Wednesday, November 30, 2011

I Am Stuck On Band-Aid Brand

because band-aid stuck on me!

A little off topic from my usual home decor inspired posts...


Cynthia Rowley collaborated with Band-Aid on designer bandages.
Sequins, lace, chains, and run way models.
Getting scraped up never looked so good.

They run a mere $5 buckaroos.
Unfortunately it appears that they are currently sold out.
Keep your eyes peeled for a box.


*photos courtesy of band-aid

Sunday, November 27, 2011

The Kitchen: A Gathering Place

Still recovering from Thanksgiving?
We are!
 In order for us to celebrate with all of our family,
Rob and I tend to experience Thanksgiving groundhog day style.
The pants are definitely feeling snug.

We have a few sneak peeks of the Christmas tree.


Rob and I put the tree up on Thanksgiving.  Tisk tisk, I know.
But I can't begin to tell you how special it was.
It was our alone time before jumping in the car and heading off
to our families homes.

We would love to have a holiday at the cottage.
Could we?  Well sure.
I'm a perfectionist though.
Rob would pull out the dishes and prepare a feast in a heartbeat.
I, on the other hand, want the house to look it's finest.
I want the heart of the home, the kitchen, to sing to my guests.
Ridiculous, I know.

Not long ago, I blogged about some of the things we'd
 like to eventually add/replace to the kitchen.
Add quartzite or marble counter tops.
Replace the back splash with something simple and classic.
Install a yummy farmhouse sink.
Change out the hardware to something a little more "us."

Since that post, nothing substantial has taken place.
There is always something that preoccupies our time and funds.
Ah hem...the refrigerator, which I may add, is making me lose my mind.
Counter depth free standing refrigerators are small.  Seriously, small.
And after paying a carpenter to fix the cabinetry and an electrician
to run a new outlet and water line...is it worth it?
Looney woman, I'm telling you.
Behold the beast himself.
He's definitely showing his age.
This is our first priority at the moment.
Counter tops next.

Here are a few more shots of our kitchen that
I've so creatively kept off the blog.
I spy a hole in the kitchen island.
We purchased a new gas cook top when we moved into the cottage.
Nothing fit the original cook top size.  
I'm developing a twitch.  Patience, right?
I spy flower tiles scattered amongst our back splash.
Country, maybe.  But not the look we're going for.

If you look above our island, we have two recessed lights.
We would eventually like to convert those to pendant lights.
Lighting is equivalent to jewelry, in my eyes.
Of course, I'm not on a diamond budget.  But I'm finding myself
drooling over styles that are sky high.

I'm loving these country industrial pendants.

Yoke pedants are shown here in a bronze finish.  Truly stunning.
Did you see that hood? Oh my...

The sloane pendants are over the top.
Erica Powell does no wrong in my book.


This sloane single pendant in burnished brass from circa lighting
would be my first choice.
$525....stopped me in my tracks.
If anyone knows of a similar light at a more reasonable price,
 please let me know.

We'd like to install the wall mounted apron sink that we found a few months back.


Because of the low window sill above our sink, we may experience some problems.
If it could work out, I'd like to remove the doors below the sink and add a
beautiful linen skirt, just as the fabulous Joan from for the love of a house did.

Another woman that can do no wrong when it comes to design.

Here is a lousy crooked photo of our current hardware.
I haven't been able to find the hardware I was so desperately on the hunt for,
but I did stumble upon a few that meet our criteria.

Or we've considered sticking with a polished nickel look.
The popular gilmore pull from Restoration Hardware is sure to please.

The kitchen appears to be the favorite room for me.
It's also proven to be the most expensive room.
Figures.

We're going to continue saving our pennies so that we
can invite our family and friends over for an upcoming holiday.
I hope that we can begin to show you some progress in the near future.

*photos courtesy of visual comfort blog, chicago's kitchen lab, urban grace interiors, circa lighting, for the love of a house blog, van dykes restorers, van dkyes restorers

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Counting Our Blessings...

As the Thanksgiving holiday approaches,
 my husband and I can't begin to count the many things that we're
thankful
for today.

safe travels to you and your family...


fill your tummies with all things warm and scrumptious...


and party on!


happy thanksgiving to all my friends out there!

*photos courtesy of mango-watermelon-love (1,2,3); bergdorf goodman

Sunday, November 20, 2011

This and That...

It's 5 o'clock but feels more like 10 P.M.
The sky turns dark so quickly now since the time change took place.
It's always difficult for me to adjust.

So, how the heck are ya?
Turkey week!  I can't wait!
Plus, my work week is short.
As much as I love my job, we all need a little R&R, right?

This weekend, the dude and I did the usual. 
We picked up a few things.  This and that...
With Christmas around the corner, the majority of our shopping
was for festive decorations.

 Nothing puts me in the holiday spirit more then decorated store fronts.


I go absolutely bonkers over fat legs like these.
We didn't take this guy home, but we sure wanted to!

We did manage to find something at this quaint little shop
that we took home with us.


This magnifying glass would look great in a bathroom or placed on a dresser!

We also picked up a few ornaments and some ribbon for the tree.
Feathery goodness!


I go crazy for ornaments.
It seems that each year ornaments continue to get better!
Or maybe I'm making excuses to buy a few more!

We found this birch ribbon that we can't wait hang on the tree.
It's something I haven't seen before.

We plan to put up the tree sometime this week!
Does anyone follow the after Thanksgiving "rule"?
I like the idea of truly enjoying Thanksgiving before jumping to the next holiday.
I do find it tough to not get a jump start though.
We'll see how long I can wait.

Refrigerator shopping hasn't been fun.
As I said in my previous post, built in refrigerators cost a pretty penny.
I was roaming the web and happened upon this picture.
Since we already have a built-in refrigerator, we'll have to make some changes
with the cabinetry if we decide to purchase a free standing fridge.
I'm kinda digging the idea of leaving some space above the refrigerator to display
cake dishes among other things.
What do you think?
Built-in vs. free standing that appears built-in?

I hope you have a short work week, too!
Or at least turkey day to share and enjoy with those you love the most!
*source unknown




Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Sweet Dreams: Master Bedroom Inspiration

I haven't laid a finger on our master bedroom
or any of the other bedrooms for that matter.
It's truly become a place to crash after a long day.
 Since the bedrooms are all on the second floor and are generally not seen
by our guests, I haven't felt the pressure.

Going to bed and waking up in a beautiful atmosphere is important though.
Curling up in fine linens and reading a good book is pure heaven.
Since we have been focusing on our first floor, some of my ideas are purely in the
 "dream stage."
Here are some of my master must have's.

I love the non-matchy-ness of this room. 
While the lamps are identical to one another, the bed side tables and the
wall art are uniquely different. 
I'm in love with the idea of using the nesting tables as a night stand and using both framed art and an oval mirror to decorate the empty space above the dressers.
And that bed...speechless!

Using a dresser as a nightstand is an unexpected touch.  I dig it!
I'd love to wake up with that furry rug under my feet.

Coat racks do not belong solely in entry ways.
I'm obsessed with the idea of using one as a purse hanger.

A cozy upholstered love seat is perfect for the foot of the bed.
It's ideal to cuddle up on before catching your z's!

Again, the same table lights with different side tables.
The mixture of textures and materials is lovely here.
Oh dear, there's that bed again.

I'll be spending the next hour or so searching the web for refrigerator's.
The warranty company is offering to give us chunk of change.
(nice but not nice enough)
Can you believe built-in units start at 6 grand?
That's coldTotally not cool.
Wish I had an oasis to search the web in.
I guess the couch will have to do!

sweet dreams, bloggers!
*photos courtesy of veranda, seredipity; life itself, mango watermelon, unknown, because it's awesome 






Sunday, November 13, 2011

Weekend Wonderland

We've officially had our first snow fall.
While all of the snow has melted since then, I'm beginning to
feel the gusty wind that we Midwestern states become so accustomed to.
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas in the world of retail, too!
Not to mention that every other commercial is reminding me that
we need to begin our holiday shopping soon

In keeping with our weekend routine, Rob and I hit up a few antique shops!
This one store in particular is always fun to explore.
Architectual salvage galore!
And a very knowledgeable staff.
Even they were stumped on the kitchen hardware I posted about yesterday.



We strolled around town.

Rocking my Missoni for Target ballet flats.


We then took a drive over to Arhuas Furniture.
 As much as I love their stuff, I can't always get myself past the $ tag.
This pillow was a must though...and I must say the quality is great.

If we get tired of the deer...
...we can just flip it over!


While we were perusing around Arhuas,
we got inspired by these tiny trees made from paper.
We did our best to recreate the trees from memory.
They are probably a bit different, but that makes them even
more special to us.

Here's what you'll need.
A shish kabob stick will work perfectly!
We had terra cotta plant pots lying around the cottage,
so we were ready to go!


Rob's hand not mine...Just saying!

Stack paper of diffenent lenghts and widths and have fun.
You'll eventually end up with this.
Minus the star, of course!



This little project put us in the holiday spirit.
Is Monday rolling around already?
I'm going to take off and enjoy the rest of my Sunday with
the man who keeps me smiling and deals with all of my shenanigans.