Decorating, Dining and Drinking thru Durham

A Lady Who Lunches

2012-09-27T15:48:00.001-04:00

This week I snuck away from work for a quick lunch break.. crazy talk I know. Usually I eat my cottage cheese cup at my desk and look for left behind scraps in the company kitchen. Yep, bringing sexy back I know.

My car accidentally drove to Classic Treasures in Durham... terrible, yep! I was eager to check out the Honeymoon at Home booth. Amy over at Triangle Honeymoon is a super fly Durham girl with eclectic personal and home style.

My eyes got big when the animal rug that I have been eyeing for months was hiding under a table with none other than a sale sticker pinned to it. "inset happy dance"

My love for a good animal print, horn, rug, etc runs deep.
here, here & here

I had a total come to mama moment. Now I just need to sneak this giant piece of animal skin & fur into my house without hubby noticing.

Thanks Honeymoon at Home!

Missed Me?

2012-08-28T11:02:00.001-04:00

Missed me? ~~probably not~~

Sorry but life happened, work happened & SUMMER HAPPENED! I am happy to report that today I have a tan line and about 30,000 frequent flier miles under my Lilly Pulitzer belt. More to come on that later.

Today I would like to share my new obsession. I will always have a place in my heart for a bar cart, this is old news, but Society Social just hit a home run with the video below.

How can this be my life?

Society Social Video

Music Sunday

2012-03-11T03:00:00.000-04:00

Two Door Cinema Club

These cuties remind me of my first high school boyfriends who would play guitar and sing to me over the phone. Ahhh, memories!

Horny?

2012-03-08T02:00:00.000-05:00

Things are getting a little horny around here lately. After my Playboy post on Monday, (here) I just might need to get my mind out of the gutter.

I am talking about decorating with horns silly. Jayson Home from Chicago, IL is one of my first stops for all things unique with a mix of edgy with elegance.

Thought, hmmm, edgy w/elegance.. that is soo me, or the me I want to be. Maybe one day I will be more elegant if I stop dropping some many damn F Bombs.. never!

Ok, sorry back to Jayson Home. The prices are always reasonable and fair for the quality which I can't say for a lot of other online home stores. Here are some horn treasures they currently have stocked on the website and might be added to my online cart today.

Horn Bookends

$120

Horn Bottle Opener

$22

Brass Berkshire Horn Cups

$26

Francisco Stool

Sale $140

Horn Lamp

$395

Want to see more?

*warning, the images are bananas*

Download the fall catalog (here)

Adventures in Beadboard Ceilings Part 3

2012-03-07T02:00:00.002-05:00

Welcome back to part 3 in my series of installing a bathroom beadboard ceiling. Sorry but we have so many pictures from this project to share I just felt like it needed more than one post. To catch you up from the part 1 post:

I was inspired to make my bathroom look like this

To catch you up from the part 2 post:

I somehow got hubby on board, he made building plans and we purchased materials

Now lets get this party started with getting all this pretty wood up on the ceiling.

step 1 - cut & install trim boards

Last side

Step 2 - Spackle the corners

The gaps have disappeared!

Spackle is pure magic.

Now it's time to glue and nail the beadboard on the ceiling.. eekkk!

This is when the first DIY fight happened for this project between hubby and I.

hubby: "are you holding it"

"IT" is a giant heavy piece of heavy beadboard to the ceiling on a 9 foot wobbly ladder

me: "huh?"

hubby: "holding it?!"

me: "*&@& I can't hold this"

hubby: "&@%^ GET DOWN"

me: "F&^% Y@*"

You get the idea :)

We called in for backup to save the marriage with a trusted DIY friend.

Step 3 - measure & cut holes in the beadboard for the fan and light to slip through

Look at how serious they are taking.

Step 4 - put glue on the back on beadboard and nail the living heck out of it to the ceiling

Step 5 - install the shoe molding to cover the gap between trim boards and crooked walls

Step 6 - Caulk all up in these joints!

ouch, my neck!

Step 7 - paint the ceiling in your PJ's

Step 8 - assemble and add your fan & lights back in

Step 9 - Then you jump for joy when it's finally done! :)

We love how the ceiling turned out!

If we can survive this project, you can too!

What do you think of our new bathroom?

Partying at:

Home Stories A-Z, Creativily Living, Serendipity & Spice, Everything Under the Moon, Sew Can Do, Mod Vintage Life, My 1929 Charmer, Coastal Charm, It's Overflowing, How to Nest For Less,

My Playboy Arrived Today

2012-03-05T02:00:00.000-05:00

Well, not exactly.

My version of Playboy is the quarterly Lilly Pulitzer catalogue that arrives in my mailbox.

Biscuit always gets a little jealous.

Move kitty!

My pinup girls :)

No playboy in your mailbox?

To view the catalogue you can download the [free] Lilly Pulitzer catalog app from iTunes so you can experience and shop the 2012 collection!

~ The Lilly Story ~

It all started with a juice stand. Lilly McKim married Peter Pulitzer and needed something to keep her busy down there in Palm Beach all day long. She opened a juice stand and soon found the need for something comfortable that would camouflage the stains she would get on her clothes when squeezing fruit. The result was a brightly printed dress she could wear every day, everywhere. Not only was the dress practical, it quickly became the iconic style of a fun-loving lifestyle... The Classic Lilly Shift was born.

Here are some adorable and inspiring Lilly videos showing how they create the beautiful seasonal prints. Loving this!

Talk about a dream job!

Music Sunday

2012-03-04T08:33:00.001-05:00

Jessie J is one fierce chick!

Wrightsville Weekends

2012-02-29T02:00:00.000-05:00

This past weekend hubby and I decided to leave the honey do lists behind and jump in the car for a weekend getaway. Our favorite weekend hideaway spot is Wrightsville Beach, NC. In Wrightsville, something magical happens to us when we cross the bridge into this small beach town. All the stress of the week or weeks melts away and it's always 5 o'clock here. We checked into our favorite boutique hotel the Blockade Runner and got the party started.

Our sound side room was sooo adorable and charming. As I have shared in other posts I have a small obsession with anything nautical so our room was PERFECT!

Does anyone know how to find this fabric... it must be mine!

We come to Wrightsville for the white sandy beaches and view of the beautiful sound. The sound always reminds me of the coastal Massachusetts town that I grew up in.

Friday evening we ventured into Wilmington and had dinner at Manna Avenue. The food was innovative and delicious. The Gin Gin Mule drink might have been one of the best drinks we have ever tried.

Saturday we did a lot of nothing which was the point of weekend.

We looked out the window...

Drank a few of these...

Per hubby I dressed like the curtain...

Saw this from our window..

Outside temp is probably 45 degrees and this crazy man drove up, pulled up his shorts, walked into the water and stood there for at least 10 minutes.

no words...

Then we watched a beautiful sunset...

Ahhhh Wrightsville I love you!

Now we are back reality in the big city with all our big problems, boo!

Where do you go for a weekend to unwind and getaway?

Technology Tuesday

2012-02-28T02:00:00.000-05:00

A friend recently rocked my face off when he told me about the free Houzz app for my phone or ipad. Maybe I have been living under a rock but seriously does everyone know about this site except me?

About Houzz

Houzz is a leading destination site for home design enthusiasts-- professionals and homeowners. The Houzz site and mobile apps feature over 250,000 high quality interior and exterior photos, thousands of highly-engaging articles written by design experts, product recommendations and social tools to manage the remodeling and decorating process.

limited attention span video about Houzz

boring but more informative video about Houzz

People, it has changed my life! I personally think it kicks pinterest butt for design ideas... ohhh fighting words I know.

What do you think?

Adventures in Beadboard Ceilings Part 2

2012-02-27T02:00:00.000-05:00

Welcome back to part 2 in my series of installing a bathroom beadboard ceiling. Sorry but we have so many pictures from this project to share I just felt like it needed more than one post. To catch you up from Friday's part 1 post:

1. I had a vision

2. I had to convince hubby of my vision

3. Hubby eventually comes around months later and likes my vision

4. Mission accomplished!

Next steps was to draw up some plans and gather a shopping list.

We arrived at Home Depot with so much confidence in our easy "weekend project". Boy, did we quickly realize that we might just be a little over our heads when we came upon the never ending wall of wood.

After maybe an hour or so of wandering the cold aisles of Home Depot in my poorly chosen 4inch heels and asking for help we loaded up our rusty metal wagon and got to work. Below is hubby checking his shopping list to make sure we didn't forget anything ~~b/c thats never happened.~~

This is now the point of the project when we stop smiling for a while. Home Depot allows you to cut the long trim boards to size to save you money but they don't make it easy for you. Here hubby is using an old bent handsaw they provided to try and cut the trim wood to size. In all it was about 25 minutes of hand sawing which resulted in some blisters and possible bad four letter words.

*&%@

More bad four letter words followed when we got the bill for our little "weekend project". Eeekk $164.81 for some wood scraps, ouch!

Out in the parking lot we realized that our giant piece of beadboad might not fit in my car. Luckily we ended up having about 1/4 inch to spare to close the back hatch after we slid it up against the windshield.

Yep, we were those people!

Things were even safer inside the car ~~not!~~ We crossed our fingers that we wouldn't get pulled over on the ride home and made a break for it.

Hubby had to try and hold the beadboard up from the headrest so I could try and drive without my ear pressed on my shoulder. Ouch! Again.. we were those people!

More to come this week.

Do you think we are as crazy as I do?

Music Sunday

2012-02-26T02:00:00.000-05:00

The super talented and dreamy Young the Giant

Always Remember...

2012-02-25T02:00:00.000-05:00

I absolutely love this canvas print! It just arrived in my mailbox today and will be hanging in my office at work. It's just like one of my favorite sayings "Keep calm and carry on"!!! but its Lilly Pulitzer themed! This helps me remember to always keep Lilly close to my heart and to always remember to keep a bright outlook on things, just like all of Lilly's clothes! So remember when things are looking bleak, just keep calm and carry/lilly on!

Adventures in Beadboard Ceilings Part 1

2012-02-24T02:00:00.005-05:00

This time last year I was hit with a sudden vision for our downstairs guest bathroom. It first came as a whisper, then a loud scream... beadboard ceiling!!! Yeah, how in holy heck am I going to convince hubby to make this dream come true.

Beadboad ceilings make my heart pitter patter,

make a house a home,

make a bathroom a ....?

After doing some research and blog hunting I came across this post from The House of Smiths detailing how they added such a ceiling to there bathroom.

Inspired check!

Now, how to get hubby inspired?!

One day I just casually sent him the ceiling link and asked him his thoughts for our home. The rest is history!Here is a tale of one young couple learning to glue and nail things on there ceiling and to live to tell the tale..

More to come.

Do you think we are crazy?

Foodzie Follow Up

2012-02-23T02:00:00.001-05:00

Mail call! It arrived today!! My free mini tasting box arrived from Foodzie! I first posted about Foodzie last Thursday (here) and have been anxiously waiting for it to arrive.

Let's break this puppy open!

The suspense!

How cute is this!

My free sampler box came with:

Heart Candy Mix

Fancifully colored, striped, dotted, filled with hearts, these candies are as tasty as they are pretty.

Almond Fleur De Sel Toffee

Crunchy, organic California almonds stud the toffee, which is made in small batches, and the whole thing is finished off with fleur de sel for a lingering savory finish.

Both items were DELICIOUS! I am hooked and can't wait for the March box to arrive.

Stop... Stencil Time

2012-02-22T02:00:00.009-05:00

KK and I survived stenciling her master bedroom! As I posted here, this past Friday I jumped in my wagon and made the 2 1/2 hour drive to Richmond to help a bestie in need. Friday night KK thanked me for my help with a yummy homemade dinner and bottles of red wine. Saturday morning I woke up in a wine fog and after a breakfast of champions we got to work.

KK chose the tailfeathers allover stencil from Royal Design Studio. If besties can survive stenciling a room together we can survive anything, right?!?

We measured, we prepped, we took a deep breath, we got to work!

Go KK go!

Things were going pretty smoothly when shocker with any home improvement project some unexpected problems came up . Because we were using the same wall stencil over and over a thick layer of paint started to peel off the stencil like a bad sunburn. We first tried peeling the paint off with our fingers but could never get it all. We were worried big clumps of paint from the stencil were going to start sticking all over the wall from the paint roller so KK jumped into action with a brilliant solution.

Yep, she washed the damn thing in the tub with a scrub brush! See the pile of paint on the tub edge, that is what was going to come off on the flipping wall! I think during the stencil scrub I might have "disappeared" for a few minutes.. shhh I was soo tired at this point.

We dried the stencil with a hairdryer and got back to work.

Problem number two. Outlets and cable wires that you must deal with as bad as you wish they would go away. We waited until the entire wall was painted and then cut the stencil up into smaller pieces to work around these annoying little roadblocks.

We finished about 5 1/2 hours later!!! Hands down this was a two person job. While one of us was rolling the big stencil, the other was using a hairdryer to quickly dry the last piece. While one was using the edge piece the other was using the spray adhesive. The tailfeather stencil was one of the most intricate I have seen and took a ton of TLC to ensure it was lining up with the patten, etc.

~ Before ~

~ After~

~ Another angle ~

We are soooooo happy with the results!! When the light hits the paint it creates this beautiful warm golden glow. We laid in her bed for a while admiring our work as we tried to recover from what had just happened. Lucky me still had the 2 1/2 hour car ride home. I was sooo exhausted I drove home in my sock monkey pj's and wore mu sunglasses to protect me from judging drivers.

What do you think of our Saturday handy work?

Party time!
Blah 2 Beautiful, You Are Talking Too Much, Cozy Home Scenes, Be Colorful, A Stroll Thru Life, Home Stories A - Z, Everything Under the Moon, Tip Junkie, Pinkapotamus, Sassy Sites, Strictly Homemade, Raising 4 Princesses, Giggles Glitz & Glam, A Bowl Full of Lemons, Vintage Wannbee, Not Just a Housewife, How to Nest For Less, We Are That Family, Primp, Faded Charm, Very Merry Vintage, Savvy Southern Style, Blue Cricket,, No Minimalist Here, Trendy Treehouse, Tutu & Tea Parties, Ginger Snap, It's Overflowing, Restore, Let Birdz Fly, Jaqs Studio, Lollipops,

RIP Old Friend

2012-02-21T02:00:00.002-05:00

We have another death to report in our home. First it was our house plant (post here),

now it's our trusted morning companion the Cuisinart coffee maker. Valentine's day morning it just gave up only after 8 months of morning brews. Bummer!

RIP old friend

For a replacment I wanted the Viking 12 cup but hubby rolled his eyes and told me to dream on.

Since we are caffine addicts valentine's night was spent trolling the aisles of Target with hubby looking for a replacement. Romantic I know, ~~not~~! After spending over $100 on the Cuisinart and it only to break a few months later we were a little annoyed spending money on a new one.

We settled on the Black & Decker 12 cup. With the sticker being only $39.99 on this new beauty we feel less attached if it breaks.

On shap! Look at that concentration reading the new manual.

Geeshhh my house looks like a bomb in this pic.

Anyone want to share what appliance kicked the can early in there home?

Feeling Lucky?

2012-02-20T11:18:00.001-05:00

Last night at the grocery store with hubby I was feeling a little lucky and picked up a scratch ticket. I dreamed of all the things I could do with my $100,000 prize.. ahhh!

I won $15.00 not bad. Now what to do... buy more tickets with the $15.00 or keep my winnings?

Music Sunday

2012-02-19T02:00:00.000-05:00

Heart's on Fire by Scars on 45

This has been on repeat at my desk at work all week.

Enjoy!

Three Day Weekend

2012-02-18T02:17:00.004-05:00

Nothing in this world gives me such joy as a three day holiday weekend. Sunday evening there is magic in the air that can only be described as the magic I felt as a child on Christmas eve. To celebrate my long weekend I am up visiting my bestie KK in Richmond today as we tackle stenciling a room in her beautiful historic home. You all should remember KK from my posts here and here.

Tailfeathers Allover Stencil

KK chose the tailfeathers allover stencil from Royal Design Studio. If besties can survive srtenciling a room togther we can survive anything, right?!? Can't wait to post pics of how the room turned out soon.

Monday I plan on sleeping in late but maybe just maybe if I play my cards right I just might take some of that three day magic and make my special day off something to really remember.

What are you doing to celebrate the long weekend?

Target Binging

2012-02-17T02:00:00.007-05:00

Last Friday night I found myself alone at home with Biscuit. Hubby was working an overnight shift and with no Redbox movie in hand I accidentally drove myself to Target for some unsupervised shopping.

My trip was one of those once in a lifetime Target experiences when all the racks were stuffed full with new styles and every size was still to be had. Coming off my New York Fashion Week addiction all everyone was talking about was "The Pencil Skirt". Lots of designers hit home runs in the pencil skirt department during NYFW but this little diva in training doesn't have $275 + to drop on one piece of clothing.

check out Chasing Dreams and Apples cute NYFW post here

Target must have overheard the pencil skirt buzz and quickly rolled out there own version for only $17.99!!! I went a little crazy and picked up

Duchess Blue

Inca Red

Lush Moss

I rocked the Inca red pencil on Valentines day. The skirt is super comfortable and stretches really easy when you walk/sit making this pencil perfection.

Then I turned the corner into the shoe aisles and sort of lost it. This is the point of my post if my hubby is ready he might want to stop... hubby please look away.

Pam Rope Wedge w/ Braided Straps Gold

The perfect summer wedge!!! Only $24.99!!
Oops bought them in black too!

Pam Rope Wedge Black

Then I spotted Teresa and had a fashion meltdown.... how to choose?!?

Teresa Espadrille Wedge
Since hubby wasn't there supervising I accidentally bought them all. Oopps.. but I'll look damn cute so in my skirts and wedges hubby can't get too mad right...

Ladies run don't walk to your neighborhood Target because they are hitting it out of the park right now.

ps. don't forget to enter to win the Abas digital camera case here

Free Goodies For Foodies

2012-02-16T02:00:00.027-05:00

Did I get your attention.

This week while flipping myself silly unconscious on Flipboard I came across an article that I just had to share. "For this week only, Foodzie is offering free Mini Tasting Boxes featuring two of February's most delicious culinary goodies, with no strings attached."

Food & Free.. I like these words so keep talking

"But, what exactly is Foodzie? First and foremost, it's a Tasting Club. Each month, members receive a box of delicious foods carefully selected by the Foodzie team, connecting those that like to eat good food with the passionate people that make it."

As I sat on my couch in my fuzzy pink robe covered in crumbs from snacking on whale crackers from the Target $1.00 bin I thought that maybe this was a sign from up above.

"First, sign up for the free Mini Tasting Box. If you love the experience, you'll choose your first full-sized Tasting Box in March for $29.95. If the Tasting Club isn't your jam, cancel your subscription before March at no cost to you."

Hmmm... free trial keep talking. So I checked out the site and look at how darn cute and delicious these monthly boxes are.

Date Night Tasting Box

Movie Night Tasting Box

After I enrolled in my free mini tasting box Foodzie said that it will arrive in the next 2 or 3 business days. I'll be back soon with a full report card on it's contents.

Check out how cute Emily & Rob the owners are in this video about the company.

What do you all think about this idea? Silly or yummy?

No payment or perk for writing this, just found this story mid whale cracker snacking and wanted to share.

ps. don't forget to enter to win the Abas digital camera case here

Original article here

Teresa's On My Mind

2012-02-15T04:00:00.002-05:00

Teresa's on Main Street in Durham is one of special locally owned home design studios where you know you will always get in trouble. Trouble because everything inside is beautiful, one of a kind and you need to purchase immediately.

Over the holiday's I was browsing for some gifts for friends and family when I stumbled on an early holiday gift for myself. ~~shocker I know~~

~ action shot of me shopping ~

Leaning against the wall was exactly what I have been searching for the last few months to find. Over the television in our home was a large empty space screaming to be filled up. Quickly I purchased and brought my treasure from Teresa's home to proudly show hubby.

This piece was pretty heavy as it is wrapped stamped metal over a long piece of reclaimed wood. Hubby was a little nervous to hang it over his prized television so he spent a very long time measuring and drilling in reinforced hooks. Biscuit as usually supervised his progress throughout the job.

~ still measuring ~

~ more drilling ~

~ oops a little more to the... ~

~ just right! ~

Loving it!

The new metal art really keeping you eye up in the room to highlight our tall ceilings. It's funny because the room feels like this wall art has always been here. I guess that is when you know you hit a home run.

Next time you find yourself in Durham make sure to head over to Teresa's on Main Street and find your next treasure.

ps. don't forget to enter to win the Abas Digital Camera Case here

Happy Heart Day!

2012-02-14T04:00:00.008-05:00

Happy heart day everyone!

With the Hallmark holiday being midweek this year hubby and I decided to hit the town this weekend for our Vday festivities. Saturday I headed over to one of those gems that every town should have.. a local cupcake shop.

The Cupcake Shoppe in downtown Raleigh is hands down one of the cutest places around. With it's soft pink walls, old time cash register and pretty cupcakes it just makes you want to stop for a second in your busy life and take a few moments for yourself with a tasty treat.

I picked up some sweet treats for the weekend and headed home to get ready for dinner.

This year I rented my dress for dinner from my old standby Rent the Runway. If you have been living under a rock RTR is a dress and accessory rental site. You can rent any dress for four days at about 90% off the retail price. I chose the Laila Azhar ruched ruffle sweetheart dress to rent as I thought it had the sweet Vday look hubby might like. The dress retails for $395 but through RTR I paid only $30.00 after coupon. It fit like a glove and felt so special Saturday night in my pretty new friend.

** sorry not me in the dress **

If I looked like her, this blog would be much different.

Our tradition for the last few years as been to have our special Valentine's dinner at Herons at the Umstead Hotel. Herons was just awarded the Five Diamond rating from AAA so we have to save our pennies all year long to dine here but trust me it's sooo worth it.

Here is picture I quickly snapped of my delicious Roasted Duck. I was a little embarrassed so I kept the flash off as I didn't want to be "that table".

After dinner we popped over to our favorite bar, The Wild Turkey Lounge at the Angus Barn. I am obsessed with all the rich wood, big animal fur chairs and live piano music on Saturday nights.

Hope you are feeling the love today.

Happy heart day everyone!

ps. don't forget to enter to win the Abas Digital Camera Case here

Lowes To Go

2012-02-13T05:00:00.004-05:00

Check out the inspiring Lowe's video above. They now have a free App for there Creative Ideas catalogue. I just downloaded my copy and was blown away by all the simple, diverse and beautiful ideas the winter issue had. The posting on indoor gardens... it's happening.

What side of your brain to you use?

Music Sunday

2012-02-12T05:04:00.003-05:00

Have you guys seen this cover yet? If not, you have to!

If you are tapping your foot as much as I am with your Sunday coffee be sure and catch the real band Gotye on tour this spring.

If you like the cover above check out this funny parody.