guest blogger: hannah maple of maple and shade

I'm a sucker for punchy throw pillows, and the power they have in transforming a neutral design scheme. I'm totally digging this neon geometric from UO! And I'm loving this luxe, velvet leopard.

I'm pretty much a shoe fanatic! I go for neutral basics (I wear a lot of black), but love to go bold with my footwear. These Zara pumps had me with the python...

Finials are such an easy, inexpensive way to spruce up table lamps. Go for the geodes! They're classic, yet completely unexpected. I'd pair this one with a crisp, black shade.

Nars bronzer and blush. They'll forever be a favorite (beauty) find. And I'm totally enamored with their chic packaging...

How simple yet stunning is this black and white dot print? It would look uber-chic as a wall statement, perhaps above a mushroom velvet sofa? I think yes!

Tortoise shell and black. And in a lamp. Perfection! I can't help but envision two of them flanking a creamy, tufted headboard.

This gold, bauble side stool via Baker is certainly a beauty...

I'm loving the simple, refined lines of this velvet, tufted bench. They're the perfect answer to extra seating! I'd love to see them paired beneath a modern parsons console.

This Moroccan-esque, burled-wood mirror from Cabana Home has me impatiently dreaming of demo-ing my bathroom. I'll take two, please. Flanked by chrome sconces. Perched above a marble vanity.

I've fallen hard for the soothing blues and grays in this classic fabric. It would be stunning on a simple bed as an extra-long bolster with thick, black welting.

And how about this dreamy ocean photo by Ruby Beets? I love that it shows a darker, more ominous version of the sea. I'd blow it up and mount it in a simple white frame!


THANK YOU SO MUCH, Hannah! Everyone check out her blog, Maple and Shade, here. It's one of my all-time favorites!

Happy Friday! Enjoy your weekend!

quote of the month: march

Today, I am rolling up my sleeves and guzzling coffee by the gallon to get things crossed off my to do list. I am so happy it is finally March! The start of each new month makes me feel like I have a blank slate and I just love it!

This month, I am going to feature some of my favorite blogs. Tomorrow, will be my first guest blogger of March, and I'm honored to have Hannah Maple of Maple and Shade, show us some of her favorite finds. I hope you will enjoy these blogs as much as I do!

Happy Friday Eve!

P.S. I also love changing out the background on my iPhone every month with a calendar by Ashley Brooke Designs! She comes out with a new uber cute design the first day of every month and they are FREE! Get it here.

the morning after {the academy awards}

Once all of The Oscars had been handed out, and the after parties began, my schedule began. I went to bed immediately after the show, so I could get at least a few hours of sleep. The phone rang at 1:15am for our wake up call. Whew. 

I am still recovering from my night of little {but what felt like no} sleep. It was an amazing once in a life time experience, I would not trade...even for more sleep. And for those of you who know me well, you know just how precious I think sleep is. 

2:30am Becky {who flew in to accompany me to see Live with Kelly after The Oscars} and I leave our Hollywood Hotel.

2:45am We arrive at the Hollywood Bowl to park. 

3:00am We check in and get our wristbands. 

3:10am We get in THIS line. Yep. There were definitely over 2,500 people in that line. The line we waited in for over TWO hours. Did I mention it was 38 degrease outside? 

5:30am We arrive by shuttle bus to the Kodak Theatre. Ahhh...the grand entrance, where not twelve hours before the stars walked the red carpet. We had goosebumps knowing how many amazing actors and actresses have walked these very same stairs. 

5:45am We find out way through the Theatre to our seats.

5:50am We enter. OH. MY. It is even more gorgeous in person than what you see here. WOW. 

6:00am Live with Kelly begins. {It airs live 9:00am Eastern, if you are wondering why the time difference.} Neil Patrick Harris {AKA formally Doogie Howser, MD and now star on How I Met Your Mother } is Kelly's co-host for the day. P.S. Check out the stage with all of the oscars still set up! 

7:25am We leave to go back to the shuttle, but get a bit star struck. Since Billy Crystal hosted The Academy Awards, I thought it only appropriate to stand on his star before heading back. 

treemendous: the fiddle leaf fig

domino

domino

style at home

house beautiful

 elle decor

vogue

The fiddle leaf fig tree is, in my book, one of the seven wonders of the world. Okay, okay, maybe that is a bit too much, but it is indeed a design phenomenon. Its gorgeous green color adds life and vibrance to any room. And its leaves are so mysterious. They are large in scale yet somehow seem to be light and airy. Often times a tree can be a bit obtrusive in a room, but not this fig.

I have had my eye one one ever since Domino Magazine's February issue, 2007. I just cannot wait to purchase one for our California home. In pretty much every room, I've seen a space to put one. No worries though, I will only get one. And I am saving my pennies for her, so it will be a little while. But oh man. I cannot wait. I plan on putting it into a gorgeous basket instead of a pot. There is just something about the earthiness of a woven basket at the bottom of a tree I love.

our life in photos: february

president's day with the hubby

hiking @ santa rosa plateau

date night + my research for work

new restaurant + old friends

inspiration + glimpse at our new curtains

{thank you, mama welch}

Some of you have been requesting I post a little more about our life in California...particularly you, grandaddy. This one's for you. {Wink!} Hope you enjoy. And have a fabulous weekend everyone! 

travel log: las vegas eye candy

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Next week, I will be accompanying my hubby to Vegas on a little work trip. I am so excited to explore the area, since I have never been there before. Everyone tells me I will just love indulging in all of the luxurious, over the top decor. As I was planning some things for us to do, I found these uber glamorous hotel rooms. I just love them. Can't you see yourself sitting on those couches with a martini in your hand?

Hope you enjoy the eye candy. Happy Friday Eve!

picture perfect: chalking it up to a good idea

Recently, I have been thoroughly enjoying Martha Stewart Living. Each issue has been filled with more great ideas than the last. I am not sure what is going on over at that magazine, but they need to keep it up! Because...it's a good thing! {I hope you caught the Marthaisim there.}

I am obsessed with this table setting, which can be found in the March issue. I mean, don't you just want to be invited to this party? I do! It is a beer tasting party and I am originally from Wisconsin, so maybe that is why I am so drawn to this.

When you think of a dinner party, you don't normally think of beer or chalk. But here the table is literally set for F-U-N! It reminded me that we get to set the tone for our guests. So for your next event, why not switch it up a bit?  Sit back with your guests, have some beer, and write on the table with chalk! 

trend alert: painted furniture

Happy Tuesday everyone! I hope you enjoyed your President's Day weekend! I know I did! It gave me some time to catch up on all of my emails and dig into some decorating projects that have been in need of attention. One of those projects is my in-law's house. 

They have a lot of wonderful heirloom pieces of furniture in their home that we do not want to get rid of, but we do need to freshen things up a bit. Most of the pieces are wooden and thus brown. To freshen up the room, I suggested painting some of the pieces. While I was researching, I found these wonderfully inspirational pictures of painted furniture from one of my all time favorite bloggers and decorators, Jenny Komenda of The Little Green Notebook.

I love the desk chair in robins egg blue in the photo above. If the chair was the same color wood as the campaign desk, then your eye would not be drawn to each piece individually. This way your eye looks at the flirty blue chair and then sees the gorgeous desk. 

This amazing deep blue on the bed makes me want to paint mine. And the light grey on the night-stands are heavenly. 

I have an obsession for paining things white. It just looks so clean and crisp. If I was left alone too long with a can of white paint, I'm afraid I would not be able to stop myself from painting everything in sight.

This room is a great example of how painted furniture can really lighten and brighten up a room.

Wonderful use of  bright and happy yellow here. PS don't you just want to curl up and read a book on that burgundy velvet sofa? 

Chartreuse buffet. Fabulous.

This white piano makes the room luxurious. It fits into the room perfectly and subtly, while still managing to make a statement. Love it.

I hope you've found as much inspiration as I did in these photos. And maybe even decided to paint a piece of your furniture. Have a great night! 

my new best friends: kelly + oscar

Last year while I was in New York, I attempted to see Live with Regis and Kelly. I am a HUGE fan of the show and Kelly Ripa. One of my besties and I woke up while it was still dark out, took the subway, walked seven blocks and waited in the stand by line for hours trying to get into the show. No luck. We missed our shot by five people! I've been trying to find a way to see the show ever since. 

I had pretty much given up on my shot at seeing the show or becoming best friends with Kelly and then last week my luck changed! I won tickets to Live with Kelly after the Ocscars!  This is not just any show either! It is going to be filmed from the infamous Kodak Theater in Hollywood!  I will have the privilege of seeing all of the  Academy Award winners on stage in front of me! OH. MY. GOODNESS. I cannot wait. Follow me on twitter for updates all week long! 

Happy Presidents Day! 

must stop shop: fishs eddy {nyc}

Each fall, I take a girls trip to NYC. One of my besties just happens to live there, so she plays tour guide  for the week. And by that, I do not mean going to Time Square or seeing the naked cowboy. Although that IS fun. We get the exclusive privilege of experiencing NYC's lesser known gems through the eyes of an actual New Yorker. 

On one of my previous trips we went to Fishs Eddy. Oh. Man. As you can see by the sign above, I have FINALLY found someone in this world who loves doing dishes! {Sigh} Okay, they do not actually wash your dishes, but if they did, I think they would make a killing! 

Fishs Eddy is an incredible resource for dishes, glassware, linens, and unique gifts you will not find anywhere else. The dishes you see above are vintage pieces from various hotels and restaurants around the city that have been retired. I mean, how amazing would be to tell your company you set the table with china that was once used at The Russian Tea room or The Ritz!

They also carry every day dishes in bright colors, classic neutrals and one of a kind patterns that will add just the right touch to any table. While I am a huge fan of white dishes for every day use, I also like to add great accent colors and patterns to mix and match when I need a little something special.

Next time you are in NYC, you MUST stop in! I promise you will not regret it. You can purchase items on their website, but it is just not the same. And don't forget to take a moment to stop on the sidewalk before you walk in, to view the gorgeous window displays. They are breathtaking.

a closer look: my california living room

Last week our living room was bare. Granted, we only moved in a little more than a month ago. But I could not take it anymore. Everything was white. White. White. White. I decided to rearrange our furniture and add a few items here and there to brighten things up a bit. 

You might remember these gorgeous apple green chairs the hubby's grandmother so generously gave me. You know, the ones with the reupholstering nightmare? Anyway, I could not love them more! They add so much color and life. Any time you can add furniture to your home that tells a story, by all means do it!

I've had my eye on a Chinese Garden Stool for quite some time now. This little beauty came from Pier One. She adds just the pop of red this room needed. I think just about every room can use a dash of red, kind of like wearing red lipstick. It makes a statement that everyone will notice. 

I am sure you have noticed by now, I have a long standing love affair with all things Kate Spade. I thought it would be fun to frame a spade in honor of my slight obsession. To make this piece of art, I spray painted an old print gold, then cut out a spade from card stock. Easy as that. Art should always be meaningful and if you can make it yourself there is no doubt it will be just that. 

Here are a few more pieces of art I made over the weekend. I really want our living room to be fun and not too stuffy or serious.  I decided to look for quotes from Kate Spade. This one seemed perfect. And there is one more dash of red to add to the room as well. 

These frames are old. I got them at Ikea years ago. They have had many lives. At one time they held vintage prints of flowers, but more recently one of them hung above my stove and acted as a cork board for recipes. You can still see the cork. 

To give them new life, I painted their lifeless cream frames to be a deep grey. Then I painted the cork white to create some contrast. The black lettering is once again from my scrapbook supplies. The "red" lettering I cut free hand from a file folder. Again, this project fit VERY nicely into my budget, with a grand total of $7 for spray paint. 

Domino has to be my favorite decor magazine of all time. Much to my dismay, they went out of business when the recession hit. I kept every single issue I ever bought. I keep them together by month on my bookshelf and page through them often for new ideas. This is one of my favorite covers. The good news is on April 17th, a new issue is coming out. I will be at the newsstand bright and early that day! Yippee!

diy: laundry room art

While the hubby was away for work, I did some work of my own {to the house}. I cleaned and organized closets, cupboards, and even the garage. Yes. I did. I am not as familiar with cleaning the garage as I am the rest of the house...so I may have vacuumed the garage... But that is another story for another time. 

Because we are on a budget in this household, I have become a bit more creative while making our new house a home. The wall art you see here was actually inspired by some late night tv watching. I saw a commercial, I think it was by Hallmark, go figure, that used this wonderful quote. It was so brilliant that I decided right then and there to find a way to put it on my walls. So, I did. 

I had thrown away this white Ikea frame earlier that day, since the glass had shattered and the paint was scratched. But after seeing the commercial, I made a b line for my dumpster and picked her right back out, knowing I could turn her into a treasure. {I cannot believe I just told you that I went dumpster diving in my own garage!}

First, I cut out the reddish orange lettering of "life" from a file folder I had laying around. Then I rummaged through my trusty old scrapbooking supplies and found that beautiful white lettering. And that was pretty much it. I just glued those letters down to the back of the frame and whala! FREE wall art! I'd say that fits pretty nicely in our budget! 

Please forgive me, but I had to include this photo because I am a first time owner of a washer and a dryer. Yep. I am officially a grown-up. We are saving up to get those amazing little pedestals to put them on. I cannot wait to have more storage! 

Once I began decorating and organizing the laundry room, I could not stop. I pulled out these storage bins from our office and placed them on the shelving unit above the dryer. They now neatly hold extra dust rags, light bulbs, extension cords, et. Did I mention, I love organizing? 

Here is a close-up shot of the tags I made to label each bin. Again, I used my scrapbooking paper and letter stickers. Then I hung them with some ribbon I had laying around the house.

Since the laundry room also functions as a utility room, I placed a pot of sharpies on the counter. After all, you never know when you are going to need a sharpie! A little tip when you are putting markers or  writing utensils of any kind into a container: fill the bottom with coffee beans to keep the markers standing up straight and bonus - your room will smell like a fresh cup of coffee.

The jar holding the chalk used to be a candle holder that no longer went with anything in the house. I found a can of gold spray paint in the garage and well there you go. I may have also spray painted a lot more items gold in the house after this little guy....whoops! I have chalk because right outside the door to the laundry room, there is a welcome home chalk board where I like to leave notes for the hubby.

And that completes your tour of the laundry room. Hope you enjoyed.