polka dot glitter cookies

i feel like the last 8 things i've purchased have been polka dotted.

i'm kinda having a moment with them.

glad the rest of the world is, too.

don't look now, but i'd love to do this to our second bath:

love it in every way. very tempted.

moving on.

i wish i had more time. i'm sure you all feel that way, and i don't even have kids yet!

by the time i get home from work i feel like i'm just going to bed to get up and do it all over again. but if i had like 2 extra hours a day to get the stuff i have to get done, to then do the stuff that i want to get done....

i'd make these:

polka dot cookies!

in neon and neutrals!

with sparkles!

they're like little gems of all my current favorite things rolled into a sugar.

you can find the recipe here.

a random, yet happy thursday.

happy thursday, friends.

JILL

merry. and bright.

have you seen the new december lonny?

in love with this colorful bathroom:

in love with the pink and red for christmas.

a la carrie.

i've been busy making poms in various colors any free second i get.

trying to get it done before december 25th. (ha.)

in hot pink.

cranberry red.

black and white.

mushroom.

and mint.

can't wait to string them all up.

if it ends up happening,

i'll be sure to snap some pics for ya.

JILL

{images via lonny, camille styles, citified blog, sex and the city, and me}

one room, two ways.

sort of.

not much difference.

the top one was published in lonny this past summer. (the whole house is a-maz-ing.)

the second in elle decor. it's older than the lonny issue but i can't find the original publication. but i said how much i already love this space here.

i have to say, i like the original from elle decor a scotch better because of those ties.

they bring in a little more lived-in quality, and color and pattern (2 things i never shy away from).

i mean, that taupey-mushroom woodwork slays me.

with white walls and floors.

dark wood and black counter surfaces.

antlers.

fit for a dude, but could be loved by any lady.

{more 1-room-2-ways here and here}

whether you like how the election turned out or not,

i have to say, i'm kinda glad it's over.

campaign commercials are over!!

ha.

JILL

oscar inspires.

have you ever seen a gown so lovely and amazing and gorgeous?

this is the ultimate for me.

the very dress of my dreams.

oscar de la renta. spring 2013.

i'm so in love.

i love that the white and black stripes aren't the same size.

i love the necklace with it. big. black roses and a bit of gold.

i love the cut and the lay of the stripes, and how they meet in the center.

and the full skirt.

love.

and you know what else i kinda love with it?

that man's blue shirt and shoes.

make this into a bathroom?

sure, why not?

and although i love the colors of that chair, i wish it were a little less harsh. maybe a gilded louie with some cobalt velvet? regardless. pretty.

happy thursday!

JILL

{bathroom via elle decor.}

marble walls. one way or another.

big fan.

anyway you want it. you can have it.

the expensive stuff coming from the earth:

(the marion house book)

or you can just use it in paper form:

this one from a long time ago:

(coco +kelley)

and this one!!

from lonny's recent issue.

i love this junk. especially with the skull and the cream band of tile over the white.

perfection in my opinion.

she used the same paper i bought awhile ago and framed.

it's not expensive, around $5 a sheet. and they're pretty large.

i bet the whole bathroom couldn't have cost her more than $100 in supplies.

waaaaay cheaper than any other wallpaper.

and it looks hot.

i'm thinking you could also do this in a kitchen for a backsplash and just place a piece of plexi over it for protection. or just one wall in your kitchen or bathroom.

and if you wanted it to look even more like marble, you could cut it up into uniform squares or rectangles and lay it in a brick pattern... lots of options!

jenny komenda even used it to line the outside of a cheap plastic waste bin.

happy friday.

JILL

musings

just a few things i'm digging today.

where do you find such mirrored-like metallic nail polish?

and why can't they also make it in gold?

(same goes with spray paint... you spray paint makers, i'm talkin to you.)

graffiti art

that makes you smile.

lady like buns with gold bejeweled mcqueen skulls tucked in. yes. yes. yes.

from here.

this teensy bathroom with big personality.

it's kinda like elle's.

love.

JILL

{via pinterest, tumblr, neiman marcus, apartment therapy--crystal gentillo's apt.}

empties

what to do with your uber trendy candles after you've burned all they have to offer?

make the empties useful. and pretty.

a trick i've learned from my mama-- place your empty candles (with that last bit of useless wax you can't get out to save your life in the bottom) in the freezer for a bit. the wax shrinks just enough to where you can pop it out. you might have to pry it out with a butter knife but it usually does the trick easily and painlessly, and without that giant mess of wax bits everywhere.

hope you had a great weekend,

JILL

{images from daily crushes and made by girl}

the graduate...

is one of those movies where you almost pay more attention to the setting and details than the actual plot. at least for me. i am eternally obsessed with mrs. robinson's home/style. but the sun room used for seduction cocktails below:

is fierce.

inspiration can come from anywhere. and this picture has done it for me.

when elle and i first thought about doing this blog a couple years ago, i knew i wanted to do something with this photo... whether just use it for my own house alone (which i am), or make some kind of post out of it. its too pretty not to!

fast forward a few years and i thought about it again.

and thanks to this domino bath i had saved from eons ago, it made that second task really easy!!

this bathroom has all the same elements... lush greens, the colors, black and white stripes, sleek white and a little texture. you could call it good, or

with a few additions, you could almost confuse this bathroom with the set from the graduate. maybe not, but i'm sure its as equally seducing to recent college grads.

obviously, this is the perfect excuse to use my all-time favorite wallpaper.

obviously.

and in my opinion, you could always add a few more stipes.

and some masculine leather tufting for visitors next to the tub.

so here's to you, mrs. robinson.

la la la la la la la la la.

hey hey hey.

hey hey hey.

JILL

{bath via domino, my FAVORITE martinique wallpaper, romans from pinterest, turkish bath towel from west elm, and the tufted beauty from craigslist.}

i'm giving in.

in my attempt to spruce up one of our bathrooms without spending a gajillion dollars...

i've decided on some faux paneling/wainscoting up 3/4 of the wall.

and because of this very j.crew image, i've decided on painting it......

MINT.

it pushed me over the edge.

i know it's everywhere and i sure hope it doesn't get dated fast.

but i'm still in love.

and i'm sure we'll be moved onto our next house by the time that happens, so bring it on.

and because of the same top image, i'm painting the top part of the walls and the ceiling a darker emerald green.

i have an old ornate framed mirror from college that i had originally painted black that hangs above the vanity in there.......

i'm also thinking i'm going to paint it a very fun contrasting color.

3-way tie for the winner.

first up:

canary yellow. 

second and third, we have:

coral/poppy OR blush. 

all of em are seriously delightful.

the floor is getting a new life, too.

in a black and white stripe a la this method i blogged about centuries ago.

yes, it's been in the plans/works since then. sue me.

no, don't. i am just really bad at getting projects done. so.....

yellow or poppy or blush?!?!?!?

spill your thoughts. i wanna hear it.

please.

alot of you do what i do every single day to the blogs i read, and you silently read [and hopefully enjoy what you read] and then move on.......

this time i would like your opinion :)

love you.

JILL

{images via j.crew, pinterest, and green wedding shoes}

express yourself!!

i think the best place to use one of those wallpapers you just love is in a powder room or guest bathroom. it is a small space and gives an element of surprise to your guest! it is a space that isn't lived in constantly so it is less likely you will get tired of it...

here are a few favorites...

xoxo

elle.

bathroom possibility

lately i've been watching sarah 101 on hgtv.

typically i like her, i like her alot. i do think that everything matches a little more than i'm 100% on board with, but she always creates lovely rooms with some of the best fabrics.

her other shows, design inc. and all her sarah's house/farm/summer cottage shows just make me jealous, obviously, but i like her for 2 reasons.

1- she uses ALOT of vintage. vintage furniture and lighting and i like it nearly every single time.

but 2- she has great ideas. ideas that i can take and run with in my own home... even if i can't afford everything she does.

{i have 2 bathrooms in my house and one of them has a secret. i ripped out all the tile and flooring a whole year and a half ago and it hasn't been put back together again yet. that's a dirty secret... and it is dirty. the bathroom is still fully functioning but dirty with demolition. i don't let anyone but jay and myself use it.}

pfew, got that off my chest.

now i can move on to re-creating it.

and that's where we'll circle back to sarah and her recent bathroom:

she used tile from lowes in the shower. i love the stripes she created with it.

it's different but not weird different, it's do-able, and not expensive.

the more i watched, the more i loved it. so now i'd like to do that in my bathroom!!

i purchased a whole bathrooms worth of this white subway tile from home depot shortly after i ripped the bathroom apart...

i'll just take back what i don't use, since i bought enough to tile the shower walls. i'll just need these 1 x 6 in. gray tiles she used from lowes (looks alot darker here than in person).

and these 4 x 4 almond tiles from home depot and i'll be good to go.

i took them and photoshoped my own mock-up. still love it.

i love white and creamy white together.

i even bought this for the new floor way back when and i think it'll work with my new stripes. it's alot less blue in real life, too. just a great veined marble with white and gray and a smidge of cream thrown in. 

i think it's going to be quite lovely.

and then i think i'm about to diy myself a little shower curtain like zees one from anthro.

i would just buy this one but i think i'd like to add a little gold in there, that and i think $118 for a shower curtain is a bit much.

i think some gold will make it sing.

so what do you think?

i know what i think... i think it's making me excited enough to actually get er done finally. gold and white and gray and cream make me happy.

JILL

and please tell me that i'm not the only one with a room in their house where they'd just rather close the door than fix their impulses :)

mental health getaway.

either of these bathrooms could be the prescription for those moments when you know winter has over stayed his welcome.

of course the view out the window, especially in the first, doesn't hurt.

happy hump day.

JILL

{images from coastal living-- the magazine i get even though i live in the landlocked, dead center of our country ;)}

make mouthwash pretty

when i travel, i like to bring back "souvenirs" that aren't actually souvenirs but something for my home that i purchased while away. when in paris last summer, i probably bought to many somethings for my home, but my fave purchase was a crystal decanter from the marche aux puces de clignancourt flea market (worthy of multiple blog posts all on its own).

we have a silver tray on our front table where we keep some decanters we got from our wedding and others i have purchased from the good will and various antiques stores. my husband asked if that is where we were going to put it, but i had a better idea. i thought it'd be more fun in our bathroom with mouthwash, a la something eddie ross would do.

so we brought it home and a few months later i see this in lonny:

see how pretty it is?

well i never got around to actually putting mouthwash into my paris decanter because it was hard to clean... so it sits on the window sill in my kitchen, empty. but still loved.

i recently learned that lead crystal decanters can actually leach lead of dangerous levels into the liquids stored! you can read more about that here. basically the longer it sits, the more that is leached. not good in any way, especially for kids and preggo ladies.

and that's too bad because there are super cheap options that can be found on etsy and ebay for storing all kinds of mouthwash and scotch.

etsy via rhapsodyattic

etsy via hoolahoopvintage


ebay

but! there is a solution for pretty mouthwash (and scotch) sans lead:
glass decanters.

sure they aren't as sparkly but i'll take a tiny bit less sparkle for alot less lead any day.

here are some fab options from big box stores (read easy to find and easy to buy):




providence decanter from zgallerie

i'm loving the crest, instant heirloom.

kair decanter from crate and barrel

a cleaner look than cut glass or crystal, but still far from boring-- thank you, bubbles.

bohemian decanter with lovely details, from pottery barn, for her.

(almost looks like the real deal)

and this super masculine square decanter also from pottery barn, for him.

home goods also carries lots of options, just be careful to get the lead-free glass :)



now pick your favorite color:

...and have a prettier bathroom.


JILL