Wedding Wednesday: Lindsay & Mike

Today is a very special Wedding Wednesday for me because I get tell you all that my little sister is engaged!  Here is a photo of the lovely couple!

Congratulations Mike & Lindsay!  Here's to lots of happy wedding planning!

H&M Home

I am going to need H&M to get their home line to the U.S. asap!

H & M Home

Who doesn't need one of these bright chevron towels?!  I think it would be an amazing beach towel.  Rumor has it this home line may be making its way to the states as soon as this spring.  Click here to check out their more from their home decor line.

Hello Guest Bath Reno

So I talked a little bit about our guest bathroom reno here, here, and here (and yes, that first link really was over a year ago - that's just how our house renovations roll).  It's time I start showing you what is actually taking place in that room instead of just showing you lovely inspiration images from other people's finished baths.  So today I'll share with you our tile floor.  I was really torn on what to do on the floors, I knew carrara, because I just can't have enough of i,t but I wasn't sure if I wanted to do the hexagons or just a large scale subway pattern or go for something a little different.  Well, I went for a chevron pattern.  The hex's I love but they were just going to cost too much so I opted for the chevron pattern simply using 3x6 carrara tile.  

So to remind you, here is what we started with:

And no, that is not blue paint, that I could have done something with, in reality it was really awful faux blue marble wallpaper, faux stone tile and a really ugly light fixture.

When we ripped up the tile we were amazed to find that the original white hexagon tiles were still underneath. (Circa 1930's?).  I so would have loved to have been able to salvage that but the mortar from the most recent tile job along with some drilling into the floor was not going to allow that but here is a shot of it anyway.

Here is an in progress photo of the carrara subway tile being installed herringbone style

Here is a fake finished bathroom photo.

There is a story behind this one. While we were working on this bathroom we also decided to refinance because the mortgage rates were so ridiculously low.  Well, we could not do that with an unfinished bathroom.  So we ran to Home Depot picked up a vanity, put it in along with our clawfoot tub, the faucet and lighting and painted it a simple grey I could live with for a little while.  The appraiser came over, our refi was completed and then we returned the vanity back to home depot and apparently forgot the room still existed.

Here is the bathroom today - finished floor, installed toilet and that is about it.

Still to do:

Put in wainscotting & baseboards

Order and install wallpaper

Install vanity/countertop & marble step

Hook up bath tub

The list looks short, but apparently it's so daunting that we have been frozen for 6 mos.  Hopefully posting these photos will get us motivated again.

80 in March

I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend.  It was 80 degrees here in Chicago!  There were people outside everywhere you looked and they were all talking about the amazing weather.

These temps have me completely switched over to spring in my mind (although, I know Chicago and I'm sure we will have more cold days and possibly even snow before the seasons really change).  Spring for me is full of pretty blooms, here are some of my favorites I like to have in my home during this season.

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Cherry Blossoms (and a side of Macaron never hurt anyone!)

 

 

Lovely peony blooms



 

 

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Hydrangea!  I love going to our farmer's market on Saturday mornings to pick up hydrangea bouquets, a few stems of these guys go a long way.

What says spring to you?

Happy Friday

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh Joy

The Dream

Everyone has dreams of what their future will hold.  One of my (many) dreams is about our future home.  I think one of my favorite things about interior design is that you can really work with a space to make it functional and, at the same time, really beautiful.  My dream for our future home is to have a space that is a pretty place for myself, my family and my guests to come to and that still works for our lives and, hopefully, a growing family.  Recently Brooke of Velvet & Linen wrote a beautiful post about putting their home on the market. They truly have made this house a home for their family.  It is so visually appealing and yet each space works for each member of the family.  It really is a home that was made and is filled with love - my dream.

Coming home to that front yard everyday would just be so amazing.

I love how this family room has the big TV for everyone to enjoy, lots of comfy seating, and a good amount of storage to most likely hide all the other electronics, dvds, games, etc.

A kitchen that overlooks that great family room.  It allows for people to cook and eat and still be a part of whatever is going on in with the rest of the family.

 

 

 

A great space for kids to play games, read or have study groups - lots of seating and table space.



A master bedroom that is spacious and tranquil - a great escape or a great space for their kids to gather round on early mornings while the family is just waking.

One unbelievably amazing back yard and pool space - amazing for friends and family to gather.

We all have dreams for what our future will hold - does yours include a dream home?  What does your dream home consist of?

For more inspiration by Giannetti Home visit here.

Wedding Wednesday: Fuchsia & Gold

This week's Wedding Wednesday post is short but oh, so sweet!  I found this amazing fuchsia and gold wedding cake on pinterest and I just had to share it.

The Bride's Café

 

Isn't it just the prettiest little cake?!  You can check out more from this styled shoot here, here, and here.  The photo is by erin hearts court and the cake is by Erica O'Brien.

Hello Weekend Reads

As I mentioned on Saturday, my husband was out of town for the weekend and on top of that it was one of the rare weekends that I had nothing planned.  It was me, my dogs, and my computer - it was really great.  I also spent time taking long walks and even went on a couple of runs to enjoy as much of the beautiful weather that Chicago graced us with this past weekend.  One thing I really loved about my free time on the computer this weekend was really having time to comb through new issues of online mags.  Between the blogs I read, pinterest, and my paper magazines it's hard to squeeze in extra computer time to really read the online shelter magazines that are out there.  I am so glad I had the time this weekend because there were so many great articles, recipes, & images - here are my favorites from each.

Let's start with Sweet Paul.  The styling and food images in this one made it such a treat. 

 

 

Some amazing egg recipes

 

 

Then they set their Easter table with colorful flowers and, of course, more eggs!

 



Talk about beautiful styling.

 



 

And the icing on the cake, this adorable chic.

 

 

Next up, Lonny.  I shared this issues cover with you on Saturday so we will get straight to the content.

I know that by today most of you will have seen images from the magazine on other blogs and pinterest so I'll share with you the other great finds from this issue.

First off this stunning tray.

 

And then there is this guy, which surely costs 1 million catrillion dollars and 99 cents.

 

A source for a ridiculous amount of amazing finials and other beauties

 

I love lamp. By Bunny Williams

 

This treat (chocolate + pretty packaging = dreamy)

 

And last up, an item we all need in Chicago during our rainy spring season.

 

Translation - 'Shit, it's raining'
I absolutely need this.
Ok folks - now seriously this Lonny issue was huge so please check it out for yourselves - tons of homes, stores, and amazing product sources.


Moving on - House of Fifty

This issue introduced me to an amazing design firm - Artistic Designs for Living.  I've seen quite a few of their designs before but never knew the source and now thanks to Janell's mag, I do.  Here is some of their work.

 

 

I adore the scalloped bedding on that last one.

There was also a great article written by Susie Isaac about the Clarence House wallpaper 'the vase'.  Here are some images used in a bright and cheery kitchen designed by Kerri Geller Goldfarb.

Ok, that's it, my rambling and sharing of my weekend is over.  There were just so many great things!  I hope you enjoyed the little recap and that you are able to find some time for yourselves to check out these great reads.

Welcome Back Lonny!

What a lovely little surprise for a Saturday afternoon - there is a new issue of Lonny! I feel like it's been forever since they have had a new issue out and I am so excited to spend my day browsing through it.  My husband is out of town for the weekend and I had planned on spending the day catching up on blogs and reading magazines and this is just the icing on the cake!

Check it out here!

Happy Saturday!

More Aqua & Coral

100 Layer Cake 

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House and Home 

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Design Manifest 

 Lay Baby Lay

Style Me Pretty 

Caitlin Wilson

Martha Stewart Living

Thibaut

Ashley Whittaker Design via House Beautiful

Ashley Whittaker Design via House Beautiful

So in case you did not notice - I'm completely obsessed with my new blog look so I figured I'd spend another day on this wonderful coral & aqua color theme.  I hope you enjoyed this - I promise tomorrow will be a post that does not include this color scheme!