home again

It is always nice to come home again after being away. Rob and I returned from our trip to Florida a couple days ago, and while I miss that Florida sunshine and the smell of the beach, it feels good to be home.

I realized I took similar pictures upon returning from Maine last summer.

Since returning home I have a strong sense of motivation for a new decorating project. Maybe I just needed some time to relax and clear my head. I will inform and keep you updated when I actually start doing some things, but for now I am just in the brainstorming stage. But here is what I am using for inspiration- see if you can guess what room I will be working on?

Bubble

I really want a George Nelson bubble lamp.

I realize that they are EVERYWHERE, but I just can't help it. I love them. I think I first fell in love back in 2006 when Jessie Randall's apartment was featured in Domino. I love everything about this apartment and have used it as inspiration many times. Here's a picture of her living room with the George Nelson saucer lamp, which is my preferred shape.

I want it for over our dining room table. I realize that the cost is a bit crazy , but I feel like it would be a good investment- we would have it FOREVER, and maybe it would even be passed down to one of our kids, who will hopefully appreciate modern design as much as we do.

So, maybe someday we will have one. The good thing is that Rob is TOTALLY on board with this one, he loves modern design. We've talked about how over time, we would like to collect some of the quintessential modern design pieces, like an Eames chair, or Rob's favorite, Saarinen's womb chair- which I still need some convincing of. Maybe because every time I see it, it is in a bright red color, which I am not too fond of. But I have sat in one and they are ridiculously comfortable.

Etsy Friday

I know that Father's Day is a few weeks away, but things are so busy around here that I know I need to be planning ahead. So, I picked out a few things on Etsy that I thought were fun gifts for dad. I know that I always have a hard time buying the men in my life gifts, so hopefully this will give you some inspiration if you are in the same boat.

I thought this t-shirt was so cute, especially for new dads- you can customize the year.

{Vintage Dad t-shirt}

Bathing in Guiness? I know Rob would be a fan!

{Guinness stout handmade soap}

Rob is not a golfer but I thought this was pretty clever!

{Golf Club Laptop Decal}

I thought these were snazzy!

{Custom luggage tags}

We are pretty hardcore Phillies fans. To say that we are obsessed would probably be an understatement. We even took Aiden to the parade when he was a baby. So, I know anything to do with Phillies is always a hit. I thought this panaromic photo of the field would be nice framed in an office or in a grouping with other pictures.

{Philadelphia Phillies Panoramic}

And lastly, has anyone seen the Miller Light commercial about the guy getting a beer at the bar and he has a "satchel" or man purse?! haha, I laughed so hard when I saw that. But, anyway, here is a nice "satchel" if your man is confident enough! Or, to just use for work :)

{City Messenger}

Hope you all have a nice weekend and stay cool!

Rug saga

The rug in our living room has served us well the past 3 years. We had purchased the shag rug pretty inexpensively, for an 8' x 10', at Lowe's when we moved into the house. I really love the fact that it is soft. I wanted a lighter, neutral rug, and the nice thing with shag is that it doesn't show a lot of dirt. But it is now becomming pretty matted down, and I have to vacuum it a lot and in a very specific way to help with the matting. Below is a closeup, which isn't a great picture but I realize in the above picture the rug looks brand new, but in person it looks a lot worse. I also realize that we definitley don't "need" a new rug at this point, which is why I am in no rush to get one and have been looking around for awhile now.

The other night I had a dream that Aiden peed on the rug so we had to get rid of it. Which shows that we are working on potty training, and that deep down I kind of hate this rug. So, I've been looking for a nicer rug that will last for a very long time. The thing with the living room is that it is a very high traffic area. We have no entryway in the front, so when people come in the front door, they come right into the living room, so we need soemthing that can take wear and tear. It is also obvisouly, the place we hang out the most. The problem is that I want something neutral, and lighter, especially now that we have a darker sofa. But I want something that is going to hide dirt.

I fell in love with this rug from West Elm awhile ago...

I love the fact that it is still super soft and I think that it would hide dirt well because of the darker wool woven into it. It is not very thick, but I think putting a rug pad under it would make it comfortable to hang out on and I think not having a high pile rug is better for high-traffic areas.

I originally thought when we got the new sofa that a square 8' x 8' rug would fit better in the space, but they are so hard to find, and the other night I moved the rug we have around a little bit putting it just under the front legs of the sofa, and I think it does fit better in the space and it almost makes the room feel bigger.

So, I think I will keep my eye on this West Elm rug to see if it goes on sale. We definitely want to invest in a better rug, but the frugalista in me has a hard time buying anything full price!