Mexican Textiles

I'm still crazy about these Mexican embroidered textiles and had another wave of the "I must have that" emotion washed over me when I saw this post from Design Mom.


I guess there is a newer company that sells these fabrics in some different shades than the ones I have seen before. Part of the fun of these textiles is the bright color. But I am head over heels for the grayand especially for the creamy white.

I love the headboard idea (in orangey-red above) but I think these more soothing colors would be perfect made into a special duvet cover.

CraigsList Photo Previewer

Thank goodness for computer nerds.

Some genius developed this tool for Firefox that automatically uploads thumbnail pictures of things for sale on CraigsList.
As if I don't already spend enough time on CraigsList...

Traditional with a Twist

I am really loving this dining room, decorated by Barrie Benson, a talented designer in the South, who was named one of the Domino 10.


I love that the room is traditional, yet completely unexpected. I can't get over the chairs and those mirrors are perfection.

Here is another room Barrie did. Love it. I'm really digging the whole love-seat-at-the-foot-of-the-bed thing. In a big enough room, I think it is a really sharp look and so functional. Honestly, who can strap on a pair of heels while sitting high up on a bed?

Dala Horse Collection

I mentioned before that my mother's family is Swedish. If I close my eyes, I can walk through my great grandma Johnson's home, room by room, piece by piece. I can especially remember the way it smelled. She was an incredible cook. Actually, she was an all around incredible woman.

I remember there being a few beautiful Dala horses in her home. Dala horses were created as toys for Swedish children hundreds of years ago, and now today are a well-known symbol of Sweden.

I decided a while ago that I would like to start a collection of antique dala horses. I like the idea of letting my children pick their favorite(s) to keep for their own homes when they're older. Here's my first acquisition.

Dala horses are traditionally painted a bright reddy-orange, but I really like this blue, too. Check here on eBay for Swedish sellers and you can occasionally find a great deal on a beautiful vintage piece. I wish this one wasn't priced so high already. I really love the white horses the best.

Oh Yeah!

So, yesterday was not all that great of a day for me.

Three things that are fixing it? The beautiful flowers my sweet husband brought me,

this
and this.
Just like my friend Anna said to me yesterday, there's nothing a little retail therapy can't fix. I totally and completely agree.

Sarah Richardson and Design Inc.

Back in the day (before I stopped watching HGTV), my favorite shows were Room Service and Design, Inc. Both featured the work of the incredibly talented design super-star, Sarah Richardson.

Sarah is famous for using horizontal stripes. I love the subtle blush and cream stripe in the inset of this great suite.

I wish they would show more pictures of this bathroom. I saw this episode and it was truly stunning. That is an antique sideboard they converted to a double sink (totally want to do that some day). The fixtures and finishes in this bathroom were to die for.

HGTV stopped airing both Room Service and Design, Inc. a while ago (however, they're still on HGTV Canada and Design Inc is starting to show on Fine Living, a channel I don't get). Regardless, I still find myself checking Sarah's website to see if her portfolio has been updated. And I'm usually not disappointed.

Sarah's own child's nursery. I love the pops of color and the unexpected furniture. Nothing kitsch or cutesy here - all chic.

I love this room. The mirror. The fireplace. The soft color palette. But I LOVE that ottoman.
Side story:
Last summer, when we lived in Washington D.C., I stopped by a Restoration Hardware outlet and saw a gorgeous, green, tufted ottoman very similar to the one in this picture. Price? Just $150 (for Restoration Hardware!!) I stepped out of the store for a minute to call Michael to convince him that we needed it and that there *would* be a way to make it fit in the car when we moved back to Boston. He finally succeeded to my persuasive powers (poor guy, the things he puts up with!), and I walked back into the store to buy that gorgeous ottoman. My heart sank when I saw an empty spot on the floor where it had been. Someone had purchased it in the 2.3 minutes it was out of my sight. The salesperson said it had only been on the floor for sale for about 5 minutes total. Lesson learned: Never (NEVER!) let a good deal out of your sights. I haven't stopped thinking about that ottoman. It was so beautiful.
Other side story:
Did you know that if there is a Restoration Hardware item or piece of furniture that you love, you can call your closest RH outlet and they will put you on a waiting list for your specified item? I read about it on this great blog. For example, if you love these dining chairs, dial up your outlet, tell them you want 6 or whatever, and they'll call you as soon as they come in.
Now back to Sarah Richardson. Sorry for the digression.

This is a great bathroom. And I think that is one of the William Sonoma Home chairs that I have been lusting over.

I can't even handle those drapes. GORGEOUS. And I love the soft colors of the furniture and pillows (which my kids would destroy in about 3 seconds flat).

For some serious eye candy, head over here and be sure to open the links for more pictures of the rooms. I love that they include the sources of all items used in each of the rooms. Not that I cold afford any of it...

Hope you enjoy her work as much as I do.

Co-Sleeper

Both Grace and Claire slept in our bed with us most nights for the first few months of their lives. It's a personal decision, but both Michael and I felt like it was safe to do this (and it made it possible for me to stay sane during the endless nights of feeding). For the record, both of my girls are incredibly easy to put to sleep in their own beds now. We're glad that those months of co-sleeping haven't created a situation where they need us to be with them as they fall asleep or during the night.

I still think though that for our next baby I'd like to get one of these great bed attachments, called a Culla Belly. Check it out. It's winning all sorts of awards.


Saw it here.

My Kind of Chalkboard

I am a design magazine junkie. I love pulling out my favorite articles and pictures, and then organizing and storing them in my design binders. Someday, I'll use them as a reference when we have our own house to decorate.

One of my favorites is really great article from O at Home that featured Kirsten Hollister's Minnesota home. She lived with her little family in Switzerland for a few years and collected antiques during her time in Europe. Her whole house is great (you can see it here). But my absolute favorite idea is this chalkboard.


She bought an antique mirror, broke out the glass and painted the backer board with chalkboard paint. LOVE it. Seriously, this picture has haunted me ever since I saw it first, flipping through magazines in the Home Depot checkout line. Each time I'm at an antique shop, flea market or thrift store, I'm secretly thinking of this chalkboard.

Secret Laundry

I think I really need this secret laundry room.

Scratch that. I just need a washer/dryer. I loathe the laundromat.

via

I love this dining room

Remember this dining room from the MS Living issue a while back on the many home uses of leather? The chair cushions here are made out of gorgeous mustard yellow leather.

I love it all. If we have a less formal breakfast area in our next house, I think a set up similar to this is definitely in order. Love the gray, yellow, aqua and black combo.

Dyson vs. Miele

vs. a Claire (the crawling human vacuum cleaner, and reason why I care about having clean floors).
We have wood floors and area rugs in our home. Sweeping is sort of annoying to me for some reason. It feels really inefficient. I want to be able to get my floors really clean in one activity.

We bought our Dyson two years ago and I have been happy with it. We purchased it at a Sharper Image store that was going out of business. We happened to stop in about an hour before they were closing their doors forever and they were basically giving everything away. I think we paid $120 for our $500 vacuum.
I like our Dyson. It cleans our rugs like it's nobody's business. The suction is truly incredible. I'm really happy (and a little grossed out) every time I empty the canister into the trash, knowing that all that dust and food crumbs won't be on my floors.

I have to say though, that the Dyson is not the very best on our wood floors. I feel like it doesn't pick up enough on the first pass. Sometimes I just give up and pull out the broom, which is a little frustrating.

The apartment we are staying in here in New York has a Miele (pronounced Mee-lah) canister vacuum. So, after a head to head comparison...
I am totally head over heels in love with the Miele. On area rugs? Works great. Probably just as good as the Dyson. On wood floors? Better than a broom. Even magically gets into nooks and crannies and right up against the wall WITHOUT changing the suction device!

Other amazing qualities? Quiet. Really. I vacuum during nap time. Also, it is so light weight and easy to carry or pull around. Plus, it has a retractable cord. I am endlessly winding with the Dyson. You'll also be happy to hear that the Miele is almost half the price of a Dyson.

My ultimate verdict is that if you have wall to wall carpeting, stick with Dyson, which feels like it is deep cleaning the carpet more. If you have mostly hard surface floors with a few rugs, the Miele is truly a dream.

Home Again, Home Again...

Phew. We made it back again to New York last night. We're all a little tired today, but I must say the trip back to Massachusetts for the Brimfield Antique Fair was definitely worth it.

Unfortunately my camera was giving me a funny error code yesterday at the flea market, so there are no pics of the actual event. I fixed my lens today though and here's what I scored:

(keeping in mind that I had to seriously restrain myself due to very little space in the car)

-A giant antique guilt mirror
with big, beautiful carved blossoms in the corners. Tag Price $100. Price paid: $50

- Pair of original 1950's French watercolors of the St. Louis and the Notre Dame. These need some cleaning, but I think they are absolutely beautiful.
Tag price $90. Price paid $40

-An adorable medium sized chandelier with metal flowers and leaves. Tag price: $110. Price paid: $40

-A cute little french blue milk glass vase/mini urn. I love turquoise. Tag price: $25. Price paid: $5

-Vintage sweater in Grace's perfect little size. It's hard to tell from this picture, but it's really cute. I love it. The vintage buttons are especially adorable.
Tag price $3. Price paid $1.50

I came so close to buying two antique Turkish rugs (well, I was deciding between two). The colors and patterns were so incredible. The seller was a nice enough guy, but he was really firm on the price because it was the first day of the fair. He said if I came back the last day and the rug I liked was still there, that he'd drop the price. These rugs were so beautiful that it would almost be worth the loooooong trip there again this weekend! Here's a rug from the web that is similar looking.All in all, a great trip. I can't wait for next year though, when Michael will have just graduated and we'll be moving somewhere for good. Any excuse for new (well, old, I guess) furniture...

Brimfield Flea Market

Even though we just drove to New York two days ago, I'm packing up the girls in the car tomorrow morning (you don't even want to know how early) and driving back to Massachusetts for the Brimfield Antique Fair and Flea Market. It's huge and it's supposed to be incredible.
I.
cant.
wait.
Stay tuned for pics.

Easy and Cute Doll Pattern

I'm sorry that posting has been so sparse lately. We are moving to New York City tomorrow, so things have been crazy with packing and cleaning. I promise to make up for it starting next week.

In the chaos of packing up this week, I managed to squeeze in a fun and easy sewing and craft project (you know, a little outlet from all the stress of moving).

I pumped out five of these sweet little dolls in just a few days worth of nap times. Really, they are super easy and make really fun gifts for the kiddos. I made one for my niece's 1st birthday (not shown), one for Grace, Claire and for our wonderful friends/best neighbors ever kid's, Noah (4), who loves the green Power Ranger (with his detachable velcro dagger) and Presley (2).They're not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but that's the fun of homemade, right?

Thanks to their wonderful and talented photographer mom, Terese, for doing a fun mini photo shoot of the dolls when I gave them to the kids today. Seriously, you should check out her incredible work here. She did our family pictures this year (and probably will continue to forever! She's great.).
I basically used the crafting blog Black Apple's pattern as shown on the Martha Stewart show and website, but changed up some of the look, inspired by the adorable dolls on the craft blog Wee Wonderfuls.

These are an easy and fun project if you have a sewing machine, a few scraps of mix-matched fabrics (really, just scraps) and an afternoon to spare. Guaranteed positive response from the little ones!

Rompin' Around NYC

Speaking of Grace, wouldn't she look so cute in this adorable little romper from Old Navy?

I swore to myself I would never dress my kids in rompers, but seriously. This is too cute.

Best Toy Ever

My daughter, Grace, turns 3 this summer. She is at the age where she is starting to get curious about the world around her. And now that the weather is warm, she is dying to play outside every waking moment.

I bought her a giant (and inexpensive!) magnifying glass off of eBay for her exploring adventures outside.
Let me tell you - it is the best toy I have EVER purchased. It keeps her (and me!) interested for hours on end! We look at plants, bugs, our hands and fingers. She even put it in our church activity bag on Sunday and it kept her (sort-of) distracted until it was time for her to go to nursery.

Best $5 ever spent.

'The Office' Xterra

"You meet a lot of ladies driving an Xterra because—you pull up to a stoplight and look over and there's an Xterra next to you, they're always driven by chicks. So there's your ice breaker."
-Andy Bernard


It's real. Bid now and you too can be picking up chicks in a little more than 3 days.