Sweet Pink Nursery

Remember this sconce and how I dreamed about putting it in my nursery?

Well designer Andrea May did just that in this sweet nursery whose crib is a work of art:

I mean, how precious is this? And those sconces are just as amazing in situ as I thought they'd be. I found this nursery on Leontine Linens' blog...the monogrammed crib bag is theirs and its on my wish list for my own nursery.

And check out the custom monogram they did on the cornice:

Again, so sweet and gorgeous! Love it.

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Divine Bar from Phoebe Howard

A divine bar from Phoebe Howard...

Photo by Laurey W. Glenn via Southern Living

This photo mixes so many of my favorite things! Chinoiserie, Phoebe Howard, Southern Living, booze....it's music to my eyes. Let's note some items:

1) The color scheme of aqua + tobacco punctuated by white is gorgeous

2) I always love mixing in a bit of rattan or natural fibers...the ice bucket is a great choice here for color and texture and I love it on the silver tray

3) Note that this bar is a great idea for an impromptu set-up...if you don't have space for a permanent bar, just get yourself a large silver tray and keep it handy for entertaining. Then you can set this up anywhere for your party.

I would like to be a bar stylist if my web design career doesn't work out. I'm obsessed with bar vignettes and how gorgeous they can be...which probably comes from my love of entertaining. And now that we're ramping up the holiday season, I have this urge to throw fancy parties and redecorate the house...and then I come back to reality. A great reality that we're in baby mode, not party mode, but still...I can have the urge.

The article that uses this photo in Southern Living is a good little Q&A with Phoebs and how she goes about stocking the bar...check it out here.

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Paper Plate Thanksgiving

We are hosting Thanksgiving at our house. I love celebrating holidays in our home and I didn't want this year to be an exception...we're just making some modifications to keep it all very easy. Dinner will be more of a pot-luck style and I even promised Carter that we'd use paper plates for a quick clean up.

Of course paper plates does not mean Dixie or Chinet in this house...I'm on the hunt for something pretty for the table and am actually quite excited about the idea. And my paper products of choice are always Caspari.

Look at this eye-catching setting using their traditional turkey motif. Paper plates can look spectacular when styled with such gorgeous accessories:

I also really, really like this more woodsy take on the turkey - this one might be a contender:

Or check out this beautiful gingko and finch motif table...isn't it styled so well? Love the candles and tortoise glasses (I have the glasses and could get similar candles).

Or maybe I'll depart from tradition and go with a colorful ikat table with one of my favorite patterns:

I have so many fun table accessories like chargers, napkin rings, glasses, candleholders, etc. I'm looking forward to creating something fun by mixing and matching what I've got with some patterned plates, napkins and flowers. We'll see what I come up with!

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Nursery Art & My Weekend

So recall that my inspiration for the nursery is Joe Nye's fantastic bedroom as seen in House Beautiful a while back...

Photos by Roger Davies for House Beautiful

I seriously can't get enough of this room. Today, I'm drawing your attention to that sliver of art seen on the right-hand side of the picture. I know there isn't much to see of it, but you can just make out the feeling of the abstract piece.

I love how it looks against the green paint. I also love its scale but our nursery has very little wall space due to the slanted ceilings, so I launched a search for something a bit more diminutive that might give me a similar feel. 

Etsy to the rescue - I found a set of original, abstract watercolors from artist Jennifer Love. I loved the various brushstrokes and the colors coordinate beautifully against the Le Lac curtains. 

The paintings are small at 5x5, but Jennifer matted them to 10x10 and I purchased a set of black bamboo frames from this ebay seller to display the art:

Not sure if I will keep the frames black or paint them gold, but I really love how they flank the main window in the room...

So, the weekend was filled with highs and lows. The high was definitely finishing the nursery dresser...painting it yellow was absolutely the right decision and it looks SO incredibly good. I'm thrilled with how it turned out. And the bonus was that completing the dresser meant I could wash all of baby's wee clothes, fold them and put them away. Which was such a nice little exercise.

The low point? The bed skirt adventure. I started working on the bed skirt for the twin bed in the room. I've been putting this project off for months, for good reason. I just wasn't up for it. But I made myself finally do it. Well, I couldn't crouch around measuring and cutting huge pieces of fabric so my incredibly sweet and patient Carter did that for me. I spent some quality time with my sewing machine Saturday, and all was going relatively well.

Then Sunday came and I went to actually construct the ruffled skirt on the bed, only to find that I had grossly underestimated the amount of fabric I needed to make a proper ruffle. This was quickly followed by me dissolving into tears completely overwhelmed by the project and Carter patiently talking me down from the ledge. And this was just the twin bed...I needed to repeat the whole thing to make the matching crib skirt.

It wasn't happening. Like Carter said, I'm not the same person I was 8 months ago and even in a non-pregnant state, tackling a ruffled bed skirt for the first time would be a challenging project for me. The point of my story is that my DIY failed :(

So I ordered some skirts for both bed and crib off Amazon and now I'm saying daily prayers that the reds match on both. I know they will not look as good as if I had done them myself (assuming I did a good job) but desperate times...

Hope any projects you tackled this weekend went more smoothly!

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Friday Crush

Eye-popping table setting courtesy of Jamie Meares at Furbish Studio and her Twitter feed. Not sure where my eye settles first...love the tortoise glasses, gold bamboo flatware and incredible mix of accoutrements that make this the most hip Thanksgiving table I've seen in a while. Be inspired to shake things up a bit this year!

Y'all...we are weeks away from baby girl's arrival. Like single digit weeks. Like 7 weeks if she's on time.

Everyone tells me to relax and enjoy it, but that is not possible so let's aim for plan B, which is to get as much stuff done as we can before December rolls around. I think this weekend will go a long way in fulfilling that as it's our last (& only) November weekend that is 100% free of social plans...so I'm really hoping magical fairy dust sprinkles over our home and we finish our to do list for not only the nursery but other ongoing house projects. Have a great weekend...see you Monday!

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Modern Floral Art by Laurel Dawn

Do you guys read the sweet blog abode love? I have only been reading it for a short time but I enjoy author Laurel-Dawn's spunk and the various projects she tackles around her house. Recently, she started posting some of her original paintings and they are incredible - she creates the most beautiful modern florals bursting with color and movement.

And lucky for us she just opened up an online shop where you can purchase some of her work:

Isn't her style lovely? And her pieces are affordable with original art running $200-$750 depending on size and prints of many of her paintings from $55-$65.

Check out the shop here... 

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Coastal Christmas from Wisteria

Let the record show: it's Halloween and I'm posting about Christmas.

And I have no shame. Big C and I adore Christmas and, frankly, I would post about it all year long if socially appropriate. And I find it only fitting that baby girl will join us during our favorite time of year...but I digress.

I was perusing Wisteria's latest catalog and really, really loved their coastal holiday decor...the spread in the catalog is absolutely gorgeous and though putting all the merch together creates quite a "themed" display, I find it beautiful for a beach setting.

What do you think? Are you a traditional Christmaser through-and-through...or do you like a fresh take on holiday decor like this one? I think I'm really captivated by the soft color scheme...

Check out the entire collection here...

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Clever Bedroom Detail

This airy bedroom has a clever detail that I really like. Any guesses?

Image via bhg.com

The curtain/side table combination. I love how that jade green stripe continues from one edge of the window to the other with the table in the middle included. Helps unify that area and keep it clean to the eye, allowing the pillow shams to catch your attention first. 

And bonus points for this idea being achievable with a little DIY magic...any plain white curtains will do and just embellish away. You could probably even paint the large stripe onto the fabric which would be super easy.

I also love how high the curtains are hung and, of course, the bamboo blinds. And you'll never go wrong with a statement bed. This bedroom is comprised of simple pieces put together in a thoughtful way...love that.

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Vintage Nursery Mirror

Even more vintage for the nursery! I recently scored this awesome vintage palm mirror from my friend Sarah's shop - Matters of Style Marketplace:

Isn't it grand?? I have a spot for a mirror next to our rocking chair and I'll be honest that budget had run out and I was planning to use something we already had. And I likely should have done that because I had some good FREE options to choose from.

But then I saw this mirror from Sarah and I had to have it...I became a woman obsessed. It's just so fun to look at and I think it will be such a great touch in this corner of the room. It's currently in the mail and I can't wait to get it!

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Friday Crush

Image via Country Living

LOVE this twin bedroom from Country Living. Such a beautiful impact in a very small, slanty space...and the pieces in the room are just so darn pretty. A touch of wallpaper and some intricate pillow shams transform otherwise simple elements into something very special. I could perhaps do without the dangling sconces, but otherwise, I would adore having this as a guest bedroom in my own home.

Off to celebrate another wedding this weekend! Have a fantastic couple of days off...see you Monday!

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Charleston Snapshots

We are just back from a quick trip to Charleston to celebrate my brother-in-law's wedding. The weather was gorgeous and I snapped a couple of pretty shots while Carter and I were out and about...

Gorgeous cottage tucked in an alley...

 Pretty flower box on Rainbow Row...

Our afternoon on Shem Creek...

I am a Virginian but have come to love Carter's native South Carolina as a second home. Each time I set foot in the Lowcountry, I am completely captivated. It's amazing how places can have such a pull on our heartstrings.

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Catalog Pick: Beckham Library Sconce

I find the Beckham Library Sconce from Ballard Designs to be very clever:

I am forever wanting to tuck sconces in places that are less than ideal for cords or wiring. This lovely little light is a clip-on, but looks so sophisticated don't you think?  I love how they have styled it here on a bookcase shelf. The price is great at $39 and it would look fantastic lacquered a fun color if you don't like the finish!

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Nursery Closet Inspiration

Some images to give you an idea of what I have up my sleeve for the nursery closet...

Miles Redd

Source? via pink wallpaper

Source? via pinterest

 Photo by Tim Walker for Vogue Italia via this is glamorous

Polka Rounds Clutch

Polka dots of the black and white variety will take center stage! In my head, my plan looks awesome. We'll see once we execute...

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p.s. I hate posting images with no source so please fill me in if you know where some of those orphans are from...

31

Today, I'm turning 31 and simultaneously celebrating my brother-in-law's wedding!

A very happy day for our family so I'm taking a little blog break. 

Be back tomorrow!

p.s. Thanks for the cake image, Beth

Friday Crush

Loved seeing this delicious teaser on Grant K. Gibson's Twitter feed...Chinoiserie wallpaper and a gorgeous, sleek sconce in a client's powder room. You know this has to be stunning in person!

A question for you savvy DIY-ers...so I'm putting up pretty similar sconces in the nursery. The only problem is that the shade - similar in shape to this one - is frosted glass. But I need it to be red. Do I paint it? Or do I cover it with fabric? What do you think? Give me your advice in the comments...

Have a wonderful weekend...see you Monday!

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