Pop Paper: Snake on the Town Edition

This edition of Pop Paper is dedicated to those famous headliners that are currently taking New York City. That's right, you guessed it the Bronx Zoo's escaped Egyptian Cobra and Kim and Kourtney Kardashian.  These 3 are all over NYC these days flashing their Sssserious sssstyle sssssense everywhere they go. (sorry I had to make the pun)

photo via Bronx Zoo

photo via Forums The Fashionspot

photo via Outfit Identifier

So the Mr. has the same opinion discussed in this post about snakeskin as animal print but I disagree. I think in small doses it is acceptable.  Like in the case of the Kardashians in the above photos, a simple clutch or a full patterned top paired down with jeans.  Here are some easy ways to get the look on a budget so you too can be a "Snake on the Town."

1. Kim picked these $39.95 heels as her shoe of the month in February on ShoeDazzle.com.
2. This awesome snake ring for only $4 from Charlotte Russe.
3. And this clutch/wallet on Amazon.com for just $19.99

Hey, maybe I could redesign that "Snake on the Town" look into a corporate invitation. I haven't gone this angle before but I am thinking that the Bronx Zoo needs some serious PR when they reopen the World of Reptiles and you know those Kardashians don't miss a chance to show up in public.

Well, I gotta go I'm a #snakeonthetown

Dream Office Stationary

I currently have a desk in our sunroom/guest bedroom/storage area/Kitty Lynn's room but more often than not I am blogging and designing from the couch.  This is not ideal. I am hoping once we move this will change.  I have a little folder on my harddrive called "Nesting." This is where I stash photos of dream rooms or decorating ideas.  I stumbled upon this little gem while I was checking on the stylish girls over at Fabulous on a Budget.

photo via Fabulous on a Budget

My. Dream. Office.  It's so girly and chic but also has a very modern vibe to it. I feel like if I sat at that desk every day I could be inspired.  I heart the back wall with all the framed black and white images. It made me think of this picture that I have had on my phone since 2009.

I snapped this photo in a Macy's in the furniture department. I think it was in one of the books where you can order furniture but I loved the idea of framing a ton of different photos all over one wall.  I now can't decide what I like better-silhouettes or old Hollywood.

So I thought I would scope out the internets and find some key pieces for my dream office.  Here is what I came up with.

Top Row: Benjamin Moore for Pottery Barn paint colors in Blue Haze and Chalkboard
White Glass & Mesh lamp from Lampsplus.com for $49.98
Vintage end table from etsy seller Painted Cottage for $120

Middle Row: Vintage French Vanity/Desk from etsy seller Painted Cottage for $295
Vintage French Chair from etsy seller Painted Cottage for $110

Bottom Row: Estelle Ottoman in Robin's Egg from Urban Outfitters for $89
Madeline Chair from Urban Outfitters for $349

And of course I'd need my own stationary.  Hey maybe I could redesign that dream office into my own personal stationary.  It needs to be clean and modern with a little flourish. I definitely need to used the robin's egg blue and black color scheme and I'm going out on a limb from my normal style and picking a very elegant font.

I realized for all this redesigning that I do I may actually need to print a hard copy version of this post. I have some personal cover letters to write and hopefully thank you notes after some upcoming job interviews. Please. Hire. Me.

Hello Kitty

Before I begin today's post I wanted to update my blog followers about the Swoozie's competition.  Sadly, they did not pick any of my designs for the contest. You can see their finalists here and of course my designs are from my post here.

Not to fret, I will still keep on designing and chasing my dreams.   Perhaps I can gain inspiration from today's post about none other than my cat, Kitty Lynn.

This is Kitty Lynn. She is 11 years old.

She constantly struggles with her weight.

And for a while was always thirsty.

So I took her to the vet and we found out she had diabetes. So we began researching.

Turns out she beat the disease just by changing her diet.  {She follows a low carb CATkins diet} She now has LIVEabetes and truly is the face of HOPE!

She has recently had to go through a lot of changes. I stole her boyfriend.

And made her come to the wedding.

We also made her move to a new house and she sometimes gets lost in the long hallway and cries a lot.  So we went back to the vet. Turns out she is starting to go senile and has some arthritis.

Hey, maybe I could redesign that long list of ailments into something positive and create a cute tag to put on her carrier for the next visit to the vet.  Of course each tag needs to have the attitude and sass of Kitty Lynn. And while I'm at it, I should probably warn them about her health issues and behavioral problems.

I officially outed myself as the Crazy Cat Lady. I realize this so you don't have to point it out.

Pachyderm Paper

So before I say goodbye, I need to pay homage to the little college city I've been living in for the past year. I never thought I would grow accustom to cheering on another SEC team besides the Dawgs.

But after a few years of dating a certain Crimson Tide fan and a diamond ring, I realized I had to put up with some things "as long as we both shall live."

For the record it was pouring down rain and I needed a hat.

All that to say, that sometimes the RTR's  and the excessive amount of houndstooth around town are a little too much to take. So I like to lean more towards the actual mascot-the Pachyderm.

photo via The Sup Store

And if you look close enough, you'll find these guys all around town.

Check out who's tusks are holding up that awning!

Bookends at gift shop and yes that is a framed photo of a baby laying on houndstooth-you saw that.

This photo does not do the Mellow Mushroom justice. It is a full on bedazzled mosaic. The elephant sparkles!

And yeah these guys have even migrated into my house.  I knowingly bought this for the Mr. at a thrift store for $3. Apparently the ivory tusks are real. Eek sorry PETA.

And I actually won this adorable ice bucket from Nesting Newbies. It works. It's not too in your face Alabama but fits into the overall decorating.

photo via Nesting Newbies.

It came from Iomoi.com and they also have this tape dispensor to match but I haven't gone overboard don't worry.

photo via Iomoi.com

Of course there is a certain elephant movie besides Dumbo that is about to come out featuring my favorite Southern girl and that famous vampire-Water for Elephants.

photo via imdb

The movie is based on the book by Sara Gruen, which I currently have on reserve at the library. But I'm all about paying the $6 and some change on Amazon to download that sucker onto the Kindle so I can read it before April 22nd.

Hey maybe I could redesign that pachyderm into a cute birthday invite.  I am going to avoid any "Hey Alabama" connection and instead go with more of a big top theme.  I'm thinking circus vs. houndstooth.

Now I'm kindof in the mood for some cotton candy, popcorn and carnies.  "Carnies. Circus folk. Nomads, you know. Smell like cabbage. Small hands"-Austin Powers

Save the Date-Wake Forest Style

 Break out the black and gold cupcakes!

photo via Cupcakes Take The Cake

So if you know me or happened to read my frantic tweets from March 17th, then you'll know the Mr. got accepted as a resident at Wake Forest Baptist Health so we will be moving to Winston-Salem, NC in mid-June.

Wake Forest's new logo

Since Winston-Salem is home to Wake Forest University I better invest in some black and gold to wear to the occasional athletic event to cheer on the Demon Deacon's.  {Don't worry UGA my heart is always with you}

photo via WF Athletics

I'm thinking this sequin number may be just perfect. Maybe with some tax return money considering it's $160.

photo via Theoutnet

Of course with this big change also means we will be moving into a new place that hopefully has a little more space. Fingers cross we can afford loft living! Maybe I should give this black and gold color scheme a chance.  I went to LampsPlus.com for some inspiration and found 3 items that strike my fancy.

Mosaic Lamp for $179.91

Black and Gold lamp shade for $9.99

Black and Gold mirror for $195

Hey maybe I could redesign that mirror and those lamps into fun Save the Date cards. We didn't go with traditional photo Save the Dates-you can see our real ones here. However, if we had I think we would have used one of our engagement photos from our photog, Rob Ingram.

Which one do you like best? Anyone have any design connections in Winston-Salem? If so leave a comment and let me know!

Swooning for Swoozies

Are you up for the challenge? I am!

Swoozies, one of my favorite places for stationary and gifts is having a design challenge.  They are looking for designers to design personalized iPhone covers.  So I thought I would enter.  Since Swoozies  always has me swooning over new paper products and so many other bloggers out there make me swoon over clothes, home decor or accessories. Then maybe I could redesign that blogger I swoon over into an iPhone cover.

First up, the amazing Dana over at House Tweaking.  Dana you had me at Yellow!  This DIY headboard post immediately made my heart skip a beat. Serious bedroom lusting going on. I love how everything compliments each other-the chandelier, the yellow and brown headboard, the contrasting basic pillow against the girly ruffles and last but not least that duvet cover.  I die!

photo via House Tweaking

So here is Dana's personalized iPhone cover design for Swoozies

Next up, is the fabulous Emily from Cupcakes and Cashmere.  I am almost nervous to post this design because Emily is so ridiculously cool and stylish.  She is the epitome of the childhood nursery rhyme, "sugar and spice and everything nice!"   Every post is simple, elegant and en pointe! I mean for example, she designed her very own Coach bag.

photos via Cupcakes and Cashmere

So with bated breath, here is Emily's personalized iPhone cover for Swoozies

And finally, the always stylish Louise from Table Tonic. I discovered Louise's blog via Emily's twitter. Oh social media! Her blog and store have me wanting to nest and redecorate every room in the house.  One item in her shoppe that caught my eye was this woven Ikat cushion.

photo via Table Tonic

And here is my redesign for Louise's personalized iPhone cover for Swoozies

 

Well I am hitting submit on my 3 designs this morning and hopefully Swoozies will select at least one. I definitely will let you know when the voting begins!

Pretty Peachy

In my life, I have had 2 fruits that have been pretty constant since college. One would be the apricot, by way of  St. Ives Apricot Cleanser. I have used this facial cleanser for years perhaps even since before college.
 

photo via St. Ives

And the other fruit would be peaches!  As in my best friend's nickname.  Her real name isn't Peaches but she got the nickname and it stuck.  Her last name is the same as this Alabama town famous for it's peach water tower.

photo via Roadside America

 I have no doubt that for the rest of my life, I will always have apricot scrub and Peaches.  {Peaches, I hope you don't hate me for posting this pic of us. I will take it down if you insist.}

Peaches and me after completing our first of many half marathons-Yes we wore angel wings!

So the other day when Peaches and I were shopping we saw this adorable peach and gray dress for around $98 from The Limited.

photo via The Limited

I really like that color combination. Peach and Gray or Peach and Silver.  I wondered if anyone had decorated or used that as a color scheme in a wedding. Dont' worry they sure have and I found some wedding eye candy to share with you.

Top Row: Peach rose bouquet via The Knot,  Peach flower cake via The Knot
Second Row: Peach Christian Louboutins via The Knot,  { um...drool!}  Peach outdoor wedding reception via The Knot
Bottom Row:  Peach table decorations via Style Me Pretty, Peaches in vases as a centerpiece via Style Me Pretty

And just for kicks, I found the perfect venue for a Peach and Gray wedding.  The Peach House Bed & Breakfast in Atlanta, Georgia-my home state and the Peach State!

photo via The Peach House B&B

I also found this quirky DIY project from fellow blogger, Post Road Vintage that I sort of secretly love. Using an antique chair as a shelf.  The gray chair with the peach flowers in vases hanging on the wall sort of makes me swoon in a very country chic sort of way.  Maybe it's hanging on the wall in one of the rooms at The Peach House. Who knows!

photo via Post Road Vintage

Hey maybe I could redesign that peach and gray color scheme into a lovely wedding invitation.  It would need to be very modern and clean but also have a funky little edge to it, a lot like that Limited dress or the chair shelf?!  And let's go ahead and have the wedding at The Peach House!

Wonder if they will serve peach cobbler at the reception?