Monday, December 27, 2010

Most Amazing Christmas ever


Meet my new ride, covered in snow, on the first white Christmas I've had since I was a kid. Yep. It's my new Mini Cooper convertible, with racing stripes.  It's a car I've always wanted and my amazing husband thought it was time I owned one. I'm still in shock that he wanted to give me such a tremendous gift.  When I asked him what possessed him to go over our 100 dollar budget. He said he didn't he bought me floor mats, the rest is just because. That's totally him. He's amazing. I'm so very lucky to be loved so much.
In other Christmas happiness my old ride, my Altima got a new home. My brother got into his first accident ever over Halloween and he needed some new wheels. It was a perfect oportunity to give him a pretty awesome Christmas so we gave it to him. He was so shocked and surprised. It was great.
I found some wonderful gifts for our family and received some amazing gifts myself. This Christmas was pretty astounding. Since I'm still in shock about my amazing Mini. I'll post more about the fun times we had this Christmas, the Polish Pierogi's we made and all the laughter we shared.

I hope everyone had a Happy Christmas.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

It's a Christmas Miracle

It's December 7th and I'm almost done Christmas shopping. I've gotten everyone except 1 person checked off my list. This NEVER happens. I'm usually thinking away until a few days before Christmas. It feels so good to have things wrapped and placed under the tree.

Now I get to do one of my favorite parts of Christmas shopping. I'm going to go shopping for my Mom with my Dad. It's a yearly tradition and one I really look forward to. It's a day of just my Dad and I, shopping, talking and grabbing lunch. Now we just need to schedule a date.  Also in thinking about my Dad it's almost been a year since he got his hip replaced. His hip had just fallen apart and was causing him great pain. I am so happy that he doesn't hurt anymore. It was so hard to see that he was in such excruciating pain. I'm not sure how he put up with it as long as he did. He may have had to give up baseball but to see him walk pain free is one of the best things that's has happened this year. I guess it's another miracle or medical technology.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Viva Espana!


Eric and I have finally figured out our vacation! We are going back to Spain. We honeymooned there in August 2009 and have been wanting to go back since we left.  This time though we are going on a bit of a road trip. We are flying into Madrid. Staying in the city and visiting the surrounding areas for a week then  hopping into our rental car to drive to the coast. We'll hit Valencia then up the coast to Barcelona. We don't have any specific plans so if we decided to stay in certain places longer we can. I am so excited. I can't wait to check out the architecture of Madrid. To see Las Meninas, and Gurenica.  I gave Eric a huge print of Guernica when we got together. (He was born in Spain so I thought it was fitting.) Not the destructive war part mind you just Picasso and the painting.) 

I am so excited I wish we could leave tomorrow. Also my Brother-in-Law maybe coming along for the road trip part with a friend. It would be great to have him along. He's never been to Europe so it would be his first trip. I think Spain is an amazing country to make a first journey too.

Friday, November 19, 2010

Turkey Day

So because of some holiday changes. (My Dad and Brother are spending Thanksgiving in Detroit.) I am getting my very first chance to have our families over and cook Thanksgiving dinner. Well Eric's family and my Mom. I am so excited. I even Martha'd it up and made an invitation even though everyone who is coming already knows. I couldn't resist. Recipes have been checked and thought over. My Real Simple holiday issue is dog eared but I have a list of everything I want to make. 
The most important hurdle I am jumping is a turkey. I have never made one before. I have roasted plenty of chickens though. I found a recipe on Epicurious though that I tried out this week with a roasted chicken. It came out pretty good. the recipe is also from Tom Colicchio. How could it be bad. Here's the recipe for the curious.

It's a little bit different then the usual turkeys I've had for Thanksgiving but I think our families will like the change. Eric's dad is always playing around with new ideas and recipes for thanksgiving. He's a great cook.

Our menu for the holiday is fairly simple but with a few tweaks. This is Eric and I's first thanksgiving  so I wanted to bring some of the favorite foods from our parent's thanksgivings to our own with a few changes. Eric's Mom's sweet potato souffle is amazing and my Mom makes terrific pumpkin pies. 
I'm making some roasted vegetables, a broccoli casserole, cheesecake, raspberry gelato or chocolate I'm not sure yet. 
I can't wait for this Thanksgiving and to have our family together and give our mother's a break in the kitchen. I just hope I don't make a dry turkey. :)

Monday, November 8, 2010

Designer Fail

So sometimes we all get caught up in the excitement of something and then realize. Hey wait I don't want this or this won't work. Well that's what happened to us. We desperately needed a new sofa. I was not moving this past may with our old college sofa. Hell or high water I was getting rid of that thing.  So before we moved Eric and I headed up to the Pottery Barn outlet and found a sofa by West Elm for super cheap, a regularly 1,000 +/- sofa for $400.00. We both sat on it, thought it was fine. (It was a bit short, but we thought oh we can deal.) Well enter 7 months later. WE HATE THIS SOFA. It is just to small for us. Only one of us could get comfortable on the sofa at one time. :/ So I have been on the hunt for a new sofa, something we both could fit on, live on, compute on and just relax on. Yesterday as we were browsing around our local furniture stores. I was thinking I'll just order one through work we ended up going into West Elm again. This time we walked out with something more manageable. A sectional sofa we can both relax on. I am so excited about it. I've never wanted to go home and watch tv so much.

So lesson learned. Really think about the length of your sofa if you have a husband over 6' tall. Just because it's a fantastic deal doesn't mean it will work for you. Lastly don't get starry eyed because you desperately want a new sofa. These are all things I thought about before we bought our first sofa but I ignored because I was so excited to get something new and should have waited and bought what we wanted and needed.
Our new sofa looks something like this. :)

Music

I feel sometimes like I am in a movie. I am constantly in my own soundtrack or at least it feels like it. I listen to SiriusXM, Pandora or itunes at work, at home I blue tooth my ipod or computer to our stereo to blast out tunes, or on the rare occasion I'm in my car I've got Sirius rocking there too. Regardless I listen to music all the time. Which means I also love going to live shows when I can. Last night Eric and I went to see Mumford and Sons. OMG It was fantastic. They sounded so great live, played new stuff and seemed surprised that a bunch of Georgians could sing along to everything they had written. It was fantastic. The opening bands were great too. Cadillac Sky and King Charles really set a great tone. I had never heard of either of them but they were so good I might have to run out and get their cds too. I am hoarse from cheering and singing, my feet or sore from standing for 4+ hours. It was totally worth it.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

I love Fall in the City

It seems like there is always something going on. The past few weekends everytime I step out my door there is something cool to experience. Just this month alone we've had a Pride Festival, Aids Walk, Breast Cancer Walk, and this past weekend was Taste of Atlanta.  Eric and I have been walking a lot lately so we've ended up in the middle of all the events.  It feels so great to be around everyone. It's such a good happy atmosphere. Now that it's almost Halloween I wonder what this weekend will hold.
I know on Thursday at the Botanical Gardens there is a pumpkin carving contest. I really want to go. Pumpkins, gardens and cheap but tasty beer sounds like my kind of place.  It seems like there is always something going on I am really happy I live here and can enjoy it.

Monday, October 25, 2010

Family fun

Eric's Dad is a very big baseball fan. So when he asked if we wanted to go to a Braves playoff game we said sure! We got our foam tomahawks out and cheered for the Braves. Alas they lost. I did have a good time watching the game and it's always good to see family. I don't get to see Eric's parents or sister often enough. Hopefully the Braves will do better next year and we can cheer them on to a winning game.

Busy Fall

Fall has been very hectic for me. Work wise, after hours, all the time. It seems like there is always something interesting that must be done. I figured I need to get back to blogging though so I'll start on a fresh new footing. This past weekend was amazing. It was also quite food orientated. Friday night I took Eric out on a date to Ecco. This very elegant and modern restaurant in our neighborhood. It was delicious. I will definitely be back.
This weekend also was Taste of Atlanta.It was also right in our back yard. So we had to check it out.
It was a lot of fun and a good way to get an interesting breakfast on a Sunday morning. Around 70 different restaurants from Atlanta come to give bites of what they have to offer. Needless to say We found some new restaurants that we will have to check out.  Some of my favorite highlights was a Banana and nutella Crepe from the Crepe Revolution. (Isn't that  great name.) and a suckling pig taco with pineapple salsa. Absolutely fantastic.
Lastly to burn some of those calories off we decided to walk around town. Later via Google I learned we walked 5 miles. All in all it was a fantastic and food filled weekend.

I love Harry Potter.

From
I've read all the books, more than once, seen the movies, and I enjoy playing the Wii game. It's cheesy but fun. I really really want to go to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando. Alas I'm not sure when I would get a chance to go. Though my wonderful parents just went to Florida and decided to check it out. My Mom who I loaned her all my books to read loved the series and was just as excited to check it out. Though I couldn't go she sent me some special post cards from Hogsmeade, with real Hogsmeade post marks and brought me back a chocolate frog.  It came in a package just like the one pictured above. It was very exciting to get one and open it up.  Next up is the new and final movie that comes out soon. I can't wait to see it.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Fall Happiness

Labor day weekend is over. It's now time for Fall. Down here in the South it's been hot for ages. I wish, wish, wish it would get cooler and the leaves would change. That might also be because I bought this fantastic jacket this weekend at Banana Republic.
It's kind of a Indiana Jones/Meets biker awesomeness. I absolutely love it. It also feels like butter and I got it for 50% off! Oh yeah tiy read that right 50% off. Banana ran a sale this weekend where you got a card when you walked in Eric and I got a 50% off one and set about finding some awesome purchases. This is what I got. :)
Eric on the other hand decided it was time to set aside his college wardrobe and be a bit more fashion forward and revamped his whole closet. He's going to look fantastic. He said it was time to retire some of the old polos and t-shirts he's had for ages. We pulled out 3 very large bags of stuff. We live in less then 800 sq feet, it feels refreshing to have a bit more closet space. (We also only have one true closet.)

Cheers to amazing sales and buying a what the hell jacket that is going to be awesome. So when is this cooler weather going to arrive. I've got jacket fever.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Cheeseburger in Paradise.

I flew back to Michigan this past weekend. It was a sort of impromptu family reunion/ homecoming. My Mom, and I hadn't been back to our family's lake house since 2003, my brother in 15 years. We were long overdue. We also timed our trip for the annual Cheeseburger in Caseville. A huge event spanning the entire week filled with Jimmy Buffet, Margaritas, Music, events and of course cheeseburgers.

We went to Air Margaritaville Saturday night a tribute band for Jimmy Buffet. It was a lot of fun though abnormally hot for Michigan. The best part I think was just being back there. Spending time with my family and being at our lake house. I'm making plans to go back next year and bringing Eric this time.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

First Anniversary vacation!


Eric and I took a long weekend to celebrate our anniversary in Washington, D.C. It was a fantastic trip. We explored the city, a lot of the museums and ate a ton of great food.  We did end up exploring some of the eateries Anthony Bourdain explored on his trip to the city. We are pretty big fans of his. We went to Ben's chili bowl for a half-smoke and fries. A half smoke I learned is half sausage half hot dog with chili, onions and mustard. It was awesome.

The Smithsonian is amazing. We checked out the National History museum, Art museum, Air and Space. We walked miles inside the buildings looking at everything.


The National monuments were also amazing. The WWII memorial and the Korean memorial were two of our favorites. Seeing old Abe was pretty cool too.


We had a wonderful time to visiting Jose Andreas restaurant's Jaleo and Oyamel.  We sat at Jaleo eating spainish tapas for a while. Drinking Sangria and Estrella Damm Inedit beer. So good. Jaleo lead into one of our favorite evenings  there. We ate great Spanish tapas reminiscent of our honeymoon in Barcelona and we went to see Avenue Q.  If you have a chance to see it go. It is hilarious. 

We also went to the historic Tabard Inn restaurant for our anniversary dinner. It was a wonderful dinner and a great way to cap off our first year of being married.

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Happy Anniversary and a mini vacation.


I can't believe it's been a year. It's been a whirlwind of change.  We are both working in our respective fields. School is finally behind us. Eric passed the bar, we moved, and the excitement of being newlyweds has been fun. It has been a challenging year but it has ended up amazing.  I am ridiculously happy. I now look back on my wedding pictures and wonder how it can be possibly be a year. Time seems to have stretched in one sense then flown by in another sort of like the movie Inception but much happier.
I still dream of the amazing time we had on our honeymoon in Barcelona and long to go back. Maybe in a few years we can go back and celebrate, but for now I am looking forward to our trip to DC creating new memories.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Celebrating our Anniversary

This Sunday will mark Eric and I's one year anniversary. We are celebrating by going on a trip to Washington D.C. Neither Eric or I have ever been. We are so excited, we didn't know DC was in the plans we randomly picked it this past sunday via internet searching. Once we settled on a location it was time to do some research. We started with our favorite snarky chef, Anthony Bourdain. He'd been to DC right. Of course he had. So we watched his episode, drooled over the food and decided we had to check out a Jose Andres restaurant. He's an amazing Spainish chef and we went to Spain for our honeymoon. Perfect.

One awesome place to check out for our food love down. Now a million other places to see and explore. We haven't really been away since our honeymoon so this is going to be a great trip.

Cheers!

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Homeward bound

I just purchased my ticket. I'm going home. My childhood home that is. My family has owned a lake house, (cottage) on Saginaw Bay since before I was born. Before my Parents owned it it was my Great Grandmothers. My Aunt and Uncle own a place a few doors down and my Uncle a place next door to ours.  I haven't been back up there in 7 years. Gasp, A place I lived in the summer. Read books on the beach all day and hung out by a campfire or playing cards all night. It is amazing. This time around My Mom, Brother and I are all flying up on the same flight. They are there for a week, I'm taking a long weekend. It will still be amazing. I can't wait to see all my extended family and lay eyes on a town that I have such great memories off.



A sunset view from the Pier. I can't wait.  August is going to be so busy.

Monday, July 19, 2010

part of my world...

Is all about AutoCAD somedays and other days its all about finishes and furniture... my job changes almost daily on what I am up too. It's always interesting. Well my company recently just started carrying a lot of new things. I am in love with so many of the products. I wish I could buy one of each. I love lines that have many types of finishes and are unique. These companies have it in spades.

Like this chair from Porada.
I love the walnut and it's slightly retro but modern feel. So beautiful.

This Bonaldo chaise/chair called the Dragonfly Chair
 It's really gorgeous and folds up to be a chair. It just calls to me for a book and a blanket.

These companies have such fabulous items. I just wish I had a bit more space. Eventually. :D

Gasp.. My very own macbook...

So my wonderful husband decided to spoil me rotten. He bought me my very own Macbook Pro this weekend. I have been longing for one for a very long time but would not have spent the money for one.  I am absolutely in love though. It is so amazing and nice. I can not wait to move all my files, tweak it and make it my very own. I feel very designer-y. (Yes I made that up.)  He had a whole hour before he gave me it. He hid it in our oven so I wouldn't see it. Lucky I didn't come home and start dinner. The horror.
I am going to get a copy of illustrator for it and then it will be official.

Thank you Eric!!! You Rock

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Vacation time.



I have a few more weeks to go but Eric and I finally set aside some days to go on a vacation. I am so excited to get away for a few days is going to be great.  Except we don't know where we are going. We are waiting to the last minute and are going to  hunt down a deal online. So we could end up anywhere. I'm really excited about that aspect of the trip. We've joked about flying to London and staying up on our time and just having a crazy weekend or going to back to New York and living it up a little. Honestly we could end up anywhere. I secretly hope we get to use our passports though. I love getting stamps.

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Blue days.

Everyone has blue days. Today happens to be one of mine. Nothing to really go on about here, and nothing life threatening. I'm still down though.  I was talking to a friend today. Who helped make me feel a bit better. Right before she said bye she said something and it jogged my memory for that little plaque above. "A Giggle a day keeps the glums away" That little plaque hung in my baby room, and my room growing up for as long as I can remember until finally it was hidden in my jewelry box. I lost it when my home was robbed and my jewelry box stolen last December. I have been trying for ages to remember exactly what it said. I may not still have that little plaque anymore just this image I found online but it still is true. I'm going to find something to giggle about today and it will make my day a bit better.  

ps Whoever robbed my home I hope you never ever laugh again.

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Better Late then never?


It's been almost a year. I finally got my act together and printed Eric and I's wedding Album.  I wanted to add a copy of our Ceremony to the last pages so we will always be able to read it. I finally found it in my old emails with our ceremony written in it, Eric's vows and my vows and ordered it! I can't wait to see it in person.

I also love that I can now preview my whole book on blurb.com as shown above. They are such a fabulous company. Now to count down until I get my book.

Monday, June 21, 2010

Music!!!!


I love going to concerts. I love hearing live music. Singing (in mycase lip syncing along) with everyone in the crowd. The excitement of being out and listening to great music.  This past weekend Eric, his brother and a bunch of friends went out to see Against Me! and the Silversun Pickups at the Tabernacle. It was a brilliant show.  Against Me! was awesome and got the show hopping. The Silversun Pickups were amazing though they were so good. They moved around so much on stage. It was also cool to see how excited the band was to see such a packed house. At one point they turned on the house lights and they were in aw that all 3-tiers were full. It was so cool. They played a huge set and it was fantastic. I will totally go see them again when they come back through. I also loved that the girl in the band, Niki, wore a cute purple dress and red shoes. The Tabernacle as always is a great venue. As pictured below.
We sat on the second tier right by the stage. It was perfect for once I could see and not be smashed by taller people. :) It was also a show where the singers sounded exactly like they do on the radio. Great music, Good friends, an all about good night.

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Father's Day


Thanks Dad, I know you'll never read this but I still want to give a virtual shout out to you! You are amazing and taught me so much. I hope you have a fantastic Father's day.
Love,
Me

Friday, June 11, 2010

A weekend for projects.



So this weekend I have a list full of things I want to get done. I am planning on painting some accent walls in our loft, reupholstering my ottoman, I also need to find fabric for that ottoman. I also want to finish hanging some pictures too. I hope I can get it all done.  I think once the painting is done our place will have our stamp on it and truly feel like home.  I'm excited. I also know it will also be a surprise to Eric since he's out of town this weekend. I love surprises.

** this is a picture of one of the accent walls in my loft. I was still hanging the pictures at this point and removing the tape but you get the idea.**

Friday, June 4, 2010

Fixing things.

I have an antique mahogany table. I bought it at an auction when I was 19 years old. I love it. It has a beautiful veneer on it that just sparkles when it's polished. Though like all old pieces of furniture this one has accumulated a few love marks. By that I mean me being incredibly stupid and putting a a few hot cookies on the table. It scorched the wood and left white cookie marks in my beautiful veneer. I also had a friend leave a damp towel on one side and that two left a mark.  So the past few years I've tried everything to remove those marks. Numerous polishes and stain removers, but to no avail. My beautiful table was marred. I hated it. I also really hated the fact that my stupid cookie fiasco is what did it. I totally know better.
So that's when today I thought about it again and googled my problem.

this came up on a message board:
"Remove white water/heat stains from wood by using an hot iron on a smooth dry/lint-free cloth placed over the stain, iron very briefly (seconds) with medium heat, lift the cloth, and repeat until stain is gone. This works better than anything else!"

On my lunch break today I went home and tried it. What do you know it worked! If only I had known this 3 years ago  I wouldn't have been hiding that corner of my table.  Now to break out the polish when I get home and make it shine. :)

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Modern Atlanta

This week has been very busy work wise, and home wise. I am excited though because next week is all about Modern Atlanta.  Modern Atlanta is a series of events and parties that showcases the edgier side of the city.  From architecture to fashion it includes everything.
a blurb from the Modern Atlanta ( MA) website.

MA’s aim is to embrace and connect a wide spectrum of practices including architecture and design, retail and trade, industry and academia, the arts, and NPO foundations. MA activities attract innovators, visionaries, independent minds, creative leaders, students, and non-specialist audiences with discussions on how design and innovative products improve everyday lives. MA provides the right conditions and venues for manufacturers and designers to successfully connect with businesses, consumers, and the public alike, by way of elevated local and international design exhibitions that expose all facets of the creative process including innovation and implementation. 

I am really exited to check out some of the events and broaden my vision on all things modern.  I'm also excited because one of the first projects I ever worked on is on the Modern Home tour. It is very exciting. :)


Monday, May 17, 2010

Our new Nest finally feels like home.


We've had everything unpacked for a while. All our new things stored in their new home. All the wedding gifts we've never had a chance to use we are using now. We bought a new sofa. That we love, a new TV to replace the one that was stolen from us in December. (We didn't want to buy one since we were afraid we could get robbed again.) We got so many new things our new home, felt more like a fancy hotel.

We had one last thing that we needed to do to that we hoped would make it feel like home. Hang pictures. We did that Sunday.  It feels like home now.  We have always had a lot of art on our walls. I worked in a frame shop in college so I framed a lot of art for us. When you first walk into our loft there is a long wall on that I used to hang about 15 pictures gallery style. It looks similar to that but bigger. Some of our pictures are 40" wide by 30" tall. Lucky we have 10' ceilings. It consists of our travels, our wedding, and our families. It looks good, and I finally feel like I am home.

Allure of the Automobile


I love cars, I've loved them since I was a little girl. I guess I inherited it from my Dad. He likes cars too. Then I married Eric and He also loves cars. I've learned a lot from the two of them.  So this past weekend on our Sunday walk through our new neighborhood we stopped by the museum to check out this new exhibit.  It's FANTASTIC, 18 amazing automobiles. That have such amazing design style. They were gorgeous, Mercedes, a Jag owned by Steve McQueen, a Silver Arrow, Porsche and a Bugatti were some of the amazing cars on display. We had a great time inspecting all of them. We left the museum and on our walk back I couldn't stop looking at cars and seeing all the influence the exhibit cars had on todays cars. I also  immediately thought My Dad has to see these. So this Sunday I'm going back, and We are bringing my parents so they can drool over the cars too.
 Steve McQueen's Jag.

*Side note *I love living in the city. It was so awesome to walk everywhere.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Shoes.

I have a shoe problem. I love shoes. I have loved them since I was very small. As I have gotten older I've slowly acquired an expensive shoe habit. Alas I'm usually in the Beer range of shoes, (unless they are on sale) when I have seriously Champagne taste in shoes.  I'm a lucky girl though. My husband, knows I love shoes and likes to buy them for me periodically. So the sweetheart that he is bought me these babies for a surprise.

I'm still in aw that he did it. They are beautiful and just the perfect black heel. The kind where you will have it forever and can where it with anything.  He made me promise that I will wear them often that is the reason he purchased them.  Thank you so much Eric! You are so very thoughtful.

Monday, May 10, 2010

Ikea?



Eric and I are still adjusting to our new loft. We've also had to find places for many of the wedding gifts we received but hadn't been able to use in our new place.  That's where our Ikea shopping trip came in. We wandered through last weekend for stuff and ended up picking up these two cabinets. They fill up a space along our wall perfectly. The wall has a 63" jog in it then it straightens out the cabinets just fit with room for the drapery to slide next to when opened.  I think they look pretty great and didn't cost us a whole lot.
 I am also excited about the doors, They can be black or white or in my case the will probably be a cool fabric or paper. I'm still coordinating things.

We still have lots of pictures to hang (See them propped against the wall.) It's all coming together though and it is starting to feel like home.

Big news Weekend!


This weekend will probably go down as one of Eric and I's most thankful and exciting.  Eric found out some news he'd been waiting almost a year on. He was so happy I think he's been walking on air for the past few days. It was also his birthday! We had some friends over, and I made some awesome BBQ pork sandwiches.  Hooray for my first time cooking BBQ and it coming out fantastic. (Thanks mom for the advice.)
We also have almost finished putting up everything in our new loft. We only have pictures left to hang.

Happy Birthday Honey! and Congratulations.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Country Mouse.. to City Mouse

We've moved! Hip hip, after packing for days, purging tons of stuff we didn't need anymore. Eric and I  are finally sort of settled in our new loft. We are still living in boxes though so I don't have any new pictures. I promise I'll share as soon as everything is squared away. :) It's so exciting to live in the city now, to get up on a Sunday morning and walk to the bakery for something good for breakfast. I promise I will walk up the 5 flights to my new place so the every-now-and-again bakery indulgence doesn't make me the size of a killer whale. I have so much to still figure out though. Paint colors. I still need a few more organizational things to make life a little easier. Our loft is about 875 spacious square feet so it takes some skill to keep it open looking. I'm up for the challenge though.Cheers to a new beginning!

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Dining in style?

from Flickr

I have been anxious for new dining room chairs for a while.  I didn't know if I really had it in my budget to splurge on some right now. A new sofa was more what I was wanting and that is a big purchase. So I held out. Until Saturday when we found the steal on our new sofa. (see previous post). So I felt it was the opportunity to finally get some new chairs. I want to breathe life into my antique table with some modern chairs. What chairs? I really wanted a Ghost chair. Though I see them all over, maybe something else entirely. Maybe the pantone chairs pictured below. Something clean and simple. 

I finally realized I what I wanted. I wanted a clear chair so my gorgeous antique table can be seen and also something that in our new loft won't make the place look visually cluttered. That's where I settled on Kartell's Frilly chair. Pictured above in pink.

From here

I found them in clear and ordered four of them for our new home to go around our antique table. Sigh happiness.  I do love the chair in pink, it photographs so well.  Clear, though, was the winner it will match with any color I decide.

Monday, April 26, 2010

Ah new furniture.

 from west elm

I have been dreaming of new furniture for... ever. My line of work makes it hard not to think of furniture. I've been waiting as patiently as possible to get new stuff. It had never seemed the exact right time to get something new. But as of this weekend it was time! We're moving in 4 days. So Saturday we went  sofa shopping, yes I could get one through my sources and it would be a fantastic deal, but I guess I wanted to see it squish it and most of all take it home asap.  Which is what brought Eric and I to the Pottery Barn outlet. We figured why not. Who knows what we'll find. If anything. I was hopeful, but not too hopeful.

We struck awesomeness though! We found a West Elm, scotch guarded sofa regularly... $1,200 dollars.. for gasp.. $400.00 it's in perfect shape too. It looks like the above sectional but just the back piece not the chaise. :) I am so ridiculously happy I can hardly contain myself. Our old college sofa is soon to be replaced with something beautiful*.

*(side note not that it was so terrible but this new chapter in our life needs new things)

Oh happy day.

Monday, April 19, 2010

Festival Fun


by Conni Tögel from

This weekend was jam packed full of appointments and spending time with friends and family. (As well as doing some prep work for our move.) Anyway one of the fun things that Eric and I did this weekend was go to the Dogwood festival with our friend Jill. It's an annual art festival held in the biggest park in the city.  It was a lot of fun walking around looking at all the artwork and people watching. :) 

Eric and I ended up buying two new pieces of art. One is a mini print of the picture above. We thought the sheep were hilarious. The names are very clever too, this one is entitled Baaa Vinci.  We all had a good laugh looking at her work.  We also bought a metal sculpture of a toad. We already have a recycled metal sculpture of a fish and a crab. It will be exciting to have new artwork in our new place. We bought the fish when we first got together, and the crab was a law school gift. :) 
 
Sunday we had brunch with my in-laws. Which was wonderful and we did a Trash the Dress session with our wedding photographer at an old factory. I can not wait to see them. It was so interesting being in an old factory and seeing all the things left behind, I'll post more on that later when we get the pictures back. 

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Life is awesome lately.

                                                                       from
Things are finally all coming together for a lot of people I care about. Eric and I are moving to the city. We will finally be back living in an area where things are happening. Currently we live in a very small community where the biggest thing that's happening is the traffic light in front of Wal-mart. We will be closer to our friends, closer to our families. I am so excited.
Today sealed the deal on something I've been hoping for and waiting for. My Brother -in-law, who I am really close to, got into the law school that he wanted! CONGRATULATIONS! Meaning he is also moving to the city! It will be like old times, but better, we lived next to each other during college and it was a lot of fun.
My friend Jill has also had some great changes She's now dating my Brother-in Law, and I have never seen either one of them happier. :) It is really awesome to see people you care about so happy. As happy, I hope, as I am with Eric. She's also trying to get in to Gradschool and is waiting on her YES. I know she'll get in. She's to fantastic not to.
Another friend who has been looking for a job also just found a new one. I am so excited for her. She'll also be working nearby so hooray for lunch dates.

So here's to an awesome Summer! Time to create new memories with great friends and enjoy the living in a big city!


I only have one last thing I'm waiting on..to make this a perfect deal. Here's hoping I find out about that soon. :)

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

A new home!

So this is my new building... I also work in the retail part of it. Rock on! My hour commute is now down to a quick elevator ride and a 10ft walk. How sweet is that.  I'm also excited that it's a loft. A real loft, with exposed brick, huge windows and lots of light, and glazed concrete floors. Sigh, I am so excited. I can't wait to move. I can't wait to nest in a new home. Only 18 more days to go before it's my new digs. Before then I have a lot of packing and purging to do. Sunday Eric and I got rid of a lot of random but usless stuff in our current place. We also got rid of a chaise that I have wanted to get rid of forEVER. It is now gone.  I also, sniff sniff, gave away my drafting table from college. It was time, part of it had broken and I originally bought it for 10 bucks. I have to stop being such a pack rat. Anyway back to the exiting bits. Eric and I are about to move to one of the most interesting and nicest parts of this Southern City. We'll be able to walk to lots of great restaurants,theaters, and parks. I can't wait! Why can't someone else get rid of my junk, pack the good stuff and move me sooner.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Take a deep breath.

Soooo I haven't really been blogging as much as I would like to lately. I've had a lot of social things going on. It seems Spring is in the air and everyone wants to get out of the winter funk by throwing parties. Cool I'm there. Good friends + good friends = good times. It's been a lot of fun. Also in a more serious note. We're getting ready to move. We found out that our lease is up a month earlier than we thought. OOPs meaning we've got to find new digs pronto. Which is exciting but a bit nerve wracking about finding the perfect place. Hopefully this weekend between a friends Birthday Party we'll find our new  home.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

PLiNTH

PLiNTH & CHiNTZ :: The Online Interior Design Magazine

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I read this and it reminded me of my college life. OMG I can't believe I did all of those things. When things like Cheetos or wheat thins were my breakfast at 4am. That I spent more time in a design lab working on CAD drafting then in my own bed. It was hard, it was stressful.(I'm surprised I don't have an ulcer.)I did it and I would do it all again.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Happy Chic

Happy Chic decorative home accessories is how Jonathon Adler describes his style via his website. His style is eccletic, bright, fanciful and fun. What began as a career in pottery has branched out to some really great furniture pieces and decorative accessories.  I love the colors that he brings to his pieces. I especially love the new red lacquer. Such bold statements can be created with color or the lack of. I would love to have an all black and white room and alternate colored accessories. Maybe that's just my fantasy when I browse through Jonathon Adler's site.
I love this bed. It reminds me of Don and Betty Draper's bed on Mad Men. It's almost over the top but the color brings it back down. Ahhh swoon. Love it.

This funky Mrs Godfrey Chair is so retro and cute I just want to take it home with me.

 This Giraffe lamp is also really precious. I would love to see it in a kids room.


Lastly it wouldn't be Jonathon Adler if I didn't include some pottery. I love this little squirrel ring holder. I love it's silly little grin.

Monday, March 8, 2010

Audio and lights.

 

I really love watching movies with good surround sound or dancing around my place cleaning with music. Though not everyone has the ability to run wires in their walls or doesn't want too. When I saw these speakers in an issue of Popular Mechanics this weekend I had a very ooo what a great idea moment. These Klipsch speakers would be perfect for a home that had recessed lights but didn't want the  speaker wire and hassle of installing a surround sound, sharing music between rooms and just an easy DIY speaker system. They are not only speakers but lights as well, which makes them even more useful.  They also come with a remote and a base so you can control the volume. So exciting I wish I had a use for them.

Secret Agent Man... or Woman

 

I secretly have dreams of being a secret agent. (or at least having some kind of James Bond secret agent stuff.)
As of right now it looks like it isn't going to be happening anytime soon.  I'm not much of a runner, I don't know how to shoot a gun, and I don't have anyone after me for knowing something top secret. A girl can dream though.  When I stumbled upon these though I thought they were super cool and reminded me of all the secret agent stuff. Plus I really like hidden things.  
I like that it's a father and son team that are producing them. That they are real coins and come in Euros and U.S denominations. I would love to get some but am afraid I might accidentally spend it. Maybe I could get one for Eric. I think he would find it cool and useful. We have tons of SD cards and mini SD cards lying around.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

80's party fun!

 

 Last Saturday night Eric and I were invited to an 80's party. It was thrown in honor of four friends who share the same birthday month ; one of them being my coworker. So they launched the "Gag me with a Spoon Totally 80's party" It was fantastic. Eric and I brought along his brother, and I brought my friend Jill. We got into our best 80's gear and danced our butts off.  I even brought out some of my Mom's old earrings. I remember her wearing them as a kid. :) Sorry to out your age Mom. I haven't had so much fun at a party in a very long time. We had a blast dancing with Peewee Herman, Bo and Daisy Duke, a hair metal band guy and one brave guy rocking the Risky Business shirt.  I love costume parties and wish I had the opportunity to go to more of them.