fun times

Charlie and I will be up to some fun stuff today. I'll post about it later, but here is a hint as to what we'll be doing...

[source]

instagram updates

Here are some recent updates from around our apartment!

I received the shams that I talked about in this post. Ignore the floral/stripes combo. I'll be replacing them with white sheets soon.

Bought a faux sheepskin to replace the one that Toby destroyed, but he loves laying on it so much we have decided to put it at the foot of our bed for him.

"Thanks, mom and dad!"

We found this gem while shopping at Urban recently. It's quite the quote to start the day, dontcha think? We also finally purchased new towels for our bathroom... and it only took me two years to make my decision! Also, that shower curtain situation will be fixed asap. I purchased that on clearance at TJmaxx my junior year in college... I've just been waiting until I can find something else that I like. There are some seriously fug shower curtains out there!

I received the fabric that I will be using for my inspiration board, but I like it so much I think I might be using it to reupholster our slipper chair in the living room. I'm going to wait until our new sofa comes before I make a final decision.

organization

Update : you can see our new pantry and organization in this post!

I'm constantly organizing and reorganizing our apartment, and with summer coming to an end I've been in crazy mode. In my most recent project, I organized our pantry using these multi-purpose bins, stay fresh containers, and an expandable can shelf.

I also used a couple of undershelf baskets to hold dish towels and linens so they weren't taking up our precious drawer space, and put all of the extra food and doubles of items into one of my favorite striped bins.

I also got around to organizing all of my Mom's old photos by sorting and labeling them by year. This was a huge project that I've been putting off for awhile, and it feels so good to have it done. I filled up three of these photo storage containers!

I'm pretty sure I kept The Container Store in business for past two weeks!

What are some of your favorite organization projects?

obsessed

I'm obsessing hard over these Julia Dining Chairs by Safavieh. 

I need them!!

birthday week

We've been celebrating Charlie's birthday week around here...

What he came home to after work.

Isn't he just the cutest?? Gah!!!

Tobias got a much needed birthday haircut.

And this cake... it was supposed to look like this. I tried to follow this marshmallow fondant recipe, but saying it was a disaster is an understatement. It seemed simple enough, I'm not really sure where it went so horribly wrong. I also broke the cake in half while taking it out of the pan, so....

I also organized a surprise happy hour with all of his co-workers before we went to dinner, and then of course, we went to dinner at our favorite restaurant.

Happy birthday week, Charlie!

to buy, or not to buy?

I've been thinking about purchasing Andy Warhol's "Hearts" print for awhile now, but I just can't seem to find the right spot for it in our apartment. I'm afraid it will scream "girly", and I'm trying very hard to stay away from that for the sake of the mister.

This is the picture that originally started my obsession with this print. I want this spot in my apartment. Right now.

This also.

Where, oh where can I put you?

1//2//3//4

seaside living inspiration

My dad and stepmother are planning to spiffy up their entry and living room, so I made a couple of inspiration boards for them. They want it to have a seaside feel, and don't want to spend a ton of money. Here are some ideas I found:

Malm Dresser

Lamp base

Lamp Shade

Woven Mirror

Aged Wood Bench

Old Havana Bowl

Total: $351

Sofa Base

Ivory Slipcover

Bordeaux Table Lamp

Campaign Coffee Table

Garden Stool

Mirrored Wood Butler Tray

Braided Baskets

Blue 20x20 Pillows

14x20 Lumbar Pillows

Majesty Palm Plant

Throw

Paint Colors

Total: $1957.93

Ignoring my obvious lack of Photoshop skillz, what do you think?

weekend of celebrations

We celebrated the baptism of this sweet little guy.

Celebrated day 1 of Charlie's birthday week! Yes, we celebrate birthdays for a whole week around here.

Celebrated cooler weather by finally being able to sit out and enjoy our patio

Celebrated finishing a weekend-long project of sanding and repainting! 

I've ordered these brass handles and knobs,

and this fabric for my inspiration board.

Finally, we celebrated officially buying a sofa. It was our very last piece of furniture needed to complete our apartment!

living room sofa, maybe?

If you've been reading my blog for awhile then I'm sure you know that we've been trying to decide on a sofa for our living room over the past two years, and still haven't been able to take the plunge. It's getting to the point that even Charlie is ready to see our sofas go, so he decided to take off of work yesterday and we set off on a mission to find a new sofa. We've had our eye on this one from Crate & Barrel and this sectional from West Elm, and I think we were able to make the decision yesterday. This weekend we'll hopefully be purchasing....

the Jackson Sectional from West Elm. It's not as comfortable as the Crate & Barrel choice, but the ability to switch the sectional from left and right and it's smaller size is what has us sold. Hopefully I won't be reporting on Monday that we've backed out on our decision ;)

I'll also be spending my entire weekend sanding down and repainting the desk for our guest bedroom that I mentioned in this post. I can't wait to see how it turns out!

guest bedroom work in progress

This, friends is a picture of our guest room right after we moved into our apartment. Terrifying, right?

It's been a constant work in progress over the past two years, and right now looks like this:

 While it's an improvement, it's not quite where I want it. I'll mainly focus on redoing the computer area, because right now It feels all crammed together and drives me nuts!

Here's a board I've created to get a feel for how everything will look together.

1//2//3//4//5//6//7//8//9

I'm replacing everything above the computer with one, giant inspiration board similar to the one in Catherine Sheppard's home featured on Glitter Guide:

I want to paint the current desk Corduroy Black (the same color that we recently used in our entryway), and then replace the hardware with something like this:

1//2

I also plan to add a footstool for the ghost chair, switch out the beige curtains for white, and replace our enormous computer with an iMac when they come out with a new version this fall (goodbye, cords!).

What do you think? Any suggestions?

thoughts

I'm fairly certain that I didn't get the job I interviewed for last week, especially considering that my first day should have been this Monday. I very surprisingly feel okay with this fact, even though a few months ago I would have killed myself for this position. I'm not exactly sure what happened in the last few months, but I've been leaning toward the idea that my current career path isn't for me. If you were to ask me what career path is right for me though, I couldn't give you an answer, but I feel fortunate to be in a situation that allows me some time to figure it out.

It's very strange to be in a situation where I have worked incredibly hard toward the goal of (what I thought to be) my dream job, and then to be where I am now. I feel like I'm just sort of floating around. Numerous people have told me that everything works out when it's supposed to and that it all happens for a reason, but I'm not sure I believe this. I believe that we are in control of what happens in our lives, and I didn't get this job simply because it showed that I was unsure that I would be a good fit for the position, and there was someone else who was more qualified and more enthusiastic about the opportunity. I had been waiting two years for an opportunity to interview for a job like this, and when I finally got it, I actually felt a little unsure. How crazy is that? Don't get me wrong, if they would have offered me the position I would have taken the opportunity and given it all that I had, but I just can't explain the feelings that I've had recently. Somewhere deep down I have a feeling that this career might not be right for me.

I believe the choices we have made are what have led us to end up where we are today, not necessarily because they were "meant" to happen that way. My most recent choice to possibly switch careers seems to have left me in a constant state of uncomfortable uncertainty (good move, huh?). Now, I just need to figure out what my next choice will be to see where that leads me...

[source]

spotted in marfa, tx

I can't even handle it. Beyonce has been spotted in Marfa. And more importantly, at my favorite places in Marfa. Love it.

[source]

for the kids

Even though all of these items are made for kids, I think they would fit in pretty well in any adult room. I especially love that they are a fraction of the price that would be charged at their parent stores for the exact same thing. PBteen has it for the rugs, RHbaby has some great neutrals, and Land of Nod has some fabulous lighting and bedding... those shams are coming home with me!

1//2//3//4//5//6//7//8//9//10

They would be a good pop of color for our bedroom, no?

Now I'm trying to decide which of those rugs will go in my kitchen, and which lamp will make it onto my desk!

P.S. How about those closing ceremonies last night? I'm not going to lie, I originally only started watching to see the Spice Girls reunion (you know you did, too!), but I ended up loving the entire thing.