Steal | Jonathan Adler

I try to avoid the impulse purchases of things that are so neatly displayed by registers. However, last week I couldn't help myself!

I was checking out of the Marshalls/Homegoods in Huntersville and there was a giant basket full of Jonathan Adler gift wrap!!! I happily grabbed 2 rolls at $2.99 each :-)

Since spotting it online for this post, I really want the multi color chevron pictured.

I got the orange/pink diamond on top & the green greek key pointed to in the bottom picture

Fall Splurge.

For the last several years I've wanted riding boots. I've lusted over every girl wearing them, but just didn't want to drop the cash to have a "nice" pair. A few years ago I bought a pair from JCrew, but they were a weird gray & they were way too tight on my legs.....

Yesterday I splurged.

Hello, Melissa.
You were very expensive & you better last me a lifetime.

Love,
Jessica

Gardening & Such.

Last weekend, I decided I wanted to plant a "garden".

I'd bought some flower bulbs (roots?) of peonies (which have since been refunded, because they found a disease..) so I got the nack to plant something else.... food!

Spinach, Peas and Beans :-)

Either the beans or peas have sprouted... but I don't think the spinach has yet.... 

I also made the doggies a new bed for their crate.... the old ones smelled awful & no matter how many times we washed them they still stunk!

3 Day Weekends = Shopping.

When we got about halfway though 2011 and I hadn't booked a wedding for Labor Day weekend, I decided that was designated "me" time. I needed time to relax, clean my house & amp up for a very busy fall.

It's no secret that I am a die hard shopper, and this weekend, I made it a mission to go out looking for nothing in particular & see what I could find.

After a few hours of working in my photo office on Friday afternoon, I decided to hit up the ReStore in Cornelius. One of my new favorite places to frequent. I immediately spotted something I had to have! 2 almost perfect end tables for my office! I knew with wanting a white, round coffee table (and already having lots of wood in the space) I wanted metal coffee tables.... preferably gold ones! (crazy, I know.)

But there they were in all their glory.... and only $10 each! (they had a matching coffee table too... but I left that for someone else to love)

They do have some heinous gray-ish glass tops, but I am in the works of having clear glass cut to replace them...

That's not all folks.... I came away with one other awesome goody.....

I spotted a round, pedestal dining table.... studied it, and then text Jeremy a photo of it, asking if he thought we could chop it down shorter, to make a coffee table?

He thought so.... but I decided it wasn't worth the trouble... I had no way to get it home, and wasn't sure I was sold on it.... I mean after all, I'd have to chop the base, sand all that horrible lacquer off and then paint it white..... so I headed to the checkout to pay for my end tables. The lovely lady reminded me that everything was 15% off! (they had a sign at the door, but I forgot about it).... then she asked if I was going to be taking them with me, or coming back to pick up?

I didn't even realize pick up was an option! So with the knowledge of the sale, and the pickup policy.... I told her to hang on.... their was a dining table I wanted too!

I grabbed the ticket & paid for my goods.... my tables were $8.50 each and the dining table was $38.25 :-)

I hope I can get it picked up, and finished before we leave for Savannah on Friday!

Zara

Are you familiar with Zara? Are you lucky enough to live near one?

I am jealous of you.

I heard about Zara several years ago, but because they don't do online shopping, I've never been able to fully appreciate it. When we were in Miami (almost a year ago!?!?) I spotted one, but didn't go in because we were on our way to brunch at The Big Pink (which is amazing, go if you're in South Beach... they even have pink VW Bugs for deliveries!)

Well... ladies and gentelmen... all hell is about to break loose because Zara is opening their online store NEXT WEEK!

I spent a considerable amount of time perusing the site yesterday (but only the sale stuff!) picking out things I want.
Here they are...

What have you picked out??

Splurging.

Since I first met the lovely Elizabeth Tolley, I knew I needed to invest in some "good" makeup. Not the crap you can get in your local drug store.

Well... in college & after I used Rimmel foundation. I thought it was step up from the Maybelline liquid my mom had used (I was so wrong).

I then decided to try the Bare Minerals stuff. Loved it.... but recently I've needed a change. I decided it was time to take the plunge.

A few weeks ago I bought some Maybelline Fit blush.... hated it. The color just wasn't there, it wasn't working for me. Decided it was time to finally get that Nars blush Elizabeth used on my wedding day.... Nars Peaches. To the mall I went.

I went in for 2 reasons.... blush & nailpolish. I splurged on a bottle of Essie last weekend while in Wilmington... wow. worth every penny of the $8 I spent on that bottle. It lasts SO much longer than crappy nailpolish! It didn't chip for 5 days last week... I repainted them on Saturday for a wedding & they haven't chipped yet.

"Lady Like"

Well, Sephora carries Dior foundation. I asked one of the sales girls if  there was ANYTHING comparable to it.... she sadly shook her head & told me no, it really is the best. So, I splurged. $60+ for a can of spray foundation is more than double I've ever spent on any makeup product. I'm 3 days in using it.... OMG... so love! It's a super fast application & covers like a dream. I didn't use any concealer this morning :-)

I'll let you know how long it lasts. Sephora's website says about 60 days.

Here's the blush I came out with... Nars Sex Appeal. It seems to be a little light for my skin (I'm always afraid of getting a color too dark!) So maybe next time I'll go for something with more color.

.....

While in Wilmington (when I got the Essie) I also picked up some lip stain. I think it's the new thing for girls my age. We don't wear lipstick, so this is what the cosmetic industry has come up with to sell us something. I picked up "flushed". This stuff is the ticket! It goes on and doesn't come off on anything! Nothing gunky or sticky :-)

A Steal.

It's no secret I am a Lilly Pulitzer lover. I blame my older sister for this obsession.

Well.... I was spending some quality time on the phone with the Windstream customer support team (hello an hour and a half wasted of my life). So I was perusing twitter while on hold multiple times. Of course I follow Lilly.

Sale Alert. I couldn't help myself! With dresses that I wanted back in May 1/2 off or more.... how could I say no?!?!?

I got 2 great dresses :-)

Procrastination Payoff.

Over the weekend I was down in Wilmington to assist photographing a wedding. Well, of course I couldn't drive 4 hours just to work all day and have no fun?! So I got there Friday evening and made plans to hit the beach with my BFF on Saturday morning.

We got up & decided to go to Carolina Beach so I could check on our lot & the progress of the street paving project. We got a letter saying they were going to begin the work on July 11.

We pulled up to Texas Ave... low and behold! Our street was blocked off because of road work! Yay!

The really exciting part... because of the paving, they took out the trees!!!! This was a project Jeremy planned to tackle with his dad & friend sometime this fall. There weren't any large trees, but enough to be a full days work. Now our street will be paved AND we'll be able to drive straight on to our lot without driving through the 2 behind us! Wahoo!

I video'd this exciting news & sent it to Jeremy :-)



Side note... I can't believe we've owned this for over a year now! Nuts!

See video here of how it looked the day we bought it!

Rug.

Thinking this rug might looks super cute under my desk. 

Branching Out.

You know how I'm terrified of pattern?

I found this girl, and she inspired me. 

I went shopping after work yesterday. I needed some "me" time.

Hit some major scores... 2 of which I'm wearing today!

White Jacket (Willi Smith) It's a smidge big, but for $7 I didn't care.... and it's fully lined in a khaki python print. Win.

Yellow & white striped Izod top.... this is 2 fold branching out.... 1. I never wear yellow. 2. It's striped. .... and it was $2!!! I was sold.

Pink shell. I can't remember the designer. $5!

** I have on navy shorts with this... kinda hard to see

I also tried on a leopard print skirt, but it was too big, and the zipper was wacky... really wanted it though... would have been awesome with the pink top!

Need.

Dear J. Crew,

Run one of your effing sales so I can buy these.

Love,
someone recently obsessed with tortoise shell.

..... ** update.... they don't have size 7s :-(

Office Woes.

After being parked next to the beautiful sofa in High Cotton Home on Tuesday.... it made me want to reupholster that damn pink sofa again..... but, for now.... I am going to stick it out with the pink pattern. I want to make a solid lumbar pillow for it.... thoughts on a fabric color? Solid white would be safe.... but boring.

I decided to randomly move my pink chair into the "livingroom" area..... I kinda like it! But.... I think I'll move it to the corner closer to the door (on the other side of the sideboard) ....

here's what I'm thinking....

Loving a coffee table like this.... I'm stalking craigslist for one to paint!

Don't ya love this pink wingback in this livingroom??

Source: havenandhome.blogspot.com via Jessica on Pinterest

Jr League Volunteer.

Last night I happily did my first "volunteer" work for the Jr League..... I got to go to a high end home furnishings store in Charlotte, High Cotton Home..... mingle with Charlotte's finest (including the lovely Emily A. Clark!) and sell drink tickets :-) Tough work.

Wish I had photos to share.... but I don't. :-( One of the Jr. League photo members was there, and did take my pic with another Leaguer but who knows if I'll ever see it.

Great event, BEAUTIFUL furniture! We were parked next to a white sofa with bright pillows.... ugh.... hello office? I wish.

For Sale.

2 Items for sale...... both new!!


1. Dwell Studio Rug.
    $140 OBO
    5x8

2. Mirrored Coffee Table
   $100 OBO

Pretty Office Goods.

Today I discovered iomoi. Holy goodness. I could have one of everything on their site.

I love seeing offices that have accessories that match the decor.... like the pens on their desk :-)

I cannot wait to have these on my desk!

Pink Chairs, Curtains & Rugs?

Well..... at least I have an idea of how the chair will look, that's good, right?

Yes... I know the office is a mess. I need a vacuum in here.... might make a Target trip to get one.

Also.......... the curtains..... I'm not sure how I feel about them. Are they too busy? Too dark?

I bought 2 sets of natural khaki ones at Ikea a while ago.... thoughts? Would the neutral khaki be better?

Ikea

I'll also be putting a rug under my desk..... not sure what though. Ideas are welcome!

Yummy Dinners & White Flags

Last night I found myself in charge of our dinner..... sometimes I pick, sometimes Jeremy picks.... but we had nearly no dinner food in our house so I made a grocery run.... I wanted a strawberry salad I'd had before....

I'd picked this up a while ago and added fresh strawberries.... super yum! Only I bought it at the Teeter, and not Lowes, where I was heading.

Of course Lowes didn't stock it. So, I thought I could make it myself! I picked up a cheapo lettuce mix, fresh strawberries and a half of a baked chicken from the market section. Then we added on the fixins....


What we used:
Bag lettuce
Fresh strawberries cut up
Pecans
Craisins
Blue Cheese
Baked chicken

and...... homemade strawberry vinaigrette! (the one thing I really love that comes in the kit pictured) I found a recipe and made it! (although we didn't have the tarragon, so I skipped it)

Eat your heart out Panera!!






.............. In unrelated news.... after fighting the wingback for 3 hours last night.... I'm done. I'm waving the white flag. It's getting professionally done. 

Wingback Hell.

When given the option of spending $120 vs days of your time, pay the money every time.

This wingback chair is misery in a physical state. I spent about 8 hours removing staples. JUST.REMOVING.STAPLES.  that's enough to make a woman crazy.

Let me just tell you about my weekend....

I got over to my office about 1015AM on Saturday morning. I cut all the pieces out using the old ones as patterns. Then I knew I needed to get sewing on the piping. So... I sewed.... and sewed.... and fought with the bobbin... and sewed more. Then I was starving & had a lunch date and Lowes trip with hubs. He came over to the office & removed the last piece off the chair (the dreaded arm piece).

Thank God, I thought. I can finally start stapling! not. I had to go home get the compressor, go to Handcock because I ran out of piping and broke the needle on my sewing machine... got to office. Left keys at home :-( So Jeremy had to let me in.... feeling a bit defeated, I decided to work on the cushion... that part actually went ok... but I didn't get it finished. Home I went.

Sunday.... I went back to the office about 11.... attempted to finish the cushion... didn't happen... of course the top & bottom don't line up right, so the back of the cushion isn't sewn shut.... but it does look pretty good.

Then it was time to start stapling. I got the first two pieces on, no problem.... (the piece that goes under the cushion & the back rest).... then came the frustration....

The inside/top/front of the arm was next. How on earth you get this piece on without wrinkles is beyond me. Same with the inside piece of the wing. I can get it around the rounded part that juts out, but not so much where it cuts back in near the bottom :-(

I got them on there.... but it isn't pretty. Then I quit.

I'm sticking to much simpler projects from now on....


OH... PS....

we returned that cabinet I bought at Ikea last week... decided it wasn't worth $80... and bought a jute rug instead... see it above??

Please Vote!!!!

Pleasepleasepleaseplease go vote!!! It's always been a goal of mine to be published in Our State :-)

You can vote each day until Monday at noon, so PLEASE vote each day!

Office Art.

One of the things Bryn suggested at our meeting was a "gallery wall" of sorts. I knew I liked the idea, but didn't want it to be ALL photos.... so it got me thinking about all the southern things I could frame.

Well, I've officially started to put this plan in action. I made a trip to Ikea yesterday (which, BTW only reminded me why I don't visit Ikea on the weekends!) I went in search of a piece to house my giant printer/scanner/ect. and to look at frames & rugs.

I came home with this piece

We were having a hard time located something small enough, but with tall enough drawers to house the 11" tall, massive printer. I didn't take into account the depth of the drawers though.... (as in from the front of the piece to the back). The drawers are too short. UGH. Luckily, the overall width isn't, so Jeremy is going to rework the top drawer and build a shelf and put the drawer front on hinges, making a door out of it.


Anyway.... I'll fill you in more when it's completed. So... I went to check out frames... I ordered 2 pieces from Rifle Paper Co. and they came on Saturday... so naturally, I wanted them framed asap! I also wanted to get a frame for a pinwheel I had from a wedding..

The heart is a print, and the wedding cake is one of their cards.

They were actually out of the small, white shadow box frames.... so I bought it in black... I'll either paint it white, or a fun color. (don't think I didn't try and rip apart their display and take one of those... I tried)

Bryn also mentioned a natural rug to fill much of the "living room" area of the office... then layer another on top of it..... She said she'd got one at Ikea, so I went looking.... I didn't find the one she mentioned, but did find another one... I might go back & get it...

Not Much News.

Well... I've been sick most of this week.... blah! Being sick in the summer sucks!

But.... after I made my list of "southern things to frame" I thought of one other thing I could do.... hang my quilt!

Quilts are southern, right? I have a quilt my grandmother started for me, but she didn't get to finish before she passed away. One of my aunts remembered the quilt, dug it out, finished it and gave it to me for my wedding gift. Besides the pearls Jeremy gave me, this is by far my most treasured wedding gift. I almost HATE using it because I don't want anything to happen to it. (I did take it to camp with me 2 weeks ago to sleep under)

But.... with it being pink.... wouldn't it look awesome in my office!?!?

Minus the bedroom + the office....

Sarah Richardson

Did you know I'm obsessed with Sarah Richardson.... I have many of her episodes about her cottage on our DVR... I refuse to delete them... I watch them over and over.....


...... and a word about that bed.... my parents had a brass bed.... I hated that thing. I thought it was so ugly! Now... not so much... they're totally growing on me! I really love the bedding too :-)

I bought a towel bar last night for a whopping $5 at Homegoods! I can't wait to hang it!

Office Decor.....

So, the new office has me a bit stumped. I just don't know where to go from here. The space needs more personality, but I'm afraid terrified of going overboard. You know, I'm the girl who rarely wears pattern, for fear of looking too "busy".

I hope my chairs will be done this week, and I'll be able to swap them for the sofa (which I haven't even purchased fabric for..... better get on that).... I feel like once the seating is done then I don't know what's next. I have a definate vision for the space, but no real direction.

In comes Bryn. I just found Bryn via my friend Aeriel (actually, I'd found her a while back when my friend Dana photographed a home for her.... but I'd forgot about that). I reached out to her for some assistance. We met last week, and she had some great suggestions for the space & how to personalize it, and accessorize. We talked lighting, color, neutrals, ect. I'm SO excited to see this all finally come together in one cohesive style. My style.

Today I've been brainstorming some ways to incorporate "the brand" into my box of an office. First, I'd like to point out that I wanted to keep the fixed elements neutral.... walls, chairs, ect. which I realized is how the blog is.... backgrounds & text are gray & white (as my walls & furniture!) and the color comes in the art & accessories! Anyway.... so things I think my blog & office should reflect ..... Kate Spade, Lilly Pulitzer, J Crew, and all things Southern :-)

Today, Rachel wrote a blog about being southern and it included this photo....

Source: barkerhouselove.blogspot.com via Jessica on Pinterest

got me thinking.... what else besides bow ties could I frame?? I could incorporate southern things in frames among the photographs I want to showcase!

So, I made a little list of things that could be awesome.....

1. Pinwheels (I snagged a few from Allie & Jamie's Oak Island wedding to display!)
2. A southern saying
3. Seersucker fabric
4. Mason jars

I think I'm going to like the direction this is going! I already purchased a few bowties on ebay to frame :-)

M.I.A.

I spent last week at our annual summer camp.... which my 2 nieces got to attend for the 1st time!!!

too bad being away for a week put me MAJORLY behind on all other things....

that wingback chair... yep... still sitting in the same sad state. I hope to have it done by next week! (I took the plunge and ordered a pneumatic staple gun from Amazon yesterday!)  I took the 2 gray armchairs to be reupholstered 2 weeks ago... I hope to have them soon!

The ReStore (and other updates)

Yesterday I made my first trip to a Habitat For Humanity ReStore. Hello mecca. It's like the Goodwill's household section..... on crack. Lots of new things, lots of used things, lots of junk.... ect.

Here are a few of my favorite pieces I spotted (and may go back today to purchase!)

HUGE bolt of fabric.... $30.... may purchase & save for the beach!

Lunchtime Goodwilling.

One of my favorite sports is hitting the Goodwill at lunch :-) I went looking for a chandelier.... but came out pretty good!

Scored a set of lamps for $4 each and a magazine wrack for $6! They'll all look awesome once their painted :-)

Wingback Woes.

After reading tutorial after tutorial I decided I could reupholster my wingback chair.....

well.... ladies & gents.... I'm 4.5 hours into the process.... and I've only removed about 1/2 the fabric from the chair. There are more staples holding that thing together than you could ever imagine.

I confess, I ended up ripping the outside of the "wings" off.... getting up in the curve to remove the staples was just too maddening.

This was taken just before I called it quits at 10PM last night.

Houston, We Have Fabric.

Back in May I placed an order (kinda on a whim) for 11 yards of Robert Allen, Bella Porte in charcoal for my office curtains. At $12.98 a yard it was by far cheaper than anywhere else I'd found it.

I got a call the end of last week that it was in! I trekked down to Mary Jo's in Gastonia to pick it up. While there, I decided to hunt for new fabric for my wingback & the pair of chairs. I found some nice solid white for the pair of chairs and some snazzy hot pink for my wingback!!!

I'll be shipping off the pair of chairs to Johnny.... a guy that is dirt cheap for upholstery work. I'm going to try and tackle the wingback myself :-)

I've also decided to once and for all paint my desk white. It's something I wanted to do a long time ago, and then chickened out.... now I'm doing it!


Fence Update:

The fence is complete!!!!! We cooked hot dogs outside last night & had drinks while the puppies played!!

Fencing in the Yard.

A while back Jeremy & I discussed having our yard fenced.... we decided it wasn't worth it given the size of our yard. But back last fall maybe we had a fence co. come out and do an estimate. It was the fence co. that everyone else in our area of the neighborhood had used. They wanted over $1800 to fence our yard.... crazy town.

Our Tiny backyard before we bought the house

We decided fencing the yard just wasn't going to happen. Well... summer arrived and we started cooking out more, and our puppies would stand at the back door and cry. If it wasn't too hot we would put up the baby gate so they could be closer.

After Jeremy got his job this spring, we decided to revisit the idea of fencing the yard. I emailed about 5 companies in the area to get quotes... only ONE emailed me back. (One other did call me, but I specifically asked to be emailed so I didn't return their call). They came out, and quoted us.... $300 cheaper than the first company!! So we paid our deposit & waited to be scheduled.

We were on the calendar for July 1. Then I got an email saying they were bumping us up to June 28! We didn't have to be home for the install, but I felt better being there. I left work just after 1PM yesterday to get home in time to see it being finished. I pulled up and this is what I saw.....

not happy.

They'd had an "emergency" but were on the way to our house. They worked about 3 hours, and didn't get as much done as I'd hoped.

They better be back out there today finishing it as I type.