I'm Down with Down

Aren't these pillow adorable?  No, you say?!

While these might not be the cutest pillows, it's what's on the inside that counts (true for people as well as pillows).  What's on the inside in this case is down.  Down pillows make such a huge difference in the way pillows look and feel.  Down is comfortable and "fluffs" beautifully.  The extra cost of down over poly fill is worth it - promise.  

If you are looking for inexpensive down pillow inserts, TJ Maxx and HomeGoods is a great resource. Sometimes you can even find them on clearance.  These were $12.99 each for the 20 x 20" insert and $16.99 for the 15 x 25" insert, so about $43 total for quality down pillows.  And I actually kept the pink covers - I might use the fabric for something (Hello Hoarders, my name is Megan).  

 Crate & Barrel also has a good, inexpensive selection, but if you don't live near one (like me) and are impatient (like me), TJ is a great alternative.

If you're wondering, all the pillows are for my master bedroom update.  It's going to be slow going because the budget flow is more of a trickle, but finishing this pillow has made me so excited!  I love the yellow - stay tuned for the process - 

Have a lovely weekend!

It's such a beautiful day here!  After two weeks of snow and then rain, it is so good to see spring again.

image: domino via taylor sterling via This is Glamorous

The weather has inspired me and I'm working on a million and one projects today.  I am typing with paint spattered hands (should have picked up the mineral spirits before I started painting, I just thought maybe nail polish remover would take it off - it doesn't if you're wondering) and looking forward to getting to a few more, a walk with the doggie outside and settling in for a new What Not to Wear.  The man on My Lovely Lane always looks forward to Friday nights because of our What Not to Wear ritual - haha - but when Stacy came to speak at his work, look at what he got me!  He's the best.

Have a great weekend - Megan

Can you spray paint a garden stool?

I know some are over the garden stools, but I was willing to jump on the trend bandwagon and give it a try when they were $19.99 at Big Lots this Christmas.  Well, it turns out I am in LOVE and I wish I would've bought a couple more.  I mean $19.99!  However, the long ride home in the back did not do my poor little table any favors and this is what it has looked like ever since

I didn't want to re-glaze a $19.99 stool or anything, so I though I would try to spray paint it.  What's the worst that can happen?  I used white lacquer spray paint and with a couple of coats, it looked like this

Yeah!  Word of warning though - even though I used lacquer spray paint, it doesn't have that shiny, glazey finish anymore.  I even had a clear gloss spray paint that I tried over it, but the finish is still fairly flat.  I just painted it where the scratched were so overall it still looks like a glazed piece of ceramic and I am very happy I tried it.  Now I really wish I had bought more, so I could have try painting them some fun colors!

It's a Turquoise Kind of Year

As I'm sure you know, turquoise is Pantone's 2010 color of the year.

and I just noticed this - 

Look at me, getting it exactly right this year!

South Carolina Eclectic

Better Homes and Gardens isn't a magazine I subscribe to, but the cover caught my eye in the checkout line, with this pretty coral and turquoise office.  

PS - a scanner is on my wishlist, sorry for the pictures!  

It's the office of Jenny Keenan, an interior designer in South Carolina, and the rest of her home is really beautiful as well.  It has an eclectic mix and fun touches, but the overall feeling is peaceful and effortless. 

 

I love the coffee table - the credit list it as Anthropologie, but it also reminds me of this one I just blogged about.

All images Better Homes and Garden, April 2010; photos by Kip Dawkins

Wednesday relief

If you are feeling a little computer fatigue - a hazard of both real work (aka pays the bills) and fun work (aka blogging), you might need these Etsy cuties:

You can put them in the freezer or in the microwave.  I know cold is usually supposed to be better, but warmth always feels so good, especially in overly air-conditioned offices. 

Popping them in the microwave will also release the smell of cinnamon for a little olfactory stimulation. 

The really important part - they are fun to look at!  I love the saturated chevron pattern and the visual therapy is sure to distract you from the gray cube walls and your annoying co-workers.

Happy Wednesday!

Give me Liberty

Love Liberty of London but didn't find what you were looking for at Target?  One of my favorite Etsy sellers - plumcushion - has beautiful Liberty of London print pillows in her store right now.

I just love her styling too - so lovely.

It's Me or the House

This post over at Smitten Design really got me thinking.  For the first 10 years of having the freedom to purchase whatever I wanted, I bought clothes.  Clothes, clothes and more clothes, with some shoes, magazines to read about clothes, a few purses and some jewelry thrown in.  It didn't help that I worked in fashion and was surrounded by it daily.  Now that I have moved on from that job and out of a tiny apartment into a larger house, all I think about is buying lamps and rugs and ottomans...  However, it's harder to get a cheap thrill - maybe Forever 21 will start a home line!

Yesterday I just choose this

over this

so my alliance goes back and forth. 

What would you choose?

Fendi Heels $695 (Net-A-Porter) or Jonathan Adler Rug $720 (Matthew Izzo)

Diane Von Furstenberg Dress $325 (Net-A-Porter) or Ballard Designs Coffee Table $349 (Ballard Designs)

Saarinen Round Dining Table $1613 (Design Within Reach) or Miu Miu Handbag $1650 (Net-A-Porter)

Marc by Marc Jacobs Sundress $500 (Net-A-Porter) or Reassembled Mirror $498 (Anthropologie)

Bold and Beautiful

The Satorialist

I love bold jewelry and Banana Republic has so many beautiful statement pieces for spring.

All available at Banana Republic

Plate Wall Tutorial

LivingEtc

A green plate wall for St. Patrick's Day so I don't get pinched!  

I think blue plates would look even better on this wall and really pop.  But they didn't ask me, so onto my plate wall tutorial! 

First of all, it's really easy, even if you are doing a more structured configuration.  If you are planning something more freeform, just attach your plate hangers and go to town.

The first thing I did was plan where I wanted each plate to go and how large the spacing between should be.  

Then I attached plate hangers.  These are quick and cheap, but I have heard rumors that they can damage or even break your plates and the stick-on ones are better.  I decided to live dangerously and use these - I figure even if a plate breaks, it's better that they are out where I can see and enjoy them than in a box somewhere.  After you have them laid out, here is a good trick.   Trace around each plate/platter (if you don't have paper wide enough, tape pieces together, it doesn't matter what they look like), marking a little dot where the top of the picture hanger will hold the nail and then write a brief description of the piece on the paper.  If you are like me and moving is a way of life, you are so excited because you have a template that you can keep and your next plate wall will be fabulously quick and easy!

Then you can just (lightly) tape the papers up, moving them around and measuring the spacing.  When they are all perfect, nail the picture hangers into the wall where you've marked it on the paper.  

I forgot to snap a pic before I took the rest of the templates down - sorry!  

So, here they are all hung up and looking pretty.

This wall is what you see from the living room too and now I love it.  That blank wall was driving me crazy!  Now I just need to paint the chairs, get a rug, maybe paint...lots of projects to blog about for sure.

I hope this was helpful.  Do you have any cheap and easy ways for filling a blank wall?  I still have quite a few left around the house!

Plate Love

Plates can be an inexpensive and beautiful way to fill a blank wall.  My grandmother recently gave me a box of blue and white ironstone dishes and platters, which inspired my interest in plate walls, along with the big blank wall that stared at me while I ate my cereal.  The plates don't have to be anything special though - I always see cute dishes at tj maxx or even melamine ones at Target that I don't buy because I don't "need" them (though when has that ever stopped me).  Now I have the buying justification I needed - it's art!  Here's some plate wall inspiration for you. 

Peaceful plates

Design Sponge

Amazing plates

Kelly Wearstler's plate wall at The Viceroy in Santa Monica

Glamorous plates (ps - I love this room and I can see some major DIY potential here, have you seen Alison's DIY sunburst mirror?  Genius!)

Courtney Giles via Chateau de Lu

Whimsical plates

Design Sponge

Eclectic plates

Elle Decoration (UK Edition)

Stay tuned for my plate wall and a tutorial tomorrow!

This Goes Out To All The Flakes

Even though spring has almost here, my bleary eyes being the proof of daylight savings, I know there are many of you out there, like me, who are still showing the scars of a long, cold, dry winter.  If you have been blessed with naturally dewy skin and do not wake up to flaking chins and a face that tightens immediately after washing, there is no need to read any further.  You are the lucky ones...  For those of you who are like me and can't get greasy if they try, I have found the answer you have been looking for

Olay Regenerist Deep Hydration Regenerating Cream

This stuff cured me of all tightness and flaking this winter, so I had to share.  I put it on at night (under a Retin lotion to keep those cells turning over!) and in the morning (under another lotion with SPF, which goes under tinted moisturizer - I'm telling you, I'm like the Sahara).  I've always tried heavy, thick creams, but this is deceptively light and the dewiness lasts all day.  I am not being paid for this endorsement, but Olay if you are listening, I would happily take a thank you in the form of truckloads of this stuff! 

May all your Mondays be dewy.

I'm on Emily A. Clark today!

A HUGE thank you to Emily at Emily A. Clark for including my bookcase in her Reader Participation post today!  I just started my blog so it's literally like the coolest thing ever to see your pictures and name on someone else's site that you really admire.  Emily has a beautiful blog and is a super talented designer, as you can see.  I love that navy wall! 

My bookcase is definitely falls into the slightly "undecorated" category.  It's in my crafty/girly room and it's a place where I put everything I need and that I love and what to look at.  My stepdad made it for me and my mom painted it so it's not only what's in it that's meaningful.  Lots of novels, family pictures, and my owl collection all have a place.  Good thing it's supersize - I've moved it three times and every time the movers shoot me dirty looks as they try to get a good grip on it. 

Head on over to Emily A. Clark and check it out the other bookcases - she is featuring some of the greats, like Paloma of La Dolce Vita and Rhonda of Southern Hospitality!

PS - I love them all, but check out Alaina's of Live Creating Yourself - the pillows, the dark wall - LOVE!

Lovely Leifsdottir

I am a sucker for anything with a beautiful pattern.  If it also happens to be silk, it must be mine.

Anthropologie's sister brand Leifsdottir now has their own site and they have some amazing options.  These pieces are worth investing in because you will always get compliments on them.  

  

This is neither patterned nor silk, but is it gorgeous...

All available at Leifsdottir