Giveaway Tomorrow! »

I have been a little distracted over the weekend from recent happenings at my 9-to-5 job, so no life-altering Monday posts. HOWEVER - tomorrow I’ve got a GIVEAWAY for you, sponsored by delight.com. Pop over to their website to get a heads up on what they’ve got and get ready for fun little giveaway tomorrow!

Pattern Tips from Stacy and Clinton »

As I was trying to break in the couch by going out of my way to watch a little TV {wink}, I caught an episode of ‘What Not To Wear’ on TLC. I know my mom loves watching that show, and if I indulged myself a little more to watch TV more often, I probably would too. They have really great style tips that I think are worth knowing. On one of last week’s episodes, Stacy and Clinton gave pattern advice to their ’student’. I thought it was very appropriate to how we decorate our homes. Here are their 3 rules of thumb:

• Neutrals are black, tan, gray, navy and green and can be combined together in any shade.
• Neutrals can be mixed with any color or pattern.
• Other colors and patterns can be mixed together if the same colors are present within the color palette.

This is a really good way to measure the colors and patterns in your home. Don’t get hung up on mixing blues and blacks or reds and pinks, etc… there are much fewer rules to decorating than you think. I myself am breaking a few of these rules in my home, but that’s just how I like my home to look. So, a la Stacy and Clinton, if you are going to do pattern in your home - the patterns can be different if they contain similar colors. They’re right! See if it applies in your decorating…

Unique Photo Frames »

I saw this post from Design Sponge about Photojojo’s glass jar frames. I thought this was such a fun idea to make your photos more interesting. You can see the tutorial at Photojojo.com.

Facebook’s “25 Things” »

Whether it’s appropriate or not, here’s my ‘25 things’ as posted on Facebook. This way you little more about me, and when you comment, I learn a little more about you! Don’t forget to ‘friend me’ on Facebook - and Rosie - THIS GOES FOR YOU TOO!

1. I raced everyone in my grade (even raced the yard duties and custodians) to win the title of “Fastest Girl in Fourth Grade”.

2. I dated a guy with O.C.D. and it drove me crazy. We were late to everything because he had to comb his eyebrows and iron his jeans before we left.

3. I must always have chapstick on my lips. I reapply hourly.

4. I used to think that ‘workaholics’ were ridiculous. Who would EVER want to inflict more work on themselves than was necessary. This week I realized I DO.

5. If the bed is against the wall, I will not sleep on that side because of the spiders.

6. When I’m mad, I cry - and I hate it.

7. I am terrified of being lazy. For this reason I cannot enjoy: sleeping in, watching TV, taking naps, or relaxing.

8. I am the youngest of seven children. My brother is 17 years older than me.

9. I was voted ‘Most Likely to be President’ in 8th grade.

10. I met my husband at 18 and I got married at 19. I’m convinced my co-workers thought I was pregnant and was getting married to cover it up. Just happens that I found him early, and getting married was the best decision I’ve ever made. We have so much fun together.

11. I think it’s unfortunate that people think they need to get married or have kids to be happy.

12. When we were younger, I would do my sister Paige’s Art homework, and she would do my Math homework.

13. I think a true friend is someone I can eat a Starburst with: you eat all the reds and pinks, I eat all the oranges and yellows.

14. Going to a GREAT movie for the first time is my favorite thing to do - however you don’t know you’ve done it until it’s over.

15. I’m terrified of airplanes.

16. I’m the Yahtzee QUEEN.

17. I’m turning into my mother… good thing is my mother is hip, understanding, relaxed, and ready to party.

18. I miss going dancing.

19. I wish I were better at cooking, and I wish I liked running.

20. I wish I owned a letterpress.

21. Married for nearly 6 years, and I have NEVER flatulated in front of my husband.

22. I want to eat cookies everyday. Sometimes I do.

23. When I was born, my parents were expecting the boy they thought they were having. I went home in a baseball onesy, and my name was going to be Ryan.

24. I go in phases, red hair, brown hair, tongue ring, short hair, blonde hair… I get bored easily.

25. I’ve owned three homes by 24. Oh, the lessons you learn in real estate.

The New Couch »

My friends are probably beyond tired of hearing of my couch escapades. If you remember, I had already gotten a new couch just a few months ago. As it turns out, that couch was as hard as a rock. I never sat down and watched TV and we never had people over because it just wasn’t comfortable. I even started developing some upper-back pain because of the angle of the cushions. So - big fat lesson learned, and a renewed appreciation for craigslist: we sold the couch for just $200 less than we paid for it and moved onward and upward.

Now, I’m not as big of a furniture snob as you may think I am. I do however cringe when I hear these words: “sectional” and “rounded arms”. A sectional always sounded like one big mammoth piece of furniture, and I’ve already had two couches with rounded arms, so I wanted something new. Because the shape of our living room is so narrow, there isn’t enough room for a couch and a loveseat, and our best option is a sectional. Turns out, sectionals aren’t as ‘not cute’ as I thought, but 90% of them had rounded arms and I just couldn’t do it.

After sitting on probably 50 different couches, we made our decision and I must say, I’m quite happy. The couch was firm at first, but after jumping on the cushions {yes, one cushion at a time, my husband and I jumped on the cushions while we watched a golf tournament}, they loostened up quite niceley.

{sigh}… so glad that stress is over and my living room looks better than ever, with BEAUCOUP seating for friends. May I present, Macy’s “Bradley” sofa:

Now, if I could just figure out what to do to make my boring little contemporary kitchen look a little bit less generic!

Ikea Expedit Shelf »

In search of another opportunity to showcase a little personality in our dining area, I turned to the Expedit shelf from Ikea. What I love about this shelf more than anything, is that it is so versatile. It can house books, movies, clothing, computer accessories, crafts, and so many other things in a very orderly fashion. I also love that when turned different directions, it can act as a room divider or faux wall. So it’s safe to say, if we move or change things around, there will always be a home for this shelf.

So this is what my expedit shelf looks like now, although I’m certain things will move on a daily basis. I have a tendency to keep noodling with nick nacks.

Some of the things shown:

Branch pitcher {jayson home and garden}

Faux wood alarm clock {eq3}

Mercury glass votives {pier 1}

Some Recent Little Additons… »

Just some fun little things that have helped my little pad feel a little homier. These are the highlights:

New Dwell for Target pillows - a gift from my sister {target}

A wooden chest to house my husband’s book collection {ross}

New Dwell for Target pillow - a gift from my sister {target}

A new arrangement on the walls - a canvas I had painted years ago, my framed Love Print, and a cute little Target picture frame that’s waiting for the right picture.

“Not an Option” Print »

New Print in the Shop Now!

This print was requested by my high school friend, Lydia. She was in need of a motivating poster that said ‘Not an Option.’ Here is what Lydia said:

When I was in school and I had a hard time getting up early or doing my
home work, periodically I would write on my hand or wrist “not an option“. That would remind me throughout the day that going to school or doing my homework is not optional. I have
to do it. For some reason in my brain certain things are optional and
other things aren’t. I spend a lot of time convincing myself to make
important things set in stone. Not optional.

The Design

Lydia is a very inspired person. She loves photography and composition. I knew that the poster could have a deeper meaning for her. I took Van Gogh’s Iris painting:

Took it into Photoshop and used the Mosaic Filter to pull out the colors of the painting:

Then used the eyedropper tool to pull out some greens. When I think of Lydia, I think of green - because she has great crazy red hair, beautiful freckles, and she looks really great in green. Here is the finished print:

Perhaps this print could motivate you? I’ll be posting these in my shop this week.

Ahh… The Weekend »

After having Monday off for President’s Day, I’ve had an intense and quick 4-day work week. Boy, I could get used to that!

Here is what’s on the docket for the weekend, along with posts to come:
1. Spend the West Elm gift card that has been burning a hole in my pocket for weeks {post to come}
2. Updates and hopefully completion of two websites: a great female dentist in Pleasanton, and a private elementary school in San Francisco. These have been fun projects, and I’m excited for the completion. {post to come}
3. A trip to Ikea - hoping to get a white shelf to add some height and personality to the living room {post to come}
4. Selling our 4-month-old couch in preparation for the new couch {long story, and post to come}

Have a great weekend! I’m having a fun time getting to know my readers, and have made some new fun friends who also have great blogs to read. I’ll be sure to share more next week!

Could I Design Fabric? »

I know, I do too much already, but can’t I design my own fabric too? I always love to find new fabric designers, and sometimes wish I could make my own. I took an hour at the computer today to see what I could come up with… Do you think I have what it takes?