afraid of the dark

ok, so one of the lightbulbs in the master bath burned out and i feel crippled by it. i cannot figure out how to take off the glass. i love the fixture ... it's so modern and lovely and mounted right into the mirror ... but it's oh-so-confusing! at least with daylight savings coming up this weekend, it will be light in there when i get ready each morning.

imported silks

look what came in the mail! we ordered these jockey silks off ebay from the nicest seller and i'm delighted by them. our jockeys and jillys® party is coming up ... just over a month away ... and these are sure to be a huge hit. they were worn by "jockey jerry" from st. cloud, mn. so exciting! the goggles, also used by "jockey jerry," will be the perfect finishing touch!

teacup detour

in my quest for the perfect teacup swap teacup, i stumbled into two of the cutest shops during lunch today. i didn't find that elusive teacup, but i did find two new favorite shopping destinations. snap! snap!


terra cottage is a brand new shop off howell mill road and is hands down one of the top 10 cutest stores in town. the displays are gorgeous. there's so much to look at ... all beautiful. i'm trying to figure out how i could incorporate this parisian tag tree into my decor!

across the street from terra cottage is an atlanta treasure: star provisions. i've actually been in here before, but i'd forgotten just how cute it is! i love the displays here, too. someone really has a knack ... they're absolutely fabulous. hmmmm, those cake pedestals sure look familiar!

nice tie

today my friend jenny taught me how to make the neatest invites that look just like a shirt and tie. too clever! together we snipped and folded around 200 of these little cuties. the turned-down collar is just the thing that puts these into the fabulous hall of fame. they're totally precious. thank you, bella!

pink punch

finally! i have flowers in my new vase! tripper brought home these beautiful pale pink tulips from eatzi's tonight along with some delicious pasta in vodka sauce and a huge hunk of bread. yum. he's such a sweetheart! they are the perfect punch of pink i was hoping to add to the living room. now i just need my mom to help me with the arranging. mum?

clue #3

here's clue #3 for tripper's birthday suprise: you can see something similar at the new georgia aquarium.

only 2 1/2 weeks to go! *yay!*

more splash

i love our condo. i really do. i love all the details, the fixtures, the little upgrades. what i don't love is that the builder cheaped out on the backsplash. why on earth would you only tile that much? anyway, i've been hunting around for something nice to put up there and i think i've found it. it will either be some basic black subway tiles, or something like this from ann sacks. i haven't quite decided on which, but i definitely want a splashier splash.

ummm ...

seriously, quit staring.

sad, but true

i think every self-respecting shopaholic should have a copy of this somewhere in their home, if not on their person. i picked up my version at paper affair while out with my mom on saturday. the cute, little tea towel now drapes over the bar on the oven door. isn't it a stitch?

doggles

a few days after we bought our convertible, a terrible thing happened to ed. we bought him some doggles. tripper and i think they're hilarious. ed does not. he was a good sport last night, however, and posed for a photo shoot in them. tripper snapped away while i tried to distract with treats. the end result is shown here and soon will be on display in tripper's office. good boy, ed. you look like a movie star, buddy!

a prickly situation

apparently my parents didn't like the fact that i showcased an empty flower pot in my field trip blog of their house, because today i received this picture in my inbox. love the new cactus, mom and dad! and the pot is still cute to boot!

field trip: meet the parents

here is the post i promised earlier ... a few bits and pieces from my parents' house taken yesterday ...


this sign hangs over the dressing area in the master bathroom. it greets my mom each day as she puts on her makeup, dries, flat irons, then curls her hair. it's the perfect morning companion, no matter what your mood. sometimes it's sarcastic. sometimes it's sentimental. but it's always there ready and waiting to help jumpstart the day. well that, and the coffee.


who knew the isty bitsy spider was made of crystal and brass? well, this one is! he's lived with my parents since i can remember. he always crawls up the wall, usually near a light switch.


this mini-chandy is a new addition to my parents' house. the picture doesn't do it justice. it's all gleaming and sparkly and adds just the right punch at the top of the staircase. it's unexpected there, so naturally i love it! my dad actually had to string all those crystals. great job, dad!


here's the vase that my mom has that i copied. she is really good at keeping it full of beautiful fresh cut flowers. i think she said these are mums? i, on the other hand, still have not found the time to make it over to costco and my vase remains empty. maybe this week someone will throw me a few extra minutes!


this is the cactus that sits on the back of the oven in the kitchen. where is the cactus? it died. but the pot is so cute that it remains perched atop the stove.


and finally, the much loved beaded ball. yesterday when i was over there, this ball actually looked not unlike a cat toy. it was nothing more than a hanging ball of twine. we picked up some amber beads and sequin pins while we were out yesterday and my mom (and by mom i mean dad) turned it into a little masterpiece. this is actually the cord you pull to get the attic stairs to drop out of the ceiling. it turned out fabulous, mom and dad! snap! snap! snap!

p.s. in case you were wondering, we lost our tennis match. we actually got schooled. but don't feel bad. our team won overall, so it's all smiles here!

tennis, anyone?

i have a tennis match this morning. i love how that sounds, like i know what i'm doing or something. actually, this is my second time playing. ever! alta c8s! anyway, i'll be posting a little later. i have a treat for you ... even better than these cupcakes. yesterday, before my mom and i went shopping, i took some pictures of the fun things at my parents' house. i always thought my mom and i had a very different style, but looking at those pictures made me realize we are very much alike. *gulp!*

in the meantime, i'd like to leave you with this, from heather b. armstrong's dooce.com. it's perhaps the cutest series of pictures ever. i don't think ... even if she had planned this out for hours and hours, brainstormed a concept, made storyboards and even sat the subjects down to explain what she wanted ... that this series could have turned out better. it's life. and she captured it brilliantly. enjoy!

quackers in the bathroom

i know i've been going on about finding some bulls for the master bathroom, but i stumbled upon this duck for the guest bath today at parsons and just had to take him home. i think it was the side-long glance that got me. quit staring!

puffcakes, yum

when my friend kit's daughter mackenzie was, oh say 2, she called cupcakes, "puffcakes." it was adorable in so many ways and the thought still holds a special place in my heart. i'm sure when she said it, these are what she had in mind. i bought three of them at a cute shop called parsons while my mom and i were out and about today. they look lovely inside my new cake plates. i want to eat one but i will not because they are 100% fake. the good news? i will not get fat from them.

pillow talk

i love pillows. while my mom and i were at paper affair today, we saw this. i think it has to be the sweetest pillow i've ever seen. it makes me think of tripper. and ed.

tea for who?

i'm participating in a fantastic teacup swap that i read about on design*sponge. i've never done anything like this before! *so fun!* this whole idea makes me think of my lovely friend kate gibbs in washington dc. i don't know why, but it does. miss you kate! anyway, the deadline to enter this swap was friday and this morning i received the name and address of the person i'll be sending the teacup to. i must keep this name a secret. it's all so very exciting! all day today my mom and i went from store to store trying to find the perfect teacup to send. we didn't end up coming home with the teacup today, but we did see some interesting ones. this one from paper affair was my favorite! i love the idea of a lid to keep the tea hot and i really love the idea of a lid with a hole in it for the teabag string to dangle through, especially if the string is capped off by a cute little tea leaf!

unbelieva-bull!

i found the clipping! this is what i was talking about earlier. i can't believe i found it. i looked everywhere. it was, for some reason, in the trunk of my car. ok, so my memory may have been a little clouded in my first description. the keys aren't exactly hanging from the horns. and maybe this isn't even a valet station, but i'm sticking with it. i really, really want to find some of these (or something like them) for my bathroom. i wonder where? how? who? aren't they just brilliant? i love the repetition. i love the repetition. i love the repetition. you get it.

jockeys and jillys®

only 42 days until our 2nd annual kentucky derby party! saturday, may 6. the big race starts at 6, but we'll be starting early, say 3ish. invitations will be sent, but please mark your calendars! and remember, tacky hats are required.

over the next few weeks, i'm sure i'll be posting lots of great horsey stuff. stay tuned! (this picture was snapped by yours truly at my dear friend mackenzie's sixth birthday party!)

think pink!

remember a few days ago i said i was thinking about introducing some pink into my decor? well, i did it today! *yay!* inspired by the poppy pillow from hable construction (which i really, really want but cannot afford), i made these. i love them for the spring and for the fact that they were free! pop. pop. poppy.

now i just need some pink flowers. and perhaps a punch of pink for the couch. somebody stop me!

la femme ideale:

i bought this old, embroidered pillow at an estate sale in washington dc for $1. i love its sense of humor. the front of the pillow delcares, in french ...
la femme ideale:
un petit cerveau
un grand coeur
and in english on the flip side ...
and a pretty bottom ( | )

the translation? the ideal woman: a small brain, a large heart and a pretty bottom. très drôle!

a cock and bull story

[note: i found the clipping!]
i once saw in one of those french decorating magazines i can't pronounce the most fantastic arrangement of bulls. odd? yes. fantastic? also yes. the article was about a hotel in spain. (i so wish i still had the clipping!) the photo was of, of all things, the valet's key board. instead of having pegs or hooks, there were dozens and dozens of bulls all lined up in rows and all holding a set of keys by the horns. the sheer number made them magnificent, fanciful and unbelievable. i wish i could remember the name of the hotel ... i'd love to see the display live and in person. i also wish i could get my hands on eight of those bulls for my bathroom. i have a wall begging for something like that. four rows of two over the toilet ... can't you just see it? yay!



in the meantime, i am having fun searching and scouring stores and even towns looking for the perfect bathroom bulls. i did find this beauty on a recent trip, though not for the bathroom. it's from a store in alpharetta called finders keepers (*great stuff!*) and now lives on a shelf in our spare bedroom. i love the liquidity and the lines of this little guy. he reminds me of a tootsie pop. yum!

right on target

i'm adoring this target ad for isaac mizrahi's black and white striped vase. the vase itself is cute as a button, but what i really like are those fabulous flowers! i wonder where i can get them?

harlequin romance

i've always been a fan of the harlequin pattern, especially in smaller doses. i picked up these candle sticks for a song years ago at marshalls and still love them.

coco pops

today was a fantastic day as far as deliveries go. tripper's birthday present arrived (*hooray!*), and my new domino magazine came! (*double hooray!*) as i was flipping through, this picture caught my eye. chanel is always oh-so stylish, but i've never seen it done quite like this before. isn't it so clever? i like the graphical treatment of the logo, the size and the placement. and then there's the polka dots, which i love! i'm finding myself feeling very jealous of melissa metez, the owner. she's so lucky! this piece hangs in her LA pied-a-terre. the rich chocolate wall really makes this coco pop. maybe something like this would work above my famous couch? hmmmm ...

chocolate matte´

i picked up these fantastic frames way on sale at pottery barn. they're the perfect amount of thickness and just the right white. i didn't much care for the mats that came with (sort of an asymmetrical cut ivory), so i had these rich chocolate mats cut to fit. i love the way the dark brown makes the white pop off the khaki walls. snap! snap!

the 5x7 prints are graphic botanicals in a slightly darker hue than robin's egg blue. since i made them myself, i won't feel guilty about switching them up. a lot. hopefully this will be an easy and inexpensive way to keep things fresh! i'm currently toying with the idea of introducing some pink. think neopolitan ice cream. yummy.

run dmc and jam master jay

when it comes to decorating, i love things that are a little unexpected. these run dmc dolls *er, action figures* are definitely a surprise! having a pocket-sized jam master jay, dj run and dmc in our home is a real big pleaser. i found these on ebay as a christmas gift for tripper from ed, but you can also find them here.

clue #2

here is clue number two for tripper's birthday surprise: stand too close and you may get a bit chilly.

i'm an optimist ...

last fall, i found this card at the paper parlour across the street. because ed drinks out of the toilet, this card is funny to me. now ed didn't always have this disgusting habit ... but in the days following september 11th, i had to leave the toilet seat up during the day. at the time, i was working for the interactive division of the washington post in washington dc. not knowing if i'd be able to make it home had me really worried for eddie's sake. every morning i would fill up two huge water bowls for him and i'd leave the toilet seat up thinking if he really had to, he'd drink from it. well, turns out ed prefers toilet water. ick. the bowls would be left untouched and the toilet would be bone dry. go figure.

anyway, back to the card ... i finally had it framed at my favorite art store sam flax last weekend. just yesterday, i hung it over the toilet in the guest bathroom. it's perfect.

someone's in the kitchen

while we're in my kitchen, i thought i'd share my everyday dishes. i love them. they make what little i *can* cook look edible ... fabulous even!

the dishes are from the audrey collection at crate and barrel. they're the most wonderful shade of robin's egg blue with a thin stripe of chocolate brown around the edges. a yummy combination. as cute as they are, what totally sealed the deal for me was the floral-patterned platter. isn't it adorable!?! (thanks momA and dadA!)

kitchen kitsch

ok, so this accessory definitely does not make the room ... but i love it! this is my cutting board, also from stein mart. it matches absolutely nothing in my entire place, but it makes me smile. :)

counter-top classic

flour, sugar and bowtie pasta never had it so good! i simply adore this canister set from stein mart (a welcome back to atlanta/housewarming gift from mom and dad). the amber glass is so rich and adds such a nice touch to my kitchen counter. the silver caps match the knobs on my cabinets and my appliances perfectly. i love it when an accessory makes the room! snap! snap! snap!

a touch of sparkle

during the holidays, i stumbled upon the coolest use of mirrored garland at west elm. two six-foot strands linked together and multiplied by, oh say 10, created a gorgeous cascade of sparkle from ceiling to floor. i adored the look, but didn't love the price. at $14.95 per strand, to do even a small area would cost a bloody fortune! so, i decided to try my luck on ebay. i found a mosaic tile dealer that was selling 1/2" mirrored tiles. i bid on a box of 300. and i won! $12 and and a few days later, i had the mirrors in hand. i purchased some fishing line from dick's sporting goods and within two hours i had my mirrored masterpiece! don't you just love a bargain? especially a pretty one?

originally i intended to take these down after the holidays, but i got so many compliments i decided to keep them up. they add a little shimmer to my mornings and make a perfect backdrop to my new tapered floor lamp and upholstered cube (both from west elm). take a look!

picture trouble

for some reason, i'm having a lot of trouble trying to post pictures this weekend. i've got a lot to say, so i'm going to try a bubble gum/paper clip solution. keep your fingers crossed! i think this just might work!

lovely lilies

i never did make it to costco today to get flowers for my new vase, but i did get some surprise lilies from tripper's aunt judy. they are lovely! you probably can't tell by the picture, but they're about 2 and a half feet tall! beautiful!

the vase that's holding them is actually one of a pair we brought home from our wedding at the bellagio (such a wonderful place!) in las vegas. they held lilies then, too.

chocolate dots + lime = one artful pup

i adore this collar/leash set from artfulpups.com for my ed. it's so hard to find anything cute for a dog his size, so i'm super tempted. i do wonder if it might be a little girlie. the description says the chocolate brown grosgrain ribbon is "sophisticated" against the "zesty" lime. that sounds like ed. zesty and sophisticated. hmmm ...

flower frog

while we're discussing frogs, i want to share this little treasure i picked up for $14 at metropolitan deluxe in atlantic station. it's a cute enough vase, but it has this screw-on flower frog top. can you see it? kind of a meshy looking grid? wait until you see what it does for freshly cut flowers! it even makes carnations look gorgeous! i mean junior high school dances aside, when was the last time you saw a pretty carnation? i'm guessing never. anyway, i first spotted this vase at my mom's. she's great with cut flowers. she's tried tulips, roses and the newly beloved carnations (always all white) so far. the end product looks like a beautiful pompom of petals. i can't wait to try it out myself. i plan to go to costco this weekend to pick out some flowers. i'll be sure to post as soon as i have them arranged.

what the?

friends who visit often ask why i have the word *the* on a shelf in the bedroom. it's simple. t is for tripper. h is for holly. e is for ed. it makes me happy that all our first initials fit together to spell out a word, especially an article! these letters are from pottery barn kids. you really can find some neat things in there. for adults.

p.s. the bronze frogs in the front are bookends from restoration hardware. they're actually frog princes. i love the stretched legs and the little details on the crown. *adoribbitable!*

whine with style

no! not you! i found these complaint cards yesterday at sam flax and i just couldn't resist. aren't they so clever? for $2.99 a pop, you can send these oh-so-stylish squawks through the mail.

of the dozen or so to choose from, i found these to be the cutest of the complaints. so cute, i framed them. the blue, framed in a perfect square of white from ikea, now lives above the floor mirror in my bedroom. the yellow, also framed in white, lives on a shelf right above the toilet in the master bath. so cheeky!