chop chop

This weekend I am home alone, Mr. Smith is off filming some manly men and their manly motorcycles so I get to have time to, well, waste time. Last night I stayed late at the office since there was no one to rush home to, and then made a few stops on the way home. One was at Target, for Q-Tips.

$2.99.

Right.

Unfortunately, they are smart cookies and put the women's clothing at the entry to the store and the Q-Tips all the way at the back.

One purchase was a very cute, fancy looking dress for under $30! No buyer's remorse here. And this morning I operated on this dress. It has many tiers and was a little long. So I chopped off the bottom tier. And added a stitch to the top to make the straight across neckline into a sweetheart. Now it's so cute! Loving it.

Liberty of London for Target Smocked Top Tiered Ruffle Dress

Please be seated...

I think we need to add some seating to the living room. Katie and Kyle were here this weekend and I could see there were some gaps. At one point, Brett dragged out our yoga mats for extra seating during a game of Scrabble and I had a hissy fit. Partially because of those rubbery eye-sores, partially because I am very bad at Scrabble.

I have been thinking 2 slipper chairs might be good, on either side of the credenza below the tv. People would not really sit in them to watch tv ever and we could move them around for guests. I have been searching all the usual suspects for good armless chairs and there is not a huge selection. Nothing jumped out. Until it occurred to check out Target. Motherload!

Check out all these cute options. Admittedly, they are not as cheap as you would think, but since none of us can ever leave Target for less than $100, are you surprised?

Whatcha think? Do tell.

wallpaper!

click to enlarge

So many cute options! These are a far cry from the Sherwin-Williams catalogs with my mom :)

Any favorites?

Condo Project: kitchen

Another exciting project is the kitchen. Our kitchen has pretty good bones and is a good size considering the overall space. It has a breakfast bar and that seems to be where people congregate. I don't want to spend a lot, so I am going to paint and add a backsplash. I am loving the grey painted cabinet trend. I first saw it in the house we rented for our honeymoon and fell in love. This will be a great fix for the cabinets. This is a shot of the kitchen now, please pardon my mess.

Not pretty, but these cabinets are pretty good for 1989.

Oh dear. Sigh.

Right now the kitchen has olive green herringbone print wallpaper. Obviously it has to go! So Friday night (after 2 of Brett's deliciously strong margaritas) I thought it would be a good idea to start stripping the wallpaper immediately. What did I find under the green? 80s country plaid. Great. And that stuff ain't budging. This is going to take some time.

Here are a bunch of inspiration pics. I am thinking grey cabinets, white subway tile backsplash and maybe some nice but not expensive new countertops, like a Corian perhaps? And lower end stainless stuff. We don't want to spend too much because the condo market will just never give us the return we'd need. I'm thinking a pop of paint above the cabinets for a hint of color.

I love an apron sink. Ikea has a good version for $89!

Our floor actually looks a lot like this. It is a nice stone, thank god no linoleum.

My barstool inspiration.

Would love open shelving but that's too much construction.

I already bought 9 of these. I get a great company discount from Amerock since its a sister company of Goody. Now if I could just get a discount on 3 of these!

Condo Project: office space

Hey! We're all moved in finally and have pretty much fit everything into our new smaller space. I am getting so excited thinking about all the changes we're going to make to this place to make it ours. It's amazing, it already feels totally different than it did in Brett's bachelor days when I'd come over and sit on the futon in a claustrophobic feeling red room. Just rearranging the furniture and repainting has helped.

So far the biggest change has been creating an office space in the former dining area. We have a breakfast bar that will suit our dining needs and I'd rather have a workspace, although nothing can replace my pink studio :(

View from the office space into the living room. The kitchen is to the right.

The space has an 9 x 8 wall behind the desk that, until last week, was floor to ceiling mirrors, yuck. I know it was intended to make the room feel larger, but it was just really 80s looking and I cannot abide being surrounded by full length mirrors! Especially next to the kitchen! Gone. Bye.

Now I've decided to wallpaper that wall and install Lack shelves on it. The largest size shelves will almost fill the wall of that nook and I think it will look really cool! Here are some inspiration pics I've found while consulting my design buddy, the interweb.

Oddly, I have this exact same vintage cart in white! I am stealing this idea and making a bar.

This is my number one pattern after a little hunting. I wanted something with a little more color, but maybe accessories will give that? I just looooove this. If not the office then maybe the entry or the bathroom. My mom has offered to help me wallpaper! She is a champ at this. I have really fond memories of sitting with her at Sherwin-Williams or Ace hardware and looking at the swatch books. Or checking them our and lugging them home. And then watching her hang it. I liked it because everything was clean and wet and shiny perfect. And it smelled good.

So, we'll see what happens!

sorry, more productivity in your day will soon be lost...

There is a blog out there that my mom actually introduced me to and I am soooo hooked. I know I personally am cutting back on shopping, but I can have virtual fun delighting in what she puts together, right? Too cute, why aren't we all this talented?

http://blog.mrslilien.com/