Man Shops Globe, Girl Shops Internet

This new series I heard about while reading  Stylecourt. I’m sure most fans of the store, Anthropologie, will be checking out this one. I didn’t even realize when it would be premiering when I get home this evening and saw it on my On Demand a full day before it officially airs. I do not mind paying so much for cable if I can get an early viewing on shows like this one.

I got to check out the first episode this evening, in France! Every girls dream right? It is not just that this is a cool job or an exciting shopping trip. It is that you get a peak at what it is like working with someone like Keith Johnson. He is the Buyer at Large for Anthropologie and is not surprisingly very grounded and thoughtful while also being able to make good decisions quickly.

The Anthropologie stores have a very curated feeling, like great care and thought are given to the items that are in each store. They are like your favorite vintage or antique shop. Each item feels like a unique piece even if it isn’t. I started as a buyer and manager for an up and coming furniture and lifestyle store recently and it is definitely those unique and one of a kind pieces that bring life and real character to a space. I want this guy as a mentor!

The show lets you in on that intangible, that feeling you get in a really great shop and how it is created. It reads like an artistic professional diary with carefully pasted in photographs.

I couldn’t help, but feel the need to do my own search for french antiques even if I had to do it from the comfort of my computer. I would really rather be trudging through the rain and actually be in Provence.

Click on each picture if you want to check out these online antiques dealers yourself.

Ambiance Antiques

Ambiance Antiques

I want this footstool. This would be so glamorous in my bedroom, or maybe as a unique side table with a stack of books on it. The mirror above, well that would make any space feel more like Versailles.

French Accents

I can’t help it I guess most girls love things that sparkle, but ever since I was a little girl staring in awe of my Grandmothers dining room chandelier I new I must own one someday.

French Accents

I think I would love this bench as part of a comfy seating nook inside a dining room. Maybe with some bright and funky pillows to play down the formality of the piece.

Speaking of pillows and French inspiration.

I want these for my guest room from my new favorite store on Etsy, Petit Coterie.

Fall at the Beach

I love Autumn at the Beach!

It becomes so peaceful and golden with the changing light.

*photo by Patrick Anderson

street fashion obsession

I have become an internet shopper in the last year mostly out of necessity. I don’t live in a city with any major shopping so I started getting my kicks online and found that my horizons where dramatically expanded.

Refinery29 has been the most exciting addition to my Google reader lately. Mostly because I love love the street style photography.

I think there has been a wonderful new perspective on fashion lately. It is what you live in and it is about the woman not the labels. Of course we all still want the beautiful DVF dress, but if we can’t quite get there its okay because you can rock that H&M just the same.

I would be lying if I didn’t mention that it was Lucky Magazines website that first got me started on this street style photography thing. This magazine really turned me on to fashion for the every woman. I love that they use their editors as models and seem to blur the line between couture runway shows and your local mall.

Happy reading!

See it in black & white

I have a thing for black and white fashion photography. It seems to keep the focus on the dramatic posture or beautiful face and clothing. I like that it removes the ever changing fashionable colors.

Because style is really about a feeling. It is how your home makes you feel when you walk in or the way an outfit can change your posture. I know that if I am wearing something I love that I think looks good I am more confidant.

If I could walk around in black and white sometimes I think I would look much more chic.

That is why I like having B&W images in a dressing room or bathroom. They are classic and glamorous. Maybe some of that will rub off on my way out the door.

http://www.allposters.com

http://www.allposters.com

New Endevors

The last month has been quite busy for me. I am suddenly way to busy for a blog, but I am still full of inspiration so it will just be further between posts.

I have taken on a new job, new town and best of all decorating a new place! Excuse me if I indulge in my decorating fantasies here.

BHG

I love this room. It is not unlike the color of my living room, but somehow the crisp white furniture and warm neutrals really make it stand out. I’m not crazy about living with white furniture, but I love the monochromatic green thing.

BHG

Okay so these colors just make me smile. That’s all!

BHG

But this, this is kind of what I want. Symmetry around the main sofa and glass tables.

BHG

So Pretty! I want this floor to ceiling soft drape look. You can almost feel a warm breeze blowing through that window.

I’m diggin on this…

So fresh and new are the possibilities when you first step foot into a new home. All I see are the many wonderful things that will bring out the best in the space and of course showcase my fabulous taste.

Then reality sets in and I find that the lovely projects I have planned are well…hard or expensive or just out of my skill set to complete. I must come down from that lofty cloud and begin prioritizing and the dirtiest of all dirty words, budgeting!

That is why some of the blogs out there are just so fantastic. I am so glad to know that there are people out there doing the same thing. I haven’t been to active on my own blog lately, but I still read a handful pretty religiously. I have been just piling up the ideas.

These are my faves!

Desire to Inspire

So I have a great space for a dining table and of course not the spare change at the moment. I am thinking this will be the perfect make shift. A folding table draped with a piece of fabric is lux and kind of artsy.

Design Sponge

I need a new chair for my small desk and I just love the idea of using a bistro chair. I would add a pillow for comfort, but this is just so charming.

Design Sponge

Okay so as a renter painting the floor isn’t an option, but this gave me a great idea for a large and inexpensive piece of wall art. One large canvase drop cloth $5, paint and supplies $20, you know where this is going. Priceless! Click on the picture to see this amazing project.

I am just bursting with ideas. I’ll just have to save some for later.

A New Page

So I am finally back. I know I have been absent for too long.

It just means that I have been saving up all kinds of inspiration. I find a lot of it coming from my new home.

For today I’ll just get started with a image that I have been holding on to that just keeps speaking to me.

I love the way the white is used here to create a sense of calm. I want my new place to feel like this.

Simple, beautiful, casual, artistic

Apartment Inspiration

I am getting ready to start the process of looking for and moving into a new place. Hurray! Let the decorating begin. Best of all I am moving to the beach and since I have never lived at the coast I am thrilled by the prospect of incorporating the airy, sunny, sandy aspects of beach life into a home. Permanent Vacation!

I am looking forward to having more room and getting to spread out a bit more for my many craft and art projects. Of course this means I am obsessed with finding a very cool work surface. I found the perfect thing for a craft room in one of my favorite blogs The Inspired Room check out the link on my side bar to see what she has cooked up lately.

How cool and costal is this. I am absolutely in love with this desk! I don’t happen to keep any old doors around, but I believe I could find one at an antique shop or a salvage. I’m thinking that even a couple of tall shutters put together would work well too.

Finding Your Statement

While flipping through my moms most recent Better Homes and Gardens magazine I came across a great new book. It’s for all of us out there who have a passion for creating beautiful spaces for ourselves, but even the best of us need some direction for our new projects.

Style Statement by Carrie McCarthy is like a style compass for those of us who tend to be a bit distracted by all the different points of inspiration in their life. I must admit that while I studied interior design and have pretty strong opinions of things I like, but it does help to kind of meditate on what really drives me in life and use that as my guide.

If you feel like you need more help than the book can offer or if you are just ready to invest in your personal style then you can do a one on one with Carrie to receive additional guidance.

Check out the BHG website for some of the two word combos that could describe your statement. I’m still working on mine, but I think organic treasure: systematically relaxed is the one that fits me best so far.

Give me Sunshine

Okay so about this time of year I feel like I just can’t get enough time in the sun. I literally want to eat every meal outside, take naps outside, read in a hammock, well you get the picture. So I was very excited to see the feature on outdoor living in Elle Decor!

I guess I’m not the only one who feels this way come May first. So I decided to share some of those beautiful spaces.

I just want to be in this place. The canopy is so fun and luxurious feeling. Only royalty get to lounge in big tents outdoors.

I love how in this setting the furniture blend right into the garden. It fulfills my desire to lie down in the grass without getting grass stains on my favorite sun dress.

Okay seriously I might could actually live 24/7 in this outdoor room. It looks like they just moved the living room couch outside.