Style & Skill Crush: Cafe Regular Du Nord

In the past, my style & skill crush spotlights have gone to other blogs. But I'm making a special exception in this case for a real live place, in the real life world. It doesn't even have a website!

Presenting Cafe Regular Du Nord. A tiny coffee shop in Park Slope, Brooklyn that will transport you to 1950's France the moment you spot the storefront. (And when I said little, I mean little. Its 400 sq feet.) I stumbled upon this place by complete accident and spent the entire 10 minutes I was there staring in amazement at this little gem. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera with me so I had to 'borrow' these photos from the web.

Let's start with the storefront. If you had shown me these two color swatches before I would have laughed at the thought and immediately thought of the New York Knicks. (Click here for the visual aid.) Well, I would have been dead wrong. The blue is just the perfect shade for a chic boutique. Its complemented by that vivid orange sign that sings to me 'come closer'.

Then I crossed the threshold. I'm not kidding when I say it took my breathe away. These photos simply do not do it justice. There are so many reasons why this place should not work. Its cramped, loaded with stuff, mixes more colors than you can count on two hands, liberally employees "faux" finishes, etc. But when you put it all together you get something really magical. A perfect example of how when someone knows what they are doing - you can just throw out the rules.

And then there are a few things that work so clearly that they can't be ignored. The fabulously high ceilings, the amazing chandelier that really "fills" the space against the distressed ceiling, the beveled mirror that doubles everything at a glance.

Oh yea, the coffee was pretty tasty too.

If you are in the area, I would definitely suggest you stop by for a cuppa.

Honestly Scrappy

You might think from my insanely late response to this that I don't care about getting blog awards. Well, you'd be wrong! I love them and it makes me smile to think even one person would put me on their list no less more than one. So first off thank you to Journey Chic, Lisa Porter, 3 Duncan Boys, Small and Chic in Cville for including me.



In case you're wondering what the honest scrap award means, I googled it for you. "This award is bestowed upon a fellow blogger whose blog content or design is, in the giver’s opinion, brilliant. This award is about bloggers who post from their heart, who oftentimes put their heart on display as they write from the depths of their soul." Wow, now Im even more flattered than I was a minute ago! Thanks ladies.

The rules are: I must brag about the award (check), link back to those who gave it to me (check), share 10 honest things about me and give the award to 7 more bloggers. So here comes the tough part.

I feel like you already know everything there is to know about me. I already spilled the beans in series I did earlier this year. ( If you missed it you can read it here: About Us, More About Us, Even More ) So I really have nothing very worth to reveal but I'll give it a go anyway.

1. I very much miss corny 80's sitcoms like Family Ties and the Facts of Life. How will this generation ever learn life's most important lessons without them being driven home by overly simplistic plot lines, sentimental music and bad acting?




2. Hands down, my favorite season is autumn.
3. As of today, I have 6,958 photos in my Flickr account!
4. I find chickens freaky looking.


5. The Twilight movie has ruined the Twilight books for me. (So sad because I loved those books so much but now all I think about is skinny teenagers when I see the novels.)

6. I've grown to really appreciate tweeting. Feel free to add me to your follow list now.

7. My favorite scene of a movie - it makes me cry everytime - is the opening of Love Actually. No actors, just real people in the international arrivals area of Heathrow. Click here to watch it. (Don't forget the tissues)

8. Pretty sure I will never have "enough" crafting supplies.

9. It drives me a little bit crazy when people buy generic Hallmark greeting cards and then don't write anything but their name inside them. The card is the package - put something sweet inside.

10. I truly believe that if you put your heart into something, someone will appreciate it. Not everyone but its enough.

And speaking of someone appreciating, here are the 7 blogs I'm nominating. The one benefit of being late is that so many of the blogs I love have already been nominated so I don't feel bad for picking just 7. Because really, this list could easily be 70 without trying hard at all.

Oh Brooke
Made2Create
My Favorite & My Best
Freckles Chic
Great Full Day
Sparrow's Nest
Ish & Chi

Have a few hours to kill? Visit these lovely blogs (along with the rest of my must read list at the right there --->) and enjoy.

Craving a carving.

You thought I was going to go an entire week without posting about Halloween? Never! (insert evil laugh here)

Earlier this week, Mr. Limestone had brought home a little present for me. A pumkin carving cordless dremel! Isn't he sweet?

We do own a standard dremel but I've never had any luck with it. Its too powerful for me to control and I end up making a mess of whatever I touch. So I'm hopeful this baby version is going to more my speed.

Its a little too early to cut into the flesh of a pumpkin just yet but I'm eager to break this bad boy out and see what it can do! With that in mind, here are some pretty fabulous pumpkins from Martha Stewart, Country Living and the (now long gone) Hallmark magazine.





No surprise that I'm crushing on Martha's pumpkins the most. Where does her staff even find gourds those perfectly disturbing shades of green and gray? Oh Martha, you vex me!!

Here are a few of the pumpkins I carved in past years. Not up to snuff by magazine standards but I try my best.


So tell me: What are you carving this year?

Interesting.

You already know I am a big fan of Flickr. Its a pretty amazing tool if you love photos like I do. One of the cool features of the site is that they allow other companies to develop add on tools. Enter Dopiaza's Flickr Set Manager that allows me to see which of the photos I've uploaded that Flickr considers most "interesting". What is the criteria for more interestingess vs. less? No one seems to know but its still fun to look. Kind of surprised at what tops the list here - not a single travel photo, only a couple of house photos (despite my insane number of house photos in general) and mostly entertaining. Not sure what I should infer out of that but here is what is topping the list.

Am I the only one fascinated by this? What are your most interesting photos? I'd love to see.

Forgive the relative lack of house or project posts this week - its been a little bit busy at the limestone household lately and I just haven't had as much of a chance to finish things. If you're wondering what I am working on, here is the list.

1. Halloween party invites. Don't you just love getting something fun in the mail? It seems to happen so infrequently lately. Anyway, Im working on them but they are taking a while to piece together.
2. Halloween outdoor decorations. I have the concept but Im a bit lost on how to execute. The crux of my problem is how to affix certain things to the exterior of my house without any nails or glue.
3. Figuring out a game plan for the little room. I think I'll use it for sewing because the dining room table becomes quite an eyesore otherwise. But I don't want to spend much money in here at all. This one is a far way off from being done but hopefully I can show you a budget friendly product before the next century arrives.
4. Looking for guest bloggers for October. Its going to be even crazier next month so I thought it would be a good time to call in the troops. I already have my first guest post all lined up from the lovely Paula Grace. A few others have offered as well so I can't wait to see what they have up their sleeve. Any other takers?
   

Restored love for Restoration Hardware

On a stroll at my lunch hour, I walked into Restoration Hardware and was shocked to see a totally different store. I've always liked RH's stuff classic style in upholstered furniture and hardware but found their furniture to be a little bit bleh. Lots of medium colored woods and craftsman style details which never appealed to me. That is all gone now and a totally different look has replaced it.

Check it out...

Be still my heart, I love these chairs. The table and light fixture are also gorge.


My already established love of corbels is bursting at the seams looking at this.


Are you reading my blog Restoration Hardware? No one should be surprised at my admiration for the subway signs. An original already lives in my dining room.


This photo isn't doing it justice but the zinc pedestal table is so nice. And of course the bust in the photo is really sending me over the edge.


Speaking of zinc, I'm loving the play of the industrial nightstand against the elegant lines of the rest of the room.


Ok, enough Restoration Hardware. You are killing me now. A dress form? Do you know how long Ive been looking for one of those? And that amazing pendant lamp? Gasp.


A drafting stool? Are you inside my head or something? Ive been looking for a reasonably priced one of these for at least 2 years. Check out this fab one that Chris at Just Beachy has.

Ok, enough with the swooning. I love the look and Ive got to give the designers a hand for being so bold to change up their entire line overnight. If you are like me, you prefer an original to a mass produced reproduction. At the same time, scouring flea markets for that perfect item doesn't always work out. And sometimes a new one is just as lovely.

Now onto the bad stuff. The prices are insane. $700 for that dress form??? Have you lost your minds people? Its a little linen, some stuffing and iron - how much could that really cost to produce? I don't mind you making a tidy profit but can't you think of all the wonderful bloggers who want one of these and that price is just not reasonable?

On top of that, the scale of some of these things is beyond ginormous. My house is not big enough to work with items so large. How about you make smaller items and charge less? Do we have a deal?

But aside from those two tiny complaints, bravo guys.

Shelf Styling Back to the Drawing Board

It took me a couple of days but I read each and every one of your comments about my bookshelf styling dilemna very carefully. Thanks so much to each of you - it really helps to get another set of eyes on the problem. With that in mind, some shelf styling inspirational photos I've found on the web to illustrate your points.



After thinking about it, I realized I need to start from scratch. Everything will have to come down again so I can play around with some of the suggestions you provided. Who knows what will work but here are the guidelines I'll try to keep in mind:

1. Edit out some of the smaller stuff
2. Bring in some larger, more impactful pieces
3. Leave more dead space
4. White things against the patterned shelves
5. Balance visual weight throughout the shelves

And then if that doesn't work, Ill do another round with some of the other suggestions provided like moving all of my books to the center shelves, covering the books, etc.

The suggestions that most surprised me were: a) getting rid of the books b) getting rid of the wallpaper and c) getting rid of the leaded glass doors. I kind of love all three of those things so it's out of my comfort zone. But that was sort of the point of me asking - new set of eyes, new set of ideas.

Do you have any lovely styled bookshelves to share? Please post links or email - I'd love to see.

Floaty Friday

Its Friday. The sun is shining. Two days of blissful freedom await me in just a few hours. So I'm going to share with you something that has been catching my eye for no good reason whatsoever.

Giant, perfectly round balloons.




Erin Hearts Court, Martha Stewart, Joanna Goddard, Amy Atlas

Aren't they lovely? I'm not normally a balloon as party décor kind of girl but these have a symmetrical beauty to them that captivates me. Don't they make you smile just looking at them?

Giant balloons can be purchased here and here.

What is making you smile today?

Shelving Style

After I defeated the beast that was the box room, I was feeling energized. I turned toward the shelves off the living room. Even from day 1, I was never happy with how it looked. Sadly for me, the styling faires never arrived to do the work for me.


So I got to work pulling everything out so I could ruthlessly edit out the uglies and arrange what went back. A little animation for your viewing enjoyment:

Did you watch a it a couple of times? Ok, now we can discuss.

Are you thinking what I'm thinking? Yep, it looks pretty much the same. Meh. Double meh for spending my morning on something fruitless.

So I need some help. What do I do to give it some oomph? Any professional merchandisers out there? I'm pretty pleased with how the vignettes look close up.



But when I step back, Im just not at all happy. Suggestions?