hump day home makeover / design love fest's living room

As you know, I'm in the process of redesigning my living room, so today's hump day home makeover is an extra treat...a beautiful bohemian living room AND a great look at the before and after (you know I love those) from Design Love Fest. Have you discovered this blog yet? I'm surprised I haven't found it earlier, and can already tell it will be a part of my daily reads.

Here's the before:

I came across her bright,colorful and airy living room earlier this week when I was shamelessly stalking fiddle leaf fig trees. The bright blue couch, bright green of the fiddle leaf figs and pops of color throughout the room caught my eye. How amazing is the after of this living room?! I want to live here.

GET THE LOOK

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See the rest of her living room and house tour here.

mother's day gifts / under $60

I can't believe it's already May! Where has this year gone?! May just so happens to be one of my favorite months, although I'm a May baby and am totally partial. It's when the weather finally starts to be consistently warm, and there are a lot of fun events/holidays like The Kentucky Derby, Cinco de Mayo, Mother's Day, and Memorial Day to celebrate.

With Mother's Day now only twelve days away, I'm in full shopping mode to find my mom a nice gift to go along with the home cooked meal I plan to make that Sunday (May 12th). All of these gifts are under $60 and would be great paired with a homemade card.



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oversized woven baskets / fiddle leaf fig trees

Ok, so I know I haven't been in New York for even a year yet, but I'm giving the person with the most instances of carrying awkwardly large items down the street a serious run for their money.

No joke, I've carried pegboard, upholstery foam, canvases, shelving, an oversized accent table (remember that one from IKEA), and this weekend an oversized basket. It makes me laugh every time that in a city like NY when the streets are full of nutty people a girl carrying a large woven basket is what catches passerby's attention. I actually stopped a group's conversation and exchanged a laugh...over my woven basket.

I had originally planned use the basket to store pillows and blankets in a stylish way...

and then I discovered fiddle leaf fig trees. Next awkward thing I'll be carting around New York? I think so. How are are these trees?!

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knock your socks off/ not your average bottle tags

My impulse shopping normally comes in two forms - an attempt to turn around a bad day (I fully believe, and support therapy shopping), and when a product really knocks my socks off. 

These slate bottle tags & soapstone chalk are some of the coolest wine accessories I have seen in a long time. 

My boyfriend and I are huge wineos, and when we lived in Atlanta together loved to try a new wine and cook dinner. Now that I live in New York and he is still in Atlanta, I've actually had to invest in things like corks and had to worry about a bottle of wine going bad before I have time to finish it. That's where my first idea for these tags came in. They're perfect to hang around a bottle of wine with a reminder of the open date, so you can make sure you're keeping track of how long the bottle has been open and estimate when it will go bad.

The other thing I thought the tags would be really cool to use for is a cocktail party. I always have a hard time deciding what wine I'd like to drink if I don't know the wine by name. These tags are a fun and easy way to give guests tasting tips. 

Hey, now you have an excuse to throw a party tonight. Happy Weekend! Tags sold here.

inspiration junky #9 / chandeliers & baubles

This week I have to give a huge shout out to Waiting on Martha for introducing me to Coleen & Company chandeliers. I have been searching everywhere for boxy lantern-like chandeliers and just couldn't find any with the right twist of modern and traditional (seriously, EVERYWHERE - see). Coleen & Company's chandeliers are gorgeous, come in pretty much every color and have the perfect amount of flair.

Next up is Mimosa Lane who somehow managed to find stylish and adorable bauble jewelry for just $25!!

This week I'm loving all of the DIY projects you can do with palette boards! They are pretty much at every home improvement/hardware store laying around, so I love the idea of using something that is usually discarded to make a house beautiful.

I'm also obsessed with these wood veneer sunglasses I found at Bourbon & Boots, a new (?) site for original for unique handmade gifts. I just found the site this week, and am already a huge fan. On their about me they have a section called "This is who we think you might be," that says:

• You love high quality products (check)
• You are from the South or are a Southern Expat (livin’ up in yankeeland or maybe Texas) (...check)
• You might even be a Carpetbagger who realizes how awesome Southern culture is (strike one)
• You value small producers (check)
• You value quality craftsmanship (check)
• You like vintage and handmade things (check)
• You value family and hospitality (check)

Corbin - 1, Bourbon & Boots - 6. They have me pegged...I love a site with a sense of humor.

Happy weekend everyone!

coleen and company chandelier | wooden sunglasses |  triple links bauble necklace | blue and white bauble necklace | pearl bauble necklace | DIY wall shelves  | inhale, exhale journal (home goods charlottesville)

Hump Day Home Makeover - Bathroom Organization

The trick to staying organized and keeping a space clean is having a place to put everything. While I'm still trying to tackle this with my small NY closet, I'm translating this tactic to the bathroom. This week's hump day home makeover is all about ideas on how to make more of your bathroom space! I'm dying to have a cabinet with glass doors for my bathroom storage, but unfortunately the space just isn't there. Instead I've taken advantage of my nooks and crannies and put shelves up pretty much anywhere they will fit and use woven baskets and a toiletries tray for storage.

What are your bathroom space saver or storage tricks?

cabinet image | tray image | silver tray | shelves image | bart cart | towels | woven baskets

cool earth day idea / anthropologie window displays

When it comes to Anthropologie, I am shamelessly drinking the kool-aid. It's at the top of my list of favorite stores of all time. So it's no surprise that their Earth Day window display made it on to my endless list of things I love at Anthropologie.

Their visual display team sure does have talent. A totally different look, but the creativity and details may be giving Bergdorf a run for its money..too far? Ok, but these displays are truly incredible. I love the use of ordinary and even traditionally discarded items to make these beautiful nature inspired displays.

the nursery files #3 / nursery ideas

One of the most challenging things about interior decorating is not only being able to put together a well-balanced and styled look, but also being able to put one together on a budget. Add a room you’ve never styled before or hardly know anything about, and you’ve got a real challenge on your hands.

Enter my nephew’s nursery. If you’ve been following the nursery files, you know I’ve been doing my research on nursery ideas thanks to all of the wonderful mom bloggers and friends who have shared their firsthand experiences.

This weekend I took the train from NYC to Charlottesville to visit my sister, help decorate the nursery and put my research to use. We spent all day Saturday hopping in and out of every store that could possibly sell baby stuff. Our goal? Be as thrifty as possible.

We ended up with new curtains, a rug, and a gallery wall. See our picks:

We were extremely impressed by Target's new Threshold line for its style and price. My self control  was working overtime to stop me from buying anything for my apartment and taking it back to NYC on the train with me. I even had an adorable shower curtain (that I don't need) in my hands for about 30 minutes until my bf finally convinced me to put it down. It was on clearance too!

Home Goods was our favorite stop of the day and a store that's new to the Charlottesville area. If you haven't hopped on the Home Goods trend you should! They have a wide variety of budget friendly items that change weekly. We even ended up returning a neutral rug that we thought was a steal at Target for an even cheaper one at Home Goods with a pattern!

inaugural friday's fancies / neon chartreuse

This week, I am finally joining in on Long Distance Loving's Friday's Fancies fun (try saying that 5 times fast). Up this week? Neon!

I picked neon chartreuse because nothing can make a girl love the color more than a pale girl who can't wear it. Thank goodness for accessories.

1. Madewell - Textile Elizabeth and James Camouflage Skinny Jeans | 2. Phillip Lim - 31 Hour Bag Limon/White | 3. Oscar de la Renta: Chartreuse Resin Earrings | 4. Rag & Bone: Mila Short - Camo | 5. Piperlime (not availale online) - similar one at Rag & Bone Island Ragland Pullover | 6. Sole Society: Francesca - Stucco

Trend to hop on this spring? Skinny camo jeans with a slouchy chartreuse sweater.

If it's at all possible, I fell in love with Phillip Lim bags a little bit more this week after discovering the "31 hour bag." It just made a quick sprint to the top of my tax return treat list. A bag designed for those who fit 31 hours into one day, me? I have to have it.

Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend! In case you missed it, I'm off to Virginia for a nursery decorating extravaganza. I'll be sharing our finds and projects this weekend on Instagram. Follow along @decoreat.

GET THE LOOK:

hump day home makeover / the nursery files #2

Since the last issue of Hump Day Home Makeover's "The Nursery Project," we've had some exciting news (and some mind changes, shocking). We now know that my sister is having a boy! Which means...forget gender neutral and bring on the blue!!

Thank goodness, because if my nephew/niece couldn't wear the awesome Christmas present I preemptively bought this year I would be heartbroken. How cute is this?!

Carters

Now that we know it's a boy the whole theme for the nursery is changing. I'm heading to Charlottesville this weekend to help decorate and assemble, and here is the plan! Since me designing the nursery for my sister's first baby is pretty much the blind leading the blind, I did my due diligence polling more baby saavy moms and friends for advice.Turns out Serena & Lily, Baby Braithwaite and Pottery Barn Kids are some of the favorites. We threw IKEA and Target's new Threshold line into the mix to keep things affordable.

1 - Serena & Lily: Navy Buddy Pillow Cover
2 - Serena & Lily: Turquoise Putty Diamond Lumbar Pillow
3 - IKEA: Maskros
4 - Target: Threshold Embroidered Vine Light Block Window Panel
5 - The Animal Print Shop: Little Darlings, Lamb
6 - Baby Braithwaite: Bla Bla Bluebirds Mobile
7 - IKEA - HEMNES, chest white
8 - Pottery Barn Kids: Wingback Convertible Rocker shown, similar - Target
9 - Pottery Barn Kids: Catalina Cottage Crib
10 - Lulu & Georgia: Foursquare Rug, Mustard and Slate
11 - Etsy: Bazarberber Moroccan Designer Luxury White Pouf

Get The Look: