Love this Chandelier

Today's Agenda:  Enjoying time with family...and trying to sneak in some email and blogging time...I've been working on some great interior and wedding design projects last week in NC and then was prepping for Thanksgiving.  I have lots of pictures and fun ideas to share!

I've just gone through all of my post-Thanksgiving sale emails and just left the ones I want to go back to.  Looks like Costco may have some good deals and Old Navy appears to be giving the store away.  Deleted most of the rest. 

But this caught my eye though and I had to share right away!  It would look great in a modern or a mor vintage dining room, children's room, fun sunroom, all white room, gray and white and yellow room.  So many places...and such a good price.

{Thank Yous}

Don't you love both sending and receiving a gracious thank you note in the mail?

Turns out, I may love making them even more.  My mother-in-law asked if I could make some thank you notes to give to her parents as a gift for their 60th wedding anniversary party we were all going to in Michigan.  Turn down a chance to get crafty?  Not me!

I took a look around at what I had and came up with this!

Remember how I had written about this line of stationery they have at Target and Office Depot?

Well, even better, I found this box of stationery at Marshalls...for...$7.99 for a box of 50 full size cards (usually $34.99 at Target -- still a great deal), response size cards and envelopes.  Let's just say it was a good day. 

So, I decided to use those for the thank you cards since the larger ones were the perfect size.  But they needed a little embellishment.

Add a cute little note a la Kate Spade.

Another color and a stamp.

And done!

I used these labels for the addressee labels and these for the return address -- both from Paper Source (aka "best labels ever"!)

And then the really fun part.  Yes, it is possible for this to get more fun.

The packaging. I found these stationery boxes at Paper Source for half off.  The stationery fit perfectly in them and made it so easy to travel with them by plane.

Added a grossgrain ribbon I picked up at Pottery Barn's after-Christmas sale last year.  And repeated the "Merci" theme from the thank you note.  With a little help from some gold embossing powder.  All on labels from Paper Source.

 

But this was even more fun -- to see grandma and grandpa having a great time at their party!  Aren't they cute??!

And this was just a few years back at our wedding -- I love these photos of them!

I hope we're still having just as much fun in 55 years! 

  {may.22.2004}

Friday's Organizing Item {and a Before and After!}

I have a secret.  My personal items (you know...em, undergarments) for much of the time we have been in our home have been stored in the drawers in the living room.  Don't ask. I just never found the right storage for them in our bedroom.  Until now!

Basically, I have had a mental block re dressers for years.  Either too big, too clunky, too chintzy.  But I finally came around and decided that I was okay with getting a dresser.  And I thought of it as a potential DIY project.  I had certain parameters for the dresser though -- no more than $200, smaller/antiquey, and a dark, gunmetal gray -- and if I didn't find one within those parameters it just wasn't meant to be.  I searched Craigslist for some used items.  Scoured local Homegoods for a good find.  And, then, just when I was close to giving up, I found the one at Ikea!  Met all criteria.

Here's the before and after part of the post:

Meet Edland, before. {I wasn't crazy about the drawer pulls...}

Now, meet Edland, after, dressed up a bit.

 

Thanks to knobs from Anthropologie!  I had bought about 10 of these the week before when I saw them on sale for $2.95 each instead of $12.00 each.  I knew I would be able to use them somewhere in the house or in a client's project.  I just loved them. And I love the dresser -- perfect amount of storage but still petite and doesn't overwhelm the space.  It can also be used just about anywhere else in the house -- a bathroom for towels, a dining room for linens or dishes, a hallway or spare bedroom.

And the little guys under the dresser are these, before.

And now these, after...

 

I just added some wrapping paper behind the clear opening and dressed them up a bit.  They also match the paper that I framed and hung over the bed (see photo below). 

Add jewelry to the top of the dresser, a couple lamps and some books and vases and I now have a dressing area I love! 

Here are some more details of what's above the dresser:

 

 

I also really like how the dresser, the drawer pulls and the paper in the storage boxes compliment the other patterns and textures in the room. 

Like the paper in a frame above the bed.  The pillows.  And the duvet cover.

The curtains.

The lampshade.

 

And my favorite chair, silk pillow and comfy blanket.

Now, the organizing part of this post:

So, now that I had a dresser I had to work on getting the contents of the drawers in the living room into the dresser in an organized fashion. 

I had these in the drawers in the living room:

And they worked really well.  But now I was going to try to get my tights/hosiery and belts all in one drawer.  Ambitious, I know.  And which required getting a couple more storage items that have 8 cute compartments.  {And throwing away a bunch of old, worn out tights -- why did I hang onto these?? Anyway...}

See?  Each pair of tights and each belt has a nice little nook.  Some of them fit a couple belts too, which is a little more realistic...

And, with the goal of creating marital bliss, I shared the dresser and husband now has a well-organized spot for his socks.

 

Bonus:  The tools we use downstairs now have a new organized home in the living room!

 

Loving this Table...Which Led Me to This Sample Sale...And Wallpaper...And Trashcans

This Afternoon's Agenda:  Looking forward to tomorrow -- husband has the day off for Veteran's Day + we are seeing Jersey Boys tomorrow night!  I can't wait. 

And am hoping tomorrow morning our dining table looks like this.

{courtesy of Houzz via Design Public for Dwell Studio}

{I then linked to Design Public's site...found their sample sale page...and, then, they had to go ahead and have a ton of Graham and Brown wallpaper for sale...I have to walk away from the computer.  Now.  Wallpaper I'm going to think about and whether or not I can work it into client projects while I work downstairs away from computer is below.  And, no, I don't understand why there are floating people in some of the pictures.}

 

 

 

 

{Ugh, now I just saw this. 

And after my professed love for aesthetically pleasing kitchen trash cans I'm completely hooked on this site.  Oh well.  Could be worse.}

Christmas Shopping??

Today's Agenda:  Getting through the mound of catalogs that came last week while we were away. So so many...

One option, yes, would be to just toss them.  Or keep a couple to flip through as I'm falling asleep each night.  But you never know what you may find in these catalogs!  And then I thought why don't I set a goal for going through these catalogs instead of mindless flipping of pages. 

So, I thought it is November.  Starbucks is playing holiday music.  Toys R Us is advertising Christmas toys on TV.  Why don't I mentally start thinking about Christmas gifts?  I know, it's not even Thanksgiving.  But while I'm looking through these might as well get something out of them!  And, then even more time to work on holiday cards {I love sending out holiday cards}, setting up the tree and even getting myself together to host a little holiday get together.  {And I won't have end of year legal work this year!  Sorry, I try to keep references to my old job out of this blog but it was just a fact that a lot of last minute end of year tax/ERISA items always popped up.  Not complaining about it at all -- sometimes it was really fun (it was, actually) -- but happy to have a year without it! And it may be the only year without it...who knows!  So I'm enjoying it.}

I'm trying to be super smart about Christmas gifts this year.  If I see free shipping I'm taking advantage of that or even those things you get from Banana Republic where you can fill out a survey and get a percentage off your next item...I'm actually doing that.  And, surprisingly it's not as annoying as I thought it would be!  I also don't want to have the mad rush at the end of the year where the risk of buying something just because you need a gift gets pretty high.

So, while I didn't see a ton of good gift ideas, I did find a few great ones.  And, this year, that's my Christmas shopping agenda.

{Note/Warning:  These are really for women, not men.  I realize this.  But that's what was in the catalogs that caught my eye!  And why I start thinking about this stuff now...I'm working on a Holiday Gift Guide too to come out right around Thanksgiving...}

Wildlife Tote 

{From L.L. Bean -- even they got on the trendy owl bandwagon!  And I think this is a timeless owl...and who doesn't love a good boatbag?? Plus get a $10 coupon for any $25 purchase.}


Korres Bath Gels and Body Butter

{From Sephora -- I'm not really a fan of bath gels and lotions as gifts (unless you know someone loves a certain brand) but these body butters are really fantastic.  Perfect size to to keep with you too when your hands start doing that awful cracking thing around mid-January.  Free shipping on orders over $50 + 3 free samples with every order.}

Stila Mini Lip Glaze Set

{From Sephora -- So glossy!  Snd such fun colors to try out and mix and match.  A little splurge that most people won't buy for everyday lipgloss. There is a 3-pack option too in great neutral colors that is a perfect stocking stuffer...}

Boheme Totes

 

{Paper Source -- Such a classic design.  And who doesn't need these nowadays?  Buy a few so they can look super chic when leaving Trader Joes.}

Leather Driving Gloves

{From Banana Republic.  These are some of the softest gloves I have ever felt.  Perfect gift.  I guarantee they will immediately slip them on and won't want to take them off.  And it seems like every other day there is a new 25% or 30% off coupon for BR and their sister stores.}



Glimmer Tights

{From J. Crew.  Who doesn't need new tights??  And such a pretty, soft grey.  I am obsessed with this gray color though...Marshalls and TJ Maxx should have a great stash of tights now too -- look for the Hue brand!}

More gift ideas to come with the next round of catalogs!

Friday's Organizing Item

Basically, anything at Muji will help you get organized. 

I mean it. 

I just visited the store in Soho a couple of weekends ago.  Talk about organizing heaven!  The store itself was so well-organized despite it being a really rainy Saturday (rain + NYC + weekend + Soho + shopping = complete disaster!).  Even more so than The Container Store since everything at Muji is this wonderful neutral color -- from clear plastic (technically, "translucent polypropylene material"!) to neutral papers in that lovely cardboard color to tan, black and white textiles.  You can really imagine using everything in the store.

{Note:  While Muji does have a US website/online store, the online selection is NOTHING as compared to what is available in the store.  MOMA actually has a better selection of Muji items on their website...}

Some of my favorite Muji organizing items...

Pokets - A4 size
{perfect to slip in tear pages from your favorite magazines and catalogs or to keep documents, emails, plane tickets and mail right at hand}

Business Card Case
{slim and trim -- perfect too for those extra savings cards and coupons}

Hanging File Box
{grab some chic white file folders and just add your papers!}

Business Card Book
{this is one of my all-time favorites -- I grab cards wherever I go -- restaurants, stores, bars -- and then just toss them in here.  so easy to go back and remember the name of that place you loved in the Village where you had that great bottle of wine...}

Bag Organizer

{perfect to slip into your Longchamp bag and hit the coffee shop for some work!}

Bathroom organizer
{for all those extra lipsticks and samples you don't use everyday but don't want to toss out}

Acrylic stacking case

{grab a few of these and fill them up with face creams, suntan lotion...you get the idea!}

Pump bottle
{they have lots of these bottles with various dispenser tops for whatever product you need -- shampoo, conditioner, hairspray, you name it}

Hanging Bath Pouch
{with the little Muji bottles and pots, this is really all you need to travel}

They have some cute, fun items too -- it's not all serious and organized.

NYC stamps

Cute templates

And, they are having a nice little promotion through this weekend. 

Go.  Get organized!  And have fun!