Heat Wave

This is what my garage has looked like for a month now:

And this is what it will look like until the sauna has been removed from my garage. Primed and ready and waiting for this heat wave to leave Oklahoma...

So what else is a teacher to do on her summer break when it is too hot to paint in my garage...

A Few of My Favorite Things - Home Decor and Accessories

Meet my Design Notebook:

This notebook saves me from moments of insanity where I would be wondering "now where did I see that (insert cool idea or thing here). " I have it divided into sections like walls (paint and wallpaper), DIY, furniture, decor, organization, living room, office, etc. Then anytime I see something I love in a magazine, book, catalogue, website, or on a blog I print/tear it out and stick it in here. It has been the best thing for keeping my ideas in order and in one place.

The best thing about the blog world is finding out secrets and tips from other bloggers. I thought that I would share some of my favorite things and tips through a series of blog posts.

Home Decor and Accessories

As much as I love finding something old and making it new again, every now and then youhave to splurge on an anchor/staple item for a room. A lot of times I spend the most on an inspiration piece i.e. - art, curtains, a pillow, light fixture, etc. And then fill in the rest of the room with inexpensive finds. These sites also give me lots of decorating ideas and fresh perspective on ways I can copycat with things I already have.

ZGallerie - www.zgallerie.com is one of David Bromstead's (host of HGTV's ColorSplash) favorite home decor shops. They have very modern/contemporary items. I love to mix contemporary with vintage/flea market. I went into one of their stores when I was in Vegas last week and found so much inspiration. Most of their decor is very monochromatic, which gives off a very clean and fresh appearance. You can re-create so many of their items by spray painting old decor that you have around the house. Turning it into a fresh piece of art.

I saw these Couture prints on their site and it inspired me to find similar prints online. I printed them off and framed them for a fraction of the cost. I will be hanging them in my office.

World Market - www.worldmarket.com I love this site for import goods. They have tons of unique items to add some worldy flair to a room.

Overstock - www.overstock.com Besides the fact that they ship everything for $2.95, they have great hardware, light fixtures, tiles, etc. at very reasonable prices.

I found this light fixture for my office on Overstock.

Wabi Sabi

Wabi Sabi - The Japanese art of seeing beauty in imperfections.

It celebrates cracks and crevices and all the other marks that time, weather, and loving use leave behind.Things that resonate with the spirit of their makers' hands and hearts: the chair your grandfather made, your six-year-old's lumpy pottery, an afghan you knitted yourself (out of handspun sheep's wool, perhaps). Pieces of your own history: sepia-toned ancestral photos, baby shoes, the Nancy Drew mysteries you read over and over again as a kid. It is the lines in a persons face that lets us know how much they have laughed, considered carefully, grimaced in their lifetime. It is flea markets instead of warehouse stores.

One of my dear friends, Amanda, introduced me to this philosophy. It encompasses all that I have recently learned about beauty. In a consuming society that has become plastic and particle board it is a treasure to stumble upon things that have the "Wabi Sabi" glow and beauty.

I thought of this philosophy the whole time I was in Boston last week. It was so full of history and beautiful architecture, every crack and crevice had a story of its own. I was so lucky to get to tag along with my sister while she was there on business. My senses were in overdrive as we walked through the streets and parks. I couldn't get over the amazing buildings that were built so long ago without the technology and heavy machinery of today. I was in complete awe the entire trip. Here are a few snapshots I took along the way.

This would be my doorstep if I lived in Boston. Every doorstep was different, unique in its own way.

Quaint little courtyard in the middle of two buildings.

Out of control...

That is what Z said as I was rummaging through the house finding anything and everything I could spray paint white or red to accessorize my office. It's amazing what a fresh coat of paint can do to something old and overlooked. Things I had planned on selling in our GS have now become new treasures. I've always been a sucker for make-over shows and now I get to witness it first hand with silly little household trinkets.

Here is example 1: Old Tray Z had at his bachelor pad. Probably purchased at Pier 1. Cute by itself but really doesn't fit in anywhere in our house anymore. It was in my "let's get rid of it" box and I rescued it because I had a vision...

It has now become a tray to hold my desk accessories.

Example 2: This is a bird my sister got me for Christmas.

La Fonda Turquoise

First of all, I love my desk. I love it because it is real wood (not the particle board of my college days), I love it because it is La Fonda Turquoise, and I love it because it is exactly what I have been looking for and I made it that way myself. There is something to be said about a little elbow grease that makes something mean that much more to you.

Here is the journey my desk and I have taken over the last 10 days....

Desk Before:

The desk primed and ready. We used a can of Kilz ordorless primer (started out with primer in a spray can...fail).

Z helping with the priming. It didn't take long for him to jump on the bandwagon.

The desk paint completed. La Fonda Turquoise is the color

Item #1 on Summer "to do" list...

After obsessively blog stalking for the last year, I thought it only fair for me to start my own. So here it is post #1. As I wondered aimlessly through the blog setup and HTML codes, I realized I have no idea what I am doing. But I have a whole summer to figure out how the blogging world works!

Last summer I was planning a wedding and building a house. This summer I have another huge project on my plate...decorating our house. We moved into our brand new home in November. I was completely overwhelmed by the blank walls. Blank walls are not good for someone like me that needs multiple choice options, not endless possibilities. So I did what any other overwhelmed, overworked, newlywed housewife would do in the middle of the busy school year, I put it aside until summer.

Now it wouldn't be "that hard" of a job if it weren't for the fact that we live in Oklahoma. Z and I's taste in decorating is very different than that of the traditional Midwest/Old World style. Now don't get me wrong...I love brown and bronze! But since I dreamed of living in a New York brownstone or in a cottage on the beach, I am bringing that style to our house (or attempting at least).