Pretty Things

Alas, the stars were not exactly on my side yesterday as my
horoscopes had indicated. I struck out in all my shopping
ventures. However, I did not let that stop me. If at first
you do not succeed, you shop online! Well, I still didn't
pick up my lamps or my ottoman, but I found some
pretty little things at Elizabeth's Embellishments. If
you have not stopped by this site, I strongly encourage
you to do so.

I really want one of these mirrored trays for my
bedroom...


And I love these little glasses. I would probably
line them up and put votives in them, or maybe
a single flower stem...

And look at these bottles! More to feed my current obsession
with crowns...

I think I want one of these signs for my office door...


I wish you all a Very Happy Weekend!

All images from Elizabeth's Embellishments.com

Written In the Stars...

So I admit it, I read horoscopes. There are a couple
that always seem to be eerily accurate at times. And
hey, who doesn't want a heads up if you are going to
have a rough day, eh? Well the two that I read each
morning had a very interesting forecast for me today.
Both said I had "marvelous" stars for decorating my
home. Now any day, is a good day for decorating
in my book, but heck, with the stars on my side as
well, who am I to argue with that.

So I think I need to hit some of my favorite shopping
spots this afternoon. Maybe swing by Homegoods and
they will finally have the perfect set of lamps for my
master bedroom.

Something like this...

European Trading Co

Or maybe Target got the ottoman that I want back in
stock and it's half price. Ok, ok, maybe I pushing
it with the half price.



I'll let you know if I have any luck, and the stars were

indeed, on my side.

For Crown and Country

I picked up this little gem at Michaels last week for such a
steal. $12.99 with 40% off, and another 20% off on top of
that with their special coupon. Such a great deal! And
I don't know what it is about this little bottle, but I do
love it. It set me off on a tangent for all things crown.

There are the Keep Calm Posters...
(I have several I'm going to order from Etsy)

Keep Calm Posters - Etsy

And the Pillows! Oh the Pillows...

Helkatdesign - Etsy


Les Petit Tresors - Etsy

And other little lovelies...

Okiobdesigns - Etsy

Etsy is such a dangerous place isn't it? I could spend hours
scrolling through all the great stuff. But that's another post.

Happy Wednesday!

To Paper or Not to Paper... That is the Question

The house that I grew up in had just about every wall
papered with fruits or flowers. There were also stripes
and geometric shapes thrown in for good measure.
Honestly, I really didn't care for it. And I vowed I would
never put wallpaper in my home. Well, I'm
beginning to rethink my position.

You have to admit, it's come a long way. I think
wallpaper used in moderation, and especially the
modern styles of today can make quite a lovely room.

The Metallics...

Cole and Son

House to Home

Lovely Damasks...

Thibaut

And just as an accent...

Ideal Home

So what do you think? Would you or have you put wallpaper
in your house?

Is It Gray or Grey?

I'm still working on my master suite makeover. I have
nailed down many pieces and my color scheme. It's gray
and cream. I happen to run across this room from Houzz
via Shabby Nest blog. Gorgeous! And I followed the links to
the Tess Collection at Serena & Lily. If I had not already
purchased a new comforter, this would probably be on order.
I'm going dove gray for the walls, a cream satin tufted head-
board I got at Target.com, and white comforter. Think I'm
going to throw in some black accents since I picked up these
great boxes at Michaels.



My choice of gray has once again shown me how tricky
paint colors can be. Gray is definitely no exception.



I've tried about 4 or 5 shades of various brands of paint.
Some too light, some too dark. Others have too much of
a blue tint or a taupe tint. It's almost maddening. But I
did finally decide on a silvery dove gray that I really like.

Any paint colors that have driven you crazy?

London calling... Again

Yes, yes, I know, I have written before, a couple of times
actually, about shops and sites in the UK. Sorry, I have
found another one. I really must stop picking up Ideal Home.
This time around it's B & Q. What drew me there to begin
with was this wall mural featured in the March issue .
Yes, we've seen them before, but this one just caught my
eye for some reason. Lovely mirrors too like this Large
Mosaic Mirror here . They have Inspiration and
Knowledge centers too.
Cheerio!

Brandon Barre + Candice Olson = Fabulous

I recently ran across these lovely interior shots by Toronto
photog Brandon Barre on Freshome.com. But I quickly
realized these were shots of rooms done by Candice Olson
on her show "Divine Design". She is one of my favorite
designers. And after a few Google searches, I see these
two work together quite often.





Images from: www.brandonbarre.com

A Little Cream With My Coffee

I'm loving these creamy rooms from House to Home...

Lantern Envy

I was obsessed with finding some lanterns for my front porch
over the holidays after seeing a display on TV. They filled
some tall rectangular ones with white lights and garland.
Gorgeous!

Low and behold I was strolling through Homegoods the other
day and they had tons! A little late for the holidays, but I'll be
ready for the next one. I just need to spray paint them black
as they are red and navy blue now. No biggie. I'll post them
when they are done.

And they also had this lantern at such a steal {12.99!!} I
couldn't leave without it. I think it looks fab on the coffee
table in my sunroom.




Thank you Homegoods!

Shifting Into Neutral

I've found myself drawn more and more to a neutral
pallet lately.

Love the checker board pattern on the sofa...




A soothing pretty space...




How fabulous are these doors...



And just because I watched it for probably the 20th time
last night, and it's the inspiration for my own master suite
makeover, Amanda's bedroom from "The Holiday" ...



Images 1. Soho Hotel 2. Unknown 3. Salvage Architecture Antiques.com
4. Hooked on Houses blog

Pretty In Pink

In honor of Valentine's Day, a little pink inspiration...














Cheers!

Images: 1. Brandon Barre Photography 2. from Design Pink
3. Haymarket Hotel 4. ArchitecturalSalvageAntique.com
5. Palace Eats

Crafty Friday

Figured since I was stuck inside most of the week, I should get a few things done around the house, so I raided my craft file.

I'd seen the inspiration for these nifty clothespins on a couple of sites and thought, hey, I can do that. See Jane Work is the one that comes to mind. And I know I've seen them on Etsy as well. So here is what I did...

My supplies:

Clothespins, scrapbook paper, ribbon, scissors and glue
of course. However, I found out that thin scrapbooking
tape actually works MUCH better.

Typed up some of my fave quotes and cut them out to fit onto the flat side of the clothespin. A little tricky getting the font size correct, then cutting them out proved challenging as my paper cutting blade was on it's last leg.

I tried painting the pins at first, but honestly, it was a
lot of work. So I dropped the painting after awhile and
just used unpainted pins and covered one side with paper.
But then I realized that 1/2" wide ribbon worked perfectly,
and I have tons! And on the other side I used my quotes.

And the finished product......


I really must do some research on taking better pictures of
my crafts. Pictures aside, I was pretty pleased with how they
turned out. I need to try a few with magnets for the fridge.


And another idea I am itching to try I found over at BHG.com's Craft section. Using scrapbook paper, you can create a clock. How cool does this look!



Image: bhg.com

Happy Friday!

Be My Valentine

Made these little Valentines for my friends kids.

Muy Bonita

Seems my international theme is continuing today.
Check out the Cabo Azul Resort in Mexico.

The Presidential Suite...



3 Bedroom Penthouse...



1 Bedroom...



I'm so ready to go. Who's with me?

Ciao Bella!

After much discussion and pouring over tons of travel books and vacation packages, it looks like my friends and I have decided on a tour of the Italian Lakes Region for our big 40th trip.

We will start our journey in Milan...



And then off to the Lakes. It's Lake Maggiore up first...



And then a quick trip across the border to Lugano, Switzerland!



Then it's on to Lake Como...



Lake Iseo....



and finally Lake Garda...



Bellisimo!

Ode to a French Door

This photo, minus it's fabulous views, would depict a bit how
I'm feeling today. Rather snowbound and isolated.

After being stuck at home for 3 days by the snow, I must confess, cabin fever is slowly setting in. I was doing quite well over the weekend. Getting out periodically to shovel another few feet in search of my driveway and the road seemed to be enough. But as the snow piled up to eye level (that would be 5 feet) on either side of me, my resolve began to waver. And with the prospect of another 5 inches or more on the way tomorrow and Wednesday, it cracked a bit more. So please excuse my odd choice for inspiration today. These lovely french doors caught my eye, and I began to daydream about walking through some of these doors into beautiful spring gardens all in bloom with colorful flowers. Or perhaps a breathtaking view of rolling green hills against an azure sky. Maybe a view of the sea with the brilliant blue water sparkling in the warm Sun.









Ahhh...that's a little better.