Modern High Chair: IKEA

While doing a little shopping at the Houston IKEA this week, this [straight out of the Jetsons] high chair caught my eye. I have not read any reviews for the Leopard, but after seeing that it retails for only $60.00 I am left feeling a bit silly for my foolhardy spending on my Svan.



The Leopard is not listed on the IKEA website, but here are the details:
The plastic base: black or white
The seat: red, grey, black & white (if you tire of one color, you can buy another for $20.00)
The tray is detachable

You will love this magazine...

If you were a devoted reader of the late great Domino, you will be very excited to learn about the brand new Lonny Magazine. Lonny is an online mag, whose mission is "to reopen the doors of accessible design." (in a time when shelter publications are turning their last pages).
And let me tell you, they have blown the doors wide open with a breath of fresh air. In fact, stumbling across Lonny (thank you decor8) is what finally inspired me to get creative again (after a much-too-long hiatus). I am now officially painting, creating and blogging again. Thank you Lonny!

P.S. You can check them out on facebook too.

Repurposed IKEA Curtain Wire

My husband and I were given a photography portfolio as wedding gift from our friend/photographer Jason Reed. I wanted to display the photos in my breakfast area with the ability to rotate the collection with ease. Custom framing and mounting was out of my budget. Enter:IKEA




Using DIGNITET curtain wire and clips from IKEA, I was able to achieve an easy, modern, and inexpensive solution.



Cost:
2 DIGNITET curtain wire kits 14.99/each
1 pack of DIGNITET clips 4.99/pack of 24

This is also a great way to display children's artwork throughout the school year.

I want...

... a silver moroccan pouf.


It would make a great (albeit expensive) little kid seat.

Bold Striped Rugs

I'm really loving bold, striped rugs right now. They have such a fresh, clean, nautical vibe. Here are a few of my faves (I'm especially in love with the black and white striped Flor tiles).

Bold Striped Rugs by lclaireeves on Polyvore.com

Click on the image for more info.

Wallpaper: Help me make a decision

The wallpaper trend is still going strong, and as a result there are a ton of gorgeous papers out there. However, for someone who is "decision challenged", such as myself, the abundance of choices can make it rather difficult to pick just one. So, I was hoping to get a little help selecting a wallpaper design for our dining room wall.

Here is a photo of the wall we are planning to paper, along with 4 runner-up designs. The plan is to remove the picture ledge, wallpaper the whole wall, and then frame and hang all of the pictures (on that wall). So far, the dining room is relatively neutral - the chair covers are black and white. However, the main colors in the adjoining living room are blue, teal and yellow.



So, which do you like best:

1. Family Tree in petrol by Ferm Living
2. Modern Birdcage in ebony by Graham & Brown
3. Silver and Yellow Flowers by Moda Wallpaper
4. Elinor in duck egg by Graham & Brown

Or maybe you can suggest something else. Let me know!

Bring on the Toys

As any mother of a toddler can relate, the endless desire to find a storage solution for the growing collection of toys will make you crazy! I've used plastic tubs, baskets, bags... all of which I can't stand looking at. The backs of my sofas and chairs are now hiding places for eyesores. Today, however, I came across Mod Mom Furniture. This California mom's modern, handcrafted, eco-friendly toy boxes are so hip, you'll want to host playdate every week!




For ordering and/or a list of retailers visit ModMomFurniture.com


Photos courtesy of ModMomFurniture

Etsy Love

If you have never checked out Etsy, you really should. It will change your life (or at least the way you shop). Etsy.com is "an online marketplace for buying and selling all things handmade". It is a wonderful wonderful place, and I spend far too much of my precious free time browsing through all of it's amazing handmade goodies.
Here are a few of my current faves:


Little Forest Organic Blanket by GreenThreadShop


Wool Felt Butterfly Delight Lampshade in Cream by MIXKO


Small Tote (Mushroom Spore Print in Turquoise) by willywaw


Coriander in Pink Maryjane Baby Shoes by GraciousMay

Happy Shopping.

Blu Dot for Urban Outfitters

Okay, so maybe I'm a little behind the times, because Oh Joy posted about this on the 10th, but I was just browsing the Urban Outfitters website and fell in love with their new line of furniture by Blu Dot called "+oo™ by Blu Dot for UO". There are 7 pieces so far, and my favorites are definitely the "In a Pinch Chair"

and the "Tripod Side Table" in Yellow.

Take a look at their website to view the whole collection.

Photos courtesy of Urban Outfitters.

Celebrating in Style

We celebrated my daughter's 1st birthday on the weekend, and judging by how much fun she had, I would say it was a huge success. I only wish I had taken a few more photos of the decorations. But, these will have to do...





I made the cupcakes using this recipe, which I found via the wonderful blog 52 Cupcakes. They were surprisingly easy to make, and very yummy.

The cupcake toppers were pretty easy as well. I just created a simple design on the computer and printed it out onto some patterned paper. Then, I cut them out and glued them onto toothpicks.
Voila!



To read more about the prep work I did for the party click here.

The Wanderous

Ashley North (my husband's adorable, sharp-witted, bohemian cousin) wrapped up her Houston visit today and is off to Austin. Ashley is on a 2 month road trip in which she will overnight in 18 cities and explore 5 more. She is photographing, interviewing, and blogging about food, art, and local culture. Check out her website here.

Not Your Mother's DIY Magazine

If you want to make it, eat it, buy it, organize it, you're bound to locate it here!

Getting Ready

With my daughter's first birthday just two days away, I have turned into a crafting machine. I am making a paper 'Happy Birthday' banner, which I started assembling yesterday.


I also purchased Martha Stewart's Tissue Paper Pom-Pom Kit, and will be hanging the pom-poms from the ceiling. I will be making her cupcakes from scratch (please wish me luck on that one), and am making cupcake toppers from the same paper that I used for the banner.


I also made her a birthday onesie (that's my design, above). When I told my husband what I was doing, he said "Don't they sell pre-made 'first birthday' outfits?". I just looked at him and said, "Do you even know me? Of course I HAVE to make it myself!". It's just way too much fun.

I'm going for a casual, summer garden-party vibe. Hopefully it turns out - I will post pictures once we have everything set up.
Wish me luck!

Seriously Good Cookies

Image courtesy of Aunt Gussie's

So, I stopped by the grocery store yesterday to pick up dessert for a BBQ that my husband was hosting. I was looking for some simple cookies that would go well with fruit. Pretty much everything in the bakery was frosted or sprinkled in one way or another, so I grabbed a package of sugar free lemon cookies (made with spelt, no less), and held my breath that they wouldn't taste like cardboard.
Well, it turns out that these Aunt Gussie's Naturally Delicious cookies are just that! They are crisp and sweet with the perfect hint of lemon. They were wonderful with fruit and coffee, but I bet they would taste even better with vanilla ice cream!
When I checked out their website, I found that they offer a wide variety of sugar free, spelt and gluten free cookies, plus crackers too. Definitely worth a try!

DIY Project: Chinese Garden Stools

This is a really easy, fun project.
I found these 2 Chinese Garden Stools at a local thrift store for about $70 a piece.



They're cute, but they didn't match our decor (or each other). So, I primed them with 3 coats of a Shellac-based primer (one that is good for use on ceramics), then painted them with three coats of an All Surface Enamel (acrylic latex high gloss) from Sherwin Williams in 'Cooled Blue'. I also sanded them lightly between coats of paint for a smoother finish. And here is the result:

DwellStudio Rugs for Target

I have been looking for an area rug for our living room for what seems like forever. I didn't want anything expensive, because it was really going to serve as a glorified play mat for my daughter and dog. However, I couldn't seem to find anything in my price range that matched my taste, and I just couldn't bring myself to buy something that I wouldn't enjoy looking at every day.
Target to the rescue: I was browsing their website one day when I stumbled upon two area rugs by DwellStudio. They are both cute, 5x8 and (drumroll) just $140.
So, I bought the Floral Block rug, and have been extremely happy with it. Here it is in my living room:

Coming Soon...

Here we go.  Just getting some of the basic design elements / stuff together & we should be good to go.