Tiny house. Tiny budget. Great memories.

Ok, this is ridiculous. My desktop is so full of miscellaneous files and photos that my pretty zen garden wallpaper is almost completely covered. That's not very feng shui. So I vowed to clean this shit up while Josh watches some boring documentary on Jesse James.

But I'm already distracted.

I ran across some pics of the cute little cottage we owned before our current home, and I had to share. I adored this home. I remember WAY back when Josh and I were in our late teens, driving around for no reason at all other than having nothing better to do (miss those days), we would drive by this house all the time. Every time I saw it I'd say, "one day I want to live in that house." A serendipitous 8 years later, we were signing the papers. 

We had like no money. And the house was so freaking small, less than 1000 sq ft, which drove me insane at times. But it was much loved. Oh the time and creative energy we burned within that half an acre. And oh yeah, we brought home our first baby there too.

Painted every possible surface, including the cabinets; tiled the floor; installed wainscoting (that was a crazy week)...

More wainscoting...

Panel trim around tv; painted everything. First major purchase of my adulthood: that rug.

Our cute little office. I painted that old upholstered chair, fabric and all. That's an Oma pillow. I miss her.

Damn cute bathroom!

And Rosa Leigh's first bedroom. Awe! I'm still so proud of that side-table makeover. And the wall shelf makeover. And the dresser makeover. Man I was a busy pregnant lady!

 

Wish I could find a summer picture. We built those cedar shutters. It's hard to tell from the picture, but they have cute star cut-outs.  

And here is a painting I did of the house for Rosa Leigh. I hope she keeps it forever.

Prom Queen

I was eating my lunch in the break room the other day and overheard a coworker describing her daughter's prom dress. It sounded pretty, but she ended the description with, "and ya know you can't get a dress under $500." I nearly choked on my tuna salad. 

I'm way too old to be going to a prom, except as a chaperon, but this outrageous statement inspired in me a little daydreaming and the urge to find a fabulous prom get-up for way under $500...

 

This dress SCREAMS for a bold bib necklace. That led to the Egyptian, snakey flare in the bracelet and shoes.

Dress: Modcloth.com $198

Shoes: Endless.com $65

Necklace: Ebay $15

Clutch: Endless.com $35

Bracelet: Forever 21 $6

Total: $319!

And I couldn't resist posting this Betsey Johnson dress from Modcloth. It's kinda pricey at $398, but you wouldn't need many accessories with this one. Just a pair of hot pink satin pumps and a hot pink wrist corsage. Fun fun fun!

Swooning for you

My first look at Gucci's AMAZING new spring line was on the back of Katy Perry via my Elle Magazine cover last month. The moment I laid eyes on those incredible jewel toned silks and gold tassels I was in loooove.

It is sadly unfortunate, however, that you will not find me on fifth avenue picking up this ensemble any time soon.  So I've been looking for some more accessible (and probably wearable) looks. And for those of you who are now swooning over anything color-block, thanks to Gucci, here are a few of my finds.

Top: Gap ($50)
Pants: Talbots ($70)
Belt: Michael Kors from Bluefly.com ($23)

Now this dress from Target ($28) isn't that great, but imagine it cinched at the waist with this fabulous belt from Asos.com ($22)

And check out this great video from stylist.com on how to wear the color blocking trend. 

Now I just need to find a royal purple blazer to go with that first outfit. *yawn* I'll look tomorrow. Goodnight!

Screw it!

Sometimes I just sit in my bedroom and stare at the walls wondering…

What the HELL was I thinking?

I’ve been obsessing over this room and how to FIX it for 2 months now. I’m about ready to drown my frustrations in vodka martinis and Lays potato chips, which is never a good thing. So before I drive myself absolutely insane over this, I have decided to for-get-IT! At least for now.

This weekend I intend to head back over to Rosa Leigh’s room for some fun finishing touches to her walls. 2 reasons:

1: Thanks to Uncle Sam, this month's budget is busted. So I need to do something free.

2: I love working in this room… it makes me feel like a little girl again. Pink and Aqua make great medicine!

So here is what we have so far:

 

And here is what I’m planning:

-Finish her photo board (ran out of ribbon)

-Paint a cute frame on the wall around it

-Paint the bookshelf from the playroom and move it in (I think)

-Hang pictures with maybe some cute mural above the bookshelf.

You will see a post of the results next week. God willing.

Goody: Happy Chic!

I got my new Jonathan Adler book in from Amazon today. Woo hoo! This is the second of his "Happy Chic" books that I have, and I can't wait to dive in. I'm going to try my best to not even crack it until Rosa goes to bed on Friday night, and the house is quiet, and I have a fresh martini in hand. Mmmm. These are the little things that get me through the week.

I wonder what Jonathan would say about my master bedroom redo gone wrong. Ugh. I'm mortified at the thought.