father's day gifts

Father's Day is just around the corner, but there's still time to pick up something special for dear old dad. Read on for my top picks to help him relax, have fun, and enjoy the day in style.

nashville

A few weeks ago, I went to Tennessee with three of my oldest friends. We spent half the time in Nashville, and half in Eastern Tennessee visiting Dollywood. We had a blast - we ate too much, listened to more country music than I ever have in my life, and seriously considered buying cowboy boots. Nashville is a great town, and I felt like I only scratched the surface of it in the few days we were there. Nonetheless, I thought I'd share my favorite spots for those that might be considering a trip to Music City. Read my recommendations after the jump:

books by bloggers

Looks like I better clear some space on my coffee table! Is it just me, or is every design blogger coming out with a book this spring?? Here's a round-up of my favorite new books by bloggers:

I just got my hands on a copy of Justina Blakeney's The New Bohemians a few days ago and it is gorgeous! It might be worth buying for these illustrations alone, but really every page is just bursting with colorful inspiration! The book features photos of twenty homes, as well as DIY guides, decorating advice, and a plant encyclopedia to help you embrace Justina's Bohemian "Jungalow" aesthetic. 

SF Girl By Bay's See San Francisco doesn't come out until April 28th, but the preview images I've seen are really beautiful. With Victoria Smith's bright, clear photography, its sure to be a great coffee table book (and amazingly, she took all the photos with her phone!). We better enjoy photos of the unique sites of SF now, before Google takes over the whole city!

Like everything Joy Cho does, the new Oh Joy book is full of great style, cheery bright colors, and plenty of gold (check out the gold foil on the cover!). It features 60 projects for entertaining, cooking, decor and fashion. Even if you don't end up actually doing any of the crafts, you're sure to be inspired by the fun styling and fantastic photos! Her blog features a sneak peek inside the book here.

Brit + Co publishes a crazy amount of content on their site, and their new book is no slacker either. The cover of Homemakers proclaims that it features over 1000 creative ideas for your home, and I don't think its exaggerating! Brit Morin puts a modern spin on homemaking and offers a really wide range of projects. Whether you're into decor, crafting, cooking, or health - this book's got you covered.

I don't have kids yet, but when I do, I will certainly look to the Design Mom book for decorating advice. How she manages to raise six (yes, SIX!) kids in the Bay Area without her house looking like a garbage dump is beyond me. I think most of us could probably benefit from her practical storage solutions and tips for making your home a more thoughtfully designed place, whether or not kids are in the picture.


[from top: vase photo from Oh Joy, New Bohemians photo from The Jungalow, See San Francisco photo from SF Girl By Bay, Oh Joy photo from Oh Joy, Homemakers photo from Brit + Co, Design Mom photo from Design Mom]

living room progress

I've been working on changing up our living room for the last few months. With the current crazy rental market in the Bay Area it doesn't look like we'll be moving any time soon, so I decided to try to make the best of the space we have and give it a little refresh. It's not quite finished yet, but I thought it might be interesting to share a bit of my process and a peak into the changes I've made so far. Read on to see the progress of our living room:

palette picks: cinnamon

OK, I'm just gonna come out and say it: I think Marsala, Pantone's Color of 2015, is ugly. They're trying to play it up as a wine or burgundy color, but it's a brown. A weird, purple-ish brown, like a bruise on your leg that stubbornly refuses to fade. If they had asked my opinion on a brown for this year, I would have told them to ditch the purple tones and crank up the orange to create a gorgeous Cinnamon. This color is often associated with Autumn, but I think it works year round. It's a warm compliment to nearly all shades of blue or green and I love it as a contrast to white and black. It also looks fresh and vibrant when paired with what seems to be everyone's actual favorite color of the year: blush.

[All photos linked via my Pinterest Page]

on the hunt: modern slipcovered couches

I've spent the last few months on the hunt for a new sofa. What I was looking for seemed somewhat impossible: a comfortable sofa with modern, clean lines that was slipcovered in a fully washable fabric. And just to make it a little harder: I was trying to find something under $1000.

I found plenty of gorgeous, modern sofas that were stiff and uncomfortable, with back cushions that were comically short. Most were not the least bit washable- which seems sort of insane to me. Between our dog sleeping on the couch for 14 hours a day, and our bad habit of eating dinner in front of the tv, I knew we needed something that could be thrown in the wash when the inevitable wine or food spill occurred. Slipcovers were the obvious answer, but most slipcovered sofas have a very traditional look, with oversized rolled arms and full skirts- not what I was going for. Eventually, I was able to find some options (though most were not in my price range). Read on for my top picks:

i'm baaaaack

Hello friends! Hope you are having a happy 2015 so far. I apologize for the radio silence the last few weeks. Just before the holidays, I herniated a disc in my back, and it hasn't been fun to deal with. Slowly but surely, I'm getting better though, and should be on the mend soon. The only upside was that all the time I spent laid up on the couch inspired me to do a little makeover of our living room. Stay tuned for posts about finding a new couch, rug, and more. Until then, you'll just have to enjoy this adorable injured lamb...