Sorry, I know this won't appeal to most of the guys reading this, or maybe it secretly will, but if you have a woman in your life...pass it on. Some days, I feel like blogging Clif Notes style. This is one of those days.
Always love those hot summer beauty finds under $10 (and the groovy packaging on the mint julep mask). Why look, there is a Sally's Beauty right across the street, may have to visit.
I think May should always be Makeover Month. There is something about sunny days that inspire me. It also could be that we have had so much rain here in N. Texas, that any reprieve is welcome, before our blazing summer is here. I know it is already the 20th of May, but that still give us 11 days to find something that we can do to satisfy our cravings.
Easy makeover - 2 of my favorite words. Probably because analyzing fabric swatches, measuring furniture and plotting rooms is not easy. So, to give my brain a rest...pretty pictures, easy ideas.
I came back from sunny L.A. on Monday, loaded with fabric samples from Room & Board and still sore from 2 days at Disneyland. Whew! The "Organizer" has been here this week and she and I have pretty much cleaned, cleared and cast out all sorts of things.
So, this morning, I was perusing lighting for the dining room. First, I had to stop at Velocity and check out the Thomas Paul lighting (one day - a post all about how I.heart.him).
Yet, still drawn to the George Nelson Criss Cross Saucer lamp (darn House and all the mid-century modern furniture on their sets). The regular Saucer lamp comes as big as 52" in diameter, but with a $1200 sticker!
So, decided to hop over to Etsy, to see what was available. Hopefully find some cheaper price points, as buying furniture will eat up a ton of our budget (if I knew what that was, perhaps we should set one). Found quite a few awesome lighting sites: Re-Surface, KAM Lamp Company, but loved Drawflowers shop.
Handmade in Florence, Italy, using original 70’s wallpaper. Not only does she make pendant lamps, but wallets, lunch bags and totes. Shipping is $55, so keep that in mind. Even with shipping, these are over $200 less than some of the other options. Her biggest size is 22" in diameter, which might work (top picture). Our dining table is narrower, since it is from 1954. If in doubt, always go a little bigger, than smaller. Here are more guidelines for sizing, and pictures from her shop below.
The purpose of Visual Feast is, exactly as stated, to provide a buffet of images that are delicious and inspiring. I love creative people and admire what they do (especially, if I can't do it)! While I consider myself a "right-brainer", I do know my limitations and my short attention span when it comes to projects.
My friend Katalin (who is a talented photographer herself), always has great images to share, and led me to Mad Baker. Her pictures immediately struck me as VF fodder! Enjoy!
These next couple of weeks are going to be huge cleaning, organizing and discarding weeks for me, as we prepare to (hopefully) become parents this summer (adoption of a sibling group). In addition, I am doing a thorough cleaning of the whole house, from top to bottom. According to What I Learned at Maid School, "You need to put on your coveralls and clean your house top to bottom so that you know what it is all about,"Then you can tell your housekeeper what you expect.
Housekeepers have been such a dilemma for me, seriously, do you need to use a whole roll of paper towels each time you clean?? And a whole bottle of Windex?? This is why I can't seem to stick with anyone. I want simple cleaners, white towels, and then when all is done, the whole lot goes into the washing machine, on hot! Therefore, I want all natural products (we don't want the dryer to go up in flames or anything). And I want them to smell divine!
So, I love Mrs. Meyers. I thought everyone knew about these products, but 2 times in the last week, I have gotten blank stares when I mentioned them. If you use hand soaps and lotions from Williams-Sonoma, then you are familiar with the parent company of Mrs. Meyer's - Caldrea. I tried to place them in a catalog buying group years ago, which is how I first became aware of the brand. Mrs. Meyers is an actual person, the mother of the company's founder, Monica Nassif. Watch the videos of her mom Thelma, giving motherly advice on cleaning, cooking and more!
Caldrea is the upper end line, Mrs. Meyer's is more mass market. Either way doesn't matter, as all the fragrances are wonderful. 1/4 cup of lavender cleaner in 1 gallon of warm water is what I use to wipe down my counters and appliances weekly. The smell is heavenly, and makes cleaning less of a chore. After I finish lavender, I am going to buy basil!
Here are 2 sets to start. These are so affordable, they would make great hostess gifts, etc. Personally, I love getting gifts that I will use.
Mother's Day Gift Set - $9.99, available in basil, lavender, geranium or lemon verbena
Snap Pea Spring Cleaning Set $14.99
One caveat, shipping is expensive if you only buy one set. So buy multiple sets, or buy locally. You can buy the products at many specialty grocery stores, The Container Store and Target.
