've got my eye on a few. My outdoor chairs are currently serving as indoor seats. They need to go back outside!

   cheers

Friday Finds

Look what I found. Online Anthro exclusive looks for less! Don't get me wrong, I'd buy from my fave store all day long if I could afford to. But don't worry, I check the sales OFTEN! :)
Good finds here...

polkadot pillow . embossed dresser . green ottoman . grey chair . henna curtain

Can you guess which ones are Anthro's? Probably, but worth saving some $$ over if you want the look. The vintage ottoman is chocked full of awesomeness! 

   cheers

  

Laced UP

Looking at a few cute lacy/laced little things as of late.

 

Curtains

Sweatshirt

Gray Boot

Turquoise Blouse

Carmel Boot

Stockings

Oxford

Top

Black Boot

Oxford

Fall shop time! 

    cheers

Space Envy

I LOVE Belgian style. It's beautiful. Has history, authentic. Simple, linen, relaxed, stylish, clean. Probably why I tend to drool when I walk into Restoration Hardware. Just love it!

These spaces are gorgeous.

Ahhh, so pleasing to the eye for me. Grey tones, natural finishes and linens...love! I hope to take my family to Belgium one day. It's just gorgeous! And the crepes and frites are to die for! :)

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Lamps

So I've been keeping my eye on some bedside lamps. My budget is small. Yo, Target...check them out.

This one is from Restoration Hardware. Love the mercury.



$225 w/o shade



Target lookalike. Close enough...and prettier in person.

$35.99 w/o shade



These are NICE; I've looked em over several times at West Elm.

$69 with shade

$149 with shade

 Target options...and I will say they are much nicer looking in person. Pick out your own shade too and no shipping charge if you hit the store.

$39.99 w/o shade

I believe $39.99 as well, in store only

Not bad if you want to save a little cash. Similar looks.

    cheers

Perfect Chaos

After an emotional week we decided to stay busy. This past weekend was bedroom swapping so we can fit two kiddos into one room. How did we ever end up with so much stuff and where are we going to put it? We would have been better off moving into a bigger house. (I hinted for quite some time; husband didn't catch on, but we do love our home). Look at this mess in the midst of it and that's just the dining room clutter!!! Scary when you can barely find your child in the house. Where's Rory?

Did you find her?

My Dad also wired in some new plugs, cables and lights and worked his tail off for us again. Nothing is ever an easy task in our bungalow. We have holes in walls (due to old home issues per usual), spackling all over, toys array and accessories spread in corners. Not sure where our Christmas tree will fit this year? Planning and arranging for new baby is crazy in a two bedroom home, but we shall manage. Adding on is not going to happen, but basement detail is on the arise; However, getting a contractor or anyone for that matter to get back to us for a bid is IMPOSSIBLE. What is up people? Quit leading us on, you have an anal pregnant lady growing by the hour that is starting to flip out! I'm swollen from all the chaos and that is not cool. Watch out or I will start calling you myself. My husband has been quite patient (and tolerating my behavior thus far). Not sure how I'll do when we actually get started and have to move everything from the basement to the dining room, the yard, the garage? Not a clue where it will end up. I will lose my shit sanity eventually.

Now that the crib is set up Rory is asking for the baby. She wants "bean" now. I told her he's still cooking and he'll come around in March. Sunday night while putting Rory to sleep she says, "Momma, where is that baby? Is he cooking french fries in there!" haha... I lost it. She is hilarious! And I love her dearly for being a perfect angel while we were decluttering, cleaning and organizing. Amongst the craziness, she played with every toy, clothing and accessory in sight while feeding her babies and her cat. :) Kitty let her cuddle her with a blanket, feed her with a bottle and a spoon for at least an hour. I'm shocked Rory walked away without a scratch.

Notice outfit: summer dress, leggings, warmers on her arms, butterfly wings upside down, tank top and at one point she had on a hello kitty fedora, large yellow earrings and a scarf as a sash. I'm lucky she loves accessories. 

 We had a very productive weekend thanks to the help of my parentals. Couldn't have done it without them. Looking forward to seeing it all come together. Loving the rooms thus far, found sweet bedding for Rory so that helps me figure out the rest of their room. Paint colors, curtains, details, etc....yay to finally getting to work on the fun stuff. Boo to all the disasters that come out of improving our sweet home. Sorry Mom. Rear ended in her new vehicle minutes after she left us. Go figure. We always hit some bad luck during or after a project. Thankfully she is fine. Onto more home improving. I'm sure fixing out our basement will bring us some awesome surprise. But let's hope this baby does not arrive early and stays a cookn'. We have work ahead of us and I have no time to flip my lid!

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Happy Happy

Happy Halloween! Rory says, "I'm a Princess Indian!!" She is so excited to trick or treat with her friends tonight!

Indian Princess

Also, Happy Baby Reveal to us! Klint's birthday was Friday so I decided to surprise him with a cake last minute. More so because I ran out of time to make the pumpkin pie I had promised him AND because I just couldn't wait till Xmas to find out the sex of this baby. Also, I thought it'd be nice to do this surprise with just the three of us on Klint's special day. (Thx for the idea LLL; totally ripped it off!) He sent me a text that morning asking me, "Do you think it's a girl?" So I got the itch and just ran to Rene's Bakery and asked if they'd do a baby/birthday cake for us! They were so kind, took my enveloped ultrasound pic and made me a quick little sweet cake (this is why I love them and their croissants SO SO much).

Klint and I were both really nervous, anxious, whatever you want to call it. ;) Rory just wanted to eat cake! We all made our guesses and this is how it turned out:

Rory thinks baby's in her belly, ha! Needless to say, we were a little shocked. I think we were both thinking the other way around would be easier on us, but we can take this on! Rory still may not totally get it, but she definitely enjoyed the cake...

My husband loves having his sweet little girl, but I think he'll be a very proud pops to a boy! We're excited!

Should make things interesting. Now to plan a room that characterizes both boy and girl stuff! Oh, and to collect on all things boy.

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Small Spaces

I started organizing, purging, creating ideas in my head for the best possible way to use each space in our home. It's small, if we're not completely organized and things are scattered it feels incredibly cluttered. Adding another child to the mix makes it even more difficult. Kids come with a lot of gear! We shall manage a few more years. "The average American has too much stuff". So I'll keep sticking to those thoughts and convince myself we have enough room to get by. We will be minimalists! Closet space is next to nothing in our bungalow. First thing up...maximize the space. We're having them updated and shelved and all that good stuff. Then we are swapping bedrooms with Rory. Our room is bigger so two kiddos will fit in there nicely. I'm going to reorganize the entire house. Curtains, paint, moving furniture around... it should be interesting, to say the least. Then onto fixing out the basement. Think we can get it all done before this bambino shows up? hmmm, I'm not totally convinced myself. Here's to hoping!!! We can do it!

I've been researching ways to de-clutter and maximize small spaces. Many tricks out there...

Curved furniture! Gives you more room to get from a to b and the perfect solution for eliminating baby/toddler injuries.

Curves

 Elongate a space with stripes. This is great! Not sure I'll use this idea, but love it! Interior decorator Alex Papachristidis recommends creating a glamorous jewel box: “Use larger patterns on the fabrics. Stencil the floors and upholster the walls. With a small room, think grand—I always do.” 

Stripes



White spaces. Really likey crispy whitey rooms. Seem bigger too. Great for natural light areas. Hmm bedroom or living room?

Though, dark walls make a small room look intriguing. Yep, that's the new news peeps...these rooms are pretty sharp! Our hallway is painted dark eggplant. I love the color. A crystal fixture will give it some wow. I might try and paint some accent walls dark. We'll see. I also might change my mind 101 times, but eventually I'll get it right!


Go symmetrical! Pleasing to the eye. Tricks the eye to look more organized. I have to buy a few pieces to make this work in a room or two. I'm not going to be boring and create too much symmetry, but a little will go a long way.

Lamps

Chairs

Mirrors

I just found this blog, Tiny-Ass Apartment. "Wish you had a five-bedroom mansion in the hills and enough money to decorate it with stuff from Anthropologie that's NOT on sale? Face it -- you live in a tiny-ass apartment with only enough cash to buy... nothing. Here's how to still be fabulous."

Awesome! A quick go to place to find ideas for my Tiny-Ass House!

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Clear Stuff

Not sure about you, but for some reason I adore Plexi Furniture. I've been dying for a little desk to hide somewhere in our house for the laptop. And I think the little kid chairs are adorable. Feels good for a small home b/c it's not so bulky and/or showy. It sort of disappears. Expensive though...and could be falling off the market a bit, maybe? Harder to find around town now. Buying something with reclaimed wood might make me feel better, but I can still like clear acrylic a whole lot...

Plexi-Craft

     

CB2 peekaboo console



Lights! Love love love clear glass fixtures. They were impossible to find when I was in search of them last year and/or way out of my price range. Not frosted, not textured, no waves, no color, just plain clear glass people! Now they are showing up in a few more places. Go figure. The traditional style will forever be a part of my home in some form. But I see a lot of industrial and modern looking ones too...which I love. Would buy any of these from West Elm!! 

Industrial Pendant

Globe

Rustic Jars

Some beautiful finds here...several clear glass choices. All hand crafted. Sign up for their catalogue.

Schoolhouse Electric Period Lighting Fixtures

Sundance Pendant Vintage handblown glass



CB2 Firefly Pendant lamp

 

Anthropologie Decanter Lamp



Knobs

Our 1920's home has all the original doorknobs. Would NEVER change them, my fave! They look like this ...

Anthro Diamond-Cut Doorknob

Anthropologie has great hardware! :) Many choices. Can't wait to start shopping them for the old dresser I'm my husband is going to refinish for kids room! 



DIY clear Anthropologie hardware

 

What clear gear do you love? 


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Crème de la crème

Croissants are my very fave and helping review them for work is like heaven! :) Buttery and gooey, chocolate, raspberry, almond...ahhh... I could eat you everyday and I seriously would if you were in front of me. Je t'aime! You remind me of Paris...walking around, eating the freshest foods, drinking a bottle of wine (yes, I was in college) and people watching. Lovely times. Happy Friday!!!!

Saw this wallpaper the other day while searching Rory room ideas. La Belle France!
 

C'est Magnifique Wallpaper found at where else? Anthropologie

    cheers