My life in photos

The past month and a half have been nuts for the husband and me! Nuts, I tell you! The written history would be rather boring, so you get a photo essay instead.

The awesome-sauce pineapple knocker on our new front door. Which we OWN!

A gas range at last! The Commodore demands to know what the hell took so long.

Livin' it up. 'Cause lawn chairs in the living room and a TV atop a box are part of living the high life.

Colors for the master bath.

These two hate each other. So obviously they must both be in this one of the five sunlit patches available.

Sittin' pretty on our sexy new sofa.

The actual sofa.

Hypnotized by drying laundry.

Eat at Mike's. Their food is even better than their restrooms.

Feel up to speed? Good.

The Finally-Finished Powder Room

Apparently I never told you guys, but late last year I started to re-do our downstairs powder room. I blogged about it in a guest post for Alicia. Well, after a bout with pneumonia, then nearly taking a third of my finger off, the powder room is as finished as it's going to get.

In the beginning...there was yellow.

The bathroom is really tiny, making it difficult to photograph. If you look at the family room wall you can see the buttery/lemony yellow gracing the powder room.

Next, came Pinterest, where I pinned this fantastic paint job by Susannah.

Then, the taping and striping began...

Followed by sickness and other mayhem (see above). Actually, the mirror you see just peeking around the door frame in photo two is the finger-injury culprit.

And now..THIS!

I'm no longer allowed to hang things without supervision so rest assured this mirror went up under a watchful eye.

There has been absolutely no place to hang a towel in this bathroom since the second week after we moved in. Oh how I love that towel rack. I hung it before the finger fiasco.

We picked this sign up at an antique shop in Charleston. I think it adds just the right amount of color.

So there it is; the powder room is complete less than two months before we move out. There is so much more I would like to have done, but at this point, it is all rather moot. I'm just glad to have that dingy yellow paint gone.

Pick Me Up

Lately I have found myself in one of those no-win situations, and boy has it been a downer. Tears, stress, barely controlled cravings for pie... Yech.

Today, when I woke up to pale sunlight and almost cool weather I was determined to feel better about everything. To help, I put together a few happy thoughts.

Get Some Advice

from the Pixel Prince

Make a Wish

The Gardens of Marqueyssac via Oh By The Way

Be Blown away

from Klips n' Scraps

And Remember...

Because It's Awesome and the I Am Project

In the City

Today I am actually traveling again, but you guys have already seen a travel outfit. What you didn't see was my interpretation of a tourist. On Wednesday, before the cocktail dinner shindig, my travel buddy, Carrie, and I met up with the Tara Gentile for lunch at the Reading Terminal Market. Other than lunch and dinner, Carrie and I had no plans so we decided to wander the city a bit.

So what does one wear while strolling the farmer's market and artsy areas of Philly?

For the longest time I avoided wearing black with navy.  I have no idea why; it is really quite sophisticated. obviously, I am writing this before I actually leave for my trip, so I'm still on the fence about the scarf.  The sweater is a v-neck so I know I'll want something to fill in the negative space.  I'm just not sure silver is the way to go...

Yes, those are shorts and, yes, those are tights.  Again, please note that I am not wearing tights as pants. I'm wearing them under (short) pants. But can we please take a second to appreciate these sweet hounds tooth leg cover picked out by my savvy husband?

Awesome, right!?

Sweater: TJ Maxx
Shorts: Hand-me-downs
Tights:Target
Shoes: Gianni Bini circa 2009
Scarf: Hand-me-Down

I also packed some jeans just in case I was too cold to wear the shorts and tights.  I'm stylish, not stupid.

But tell me, what would you put on to tour the big city?

Cocktail Hour

My second night in Philly will be spent "working" on some of the last minute details for the Art of Earning LIVE. From what I understand I'll be meeting some of the super heroes involved in this wondrous affair for dinner at Square 1682.

Matchbook Magazine via Belle of the Ball

I was told to wear wear "something you'd wear out with your girlfriends to a swanky bar but don't get all Academy Awards fancy."

Internet, I was born to dress as though I were meeting girlfriends at a swanky bar. It took me about four seconds to pinpoint my perfect outfit.

Dress: Old Navy, Thrifted
Sweater: TJ Maxx
Bracelets: Gift (thanks, Grandma!)

I cannot stress the importance of accessories here.Those bracelets are adding just the right amount of color. They're pretty awesome, but my new boots are going to kill!

I have been coveting these Betsey Johnson boots for over a year. They were a bit pricey so I'd told myself I couldn't have them until I reached a certain number of sales. Well the time came in January, but before I could buy them I found the perfect gift for Ben, an antique valet. It cost the same as the boots (give or take $10), but I couldn't pass it up. It would be just lovely waiting for him when he got back from deployment. The very same day Ben sent me an e-mail saying he'd got me a little gift to celebrate a promotion he'd received. Care to guess what it was?  Crazy, right!?

So now I have the perfect boots for my perfect cocktail dinner outfit. It all goes very nicely with my perfect husband.

What would wear for a "working" dinner with small business geniuses?

Leavin' on a jet plane

Today, today, today! Today is the day I leave for Philly and a week of "well mannered frivolity" at the Art of Earning Live!  I'm so excited! Are you excited? I'm excited.

I know a lot of people like to, shall we say, dress down for travel, but I just can't do it.  As a child, my mom always dressed me in my Sunday best for the airplane. When I was16 she bought me a swanky black suit just for traveling. I just feel better when I am done up. Nobody notices a tired 20-something in sweats, but when people see a smartly dressed lady, they wonder, perhaps jealously, where she's going. At least, that's what I tell myself.

button by Carbon Copy, via Pinterest

The only problem is, it's warm in Florida and very very cold in Philly. Tricky, tricky. But I think I'm up for the challenge.

Sweater: derek heart, hand-me-down
Skirt: Merona, Target circa 2008
Scarf: gift
Tights: who knows, but please note: I am wearing them as tights, not pants.
Shoes: Franco Sarto, DSW
Book: Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott

That should do for the actual travel.  Once I get to Philly I can throw on my warm coat, a hat, and some gloves.

How do you dress for travel?

A vintage rustic fall garter

I cannot believe I never shared this garter with you guys!  I'm really slipping.

When Nicole contacted me I instantly knew I wanted to work with her.  She had an idea of what she wanted, but she knew what she didn't want: no lace, no bows, no froo-froo. Then, she sent me this photo for inspiration.

I love everything about this! Those gloves! That china! A RACCOON! After a little back and forth with Nicole, I came up with this.

This custom garter is made of sooty gray linen stitched into overlapping patches. I left the edges unfinished because, honestly, linen is like love - most beautiful when it is raw. The petersham ribbon brings a richness with its deep honey tones and makes for a tailored contrast against the grainy linen. Vintage buttons, and cream-colored baker's twine echo the vintage feel and weave of the bride's sweet wrist-length gloves.

This is, honestly, one of my favorite garters ever. How about you? Are you more vintage and less lace or do you go for something with a more traditional feel?

NPJ HQ

It has been quite awhile since I talked to you about my studio space. If you remember, this time last year I was dreaming of a coral and sage work room. This probably comes as no surprise, but that isn't exactly the color scheme that's taking shape these days.

Let's go back to the beginning. I started with this.

I actually like the green and probably would have kept it had I stuck with the original plan. But then I painted Emily's bathroom a gorgeous shade of gray.

Pewter Vase by Behr

It really is as beautiful shade, but it looked ghastly in Em's bathroom and had to be painted over. So sad. But not really because one doorway to the right sat my still unpainted studio.

When I started, it was not pretty. The top photo really glosses over a lot of the issues that were driving me crazy.

Pock marked walls.

Years of grimy dust built up around every receptacle.

Eeeeeeewwwww!

But, finally the room is painted that lovely soft gray and the trim has a fresh coat of glossy white. The original paint was flat, which was great for hiding all the imperfections in the sheet rock but sapped the little natural light offered by the window. I am really surprised at the change made by using a semi-gloss.

I love love love my new gray and white palette! It doesn't compete with many many shades of fabric I work with all day. In fact, it offers a place for my eye to rest.

But my favorite part was actually an accident. I had wanted to make curtains from a beautiful fabric featuring cascades of black-trimmed white ruffles.  Sadly, when the time came to purchase said fabric it was nowhere to be found. But then I had an amazing idea!  I didn't need to make curtains. I just needed to hang a curtain rod. Why? Because of this amazing vintage table cloth that belonged to my late Grandma Belle.

Isn't it gorgeous? Check out the detail!

I love it!  Now to work on getting some stuff on the walls... Any ideas?