Put A Lid On It

My new hat. Cute, huh?

I bought a hat at Target the other day. It is a summer fedora but I couldn’t pass it up because I love hats. Frequently, however, hats don’t love me back… They are too small or the wrong shape for my face or some other weird thing. This hat fits perfectly and looks good on me, so how could I pass that up? Plus, since it’s off season I got it for a mere $3.88 + tax. Can you beat that?

While I’m happy with that purchase, what I really went in there for was to see if I could find some Fall/Winter accessories so I could stay warm during these chilly seasons. One small problem: I was totally underwhelmed by Target’s offerings this year. That really bummed me out because Target is my go-to place for fashionable, reasonably priced accessories.

So… I had to start looking elsewhere. I admit that so far I’ve only looked online. But I’ve found some stuff that is funky and fun enough for me to be happy with! Here’s what I found:

Kate Spade NY 'Big Apple' hat and convertible mittens @Nordstrom.

I really love the tinge of color on the edges of Kate Spade’s mitten/trapper hat combo and it’s a wool blend so it’s probably super warm. Honestly, the $80+ per piece price range isn’t too terribly realistic right now, so…

Old Navy's 'Color Block' & 'Super Soft Sweater' cold weather accessories.

Old Navy comes to the rescue! All of these pieces are $15 or less… and prove conclusively that I love green! While I do like these pieces the set I found online that I love the most is this multi-color set from Kohl’s.

'Zigzag' slouchy hat and infinity scarf @Kohl's.

I really like the ribbed chevron on the Zigzag set, don’t you? Well, the search continues… Where do you get your cold winter accessories from?

Have a good weekend, everyone! Until next time…

Lazy Days of Summer?

So, my plan was to write an awesome post about some cool things I’ve seen lately but life, in the form of six loads of laundry, intervened. I decided that I should stop procrastinating and get it done… Which I did.

I also finished the last book of the Fifty Shades of Grey Trilogy (more on that in another post)…

… downloaded a new eBook called The Black God’s War…

… signed up for the email list for my friend Robin Burks upcoming debut novel Zeus, INC…

… played around with a photo editing app called Pixlr…

edited and added to some of my boards on Pinterest

… checked out the girly glam blog, This Is Glamorous…

… made two playlists on Spotify and listened to Nero’s Welcome Reality…

Um, but not necessarily in that order! Anyway, that’s what I did with my day off. I didn’t really do anything but I feel like that was a lot for one day! Until next time…

Rustic Elegance

I am totally in love with gray right now and I’ve always been a fan of mixing luxe items with rustic or industrial pieces. So, today I bring you some of my favorite recent finds in gray, both industrial and luxurious.

From top left: Foothill Wool Rug, $700-$1500 – Decorarugs.com; Bubbled Beverage Dispenser, $298 – Anthropologie; Spool side table, $199 – Crate & Barrel; Wood Alphabet by Bookhou At Home, $50 – Etsy; Piecrust Dinnerware in Cloud, $12-$20 – Anthropologie; Bachelor’s Steel & Wood Cabinet, $1245 – Clayton Gray Home; Ceramic Stallion, $99 – Z Gallerie.

Totally Inspiring Room

Another quick post from me today. This is the living room of Ochre and Canvas store owners Andrew Corrie and Harriet Maxwell MacDonald. I’m loving the grayed down, cool colors and the pale wood… and then little bits of Glam thrown in. Amazing.

I hope you’re having a great Monday! See you tomorrow. 🙂

A More Perfect Bath

Bathrooms. Can’t live with them, can’t live without them.

OK, that may be a little harsh but no other room in a house (with the possible exception of the laundry room) is so purely devoted to function. Many people renovate their whole house and leave the bath for last or don’t do it at all. For my part, I’m just not a fan of bathrooms. But lately, I keep seeing some wonderful examples of beautiful and functional bathrooms that are making me change my mind about the worthiness of renovating/redecorating them.

I’ve discovered that I like a clean, uncluttered look: lots of gray and white, minimal furnishings, with interesting details… nothing too fussy or frou.

Two examples of my favorite bathroom layout:

Fixtures and fittings all down one side, dark floors, white walls, an uncovered window and a glass short enclosure instead of a tub.

I love gray and white bath schemes:

The master bath in Ellen Rakieten’s Chicago home. Designed by Nate Berkus and Anne Coyle. Picture from Elle Decor.

A rustic, industrial look prevails in the bath on the left, refined elegance rules in the bath on the right. I like elements of both looks. (sources unknown)

Some bath elements I love:

Clockwise from top left: Natural stone vessel sink, Pegasus – $380, ‘Chantilly Vines’ mirror, Anthropologie – $128, ‘Perpetual Blooms’ towels, Anthropologie – $9-$62, ‘Strut’ medium table, Blu Dot – $699, ‘Tex-Tile’ in Cotton (12″x24″), Emser Tile – $8/sq ft, ‘Henry’ bath fittings, Waterworks – price varies by finish.

I’d love to have a sleek, elegant gray and white bath someday. In the meantime, I’ll keep dreaming! What are your favorite bath styles/color schemes?

Art: Jasmine Fuhr

Fashion illustrations by Jasmine Fuhr today. Discovered her on Dripbook… visit her website and see more of her brilliant work.

Here some favorites from the Dripbook portfolio:

Neutral Territory

Kitchens. I like ’em clean and uncluttered. The sleeker and crisper a kitchen is the better I like it. And nothing says clean like neatness, organization, neutral colors, and no upper cabinets (though open upper cabinets are fine). I’m not against having decorative objects or color in the kitchen as long as they are accents and not the only thing you see. So, today I’m presenting some of my favorite (mostly white) kitchens. The uppers are missing or open, the decor isn’t tacky and over the top, and yet all if them look welcoming and homey.

Currently my very favorite kitchen. Everything about it makes me happy. Not sure of the source but I’d love to know!

There is a lot to love here: open shelves, white dinner and serveware, marble counter tops, rustic-modern cabinets, the wall mounted tap, and art leaning casually on the backsplash. Gorgeous!

A more feminine, traditional take on idea… this is so cute! It’d be perfect in a little cottage.

Technically, I’m cheating a bit here because there are some upper cabinets… but the rest of this kitchen is so perfect (especially the view through the door) that I couldn’t pass it up. And… its a tiny cabinet!

Chalkboard walls are a fun and functional way to bring interest to a kitchen.

Favorite Five

These are my top five likes for the week:

“drawn” -Art print by Olivia Jeffries (restlessthings) @Etsy

“Bugs and Butterflies” wallpaper in Ice Blue @Barneby Gates

Parachute Journalists “Umbrella Girl” poster by Jeff Finley @Society6

“Old Country” bookshelf @UrbanOutfitters

“Gilded Glow” floor lamp @Anthropologie

Elegant Simplicity

A few simple, yet elegant rooms for this cool spring day. I hope it’s fairer in you part of the world!

A simple, modern living room from MSL.

Warm neutrals and hints of black cozy up this living room from Lonny Magazine.

Cool and serene digs from decorpad.

Calming blues, pale wood, and simple shapes in this living room from House Beautiful.

Clean and modern dining room (Elle Decor?).

A uniquely shaped headboard is simplified by crisp white fabric.

Totally Inspiring Room

I found this pic (styled by James Leland Day) online while looking for Benjamin Moore’s Mysterious paint… I don’t know if that is the exact color in this pic but it looks close! Other pluses? My current obsession: a tray table. That rich caramel color on the sofa is making me drool. All in all a really pretty… and totally inspiring room!