Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Shopping

While my kids were in an art camp this morning, I had a little time to hit an estate sale. Well, it was actually a moving sale. A local interior designer is moving from a building with a fair amount of storage space to one that is more of a showroom, so he's paring down.
So, I grabbed a roll of Osborne & Little wallpaper, a faux tortoise frame and some fabric remnants - a couple Pierre Frey and Scalamandre's Leopardo. 

I almost cried when another lady found a small bolt of the Leopardo. I'm thinking I can get a long lumbar pillow out of my remnant, but it's better than nothing. 
They only had one roll of this fabulous wallpaper. Boo. Of course, I can always order more. I'm thinking powder room or office? Hmm. Decisions are hard. 
Here's a little preview of my office. I like the wallpaper in here but I've already got a lot going on. Is it too much? A couple more snippets . . . 

If you're interested in doing some vintage shopping of your own and are in the Nashville area, my friends Brandy and Melissa are hosting a Pop Up Shop on Friday. Check it out . . . 


Friday, July 19, 2013

Happenings

First of all, yesterday was my husband's 41st birthday, so Happy Birthday to my beloved Matt.
He got a key lime pie instead of cake as that's his preference.
Here he is doing one of his favorite things, snuggling one of our golden retrievers (this was when Zoe was a puppy and could still fit on his lap).  

And earlier this month, we celebrated 16 years of marriage. For our anniversary, I got him this little watercolor number from Etsy (which I spied first on Pinterest thanks to Elizabeth) . . . 
It's Bill Murray's head on a jaguar shark from Wes Anderson's The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, one of his favorite movies. My favorite WA movie is probably Rushmore, while I know a lot of people are Royal Tenenbaum diehards. You can't really go wrong with any Wes Anderson films, in my opinion.

Last week, I enjoyed a little beach trip with my kids. Lots of sun and fun!
By the way, this is in the ocean not a pool . . . that's how clear and calm it was our last few days. 

While on my vacation, I enjoyed a couple of great books I thought I would share . . . 

This book actually reminded me of a Wes Anderson film with its quirky characters. It's about a husband and wife performance artist team who involve their children in their art (without their consent). Nicole Kidman has bought the film rights.

And thanks to Sissy for her recommendation on this one . . . 
So smart and hysterical, you won't want to put it down. 

Between trips and shuttling kids to day camp, I have managed to do some vintage shopping here and there. Some of my more recent finds . . . 
A faux bamboo tole chandelier. Probably going to sell this one. Email me if you're interested.

A tiny Syroco federal style mirror. So cute. Once again, will probably sell this one.  Please excuse the lovely view of my garage ceiling. 

Another item up for sale, this lucite table base (has no top) for a small round table. Or I guess it could be a square table. So cool.

And lastly, this Chinese Art Deco rug . . . a little worn but have always wanted one of these. It's an unusual color combo of olive green and gray with blue, yellow and cherry details (you see the pagoda, right?). Love it. This one's a keeper. 

Hope everyone is surviving the summer heat wave!



Thursday, July 4, 2013

I Need Your Help

Happy 4th of July! It has rained ALL day here so I've been surfing the internet. And instead of doing a patriotic post with inspirational red, white and blue photos, I'm asking for your help on this Independence Day. There's a decision of monumental importance that lies ahead of me . . . yes, I need to pick out a new phone case.

Here are some that have caught my eye in no particular order (beware, my tastes vary wildly and may seem schizophrenic).
This one should come as no surprise as my love of malachite is no secret. And another version.


Some more interior inspired cases . . .


This Milly design immediately reminded me of the famous Martinique banana leaf-patterned wallpaper by Hinson.

And tortoise shell from J. Crew because, duh, it's classic. However, my current case is leopard, so it might be too similar if I want a change.

Then there are the gold and white ones that are appealing to me . . . 

And, on the flip side are the colorful, geometric/graphic ones . . . 




Then the "painterly" ones . . .



And lastly, the somewhat whimsical . . . 

See why I'm confused?? Of course, one of my favorites is shagreen but I'm not paying over $100 for a case. But they are very cool . . .
There are just too many great choices out there, but I'm going to try and narrow it down and pick soon. Any favorites? Please help.

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13 / 14 / 15

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

2013 Southern Living Idea House in Nashville

Last Wednesday, I had the distinct pleasure of touring the new Southern Living Idea House during a special blogger preview.
via
Located on the Fontanel property in Nashville (formerly owned by Barbara Mandrell), the 2013 Idea House was designed by Historical Concepts, built by Castle Homes and decorated by Phoebe Howard. The beautiful landscaping was designed by Page | Duke Landscape Architects. We were hosted by the very warm and engaging Southern Living Editor Lindsay Bierman and the equally lovely Phoebe Howard who gave us a great insider tour of the property. 
Opening comments by Lindsey and Phoebe.

Since the home is being featured in the August issue of Southern Living, we were only allowed to take photos of the exterior of the home, the dining room and a guest house area. None of my photos were very good (shocking), so I've borrowed some much better shots taken by photographer Wiff Harmer during Style Blueprint's preview
The chevron door was probably one of my favorite features of the home (there is a matching door directly opposite this one across the main room on the front facade). It conveyed the rustic yet modern farmhouse aesthetic that Howard displayed in her interior design. Howard described how she liked to imagine who would be living in a space. For this scenario, she envisioned a somewhat rough-edged bachelor farmer who married a petite, blonde lady who softened the interiors with plenty of blue and green upholstered pieces and draperies (the blues and greens also echoing the blue skies and rolling green hills of Tennessee). 

The beautiful marble top of the dining room table sourced from the Paris flea market added some interest to an otherwise very neutral space.

Conceived not as a residential home but instead as a bed and breakfast/event venue, the property has some great features that can be adapted for any home. Although I can't show it here, the kitchen sink (of all things) was just one example - it's a stainless steel 3-bowl sink bead-blasted to have a matte finish (great effect, by the way). While 3-bowl sinks are necessary to meet codes for a B&B, Howard also pointed out how extremely useful, functional and practical they can be for residential applications as well (think of all those big meals and dinner parties where you could really use extra clean-up space).

The 2013 Southern Living Idea House opened to the public for tours on June 29th and runs through December . . . great for an afternoon excursion or even a day trip. Tickets are $12, and a portion of the proceeds benefit St. Jude Chidren's Research Hospital. For more information, go to southernliving.com.