Thursday, June 30, 2011

I Love Thrifting Party in Birmingham July 9th!


Although it's kinda last minute I'd like to invite you all to a fun and very informal party next Saturday July 9th. Blogger and Thrifting genius Rason Carraway of Mr. Goodwill Hunting has called for thrift-shoppin-lovers to join together on the 9th at a place or two of their choosing.

No fuss. Just meeting people with similar interests and shopping!

Follow the fun on Twitter with the #ilovethrifting hashtag.

If anyone's interested, let's meet at the Goodwill on Greensprings Highway at 11:00, then we may scoot down to the nearby Alabama Thrift Store.

You can buy a t-shirt at ilovethrifting.com

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

It's My Birthday


I'm so happy to spend it with the man I love, at a place we love. He really makes it special. Later this week we're catching up with some good friends.

Until I can post more details, I'll share what Ive asked for as a birthday gift (I told the hubs to hold until I decide for sure).  

A drum pendant for the dining room...

Details later. :)

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Southern Hospitality Blog Feature

So excited to be featured on  Southern Hospitality Blog by sweet Rhoda for our yard sale find! Please check Rhoda out.  Love this Southern Gal! :)


southern hospitality
Thank you again, Rhoda!

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Considering... Painting a Different Color Below the Chair Rail

I really like the paint colors we chose for the living room and dining room.  And I really like the paint colors we chose for the bedroom and bathroom.  But lately I've been thinking how some new paint colors just a little more cohesion... and maybe even more impact.  So I'm considering painting the wall beneath the chair rail with the same dark paint (Valspar's Rugged Suede) that we used on our bedroom accent wall and bathroom. 

I did some Googling and found a few images to prove (to myself) that I'm not crazy. 

Painting a Darker Color under the Chair Rail - Image via Sköna Hem - Sliten Symfoni


Painting a Darker Color under Chair Rail - via Apartment Therapy of Kim Johnson's bathroom


I might be pulling out the paint soon.  Our high ceilings make this look much easier to pull off. The color won't be nearly this dark (although I love it).


If you have a vote, chime in with a comment!  Do you like the dramatic flair of a darker paint underneath the chair rail? Or is monochromatic more your look?

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Yard Sale Score - Pelvic Wall Art



I love the idea of a yard sale.  Love it.  I remember going on lots of trips with my ex-half-sister-in-law when I was a eight years old or so.  We would go from one to the next, then head to the thrift store.  So much fun for an eight year old with fifteen bucks!  But now, I prefer thrift stores, craigslist and ebay for my second-hand finds and don't pay much regard to yard sales.  It's a lot of work, after all, to drive somewhere an discover they only have used tupperware and wig.  But guys - I hit the jackpot last weekend.

I saw the yard sale sign day before, on the way home from work.  It was less than 1/2-mile from our home so I made a mental note. I stopped by on Saturday, en route to do some thrifting (it's amazing how history repeats itself) and I'm telling you... this was like hippy-chic madness.  The kind of garb I'm not cool enough to buy (Okay, Okay. I'm really, really cool.  But I don't have space for rusty lunch boxes and vintage photos of someone's great-aunt who you never knew).

There was one piece that I adored, and walked away from twice.  It was so cool.  But creepy.  But way more cool than creepy. I felt sure it was way more than I wanted to spend. Finally asked about it.

Apparently it was constructed by the home owner from a cow's pelvis (found at a salvage yard/antique store in South Dakota), salvaged wood, and coils from an 1800's chair. 

It was 30 bucks, yo.  I didn't try to haggle.  I just stammered and handed over the dollar bills, trembling  like they would change their mind.

If you were a fly on the wall, you would have heard some interesting things in the last week or so:  "Would you hold my pelvis against the wall?  A little higher!  That's it...", "Please pick up the pelvis!  I need it now!" (I had to ask the hubs several times for to retrieve it from the trunk), and "Baby, I love my pelvis."

Not sure it will stay here, but it's in the dining room for now.  Here's a peek until I reveal the rug and the curtains.



Your turn!  What's your favorite yard sale find?  Or do ya think they take too much work to get a good deal?  

Update:  I'm linking up to Southern Hospitality Blog

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Free Art Source! - Part 2, Printable Vintage Ads - Lucien Hamelinck

If you liked last week's post about Vintage Printable... we're not done yet. Nooooo sir. No ma'am. No ma'am, no sir. No way.  I have another art resource to glam up those walls of yours.

Boucheron Vintage Jewelry Ad - Find it here

 I discovered this next source on Pinterest.  I saw the incredible print above and thought about it for days, wondering if I should re-visit the link and buy it (thinking it was a print from Etsy, perhaps?).  But no sir.  No ma'am.  No ma'am, no sir.  No freaking way!  It's FREE!

Ready for round two of our free art sources?  It's an album of vintage ads at pbase.com from Lucien Hamelinck. I work in advertising by day, so I'm particularly smitten with them.

Here are some more favorites.  Love them.  Print them.  Kiss them, then frame them.

Find it here

Find it here

Find it here

Find it here
Find it here
 
Find it here
Find it here

Find it here


Find it here

Find it here

Find it here

Find it here

Take a look at the album in its entirety here.

What are your favorites?  Any of these strike your fancy?  Thinking of using any yourself? 

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Free Art Source! - Part 1, Vintage Printable

I'm slowly trying to fill our bare walls, but it can be expensive... and sometimes it's hard to know if what you buy in the store will work out once it's in your home.  Am I right?  But today I have an uber-awesome resource.... a with free printable art, Vintage PrintableHollah!

It isn't the easiest site to navigate, but it's worth the hunt. Here are a few favorites that may work for you.

Vintage Map Print found here - Free Printable Art - Vintage Printable

Butterfly Print found here - Free Printable Art - Vintage Printable

Animal Insect Art found here - Free Printable Art - Vintage Printable

Painting of Woman Ordering Dinner found here - Free Printable Art - Vintage Printables

Botanical Art found here - Free Printable Art - Vintage Printable

If I find some more favorites, I may post them.  And stay tuned!  I have one more free art source for another post. 

In the meantime, I want to know what you think of this resource!  Find any favorites?  Heard of Vintage Printable before?  Used any of the prints in your home?  Would you consider incorporating one of these on your walls?

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Arriving Soon! Andalusia Rug



I'm actually breaking this news to you before I tell the hubs.  Well, I mean, by the time you read this he'll know.  But right now he's playing on his new iPad (a gift to himself, for being himself) with a new App where he can record his own voice.  Apparently he's writing a song.  The lyrics go like this: "Back in the daaaay... there was a doooog... his name was Geooorge...".

I just ordered the Andalusia Rug from West Elm for our dining room. Yep, I've been looking after it for quite awhile

I haven't seen it in person (we don't have a West Elm in Birmingham), but it's made enough appearances to make me feel relatively comfortable.  Like this season's Secrets From a Stylist.

Andalusia Rug from Secrets from a Stylist, via Dwell & Tell (that's me, yo)
It was kind of an impulse.  Yes, I've loved it for awhile but I'm a commitment-phobe. I've considered a striped rug, a DIY stencil rug, another natural fiber rug.  But tonight I walked in from a pretty long day at work, and decided to buy it.  I'm like that.  I usually waaaay over-think something, but every now and then I make an impulse buy, comforting myself that there will be a way out (and there is, ya know, I can always return it). 

The gift card my mama and daddy-o gifted my a West Elm gift card awhile back took the edge off.  I had about $15 left, which helped with the shipping.

Are you considering some rug options?  Geometric? Natural fiber?  Do you think we've made a mistake?  :)  And (most importantly) do you like recording yourself writing songs, the kind you would never dream to let anyone hear, like Seth does? 

Bedroom - Before & After Painting

I've been slowly working on a bedroom re-do and have some progress to share!  This is good readin'., like your favorite trash tv show.  Lots of embarrassment.  Confusion.  Bad choices.  Shame... then redemption.
 
Let's begin with my very first wall color selection ever.  Remember, friends... ever.  So I went crazy... CRAZY town, crazy.  Take-your-top-off and twirl-it-in-the-air kinda' crazy.

BEFORE
It all started innocently enough. A pretty photo from Domino of an office designed by Mary McDonald. It had everything I thought I wanted: personality, modern touches, enough glam for a newlywed gal. It's really a great example, though, of something that didn't translate well into real-life (not mine, that is).

Mary McDonald, featured in Domino Mag, via decorpad
Drumroll, please....
I realized the result was a total joke, but it took some time to come up with another plan. This was about a year ago.  I really never thought these "before" camera shots would end up on the blogosphere.

What, ya want more?  Lucky for you.  We have more blue.
I just threw up in my mouth.

I remember waking up from a vacation last year, really groggy and still half-dreaming ("Am I still on vacation?" kind of state).  I took a glimpse at the wall color and thought "I don't like this place! Where the heck am I?  Get me out of here!"  That's when I realized I had to make a decision on a new paint color. STAT.

I finally decided to paint two gray wall colors...  A deep, dark shade for the wall behind the bed, and a lighter shade for the other walls.  Here's an image of paint swatches, just before we started painting.

Thank heavens my MIL came over and helped us paint.  She's lightning fast and literally loves painting walls, so we were really speedy.  In one weekend we painted the bedroom and the bathroom.  Not impressed?  You've done better?  Pshhheh, what-evs.

Next I added some curtains behind the bed. You can still see the shadows of the mini-blinds coming through, but I'm planning to replace them with some roman shades soon.  Next I bought some new bedding (a coverlet and a light comforter) to lighten things up.

AFTER
Here's where we were a few weeks ago, before adding the art I mentioned couple of weeks ago.


The paint colors we chose were Valspar's "Rugged Suede" and Benjamin Moore's "Coventry Gray".

This is actually a better representation of primary wall color.  It leans to the blue side, for sure.  More than we expected.  But I'm happy with it!  The new frames add some interest, but keep the color palette simple and sleek.

I'm not nearly done, but we've come a long way so far.

I can't say I "regret" the original color.  It was part of the process.  But goodness gracious I'm glad to have it gone.

Here's what I have planned for the next:
  • Hang curtains by the single window
  • Choose a bed.  Buy it.
  • Buy or make baskets for underneath the bedside tables
  • Paint the tray on the bedside table
  • Decide whether or not to paint the bedside tables
  • Find new lamps
  • Install roman shades
  • Decide what to do/hang on the left wall (opposite of the single window)
Like the change?  Ever chosen a horrendous paint color like I originally did?  Any paint projects planned?

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Pink Peonies

This is probably my favorite flower.  I really love light pink peonies, but I adore the fuschia ones.


This little bunch gave me happies for a solid week. 


Are you a peony fan? 

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Makeover for the Bloggidy-Blog

We're back from Jamaica. Do I look different?  Refreshed?  Sunny?  Nope. I was wearing SPF-85 on the face.  Plus a hat.  But now that you mentioned it, I did have some work done.

BEFORE
Dwell & Tell is growing up.  A design makeover.  Oh, yes.  I gave myself an early birthday gift.   

I actually set up a blog on December 26, 2009, ya' see.  But I didn't get started for over a year, because I couldn't create a design I was proud of.  This year I made a vow to get it started regardless, but knew I would be more excited about it when it looked more finished.

AFTER

These peeps are awesome.  Talented.  I chose the ampersand, color scheme, and background... and they made magic.  Despite my crazy questions, like "What about these colors?", "Do you like this font?", "Is there really a Santa Clause?", "Does this make my butt look fat?" and "Will you play with my hair?". 

Check 'em out in my sidebar, and let me know what you think.  A few more changes are on the way for the blog design.  Thanks to Erin (not me, Erin, blog designer Erin) especially!