Category Archives: Her Home

Everyday Treat: Summer Flowers

Posted on July 25, 2012 | 3 comments

I love to arrange flowers and keep them in the house.  They can really add great color and vibrancy to any decor.  They can also get quite expensive.

If you, like me, are not best buds with orchid farmers in Holland, and don’t have the yard to grow your own roses it can be tough to keep up this little decorating habit.

Before you start to peruse the “silks” please just think seasonal!

Look how pretty a simple peony or a few dahlias look in a sweet repurposed vase, or the great visual impact of more affordable seasonal blooms like carnations, hydrangeas and cockscomb, also know as brain flowers!

Even the most affordable flower (carnations) can look stunning and sophisticated when arranged in one bold color.  All of these flowers can be found at your grocery store and even farmer’s market!

P.S. A great way to save on a wedding or event’s floral budget is to buy local and seasonal blooms!  Click here for more tips on what is in bloom.

Images: Peony/Dahlia/Hydrangea/Carnation/Cockscomb

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Posted in Decor, Her Home, Her Weddings + Events

Honey Decor

Posted on July 23, 2012 | Leave a comment

I spotted a cute coffee/side table in the recent West Elm catalog and it has put me on the hunt for all things honey-ed.

The hexagon tables come together to form a mod honeycomb.  In white marble and raw steel, the all natural look is made industrious, sturdy and all around cool.

This only kicked off my search for more honey comb chic items.  How great are these?

Vases from West Elm:

A gorgeous DIY from Design Sponge:

A sleek laquer tray, from the King of Cool Jonathan Adler:

Do you dig the modern honey vibe?

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Posted in Decor, Her Home

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Pull Up a Chair

Posted on July 16, 2012 | Leave a comment

This weekend we went to a friend’s house for a birthday party and in their backyard they had a plastic chair in the shape of a giant hand.  It was funky, far out, not at all typical for DC and the thumb made a perfect arm rest.

It was also a great conversation starter.  It made me think about picking up a bold, “look at me” kind of chair.

What do you think about these wild ones?

 
First reaction: swoon, love, adore!

Kartell Mademoiselle Chair

 
First reaction: geometric, cool and modern.

Williamina Aluminum Chair

 
First Reaction: Playful, whimsy, fairy-tale awesome.

Merve Kahraman Hybrid Chair

 
First Reaction: Bold, tropical, sunny and bright.

The Acapulco Chair by Ocho

What do you think, would any of these chairs find a place in your house?

Shop: 1/2/3/4

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The Dog days of Summer

Posted on July 12, 2012 | 1 comment

Mark and I grew up with dogs.  To spend time in the company of a good dog lets you look past the hair, or the slobber, or the early morning walks in the rain (or snow!).

We live in an apartment now and are usually running all around, so for now we don’t have a dog.  However, one of our neighbors does have a dog.  The puppy is adorable.  Right now he is barking, but he is still very cute – good puppy eyebrows, which is everything on a dog’s face.  Anyway, just hearing the yipping and yapping of this little pup makes me want one even more.

Do you have a dog?  Other pets?  Want one?

 

Photo by Little Friends Photo

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Posted in Her Home

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What to do this Weekend: See Moonrise Kingdom

Posted on July 6, 2012 | Leave a comment

On Tuesday night Mark and I went to the movies – our first in a while. We saw Moonrise Kingdom. If you need an idea to beat the heat for two hours, if you want to laugh, if you want to go back to camp without the big bites, if you want to be delighted – go see Moonrise Kingdom.

Moonrise Kingdom is the sweet story of Sam, a misfit orphan, who is a skillful khaki scout, and Suzy, a troubled and sassy oldest child from a loveless marriage and their journey to run away together and the town’s, her parents’, his fellow scouts’ quest to find them.

The movie tackles big issues and big adolescent milestones through the vivid scenery of a storybook and a 12-year-old’s perspective.

Share a popcorn, hold hands, go to the movies.

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Posted in entertaining

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Sight Seeing in Colorado: The Double RL Ranch

Posted on July 5, 2012 | Leave a comment

Last week we were in Colorado, Telluride to be exact, for a friend’s wedding.  It was beautiful, more on that in a later post.  Today is all about what we saw on the road.

We flew into Grand Junction, which is about 2.5 hours from Telluride.  Mark had done this drive before and had said he’d seen the Ralph Lauren ranch on that trip, so as the fence posts started to straighten up and the grass started to appear a bit greener it was clear we were passing the Double RL Ranch, owned by Ralph and Ricky Lauren.

I recognized it right away from the many times I paused and hit play on Oprah’s visit.  I didn’t take any pictures but these are some great ones, better than any I could have taken from the road.

P.S.  How cool to have your own custom Americana teepees, that’s also how I spotted the ranch.

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Posted in Her Home, Her Inspiration, travel

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American Girl

Posted on July 4, 2012 | Leave a comment

Ever since I went to American University I have had a soft spot in my heart for this song by Tom Petty.  It is perfect for today.

Happy America Day to all of you American girls!

P.S. If you need some last minute holiday treat and snack inspiration, check out my Pinterest!

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Posted in DC, entertaining, Holidays

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What is Your Summer Style?

Posted on July 3, 2012 | Leave a comment

Tomorrow is the 4th of July!  Three cheers for fireworks, bbq’s, mini-weekends in the middle of the week and an all-American summer. What are you doing and what are you going to wear?

I spent this past weekend in Telluride, Colorado.  A beautiful town, more on that on Thursday, with a really terrific sense of style.  My trip got me thinking about what American style is, beyond Ralph and Tommy.

Which of these most closely match your all-American summer style?

P.S.  I am a mix of all of these.

Shop: City tee/jeans/shades/bag/bracelet/sneaks
Shop: Country dress/clutch/jacket/belt/boots
Shop: Beach bikini/bag/shades/shorts/flips/sunblock
 
 
P.S. for more American fashion inspiration check out this editorial from Vogue.
 
 

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Posted in Fashion Inspiration, Her Closet, Holidays, Shopping

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New Old Apartment – The Vanity

Posted on June 12, 2012 | 1 comment

Part of the apartment updating included the bathroom vanity.  It needed some freshening up and we were in hot pursuit of a look that 1 part sleek, 1 park chic and 2 parts “ohm”.

We went to Restoration Hardware and fell for the Spritz.  It was fabulous for sure, but when I got it home and saw how big the piece were and considered the prices I was more OMG than Ohm…

faucet/mirror/bar/toilet paper/hook

I am a bargain shopper, and it turns out not just for shoes and t-shirts.  I scoured the Internet and found a vanity set that was so similar you’d almost think they were related.

sconce/faucet/hook/toilet paper/bar/mirror

I found all of the pieces, except the mirror which is the only RH item I kept, at Lowe’s – they were a better fit for the space size wise and the savings – though not huge – is something I feel good about.

The little extra shopping around was worth it for me.  I love the look and it’s one more new feature in the new old apartment that I am loving.  What do you think?

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Posted in Decor, Her Home

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New Old Apartment – The Closets

Posted on June 7, 2012 | Leave a comment

One great thing about our apartment is the storage.  In fact, our 1-bedroom apartment has more thoughtful storage for clothes and more then our entire house.

Upon moving back we knew that our closets would get an upgrade too.  Off to the Container Store we went, the purveyor of all things efficient, to design our new closet system.

40 minutes with Maureen (our helpful Container Store associate) and a few hours of Mark doing all of the heavy lifting we have new closets!

The closets are sliding door closets.  Mark’s has mirrored doors and mine now have beautiful grasscloth wallpaper – another impressive DIY project! The closets have sliding shelves for all my shoes; baskets for tops and sweaters; hanging spaces for jackets and jeans (yes, I hang my jeans); and an amazing caddy for my jewelry.

No more clunky dresser and fabulously chic organization.  This is pretty close to heaven!  Thanks to Mark for DIY-ing for this awesome wardrobe upgrade!

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Posted in Decor, Her Closet, Her Home

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