Breaking West Elm Outlet News

Did you know there was a clearance rack at the West Elm Outlet? Did you even know there was a West Elm outlet? Well for those of you fortunate enough to live in the suburbs (guffaw), an outlet mall may be lurking in an unpopulated wasteland near you. Lucky for us Austinites, we have only to drive down to San Marcos, which is actually really lovely and features rivers flowing with beer (byob). Winning.

So yesterday MIL, Ike, and I trekked down to the outlets in search of this rug for the dinette and these curtains for Ike's room, but I found none of the above. Still, I managed to score some goodies on the cheap. Check it out.

This giant papier mache impala head is usually $169, but I found it for $9.97 and could not resist. I was thinking about putting it in the baby nursery, but I don't know... maybe it's kind of demonic?

Does it look like I sacrifice goats and draw penatagrams in their blood on my pregnant belly?

Does this remind you of Damien the Omen or is it just me?

I also got a white mongolian lamb pillow for $9.97. I should probably use it to continue the dead animal trend in the baby room, right? Oh, and wouldn't it be funny to put glasses on top so that my infant son is convinced a muppet monster will attack him whilst sleeping?

Maybe not.

I did get a diaper bag for half price. That makes me a good mommy. The gold zippers make me AWESOME.

Perhaps even more important than prepararing for the impending birth of my child is that I found this $400 Moroccan wedding blanket for $19.97.

Yeah, buds. Now my bedroom is going to look just like this:

Or maybe this:

Or definitely like this:

Or perhaps I will hang it on the wall behind my tv.

Wall hanging or blanket???

Either way: winning.

Let me tell you what is not winning.

I have been obsessing about this gorgeous indigo/violet kilim rug forlikeever and they had it at the outlets.

Yay! There were even two of them

But both of them were covered in lint. COVERED. I've never seen something attract so much lint in my life. A lint brush doesn't even do that good a job of defurring your pets.

Do not buy this rug.

Sorry, West Elm.

I still love you.

And I really love your outlet store.

[Moroccan blankets here and here]

Bad Stuff / Good Stuff

Yesterday was pretty demoralizing. I think I'm at the point in decorating and renovating where the easy stuff is done and shit is about to get hard. Matt came over to knock out the ugly built in desk and found that it was tiled in perfectly. Seamlessly. Invisibly. So now to remove the desk we have to remove and replace some tiles, which will be mad messy and is also annoying because all I really want to do is pulverize the entire floor and put in wood. Sadly that's just not happening until we redo the whole kitchen in a year or two.

Plus I am just feeling conflicted about everything -- paint, curtains, couches, tables, chairs, EVERYTHING. I know I'm taking on too many projects at once, but that's tough titty because I'm not bringing my fancy baby boy into an ugly house.

I just want my corner of the chaotic world to be neat and orderly (and ok, fabulously decorated) by the time the kid is born.

Is that too much to ask?

The good news is that Minty is here to help get me through this hormonal roller coaster. Behold:

Run by a trio of fabulous ladies -- Susie, Nelya, and Jenny -- Minty is a curated online shopping experience.

A HIGHLY INEXPENSIVE shopping experience. For example, that gorgeous pair of Ikat pillows is only $50.

But I probably shouldn't have told you that, since I may buy them myself.

Like I said, yesterday kinda sucked.

Today is time for retail therapy.

Go to there.

Bargains!

After 8736 hours of lying around -- working very hard at not breaking anything (i.e., the baby) -- I'm terminally bored. I've already spent $39 on Kindle books (seriously Amazon, how can an ebook be more than twice as expensive as the paperback edition??? HOW?!), watched Downton Abbey 6x, and attempted to telekinetically sweep my floor, which so far has only resulted in a massive headache. Thank the stars for lovely Billie Ayers of Dessin Fournir, who came to my rescue after this post asking for info on alternate colorways for some Rose Cumming wallpaper. Not only did she create an account for me so I could feast my eyes on a bevvy of delicate shades, she also directed me to an online outlet that's carrying discontinued Rose Cumming fabrics and wallpapers.

Finally. Something important to do.

Important taffeta moire wallpaper to ogle.

Important uber trad wallpaper to contemplate... I smell a comeback.

Oh and did I mention cheap? Like $30/roll. And then there are the fabrics... all manner of velvets and damasks, chintzes and toiles, elephants and parakeets. And then there is Martine.

Oh, Martine... important unhealthy obsession. I want a pair of wingback chairs in this fabric to tone down all the chrome and brass and Italian glass I have going on. I hope the pattern is huge.

But wait! There are more important bargains to see. My favorite California boy Christian May of Maison 21 has curated a super sale selection at Joss and Main. Behold some of my faves:

Triad floor lamp.

Deco room divider.

 

Marilyn leather arm chair.

Grand marble obelisk.

Basically I like anything that looks like it came from Soane, but costs far, far less.

Sorry the pics are so wee -- I didn't feel like opening photoshop today. Apparently my fingers are exhausted from internet shopping and turning Kindle pages.

Now if you will excuse me, a new shipment of wallpaper samples just arrived so I must tape them all over the walls like a crazy lady.

What's new, right?