Inspire times two

Oh, J.Crew. Why are you so fabulous? I'll take one of each, please:

If only I had unlimited funds.

And Lindsey is leaning towards black, white, and aqua. So I threw together this inspiration board. You like?

Credit: Melissa Sweet bridesmaid dress, invite by Etsy seller decadentdesigns, earrings by Etsy seller kpglassjewlery1, ring on The Knot, ring bearer pillow by Etsy seller ericabstudios, shoe by J.Crew, hairstyle on The Knot photography by Kimberly Gray Photography, necklace by Etsy seller LaMona, flowers by The Knot photography by Laura Esmond, flowers on The Knot photography by Kris Rupp, flowers on The Knot photography by Jack Huynh/Orange Photography, invite from Ebay, bridal party on The Knot photography by Mary Claire Crow, invite by White Aisle, monogram on The Knot, necklace by White Aisle, shoes by J.Crew.

I love this stuff, can you tell?

Inspired

[taking a break from the incessant running posts, I'm sure you won't mind]

Sometimes I like to stare at drool-worthy interior design, even though I'm finished decorating our duplex----and we aren't moving again any time soon. It's just fun to look at beautiful homes and there's no better blog than Desire to Inspire for pretty design pictures. Let's take a look, shall we?

1. How about a crisp, bold bedroom?
[From Erinn Valencich at Omniarte]

2. This would be my dream kitchen. I would become a cook in an instant!

[from Buttrick Wong]

3. White-washed ceilings paired with hardwood floors always get me.
[from Julie at Remodelista]

4. Wouldn't you love to soak in this tub? Love the tile.
[from Jonathan Clark Architects]

5. Something about the cleanliness of stark white in this one appeals to me.
[by ZK]

6. If ever there were curtains with my name all over them, it would be these:
[from Elle Decor South Africa]

7. Here's an ultra contemporary white-on-white dining room that I adore:
[from Landstrom Arkitekter]

8. Oooooh, rustic rooms are the best:
[from S.Russell Groves]

9. This one is clean, contemporary but funky and I dig it.
[From Bolig]

10. I'm obsessed with this paint color combined with white.
[by Jim Bastardo]

11. Talk about some outdoor living spaces!
[random real estate pictures]

12. And who wouldn't want to shower here?

13. Love the eclectic style of these.
[by Fuse ID]

14. And we've always wanted to live in a loft like the one on the left. The right picture seems so homey and bright.
[by david baker + partners]

If you don't already read Desire to Inspire you should probably start. There's not much text to read so it's one of those blogs that you can mindlessly stare at for hours. Do you like to save inspirational pictures for your 'someday dream home,' too?

pretties

Sometimes I just like to look at pretty pictures, don't you? Let's do it, shall we?

Two pictures from Desire to Inspire, interior design by Mabley Handler:


There are a ton more pictures that I love from this blog but I don't have the energy to post and link them right now. But if you are in the mood for eye candy galore, check it out.

Keri sent me a link to a fabulous design company, after purchasing one of their cards. Seriously adorable website and super fun designs, too. Check them out here: Curly Girl Design

[very appropriate for those of us who move a lot, and feel a little out of place at times.]

[probably one of the cutest engagement cards ever. I kind of want to frame it for myself. Is that wrong?]

[So true.]

[awwww, so cute it makes me want to puke.]

[Love. It.]

[mmmmm, umbrellas in my drink....]

[I couldn't have imagined a more perfect thank you card.]

[How about both?]

So there you have it, some random eye candy to enjoy:)

On a lighter note...

My blog has been a bit heavy lately, no?

Let's take a break from the deep thoughts and look towards something much more trivial, superficial, and totally unnecessary: my birthday is around the corner. I'll be 27 on the 27th, which makes this my 'golden birthday.' Nate just informed me of this fact today. I had no idea it was so special!

So I figure I should dream big, right? I don't NEED anything at all. But of course, there are items that I wouldn't hate to have, either. I can't remember the last time I actually shopped online or browsed my favorite websites. And it was long overdue, my friends.

I now present to you my mega-ridiculous-birthday-wishlist. I don't expect you all to run out and buy all of these items but I won't stop you if you are bound and determined to drop some major dough. Mostly I like eye candy and these things are pretty:

If we had a second laptop we'd have a lot less stress in our lives. I know, it's an awful problem to have, but with one computer and two people, things don't always add up. Of course we'd get another Mac:


Now that I'm running again, I remember why I hate my gigantor Ipod--because it's so freaking big and has to clip onto my pants. I think one of the following would suit my training much more, don't you?



And then there are the clothes. Lots and lots of eye candy here, folks. The first tribute is to J.Crew---my love, my nemesis. Such mixed emotions when it comes to this store. Why do they have to have such gorgeous pieces with such hefty price tags? And why do they have to make these types of things JUST FOR ME?

And Anthropologie is my friend, too. So many fun dresses, tops, and accessories. Don't you think I'd look fab in these for our San Diego trip?
What? I never denied having expensive tastes. And I'd never actually BUY anything because of my inner-tight wad. But it's fun to look and drool.

On another note.....remember how one of my 2008 goals was to save 15-20K by the end of the year? It's only April and we are REALLY close to hitting our goal already! I don't know how this has happened so quickly. Maybe it has something to do with not paying rent, getting a nice tax refund, and Nate pulling in some paychecks. That could be it, I suppose. But I'm really proud of us because we've worked really hard at saving money. We even splurged a little on our wedding DVD and our vacation and we still managed to save this much.

I guess this means it's time to look at houses and consider another move.....NOT! There is no way I'd willingly move anytime soon. So for now my inner tight wad can gloat and relax a bit, and I can't call us 'poor' anymore [just to make Nate mad]. I'm sure I can find other ways to bug the boy:)

And finally, I updated my blog roll. It's getting out of control, I know. But I didn't realize how long it had been neglected. And I forgot how much I adore Google Reader.

Inspiration

From my Flickr Faves

I decided to sign up for Flickr and play around with some functions. I love when bloggers make a little mosaics like this and wanted to try for myself. We'll see if it works.

Right now pink flowers, pink chandeliers, and pink patterned fabric inspire me. Ah, and I found two pictures of St. Lucia to remind me of our fabulous honeymoon. I may be doing more inspiration boards if I figure this Flickr thing out:) Eye candy never hurts, right?

Okay back to the kitchen now...

update: Flickr is ridiculously addicting. Now I have three whole pages of favorites. Take a peek if you dare. Just add it onto my obsession list.

Wall decor

Since I'm in the mood to decorate our place [but instead, I'm forced to slave away polyurethaning the kitchen all weekend], I thought I'd post about johnmurphy photographs.

I found this post on Desire to Inspire [one of my favorite blogs]. I am obsessed with these photos and even more with the frames!!

All of these are $150 but the last blue framed art is a whopping $600!! For a lowly newlywed like myself that is a bit steep, but it gave me a good idea: what if you found some of these awesome vintage frames in their original state [probably a gold or wood] and tried to paint one for yourself? Does anybody frequent garage sales? Cause I bet you could find some of these beauties and dress them up yourself. I personally think a wedding photo would look perfect in this type of frame because it'd feel very old and classic. And I usually like clean and modern, so who knows why I love these so much---it must be the bright colors:)

Then there is the "I'm a blogger" statement piece from Etsy seller sfgirlbybay:
I call it the blogger piece because a lot of people have blogged about it, and apparently anyone who owns this piece is a secret blog reader of some sort. This beauty is only $25 and much more my typical style: clean, PINK, and uplifting. It does not come with a frame so wouldn't it be perfect in a hand painted vintage frame? And I'd never get away with the pink so my second pick would be this spring green [gee, pink and green? you don't say.]. It'd go nicely with our new Olivine wall color, no?
And while I'm on the subject of framed art, Etsy seller Alicia Bock is the bomb. I know I already posted some of my favorites before but I love her photographs. And they are reasonably priced at $35 [frames not included]. Check out my new faves:
Sigh.

I already have an arsenal of framed art just waiting to be displayed on our walls, but we have so much to do before the "decorating" stage. So until then I can just dream of owning new and exciting decor SOMEDAY.

And now I'm off to apply 600 coats of polyurethane, and prime, paint, sand, wipe, and generally despise our kitchen cabinets. I won't even start on the walls or flooring because it's not even on our radar yet. Lots of work, you guys. And we're trying to finish this beast by the time my Mom comes in two weeks [for our own sake, Mom, not because you are a kitchen snob and demand a working kitchen]:)

Pictures to follow if I still have active brain cells...

Becoming Martha

So have I mentioned how lucky I am to have such fabulous in-laws? Let me just reiterate: they are the bomb. My mother-in-law, Lois, and I hung out today. I've always been close with her because she doesn't have a daughter and my Mom lives so far away from me now--we need some "girlie" time together every now and then!

Nothing is 100% yet, but tomorrow we will find out if our apartment is officially rented. If so, we are going to have two weeks to move and it's slightly overwhelming for everyone involved. So today I packed up my SUV and started taking boxes over and then Lois and I went shopping. No, not fun clothes shopping or anything....just to Home Depot, to pick out paint colors [which competes with clothes shopping in my book.]

Paint cans have been purchased, decisions have been made. And it's so freaking exciting I can barely stand it. Want to see my final decisions? We went with Behr paints and there they are:

1. Olivine: This will be in the family room, with our stone couches, chocolate curtains, and striped pillows. Although I loved the sandy brown color I showed the other day, I was just worried it'd blend too much with the couch. Plus, I caved and chose a brown for the living room, as you'll soon see:


2. Chai Spice: the color for the kitchen. Lois actually picked this one out otherwise I'd be nervous it was too bright. It will go wonderfully with the brown wood, brown speckled counter tops, and neutral flooring:

2. Stone Fence: my version of the "steely blue" for our bedroom. This swatch looks very blue but it's actually more of a gray in real life. I am in LOVE with this color right now:

4. Toffee Crunch: for the dining room, which is what we have in our bedroom right now. On my drive over to their house today I started to panic about my red/yellow choice for the dining room. I envisioned Lois cutting me out of the will or banishing me to the basement for such a bold, bright color. I realized we have a full gallon of the toffee in our basement and I really love it. So I caved and went for neutral. Now everyone is happy:
So now what? Besides packing our entire life into cardboard boxes, making numerous trips in the bitterly cold weather, and physically hauling our stuff to it's new location? Well, painting of course. And then I started dreaming of new curtains! I'd need some small ones for the kitchen [remember, chai spice and browns] and also the dining room [toffee crunch and cream].

I stumbled upon a fantastic fabric website tonight and nearly ruined my computer by drooling onto the keyboard. It's called J.Caroline Creative and I'm officially obsessed. Everyone knows about my love affair with all things paper, especially printed papers and fun stationary [swoon!] Well, I've decided that fabrics, especially printed fabrics, are the second cousin to printed paper. And now I'm imagining myself becoming a world-class seamstress....whipping up curtains and pillows, and adorable little aprons for myself to be a domestic goddess. I get a little carried away sometimes, I know. Considering that I don't know how to sew a button.

I digress.....J.Caroline has an amazing assortment of fabrics. And they aren't too terribly expensive because I wouldn't need that much for a few panels of fabric. Wanna see my choices?

1. For the kitchen:

a. Kind of 70s vintage but I love it.

b. Doesn't really go with the orange but it's fab

c. Again, more vintage than my usual but it'd look great in there.

d. Birds! I love me some birds!
e. Florals! Even better.
e. Stripes! You get the idea.
f. Super cool mod floral.
g. Adorable .

2. For the dining room [paint will be brown, but next to the family room with blues and greens]

a. Abstract but pretty, very fitting for a dining room.

b. This one is very mod, which would be a nice contrast with the traditional style of house.
c. Are those snowflakes I see? How appropriate.
d. What girl doesn't love a little damask?
e. Love this floral. Maybe my favorite for the room.f. Can't go wrong with stripes.

g. Very "Pottery Barn", no?

h. Maybe simple is better?

i. Or simple with a pop of color?

3. Wait a minute, how did these girlie prints get on this post? They must have thrown themselves at my computer screen or something! I couldn't resist, I'm sorry. They would not have a home in our new place but I love them just the same.

Anyway, I'm in love with fabric shopping now. And I can't wait to get settled in and become a regular Martha Stewart.