My Version of Secret Holiday & Co.

Have you ever had a moment when you're in the store/art gallery/whatever and you're like, "omg, look at that cute/cool/trendy such-and-such, I could totally make that in ten minutes, and I can't believe they want (insert ridiculous seeming price here) for it." NO? Well I have that thought ALL THE TIME. For example:

This is the work of Secret Holiday & Co. These banners range from $65 to $85 and there is a huuuuge waiting list for them. Huge. It would take years to receive one because, as far as I can tell, they are produced by one lady who makes them by hand in her spare time.

So I decided to make one. The silly thing is, I don't even really like them that much. I think I was more annoyed that I could make this thing for less than $10 and that there are apparently thousands of people out there that want one and are willing to pay a ridiculous amount for them.

I felt a little weird just copying these banners exactly - I made my banner a little differently shaped and I tried to come up with my own verbiage... but that ended up being a total bust. I knew it would go in Cora's room so I wanted it to have some good advice like, "Be strong and courageous" but "courageous" is a stinking long word and wouldn't fit. "Brave" fits perfectly. I thought of doing a fruit of the spirit, but "Love, Joy, Peace" sounds like a Christmas card and, guess what, "Be kind" is already a SHCO banner. I should have just said, "Mama knows best." Omg that's brilliant; I wish I had thought of that sooner. Danggit.

Anyway, my finished banner turned out fine - since I couldn't pick one phrase, I made it double-sided; that way I can flip it over and be doubly indecisive. I just hot-glued the letters on instead of sewing them and now I'm wondering if I can peel them off and change the words around..... because "mama knows best".... at least the second time around....

Mondays

Last week was the epitome of a perfect fall. We went on lots of walks, raked leaves, drank cider, and enjoyed the crisp, sunny days.

This morning we awoke to snow! It's freezing! Fall is officially over and winter has begun, folks! In honor of the chilly days to come, take a gander at these photographs by Andy Anderson. These photos make a miserable past-time (ice fishing in Minnesota) look quite beautiful.

Comfortably Blue

I have been tired a lot lately; and when I'm tired, I like to look at pretty, soothing things. Therefore, it makes sense that Comfortably Blue has become one of my favorite tumblrs. Comfortably Blue features a collection of drawings, sculptures, and photographs by a girl named Salome who lives in Switzerland. Her art is sweet and soft and feminine and I find it inspiring. It helps me to be excited for the day when I will have the energy to create pretty (or not so pretty) things on my own again. Soon :)

Happy Friday

My new favorite Tumblr feed: It's no biggie. It's filled with darling little animated gifs such as these...

Enjoy your weekend!!

Home Renovation on Steroids

I came across the Olive Green Window blog today and it makes our renovation projects look.... kind of pitiful.

It probably doesn't hurt that they started out with a home like this...

From lovely, to totally amazing....

They've found and refinished a lot of their furniture on auction sites, but it's all period, it's all authentic, and it's all designer. Fancy.

Even though this is home renovation on a completely different scale, it's fun to see what other people are up to. It looks like they enjoy their projects almost as much as we do!

(This will be me in a year :))

The Calligraphy of Seb Lester

Note: I should warn those that are swear-word adverse to avoid this post.

A couple of months ago, I checked out a few books from the library in an attempt to learn calligraphy. A few frustrating weeks later, I gave up because, well, I wasn't that great at it and I wasn't sure what I'd actually want to write once I had mastered the skill. I'm not really one for hanging cheesy quotes and "family, friends, faith" plaques around my house.

However, it would seem that Seb Lester, a calligrapher and type designer hailing from the UK, doesn't care what the words he's writing say, so much as how beautiful they are. For example:

Good heavens. I feel so guilty just posting that. Look away! 

As you can see, Mr. Lester has a bit of an attitude, but his calligraphy is lovely. Of course he has a real job where he designs book covers and typefaces and perfectly presentable quotes which he sells as art prints. He's pretty good at it, too.

But my favorite work is that in his sketchbook:

Especially his series, "Break Bad News Gently with Calligraphy."

You can follow him on Instagram @seblester or see his portfolio at http://www.seblester.co.uk/

And again, sorry for all the swears....

Emily Henderson II

Last Wednesday, I posted about Emily Henderson's Sale at One King's Lane. Today, I thought I'd share a few rooms that she's decorated.

These are a few of my favorite - the first two are of her own home (living room and office), the next three are of Ian Brennan's home (living room), and the last three are the home of the blogger Oh Joy! (living room).

And a few of my not-so-favorites:

Sometimes I think there's too much clutter and that the pops of color she adds (hot pink or orange) are a bit much, but I do really like the way she refurbishes old furniture and is able to seamlessly mix vintage pieces with more modern ones. I think I'm most drawn to the rooms in which she uses rich materials and cool colors, as in the following:

I love the cobalt, the greenery, how bright everything looks with the reflective surfaces of the brass; the only thing missing is a piece of furniture in Emily's signature blue velvet (probably the reason I bought my drapes in the first place). Gosh, that light fixture is amazing.

All photos are property of Emily Henderson - I snagged them off her site - if you want to see more of her work, you can see her portfolio here.

Last Day of No-Shave November

There is no denying that guys are obsessed with their facial hair. Eric and his college roommates had a diagram in their apartment labeling every beard, goatee, and moustache known to man. Even now, he and his buddies get excited about "no-shave November," and if it weren't for the strict guidelines at work regarding facial hair, I'm sure Eric would have a handlebar moustache or muttonchops or some such thing going full force right now.

Apparently, guys never grow out of their facial hair fanaticism, as evidenced by the 2012 European Beard and Moustache Championships. Look at them grow!

These are just a few of the photos; these are from The Telegraph and can be seen in their entirety here.

Design Inspiration: My Scandinavian Home Blog

My new favorite blog is now officially: My Scadinavian Home. I've never actually read any of the posts, so it could be utter crap, but the photos of the homes it highlights are fabulous.

Totally inspiring. Go. Gaze in wonderment.

Kitchen Meeting!

I forgot to mention yesterday that we are meeting with a kitchen planning lady this afternoon!! I'm slightly nervous that she'll take one look at our house and tell us that we can't afford her; fingers crossed that she stays long enough to give us at least one layout.

In honor of our upcoming meeting, here are a few of my favorite kitchens:

Surprisingly, I like the black with the white

I think I mostly like the light in this room, but I also like the clean white with the rusticity of the wood. 

Have always loved this green. I love muted colors.

Love all this - white, the sink, the open wood shelves, all of it!

same kitchen

same kitchen

same kitchen

Surprisingly, again, the black. Love the apron front sink. 

Wood & white

There's that green again!

 I've always wanted a marble tile backsplash...

...but I'm pretty sure spending money on a marble countertop is a bit insane and I can't imagine marble subway tiles with butcher block or laminate counters.

Wish us luck tonight!

Happy Friday

I love this video -


From her clothes and her hair to the apple picking and countryside rambling, I can envision Eric and I doing something like this some day. Except I would hope he could come with me to the country. And he is much manlier than that hipster hairstylist this chick lives with (thank goodness).

Black & White

It's already been established that I LOVE my iPhone, and fast becoming one of my favorite apps is Instagram. Not only for the filters it provides, but because of the network of designers, bloggers, and stay-at-home moms that detail their lives through their photo feeds.

I'm discovering that there is a strange clique of women out there with incredible homes, lovely cothing, fascinating Etsy shops, and who, as far as I can tell, live in completely different states, sometimes continents, and only know one another because they admired each other's artwork (via Etsy) and noticed (via instagram) that they own the same Ikea lamps.

It's super weird to see these pictures of a stranger's life - the food they eat, the clothes they wear, the homes they occupy, but at the same time it's really inspiring. It's like receiving a new decor magazine every day. I want to be an Etsy-shop-owning, super-stylish, owner-of-oh-so-many-tea-towels Instagrammer.

Boy, isn't that about the best life ambition ever.

While basically stalking these people, I've noticed a huge trend in these magazine-come-to-life-women's feeds. It's pretty difficult to miss. Soooo many of them live their lives in black and white. Don't believe me? A perfect example of this is @apieceofcake82 - or - some lady named Deborah. Not only is Deborah's entire house black and white (figs. 1 & 2), but her kids are black and white (fig. 3), her food (fig. 4), her knick-knacks (fig. 5), her parties (fig.6), even when she goes on vacation, her clothing is all black and white (fig. 7). You may be doubting, thinking, "duh, Brianna, she probably just used a black and white photo filter." Nope. Proof. Green (fig. 8).

These ladies be loco. But beautiful. I find myself inspired by all the black and white, and while I could never, ever, have my house this pristine, I am  drawn to how graphic and clean everything is. I can't help but be influenced a liiittle (hence the black linen dining chairs). I'm sure you'll see more of @apieceofcake82's style creeping into the things I find drool-worthy.... be on the lookout people....lest I become a monochromatic mess.

Inspiring Illustrator: Yelena Bryksenkova

You can buy here work here, on etsy.