Friday, September 28, 2012

Carpet and a Cause

A few weeks ago, my boss said that our local Interface carpet rep reached out to her to see if any designers would be interested in volunteering at a local woman's shelter called My Sisters' Place. The goal was to get volunteers to take a few hours to go to the shelter, rip up the old carpet, and help lay down new carpet tile in the apartments.  My Sisters' Place provides transitional housing for women and children who are either homeless or have suffered domestic violence.  They have a great support team that helps to rebuild their lives so they can move on to permanent housing.  We all jumped at the opportunity to help such a great cause.  Today, my girlfriend and co-worker, El and I took the trip to lend a hand. 


Exterior Shot of the Old Factory turned Apartment Complex
 
Here's a pile of the carpet tiles that we used. They are about 20" x 20" and super easy to install.

 
Below is a picture of the tiles being installed in a quarter-turn pattern.
The great thing about using carpet tiles in apartments, and in general, is that if something happens to one (a spill, rip, etc..) you literally just "pop" that one out and replace it.  No need to rip up wall to wall carpeting! We had a lot of extras, so they could keep them in the storage unit if needed.
 
 
Another reason why carpet tiles are a great solution is that they are actually a floating floor.  All we had do to was use the "Tac Tiles" (the white strips shown in the pic) developed by Interface on each of the four corners of the carpet and simply align the tiles together. It went really fast and no adhesives needed!
 

My partner-in-crime hard at work!
 
It was great to see the apartments transform so quickly, just by using the carpet tiles.  They are the easiest thing to install and I would highly recommend them as a solution for your home.  Check out Interface's Flor division as a great solution for residential living. Here's a quick video that explains more about the Flor system.

To my city-living friends, check out the Flor stores in both NYC and Boston!
 


My FLOR goes where others wouldn't dare. Shop now

More importantly, be sure to check out My Sisters' Place to learn more about how you can help a good cause!

xo

Monday, September 24, 2012

Before and After: Entry

We've done so much to this home over the years, so I thought posting our "Before and Afters" would hopefully give you some inspiration.  I also thought it would be a nice "trip down memory lane" for us to see how much work we've done. I catch myself feeling like we "have so much more to do to this house", but when I look at old pictures and see how far it's come, I am so proud of what we (mostly, the hubby...) accomplished.  I'm so lucky to have such a talented, hard-working partner that puts up with all my ideas and is the main reason why any of this is executed!
(PS - To avoid boring you with text, I'll be sure to share how we did everything in a separate post!)

With that being said, let's take a look at the entry. 

Below is the before picture (I hope that would be obvious...hehe)
Doesn't really scream, "WELCOME HOME!" does it?

Entry / Before
The tile, carpeted stairs, and maroon paint with a "stucco inspired" texture really were, for lack of a better word, a HOT MESS.  There was hard wood underneath the carpet, so we ripped that up, cleaned up the stairs, and added some poly so the tone would stay the same as the banister. Below is a process pic, before we ripped up the carpet.



Walls primed, before we ripped up the carpet

Unfortunately, I don't have an "After: Part 1" pic to show the stairs. Although, I guess it really doesn't matter since they weren't that way for long! In Dec. 2011, I finally convinced Rick that we should stain our entry stairs a deep espresso brown and add wainscoting throughout the house, starting with the entry. The rest of the hard wood is light, but the contrast really works, and I still get my fix of the dark floors even if it's not throughout the house! A win - win! hehe..

 
Entry / After
This picture also shows Rick's first tile job that was done a few years before we stained the stairs and added the wainscot. The stain and the tile really work together, and I'm so glad he gave in! We still need to add the framing to the wainscot, but two little projects called "siding the house" and "planning a wedding" took precedence over this for now!
 
 
 

Friday, September 21, 2012

Wedding Photos are in!

I still can't express how much I loved working with Leila Brewster, our wedding photographer-turned-forever friend! Her laid back personality and thoughtfulness made wedding planning much more relaxing. I knew she "got" what I was looking for without having to explain anything. A truly amazing talent with a even better heart! Thank you, Leila, for capturing our special moments in such a beautiful way.

I also want to thank my good friend, Sarah, for not only introducing me to these great talents, but for helping me turn a vision(s... at times there were many!) into a memorable event. With all the events you had, you took time to help me and I can't tell you how much I appreciate everything! Working with you, I've always known you were amazing - but being the bride this time, it just proved even more that you TRULY are the BEST around.

So... with the sappy stuff out of the way... Here they are...

just go to the following website:

http://www.leilabrewsterphotographyclient.com/photocart/index.php?do=photocart&action=accessGallery


access code: natlo


Thursday, September 20, 2012

Fall: "How do I love thee? Let me count the ways..."

  Nothing makes the ride to work better than a crisp, fall morning with a hot pumpkin spice latte in your cup holder.  I'm so excited that this fall doesn't consist of any type of planning, so I started thinking about all the things I love about this time of year. 
 
1. Mums: There was a traffic jam on the highway yesterday when I left work, so I took the back roads home.  There is this cute farm stand that I always pass when I go that way and they always have great deals on flowers.  We (aka the Mr.) just finished siding our house, so I wanted to jazz up the front with some mums. I got 2 huge mums for $25 and they should bloom in a week or so.
 
 
2. Dark Nail Polish: Yesterday, a fabric rep came in and gave all the designers in our studio a fun dark purple polish called "Groovy".  It was so thoughtful and we love it! It got me excited to start going dark! 
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Dark Nail Color


Have an iPad or iPhone? Download the OPI app and you can find fun colors that match you skin tone from your phone! Works great for us indecisive ones!

 
3. Ombre Hair: Love me some Ombre locks, especially in the fall! I had my sister-in-law add some more highlights underneath my layers this past weekend and already can't wait to add more!
 
ombre hair
 
 
4. Wreaths: I love dressing up the front door with an autumn wreath, but last year I decided to move the wreath from the front door to the dining room table. This wreath cost me a whopping $10 from my second home, Marshall's.  The mercury glass hurricanes were only $5 a pop on clearance at the same Marshall's. Both were steals! I actually used the same hurricanes at our table on our wedding day. The wreath is nice and full and would have cost a ton more somewhere else.  My only suggestion is putting a runner or a glass candle dish underneath the wreath so you don't scratch your table.   Here's an old pic from last year!  (sorry it's a little grainy)
 
 
In place of a traditional wreath, I've been drawn to the whole monogram look for the front door.  Check out these finds...
 





 
5. Pumpkins: Of course, when you think of fall, foliage and pumpkins come to mind! Rather than carving pumpkins, why not add a fun design with some paint instead? All you have to do is log on to your Pinterest and you'll find tons of pumpkin ideas! Here's one I saw yesterday...
 
 
6. Candles: You really can't go wrong with Yankee Candles (I love Autumn Wreath and Trick or Treat).  However,  they can get pricey.  I've noticed that Home Goods sells them sometimes and they were less expensive. Actually, I've also fallen in love with the 3 Layer candles from Wal-Mart! 
The best part is, they are only $5 for an 18 oz. jar and smell amazing! Who knew?
 

 
7. Scarves: I heard on the radio this morning that scarves are the best way to transition from your summer to fall wardrobes.  My Nonna makes the best scarves ever and I'll definitely have to post those for you to see. But for now, check out these cute Ikat scarves I just found Old Navy's website for $8!

 
Old Navy Ikat Scarf

 
8. Pumpkin Spice...ANYTHING!


"Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes"
Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes


 

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

The Honeymoon's Over!

It's so hard to believe that the wedding has come and gone and we were sitting on the beach in St. Lucia exactly one month ago! As I go through some of our pictures (the Mr. and I have different definitions of "some"), to put in a photobook, I thought I'd post a few.


The typical "wedding date in sand" pic!
Good Morning, St Lucia



on our balcony


Reason # 129981 why we gained a few LBS! The swim up bar...


Loved these pendants in the lobby


On our Sunset Party Cruise


Sunset Party Cruise, Marina


Our Next Home.... in my dreams!


Johnny Depp filmed a few scenes of "Pirates"on this boat




a night at La Toc


Kimono's at La Toc (too bad the picture is terrible, it was a fun interior!)


Dinner at Gordons


The Fire Eating - Dancers





Rumored to be Oprah's house - you KNOW I needed to take a picture! ha!


The Twin Pitons


Toscanini's
 

Candlelit Dinner on the Beach on our last night...thanks to my AMAZING and thoughtful Co-Workers!
We loved it. xo



Ah... The End.  Back to reality!


 

Monday, September 17, 2012

Happy Monday

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Going to be another busy week at work! Will try to post more this week, I promise, lots to share!

Sunday, September 9, 2012

New Chairs!

I wasn't sure what should be my first post since we've been renovating this house for a few years now.  Welp, I guess there's no time like the present, so that's where I'll begin!

We were looking for a new dining room set and ended up purchasing this one from Macy's (Labor Day sale!). We decided on brown leather chairs. I ended up choosing this because I wanted a modern, pedestal type base so we could fit more people around it. The table and chairs should be coming in October.


To brighten and mix it up a little bit, I felt we needed two head chairs that were different.  I came across these at www.Macys.com as well while showing my girlfriend Rebecca the table.


I loved them, but they were fabric and $250 each.  A little out of our budget and, with our niece and nephews, I didn't want to be "that" aunt who's always worrying about spills!

So I went to my "go to" site, www.Overstock.com, to find a less expensive alternative that was leather.  This way, it would be the same texture as the other chairs and cleanable!

and then...

Ta-da!!! Look what I found!


 

These chairs were 2 for $360 (or something like that..) and only $2.95 shipping. I got $25 off from a www.retailmenot.com coupon code along with Overstock's 10% off sale! They came within a week and we put them together yesterday (you just need to add the legs on).  I LOVE them.  I see that they are back to full price, so I may have been lucky because it was a holiday weekend.  BUT, always look because you never know, they have sales all the time!!!

I'll be sure to post the whole look together once the table comes in!




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