Laundry Room

We're living in exciting times. We have a black president. Electric cars are available and (somewhat) affordable to the public. And we have this little thing called Pinterest.

It's like someone read my mind, sifted through the tumbleweeds in there, and made my wish come true. Before Pinterest I would email myself things I wanted to remember, so my inbox was a jumble of recipes, crafts, hair tutorials, clothes, and a few dozen actual emails. Now I can organize all the wonderful things I find on the internet. Not that this is news to anyone on the internet...

The downside is that I am also bombarded by beautiful homes with elements I want to put into my dream house.* I am particularly weak in the knees for cozy yet organized closets and laundry rooms. There are so many good ideas it would take a monster of a house to contain it all.
*Dream house meaning keep dreaming, it ain't gonna happen any time soon.

Today, in an effort to tame the madness (and because I was bored at home while the hubby played tennis) I laid out my dream-yet-still-practical laundry room.

Most items in this layout are fairly standard. Fancy front-loader appliances: check! Folding surface, ample cabinets, and utility sink: check, check, and check! But what kind of architect (and Pinterest fan) would I be if I didn't add a few special items?

When I saw this pin, I fell in love with the idea of hide-away sweater racks. So smart!(5)

source unknown

Ever since I bought my laundry sorting best friend I knew I would have to incorporate some bins for clean clothes - one for each member of the family. (6)

And if I end up with a combination laundry/mud room (which just seems practical) then I have to have this super snazzy bench with coat hooks and hidden shoe cubbies. (10)

source unknown

What would you put in your dream laundry room?

The Official Christmas Re-Cap

It's been a few weeks since I've posted, but that's because I've been enjoying all the amazing stuff the family got for Christmas. We got practical stuff, fun stuff and everything in between.

Christmas Eve the hubby's family got together for perogies and presents. We all were thoroughly gifted, but my big gift was this super swanky wet/dry dust mop. It's like a robotic swiffer, but better. I think it officially makes me an old lady when I get this excited over receiving a floor cleaner as a gift.

buy it here

Luke's big gift (and when I say big, I mean BIG) was this bouncy castle from the whole family. It has a bounce area, climbing wall, slide and ball pit. Even better, we can add a hose during warm weather and we get a water slide with a splash pool. Seriously, could this gift be any cooler? Unexpected gift? The mini-shed we had to put up to store it :)

buy it here

The next morning, the whole family convened at our house for the opening of stockings. Luke's not really old enough to understand Santa but just in case I wanted us to have full stockings to open. Steven and I made a deal that we would stuff Luke's stocking together, but that we would buy each other a few surprise stocking stuffers.  Luke got a Nerf gun that was not-so-secretly for my husband. So what if the package says Age 8 and Up? Hubby thought it was best to start him early.

buy it here

I got a drying rack and a hand-made coral ring that I pinned ages ago. Now, before you go scolding my husband through the internet, getting a drying rack was actually exciting. Thrilling even. Prior to Christmas I had a flimsy wooden drying rack that was on its last leg and fell apart every time I tried to use it. This guy is sturdy and will be around to dry my sweaters, bras and cloth diapers for years to come.

buy it here

buy it here

Steven got some stainless steel soap (it removes cooking odors, like garlic and onions, from your hands), a really, really big clamp and (drum roll please) tickets to the Belk Bowl. After Christmas was wrapped up, we head to Charlotte and watched the Wolfpack whoop up on the St Louis Cardinals. Don't worry, I didn't go into debt over those tickets, they were free - my friend got them free from her work, yada yada yada.

buy it here

After brunch we loaded up the car and headed to my uncle's house to have Christmas dinner with my mom's side of the family, where we continued to rack up the pressies. Luke got lots of gifts, but my favorite one was a board book that teaches everything you could ever need to know about being a Wolfpack fan. Let's just say our ENTIRE family is on a mission to add one more State fan to the fold.

buy it here

I got a piece from the new CorningWare Etch line from my aunt and uncle. I've had my eye on them for a while, but pretty bakeware isn't high on the priority list when money is tight, so I was glad to find it under the tree. Also, the color is much brighter and lime-y in person which I love.

buy it here

Not to downplay the CorningWare, but my favorite gift this year was a collection of owls from my Grandmother. I've mentioned before how much I love owls because they remind me of my Granny, and my grandmother gave me 3 owls from my Granny's collection: a metal owl lantern, a mug with an owl on it and this fantastic gray and navy cutie (that is already making a home on my mantel).

Steven and I got a few joint gifts, including a luxurious new sheet set and a rugged fold-up wagon both from my mom and step-dad.

buy it here

i can't find the link for mine, but this one is similar

Last, in the Christmas gift-a-palooza is this Electrolux stick vacuum I bought with my Christmas money. Someone else I know has one and I fell in love with it the moment I saw it. After scoping out Electrolux's website I found out that the base model is $100 and the fancy-schmancy version with the built-in hand vac is $120. Imagine my surprise when I stopped by my local Bed, Bath & Beyond and found the fancy version on sale for the same price as the base version. I whipped out my 20% off coupon and took this bad boy home for $80. Don't you just love getting things for 2/3 the market price? I do! I love, love, LOVE this vacuum - it is lightweight and convenient, meaning I actually use it frequently. With the frequent vacuuming it makes it that much easier for my new dust mop to do it's thing. What was I saying about being and old lady who gets cleaning appliances for Christmas? It's totally true.

buy it here

So, what did you get for Christmas?

Note: I wasn't paid or perked in any way to mention the above products or companies. I just love this stuff and thought you would, too! Although if Electrolux is listening, I wouldn't mind a new refrigerator or washer/dryer set.

Birthday Inspiration Board

I seem to be hard to shop for because when my birthday rolls around, most of my family gives me money. Who am I to argue? It's always the right size and it matches everything!

Today I turn 26 and my gifts are already burning a hole in my pocket! I whipped up a little inspiration board to help me decide what to buy for myself.

Black Flats - I have already told you guys how much I like my gray flats, and I am definitely going to get a second pair in black.

Ceiling Fan - Our living room already has a ceiling fan, but it is not my style - contractor standard brass and white, yuck! I guess I complained a lot about it because my mom offered to buy me a new fan for my birthday and I am loving the industrial feel of this one.

Leather Boots - At 26, it's time for me to invest in some black leather boots. I've had several faux leather pairs in the past, but I need to step it up a notch. These Frye boots are out of my price range, but a gal can dream.

Shower Head - I recently spent a few days with a friend and she had a rainfall shower head. I loved it and have been dying to get one ever since I came home.

Bralette - As a nursing mom I have worn nothing but boring nursing bras over the past 3 months. I want this sweet little lace bra to make me and my girls feel feminine and pretty. Plus, at $20 each, I might get more than one!

What would you buy for your birthday?

Coveting Fall Dresses

clockwise from top right: ModCloth, RiordanRoache, ModCloth, ModCloth, ModCloth, Old Navy

Coveting: Yellow Watches

A yellow watch is the perfect pop of color for summer, don't you think?

Clockwise, from bottom left:

Esprit, via Overstock

Puma, via Overstock

Puma, via Overstock

Fossil

Fossil

The Great Drain In The Sky

So, I'm kind of in love with this tub stopper. Won't you buy me one?

Coveting: Sundresses

It's been a while since my last coveting post, but today I wanted to re-visit the old format.

We don't know if we're having a boy or a girl, and we're not going to find out until the grand entrance in the delivery room - "It's a ____!" I honestly won't be disappointed either way - the hubby and I just want a healthy, happy baby. That being said, this spring weather makes me drool over little girl clothes. Whether it's for this baby or one down the road, please tell me I have some itty-bitty sundresses in my future.

Buy It (L-R)

top Shelly Murphy Apparel, Marilyn Young, My Little Sister, Smocking Lisa 708

middle Marilyn Young, Momi Boutique, Sun Loves Shirts

bottom Bella and Gracies, Sun Loves Shirts, Lottie Da Baby, Lil Miss Muffin

Just Add Water

If I wasn't consistently fat currently pregnant I would buy myself this suit for summer. Doesn't this just beg for a big sunhat, glamorous red lips and retro sunglasses? And a pool boy. It definitely needs a pool boy.

suit by Hayden-Harnett - via Greedy Girl*

*I don't normally poach blog material, but this was too delicious not to pass on.

My Tiny Piece of Manhattan

Do you know what I did Saturday night? If you guessed " You enjoyed a lovely dinner downtown followed by some gallery hopping" you would be wrong. You would also be wrong if your guess involved dancing, shopping or anything else fun and exciting, out in public, that twenty-somethings typically do on the weekend.


However, if your guess was "You sat on your ass playing with Legos while you half-paid attention to the Olympics" then ding, ding, ding we have a winner!


That's right folks, I'm just as dorky as you think I am. Saturday morning I went to the mall with the intention of buying some not-too-ugly maternity clothes. On my way to Cows-R-Us, I got distracted in the Lego Store.


You see, several months ago I read a press release about the upcoming Lego Architecture Series.
Naturally I almost peed my pants with glee.*





Now they are available for purchase and I just couldn't stop myself from buying a mini-Lego Guggenheim. I bought my clothes, ran some other errands then went home where I promptly tore open my new toy like a 6 year old hopped up on birthday cake.


Go ahead, admire my mini-monument in all its nerdy, toy glory.



Here it sits, atop a stack of Arch Record, on my desk at work.

If any of you happen to have 100 bucks lying around, you can feel free to send me a Lego Fallingwater to add to my collection.

*Speaking of Glee, when is that showing coming back? I am dying here. I need campy mash ups!

I'm So White N' Nerdy

Lots of people relax and unwind by learning a musical instrument. They practice playing the guitar or the drums, and after years of diligent work they have accomplished something to be proud of.

Me? Not so much. I like to relax and unwind by pretending to play a plastic guitar. That's right folks, I play Rock Band.

me: "Hi, I'm Allison and I'm a nerd."
NA:* "Hi Allison."

This game sounds absolutely ridiculous but it really is fun to play. The only downside** is the instruments take up quite a bit of space.

enter the GUITAR HANGER, stage left

I can just imagine one of these in my coat closet holding my axe. Wow. I can't even type that with a straight face. I guess you could use it for a regular guitar, too. If you're LAME.***

*NA is nerds anonymous. Clearly.

**Other than the pastiness and crippled social life.

***And by lame I mean way cooler than I'll ever be.

via Apartment Therapy

Not Your Grandfather's Clock*

I am absolutely in love with this concrete grandfather clock.

I have always liked the formality and presence of a grandfather clock, but not the traditional styling. I'm in awe of the simplicity of the form and the honesty of the material. Not to mention this would contrast just enough with my gray walls. As is the case with a lot of things I can't get out of my head these days, the website does not include pricing - never a good sign - and since it's made in Sweden that's a long way to ship something this heavy.

I have worked with concrete before, so this wouldn't be an impossible DIY but it is a highly improbable DIY. Le sigh.

*Unless your grandfather is a total bad-ass.

via Apartment Therapy

Coveting: Throw Pillows

I am just in love with the pillows by Dimmalimm Home. I originally found their shop because Apartment Therapy wrote a post on their line of coasters, but I was much more impressed with their pillows. They have a sculptural series (grey and white) but they also craft pillows from authentic Japanese kimino silk (orange).

They are definitely on the pricey side, but I would love to have one of their pieces on my couch!

Coveting: More Rugs

Damn you Apartment Therapy!* What I am experiencing right now is way beyond the normal amount of coveting that goes on over here.

I have been searching for the perfect rug with warm greys and hints of yellow. Just when I decided I couldn't afford a real rug and settled on this set of FLOR tiles...

... the helpful folks over at Apartment Therapy have to go and show me this...

... which then led to me wanting this...


... and this.

All three rugs are made by The Rug Company and they don't list any prices on their website, which is never a good sign. According to AT a 5'x7' owl rug would only set me back $3,285 or, to put it in terms I can really understand, over three months rent! As cute as that owl would be in a nursery - OK, who am I kidding I would put that in my living room** - it's never gonna happen. Because I have to buy stuff like food.

Stupid Apartment Therapy.

* OK, I don't really mean it. Please let me keep reading about DIY goodness and home organization.

**By now we all know how I feel about owls.

Coveting: Cocktail Rings

All items can be purchased on Etsy

Coveting: Rugs

Now that I am finished shopping for a house, it is time to start shopping for things to go in a house. One of the first items on my list is an area rug for the living room. I'm hesitant to select a paint color until I have the rug picked out. It's such a large part of the room and can really set the color scheme.



Now, I know what you're thinking. 'There's no color in those rugs! What color scheme?' Well, my dear readers, I'll tell you. I want to paint the living room walls gray, but I don't know if I want a warm gray or a cool gray. I would hate to pick a wall color then fall in love with a rug that clashes. I am trying to find a rug on the cheap, so my options are already limited enough.

I really wanted a rug with yellow accents (maybe a yellow stripe or zig-zag?) but couldn't find one I like. Any hints?

Sources, left to right: Top Row - Overstock, Bed, Bath & Beyond, Home Decorators Collection Middle Row - West Elm, Overstock, Crate & Barrel Bottom Row - Ikea, Macy's, Home Decorators Collection

Coveting: Gray Platforms

clockwise, from top left: Pink Duchess, Rock & Republic, Stuart Weitzman, Promiscuous, Calvin Klein, 80%20, Stuart Weitzman, Jessica Simpson

Coveting: Yellow Roses

All items can be purchased on Etsy

Coveting: Headbands

Many of my favorite blogs are buzzing about the new headband collection from BAMBAKO. Apparently, since it's Hooray For Boobies month, BAMBAKO is donating profits from the new collection to breast cancer research. As one would expect, the new collection is very, very pink.

I will not be buying one for two reasons:
1) I don't like pink.
2) I have a huge beef with breast cancer being used as a marketing tool. But, I have no intention of offending people so I'm not going to put my rant out there.*

However, her not-pink, nothing-to-do-with cancer, non-donating headbands are just as fantastic, if not better. I really love her slender headbands in shades of blue, brown and gray. They have a wonderful quality of being lovingly assembled from materials gathered over time.



That being said, I also LOVE this one:

It's big, and chunky, and striped and I WANT IT!

On an unrelated note, my birthday is coming up.** If you were to buy a headband and just happened to accidentally order an extra I would be willing to give it a good home.

* Just so you don't think I'm a total bitch, it is a reasonable rant. I have told it to an actual breast cancer survivor and she agreed with me. See, I'm not a monster.

**Since my birthday is getting closer I may or may not start blogging about stuff I want and dropping not so subtle hints. Yes I am that annoying friend/co-worker/spouse that has a birthday countdown and likes to remind you of said countdown.

Coveting: Statement Ring

And when I say statement ring, I mean STATEMENT.

This ring does not say "Hello, how kind of you to notice." This ring says "HELLO DARLINGS! I AM FABULOUS AND YOU WILL NEVER BE AS CHIC AS ME - HOW TRAGIC. OOH, CHAMPAGNE!"



Every woman needs at least one thing in her closet that talks like that. File this under 'I' for impractical yet fabulous.

Coveting: Linen Case for iThings

When I can finally get my iphone I must have this super-swanky case to protect my precious.* My favorite feature is the pocket for earbuds (or cash, or ID, or whatever). I have seen lots of cute cases but very have a place for earbuds that isn't the bottom of my purse. I also want the coordinating clutch to keep track of all my Weight Watchers stuff.**

I was worried about the white fabric getting dingy and gross but the seller assured me it was machine washable, and that I could Scotchgard it. I love Etsy - I can actually communicate with a designer before I shell out my money.

*I'm weird and I name my stuff. I am seriously considering 'my precious' for my future iphone.

**Yes, I've gotten a bit fat but I'm doing something about it. I just figured you guys don't want to hear about that, AT ALL.