four eyes

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm a total dork... like get-nervous-around-people-and-rather-stay-at-home dork. Anyone who's been to my house on a Saturday morning also knows I desperately need new glasses - they are cracked, scraped, nosepiece-less and just plain old.

Anyway, my point is I've been longing for some total dork glasses and I think I'm going to get some. AND rock them with awesome lipstick.

Some inspiration....

[snackgirl]

[via bliss]

Another reason I need glasses: I was sewing the other weekend and the needle got caught and broke in half... it flew at me and barely missed my eye. Scary. I have yet to replace the needle and I'm a little nervous to sew without glasses on!

Speaking of glasses, have you seen this site? It's a great place to score cheap glasses. My brother in law has purchased a pair from them and the quality is actually not too bad!

$19 (and that includes the lenses).

Computer Geek Chic

I can honestly say I used the three day weekend to be LAZY!! M & I did pretty much nothing all weekend, and my laptop was attached to me at the hip and I was a busy little B working on side projects.

One cool thing I did do this weekend was buy 3D Interior Design software... it was a good investment for my new "chasing the dream" ventures. Check out some room samples found via the software company's website:









The software is a little tricky to use (especially since it's only for PC and I'm a Mac girl), but I've been practicing and it's really fun! I plan on using it for local interior design clients but I thought it'd also be a great way to virtually see an idea board come to life.

I'm also working on getting a website up for my new venture.. things are moving along beautifully and life is good!!

(Sorry for the crappy posts lately, once I get my projects up and running there will be a lot of great content - hopefully haha)

happy memorial day!

Wishing everyone a wonderful memorial day weekend! I'm dreaming of mornings at the beach in a Marilyn Monroe type suit.

home sweet home

I stumbled upon probably the best decor inspiration blog I've ever seen: Home Sweet Home. It's updated literally all day long with the most beautiful interiors. Here are some of my favorites I've found via the site....

active

Ever since seeing this commercial, I've wanted to get wii active - and last night we went to Target and got it! Turns out we got it the first day it was released although that in itself was unintentional.

It is AWESOME. [no I'm not pulling a jon & kate + 8; they aren't paying me to say that]

We played around with it last night and had such a great time (and worked up a sweat). There is a 30-day challenge within the game which the husband and I are going to participate in.

I just had to share - it's a less expensive alternative to the wii fit. (Only $59 vs. $89). I often get so bored while exercising, and this seems to be a great alternative!

San Jacinto Mountain

I uploaded some pictures of the beautiful San Jacinto mountain in Palm Springs on Flickr - it was so amazing.

Feel free to check them out!

[this one cracks me up, the husband caught me off guard. I love my vintage purse!]

great birthday!!

Popping in during my little stay-at-home vacation with my parents to share a few pictures from my birthday. I had such a great day! I treated myself to a new MacBook for my 25th, and I'm blogging on it right now!!


I loved my birthday dress!






We had such a good dinner


Great company!

I couldn't ask for a better 25th!

putting myself out there

Have you ever had a dream? I have one... and I decided, at 25, to go for it. Maybe I'll fail, maybe I'll succeed but I'll never know if I don't try!

Sooo.... one little reason why I took some pictures of our spaces yesterday is because I've decided to put myself out there.

I did some research and luckily CA isn't one of those evil ASID states (read more about it here) and I can legally decorate for others without passing their exam. So I thought - why not just get my stuff together and put myself out there?

I've talked to some talented, inspiring women who have done the same thing: Jenny @ Little Green Notebook, Lauren @ Pure Home Style, Camila @ High-Heeled Foot in the Door. They've guided me and given me advice and I decided to take the plunge.

I'm definitely not quitting my day job.... I'm just concentrating right now on putting together a website, taking a certification class and getting myself out there!

So here is my request:

Are there any of you in the Orange County/Los Angeles area that would be interested in my introductory interior design services? I'm looking to build a portfolio and am willing to work for very little compensation to do this.

I'm confident I can do this, I'm just looking for people out there who are confident in me, too!

our spaces

I took advantage of some great afternoon light and took some pictures of some of our spaces.

I realized lately that I don't share as much of the "work" I do in our home as I should. One of my goals is to start sharing more details... starting now!






My art wall in the upstairs landing. The dancer is a painting that was done by my great grandmother - I've admired it ever since I was a little girl and my parents gave it to me on my wedding day. I cherish it so! The red vase painting was done by my grandmother. I like to paint as well, and I hope to do it regularly someday to pass on the family "tradition".


Last week I got on a decorating kick and changed up the entire guest room. It used to look like this. Remember the prints? I decided I want to make it more "hotel like" and simplified the room. I re-did the room on a $0 budget; re-using things I already had laying around.

Mom and Dad - it's all ready for you!!!

edit: court commented and asked "I LOVE your bedside table in your guest bedroom!!! I have been looking for something similar that has clean lines but looks a little antique-like (has some character). Where did you get it?!"

The bedside table is actually a........ file cabinet! I found it at Target a while back on clearance. I took the file cabinet hook things out of it and now use it for a nightstand. It's made out of wood and leather and I love the masculine feel it gives.

side note: Some of you have written comments asking me about my camera. It's not actually my camera. My mother-in-law has generously let me borrow it for... well to be honest it's been over a year. She's so generous and kind :) I hope to get my own someday so I can give her her camera back! It's a Pentax istD L Digital SLR.

another fashion gal

I'm not quite sure how I found this gal (I think wardrobe remix on flickr??) but I just adore her style.

Once I found her I wrote her and said "I think you live in my town!! Those hills behind you look exactly like the ones that are behind our house". Turns out, she lives directly on the other side of the hill in a different town and county.

I regress.. since it seems my readers like fashion inspiration as much as I do, I thought I'd share these images with you. Not only does she always look put together, but her clothing is very thrifty, which is my favorite kind of inspiration. Here are some of my favorites from her...





I love her dogs!! I'm a sucker for spaniels.







Check her out here and here!

future studio

As I've gotten older I've learned to explore my creativity. I've developed more and more hobbies: graphic design, home decorating (idea boards), my Etsy store/antiquing and now sewing. With all these hobbies comes stuff. Our home office is currently overflowing with boxes and Etsy items right now.. they need a home!

Because of this, I've been thinking a lot about my dream (yet inexpensive) studio aka spare bedroom.



All white walls and one blue-black wall which will house an Ikea Expedit bookcase. A round white Ikea table in the center with two white bamboo chairs (not pictured). A natural rug underneath the table and chairs. Pink ticking drapes and an Etsy print from seller 'theloveshop'.

A little bit modern, a little bit preppy, a little bit natural and a little bit girly - so me!

recent favorites & white

I've noticed that recently my favorite spaces have had white walls... here are a couple I'm loving right now:

[via tyh]

I'm always on the look out for unconventional uses for "formal living rooms". Since my husband and I rarely entertain (we're introverts), a formal living room is not conducive to us. This room, however, would be used a lot - that chaise is just begging for a good book!

[country living]

Another recent favorite - that painting is perfection, and white walls, again....

built by me

See this pretty top on Miss Darling Dexter?

built by wendy pattern 3964

I bought the pattern and fabric for it this past Saturday... Mom, would you like to help me sew this weekend?

I'll post my end results, no matter how terrible they are ;)

update: I've had a few inquiries ask about the skirt I'm making. I've completed all the steps Jessica has posted and I'm waiting for the last bit of steps to be posted to complete the skirt!

I'm pro-love

Getting on my soapbox....

Being a Californian, this issue is very close to home. Currently the divorce rate in America is 50%! Yet anti-gay marriage activists want to "save the sanctity of marriage"?! What sanctity is there left if every other man + woman marriage ends in divorce? If that's not bad enough, they are forcing loving, happy couples into divorce against their own free will and are taring families apart.

Off my soapbox.

"Fidelity": Don't Divorce... from Courage Campaign on Vimeo.

Please help protect love and commitment by going here.

thrift success!

Just Tuesday I posted about how I was in a fashion rut. Well today work surprised us with a half day so I headed over to Buffalo Exchange to hopefully find some stuff. Boy did I ever!



I tried to go outside of my comfort zone and focus on skirts and bright colors. For summer outfits, my goal is to pair a bright piece with the neutrals I currently have in my closet. Another goal is to bring out my femininity and start wearing more skirts/dresses and less jeans.... and lipstick!

Hopefully my thrifty threads pics will be back up and running soon :)

Charcoal Gray Couch

I saw this image today on Layers of Meaning...



Can I just share with you that I'm obsessed with charcoal gray velvet couches? I've never really seen one used in a space before so of course I was giddy when I saw the one above.

I've been eying this one from Z Gallerie for at least a year or so...



It will be ours someday! I've heard rumblings about Z Gallerie closing down due to bankruptcy and although it's tragic I'd love to get this couch on discount. Does anyone have any news about this?

And just for fun, I'll share my future living room furniture plan with you...



[Those curtains in there are actually drop clothes via The Lettered Cottage. If you haven't seen them yet, please stop by her blog and check it out - it's genius]

tonight was summer weather...

and we had a great walk with Charlotte :)

I also just stumbled upon this beautiful photo..

{via this is glamorous}

And it's just so perfect!

Idea Board: Basement

Katie wrote to me with an idea board request; in her family's Canadian home, they have a large dual-room basement. One room is the TV room and the other room is the playroom. It's a bit hard to imagine, so I thought I'd share the pictures..





She asked me for help with two spaces - one for the children and one for the adults; yet still uniform, bright, and contemporary. Her budget is small, so most of the furniture is from Ikea (which is also located in Canada).

And here is the result!



You can see the adult room details are at the top of the board and the kid's room details are below.

Details:

- The paint is a green-white. I love white paints that have certain colored undertones, like this one. It's called "Tint of Mint" by Benjamin Moore.

- The grown up room consists of a sleek sofa, chair and TV console table. Two modern mirrors will hang on the wall behind the chair (where the loveseat is right now) and a row of shelves will compliment the TV wall. A rounded black leather ottoman will sit in the middle.

- The kids room will be all about storage!! A large storage center with white boxes will hold all the kid's toys. Rolling laundry baskets will also be a good use of toy storage and can roll into the TV room (I have to give mad credit to Little Green Notebook for this one - it was completely her idea and I LOVE it!!!). A white table and chairs will sit atop a bright green outdoor rug in the middle of the room. And my favorite part - a chalkboard wall!

Sources:

console table: Pottery Barn
sofa: The Brick
chair: Ikea
mirrors: Ikea
ottoman: Overstock.com
shelving: Ikea
kid table & chairs: Ikea
storage unit: Ikea
storage boxes: Ikea
rolling laundry basket: eBay
rug: Dash & Albert
poster: MadeByGirl
curtains: West Elm
roller shade: Ikea

Thanks Seleta!!

I love it!!

Fashion Inspiration: A bit creepy?

Ugh! I've been in such a clothing RUT lately. Fall and "Winter" (I use the term loosely because I live in So Cal) are so much easier for me... I just layer my favorite things and voila- outfits.

Now that it's getting warmer, I struggle with my closet every morning. I've temporarily disowned my thrifty threads because there is nothing inspiring about what I have been wearing lately.

SO. I don't turn to fashion mags when I am in a rut, I turn to Jessica at What I Wore - I've praised her before but what can I say - this gal has talent. So I've collage-d some of my favorite things from her to help inspire me.... hopefully she isn't creeped out.



I am going to head to the thrift store during my lunch... luckily I have some extra cash on me. I'm going to search for:

- basic black full skirt
- chiffon, lace, eyelet, silk vintage tops
- colorful knee-length dresses (because my legs are NOT as great as hers)
- vintage golf shorts

Things I need to buy new:
- very sheer black pantyhose (because I cannot pull of fishnets!)
- cognac platforms (I STILL am wanting these!)
- jeans that fit me (yay for losing weight... boo to all my ill fitting jeans)

As always, thanks for the inspiration, Jessica! You are my virtual fashion mag.

New Etsy Stuff

I listed some new Etsy items today... here's the preview:

LOVE.

This bathroom is such perfection - the white walls, those tiles, the light light gray beadboard, trim and ceiling. And that tub - I will have one someday.



I've filed this one away for the future.

channeling my inner teen spirit

You must must hear this amazingly talented young woman:



I found her via Taking The Stage on MTV (embarrassing?). I also love that she sort of looks like Kristen Stewart aka Bella. Geez, how old am I?!