Modern Glamour in Black and White

 

The good thing about moving is packing. Not that it is fun, or uneventful, but it does allow you to see your space without all of the "stuff", so you can see the possibilities without all of those things that you are so artificially tied to. Moving into a new place, also gives one the opportunity to nest a bit. Different layouts, different windows, different flooring, can either stress you out, or give you a chance to be creative without spending too much.

So, I ordered my white Pottery Barn slipcovers (mine are white and no longer on pottery barn, I got them on ebay for way less, so I linked to the 'natural' color). As a brave soul ordering white with 2 toddler boys, I decided I will try it and bleach those babies if I need to. Especially after reading Holly's advice in living with an all white home in her Life in the Fun Lane blog. She has some great slipcover advice here and here. And This Stylish House has great advice as well.

With all of this white, I am thinking charcoal gray and black for the next place. So, when I came upon this home featured in Domino, of J.Crew's creative director, Jenna Lyons, it made me realize that a dark and elegant place with touches of stark white, can still have warmth and uniqueness.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Earthy Orange

natural birdhouses ~ Tamar Mogendorff

It's not a secret that I love the color orange. Many people think it is a bright, obnoxious, glaring color, but the rustic orange I love has an earthy, warm, muted but not quite shy or timid feel. It makes me feel like I am wearing a dose of color without putting myself out there too much. Stuck in a lovely but sometimes sterile white and creme color rut, clothing or decor wise? Try a soft hint of earthy and natural orange to add a tender punch. You just might like it. I added touches in my decor here in this post. Or, even more orange favs here.

 

oranges ~ talis (lots of great orange prints in her shop)

 

autumn paper baubles ~ tanya mac

 

felted wool acorns ~ lil fish studios

 

garland gloves ~ Anu Tuominen

peace shells ~ brief moments

My all time fav orange sweater, makes my boring outfits feel so much more pulled together, love how we are 'picking' acorns together, in the crisp fall weather (last year) so fitting for this post.

Petals, Ruffles and Pinks

spring 2009 fashion show

Sometimes, it is okay to dress up and be pretty for no apparent reason. Just because your day is filled with mundane tasks, crying babies, barking dogs, laundry piles to tackle, errands to run and so forth, doesn't mean you can't grab a gorgous clutch, blossomed heels, and a drapey, flowy skirt that has you swimming in layers of tulle, satin and silk.

 

ballerina -jesse draper

 

 princess portal 

 

Jeweled Ambrosia (me!) vintage pink skirt

So, I dare you, to put on something fancy, beautiful, lovely, do the smokey eye, strut to your mailbox to check the mail, and greet the world in your finest.

how to make this petal clutch tutorial ~ ruffles and stuff

sarah seven - peachy keen dress

Or, if you have no where to go, get dolled up anyways. It is amazing how soft styling and feminine layers can enhance your mood during a rather boring, taxing, sad, or just one of those blah days. Interesting how, all of my lovely photos are in shades of pinks and peaches. Totally unintentional, yet truly inspirational.

Trick or Treat!

For Halloween, we were a Candy Corn, Jedi, Sonic and Knuckles. You can read more about our Halloween adventures and the Sonic the Hedgehog costume transformation with lots of pics at my family blog Oh Those Aarons.

I hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween as well! I have lots to talk about this week which is why I'm leaving this post short :)

Throwin a Party

I am so happy Halloween is over! Of course, the struggle of toddlers demanding copious amount of candy throughout the course if the day is not over, but the decorating, the idea searching overload, the MESS of making my sons costumes is OVER (I will be uploading pics soon)! I'm so happy, I could throw a party! And if I did, it would be filled with balloons, and flower garlands!

Of course, since we are moving next month, all of my decorating goodies will be given to Goodwill or packed, *sad face* so it will be good for us to live simply (ha!) for a little while.

So, while we are on a new adventure of stressing out (while being super happy and feeling blessed at the same time, of course),  and the inner turmoil of not unpacking hardly any decor while we are in transition for the next year, what to get rid of... it also feels kind of nice to purge. (A theme discussed on this blog every now and then, but now I have to get serious!) Though, we have gotten rid of several pieces of furniture on Craigslist, we can't have a garage sale for the little things since we are apartment dwellers. I also found Fly Lady and UnClutterer, two sites that are inspiring for those wishing to simplify.

I will be giving boxes of craft supplies and such to goodwill. If you want it (for the cost of shipping) contact me and I'll send you a box :)  I'd love to hear your purging success stories, it would make me feel more like this is possible.

Sweet Treats: Cute Desserts for your Halloween!

Mummy wrapped water bottles for a candy dish! Adorable, quick, cheap and easy, how to here!

Are you a procrastinatior? So caught up in decorating/making costumes/ or REAL life day to day tasks that you totally spaced out? Did you forget that you invited some people over tonight, or that you are hosting a Halloween party or assigned to bring a treat to one? Well, don't you fret, because we have ALL done that in one point (or all the time) in our lives. Here are some quick and easy ideas for you, my friends. And if you go here to my recipes, you will find tons more sweet treat recipes, like cupcakes, bars, and cookies!

monster cupcakes recipe

Ghost marshmallow recipes for your hot chocolate? YES! Recipe.

 Broomstick treat bags! Adorable! Make your own stencil by cutting a design on paper.

 

simple black and white spooky cookies (slide #4)

 

Witches fingers. I've seen them made of of cheese, cookies, biscotti with almond sliver nails...

lots of recipes online

 

Godiva chocolate strawberry ghosts, or make your own with this recipe!

Witchy cookies recipe

Can't think of a theme for that oh-crap-I've-been-so-busy-I-totally-forgot-I-was-hosting-one party? Here's some good themes ideas complete with ways to make them work on Ghoul Friday! 

Have a safe and Happy Halloween!!

A Little Lovables Halloween

 the husband is not a fan of the spider and crow, ha!

I feel like my Halloween decorating is completed enough to show you now. I did have a few other cute little surprises, like a flock of birds flying in a v formation that I stamped to our central mirror... but it has already been smeared to an inky fog by my toddlers, and frankly, I'm just too tired to redo it.

 last year, on the ill fated mantle, blythe was a kitty, oh, where is my boa??

I tried to stay away from orange, and do more of an elegant black, white and creme theme like last year, but orange snuck in here somehow, so I just went with what I had. I tried to mix the harvest style with spooky without messing up the themes too much. I'm an all or nothin' kind of gal, so this harvest/Halloween mash up was a major step for me.

found this vintage brass owl family at a garage sale for $1 a few weeks ago!

For the pumpkin in a mirror project, those are from those child's foam decorating kits. While the boy had fun making his own, I thought I would do something a bit kooky-classy. I got this old frame from a garage sale last month and painted it white. It naturally distressed in that time from my lack of putting it anywhere safe.

 

I hot glued a black ribbon to the back (can easily be unpeeled later). Then I made my foam jack o lanterns. But oooo-wie... too dang orange for my sore eyes! So, I got some black ink (for stamping) dabbed it with a paper towel, removed the pumpkin faces and smeared the ink around, emphasizing it around the edges. I reapplied the faces, but wouldn't stick well to the ink, so I hot glued them on. Then, I hot glued the pumpkins to the ribbon! It fit perfectly in that little odd space in my display.

the only good thing about that desk, is using it as a vignette surface ;)

This is the pumpkin carriage thingy I adore that I painted! I added a light up jack o lantern inside, crystals, and a pocket watch. It did have little mice on it, but they disappeared somewhere. All I need is a glass slipper for a Cinderella display.

  I saved $6 on this. I really wanted the more expensive flowers, but settled for these, hey I'm trying! The vase I got at Goodwill and the bird and berries were all clearanced items. I can really jazz it up later after Halloween for more of the harvest look. You can see a making of the floral arrangments here:

And there is Frankenstein and his bride. The husband thinks they are too scary. I contemplated painting them a little shabby chic style to ease that scare factor? What do you think? Oh, and her head fell off. E6000 saved the day.

I love that pedestal pumpkin. It's glass and a clearance hobby lobby find. So cute and chic and no need to paint! Although, the pedestal part would look pretty nifty black... hmmm...

Another angle of my long counter top that is really useless except for knocking into it and getting heinous bruises. A junk collector too. I am pretty sure my decorations fall under the "junk" category as well. Sorry husband of mine!

This here shadow box I got from Viv's Whimsy Halloween swap. I love it! So cute, the velvety curtain with pom pom fringe and vintage image are so pretty. Oh, and that's a page from Twilight that skeleton is standing on :) Thanks Michelle from Chaos Cottage for making me this!!

The one I made her was a little ghosty fellow in chains with little flying black birds inside of a wooden coffin.

I thought I would show you some previous years Halloween costumes for your viewing pleasure.

 

Sonic boy as Mr. T. He loved it and so did everyone else! We used mascara for the 'do and I sewed clearance Homecoming chains and junk to a yellow terry cloth bib, so it was light and comfortable to wear.

Seriously, I threw all 3 of our outfits together in 15 minutes, as I was rushing out of the door to go to a Halloween party. Bad momma, I know. But, the boys loved being scarecrows! I wired a nest with eggs and a bird to the eldest and put hay things and feathers in their pockets and sprayed his hair all crazy like. Of course, we had to have red triangle noses and freckles!  The overalls I wore were my mom's from the 70's. I wore them for hippie day in high school during homecoming week. They have hippie patches on the bum, and a band one called "Up with People"  I know, funny stuff!

Well, this Halloween, we are going as candy corn (that would be me), Sonic the Hedgehog and his little red buddy, Knuckles, though the oldest is intent on his little bro being a witch. Weird! You can see more of how these costumes turned out here.