Monday, November 30, 2009

Trying to get in the mood

Everywhere I look, Christmas decorations are popping up.  As soon as Thanksgiving is over it seems like people(and retail stores) are just hopping to get the Christmas spirit going.  Now, although I love the Christmas season, I'm not really in the mood to rush Christmas this year.  It's probably because there hasn't been snow on the ground yet really and I need that to feel Christmas-y.  And this year has flown by so fast that it just doesn't seem right that I will be turning 28 already in January.

But since many of my friends and family are already putting up those decorations, I figured that I better get in the mood for Christmas ASAP or I'll be too late in putting up the tree when I get back home.  I was browsing through some images to get my Christmas ideas flowing so I thought I'd share some inspiration with you!



 

 

 




Hopefully these images will spark your decorating imagination as well as mine!


Images from here.

Hot Cider to warm my soul and cold feet

Well, I'm still in Arizona and unfortunately the weather has been a bit chilly the last few days here.  Much warmer than back home in Minnesota, of course, but still quite cool for my idea of Arizona.  It's been about 64 degrees and cloudy during the day and down to about 30 degree at night.  Similar to fall in MN.  So, I've been thinking about ways to warm up and this cider recipe looked so simple and yummy and easy to do that I thought I'd share with you all.





Hot Spiked Cider

Serves: 1

Ingredients:

6 oz. hot apple cider
3 whole cloves
1 stick of cinnamon
1-1/2 oz. bourbon

Hope you enjoy!


Recipe from here.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Giving Thanks





As Thanksgiving approaches tomorrow, I realize that I have so much to be thankful for this year.  My family, my friends, my health, writing this blog and reading all of the other wonderful blogs this year has really opened my eyes to all the beautiful design that is out there and has encouraged me to follow my dreams and start my own design business.  It is a lot of hard work, but I have been inspired by those out there who are already doing it and are very successful. 




I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday with lots of family and relaxing time as well.  I'm spending the day with my parents and relatives on Thursday and then Friday morning my husband and I are heading back to Arizona to spend the week with his grandparents again.  I am so thankful that we are able to go and help out during this tough time for them.  I'll be back to regular posting on Monday from AZ!




Happy Thanksgiving!

Centerpiece ideas from Better Homes and Gardens

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Switching Teams

Okay friends, I just got back from seeing New Moon and I am so happy!  It was MUCH better than I was expecting!  I really went into it thinking that it wouldn't be that good because the Twilight movie was not that great but I figured it would just be fun to see the second book come to life anyways.  BUT I was pleasantly surprised with the movie.  Sure, it had it's awkward moments and a few cheesy lines, but it stayed pretty true to the book and in my opinion helped speed up the plot line a bit.  New Moon was my least favorite of the 4 books because it seemed to drag on too long, but the movie did a good job of speeding through some of the slow parts.

And I'm pretty sure that because of this:



that I have officially switched teams.  I mean, reading the books, I was always pro-Edward all the way, but in the movie these two:




have WAY more chemistry than these two:



So what do you guys think?  Have you seen it yet?  Do you agree with me or are you still Team Edward?

Monday, November 23, 2009

House of Habit

While reading this months (final) edition of Metropolitan Home, I came across these unique, custom made furniture legs.  Designers can customize each leg by choosing the height, color and material.  They can be shipped to a furniture maker or used to update existing pieces of furniture. This product is available to the Trade only. A few of my favorites from House of Habit:


Painted




Stones




Glass



Metal


Metal




 Leather

Thursday, November 19, 2009

DIY: Chalkboard Frame

Here's a DIY idea, I stumbled across today while browsing House and Home.  This would be such an easy thing to recreate at home.  Just take any old picture frame or mirror that you like, and paint either the mirror glass or frame backing with chalkboard paint.  Chalkboard paint is available at any hardware store and it comes in many colors.


I plan on trying this idea myself by finding an old frame or mirror at a thrift store and then going to town with the chalkboard paint.  How easy!

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Bright and Cheery



Who says wallpaper can't be fun and modern?  For more updated wallpaper ideas, check this out.


{Image from Canadian House and Home}

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

$6 and a trip to Goodwill



Instant chic way to display a bar.

Monday, November 16, 2009

How to work with your existing trim color




When you flip through most design magazines, you'll notice that almost all of the rooms in the magazines have at least one thing in common.  There may be many more things, but what I notice the most is that most rooms have white trim.  I love white trim.  Mainly because I live in a home that has oak trim as well as oak doors, and oak cabinets.  Really, in my opinion, that is just way too much oak.  Now, oak can be beautiful if it has the right stain, but the oak in my home has a stain that keeps getting more orange with age.  Oak tends to do that, so if you have an stain with an orange tint, it is just going to get stronger over time.


(Google Images)

White trim is nice because it fades into the background and allows for any paint color.  White can also act as a nice contrast against darker colors allowing for the trim to stand out for things like crown molding.  So, for those of us that live in homes that don't have white trim we have a couple of options.  We can paint the trim white to update our homes (which is a huge undertaking) or we can take a clue from the tone of our existing wood trim or furniture and use colors that complement it.  Also, some people truly like wood trim and that is completely fine too.  It's all about personal taste and then choosing wall colors that will complement the tone of that wood and bring out it's natural beauty.


(House Beautiful)


For example, for wood that has an orange or honey tone such as pine and oak, a medium green works well to bring out more of the yellow tones in the wood and calm the orange.  If you go with a blue, that will bring out more of the orange tone.  An orange paint color will blend it with the wood and the wood will become lost.  Yellow walls will bring out both the yellow and orange tones of the wood which creates warmth, but doesn't enhance the wood at all.


(Googe Images)

Dark finishes, such as mahoghany, walnut or cherry, stand out against a light color, whether it's a tint of green or blue or a hue from the sunny side of the color wheel. In the same way, light wood shows up boldly against dark or strong color on the walls.

If the dominant color in the wood appears to be red, then a green background will enhance and intensify the wood's hue.

Golden-yellow woods look great with warm red as well as earthy greens, teal, or eggplant.

Brown woods with yellow undertones complement buttery walls yet stand out boldly for high-contrast drama.


(House Beautiful)

Light walls with dark wood creates high contrast and allows the trim to stand out.

Antique woods may combine several tones so they can look good against a variety of light or dark colors.

So, if you're like me and aren't a huge fan of the tone of your wood trim or you just want to enhance the natural beauty of your trim I hope this helps you find some ideas that will make you happier with your home!

Thursday, November 12, 2009

I've got the 5 month blogger itch




I just read an article that talks about the 6 month blogger Itch.  And now I know what it is that I am going through. Well, it has been 5 months since I started this blog and as much fun as it has been, I have been dragging the last couple of weeks.  Sometimes it is tough to come up with new content everyday.  Especially when I am reading many of the same things on other design blogs.  I need to pick up my slack a little bit, find some inspiration and keep blogging!  Because I really love doing it and I want to be able to help and inspire my readers on a daily basis by showing them lovely design, talking about why it works and ways that they can achieve the same look in their own home.  Sometimes it is hard as a blogger when you don't receive feedback via your comments section.  Bloggers want to know that their readers enjoy what they are writing and I am no exception!

So, all you peeps out there reading this blog, please take a moment and write me a little comment if you guys enjoy what you're reading!  I'd love to hear your feedback and thoughts about what you would like to see more of on this blog, how I can help you achieve your design goals in your home and I'd really like to know more about you, the reader.  I really do appreciate all of you that are reading my blog and I know you are there because I can see my stats!  So please introduce yourself and let me know you're there so I am motivated to keep going!  Thanks, everybody!  ;)

Oh and stay tuned because I am working on adding design services to this blog soon as well as a link to my website and portfolio!

Have a wonderful day!

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Catching up and Black walls

So I've been a little MIA these days on the blog, but it has been a busy couple of weeks.  I had a great time volunteering at the ASID sample sale last week.  Even though I didn't have time to do any shopping and share pictures with you guys, it was still fun to see all the great discounts there.  Hopefully next year I'll actually be able to do some shopping there.  I'm going to start saving NOW!

My mom hosted her first jewelry show this past weekend as well and it was so fun to help her out and ooh and ahh over the beautiful jewelry she designs.  The sale was quite the success and hopefully I can start to share some of the jewelry on this blog someday soon!  She really has gorgeous stuff!


On a totally unrelated topic, what do you all think about black walls?  I saw this picture from Canadian House and Home and I am really loving it.  I think in a space with lots of windows, or in a bedroom if you like things dark in there (I do), a black wall could be really fun and moody.  Obviously, white bedding and other light accessories is a must to keep the room from looking like a dungeon. 




Just yesterday I was checking out Pottery Barn online and saw this gorgeous star pendant similar to the one in the photo above and fell in love.  I wasn't sure if I wanted to get it or not, but seeing it in this photo has me thinking I definitely should!





So what do all of you think about black walls?  I'd love t hear your thoughts!

Thursday, November 5, 2009

ASID Sample Sale

  Here is where I will be working today:



I can't wait to check out all the designer showroom goodies that will be discounted 50-80%!  This event is open to the public on Friday and Saturday so be sure to stop by if you have time and find some great new items for your home!

International Market Square
275 Market St., Suite 700
Minneapolis, MN 55405





Find more details here.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Quiz me

Hey everybody!

Today I was visiting the Young House Love blog, where they posted about the Ethan Allen style quiz they recently took.

So I decided to try it out as well and see what my results were and how accurate they might be.  I took it twice and here were my results:




And here are some images that went along with the global style results:

 

I'm definitely attracted to these two spaces, but do they define my style?  I'm not sure since I took the quiz again and came up with these results:




And here are some images that went along with the metro style results:




 

Now these images I love.  They are fun and contemporary with pops of color.  Interestingly enough though, my home looks more like the global images above, but I am always more drawn to metro images like these.  Hmmm.  Well, I guess we would have to say that my style is a mix of both global and metro (as Ethan Allen calls it) then.

If you want to try your hand at figuring out your style, try the Ethan Allen style quiz for yourself, here.

If anything, it's a fun exercise and may give you some ideas for your home!
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