Daily Double

Happy Memorial Day, blog buddies! My parents are in town and I've got some serious visiting to attend to, so let's get down to business, shall we? First, the winner of our Horsey pillow giveaway is... (Drumroll, please)

Congratulations to Jeannine of Small and Chic!

Let's all put our gloves together and tip our derby hats for Jeannine and her new equine pal, Sadie. I just know those two crazy kids are going to be so happy together! Sadie should probably count herself lucky not to be named Gluestick or Turnip Head, although she may have held her head high if called Percival J Teddington, Madame Hortense Foster, or even Neigh Neigh. She most certainly would have relished another moniker with moxie -- Ecumenical Equine Ecstasy, or Easy E for short. But I have no doubt that (sexy) Sadie will be right at home with her new name and new home.

If you're crying tears of sadness that la Horsey won't be headed home with you, go HERE to buy him. And while you're at it, check out some of CSN's other fine offerings at their All Modern store... with a super selection and free shipping, it's all awesome.

Our second order of business is maxxxxxing up this holiday! I hope you're all lounging by pools or sashaying around boats with cocktails in hand while showing off your pearly white shoes and hats. If you happen to be slumming at home, playing it low key, that's ok, too. I'll just leave you with a little virtual vacation:

Ahhhh. So fresh and so clean, clean.

We'll be back tomorrow, and I'm expecting the full blow by blow of your weekends. Until then, have a fabulous holiday!

And the Living Is Easy

It never fails. All winter long, I slumber away in my cozy neutral cocoon, singing sweet lullabies to oatmeal and flax, linen and greige. Then summer comes and I burst the bleep out, emerging in a crescendo of jazzy trumpets, reborn as a shining neon beacon. I'm not exactly sure how this magical transformation occurs, but as the sun gets brighter, I begin seeing everything as a giant sparkly rainbow of possibility. Perhaps it's the sudden uptick in Vitamin D, or maybe it's just because it's so damn gorgeous outside. Whatever. When summer comes, I (try to) slough off my grouchy, over analytical shell, and embrace the simple truth at the heart of Emerson's idea that beauty is its own excuse for being.

After that kind of introduction, you're probably expecting rubies and diamonds to fall out of the screen, but no.

It's just some buzzy good cheer from Matthew Williamson's home, complete with a little shot of Bombay to kick start your Memorial Day weekend.

Because when summer comes, it's time to partay.

Have a great weekend, and don't forget to tune in on Monday to see who won the horsey pillow giveaway! You did enter to win the free horsey pillow, didn't you????? If not, there's still time... enter HERE.

Babies Are the New Black

I remember when I would run into all my friends at a bar on any given Wednesday.  A couple of years later I started bumping into them all at weddings and (do you see where this is going) these days I seem to see my favorite ladies in groups most frequently at baby showers.  What conclusions can we draw from this:  1.  I'm getting old.  2. I'm not sure why we ever stopped going to bars on Wednesdays and 3.  Eventually I was going to get sucked into the baby crazy too.  Yep, babies are the new black and I'm cooking up my own. We're 5 months along (I'm sorry I didn't tell you dudes sooner, I just didn't want this to turn into some lame mommy chat room) and just this past Tuesday we found out that we're having a bouncing baby boy.  We're BEYOND excited and now it's time to decorate his room.

I hate to admit that my number one nursery inspiration room is also the most popular baby's room ever to hit the interwebs but I just can't help it.  The room of Beckett, Jenna Lyon's son, is just filled with everything I love.   There will be no knock offs, but don't be surprised if you see this pallet again over the next few months.

I spent some serious time considering a mural like the one here for his room.  I even found this exact mountain scape.  But ultimately decided that I wanted to cover the walls in clustered art (surprise!) and figured I would get sick of the mural before the little dude even popped out.

One thing I've realized while pulling photos for le bebe's room is that I really like stuff hanging from the ceiling.   I'm hoping and praying to find a dream chandelier for a bargain basement price but I haven't ruled out the possibility of a clustered grouping of goodies hanging in a corner somewhere.

Of course, there's always the option of keeping it clean and simple.  Ok, who am I kidding?  There's no way I'm giving up a crazy sweet mobile so that an arc light can shine on the baby all night long.

Minus the crib too close to the floor, and plus some cooler artwork this is probably more my speed

If I want to creep the baby out I'll go with this assylum-chic space.  It will be good for the baby to learn all about anatomy, sweeping and ironing before he's able to walk, right?

Because I've never found fault with this pallet (see image #1) this photo generally tugs at my soul.

I've been picking up a few random items over the last few months, they all tend to fit into the black / white / yellow theme, so I think that's where we're going.  The walls in the room are light grey now, but I can't decide if they should stay that way.  This is where you come in.  Tell me everything you would do that doesn't involve snuggly elephants in bonnets or sunbathing bunny rabbits.

Oh, and no asking what his name is, you got to find out he was a boy on the same day you found out he exists (I've been waiting 5 months for the luxury), the name is under wraps until his October due date.  xoxo!