Ampersand

did you know...

reciters came to the end of the alphabet pronouncing "and, per se and" (that is: "and by itself [means] and"). the inefficient phrasing resulted in the fluid combination of the four words. the corrupted phrase became "ampersand."

 here are some more fun ampersand facts...david would love this.

ampersand print

Yay for James!

our friend (and david's old roommate) james farmer was on the today show this morning giving some advice on fall tablescapes as well as promoting his new book, a time to plant. we are so proud of you, james!!!!

Wall of Books

this has long been one of my favorite shots/rooms. our friend, caleb, shot this and had it on his tumblr again last week which had me staring at it again. anyway, love this - as well as all of his stuff. (he's also just released his first ep as war jacket called "leaflet no. 1" that you can [read: should] check out on iTunes).

Irony

a while back (maybe this time last year?) john mayer started a twitter feed of #leaveitinthe00s - or something like that. which was basically a list of things that we are just better off leaving behind us as we embark on a new decade.

i propose a new addition to that list: irony.

(1) urban's new so awful it's supposed to be awesome website. woof. (2) who doesn't like a good LOL cat? (3) no that's not a poster for a brat pack movie. that is a current american apparel ad. (4) mullet. and he's serious. you just don't get it. because you're an idiot.

i'm over it. urban outfitters has somehow figured out how to mass market a noun. and ever since, the rest of us have been forced to watch people parade around looking like fools and if you dare say something about it, you "just don't get it." well, newsflash: i do get it. and i still think you look like an idiot. it's the personification of the entitlement and arrogance of our generation. and i know that may seem a bit harsh, but dude in the huge glasses and knit grandma sweater vest, you look like a d-bag. not some enlightened it's-so-not-cool-that-i-made-it-cool genious.

don't get me wrong. we all had our fun. we've all embraced irony at some point or another. but adopting it as a lifestyle is absurd. it was a good few years. we'll all look back in episodes of "best decade ever" (does vh1 still exist?) and have a good laugh and something else even more preposterous will have taken it's place. but can we just agree to end the madness sooner rather than later? please? pleeeeeaaaaaasssseeeee?

A Messy Desk

ok, i always get really mad at david for allowing our desk to get all cluttered. but there IS such a thing as perfectly messy. and if our desk looked like kate spade's i would be perfectly happy.

photo: todd selby

Marie Antoinette

i got an unexpected day off today. and as i wait for our water to be reconnected so i can finally shower, i am celebrating by watching sofia coppola's marie antoinette and doing a little cleaning and fall decorating. hope everyone else starts their weekend well!

p.s. if i were a designer, i would come up with a modern version of this dress.

Anthology Magazine

HOORAY for quality print media!

if we weren't going radical, i would so be subscribing to this. but i will content myself to look at the pretty pictures online.

Monochromatic Filing Cabinets

first of all, this movie, not only met my months of high expectations, it exceeded them. if you never see movies in the theater, this should be your exception. it was amazing. best movie i've seen in a while.

second of all, i was re-watching (500) days of summer yesterday and remembered how much i ridiculously love this movie. it's the movie my friends and i should have made. it's beautiful and perfect. also, one of my favorite things from that movie (and this is totally random) is the filing cabinets in the greeting card office. i love the monochromatic feel of the whole office and the slightly different colors of the filing cabinets is superb. what an easy way to take something as mundane as a typical metal filing cabinet and make it beautiful. i want to do this somewhere. i wish i needed six filing cabinets in my home office.

Renovated RV

some people we know decided to pack up their rv and hit the road until they had read through the entire Bible. they are just driving to random places and staying a bit. it made me think of this before and after on design*sponge last fall where a couple renovated a trailer and travel for a year. (all photos via design*sponge)

i told david how badly i would love to do something like this with an old airstream or something. when i was growing up, we took 3 week long camping trips driving from alabama to montana then working our way down through the rockies. it was amazing. we did it multiple times. and any other vacation we went on, we drove there too. i would love to pack up our non-existent children and just hit the road in the summer and just go somewhere new. so here's to dreaming...

NIghtwood

when we moved to birmingham, my mom gave us her old dining room table - a solid wood french provincial piece that i can't wait to post once i overhaul it (there is a good sanding and gray-washing coming it's way). we haven't had a dining table for a while and we miss sitting at a table to eat, but you know what's vital to sitting at a table? chairs. those we still don't have. and me, being the idealistic type, can't find what i really want.

the other day design*sponge featured the apartment of myriah scruggs and nadia yaron of nightwood. i fell in love with the monochromatic style of their place and the different treatments of wood that they have going on. it's absolutely gorgeous.

image via design*sponge

this feature on design*sponge, led me to their website and i came across these. i would take either set. i love the matching chairs with unique upholstery. but i also really love four completely different chairs. it's time to go to the thrift store and see what i can find!

images via nightwood

Currey & Co. Lighting

sorry for all the design posts but lately, i have been obsessed with lighting. i think all the remodel stuff is going to my soul. anyway, i can't help it that it's fun to look at pretty things. especially, illuminated ones. the main focus of my light lust has been currey & co. their ridiculously gorgeous pieces come with a nice price tag, but man, oh man, are they pretty. so, to share my obsession, here are a few of my favorites:

things i think would be cute in a kid's/baby's room:

1. the carousel lantern: i LOVE this red 

2. the zephyr chandelier: this is the one that started it all and sadly, currey has discontinued it and i can't find so much as an image of it online. sadness.

just down right good stuff:

1. the corfu lantern: rustic and simple
2. the corsica lantern: ummm, antiqued mirror. need i say more?

washed wood - the greatest trend of the past year:





1. the simplicity chandelier: we actually scored this one for the stairwell at mom's house. i could not be more proud of dear ol' mom...swoon. feel free to come over and admire. we can pop popcorn and just sit on the stairs and stare at it.
2. the benevolence chandelier: the greatest light fixture i've ever seen. period.


industrial:

1. the mainstay chandelier: it kind of looks like a spider. and i kind of like that.
2. the wexford chandelier: i just love the round bulbs


and if thousands of dollars is just pocket change to you, check out the amazing stuff lindsey adelman has going on. oh my. outrageously cool. but, if you're like me, you will just have to content yourself to look at the pictures.





but, just proving how cool she is, you could follow lindsey's instructions to make a light fixture that is similar in design to her more opulent hand blown and crafted fixtures.

Yellow Bathtub

i am in love with this bathtub from barbara berreda's house in rouen, france. sometimes i just stare at it and wait for the day that i will own a house again and reclaim a bathtub and paint it yellow...ahhhh, someday...

image via design*sponge