Yes, Please.

Epson Stylus 1400

I am in the market for a new printer and I think this is just the one me!

Before and After: Bedroom Edition

Before

As you may recall from a previous post, I showed you a glimpse into my bedroom. I got a few responses from some pretty fantastic bloggers complementing me on the change. I was happy with it for a while however, it was not finished....

For your viewing pleasure...

After

The first change you will notice is the headboard. One of my Saturday projects, with the help of my mother. Just some wood, quilt batting and super cheap fabric and wha-la! A glorious new padded headboard! All for the low cost of about 80 bucks! 

Some of you may recognize the pillow, from Pottery Barn's Summer collection. It was an early birthday gift to me from the fam. I LOVE IT. I know some of you loath coral print (Decorno had had a commenter or two with this opinion) but I don't care what you people say. If done in the right way, I don't think coral will ever go out of style. Just don't go overboard.

Now, let the coral bashing begin...

Hooray! I'm back!!!

For the 5 people who actually read this blog:

PUT ON YOUR PARTY PANTS BECAUSE I'M BACK AND BETTER THAN EVER!

After a few months of getting my little blogging feet wet, I took a small sabbatical to re-group. Look for new and exciting changes to be made to the look of my blog as well as fresh new posts! I was going through a creative block for a while and the something triggered it ........ I am BURSTING with ideas! I feel just like the little girl in the photograph. UTTERLY ECSTATIC!

Whoa, sorry. Got a little excited.

See you soon!

Photo by: Shanghai Sky

:Blogging Break:

For all of you that have noticed, my posts have been few and far between. You see, I have this tendency to RUSH into new things, blogging for example, then as the newness wears off I get bored, lazy, and overwhelmed. Thank you Mom for this trait you have passed down to me. I am struggling creatively on the direction I would like this blog to go. Should it contain a plethora of thoughts and musings from my mind however random they may be? Pretty things I like to look at? Decor that I love? Favorite etsy finds? A starting point for my design and graphic work?

I like things to have a cohesive and aesthetically pleasing look that reflects my design style. This is not the case with my blog. Frankly, it looks like shit. I envy other bloggers with their pretty headers and eye-catching pages. And yes I could sit down one weekend and learn how to make this page look fantastic but alas, thanks to all of my friend who have decided to get married this year, I have little time to work on my design...stuff. Don't get me wrong, I love my friends and I love weddings but, as much as they are fun, they are taking a toll on my mental health, not to mention wallet. (Even more reason to start on my design stuff.........this is the procrastination setting in.)

I have a very weird way of doing things. Ask anyone who knows me. I will get back to yall soon enough, hopefully with a brand new look to the page and tons more posts full of the greatness and creativity that is my mind. For now I leave you with this photo by Cig Harvey. Her dream-like photos depict a world full of fantasy and fun that I want to live in.

If You Can't Duck It...

As I was snooping around on Etsy: the Storque this morning I came across this lovely photo of duck tape. Who knew it came in all of these fantastic colors?!

I went to high school with a guy who always had duck tape with him. In his car. In his back pack. In his lunch-box. It was very strange. Anyways, his motto in life, if you can't tell from the title of this post was "If you can't duck it, f*ck it". Simple, yet surprisingly deep for a young country boy. I thought duck tape came in 2 colors, silver and camouflage.

My sister could have used the dark green duck tape when her window of her piece of shit car fell down and she had to tape it back up with silver duck tape. Ghetto.

There is actually a contest called Stuck at Prom where contestants make their own prom dress from nothing but Duck Tape! This sh*t is crazy yall!

Dear Blogger,

Why is it that when I just now get back into the swing of things, you decide to:

1.  Take FOREVER to upload a photo?
2. Screw up the layout on my last post and make me look like I have retarded typing skills? 
   

Why, I ask.

P.S. For the record, I have mad typing skills, when I am not in a hurry and I use spell check.

Project Runway's Christian Siriano

Although I don't get the Bravo Channel here in Bible Belt Alabama, I still have love for Christian Siriano, the winner of this season "Project Runway". Here he is in all of his

glory. I want him to be my best friend an make me fabulous things to wear.

Happy Birthday you Hot Mess Tranny!

Miss. J "America's Next Top Model"

Yesterday was my mother's _ _ birthday. She is the fiercest, hottest, tickity-tac tranny mess I have ever known! Happy Birthday Mom, get it girl! You can check out how fierce she really is here.

The lovely birthday cake my sister and I decorated for Mom. She LOVED it.

Pottery Barn?!?

Seriously?! Props to you Pottery Barn. All of the colors, patterns, EVERYTHING rocks! I got tired of the same old stripes and check. You have really stepped up your game. Now, if only I had the money to buy everything and re-decorate my house...

This scene makes me really happy:)

This would look BAD ASS in my new office/art room. I am going with black and white theme... However, this might compete with the curtains I hung up but you know what that means, NEW curtains!

A graphic designer's dream pillow.

How can you not be ready for summer by looking at this!

I am walking on sunshine!

Literally! I picked up these cute little bundles of sunshine by Isaac Mizrahi at Target last night. OK, I only went in there to get some small hand weights.....(who am I kidding, they will probably sit in the drawer with all of the other exercise equipment I own and laugh at me while I attempt to master the art of Yoga) I strolled down the shoe isle just to look and these pretty little things were staring at me from their box on the bottom shelf. I looked around and they were the only yellow pair to be found, and they were also a 5 1/2, just my size! It was fate. It was almost like they were the last puppy at the pound, staring up at me with those sad eyes... Don't worry, I took them home with me where they slept next to my bed.

Isaac Mizrahi has completely changed the look and feel of Target's clothes. He does really great, classic, cool and sophisticated stuff for the average gal, like myself . I am a sucker for good lines and solid colors, with a little bit of fun thrown in the mix every now and then. I swear, owe half of my closet to Mr. Mizrahi. Keep up the good work you D.I.V.A.!

Does any one remember the Isaac Mizrahi Show from E!? It was fabulous!!!!!

Weekends with friends are the best!

I just got back from a fabulous weekend with my pledge sisters from college. We traveled to New Orleans to visit Julie and her fiance Matt. They had a Crawfish Boil engagement party (and if you look closely to the picture, you can see Julie's bomb ass engagement ring). I can't actually eat crawfish, as that I am allergic to shellfish. Sad. I know. So what did I do? Drank beer, lots of beer. I am just know feeling like myself again. 

Why, do when my girlfriends and I get together, we think we can recreate freshman year? 

Happy St. Patricks Day!

So Lucky Fancy Gocco Flat Note $3.50

Over at Esty, stumbled upon this cute little card and thought it would be perfect for today. I love Angela's work. Her shop, Paper Menagerie is filled with wonderful gocco images like this. I want a gocco SOOOOOO bad!

Happy Birthday Mary Keeley!

Happy Birthday to the best sister/next door neighbor/friend/partner in crime in the WORLD! 

Pardon my absence...

Hey peeps!

It has been a crazy week! I have been very busy with work, life, and play. I am back now and hopefully these posts will be more regular. I have lots of posts lined up so get ready!...

I have just died and gone to heaven...

Photo from Flickr: speckledegg

I LOVE cardigans! If I only had this collection of delectable colors, I would be the happiest girl in the world! Oh how I envy you, Jane. I was playing around on your blog and happened to stumble onto your flicker page. Oh, the color in your photographs! Oh, the marvelous stack of cardigans! Oh, the humanity!

Bad, Bad Blogger...

I am sorry for the long delay in posts. I have been in the middle of a complete overhaul with my life. Re-organizing things, catching up with old friends, getting in shape (o.k. attempting to get in shape), you know the usual...

I swear I will be a better blogger and I will have multiple posts in the next few days. Check back with me!

Who doesn't love heart-shaped cupcakes?

I always have a hard time with Valentine's Day. Some gifts are cute, some gifts can scare someone, some gifts are just right. The perfect gift, to me, is one that comes from the heart. I am also partial to home-made gifts. They seem to mean more that your generic shirt or tie from the mall. I was wandering though my favorite place on earth, Target, last Sunday and ran across these little happys... HEART SHAPED CUPCAKE MOLDS! OMG. I flipped! What a great idea! Why didn't I think of that?! I grabbed up 2 packs and headed to the cake mix isle. Hmmm, I found some hot pink sprinkles and butter cream icing. I really wanted to get confetti cake mix but the were out so I grabbed generic vanilla cake mix. I headed home to take on the kitchen...

I am not a baker. I can cook a mean poppy-seed chicken casserole as well as any side dish you can think of but I can not bake. By the end of this, I had icing in my hair, cake mix dripping down the side of the refrigerator, and sprinkles down my shirt. Don't ask. Oh, and not to mention the smoke alarm has gone off...twice. This is turning into a disaster. The bf better appreciate these cupcakes of love.

All in all, they turned out...not that bad! You couldn't really tell that they were heart-shaped from the top but you could tell from the side. How cute! I only had 20 heart shaped molds and the box of cake mix made 24. Yes, I ate the rest of the cake batter. Raw. I was in heaven. Until I got a HUGE sugar rush followed by a horrible stomach ache. Whatever. It was totally worth it. 

Why does cake batter, cookie dough and brownie mix taste so good?!

My next baking challenge? A birthday cake for someone special :)

Holy Crap.

One of my all time FAVORITE bloggers has posted about ME! Thank you so much Decorno!

Sunday, Sunday.

Hey guys! I apologize for the sporadic posting. I can't promise a post everyday but I will try to be a little bit better with them. I hope everyone is having/had a great weekend. I am sitting down after spring cleaning all day and enjoying the Grammys! 

P.S. Tina Turner is more in shape than me. Not. Fair.

P.S.S. Do you think Beyonce will let me be her friend?

Lamps and Duvets, Oh My!

Thanks for everyone's lovely complements on my bedroom! I am still working in there so I will keep you all updated. Soon to come, a new headboard! (I need to find a weekend to do that...) 

Ok, Lets get started. The lamps came from Pier 1 (on sale) and I nearly fell over when I found them. Great bargain. I have not seen them on the website but you might still be able to get them in the store. I have looked around and found some things similar...

Teal Drum Lamp. Peir 1. $25

Serena Table Lamp 

(Reg. 125/ON SALE $99)

Target. $69.99

Target. This one is pretty steep ($220) but with a larger drum shade added it is almost an exact match!

Morgan Duvet Cover. Pottery Barn. This comes in Dark Porcelain Blue (similar to mine)

Small Spaces

I stumbled onto Small Space Style's blog this morning and realized that there is just something so quaint about living in a small space that makes me feel all warm and toasty inside. Check out this small space found on Better Homes and Gardens website. Do we see a pattern here in my taste of decorating?...

Love. Love. Love. I wonder how picture molding would look in my house?

Pictures courtesy of Emily J. Followil Better Homes and Gardens

Roll Tide!!!

Alabama has the #1 recruting class this year! I think I like the way 13 National Championships sound. I also think the the Bear would be proud.

Oh, be still my heart!

Country Living February Issue "House of the Year"

I am absoultley IN LOVE with this house! Almost every room is a different shade of blue or gray! YES! (wow, to many exclamation points....)

• Living Room: OMG. This is the exact look I am going for in my house. Ok, maybe this is a little more frilly than I would like but you get the point. 
• Bedroom: I believe this is the color scheme I am going to go with in my office. Speaking of color schemes... does anyone know the website where you scan a picture in an it pulls the colors out for you?  I know I have seen it on of the fabulous blogs I look at everyday, I just can't remember which one! ARGH!
• Library: How freaking great is this library. I can never make my books look good on my shelves like that. (Maybe because most of them have half naked Fabio on the cover/spine embracing a half naked beautiful woman....).  Oh! And that pillow! 

Country Living has really outdone themselves this time with the 2008 House of the Year. Ok, HGTV and Cottage Living, get  you game face on. You've got some stiff competition.

Office Space

BEFORE

This is a corner piece that I inherited from my grandfather's sister. It is not very pretty to look at now but I am sure it was all the rage back in the day. Besides the ugly wood finish, it is actually a really great piece. I have had it in my spare/craft/office room for about a month and last weekend I decided that it needed a new coat of  high gloss black paint. After a trip to Home Depot and 4 hours later, it turned out better than I could have thought! 

AFTER

Yes, I know the curtains do not match. They are retired from the bedroom. I really liked them and didn't want to throw them away. I will eventually find a place for them. Maybe some pillows...? Oh, the desk is made out of 2 black filing cabinets and door, laid on top. THE BEST DESK EVER! I. swear.

My Lil' Duplex

AFTER

BEFORE

I have been living in my little duplex for about 3 years. After 3 roomates have come and gone, I now have the place COMPLETELY to myself. Not that I didnt LOVE haveing them them there but I need space to pile thing up, move stuff around, paint, and what-not with out bothering someone. This time is now. I have made a few changes to the bedroom, which is still in progress...

Cupcakes!

Cupcakes! by Elinor Klivans. $16.95 at Barnes and Noble.

I think this might be the most fabulous book I have ever seen. I saw it in Barnes &  Noble (my home away from home) before Christmas and never bought it. I am seriously thinking about purchasing it with a sweet little B&N gift card that ended up in my stocking. Really, who doesn't like cupcakes?! My bff "C" makes cupcakes EVERY time we cook out at her house and for everyones birthday. What is not to like? I like any food that is "mini", mini cheeseburgers, mini hot-dogs, mini muffins.... And that is really what cupcakes are, mini cakes. I like to make cupcakes and not put any icing on them so that are like little sweet muffins! If you love cupcakes as much as my bff "C" and I do then you should check out this delicious little blog!

Freelance Jobs

After graduating with a degree in Graphic Design and taking a job that has NOTHING to do with GD, I am able to do some freelance work around town after work and on the weekends.... Here is a little something I worked on last night for one of my good friends and fellow creative spirit, MCD. He is planning a wedding coming up and asked me to "cook up some design Jumbalya" (I thought this was appropriate considering the groom is from New Orleans). These will hang outside of the Reception hall. With MCD's direction, here is what I came up with. Color are subject to change. but I would LOVE know what you think!

Cool People Rule!

Jenny Gordy is probably one of the coolest people I have never met. She just seems so...neat. I know what a crappy word but come on. This girl is cute as a button and can sew her little butt off! I LOVE everything that she makes. (I think this is because they resemble so many shirts in my closet). As my friends would say, "This is soooooo you". I mean come on, who would not want to wear something like this EVERY day in EVERY color? (It is a sickness I know, more on multiple color purchasing in a later post) She has a neat little blog, too!

Some Things Are Never Okay...

People, what year/planet are these two living in/on?! Yes, my girlfriends and I spotted these two lovely creatures out on the prowl Wednesday night. They were a hoot, and after 2 bottles of wine my bf and I downed during Wine Not Wednesday I was about to pee my pants watching them "dance". Ladies please, I know that you think you look hot but really, you look ridiculous. The short one, lets call her "Tammy", was the first in the door. She rocked the tights and boots in a sexy little denim mini and black sparkly tube top. After showing the bouncer her I.D. she turned and waited on her friend to come in. Because lets face it, a girl like that doesn't fly solo.

Then she walked in...

Tall. thin. Modelesque. A girl with that figure can pull off almost any fashion trend. I would have loved to have seen her in wide-leg pants, white t-shirt and fabulous pea-coat. Oohh, and with a beret on. Very Parisian Chic! (which, by the way, is very "in" right now) Oh, no, she far surpassed any of our expectations. As C and I casually sipped our beers, waiting in anticipation, H was up on the stage, singing with/annoying the dirty, yet strangely sexy, guitar player. She, let's call her "Nicky", takes off her coat and BINGO. Just what we were waiting on. Faux leather/suede leopard zip-up-the-back tube top and this sweet glitter belt. (Do they even make glitter belts any more?!) Seriously.

I am not a fashion expert but at least I know that some things are never okay.