Bringing Fall Home

There are a few things that Fall always brings to mind for me. Camping, chili, football, just spending time taking in the changing leaves... There were so many traditions tied up in the changing seasons for us as kids and now every year I start to ache for those things.

Unfortunately without being able to travel this weekend, I'm going to have to bring fall to Phoenix.  So here is the group I came up with, obviously the leather chair is a splurge, but I think I could manage one or two of the other elements.
































This definitely has a masculine undertone, but I think there's some whimsy to the gilt deer head or some elegance to the patterned pillow that keep it from going too far in that direction. I'd definitely be curious to hear your thoughts: do you change decor with the seasons?  Do you find yourself craving elements inside that remind you of the season outdoors?

And speaking of fall traditions, if you're looking for an amazing chili recipe, look no farther. I was a little intimidated initially to add wine to my chili base, but this works incredibly well. It provides a slightly different, richer taste that I really enjoy.

Anyway, hope you have an amazing weekend and get to enjoy the beautiful start to Fall!

Street Style

I have a confession: left on my own, I'm not a terribly stylish person.  I just seem to lack that creative spark that allows some people to combine pieces is new and totally amazing ways.  So...instead I look to other people, store mannequins, ads, etc, for my inspiration.  And luckily since I try to use pieces from my own closet to recreate the looks, I get a unique interpretation.

So: enter this picture, a street style shot taken during New York Fashion Week: 

This, to me, is a perfect place to start for inspiration.  She looks polished, but with an edgy twist.  And it has two major benefits: 1) she constructed the outfit with basics that most of us have in our closets and 2) this would easily work in many offices/businesses. Also I'm loving that faux peplum she created with the tie--very clever!

And just in case you're in the market, here are a few pieces I found to help recreate the look. They would easily mix and match into other outfits as well.  Le sigh...I'm craving those beautiful shoes. 

So let me know: where do you find inspiration?  Or are you one of those amazing few who can put together a killer outfit on the fly?  PS: Teach me! :)

Date Night

Do you still go on dates with your fiancee or husband?  To me it feels so fun to get out of the house and do something we used to when we were first dating. Dinner and a movie, ice skating, walking around--whatever it is, just spending time together.  And I feel like it's almost more fun when you've planned it and set aside time in advance.  It gives me something super fun to look forward to all Friday!

We've been trying to save some money for house renovations and the wedding, so our "going out" fund has been cut back a bit. That's why I'm so excited I scored some free movie tickets. We're going to go out for our first dinner in a while and then see a movie--the perfect Friday date night!

Tomorrow I'm really hoping we can convince ourselves to get up early for the farmer's market. I lived in Ohio and went to the amazing North Market in Columbus every Saturday. I'm not sure what to expect here...probably more of the "real deal" in terms of people setting up stalls and selling their wears. Anyway--super excited to try cooking something new with fresh, organic ingredients!

So what are your weekend plans? Fun dates, relaxing? Any farmer's market junkies? Whatever it is, I hope you have a great one!

New Spaces

Do you ever find yourself getting antsy waiting to start your next project?  I stumble upon a gorgeous bathroom or kitchen photo and just like that I'm ready to go!

As if the room isn't amazing enough--check out that ocean view! Can you imagine?

Now I know once I actually get to work, I might get a bit burned out. I know I'll be surprised by costs I didn't see coming, etc, but for right now the inspiration is going strong and all I can think about is making my bathroom/kitchen into everything it currently isn't: chic, fun, contemporary.

Beautiful black and white inspiration! I love how the floor adds color and character.

 

We bought the house knowing that it needed some updating, and it is definitely fun to leave your mark on a place. Plus nothing beats the feeling of walking into your new room the day after you finished and enjoying that hard work.  The peace, happiness, and just plain rightness of the new space is striking.

This has a more traditional feel, and I love the character and classiness that it provides.

So tell me: do you get antsy waiting to start on a project, home or otherwise? Has that energy carried through the project for you? How did it turn out?

Wedding Hair

I've been thinking on and off about how I'd like to wear my hair for our wedding.  There are sooo many options, and I love that today's versatility lets brides be more themselves.

While I love the look of long, Hollywood-style waves, my hair is about shoulder-length so even if I let it grow for the next seven months, that unfortunately won't be an option for me.  I talked things over with my hairdresser and she also gave me a thought: updo's take a bit to get into place, but they'll stay that way. Your look will be pretty consistent throughout the night since it has structure to hold it in place. And gobs of hairspray. :)  Plus it's less susceptible to humidity/frizziness or losing its volume.

So I've been looking to the red carpet and wedding sites for inspiration, here are three that I'm loving:

Jennifer Morrison's beautiful loose bun. Love the tendrils around her face!

Dianna Argon--always great for hair inspiration.

And this lovely bride featured on 100LayerCake.com

Do you have a favorite? Or another inspiration picture you're loving? Or better yet: a picture of your own wedding hair? I'd love to hear!

Shoe Obsession

Dear shoes: I have a mild obsession with you. Please join my closet. Thanks!

Your pal,
L

T-strap, pointy toed heels--hot! Thakoon NYFW Fall/Winter 2012 Collection

After taking a drill to the existing closet organizer to better accommodate my shoes, I was informed that I may have a shoe obsession.  Guilty as charged!

While (perhaps fortunately) my budget won't allow me to get every new pair I fall in love with, I do find myself collecting more shoes than I have in the past.  In college I was under a much tighter budget, and also had to contend with the practicality of my shoes. Well...sometimes. I'll admit I didn't always think through exactly how far I'd have to walk in a hot new pair. (I'm sure you've been there?) But I digress... :)  So now I've begun setting aside a bit of money for shoes and I've found that they tend to fall into one of two categories: stylish for work, or fun for going out/going to weddings.

Absolute classic!  Would LOVE to go to work in these.

I've also become a bit hooked on the flash sale sites like Gilt or Rue La La to enable my shoe collecting. Have you tried any? I guess why not get a discounted designer brand for just a bit more than I'd spend at the mall?  Nothing against the mall!  But I'd like to think the quality of some of the brands available on the flash sites is more than I could afford under standard circumstances. I could be wrong, but for now I'm enjoying splurging every once in a while on a more expensive pair.

In any event, my latest purchase is supposed to arrive today--some cute Cole Haan booties! And then I'll (try to) lay off for a while--promise!

Cole Haan Air Swan Booties

I'm so excited about these, especially for fall/winter.  Phoenix doesn't see snow, so I'll be able to wear the heels without worry while still giving a cool weather vibe to my outfit.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on using flash sites verses making scores in person.  I've definitely had good luck both ways.  And if you have any favorite shoes for fall--do tell! :)

Kitchen Dreaming

Do you ever see a room that resonates with you, one that you’d love to walk into every day?  This kitchen does that for me—just strikes a chord. 

Our house has saltillo tile running through the family room and kitchen that we frankly weren’t sure what to do with.  Those red tones seemed daunting to style around, but we knew one thing: the tan textured walls that were there just weren’t doing it for us!  Enter this image: the beautiful blue-gray wall color and dark woods contrast nicely with the red tone of the brick floor.  It adds a lot of interest yet creates a soothing, well-thought-out environment.  

While we aren’t yet able to remodel our kitchen, we did put this color combination to work in our family room.  Because our tiles have a slightly bolder tone (and are more in the orange family) than the bricks shown, we chose darker wood to compensate.  Overall I love the effect!  And I think the before and after pictures really say it all.  The changes?  New paint on the walls (we used Behr’s Premium Plus in the eggshell finish and managed with one coat) followed by painting and installing baseboard (this time in a white semi-gloss).  We also pained the existing sconces bracketing the fireplace white to match the baseboard. There was a decent amount of sweat equity (more than I expected going in, honestly), but I think the end results are worthwhile.

Before: This is actually the listing photo from the previous owners. Super sweet older couple.

After: Gray walls and white baseboard.

There are still a few things I'd like to tweak, but I'd like to think the overall effect is cleaner and more inviting. Obviously, to each his own tastes, but it was a neat project.  From here? I'm thinking either a graphic rug or some graphic throw pillows to add interest. I'd also love to stain the mantle a dark brown to match the book cases.

So, any advice?  Yeeeah... before painting, go over your walls more thoroughly than we did.  The texturing on the walls disguised some problem areas that we should have fixed before painting. Instead we wound up having to go back afterward, and some parts still aren’t quite right.  Other thoughts?  I think the baseboard was a huge change for the better.  The old trim was plain and colored to match the walls, now we have extra detail and contrast that I think makes the room look more interesting.  Ok, biased opinion. :)  Big caveat: this was a lot of work.  I may post a tutorial later on how we (read: my fiancee) installed baseboard, but just know that you'll probably want to invest in some tools (the air compressor and nail gun were a life saver!) and some extra boards just in case. :)

Have you remodeled a room?  Did you use a picture as inspiration or did you create your own vision?  And the big one: did everything go as planned?  I hope so!  Either way, hopefully the end result was worth it.  I think more than anything it gave a feeling of making the house "ours".  Which is all I could've hoped for.