3 I'm Back...

{I'm back from my LA trip...I wish I could have transported the fabulous weather back with me, it is HOT here. After working all those crazy hours and being gone for a week our house was a wreck. So, I took the day off to do a mini house cure. This little project was probably the best part...clean sheets in a clean bedroom with a new headboard!}

7 The Living Room Cure / The Great Sofa Search

Ok. It is seriously time to narrow things down. Yesterday was Bonus Day...Yeah! This week I have been back and forth trying to make decisions, but I keep changing my mind. I was thinking you guys could help...Although I have made it clear that I am looking for a new sofa, I am also in the market for a new coffee table, a rug, and an entertainment center. The sofa and table are my first priority, the other two will probably wait for now but I want to plan for them now.

I have narrowed the sofa search down to the Room and Board Jasper in Dela Charcoal and the Conran Shop 59th Street Sofa in Stowe Truffle. I had made the decision to get the Jasper, but the 59th Street is on sale 30% off...that is a lot. The Jasper is $1300 {w/o shipping} and will take 6 weeks to get. The 59th Street is $2080 {w/o shipping}, possibly less I am waiting to here from my new friend at the Conran Shop. It is available in a grey linen which is exactly what I wanted and can get here in 2 weeks. Now, there is still a decent price difference to consider. And we all know more expensive doesn't necessarily mean better. What do you think?

Now on the coffee table, I am 90% sure I am going with a similar custom table from Room Service. All week I have been back and forth between it and Blu Dot's Strut Coffee Table. Here we are talking $700 vs. $400. Custom vs not {but still well designed}. Now here is where my dilemma comes in. I want to incorporate a wood element and a white lacquered element into the room in the coffee table and the entertainment center. I am highly considering MASH Studio's LAX entertainment shelf {below}. It has a white door, but the Strut only comes in Ivory {well and blue, green, and pink but I don't like those. If it came in yellow we wouldn't be having this conversation.} So, I am afraid the two won't look good together. I think I am going to go with the Room Service table.

The entertainment center is the part of the equation that I am having the hardest time with. I am looking for something 60"-70" long and around 24" tall, with some closed and some open storage, that looks modern and costs less than $1000. MASH Studio's LAX entertainment shelf fits the bill, but I am having a hard time finding other good options. How do you feel above the above mentioned coffee table with the LAX? Can anyone think of any other good options?

3 My Flowers and Closet Layout are on Apartment Therapy!

I hope the Apartment Therapy people know how happy it makes me to see pieces of my home on their site...

Apartment Therapy Fall Cure 2008: My Flowers
Apartment Therapy Fall Cure 2008: My Closet

3 Apartment Therapy Closet Mini Cure

So, for several weeks I have been working on my closet, and I am finally finished. I was getting really frustrated when I was trying to get dressed in the mornings. Sometimes I would try on things that didn't fit, which would frustrate me. I was also a bit overwhelmed, so I was wearing the same outfits again and again despite having so many clothes in my closet. It's not that my closet was horribly unorganized before, but it was stuffed with clothes, bags, towels, and craft stuff. I'm actually pretty good about purging my closet on a regular basis, but this time I needed a huge purge.

I started about by taking every item out of my closet. Next I tried them ALL on. Part of the problem was, I have a lot of clothes that don't fit. I don't mean clothes from when I was 18, that I will never fit into again. Just clothes that are one size to small. So, I divided the clothes into three equally sized piles: clothes that fit now, clothes that are in very good condition and just barely don't fit, and clothes that are more than one size too small or I no longer like. The last pile I bagged up and sold/donated. The "a little to small but still really nice and stylish" pile was packed away in huge zip lock bags and placed under the bed. If by next year, they still don't fit, I will get rid of them too. {But now that I see my closet could have twice as many options, I am determined that they will fit.}

Then I began working on the closet itself. I took down one of the bars and replaced it with custom cut shelves. I also eliminated most of the storage cubes that were under the hanging clothes. I found the perfect narrow hamper to house all my extra hangers on clearance at Target. I papered the top of the closet walls with my favorite Snow and Graham paper. I also purchased some new canvas bins to compliment the now no longer overflowing ones that I already owned.

Next, I put the remaining clothes back in the closet. The bags, towels, and jewelry were also purged and reorganized for easy finding. I love my jewelry display on the back on the door. Now, everything has a specific place. When I get dressed in the morning, I can see all the options. And EVERYTHING in the closet is an option because it fits!

Here are the autocad drawings of each of the elevations so you can really see where everything is.

1 Weekly Flowers

This week's flowers {from my favorite flower lady at the farmer's market of course} are just completely stunning. Although I tend to prefer arrangements made from a single type of flower, sometimes I just can't resist a colorful bouquet like this one. Also, the fun blue vase was a $3 find from last weekend!

11 Yay to me!

Yay to me because:

• The playroom is on Apartment Therapy!


• I've sold almost all of my original stock of button tacks on Etsy and finally restocked the store!


• This is my 400th post!!


• Last week {Black.White.Yellow.} hit 100,000 page views!
  

1 Dwell for Target {Baroque Duvet}

You might remember that during the AT Fall Cure Last Year, I had a hard time deciding which Dwell for Target Duvet Cover to buy. I ended up going with the Green Dots because it goes better with my grey accent wall behind the bed. So last weekend I was doing my weekly Target clearance shelf search when I saw that the lovely black, white, and yellow Baroque Duvet Cover was on sale for $19.99. What a score!

4 Playroom Mini Cure / Weekly Flowers/ The LULU is HERE!

In preparation of my little sister arriving for a visit in NOLA. The playroom got a little mini cure that included:

-Hemming the curtains...finally!

-Organizing the craft supplies and my new goodie box from Decor8

-Cleaning off the desk

-Finally replacing the TV remote control that broke like two years ago

-New flowers from my favorite flower lady at the farmer's market

-Ribbon loops sewn on bath towels

-Lots of laundry

-A multi-day search for the perfect affordable summer weight blanket (which turned out to be a very light down alternate blanket in a Jonathan Adler duvet cover)

-New artwork on the art wall...much more vibrant now. Several of the items are from the Inspiration Box!

-A little gift of Burt's lip gloss and Lotion

And now I'm off to play....

5 The Menu + The CURE!!! Yes, I'm still doing it...sort of...

Alright, I really haven't participated in the Cure much this go round...it just isn't a top priority at this time. But I'm ok with that...many other exciting things are going on right now. But anyway...here is what I did get done today:

New beautiful flower's from the Farmer's Market...I'm not sure what they are called, but I like them...

The Menu continues...the salmon was so good last week, we decided to have it again, with asparagus and dill cucumbers...


and what I'm most proud of...my new Dwell for Target duvet cover is washed and on the bed! Now I just need new curtains... {My copy of the new Apartment Therapy book arrived on Friday...it's on the nightstand waiting for me to have time to read it...}

Also accomplished today:

10, yes ten, loads of laundry

3 loads of dishes {our kitchen was gross...}

took out the trash

vacuumed {including the mattress, which I also flipped}

planned this weeks menu, and went grocery shopping

did half of an alteration on a skirt {I should have finished my kitchen curtain instead...next weekend}

and studied... whew...I'm tired!

0 Jim Lambie's ZOBOP!

How upset do you think the manager of our apartment complex would be if I installed ZOBOP! on my floor??

Via: Apartment Therapy

3 Apartment Therapy Cure {Rug Search}

Ok, here are some candidates for the living room rug...I've tried to stick to options that I can actually afford, although I've snuck a couple of expensive ones in too. I'm thinking the Ikea Stockholm is the winner...

CB2 Sleepy Hollow Rug

Ikea Stockholm Rand Rug

CB2 Level Rug

Pottery Barn Pieced Awning Rug

Twinkle Living Puzzle Rug