BUTTERFLY LOVE

I was thumbing through my art pinterest board this morning and I happened to notice a trend - butterflies. Most of my friends will laugh at this post and nod their heads, but I guess I have a sub conscience attraction to butterflies. Is that too girly and totally generic? Oh well! If you remember, I snuck a framed one in my office gallery wall that I found at a local antique shop.

Along with tortoise shells and antlers, I think framed butterflies are very naturally chic! What do you think? Here are some of my favorite butterfly finds that I would love to see incorporated somewhere. 

 curious prints shop on etsy has tons of great science posters to frame

 this set of butterfly photographs would look awesome individually framed and matted in white - also from etsy

 Urban Outfitters Specimen Poster - so bold and colorful with an old school feel

this little guy is very similar to my antique shadowbox - found on etsy here

MIRROR, MIRROR ...

leaning perfectly against the wall! 

Where, oh where can I find one of these gorgeous, french, antique, ornate, gold gilded, beautiful mirrors!?! Well, honestly I can probably find one, but the price would be the issue! So, I re-phrase my question - who, oh who would like to give me one of these for free? Or for a highly discounted price!?


I have been drooling over all these fabulous mirrors floating around pinterest. Do you sometimes think that pinterest teases you by making products you are lusting over pop up more and more on your feed!? I do! And, I know exactly where I would put one of these pups - in our master bedroom. We have an empty corner that could use a big filler object and a leaning mirror seems perfect. But, maybe one day! In the meantime, feel free to lust over these beautiful images too.

 I like how this one is caddy cornered in the room making the biggest statement possible!

 bone inlay gigantic mirror - wow! talk about fancy.

Any suggestions on where to find a reasonably priced leaning mirror!? Please share! I would owe you one!

all sources via my pinterest

STYLISH BOOKSHELVES

Hi all! Happy hump day! Now that the holidays have come and gone, I have new accessories and knick knacks just laying around the house waiting for a home. So, one design essential that I have been particularly seeking out lately is bookshelf styling. Sometimes I can just get so overwhelmed trying to perfectly arrange all my decor on bookshelves. I always feel like they look choppy - so, in an effort to help them look more cohesive, I have been keeping my eye out for inspiration photos and new trinkets to display!


I know I have posted about using yellow national geo magazines to decorate and covering old books, but here are some ways to decorate with variety!


First of all, love this black bookshelf - makes such a statement. And paired with the bold colors of the books and brass trinkets, it is perfection. 

I would consider this bookshelf organized clutter! Against the white walls, all the collected mementos add punches of color to this room and makes the space feel personable. 

Neutral books arranged organically ... but what draws me to this picture is the two petite frames to spice it up.

If you have lots of books and enjoy collecting them, this style may be for you! I am still trying to collect books so I definitely don't have enough to fill a bookshelf yet.

I know this picture has been floating around pinterest a ton, but I can't take my eyes off this one. I love the punches of blue amongst the shades of white and cream and you know I love the gold accents. All the objects are so different and contrast each other nicely that you never get bored.

Gosh ... I do love, love, love this bookshelf! It appears so casually decorated with the stacks of magazines and propped pictures, but someone obviously knew what they were doing. Maybe it is the fun, vibrant colors that draw me to this one, but whatever it is - I wish this could be in my house!

 via lonny mag

Could you color coordinate your books? Again, I don't have enough to do this, but I like this concept. And the gold mirror is such a nice touch!

all sources via my pinterest board

So, those are some of my current favs that I have saved for reference when I begin to overhaul our three bookshelves. They just seem so bland right now, but I hope to jazz them up soon. I am also in search for some more doo-dads to fill the shelves as well. Here are some pieces I have my eye on!

clear quartz votive holder - this would be perfect to place on top of some stacked books or under a cloche.

black lacquer boxes -  I could see two (or three!) of these stacked neatly on a shelf ... maybe topped with the quartz votive holder?

gold gilded blocks - you could spell out your initials, last name, or a simple word and use these as a topper

ceramic zebra - I am so tempted to order this for myself!

ceramic peacock - I like how these ceramic animals can add such variety and shape to structured bookshelves.  

gold gilded mirror - this would be a great, ornate mirror to hang off a shelf like in some of the inspiration images

And of course, beautiful books are easy solutions for decorating!

What are your "go to" places for finding filler objects? I need some new places to scour! Currently I search Anthropologie, Etsy, Zgallerie, High Street Market for unique and vintage finds ... plus some other brand name shops. Please share!

IT'S CHRISTMAS TIME!

Wow is it a week until Christmas all ready? Time flies when you are having fun! This December has been exciting with all the Holiday parties, Christmas movies, gift wrapping (yes, I love to wrap presents!), fire enjoying, and more - that I have not had much time to post! I am happy to squeeze this post in to share our festive Christmas decor. You may have seen a tiny peek at it here when I posted about our first fire.

Like I have said before - I love Christmas and filling the house with wonderful scents and decor is one of the highlights. I host an annual "Feliz Navidad" party for my girlfriends and that always helps kick to me in to full decorating mode. Here are some details from around the house. I am still collecting my Christmas decorations so each year I have been able to add a few new touches! 

The mantle - those are red and green bulbs (not pink like they look!). I wanted a larger wreath but that was the biggest natural wreath I could find, oh well!

I love my glitter reindeer!

This is a newbie for 2011 and it will definitely be repeated next year - I used this image as my inspiration and created a garland card holder. I bought 18' of natural garland from a local nursery and draped it around the doorway (I used command hooks to hold it) with lights. I used glitter clothespins my co-worker made (via pinterest) to clip the cards on the garland. The more sparkles the better! I was so happy with the way this project turned out! Since then we have collected many more cards, so here is a recent picture + a close up of the clothes pins (via my instagram).

p.s. you can see a tiny glimpse of the new baskets I hung over the buffet.

The tablescape

clippings from our tree are in the center surrounded by popcorn berries, pine cones, candles, and glitter deer (of course!)

Our Christmas china - Old St. Nick by Vietri

Also a newbie for this year - a glitter church, tree, and caroler purchased in Blue Ridge, GA during our couples trip to the mountains! I thought it was so cute and I could not resist the sparkles. It sits a top our buffet behind the dining table. 

The tree! Sorry I don't have a good picture ... this one is taken over our sofa so the bottom half is cut off. Bummer!

I made this DIY burlap garland last year, but with all the wedding festivities I got too tied up (no pun intended!) to post about it. So, I plan to share the directions this year! It adds the perfect neutral, and natural, touch to the tree.

My favorite gift wrap tied up with this red/white twill ribbon

glitter tulle!

Last but not least, one of my favorite Christmas traditions so far is the Homewood tradition of lining the streets with lit Christmas trees. It just seems so magical - I know that sounds cheesy, but it is so fun to ride around and see everyone chiming in. I took this picture one day on my ride home ... I just couldn't resist.

Merry to you and yours this December! I hope you all have a sparkly Christmas.