Mixology Love!

The week before last I went to a event hosted by Lisa Sherry Interieurs (my all time FAVORITE local designer). Things got pretty busy with Thanksgiving and I wasn't able to post about it until just now. But let me tell you how INSPIRING it was.

Mixology is a storefront for Lisa Sherry Interieurs. I did not know it existed, but it's a hidden gem in Charlotte that you must visit. Normally, it's only open by appointment but during the holidays they will be opening on Thursdays and Fridays (email for exact hours).

I'll let the pictures speak for themselves (taken from here and here)...











Here we are, the three amigos!


The best part of the evening was when I learned I won the giveaway, a great modern candelabra!! Thank you Lisa Sherry!!


Is that place amazing or what? Amanda and I were like giddy little school girls, taking in all the inspiration and saying "this is EXACTLY the vibe we want our booth to have!!" Slowly but surely...

I'm Back!

I didn't intend to take a little vacation from work and blogging, but the full house and the holiday (and the booth!) kept me busy. I'm sorry for the absence!

Now that Thanksgiving has past, it's officially "The Holidays". I set up our Christmas tree a couple days ago. I originally wanted to get a real Christmas tree, but we went out to look at them and I couldn't justify the extra cost when we had a tree up in our attic. Someday I'll get a real Christmas tree, but this year the fake will do. I have a booth to fund, after all ;)

I wish I were one of those people who had a super fancy tree, but ours is your generic variety. Here it is:



I hung only red and pink baubles on the tree, mainly because that's what we had ;) But I like the monochromatic look during the day.



Along with the baubles, I put our meaningful ornaments on our tree. I have ornaments from when I was a baby all the way up to recent years. My grandmother always gave us kids an ornament each year, and I continued the tradition when Matt and I started dating. I these special memories are what makes our Christmas tree.

Here are a couple..

1985 - I was one year old.

1990 - I was six, and I L-O-V-E-D that dress. I remember crying and crying because I didn't want to take it off to take a bath.

I could go on and on about the special ornaments, but I won't bore you :)

The only other decorating I've done so far is our entry table.



The wreath was given to us by my grandmother this year. It's from William Sonoma and is made out of bay leaves.. it slowly dies and then you can use the bay leaves in your cooking!



The feather trees I got through the shop I work at. See the little red tray? That's a sneak peak at one of the items in the December giveaway!!

And that's my Christmas decorating thus far.. maybe I'll add some more soon!

What kept me the busiest during the Thanksgiving break was getting items ready for the booth. We've made some changes (and improvements). Here is what it looks like now:







It's definitely a work in progress but so far has been so fun. I've mastered the art of an invisible zipper and have been sewing pillows like crazy. We eventually want that entire shelf FULL of awesome pillows. If you are in Charlotte, be sure to stop by!

I'm So Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!! I'm sorry for no post yesterday.. I was busy making a pie (with caramel from scratch). All. Day. Long. I hope it's good! :)

There is so much to be thankful for. Wonderful family, great new friends, a supporting and loving husband. Health and happiness. But today I have something especially exciting to share with you, which I am very thankful for...
I'm opening a booth!

I am soo excited. This is something I've always wanted to do and in a matter of weeks, it happened! It was the perfect circumstances that came together.. like it was meant to be. I'm running the booth along with Amanda, a fast friend and a talented designer. The booth will be called FOUND.

The booth is located in a brand new interior design "studio" called Slate Interiors. It just opened on Monday and is (in my opinion) one of the best places in Charlotte. Check out the blog here.



We are in amazing company, with some of the best designers in Charlotte. Here are some pictures of booths at SLATE:







Our booth is a major work in progress.. I probably shouldn't share these pictures but I promise, once we are done it will be GREAT!

(there will be hardware on the dresser)

(don't worry the IKEA table is not for sale.. just for display)

We have a lot of work to do, but I am so excited for all the possibilities! Please stop by if you are in Charlotte.

And have a great Thanksgiving everyone!

Our Thanksgiving Table

As I've mentioned before on the blog, we are hosting Thanksgiving this year and I am so excited! I've been finding little things here and there all month for our table.

You'll probably note the table and chairs are different. Our friends next door are moving across country and they graciously gave us this table and the chairs. The other table was too small for the space, and I have yet to get the gold-legged chairs reupholstered. So we'll be using these for now :)



I started out with the pine cone salad plates, which I found on Etsy. I especially love the delicate gold needles on them. I looked at all sort of decorative plates but I purchased these because they were simple and they could work for Christmas, too. Around the same time, I also purchased the turned wood candlesticks.



Next I found the amber votive holders from Pier One. They were on sale and I love the detail on the glass. These with the gold plates set the color palette.

The water glasses I got from a thrift store in California. They are from the 70's (I think) and are a smokey brown color .



I also had the glass bottles on hand. They are from IKEA and I will use them to hold water on Thanksgiving. The small gold swirl plate is from Home Goods. I purchased two of them for butter (scooped with a melon ball scooper day of).



I always love how Eddie Ross has salt and pepper containers.. I got mine on Etsy (love Etsy!). The pine cone candlesticks I found just yesterday at a small vintage shop.. I love how they mimic the pine cones on the plates (a small detail only I will notice probably).



The copper buckets I picked up at Home Goods for $3 each and the flowers I got at Walmart for $5 a bundle. This table was very budget friendly! As I mentioned before, I got the gold batik tablecloth at Home Goods, and the burlap I had on hand.



And that's my first Thanksgiving table! Now we just need to get cooking :)

Guest Room Dresser - The After

I decided to paint the dresser all white and add some gold hardware.





Nothing too fancy.. except when I put the drawers back in, I realized I didn't paint under the curved dresser white. It was a happy mistake, because I really like that little peek of natural wood!



I really like how it turned out!

I finally painted to room, also. The paint color is "Vintage Linen" by BEHR. The hardware is the Ephram collection from Restoration Hardware.

A "Before" & Some Art

I have just a "before" for you this morning... and it's borrowed from Design*Sponge. But when I saw this dresser on Design*Sponge a while back I was surprised - I had that EXACT same dresser sitting in my garage!



Why don't I have the after for you? Well... my in-laws are staying in our guest room which is where the dresser is right now ;) I could have been a prepared, good blogger and snapped a picture yesterday for today's post.. but I didn't. So I will be posting the "after" this afternoon!

In the mean time, I thought I'd show you a painting I just whipped up. I was inspired by this piece at Mrs. Howards:

[ Peter Dunham for Natural Curiosities ]

I took a piece of wrinkled paper used for packing and went to town. This is the result:



I'll be back later with the dresser after!

Next Week

As you know, next week is Thanksgiving.. but it's also going to be an exciting week here on the blog. Here are a couple things to look forward to...

- Guest Room Updates (I've been busy getting the guest room ready more presentable for the Holidays. My in-laws will be staying in it for Thanksgiving and my parents will be staying for Christmas. Even though many other rooms of our house aren't done, I hope their room can be a nice little retreat.)

- Thanksgiving table design! I'm excited for this one!

- A secret surprise that's in the works.. you'll have to wait for this one.

But for now, I'll share some boards I've done recently.







(note - These are all "finishing touches" boards and aren't complete re-designs that I offer here. I offer my help with finishing touches at my hourly rate.)


ps- I'm keeping the chair!! Thank you all for the love!

Overstock Stuff I Like

It's been a while since I've browsed Overstock. I like to get on often and just browse to see what new stuff they have - it's good for my e-decorating clients.

Here are some faves..

This rug is just so cool. It reminds me a little of West Elm. The price is amazing ($165 for a 5 x 7).




A nice, neutral faux bois rug:



I love the very sleek lines of this pendant, and the price is great (around 100 bucks).




This chandelier is beautiful! So perfect for a dining room.



Great little end table, only $100.


Another great table.. love the black bamboo. Elegant yet fun.





Nice looking chair, only $300!


You know how I love a contrasting piping!


This pillow is very similar to these throw pillows at Neimans:




Overstock does not compensate me in any way for plugging them. Although for as much as I do, they should! ;)

Fall Candles - My Picks!

I thought I'd share some of my favorite scents going on in my home right now. There is nothing like lighting a fall-smelling candle in the evening while you settle in to watch some TV.... especially if the fire is roaring and you have a snuggly black dog next to you :)

These scents are perfect for this time of year and would be great to light if you are having company OR great to bring as hostess gifts!

NEST - Moroccan Amber

This candle is very "spicy" but doesn't scream "HOLIDAY!" like most fall candles. And when asked about it, my husband said "it's okay", which means it's a winner in my book!

Bella for Target - Mulberry Clove

A great, inexpensive candle from Target.. a little sweeter than the other two featured. This one smells more like Christmas. I'm sorry, I couldn't find a link, but I got it at my local Target. Isn't the packaging awesome?

SKEEM - Amber Clove

I have this candle in my office... it smells so good. Very spicy (what can I say, I love spicy fall candles), but it's also feminine. I love the packaging - it's perfect for my pink office!

I'd love to find a good pumpkin candle, but I haven't found one I like yet.