Help Me Choose!

After amassing a large collection of upholstered headboard pictures in my daughter's Inspiration File, I stumbled across a too-good-to-pass-up-deal on this beautiful French Provencial bed:

So, upholstered is out. And clearly I won't just leave the bed alone. One common thread in most of my inspiration pics was a monogram:

(southern living)

(tonic home)

(ballard)

(this next)

My penmanship is horrendous, so painting a monogram isn't an option. I scoured stencils too, but didn't find much that I liked....and to be honest, I'm afraid that might look too homemade for my liking.

So I started looking for decals. Good grief there are some expensive amazing choices on the internets! But yay, Etsy to the rescue!! I found a super creative girl with beautiful options that are really affordable!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/giftchick

Gift Chick has really fun personalized items, I've got my eye on this tray for sure:

She's also super cool....I wanted to know what the monogram would look like in her various fonts...so she whipped up 7 options in my daughter's actual monogram.

This is where you guys come in. Making decisions like this drives me bonkers (I chose the paint color in 30 seconds, but would fret over the monogram for days?!), so I'd love your input. You know I'm incapable of not painting the bed....so here's the color:

Sherwin Williams Radish

And without telling you too much about the room makeover....it's kind of a modern meets french-girly. Clear as mud, right?!

So which monogram style do you like for her headboard:

I didn't realize until now that the middle panel of the headboard resembles a tulip! Maybe the monogram should follow that curve?

You guys rock the Casbah!

Don't forget to enter the 100 Posts $50 Gift Card Giveaway!

WHAT?!?!?!

Something is off in the universe:

Apartment Therapy  is a site that features cool, hipster-types that live in lofts with exposed brick. Not working-suburban-moms that make over rooms with their fingers crossed!!??

But alas, I received an email alerting me to the feature....My Son's Room on Ohdeedoh?! I'm so flattered, and a bit nervous! Their readers are brutally honest with their comments.

{Score!} Craigslist Greatness

Look who's getting a big girl bed:



And to the tune of $60...Score!

I'm a little relieved bummed to not be making an upholstered headboard for her, but this will speed up the makeover process for sure. Any guesses what I'll be doing to it?!

{Git in Mah Belly} Chocolate Eclair Dessert

Ah, Monday. How can I love one day so much, and despise another so completely?! Does anyone bound out of bed excited for Monday? All it signals to me is the end of two fun days.

And our weekend was fun, it was Mr. Sugarplum's birthday!



We fussed over him and catered all the fun and food to him which is not entirely different from any other weekend:


1. Thai basil; 2. Couples massage; 3. Family bike ride (to a breakfast joint!); 4. What's left of my Chicken Shawarma

I didn't quite make the Boston Cream Pie I pictured on Friday (Mr. Sugarplum's fave), but this recipe was easier pretty tasty!

Chocolate Eclair Dessert

• 1 large and 1 small box instant vanilla pudding
• 8oz Cool Whip
• 1 box graham crackers
• 3 cups milk
• 1 tub of chocolate frosting

Mix pudding with milk, then fold in the cool whip. Layer graham crackers, filling, graham crackers, filling, graham crackers in a 9x13 pan. Nuke the frosting enough to soften and spread a layer over the top of the final graham cracker layer. Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours before serving.

Git in His Belly!



This little blog had a great weekend too! BabyCenter.com was a real sanity/life saver for me during both pregnancies (and even now, it contains some really helpful kid information).

So when Kristina Sauerwein contacted me about featuring my son's room on her BabyCenter blog, I was so totally flattered! She wrote a really nice piece, and has a great blog. You can check out it out here.

Cassity over at *Remodelaholic* also plucked my guest bathroom makeover out for a feature as well!

You can read it here.

Thanks so much ladies! My Monday is looking up already!

{Crafty Cassie} Hey Jute

I shared with you my entrance hall makeover a few months ago, but it never felt quite finished.



I loved my DIY mirror, but the room felt so stark...and while I tried to entertain restraint, it's just not in me to have no color or accessories.

I brought my Pier 1 iron candlesticks back in, but they were no longer visible against the black door.



So I moved them to the mirror wall, where they popped better...but the candles also showed their age and discolor from years of being near the window.


(The glue gun is out because I was working on something else I'll show you later. That's how things occur around here...once I have supplies out, I start looking around for other things to hack spruce.)

Sure I could buy new candles, but good ones are pretty pricey! So it was time to get my cheapskate craft on!

All I used was a glue gun and roll of jute string (I found mine in the jewelry making department at Michaels). First I tried to apply a blob of glue directly to the candle, but instantly realized the glue gun would actually melt the wax?!? (Don't let the blonde hair fool you, you're in the presence of genius!) So I put a drop of glue directly on one end of the jute, held it in place on the candle until it set, then simply spun the candle wrapping the jute as a went (Total Harlem Globetrotter style, spinning it on the tip of my finger. not really). The only other place I glued was the other end when I got to the bottom. that's what she said.



It kind of looks like Fall to me...but I'll convince myself it looks like Summer too since I'll probably never take it off. So let's pretend this is the start of my fall decor.


(Pay no attention to the one exposed outlet...I guess I only want to half-way protect my kids.)


(The exposed outlet is all you're even looking at now, right?!?!)



I love the warmth the jute brings into the cold space. I added a little more something-something too and will show you the full space soon. (Don't you love a good teaser?!)

I {Heart} Friday!

Woot Woot - It's Friday!!! Good grief, I thought you'd never get here!
We have a busy weekend of soccer games and piano festivals, but I hope to squeeze in a few more self-centered things.

Like milking the final days of summer in our backyard:

(Why, yes, my backyard is this lush after a Texas August! And my table is always set for a party! Don't hate.) not really

Like making progress on transforming this Nursery into a Big Girl Room:

(full nursery post coming up)

And most importantly...celebrating the birth of Mr. Sugarplum!! His favorite is Boston Cream Pie, so I'm hoping to make some semblance of this dessert:

Happy, Happy Birthday Babe!! I'm so glad your parents got busy (eeeeeeeeeewwwwww) all those years ago! You are the heart and laughter of our lives. {kiss}

What are you guys up to? Enjoy your last September weekend!

{Designer Crush} Tom Scheerer

Can you even imagine life before the internet?! Google is my absolute go-to for everything...it's my encyclopedia, card catalog, yellow pages, cookbook, eyes to the world, travel guide...and thanks to Google Image, my design inspiration. I love to type a decorating idea in Google Image and see all the pretty (and sometimes freaky odd) pictures that pop up.

My daughter's room is next up on the list of projects (has to be just like brother!). She'll be transitioning from a crib to a bed (yes, she's 4, no judgements!), so that is high on the list of projects. I'm pretty sure her headboard will be DIY, and I'm leaning towards upholstered.

While clicking through images of upholstered headboards on Google, one stood out as basically stunning:

I'm crazy about the proportion of the headboard to the room! Then my eye wandered to the lamps, and side tables, and perfect brown wall. I had to find the designer of this room....enter Tom Scheerer! He has been practicing architectural and interior design in Manhattan since 1985, and is consistently on the list of 'Top 100 Designers.'

His work is so elegant, yet manages to be soothing and unpretentious...he refers to it as "relaxed modernism."

He moves from Park Avenue city slicker:

To cool Soho Loft:

To the beyond amazing San Remo:

To this bite-yourself Paris townhouse:

(can you stand it?!?! a townhome in paris?!? i die)

A cozy farm house on Long Island:

Pure charm in Nantucket:

No words for this outdoor space:

Right into the coast of Florida:

(oooooo, that tile!)

and the Bahamas:

Even the de Givenchy Residence:

(all photos courtesy tom scheerer.com)

I mean, really...the man knows how to design an upholstered headboard! And some perfect, livable, exquisite homes....regardless of their locale. Do you have a favorite?

{Outfit Inspiration} Peacock Blue & Green

I love color combinations that occur in nature...there's something so perfect and unforced about them. Take the peacock for instance:



Normally, pairing two such vibrant shades that are adjacent on the color wheel would be a little over the top. But the peacock wears it well, as do these two beautiful rooms.


(anthropologie, national geographic, decorpad)

How gorgeous is this blue and green tablescape?


(weddingwire.com)

My outfit interpretation is quite literal, seeing as how I'm wearing an actual peacock patterned top:



I broke up the vibrancy of the top and bright skirt with a wide brown belt since I went with a bolder green shoe....and also since I was at work and not a party!

I think wearing this outfit to the Peacock themed party might be a leeeettle over the top though, don't you think?



{Outfit deets: Top - Liberty of London for Target; Belt - F21; Skirt - Jcrew; Shooz - Franco Sarto wedges}