Category: Uncategorized

Found this gem on Ramblings of a Small Town Girl courtesy of Kayla. She found it on Stay Fancy Free (Tumblr). Thanks to all parties involved, I’m diggin’ it and should probably have this stapled to my right hand for good measure. 

I have a few favorites, but want to know, which if your favorite way to cope with stress? 

A while back my good friends Jeana and Grant (and myself of course) were looking for an adventure on a Sunday morning. We needed inspiration and a distraction from the real world. As any good friends do, we started with Mexican food and plans to take over the world. This quickly lead to an antiquing furniture hunt for things none of us needed nor intended to purchase. 

The location: Andersonville

The goal: Inspiration and Fresh Air

The outcome: lot’s of laughing, dreaming and Les Bon Truvants-ing. Surely ruining the language, sorry about that Kristen and Grant!

Anywho, towards the end of our little adventure we stumbled upon Brimfield – a vintage, upholstery, furniture, blanket North Woods heaven. The place smelled like my house growing up, a tri-level with wood panelling on a little lake. The place made the things I once thought were ugly (but still remind me of home) and made them magnificent. Hello wool blanket upholstered chair from my childhood and probably yours, too? I love you. 

Grant gasped, Jeana screeched, I squawked and we all gawked. The three of us – Michiganian, Wisconsonian née Minnesotan and Illinoisian, respectively – were surrounded by various aspects of our childhood. Multiple senses engaged, we were all mesmerized. This isn’t just a store you visit. This is a store you smell, touch, remember and dream your way through. My mobile pictures don’t even come close to doing this place justice, and the store’s website is being redone – this is all for you, the readers, benefit. You must visit this store and take it all in.

Want more info? Check out this write-up on Apartment Therapy, drop by the store’s blog and say hi to them @BrimfieldUS. Most importantly, go visit, and make sure to have a chat with the owners, they are as charming as their store. 

Brimfield
5219 N. Clark St., Chicago, IL 60640

– Eliza

…how ’bout you? (nothing to do with mood :)) What’s you current design color inspiration?

Bowls look great on a wall – considering ways to add color to apartment walls without paint.

There has to be a cheaper way to acquire this $295 bedside table. I love this one from White Attic in Andersonville, but it is unjustifiable. Would be a great DIY! Actually I love everything from White Attic – they have a lamp bar where you can create your own lamp design. Website is being remodeled, will make sure to share when it’s back up.

Sent from my iPhone

At the end of good days and bad, a phone call with my mom or dad and makes everything better. A good long chat is almost always finished up with a Dr. Seuss quote – “know what you know.” Well, here’s what I know: St. Patrick’s Day is always a holiday that makes me homesick. Thank goodness I’ll be down in Georgia with my family in no time at all!

I haven’t been there since the holidays. Look at my parents house, it snowed on Christmas Day. First time since like the 1880s or something wonderfully magical. We all know I love my snow!

Think I can make something this pretty? Yea, I think it can be done.

I love spending Sunday evening relaxing with the love of my life and reading design blogs! 

I’ve been playing on Pinterest (courtesy of an invite from my co-worker Jessi) and literally cannot get enough. All the good ideas that I run into throughout the week that get lost in the mix of work and life finally have a home. If you know me, you know I was slow to get into the whole social media thing…but now, I keep finding these little nooks on the internet and falling in love. 

I’ve been starting my mornings over on Houzz.com to put a little inspiration in my step and wowzers, it’s been working!

Sunday inspiration for the week: Yellow. I didn’t think I liked it until I realized that I kept loving rooms with dashes of the color. All started with this yellow room below. I like the canopy – I’m trying not to rule out studio-appropriate design ideas…

</div><div style=’color:#444;’><small>modern bedroom design by

Kat (she blogs regularly at CitySouthern) has a nice ideabook on Houzz of yellow design ideas that add just the right punch of yellow. Here are some of my favorites.

</div><div style=’color:#444;’><small>eclectic living room design by los angeles interior designer maison21

</div><div style=’color:#444;’><small>eclectic bedroom design by other metros media and blogs Michelle Hinckley

</div><div style=’color:#444;’><small>entry design by austin showroom inglenookdecor

</div><div style=’color:#444;’><small>contemporary bathroom design by miami interior designer Pepe Calderin

(from Pepe Calderin Design in Miami)

Had to top it off with a dash of blue – can’t you imagine soaking away the week’s stresses in this tub?

Thank you February cabin fever for lighting the fire under my design-lusting brain, and getting me motivated! Something about the cold chill in the air has pushed the process to adulthoodification further this month. I’ve been plotting a move to a new neighborhood for a while now, but haven’t been willing to sacrifice an amazingly comfortable apartment for a good location. Things that drew me to the current apartment were double closets that line an entire wall of my bedroom, a brand new bathroom, updated kitchen with a sprayer nozzle on the faucet amongst other things. Sure, these might not be fancy-living luxuries, but closet space is a hot commodity and an updated bathroom is one a great detail. The thing that isn’t so luxury? The location. For everything I gain in the apartment, I lose in the one hour commute to civilization that I take daily. For about 10 months out of the year, I appreciate my long commute, it gives me much needed quiet time with a book. Who knew the best place to have quiet private reading time is in the middle of rush hour commute in Chicago?

Couldn’t resist sharing a photo or two of the bag. Sorry they are from an iPhone, I swear I’ll find my camera cord one day!
– E

Sent from my iPhone