New House, New Color Palette

Since moving into this house back in March, I've been struggling with how to decorate.  This is mainly due to the fact that it's more of an open floor plan than the last house, so I want rooms to feel like they flow into one another instead of feeling disjointed.  The easiest way to achieve a cohesive look is through a cohesive color palette and I love pretty much all colors, it's been difficult to narrow things down.

Then a few weeks ago, the fine folks over at Young House Love posted about the new color palette for their new house.  Inspired, I hit up the paint swatches and started figuring it out.  The paint swatches are all from Martha Stewart's line at Home Depot and the colors don't necessarily reflect paint colors that I'm going to use, but they're more just a tool to help me visualize things.

So, here are the neutrals:

From left to right:  Heavy Cream, Chinchilla, Cement Gray

And the colors:

Left to right:  Pencil, Persimmon Red, Butterscotch, Hummingbird Blue, Claret, Wrought Iron

All together now!

Looks a little much, doesn't it?  Here comes the fun part: mixing and matching.

Here's one palette that I used for the upstairs bathroom:

Heavy cream, butterscotch, hummingbird blue, wrought iron

Switch out the Butterscotch and replace it with Persimmon Red and you have a sophisticated little girl's room:

 Take out the Persimmon and insert Claret and here's a striking living room:

 Pencil, Wrought Iron and Chinchilla becomes a cute little boy's room:

Chinchilla, Cement Gray and a bit of Butterscotch and here is what I want for our master bedroom:

 Cement Gray, Claret, Wrought Iron and Heavy Cream reminds me a bit of airline colors, but with some shiny brass accents, this and either the blue or red in small doses, this could work.

This is fun:

Wrought Iron, Persimmon Red, and Hummingbird Blue

Adding Pencil and Cement Gray and here's a pretty bathroom:

So there you have it.  There's still room for playing around, but zeroing in on the colors will help me focus a bit more, plus it'll hopefully mean that I can move accessories from one room to another to keep things fresh and new.  Also, to help me remember the colors, I've punched a hole in each card and put them on a ring and I'm keeping them in my glove compartment for easy access when I'm shopping. 

Thoughts? 

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care...

Guess who got stockings?  April did!  Well, April herself already had a stocking, so technically her husband, Jonathan, and their dog, Rex, got stockings.  (Remember Rex?) 

Anyway, April wanted the stockings to be a surprise for her men, so she and I hashed out designs.  Jonathan's would be subtly North Carolina-themed and Rex's would be a picture of Rex with a reindeer nose and antlers.

So, without further ado (and because I have to get off the computer and get my butt ready for work):

Jonathan's features a long leaf pine (state tree), a cardinal (state bird), and the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Do you have a favorite?

F**k You!

Just bought this album this week and I. Love. It.  Seriously so good.

I especially love the songs "F**k You" and "Bright Lights, Bigger City."  Check 'em out.

And in case you missed it, here's Gwenyth Paltrow's amazing and tv-friendly version of the song "F**k You" when she guest-starred on Glee! a few weeks ago.

Holiday Decorating Dilemmas

I think I'm a bit schitzophrenic (sp?) when it comes to holiday decor:  I pulled my holiday stuff out earlier this week and it's all over the place, style-wise.  I think this has to do with the fact that everything I've ever bought for the holidays has been during a post-Christmas clearance.  So now I'm left with a hodge-podge of stuff I got half off. 

I'm throwing a Christmas cookie exchange party for the entire neighborhood in a little over the weeks, so now I need to get my house in gear and looking festive.  First place to start?  Wreaths.

I have one wreath and it's a fake pine one and it's rather lame looking.  Plus our front door is green and so is the wreath, so as a result, you don't really see it (which may be just fine).  So now I'm looking for a red wreath.  Here's what Pier 1 has to offer that I like:

This is a lame question, but where else does one buy wreaths?  Or should I make some?  How?

Helpsies.

Living Room Update!

As I think I mentioned, a few weekends ago my mom came out to help me paint the living room.  We took it from a weird green color (and the only green room in the house) to a relaxing and calming cream.  Okay, so I know painting a room cream isn't exactly ground-breaking or super exciting, but it was a big step in the right direction and now the room looks like it belongs in the rest of the house.

Before:

After painting, we changed the layout of the room by moving the bookshelves to the main wall and putting the secretary desk against one of the side walls.  The enormous red chair will be Craigslisted soon (thank God!) and in its place I'll put two side chairs or wingbacks (whichever I can find on Craigslist).  Doesn't the room look better?

Speaking of Craigslist, check out what we got this past weekend! 

As soon as I pick out some fabric, we'll have it reupholstered.  I'm thinking something kinda funky in a saturated color--like navy velvet--to offset the more traditional shape.  One of the best parts about the sofa was that the sellers lived about 3 miles away, so they delivered it for us!  Score!

Dessert First

Over Thanksgiving, I realized that although I have lots of entertaining pieces, I am missing dessert plates.  I have a few bucks burning a hole in my pocket in the form of an Anthro gift card, so I might just have to fix this little problem of mine.  Which ones to get though?

Do you have a favorite?

Thanksgiving Spread

We had a fabulous little Thanksgiving at our place this year.  Just me, Chris, my parents and my brother-in-law, Bryan.  We did the traditional spread with a few variations due to some diet restrictions:  turkey, cranberry onion confit, apple sage stuffing, mashed cauliflower and a green salad.  Chris did all the cooking while my parents and I spent a good chunk of the day pulling up crabgrass from the front yard.  We're productive like that. 

We have "boundary issues" in our household.

We wanted to keep the whole afternoon as simple as possible, so we used mostly stuff we already had, save for the green tablecloth.  To start, I used our everyday plates, silverware and some pumpkin colored napkins.  Then I added some persimmons, silver-plated dessert glasses, some fake leaves and berries, and some tapers in some pretty candle stick holders.  I also used my grandmother's salt cellars and then topped the tablescape off with some crystal dishes with candy corn and the gold butter knives I purchased at Metrolina.  Very festive, but nice and simple.

Chris had everything to do with the turkey and the rest of the meal, which came out perfectly, as usual. 

The world's a crazy place these days, so it's nice to take some time out to remember that there's still a lot to be thankful for.

Upgrade!

Earlier this week, I shared this picture of our family room with you, dear readers:

See if you can spot the difference:

Hint:  It's in the middle of the picture and Anthony Bourdain is on it. 

Yep!  We got a new tv, so it's out with the 27" tube tv and in with the 47" HDTV.  Wheeeeeeeeeeeeee!  (And yes, I may have been too lazy to actually stand up and take the photo.  Shut up--it's been a long week.)

Progress Report

With two months to go til my 30th birthday, I figured I was well overdue for a progress report on my 30 before 30 list.  It's...uh...not looking so great.  But much of it is still do-able.  And a few things I've kind of lost interest in, honestly.

1.Take a photography class (Not done yet and I still haven't found a good place to take one.  Any ideas?)


2.Go to Seattle with the hubby (Done in April.  LOOOOOVED it.  We spent 2 days in Seattle and 3 in Victoria.  Such a fantastic vacation!)

3.Sell the house (Done on March 26.  Totally successful and gratifying, but all in all, it's something I'd be happy not ever having to do again.)

4.Run a 5k  (Yeah...about that...probably not gonna happen.  File this under "we'll see."  I'm a terrible runner and I'm not exactly in fighting form at the moment.)

5.Visit Las Vegas for a weekend (To be honest, I've lost interest in this.  I mean, it'd be fun to go with Chris for a weekend, but if it doesn't happen, I'll be perfectly okay with that.  I don't really want to spend the money on that right now either.)
6.Learn to crochet  (Hasn't happened yet, but I'm still hopeful.)

7.Watch all the Star Wars movies (watched all 3 original movies, still deciding if I should watch the newer 3)

8.Do 5 unassisted consecutive pull ups  (See #4.)

9.Learn Photoshop  (Hasn't happened, but still hopeful.  I've started to use Picasa, so that's a start.)

10.Lose 10 pounds (Or gain 8???  UGH.)

11.Start volunteering  (YES!  Well, I haven't started yet, but I've lined something up.)

12.Start a vegetable garden  (I planted a bunch of plants in the spring, but then nothing happened.  Boo.  So, I tried and I will try again this coming spring with hopefully better results.)

13.See the North Carolina symphony (We're going to purchase tickets soon!)

14.Watch "The Sound of Music" (Hasn't happened yet.)

15.Watch "Gone with the Wind" (Hasn't happened yet.)

16.Learn to make poached eggs (Done 1/15.  That was kind of ridiculously easy, actually.)

17.Read one book per month (so far so good!)

18.Read "The Hobbit" (Oooh!  Forgot about this one!  Must get on it.)

19.Learn to make a souffle (Not yet, but that'll be a fun weekend project sometime soon.)

20.Learn to paint my nails properly.  (Yes.  Now, if I can just keep it from chipping.)

21.Learn to play chess  (Yes!  My 8 year old nephew kind of taught me.  I'm still not good by any means, but I at least know how to play.

22.Learn to play poker (Not yet.)

23.Buy a new (to us) house (Done March 26!  Wheeee!)

24.Refinish a piece of furniture (Yup!  Done two:  my red desk and turqoise nightstand.)

25.Go to a concert (Saw Lyle Lovett in August.  LOVE.)

26.Blog at least once a week (HA!)

27.Build a chicken coop (Lost interest.  I mean, I'd love to do it, but this wasn't the right year for it.  We've been busy getting the rest of the house in order and we've both been gone too much.  Maybe next year.)

28.Stop biting my nails once and for all.  (Guardedly optimistic.  I haven't bitten them in maybe two months, but the temptation is there every single day.  Ugh.)

29.Pay off my car (Done in May!  28 months early!  Go me!!!)

30.Learn my credit score (Still need to do this, but this is easy.)


So, there you have it!  As of right now, I've gotten 13 done (ugh!) with a realistic 10 left to go, leaving 7 that probably won't get done.  All in all, I'm okay with that.  My 29th year isn't over yet, so who knows? 

Where Men Win Glory Review

Several weeks ago I started and quickly finished Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman:  I read most of it en route from Raleigh to San Francisco.  Most of Krakauer's books have been completely captivating to me:  his subjects are always engrossing and his research is beyond thorough.  I LOVED Into Thin Air and also really enjoyed Into the Wild.  Haven't read Under the Banner of Heaven yet, but I hope to soon.

This particular book chronicles the life of Pat Tillman, an Arizona Cardinals player who walked away from a lucrative NFL career to serve in the Army post-9/11.  There are a number of chapters devoted to Afghanistan's history, the 2000 presidential election, and 9/11, which some of the reviews online criticized as filler material, but I thought it was imperative to understanding the war and Pat Tillman's reasons for serving. 

Krakauer's political views aren't well-disguised and I could see how that would be an issue for some readers, but ultimately I thought the book was a worthwhile read regardless of political ideology.  Pat Tillman was a fascinating guy with incredibly strong values.  The last 1/3 or so of the book is devoted to the circumstances of and fallout from his death and I would think it would be easy for most writers to let that narrative be the main story, but Krakauer doesn't let that happen.  Instead, he lets Pat Tillman shine all the way through, making this an incredibly compelling book.

We have art!

Ever since we moved in to the new house in March, I've been looking for some art to hang above the couch in the family room.  The family room is sunken by about a foot, meaning that there's more wall space than there is in the rest of the house, resulting in a big blank wall.

I wanted something that worked with our existing color scheme (below) and I wanted it to be large (no gallery wall--too much visual clutter for this room) and I wanted it cheap.

So, off to Home Goods for me!  I got these two pieces for $100.  Admittedly, they're mass produced and not the most original things on the planet, but that's fine with me.  Better than staring at a blank wall.

This is what I'm talking about when referring to visual clutter.  I like the way the bookcases look up close, but when taking a step back, there's a lot going on here.  I also think painting the brick fireplace could help considerably, but I have yet to convince the husband.  Hmpf.



Weekend Recap

As I mentioned on Friday, I headed to Charlotte this weekend to hang out with my parents and shop the Metrolina Expo with Eddie Ross.  We kind of had a ridiculously good time.  Eddie was fantastic and totally inspiring--he's a wealth of knowledge and has an amazing ability to take old things and make them look fresh and modern. 

Here's Eddie showing us some spectacular silverware.

Jaithan, me, my mom, and Eddie.  We're all totes bff's now:

So, what did we buy?  My mom bought this needlepoint picture.  I initially did not think much of it, but I actually think it kinda works well in their lakeside condo:

I bought this sweet little set of 24k gold plated butter knives (at least I think they're butter knives, but correct me if I'm wrong).  I just loved the feather handles.  I don't care if I never use them, I just think they're really pretty displayed in a vintage teacup.

My mom bought this set of silver plated champagne/dessert glasses for me.  I love the shape.

A pair of very glam crystal candlestick holders for only $10.

A beautiful set of 6 silveplate water goblets.

Two silver trays.  I have a feeling these will get used a lot over the years.  Everything looks better on a tray.

In other news, I have several bushes of these blooming in the backyard right now.  They have literally HUNDREDS of blooms on them.  So, so pretty.  I think they're camelias?  Again, could be wrong.

This coming weekend, my mom is coming into town to help me paint the living room.  It's currently a very wrong shade of green and we're hoping to make it correct with cream paint.  I'm very excited about this.  Pictures to come.

Weekend Plans

This weekend I'm headed to Charlotte to hang out with my parents and one Mr. Eddie Ross, wherein we will go flea marketing here and I will learn how to make my tablescapes sing.

Like this:

Or this:

Or this:

I can't wait!  Hopefully pictures will follow soon.

Weekend Recap

Yes, it's Wednesday night and I'm just getting around to posting about my weekend.  You'll get over it though, right? 

I spent last weekend in Napa with 16 of my college girlfriends for a weekend of wine tasting and catching up.  We're all turning 30 soon and so it was a perfect time to get together and reconnect.  I have to say, my girlfriends are amazing:  we've all done some growing up since we first met 11 years ago, but yet we're all very much the same people.  It'd been years since many of us had seen each other, but we all seemed to just pick up right where we left off.

Lest you think I'll get all sappy on you, here's a transcript of a text conversation with my husband post-wine tasting.

Saturday Night:
Lindsey: Omg. It's noon and I'm drunkk.

Lindsey: I sent you messages on your other phone. And my phone keeps freaking out on me.
Lindsey: Or it's my phone or I'lm druink. One or the other. :D
Lindsey: Oops?
Chris: I wish I was drunk with you
Lindsey: I may or may not be having wine shipped to the house. Hoipe you don't harte me.
Lindsey: Bus moving. Typing sux.
Chris: I don't harte you, I heart you!
Lindsey: :). My phoine keep deleting stuff I swear itzks not my faultt. This phone sucks.
Chris: You are drunk, silly!
Lindsey: Heeeheeeeeeee
Lindsey: I heart you.
Lindsey: If I werrew with you right now, idk make you drive hoime.
Lindsey: :D
Chris: :p
Lindsey: Ummm.
Lindsey: Your wife +more wine+hot toub=uh oh
Lindsey: Ohhhhh boy. Tomorrow might hurtnn.
Lindsey: By the way,m I just chopped about 4 things opf galrlic.
Chris: Don't cut yourself
Lindsey: I. Didn't. Hurrrrray! :D
Lindsey: Erijnnnnnnnn says hi:b
Chris: Wow. Is that the same as "erin?"
Lindsey: Erin . She spells her nanme with 2 s's, which multiply ehrn one is drunk, hence it becomes 6000 s's. Duhhhhhhh
Chris: Ah.
Lindsey: Genuis.
Lindsey: Omg. I can't spelkl.
Lindsey: I broke a wine glass and spilled qa ton of red wine on my shirt and now I have glass in my shoe. Life is haaaarrrrrrd.

Sunday Morning:
Chris: How are you feeling, Lubbre?
Lindsey: Awful.
Lindsey: So much broken glass in my foot.
Chris: I'm sorry you don't feel good.
Lindsey: Yeah. I'll live. I hope. My body is shaking and I smell bad.
Chris: Mmm. Sexy.

This makes my brain hurt

Reading Now...

I've had some weird sinus, I dunno, thing going on lately, so I left work early today to get some rest.  Between naps I finished reading Anthony Bourdain's latest, Medium Raw.  Figured I'd knock out a quick blog post before going to bed, because at this point not even 30 Rock can keep me awake.

Anyway, I really enjoyed Medium Raw:  Bourdain's a great writer and he's at his best when he's writing about food and fellow cooks.  I wouldn't recommend this book if you haven't read Kitchen Confidential or if you're easily offended.  He swears a lot; that's just his style.  He spends quite a bit of time devoted to supporting what he wrote in Kitchen Confidential, so if you haven't read that, much of this book won't really do much for you, I'm guessing.

Next I'm going to read the new Jon Krakauer book, Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman.  I've really enjoyed some of his other books and I expect this one will be great too.

And with that, I'm off to bed.

I would like these please

Our downstairs hallway bathroom is the beige-est bathroom ever.  These towels would change that:

Coo-coo Bananapants

As you may recall, my last post was a preview of the dog-cape-making materials for my friend April's dog, Rex.  It was Rex's first birthday and April was having a dog birthday party open house and Rex needed a cape (and crown) fit for a king.

With a few measurements and a little imagination, here's what I came up with.  Are you ready for this ridiculousness?  (Correct answer is no because NOTHING could prepare you for how freaking cute this is, if I do say so myself!)

Rex initially quite unsure about me and my kingly offerings.  He got over it.

 Is he not the most regal looking dog ever???

Even kings need naps.

All in all, I'm tickled with how it turned out and more importantly April and her husband and little Rex seemed to love it.  Rex didn't really care for the crown, but he handled the cape far better than we all expected.  I suspect that deep down Rex knew the cape was commensurate to his royal status.

April made incredible burrito fixin's and her house is super cute.  LOVED it.  A lovely evening was had by all followed by a raging hangover for this girl.  Sad face...