(summer) purse...

I am no fashionista and could use all the help I can get! I am in desperate need of a new purse and have had trouble finding something I really like. While browsing the other day I came across this from payless. Do y'all think silver would work for the summer? I don't normally change bags to go with outfits, so I really need something that will be okay with things from tees and jeans to summery knit skirts and dresses. Thoughts? Feel free to point me in the direction of something else!

(Round) Top...

I had such a fun day last Saturday. After emailing back and forth the last several years, this precious friend and I finally met!! We had such a fun day together. It started with a tour of her darling cottage! We then headed out for late morning shopping at Round Top (Texas) antique show, ate barbecue (we are in Texas afterall!!) sandwiches at La Bahia and then headed to Burton to visit The Nesting Company. We enjoyed visiting with the sweet owner, Heidi. The store is in an old building, with lots of charming character and such a cute storefront. Heidi is a florist and is very creative. Just look at that "coral". It is actually twigs spray painted red!! I will have to remember that! Afterward we headed to Leftovers in Brenham where we were greeted by a sweet (but big!!) saint bernard. It is a beautiful store. It was a fun day that went by too quickly! Thanks again Holly for such a fun day!

a little (target) shopping...

I recently picked up this cute top from target. It looks better in person than the picture and very flattering on. It'll be cute paired up with these white jeans. A couple of months ago I found some long sleeve Merona cardigan sweaters on the clearance rack. I love the way they fit and feel. For warmer months, Target has come out with a 3/4 sleeve version and I plan to get it in white. Perfect for summer evenings and cute with tees, tanks and bermuda shorts. I saw these shoes in store and think they are cute. They come in green too. Love the green, but think I would wear the tan more. I still haven't decided on a light, but I appreciate your opinions!

cottage lighting {part two}...

Remember I posted about doing a little updating to our back porch light? Well we now have moved on to adding lights to our two car carport. It's just a basic carport, made of wood, open and held up by posts. Across the front three posts, my plan is to put one of each of these lantern lights pictured above on each post. On the side of the carport, at the top where the roof crowns I want to put one of the lights below, but can't decide which one. I love the industrial warehouse, vintage feel they have and the iron pipes they hang from. I need your opinion ladies! I need to order soon, so which one do you like?

(new) candle...

I went into Bath and Bodyworks this afternoon and picked this up. The scent is pineapple mango, smells incredible and was on sale for only 5.00! I need to go back in and get some different scents. It is by Slatkin & Co. I've not used this brand of candle before and I'm hoping it burns evenly. I hate when candles just burn down through the middle and leave lots of wax on the sides.

tissue storage...

Sarah at Serendipity posted this image she found via decorology. I like this idea of using a tall glass vase for holding extra tissue. I have seen similar vases at TJMaxx and Target probably has them too. I am loving the tile floor and wood walls in this picture!

the ::industrial:: look...

I love the unexpected look something industrial gives a home. These clothes closets Courtney found at Installations Antiques in Houston are fabulous. They would be great for a child's room or a laundry room. Someone commented on her post and left a link to L. K. Goodwin, a company specializing in material handling equipment. I am loving these canvas bins and baskets. You can find tons of uses for them such as storing laundry or toys. I have a stainless restaurant kitchen work table I use as an island in my kitchen I got at a local restaurant supply store and after seeing this similar looking one, (mine has a shelf under it) I think I need to put some casters on mine. I also think these stainless shelves are a great addition to a pantry or even out in an open kitchen. Check out how fabulous Erika's pantry looks with them. I am loving her lockers, too! I just wish I had a pantry.

cottage lighting...

We recently replaced our backdoor light fixture. It was just a simple, glass nothing special fixture. I found this one at Lowe's and thought it would be a simple, little fix up for that area. Wouldn't it also make a fun fixture above the mirror in a boy's bathroom? Look how adorable these similar fixtures are above the baby bed in this nursery! Go ahead and check out the entire room that Lauren of Pure Style Home did for her son. It is worth a separate post entirely!

{porch} curtains...

Ever since I saw style editor Heather Chadduck's porch curtains in Cottage Living (still mourning that loss) I have wanted to do this with my own porch. I also love the way the cloths are are rolled up on this Baton Rouge cottage. This is such an easy, inexpensive way to add a bit of style to this outdoor area. These can be done with simple canvas drop cloths found at Lowe's and they come in a variety of sizes. I plan to use galvanized/iron plumbing parts for the rods like Heather Bullard did with hers and maybe these cheap rings from Hobby Lobby sewn at the top. I think there is a spray available that can be put on the cloths to help prevent mold/mildew issues.

*edited to add another picture. This home was featured in Cottage Living, but I can't find it on their site. The owner did a fun upholstered door that I want to try for a couple of my doors that are not original to my home.

pictures on canvas...

One of these days when I am finally blessed with a child, I am so going to do a large picture like the one I have pictured here and I think it would look so good on canvas. The big, precious picture above the armoire is of Katie Brown's daughter and this is in Katie Brown's home. It has been featured in Country Home and Cottage Living. Her home is just darling and I love her mix of unique elements. Erin of Elements of Style recently posted some pictures of a condo she decorated. It featured wonderful pictures on canvas. Here is a link to where you can send in your own pictures and they can put them onto canvas. I love this look. I found this image via here!

{billy reid}...

I had the opportunity to go into this fAbULoUs clothing store this past week. Just like with Anthropologie, I could easily move in and LIVE here. The interior looks like the inside of an old, southern house. It has wood floors, oriental rugs and vintage items displayed. It would be so fun to work there! There was one table that had a big, tall, glass vase filled with lots of little branches. Such a simple, easy to do thing. Inside the store, they were burning this Henri Bendel candle. It was just a perfect scent for this store. If you go here, you can click on each of the stores for a slide show of the interiors of each one. When I saw this blog on a new JCrew men's store, it reminded me of Billy Reid. If you ever have a chance to go into this store, do so!

taRgET {deals}...

No week is complete for me without a trip to Target! I recently got these shoes. I think they are going to look good with my black toes ;). They are low enough to be comfortable for wearing all day, yet will look like I'm wearing much taller heels with longer jeans and pants. The color is darker than this in person and I think they will look good with lots of colors. They had them in bronze on the website, but are no longer available. I would have liked those, too.

I first started thinking about this bag when I saw it here. I went to Target to check it out and got it. I brought it home and then decided to return it. I wasn't sure about it, but I kept thinking about it. The thing with Target is when things go on clearance you can get stuff at such low prices. So when I spotted the bag for a mere 5.75, I knew it had to come home with me permanently! Notice it was even featured in this great article! It is a big bag, but I love that it can hold lots.

a walk on the *WiLd* side...

I got a much needed pedicure today. This is the color I went with. I like it although it is a huge change from my usual colors. I normally wear a french baby pink, a light cafe latte color, or go bare, but I thought for fall I'd give this a try. Do you wear black polish?

Fall tables...

Here are some pretty tables that remind me of Thanksgiving and the fall season. I just love the monogram flatware, hemstitch napkin and ironstone. This was put together by Eddie Ross. This image is from here. I love it all, too!

(foo) dogs...

Pier One has these foo
dogs on clearance for under 10.00 each. They are available in turquoise or orange. What are your thoughts? Yes, no?? I think they might be kind of fun for a mantel, nightstand, or on a sideboard in the dining room.

More kitchen love...

Cottage Living does it again! Add this kitchen to my list. This one is featured in the November/December issue of Cottage Living. I haven't gotten mine yet, but I saw it on the website and can't wait to see the article. Anne Turner Carroll, an assistant decorating editor at CL, has done a wonderful job with her kitchen reno. I love the subway tile, shelves, lighting and the french doors. Notice her brown hemstitched napkins. Love those and want some! I like all her topiaries, too. If you are looking for some nice ones, I have two of the one I have pictured from Crate and Barrel. Love them!

Target...

Target gets so much of my money! They never disappoint! I just love these and these. So cute with sweaters and jeans! I hope they hurry and get them back in stock.

{cozy} bedroom...

I am so ready for a change in my master bedroom. There are only two ways to arrange the furniture in that room and I think it's time to move it all the other way. It would give it a fresh feel and help my feelings too. Almost like I have something new! My bedroom is tiny. It is an old house and so doesn't have huge rooms like newer houses. I'm not complaining. I love my old house! I am thinking of going dark in that room. I think a dark paint color would give a fun contemporary touch to it. I love this room featured in Cottage Living. It is the bedroom of Lee Kleinhelter, owner of Pieces in Atlanta. I could never be brave enough to do the dark ceiling like she did, but I think it does give the room a nice, cozy, cocoon feeling and the glossy paint adds some glam. I think the yellow lamps are fun and I love the white bedding and tufted headboard. I know for my bed, I want to do a white diamond matelasse coverlet and this ruffled duvet. I want to get this fabric and do one big, lumbar pillow and then two big, simple, white shams to go with it. Maybe I should be on the search for yellow
lamps, too?



This bedroom belongs to Tia Zoldan. It was also featured in Cottage Living, but was painted a different color at the time. Love this rich color. Any guesses as to what it might be? Again, love the white bedding and the headboard.





This is Ruthie Sommers brown bedroom. Did you know she is closing her store? I found this image and Lee's bedroom via style court.








This is a picture from the store Dovecote. I loved the color and called the store to see what it was. It is called Mouse's Back by Farrow and Ball. Thoughts on the color?

HaLLoWeEN...

I love halloween and each year I want to have a party, but never seem to get it together. Look how cute this trick or treat party invitation is!! http://www.myhomeideas.com/myhome/holidays has some great ideas for a halloween party. I think the urn idea I have pictured is cute and looks really simple to do. Check out all the halloween videos here. I like those bottle candlesticks. It's too late for me to throw something together this year as our friends have already done something, but maybe I can be more organized next year! I still want to do this and I think it would be perfect for November!

(JCrew) how I love you...

I am loving the September JCrew catalogue. Yes, I know it is now October. I have gotten some great ideas from it. I am so not fashion savvy, but I'm trying. I like how jcrew puts things together, but for my budget, not so much. Here are some outfits I like. I love this argyle sweater paired with the pearls and dark jeans. This sweater is 158.00. It is cashmere, but I did find a great alternative here for less than 20.00. I got it in the vermont orange and pale ale colors. I've recently gotten some great jeans, now all I need is to find a long pearl necklace to finish the look!

I wish I were about 10 years younger so I could pull this look off. This is just so cute! This purse is 298.00, but this one at Old Navy for less than 15.00 might work. I like it in the gray color actually.

This whole look is just darling! I found a ribbed tank practically just like this in this color at JCP on clearance for less than 5.00 last week. I got it in brown and a great teal blue, too. It's perfect for layering under a jean jacket. For wonderful fashion tips, go here and here!