Obsessed: Country House

A few weeks ago, we had a blast celebrating my birthday with friends at a house in the Poconos.  Every since I've been obsessed with looking at country houses to do it again.  So when I stumbled on this beautiful farmhouse, I just had to share.

I have no affiliation with this house (we stayed somewhere much more modest) but I just had to give kudos to whoever put this home together. Check out all of the photos (it even has a party barn! OMG, swooning.) at the rental listing.

Designer Farmhouse 6bed/4bath HUGE! in Shohola

House in Shohola, United States. Cooper's Farmhouse is a serene luxury residence located 2 hours from New York City on the border of Pennsylvania and NY State in Shohola, PA. Shohola is Native American meaning peace and tranquility. This property is situated on 5 pastoral acres, ... View all listings in Shohola

Any other real estate stalkers out there with an imaginary country house?

Quite possibly, the best $75 ever spent at Ikea

Ok so perhaps this isn't a scientific imperative but this use of hex mirrors on the ceiling just may be the best $75 ever spent at Ikea!

image source: Lauren Diane Svenstrup dining room via Apartment Therapy

I know this isn't your typical ikea hack - installation is easy, it required zero power tools but that's partly why I loved it so much.

Not only does it beautifully compliment the dark paint and draw the eye up, it also adds an architectural element to a flat ceiling and add surprising personality to the room. In other words, I could not love this more! What do you think? 

Have a better idea of what you would do with $75 at Ikea? 

What's up? Father's Day, A Winner and an Organizing Challenge

Pardon the scattered nature of this post but a few things to mention...

If you are stumped on what to do for Father's Day, Honey We're Home did a great round up of ideas. Check it out!

*****

Congrats to Christina Marie for winning the Home Depot Giveaway

*****

I've never been an organized person but it's become especially bad recently.  My junk drawers have multiplied and I'm often losing things. Something must be done.  I ran into these 52 week organizing challenges (like this one) online but wondering if anyone has done one of these.  Did it work?  It seems like a never ending problem. 

***

Want to chat color?  Join me over at My Colortopia where I shared Aggie's playhouse (featuring my favorite outdoor color scheme).  Have your own color questions?  Join me and let's chat.

****

During our shore renovations, I didn't plan on a toddler that will not sleep well if she can see and/or hear us. So I'm racking my brain for easy ways to divide the bedroom so we can all get some rest (and strongly resisting the desire to do another mini renovation in there!).  Anyone with great space planning expertise out there?

***

I'm tweaking the blog layout which means I need to tweak some of the sidebars/blog roll.  Have a suggestion of a site or category to add?  Please let me know.

Pink, Gray and Gold Dining Room Daydream

A friend of mine just bought a house so I'm having lots of fun giving her decor advice.  I had almost forgotten just how much fun decorating from scratch can be!  Like any new homeowner, she feels very poor so she won't be running out and buying all new furniture anytime soon but its still fun to dream. I know many of you are decorating your own homes now so I thought I'd share the mock up.  I love it all except a cherry dining room table which she already owns and I included just for completeness.


sources: dupioni silk panels, tufted chairs, brass sputnik chandelier, large photo frames

The wall colors I'm suggesting are a pale pink and dark gray.  I think it would look so beautiful for a formal dinner!

The best laid plans.

Yea! A full fledged DIY was completed this weekend!  With a few pieces of wood and some Ikea picture frames I put a twist on a traditional gallery wall.



I know its not much but accomplishing anything that requires measuring, sawing and painting is quite the feat around here. I had intended to post a full tutorial today but you know what they say about the best laid plans.  I promise to share the step by step later this week along with some photos of baby A's christening party which turned out lovely if I do say so myself.  Have a great Monday.

2012 Photo Book Done!

Completing my 2012 photo book was on the short list of things I wanted to accomplish before my maternity leave ends this week. Hooray for getting it done.

Two Thousand Twelve | Make Your Own Book

Once again I'm using Blurb mostly because I'm used to them by now and have three other books to go with.  Aside from one company I didn't like the quality of, I haven't used any of their competitors so I'm not sure if this is the best option but it's good enough (I still think they should have better cover options but oh well).   Want to see more?  Check out Away We Go 2009 (and what I thought about it here), Away We Go 2010 and Away We Go 2011.

For obvious reasons, the format of this one was a little different than our prior travel only books.  Instead of "Away we Go", its "We Become Three"  - which Mr. Limestone thought was too corny but I forged ahead with anyway.  Maybe I'm getting soft in my old age? I also started adding a few instagram shots to create context for each month.  Even if they aren't perfect shots, they remind me of a little things that were happening during that time.

Based on the sheer quantity of Agatha photos I've taken this year so far, I'm sure the 2013 book will very different again.

In Trench

Spring has finally sprung in NYC.  I decided to treat myself to a new trench coat

I've been rocking a blue bamboo printed trench for the past 4 years - its time for something new.  

On that note, I'm about to go back to the office and I have nothing to wear.  While my pre-pregnancy clothes technically fit again, they don't quite look right. (Oh how I wish I could wear yoga pants to work!) So I'm feeling a bit bummed out when I get dressed lately.  Hoping this little sunny addition will brighten up my fashion mood.

What is your favorite bit of fashion for Spring? 

Happy Easter!

Whether you celebrate or not, I hope everyone is making some memories with their loved ones today.  Happy Easter.

Blue Mason Jars are back!

Maybe I've been living under my rock for too long but I just found out blue mason jars are back!  I don't mean back in style, I mean back in production.  Evidently Ball is making them to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the original.  Of course vintage will always have my heart but easily accessible and affordable new ones make these fabulous uses easy peasy.

sources: the kitchn / bootsngus / style me pretty / ritzy bee 

I don't really need any but I'm having a really hard time resisting buying some to have just in case.

How do you Hang?

Over the past few years, I've been very fortunate to have been gifted four Fornasetti plates that I absolute adore. I've had them tucked away for far too long so I went out and purchased some plate hangers so I could finally get them on my wall.


HANGING FAIL!  The way the plate hangers are designed keeps the little hanging area too far from the wall to get the plates to lie flat.  DOH!


I definitely don't want these plates to fall off the wall but I'm at a loss of how to hang them securely.    Any of you smart readers have the solution?  

Oh Baby: Wanted Roundup

If there is one thing that has really shocked me in this whole baby prep madness is that 99% of the products for babies (or let's face it: parents!)  are kind of awful looking.  Its as if some of these companies make more money by putting 15 colors and 8 different patterns on the same product (Wouldn't solid colors be cheaper to make?) And don't get me started on the pepto pink princess overload for girls! So trips to the big box baby stores tend to have me walking out in a huff of frustration.



Thankfully there is hope as the internet brings the whole world to our doorsteps and there are some great products out there as well.  Here are 11 items I'm loving but I'm such a newbie, I'd love to hear what products YOU love - please leave your favorites in the comments.  (Can you tell I'm in full shopping mode now?)

Source List:
1. Bugaboo Bee
2. 3 Sprouts Walrus Bin
3. Sleep Sheep
4. Jonathan Adler Pronto Changing Station
5. Restoration Hardware Baby Faux Fur Bunting
6. Uncle Goose Foreign Language Blocks
7. Peace, Love & Quilts Custom Blanket
8. Bye Bye Birdie Knit Booties
9. Lou Lou Ghost Chair
10. Amy Tangerine Assistant Onesie
11. Wire Storage Baskets

 

Crazy for Coral! #MyColorfulLife

It wont surprise any of you that I'm obsessed with coral lately - mostly because its a great color but also because I'm on the lookout for nursery accent pieces. So how about a peek at my crazed for coral file?


sources (from top left to bottom right):
sarah m dorsey / elizabeth anne designs / sweet pickins
streamline luggage / scandinavian retreat / centsational girl
project nursery / hunter boots / mr. goodwill hunting

On that happy note, today is the start of Glidden's #MyColorfulLife week - they are asking people to submit colorful photos to Pinterest which they’ll then compile into a large mosaic. Today is Red/Pink day with a different shade for every day of the week. Images can be of anything – a flower, room you've painted, a nature scene, etc. – anything you find beautiful or inspiring. Be sure to include the hastag #MyColorfulLife so Glidden can find it and you might see your image included in their master mosaic.

Disclosure: I write for  MyColortopia but all of opinions expressed are my own.

Trash to Treasure is back!

Now that I'm firmly past the half way mark in baby cooking, I'm starting to look quite rotund. Thankfully I've been feeling good so I'm keeping my fingers crossed the next 17 weeks go just as smoothy. We've started on the nursery, narrowed down on a possible name, and started baby shopping - its all very surreal! With that in mind, I'll be taking a little alone time with the hubs next week.

Of course I won't be leaving the blog barren! So excited to have 5 wonderful trash to treasure guest posts all lined up for your viewing pleasure next week. A quick peek at whats in store.

Big thanks to these lovely bloggers who shared their treasures. Go stop by their blogs to see more of their talents.

Domestikated Life / Besotted Brand /

Karma Flowers / Me and Jilly / Two Twenty One

For even more trash to treasure, check out the prior posts here.

Want more? Come chat with me about entertaining at My Way Home, let's talk hues at MyColortopia, see lots more behind the scenes by liking Brooklyn Limestone on facebook or see my stream of ramblings on twitter. Sheesh - who knew I had so much to blab about?

Do you plushie?

Despite my love of DIY, I don't really consider myself a crafter. Thats because I always think of a crafter as someone who makes stuff for the pure joy of it. I am more of the functional/practical piecer together of things - not for the joy of making something but rather because we can't find exactly what we want or its radically cheaper to do it ourselves.






So color myself shocked when I saw this magazine, aptly titled STUFFED, at the bookstore. I was totally smitten. While vaguely aware of the whole plushie/softie crafting trend, it never really interested me as I didn't quite see the point. Consider this my confession of a change of heart because this chic lady walking her dog is awesome. I want one!


Anyone out there a softie crafter? How challenging is this? Will I just end up frustrated with a pile of scrap fabric? Inquiring minds want to know.

What kind of crafter are you?

On a related topic: Is anyone else watching Craft Wars? That show makes me so mad! I literally scream at the TV while watching it.

Ready, set, shop: Curators Collection

Interrupting this Trash to Treasure series to mention that some of my favorite items from my new addiction, flash sale decor site Joss and Main, have been included in a DIY Curators Collection along with the picks of some superstar bloggers. Just a few hours left before the sale closes so get your goodies now! If you don't already have an invite, you can skip the wait and get a log in by clicking here. Happy shopping!

Ahem...

Excuse this interruption of fun stuff but I have a few random thoughts that I wanted to share.

As many of you have noticed, the blog is looking a little different. I'm so excited to finally reveal the new look! Brittany of Gallery Eight translated my design into code (aka reality) for me so big thanks to her. There are still a few updates to make and kinks to work out but if you are seeing any problems, please let me know.

For the renovators, DIYers and home obessed, I'm hosting a Quality Bath $100 gift card giveaway on the Brooklyn Limestone facebook page. Stop over and leave a comment to enter.

If you want to talk color with me, I hope you'll take a minute to add your 2 cents to my MyColortopia blog posts.

Thanks for all the great input on my nursery conundrum. I thought a clear winner would emerge but there is clearly as much of a difference of opinion out there as there is in my own household. Its a tough call. I definitely want to be selective in what I bring in but I also have to be realistic that there will be a lot of STUFF no matter how selective I am. And while I can never tell what it will be like post baby, I am planning on having baby sleep in there from pretty early on so its not purely a design decision but a practial one. Decisions, decisions. Tough call.

Still no clue on what microwave I'm getting to replace the defunct one. I'm letting Mr. Limestone take care of that nasty to-do.

And finally next week I'll be turning the reigns over to a few of my very favorite bloggers for a new series titled 'Transformed: Trash to Treasure". I hope it inspires. Do you have a great DIY transformation project to share and want to be featured? Email me!

Keep Cool and Eat Hot Dogs.

Judging by the empty seats on the subway this week, I'm guessing lots of people took the Wednesday holiday as a cue to relax all week long. Sounds like a plan to me.

I'll be trying to keep cool for the next few days (sadly, without sparklers)



What is on your agenda today?

Good Idea! {Homemade Gifts}

If you follow me on pinterest you've already seen these and a lot more but I thought I'd share some of my favorite 'good ideas' here as well. This round up is all about clever home made gifts.


These genius ideas are detailed at the sources below:
1. send a heart attack, the house that lars built
2. housewarming jar, julie blanner
3. for the baker, sur la table
4. for s'more summer fun, sally j shim
5. grandma's biscuits, i love swmag
6. socktopus (or is it socktopi?), ginger and george

Give any one of these fabulous gifts and you'll be a star!

Fashion Challenged!

This seems to happen to me every year. The temps turn steamy, I walk into my closet and can not figure out for the life of me what I was wearing just a year ago.

So I need to shop but Im coming up empty. Everything seems to be too short, too casual, too uncomfortable or too dull. In short, I'm feeling a little bit like this lady looks.

image via all posters

So help a girl out. What is striking your fancy this season? And more importantly what can I wear? I'm curvy and work in a moderately dressy office (i wear a lot of dresses). I have to commute on the NYC subway so that means temps go from hot as hell on the platform to artic chill in the car. I could use a few casual pieces that travel well too.

I'd really much rather be feeling like this lady.

image via all posters

I know there are some smart fashion gurus out there. Help!

Is the Octopus the next Owl?

Even thought I still like an occasional owl in decor, even I can admit its a bit played out. So what will unseat the ubitiquous owl? My bet is on Octopus.

I give you exhibits A through D.

1. from the deep dishware via anthropologie 2. sierra octopus via rugs usa 3. thomas paul shower curtain via 2modern 4. lord bodner's octopus study via tonic home

While I never added an owl to my house, I'm *this* close to trying to freehand an octupus on my shore bedroom dresser (yea, that one -the subject of much back and forth here and here). Ive been thinking about it for a while and the idea has been nagging me so it might be time to go for it. I can always paint over it, right?

So what do you think? Are you with me on the octopus being the new owl? Or are you voting for another fury friend?

More importantly should I give it a try on my dresser? Can a goldfish and a octopus co-habitat peacefully?