Where I be..

Cruisin on the eastern Caribbean

Peace out!

artsy

My home is seriously lacking in the art department. Sure I love mirrors, and family photos are cool, but I feel like good, big art kinda bumps decorating up a notch. 

Art can be pricey. And I'm not one to fork out ridiculous amounts of money on something I'll probably wanna change up in just a few years.

Here's some of my favorites I've had stashed away in my "someday" folder...

Alright this is 2 grand, so out of my budget, and it's also sold out.

But I still love it

This etsy print is only $25

Cozamia has some super awesome and colorful art prints for very reasonable prices

 I love these flamingos. They were for sale a while back on Joss & Main. They'll probably come back..

 Also from J&M, I love the vintage regency of this =)

 K so this is just fabric from spoonflower- a hip fabric website. I thought this would be pretty cool just framed with a white mat.

This etsy artist is so rad. And inexpensive

 I've been diggin this canvas for a while now. It's from world market, which has TONS of affordable art. Check it

fireplace dilemma

People. I need your input again.
Regarding a family room with a fireplace, where do you put the TV?? I've never been a fan of the TV over the fireplace, but in the space of our floor plans, there's just not an obvious place for it.
I prefer a beautiful mirror over it, with ya know, bookshelves flanking each side.
From these images, the TV looks fine over it, but I also don't want to be straining your neck from the lower seating.

Suggestions??

bewitching weekend

Hope you're having a good weekend =)

office FRUSTRATION

It's pretty ridiculous that there are already issues with our house that isn't even started...
They're stupid issues, really, and they are mine, not the builder's. We've designated on our floor plans which room will be the office and talking about it to my husband the other day, the subject of desks came up- which kind of desk should be in there. Of course I already have a vision... I DO want it to be masculine enough for him (although let's be honest, I'm the one always on the computer).
Here's some inspirational photos: please note the desks, for they are so stylish and beautiful...

This is my favorite office space ever

I realize some of these are still pretty feminine, but just looking at the DESKS and the placement with storage solutions, I think they're great ideas. What does my husband say?? They're ugly! They're tables! They're too small!!

SO I say, oh so what's your idea of a desk that you want to put in there?

AND HERE IT IS..... Our future metal crappy hideous bachelor pad RC willey, bought by men who don't know any better DESK.

No offense if you own this desk or something like it.......

I'm all about function, I'm all about compromise... But I gotta have something decent to work with, don't ya think??!

La Amazon

Warning: this is kind of a wordy post, but helpful if you're not aware of already of amazon's goodness!

I have a major love affair with amazon.com. (And no, I'm not getting paid for this advertising). I got into amazon back in college, because that's where everyone says to buy textbooks. Shipping's pretty cheap and they have a huge selection of literally EVERYTHING. K so, here's why I love it even more:
Well, first off, I love Costco... but what I don't love is taking 100000000 trips back and forth from the car, bringing in those huge boxes of diapers, detergent, toilet paper, Sonicare heads! you name it.

Now, I order most of that stuff from amazon for a couple reasons-

#1. It arrives right to your doorstep.. no more lugging big ol boxes down the stairs, while juggling a toddler.
#2. In comes in 2 days! (I'll explain why) It's like... "oh crap I only have like 7 diapers left???! I really don't want to go back to Walmart since I just went... I'll risk it and hope he doesn't have major blowouts, and just order em on Amazon, and VOILA. Good move.
#3. Their customer service is awesome. I've had a problem only once when our multivitamins arrived melted (middle of July in St Louis... and p.s. they're the same gummy vitamins Costco sells, I just don't have to make the trip, and prices are comparable!) I emailed amazon, they sent me new ones overnight, problem solved.

K so you know amazon prime?? It's free shipping (on thousands of items, not all) but you pay a yearly FEE. Not so with amazon MOM! Go to www.amazon.com/mom and check it out. It's not just for moms- anyone can use this program, and it's not just baby stuff. The "prime" benefits apply to literally anything you can think of.

The best part is the "subscribe and save" option. You save an extra 30% by opting to receive your huggies, or TP, whatever it is you want monthly, every 2 or 6 months, etc. It just arrives on your doorstep, but keep in mind that you can turn off the subscription whenever, no big deal. (Am I sounding like an informercial??)
I just ordered Huggies last night.. they'll be here tomorrow... and then 2 months from now. I'll never run out and I never have to lug em in from the store. I love it.

bedroom plans

K so when you build a house, there's LOTS to think of beforehand... like where the tv plugs go, and which wall you want the fireplace on, and what bathroom tile backsplash you want.  It's kind of complicated because you have to envision space planning, color schemes and whatnot before it's even built.
I mean, I'm trying to get an idea of how I want things to look, and I'm leaning a LOT towards neutrals, black and white, with pops of color... and of course I'm a sucker for Hollywood Regency... So here's my potential master bedroom:

Yes, there's my chevron rug AGAIN.. I obviously haven't figured out which room it's gonna go in, so I'm experimenting with them all!

Halloween-y

Halloween's one of my favorite holidays. I don't LOVE orange, or witches and crap like that, but I just love the spookiness of it all.
Here's some of my favorite vignettes and decor ideas, from pinterest:

Pumpkins covered in pantyhose! You may think that's trashy but I say totally classy

 Silver, white and black.. so stylish. Love this banner too

 Martha Stewart has this bat hole punch that I've been looking for ALL over.. I'll probably end up ordering it online, but I think this idea is super cute

Classic black and white- can't go wrong cuz it's not cheesy!

 Really love this one too.. naturals plus some goodies on the table =)

I love the idea of decorating pumpkins but without a ton of work, cuz after all, they just rot after a few weeks...

I'm obsessed with these white pumpkins with the polka dots....

 Reminds me of this anthropologie clutch that I'm crushing on!

fitness guest posting!

We've got some friends (Scott and Chandi) who run a fitness and nutrition blog, and they own a supplement shop as well. If you need some motivation and inspiration to get your butt into shape and really inform you, you need to start following!
Unique to this blog are 8-week challenges to set goals (not just fitness-related) and compete against others to meet them and win prizes! I've participated twice and it's awesome.. actually the last challenge, I won it! You do not need to personally know the blog authors, just check it out and when they start up another challenge, jump on board!
I was asked by Scott to do a little post today on my take on health components.. have a looksie here!

While we're at it...

I'm just really feeling the black, white, gold, with mint thing.. can you tell? i could plan out my entire house with these lovelies.

garden stool from finegardenproducts.com

lamp finials from chicshopla.com

 art print- madebygirl.blogspot.com

 awesome vintage chairs from 1stdibs.com

metallic tray from etsy

freaking awesome curtain rod via bazaarofserendipity.blogspot.com

image via bazaarofserendipity.blogspot.com

lucite stools.. various shops, I googled these

 This gorgeousness is from laylagrace.com and is technically a changing table. I love it

And throw in this lovely chandy from pbteen.com

And you've got yourself a stunner!

GREETINGS

You know what.. I love my iMac, in fact I love anything apple. Except for when my keyboard goes out on me and isn't fixable when the batteries are changed. Hence the lack of blog posts! You should see my sad, pathetic state of trying to wander through pinterest and stalk my daily blogs, only by using my mouse, and clicking on past history! And not to mention my blogpress app does not properly work on my phone lately either. LAME
The good news is- we got a new keyboard! Which I'm happy about because our old broken one also had rust on it, let me tell you why:
One night during the summer I was painting my nails. Being the internet/computer-obsessed person that I am, I couldn't quite wait for the nail polish to dry, so I thought I'd type, but being very careful. I'm not a careful person. So of course, I got nail polish on the keyboard and FREAK out (my husband's gonna kill me!!!) So immediately I think... nail polish remover!! Sure, nail polish remover got the nail polish right off, but rubbed the finish right off too, so we had this ugly, ghetto rust spot on our keyboard. Girls, don't ever do this.
All in all, my husband didn't care that much, because after all, he white-trashed up our monitor by putting a sticker of his company on it. And it's ORANGE. I was beyond ticked.

My, am I chatty or what? Must be the build-up of a week of not posting, I have so many things to talk about!
The best news is (which kinda tops the new keyboard) is.......

We're officially building our house!! The offer was accepted today and I am stoked!!! Any locals familiar with Sleepy Ridge golf course in Orem? Yup, that's the spot. Should be securing our lot tomorrow =) =) =) Oh and can I mention, it's all in my name? Yes, my very first house.

Sooo, of course I'm already scheming about what I'm gonna do to this bad boy once he's built. And there's a lot to decide before building, so I gladly accept any suggestions, especially if you've built or have renovated. Do I know what I'm doing? Not really. But I sure know what I want it to look like, much to the annoyance of our realtor and selling agent, for "lots of white" really surprises them. Sorry, not everyone loves Utah builder bland.

The kitchen's first on my hit list-
Here's my inspiration:

So, I'm gonna tweak this a bit, but I LOVE that it's fresh but still warm ya know? Don't think my kitchens' gonna be this big though, or this fancy..........

Here's kinda my take on it, and luckily if the builder selection isn't to my liking, they'll most likely get it for me.

I intend on being very prepared when we head to the design center, let's just say.
It's going to be an exciting couple of months.