Quirky

The new Lonny issue came out yesterday.  I didn't find it particularly action packed, but I did like these spots.  This apartment is decidedly quirky, but there's something about it that I like.

 

On a less quirky note, I really like this living room.

What were your favs?

The Water Closet

Our master bathroom definitely earned the title water closet, because is was truly smaller than a closet.  This past summer we lived in a cloud of dust while it was renovated.  It was SO worth it though.  This was my first "true" reno project and I loved every bit of it.  I really had a good idea of what I wanted for the bathroom before I started, here was my inspiration:



I really just wanted something clean and white because the bathroom before was yellow and dirty.  Gross.  It was the original 1950's bathroom that was built with the house and you could tell.

Here are some of the in progress/demo shots from my iPhone:

See?  I'm not even sure what's going on in the walls and did you see the rotting wood?  Yes, it was time. 

We were on a pretty tight budget (as far as bathrooms go), so I found most of my materials at Home Depot and discount online shops.

The bathroom is still pretty small so it's hard to get in there to get a good photo of it!  I am so happy with the result.  We did a rain head and a hand held in the shower and it feels so luxurious.  And since we did the renovation a few months ago, I can gladly say that the tile is VERY easy to keep clean.  So glad I did gray grout. 

Most of my FB friends have already seen these photos, but just had to share here too! 

Sources: Lighting - Pottery Barn
Floor Tile - Home Depot
Bathmat and Shower Curtain - West Elm
Shelves - West Elm
Sink - Homeindoor
Sink Faucet - Overstock
Shower Handheld - Faucet Depot
The subway wall tile was from the Floor and Decor store.

The Head and The Heart

Such a great album, can't get enough...

Modern Fairytale

How great are these posters?  They could really work with baby, little kid and big kid decor.











Found here.

Eat your veggies!!

I have made this vegetable crumble recipe several times, including tonight for dinner!  Let me sing it's praises for you...it's healthy (in my book), it can be a side dish OR a vegetarian main dish AND it can be made in advance.  Highly recommend adding it to your repertoire.

via Matt Bites

Vegetable Crumble
5 cups mixed vegetables (zucchini, yellow squash, eggplant), chopped rough, ½ inch
3 roma tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon of salt
½ teaspoon of pepper
butter for greasing pan

Crumble Topping:
½ cup all purpose flour
4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into ½ cubes
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
1 teaspoon cold water

Heat oven to 375˚ F. Mix vegetables, tomatoes, onions, garlic, olive oil and salt and pepper in a large bowl. Place in a greased 9 by 9 inch baking dish or in individual gratin dishes.
In a bowl, mix the flour, butter, salt, pepper, and thyme and rub the mixture together with your hands. It should be crumbly and sandy, not overly mixed. Sprinkle the water over the mixture and blend with a fork.

Sprinkle the crumble mixture over the vegetables and cook for 1 hour or until the vegetables are soft and the crumble topping is golden brown. Garnish with fresh thyme and serve hot.

Ivy and Piper

Have any of you seen this online shelter mag, Ivy and Piper?  So many bright colors!  Here are some of the highlights for me.

I really love EVERYTHING about that last photo.  Which one is your favorite?

For Laura

I was given a mission via facebook this morning, it was a post from a friend and it said something like this:

 

can someone please find me pillows for the new couch, boots that I would want wear and yet cost under $500, a ball gown, and time to study for my Adult Health midterm. Leigh Hall...the first 3 are up to you.

As these tasks are SUCH a burden for me, I of course waited all but 10 minutes to get started on them.  So here goes:

Task 1: Pillows for the couch.  Here is a photo of the said couch that I need to find pillows for.
 

Funny story with this couch...I grew up with it.  No, seriously.  My parents bought two loveseat sofas when I was just a baby and it has made it's way through countless moves and homes of my parents, to my home and now to it's new home at Laura's.  It has been fully restored and reupholstered and looks GORG!  And the painting and side table aren't too shabby themselves.

So, here's what I'm thinking:

via etsy

via etsy

Or maybe Mr. Peacock flanked with some more simple pillows?

via Anthropologie

I could show 8 million pillow options, so I must move on to task 2...BOOTS!

Here are the boots that I really want.  But I think the heel maybe a little much for what Laura is probably looking for.



via Madewell

via J. Crew

I think these are really cool, but they barely hit the under $500 price limit:

via Zappos

Here's a steal at only $179

via Nine West

Onto the third, final and most difficult task...a ball gown.  The last time I wore anything close to a ball gown was probably my wedding dress.  That being said, this is a hard one for me but here is my attempt (trying to stay around/under the $500 mark).

via BCBG

This one is blurry, sorry. But you get the idea...

via Neiman Marcus

 



via Nordstrom

I'm sure this is out of the price range, but I LOVE this one (blurry too, sorry)

via Neiman Marcus

Maybe a little too sparkly, but I think it's pretty AND only $278

via Nordstrom

How did I do?  Laura, see anything you like? 

Silhouettes

Silhouette is one of those words that I can never remember how to spell.  Is that just me?  Seriously, I just had to google how to spell it.  Anyway, I'm in a mother's morning group on Mondays and we had the activity of making silhouettes of our children.  They all turned out so cute, so I thought I'd share!

I took profile pictures of the girls. They don't have to be perfect.  See below...

I then printed them in a 5 x 7 size (on my neighbor's printer since mine is broken).  Black and white is totally fine.

I then traced the outline of their profiles with a sharpie marker, like so:



This is my computer rendering version of doing that...my freehand version was MUCH better, but I forgot to take a photo of that of course.

I then taped the traced photos onto a piece of black card stock and cut along the line VERY carefully.  You can add little hairs sticking out and eyelashes to make it look a little more "real". 

I then went to Michael's and bought some scrapbook paper and glass frames and just placed the cut silhouettes in the center and they turned out like so:

Aren't they cute?  I thought they kind of looked decoupagey.  Do you have any good crafts to share?

Finally!

I'm so pumped that you can finally buy Zara online.  Here are some of my favorites:








For the littles:









Happy Monday!  Get your shop on!

This is how we do it

Getting started at home depot, making final decisions on color:

While painting, listening to this:

Since I was doing minimal parenting, Lilly's room then looked like this:

However, I finished painting a WHOLE room by myself in a day, which is a feat for me.  And here tis:

Time for a glass of wine!

P.S.  Thanks Meredith for the sconces!