small towns, scenic routes, smiles, and tennessee

I can't remember how I stumbled upon the Shelter + Roost website, but I am glad I did. I'm also not sure I will ever find myself looking to vacation in Tennessee, but at the very least, these vacation properties are worth a browsing session for decoration inspiration and set-up ideas. Who needs a hotel when you can stay in one of these absolutely beautiful homes? A few of them have a few more decorations than I personally think they need, but overall they are all gorgeous and look so peaceful. I also love that they use a plus sign in their name.  If you ever find yourself in Tennessee, stay in one of these homes and let me know how it was. Click here to visit their website.

an upgraded home and garden and land...in RI

Photo credit:  Zillow

As much as I love our home, I do have hopes and dreams that we will one day upgrade. I don't necessarily want a larger home, but I would love more land - yes, even though that comes with additional yard work. I truly love our home and feel very lucky to own our three-leveled, three bedroom, two and a half bath abode. I guess I wouldn't mind an additional bedroom and it would be great if the upstairs spare bathroom wasn't directly next to the master bedroom...but I really love the layout, especially how our living room is on its own floor, positioned in between the two main floors on the front of the house. It keeps our den, dining room, kitchen, and bedrooms private and quiet, and makes the home feel exceptionally spacious for only being seventeen hundred square feet. 

My biggest gripe is the proximity to the neighbors, which makes me want to start house hunting immediately. Lucky for my husband, I subscribe to House Beautiful on my Flipboard and found the perfect home on my boat ride into work this morning! Although my absolute favorite part of Rhode Island is Little Compton and the home is located in Middletown, I am willing to look past that because everything about it is absolutely perfect AND Middletown is closer to Newport (I really heart Newport). This incredible home combines castle with beach house and farmhouse and gardens and I want it -  bad - and fully furnished with all the same paint colors. Click here to read more about it and see the interior.       

collecting design inspiration from a myriad of places

Fireplace at the foot of the bed?
Let's incorporate this! I wish... 

I need to channel all of my design creativeness and skills (if there are any) this weekend and figure out what to do with our master bedroom. It is one of the last rooms in our home to be settled, painted, and decorated. There is obviously furniture set-up and art on the wall, but it needs some major finessing. Thankfully, the carpet that came with the house is clean and new-ish looking. I would obviously prefer wood floors, but appreciate the warmth and softness of carpet in a bedroom. I also don't mind our furniture, but we need to sand everything that isn't the same color as our bed-frame (a dark cherry stained wood) and do some refinishing. I would also like to update all of the knobs and pulls on each piece, so they look like they came from the same furniture family. I think the hardest part is going to be choosing a paint color and figuring out what to do with the walls. We have very high vaulted ceilings in our room and in the larger of the two spare bedrooms (aka the other room in our house that needs some work), so we are a bit limited with what we can do. I must remember as I scour the interwebs for design ideas that the room is not a box and the ceilings are much higher than the normal eight feet. I came across two articles today where I am going to begin my research - one is a new hotel in Vermont and the other is a Times article about transforming a bungalow into a gorgeously restored home in the Hudson Valley. Warning: the hotel is pretty outrageous and I am sure it is pissing off the Vermonters in the area (and trust me, there is a part of me that is appalled by it). However, it looks amazing and if my husband wants to take me there for Valentine's Day I would not be opposed to it (Log Cabin or Barn Cottage please). It is a splurge beyond splurges and although I do not think I will be checking in any time soon, I am happy to steal an idea or two from their cozy, country looking accommodations. Inspiration can come in any form, even from a hotel that charges up to $2,400 a night. Click here to take a peek at the hotel (and remember to breathe). Click here to read the Times article.    

my love/hate relationship with paper source (today)

There's the beautiful
felt leaf garland. Ugh.

I don't really hate Paper Source. It is one of the greatest stores in Manhattan (and other big cities) and is definitely in my top ten. Click here to read my post about it from June. However, I went there today to purchase a few cards and two items caught my eye - a garland and a pack of pre-cut leaves. Before moving forward with my reaction to said garland and leaves, I would like to provide you with a little back story about my recent idea for crafting. It is no secret that I hate do not love football (I also don't like birds and Margaret Schroeder from Boardwalk Empire, but that's another story). I like the "idea" of football - lazy Sundays at home with fatty snacks - what could be better?! However, I find the actual game boring and the large men make me nervous (gigantic necks = scary time). My creativeness and craftiness escalate during football season because I am actually home and have time to stop and smell the roses - and of course think about decorating and getting ready for the holidays. At the instant this year's football season started (little fib) I spotted a leaf garland made from shiny card stock on Pinterest (not glittery, I said shiny) . I was sold and ready to craft! I ordered the paper to make it online and printed the leaf patterns on the printer at work. Thirty dollars later, I am ready to cut some leaves and sew them together to make a fall-like garland we can keep up through the Thanksgiving holiday, when we will be entertaining eleven guests at our home for dinner (definitely another post).

Even more back story: I don't know what happened in nursery school or kindergarten, but my cutting skills are less than par. I am not sure what I was thinking when I initially set out to tackle this project, but as the days pass and I get closer and closer to starting it, I have realized I am going to be tracing and cutting a lot of shapes that are not quite square or round. Leaves are hard. So, this Sunday is the big day for my craft project and I have been trying to psych myself up to cut for many, many hours and I was doing a good job until I walked into Paper Source today. Sitting directly in front of my face as I walked through the doors was a thirty-six pack of colored leaves - I even had my choice between small and large (I mean really?). The only thing keeping me sane is the fact that the packaged leaves are red, orange, yellow, green, and brown, and my leaves are going to be rust, copper, silver, gold, bronze, and plum. After I calmed down and found the cards I needed, I did a lap around the store to see if they had anything birthday appropriate for my mother-in-law. (How many people's birthdays are in October? Geez Louise, so many.) I turned the corner and saw an actual full garland made of felt leaves. Of course I initially wanted felt, but I thought paper would be so much easier. Why am I going to spend hours of my time handcrafting something I can buy for fifteen dollars? Damn it Paper Source. So, I walked out with one strand of the felt garland and still plan to tackle my project this Sunday (and because my husband will be away, I will be watching Bravo and crafting, not football). I figured I can put one set on our front door and the other set on the dining room hutch. I will post on Monday and let you know how the paper garland came out. My fingers are crossed and already sore from cutting.    

annual nature among the perennials

I have been loving my walks around the area I work in and have been trying to take different ways to discover new things. I have the option to do so between four streets; Gansevoort, Hortatio, Jane, and 12th. The west side of these streets are filled with the most beautiful brownstones. Most of them range from two million to upwards of eighteen. I am sure I really like the ones on the higher side of things, because isn't that the way things always work out?! I have really been digging the planters that adorn the steps to these stunning residences. I saw this set-up today and stopped to take a snapshot - very well-done in my opinion. I have been thinking about setting up some planters in a few areas around our patio. I love annual flowers and think a tasteful arrangement of planters would work in our little backyard haven.

pleasant smells from millions of candles

We have had more people over our house than less these past few weeks, which is a nice change. I am a lover of candles, and when I am home by myself  I usually light the large Yankee Candle jars (Mountain Lodge and Banana Nut Bread are my jams, love those smells so much). When people are visiting, I feel more inclined to try out the smaller, more boutique-type candles. Even though I received the candle pictured in December (part of a very sweet and thoughtful birthday gift), I still had yet to light it. It wasn't that I didn't like it...I was saving it in a sense (haha, get it).

I lit it a few weekends ago and have wanted to light it every day since. However, I feel like I should save the amazing smell it gives off and share it with others. It smells SO good. It was purchased from Anthropologie and they are still available. I also bought a Fig scented Calvin Klein candle duo last fall. I attempted to purchase an additional set last night because the two we keep next to our bed are running a bit short, but I could not believe what they sell for at full price ($35!). I purchased ours at a TJ Maxx in Newport and may need to accept the fact that these will be the first and the last Calvin Klein candles in our home, unless I have another run in at a TJ's. I am all for paying for a pleasant scent, but the candles are 3.47 ounces. I need more for $35.

let's make it wes anderson week

I really like Wes Anderson movies. They are my absolute favorites, along with Amelie. I know I have mentioned it before, but I really enjoy visually pleasing movies with fun characters that are semi-realistic and lack explosions and blood. I am going to declare this week Wes Anderson Week, or WAW. I just Googled WAW and it is a letter, it can be used in any sense if somehow affiliated with something orgasmic, and it stands for the airport in Warsaw. I consider it safe to use.

I don't actually have things to talk about each day of the week pertaining to Wes (yes, we are apparently on a first name basis), which makes the fact that it is already Wednesday super helpful. I actually have two items and I want to start with something I came across while looking at House Beautiful. I love decorating, so I check this site on a weekly basis and to my surprise and delight, I found an article titled How Wes Anderson Can Help You Decorate. Score. The article uses paint palettes from his movies. Um, we only have three more rooms that need paint in our home. Why couldn't they have published this in the fall of 2012? Click here to read this amazing article.

come in, sit down, and make yourself at home

We finally have a place where our guests can do this. Our foyer is complete (aside from a bench cushion) and I couldn't be happier. This is a very exciting time for us and I am thrilled with the way it came out.  Hopefully, our guests will feel right at home and our plants will be happier sitting closer to the sunshine.

I am torn on one addition I would like to make – a sign. We visited my husband’s cousin in Costa Rica a few years ago and they had a little glass sign (very tasteful) outside their front door that simply stated “we choose no shoes”. I don’t necessarily want to have rules up, but I do not want shoes worn in our home ever. We also purchased a very nice rug for the living room, which lives next to the foyer and we need to keep the rug clean for as long as possible. I know not everyone walks around New York City on a daily basis like I do, but you never know what is on the bottom of your shoes. I was thinking about hanging the sign on one of the hooks, but am torn. Maybe if we put a basket of slippers next to it, guests wouldn't be so offended…

so many shades of gray...as in paint

The house is in pretty good shape, aside from still needing some paint in the upstairs and foyer - so we started thinking about colors on Wednesday. We realized we love gray. I never really felt so attached to a color, but honestly I would paint the entire interior gray if I could. I think it is such a smart color. It goes with anything (aside from brown) and even though it is in the black family, it can really brighten a room (depending on what shade of gray you choose). My husband and I laugh because we don’t want our house to be fifty shades of gray (ha-ha), but we do really love the color. I think the foyer will end up gray, but the rest of the rooms upstairs will be jazzier colors used for accent walls. We have vaulted ceilings in the majority of our top level, and don’t think we should paint an entire room one color…it is a whole lottah wall. I will let you know what we end up choosing, but my front runners are purple for the spare bathroom, blue for our bathroom, and a spicy red for our bedroom. I don't really care what color we paint the office and think we should pick something semi-reserved for the spare room.

a linear home for the tweets in our yard

Our house guests from a few weekends ago presented us with a Pleasant Ranch Studio birdhouse. The birdhouses are made by one of our mutual friends in Vermont. His name is Steve. He does other things aside from building birdhouses – that is just his hobby. I want him to build us an actual house. His (bird)houses are sleek and amazing and linear (my favorite). The one we have kind of resembles our home, but I guess they all do because our home is contemporary. It is a true honor to have one and I hope the birds that are presently nesting in our gutter make good use of it. It also looks amazing next to our patio in our tree.

Click here to buy your own.

parsely and thyme, but not sage and rosemary

even the herb scissors
they used are super cool

I wish I thought of this and used it at a dinner party, but alas, it was not my idea. I would also be hard pressed to decorate with my herbs as a centerpiece because truth be told – my herbs from seed are not doing so hot. Why you may ask? Because I am an idiot and forgot to water them for a week. We lost half. At the present moment I am trying to keep the basil, parsley, and thyme alive. The chives never even sprouted, and the dill and cilantro withered away.

However, if I did have herbs I would use them as a centerpiece and add a pair of scissors to each place setting at our next dinner party. The guests would then be encouraged to snip away the fresh herbs they wanted to add to their dinners. Is this not genius? I have heard of using herbs as decorations to add to the pleasant smells of a home cooked meal, but this is taking it to the next level. I love this idea. I hope you do it, or come across it in your travels. Click here to read the full article from Bon Appetit - it is all about the 2013 Kennebunkport Festival - and there are a lot of beautiful and delicious looking photos.

maybe I need to count some sheep

I saw this photo in my email this morning from Houzz. I don’t use a lot of what they send (a lot of it is gaudy and overly fancy for my taste), but every once in a while there is a gem (enter the attached photo). I love everything about this – the chunky wood bordered mirror, the distressed dresser (though it would be great black or blue, not white), the decorations on the dresser, the brick wall, the wood ceiling, the big comfy bed, the trim around the door, the art and the frame, and even the plant looks healthy and happy. I am not too impressed with the ridiculous chandelier above the bed, but that could be easily switched out. I don’t think I would sleep soundly with that gargantuan fixture above me. I also don’t love the rug, but I am really in love with everything else.

Is it bad that I am this obsessed with a bedroom photo? Is this a sign that I am exhausted and need rest?!?!?

Maybe so - sweet dreams. Zzzzz.

an easy easter decoration

This is a very simple Easter decoration, as long as you don’t have a husband who enjoys eating peanut butter candies – you know, the peanut butter candies that are layered somewhere near the bottom of the display.  I bought a bag of Cadbury Mini Eggs, Reese’s Peanut Butter Mini Eggs, and Easter Peanut M&M’s and separated them by color.  I found a few clear glass containers/vases I had around the house, added four layers of candies, one layer of Easter grass (the paper kind, not the plastic kind – I hate the plastic kind), a small chocolate bunny, and a small piece of ribbon.  I made three; the one you see in the photo, one with a cookies and cream chocolate bunny (it is white and speckled with black), and one with a few Cadbury cream eggs lying in the grass.  I put the two bunny ones on the mantle and the egg one on a shelf in the kitchen.

please let me lay here

I love everything about this bedroom:  the circled quote above the bed "we are so good together" (yes it is cheesy, but as long as it was in a bedroom and not in a foyer or main living room, no one would ever see it), the symmetrical windows, the color of the wall and trim, the whale pillow, the mix-matched night stands, the framed flower picture leaning against the wall – not hanging, the L.O.V.E pillows, the stripes, and the splash of hot pink color.  I will say that I could do without the hanging light and the vase on the books – someone should move it off the books.  I am really tired this week and would to sleep here for many, many hours…

need some colorful inspiration?

Well, look no farther.  This website is so amazing.  It is called Design Seeds.  (Click here to be taken to the site.)  I hope it inspires you to add exciting colors and accents to your home.  The creator, Jessica, is obsessed with color and color palettes.  She finds photos (and they are truly beautiful photos) and puts color palettes together, which may sound boring, but she sees color in a very special way.  For example:

When I look at this photo, I initially just see green and grey. 

However, she pulled out three additional colors, creating a palette of a very calming color combination. 

She calls this one Lemongrass Tones.

When I look at this photo, I initially just see metal and silver colors. 

However, she pulled out four different purple/plum hues and grey. 

She calls this one Tin Tones.

having your silhouette done

the one in the top right corner kind of looks like me
when I was a wee lass.  yeah bangs.

Silhouette is one of those words I love.  When we were little and took trips to Disney World (four to be exact) my sister and I would get our silhouettes done at a little booth somewhere around Thunder Mountain Railroad and the Haunted Mansion. 

Our silhouettes were brought home and hung up at the top of the stairs.  Although it always seemed a little funny to me, I really love this tradition.  Silhouettes make a great decoration that are not only meaningful, but capture a bit of history.  I say it sounded funny because all the artist was doing was cutting a round head with some hair, eyelashes, a nose, a mouth, a chin, and a neck, but these things actually came out looking like us. 

I would love to begin this tradition with our family of two (my husband and I) when we find our new home, but where on earth does one go to get this done?  I imagine a few trips to Disney World won’t be in our budget after we purchase a home.  Maybe we should start practicing on each other.  That would be an interesting talent to bring up at a dinner party – I enjoy reading, running, long walks on the beach, crafting, baking, and making cut outs of people’s heads…