Obsessed with good design, style, color, fashion and living by the water, this is me dipping my toes into the big world o' blogging and looking at the amazing images, products, projects and ideas floating out there.
Isn't this illustrated whale print from Britt Hermann adorable? It's only $18 - a steal.
I thought it was a cute little note for a Monday morning. Speaking of - good morning! Did you have a good weekend? Ours was eventful, productive and overall fun. We hung out with my mom and brother - both to do some extreme organizing and to celebrate her upcoming birthday - and went to a friend's graduation party, among other things. It was really fun to see our friends after not having seen them since their wedding.
I'm actually happy that it's Monday because I feel like I can swing into productivity mode (hopefully!) now that's officially "the week" and time to get stuff done. Any big plans for you all this week?
I'll be back in a bit with some stuff for you to check out, so hopefully see you soon! xo, r.
It snowed here last night. Big, fluffy flakes that came down for a solid few hours, all the while looking beautiful when we caught a glimpse of flakes from the darkness as they drifted in front of the outdoor lights. It turned out to be nothing big - work and driving went on as normal - but I can't believe this is our third snow this winter and we're only just getting started. Brr. The snow looks really pretty, but I'm kind of bummed to think that we have a solid three more months of cold. Grr.
Anyway, the upside of things is that it's Friday and the weekend is almost officially here! We have a busy one this weekend, from going to my mom's house for a big furniture delivery, to celebrating her birthday, to a friend's graduation party, and more. Any fun plans for you all this weekend? I hope you have a great one, and see you back here bright and early on Monday!
Spotting baked socialites in the pages of a gossip rag is not a new phenomenon (hellllooo, Paris), but giving yourself a socialite name is something kinda new. So forget figuring out your porn star name ("Calvin Fifth" does not bode well for me...) and instead figure out your own socialite name here.
Mine is - duh duh duh daaaah (fanfare) - Charlotte Bronfman. Even better: Brian would be Chip Tisch. Ooh, preppy.
People. It is 2010. What the mcguffin is up with these??: From Pour La Victoire.
Seriously? It looks like this model is about to do the moonwalk or is currently starring in The Wiz off-off-Broadway.
I thought Fashion had really lost it with the reintroduction of leggings as pants back in 2009, but this just takes it to a whole new level. We're talking taking the Crazy-town Express to Ugly Shoeville.
To score these puppies, you'll need $218. Gold. Oxfords. For $218!
Perhaps you could pair this interesting footwear with these and just go full-on bonkers. You'd look like a gold tin-man. Hooray for fashion. (Am I off-base here??)
Target is having a sale! Hooray! (Not that their stuff isn't normally [and gloriously] affordable, but this is great!)
Check out the fun stuff (aka needless but cool anyway stuff) currently on sale in the Red Hot Shop: I've been eying this fun ikat skirt from Heidi Merrick since the spring! This has got to be the prettiest dart board I've ever seen.
I love the idea of this growth chart. No more pencil marks needed on your walls! Fancy-dancy lingerie bag, complete with lavender sachet - ooh la la! This is the perfect tee for an old salt. I love the blue color and the pretty illustrated sea creatures.
And now for the drumroll please: The New Year Home Event means most of the home goods are 10-40% off, and there's still 10% off and free shipping for items over $100. Annd, the sale includes the upholstered chairs I've been obsessing over for, like, ever. This one is still a touch too pricey for me to buy right now (see how responsible I'm being, B??) but I am drooling over the amazing deal.
So what does this mean? It means get out there (or go online) and snag yourself some sweet deals from the mothership Tar-jay! It's my Friday morning gift to you. Enjoy! :)
Aren't these prints, all from the brilliant artist Rob Ryan, drop-dead beautiful? Especially when you consider that he cuts them painstakingly and precisely from paper before making the screenprints?
The things in his Etsy shop are just gorgeous, although too pricey for me. If they were a bit more affordable, I'd snatch up one of each to dole out as the most gorgeous wedding gifts or to use as Valentine's sentiments.
Just reading the quotes (which I assume he wrote as well) makes me feel all mushy and romantic. So sweet. (Crap! I can't believe I'm getting sucked into the Valentine's Day spirit already! I blame you, Tar-jay! Lovely though.)
Is it sad that my next thought was of conversation hearts? Yum...
B and I are hosting our first party of the new year in a week and half (on the Sunday of MLK weekend - hooray for holiday Mondays!). It's a pretend attempt at being grown up (ha). It's going to be oh-so-classy (double ha).
Not so much. But, it is going to be a wine tasting/judging. We'll do one each month - that's why we've very officially formed the "Annapolis Wino Club" (see? keeping it classy already) - and we'll taste/judge a different variety of wines each time. The fun part is that it's a blind taste-test: everyone brings a bottle to be tasted and judged, we'll conceal it so no one knows whose is whose and what is what, and then we'll all score what we taste. The bringer of the best bottle (once the scores are tallied) will win a prize. I'm thinking something stellar like these: Photo from SabbeSpot.
Again, classy, no?
For this first party - which is clearly going to be very trial-run-ish - we've chosen to simply go with red wines in general, but hopefully we'll do one variety each time starting with month two (perhaps Cab or Pinot Noir since it's winter and then maybe whites in the summer, etc.).
I have to wrap my head around snacks (cheese, duh, plus fruit and bread? any other suggestions...that are cheap and doable for someone who can't cook to save their life?), plus score cards (luckily B's sister, who has done this at her house is sending me some templates, thanks Kel!), tasting glasses, and giant tarps - to protect our light carpets from the red wine - kidding. B is also going to have to hold me back from "branding" everything; I've already considered making a custom logo for the AWC (Annapolis Wino Club) and adhering it to everything from the glasses to napkins, to a tablecloth to party favors. But I won't. Because the whole point of this party is that it's recession-friendly (everyone brings a bottle so the host doesn't bear the whole burden) and we all know how out of hand my crafting gets....
Regardless, I'm excited for it. It should be a fun time and a good way to get friends together during the winter months when we all just want to hibernate at home.
Have any of you done this before? Any pointers on score cards, procedure, etc? Thoughts on accompanying snacks or the winning bottle's prize? Do tell!
(And I promise to post photos of the event once it happens mid-month!)
Not to sound like a 13-year-old girl, but...OMG I am OBSESSED with this project.
The beautiful and amazing Stephanie Sabbe of sabbespot (which is a totally new-to-me blog as of today, but now I'm super excited to read some of her archived posts) made this awesome chevron-striped wall herself using...drum roll, please!...contact paper. Annnnd, she said the whole thing only cost the price of the contact paper (which is el cheapo compared to paint and/or wallpaper!) and took only an hour to do.
One. Hour. That means in less than the time it takes me to get through my DVRed episodes of Ellen Masterpiece Theatre (what?) I could do this on my own wall. Which I am. B, brace yourself, it's happening. I'm so excited!
Cheap, easy, removable (perfect for us renting folks), and pretty subtle (gotta love Stephanie's tone-on-tone choice), yet makes a big impact, this seems like the absolute ideal project for a renter who's hankering for something striking on a wall. I'm in.
The Foodpod is both the strangest and coolest product I've seen in a while. Doesn't it look like some alien apparatus? In reality, it's just a smart, easy way to cook food - from veggies to eggs to shellfish - and drain it with only one cooking "utensil" used.
This video shows how it's done: insert your ingredients into the Foodpod, put it in boiling water, lift to let it drain and you're done. It goes in the dishwasher (amen!) and it's BPA-free. Weird but awesome:
At only 15 bucks, I'm thinking this could be a great hostess gift (or even White Elephant gift?). As originally found on Swiss Miss.
I haven't actually seen the Winter 2009 issue of Better Homes and Gardens in real life, but I came across some photos from the mag on Paper Source's blog and lurved this uber-organized work area: The overall color combination is a little more bright and "funky" than I'd use in my own house - I love the orange, green and blue, but I'd probably use just one or two accent colors (instead of all three) with white or tan or something slightly more mellow - but I die for all the organizational materials used.
This is a Type A's dream here, people. If I ever work at home, I'm going to need a space like this stat. (And don't you love all the wrapping paper organization? This stuff is like crack to me. Laugh if you will.)
Are you cleaning up and organizing your space with the arrival of the new year? I know I've been doing some streamlining and organizing (starting with under our bathroom sink - how exciting) and it feels good to glean in 2010! Any great organization ideas you've come across or done yourself? I'd love to hear...
Isn't this set-up that Stanlee Gatti put together for the San Francisco Opera Ball gorgeous?
The table setting is in traditional Italian style and the words written on the back wall are “Long Live the Songbird” (alluding to the opera's performers), but the real star of the show, for me at least, is the numerous garlands of greenery and oranges hung above the tables. Can you imagine how romantic it must have been to sit under those aromatic swaths? The pop of color from them is so beautiful too.
I honestly think this is a great idea for any event. It wouldn't be that hard to do (right? hmm...) and it would be an amazing touch for a wedding, rehearsal dinner or even a very fancy dinner party. I'm not sure if I have the balls to give it a try, but I love the idea of it.
Photo originally found on Oh Happy Day!, where Jordan has worked with Stanlee Gotti on some of his events - lucky girl!
Oof. Got a very late start to blogging this morning. Somehow this day is just flying by faster than I can grasp the hours. But, isn't this memo pad from Birdcage Cards so adorable and perfect for early January (month o' the will-I-keep-them-or-not resolutions)? It's a good one to strive for: As originally found on Love Obsess Inspire.
Kind of makes me feel a bit better about not getting to blogging earlier today. Let's just say I was busy being in the now. Sorry for the short delay, but I'm here, now. :)
Now that I've sat down to blog for the day, I'll be back with more soon. Stick we me on this fast-moving Hump Day!
Does anyone know where this photo came from? I only saved the quilt info (which, if you're curious, is the poppies quilt from John Robshaw). Der. Sorry for the unaccredited photo.
I was going through my home design files the other day and came across the above photo, which I had ever-so-brilliantly labeled as "bad room but good textile layering_John Robshaw Poppies quilt." Thanks, real helpful, R.
I think what I meant by that brilliant labeling job was that when I look at each item in this room individually, I don't really like them (not a fan of the curtains, the lighting fixture, or even, surprisingly, the headboard), but all in all, I love this room.
Whoever designed it (again, not sure whom, since I so aptly labeled the image) did a great job of layering things in this room so that all together, it really works. I don't necessarily love those black pillows or the tri-section headboard, but with the layered bedding it looks so good. How sunny and nice would it be to wake up in that gorgeous bed on a dreary winter day?
The bedding mix is the real winner in this room, so I'm going to try to remember that the next time we update our linens (ahem, registry items).
I know this is super dorky of me, AND we've been watching less TV to boot, but I'm really siked to check out the show Undercover Boss. The teaser previews are on CBS now and the show premieres after the Super Bowl in February (2/7).
The "plot" is brilliant: C-level executives go undercover in their own companies and work alongside their employees (often the lowest level workers) without the employees knowing who the exec is. The first episode has the President and C.O.O. of Waste Management actually cleaning out porta-potties, collecting trash from a landfill, and so on.
It's a genius marketing scheme for the companies participating, too - free PR for the execs who are willing to do this, and even better PR if they seem like approachable, nice people while doing it.
I've already set my DVR. Now I'm just interested to see how the episode with the CEO of Hooters goes...
One of my New Year's resolutions - are you totally sick of hearing about these yet? I kind of am, especially since I don't normally even make resolutions! - is to cook at home more often. I always think about how much healthier it is, plus cost efficient, but when push comes to shove, we often order food or go out. It seems so much more fun and exciting...? Anyway, we're going to make an effort to cook at home three nights a week at least and one of my go-to staples is homemade pizza.
B and I share the fortunate/unfortunate fact that we could eat pizza every day, forever, so pizza is always popular around here. I don't make the dough from scratch - that may have to wait for New Year's resolutions 2015 or something! - but Trader Joe's makes a really good dough for only 99 cents a bag. They sell regular crust, herbed or whole wheat. (We usually get the whole wheat, but it's admittedly a bit more sticky than the regular).
The entire pizza gets a layer of tomato sauce (I use jar pasta sauce, not "pizza sauce" from the can, ick) and we switch up what kind of sauce now and then. We also use fresh basil from B's basil plants when there's enough to pick. My half of the pizza is usually goat cheese and sun-dried tomatoes, while B's side is traditional mozzarella and pepperoni.
Since I make pizza so often (about once a week?), I'm looking to branch out in 2010 with our toppings choices. About a month or so ago, I had half an onion left over from something else, so I decided to caramelize it and added it, along with some yellow peppers, to the pizza. It was delicious. I've tried broccoli and yellow squash as toppings in the past too, but they've come out slightly burnt and not the best. B doesn't like mushrooms, so that's out, and I'm really not a fan of olives. So with that in mind, what other toppings and combos are out there? I'm thinking BBQ chicken might be the next one to try...mmm...but I know there are a ton of other topping options that we may be missing out on.
So? Any great ideas from you all? Do you have any favorite pizza toppings? Do you love pizza as much as we do, or are we just TBM obsessed? (TBM = tomato, basil, mozzarella.) Any great ideas we have to try? Please share!
I just downloaded this new screen-saver (why not switch things up a bit for the New Year, right?) and I'm eagerly awaiting the minute I stop typing and this bad boy comes up on screen.
It was totally free from 9031.com and I love the clean look of it, plus it's utilitarian - clock at a glance! Thanks to Swiss Miss for the heads up on this cool screen-saver.
Hahahahaha. This is not one of my New Year's resolutions, but only because I was already so clearly not in the leggings-as-pants category. They would look like sausage casings on my legs! Funny, nonetheless.
Kate* has a bunch of other cute and funny illustrations on her Flickr page, plus a book on the way of her Daily Consumptions.
Do you have any fashion resolutions for 2010? I didn't make any sartorial goals, but I should definitely focus on only buying items that I need, love or fit perfectly (or that I'll actually get tailored). Guess that means bye bye to my secret Forever21 addiction. Shoot, did I just blog that out loud?
That's definitely something I can stand to work on.
So, I know I said it before, but I'm really excited for this new year. Maybe it was because 2009 was so craptastic, but I feel like 2010 will (hopefully) be a considerably better year. Are you looking forward to this January and the year beyond? We're already starting to book up - with my mom's birthday, my birthday (Feb. 16th, in case you were wondering...mark your calendars now!), and various parties and celebrations - so I'm hoping that bodes fun times and good things.
Also, the Polar Bear Plunge is coming up on January 30th. It'll be here faster than we realize. Anyone up for it this year? I'll be posting more on it later, but please join us if you want to dip in the icy cold Chesapeake Bay for charity (and fun too, I swear!).
More posts to come later today and throughout the week. See you back here soon?
Posts
