new spaces!

One of my favorite parts about moving into a new home is ‘nesting.’ I am a total nester. I am so much of a nester, that I don’t really feel home until I have lived in something for at least a month or so and have had sufficient time to ‘settle.’ Going from a small place to a big(ger) place has been a challenge because it’s not as easy to nest when you have to run out and buy furniture to fit into all these new spaces. So I’ve basically just kept doors to rooms shut until I have been able to ‘nest’ my way into them.

One of these spaces is my new office. I’m very protective over this office, because it’s my first ever office. I really call it my office-slash-reading room-slash-study. Because I will be doing a heck of a lot of studying in this room over the next few years. And I’m a big book worm, so having a designated place to read has always been a desire of mine. Yes, I’ve got big plans for this room. But big plans come with a big fat price tag. And so it’ll be a slow process… but steady.

Today, I made the first big step into this process. My amazing new desk arrived! Complete with filing cabinets, which makes an organizational nut like me sooo happy. And, I bought a handmade wooden chair from this wonderful furniture maker in town that I kind of want to keep secret but also kind of want to scream from the rooftops so I can make sure he stays in business (it is a small shop). The chair is this really pretty yellow color and has one of those cool rustic looking straw (?) seats. Anyway, I’m totally in love. And I just thought you should all see it.

So here it is!

The gorgeous yellow color doesn’t really come across in the photo, but it’s almost a muted mustard color with flicks of red and brown (very distressed looking). I also got that amazing little bronze rhino from the furniture shop. It’s sooo heavy. The owner picked it up in England, where he gets most of his wood. I thought it was perfect inspiration to have on my desk as I’m studying veterinary technology.

Sorry about the awful photo quality. I’m too lazy to take a non-phone picture.

The kitties love it too, I’ve already caught one of them napping on it (actually, she just popped up on it behind me now) and we haven’t even had it home three hours yet.

Here’s another shot. You can see I found the perfect spot for the ‘cat condo’ that Julian won’t allow in any room of the house that actual people go into. He says it is ‘tacky.’ Well of course it is – it’s a cat condo!

click to enlarge!

So there. Now you can visualize where I sit, writing my fantastically inspirational and intelligent posts.

the wheatfield prints

I am truly obsessed with the prints from The Wheatfield. I’ve added at least a few of these to my “favorites” list today, including the ones you see below. The bright colors & lovely messages are so contagious. One of these babies framed would make a great gift, don’t you think?

sickly halloween

Friends, I’m currently sick as a dog. I don’t get sick like this very often (maybe once a year), so when it does happen, I am about as whiny as they come. Take pity on my husband. But my head feels like a balloon and my poor nose is more red than usual. All I want to do is sleep but I keep waking up because of ailments. And of course I refuse to take cold medicine. I hate being sick.

The good news is that we’re all moved into our new house, and things are really coming together. I was feeling crummy throughout the whole process, so Julian was working doubletime lifting and bending and putting things together, bless his heart. It’s starting to feel like a real home, and I’m so excited.

Halloween was uneventful – we ate Chipotle (no cooking for me while I’m sick and moving in, thank you) and watched Paranormal Activity and Carrie. I drank tea and ate Zinc and Vitamin C. We had a grand total of one group of trick-or-treaters, so I’m thinking perhaps it wasn’t necessary to buy two enormous bags of individual-sized Haribo gummy bears. I don’t think Julian minds, the candy-holic.

Hope you all had a smashing good time, however you celebrated.

P.S. The pug picture is in honor of the matching pugs (adorable!) that I saw one of our new neighbors walking.

home sweet home

There’s been one thing that’s continually gotten me through this grueling packing & moving dance – daydreaming about the decorating opportunities in our new place. I am a total nester, so things like pillows and curtains and wall art and candles make an enormous difference to my overall mood when hanging out at home, which is quite often – Julian and I are more  ‘stay-at-home-and-watch-SVU’ than the ‘go-out-to-a-hot-club.’ What can I say, we like being at home! Which is why I am so excited about getting down and dirty with our new place. If you’re going to spend most of your time in one space, it better darn well look good and make you feel good.  Amen? Amen.

our current kitchen window

For me, this is long overdue – I’ve had the decorating bug for a while now, but have done MINIMAL decorating to our current apartment (which is LOVELY, btw, was rented out within a week!) Things like meeting the love of my life, getting engaged, and marrying him in the course of a year kinda got in the way, I guess! I somehow managed to get by with little to no effort since our 1930s building has so much built-in charm, like turquoise tile on the wood-burning fireplace, dark wood ceiling beams, arched doorways, double balconies, crystal doorknobs and french-style windows. Hmm… why are we moving again? But seriously – I had big plans for this place! I had vision. Lying in bed now and staring at my bare bedroom walls, I get kinda depressed knowing that I lived here for this long without ever bringing those visions to life. But the show must go on. After all, the quasi-office work nook in this place isn’t gonna cut it for a working-from-home filmmaker husband (let’s just say he came with a lot of “gear.”) And I have to admit, I’m kinda excited to start fresh with a new canvas!

What was my point again?  Oh yes. You’ve already heard me ramble a bit about why I am obsessed with our new place, but let me just tell you a few of the things I’m excited about: a porch with stairs. The red door. The giant, black glossy staircase. New cabinets. Real granite countertops. Neutral-colored backsplash. A glass door. New bathroom fixtures. A washer and dryer. Wall sconces in nearly every room.  All this makes for a pretty good starting point for decorating our little newlywed nest. Of course, I still haven’t the faintest idea what my final plans will be for the place (though I’ve got an inspiration folder and a brain full of ideas), but I have taken the first steps already – choosing the paint colors!  Wanna see?

Preface: this was an adventure. I originally started browsing Benjamin Moore and Sherwin Williams, who both have some truly outstanding colors, but soon found out that our new walls (and our budget, for that matter) weren’t going to be able to bear the brunt of such luxurious paint. So we chatted with our wonderful painter, Will, and he recommended Behr’s Premium Ultra paint from Home Depot – a primer and paint in one. The colors weren’t quite as great, but we managed to find some that would work for the look we wanted (no thanks to Behr’s HIDEOUS “room inspiration” booklets – SO ugly).

Here’s what we chose!

For the living room, stair walls, and upstairs hall (I wanted a warmer greige), Behr – Perfect Taupe:

Behr – Perfect Taupe

For the kitchen, Behr – Simply Sage:

For the bedroom, Behr – Fashion Grey (can’t find a pic online but it kinda looks like this):

For Julian’s office, Behr – Ashes:

For the bathrooms, Behr – Burnished Clay:

We did a loooot of back and forth and painting patches on the wall, but I’m pretty happy with our selections and the swatches look really nice all laid out together, which was important to me. I wanted our house to flow together well, not walk into a new room feeling like you’re in an entirely new house. I think it makes the house feel more “open.” Here’s hoping I don’t regret my decision after the walls are painted (they’ll start on Tuesday and finish on Thursday).  I’ll be sure to post photos when it’s all done so you can get better look!

What do you think of our paint colors? Anyone ever used these colors with a positive/negative result?

spooky skel-a-mingos

This one is for my Mom, who was born and raised in South Florida.  I’m not usually one for tacky lawn ornaments, let alone of the Halloween nature (those blow-up plastic things need to be expunged from the Earth immediately), but these “skel-a-mingos” are way too cute.  Almost cute enough for someone not to notice that you have gaudy plastic flamingos in your yard.

I have to recommend you don’t buy these unless you live in a pink-flamingo-friendly community like Fort Lauderdale.  Also not recommended:  putting them in a plastic “coffin.”  But that’s just me.

john robshaw textiles

I wish I never would have stumbled upon John Robshaw Textiles’ website. I am now lusting after quilts, shams, sheets and more that cost more than I’d spend in a month on food. Ok, maybe not quite that much, but still, IT’S UP THERE. How gorgeous are these though? And I know it’s hard to tell quality online, but they just LOOK like they’d be sooo soft and snuggly. Can anyone confirm/deny?

windowsill flowers in wine bottle vases

Remember a week or so ago when I mentioned how I loved the flowers in wine bottle vases on my kitchen windowsill? Well, my in-house photographer finally got around to taking photos of said gorgeousness. The good news is, the flower food I sprinkled in each bottle has managed to keep the flowers alive and happy EVEN TO THIS VERY DAY. Talk about magic dust!

Here are some of the photos, which I recommend clicking on (twice) to see the full size image.

BEAUTIFUL, right? And yet they are shamefully upstaged by this stunning glamour shot of my Scout:

P.S. We had an earthquake in the middle of my uploading these photos. Dontcha just love living in California?

inspiration: closet walls and interiors

I’ve never really been one for decorating the inside of my closet, but thanks to the internet and blogs that specifically highlight closet decor, I’m recognizing the potential of my own walk-in at home. This photo below has especially stuck with me – I love the soft chandelier light and the framed Jackie O poster on the wall for inspiration. The shelves aren’t that fabulous, but what a great idea it is to have photos hanging in your closet to inspire you as you get dressed each morning. If that were hanging on my wall, I’d be wearing a lot less jeans, that’s for sure.

everything fabulous

So what WOULD I be wearing? This picture makes me swoon, for starters:

flimsy pastels

P.S. Still really, really loving Pinterest, which reminded me about this photo. 2 invites left if you want em, just leave your email in the comments or shoot me a line (if you can find my email, muahaha).

More awesome closet interiors:

his & hers

hallway closet

attic closet

way more excited than i should be

My heart is racing, I’ve got butterflies in my stomach, I’m breathless and squealing. What is causing me so much excitement? It can’t be a new guy in my life (yanno, married) so what is it? THIS, my pretties!:

Last night I ordered my first (and if it’s as good as the reviews say it is, my only) KitchenAid Stand Mixer.

If you would have told me at age 17 that I’d be getting this excited over a kitchen appliance, I would have smacked you silly. Just kiddin, but I never thought I’d see the day that my inner housewife (love that I can use that word now) would be flaring up so much over something that would be used to bake (or cook, or juice, or make pasta, or sausages…..) Every woman I’ve known who has one of these has raved about its durability, usefulness and just all-around amazingness. One look at the reviews online and you’ll see that sentiment echoed by thousands of happy shoppers.

A tip for anyone in the market for one of these INCREDIBLE stand mixers – buy from AMAZON, not Williams Sonoma, Macy’s, or any of the other retail outlets. These are originally up to $400 a piece, and though the high-end retailers and dept stores offer discounts of up to -$100, I got mine brand new (from KitchenAid) for only $219 on Amazon. Free two-day shipping too, because we have an Amazon prime account (well worth the $80 a year).

I can’t wait to see how much easier this baby is going to make my mixing, baking and blending. Ahhh!

Do you have a KitchenAid mixer? Tell me how it’s changed your life.

iittala taika mugs

I feel a little naughty, because I just splurged on four of these magical iittala Taika mugs. Gilt, aka bane of my checking account’s existence, has the Finnish collection on sale right now. I don’t own any of their other pieces, and usually stick to basic white for dishes, but I have a huge thing for mugs and these are just too sweet to pass up on. Plus, they’re half off… (this is where you scold me for “spaving,” you know: spending + saving = spaving)

It was a really tough choice between the blue and the white, but I went with the white. Come to mama!