Emerald City
I’ve always loved St. Patrick’s Day. I think it’s because I associate it with memories of Spring Break of college days past, as most of the time it coincided with the end of mid-term and me heading somewhere sunny with friends for a blurry week of, “You’ll never believe what just happened.” Because of this, I have a strong relationship with Kelly green, specifically, but pastel shades of seafoam green (the color used for danapop) and mint in my favorite kind of ice cream make me equally happy.
Come Saturday, there will be a sea of green among us. Until then, here are my favorite hues this spring, appearing like a grassy field.
1. Modern Green Four-Light Mini Chandelier, Bellacor 2. Stripped Hemp Dog Bed, Olive & Cocoa 3. Wyatt Kelly Green Colorblock Blouse, Bluefly 4. Multi Strap Vest, Topshop 5. Le Pavillion iPhone Case, Kate Spade 6. Green Flat Clutch, Claire Vivier 7. Pleat Belted Dress, Oasis 8. Supersoft Skinny, Topshop 9. Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies, Betty Crocker 10. Ombres 5 Lumiéres Eyeshadow, Yves Saint Laurent. Showpony Eat Your Greens Tea Towel image: Not On The High Street
Terrarium Before & After
As promised, here are the before and after of the gorgeous terrarium my friend Kenn whipped up. We picked out the plants together at a wholesale spot he knows, and he graciously assembled it all for my kitchen/dining room table. I really wish I had better lighting in here because the photographs do not do it justice, really.
It is amazing how much life these succulents add to this room.
Anti-Green Thumb
I can’t be trusted with plants, and I’ve known this from an early age. For a long time when I was growing up my chore list every other week was to water the plants in my parents’ atrium. Well, if it wasn’t for my mother sneaking in a misting behind me, I’m certain everything would’ve been dead by the time I graduated high school. Miraculously, that room, to this day still looks like a jungle of ferns, cactus, succulents, and the most gorgeous blossoms basking in the sunlight.
My current home has a dining room table in the kitchen, so I look at it daily and love nothing more than fresh cut flowers on it. When I don’t get those, I at least try to keep something alive on the table at all times, even if it’s just a bowl of fresh fruit. Lately I want something a bit more permanent. Something I can tend to and enjoy every day. But I know my limits. I mean, my brother’s family recently sent me the loveliest white orchid. Shortly thereafter, it had a burial ceremony complete with a proper humming of Taps to accompany its journey to the trash bin. I need help.
In a lot of Eastern cultures, plants balance the energy of a home. But, if we’re being honest, I feel like ever since I threw out the lucky bamboo that basically completely violated an innocent vase, our fortune has actually changed for the better. At any rate, I’ve commissioned a good friend who is an expert in flower arranging (he’s trusted with some of the top restaurants and retail storefronts in the city) to do something with this space on my table. If he can’t help me pull together something I can’t manage to murder, I don’t know who can. I’ll report back with the after-arrangement.
Image: Courtesy of Brian Woodcock
I ♥
Lately, I’ve been in quite a purging mood, trying to rid myself of things that don’t inspire me or leave me feeling weighed down. In doing so, I’ve realized how many things I adore in the process, everyday items I cannot live without. In the spirit of love, here are a handful of things I’m swooning over at the moment.
1. obsessed with the Crawley’s of Downton Abbey 2. a favorite sculpture from my twin sister that sits in my living room 3. Papier Brillant’s stunning sheets of glitter wallpaper all produced from a Roswell, Georgia studio 4. finally found a Bolognese recipe worth making in Donna Hay’s anniversary issue 5. my first article in a national publication 6. excellent read by the über-talented Amy Flurry 7. Bloody Mary’s made easy with Dimitri’s 8. perfectly aged Cougar Gold cheese gifted from my cousin 9.artisan chocolates from Olive & Sinclair 10. these wedges make me excited for warmer weather 11. my hair can’t live without Moroccan Oil. Heart filled with flowers image: Olive & Cocoa
Bargain Hunters
Admittedly, math has never been my strong suit and certainly balancing a checkbook falls into the, oh shoot, numbers again category. I have a vague memory (that I’ve really tried to block out) of my older brother and sister-in-law (who, in my opinion, both hold the title of finance whiz) helping me with my bills once in college, and it ended up with me sobbing and my brother having to leave the room to pour himself a stiff drink after declaring something along the lines of “not knowing what to say anymore” about the disaster that was a manila envelope of unopened credit card and utility bills.
A similar discussion went down several years later with my sweet brother-in-law trying to help me suss out a new car to purchase within my budget and ending with him just sort of throwing up his hands, leading us to both decide that maybe I’d better hold off a bit on such a big purchase.
Unfortunately, I’ve never been one of those women who has her eyes on a purchase and waits for it to go on sale. Or one of those women excited to open her 100 deal emails flooding her inbox. Seriously, I adore you Groupon, Scoutmob, DailyCandy Deals, but damn, girl, it’s too much. Way. Too. Much.
Because of my own experiences, I obviously know how stressful budgets are and how important getting one’s financial house in order is. That said, I’m now living the stage of my life that I like to call the thank-gawd-I’m- married-and-my-husband-pays-the-bills-as-long-as-he-never-has-to-use-a-Clorox-toilet-wand. But, I’m trying to stretch out a bit more into the gray area of the money realm and not just pull a disappearing act when my husband asks me what outstanding invoices my business has this month. Huh, what? Oh um, let me quickly go check (tires pealing out of the driveway).
Because of this, I wanted to talk to real women about their real budgets, so I reached out to five of the most fashionable and smart gals I know to find out how their households survive on a budget all while looking like a million bucks.
Global Style
Image: Courtesy of Heather Hogan Roberts
We know travel influences art, architecture and design, but seeing the fall pages of glossies filled with Ikat and Navajo prints makes me realize how much travel influences one’s overall style. Here’s my worldly roundup of most fashionable home accents and wears from around the globe.
Peggy 60s faux fur collar coat, Oasis
Zinke ink-imbued jumper, Anthropologie
Seychelles cleary heels, Anthropologie
Coronation jute wine gags, Wisteria
Gypsy 05 grey silk-dye print Ella flutter mini dress, Bluefly
Deborah Lippmann not-so-typical taupe nail lacquer
Starfish pillow, Maine Cottage
Prada turquoise suede cutout platform sandal, Bluefly
Kimono sleeve shift dress, Oasis
Make Up For Ever rouge artist intense, Sephora
Fringe Asia tray, Bloomingdales
Silver Chinese garden stool, Wisteria
Bernere blanket wrap, Les Nouvelles
Modern, slight curve straight jeans in vintage dark, Levi’s
Coffee table book available in October, Taschen
Leather bag, Esprit
Snakeskin print blazer, Zara
Shoshanna green ikat printed silk strapless dress, Bluefly
Two horn necklace, Forever 21
Torro chair by Adam Birch, Anthropologie
Cross leather leggings by Surface to Air, Les Nouvelles
Camilla floral dress by Roseanna, Les Nouvelles
Maguba clogs
Cucina purifying hand soap, Sur La Table
Before & After: Countertops
I recently wrote all about the tomato-red goodness that once were my kitchen countertops, here.
Well, that fun little (err not so fun and not so little) project is mostly done (aside from the caulk job that needs to happen). Home renovation projects always leave me a bit frazzled, mostly because everything is a bit out of whack and out of place (as I type this, I’m starring at a bowl of avocados in my office since it can’t live in its usual home on the kitchen counter).
Yes, I think avocados next to the computer classifies out of whack. Here’s the before & after in photo form.
Before the project began, I was more worried about what sealing the counters would entail. Little did I know how much scraping…
Scraping … and more scraping we had in store.
Time to call in the big guns (electric sander).
In times of crisis and projects that I’m particularly overwhelmed I generally have one of two reactions—cry or quit. I threw in the towel once during a meltdown at Home Depot, which in retrospect I’m shocked my husband stuck around long enough to actually give me a ride home.
Truth be told, the freak-out had something to do with the paint not coming off and the idea of us stuck with what were for a brief period, pink tinted counters.
It was about this time I was thinking of Plan B. I already had an alternate color of paint picked out in my head hudsonpaint.com (#25 royal bronze).
Getting the layers of paint off the concrete was the bulk of the job and took Friday night through Sunday to see what we were actually working with.
After three days of scraping and sanding, we finally used the Cheng method of non-toxic sealer on the unpainted surface. Helpful tip—old t-shirts (and okay, my husband’s old underwear) were a great application vessel for the sealer. No lint!
The lesson—projects always take longer than slated, cost more than estimated, but are totally worth it in the end. Helpful tip—Never wear flip-flops while working with power tools. My big toe looks like Mark Wahlberg’s face when he isn’t winning in, “The Fighter.”
Our new, concrete countertops in their natural state of gray. This is a project we’ve wanted to do for a while now and while it took a lot of sweat (no tears!), the payoff is nice. I’d be lying if I said they look exactly like what I pictured. But, I’m allowing myself time to get used to our kitchen looking like a freshly poured sidewalk. My husband’s already talking about calling someone to tile this sucker.
Silence, Almost
I’ve been buried in paint chips and concrete dust since Friday, but happy to report that the countertops are well on their way to cease yelling at me. The red dragon has almost been slayed. Before and after pictures coming soon … I promise.
Concrete Jungle
Our countertop in all its firey glory.
My husband and I are about to embark on another home improvement project. I wish I could put this in the same category as operation subway-tile-the-hell-out-of-the-shower, or slip-cover-the shite-out-of-the-sofa, but we’re biting off more than either of those combined. The big difference in this journey is that, well, there’s a gigantic margin of error, and in our case, this likely means we might truly make things worse than what we started with. Let’s back up.
Stripes & Colorblock
I’ve had a penchant for stripes for as long as I can remember. You can see in exhibits A through C and honestly, I could likely go through the entire alphabet with pieces tucked throughout my closet (I haven’t even shown you scarves, sweaters, tees) if I needed to really draw up a case. It’s embarrassing, and admittedly I need to employ a little fashion editing in this department.
But, from home goods to clothing, the somewhat French, somewhat nautical simplicity of a stripe gets me every time. So, it’s no surprise my eyes keep wandering towards summery stripe patterns and its cousin, colorblock this season. Here are a few structurally lined things I’d like to add to my overflowing existing collection (with restraint, of course).
1. Sheer Cotton Scarf, Esprit
2. Stripe Mixed Fabric Maxi Dress, Oasis
3. Heather Grey Stripe Cotton Butterfly Sleeve Top, Cielo
4. Marie Top, Fossil
5. Multi Stripe Skirt, Topshop
6. La Pochette Clutch, Clare Vivier
7. University Black Rope Sole Classics, Toms
8. Winston Colour Block Espadrille Wedges, Topshop
