playful and pretty

In case you don't check into [tend] every day like I do, you might've missed my guest post! It truly was an honor to be invited to write a post, so I do hope you'll check it out. Those gals are so thoughtful!

If you entered to win a poster over at Mine Creations, don't forget to check back soon. Julia will announce the winner in the next couple days.

This weekend we'll be out in the field {literally} finishing up a project that's been in the works about a year!

We're also chipping away at making a big girl room for M. She never cared for her nursery, preferring co-sleeping to a crib and playing in the same room we are in, so the nurdio is back to full-on studio and the middle bedroom will be her room. We've ordered Safe Paint Milk Paint and it's on the way, and Monday we'll start painting the walls a light salmon color (90% white, 10% salmon).



We have a used (vintage?) ceiling fan similar to the one pictured. While looking for a picture of a close match to share I found forums and sites of people desperate for vintage ceiling fans. Apparently, if you've got one you're getting rid of, there's a market people--don't just give away potential beaucoup bucks.

The plan is to make her room have the fragile, fleeting, magical softness of an Abby Trys Again photograph with the playfulness and durability of an active child's room. It takes restraint and that's not my strong point.

Wish us luck and we hope you have a phenomenal weekend. What are you getting into?

What the next couple days hold in store

Ahh the weekend. Just 8 hours away. I'm on my first cup of coffee for the morning, ready to jump into a day of workplace duties. What the next couple days hold in store:

Tomorrow I start Weight Watchers with my mother. I need is the inner-desire to get the big trek started. And to stop eating cookies when they cross my path. Mmm, I love me some cookies. I'll break up with them this weekend though, and start swooning some spinach.

I might get around to giving my pile of interesting reads some good good loving.

I'd really love to paint the bed. Black, or steely gray.

Prepare for the rug. Actually my Chiasso shipment arrived yesterday, but they sent a 5 x 8 rug rather than the 8 x 10 that I'd purchased. I should get the correct one on Tuesday. Cross fingers for me, please.

I've had some offers lately for incredible opportunities, which I alluded to yesterday. The BIG one I should find out about by Monday. I hope. Keep fingers crossed for me, maybe cross them harder (does that work??), send wishes my way, lend me any Karma points you might have, prayers, dances, and anything else that might help. I'm not dishing out the goods, though. All too often in the past I've celebrated too early and set myself up for disappointment. Lesson learned, gods of the ebbs and flows of life, I will not taunt you anymore!

Here' s a little montage to keep me on track and fill you in with the direction of the bedroom:

Taryn asked when the big unveiling will be. I'd been thinking we were actually months away from a finished room since 8 x 10 rugs are a sizable investment. I'm still practicing buying for the future rather than temporarily appeasing desire, so I had durability and design in mind while pricing said rugs.

Then Chiasso announced a sale! One of the rugs I'd originally looked at was marked 75% off. What does that mean? The 8 x 10 is now less than $100, and after adding shipping I scored a $400 rug for just below $150!

I should get it Friday or Monday. Either way, the bedroom will be well on its way to being complete and cozy by a week from now!

Now to wax romantic: I'm a sucker for well thought out dates, cuddling on the couch, and random surprise flower. I'm never big on Valentine's day and I think a lot of the consumer - romance - traps are wretched. Yesterday, though, my honey came home from work and brought me a Diet 7-Up (my favorite!) and a heart shaped Snickers. Such a sweet (no pun intended) and unassuming surprise!

For tasteful lover-lovely goods, these plates are from Chiasso, and Modish has the most incredible list of V-Day cards!

On the right track

We're getting there with the bedroom. A lot happened this weekend, more than I had planned!
I'd originally thought I would use a gallon of tan paint I already had and would go home right after work and, well, get to work.


If you're thinking about painting a room, this is where I share my experience: Instead I stopped by Sherwin Williams and picked up a gallon of a Martha Stewart Signature color. Why Sherwin Williams, you ask? Because Domino Magazine's website has a 25% off regular priced merchandise coupon! Which allowed me to get out of there are a much lower price than the Benjamin Moore store. Sherwin Williams offers (now I find out) 2 low VOC options while B.M. doesn't offer this alternative in my area! Though neither of them offered any suggestions or much in the way of assistance at all. Also, I've found, the higher end paints are a worthy investment simply because they require fewer coats to get a nice, even surface. The bedroom was covered in one coat with minor touch ups here and there. Less coats=less work.

Be prepared for the snowballing affect of small changes: We didn't just stop at the paint. (You'll recall this actually started with getting matching bedside tables.) First, new curtain rods were installed. They are brushed nickel with pretty little swirl finials: $15 each from Lowe's, not a bad price since they offer rods in the upwards range of $50 each. We found a ceiling fan with convincingly faux walnut blades and brushed nickel accents on clearance (i guess just in the store?) for $20, originally $40. The mister was inspired to change out the original switches and outlets in the bedroom, add an extra outlet in the bathroom, and change out miscellaneous outlets in other parts of the house. We are moving on up!

Before the snowball gets too big, pinpoint direction. None of the color schemes I'd picked had such a grayish brown wall. I needed to narrow things down on my own a bit, when lo and behold I realized this illustration is it! Even though the final product seems so far away, staying on task is well within reach.

Long stretch in keeping with the bedroom theme

Yesterday I went home from work, messed around the house a little and fell asleep in the bed at 6 o'clock. Hi-C woke me for dinner, after which I promptly fell asleep again. Not so good, considering I was supposed to meet my friend Christy for drinks at 8. I woke up at 7 and called her, left a message, fell back asleep and woke up again at 8:30. At that point I was in a strange, sleep-induced, drunk-like stupor and had no idea how to function. I called Christy and left her another message that sounded, I'm sure, like an out of breath patient post-lobotomy. Then, I fell asleep again.

I think it's because I haven't been eating right lately, a sharp contrast to the summer's fresh vegetable-laden meals. (This is where I point you to my post on The Dirt today. Though not literally, I'm dreaming of veggies. I don't know what I dreamt about yesterday into last night into this morning. With the way I felt, I'd guess maybe tequila.)

This story had nothing to do with the family portrait I've posted today. Me and my 5 boys, the loves of my life. Maybe that's why I was so tired? Keeping up with those crazy guys?

Coppin' feels in the bedroom

Still looking for a color palette for the bedroom. Sophisticated, mid-century, funky, warm, inviting, relaxing, personal with personality.

Yesterday I tried a square of California Paints "I'm a local" yellow.

Not the feel I'm looking for in a bedroom.

ColourLovers (middle row middle image, though this image is missing 2 essential colors), please rescue me!

Andyland (top row far left) via Lena Corwin (bottom row, far left) offers Scandinavian artwork at reasonable prices.


Domino Magazine offers an idea gallery for decorating. Although some of the fabrics used are way out of my price range, vintage, more affordable offerings can be found at local thrift stores.
CB2 also has some wonderful and affordable wall hangings from my favorite-ever Marimekko (middle row far right image).


Johnny-Tapete (top row middle image, bottom row middle image) is a bit unpredictable if you are counting on English translations from their native German, but the vintage wares are gorgeous, the prices are low to middlin' and the wallpaper designs are comparable to the high end stuff I was swooning over yesterday. These are the vintage originals that must've sometimes sub-, sometimes consciously inspired the most interesting designers today.

Which one do you prefer?

Ruint by daydreams

Sunday it was in the 70s here, and today it is 35. The weather is on the crack rock. "They" are calling for sleet tonight, maybe a bit of snow. I'm okay with that. I'm okay with experiencing winter. I relish the thought of sleeping in tomorrow with my love and painting the day away.

Oh daydreams.

I'm still daydreaming all too heavily about wallpaper. Thinking about what to do in the bedroom, how to add intimacy and interest to the various nooks in our house, and general patterns.

These images are mostly from Walnut Wallpaper's incredible, drool-worthy site. Numbers 2 and 4 are from Rose and Radish. Number 12 is not, however, it is one of my workday doodles.

I also think this idea from Pink Loves Brown is a great way for the non-decorator in me to figure out how to keep the house cohesive, since I tend to go overboard with my likes!

Back to the grindstone

Time to approach the bedroom. The mister is out of town working for a couple days.

Will I get it painted before he gets back?!?

I should have my new Marimekko Satula sheets waiting for me at the door when I get home. I ordered them last week from CB2 (on sale. . . I'm so glad I waited for the sale, now they're actually affordable!)

I'd been looking at end tables to replace the 2 mismatched vintage ones we use now, and settled on these Adesso Portland tables (which I ordered from Urban Outfitters for $120 a piece, not bad!). They really match the vintage walnut dresser and desk we have.

The shot with the red and navy pillow shows our queen size bed (got the frame from freecycle and painted it green) and I threw a pic of my old red stuffed plane from when I was a kid just for good measure!