Moroccan leather pouf from here
Much like my shoulder needs this:
I like good things.
Posted by
Material Lust
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6:33 PM
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Today's weather was incredibly beautiful. It's February 8 and it was about 70 degrees and sunny. Beautiful enough that I went outside and washed both cars.
This weather has me yearning for spring. There's always one morning. You wake up, go outside to get the paper, and just know that winter's gone for good. It's always a crisp morning, but it somehow smells like the day is going to get warmer and there's no turning back.
Anyway, all that got me to thinking, "What will I be wearing this spring?" Naturally.
So I'm sitting at my computer with a delicious glass of wine, spending my evening virtual shopping while the husband cooks and decided to make a virtual outfit. Turns out it's totally fun!!!
Here's how I envision a perfect spring work look:
Posted by
Material Lust
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6:32 PM
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Labels: closet
Posted by
Material Lust
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6:27 PM
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I haven't bought any new shoes for myself in quite awhile and to keep my head from exploding under the weight of that fact, I bought these. 
I had a 20% off Piperlime coupon and since they have free shipping, they were a total steal. I hope they're comfortable and they fit and I hope they don't look super cheap.
Posted by
Material Lust
at
6:55 AM
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Labels: closet
I normally don't really lust after pieces of furniture, but with this table, I have lust in my heart. We have a little breakfast nook (no formal dining room) and it has a bay window which positively aches for a round table. With perfect French bistro chairs around it.
Table from Room and Board. Alas it's $1,300 and the husband says that our current table still serves its purpose well enough and that it doesn't need to be replaced. Isn't he quaint?
Posted by
Material Lust
at
9:33 AM
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Labels: home

Off to the upper right hand side of the screen you can play around with different functions, like the historic track, forecast models, clouds, and ocean buoys. I have a feeling you'll like this especially, Kathy.
Anyway, it's raining now as the outer bands of Hanna are approaching. The driver's side window in my car picked a really good day to stop working. Boo.
Posted by
Material Lust
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7:21 PM
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I haven't posted in ages, mostly because I haven't felt like posting. And there's not much in the way of a post in this one, either. We're off to the lake for Labor Day.Catch ya later.
Posted by
Material Lust
at
7:19 AM
1 comments
Labels: life

Posted by
Material Lust
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7:16 PM
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Posted by
Material Lust
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7:38 PM
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Labels: nonsense
And that, along with a LOT of rain, was our Fourth of July weekend and it was fabulous.
Posted by
Material Lust
at
7:21 PM
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Labels: life
I really don't need this and I haven't even been looking at mobiles to purchase, but I recently got an email from Kiln Enamel saying that their mobiles are 50% off. And now I really want the one on the left. It reminds me of dogwood blooms in the spring.
Chris says I need a new mobile phone before I need a mobile. Which may be true. But I hate talking on the phone and I really like this. We shall see.
Oh and in case anyone just wants to go ahead and buy this for me, you can get it at Kiln Enamel for 50% off with the code "mobile".
Posted by
Material Lust
at
4:58 PM
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Labels: home

Tom's of Maine Cinnamon-Clove toothpaste. It tastes pretty darn good, although I actually think I like their Fennel flavor just a bit better. I'd highly recommend the fennel, if indeed you like fennel and like it a lot, because the flavor isn't subtle. Anyway, it's a nice change from regular old mint toothpaste.
Posted by
Material Lust
at
9:02 PM
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Posted by
Material Lust
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5:34 PM
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Labels: closet
I went to The Fresh Market the other day on my lunch break to pick up some shrimp for dinner and since they always have a great selection of chocolate, I had to check out their goods before I left. I ended up picking up these two chocolate bars from Vosges.
The Barcelona bar is milk chocolate with sea salt and roasted almonds. And the Creole bar is dark chocolate with chicory coffee and cocoa nibs. In other words, they were both heaven.
At $7 a piece, they're not the cheapest chocolate bars, but they were totally worth it. I'm dying to try some of the truffles they have listed on their website, especially some of the exotic ones. Mmmmm.....
Posted by
Material Lust
at
7:55 AM
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Labels: foods
While I can't say that it's officially summer, since the temperature hasn't surpassed 90 and the tropical rainforest-like humidity isn't here yet, it's been warm and pleasant and that's a good enough reason for me to make homemade ice cream. In fact it's better this time of year because making ice cream requires standing over a hot stove for a little while and that really sucks when it's 90 degrees and 90% humidity.
So anyway, last weekend I made Blackberry and Sage ice cream. Ever since I made Cherry Basil ice cream last summer, I've wanted to try my hand at other fruit/herb combinations. The Blackberry Sage had a wonderful flavor--tart and sweet from the blackberries, but with a subtle herbal/citrusy backdrop. I was concerned that the sage might overpower the ice cream, but I think since I removed the sage leaves from the finished product, they just infused the ice cream with the flavor instead of overpowering it.
Here's how I made it (I use The Best Recipe's vanilla ice cream without the vanilla as a base and then make adaptations from there):
Posted by
Material Lust
at
10:28 AM
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Labels: food
So as most of you know, I've been working out more regularly since we joined a gym back in December. Things are going well: I've lost both pounds and inches, I can lift more weight, and do a bunch of cardio without feeling like I'm going to die. I'm downright religious about my Tuesday night spinning class and I've started taking a Wednesday night aerobic/kick-boxing class that kicks my ass.
Well last night was said aerobic/kick-boxing class and I was hanging in there, doing well, and feeling pretty good about things because the class is hard as hell and I was keeping up alright (a lot of the gym's personal trainers take the class and they even have a hard time, so I know I'm doing okay when I can moderately keep up). I was actually even having fun.
And then.
Pop! My back goes out. It was that sharp, shooting, breath-taking, hold-on-to-whatever-you-can-hold-onto-so-you-don't-fall-over kind of pain. Good times. Really, very fun.
So anyway, I gathered my stuff as best I could and managed to get myself into the car and drove home where I grabbed a heating pad (actually, Chris grabbed it for me) popped 5 Advil and a beer. That seemed to help things (although I'm sure my liver didn't really like it) until I was able to get to the doctor this morning and get some muscle relaxers. They're doing the job nicely, but they certainly make me feel...slow. And dumb.
Anyway, there's really not much point to this post. I'm just bored. Daytime tv really sucks, if you have had the misfortune of being at home during a workday. And I'm pissed because now I probably won't be able to make it back to the gym for a few days and I kind of look forward to my workouts now. Plus I'm able to watch "What Not To Wear" on the treadmill every night at 6. And now I can't. Grrr.
Posted by
Material Lust
at
4:46 PM
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Labels: griping
You know those American Express ads where they ask celebrities to describe the perfect day? Well I think yesterday was my perfect day. We woke up around 8:30 (not too early, not too late) and decided that since we were out of coffee at the house, we'd walk to our nearby Starbucks, which is 2 miles away. The trees are completely filled in now and the weather was perfect: 70 degrees or so. So we grabbed some iced coffee and a half pound of the Pike's Place Blend and walked back.
Then we made our way to the State Farmers' Market and had a hell of a time. We bought locally raised beef, chicken, and lamb, some pork barbeque for lunch, and a ton of produce: lettuce, tomatoes, asparagus, peas, beets, and these babies, a quarter of which are being made into ice cream as I type:
Then we came home, read some magazines, made dinner (lamb chops, asparagus, and roasted beets), and watched Lars and the Real Girl, which I highly recommend.
On tap for today: a little cleaning around the house and some gardening. The weather is perfect for working in the yard and the mosquitos aren't out yet. I love this time of year.
Posted by
Material Lust
at
9:26 AM
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Labels: life

We still haven't figured out what to do with our tax refund. It might just be my patriotic duty to buy these. Hmmm...
Posted by
Material Lust
at
7:17 PM
1 comments
Labels: closet
It's called the "Take Away Bird Feeder" by Eva Solo and it's $60 from Greener Grass Design. I'd buy one if I felt assured that our hyperactive 8 year old nextdoor neighbor wouldn't break it.
Posted by
Material Lust
at
9:24 PM
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Labels: home
It's really quite amazing to purge this much stuff. Totally lame, but it feels really liberating, like all this stuff was just taking up room and getting in the way of the more important stuff.
I'm really happy with the way the master bedroom looks now. I liked the turquoise originally, but lately it just felt like an assault on the eyeballs:
Posted by
Material Lust
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5:10 PM
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Labels: home
Posted by
Material Lust
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2:22 PM
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Labels: stuff
There hasn't been a lot that I've been really loving this spring, in terms of fashion, but here are a few things I think are particularly lust-worthy.
I have two black purses, but neither of them are quite right. They're either too big or too small, but this may be just right! I have a 15% off coupon for Hayden-Harnett and I'm really tempted. Maybe next month though.
Love this top. It's backordered until April 15, which actually isn't that far away now. I might have to buy it.
These I wish I could buy. But I can't really envision spending almost $200 on green peep-toe Mary Janes. Oof.
I really love the shape of this Eva Zeisel sauceboat. I'd use it as a catch-all for keys, not for sauce.
Posted by
Material Lust
at
7:17 PM
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There was a mass rant a few weeks ago on Decorno's blog (which I just found and now I'm hooked on) about domino magazine. It used to be so great when it first came out and still is one of the best home decor magazines around, especially for people that aren't 80, but lately it's gotten away from decor and instead has moved toward makeup and fashion and other stuff which most readers can (and do) find in other magazines (that do this much better than domino does). So, the editor of domino chimed in on the rant and promised things would be getting better soon. So I was hopeful.
Until the magazine arrived.
I really wish I had a picture to show you. I'm not sure words adequately describe this spread and all its ridiculousness. There is a 3-page spread on organizing your purse. Not just organizing your purse, but "elegantly curating" it so that is "telegraphs both style and put-togetherness." What does this have to do with home decor, you ask? I'm not sure.
Then the article goes on to show "four impossibly chic ways" to organize your purse. Uhhh...okay....but do I care what the inside of my purse looks like? Not really.
Then they named the looks of the different organized-purse-combinations. So your purse can telegraph the image of a "High-End Bohemian," an "Executive Punk" (whaaa?), a "Girl About Town," or an "Art Student." (The introductory image unfortunately doesn't have a name, but the purse and its contents would set you back a mere $4,798, which includes a $3,275 Cartier pen. Now, I try not to judge how people spend their money: it's their own business. But seriously? A $3,275 pen??? I mean, for real, aren't there better things that a person can and should do with that money?)
The "Executive Punk" look had me laughing out loud though. The descriptions of the items are particularly great. The makeup bag is "a posh stash for your smokey-eye arsenal--and even black nail polish." And the little pink notebook is "a neon holder for all your subversive musings." Because all the executives I know are super subversive.
I dunno. I just wish they'd move away from this bullshit and get back to what they're good at.
Posted by
Material Lust
at
7:13 PM
3
comments
Labels: griping
Posted by
Material Lust
at
4:41 PM
1 comments
Labels: home
I've decided to participate in this Spring's 8-week Apartment Therapy Cure. )I know we live in a house and not in an apartment, but I don't think they're going to kick us out for that.)
I didn't really think our house was in too much need of help, especially since we've remodeled the master bathroom and the kitchen, but when I took photos of the house? Oh. my. god. We have a lot of stuff. I don't know if it's because we've lived here almost 4 years, or because we have pack-rat tendencies, but we've accumulated a lot. Far more than I ever remember purchasing.
But aaaanywhoo. This week's tasks were to:
There is just a LOT of stuff to get rid of: old cell phones, books, scraps of paper, cds, half-used candles, etc. Our trash collector is going to hate me for this.
Posted by
Material Lust
at
7:19 PM
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Veggies from the state farmers' market
Cool sign across the street from the Hibernian (I liked the font)
Guiness
This weekend could not have been more different, however. I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say it's been total and utter misery caused by the Death Flu: full body aches, fever, a nasty cough, and massive congestion. Chris was a saint and got me baked ziti on Friday night in addition to more NyQuil. However, it was only after he got back home that I used up the last tissue in the box, which also just happened to be the last tissue in the house. No biggie, right? Just use toilet paper, right? That's what I decided I'd do, only to realize that the only toilet paper we had left in the house was single ply, which we still have leftover from a massive Costco-sized mistake.
Even though we've since gotten real tissues in the house, I don't think my nose has forgiven me yet and it still feels like it's about to fall off. Fun.
To make matters worse, I was really looking forward to seeing my mom this weekend. She flew from San Diego to Charlotte on Wednesday so she could drive over here and hang out with us this weekend, but because of the nasty weather and the Death Flu hanging over our house, she decided to stay in Charlotte (and I honestly can't say I blame her--I've been Captain No Fun this weekend).
Anyway, despite the totally crappy turn of events this weekend, the light outside our house yesterday evening was spectacular and I was able to capture this, even though it doesn't do it justice compared to what it looked like in person.
Okay, must lay down again. Hope your weekend was better than mine.
Posted by
Material Lust
at
5:20 PM
4
comments
Labels: griping
I just downloaded the following songs:
Posted by
Material Lust
at
7:34 PM
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Labels: lists
Source: About.com
Source: taringa.net
Posted by
Material Lust
at
6:19 PM
4
comments
Labels: nonsense