Scoring an item on sale that you’ve been coveting for weeks (or months!) is so rewarding. This entire room is made up of items on sale from some of my favorite stores. The look comes closest to what I’d like for our living room. We have a dark brown leather couch and Persian rug as well, and I enjoy incorporating accessories from our travels.
This look just says warm and cozy to me. There’s definitely a masculine vibe (gotta give the men in your life a little something), but the peacock mirror glams it up. I could see it in a room with midnight blue walls and a giant built-in bookcase filled with travel guides and souvenirs. Or pick a wall color from the paler choices that appear in the map.
Key Pieces:
Sofa, Bloomingdales: $3,059, regularly $4,370. Slim arms and thin legs give this leather sofa a modern silhouette.
Coffee table and side table, Crate & Barrel: $249 and $149, regularly $299 and $199. I really like this glass-topped set, and it would work really well in our living room because of the storage drawers. Too bad we have other priorities!
7’10″x9’10″ Persian Rug , World Market: $359.99, regularly $399.99. This rug is rich with color and made of viscose, which World Market says is as soft as silk and I have to agree. The Persian rugs in our bedroom are viscose, but a small handmade prayer rug that I bought in Istanbul is just as soft.
Accessories:
Weathered wood table lamp, West Elm: $139.99, regularly $179. This lamp adds great texture and doubles as a sculpture.
Suzanne Kasler Map Giclee, Ballard Designs: $239, regularly $299. There are three in this series (Europe, North America, and Africa), and they immediately caught my eye in the latest catalog. The whole series would look very cool if you could afford it.
Honeycomb Mirror, Pier 1: $199.98, regularly $249.95. I’m not the only one who’s blogged about this mirror before, and it’s finally on clearance! See it in action over at Young House Love.
Red Cross Pillow, Pier 1: $8.38, regularly $16.95. A little bling in the pillow plus the glam mirror keep things from being too mannish.
Legato Pillow, Pier 1: $11.18, regularly $14.95. Simple in a honey color that picks up on the rug.
Since this mood board is all about what’s on sale, I couldn’t include this faux fur throw. It would soften up the clean lines of the furniture and hey – who doesn’t like a little leopard?
Grand total:$4,415.52 (not including the throw)
Total saved: $1,612.32
In Boston, the only sign that spring is near is the few extra minutes of daylight in the evening. That’s something, though, isn’t it? Although it’s still too cold to break out my spring wardrobe (which needs a major spring cleaning), I scored a few new pieces on sale at LOFT this weekend that brightened my spirits and can be worn now: a feminine anorak with a ruffled collar (ok, with a thick sweater underneath!), pretty blouse (underneath aforementioned thick sweater), and polished denim trousers.
Tees by LOFT
Outerwear by LOFT
LOFT was giving out savings cards to use later this month, and I already have my eye on a few shoes and accessories to add to my closet during my next shopping trip. Those python wedges must be mine!
Sandals by LOFT
Necklaces by LOFT
Have you started your spring shopping yet?
The bathroom is an easy place to make quick, inexpensive updates. I spotted a great chinois shower curtain at World Market’s online shop (oh how I wish they had a store was in Massachusetts!) and in a few minutes found a few things that would perk up a ho-hum bath.
The shower curtain has a band along the edge in black, green, and turquoise, which makes the shower curtain a bit modern. The bench, from JC Penney, is on sale, and you could spray paint it and reupholster the seat easily. Check out Odi et Amo’s version here, and try a small print for the seat. Black and white would be the safe choice, but how about picking turquoise or green for the seat to bring in a little more color?
Get the look:
Shower curtain, World Market
Stool, JC Penney
Towels, World Market
Tealights, Z Gallerie
Teacups for holding cotton swabs and toothbrushes, World Market
Ever since the fourth grade, I’ve worn some kind of makeup. First, it was the Bonne Bell Lipsmackers; I had countless flavors. By sixth grade I was applying Cover Girl tinted lipgloss, and using my allowance money to buy all the colors available, regardless of how they looked with my skin tone. Fueled by my obsession with everything written and advertised in teen magazines (remember YM?), my products started to pile up.
Around eighth grade my grandma decided I was ready to graduate to Clinique to control and hide my pre-teen acne, and I discovered the joy of Clinique Bonus Time. Mom, Nanny, and I would head to Filene’s and each buy enough that we were able to get three bonus kits and swap the products. Nanny gave me the bright lipsticks and eye shadows, she got the powders and wrinkle creams, and Mom got the moisturizers and cleansers.
The problem? I never throw out my makeup. Well, okay – I do throw out mascara, but definitely not after the recommended three months. It’s probably more like five months. I mean, if there’s still some in the tube, why waste it? Eye infections, that’s why. Perhaps I need to use my label maker to make an “expiration date” label each time I buy a new tube.
My most frequently used makeup lives in my bathroom vanity drawer while the “special occasion” stuff is in a caddy and basket on my dresser. Trouble is, I don’t have nearly as many special occasions as I do colors of lipstick, flavors of lip gloss, bottles of nail polish, and shades of eye shadow. The other night I threw away a barely used compact of Touch Base for Eyes because I distinctly remember buying it when I was a senior in college. My 10-year reunion is coming up this summer, so I figured it was high time that product went into the bin.
There are seven bottles of perfume on a lovely antique mirror on my dresser. I haven’t used any of them since I moved in with my husband more than four years ago. Letting myself go? Maybe, but I was never a daily perfume wearer, anyway. The first bottle I bought is Crabtree & Evelyn’s Freesia eau de toilette. I purchased it in eighth grade, and over time the liquid in the bottle has turned from clear to yellow. I suspect that it doesn’t smell like freesia anymore.
My beauty product consumption isn’t limited to makeup. There are loads of lotions, gels, shampoos, soaps and scrubs hidden away in our bathrooms (all 2.5 of them). I’m not the only one to blame for this outrageous collection: these things are so easy to give as gifts (who doesn’t need hand cream?), and I receive and give them frequently. The result is a build-up of more than I can ever use.
I used to be a sucker for the latest color, hottest product, and anything else the makeup counter lady could fit into my well-moisturized hands. Now that I have a house and a baby to buy for, my lust for these things has significantly waned.
Here’s what I need to do to clear out and update my product stash:
Review this guide to makeup shelf life and viciously toss stuff out. That pretty lipstick in a shade that Clinique hasn’t offered since 1999 has got to go.
Check my bathroom vanity for stuff I will actually use, and put it in a place where I will actually use it. Then, toss the rest.
Make a trip to Sephora to test perfumes to find a light scent that would be appropriate to wear every day. Not wanted: a strong scent that my colleagues can sniff out from down the hall (ahem, male colleague down the hall).
Try to not be a sucker.
If you could only have five beauty products on your vanity what would they be?
Happy Valentine’s Day!
I often sign off cards to my hubby with x’s and o’s. Several occasions passed before he asked me what they meant!! Hah! Now that I’m a parent, celebrating this Hallmark holiday isn’t as easy as it once was. Many thanks to my parents for babysitting on Saturday so we could enjoy a yummy French dinner followed by a spontaneous trip to a comedy club. Tonight, the mister will be playing in a softball game while I catch up on “Desperate Housewives” after Junior goes to bed.
To Mr. JourneyChic: You may be anti-chivalry, but you’ll always be my Price Charming. You happily cook and change diapers while looking hot, which makes me one lucky gal.
May your Valentine’s Day, and every day, be filled with love!
Want to make these cupcakes? Find the recipe here.
Dear son,
This week you turned seven months old. It’s hard to believe you are now closer to being a year old than to being brand new. Your personality is growing as quickly as your body; at nearly 22lbs and over 27″ long you are a big boy, full of smiles and giggles for everyone. Here are some of the wonderful things happening now.
Ba Ba Ba, Da Da Da, Ssssss
You are turning into quite a chatterbox, practicing all kinds of sounds at sometimes ear-piercing decibels. Your favorite times to talk are when you’re getting your diaper changed, when we’re driving somewhere, and when you’re nearing the end of your bottle. Talking with your bottle or binky in your mouth is a new favorite, turning mealtime into comedy hour as you drag out dinner by chatting instead of eating. You’re starting to babble in a more conversational way, which is truly hysterical. I have no idea what you’re talking about, but you sure seem to! Grammy taught you how to say “Sssss” by showing you things that are soft. You rarely use the sound in the right context, but you sure love to say it!
Where’s my kitty?
Each day you grow more and more obsessed with our cat, Whiskey. “Whiskey-kitty” doesn’t love you nearly as much as you love him, but sometimes he’ll let you pet him under very close supervision. You will lean out of my arms or out of your chair to try to catch a glimpse of Whiskey as he sneaks by you. When asked “Where’s your Whiskey-kitty?” you inevitably look down to the floor to try to spot him. It seems that while you may not know who Mommy and Daddy are, and probably not even your own name, you know what your binky and kitty are. It’s amazing to see your comprehension grow.
Daddy is hysterical!
Although I can definitely make you laugh (sometimes we get into giggle fits for no reason), you think your daddy is the funniest person in the world. Everything he does, from the smallest glance to a giant burp, makes you smile and laugh. You love when he rubs his scruffy chin on your cheek; it makes you giggle every time. You also laugh when we toss you high and drop you low, or say “Zzzzzzebra!” right against your ear. There’s a twinkle in your eye and a crinkle in your nose with every grin. You are so easy to please that it helps us to remember that even the smallest things can bring loads of happiness.
A new view of things
You just started sitting really well on your own, and now it’s your preferred way to play. Sitting up has given you a whole new perspective on your little world. Now you can take a bath in the big tub (just don’t lunge forward to grab toys that are floating away – it scares Mommy!), ride in the front of the grocery cart, and use your stroller without the car seat. When you’re not sitting up, you love to roll from one end of the room to the other. We need to baby-proof the house very soon so you won’t roll away!
I want it!
When you wake up in the middle of the night, you can find your binky in the dark and rotate it around like a Rubik’s Cube until it’s happily settled in your mouth. When you see a toy you want, you lunge or roll towards it. And God help us if you spot your bottle before we’re ready to give it to you – we’ll never hear the end of it until you’ve got your drink in your hands.
Give me something good to eat
Although you started eating solids more than two months ago, you’re just developing a preference for certain baby foods: namely, fruit. You’re happy to eat peaches, bananas, applesauce, and pears. You’ll even eat carrots. Any other veggie is met with extreme protest in the form of not swallowing the food, grimacing, whining, and occasionally crying. I tried to give you some avocado the other night, chopped up very small. You weren’t sure what to do with it and weren’t crazy about how it tastes. Oh well, more for me!
Show me the love
You are such a good baby, with such cute chubby cheeks, that it’s impossible to resist you. You are very relaxed (probably because you sleep so well at night) and quick to smile, which makes it easy for me to be your mommy. It melts my heart when you put your head on my shoulder when you’re tired, when you smile at my terrible singing and dancing, when you laugh simply because I’m laughing, when you give your daddy a giant grin as soon as he walks in the door. I love you more and more each day. I am so grateful and amazed that you are mine.
I started a little rant on Tuesday about how most magazines only highlight products that are way out of the average American’s budget. It’s great to get ideas from high-end stuff, but I beg the editors to show us alternative versions that the average Jane can afford and easily find. Until they catch on, I’ll make it my mission to seek out chic and affordable items for our wardrobes and homes. These finds won’t involved stalking your local Goodwill or trying to imagine what something would look like if only it was warm enough to break out the spray paint. I work full-time, have a baby, and have never had any luck at Goodwill. Furthermore, I don’t have the patience or time to sew and paint every weekend, and I enjoy watching TV. I suspect that many of you fall into this category as well.
So here’s the first installation of “Cheap Chic”: pretty pillows from Target to lighten up your bed or sofa.
Embroidered Geometric Pillow, $19.99
Mum Pillow, $24.99
Texas Toss Pillow, $19.99
Medallion Pillow, $14.99
Prices are valid as of Feb 1, 2011.
I would love to learn about more stores – either brick and mortar or online – where you score pretty things (tee-hee!) at prices that don’t give you goosebumps. Please send links my way! And if you spot something gorgeous, let me know and I’ll feature it!
While Erin is busy taking care of her gorgeous little boy, I wrote a little guest post for her blog, Domestic Adventure. Check out my ideas for incorporating birds into your wardrobe and decor!
When the new High Gloss e-zine hit the web, I was just as excited as the rest of the blog community to get my grubby little keyboard on it. In so many ways, it did not disappoint. But like pretty much every other fashion and design mag (both hard and soft copy), it fails to give us suggestions for real, affordable style. Now, I realize that the word “affordable” means different things for different people, but the reality is that most of the nation is in the middle of a recession. Many people are facing foreclosure or downsizing their homes. Those of us who do make a good living but live in an outrageously expensive part of the country (ahem, that would be me) don’t want to drop thousands on a new wardrobe or room – even if we could. Hello, I spend $24k per year on daycare! That doesn’t leave room for a $7k Rolex, which is fine by me since my Citizen watch has been ticking along quite nicely for nearly ten years so far.
If you bought everything in the “Top 12 Investment Pieces” article (pg. 40), you’d spend $14,275. While I don’t think the editors mean to suggest that you run out and buy all twelve things, even the individual items are simply more than the average American can or should spend. The first real “investment piece” I purchased was a $375(ish) leather bag at the Furla store located at the bottom of the Spanish steps in Rome about six years ago. I used that bag every single day for a year, regardless of whether or not it coordinated with my outfit, simply to shed the Catholic guilt of spending so much money on a single item.
We all like nice things, and the staples that High Gloss shows in this article are wonderful ideas. But let’s get real, people, and turn some of those ideas into a reality.
First up are trench coats. I scored a Lily Pulitzer trench at TJ Maxx a few years ago for about $175 and it’s served me well ever since. For an even less expensive alternative, turn to London Fog, the originator of the rain coat. Buy it here.
Full disclosure: My husband bought me a Burberry scarf for my birthday a few years ago, so I’m not anti-Burberry by any means. Although I’d never have bought if for myself, I wear it almost every day during the winter. I’ll admit that it gives me a thrill to own something so indulgent.
Next up, two suggested must-have shoes: animal-print flats and nude pumps. Still pricey but much more reasonable flats can be purchased here, and those pretty nude heels can be found here.
Finally, watches and statement jewelry. The only way I would buy a Rolex is if I won the lottery or a wizard dumped a pile of cash on my house. Neither of these scenarios is likely. This Coach watch would be an upgrade to what’s currently on my wrist. As for the jewelry, there are so many options for great pieces – Etsy is a great place to look for unique stuff, but for somewhere mainstream, Banana Republic has a lot of cool pieces like this one out now.
I completely agree with High Gloss that it’s better to own high-quality classic pieces than throw money away on a bunch of stuff that you’ll hate next season. But remember that designer names aren’t the only mark of quality. There’s a lot of affordable quality out there, and if you treat it gently it will last a long time.
So now I issue a challenge to High Gloss, Lonny, and other mags out there: Can you introduce us to products that we can run out and buy tomorrow on a real-life, middle American budget?
Although my main man just started sitting around over the past few days, the hubs and I have been busy: our Costa Rican vacation, a business trip, and a nasty case of tonsillitis (the last two were all mine). Chez JourneyChic, we’re still catching up and unpacking. I’m quite behind on blog writing/reading, and hope to get back into the swing of things this week.
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