Some GREAT Online Magazines

I know, I am the worst blogger ever!  However, I have heard there are actually a few people that enjoyed reading my blog so I thought I would start posting some more things.  I am doing a lot around my house and having so much fun and would love to update my blog with all of those things.  In the meantime, I wanted to post about some wonderful online magazines.  For me, the best part of these online magazines is that you can usually copy the pictures and save them to your computer.  It has really enabled me to have a great library of inspiring interiors.  So here are my favorites...

If you LOVED Domino magazine as much as I did, you will love Lonny.  Michelle Adams was a 24-year-old assistant for Domino magazine and is now the editor-in-chief of Lonny.  Like Domino, Lonny gives the source for as many items as possible from the magazines only now, you simply click on what you like and you go to the website to learn more about that item....incredible.  You just have to check it out...the interiors are incredible:

...and while you are there, check out TradHome too.  I believe TradHome is a collaboration between Lonny and Traditional Home (don't quote me on that).  TradHome will have a new publication in October I believe.

Another one of my favorites is Rue (http://www.ruemag.com/).  It's a bit hipper than Lonny but has lots of inspiring articles and interiors.

Some other great ones are:

High Gloss
Matchbook. 
Adore Home
Ivy and Piper


Hopefully you can find some time to browse these wonderful magazines!

Chic and Affordable Art

I am the kind of person that doesn't mind spending money on something that I love and will keep forever.  For me personally, art is one of those things that you should love before you buy.  I am not even sure if I would spend $150 on a piece of art if it is not something that I truly loved and wanted to add to my "forever" collection.  Currently, I am in the middle of redesigning my living room and dining room and I am going to need art for some places in my rooms.  I currently do not have the budget to spend even a small amount of money for collectible art.  I have, however, found a few inexpensive ways to add art to my walls without breaking the bank or feeling guilty if I don't want it in a few years.  Here are some of my ideas:

These are some shell prints I bought a few years ago in Charleston, SC.  It is a collection from Natural Curiosities by Christopher Wilcox.  NOTE: When adding this link, I went to the website and there several really beautiful collections...you should definitely check it out.  The boxed set is called Conchology.  I believe there are about 14 pictures in a box.  Here's the box they come in.  I believe I spent about $55 on the box.

The prints were 14X14 and I chose 6 prints from the box and framed them using the Ikea Ribba Frame in aluminum ($17.99 each).  I actually put the prints over the mat because I thought it looked better than matting them.  I think it turned out rather nice for the price and amount of prints I used.

Here's another use of a larger Ikea Ribba frame in white.  I saw the idea on Little Green Notebook where Jenny shows off the idea of Kristen from K. F. D. Designs.  I just purchased the marbelized paper from Paper Mogo and framed it exactly as Kristen suggests.  I think it is almost the exact design as Kristens...

Mine:

Kristen's:

My husband had a few deer antlers sitting up in the attic and I decided they might look good in my new dining room.  I just hung some gold leafed sconces next to a large mirror over my buffet and propped them up on the sconces.  I love it...and you can't beat the price either...$0.

Oh, and I have one piece of art in my living room that is actually priceless but I thought I would include it in the post.  This piece is an oil painting by my very talented mother-in-law.  She is quite the artist.  She dabbles in watercolor, oil and sculpting with clay (she is getting ready to start a bust of my oldest daughter).  I LOVE this painting she did.  You may not be able to see from my picture but the colors in the duck's tail are gorgeous.



Do you have any great ideas for chic and affordable art?  If so, pass it on!

Sweet Little Dress!

I made the cutest dress for my daughter, Ella, yesterday.  I used a simple pattern from Leila and Ben called Sweet Little Dress.  It's a fairly simple pattern and I decided to add to it a little by adding two tiers to the dress.  I was so excited to show it to her.  Unfortunately, she was NOT in the best mood at the time and decided before trying it on that she wasn't going to like it.  Here it is...

Please ignore the pink leggings (couldn't get her to take them off), the granola bar wrapper on the floor, and the dog leg in the picture.  As you can tell by her face, she was not happy.  She thought the elastic around the neck itched.  I was so sad, but my older daughter, CeCe, decided she wanted the dress.  Hopefully she will wear it.  I think it's really cute don't you? 

I used the leftover fabric to make a skirt that hopefully Ella will wear.  It's pretty cute too...will look really cute with a white tank and flip flops in the summer.



Chair Restyle In Progress

I really needed a couple of occassional chairs for my living room and was so excited to fing the following pair at a Sleepy Poet in Charlotte.  It is a great place to find inexpensive furniture and accessories.  Anyway, I was on a major budget and saw these chairs for about $30 each.  I loved the lines and love the idea of using different styles in the same room:

As a side note, after I bought the chairs I discovered that Candice Olson refurbished the same style chair in one of her recent episodes of her new show Candice Tells All.  I LOVED they way they turned out.  You could tell the quality of the upholstery was very good.  I am hoping to make the same improvement with mine.  Here are her chairs:

My first idea was to paint them a dark charcoal gray and cover them in this fabric from Calico Corners called Stockholm in Sungold:

However, I was so inspired by the latest issue of House Beautiful, "The Power of Pink" issue (especially Ruthie Sommer's home...you gotta check it out...when I win the lottery I want her to design my house) so I changed my mind and, even though I love the yellow and still want to use it somewhere, I decided to use pinks and turquoises in the room.  (I'll show you the room when I am done).  So I am still going to paint the chairs charcoal gray and I am going to use this fabric (also from Calico Corners) called Shalina in Ivory/Raspberry.  Looks much better in person:

And I am going to cover the backs in Chanda Stripe in Multi and maybe use it for the cording as well.  I just have to be careful not to make is too cutesy:

I'll be sure to post the final product along with more projects from my Living Room.  Hopefully, I won't change my mind again or I am going to go broke buying fabric!

Happy Birthday Mom and Happy Valentine's Day to you all!!!!!!

Sofa Dreamin'

My current living room sofa is a Charleston Sofa from Pottery Barn...
  
Although this sofa has and will continue to serve us well with three young kids (we can put the whole slip cover in the washer), I am dreaming of the day when I get to pick out our new sofa.  My husband is the practical type (which is one of the reasons I love him) and says we need to wait until the kids are a bit older and less likely to destroy a new one.  Did I mention we have very large stick figures drawn in black Sharpie on one side of one seat cushion? 


Anyway, forever the dreamer am I.  Here are a few of my favorites for the future:


Petrie Sofa from Crate and Barrel.  I just LOVE the sleek and simple modern lines. 

Here it is in a few rooms (thanks to Apartment Therapy)...

I love, love this room by the way...

I also love the Bedford Sofa from Williams Sonoma Home.

It is much more traditional than the Petrie sofa.

It sure is fun to do a little "virtual" shopping!!!

Welcome!

After spending countless hours (DAILY) reading other design blogs, I am so excited to share my own thoughts and ideas.  Now if I only had someone to read it!  But still, I am so excited to post my thoughts, ideas, projects and design inspirations on this blog.  It may take me a while to get going but I am excited about the challenge of a new endeavor!   Until next time...