Friday, May 17, 2013

All Over the Place

Do you ever feel discombobulated? Like you should be doing about ten different things, but can't seem to accomplish any of them? No? Then maybe it's just me. But that's what I've been feeling like this past week. It started off beautifully with a Mother's Day lunch in Chattanooga with my mother-in-law and our family . . .
A little pre-lunch photo session.
Then, my daughter, who has an egg allergy, got an egg exposure at the restaurant so the rest of the day wasn't too fun for anyone - because obviously, when your child's in pain, so are you. She recovered within a few hours. Benadryl can't work fast enough sometimes.

I did receive my favorite candle . . . 
If you've never smelled this candle (or any of the Diptyque candles), you must. I don't typically splurge on nice candles for myself but as a gift, I think they're perfect. 

And more importantly I got lots of hugs, kisses and these kind of sentiments . . . 
Do you think "give me things that I want" means meeting his emotional needs? Yeah, that's what I thought too. Certainly couldn't mean all the electronic equipment and video games I buy for him.

Other than a couple of client meetings, the week has been a blur. I did manage to use a store credit I had at Forever 21 to buy this cute little striped raglan tee . . . 

Don't worry, I didn't get the short shorts. I paired it with a little pencil skirt yesterday though, inspired by this baseball tee look . . .

So, now I've got to go find my to do list again. We leave for Disney next week (yikes), so that probably has something to do with my feelings of being overwhelmed as well. But, at least I have a fun birthday dinner tonight to look forward to (did I mention I turn 40 while in Disney World - yay). But what am I going to wear? Focus, Kathy, focus.

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Tick Tock

Do you hear that? Time is running out. The school year is almost over!

If my summer looked like this, sure, I'd be ready. Let's go jump off a boat into the ocean, shall we?

Seriously though, May 21st is my children's last day of school, and I heard the bus driver greeting them this morning with "8 more days!" Eight more days?! That's it. And one of those is field day, one's a field trip, one's a graduation/ceremony. That leaves precious little time for getting stuff done without my kids constantly asking "do we have to          (usually it's leave the house to run errands) " or "can we please          (go eat ice cream or other junk food)?" Don't get me wrong, I have them enrolled in camps and we've got lots of fun and free time to luxuriate in, but boredom can set in pretty quickly in these parts. Camp Mom is never as fun as it should be. So, before I go softly into that good season of full-time kid wrangling thought I'd share some photos of happenings around here . . .
Okay, so this is a ridiculously bad photo. But, trust me, it was the Black Keys concert on Friday night here in Nashville. Much fun was had by all, except walking back to the car in the rain.

New beauty products, tulips, a new magazine and Trader Joe's all make me happy. I'm lame, I realize.
Aren't they pretty?

Then I just went to Homegoods again looking for nothing in particular. Honestly, I went in to use the facilities (TMI?). So, of course, I find a ton of stuff . . . 

Some pretty rugs . . . none of which I or any of my clients need right now. 


Then, a rug I couldn't decide if I liked or not. It's one of those nylon deals . . . 
This rug was literally moving on that big swing arm thing when I snapped the photo. So, if it's fuzzy you'll understand why. 

There was some cool original-looking (it was all textured, etc.) abstract art from some Australian artist named Sarah Brooke. Huge. Square. Lines. 

And now, for pillow-pa-looza. Honestly, if you find pillows a snore you might want to look away. I think HG has been stepping up the quality a little bit on some of its pillows lately. More down-filled options and natural fabrics. Always a good thing. I got a little carried away snapping photos . . . 
Nice simple link detail edging on this black pillow. And in cream and navy. . .

A little lumbar chevron action. I bought these same pillows except in a square version a while back for a client.

You know I love a good pagoda. I used my leg as a propping device.

 Some embroidered modern ikat. Pretty colors.

 I always like a little faux bois.

 More graphic ikat. And in a convenient two pack. Look they match my toes!

Speaking of graphic, these black and white ones almost came home with me. My only hesitation is that they have yellow piping (sort of like the ribbon wrapped around them). Couldn't decide. Plus, the check-out line was ridiculous (it was the lunch hour).

Also, liked this little leopard lumbar number. I think it was the acid yellow/green spots and charcoal combo.
A little metallic cowhide, just because.

And, lastly, for some reason I was digging on this geometric honeycomb/hexagonal linen and plum pillow. 

So, if you need some pillows (or any of the other stuff), go get you some (or if you'd rather I do the shopping for you . . . I can do that too - just shoot me an email). 

If you're a mom or you have a mom or know a mom, have a wonderful Mother's Day weekend! I may or may not return before then. Tick tock.




Wednesday, May 1, 2013

La, La . . . Lavender

My daughter's room is much a work in progress (as is most of my house). I'm constantly moving and tweaking things. Part of this is due to her demands requests, but as a chronic re-decorator, part of the blame falls on me too. Like yesterday, I was minding my own business at World Market picking out a curtain rod, when the colorful, bohemian Priya quilt called to me (what? so I hear voices - doesn't everyone?) . . .

I've been looking for a blanket or quilt that would pull in the lavender from her headboard and tie in with the pool blue and navy I've got in there as well. She needed another layer. So, here's what it looks like at the end of her bed . . . 


Let me back up and explain that we went from twin beds to a full-sized bed at the end of last year - that was her Christmas present. We ordered an upholstered headboard from Wayfair that I thought was supposed to be a greige-y linen. You couldn't order a swatch so I even asked before ordering because I wasn't sure if it was going to have a lavender cast to it - they assured me it wasn't lavender. Well, it arrives and it is - wait for it  - lavender. Shocking, right? But, even more shocking . . . I kind of liked it. It added a little unexpected something to her ice blue room. So, we ditched the green that had been an accent color and went with lavender and navy (I wanted something a little dark to cut the sweetness). So, I had a bedskirt made with ice blue, navy and lavender and added a fun little rug from Land of Nod . . . 
So, now I think it has just the right amount of color and fun without being too fussy . . . 
Oh, and here are some before photos of her room in previous incarnations . . . 
This was in the in-between stage after we painted it ice blue when she still had twin beds and green accents. And the before-before from long ago . . . 
When it was pink and white with a little green. 

I think it looks a little more appropriate now for my 11-year-old girl (sob) . . .
What do you think?