It’s been real

So, I have realized over the past few months that I just don’t have time to regularly post on this here blog. It’s been fun to share some of my home improvements for these two years, and I have made many, many more that I wanted to share, but just couldn’t find the time in the day to do so. So instead of keeping this blog up and worrying about not posting and having it hanging over my head, I’ve decided to just say goodbye. Thanks for everyone who’s commented or read my ramblings. It’s been real.

Three months of radio silence…

…sounds about typical for me. If I have any readers left (or had any to begin with) sorry and all that jazz.

But moving on, I have tons of projects to start sharing. The past six months have been full of awesome thrift store finds and room re-dos. I’ll hopefully have a complete living room makeover to share next week. And then I have two new projects that I want to share in real time on the blog. One is a rehaul of my bedroom. That might take awhile, and I hope to get everyone’s advice and critiques as I undertake this project.

The second project I will be documenting is my friend, Lauren’s, brand spanking new apartment transformation. She is moving into a two bedroom with her two “bitches.” The bitches are pretty awesome, I will admit, but they can’t hold a paint brush or take a photo, so I’ll be helping with that.

The bitches on the beach.

To kick off my projects, I thought I’d share a couple ideas for my new bedroom. I am torn between a more subdued, Hollywood Regency look, and a more vibrant, Miami/South Beach/Palm Springs inyoface look.

The Hollywood Regency idea all started from this mirror from my grandmother’s house and the soft blue/green of the rug I already own.

(The rug in this photo is NOT the rug I have in my room. This is a photo my mom sent of the mirror at my parents’ house.)

Here is how I envision the Hollywood Regency contender. Very girlie, I know. But it’s my “boudoir” if you will and I don’t reallygiveadamn.

This photo from the Lords Hotel in South Beach sums up my inspiration for the Miami/Palm Springs vibe. I mean, you can do worse than a huge photo of Liz above your bed! A tad more modern as well.

I only realized after throwing both of these inspirational images up on this here blog that they employ the same colors, turquoise and gold, but in very different ways. I know what I like, huh? So, dearest readers who may or may not exist, which do you think I should go with?

Oh, and did I mention I plan to do this project on less than $100? Yep, that’s right, $100. Wish me luck, dear friends, for I shall need it.

Some thrifting hits and a miss

So I made my first trip to my neighborhood Goodwill recently! I was so excited to finally explore what CT has to offer in terms of thrifting. And I think I did ok. Here’s my loot:

I also picked up an awesome pair of retro earrings and a bunch of records that I didn’t photograph.

The ’70s “keys” sign was a whopping 79¢. I was going to paint it, but I kinda like the retro feel of the wood. It’s hanging above my coat and key rack right now.

The ribbon was a great find as I was running out and had some presents to send. It was 49¢.

I was so excited to find the cake Tupperware thingie. It’s the exact same one that my mom has. My friend and I get together every Wednesday to watch The Bachelor on Hulu and she made a delicious lemon cake that we needed to transport and neither of us had a cake carrier. Well, for $2.99, now I do! I did a little research on the interwebs, and people are selling these “vintage” cake carriers for $15 to $30. Ha, one woman’s Goodwill find is another woman’s overpriced ebay auction.

The gold napkin holder I have decided to use as a letter holder to keep my counters clear. I think it looks a bit classier this way too. But it may get a turquoise spray paint job and become a napkin holder again. We shall see. It was all of 49¢.

I have one thrifting regret this week, though. Yesterday on Craigslist there was listed the most awesome retro chrome kitchen table, in bright red. It would match peeeerfectly with my vision of a future kitchen. Two examples are below:

(Image from homebysunset.com)

(Image from CountryLiving.com)

Now, I don’t really have anywhere to put a kitchen table. But the seller said they were going to throw it away if it didn’t sell! And it was only listed at $60! And it would match all my red kitchen accessories! And I did some research and they usually go for upwards of $300! (I bet you can tell where this is going.)

I convinced myself I could put it in the dark, scary-as-hell basement of my building (I swear there are probably corpses of dead cats down there). So after hemming and hawing over it for two days, I decided to call and see if it was still available. I left a very nice message and I still haven’t heard back. I’m so disappointed! I doubt I’ll ever be able to find another table like this without shelling out the big bucks. But maybe this is serendipitous and I will need that $60 soon. Aren’t I good at convincing myself?

Hope you all had a great weekend!

So 2000 and late

I’m not one to jump on trends too quickly (it took me two years to own my first pair of skinny jeans), and in the same vein, I’m not one to declare anything “over.” But lately, I’ve been seeing several design trends all over the damn place and I’m quite frankly so frickin’ bored of them. They are so ubiquitous as to be annoying. Like teenagers peppering their speech with “like” the following items grate my eyeballs.

I realize how pretentious it is to make a list of things that are “over” but whatever, this is my blog and I’ll do what I want to. Think of this as “Erin’s list of stuff that annoys her” not necessarily my attempt to be a taste maker (or disassembler). So with no further ado, here is my list:

1) Sunburst mirrors: we’ve seen the expensive gold leaf ones. We’ve seen the cheaply, ingenious spray painted popsicle stick ones. We’ve seen them all, people. Let’s find something else to stick over our beds and mantles.

2) “Keep Calm and Carry On” posters: lots of iterations of this one.  Admittedly cute at first, but I’m over it.

3) Cardboard animal mounted heads. A funny take on the traditional style, but once you’ve seen them every week for a year above David Bromstad’s head while he whips up colorful creations, then on every other Apartment Therapy house tour, they’ve had their run.

4) Birds. But you know this already.

You could probably fill an entire apartment with just the things I’ve listed here and get your photo up on Apartment Therapy.

There are other trends right now that I absolutely love (chevron, birch, decals) and I don’t pretend that those might not be on someone else’s list of things that grate their eyeballs. Maybe those are even on your list! So, are there any design trends that you wish would just go away already?

Tablescape Thursday- Valentine’s Day Fondue Party!

For the last couple of years I have hosted a Singles Fondue Party at my apartment. It’s a great time of year to break out the cheese and chocolate and I think my friends who don’t have plans for February 14th really appreciate a little festivity without the akwardness of a four course meal with a near stranger (been there done that!).

This year I was excited to break out my three fondue pots at my new place on my new table! I’m still not over the fact that I can host more than three people comfortably in my apartment.

Each person got a personalized heart doily as a place card, which was speared with a fondue fork.

My favorite part was the “fireplace”! I found this moving and cackling fire on the new Mac App store and projected it on my tv for a little atmosphere.

I hope everyone had a great St. Valentine’s Day! As always, stop by Susan’s for some more tablescapes.

XOXO,

Erin

Apartment inspiration

I have now been living in my new graduate school apartment for six months! I’m not sure how the time flew by so quickly! I’ve been making some small, but significant changes to the decor over those six months, but it still feels like I’m waiting forever for this place to be how I envision. I need to teach myself PATIENCE.

So while I practice that whole patience thing, I thought I’d put together a little inspiration board of things I’d like for my apartment. Some of these are way too big to fit in my place and will have to wait some years for my next phase in life. While others I’m desperately hunting for right now. And others, pie in the sky dreams for when I win the lottery!

Without further ado:

REGOLIT
$50 – ikea.com

Lights Up! Faux Bois Light Lamp Shade 14x16x11 (Spider) |…
$120 – lampsplus.com

Hans Olsen Frem Rojle Teak Dining Table Chairs Set Danish Modern
scandinavianmod.com

Skyline Furniture Swoop Arm Chair in Velvet Pewter from Mercantila.com
mercantila.com

Regency Side Table Glass Brass and Chrome Occasional Table | VandM.com
vandm.com

Charley’s Art | Charley Harper Gallery
charleyharperprints.com

 

Hope you liked dreaming with me!

Metamorphosis Monday-Christmas

So I’m slowly working my way through the holidays. Thursday it was Thanksgiving and Monday it’s Christmas. Maybe by February I will be ready to present New Years!

For this Met Monday, I put to use all those free ornaments I trash picked back in April. I’m still baffled that someone would throw perfectly good (and cute!) ornaments in the trash. Well, regardless I scored some goodies and decided to try my hand at the Eddie Ross wire hanger wreath tutorial from a few years ago.

It turned out pretty well! I could have used a couple more ornaments, but all in all not to shabby for a brand new wreath that cost me absolutely nothing. Nada. Free! (The ribbon was stolen from my parents’ house.)

It also snowed here in Connecticut again this weekend. It’s the kind of snow that sticks to all the branches and transforms the entire city into a winter wonderland!

And what does one do in a winter wonderland? Go sledding of course! And how does one sled when one is a poor grad student without a sled? Make one out of a box and trash bags of course!

This beautiful contraption, which we named the “Snow Devil,” lasted exactly one run, after which it broke into three pieces. However, the bubble wrap worked perfectly for sliding down the hill! I even went over a jump with it. I think it protected my tail bone. My poor friend Kim’s expression here pretty much sums up our “Ghetto Sledding.”

Participating in Susan’s Met Monday.

Tablescape Thursday: Happy….Thanksgiving?

Ok, and Happy New Year! Yes, I am completely and totally late in posting this tablescape. The holiday season was a bit hectic this year, with my first round of finals and some family stuff going on. So my best blog intentions were thwarted. But better late than never, right?

I decided to stay at school for Thanksgiving for the first time since I was abroad in 2004. My friend and his sister were also kicking it in town for the holiday. So instead of dining on Chinese food, which would have been depressing, I decided to throw my hat in the ring and elect myself the official Thanksgiving dinner and cheer coordinator.

Because what is Thanksgiving without a turkey, really?

(A turkey, I might add, that took 2 extra hours to cook than I had planned.)

Did I also mention that I now have a table? A legit table! If you remember my studio and my other tablescapes, you will remember the cramped and tiny coffee table. Well, no more. I feel like an adult now!

And every adult should have a nicely outfitted bar.

In all, it was a pretty fun Thanksgiving. I should have taken some photos of the checklists and timetables and instructions that I had taped all over my kitchen cabinets. But that would entail me showing the world my ugly kitchen cabinets! So maybe another time.

Stop on over at Susan’s for some more eye candy!

Welcome!

Welcome to the new home of my blog over here on WordPress. Blogger and I just weren’t getting along. All my old posts are here and everything is the same, other than some small photos, which I may go back and fix one day. We shall see. Hope you like it and will stop back soon!

Metamorphosis Monday

So I’m posting for the first time for Met Monday. This is also the first peek at my new apartment!

My new place is in an old brownstone, so it has some ridiculously high ceilings. I wanted to take advantage of all that vertical height and do something a little different in my bedroom. I didn’t think a framed picture would work above the bed. It just wouldn’t be large enough. And I didn’t want to block the view out the window by getting a canopy bed or doing anything with draping. So I hopped on Etsy and started looking at decals.

Here is the before:

And here is the after:


I had to modify the decal a bit. It was made to look like the tree extends all the way past the ceiling, but since my ceilings are so tall, I had to do some cutting and pasting to make it look like a full tree. I also applied it like a big idiot–I was precariously balancing on a step ladder on my bed since I don’t have a ladder big enough to reach that high up the wall. The whole time I was thinking “I should have a ‘do not attempt this at home’ banner above my head!” But I survived, and the decal went on pretty easily.

Hopefully as my place comes together in the next few months, I’ll have more metamorphoses to show you all. For now, skip on over to Susan’s for some more Met Monday goodness!