Randomness

I apologize for the lack of posts lately, would you believe I had the flu... again? Nothing says fun like loads of snot.

Anyhoo, clothing is off topic for me, but I can't pass up posting about my fabulous JCrew wedding season find.

JCrew doesn't normally carry their special occasion dresses in the store, so I was pretty excited to stumble in there this weekend only to find rack upon rack of colorful goodness. They really should start sending these beauties to the store, because I would NEVER have ordered this dress if I hadn't seen it in person. I promise you all it doesn't resemble maternity wear quite as much in person.



I picked it up in a shimmery brown color which will get me through all my summer and fall weddings.


And really, does it get better than fushia heels?? I also picked up these lovelies for good measure in both the gold and the fabulous green.

I adore being a girl.

DIY - TV Frame

Yes, yes.... It's been a week since my last post. Bad Meg. ;)



Anyway, I stumbled upon this TV frame in Pottery Barn's sale section today, and felt like it warranted a post. PB is charging between $400 and $600 for this beauty (on sale), which frankly intrigues me.

I always tend to lean toward hiding a TV. I don't really want it to be the centerpiece of our living room, but, if I'm going to display it, it needs to be pretty. And what better way than to frame it?

However, why on earth would PB charge such a fortune for what is essentially 4 pieces of crown moulding?


I do, however, think I might pick up this light for above our dining room table.

Chairs vs. shelves

So, I mentioned in my last post that I was contemplating painting my Dining Room chairs a nice bright white color. The Lovely Bryn, posted this picture earlier this week and it really got me thinking. Could my dining room handle the white?

I pretty much adore everything about this West Elm picture. The green walls, the dark table, the white chairs. Such a striking contrast. Of course, then I remembered that I don't have green walls, I'm lacking the streamlined table.... and basically, I'm questioning initial excitement.

Please take note of my actually dining room. Although, try to refrain from noticing our horrible off center chandelier that I'm pretty sure the previous owners picked up at a Home Depot liquidation sale. We'll be replacing it soon with a chandelier similar to this.

Anyway, our dining room 'corner' is pretty dark. Two years ago when we bought the house, I really fell in love with the dark wood with mixed with black look. Now, I'm pretty sure it's contributing to the black hole that is that corner. And while I LOVE our PB entertaining shelves, I wish I'd look around a bit for a better way to hang them. (However, those things were a NIGHTMARE to hang... so I'm hoping to avoid moving them too much.)

But, what if I painted the shelves white and left the chairs? I could pick up three square pictures to replace the old college era picture I currently have hanging on the adjacent wall. It wouldn't nearly measure up to the loveliness of that is Sherry and John's dining room... but maybe it would come close?

And the big reveal

Just as a reminder, that is what my fireplace used to look like. It was a horrid lovely red color that was disgusting dirty beyond repair. I'm not kidding when I tell you that no amount of hard work, soap or acid could get it clean. In fact, it took two coats of some weird spray-paint smelling substance and an hour of scraping with a putty knife to even be ready for paint.

And here is my masterpiece post paint job:


I'm not 100% convinced I love it. It's quite a shocking difference, and I wonder if it looks too sterile. Below is the same perspective I used in my last post.

What do you guys think?

And, since I'm in a sharing mood today... here is the other half of the world's oddest shaped room (And a peek at the always super chic Lola the bean dog.)

*Le sigh*

Someday I'll come up with a way to make this room look better!

Painting Complete!

Doesn't it look great?

Ok, ok, that's not my house. But, I'll be back to show off the pictures tomorrow. (Photo by Chris Everard)

To paint, or not to paint...

For two years I've been debating painting our fireplace. I just can't decide. Originally, we decided no - because of the brick along the floor, it seems a little too high maintenance for us. Then, we decided no because we were going to replace our current surround with one similar to this when we replace our wood burning fireplace with a gas fireplace.

Since then, a few new projects have come up that pushed back the fireplace. So, it's time to decide if we should paint, or not paint. (Please excuse my serious lack of photoshop talent!)




What do you think - Should we go white?

Off topic..

This is my random post for the month. Forgive me. :)

I posted a while ago about my little smooshy faced pup. What I didn't mention is how excited I get when a similarly cute dog makes it into one of my daily reading blogs.

This guy looks to be a French Bulldog, and not a Boston Terrier - but he's still cute.

Thank you Jose Villa for taking such fabulous photos!

Babies on the brain

I think it's fair to say that I've been fairly obsessed with all things "baby" lately. And it isn't helping things that Baby Gap launched it's new Nursery store today. I had to take a peek! I don't know what I was expecting, but I'm pleasantly surprised at what the Gap is offering.

I just love the options in the mix and match organic bedding section. Not overly cartoony or pastely. (Ok, they aren't real words, but you know what I mean.)




Fabulous turtle blanket
This looks like a knock off of the much more expensive Bla Bla Kids version...


All in all, I like it! It's not quite up to par with Land of Nod or PB Baby... but I have high hopes that it will be there eventually!