Pseudo Design Related, but...

...moreso just too cool/cute not to be shared!  I am betting that many of you have seen this via email forwards and the like, but if you haven't, I hope you enjoy this lady's creativity as much as I did/do. 

I really cannot imagine being inspired enough to even think of this.  I love it though and hope you will too, even if you are not particularly a "baby person."  The mom is a computer specialist from Helsinki who just decided to have some fun with her baby's naptimes. 

Which are your faves?  I can't resist the mini Buddhist and the book worm, personally. 

Have a wonderful weekend.  I promise I will be back on Monday....Baby Haynes is enjoying his/her time in the hot tub and is apparently not at all interested in greeting Gimlet Nation yet.  So....I will be here!

Cheers,

JSH



Show Off

I know I told y'all about my sister's wedding this past Summer.  To me, it was perfect in every way for about 1,000 reasons.  Aside for the night of the big event, the execution of the details ahead of time was, of course, my favorite part.  We are still waiting on our orders of the professional pics and, as promised, I will one day share them with you. 

In the meantime, I have to brag a bit.  My sister and her husby are so pretty and handsome (and fun and charismatic), respectively, that Antoine's Restaurant (reception site) asked them to share a pic for its ad in the recent Gambit!  I have likely discussed Gambit before.  It is our weekly Nola political, shopping, current events, all around awesome local magazine.

Check it:

Aren't they adorable?

I wish you could get a better view of Lizzie's awesome poufy "reception veil" and her vintage sapphire earrings!  (For the record, their flowers did not include the white roses and baby's breath featured in the ad.)

Just thought I would share yet another teaser from el wedding.  I am sure we will finally have blog worthy pics by their one year anni!  

Cheers, 

JSH 

Decided!!

I know, I know.  My posts have been sporadic and not particularly intellectually stimulating to you these days.  Well, I am a sporadic and not particularly intellectually stimulating person these days.  Work and general life has not let up, despite the fact that I feel like each day is just borrowed time against the impending arrival of Bebe! 

So, I can only scrounge up about 1 brain cell every three days to post right now.  I promise, though...I WILL be back in the utter swing of things.  I miss y'all! 

Anyhoo, I thought you may want to see the rug I finally decided on for el nursery.  Now, I just have to bite the bullet and click "Add to Bag!"  It is just a hard click to make, considering the jog stroller that is also calling out to be purchased. 

Love it!  From Anthro, in a 3 x 5.  I am convinced it will "make the room" and, therefore, I am now laser focused on snatching it! 

If you have any other potential rug possibilities for Bebe Haynes' room, please speak now or forever hold your peace! 

Cheers,

JSH

A Deal's a Deal!

I love it when Gimleters send emails to me about things they like or saw on the blog.  I really love it when they send me emails to enforce what a good deal I secured!  (I then promptly send these emails to the auditor aka Beau so he knows how fiscally responsible I am....)

Check out these two finds over the past couple of weeks by two of my best Gimlet readers. 

Heather located this guy in the Times Picayune's Inside Out magazine and promptly sent this scan to me, noting the price.  Thanks, H! 

Check out Mr. "Traditionally Modern."  Look familiar? 

Before we move forward, note that Mr. Modern is metal and $1,095.00. 

Let me jog your memory. 

Vintage Thonet (marked!) rocker located at a consignment store for $60.00.

Can I get a "Look for Less!" chant going? 

Next.  Dear Emily sent me this picture yesterday, noting "This looks like your bulletin board from IKEA, but is from One King's Lane." 

I assume you don't need me to highlight the price. 

Let's review now.

I think this whole project, start to finish, was maybe about $45.00....

If I had done a mirror instead of cork, it would have been about $55.00. 

Copy Cat Chic, as you know, is one of my favorite blogs.  I feel like I experienced Copy Cat Chic in real life recently.  Any deals and steals of late that you wish to share?  They are apparently hidden around every corner...

Cheers and HAPPY WEEKEND!  The days are going soooo sloooowww for me right now. 

JSH

Un Petite (Nursery) Project II

A couple of days ago, I posted about a tiny nursery project I worked on in about an hour one night.  Much in the same vein of non-groundbreaking, non-complex, simple nursery non-projects, I have completed another one.  In my slowing down state, completing any task in a timely and somewhat capable manner is blue ribbon worthy to me! 

So, without further ado....

I bought this frame from Ikea via Blue Bag (duh). 

Das Ung Drill for $29.00

And made a bulletin board for baby, a rotating display of art, sentiments, and fun things to show him or her, if you will.  Again, I am telling you that this did not require any creativity or skill, but I am quite pleased with the outcome!

Final product, which hangs above the changing area.

My friend Courtney made one for her kitchen a while back.  We were inspired by an InStyle magazine project.  Seriously, all you have to do is:

1. Spray paint your frame.

2. Remove the glass.

3. Cut out two pieces of cork, using the glass or the backing of the frame as a template.  I suggest buying cork rolls from Michael's or any other craft store.

4.  Glue the cork together (this is just to have two layers, making it thicker).

5. Place the cork pieces where the glass used to be. 

6. Hang and enjoy!

So far, we have the baby's only portraits (lentil bean sized and then apple sized, respectively!) and my shower invite on the cork board.  Of course, we also hung the card that was given to Beau's dad when he was born at Memorial Hospital in New Orleans.  I didn't want to poke a hole in it so I just wedged it behind the filigree. 

What are your thoughts?  An easy, peasy, satisfying non-project!

Cheers,

JSH

Johnny, can you hear me?

I wonder if Jonathan will set to work on an Ophiuchus pillow for me and the rest of my former fellow Sags?

Out with the old, in with the new??

Are you planning to switch signs, baby?  Here are the new signs with the respective dates.

Capricorn: Jan. 20 - Feb. 16

Aquarius: Feb. 16 - March 11

Pisces: March 11- April 18

Aries: April 18- May 13

Taurus: May 13- June 21

Gemini: June 21- July 20

Cancer: July 20- Aug. 10

Leo: Aug. 10- Sept. 16

Virgo: Sept. 16- Oct. 30

Libra: Oct. 30- Nov. 23

Scorpio: Nov. 23- Nov. 29

Ophiuchus: Nov. 29- Dec. 17

Sagittarius: Dec. 17- Jan. 20

In addition, I will perhaps have to purchase this guy for my soon-to-be little chick pea in lieu of the "Aquarius" one.  Nope, not because he or she is necessarily arriving a bit earlier, but rather, because his or her sign has apparently changed...

from etsy

Thoughts, comments, suggestions?  Call me orthodox, but I liked it the old way. 

Cheers,

JSH

Not-so-secret resource

Gimleters all know about Lonny Magazine at this point, no?  If not, speed type to the link provided.  You will not be disappointed. 

I love when a brand spankin' new Lonny comes out.  For some reason, however, I have never stumbled upon the "Site" section of the regular Lonny website.  I am, not surprisingly, very out of it these days! 

So...when you click on "Site," you will be treated to a veritable feast of decor resources and eye candy, including Lonny's archives, editor's pics, you name it.  My favorite part though?  The "Decorate" section.  If you click on the link, you will potentially lose your job for lack of productivity.  It is basically just a gallery of all of Lonny's fabulous decor features, organized by room. 

Some of my faves...



A total hit parade of inspiration.  How have I missed this incredible resource? 

I am just going to blame it on pregs brain, the lamest excuse ever.  Nothing else to be said. 

Cheers,

JSH

P.S.  There is a "paint" section too.  Could not ask for more!

Hostess (gift) with the Mostess

I mentioned my awesome baby shower to you Gimleters a while back.  I wanted to tell you wayyy back then about the hostess gifts I selected for my ladeez, but was remiss in sending them to all of the out of town hostesses in a timely manner.  So, I waited until I responsibly mailed them all.   I didn't want to spoil their surprisey fun, of course. 

Here is my suggestion for a fun and affordable hostess gift for your friends and fam.  (Although I would like to spend one million dollars on each gal, unfortunately, I was limited to a more reasonable amount in the $10.00-ish range!)

Who doesn't need a fun, new acrylic key chain?

Now, mind you.  Some of these are a little too "Southern Preppy" for my taste and that of my hosties, including the polka dots on the back of the acrylic plus the curlicue mono, in the pink and green. 

However, the site offers tons of choices...different mono styles and an array of color choices.  You can also avoid putting the polkas on the back of your key chain and opt for just the acrylic with mono.  Better, no?

Behold:

Here is my friend Courtney's key chain in action on her desk at work!

This is my friend Jennifer's key chain in her favorite color, blue. 

Not all of the ones I ordered are in the "coin" monogram style.  For my more traditional friends and fam, I opted for the simple curlicue monos.  For the less traditional, non-mono lovers, I actually just did two of their initials.  Friends that received these guys, post your pics or send them to me in full effect so I can share them with Gimlet Nation.

If you are interested in ordering one of these (or several), I found them at Daisy Mae's.  The shipping and processing was slow so add some lead time to your order.  I was quite pleased with the way they turned out! 

Cheers,

JSH

Un Petit (Nursery) Project....and a Fabric-related PSA

Happy belated King's Day/Twelfth Night/ Feast of the Epiphany!  The official start of Carnival Time....and King Cake Extravaganza '11.  I plan to post about all of my King Cake devouring over the next two months.  Damn, Mardi Gras is going to last for so long this year.  Yipppeee!  It is not until March 8th. 

Anyhoo, I thought I would share a tiny teaser of a nursery project I completed the other night in less than an hour.  It is nothing to necessarily brag about, but I think it came out nicely and provides a lovely visual impact.  Oh, and it is a easy and affordable way to display/store a baby keepsake. 

Behold:

I simply bought this pre-made shadow box at Michael's craft store and replaced the dark velvet backing with some of my yellow scrap upholstery fabric.  I then mounted two sterling spoons that were gifted to the bambino.  Voila! 

Normally, I think the term "shadow box" is scary and conjures up images of old lace and locks of hair...maybe even some doll parts.  But, in this case, I think it is a cute way to display some of the tiny's keepsakes. 

Just a sneak peek of more to come from almost-completed nurseria! 

Now, onto two big fabric-related announcements, both of which made my decorating day.  You may have already heard about this news via two awesome design blogs, Visual Vamp and Elements of Style. 

First, our Nola Vamp advised blog land that Dwell Studio released fabrics for a FAVORITE site of mine, http://www.fabrics.com/.  What a delight! 

We can all live the Dwell dream for only $15.98 a yard!  Check it all out here. 

Now, drumroll please....Elements of Style announced that our very own Miss Amanda Talley will be releasing a line of fab fabrics she designed based upon her iconic paintings. 

Check it:

These are STUNNING.  Imagine a beautiful bench or pillows done in Amanda's fabric.  Too hot to handle!

If you are interested in ordering your very own fabrics from Amanda (in a variety of different grades), contact her through her website.  And, seriously, if you do....you better send pics to Gimlet! 

Cheers,

JSH







Be Still my Heart! Curtis and Davis for Sale in West Lakeshore

One of my most devout, helpful, and plain awesome readers, Tracy, made my morning with an email containing this real estate listing.  I am DYING....

Before I even launch into my love of this house and the fact that it is a Curtis and Davis original or my love of this mid-century neighborhood on the lakefront of New Orleans, I must confess that, much to Beau's chagrin, I indicated my not-so-secret desire to buy and restore a mid-century gem to our friend and real estate agent, Sarah.  I informed her of this vision, oh, about 5 months after we sold our first house (Lil Harms) and bought our second house.  Let's just say that Beau did not share my eagerness to snatch a mid-century gem if the opportunity presented itself....

On to the house!

First, it is located on a "tremendous corner lot" in West Lakeshore.  Based upon my review of the pics, I have deduced that one could certainly fit a pool in the back to complete the mid-century oasis! 

Look at that great oak tree....

The yard is truly huge.  Site of the future pool aka swinging party pad area.

Check out all of the natural light and wood burning brick fireplace. Again, dying. I am thinking the floors are slate. Original? Let's hope.

Is that plant on the bottom left springing forth from some type of inground planter!?

Galley kitchen looking fresh.  I really like the natural brick backsplash. 

More kitchen.  I can't tell, but would pass out with glee if those floors were terrazzo. 

I am in awe of the price on this house.  It is 2,323 square feet and is listed at $295,000.00.  $126.99 a square foot for this neighborhood?!  The listing indicates that "it is 80% complete."  I am wondering if the finishes would be some of the three bedrooms and maybe a bathroom?  Either way, a deal is a deal.  The home is approximately 57 years old and A/C and appliances are only three years old. 

Please, Gimlet Nation, someone out there buy this piece of history and let me come over and play in it!  

Check out the rest of the listing's pics by following the link above.  Does anyone out there know about this pad?  Do tell. 

Cheers,

JSH