No. 4711

After reminiscing with my mom about my Granny's (Great Grandma who immigrated from Germany when she was a teenager) perfume my mom surprised me by sending a bottle of it to me for valentines day. I always remember her glass bottle of No. 4711 being so pretty. It's a very light scent and has clean citrus notes to it. As soon as I got the beautiful bottle in the mail I opened it and took a big whiff. Not only does it bring back so many memories but I love it! It's not overwhelmingly floral or too strong. It's a little fruity (Jared likes fruit smells). And it just smells clean and fresh.

I think I have a new signature scent borrowed from my Granny's good taste. Thanks mom!

Valentines Day is on it's way.

(Looking for Love by Irene Suchocki)

Valentines day is quickly approaching and I know it's pretty cool these days to have a cynical view of the commercial greeting card holiday, but I don't care. I love valentines day. Our 6 month anniversary since the wedding is the day after Valentines this year and we plan on going out that night to celebrate in order to avoid the crowd. I think it's fun to pick out a valentine and I got something small, cute and cheesy for Jared this year (I don't even know if he's going to like it but I think it's fun).

What are you doing to celebrate?

New Skirt Love.

Bought a new skirt (and gold belt) with my 30% clearance items coupon from JCrew.com and it just got here today. I loooooove my new tortoise shell watercolor silk/wool pencil skirt with it's beautiful pleated front. I wish I had a reason to wear it all the time. I can't wait to have an office job so I can. I also picked up a denim pencil skirt and crisp white button down (since I didn't have one).

Red Raven Studios - Jewelry for Haiti Relief

After seeing them in an etsy feature about shops selling for Haiti relief I fell in love with Red Raven Studio's porcelain earrings. Amy selects the most gorgeous vintage ceramic decals and artfully fires time to crisp white porcelain to create beautiful earrings, brooches, pendants and buttons. Every piece is a little different and until the 31st 100% (that's right! ONE HUNDRED PERCENT) of the proceeds from her etsy shop will go directly to UNICEF's Haiti Relief Fund.

This morning I picked up the In Flight earrings pictured above for myself. She has so many gorgeous sets though it was hard to choose. Here are some others I was considering (and may have to go back for eventually).


Stop by her etsy shop before the 31st and help her raise money for Haiti relief (and treat yourself to something pretty at the same time).

Rune Guneriussen

Just a quick artist feature today. I happened upon the work of the Norwegian photographer Rune Guneriussen today and had to share. I love his photographs of telephones, chairs and especially lamps out in natural settings. There is a certain stillness to them that really speaks to me. Check out his website for more photos.

Estate Sale Treasures - Part Four

Forgot one last thing I picked up last weekend at the estate sale. I had my first successful try at haggling and landed this pair of brass deer for under $10. They are pretty big, about 11 inches to their ears. The doe is a little wonky since one leg is a little shorter than the rest, but a little ball of epoxy under one foot should fix that. I haven't found a good spot for them yet. I wish I had a fireplace. The would be lovely on the hearth.

Finally got the pictures up in my studio.

Took an hour or so getting the pictures up on the wall above my desk. Got the two paintings and baroque mirror at estate sales. Also snagged that vintage photo at a thrift store and put up a photo from our wedding reception my brother in law took during the beach bonfire (my dress smells a little smokey to this day). Also put up my linen calender after I threw a hem around the edges. Didn't take a lot of time but it really goes a long way in making the room feel more like a room.

Currently I'm working on a pillow sham for our sofa made of felt and one of my granny's vintage doilies. It's nice to take a day getting all the projects done I have been meaning to do for ages. More progress photos tomorrow.

DIY - Vintage Plate Wall Clock

I finally got around to finishing some projects up today that I've been wanting to do for awhile. A couple years ago I got this vintage plate at a thrift store for 30 cents. I loved the folk inspired farm scene and lovely yellow color. I used it to hold keys in my dorm and decided I wanted to find a more useful purpose for it.

I got out my handy Dremmel and bought a ceramic and glass drill bit for it at Lowes for a couple dollars. Picked up a clock motion at Walmart for $6 and once I found the center of the plate it just took a few minutes of drilling and screwing the motion into place and voila! I have a wall clock! Here are a couple more photos:


If you have any questions regarding this project, feel free to post them and I would be happy to update with the answers.

Desk Chair Project - Part One

So I'm starting my journey on my first real upholstery project. In the past I have recovered chair cushions, simple new padding, cover and staple projects. This time I decided to try something a little more advance. I'm getting a pile of books out of the library and I think the office chair I got from the estate sale will be the perfect simple job to practice on.

This morning I bought yardage of Amy Bulter's Primrose in grey from her Nigella line (which is a medium weight decor fabric) and I'm waiting for a good sale to buy padding from Joanne's. I think the fabric will look really beautiful with the wood base and seat back.


I'm pretty excited. I hope it works out and I have a feeling it will take awhile to finish (I'll wait weeks for the right price on the padding) but I'll keep you posted on the progress. Anyone out there do any upholstering? Share you tips and projects!

Estate Sale Treasures - Part Three

This next treasure I almost missed! It was in the garage and had a pile of tins stacked on top of it. The stencil on the inside is dated 1943 and it's a military (most likely Ammo) trunk. There are a couple partitions on the inside and at only $7 it's been added to our vintage trunk collection. I don't know where we are going to put it yet, but for now it's in the dining room corner.


One more set this afternoon! I told you we found a lot of stuff.