Friday 29 June 2012

Double curtain rod systems...

I've never seen these types of double curtain rod systems in the shops... but am just wondering what your thoughts are on them. Are they expensive? Do you think they are worth it? Or would you recommend buying all the components separatelly and going with a good quality and thick blockout curtain rod (at the front) and a less expensive one for the sheers (at the back)?

Would love to hear your thoughts, as always :)



B

Deer(s) and other things.

Friday. I’m hangin’ out with the deers and hogs and stags and rams and wildebeest (etc) at the ranch today, but as per usual, I have some awesome new people to introduce you to. And yes, I know the plural of deer is not deers, but I like to say it that way to annoy Matthew. I’m a fun wife like that.

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A Home Away From Home is a blog by an expat named Jenna—a California girl who fell in love while studying abroad and then made the big pond-hop to Johannesburg, South Africa!  Jenna’s blog is full of gorgeous pictures and accounts of an exciting and extra-ordinary life, and to top it all off, she writes beautifully. Win-win. You can get to know her a bit better here. Get on that!

Jenna Blog | Twitter

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Love Always is a blog by another Austinite, the gorgeous miss Becca. She’s studying magazine writing and editing at the fabulous UT (I’m jealous), and I absolutely love a) the positive tone to her blog b) this post and c) her hair.  Get to know Becca a bit better here, and make a very cool new friend! :)   (PS – Can’t wait to meet you too, Becca!)

Becca Blog | Twitter

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If you love buying vintage and antiques, then this next website will blow your mind, It’s basically the hub of all awesome online vintage, and I swear, you could get lost perusing the extensive virtual aisles. Shop everything from antiques to vintage jewelry to vintage clothing, and note that you can organize items by price range with the tools on the left. Happy antiquing! :)

 
Website

Happy Friday everyone!

Feature Friday: White + Gold Design




Today I am featuring the amazing home of Marianne from White + Gold Design. Here is how she describes her style: 
Enjoy! 




















You can view more details on this room here








To view more details on this room go here













Thank you so much to Marianne for sharing her home with us. For a complete list of sources go to her blog here


To see past Feature Fridays go here 


All photos taken by Emily Brown Photography

Thursday 28 June 2012

Don't you love....when crochet gets an update

I adored my crochet blankey as a bub (see below).  The 70's interpretations of crochet and felting - not so much.  But today I love love the textures and updated colours and patterns!
crochet design modern stool felt pouf
1 - love the colours and chevron from Oh Happy Day, 2 - who knew crochet could be elegant from Purl Bee
3 - covers for IKEA seat via Going Home to Roost, 4 - a rainbow felted pouf via Scientific Culture
5 - more inspiration from Oh Happy Day

Yes that's me, rather grubby photo from the mists of time.  Big sister wants to know if they had the iron age yet when I was young, hmmmf!.

Blue Dahlia and Take Heart

I’ve decided I’m going to make a point to visit more new restaurants around town. It’s so tempting to eat out only at the tried and true, but I am thrilled every time I discover some new little hole in the wall of awesomeness.

I have a thing about chain restaurants. I hate them. I mean, I love them, but I also hate them. They are so lacking in character and authenticity to me. Chili’s? You may have the best damn Chicken Crispers and Paradise Pie my mouth has ever beheld, and Red Lobster, your Cheddar Bay Biscuits kind of make me want to cry, they’re so good—but your originality is non-existent.

You Austinites probably already know that this is a major foodie town, and we’re all about locally sourced ingredients and supporting small businesses. Especially downtown, there’s a hipster-run restaurant or coffee joint on every corner, and I am always so pleased by my visits to these places. Blue Dahlia on the east side, for example. It was a busy Sunday and my mom and I sat at a community table while we ate our delicious lunch and were serenaded by an accordion player.  I got the chicken salad sandwich with nuts and dried cranberries, and my mom got the prosciutto with mozzarella, pesto, and sun dried tomatoes. So. So. Yummy.

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Incidentally, right next door to Blue Dahlia is a fabulous little store called Take Heart, which my mom and I spent way too much time in. That has got to be THE perfect place to buy a unique gift for someone, or in my case, a few too many adorable cards. Makes me want to bring the snail mail back, I tell ya. For someone as postally lazy as I am, that’s saying something. 

There was even a cute dog in there. What more can you ask for?

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Happy Thursday!

Going Camping



I am headed out for a little R & R in the mountains today. I'm hoping I survive camping while being pregnant. Wish me luck! 

  I have an incredible Feature Friday for you tomorrow so make sure you check back in! 

It's all about berries

I felt like muffins the other night, but because I am a cheap skate and like to maximise the efficiency of my lovely oven, wanted to do a double batch ... However, as I only have one muffin tray ... I made a loaf instead.

I whipped up some blueberry muffins (half of them had a white Lindt ball in the centre) and a blueberry loaf.

They were very delicious, which is why there are no "after" photos :(
What are your favourite ways of using up frozen berries?

B

Wednesday 27 June 2012

Home office progress ...

So this is as far as I got with our home office. Disappointing, I know :(

I am once again second guessing my decisions and am wondering if I should stick with my original idea of floating shelves above the computer desk, or if I should perhaps go with some art work instead? What do you think? 

Also, we originally planned to have the computer desk closer to the window, which is why we put the power points more to that side. I've now moved the desk so it is in the centre of the wall, but the problem now is that the two power points on the right now stick out. Do you think this is a biggie? Would you rather have power points on the right of the desk or have the desk of centre?

Please excuse the modem. It will eventually be hidden in the cinema built in unit but for now it will have to stay here.

I would love to hear your suggestions as to how to pretty up the desk? I recently bought a small fish bowl vase, would that work, with some flowers in it of course? Also, where can I buy pretty mouse pads?


You can see here how the power points stick out ...

Any ideas on how to conceal the cables?


Bulkhead all around the room
B

Three Months

edd3
Three months. How can it be that long already? How can it be that short? Strange how it seems like a lifetime ago that Edd passed, and yet it seems like just yesterday, all at the same time. I still surprise myself with how quickly I can go from completely normal and carrying on with my day, to a sloppy, tearful mess. Like the other day, when I walked into my mom’s house and suddenly a wave of grief washed over me, out of nowhere. Their house. The place where Edd lived. The place where I held his hand and watched him die. The place where they carried out his body for the last time. The place where his ashes returned to rest, for now. The place where there’s still a closet full of his clothes, and walls full of his memory. 
I know I’m nowhere near the end of the “grieving process.” I find myself shoving feelings down—pushing them back through the cracks when they threaten to spill out. Memories flit across my mind sometimes, especially the dying ones, and I force myself to think other thoughts, because it’s still too much.  Whenever I sit down and try to write about it, I realize how much I’m still NOT close to coming to a place of peace. I avoid this because I break down every time. I miss him. I wonder where he is. I relive those gut-wrenching last breaths—the way, just seconds before he breathed his last, he opened his eyes for the first time in days, turned his head, and looked straight into my mom’s eyes for several seconds. Like goodbye. It was electric. And then he was cold, and gone, and it’s all so final, and even though I see it in beautiful ways sometimes, other times it just feels frightening and unfair and unreal and like too much.
My mom tells me stories of this beautiful love that the two of them had. It was positively magic, and the way he planned and prepared and organized during his life is still evident now, even after he’s gone. You do that when you love someone, you know? One time he told my mom, “I’d rather have cancer and have you, then not have cancer and not have you.” Wow. I want to love like that.
So I guess on this day, exactly three months after Edd’s spirit went on from this world, I just wanted to say that we still miss you so much, Edd. Do they have Internet cafes in heaven? Can you read this, and know?  You and I never had the affectionate kind of relationship—you were brilliant and an engineer and afraid of seeming “creepy.” But I knew you loved me, and my mom would tell me things you said. Towards the end, when you really weren’t you anymore, you told me that you always wanted daughters, and now you have them, and then you laughed sheepishly. I know that was you, shining through. I love you, Edd. You make me not afraid to die. Thank you for the way you lived.

Utah County Parade of Homes

Every year I hit up the parade of homes with my good friend Mandy.  I wasn't able to see very many homes this year and to be honest I was pretty disappointed with most of them. There was some really really really bad design. But there were a few homes that I found inspiring. 

*I'm sorry but I can't provide sources for these images. I've linked to each builder's website so you are welcome to try asking them*

The first house we visited was a modern home down by Ezra Lee Design + Build


See that green plant wall up on the loft? It's a living wall. The whole wall is succulents and other plant life with a drip watering system and everything! Crazy. 


I liked this idea of sliding barn doors that were actually huge mirrors. Really cool. 


A library room. One can only dream right? 


Two settees a the dining room table is an interesting idea. 

I liked a house done by D.R. Horton. They used a lot of Dwell Studio fabric




I thought this arrangement of white vases on the table made a great centerpiece. 

We also visited a home done by Cadence Homes designed by Four Chairs Furniture









I really love this little red chair. 



The last house I visited was done by Ivory Homes. They always do such a great job and in my opinion have by far the best decorating. 



I love the Schumacher Sinhala on the chairs. 


Love the botanicals above the fireplace. 


Velvet spool chairs? Yes, please. 


Then how about this Chiang Mai duvet cover? 




I thought this room was really fun and I loved the mix of patterns. 





To see the Utah County Parade of Homes from past years go here and here