Just because I can't buy it...

...doesn't mean I can't share it!

I'm bringing to you some of my favorite little things on Etsy that I can't justify buying right now. But that's why blogs are great - you can in a teenie tiny little way make them yours by posting them for all to see.

Glass Number Coasters, $35 - Shop Believe Creations

I just love these glass coasters! And you'll never forget which glass was yours! If you can remember your number, that is :)

Catch All Tray, $18 - Shop Believe Creations

I'm not sure what I love about this catch all tray, but I adore it.

Spend Less Leather Billfold Wallet, $28 - Trees with Knees

I've noticed lately that I only use a couple cards from my wallet on a day to day basis, and I never carry cash/change. So this pocket fold would be perfect for me. And the daily reminder is so.... right on.

Perfect Self-Inking Stamp, $38 - lettergirl

This is a STAMP! Beautiful, yet casual. It would have been great to have while addressing our Christmas cards!

Cherry Red Snap Skirt, $25 - A Touch of Vintage

I'm loving this color of red lately.

Pretty Plaid Dress, $45 - A Touch Of Vintage

This dress is perfection!

In other news, I'm going to be MIA the rest of the week with work, so have a great weekend!

Staples

Charlotte gets her staples out on 2/2, and I wanted to document them and how she's been such a strong, brave girl during all this. I love her so much!

If you haven't heard Charlotte's story, click here and here.

It's all about you....

Isn't this gal's outfit super cute? I just love it. As you can see, it's not me. I found her on weardrobe.com. She has her own fashion site here.

So the reason I'm sharing, other than to share my new love for weardrobe, is because I have a question for my lovely readers: Would you like me to start blogging pictures of things I wear now and then?

I know I love seeing what other people wear. Yes, it's a tad trivial and shallow, but it actually serves a deeper purpose, too. It helps inspire me to think of the items I already own in new ways and make the most of my closet. Especially now when the word "layoffs" is slowly creeping inch by inch into my life.

The only problem is actually figuring out how/when to take the pictures. That may be the kicker.

But I posted a poll up on my sidebar - I'd love to get your input! Thanks :)

54

In the last couple days, I have saved 54 inspiration images into the House folder in my Photobucket. I'm saving up inspiration for the big house that the husband and I will fill full of blond, curly haired little children some day. Okay, back to reality.

The collections of photos I recently saved have come from a number of sources, but I have to say my favorites came from Howard House Interiors. If you remember, Kerry Howard was a contestant on Top Design on Bravo TV. I never really noted his designs as ones that I would lust over, but I think he was voted off much too early....

I regress. The point is, he's an amazing designer and I had to share these inspiration photos with you. My favorite part about his designs: they are simple. Everyone knows I'm a clutter-phobe.

So, I don't know if this kitchen is my favorite...

Or this kitchen. They are both amazing.

I never thought I would like dark kitchen cabinetry before finding these images. I'm sold.

Idea Board: Romantic Bedroom

I had so much fun doing this idea board. Casey, who emailed me for help, has a huge Master Bedroom in Texas. In fact, she has a wall so long that she had no idea what to do with it! She also told me she wanted a romantic bedroom, but something her husband would feel comfortable in, too. So here is what I came up with!



The Details:

- I set the mood with the wall color. It's part of Ralph Lauren's Whitewash collection; a group of whites that have lovely tones to all of them. The color is Storm Lightning.

- The extremely long wall in Casey's room allowed a corner to have a long chaise lounge. I found this amazing deal on Overstock.com. As you can see in the link, the chaise is a totally different color than in my idea board. This is because I suggested Casey take the chaise to a seamstress and have a custom slipcover made for her made up of cream fabric with a light green stripe of fabric down the middle.

- On the long wall with the chaise lounge against it, I would center two goldish silver toned full length mirrors with this Crate and Barrel console table between them. Full length mirrors can be found at Home Goods for amazing prices. Above the console table I'd place a collection of large black & white and sepia toned photography of romantic locations, arranged like in the board. (I love the cascading look of the photo arrangement).

- To create a romantic abiance, I'd fill the room with these cb2 candle sticks and this Wistera candle holder. I'd place these beautiful Target lamps on either side of the bed. Casey already has beautiful silk brown curtains, and I suggested she put light green curtains up with them from the same fabric used on the chaise slipcover.

- This inexpensive Ikea fabric bed is romantic yet casual. The bedding in the idea board is Casey's actual bedding, isn't it awesome? Under the bed I'd put a large natural brown rug from Target.

And that completes my romantic-enough-for-a-man master bedroom!

2 down, 0 to go

Okay so who knew today would be so productive in my art search? After purchasing the first print for the dining "room", I finally buckled down and purchased this print that I've been yearning over for a while:



I'm not sure how the frame will look horizontally, but heck, it was only $10 and if it doesn't work, I'll find another home for it.

Now for the reason I bought it (anything I put on a wall has to connect to me emotionally, even mirrors which reflect the people I love)..... our college campus had so many of these bright red telephone booths, and I just adored them. Whenever I see one now, I think of college and of course it brings back amazing memories, especially of the husband and I. Who knows how long they will stick around in this world of cell phones. This print pays homage to those telephone booths.



And while I'm strolling down memory lane, I miss snow.

edit - wow, I just realized the phone booth in the print and the phone booths at OU are exactly the same. Not only that, but the brick is very similar to the brick buildings at OU also. Crazy coincidence, considering this print is coming from England. I love the print even more now!

1 down, 1 to go.

There are a few things I know for sure:

1. I love my husband
2. I love my dog
3. I really enjoy lying on the beach with both my husband and my dog
4. I really like typography

So when I stumbled upon this print, I knew it was perfect for the dining room art that I've been searching for!



It's perfect for our Orange County home and I can't wait to put it up! One more print to find and I'll be set....

It's a Ghost! Sort of....

Overstock is at it again - have I mentioned how much I love Overstock.com? Yes, I think I have.

Well I stumbled upon something amazing today... a knock-off Ghost Chair. Yeah, so it's not the real thing, but since the ghost chair trend is sure to not last why not buy one for cheap, $159 to be exact?



Click here for the link - it's currently sold out, but Overstock.com has a service that emails you when it becomes available again. However, the same chair without the arms is still available.

Smitten

{photo: msnbc)

Dear Barack,

At first I can't say I liked you. What can I say, ever since I was able to vote I've voted Republican... it just kind was natural growing up in Texas. I didn't vote for you in this election. However, I was thisclose to voting for you and once you won, I was very happy. I won't always agree with your policies, but I'm officially smitten with you. You are an inspiring person and I'm excited to see what's to come. Today I am proud to be an American, and I can't wait to watch your Inauguration (which is being tivo'd at our house right now).

Cheers,
Bryn

March 8th

I'm so excited! Eddie Ross is coming to Los Angeles on March 8th for a Rose Bowl Flea Market shopping trip! And you know I was quick to sign up. I'm so excited, not only to meet Eddie but also to check out the Rose Bowl flea market. Since moving to Southern Cal, I've been meaning to go and now I have the best excuse.



I'm saving up my pennies so I can get some great stuff while I have the resource of Eddie on my side. I'm starting to make a list of things to search for, considering the flea market will be a little overwhelming!

Here's a start....

1.) Large vintage jars for succulent terrariums

{credit Design Sponge}

2.) A funky antique bowl to hold my wedding rings in at night

{credit Flickr}

3.) Small antique storage (maybe a side table?) for our dining "room"... a little beat up so I can paint it white; something simple and art deco. I am imagining something like Eddie found...


4.) A vintage chair I can easily recover myself for our office desk, like this chair from Eddie.


5.) Whiteware! I'm so glad for our wedding we registered for all white dinnerware... I'd love to add vintage whiteware to our collection. Someday I will host a huge Christmas at our home with both sides of the family present. Who has a better collection than Eddie? No one!



I'm sure I cannot afford everything I'm looking for, but I'm definitely going to try and find inexpensive items that need lots of DIY love.

Click here to see more information about shopping with Eddie!

Re-Org 2009 : Master Bath

Today I tackled the first big re-org project of my 2009 Resolution of completely re-organizing our home. After a grueling day of sorting, cleaning and tossing, I wonder why I haven't done this earlier! Seriously, like years ago.

Our master bath is one location that has been storing stuff that we've both accumulated since college, including tons of expired medicine. I knew going into this task that I'd be tossing 75% of what was under our kitchen sinks. Perhaps that's why I started with the master bath first, I knew it desperately needed to be done. And boy was I right!







I have no excused for this mess, I'm naturally a very messy person. The husband is a messy one too. This is why we must simplify our life to make organization easier.



This is my side. I have a lot of products that I need to use up; I'm using this as motivation to spend less at Target. I'll most likely still get rid of the stuff I don't use yet. Now that everything is easy to reach, it will be easier to assess what I don't use and what I do use. When I get rid of what I don't use, I'll buy a nice large square basket and put the products I do use in the basket.

In the bins.....
The large bin: All our medicinal items (pills, contact solution, contacts, etc)
Small bin #1: All the travel sized toiletries you'd ever need, all in one place for us to easily grab and pack for vacations.
Small bin #2: Beauty items I don't use everyday


This is the husband's side. (With some of my things as well... nope he doesn't curl his hair) What can I say, men require less "fuss" and he sweetly allows me to store things under his sink. He now has his favorite mouthwash easily assessable and his bars of soap neatly lined up.

In his bin: Hair clippers, electric razor



My favorite storage project of the day - my jewelry in a shadow box. I don't wear much jewelry on a day to day basis, so I love that I can display all my jewelry when I'm not wearing it.




Our drawers are so nice and simple now; just the essentials.


Everything I need on daily basis.


First middle drawer: my daily makeup and hair supplies.


Second middle drawer: makeup and nail polish storage closed.


Second middle drawer: makeup and nail polish storage opened.


Last middle drawer: I use my hairdryer everyday, so it's helpful to have it in a drawer all on it's own.


And the aftermath! It's good to get rid of so much.

Urban Life

When I think of Urban Outfitters, I think of a trendy teens to twenties clothing. I really like the store, but often many of their clothes are just too trendy for me. I'm a simple girl and I could never pull off most of their stuff....



However, have you checked out their 'apartment' stuff? It's so chic and doesn't screen TRENDY! Check out their items that I'm drooling over:

I would bring this sofa with me into my 30's


This headboard is so Charlotte from Sex And The City, I adore it.


When I grow up, I want this velvet ottoman in a walk in closet. I would sit on it every morning when I put on my shoes.


See the little tree motif on this chair? Pure love right there. I'd buy four of them and put them around a round white kitchen table.



I could go on and on... and the best part are the prices. They aren't too unreasonable. They don't have the "designer markup".

What do 300-Calorie Meals Really Look Like?

I just got a GREAT email from Sparkpeople.com. I decided to share it with you because in the email it asked me to "forward on to friends and family". What better way to share with my friends and family than to post it up in my blog?

So here it is.... this is a SHOCKING comparison of 300-Calorie meals!












For all you Resolution-er's out there, I hope this helps you when making good meal decisions.

And speaking of, I thought I'd take this opportunity to share with you my personal eating healthy experience. In August, I made a lifestyle change to start eating healthier. I made small changes that really counted - more fruits & veggies, less fast food, etc. Just simple changes. Then in Dec, as you know, I started excercising. Well I can proudly say I've lost 10 pounds since Aug! Yes, it's taken 6 months, but I'm pretty surprised how much weight I've actually lost considering I only made small, simple changes and skipped the whole dieting thing. I'm still planning on losing more, but I'm not going to beat myself up over it. If I can lose another 10 in the next 6 months, I'd be happy!