Gold & White Wonderland

One of my very favorite color combinations is gold & white, whether it's this fantastic rug at the home of Catherine Sheppard, this elegant DIY wallpaper in the home of Rebekka Seale or this pretty vanity vignette featured on Cupcakes and Cashmere.

Something about this pairing makes me go gaga, and of course, I'm seeing a lot of it this time of year. In case you have the GW bug like I do, I thought I'd gather a collection of stand-out gold & white items found on Etsy (including something from my own little shop)...

Enjoy!

this pretty vintage soap holder from Summer Holiday Vintage, great for holding small jewelry 

these retro mugs from my shop, The Lucky Find Vintage, perfect for a cup of hot chocolate 

this elegant paper wreath by Tara Alexander Designs, beautiful for a winter wedding 

this stunning gold and amethyst ring by Illuminance Jewelry, that would look great on my finger ;)

this delicate paper mache bowl by Etco ... just for sitting there and looking good

this funky moose by White Faux Taxidermy - you'll need nothin' else on the walls!

Is this gold & white color combination something that you gravitate toward as well?

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Fireplace Love

Well HELLO. It's been a while! See, I moved recently and couldn't justify taking the time to blog when I was still sleeping in a sleeping bag because I hadn't yet found the box with my bed linens in it. Over a dozen boxes and I forgot to label them. I procrastinated on packing so badly that there was absolutely no method to that madness. But now my bed is made, the dishes are put away and there are only half a dozen boxes left to unpack so I felt like I could indulge in a few moments of interior design giddiness. ;)

So yeah, I moved! I traded in 400 sq. feet, freeway noise, a Shining-esque elevator and a noisy upstairs neighbor for a cute little one-bedroom apartment in neighborhoody Southeast Portland. Aside from the seemingly-large rodent that's currently stuck in my bedroom wall (not the most wonderful sound to be woken up to after watching multiple episodes of American Horror Story), I am LOVING my new place. I am especially excited about all of the decorating and design work that I will get to do. People, I have never had my own living room before! 

Now I'm three paragraphs back into blogging and it genuinely makes me very, very happy. It's been a month (hi and bye to Thanksgiving!) and I have missed it so. I just got home from work and because it's absolutely FREEZING in my apartment, I'm going to do that whole "imagine you're on a beach" thing in an attempt to warm up except I'm going to gather and stare at some photos of fireplaces. It is that time of year.

So... some of my favorite rooms with fireplaces (working or not!) to get us in a cozy kind of mood!

this eclectic, vintage-styled fireplace via Design Sponge (my fave of the bunch)

an elegant, monochromatic fireplace via Design Sponge

a glamorous fireplace via Gild and Grace

a sophisticated and classic fireplace via The Aestate

a whimsical fireplace via Apartment Therapy

TWO gorgeous fireplaces via Gild and Grace

a show-stopper of a fireplace via The Design Files

a beautifully timeless fireplace via Design Sponge

Are you one of the lucky ones who has a fireplace in your home? 

What's your favorite way to stay warm in the colder months? 

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And now I have the travel bug...

Never has a house tour made me want to pack up my bags, grab my passport and totally peace out more than this one. Featured on Design*Sponge, it is the Soho, Manhattan home of twin sisters Lizzie and Kathryn Fortunato, of the incredible accessories brand Lizzie Fortunato. I admit I had never heard of these two talents before, but now I am daydreaming about owning every single thing in their collection, especially this little duo. And just as their world travels have clearly influenced the colors, textures and shapes of their jewelry, the same kind of style is found all over their home. And I am in love! Below are some of my favorite shots from the house tour, but make sure to check out this Design*Sponge post to hear the details behind all of their treasures.

Fabulous, no?

Have any of your travels influenced the look of your home?

Skull Crazy

There are generally two types of people in the world: those who count down the days until they can bust out the holiday decorations (and the days until Pumpkin Spice Lattes return at Starbucks) and those who realize it's less than a week until Halloween and they haven't even picked up a pumpkin - or figured out a costume. This year, I have fallen into the latter category. 

I don't know if it's laziness or what (it's probably laziness), but I've never been one to go all-out with holiday decorations. Christmas, okay kind of, but most other holidays I either do nothing or do something pretty simple. So, instead of providing you with traditional Halloween decor inspiration in this end-of-October post, I thought I'd find some cool examples of one of my favorite (and Halloween-appropriate) objects: skulls. I think they're spooky enough...

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And now after looking at skulls online all night (and trust me, there are some freaky-ass photos when you Google image search the word "skull') I'm gonna go have some nightmares...

Is holiday decorating your thing or do you kick back and let others take on that job?

A Favorite Thing: Open Kitchen Shelving and Cabinets

No matter how hard I try to go for lamps, artwork, chairs, or vases - when I get to the checkout line I always end up with a mixing bowl in one arm, a cast iron skillet in one hand and a fluted cake pan in the other. I just can't get enough of kitchen stuff!

Most kitchen things (especially if you make a point of collecting them) are worthy of display, but so many kitchens don't have enough counter space to have items sitting out and prepare a meal. That's why I love open shelving and cabinets so much; stored items look great and everything remains out of the way. Unfortunately the new apartment I'm moving into (next month!) has standard cabinets with doors, but I wonder if a little do-it-yourself kitchen enhancement would be worth the consequences.

But until I have some open cabinets of my own, I'll just be crushing on the photos below...

via Pinterest

via Design Sponge

via Apartment Therapy

via Courtney Lane

via Design Sponge

via Apartment Therapy

via My Paradissi

via Etsy

And a few of these kitchens have another feature I lust after: apron sinks. But that will have to wait until another post...

Are you kitchen crazy like me? What things do you tend to gravitate toward?

Latest Inspiration

I have a lot of catching up to do since blogging has taken the backseat to this other project I'm working on that I will finally be sharing with the world minus my mom on Monday. I am SO excited. I can be a bit of perfectionist with the things I really care about (as I'm sure many of you are) and so it's taking way longer than I would like it to. But it's getting soclose.

I'm also really looking forward to getting back into my groove and spending Sunday morning at my favorite bakery, chocolate croissant and latte in hand as I read through all of the wonderful blogs that I have been neglecting recently. I can't wait to see all of your latest visual inspiration, read your creative short stories, find out what food you have been enjoying (does anyone not blog about food?), and learn about the home projects you've been spending time on. I get so much inspiration and enjoyment from the blogging community and can't wait to be 100% involved again.

Until then, here is some of my favorite inspiration from all over the web... (and if you are active on Pinterest I am a bit of a pinning psycho and would love to connect on there. Heehee. Find me here)

this pretty living room via House Beautiful's Pinterest account

this very cool entry table (loving the polaroids) via Design Sponge

the cool-as-it-is-cute style of Miroslava Duma, former editor of Harper's Bazaar Russia
(if you search for her on Pinterest you will not be disappointed)

this elegant but cozy bedroom featured on Glitter Guide

this eclectic, treasure-filled vignette via Design Sponge

this fantastic combo of leopard and grey via Lauren Santo Domingo's Pinterest boards

this incredible bathroom via Gild & Grace, one of my very-favorite interior design blogs.
Constant eye candy.

this great mixed-style living room in San Francisco via Apartment Therapy

this Oscar de la Renta NYFW runway look (actually the entire RTW collection - trust) via vogue.com

this perfectly rustic bathroom via Apartment Therapy

this ultra-glam living room featured on Vogue's APT with LSD

What do you have planned for the weekend? And give a girl some tips: how do you successfully stay on top of blogging? I need to knoooooow ;)

A Vegan Food Swap

Hey there! I hope everyone has had a fantastic weekend as we head into fall. First of all, everyone needs to go see the movie Looper. The less you know the better, so if you have no idea what I'm talking about, go to Fandango, look up when Looper is playing, buy tickets and go. Pretty sure your mind will be blown. And Joseph Gordon Levitt just keeps getting better.

On another weekend note, I received a very exciting package in the mail on Saturday, and it was all food. But not just any food; I recently participated in a Vegan Food Swap that I was convinced to try after reading about it in one of my favorite healthy living blogs, Pickles & Honey. While I do not follow a vegan diet (although I have dabbled in it), I thought it would be a great way to connect with other bloggers and try some foods that aren't usually in my kitchen.

I received a box of goodies from Kelly of Kolhrabi and Quince and was so excited to find that not only does everything look absolutely mouthwatering, but she home jarred the tomatoes herself! I am stoked! Here is what I received: 100% Organic Raw Pecan Butter, All-Natural Maple Almond Butter, Organic Raw Dried Mango (I've already eaten 2 and it's the way better version of a fruit roll-up), Fig-Balsamic Jam, and home-canned tomatoes. Could I have scored any better? I don't think so!

The package I sent to my match included Portland-area / Oregon foods (with an emphasis on unrefined sugars): Cheezy Kale chips, Coconut Chocolate Peanut Butter, Organic Blueberry Fruit Spread and ketchup from the Portland Ketchup Company.

If you are interested in taking a peek at what other participants received, head on over to The Verdant Life and scroll to the bottom. :) You can sign up for next month's swap there too.

Have you ever participated in any kind of "food swap" or "swap" in general? 

I hope everyone has a fantastic beginning to the week. I will have some exciting news to share in several days (the reason I have been SO absent from this blog...) and can't wait until then!

I like old things

If you've been reading this blog for a while, you probably know that I'm a little bit crazy for old things (antique, retro, that dusty stuff in your grandparents' garage) and like decorating my apartment with the eclectic "treasures" I've snagged at flea markets and antique fairs. I am unable to go home next month for my favorite thing in the whole entire world because of work commitments, so I convinced my mom to make a trip out to Oregon (two weeks ago) for the next best thing: the Coburg Antique Fair. The shopkeeper at one of my favorite Portland antique shops, Madison Park, insisted that we sign up for the early bird opening to scavenge for steals with the big dogs before the fair officially started. But this would have involved leaving the house at 3 am and wearing headlights to sort through piles of stuff in the dark so my mom and I decided to leave that amount of hardcorocity to the pros.

We did, however, drive two hours from Portland to Coburg and then walked for seven straight hours from antique booth to antique booth looking at everything from old Civil War rifles to Victorian hat pins to Roseville pottery. Twice we called it a day and went back to the car, started driving away and then decided to pull over and shop a little more. The apple does not fall far from the tree. In the end, I came away with a pretty set of silver plated serving utensils, an antique card table, some colorful vintage table cloths and a 1950s baby pink Sunbeam mixer.

Overall it was an incredible day and I'm so glad my mom was there to enjoy it as well. The pictures below were taken at a variety of booths at the fair, and although I've enjoyed fawning over them every night since I took them like a schoolgirl in love, I totally understand how to some people it just looks like old junk. I get it, I get it and I don't judge - it just means more for me! The last picture, however,  is the Sunbeam mixer I came home with and I think everyone can agree it's pretty dang cute.

Thanks for checking out my photos! 
What interests do you share with your mom or close family member?