Real Estate

Available in North Wales for a song (relatively speaking).
nytimes

Exactly

This is how I imagine my first apartment would have looked if I were then who I am today. No waiting for or running out to buy new pieces when the money could have been better spent elsewhere and the style didn't fit. This would have been perfect and then perhaps I would still have tangible pieces of that me.

Recommendation

Friends, I have two things to bring to your attention. One is the beauty of the book, Vogue, The Covers. My husband surprised me with it for Christmas. It is wonderfully beautiful with covers that span the entire 150 year history of the magazine. The other is the way in which he got the idea to get me the book, the show, CBS Sunday Morning. It's one of our favorites, full of fun information. If you're not watching it, I recommend that you check it out...

Art Appreciation

Ashley Curry works in miniature.  Each of these pieces are no bigger than 1" and done by hand! Get your own, here.

Monday

Love. It's that simple.

Tiny White Daisies

Textile Treat

This is only one of the beautiful fabrics designed by Holli Zollinger. Check them all out here. Trust me, you'll be glad you did!

Work

Imagine working in this space. I don't think I'd have any problem with that! The monochromatic scheme seems just perfect for staying on task. The school semester is wrapping up so for me, it's all about work at the moment...actually that's been true about most of the semester, it just feels a little more pertinent right now.
Emma's Design Blog

Art Appreciation

Still Life of Flowers in a Painted Picture. Frederick C. Frieseke.
Catherine Dail

Look

I adore this bag. I'm on the hunt for a new/old school bag, as the one I have is coming apart; too many heavy books...it's only lasted one semester! This one looks like it would last a lifetime.
...

Blue

Isn't this the most beautiful room? It seems like a space where inspiration would be endless.
Under the Root

Vintage Book Swap

I'm contemplating hosting of a vintage book swap through Compulsively Compiled either a one time holiday exchange or a type of pen pal arrangement between readers. If you think you might be interested, leave a comment. If there's enough interest, we'll work out details and move forward with it...
The Spanish Lady

Weekend

It's been a long, lazy weekend here after "turkey day" and I am grateful for that. I've been needing a bit of a break. I hope that each of your weekends were equally as perfect.
logblog

Note to Self

Don't pass up another shadeless, free standing lamp at the thrift store. . . buy it, spray paint it and add a pretty bulb. Perfect.
Deborah Jaffe via Department of the Interior

Formality

I love the formality of potted boxwood. I like them even more when they are juxtaposed in an overgrown cottage type garden, which is what I intend to do with them in my yard someday.
via Habitually Chic

Style

This look is perfect. It's pretty and looks effortless!
see jane

Sunday

Golden Pumpkin Cake with Honey and Spice Buttercream icing...yum.
Country Living

Art Appreciation

I watched the documentary, Herb and Dorothy, last week and have since decided that I need more art in my life! If you haven't yet seen it, I recommend that you do.
Apartment Therapy

For the Table

I love the simplicity of this table from Sunday Suppers for a Thanksgiving table, the flower arrangements are a perfect height for conversation across the table and I just know that the craft paper be covered with hand/turkeys by the end of dinner which could only mean that everyone was having a great time.

Undecorate

Undecorate: The No-Rules Approach to Interior Design is high on my list of books to cozy up with soon. The idea or a lived in kind of home definitely appeals to my sense of what the meaning of home really is.
Melanie Acevedo

Obsession

I am infatuated with old books. I have love the idea that others have shared in the experience of reading the very book that I am. Some of the titles I've purchased for myself lately have gotten me thinking about how much fun it would be to exchange vintage books as holiday gifts. There are so many of them to be found at such great prices and of all genres that it could really be exciting in how personalized the selections can be for each recipient.
Image Source Unknown

Look

I love this look for this time of year, when fall is just beginning; the morning are chilly and the afternoons are just about perfect.

Middle Child Complex

Sunday

As it's Sunday, food was one of the few things on the agenda in our house today. We ended up with a theme somehow with French Onion Soup and  a French Apple Tart. It was a good day.
Red

Form & Function

Love this calendar by Paper Theives! Once the year is past and the calendar pages have been torn away, you are left with a shield shaped bulletin board; a fantastic idea. Find it here.
via Design Sponge

Classic

Who says classic has to be boring?!

Steven Gambrell

Treat

Have you seen the work of Richard Saja? By embroidering on traditional toile fabrics, the scene becomes decidedly non traditional. Saja is one of the many talented artists highlighted in the book, Hoopla: The Art of Unexpected Embroidery, which I happen to have an extra copy of. I would like to treat one of you with the book, if you are interested. Leave a comment on this post, I will randomly choose a comment(er) on Thursday of this week and ship the book out on Friday.

*Update- A copy of Hoopla will be sent to Kerry of a Tranquil Townhouse, the winner of the drawing. Thank you to all who participated.
Hot Hive Textiles

Wants, Need, Desires

Seems appropriate for today; eye candy... I need a rug that is this beautiful and as much a statement piece for my kitchen!
Middle Child Complex

Art Appreciation

Woman in Landscape by Mel Ramos, 1960, a beautiful piece.
Heritage Auctions

Love

Clock, door, trim, dresser, floor. In that order.

Constant

There's a lot of reference to color to come into our wardrobes this season but I'm still about neutrals for the most part.
Jcrew

Inspired

I adore Jenna Lyons for many reasons, some of which include that she's 6' tall (so am I), not a typical beauty(nor am I) and she has amazing creative abilities. Her personal look and the Jcrew style that she helps to create also give me a sense of validation for my own personal style.

So, it comes as no surprise that Jenna's office is a perfect inspiration for finishing up my own office. The layout is the same, I've just needed to make it more visually cohesive. Over the weekend I found a beautiful blue trunk and a dilapidated old office chair to get me moving in the right direction.
Sorakeem

Color

I've fallen a bit out of love with red over the years. It was a favorite of mine for awhile. I do like it quite a bit when it's used in smaller doses to liven things up a bit. Isn't color fascinating?
Anthropologie 

Miss Representation

Have you heard about this documentary, Miss Representation? "The film exposes how mainstream media contribute to the under-representation of women in positions of power and influence in America." It debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in January of this year and will premier on television tonight on OWN. I plan to tune in, I hope you'll join me and do the same to see what we can do to make a difference...spread the word!
Missrepresentation.org

Reference

A beautiful example of the advantages of organization.
Automatism

Pastime

Love...add a couple of cushions to that bench and I could sit there all day. I imagine it's facing a beautiful koi pond.
Head Over Heels

Alternatively

A pretty alternative to antlers and the like from Nan Lawson Illustration.

Monday

We've been out of town since Thursday. Now it's time to get back into the swing of things. I'd rather keep lazing away for just a bit longer but then again, that's how most Mondays go.
Brabourne Farm

Confession

I acquired two more sewing machines over the weekend. I purchased a pretty green Elna and then one of my sisters brought me a beautiful old manual Singer. You'll gasp when I tell you that I have 6 machines now! Two are strictly functional but the rest of them are beautiful as well. I have a definite weakness for them and when I come across them for as little as $12, I can hardly pass them up.
Pretty Inspirations

Inspired

I'm someone who loves and seeks out change just for the sake of change. Lately, I've been starved for inspiration that motivates. That doesn't mean that I don't love to look at pretty things, it does mean that nothing I've been looking at makes me want to get up and do something. This is due in part to the limitations that a tight budget creates but it's more than that; an overwhelming stagnancy. So, this week when I came across photos of Jenna Lyons' office and this one of her home and I felt that old familiar bubbling of ideas brewing in my head, I was a bit relieved. I was bringing to worry that it might be a chronic condition.
British Vogue via Shop Sweet Things

Weather

Our seasons are starting their shift... it's raining here today and I love it!
Dress Design Decor

Hoopla

I'm headed to SF this afternoon to attend a book signing by Leanne Prain for her new book titled "Hoopla: The Art of Unexpected Embroidery". I was lucky enough to be a contributor to the book so I am very excited about it. I've checked it out and do recommend it to anyone who likes the idea of using this medium in a non traditional way. It's lots of fun!

Classics

Classic black and white in a kitchen is genius. It'll always look current in a room that can be very costly to update.
Brown Dress with White Dots

Art Appreciation

I am intrigued by the work of Jeremy Miranda. See more here.

Adored

Lanvin, Spring 2012, beautiful; plain and simple...
NY Times

Honestly

Organization looks so simple when it's all done but when everything is in a state of disarray on my office floor, I just have no idea where to start!
Lonny

More

Just when I thought I was getting over chalkboard paint...
1st Dibbs

Adored

Vintage insect ephemera placed between two vintage watch crystals on a necklace chain...adored!
Sister Sassy Vintage

Contemplation

I finally found a nook type table and benches for a corner of our upstairs loft and have been contemplating just what to do with it to take it from it's oak dulldrum to something just this fabulous. I know it will involve a bit of paint and some cushions to cozy it up a bit.

Lonny via Flourish Design and Style

Subtly

Right or wrong , I often think of monochromatic spaces as a kind of  intellectual design as interest is often created in subtle ways that provoke thought rather than feeling.
Dana Gallagher via Head Over Heels

Tutorial

I came across this great tutorial to make drawer pulls from leather belts at Re-Nest and I have to share it with you just in case you haven't seen it yet. They look fabulous and seem very simple to do.

Work

In my opinion, the perfect workplace has a multitude of storage options, great lighting, a large open space to spread out the work to be done, and it inspires creativity.
Selby