I’ve missed you. I lay awake at night and come up with catchy titles for posts, but when I think about all the hard work it will take to actually DO these projects…yeesh. Ain’t nobody got time for that!
So, I’ve decided to post some things that I’ve seen around. Okokok I’ll be honest. They’re mostly Pinterest finds, pinned at 4am when my darling infant wakes for his midnight snack. Here are some recent inspirations…
A site that makes art out of your address! Here’s mine!
Custom wedding portraiture. What a great gift!
My all-time favorite poster, first spotted at a DC eatery. I finally found it on eBay but don’t have a wall on which it can hang. It’s a vintage Milton Glaser promo for the Tomato Music Company (weird…I’ve never heard of them).
Watercolor wall treatment. I love this so much more than slapping up paint sample squares on a wall. I would love this in an office area…
A poem read at my nuptials and truly my inspiration:
That’s all for now. Until next time, when I share my favorite recipes, including my famous “One Ingredient Butter Dip.” Talk about a taste explosion!
I’ve been experiencing some morning sickness. It’s because I’m tired of seeing Pepto-pink colored ruffle floral explosions when I log in to Pinterest. Subjecting a baby girl (or boy! I don’t discriminate!) to such an aesthetic seems to border on child abuse. Here’s a room that makes me reach for my ginger snaps:
Now, the room I have to work with at our “new” little beach house is very special to me. I’ve been going here since I was a baby and remember being too excited to sleep because of the new moves I came up with to add to my gymnastics beach routine the next day. As a young, self-centered 5-year-old, I would do these routines down by the water as the sun set behind me. I was always so impressed by the amount of people that would stop on the boardwalk to watch my routines EVERY. SINGLE. NIGHT. People would point and embrace at the sheer genius of the cartwheel and leap combinations I would dream up each night. Come to think of it, it’s possible it was the sunset, but who’s to say. Anyway, here’s the room where all the magic happened:
Here is my tentative plan for the baby/office/inventory room (I will obviously have some serious Tetris-space-conserving challenges with this room)
Bunk bed goes
Monkey rug (never seen this before in my life) goes
Office panel light goes
Wood paneling with turquoise trim STAYS! I LOVE IT!
While the wood-paneling might seem a little unorthodox, I think it’s really going to be fun. Trust me. There is a lot of natural light in the room, but the paneling does definitely darken it up. Lots of bright, happy art on the walls, light/colorful furniture, and better lighting will make it cozy.
Here is the art I’ve found and love. I will buy from Etsy, commission friends, and make a lot of my own. I plan on finding interesting frames at Goodwill or yard sales for $1 and painting them myself. (I’m thinking gold (duh) and white)
Pablo Picasso, Rooster, 1938 (Tyrone thinks this one is too scary)Elephant Storm, http://www.lifethroughalens.org/Alpaca watercolor, EtsyPeacock print, EtsyWatercolor
Ikat fabric
Giraffe 3d – Etsy
LambChopper
I’d love the chair and no-nonsense crib in this photo:You get the idea. I like animals. Animals that aren’t covered in ruffles and bows. I’m so ready to get out of this 108 deg Texas heat and back to San Diego. I’m ready to paint (no VOC of course), decorate, and blog about it. I’m kinda excited to give myself some sort of insane budget (maybe $250 for the entire room? Maybe that’s not realistic). Either way, I’ll no doubt be sharing all the treasures I find with you.
Just a quick post to discuss my only pregnancy craving so far. Mint. I want to smell it, eat it, paint with it, and upholster with it.
I already knew I wanted to paint my headboard white…but do I do another gray wall or a MINT wall?!
Kitchen chairs – easy to do! Need to find the perfect paint (Did you know Sherwin Williams does quarts for ~$5? I’m sure it’s comparable to Home Depot prices, but I happen to live 30 seconds from one. The best paint colors I’ve found so far are:
PORTER PAINTS PARSLEY TINT 6998-1 (never heard of that brand. Maybe Home Depot can match?). Also, these look pretty good:
Clockwise (from some arbitrary starting point, apparently): Garden view -Behr, Breeze-Pittsburgh Paints, Copper Patina-Benjamin Moore, Mint-Valspar, Thinking-Dutchboy
Mint jeans – I like the idea of white jeans, own several pairs, and never wear them. I’m going to dye them mint! I’m the Goldilocks of mint though—not too dark, not too saturated…I want them JUSSSSST RIIIIIIIIGHT. Here are some examples:
I’m pretty crazy about both of these outfits:
There are a few tutorials out there for dying jeans, but I’m going to hold off until I can gather all my white tees, sheets, and towels and do it all at once (but of course I’ll update you). People recommended the Tulip “Green Vert” dye available only at Hobby Lobby (sold out online when I searched…good luck!). Also recommended are RIT liquid dye in Apple Green and Aquamarine. Only combine colors if you have experience in alchemy (not the online game). Things could get pretty tricky.
Well, things around here have been simultaneously eventful and incredibly uneventful. “How can that be,” you ask? Well, you too can attain this level of boredom by taking pictures of everything you own (and want to sell) and listing them on Craigslist, eBay, Etsy, and Hipswap (my new favorite resale site…think of it as Craigslist, without the pantless men answering the door). It’s like we are permanent “Open House” agents, with all the people coming and going. On the PLUS side, we are selling a TON of our stuff and I haven’t lost money on ONE SINGLE ITEM. In fact, we’ve made a hefty profit on most. Most of these items I’ve blogged about already, so you’ll be familiar with what I paid for them and the amount of elbow grease* I put in. (*not a real product. It’s a figure of speech)
I had MANY people interested in this dresser and sold it the first day for $175. Maybe I wasn’t asking enough? My plan with this move was that I would list all the big items first (and for a high price) so that I still had 2 months to sell it. All it takes is ONE person who approves of your price. I didn’t care if everyone else thought it was too much. SO, I guess because it sold so fast, maybe I couldashoulda asked for more. But I end up feeling pretty greedy, you know what I mean? I should be happy with that price! Ok, on to the next one.
White lacquer desk – purchased for $150 including chair
I bought this at a local consignment shop and spent $150, more than I normally would have. However, I got lucky when I did my research when I was ready to sell. The nearly identical model is at ZGallerie for $499. I also found out that the plastic bucket chair is from West Elm and retails for $149. SO, I ended up selling the desk for $270 and the chair for another $65. I believe that because I cleared my desk off and made it look nice, I was able to sell it for more. In fact, many people asked if the rug was for sale too. Moral of this story, make sure you’re somewhat styling your photos when you try to sell. I’m not talking about getting Glamour Shots done for your old chair or anything, but fluffing it’s pillows and relocating your old stank baby blanket can go a long way.
I sold 2 of them! I’m a real artist now! I sold 2 for $600! This made me feel super great because I put a lot of time into finding the sea fans, painting, etc. And it was nice to make a nice profit on a $40 project.
Lucchese cowboy boots – purchased for $50 at an estate sale
This is probably my best. find. ever. Just let me tell you about this last one and then I’ll stop bragging. Bought these for $50 and knew they were worth more because of the brand (Lucchese: pronounced Loo-kay-see) and because they were croc or alligator. During my research, I found that the 2 piece croc is pricier than boots that are pieced together with multiple skins. Anyway, some of my research told me that custom Lucchese boots can cost upwards of $30,000. I posted my on ebay for $2,000 and sold them for $1,600 the first week!
Ebay takes a lot of $$ for fees, but it’s still a nice profit! Keep in mind, though, that I’m moving AGAIN across country and need to buy some new items at the new house. Which brings me to my next Question and Answer segment…
How much should I spend on a couch? Normally I’d buy a used couch (duh) but for some reason, I might mix things up and go for a new one (or at least a barely ever used one). I just think that my brand new baby might appreciate that they be the first one to pee on the couch, not some frat boy. So I’ve started shopping around…Here is the new one I want from Crate and Barrel.
The problem is that it’s $2,400 when you piece together all the parts. Too much, right? I am the queen of Craigslist, so maybe it’s completely reasonable? You tell me!! Please! Here is option #2This one’s around $1850. Ugh. Still seems like too much…Here are my favorites on Craiglist for much less. West Elm, like new on Craigslist, $1100 (and negotiable!)I’m obsessed with this gray velvet one too. $500 and just reupholstered!
Anyway, I guess to sum it all up, we’re doing well here selling our things, but there will be a lot of new things once we get to San Diego. And I haven’t even figured out baby stuff yet, either! I need your advice with prices for a new couch AND your thoughts on second-handedness.
Hey there, ladies! You’re lookin’ real fine tonight. Thanks for coming out.
(p.s. you might want to play this video on repeat throughout this post, in order to set the mood. And if you ask ANYONE, I’m all about setting the mood). Watch out because there’s a nip slip at 2:40 (who am I? a 13 year old boy?!)
For obvious reasons, this video inspired me to get out my trusty can of gold spray paint and get to work on that art project I’ve been talking about.
Here are the offensively expensive sea fans from Restoration Hardware:
I’ve decided to see if I can whip some up of my own to sell. I’m sure you have a tab still open with my tutorial on this, so I won’t belabor the point. Just wanted to share my new seafan (or SeaGLAM, if you will) art.
Wondering if I should bite the bullet and make an Etsy page? I have them listed on eBay for an optimistic price but what would you recommend? Quick! Comment below! Here are the other two I have listed:
By the way, I listed to that video the entire time I wrote this. I’d like to say it only took me one cycle, but I’m pretty sure I now know every. single. lyric.
Now, if only I had a real job and could listen to youtube videos all day at my desk with the volume low. Then I could combine DANCE moves and finally take this show on the road!
Thoughts? On the art, not my dance moves. I already know those are stellar.
Heidi’s baby shower was so fun. We did NOT play “seven minutes in Heaven” but it was otherwise perfect and Heidi got hooked up in a serious way. She and I both research the hell out of everything before we buy it and I’m pretty pumped that she’s done all the baby research, because I will want nothing to do with that when that time comes. She’s is currently writing a manual and I’m hoping to share a few of those items with you soon. Here’s one for example: a cheapo crib from Walmart that is up to Heidi’s tough organic, chemical-free, toxic-free standards (seems like a reasonable standard):
I’m not exactly in the market for one of these, but I’m thinking about buying one anyway for extra seating when we have guests. She tells me it’s just too good of a deal to pass up. The gray one is out of stock, but they keep restocking it. I also like the navy one. I can’t believe what people pay for baby stuff. $1000 for a crib?
Anyway, so I’ve been out of town for work and got extra work while I was there. It’s my favorite situation: a quick closet re-do and lots of clothing deletions: this time, I got lots of Chanel, Phillip Lim, and Gucci. I had to borrow Heidi’s suitcase to get it all home. I take a commission and they get to rid of stuff they don’t wear and don’t want to just give away to Goodwill. Even more importantly, I got the contact for the daughter of the Dallas Cowboys so I’m guessing that will be a great person to get to know, to say the least.
I figured I’d unpack and organize all these new treasures before I start on more crafty projects around the house. I did want to let you know about these rings I’ve had for a while. I kind of forgot about them, but got tons of compliments (even from strangers!) while I was out in LA. They’re pretty simple rings, so I was surprised by that. I did lots of research and thought these were the best price for the quality of gold. $30 for 4 stackable rings?!! I bought this set (with 3 straight and one curvy ring).
They’re gold filled wire and I’ve had them for a year or two and they’ve never tarnished, turned color, or sprouted a diamond (unfortunately). LOOK AT HOW AMAZING THESE ARE!
That’s all for today. I’m exhausted from my Beekeepers of Dallas meeting last night (I’m serious) and have to choose an outfit to wear to a whisky tasting tonight to make it look like I haven’t been sitting all day at my laptop in yoga pants with 15 candles going with the music turned up way too loud. You know the look. And yes, I have my fake glasses on. I can’t be bothered to put my fake contacts in.
I don’t know if you know this about me, but I also do a little professional organizing for work. 2 weeks ago, I flew back out to Los Angeles for a HUGE job. I mean, you could get lost in this house. We moved the client from one house to a newer, much nicer house. Usually the client goes to live in a hotel and shows back up a few weeks later to a perfectly organized, functioning household. This particular client and his wife were very involved. This can be great (i.e. quick input, exciting to hang out with a famous person) or it can be awful (i.e. you realize your favorite movie star is a hoarder when they want to tell you the story behind every single old sock or kitchen utensil). These clients were very kind, appreciative, and easy to work with, which makes the job SUPER fun, even with very long days. I worked primarily on his closet and watch collection, the kid’s room, and, the spice pantry (yes, a whole room devoted to spices).
I leave these jobs with a tiny pang of “want.” I want the amazing walk in closet full of Louboutins, obscure vintage handbags, and fancy lingerie. I want the beautiful kitchen with every accoutrement you could ever wish for. I NEED the Hollywood back yard with the classic rectangular pool. It’s all very delicious.
Then I was thinking…there are a few items that really stood out as really lux, indulgent things. Why do I need to go to all the trouble to get rich and famous when I can just find these things on my own?!? GENIUS!
Bedside water carafe – Unless you have a housekeeper, chances are it won’t fill itself.
ART and findings — One thing I liked about this client was their confidence in mixing all sorts of art. There were a few priceless painting even I could recognize but they were RIGHT next to framed art from their son. Now that I’m looking around my office, the walls are a little bare. Here are some things I’m considering…
My own art — I have a propensity to collect oil and acrylic paint. Yet I never get around to painting. I found this old canvas by a dumpster once (I’ve never dumpster dived, but this was just SITTING THERE! It’s huge! More on this project in another post. Perhaps tomorrow). You might also recognize this photo from the main photo above. I think I may paint a tandem bike).
Found objects – This client also has his pilot license so there were a few airplane memorabilia around the house. My favorite was an antique propeller.
I’m not a huge fan of items that just sit around and clutter entire areas though. I either want them up on the walls or serving a function. That being said, I’m interested in doing a “wooden shipping crate wall project.’ I can’t decide if I’d stain or whitewash the wood. Basically, it would look like this. I’m super pumped about this project and happen to know my neighbors have a few of these sitting by their trash at this very moment. I’m not sure if whoever’s picture this is INTENDED on the room looking like this, but I think it’s awesome.
As someone who tries to stay organized and DE-CLUTTERED, these sorts of decorations are perfect. They’re up off the floor, there’s not taking up space on a coffee table, and not collecting dust in bookcase. Whether or not I always stick to this, this is absolutely at the core of how I decorate.
Lastly, this house had half a dozen hidden rooms behind fake walls. Obviously, I can’t snatch this up on Amazon with free shipping BUT I am considering seeing what my landlord can do about this new necessity.
Jerry Springer’s Final Thoughts: This blog post seems to have taken a different direction. I initially wanted to talk about inexpensive items and decor that can make a space feel luxurious, without needing to be a movie star. I guess I talked a little about that, but mostly I just came up with new ways to decorate my own house. We moved in 2 months ago and it’s feeling….less than complete. I know it’s going to be a work in progress, but I’m just ready to be a little more DONE. I’ve officially dedicating this weekend to projects. Wish me luck!