Valentines or Anytime

Emersonmade


Forget fresh flowers on Valentines, I would love an everlasting bloom from Emersonmade. I discovered this quirky site over a year ago and frequent their blog often. Not only do I love their hand dyed, hand stitched roses, dahlias and poppies, the candid photography is fantastic. Out of their New York farm, this adorable couple runs Emersonmade, amongst hens and ducks and dogs.

My daughter just went to a semi-formal school dance last weekend. This Flutter and Little Royal Rose wrist corsage would have been a beautiful accessory and keepsake:



For him, an adorable Popper Tie Tack, certainly he would indulge and wear for Valentine's day:



On a clutch, belt or pin, the Cheeky Dahlias are my absolute favorite. I love the pale pink and salmon colored ones!:



Visit Emersonmade.com and just try to find a favorite.

Sarah's House

Photos courtesy of Sarah Richardson Portfolio on Flickr
I may be a little late jumping on this bandwagon, but if you haven't already, set your dvr to record HGTV's Sarah's House. Canadian design expert Sarah Richardson renovates a home from top to bottom. I love her design style as it never seems over accessorized or unattainable, it is chic yet livable. She goes for quality elements where it counts and saves money where she can. Check out her show and her HGTV page. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Now I am out the door to pick up the perfect gray color paint for my bedroom. After 6 test colors, I think I have found it. Interesting that in the photos I found today, Sarah's master bedroom is also gray!

Can It

Metal Quart Tin from Container Packaging and Supply
I spent roughly 3 hours cleaning out one area of the garage yesterday. Although we try to keep the garage pretty tidy, (a weekly kid chore), it never seems to look or feel that great, especially with the shelves full of various paint cans.

We do a lot of painting, there are probably 30+ cans in our garage, most are unmarked with warped lids and dried paint down the sides. Ugly. When I took a break from my garage cleaning, I was perusing my favorite blogspots. Lo and behold, I found this excellent article in "Adventures in Renovating a Brooklyn Limestone", all about organizing household paint colors. I love the idea of having a tidy shelf of marked paints.

Photos courtesy of Adventures in Renovating a Brooklyn Limestone





The photos tell the story of this genius organization idea. If you would like to read the whole post and download the labels for the tins for free, click here.

Grand Entry Accessorize

It has been a week since I posted: Grand Entry, suggesting the task of sprucing up your front entry. Thanks to everyone for your feedback, I am pleased you were inspired to step out front and view the entry in a new light.

We all know that plant/flowered filled pots, a welcoming entry mat and stand out address numbers are great basics in accessorizing your front entry. Let's take it further with one or two items that make you the best on the block.

Why not hang an art piece in your entry? Wrought iron plaques can be hung within the alcove/portico or allowed to weather naturally on an exposed wall.
Ballard Designs
Amazon.com
Steps or a front porch can be the perfect spot for a large lantern. Keep scale and space in mind if considering this addition. One small lantern will be lost on a large porch. Also, will a lantern block access to your front door?

Frontgate
Berber Trading

Finally, is it time to ditch your doorbell? A simple, classic doorbell can mirror the finishes chosen in your lighting, address numbers and door hardware. Upgrade your entry with $10-15, minimal time, and some simple wiring. Look no further than Restoration Hardware for a great selection.




With any accessorizing, be sure to keep it crisp and clutter-free. Your front entry should represent your home and invite guests, not become an obstacle course or visually distracting.

Back in Black

Before:



After:



Storing my new find, the excellent footed glassware from France, required a total clear out of my upper glass front kitchen cabinets. For this post, I am just showing one of the cabinets. I cleared them out, gave them a good cleaning and restaged the with silver and glassware. Side note, I do like my silver tarnished and yes, my wine glasses leave much to be desired, I am patiently waiting to find just the right wine glasses at just the right price. My goal was to thoroughly clean the cabinets and restage the items to look streamlined and crisp with the doors open or through the glass fronts.

I was happy with the outcome but it felt a little stark. I grabbed a big sheet of black card stock and placed it behind one of the shelves. The glassware and silver seemed to pop with a black background. With this idea, I ran to Home Depot and purchased a roll of black contact paper ($5.97), it happened to come in a faux leather finish (very subtle though). With some time and precision I redid all of the cabinets covering the back panel with black. I love that it isn't a permanent look, it required no construction and the kitchen looks sleek and a bit updated. My big regret is that we never installed interior cabinet lighting when we remodeled. At night, lighting within the black backed cabinets would be gorgeous!

The lighting in my photos can't quite do the look justice but I would love to know what you think. Does this look work for you?

Art in Nature

Great minds think alike, right? If you didn't already know, my great friend and sister-in-law, Wendy Brookes, has a phenomenal blog: SimplyBrookes. Wendy, my brother and their 3 girls, are currently living on the east coast in Washington DC. She has 3 hours up on me in the mornings. When visiting her blog this morning, I see that she has an awesome post on The Calming Sea, using bits of nature found in the ocean in your home. Little did she know that I had just drafted this post about seashells last night! This is great, 2 for 1 inspiration.

I am a Gemini, no water sign in my astrology. Yet I am most happy in, near or by the water, particularly the ocean. As Wendy is calmed by the sea, I am enthralled and invigorated by anything related to beach, waves and water.

Yesterday when cleaning out a closet, I found a couple of small frames that I thought would be perfect for my bookshelf makeover (soon to be unveiled). The frames are great but the photos within don't work. So I logged into my library account and placed all of the above Seashell books on hold. I know I will find 2 or 3 great images of shells, photocopying them in black/white, sizing them to fit the small frames. (I hope the copyright police don't come after me). Can't wait to show you the results.

Foot Ware

For months I have been on the hunt for great glassware at a bargain betty price. I have been to thrift stores, flea markets and garage sales. You can find great items at these venues, but usually in odd numbers or not enough items. I wanted a full inventory of glasses that all matched.

Courtesy of CostPlus' Sunday paper add, I saw these footed glasses imported from France. They come in 2 sizes (8oz., 11oz.), and are stackable. The weight is nice in your hands and the glass has a bit of a vintage glass look. The best part: .99 cents each! At that price, I was able to buy 20 glasses, filling the cabinet and leaving 4 packed away for inevitable breakage.

The footed glassware is available while supplies last. Run to your nearest CostPlus, if their price, charm and functionality have your heart racing like mine.