some random good things.

today is an unloading of some of the things i think are

pretty ok.

i know hologram stuff has been around since spring.

and to be honest, i kinda wanted a small little party clutch since.

and then a few weeks ago, blair eadie

(from atlantic-pacific)

wore this skirt from milly and there it was...

i was intrigued all over again.

and then i found this clutch, also by milly.

and for a cheaper, quicker, less commitment-type of fix, you

can paint your nails in hologram, thank you chanel.

while we're on the topic of atlantic-pacific,

the other day she posted this asos sweatshirt....

and i think it would make the raddest ku game day outfit.

not actually kansas affiliated but everything works.

and it's so awesome and old-school.

and then there are the magazines.

lately, they've been pumping them out.

i'm not always a huge fan of matchbook in the past, but lately, i like it!

and then domino.

don't even get me started.

i've told everyone around me who doesn't give a-you-know-what

all about how my favorite magazine is coming back after a 4 year hiatus.

i have every issue (minus the quick fix things which i thought were silly)

and i was pumped to add another to the stack.

(hoarder).

but domino and matchbook: 

i love the art above your barcarts.

also,

the other day on hbo i saw this movie was about to start:

so i quit photo editing.

then laughed and cried until my face was red.

i can't believe i waited so long to see this movie.

it was truly great.

truly funny. a little gritty.

and a whole lot touching, which surprised me a bit.

i loved it.

rent it or dvr it or redbox or netflix.

whatever you gotta do.

OHHHHHHHH.

and in less than an hour,

i get to find out which type of baby we're having.

pretty excited about that, too :)

happy tuesday.

JILL

{bluebird}

i told you at the beginning of january that i was going to start posting more of my house projects. i was always a little hesitant to post them because 1- its my house and my project, and people on the internet can be mean little suckers. but 2- if i didn't have a huge whole kitchen gut-job reno to share, i wondered if my little one-afternoon-one-tube-of-acrylic-paint small project even mattered enough to share.

but i'm over all that :)

the blogs i like reading the most are the ones that share their projects, big or small.

so here's a very very small one i recently did.

but the little things add up, so one small project at a time is the way my house is becoming my home.

this is the walkway between my dining/living room and my den.

we spend 99% of our time in the den.

so we walk by this approx. 59 times a day.

this little parrot, my mom scored at home goods for $15.99.

it's resin but painted in a faux wood finish.

(don't mind the gatorade... i actually took this photo when i was stuck at home with the flu and i was re-hydrating. and don't mind my sewing machine, its permanently out on the dining room table because i've been making dolllllllllls!)

this bird wasn't as awesome as it could be, as is.

it was purchased to end up at our lake house.

so i was going to spray it high gloss white, sorta like the ones zgallerie was selling awhile back.

but it got placed on my bar cart, and i liked it there, and so i'm not going to let the lake house have it.

sorry, mom :)

for my house, the high gloss white... i wasn't sold.

so i lived with it for months with various different color ideas.

finally i was at joann fabric store and bought this:

martha stewart satin craft paint in "cloud".

i love this color so much, i'm contemplating having it color matched and re-painting my dark navy blue room. almost sold on the idea.

it's a great blue, but not baby-blue, with a little green and grey in it.

so i got to painting.

i painted the whole thing this shade of blue.

and when i was finished, it was cute but i liked it about as much as i did when it was 'wood'.

so i grabbed some black acrylic paint from my stash, i picked the flat finish, and painted the base.

now, i'm obsessed.

bluebird is better.

the bar cart is from a thrift store downtown, called good juju.

my mom also snagged that for me when i first moved in our house.

the polka dot paper was done on a whim 2 christmases ago.

its just wrapping paper under the glass.

and after christmas was over, i liked it so much i've kept it.

one project down.

one hundred million more to go.

JILL

this close.....

when we moved into our new office, i mentioned more about it here,

there was lots of mid-century mod furniture left behind.

and some random other pieces.

this is one of those random other pieces.

i declared her mine and i'm taking her home.

(do you know how much i love free furniture? it's a sickness.)

she's going to be my new bar in my dining area.

the walls in there are so dark navy blue, they are legitimately almost black.

and i'm thiiiiiis close to painting her a shade of pink:

with neutrals it provides the right amount of umph. ya know?

and despite the use of it in my kitchen, and other pink things i've blogged about and love, i'm not a die-hard fan of every shade every time. in fact, i'm more often not a fan.

but this shade, this time...

i think it's about to happen.

and i bought a new lamp for it yesterday, too.

its the same neutral sandy-nude as the woman's shoes in the bottom picture.

in my head it's going to look fierce.

just hope it comes out to be as cute in reality.

pictures soon.

prob tomorrow or early next week because i'm pumped.

JILL

{images via: elled decor, lucy luacht, embellished glamour tumblr}

musings.

one of these things has nothing to do with the other.

they are just things i'm digging right now.

like my kitchen.

i made some progress with it this weekend.

like hanging some art:

and i am 100% fully aware that this is a tease.

and that i keep promising you things-- like a showing of my pink kitchen, or my newly upholstered settee.

(there she is... she's been done for weeks now. and we use her. and we love her.)

more here. here. here. here. and here.

i am 78% completed with the kitchen and i promise you by friday there will be photos.

along with a list of what's left to do.

scout's honor. (although i was never an official girl scout.)

so i guess i just promise promise.

promise.

this is the most effortlessly cool saturday morning summer outfit i've seen thus far.

long dress, for those not-freshly-shaven-legs.

a hat for bedhead.

sunnies for smeared morning make-up.

toms.

want it want it want it.

all.

this bar, via design sponge, is so well put together.

and color coordinated!

mine looks half as cool.

i need to work on it.

cool people have cool bars.

and summer fruit.

been eating my face full.

and i think i'm making this tonight.

happy monday.

JILL

scotch on the rocks

it is all about efficient use of space here in ny. the constant challenge is how to fit everything you want/need in your teeny apartment without letting things look cluttered and over crowded. as my husband and i are hibernating and taking advantage of the bitter temperatures by staying inside we have focused our attention on a few apartment projects. as a little reminder we rent our apartment so we aren't doing any demolition- more facelifts. small things that make a big difference and allow a rented apartment to feel more like a home.

via nate berkus

the most recent has been adding open shelving in our living room along one small wall where we used to have a cheapy wine rack from our old apartment. the wine rack definitely did the trick before, but in the new space it hung over the wall about 2 inches making things look cluttered and sloppy.

via desire to inspire

by eddie ross

taking some inspiration from these open shelves with brackets we ordered our own iron brackets online and purchased precut shelves from home depot (yes, i wish i could have found some great salvaged wood to use for the shelves) and began our "bar area". we were able to use our higher ceilings in the livingroom to our advantage by making the shelves go all the way up the wall...more storage for wine glasses, champagne flutes, and fun vintage finds along with a nice selection of good scotch (that is my husband, not me). at least we are both happy :) pictures of the finished project to come!!

xoxo

elle.