Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Emmy Fashion 2014

It's been awhile since I did a red carpet fashion post.
And you all know how I love my red carpet fashion!

Here are my favorites from this year's Emmys:



Lena Headey


Sarah Hyland
(Age appropriate)



Halle Berry
(She always looks fabulous, and this color on her?  Amazing.)


Julianna Margulies



Allison Janney
(Gorgeous color)

I also thought Kaley Cuoco, Debra Messing,  and 
Anna Gunn looked great.  

 Did you watch the Emmys?
Who were your fashion hits & misses?  


 

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

New Curtains and DIY Curtain Rods

Living in the city,
 it's a necessity to have some type of window coverings. 

There are many times I wished I could go without,
at least for the Summer, 
but I know it would not feel right somehow...
especially at night with my massive windows bare for all to see inside.

I grew tired of my cream lace dining/sitting room curtains,
and I needed a solution that would
let the light in, 
give us privacy,
but not cost a fortune.

I decided on cafe style curtains.
It seemed the best of all worlds.

I found the curtains online at JC Penney.  
Here is a close up:  


The fabric reminds me of what burlap would look like
  (if  burlap was more of a fabric),
 with ivory embroidered flowers and vines all over.

There is another obstacle with curtains for this room.
The windows are so large it makes it difficult to find curtain rods.  
When I do find them,
  aside from the fact that they cost more than the curtains,
 the rods are so big and heavy,
they require middle brackets to keep them from buckling.
With cafe style curtains,
I couldn't put a bracket in the middle of the window,
so I needed another plan!

I researched a bit and decided to make my own curtain rods!
 My husband thought I'd lost my marbles when I suggested it,
but he dove in and got to work on it anyway.

It's nothing more than electrical conduit, spray painted,
along with L brackets and hole straps.
Then I capped off the ends with furniture knobs from Hobby Lobby.  
Piece of cake and so inexpensive!
The best part for us is the conduit isn't super heavy,
 so they don't require a middle bracket to hold them in place.  


See?  Kind of cute, huh?

Here's how it all looks now:


I have no problem sliding the curtains aside if I want,
like in the photo below.


I love this new look for my dining/sitting room.
It was just what I was looking for.

Thanks for stopping by!


Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Cheerful Cherry Kitchen (Summer Fresh)

This Summer, I wanted to add a little fun to my kitchen.
I thought I would begin by trying to make curtains.

When I got to the fabric store, I struggled to find a fabric that I liked.
Then I spotted the cherries and thought, 
why not?

There was just something about them...
so fresh, so fun, so full of Summer...
so I went for it.


The simple curtains I made led me to switch out our
 cobalt blue pendant light to a bright cherry red one.
I love it!


As I continue this "one thing leads to another" saga,
I decided to pull out some cherry dishes 
and put together a counter top vignette.


My cabinets with the glass doors got a lot more red added to them.
(I had to open the doors in order to get a picture without the glare.)


The wall art below was already hanging in the kitchen, 
so no need to change it.



And that is how I gave my kitchen a cheerful cherry Summer fresh look.
(now there's a mouthful!)