Goodies on the Cheap

You may have noticed a trend in this blog - I LOVE TARGET. Actually, I love finding the the cheapo goodies at any huge mass market store including Walmart, Christmas Tree Shops, Michael's, Kmart, etc.. And I'm not ashamed to admit it!

So in keeping with the economic downturn news that is completely bombarding us, I present to you the "Goodies on the Cheap" blog entry. I'll bring these to you on occasion as I find them.

Today's featured item is this John Derian melamine platter


Isn't it adorable? Its on the small side which makes it even more useful. It would be great as a keys catch all in a hallway table or serving up some cookies for guests. $13, available in store only.

And for those extra observant readers - it is missing the "j" and "w" so I'd advise against using it as a children's learning tool :)

Operation Infestation Nearly Complete!

Well, we're just about done "infesting" our house with spiders for Friday night's Halloween festivities. So happy to have it done - I think it looks pretty good considering this is our first year.

If you know me, you know I like to keep with a concept when decorating for holidays and parties and this year is no different. Thankfully, Mr. Limestone is a good sport and only partially resents me when I send him up on the roof to hang cobwebs or interupt his football watching to arrange a giant spider on our house :)

I planned on carving a few pumpkins but after putting all this stuff up today, I really didn't have the energy. So one carved pumpkin and one uncarved adorn the doorway. Both were spraypainted black and I really dig the glossy look. Orange is so last year. (just kidding!)

I made up these "warning" signs which I think are fun (and just about free, so thats always a bonus!) For anyone who takes the NYC subway on a regular basis, its sort of like the rat poison signs that so gracefully liter our great metro.

The only thing I have left to do is get a flood light to add some illumination as the regular porch light doesn't really do much.

Happy Haunting!

Halloween: 9 day countdown

Its official, Halloween is nearly here. And with the lemon themed party I had last week, I didn't want to fully horrify my house until afterward. So in other words, I'm a bit late to the game and I have to get my act together.

The only things that were hung as of last week were the feather wreathes you see in the photo above. (Planned to make them myself but Target was selling perfectly lovely versions saving me the hassle. Love when that happens!)

I put up a few decorations but Im not too happy with their impact. I suppose thats the danger of having a house made of gray stone - there isn't a lot of impact with the white and black decorations I've put up so far. I think my biggest problem is Im missing accent lighting...but I don't know how to add some without making it a danger to passerbys.

So I have to turn it up but Im not sure how. Any suggestions?

Im trying to stay with a spider web & black silohuette concept for the most part. I already have spider silohuettes in my windows, a large spider web draped over the house, a giant spider ready to be hung, a load of cobwebs and pumpkins ready to carve. Im having a hard time finding a spooky spotlight that will light up the work on Halloween night but Im hoping to find something this weekend.

Hopefully I'll have some finished photos this weekend to share. Until then, I'll share some of my favorite Halloween finds from Flickr that are great inspirations for the procrastinating decorators like me.

Fabulous spider infested house
Amazing Marie Antoinette Costume
Simple but spooky stoop welcome

When life gives you lemons...

You may remember my little homage to the lovely lemon a while back. Using lemons in decor was sort of lingering in the back of my mind so I decided to dust it off and use it for a little get together I had at my house on Saturday.


A friend let me borrow these yellow candlesticks and oversized footed jars which helped make it super easy to dress up living room and kitchen.


I picked up some yellow roses at the deli to make one special arrangement for the coffee table. I guess kitty doesn't approve.


I made some rum spiked lemonade along with yellow cocktail umbrellas. (Thank you Martha)


It was surprisingly easy to keep the yellow theme going. I didn't realize how many little things are yellow - like cheese.


And I broke out the beehive cake mold to serve a lemon honey dessert. It was my first attempt at making a cake from scratch but it was really very yummy. I admit, I cheated on the frosting and used duncan hines :)

While I probably won't get to use the all out lemon theme again, it was a really easy one to decorate with and the bright yellow really went a long way. Not quite as good as having loads of flowers but a lot easier and cheaper so it was worth the trade off.

Hope you're weekends were as sunny. On to the dreaded workweek :(

More birthday goodies...

I must admit I totally scored on my birthday this year. I got all sorts of goodies that Im excited to put to use. I'll post more about the others later but the topic of my post is this candelabra.


Here is the description from the Wisteria website: Did Someone Say Drama? You don’t need a phantom in your opera house. Just plenty of candles and room to let the flames dance. The arms vary in length and the finish on the iron invokes years of use. People will think your grandmother was a baroness – or at least a soprano. Holds twenty candles.

I thought that was a pretty good description. Its definitely cool but now that I have it in front of me, Im having second thoughts. Mostly because I can't imagine how Im going to use this without ruining whatever table its sitting on with wax. It would make a fabulous outdoor centerpiece for my Halloween stoop party - but its a little extragant for just that use.

What do you think? Should I keep it or return it? If I keep it, how do I use it without making a waxy mess of my house?

Happy Birthday to me!

Never been one of those people who shoo away their birthday as the years tick by. Yes, Im getting older but that happens everyday. Why should I burden my birthday with the pesky downside of age? There is only one day a year that its perfectly acceptable I demand to be celebrated and I have no intention of letting that day slip by. Life is too short.

Happy Birthday to all the October babies -may all of your birthdays be filled with a celebration of self.

Patterns playing nicely together.

A late update on this but I did buy those damask ottomans I mentioned in August. They were a steal at $50 each and now I hear they have been reduced to $35 so for anyone considering them, now is the time.

Sorry I don't have a wider photo of the room but I had random Halloween decorations scattered about and the place was a mess! I hope you agree, they are pretty. A nice pick me up for a very monochrome room. And functional too - they'll come in handy when I have some friends over for lunch next week.



They also play nicely with the much more subtle but similar pattern in the rug, don't you think.

But Im still stuck on the throw pillows. I want something that works with the ottomans - tan and black. You'd think that would be an easy color combination but white/black and cream/black are a lot easier to find. I've tried throw pillows in those color combo but they seem too bright in a room with all muted shades so I need something a little more subtle. Any suggestions? I could really use some help here. My couch is desperate for throw pillows!

Early birthday surprise...

I am a very lucky girl because it wasn't even my birthday yet, when I received this early gift:

My very own Kartell Louis Ghost Chair!!

I was so surprised by the gift because I don't recall ever mentioning I wanted one. And I certainly didn't expect it. It was perfect gift and I'm very excited to place it in its new home, my office. Since it takes up no visual space, its great for a small space.

It surprised my husband and brother that I would like something so very modern. It surprised me too since its very far from my personal style. That said, this is a great marriage of modern and traditional styling with a pinch of practicality and fun thrown in. I know Im quite late to the ghost chair phenom but its almost iconic so I think its okay to be late to this party.

Sorry to report, my office has made zero progress since the last time I've shown it. Its still just a small room with a desk and a bunch of unpacked boxes. I guess my motivation level has been low lately. Maybe this will be just the jolt I need to get going?

Entertaining in Style...

Confession time: Im a complete tramp when it comes to entertaining books with beautiful photos and clever ideas. And I just so happen to be throwing not 1 but 2 small parties this month so I have entertaining on the brain!


And check out the gorgeous arrangement of fruit and flowers on the lower left hand side of the cover? Is that not gorgeous???? And its something I can actually do!

And guess what I should read on my morning blog jog? Restyled Home is having a contest sponsored by Matthew Mead's new book.

In case you have never heard of Matthew Mead, you really need to check out his website. Its about time someone else has stepped into the shoes of Martha Stewart and come up with some other choices. Although in fairness to Matthew, his style is a bit different than Martha. A little more modern, a little more casual.

Not that my love for Martha has changed, Im just glad there are others to feed my addiction :)

And look - the book is coming out just in time for Christmas decorating!

For the addicts out there like me, you can buy your copy here.

26 days to Hall-o-ween...

Halloween has been sneaking up on me this year and when I woke up and realized it was October already, I knew I had to get my behind in gear for the holiday.

As I mentioned, I'm having a small trick or treating party in the afternoon. (The days of drunken soirees til the middle of the night are over - most of my friends have kids now) Its very casual so I wasn't going to do invitations but then of course I got an idea in my head and had to do it.

Viola - here they are.


Its Xray inspired using a inverted photo of my house. I had to hand cut the black frame with an exacto and that was a major pain. Remind me never to do that again.

I made the very foolish mistake of making too few (and running out of time to make more) so not everyone invited is getting an invitation. Very big faux pas on my part. But Im excusing myself in the following ways: a) It was never meant to even have a formal invitation so who would miss it? b) those people probably don't read my blog.

Hope all of your Halloween plans are coming together!

Ridiculously obsessed...

While I'm on an unrelated-to-home-decor roll, I might as well confess to part of the reason why Ive been otherwise occupied.

Its because I'm ridiculously obsessed with the Twilight Series of novels by Stephanie Meyer.

Yes, that series that is written for "young adults". The very same that I am far too old to be reading no less reading every page with baited breath. To make it worse, I am feeling utterly bereft that I'm about to start the final book now and there is no more of the saga for me to enjoy after this one.

So while I can't help but sing the praises for this author whose writing has so throughoutly pulled me into her world, I will warn anyone who reads these books that you may very well be slightly miffed at just how wrapped you get. Consider yourself warned.

Am I the only dirty old woman who is mesmerized?

I respectfully request that no spoilers are posted in the comments. Im trying to enjoy my last bit of guilty teenage pleasure with the final book now so please don't spoil my fun.