Cheers

Thursday ..almost Friday!

Hey peeps... Thursday night, looking through my old pics.. see above in inspiration folder from RUE. Love everything in this photo...bold curtains against old brick wall, woodbeams, chandelier....really just all.
* watching Whitney right now..first time. I think I like her.
* DVR'ing Greys anatomy
* loving my new job so far. (or am I loving my non-commute!!!) I know it's only been a week, but crossing my fingers
* looking forward to the weekend
* oh, my boss and I have the same Bday, weird right?
* I'll show you what I did to make my kitchen livable.. for real cheap. quick fixes are the best.
(because it is uuuugggly )
* also obsessed with turning my old kitchen table into an Island... googling like crazy
* Picked up the new Design*Sponge at Home... with the spare change in my car. Not kidding, I had alot of coins in that car..lol
* Need to do a separate post about my trip to Target and their Missoni Debut. Crazy people I tell ya!
* I should not have had that Dunking Donuts coffee at 5:30pm...because I will be up all night!!!!

Good News!

Hi guys.. I've been enjoying the final days of summer. After my last post, we scurried away for several days to relax. And the other Big news for me to share is that my last day of work was September 9th!!!! Awesome.

I'm awaiting a start date for my new job. I'm very excited!! Though I wish I could report it is finally in a creative field, its not. BUT this position will allow for much more of a Work/Life balance than I've ever had. It will also allow me to be able to bring my daughter to and from school...which we love!!! So I certainly wont be missing the 3hr a day commute for sure. What a relief!!!

I will miss my lunchtime views.........nothing beats this view of the city. I took this Thurs before I left. It was after days and days of rain... and the sky was just amazing.

I had this week off...which felt strange and wonderful at the same time!!! Now back to catching up on my favorite blogs this afternoon. And off to a 50th bday celebration tonight! Hope you have some fun planned this weekend as well!

So there you are!

Hello Friends...
I miss blogging. I do. I suppose I lost my blogging Mojo for a bit. I'm sure you can relate to that if you've been blogging for any extended period of time. You just get in a rut. Life gets in the way. You get caught up in all the camparisons w other blogs. And lose the vision for why you started in the first place. You lose sight of the original intention. Lose your steam. I think its happened for all these reasons and more. Has it happened to you?

When I first started blogging...I was working in a corporate job, gray walls, tedious, uninspiring...zombie like and blogging was a whole new creative outlet, there were others who enjoyed the same creative things , decorating homes, blogging, fashion , especially handmade and re-creating something new from something old..it was where my people were! And I was so happy to have that little space in my world away from the gray cubicle walls I worked in and found a bit of inspiration and a place to share. And you could share in an instant and get feedback in a moment. I loved it.
So maybe it's time to get back to what it was meant to be.
* a fun creative outlet to share things I've made and found
* beautiful, inspiring spaces
* to bookmark inspiring photos
* home projects
* connect with other creative souls
* carefree, non competitive
* a place to share, period

Sounds right to me! Back to the basics of everything I loved about blogging to begin with.

In an attempt to get back to blogging I wanted to add a little something beautiful to the office space. Do you remember seeing the 'Paper Scrap Light' on Design*Sponge?? The original was made by Gabrielle Guy. It's a must see for sure. I fell in love with the simplicity of using paper scraps and those inexpensive paper lanterns to create such a whimsical and funky looking light. LOVE!

So I created my own little mini versions using white tissue paper. You may notice that with tissue paper the ends seem to curl up a bit. Totally unexpected...but still love it!!! I don't have real lights inside yet. But will add them soon. Don't you love projects that are super cheap but look so beautiful~!

Happy Rainy weekend my friends..............see you in a few days!

It was a Stripey Rainy day!

I had to share the latest addition to my stripey collection. I'm loving this jacket. I picked up this lil beauty for 10 bucks from Sears on clearance. I know, right!!! It's a size medium (I wear large) which means if I dare wash and dry it I will have to say goodbye to it for sure. But I had to have it. It cheered me up on this rainy day... and my lil umbrella helped too. Though it's a tiny bit on the flimsy side. Yeah, one little breeze and it's inside out. It's OK umbrella, I will keep you anyway, You're a cutie!

Happy Friday you guys!!!

And you know what Thursday is...right?

It's time for a winner for the 'Sex and the City' Giveaway!!!

And it's Shelly from 'Nama Halacy's Comfy Cottage'!!!!!! Congrats... email me and I'll ship out your package this weekend!!!! Now I must get ready to watch Grey's Anatomy the music event.....I can't wait.

A girl and her shoes

Weekend happenings....

Hello fellow S-day lovers!!!! I don't want it to end. I love that it's still daylight now at 6:52pm...really love that!

Saturday I went down to Roselle Park to meet up with my sister and go to Exquisite Hair design to get my Hair cut by Jess. It's about a half hour from me, but totally worth the trip to go there.

I will travel for a great cut, and I know you can relate to that.

Here I'm wearing one of the Cameo Necklaces from Melanie's shop. I love it... it has that old charmed feeling, but it's huge so it feels a bit modern to me. We then hopped next door for a little lunch at 'The Hot Spot'. What a great place! We had the best Empanada's ever.

You must go visit if you are in the area. Here we are...of course snapping pics. That's what happens when 2 bloggers are in the same place! Mel will share more too.

Not only do they have great food, but great design to match. Their store has a cool vibe to it. The walls are full of interesting photos and art. Above the windows it's lined with old school lunch boxes. It's nice to see when someone puts as much effort in the presentation of the store as well as ofcourse the food. But often, you don't see both. So I loved the HOT SPOT.

Fridays and me are BFF....

People! It's time to EAT, DRINK and enjoy the weekend!!!!!

So get to it.

These are some beautiful faux wood chargers that I stumbled upon at HOME GOODS for 3bucks. I'm really suprised I haven't posted more about HG because I could probably post something everyday that I got there. It's kind of like a little treasure hunt.

Sidetracked, sorry. So I picked up these chargers and they say on the back, for decorative purposes only. I decided to stencil on them... EAT and DRINK...(but remember you can't eat off them.. lol) I was trying to think of a 3rd?

I love them. I haven't hung them up yet. I need some really large plate holders or a better way to hang? And you see that crazy beautiful rolling pin holding up one of the plates up....from HG too.

And the spoons........I love the handles. I want to hang them on the wall as well.

Well ...that's my tiny post, minus a fully styled shot. But if you've been reading for any amount of time you know I do things with.........oh ok, just freaking slow. There I said it.

And don't forget the Giveaway.... seriously people your chances of winning are like 1 out of 5. LOL

To layer or Not to layer

Hey you guys... remember the DIY Porcupine Mirror project I did here? Even though I loved it, I just felt like it didn't make that impact I wanted.
The other concern is that my little creation is so damn spiky, it has to be in a place that there's no chance of bumping into it.

Below is the entry way where I hung an old Pier 1 mirror I had. And I absolutely love it as is,
but then I had this crazy idea of layering my Porcupine mirror over it.

Like this! I love how the reflection doubles the quills and make it look fuller!
Or am I just attached to my own creation since there is no other place for my baby porcupine!

Tell me the truth!

Post edit: Please don't pay attention to the lack of styling here. Nor the metal wire holding the mirror. I will hide that once I decide if its a keeper ; )

Giveaway!!

Last week I attended a Tricky Tray (fundraiser), which is pretty similar to a trip to Atlantic City...as far as the spending factor..maybe not the fun factor. So of course, its my first time going, and I WIN something I already HAVE. It figures. But LUCKY for you because now you can win

THE SEX AND THE CITY(the movie) DVD and PERFUME!!!

I'm a fan of SITC. If you are too then:
1. Become a follower ...over there > on my sidebar and leave a comment telling me so.

2. If you already are, leave a comment saying something about how much you missed me ..I kid. Just say you already follow.

3. If you want an extra entry, tell me what your favorite episode of SATC is.

And there you have it. Easy peasy. You know, it's to your advantage that I have been MIA, because now I probably have about 5 readers left, which mean your chances of winning are totally awesome!!!!

Winner will be randomly chosen..... Next Thursday!!!!! Good luck!

(US entries only)

Hello Spring! Mama's back...

Hello Spring! Who invited 'Snow' to my party!!! What the H@!! Really. Yesterday, inches of snow.So done with you. Didn't I make that clear when I put away( lost) my gloves. Uggh.

And more snow to come tomorrow supposedly.

Here's my girl with her Nike back pack. This was part of the awesome goodie-bag from my visit to Haddad here...remember? Well I really thought it would be a great overnight bag. Because it has wheels and it is pretty HUGE for a backpack. But when she saw it, she fell in LOVE with it! And wasn't hearing that. It's her favorite color, Hot Pink! And she loves the wheels. She was begging me. Everyday. For about 4 days straight. And then day number 5, I gave in. So what if it covers half of her body LOL!

To be honest, sometimes with all the stuff they have in those school bags ... she might need those wheels.

And the back pack she had before this which we got from Children's place fell apart already!!! So I can tell this one is super sturdy!

Check this out....today while just getting home walking up the stairs we noticed our 1st flower! How crazy! I don't think it will last through the next 2 days..it's so pretty though!

(Levi's and Nike: can be found at Macy's or JCPenney)

Here (above) I was draggin little J to the store with me, when I asked for a pic since she happens to be in her Levi T and Jeans. I love those jeans...they have a tailored leg, almost skinny with elastic on the bottom. Only an almost 8 year old could wear!

Well, my friends, since I've been away so long...I think it's only fair that I have a little giveaway...don't ya think? But it will have to be in the next post. You'll see why!

Happy Happy

Happy Birthday to my big seester!!! She's on the left...turning the big 44!

I'm not far behind... well far enough, but I can't even think about the big 40..can't even ; )

Post edit: I showed this photo 2 yrs ago on my blog, but for those who haven't been reading that long...this is one of my favorites. Believe it or not it was taken in a MALL! The Husdson Mall to be exact. They had this area set up with a choice of animals to take your photo with. You might not be able to tell, but I was sooo afraid of that CUB. Which is why it's lying only all over my sister!

I remember that crab shirt she was wearing..for some reason I want to say it glowed in the dark..But I don't think that was possible back then!!! ha. See..my memory is making stuff up.

NYC trip+ Haddad showroom visit = 1 Happy Mama!

So guess who is part of the new Mommy Blogger team for Haddad Brands?

You're so smart, YES it's me!!!
Actually my sister (aka. Lucky 7 Design) and I were chosen along with a great group of other mama's and Daddy's to join the team for the next 6-12 months.

This past weekend we were invited to come to their New York City Showroom for a little brunch, while they introduced their brands to us (Nike, Levi's, Jordan, 6.0 for kids...hello! no intro needed right?!) They then led us through with a tour of the fab showrooms. We met each of the brand managers and the president, Sam Haddad. We discussed our shopping habits, what our kids like, what they are into, basically just giving our feedback. The Haddad team were really great, super kind, you can tell they enjoy what they do and really can appreciate the whole social media movement. (smart peeps I say).


1.About to enter our destination. 2. Me, poser

3. Our lil welcome sign 4. The Levi's kids display window

5. About to enter the Nike 6.0 (extreme sports lifestyle brand) showroom

6. The artist in me Love, Love, Loves these screenprints!

7. No description needed ; )

8. Classic old singer....*sigh*

9. Levi's just lying about so perfectly.

Well...there are plenty more pics to share...but we will save some for another post. Needless to say it was a fun day and I'm happy to be part of the team!! And my little girl loved her goody bag!

The Blogging Mama's

Knitted chairs

I am sooo exhausted right now, just finished working. But I want to share this yummy image of knitted chairs... I will have to go find the source to credit it. I had this idea to make covers for stools out of a mix of materials, sweaters, fabrics, stitched designs etc. So I was searching to see if there was others out there. (which I'm sure there is). So thats how I stumbled upon this beauty.

From Cabin to Retreat

You may have seen this transformation on NYTimes Home & Garden site. It's the (2nd) home of Melanie Brandman, who is head of her own public relations firm in New York City. When I look at the before pictures, it's hard to imagine what it could become. And that's my point, I wish I had that vision!~!!! BEAUTIFUL!!!