Monday Link-Around 3/7

This is a quick roundup of interesting articles and posts that caught my eye this past week.

Dare to Choose a More Colorful Neutral from Houzz – Great article about the basics of color and how to go beyond bland beige.

D.I.Y Kokeshi Display from Poppytalk – Incredibly simple and adorable way to display a prized collection. I cannot wait to try this one out!

D.I.Y. Rosette Embellished Pillow from Living with Lindsay – I’ve been admiring this exact pillow that she finds inspiration from, but it really is a very particular color. Now I know how I could do it myself in a fabric I actually like!

The Sexiest Before and After. Like Ever. from Centsational Girl – A simple, step-by step instruction on how to patch a hole in drywall.

And one from a little more than a week ago: Spice Racks as Bookshelves from the style files – Such a cute idea; childrens’ books displayed parallel to the wall. Both useful and artful.

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Etsy Roundup: Carnival

I decided to try out a new feature where I pick a theme and create a “collection” of items related to this theme on Etsy. So, today is the theme of Carnival. I wanted a cool kind of retro feel to this collection; a little bit nostalgic, but not too washed out. I wanted to make the collection reflect the exuberance of a carnival.

"The Carnival"

Top Row (L to R): Coney Island Notebook by Ciaffi, Admit One Wooden Cuff by ruthmikos, Popcorn Soaps by LoveLeeSoaps

Middle Row (L to R): Aqua and Orange Fabric Garland by PaisleyHandmade, Panoramic Ferris Wheel in Barcelona by bomobob, Vintage Acrobat Circus Pendant by Arete

Bottom Row (L to R): Funnel Cake Bobby Pins by lepetitebonbon, A Carousel Ride Vintage Necklace by ABoxForMyTreasure, Confetti Dot Paper Straws by HeyYoYo

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Desired Doodad: Swinging Girl Necklace

It has been a long time since I last did a “Desired Doodad” post. I guess there have not been many things I have seen over the past few months that have had me saying “Oooh, someday I want that!” But this changed the other night when I was looking at Etsy for the first time in a long while. And this necklace absolutely caught my fancy.

Swinging Girl Necklace

Swinging Pinup Girl by MarKhed on Etsy (I highly recommend checking out the rest of the shop as well. So many wonderful things!)

 

I just adore this necklace! I am always looking for simple, understated “everyday” jewelry that would look gorgeous with my usual T-shirt and jeans or with a nice dress. This piece certainly fits the bill. I love the simplicity of the silhouette which keeps the necklace graphic. The smaller scale of the necklace keeps it from being overbearing. The whimsy of it just makes me grin. I think I may have to save up my pennies for this one…

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Pantone Fall 2011

So, remember how last year I did a ton of posts about the Pantone Fall 2010 colors? Well, the Fall 2011 palette has been released here, and I think that they are quite lovely.

Fall 2011

I like that the more firey colors are allowed to shine–for the past couple of seasons the blues and greens have played a central role; it feels right that it is the “hot” colors’ turn. I also like the richness of the palette, compared to last fall’s more muted vintage-y tones, this palette feels far more glamorous and luscious.

The downside for me is that “Honeysuckle” was named the color of the year. Really? I know corals have been popular for a couple of seasons, but not a fan of this overtly pink version. I find Honeysuckle to be too aggressively girly, too over-the-top. In my opinion, “Emberglow” is a more interesting color with a wider-range of uses. But that’s just me.

Anyway, instead of doing the very time-consuming mood boards, this season I am just going to play around a little bit with the colors and see what interesting combinations I can come up with. One nice thing about the palette this year is the ease of the neutrals. Both Coffee Liqueur and Nougat have a casual feel to them that makes them work well with any palette. Oddly enough, while playing with the palette, I found that Quarry (although thoroughly blue) also makes a wonderful neutral.

So first, the calming color combinations.  These palettes are more soothing, more mainstream. They have a natural, casual coolness about them. I could see these palettes being used quite successfully in a home.

"Beachside"

“Beachside,” as indicated in the title would not look out of place in a summer cottage on the beach somewhere. I feel it has more of an “East Coast” beach feel to it.

"Calm Forest"

“Calm Forest” is also very neutral and casual. It really embodies the French Country aesthetic, and maybe even a little bit “shabby chic”

"Peacock Park"

“Peacock Park” is based in those lovely neutrals, but throws in the rich luxury of “deep teal.” Neutral but with a touch of glam.

"Vintage"

“Vintage” has an old-fashioned feeling to it. Slightly antique, a little bit feminine.

Now, for the more bold colors. Harder to successfully pull off in a space, but very fun!

"Masquerade"

“Cedar” and “Emberglow” alone together look old-fashioned. Put some “Phlox” with them, and the trio reads as bold glamor.

"But I Am A Lady"

“But I Am A Lady” just reads “modern girly” to me. The yellow undertones of bamboo mixed with the aggressive pink of honeysuckle could be cloying, but the intensity of the colors make it modern.

"Bold"

“Bold” is just over-the-top eighties-style glamor. Probably not something I would like to live with, but appealing nonetheless.

So, good palette for Fall 2011? Is Honeysuckle a good annual pick?

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Self Organization

I am a messy person. My “stuff” for the most part has no discernible system, but I know where everything is and can find it withing ten seconds. I have never been a particularly organized person. I admire those who have everything organized, in perfect boxes, labelled. Oh, it looks just wonderful.

A wonderfully organized pantry

Photo from Just Be Splendid on Tumblr (Image originally from Country Living)

And I have all these high goals for organizing. I think “I can do that! I’ll just head to The Container Store and I can have something just like that!” But then I get to The Container Store and the prices blow me right back out the door again. So no perfectly organized, labelled, matching stuff for me. Plus I don’t have enough room for a pantry anyway!

Even if my house can’t be perfectly organized, I feel like my brain needs to be. For me, writing things down is the best way to make myself remember something. If I need to drive somewhere unfamiliar, I don’t print out the Google Map. Instead I go to Google Maps and hand write the directions. It just makes them stick better. The same is true for grocery and “to-do” lists. I can only remember six to eight items without writing them down. And “to-do” lists? Forget it. If I don’t write them down, nothing gets done. For me, writing a list creates a tangible expectation for myself. Even with writing things down, I’m far from perfect, but I hold myself far more accountable when I have that list staring me in the face.

For a long time, I used a simple list pad for my grocery lists and for my “to-do” lists. The magnetic pad would hang on the fridge and I or Joe would add to it as we ran low on things. This worked well, except for when it was time to go shopping. The flimsy paper was always fighting me. I would accidentally poke through the paper with a pencil or pen; balancing it was always a challenge; and adding things to it? That never went smoothly. A planner would work, but doesn’t really fit with my lifestyle as of right now–I have no use for scheduling my time in hour blocks. So in came my new favorite thing:

Beautiful, isn't it?

Oh yes, my organization notebook. Seriously, it is the best ever! It is only 5×7″ so it fits in my purse. Its covers are plastic. It has three pockets to hold stuff. It’s spiral bound, so it can be folded back on itself to make writing easier, but the spiral is covered so it doesn’t snag on anything. It has a pen loop for my favorite pens in the whole world so I am not constantly digging through my purse for them. I love this thing “Oprah’s Favorite Things” style. I use a simple binder clip to mark what page I’m on, and I date each page as needed. Plus it’s in purple, my favorite color. What more could I want? It has really changed the tenor of my days for the better. Silly, right? But it keeps me so better organized, makes me feel so much more accomplished at the end of the day, and it makes it so much easier to point out all I did that day to Joe. Hey, it works for me!

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