Friday, February 26, 2010

leather couches

Naomi asked me to look for a "living room with a leather couch that looks cool and not like a men's club (not that there is anything wrong with that, it's just not what I'm going for). I want something clean, comfy, lovely, and I need decor that will warm it up, you know? I am thinking a fabric chair, a rug that is not the typical oriental rug and window treatments that make it not look like too much leather."

I spent the weekend looking for rooms with leather couches, not as easy as it sounds. I came away with a couple of rules of thumb:
1- Use bright neutral colors on your walls
2- Be careful with using too much leather i.e. only leather

A mixture of light and dark furniture as well as various fabrics and textures.

This is the only one with only leather seating that I chose to include. I think this one works because of the simple and modern lines on the sofas as well as minimal furniture and light colors on the walls and rug.


Yet again there is a mixture of light and dark and textures. Apartment Therapy also has a great post entitled "How to decorate around a leather sofa"

They used primarily light colors here with dark accents but they also didn't use a light colored rug to off-set the wood flooring.

via decor8
The bottom right picture is the one to look at, they have paired leather with fabric chairs and tables with simple lines.

Bright colors found on the walls and the pillows paired with light colors in the rug and walls and a mixture of light and dark furniture.

Any other suggestions for decorating with a leather sofa?

for a snowy day

via Habitually Chic
I don't know about the rest of you but we are being hit hard by the snow this week. March apparently wants to come in like a roaring lion. I have been perusing the blogosphere to try and forget about the cold and I found this. It is a photo of Marc Jacobs home, the flowers are what caught my eye. Aren't they gorgeous? I love the mass of long, thick stems.

figure skating


Did you watch the women's figure skating last night. Watching Joannie Rochette finish her routine and recieve a medal brought a few tears to my eye.

Wasn't Kim Yu-Na amazing?
photos via yahoo sports

diy updates

Painting borders and adding new hardware, easy updates and it looks so nice.
I love the simple cabinet updates. This one is two seperate cabinets stacked, my only question is how stable would this be?
photos via martha stewart

Thursday, February 25, 2010

headbands


triple strand and rose is a rose
I always worry about the headbands that are actually bands. The ones I have worn in the past make a funny bump by my ear.


chain mail
Simple with a punch, I like it.

faille flower
This one is my favorite, it comes in black too.


epic headband
Hello Lucille Ball. I am still on the fence on this one.

vote pops


via bakerella
I saw these on Bakerella today, aren't they amazing? I have tried the recipe before, and they are good, but they are really dense and heavy. I think the next time I will try brownie pops rather than cake pops.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

the couch

I know I've talked about my couch before so if you already know this, bear with me. My Mom got new couches for her living room a while back. She offered me the couch that had sat in the living room for 20+ years. It looks almost exactly like this green one but it is cream.

via EmilyStyle
My parents are keeping the couch in a storage space until my husband and I are done with graduate school (much to my Dad's dismay, he tried to get rid of it this week but my sister went to bat for the couch, thank heavens!)

via little green notebook
I am continually throwing ideas around in my head about what kind of fabric to have it recovered in. I love the look of the stripes on this love seat. I think this might be a winner!

beef tacos


I have a lot of black bean salsa left overs so tonight we are making beef tacos! I found a recipe on Martha Stewart that looks pretty straight forward, and I have all of the ingredients on hand.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

art on a budget

Some new favorite pieces of mine for $100 or less.


Boerderij (Farm)


city comparison: seattle, washington


via NOAA
Pros:
Varied cultural opportunities
On the water
Mountains!!!

via Austinist
Cons:
Rain, rain, rain- although a friend tells me it is not as bad as everyone says
Long drive to our hometown
Congested
Cost of living is towards the higher end


via ankneyd's flickr
Median Property- $399,950
Median Family Income- $79,211
Median Age- 38.0
Population- 594,200
Crime Rate- (the national average is 100, the lower, the better)
Personal Crime Risk- 6
Property Crime Risk- 57
Restaurants- 5,859
via money magazine

Monday, February 22, 2010

glee

I can't wait until the new season of Glee starts! I was really excited when I saw this preview on We Chirp.

farm sink


via design sponge
My sister and I were discussing farm house sinks the other day. We love the look but question if it will be a passing trend.

via my favorite things
The question is, are farm house sinks here to stay?

pilates


I love mat pilates. A friend introduced me to pilates during undergrad. I fell in love with pilates and ended up taking many classes with my friend; I find I always miss having someone to laugh through the pain (and my inability to actually straighten my leg) during pilates sessions. I just got a new pilates DVD so I can start having my "one on one" sessions with Mari Winsor again. I love it.
I would love to try a pilates machine, I hear they are amazing.

Sunday, February 21, 2010

weddings


via a cup of joe
I saw this post on A Cup of Joe about this couple's small wedding (38 people) and it got me to wondering. If I were to do my wedding over again would I do a large or small wedding? We had a large wedding (500 invites counts as large, right?) and I loved it. I loved everything about it, all our family, friends and neighbors all in my parent's gorgeous back yard and everyone dancing. It was fantastic. On the flip side, there is something to be said about an intimate wedding, you get to spend more time talking to the guests and you don't have to stand in line for hours saying hello to everyone. So my question for you is big or small?

Saturday, February 20, 2010

welcome home


via Oliveaux
Doesn't this just say welcome to you? I want a blue door one day.

Friday, February 19, 2010

clothes for a cause

My cousin recently opened an online boutique called Nivi Empowerment. Nivi is unique in that all the skirts are hand made by women in India. Nivi provides these women with a job and uses the concept of micro-earning. "For every piece of clothing sold, Nivi Empowerment places money in a bank account for the woman the sewed the skirt. This money is tagged for projects that the woman needs, such as fixing a roof, going to school, or getting clean water. The initial micro-earning product for all of the workers is a sewing machine of her choice."

I love the bright fabrics and the detail on the waist band. Plus, most of them are reversible.

photos via nivi empowerment and rosalyn irene photo

Thursday, February 18, 2010

jewelry bust


via torie jayne
I love the concept of using figure busts to display and store jewelry. It turns storage into something interesting and unique.

via apartment therapy

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

mirror, mirror on the wall


via A Cup of Joe
I love this collection of mirrors, so beautiful!

globetrotters

I am looking for guest bloggers to participate in my travel tuesday series. If you would be interested in doing a post on your town/city/village/favorite vacation spot- send me an e-mail at paperwhitejewelry@gmail.com

black bean salsa


We are taking dinner our friends tonight, one of them had a serious knee surgery recently. I decided to fall back on an old favorite. Southwest Chicken pockets with black bean salsa. While the chicken pockets are great I am most excited about the black bean salsa, it's a favorite.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

collections

I love printer drawers for collections. I keep my thimble collection in one, although mine is vertical. I like the look of hanging them horizontally though.

city comparison: pasadena, ca


via velo-retro

Pros:
Warm
Close to L.A.
Cultural opportunities galore
Charming

Cons:
Higher housing
High cost of living
Summer fire zone?


via DisneyKrayzie

Median Property- $485,000
Median Family Income- $68,407
Median Age- 35.7
Population- 143,400
Crime Rate- (the national average is 100, the lower, the better)
Personal Crime Risk- 5
Property Crime Risk- 30
Restaurants- 11,696
via money magazine

Monday, February 15, 2010

my funny valentine

We had a fun Valentine's Day this year. On Saturday we went to Valentine's Day (the movie) and then to dinner at one of our favorite pubs. We made sugar cookies later that night while watching the Olympics. My husband also got his very first lesson on how to properly frost a cookie.
My husband decided to make a documentary of me putting on an apron. This is me editing his photo shoot.
Outside Casey's

vancouver

via meteo world
I love the Olympics. I can't wait for the women's figure skating to start and the Alpine skiing. Have you been watching the Olympics?

via zimbio

Friday, February 12, 2010

happy weekend!


via flickr

Have a good Valentine's day! I am excited for the Olympics to begin. After living in a host city the Winter Olympics are near and dear to my heart. See how many Olympic host cities you can name here!
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