Random Bits

Hi, hi, hello, yes I'm back for a quick post. I love doing these.

I love a big statement earring in the summer. Especially with a nice tan and pulled back hair. Preferably at the beach. Baublebar is killing it with the earrings right now. I have these, and these, and these. All of them are great. 

I bought a fiddle leaf fig tree. This was in happier days. I think I'm killing it.

I'm obsessed with this product. Like oobbssseessed. I have 2 cans
right now because I can't bear the fact that I might run out. It will change your life. I promise.
Get it here

I've gotten into podcasts. I'm sure that ages me greatly because podcasts have literally been around for years. I listen in my car and usually in bed right before I go to sleep. They are free and there is an endless array of choices. My favorites at the moment are



Hilarious. If you watch any of the Real Housewives, you will love this. It stars Casey Wilson from one of my fave shows Happy Endings (R.I.P- but you can watch it on Hulu!) and I just love her. They curse, so maybe don't play in front of the kids. But it's a must-listen. I've woken up my husband at night from laughing so hard.



Also hilarious. Also cursing, so for adult ears only.








I finally got around to framing and hanging some badass art from badass artists.

Yellow Face from Sally King Benedict (queeeeen!)
Abstracts from Jenny Andrews Anderson (also queeeen!)






This show. It's one of the few my husband and I watch together. It's only a miniseries and I will be deeply saddened when it is over. Because Tom Hiddleston.


Ok that's it! bye!

Master Suite Reveal

Yesterday I finally got my shizz together long enough to take a few pics of our master bedroom and bath. It's come a long way since we moved in (luckily there are no pictures of that) but I still have a little left to do. Curtains are at the top of the list. And right behind that is reupholstering a sofa that's now living in our attic.

You might remember from this post where I fell hard for Biscuit's Bloomsbury pattern. Well here she is in all her glory. I loooooove it. I started with just the duvet and then decided that I definitely needed the shames as well. It was a good call.

I had grand intentions of upholstering the bed but that never happened and honestly I'm kind of glad I didn't go through with it. I like the play of the color of the bed against the color of the walls. By the way, the walls. They are amazing. It's a Schumacher linen wallpaper and the photos don't really do it justice. You just want to touch it when you see it. I've also decided I just prefer carpet in a bedroom. We had hardwood in our last house and I never loved it. It was beautiful, but it was harsh. I want my bedrooms to be cozy and soft.

Those lamps. Major heart eyes.  

This is the view into our master bath. You can see the ceiling detail in this photo. It's not a true coffered ceiling, but since we had to drop the sides down a bit to allow for air ducts, I figured it was a good moment to do something special.

Classic master bath with polished nickel and marble. For a hot second I had planned to paint the cabinets a soft mint green. Part of me wishes I had done it, and part of me is happy I didn't. This is how my brain is all the time.

I only included this terrible shot so you can see the lovely Susie Bettenhausen painting I have hanging in here. Also on the agenda is to get a runner to go in between the sinks and the bathtub.

My vanity. I love having a separate area to put on makeup. It makes me feel extra girly. I used to have all my stuff hidden away in drawers, but using these acrylic boxes have changed the game. I like having everything where I can see it. No more digging through drawers. Also, I have a product post planned soon to tell you all about some great (and not so great) skincare and makeup items. 

So there you have it! Hope you enjoyed this little tour. 

Here are a few sources for the items I used:


Wallpaper - Schumacher
Duvet and shams - Bloomsbury in green from Biscuit
Coverlet - Restoration Hardware
Bench - Homegoods
Lamps - Regina Andrew (can't find mine online, here is something similar)
Bathroom paint color (cabs, trim, wall) Benjamin Moore White Dove
Bathroom cabinet hardware - Martha Stewart
Faucets - Signature Hardware
Framed photos - Framebridge
Painting - Susie Bettenhausen
Acrylic boxes - Beauty Box

Spring Forward

Spring! It's so close I can taste it. Luckily we didn't have too brutal of a winter, but I have been dealing with a nasty cough that I feel I've had since Christmas and it just won't go away. Over it. Also to add fuel to the fire, this is my favorite time to buy unnecessary, but very pretty things. I love sandals and maxi dresses and caftans. Come September I will be more than ready for cool weather, but Spring is my jam.

Here are a few things I couldn't resist, and another few things I have my eye on. Happy Spring shopping!

I tried this on in the store and it's so cute! And the price is ridiculous.

Old Navy dress
 

In case you haven't heard, pink is the color this season. This little bag is so fun!

Rebecca Minkoff Fringe Bag

Can we discuss this dress? I am ob-sessed. I love all the colors but I got this blue gingham which I think will be so great for summer. Honestly I think it will be too short on me as a dress, so I will probably have it shortened a bit to make it a tunic length to wear with shorts. 

MLM Off the shoulder dress

I saw this top in J Crew the other day and was thisclose to pulling the trigger. I feel like I have a million tops like this but they are just so nice to throw on when its warm. 

J Crew linen tunic

I love love love this Banana Republic dress. I keep going back and forth and back and forth. 

BR Goddess dress

Switching gears to the home front, I got my hands on some of this Miles Redd for Schumacher fabric  and I am thinking its time for some pillows. Maybe piped in emerald green??

Deconstructed Stripe fabric 

Killing It: Ballard Designs

Happy Prez Day! I got the new Ballard Designs catalog in the mail over the weekend and let me tell you..they are killing it lately. SO much good stuff. A little snapshot of my fave items...

Rug (Ordered it for our living room. Backordered until June?!) / Coffee Table / Pagoda Shelf / Umbrella Stand / Bedding / Candle Sconce / Bedskirt / Pillow 

Faves: Fabrics

Continuing on with my faves series, I'll touch on my favorite subject...fabrics. I am a complete fabric junkie. I am constantly buying yardage of fabric that I may or may not have a use for but that I feel the need to hoard in my collection. I usually only get a yard or two. Just enough to make a few pillows or recover a stool. I change out pillows in my house like other people change socks.

So here we go. A few of my favorite tried and true fabrics. Some of these I've used a bunch of times, some of these only once but they made such an impression that I feel they warrant a spot on my all time favorites list.

1. Celerie Kemble Betwixt 

This fabric has gone the distance for me. I've used it in Stone, Black, Biscuit, and Zinc. It always works.

Betwixt in Stone/White

2. Braemore Jamil Natural 

My absolute favorite animal print fabric. Just a little dab'll do ya. I've used it errrrrwhere.

Jamil neutral

3. Ralph Lauren Nanking in Blue

Classic. Like a crisp white shirt. 

RL Nanking

 

5. Brunschwig and Fils Les Touches

A great fabric to throw in the mix. Works wonderfully as a neutral. I love all the colorways, but I'm partial to the brown and ivory. 

6. Schumacher Pyne Hollyhock

A decorating institution. Shown below in charcoal, but a winner in every color.

Pyne Hollyhock 

I spy another of my faves in this photo. 

6. Schumacher Chiang Mai Dragon

A showstopper. For those who are fearless and fabulous.

Chiang Mai Dragon in aqua

So there you have it! I could have made this list much longer, but maybe we do a part 2, huh?

Faves: Coffee Table Books

I get asked every now and then what my "go to" _______ is. Sometimes it's a store, a fabric, a source for art, etc. So I thought I would start a little series of my favorite or my go-to items. The first is super easy and readily available and something everyone should have in their home. Books. Lots and lots of books. There is no such thing as too many.

I am a self-diagnosed coffee table book hoarder. I love them. I go through them in a very specific manner. I quickly thumb through back to front (I don't know why, but it's important for me) and stop at the pages that catch my attention, and then I go through and read all the text, and then I start over again and look at every single photo in order. I know. It's probably borderline psychotic but I feel like I have to digest every single thing. And yes I look at all my books over and over again. It's one of my favorite things to do when I have a quiet chunk of time alone. Well, that and Real Housewives marathons.

Here are a few that I have looked at multiple times and are a wonderful addition to your library.

Once Upon a Time - Slim Aarons

Little Black Jacket - Karl Lagerfeld 

Modern Mix - Eddie Ross

Absolutely Beautiful Things - Anna Spiro

Alex Katz

Cy Twombly Paradise 

Paris Views

And I just ordered these two....

Happy Times - Lee Radziwill

Allure - Diana Vreeland

The Switch

It's been a while since I've done a products post. And for a pretty good reason. I recently made the switch to safer skincare and makeup. Whaaaa? Yeah, safer skincare and makeup because my old stuff was trying to kill me. Ok, maybe not so dramatically. But it was not. good. at. all.

I'm not going to get on a soap box and preach to all of you to throw away all of your beauty products and buy new stuff. BUT I do want all of you to take a minute and maybe search a few of your beloved products (I'm looking at you Nars blush…tear) on this handy website…

http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/

It's easy to use. Just type in the name/brand of your product. You will see the score of the product on a scale of 1-10.

Basically the grand ol' USA has, like, 7 ingredients that they consider hazardous and illegal to use in skincare and beauty products. For reference Europe has over 1,300 ingredients they consider hazardous and Japan has about the same amount. No laws have been passed in the US since the 1930s (!!!???)  regarding cosmetics. So what do these chemicals mean for us? Cancer? Probably. Immune system issues? Maybe. Birth defects? Yes. Allergies? Nailed it.

Now I'm the first to roll my eyes at crap like this. Really. When people say "I did [insert something] and it changed my life and now we only eat kale and my life is so awweeesssooommmmeeee you should [insert something] too!" Just, no. But I feel like no one knows about this. I didn't know about it. Why would we know about it?

So just take a look and maybe do a little research. It won't hurt. You will be a better consumer for it.

Just so you know these are the products I have made the switch to. And yes I switched the whole family. Y'all, we are using this horrible stuff on our kids too. And on a personal note, I usually have pretty terrible excema on my arm and legs that flares up considerably in the fall/winter. Since I have stopped using my shampoo and body wash it's gone. Maybe it's a coincidence. Maybe all the chemicals seeping into my body during every shower was making my skin insane. But I feel much better knowing what I'm using is safe. Once you have the knowledge, you can't go back.

This entire brand is safe and non-toxic. My Christmas gift was a box full of the Countertime products. I'm switching to the makeup slowly but surely. It's a process for sure. Read their story. If you only take one thing from this post, go to this website and read.

https://www.beautycounter.com

This is our new shampoo and conditioner. There are a few different brands out there but this, I felt, was the best bang for your buck. And it's a 1 on the scale. It ships from Canada so it takes a while to get to you. And yes it cleans just as well as the other stuff.

carinaorganics.com

Body Wash. This line is readily available at Target, CVS, etc. 

Go forth and research. Take everything I have said with a grain of salt and form your own opinion. Knowledge is definitely power. Your body will thank you, your skin will thank you. Honestly I was very angry after researching all of this. I hope you will be too.