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!

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

I can't believe it's been 2 weeks since a post on here. I actually have 2 posts started that I never finished. Things have been so busy and it seems like things are only going to get busier as we head into the summer. I seriously have done nothing decorating-related in a long time around here. But, I'm ok with that. Aiden keeps me busier than ever these days, and I am loving every minute of it. I am trying to really take advantage of these times with him because I know they won't last forever.

We don't have a lot going on this Memorial Day weekend- getting together with some friends, just hanging out at home, doing some yard work, I love those kinds of weekends.

So, I hope you all have a wonderful Memorial Day and hopefully my creative inspiration will come back soon.

Etsy Friday

I am in a "beach state of mind" these days. Rob and I are going to Florida in a few weeks for our 5 year Anniversary and to say that I am extrememely excited is an understatement. We are leaving Aiden with his wonderful grandparents, who, quite honestly, he probably would prefer spending time with over us. So, we aren't feeling too guilty about that especially since it will probably be awhile until we can take another trip like this alone. The J.Crew Turks and Caicos catalog arrived about 2 weeks ago and it is seriously taking every ounce of self-control that I have not to go into debt buying all of their beach-inspired clothing and bathing suits. Seriously, sometimes I just go online and make a shopping cart of everything I want just for fun. Of course, I have never actually purchased those hundreds of dollars worth of J.Crew, but sometimes that is all I need to do to get it out of my system. I may be embarrased about sharing this with you after I publish this post.

Anyway, here are a few beach-inspired Etsy items...

I really just need to buy one of these nautical bags from this seller, whom I have posted about before. I just love them.

{Sailor Tote Bag}

I think this is genius- a pillow that you fill with sand for the beach- LOVE IT! It's totally portable and easy to travel with.

{Fillow}

Pretty...

{Beach Day}

Yummy tasting lip balm that is perfect for protecting your lips from the sun and smooching ;)

{Pineapple Passionfruit SPF 15 lip balm}

And lastly, I love t-shirts like this.

{Long walks on the beach t-shirt}

I hope everyone has a great weekend! It's supposed to be a beautiful one here in the Philly area :)

Brunch

This past weekend for Mother's Day, I had my mom and grandmother over on Saturday for brunch since we would be with Rob's family on Sunday.

Over the past couple of years, my grandmother has given me some things that were hers, or even her mother's.

Most recently she gave me a set of solid silver candelabras that my grandfather gave her for their 10th Anniversary (I think). They are so pretty. You can either use them with the 3, or just as single candlesticks, which I decided was more appropriate for our intimate brunch.

I also love the idea of having all different teacups at a table setting. These are the only 3 that I have from my grandmother, but I hope to collect some more over time.

Here it is all put together.

And here is a shot of my beautiful grandmother and I. My mom had to take the picture, so she didn't get to be in it, but I really enjoyed my time with them!