What? Where Am I?

I'm on sick leave. Be back soon!

Free Architectural Art

If you have been reading my blog you know that each week (except for around the holidays) I take public domain art and edit it a bit for anyone to use.  A lot of these photos would look great for a gallery wall.    I have a lot more to share over the coming weeks and if you want to see more go here.

Enjoy!

(Sorry, recently I have been a little late getting posts together.)

Hanging Herbs & Resolutions

    I'm late posting today.

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday break! This past year really flew by for me. Is it me, or have you noticed the older you get the faster time flies?  It's already 2014 and the internet is buzzing with talks of resolutions. I only have a few resolutions this year because I want to keep them small and follow through with them.

One was to quit putting off growing my own herbs. Every year my husband and I make plans to grow a garden of organic goodies and have an inside herbal garden. So, this year enough with the talk and we are just going to do it. I haven't grown my own yet as it's still winter but I made a step in the right direction and bought some fresh herbs to dry in my dining room.

I want my dining room to be functional in a kitchen sort of way not formal. We have almost zero space in our teeny kitchen so the dining room will be taking up the slack and looking rustic, farmhouse, kitchen-ish.


 This isn't exactly decor in our case, as it's food that we are going to use, but you could think of using fresh herbs or dried herbs as decor. Who says everything has to be art or flowers? I think it takes several weeks to dry so they are decor in effect.

Be sure when you are hanging your herbs that they are free of dirt and moisture to avoid attracting mold. You can take a paper towel and gently press to remove the moisture. One thing I am going to do and you could try is growing your own garlic. You'll have these long tops that you can braid and hang in your space. That's one thing I can't wait to hang and I have some dried african bird peppers I'm going to string and add.



I do have a table to share with you, some painted french doors, a soon to be painted floor, the Kelly Whearstler project I never showed you, some more edited public domain art this Friday, and a small project I'm working on with One Kings Lane. 


See you Friday!

Ciao!

Cellbone C23 High Potency C-Serum Review

If there is any must have in my beauty arsenal, a great vitamin C serum is up there. I've used Cellbone products off and on for a couple of years now and one of the serums I keep coming back to is their C23 serum. By the way, before we get any further, let me say that this is NOT a sponsored review.

One of the amazing things that a good vitamin C serum does is reduce hyper-pigmentation. It's also good for fine lines, some protection from UV exposure (though I'm not saying to throw out your sunscreen), and is suppose to increase firmness by increasing collagen production.

One thing I've learned from my studies is that the vitamin C serums tend to be more potent with the form, L-ascorbic acid. The problem with L-ascorbic acid is that it's unstable and prone to oxidation, which isn't entirely bad because the first step in oxidation causes it to turn to dehydroascorbic acid which the skin cells are said to readily absorb. However, it breaks down further or degrades which results in a yellow color when it's going bad.

One of the ways that some companies have tried to resolve this was/is by adding ferulic acid and vitamin e in their serums. That's another story though, because cellbone doesn't use ferulic acid in this serum. Yet, it works marvelously when it comes to hyper-pigmentation in my experience. Within one week of using the serum twice a day my skin looked remarkably glowy (sure that's a word) and even. The freckling on my face was dramatically reduced. I don't have tons of freckles and they are only visible up close, but I have enough that I prefer my skin tone without them.

The problem I've had is that I always end up wasting 1/4-1/2 the bottle because the vitamin C degrades before I finish using it. If you use it regularly and the temperature in the house stays stable and cool and it's stored constantly away from light you should be able to get more uses out of it than I do.

Also, don't be put off by the texture. It's rather watery in my experience. As for the smell, there is a slight but pleasant mint smell. Since there is menthol added you may feel a slight tingle. For me this was a non-issue.

Though the efficacy of this product is not called into question by me, I'm still interested in trying a serum with ferulic acid because it has it's own benefits.  Perhaps I'll even diy my own, as it saves money and can be remade weekly as opposed to wasting half a bottle.

Ingredients:

Water, L-Ascorbic Acid, Dimethyl Isosorbide, Propylenglycol, Glycerin, Phenoxyethanol, Zinc Sulfate, Bioflavonoides, Sodium Hyaluronate, Centella Asiatica, Marine Collagen, Idebenone, Menthol . Disclaimer- these are my experiences and not intended as medical advice. Your use of any information on this blog  is completely your choice and at your own risk Blogger has been giving me so many issues. I apologize for the wonky look.

Last Minute New Year's Eve Inspiration

Need something chic to inspire you for your New Years Eve get together? I love this black and gold bubbly bar! In my opinion there is nothing more chic than black and gold.

 via 100layercake.com. 

 Putting something together doesn't have to be expensive. This look can probably be achieved with a little diy and some thriftstore finds. 

They even have a cute diy to make your own sparkle cake toppers. I just hope the glitter is edible or doesn't fall off into the cake!

Or, if you have enough airline miles racked up why not check out Conde Nast's top 10 last minute destination spots to ring in the New Year.  OK, it may be too late to get to some of these locations but it's nice to dream about for next year if you're blessed with the extra mileage.

What about whipping up something delectable to eat? Champagne cake anyone?

The perfect cocktail with all of the glitz, gold, and glamour...the golden boy. This one is made with gold dust.

 

For those of you fresh out of gold dust what about something a little more simple and chocolate (how I prefer it).

 A Godiva Mudslide Minitini. Now we're speaking my language.  You can get this look with edible glitter, thrift store glasses, and gems from Z Gallerie.

 

 via Parade

I hope you enjoyed your Christmas!  This year was bittersweet for us. Our families lost some people very dear to us. I hope you all take this time to hug your loved ones a little tighter and thank God for blessing you and yours to see another year!

Happy New Years!

Rustic Modern Christmas Mostly Under 50 dollars

 Bunting / Wood Ornaments / twilight serving spoons / mood mugs
 puzzle piece coasters / Alpaca ornaments / fur blankets / olive wood mortar & pestle
stag photo / mango wood bowl / agate bookends



 Blogger is really misbehaving (most times) when it comes to editing. I apologize for the sloppy looking post.

A Holiday Room to Drool Over

 Did you see the gorgeous holiday room Jessica Biel put together for Domaine Home?

  I love the combo of black and white with the whiskey colored leather on the rustic wood chairs. 

My husband seems to think that he knows where to go to possibly find me some chairs similar to that. I'm hoping he's right because I haven't been able to stop thinking about the chairs since I saw them. I think they'd be perfect for our home.

You can see the rest here.

Enjoy!

A Door Makeover

 Here is one of the things we have been working on. This was the ugly door in my dining room that is not so ugly anymore.

Remember? It started out like this:

Here is what we did:

Sanded the door.

Primed 2 coats.

Sanded again.

Primed again.

Sanded again.

Used level to mark where we wanted our molding to go.

 Put masking tape up to see what it would look like.

All of our measurements, except for the bottom of the door, were 4 inches apart.

Bought molding 1 1/2 inches wide  (anything less thick didn't look right to us).

Tried to make the molding stick on with liquid nails and it wouldn't. I'm sure we could have laid the door down and put some heavy stuff on the door and waited 7 days til it dried. I didn't have that much patience. So I used a hot glue gun. Yes. I know. All the carpenters are cringing. It worked though really well. That molding wouldn't budge.

We then caulked the crap outta the door and painted it with porch and floor paint. I reasoned that porch and floor paint is much more scratch resistant, plus I had an unused gallon from my last residence. I can be cheap like that.

Hmmm... I'm thinking of adding an aged brass kick plate if I can find one. I used the aged brass knob that was already on the door.

We are now working on making a console table for the dining room out of a side table that was damaged.

The dining room isn't finished yet we still have to:

Finish painting the ceilings and baseboards.
Buy a host and hostess chair
Add wine rack
Add the console table
Bring in art

Linking up here:

 chiconashoestringdecorating
tatertots&jello

 

Welcome 2014 Color of the Year: Radiant Orchid

Leah Michele via Glamour

 

This is closer to Fuchsia Rose, the 2001 color of the year, than Radiant Orchid, but it does appear to have a little Radiant purple undertones in it to me.

Radiant Orchid & Fuchsia Rose Pantone colors of the year for 2014 and 2001.

 I've already seen conversations in different places on the net where people are comparing this to mauve and the 80's. This color is anything but 80's to me.  What people sometimes do not realize is that it's all in the way it's presented. I'm not a big fan of the color burgundy, but when viewing a glass of burgundy wine in a candlelit atmosphere, it's warm and inviting, even sensuous.  So, finding where to use the color, the correct doses, as well as what to pair it with makes all the difference.  There is no one size fits all answer, either. Design is very personal. There are no rules for your home.

   And of course if you just hate the color period, there is nothing wrong with that. Trends will come and go. The most important thing is enjoying your home and life!

If you are looking for tips on how to incorporate this as a wall color, then Lisa Mende of  "Lisa Mende Design" wrote a post on how to use it on your walls this year.

The Miu Miu blouse is a double threat. Not only is it plaid, which is hot this season, but it's fashion forward in that it incorporates next year's "it" color, Radiant Orchid.  The Miu Miu blouse and scarf are currently on sale.

Miu Miu plaid silk chiffon blouse / Kate Spade licorice pumps / Marc Jacobs scarf / YSL lip gloss / Dolce & Gabbana nail color / Etsy Carnival Art / Ice Cream photo

Marc Jacobs eye shadow palette 

  I wanted to present beautiful AND affordable options but it was hard to find items in this color for home decor that I liked right now, and in the fashion world it was hard finding anything moderately priced, but beautiful. I'm sure there will be a lot more affordable options this Spring.

I try to always find the original source for an image which is not always possible. If an image is improperly credited then please leave a comment or email me and I will change it immediately.

Christmas Mood Board

I am so excited about the Christmas season. It's time to drive my family crazy playing classic holiday music. Do you have any annoying holiday habits that get on your families’ ever loving last nerve?

 I put together a Christmas mood board.  One of the things I thought of while putting it together is that you could do a similar gallery wall, but for free, with some of the art I've edited. Remember you could always change it up to black and white or whatever you like in Picmonkey if it's not your cuppa tea.

 

This is an Olioboard moodboard, so if you want to know where to find the items on the board head over to Olioboard and check it out!

I know I've been saying I am going to share my diy projects. I really do have a lot of projects we have been working on around the house. Hopefully I'll have posts and pictures ready soon.






Linking up here: