going craigslist crazy!

If you read this blog regularly you know I've been looking for a sofa bed that doesn't break the bank or make me puke all over its ugliness for a while now. Those things just don't come cheap and/or pretty, and I have been having absolutely no luck.

Well, after weeks of scouring craigslist and kijiji (which is actually just as popular as CL in Canada) I think I may have found the perfect one. Get a load of this lady:

It's actually a dark leather under that slipcover, and looks like a quality piece, so I'm fairly sure the cushions are down. Which would make me DIE. It's exactly the right size (78" long), has a high back like I wanted, would be even cozier with all my toss cushions on it (I'd lose those littlies in the pic), and the custom slipcover means I could have a light sofa and still let G up on it. Win, win, win, WIN.

It's a bit more than I was hoping to spend, but still way under a grand, and I know that custom slips don't come cheap. So I'll survive.

For your reference, this is my current sofa situation...

The only hitch is that the sellers aren't returning my emails and I am going NUTS waiting for them to get back to me!

What do you think? Am I right to be so antsy or should I keep looking? Cross your fingers for me!!

P.S. I've jumped on the Bloglovin train!

small cool is my jam

Know what time of year I love? Apartment Therapy small cool time, that's what. Ooohh, I get so, so flippin' excited to go through every single entry for little living inspiration.

I currently live in a 500 sq ft apartment, and I kind of wouldn't have it any other way. I grew up in 1800 sq ft with a family of 6, a dog and multiple cats, and honestly, it was awesome. Yeah, sometimes we were all on top of each other, but that was a good thing. We fought, we loved, we shared, we got ridiculously, ridiculously close.

Doesn't matter how much money I wrack up, a 5000 sq ft house will never appeal to me. The cleaning alone would drive me mother f-ing crazy, but mostly I just want a space where I'm constantly interacting with the people I love - whether I'm currently liking or not. I want to see them. I want to experience them. I want the people to be my home. 

If you're like me and love a good cozy, quirky, small space, then you've either already made your way through this year's entries, or you really should go waste a couple hours doing it now. My current favourites are most definitely this AMAZING masculine/feminine mix...

{via}

And this more glamorous (and yet still restrained) entry. Bonus points for there being a murphy bed behind the big mirror...

{via}

So good right?

Even in the less-my-style spaces, it's always amazing checking out how ingenious people figure out how to live in the tiniest of spaces. 

Like putting an art room in a closet . . .

{via}

. . . or creating a kitchen that's also a floor . . .

{via}

People are so damn clever.

So what do you think? Anyone else drinking the small cool-aid (see what I did there? huh? huh?), or would you always get bigger if you could afford bigger? I can't be alone on this one right?!

Loves and kisses pretties! xoxo

blogger lovin': the hunted interior's budget (actually!) bathroom

If you love interior design mags (and if you're here, well, you probably do) then like me you're likely resigned to the fact that when someone says "budget", it's not your budget they're talking about. Nope. Not even a little.

When I say budget I don't mean a "high low mix". I mean a low low mix. I mean a "ikea is still expensive to me" mix. I mean a "that knockoff still ain't cheap" mix. I'll buy the knock-off if I can find it on craigslist, otherwise I'm finding a chair at goodwill and cracking out the spray paint.

That's why I love bloggers like Kristin of the Hunted Interior. Today Kristin posted her bathroom makeover, and every single item in that newly prettified room was hacked, painted, and elbow greased into fabulousness. No splurges. Just awesome.

She made the mirror for $13. She sprayed a $25 outdoor light fixture. She got down on her hands and knees and painted those floor tiles her own damn self.

Kindred spirit.

I don't often repost other peeps' projects, but this lady deserves a hat tip. A "I found it at a garage sale" hat tip.

i heart your art: jenny andrews-anderson

There are obviously a lot of really amazing things about blogs and blogging - the inspiration, the connections - but one of the coolest and, I think, least recognized is that it allows you to participate in a journey you otherwise wouldn't have. By following a creative's blog, you get the chance to watch them grow - to witness their progression, their toil, their visible improvement over time. You get to be privy not only to the result, but also to the process. It's inspiring and it's real. It's an awesome reminder that talent takes time and work, and that we all start somewhere.

I'm reminded of this when I look at the work of Jenny Andrews Anderson, the blogger and artist behind the hilarious MFAMB. I've read MFAMB for years, and I must admit that I can't actually remember when Jenny started using it to showcase her painting skills, but I can remember that for a while I wasn't really sold. If I'm totally honest, I just didn't see what others were seeing. I wanted to, but I didn't.

But with time, all that has changed. Whenever Jenny has released new work I've liked it more than her last. Her brush strokes have become more self-assured, more calculated, her choices more confident. I - along with every other fan of her blog - have gotten to see her genuine talent grow.

That's pretty special.

At this point I would happily (and very excitedly) pull out my wallet to bring some of Jenny's work into my own home. And I know that if I did, it would be made all the more special by the journey I've gotten to go on alongside this talented artist.

{all paintings via Jenny's pinterest}

It's a pretty great place this bloggy land of ours. 

P.S. the fact that she named one of her paintings "Mathletes"? I think you can just guess how I feel about that. 

fabric find: designer looks for the masses

Yesterday Christine of Bijou & Boheme posted a killer client reveal featuring some seriously gorgeous wing back chairs:

I pretty much just assumed the fabric was my beloved Les Touches until she listed her sources. Turns out that it's actually a Spoonflower find! Can you believe it?! I've always been really afraid of ordering from Spoonflower, expecting it to look cheap, but this may have convinced me otherwise.

The exact seller is Domesticate, and she has a GREAT selection of fabrics inspired by designer faves. Here are just a few I'm loving:

Now the only question is linen or canvas, because otherwise it looks like a no-brainer to me.

Have any of you ordered from Spoonflower before? I'd love to know what your experience was like!

welcomed by home

So I've actually been back from Belize for five days, but have been . . . well  . . . recovering. Unfortunately after posting about having found paradise, I got a MASSIVE ear infection and perforated eardrum due to a malfunctioning depth gauge on one of my dives. Suffice it to say, the rest of the vacation was not so hot.

Well, it was hot, but I wasn't out enjoying it.

Anyway, you win some you lose some. By the time the two weeks were over I was so happy to come back to my little apartment, dive into a bed piled high with pillows, and stream 4 eps of Mad Men in a row that it was borderline ridiculous. It really highlighted how important it is to make your space your little sanctuary - the place where you feel most at home and welcomed in the world.

And what welcomed me home right beside the bed? The beautiful little marble desk y'all convinced me to buy...

You guys are so damn smart. It's the perfect height (the lamp is actually lower than the headboard, it just doesn't look like it from this angle), the perfect depth, and the perfect length. It just fits so ridiculously well, and I know it's a piece I'll keep forever.  

I will say though, that even a half vacation is worth the trip. When else can you spend all day doing this:

Bad luck or not, I may be already planning my next escape . . .