bookcase of the day

oh sweet glorious 69 degrees

it's unseasonably cool today and tomorrow in north carolina. it's spectacular. i have the windows wide open. rowdy has a beggin strip. the tree man is coming to finally get the tree out of the backyard today. life is going ok.

i have an 11 year high school reunion this weekend. i'm wearing white jeans. when people ask what i do, i'm going to say I BLOG, and you?

i just finished reading outlander last night. do you know about this series? a friend recommended it as the 'twilight for grown women', so i said yes please and eagerly dug in. about 100 pages in, I asked erin WHERE ARE THE VAMPIRES? and she said there aren't any?

huh? what there is is time travel, a perfect love story and LOTS of HOT and HEAVY action involving hardness under kilts. need i say more?

spotted

on the sidewalk.

man with stroller. i inspect.

inside = two bunnies. out for a walk.


on a bed of clover

with an icepack underneath because it was hot yesterday.
the black one, pegasus, likes to ride on his sister, thumper, as evidenced in the photo.

around the hiz

no, not kidding. i did. again. now featuring white and red and silver.


highlights: books from the flea market in detroit.


and guess what ANON, i might not ever read them - they are PURELY decorative.
sike. i'll read them. only so i can wear my head lamp and fluster brian meares at night.

evildoer.

we have one at the beach, one at the crib. both = suck

not an evildoer.

vacuum balls! are delightful! really!

how you know you're doing something right

new growth
(sounds like a twilight title)


one of those drawers i just cleaned out. everything we need to get to quickly in case of an emergency. aviators. sparklers. baseball. drumsticks. vacuum balls

how tonight is shaping up. yeahhah brit! get you some!

bookcase of the day

pulled it out of the inspiration binder and scanned it in myself - it's that good.

me talking about things

at la dolce vita and honey living

and if you want to be my friend on facebook, friend up. because top secret important stuff is in the works and surely you'll want to know about that.

eff

man, i've had one of those days.


i was painting this morning, being ohsocareful, and just when i'm cleaning up - DUMP - the tray of BLACK OIL PAINT all over my feet. in between every toe.

this never happens to my mom. i swear she could paint in a pageant gown and never get a drop on it. i just look at it and it's under my fingernails already.

so i've taken my anger out on errant belongings in our house by manically purging for the last two hours. you know the feeling, that pissed off WHY DO WE HAVE ALL THIS CRAP mood where you're yanking open every drawer, tearing through all the closets, making pile after pile of stuff to take to goodwill. yes kristin, goodwill. my DUMPSTER just didn't get here in time. but i did steal some food from a starving african child and push a shopping cart at an old lady to rectify lack of dumpster.
i kid, i kid.

but for realz kristin, i didn't renew my real simple subscription, even in a time when i'll read ANYTHING just to get some eye candy. it was doing next to nothing for me.

clearly i need to go get rid of more stuff. i'm still feeling punchy.

how to

one: ignore the mess. i gave up earlier today.

two: here's how to make a big ass desk for cheap

i went to lowes and bought two pieces of stain ready pine. one is 2' by 6' and the other is 2' by 4'. i sanded them b/c brian made me, but you don't have to unless your husband is a carpenter nazi.

i stained them with one small can of walnut stain and put two coats of polyeurothane over that.

then i used small metal plate bracers (which look like a small sheet of metal pegboard) and screws to join the two pieces together to make the L-shape

=big ass desk

you'll just need two, or three if you go with an L, pieces of the same height to sit the desk top on.

if you build it, prowler will sit on it and about it.

review

if we've learned anything from designstar, it's that WALL MURALS ARE NEVER OK.

mostly never. this one, however, makes me happy.

a good use of time

creating picassos of brian and me with mr. picassohead program.

here's a fun tip

sign your car registration card.

or get a ticket for $146.

learned that one the hard way yesterday.

designstar

oh sweet jesus, she took the words right out of my mouth. including all of the f ones.

see jenny's take on sunday's designstar here

smell ya later pier 1

if the rumors are true, and pier 1 is in fact dunzo, i need to go stock up on my trusty patchouli scent.

i'm not a hippie, and i don't pour patchouli oil on the dog or anything (ahem, betsy), but i do love a good patchouli candle.
pier one's reed diffusers, the room spray and the candles - all in patchouli = all my faves.

especially in the basement of dreams and guacamole which has become my office and conveniently the location of the third catbox of doom. good smells are MUCH needed down here.

consider

this light is extra not ordinary.


stools from overstock


jenna picked it, i concur.


a smart option for rowdy's fall look

bookcase of the day

i love it when good looking bookcases just show up in my inbox.

jennifer sent over her newly organized by color bookcase - soooo many books, it makes me seriously consider some consolidation.

window pane photographs

what a clever idea.

i'm embarking on my own interpretation of it.

off to kinkos.

you like? it's good, no?

i've been the tiniest bit delinquent adding new items to the furbish store, but alas, i'm on it.

today this lovely gray and yellow dhurrie went up.

slumming it

interesting article in the NYT times today about the decorating industry.

great to see that everyone is finally recognizing there's a sizable niche for budget friendly decorating services.

sunny bedroom

i went on a mad search this week for aqua bordered shams for a client, like so:

finally found them in two restoration hardwares across the mason dixon line.

so here's what you'll care about - fabulous standard shams, white italian cotton, $19.99 each. (not much online, but they are in stores)

they're lovely with the yellow dwell bedding aren't they?

bookcase of the day

not a great picture, but a great floorplan

from AT house tour

denim is the new...?

often i'll look to outfits for decorating inspiration.

yesterday i was blanking out, so i looked down to see what i was wearing. loud patterned kimono, ripped up jeans, crocodile sandals with a touch of gold on the buckle.

so hmm, i think... this could be a room. but what's the denim - where's it go?

looking at it less literally, what are the jeans of your room? the tried and true piece you can pair with anything. play up, or dress down - your go to for any occasion or look. your basic starter...

denim window panels? er, no.

what's your perfect jeans item in a room?

and FYI, these are fabulous and i want them. want want want.

zeeee

i found 7 yards of blue zebra fabric just like this in the remnants section at joann's.

this is definitely an idea for it...

math

trailer trash

my friend betsy has a shasta camper that is surely destined to look just like this one when she's...finished.

the convinient size would allow for me to travel with a wardrobe of modern gypsy pieces, like so:

kate's doing a very fun series of posts highlighting blogger's wish lists for back to school.

for more info on my picks, click over to domestikated life

more spotting of the general sort at homegoods

i went searching for a white coverlet, and although i struck out with that, i did spot these great finds

i swear, i'll never buy expensive lamps again. both of the top two, less than $40 each.
and they had these huge Moroccan style lanterns - see the red thom flicia style one? it was 3 feet tall!
gorgeous geode bookends - picture doesn't do it justice
and that industrial looking cabinet- $249
a pair of those silver task lamps - they were BIG! - for $30 each
and again, pictures aren't really selling it, but white and red faux croc trays were good looking and the leather trunks were cheesy at all, but actually rather genuine looking.

bookcase of the day

when papering the backs of your bookcases goes right.

from country living.

guess who?

it's my mom's bathroom.

can't you tell by the general caging of animals?

oh, you don't remember? well there's a penguin, some errant giraffes, and other encapsulated creatures i've yet to capture

spotted! with a side of delightful

check out the fabulous desk makover from the matters of style girls. and spot my potential curtain ikat fabric. my kitchen is red and light blue. serendipity!

showcasing

if i was so inclined, i'd buy this ikea coffee table in a hot second, and decorate under the glass with photos and other fun delights.

oh symmetry

you make my brain happy.