Bright White

It's sunny and warm in Philadelphia today...makes me wish my bedroom looked like this one. Love the bench, love the shaggy rug, love the baskets peeking from under the bed....

Via Stacy Bass Photography

Holiday Decorations + Party Prep

I've spent much of the week decorating for the holidays as well as preparing for the cocktail party that we are hosting on Saturday.  I've also managed to wrap a few gifts...the ones above have paper from The Container Store and mod little snowflake tags from the Martha Stewart line at K-Mart (more on that later!). Ooh, and I'm really into origami cranes right now so I decided to use them in lieu of bows on my packages...

The color theme for the tree this year is aqua and white.  After four years of a fake white tree with hot pink ornaments, I was ready for a change.  Also, when you have a small living space, the tree really needs to coordinate with the other colors in the room. All of the ornaments came from K-Mart!  They have an unbelievably cute selection and everything is so inexpensive. These glossy ceramic birdies and owls were $2.50 each and a box of 8 glass ornaments was $4. They have every color too, from pitch black, to magenta, to aqua and white.

I've started to lay out the buffet and bar for the cocktail party, so I can see if I have room for everything, if I'm missing any serving pieces, etc, etc.  We're using the front entry table for the main food buffet. For decor, I arranged some white branches in a tall vase and hung a collection of small glass ornaments, but it's definitely not looking finished. It needs more variety in size and scale and I think some icicles or sparkly snowflakes would do the trick! I'll be on the hunt for those items tomorrow. Also, note the stack of fab cocktail plates on the left. Here's a better view...

I've been stalking them at Anthropologie for months. They were finally marked down so I snapped up a set. The one you see on top has foo dogs and the other version has blue partridges, all with a scalloped gold border. While we're on the topic of bargains, I also snagged these pretties:

How cute are these linen cocktail napkins with embroidered peacocks?!  It should be known that I am a relentless bargain shopper and Anthropologie is my closest target.  I stalk their sale room obsessively, checking in 3-4 times per week. These napkins were $8 each until yesterday when they were marked down to $1.95. That's more like it!  Sadly, they aren't available on the website, so you'll have to hunt them down like I did. Anyway, they are now hanging out on our bar with my monkey and some random ornaments. Monkey normally holds a little bouquet of fresh flowers in his basket, but for the party he will assist the bartender by holding corkscrews and the like. A final word on Monkey...doesn't he kind of remind you of this monkey seen in Top Design finalist Ondine Karady's apartment?  

I found mine at a very cute Philly boutique called Hello World.  They don't have an e-commerce site as of yet, but you might be able to call them and have it mailed.  He was a bargain at $25 and they have an even more tempting version that sits about 2 feet tall.

But back to holiday decorating.  Finally, I put up a simple wreath on our front door. We don't have any kind of roof or overhang to protect the entrance, so I couldn't do anything too fancy or delicate. Still, I like the little owl and how Foxy's face peeks out from the middle! 

That's all I have for now. More sharing to come, once everything is in place.  Happy Friday!

Home Improvements

We added new open shelving in the kitchen this week.  It's great having a place to display serving pieces, cookie jars, etc...

Blue Light Special

I need a turquoise light fixture for my home immediately...

Images via House Beautiful, Design Sponge, and Katie Ridder

Happy Friday + Weekend Plans

Hooray for the weekend!  Tonight is my first holiday party of the season.  My fella and I are heading down towards Atlantic City for a work party and I'm wearing a fabulous dress of the new/old variety (as in I've never worn it before but it's been in my closet for a year). 

We're also getting our tree this weekend.  I'm dying to decorate!

And then next weekend, Kevin and I are hosting holiday cocktails at our house.  I want to break out the nice plates and linen napkins this time.  Much planning and decorating to come.  And of course, I'll share photos!

Hope you have a great weekend too!  Any fun plans to share?

Image at top via Catherine Ledner Photography; rest via Domino

Olive and Marigold

Prettiness...

via Living, Etc.

Coffee Tables, and the things that go on them

Perusing the site for Woodson & Rummerfield House of Design, I came across the pretty arrangement of objects and colors shown above.  The yellow and turquoise and white are very me!  In fact, upon further inspection of this space, I came across these phoenix birds sitting on a side table, which look very much like the vintage pair I have in my living room...

I so need to find a way to showcase mine better!  A table like that one would not hurt.

Anyway, I very much have coffee tables on the mind, specifically a new one for my living room. We have been making do with a basic Ikea Lack table for many months and I am done with it.  I really want something round, with a pedestal base.  Here's a very chic (and pricey!) version from W&R Design...

I came across a much more basic version (i.e. no awesome circle detail, etc, etc) at my favorite local junk shop the other day for $30 and have been thinking about it ever since.  It would need to be sanded and painted, but I'm always up to that task.  Will keep you posted on my progress...

Finally, the new book High Style, from the aforementioned Ron Woodson & Jaime Rummerfield, would be an fabulous addition to whatever coffee table, mine or yours.  I had the chance to flip through it the other day, and the images are pretty amazing...

Dear Santa...

If I can't have a real live pet goat for Christmas, can I have one (or maybe a pair...) of these utterly delightful prints from photographer Sharon Montrose? 

...ooh, and they are even available in a larger 16" x 18.5" format!

Images via Sharon Montrose via Sfgirlbybay

Love This Kitchen...

...by always-inventive decorator Miles Redd.  The stripes and glossy olive cabinets are too much, in a good way!

Image via Domino

New John Derian at Target

I didn't know the partnership between John Derian and Target was continuing beyond the collection that came out this fall, but I guess I was out of the loop. Turns out he has created new pieces for the holidays, including this fab deer-adorned melamine tray! The rest of the items have more overt holiday motifs like cherubs and poinsettias, which aren't so much my thing, but they are pretty if you like traditional holiday decor. I must have the deer tray though! I wonder how many stores I will have to go to before I find it...?  

Corners of my House

I finished wallpapering my powder room the other day and thought I would share the results. For now, I've added a small shelf to hold flowers and an assortment of some of my favorite blue figurines...

I've also been putting the final touches on other corners of my house.  In the guest bedroom/office, I finally found some great shams for the bed at Anthropologie...

And I completed my desk set-up after a trip to the Container Store and the Apple store...

In the master bath, I've potted a few plants and added a rolling cart...

And in the kitchen I've added this little vignette... 

Gobble Gobble

Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

(Image via House Beautiful)

The Perfect Light

Such pretty feathered light fixtures by Haldane Martin (via Apartment Therapy)...

I wonder if one could create a crafty homage to this lamp with an inexpensive Ikea hanging shade and an armful of ostrich plumes?

Wallpaper - In Progress

I'm in the midst of wallpapering my powder room, and it's been quite a project so far!  (The paper is really pretty, isn't it?!  I love the metallic silver background...)  I've never wallpapered before, so it has been a lot of trial and error.  Still, I think it's coming out pretty good.  That's Radius, above, admiring my handiwork...

Happy Friday + Tom Binns

Hope you have a great weekend!  Until Monday, please enjoy this gorgeous eye candy from jewelry designer Tom Binns...

Wild Safari

I must have one of these rhinos from Sprout Home! So quirky and reasonably priced, and perfect for my coffee table.  

Black is the color...

Dark and dramatic interiors...so appealing right now... 

Images via Living, Etc. and House Beautiful

Coffee Sack Totes

These coffee sack buckets from Mayamade are the perfect combination of neutral and graphic, and would be great for holding magazines by the sofa or mittens and scarves under the entry table. They are currently sold out on her Etsy store, but keep a look-out as the designer seems to add new ones on a regular basis.

Vintage Fun

Fantastic collection of vintage and ethnic pieces in the living room and bedroom of Midcenturyjo from Desire to Inspire, found via Flickr.

I am crazy for the cushioned stools at the foot of the bed...