New headboard in the making

A while ago I decided to finally go shopping for the materials needed to make my own king size headboard. In the end, factoring in new matching sheets and pillows and the materials, it probably would have been just as cost efficient to go with one of those three hundred something dollar headboards easily found online. Anyway, this is the material I chose, a little more navy blue than the picture lets on. Would anyone like to suggest a duvet cover that would go with it? I was thinking red, but that may be too patriotic, so possibly  an eggplant color, or gray? Right now I have all white.

And here's a sneak peak at the work...

And where it will go...

New boots

Well, the Donald J Pliner boots worked out! And the hubby thinks they're sexy, which is rare. So the hunt for boots is done. =) Sorry for the poor quality pics.

These get me in a 90s grunge mood, but since they're suede I could dress them up a bit, as below.

these 3 images from ASOS outfits no longer available

Fall Lookbook

A couple of things online have been itching to get into my closet, so I thought I'd share here. I just purchased my first ever pair of military style boots, and it was a long time in the making. I just hope they fit. I also bought an amazing pair of lace-up heels by Ugg, called Elyse, but the store didn't have my exact size, so back they went, and now I'm regretting it a little. Here's a pic of those...

Basically, the platform came out a little over half an inch past my toes, so it looked a bit strange in the half size up. They're online for double the price I paid at Marshalls. So I thought I'd settle for these suede lace-ups by Donald J Pliner, although I'm still not sure about them. I'll see what they look like when they get here.

Maybe these BCBGeneration Hans boots would be better?

I've also been thinking of adding boat shoes to my collection. I tried a pair of Bed Stu spiked ones in the last size but they were too small, so now I'm thinking of some all black Sperry topsiders. I could probably use the brown ones, but...meh.

The majority of my closet is black, so I've been trying to incorporate more green and mauve/lavender colors, such as below, but it's really hard picking an outfit all at once. Green is good though because it goes with black or brown, so I can make new additions work with what I already have.

This outfit above is from ASOS, one of my favorite online shopping destinations. I just got a cream colored henley with crochet sleeves that looks identical to the white undershirt shown above, and recently had to retire my only pairs of grey pants, so these might be coming home with me along with the sweater. I also ruined my only black work pants and flip flops, so the to-buy list keeps getting longer and longer. Bye bye paycheck.

Jellyfish Airplants

Honestly, I was not interested in the air plant trend until I saw this.

Available from this Etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/PetitBeast?ref=top_trail

A compromise must be made

I had a reality check yesterday. A big move (3+ hours away) would require my husband to get a different job over there, and I'm just not sure I want him to do that. He works at a great company and has a lot of job stability. It would have to be something spectacular to get me to give the ok.

On the plus side, I found an AWESOME house about 20 minutes away on a lake with an island. It's amazing what's around you that you don't know about. Check out the view...

But, as long as I'm living where I am now, a compromise needs to be made between me, my husband, and our cats. Since our latest rescue cat came last November, our cats have been seriously territorial, marking everything in sight, with constant fighting. I need to give them more space so they're not fighting over spots, especially since I decided not to let them sleep in the bedroom anymore (since I realized I sleep better without paws on my face). It doesn't help that we have no idea what to do about the litter box situation and can't get any of them declawed. (The sofa we just got a couple of months ago is already trashed.) So, without further ado, I present my temporary solution: a giant realistic cat tree.

Yes, these are insanely expensive. The ones I like are around $800, but the taller ones go past $1200. The taller ones are in the pictures above. I wanted something shorter, but just as pretty. Now, keep in mind the "basic" cat trees you can find just about anywhere run you about $100 and they are only about 3 feet high with bare minimum craftsmanship, made in China, and wear out fast. These, from www.ahiddenhollow.com, are made in the USA, excellent craftsmanship, super tall, super pretty (like, I wouldn't feel weird putting it in my living room or bedroom, or even a children's room that has a nature or fantasy theme) and if it means I can buy a new black leather chesterfield sofa with a matching loveseat -- totally justified. If I could make it myself, I would. But I know I can't, and I have a feeling this is going to save my sanity. UPDATE: my husband just convinced me to try to make our own first, so that's the plan. Home Depot here we come.

Rental House

Well, I've been thinking about getting a rental property lately. In my mind, I could rent out the house we live in now, get a new place closer to my family to move into, and if I ever change my mind I can just switch back. Since I'm getting closer to 30 a lot has been going through my mind. I might have kids one day, but that would mean I'd have to have the master bedroom on the same floor as the nursery/kid's room, which is not possible in my house now. I'd also have to find a better paying job, and I don't know how much money a rental property would bring in. HGTV tells me one thing and my mom tells me another.

Unfortunately I found a house that just blew the others out of the water (in my opinion) but there is now a sale pending. Boooooo. Here, take a look at why I love this house.

Wow, right? It has over 10 of my "house wishlist" items. Second floor deck for potted plants, mainly white exterior, two large bathrooms, two stall garage, three bedrooms, built before 1940, hardwood floors, a brick wall, a large yard, a nice dining room and family room, tile in the entryway (that I actually like), etc... Oh well, I'm sure I'll find another one. There are a few more I'm looking at, and I think one or two are in Historic Districts ( a plus) and one other house has a two and a half car garage, two second floor decks, and french doors. Yesssss.

Inspiration Lately

No, I'm not dead. Just busy with work. Thought I'd share some pictures I love.

Tail feather runner by The Rug Company

The Life Styled

One of the coolest kitchens I've seen in quite a while, Vicki Simon via Design Sponge

Pictures from around the web

Here is some eye candy I've been collecting... Hope you enjoy!

Decor8 via myidealhome.tumblr.com

myidealhome.tumblr.com

The bedroom of the writer of PeepMyStyle via Once Daily Chic

Ish and Chi

Desire to Inspire

The cover of The French Cat (a photo book)

New Roof

The roof is finally finished! It took two days of work with about five people working on it. Our choices were light brown, dark brown, light gray and dark grey, so we picked light brown to match our back deck. Here is a before picture, in which you can see the tar my husband put on the slope because we had a leak:

And here is an after picture, but the flowers haven't bloomed yet...

A Larger Garden

We just got done making our garden larger. Not enough tomatoes last summer. We already had basil, oregano, tomatoes, onions, and rosemary last year. We planted Brussels sprouts but they didn't work out, eggplant, cabbage and peppers that never grew, and leeks that I don't know if they grew or not. So now we added more tomatoes and onions, marigolds to keep the bugs away, two different kinds of lettuce, and some more flowers around the yard. We left space for peppers and stuff. My dad dug out the grass and then he and my husband put up the lattice around the deck.

Here's the before picture in case you were curious.