40's

40's

Sunday, January 26, 2014

Patrick and Ellen's equally comparable sanctuaries...

No children + 4-bedroom house = 1 Master, 1 Guest Room, 1 Sanctuary for Patrick, and 1 Sanctuary for Ellen.

PATRICK'S SANCTUARY:

Patrick chose to turn his sanctuary room into a video game room. As you can see, we've put a lot of work into his room, including carefully maintaining the car/truck/plane decals that were left from the little boy who lived here before us.



His sanctuary also sometimes doubles as our laundry dumping room, so he really has an added bonus to his room...


I'm sure you are thinking, "How could Ellen's room possibly top that amazing video game room?" Try to keep an open mind for my room, as we tried to put equal energy into both.

ELLEN'S SANCTUARY:

I decided to turn my room into a closet. Obviously it can't compare to a video game room, but I did my best. I got the idea to turn a bedroom into a closet from Pinterest, but don't expect to see a lot of Pinterest-esqu DIY-type projects in my house. The only thing I like to Do Myself is to press "Submit Order" online.

This project was surprisingly easy for me considering Patrick did all the work. The drawers/shelves/etc. are Martha Stewart for Home Depot. You can design whatever system you want, and they have a cool design tool online. There is even a laundry hamper built into the bottom of the drawers.





We turned the closet in my closet into a room for my shoes. They are displayed on a bookshelf from our old house. It's important to re-purpose things so that they will actually be useful to you.


We got my vanity from Overstock.com. I LOVE Overstock.com. As with everything else when online shopping, you have to do your research, but you can get some great things. The chandelier for this room also came from Overstock.  


Pretty much everything on my vanity besides the actual make-up came from TJ Maxx or Home Goods, obviously.


This shelf has traveled with me all the way from Lexington. It was in my nursery. Now it displays things from my room when I was a little girl. 


We turned the old kitchen table from our last house into my jewelry station. Again, we always try to re-purpose anything that is not useful.


We kept everything black and white so that my favorite colors, Hermes and Cartier can really pop. I also have my wedding shoes on display and a painting that was in my room that I shared with my sister when we were little. I love it because I used to stare at it all the time. The girl with long hair was my sister, and the younger girl with short hair was me. I was pissed that I always had to be the girl with short hair. It would have been only fair if we had rotated who got to be the girl with the long hair.



Thankfully, this experience really taught me a valuable long-term lesson, as I always try to be fair and equitable in my adult life.






Monday, January 13, 2014

Keeping the spark alive at Home (Goods)

Every once in a while on a lazy Saturday or Sunday, if the mood strikes us, Patrick or I will look at the other and say, "Let's go make some bad decisions." We both know what that means......

WE'RE GOING TO HOME GOODS AND TJ MAXX!!! Yesssss! We grab the credit card and head out the door for an exhilarating afternoon.

One of our favorite activities to do as a married couple is to run errands together. If there are no errands that we need to run, TJ Maxx and Home Goods are always there for us. They are our rock. Shopping at Home Goods and TJ Maxx really helps us keep the mystery alive because we NEVER know what we will find. It's such a rush.

I'm not going to sugarcoat it. It's not easy. It takes work, and there will be times you want to give up. You have to dig through a lot of crap to get to the good stuff, and there will be times when you think it's not worth it. I promise you, if you stick it out, you will be rewarded in ways you couldn't even imagine. Let me share a personal example that I hope could help you:

Patrick and I found this mirror at TJ Maxx for $150. A few days later, we were in Metro Lighting and saw the EXACT same mirror for $900!!! True story.


The mirror that made it all worth it.

Don't let yourself become another statistic of the majority of people who don't shop at TJ Maxx/Home Goods and resort to paying more at other places. If you want awesome home decor at significant discounts, you have to work at it. 
I am so lucky to have found something that makes me so happy...
(...I was talking about Patrick, in case you were questioning it.)




Saturday, January 11, 2014

Introducing Hotel Reed...

I should preface this whole endeavor by saying that I really have no idea what I'm doing when it comes to interior design. I basically just find pictures of other people's houses and spaces that I love, and put them together in a way that works for Patrick and me. Generally, my house is a blend of Kyle Richards', (Real Housewives of Beverly Hills-please don't judge me), Heather Debrow's (Real Housewives of Orange County-still try to resist judging me), Rachel Zoe's (if this is getting to be too much to handle, I understand...), The Cosmopolitan Hotel in Las Vegas, and a few others sprinkled here and there.

Speaking of Las Vegas....now on to our bedroom.

This room is our pride and joy. Patrick and I love being in Vegas more than any place in the world, and our favorite place to stay is the Cosmo (that's how the cool people refer to The Cosmopolitan Hotel) because the rooms are awesome. We love how much fun we have and how carefree we are when we are there, so we thought, "Why not feel like we are in Vegas all the time?"

Look how carefree we look when we are in Vegas (and this was before I even had bangs!)... Wouldn't you want to capture that feeling?

So carefree, even without bangs.

Never want to leave.
(But also clutching onto my purse for dear life...
this is Vegas...)
Thinking about how relaxed and carefree he his.

Personal note: I look so much better and more carefree with a spray tan









The Inspiration:

These photos show slightly different set-ups of the Cosmopolitan based on the actual room, but the main elements remain pretty consistent.

Bedroom area (Cosmo):


Bar area (Cosmo):

Desk area (Cosmo):





Lounge area (Cosmo):






Here is how it turned out:

Bedroom area (Hotel Reed): 

I wanted all white bedding for the hotel vibe, and I found a navy pillow and blanket to add a touch of Cosmo flair to the bed. I also found the perfect nightstands, added some hydrangeas, had wall lamps put in, and the bedroom area was ready to go. I still need something for over the bed and a leather trunk for the end of the bed. To be continued.





Bar area (Hotel Reed):

Our favorite part of the room is the bar we designed a la Cosmo. It was a little tricky to find a wood type/finish for the cabinets that was "orangey enough to not look brownish." I used very specific and expert terminology with the designer. We ended up with a finish that they did not have a sample to show us before we purchased, but they assured me it was what I was looking for. Needless to say, I had anxiety every day for the six weeks prior to receiving them. They turned out perfect. Phew!

We like to keep 2 Fiji water bottles, which we obviously don't drink, and a can of peanuts on the bar, which we obviously don't eat. Everyone knows you don't eat or drink anything from the hotel minibar (who do you think we are, The Rockefellers?).














I may have also stocked up on Cosmopolitan napkins and coasters when we were there last.



 Desk area (Hotel Reed): 

We found a match to the Cosmo leather desk chair online, and the desk from Crate and Barrel. We picked a damask wallpaper to frame around the desk area. Patrick did the black molding himself. I could barely watch for fear of it turning out crocked, but he knocked it out of the park. The TV above the desk is mounted on a rotating mount so we can watch from the bed or the lounge area. If you've been to our house, you are well aware of that fact because Patrick likes to demonstrate this product of engineering genius to everyone that comes over.


Desk complete with Cosmopolitan paper and pen. 


Lounge area (Hotel Reed):

A blue velvet couch was a little too risky for me to get behind, so instead I found blue velvet ottomans and kept the couch neutral. I bought the artwork over the couch while shopping online in my Vegas hotel room. This artwork popped up on a flash sale website, and I looked up from bed to see that it was a perfect substitute for the art in the actual hotel room! I spent way more on it than I normally would have if I wasn't probably still a little drunk, but I think it was well worth it, and it sets the tone for the whole room. I have also never been so excited in my life to find the little orange accent table that replicated the one in the Cosmo lounge area.


The overall picture (Hotel Reed):




Patrick hanging out in the lounge area.

Hanging out in the bedroom area.
That's all for now. Sorry for the ridiculously long post. I normally try to keep them shorter, as I think we can all agree that I don't like to go overboard.


Cheers!


Thursday, January 9, 2014

A recap of the last 3 years...

I decided to get back to blogging because I have a new obsession with home decorating and design, and I thought it would be a great place to show my progress with our new house. I realize it's been a really long time since my last post, so let me catch you up. Here are the big moments you missed from the past 3 years....

My little Love Butt Sweet Love nephew Jack got even cuter.

Can you even stand it?
2-year birthday party
omg

My little Hannie Bananie (it's really just Hannah) also got even cuter.

Tutu and zebra from aunt Ellen, obviously
Checking out our bangs in the mirror


















I got a new little Love Butt nephew, Chawee Bean (It's really Charlie).

So sweet and smiley

















Christmas morning in his old man pajamas



















I got a new little Natalie Batalie neice (it's really just Natalie).


Loving on her on Thanksgiving

The Big Muddy Dance Company became a huge success.

A few features:



Our signature piece, 'The 40's'

Our next show! 


Patrick finished his CFA and got a few promotions.

This is him holding his CFA Charter, but I was too nervous to let him take it out of the cardboard for the photo.

We lost Patrick's Grandpa.

We miss his jokes and so much more.

We lost my PaPaw.


Love my PaPaw.

With his great-grandson. Miss him so much.


Lots of friends got married. 

Me and Er-bear. She was so stunning.


Me and Miranda (not at her wedding, but she looked stunning too).

Me and my sweet Peter (it's really Kelly) who just had a baby today!!!!
I got bangs.

omg I have bangs.

And finally, we bought a new house.



This last item on the list is primarily what this blog will be focused on, but I didn't feel right starting fresh without attempting to fill the gap. Stay tuned for house progress, inspirations, finds, before-and-afters, ideas and more!