Mid Century Craigslist Find

If you know me, or have read this blog long enough, you know I love me some Craigslist.  It's tied with Facebook as my online addiction and I constantly search to find furniture or items for my wedding.  On Saturday we hosted a Fry Day at our house (so fun, very much like the Texas State Fair where marshmallows fried in funnel cake batter is a tasty dessert) and I took a break from the 106 degree heat index to see what had been listed on Craiglist that morning.

Luckily, I was the first person to call about this piece:

I instantly fell in love with the mid-century shape and thought it would make the perfect credenza in our dining area since it's not very deep.  N and I drove to Deep Ellum (a southern neighborhood of Dallas) on Sunday morning and met Mid Century Joe at his shop, Atomic Modern.  He salvages mid century pieces from estate sales (and the side of the road) and then refinishes them in the back of his shop. He says he's about to post a lot more stuff on Craigslist this week, so keep checking if you're in Dallas.

Thanks to my inspiration photos, I know how versatile a mid century dresser can be and I think it will always have a spot in our home.  I love that we'll have an additional space to store serving pieces and if needed, it can move to a bedroom as well.

Once I get our chairs refinished and the perfect mix of items on the credenza, I'll post some after pictures.  Right now, I'm thinking these little owls are going to need to be part of the mix because they make me smile.

This is officially my favorite Craigslist purchase.  What's yours?

My Inspiration file (now yours too)

A while back, I read a post on Young House Love that suggested saving photos of decor that you like and then looking for similarities to determine your style.  Since I try my best to be as design savvy as John and Sherry (and come nowhere close... yet), I created an Inspiration folder on my desktop and have been faithfully filling it with photos every time I see a room that speaks to me.

Of course they were right and now I'm glad to have this collection of room decor and find myself looking at it before I go shopping and when I'm trying to think of things to look for on Craigslist.  It's helped me to consider things I wouldn't normally look at and learn what I like.

Since I'm all about sharing, I decided to upload my inspiration photos to my Facebook page so all of you can look through it too.  And while you're there, "Like" me so you get updates in your news feed.

 Inspiration Photos on Facebook

All the photos are sourced from blogs (usually Design Sponge and Apartment Therapy) and magazine sites, and I don't lay any claim to any of them.  If I need to take any of them down, please shoot me an email and let me know.

Call for requests

I've run out of personal requests (like this one about a mom wardrobe, this one about swimsuits, and that one about work wear) and would like to do some more of them this month.  If you're got a wardrobe question or need help finding an outfit for an event, let me know!

You can email me or leave a comment.  I'll eventually do a post for everyone, but similar requests may be combined into one answer.

All pink, all on sale

I'm in a fancy mood right now as I watch The Little Couple on DVR and read blogs (glamorous evening, I know).  I want to wear pink tomorrow and be girly.  And because I got no less than four sale/free shipping emails today, I started checking out my usual stores and found tons of cute, girly clothes on sale. 

I've made you a collage of my favorites, all of which are marked down.

The dresses and color block tank are from LOFT.
The coral cardigan, pink shell and gingham shirt are from Lands End Canvas
The skirt is from Gap

Then I started looking at jewelry and found these pieces (all under $20) to add some girliness to a neutral outfit

All jewelry from Shop the Look or Forever 21

Building a Bedroom - does this work?

As many of you know, I will soon be moving in with my fiance and turning bachelor house (picture two 50 inch televisions in the living room) into a modern, comfortable space for us to share.  I have some projects in progress, and am beginning to select furniture, but my eyes are always open for the right accessories that aren't too girly or expected.

Last weekend I went to Target to check out the Dwell throw pillows that some of you have recommended (I got this one but will keep that ugly bird facing the sofa and use the cute chevron print).  While I was in the aisle of Dwell items, I noticed this quilt and really liked it.  The white, yellow and gray design is modern but not overly feminine and I think it works well with the light blue West Elm duvet cover that we'll be using as a blanket in our room.  Yes, I'm still in love with the yellow/gray/blue combination.  (The picture is of my bedroom at my rented house - the future bedroom has very pale gray walls and misty gray curtains)

I think the two pieces go but don't necessarily match, which is the look I'm trying to achieve.  But I've been wrong before....  what do you think?

Weird or Awesome?

For the living room or my office/gym

P.S. You can buy it here if you're interested: http://thesearethings.bigcartel.com

The perfect cardigan for $39.50

I often get asked how I came up with the name for this blog.   I actually didn't make up the phrase myself, but was called a Cardigan Junkie by my favorite sales guy at Martin & Osa since I bought so many of them in 2009.  It's true that I wear cardigans all the time, with almost everything.  They're the perfect layer for me since I get cold in the air conditioning all summer and don't like wearing thick layers the rest of the year.  Now that M&O is closing up shop, I realized I should point you all towards another line of perfect cardigans.

Lucky for us, there's LOFT and their line of v-neck cardigans.  I have personally road tested these and can vouch for the fact they they're soft, not too thick, and hold up in the washer and dryer.  The price is $39.50 and right now they're only offered online, but you'll see a new collection of colors each season and lots of opportunities to take 20% off your purchase.  (Sale items are an extra 50% right now, FYI)

LOFT V-Neck Cardigan