Happy Birthday, KH!

Today is KH's birthday and we are both going over to KM's house this evening to watch GREY's and celebrate her bday. I see Asti Spumante and (Lactose Free) Chocolate Mousse with fresh strawberries is in my future =)

I wrapped up her (fabulous, if I do say so myself) gifts in bags and wrapping paper from Paper Source. I love Paper Source and I love that I can walk to it from work.

I used two of the Luxe Tiny Red Dot Gift Bags and a sheet of the White Poppy Red Wildflowers wrapping paper. It looks the same as the Red Poppy paper (above) but replace the Red with White, replace the Purple with Red and replace the Orange with Lime Green.

My apologies for the horrible camera phone pictures...again. I really need to find my SLR battery!!

*Lust List* ...Frameless Mirror

Remember the gorgeous frameless mirror from yesterday's post?



It's an Uttermost mirror available at stores like Bed Bath & Beyond and Bellacor for around $220.00. Pottery Barn has their own version, the Elise Mirror for $189.00. But you can also buy the same mirror by Allen + Roth for just under $80.00 at Lowes!




I can't take credit for the Allen + Roth find - all the credit goes to the ever fabulous Decorpad. They have a great "look 4 less" section of their website. Not only do they find specific items for less, but they take whole ROOMS and tell you where to find all the pieces for a low cost.

Check out this Sophisticated Bedroom Look:


And the same look for LESS:
Get all the details on this and other looks over at Decorpad!

Desperate to Decorate!

Is there a term similar to "stir crazy" or "cabin fever" but that applies to wanting to decorate soooo badly but not being able to?? I have all these ideas and see things everywhere I go that I want to buy or recreate the look in MY home, but I don't have MY home yet. I have to WAIT!!! (Clearly, I am the most patient person ever...can you tell??)



I've been holding onto this picture of a powder room from Sea Cliff Residence on houzz. I love everything about this room. I love the imperial trellis design and I think it has such a WOW factor in this small space. I don't think it would work as well without all that natural light and it would definitely be too busy and overpowering in a large room, but here it's just right! That frameless mirror is one I have wanted for a while and is a perfect compliment to the wallpaper. I love the dark hardwood floors and the thick white base boards, and I love the contrast between the two. And the sink....oh, that sink. I am not traditionally a fan of sinks without storage underneath but I am adding this one to my *lust list*. Pedestal sinks are gorgeous, but common. This sink is minimal, classic, beautiful, and I'm starting to see them more and more often...I want one!! Love the fact that the towel bars are there too which eliminates the need for one on the wall - that would cover up the wallpaper! And no artwork in this room either. The walls are art enough.

contemporary bathroom design by san francisco interior designer Niche Interiors

Holstee Manifesto

holstee

Truly Inspiring...

DIY Memories

While we are in our temporary living quarters, all our belongings prior to married life are crammed into two large storage units. Everything from the wedding and all our wedding gifts are in a third storage unit, otherwise known as "Mom and Dad's basement"...thanks M&D!! I took a trip to our storage unit after work today to unload a few things and it was good to see some of my stuff! Oh, who am I kidding, I can't SEE any of it. As I unloaded my trunk, I was reminded of some of the fun DIY stuff we did for the wedding. I'll have to post details on our projects but I'm waiting for the professional photos to come back I guess. One of my favorite things (and most time consuming projects!!) is our cake stand.

Yep, we made this beauty! I'm so proud of how it turned out and I love that we can continue to use it. (sorry for the poor quality picture. I went to the storage unit when it was dark and I used my camera phone to snap the photo!)

I will post the step-by-step later but for now, this is what we started with:

And look at how good it looks with our cake on top!

And can I just tell you how amazing our cake was? It was quite possibly the best cake I've ever had - no lie! Teri @ Cakes Unlimited in Charlottesville is a GENIUS!
I can't wait until our one year anniversary when we get to eat our top layer. And I'll let you guess what I'll serve it on!

(thx to Danny for the 1st cake pic and Kat N. for the bottom pic!)

Shopping is a whole new kind of Exciting!

As a self-diagnosed shop-a-holic, I always try to come up with reasons to justify shopping. Not just justify my purchases, but the reason for shopping in the first place. I don't know about any of you, but I don't just shop for fun...I especially like to shop when I'm stressed, when I'm bored, when I'm super-happy and excited, and when I'm feeling a little down.

Well, a study at the University of Westminster in England shows that shopping can have the same effect as PORN! The results are a little more specific than that, of course. According to the Telegraph, researchers found that sales, discounts and freebies showed the same mental response of sexual arousal. I always said that shopping could be orgasmic...who knew?!




Read the full article here

*Lust List* ...for LESS!

Wow! My *Lust List* just got a LOT longer. Chris and I are saving for our first house (and paying off all our debt) and it's time to really buckle down and get serious! I'm truly excited about it and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, but I am such a shopaholic so this is going to be a struggle for me. It will be a challenge that I am more than willing to accept!

My list used to be things I might someday buy but are just a touch out of my price range at the moment. My list will now include things like shampoo when it's not on sale, and the more expensive cut of meat at the grocery store. Don't worry, I won't bother to post those items on my blog =). I will however try to find comparable things at better prices - sort of a Luxe for Less edition of my Lustworthy items.

So...Here it is, Luxe for Less...I always hated my headboard as a child. I had a Laura Ashley fabric for my bedspread with the same fabric as curtains and an upholstered headboard. It looked like a Laura Ashley store threw up in my bedroom, but then again so did everyone else's bedroom my age! I was so excited when my Mom let me re-do my room (in a new Laura Ashley pattern of course) but I was unable to escape the headboard! So, here I am as an adult and what do I have on my *lust list*?...an upholstered headboard of course!

The beds and headboards below are listed with the more expensive version on the left and the less expensive version on the right. They are pretty much identical (looking) in all cases but the savings speak for themselves. Listed in order of savings:

Left: Home Decorators Collection $399 Queen; Right: Home Shopping Network $299 any size

Left: Crate & Barrel Colette Bed $1,599 Queen; Right: Urban Home Lauren $599 Queen

Left: OLY Design Studio Dakota Bed $4,125 - $11,525; Right: Nate Berkus (HSN) $449.90

...*sigh* ...now I just have to WAIT to buy one!

Layla Grayce - Sale on Sale!

What's even better than a sale? When sale items are on sale! And even better than that?...When the sale on sale is at Layla Grayce!
For the rest of September, you can get an additional 15% off all sale items!

I have always admired this Damask Box...I will probably get one for myself =)


Maybe you'd like a set of new "Thank You" cards?

Or perhaps you need to stock up on a couple hostess gifts? MOR has these yummy candles that are also really pretty. They come in gift box that's like a gift all by itself! Try Persian Pear and pick one up for yourself while you're at it!

This Serena and Lily Decorative Pillow is a great punch of color for a bed, couch or chair.


...Hurry on over to Layla Grayce before it ends!

Juliska Love

Road trip anyone? Juliska is one of my favorite dinnerware brands ever. I fell in love with a few pieces and added a whole bunch of pieces to my wedding registry. Today starts their annual sale at the flagship store in Stamford, CT. It's only a 5.5 hour drive and I am seriously considering making a day trip. We're talkin' 50%-75% off everything!!

Even the outside of the store is beautiful! Here are a few of my favorite things that I own, mostly from the "Berry and Thread" line...

Dinnerware Set:

(How good would that look on a set table?!)

Great for a pitcher, a vase, or just kitchen decor!
I love a good serving piece, especially one that mixes and matches well with others. The Juliska serving pieces not only go with other serving pieces you may already have, but they display food without distracting from the beautiful presentation (and without having to use all plain boring white!).

The perfect popcorn bowl:

Juliska is so fabulous that even Pottery Barn used a Juliska mug in their ad instead of using one of their own Pottery Barn mugs!

*Lust List* #1

I figured I would start a couple of repeat blog topics to help organize myself. (me, organizing...go figure!) Today I will start my *Lust List* - a list that is exactly what it sounds like: items I am lusting after.

First item up:

This GORGEOUS mirror from none other than Layla Grayce. It comes in either Cyan (sort of teal blue) or Crossroads Rosa (a delicious creamy white color). What a statement piece this is! More like artwork than a mirror. Now to decide what color I want...