Tall Stairwell - Art

So, there is a huge empty wall on the stairway wall up to the second floor in our new place...the wall is 10+ feet tall.  I have been trying to figure out how to decorate this space on a budget...

My dream would be to have a huge wall of unique mirrors.  I have always wanted to have a mirror wall, and hopefully I will someday...just not sure it will be in this house.

image via Material Girls

My latest thought is to do some clipboard art...I saw this picture from Elle Decor this month, and I loved this idea.  I could leave the clipboards plain, or paint them if I felt so inspired.  It would also allow me to change out the artwork as I see fit (this is kind of funny that I would even act like I am going to constantly change these since I am the world's worst picture frame changer-outer EVER).

I just like the look and I think I have lots of random but meaningful things that would be fun to hang up see every time we hike the stairs.

image via Elle Decor

I think I prefer leaving the clipboards all natural, but it could also look interesting with a little color...

image via Martha Stewart Living

I have been looking for a cheap source...the best I have found is only .84 each.  Not bad!!

We are heading off for a getaway for a couple days - hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Beantown Art

I can't wait to get our Boston print from our super talented friend, Ari Hauben, framed for the new place.  There is a craft place here on post where you can do your own framing...I keep wondering if this would be too taxing on my lack of patience?

Now I just have to figure out where to put this one.  I wish you could see it up close - all the buildings and the bridge are made from newspaper clippings, many of which are specific to Boston.  Can you imagine crafting that skyline from little cut outs from the newspaper?  I love Ari's work!

Best coffee shop in town

I had planned to spend this evening at a coffee shop trying to accomplish some of the things on my to do list, and after realizing how slim the pickings are around here for a place that stays open late and has wifi, I decided to turn the Crow's front porch into my work space. 

As I am going through my million tear sheets trying to remember why I ripped them out, this is what Krissy and Isabella bring out to me...

Featured here...
Chocolate Raspberry Cupcake with Ganache (Brenda's recipe, of course!)
Beautifully frothed coffee
Pretty folded napkin by Isabella - she is working on becoming a napkin folding expert lately

Not only are they letting us stay with them for SOOOOO long, but now they are surprising ME with treats?  This should be reversed.  I wish I could better express how thankful we are for our amazing friends.

Everybody needs a white elephant

So, there is an overpriced Goodwill store that I have been frequenting since I have arrived.  It is so interesting to me how some of the Goodwills that I have been to have fabulous prices, and others are completely overpriced.  I guess the bottom line is that I still go back for the thrill of the hunt, overpriced or not.

Anyways, I have been wanting one of those elephant side tables for a while now (wish I would have bought the $65 one that we saw in Newburyport!)...so when I saw this little guy at Goodwill (book end size), I figured he would help me get my fix in the meantime.

The little man on my shoulder kept saying...this is overpriced, you don't need this, where are you going to even put this?....but I ignored him.

Two elephant stories - I can't stop laughing about how ridiculous I must sound to Mark whenever he asks me what I am about to go do...last night, it was, 'oh, I am going to paint an elephant'.  I think he now knows to just smile & nod.  He did later say, 'Everybody needs a white elephant."  True.

#2 - While babysitting the kiddos today, I asked Abbey if she wanted to go check out my elephant...she seemed awfully excited, so she quickly put her shoes on and was ready to go outside.  We got out there, and she looked pretty confused and said, "he's not bigger?"  I realized that I should have been more clear - the poor girl was excited to see a real elephant!  She did later tell me that she REALLY likes him though.

I think he looks happier white.

UPDATE - 8/3/2010 - I didn't realize how misleading these pictures are...this guy is pretty small - a good bookend size...I only WISH he was a side table!

Basement Bathroom

We are very lucky to have an basement in our new house.  It is unfinished, but is painted and clean, so it will get a lot of good use.  There is a bathroom in the basement with a clawfoot tub, which I adore.  I wonder if it wants a clawfoot tub friend?  ...That is, since we still have that one from the cottage...which, by the way, makes me even more thankful for the garage (a.k.a. storage) that we will have. 

Anyways, this is my dream bathroom...Kate Spade can do no wrong!  Love the colors, the clawfoot tub, the bold wallpaper, and the shower curtain.  Of course, I was hoping to make my Ikea Hemmes curtains turn into a shower curtain like this one, if I can sew some straight black lines of fabric on the  bottom of them...

 

Image via The Peak of Chic

I was wondering if I could loosely recreate a similar look if we were to convert the tub into a shower with one of these 'kits'.  We would only buy one of these if we can find a very cheap one like these on eBay.  Problem is, I am not really sure of all the plumbing details I need to be paying attention to when purchasing one of these...yikes.  That's a disaster waiting to happen.

And, since I love my Ikea Hemmes curtains, maybe I could use some of those and add some black fabric to create the stripes myself?  Add some kelly green accents, and I would be good to go.

The only problem now is that a kelly green is the only color that I am gravitating towards for our other two bathrooms because of all the oak cabinetry...I am having a creativity block about other colors that would play nicely with the stain.  Any other suggestions??

Feature Friday on 6th Street Design

I am so flattered that one of my favorite bloggers, Kirsten from 6th Street Design School, is featuring our Boston area home on her Feature Friday series today!  You can check it out here...

Thanks so much, Kirsten!

Master Bedroom Inspiration

I think I am going to go with gray & yellow in the bedroom.  I have long had a crush on this color combo.  Here are some of the photos I have been looking at for inspiration...

From left to right..
1.  Bakelite Westclox - really started loving these clocks recently.  Layla used it in a recent project.
2.  Curtains from Curtain Call
3.  Eco market totes from Container Store...as seen on Say YES! to Hoboken.  I feel like a pair of these on a low shelf or maybe in a closet would be key for stashing away baby books/toys...
4.  Jenny's DIY Roman Shades...mine are 90% done, but no where near as good as hers!!
5.  Benjamin Moore™ 2137-60 Gray Owl- most likely color for our bedroom - and maybe the living room/dining room as well!
6.  Gray vintage westclox - a find I got on eBay for $5
7.  My new lamps!
8.  LOVE LOVE LOVE the look of this chair...am contemplating the same mustard color for mine...via Martha Stewart.
9.  Fun yellow/gray room

White Plates...to have or not to have?

So, for a long time, we have talked about buying some white plates in bulk for entertaining.  We finally buckled when we got here because after much shopping around, we were able to get 36 dinner and 36 salad plates from the Williams Sonoma Outlet for 50% off the outlet price.  Plus, we had a gift card...perfect.
 
We have had lots of hilarious late night chats while here at M&K's, and the plates came up.  I knew we would get grilled by M for making this purchase, so I tried to use my eco-friendly reasoning with him.  Being the 'green soul' that he is...I thought this was my only way to win this discussion.

The sad part is, I have even wondered at times if 36 was enough!!  (Okay, I am still wondering....)

Last night while reading about something completely unrelated on Apartment Therapy, I found this post about these people who bought 160 white plates!!!  Yeah, someone more crazy than us.  I love these people, and I love their rationale...and all the comments that follow.  I immediately announced this article to Sean and K who were in the room with me, and sent it to M, hoping he would read it when it popped up on his iPad upstairs!  M said it is just proof that you can always find something on the internet to back up what is not true....bottom line, I am still happy with my purchase.  Where do you stand?

Curtain Call

So, here at West Point, I was blown away to learn about 'Curtain Call'.  Basically, it is a gold mine...you can go and purchase curtain panels for 'donation only' and they recommend $1 per panel!  From my understanding, there is an  alum who owns a curtain/textile company, and he decided to regularly send shipments here for everyone to benefit from.  How generous...and what a jackpot.

I was fortunate enough to attend one a couple weeks ago, and I came home with 17 curtains...lots of sets but also lots of singles as it is hard to find a match at times.  However, I figured if I could become industrious, they could make some great pillows, or, maybe I would attempt Jenny's brilliant DIY - roman shades made out of mini blinds.  I got two sets for Krissy which we hung (or, I should say, have attempted to hang because one already fell down!) in their living room and study - they look great...and can't beat $4 for curtains in two rooms!

I bought some mini blinds from WalMart in hopes that would inspire me to get going on this project.  I am notoriously bad at measurements, so I am a little gun shy since I have a fear that I will complete them, and then they will be the wrong size!  If I motivate, I will keep you posted.

Nice Mention - Destination Wedding Invitations

I stumbled upon this nice mention regarding the wedding invitations that I did for Ryan & Jamie...now, Mr. & Mrs. Maloney!  What a nice surprise!

Cute and Chic Wedding Invitations for a Beach-side Ceremony