App Happiness

I am beside myself trying to come up with different ways to use this app that Paloma at La Dolce Vita posted about!  You can design your own note or invite and send it as an email or text.  Who wouldn't be so excited to get a text that looks like this?

instead of this

I'm telling you - $.99 that totally made my day!  

The app is by Gadabout, who makes amazing stationary.  

What's Next: Sunglasses

Big frames never go out of style...

Balenciaga

And lately I've been feeling the lighter, summery look of aviators ...

Ray-Ban

But I think I know what's coming and I'm already prepared

Chloe

She probably has something to do with it.

SplashNews.com

Olivia, you can do no wrong (it least stylistically)

Lonny find

Last week, my mom was lucky enough to swing by the Pottery Barn outlet on her way from visiting my stepsister in Ohio.  As we tried to shop via the phone - me "Go to rugs.  What do they have?", her - "They have like 400 rugs, what are you looking for?", me - "I don't know, something awesome?  Describe them, please."  As she was trying to describe each lamp in the store, she mentioned tortoiseshell lamps she found for $40 each.  This image flashed in my mind:

I know everyone has seen Editor-in-Chief Michelle Adam's spread of her own home in the newest issue of Lonny and this was one of my favorites.  I remembered Alaina's post where she discovered it was from good old Pottery Barn, not Neimans.

Needless to say, two will be making their way into my home shortly!  If you live near a PB outlet, run, don't walk.  If you live near the one in Ohio, there's still one left.  Good luck.

Nate Brings It Again

Nate Berkus has some fabulous new items for his HSN line.  I am absolutely IN LOVE with this rug. 

I like how the zig zags aren't crisp, it gives it a more ikat-ish, casual feel.

Pink, velvet and tufted?  Yes please.

I waited too long for this post and the gold poof that once was up is gone!  Gone too are the lamps that Bryn used in this amazing bedroom.  

Hopefully they'll come back in stock, but I guess you have to act quickly with Nate.

Napkin Makeover

I love to buy cloth napkins because they're usually pretty inexpensive, there are so many fun patterns offered and they're usually already hemmed in a lovely square, pillow-like shape...you see where I am going here.   I always look in the sale section because once a pattern gets down to just two or three left, they practically give them away!  I really want to get these Harvey & Strait quadrille napkins that I saw in my new issue of Elle Decor 

and whip them up into some adorable pillows, a la this project from High Heeled Foot in the Door!  She took these Roberta Roller Rabbit napkins from this

to this!

She is my DIY hero!  

The napkins come in a package of 6, so I could make 3 pillow covers for $50.  That's a great price for pillows, but a little on the expensive side for napkins, so I am assuming they would be heavyweight, quality fabric too.

Be Still & Cross Your Fingers!

Oh, I hope I win Kirsten's giveaway from Be Still - I am been coveting the Mosaic Linen in particular

Look at how pretty it is in her home.  I just have to be a big old copycat on that one!

Clayton Gray Home

I just got my May issue of Lucky and I was so excited to see a discount from Clayton Gray Home!  Would it be like I was SAVING money if I ordered a few things?  It was tough to narrow down, but here are some of my favorites:

Berkeley Large 4-Drawer Brickfront - Gray Cerused Oak and White

Rittenhouse Pendant

Jacqui Console/Desk - White

Square Lattice Stool

(I am particularly smitten with the blue one if anyone is looking for a generous gift idea!)

Fleur Eglomise Mirror

Kaffe Fassett rug

Chelsey Oak Bar

Birdcage Light Fixture

Tulipa Hazelnut & Red Apple Pillow

And this was me narrowing it down.  Good stuff.

Summer Scouting

I haven't switched out my winter clothes with summer yet, but I really need to before I start buying anything new.  I have clothing amnesia from year to year and undoubtedly will bring home new things that are very similar to what I already have - "oh, I forgot about those white jeans I got last August at 75% off - they look very similar to the ones I just ordered" - whoops!  So I'm just scouting things out until I can get to it...promise.  Here are just a few things on my list - 

I love this oxford dress from L.L. Bean's new Signature line.  Shirtdresses are so versatile - they look effortless yet polished.  Sometimes I have a problem finding them long enough though but this one looks like it hits at the perfect right above the knee spot. 

I'd pair it with this belt to add some interest

and these wedges for some color and fun.

Come On Craig!

I have been stalking Craigslist in search of a dresser for the bedroom.  I want it to be long and low, with good lines and some interesting details.  I will probably paint and replace the hardware, so I don't feel like I am being too choosy.  Craig has been seriously disappointing me though, instead of finding this, which is PERFECT

via cococozy

All I find is variations on this

Come on CL, send me something good!

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)