Thursday, January 26, 2012

Rug Delight

Rugs and I have a love hate relationship.

You see, I love them because I have this weird thing about my feet and walking on hardwoods

but I hate them because I'm super picky when it comes to choosing them.

We hardly have any decent rugs in our house and personally, it's driving me nuts.

Mostly because of the above mentioned issue with me + feet, and then because of all the dog hair lingering around since there are no rugs to help catch it.

I've aimlessly been searching for years now (literally people!) and still have not found one that doesn't cost us more than like $800, which obviously we aren't going to spend. Oh, and I'm referring to our bedroom which means we need the grande size.

We have tough bedding to match which has been the main problem making this hunt so treatcherous, so the simple solution to fix that, well, that is new bedding....(which we did get, but that will be a much later post once it's finally all put together!).


So here we have a few options that are being considered for our hallway + master + dining room (this rug is circa Matt's grandmother's...it's time!) ....

Hallway ::


{the middle navy/white rug got delivered to us last week, and while i'm beyond in love with it, i sadly had to return her today because she was just a pinch too short. don't fret, i'm sure you'll be seeing it somewhere else though because yes, i loved her that much}


Master ::

{i'm obsessed with this rug above in these colors and am kicking myself because i kept checking the site for a good sale, and must have been a day late and a dollar short because now it's sold out in the size we need.  i'm not happy, but i'm not giving up!}




{reverse colors}


{if that other one doesn't become available, then it looks like we may settle on this one}


Dining ::

{Natural Jute}

{great color}


{love the subtle detail on the ends}

{love this pop of color}


Let's put it this way, I'm all over the map with rugs!

Decisions...Decisions

Monday, January 23, 2012

life lately :: weekend edition

Considering it rained the entire weekend, you can probably guess what we did a lot of?! 

Friday night consisted of take-out chinese, again (I told you here that the hubs loved it and he wasn't kidding) + Moneyball. Friends, I am not a baseball fan at all but this was a good flick!

Saturday was a whole lot of laziness + a few mini house projects + baked cream cheese spaghetti casserole + The Notebook, again. 

Sunday we managed to get up and head on out for a family breakfast at The Flying Biscuit -always one of my favorite parts of the weekend.


1 : new foyer rug via (this was half the price of the other i ordered, so this one it is!)
2 : new guest room goodies....lamp shade + tray (both via) + leopard bowl (via)
3 : new hallway rug (check back for tomorrow's post)
4 : breakfast + Giants gear per her daddy's request
5 : vino + bake cream cheese spaghetti as mentioned above
6 : cake batter rice krispy treats via (um, ah-mazing)
7 : appies + Giants game = two beggers
8 : diy canvas (finished piece to come)

Have I mentioned how much I am LOVING being home this month?!? It has definitely done this mama some good!!

Friday, January 20, 2012

Chatty Cathy

Can't quite say I am LOVING the start of my new year. 

First a cold that has lingered for almost two weeks now...

and then I get hit with the stomach bug this week. 

Is it feasible to hit the "restart" button on 2012??

Whew- this nasty little bug knocked me out. In 30 years (well, almost) I have yet to be greeted by this nasty monster, and I hope I never do again! 

The worst part was I could only see this smiling face below from across the room, so you can imagine how glad I am to finally kiss and squeeze those chubby cheeks!!


*in case you can't tell, that's an old school cell she's got there*

Don't you just love this comedian of ours?!

These days I like to call her "Chatty Cathy" (that's what we use to call my Grandpa because he loved him some talking)!!!

Clearly she was having fun. I mean, I wonder where on earth she has learned this?!? 

Well I can't believe it's already Friday! Since I was worthless this week, looks like it'll be a productive weekend ahead! 

Have a good one!! 

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Beauty Essentials

I've never really been a "products" girl. 
Nor do I think I ever will be.
Guess it's just something I don't feel like spending money on.
I was that girl that barely started wearing make-up in high school, and still to this day don't even know how to properly apply it.
Just ask my friend+college roommate who had to apply my eyeliner every time we went out.

However, there a few items that I simply cannot live without.... 

1.
{Aveeno Deep Cleansing Pads : my favorite for removing make-up residue}

2.

{Almay Make-Up Remover pads (oil-free) : A friend introduced these to me forever ago and I haven't looked back}

3.
{Kerastase shampoo : totally worth the price}

4.

{Essie : my go-to nail polish}

5.

{Johnson's Melt Away Stress Lavender & Chamomile Lotion : because everyone could use a little help with relieving stress}

6.

{Monte Blanc's Presence d'une femme Eau de Toilette : my Mom got me turned on to this years ago and it's been my favorite ever since}

7.

{Rusk Thick : perfect touch for adding a pinch of body to your roots}

8.

{Arbonne Primer : A friend+consultant got me hooked and now I don't ever not put make-up on without it}



Would love to hear what any of your go-to products are that you can't live without!

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Project "Gallery Wall" :: Complete

Next up, we have project "Gallery Wall"

I tried to pick a few personal + fun knacks

Of course I forgot to snap a before picture, so this will have to do (just focus on the picture collage in the background)

Before ::

{just plain and simple box frames that had only been dropped/broken a million times}


After :: 
{excuse the crappy iphone quality}




{there's our new little walker}

A few details about what went in to our gallery wall selections...

{Coltrera Family Name History- this was given to hubs by his grandmother and we even decided to keep it in the original framing- I love this}

{a canvas from our family pictures + a sign found at my friends mom's tea room ... if you are ever in the Tampa Bay area, i highly recommend checking it out}

{and a few knick knacks i picked up, originally spotted here}

This was the perfect wall for this creation and still lends room if we want to add something else here or there.

Done and Done

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Project "Foyer" :: In-Progress

We've been busy over here in this household.
 January and February are the perfect months to nest if you will (no, do not get any crazy thoughts).

So, here it goes.

First up... Project "Foyer"

It got a minor revamp last week.

 Thanks to a sweet friends advice (our fun post-Christmas visitor!!), we decided to give it a whirl!

**Inside Scoop :: we painted it to match the rest of the house + door**

Before :: 



After ::

Front view
{D loves it so much that he's got the paint on his tail to prove it}



Interior view


 I LOVE how it turned out!!

It makes the front area look so much brighter and fresh, and more importantly, hubs doesn't hate it!

:)

We aren't quite finished in this little space, but complete look coming up next month....

Paint Interior Door
Paint Foyer
New lighting (on order + hubs waiting on assistance from father)
New interior door mat (on order)


Monday, January 16, 2012

Golden Globe :: Fashion Diary

Hubs laughed last night as I ditched him in the last half of the Giants playoff game. 
They won by the way
So he was happy!

As soon as I mentioned the Golden Globes were on, he goes "oh, go turn on E! to see what everyone's wearing"

Gosh he knows me so well!! 

There was quite the theme going on here with these next few dresses, and I love them all...

GOLD

BLUSH

GORGEOUS

SIMPLE 

CHIC

Diane Lane

\
Heidi Klum

Kate Beckinsale

Jessica Biel :: don't know about you but the first thing I looked for was a ring...and no such luck.

Giuliana Rancic

Charlize Theron

Some other hits...

Claire Danes

Salma Hayek

Reese Witherspoon

Sofia Vergara

And while this may not be my "favorite" choice for her, I mean, she still looks GORG...love the detail!

Angelina Jolie



And a few that I did not love so much....

 Dianna Argon

Kelly Osbourne

Tina Fey

Natalie Portman :: can't say I am a fan of the pouf behind

Sarah Michelle Gellar :: oh boy, just wrong