bringing spring in on because it's awesome!

Hey all! I'm over on Because It's Awesome today, participating in Tobe's amazing House Guest series! I'm sure Tobe  and BIA need no intro, but just in case you're not acquainted be sure to pop over - her blog is definitely one of the good'uns. What am I saying - pop over either way! I'm giving Mother Nature the finger and rounding up some of my fave accessories to bring on spring no matter what the thermometer says. I'm tired of waiting!

If you follow me on Insta, you know that last weekend I did a little puttin' my money where my mouth is and started my own springification - slowly but surely! After toying with using rainbow fabric in my dining nook, I added some dashes of yellow to my bedroom . . .

put a bright pink shade and pretty tulips next to my saturday morning reading spot . . .

and shopped around for spring accessories of a different kind . . .

It's just a start, but these little things are making such a difference! Especially when it looks like this outside . . .

Le-ord. Will it ever end?!

So what are you doing to get over the "winter ain't goin' nowhere" blues? Are you bringing in some brights or focusing on a good old spring cleaning? I know I'm not the only one who can't wait to throw open the balcony doors and shake the cobwebs out over the railing!

dining chair makeover - les touches to the rescue? (in need of opinions!)

So remember that amazing budget-find IKEA fabric I posted about last week? Well, I still love it, but I'm not sure my dining nook does. While the colours work so well with the pendant light and rug in theory, I think they're just perky enough that in practice they flatten the rug out a bit . . .  and flat and dull it is not.

Here is what the rug looks like solo:

And here are a couple of bad iPhone snaps of what the fabric does to it . . .

There's no question that it's better than what's on the chairs currently, but I'm just not sure it's right.

Thankfully, I have two yards of this extreme gorgeousness on the way:

 . . . from my absolute fave Etsy fabric source, Decorators Backroom. I've sung the praises of DB before, but when the seller offers Les Touches for only $40 a yard, how could I not?? (Psst, right now she may or may not have La Fiorentina in Wine/Magenta for the same price. It's crazy pants.)

So here's a little reminder of what the room looks like when I'm using a proper camera . . .

Except the lobster has been moved to the bathroom and these pretty ladies have taken it's place:

The new plan would involve Les Touches on the chairs, hopefully ribbon on the sides of curtains (dark purple or pink velvet), paint on the picture frames (light pink) and maybe paint on the bottom third of the chair legs - like they'd been dipped. If I did that I'd have to go pink, because I don't like purple and black too close together.  Which means that the ribbon would have to be purple to avoid pink overload . . .

So what do y'all think? Les Touches all the way, or is it a waste of such a ridiculously good fabric?? Should I horde it for better quality pieces in the future? I need advice ladies! This room needs some spring in its step!

my (attainable) dream living room = found

Know what happens when awesome bloggers collide? More awesomeness. Awesomeness squared. It's science. Wait. Math. Yes, math.

Yesterday Joanna of A Cup of Jo posted the 500sq ft apartment of Oh Happy Day's Jordan, which she got a little help on from Jamie of I Suwannee (and the store Furbish). Enough links in one sentence for you? Well each of the blogs were already some of my faves, the shop is full of things I'd kill for, and the apartment . . . well, it's pretty much my dream apartment.

And when I say dream I mean REAL dream, not the "I love this but could never come close to affording it in real life" kind of dream, but the attainable "this would be ideal and maybe even possible" kind of dream.

The living room especially. It is my version of perfection for both who I am and how I live.

Great textile/colour mixing, books galore, and practical (aka not white) upholstery pieces and rugs - that will actually work for kids or pets - that somehow don't take away from the light and airy feel.

It makes me kick myself for not going paler when I painted my place, and want to take a butcher knife to my beige sofa. Although everything makes me want to take a butcher knife to my beige sofa.

The rest of the place is just as charming.

I'm pretty sure this space is going to be inspiring the crap out of my design decisions from here on out. Right now, its just giving me that familiar itch to move so I can justify an overhaul . . . oh dear....

If you haven't already, make sure you check out the original post via A Cup of Jo. It's a good'un!

an ikea fabric gem

When shit hit the fan a couple of weeks ago, I did what any self-respecting 29 year old would do under the circumstances: I went home to my mama. While I was there we took some time out from my whingeing to do a bit of shopping, including the all important trip to IKEA. Some people go to the museum or the zoo to bond with the ones they love. I drag them to the mecca of all things particleboard. 

My biggest find of the day was an awesome rainbow stripe fabric that I thought could look great on my dining room chairs. At 6.99 a yard and super thick, it seemed almost too good to be true. I snapped up a couple of yards, but once I got home I started to wonder if maybe my "this budget find is actually super chic" radar had been way off...

Then, a couple of days ago, Jamie of Furbish posted this pic on instagram and her blog:

Instincts. Confirmed. 

If you didn't know that fabric was IKEA, you would never suspect it was so well priced. That chair is amazing, no bones about it. 

I'm still not sure it's the perfect pick for my purposes (it may just be too much, we'll see), it's just nice to get that little "you got this girl" confirmation, AND to find such a gem at such a great price point. Part of me is seriously considering hoarding a few more yards for future purposes. Can you imagine an interestingly-shaped kids headboard in this? Sublime. 

Of course, that would mean more fabric storing, and I'm already foisting old pieces off on friends. Anyone up for a little remnant sale? There may be some Kelly W. and Martin Lawrence Bullard in there just waiting to be loved...

aaaaaand, I'm back

I really was only planning on taking a few days off, I swear. I honestly don't know how those few days turned into weeks (my longest break since starting this blog a little over a year ago), but I promise you I needed it. In keeping with my doggie themed last post, I've pretty much been doing my best impression of this guy ever since:

Except way, way less cute. And probably stinkier.

I know I always wonder when other bloggers allude to issues in their lives but don't elaborate, so in case you're curious about what's been going on, here is the coles notes version . . . A couple of years ago I went through what was essentially a divorce, but without the certificate.  We'd been together 8 years, and as much as I wish it wasn't the case, I'm still dealing/healing/trying to figure things out. There's been an embarrassing amount of stumbling along the way. Throwing shit against the wall to see what sticks. Sometimes, like a few weeks ago, what doesn't stick knocks me on my ass on its way back down...

Suffice it to say, my heart has taken a bit of a beating, and I'm tired.

So that's why I've been gone. But here's why I'm back: I love talking to you all so much. And I missed you.

I figure that in times like these I probably need this little refuge - and all the beautiful inspiration and amazing women it brings into my world - more than ever. Your wisdom, creativity and just plain kick-assness might be just what the doctor ordered. So starting tomorrow I'll be putting on my big girl panties and showing up to the rodeo, stiff drink in tow. I can't wait to see you there . . . xoxoxo