Category: Filing Cabinet

A Quick Look at This Year’s Holiday Gifts and Wrapping
Thank you Pier 1 for sponsoring this post.

I theme my wrapping paper every year. Is that weird? (I don’t think so, because I know a lot of other people do, too!) This year, it’s plaid, natural elements, red, and gold.

I’ve been wrapping presents in their birch embossed gift wrap, plaid embossed gift wrap, and chalk and plaid mini gift bag sets. I added the Santa book boxes to the mix too, though I could see those being the gift, not just the presentation.

Here are a few of my favorite finds for gift-giving from Pier 1 right now. Soft faux-fur pillows (with pom poms!), and the cutest, softest stuffed animals.

Ivory Faux Fur Pillow with Gray Pom Poms • Clark the Fox Stuffed Animal • Roscoe the Raccoon Stuffed Animal

There were plenty of hostess gifts I would love to keep for myself. That’s always the mark of a good gift, I think — something you love so much you wish it was for you. The faux-birch salt and pepper shakers are really well done, and I know I’d be happy with a new cheese board (and some cheese to go with it, please). And then that two-tiered serving platter is so cute with gold polka dots.

Cheese Boards • Grayson Faux Birch Salt and Pepper Shakers • Gold Dots Tiered Serving Platter

(Actually, there are a few things above that I did get for myself. Some faux pine garland for the fireplace and to mix with our stair garland, along with a few faux juniper and pinecone bundles.)

And here’s my take on a gift basket!

Pier 1 has plenty of baskets of course, but I was drawn to their faux birch serving bowl. Fill it with cookies or other treats, then make it pretty with the following supplies.
I’m still finishing up last minute details with our decorating, but I can’t wait to show you more than the little peeks you got in today’s post!

This post is brought to you by CJ Affiliate’s VIP Content Service. Thank you Pier 1 for sponsoring this post. While this was a sponsored opportunity from Pier 1, all content and opinions expressed here are my own.
December 9, 2016
Up North, and the New NOOK

This post is brought to you by CJ Affiliate’s VIP Content Service. Thank you Barnes & Noble for sponsoring this post. While this was a sponsored opportunity from Barnes & Noble, all content and opinions expressed here are my own.

The newest Barnes & Noble NOOK 7″ Tablet just launched, and it’s their most affordable NOOK yet at $49.99. We received one a little early to test out, so we took it up to the Northwoods of Wisconsin with us over Thanksgiving.

We all gathered for Thanksgiving dinner and did plenty of sledding and playing in the snow while we were up there, but we also relaxed and read a lot. I got started with our NOOK by adding a few books for each of us from the NOOK store. The tablet is Android-powered with full access to the Google Play Store, so I added some of the kids’ favorite apps too. Eleanor’s current obsession is horses and she has been making an e-book about them. She even figured out how to add audio and narrated each page! I have two favorite excerpts: “horses are beautiful and nice and strong and helpful and they like you too,” and “woohoo woohoo go horses!!”

We packed light and each kid could bring two toys and one book. We were gone for four days though, so it was pretty handy to have the NOOK with more books for everyone when we wanted to read something else. Brandon and I had our titles on it too, saving a lot of room in our bags. The tablet has all kinds of features (front and rear-facing cameras, a 7″ LCD screen, expandable storage from 8 GB up to an additional 128 GB, and more), but it’s still nice and lightweight — super easy to pack or just slip in my purse.

The feature I appreciate most is that you can create up to 6 individual profiles. I can hand the NOOK to one of my kids and not worry that they’re accidentally going to get into my email or delete something that I need. Plus it’s easier for each of us to find what we’re looking for; nobody has to scroll through a bunch of books or apps that are on there for someone else.

(Are you loving my Northwoods props? Mr. Raccoon is such a help when I need to stand something up.)

The new NOOK would be a great gift for readers, and I love it as a tablet for the kids. It’s available now at Barnes & Noble.

December 5, 2016
Shapely Glass Pendant Light Fixtures
Five years ago, I hung a cabinet knob as a pendant over the dining table in our dollhouse. Then when we moved into this house three years ago, waiting for us was a very similar pendant in the dining room! The coincidence made me happy.

The length has always bothered me because it was hung too high, but there were other lights in our home that bothered me more. As I’ve slowly replaced fixtures over the years, I still think about this one in the dining room. Should I find a longer downrod, then rewire and lower it? Replace it with a chandelier and move it to another room? I don’t think I have a good spot for it anywhere else though. If we were able to remodel and expand the kitchen, I would love the pendant over a breakfast nook, but who knows if or when that will happen.

Still, I do love it, short length and all. In case you’re looking for something similar, I pulled together my favorite shapely glass pendants, some more modern and some with the same character as ours. I love milk and opal glass, but there are a few clear ones in the mix too.
1. Rotunda Small Ringed Pendant, E. F. Chapman, Circa Lighting
  11.75″ diameter, $1155
2. Baldwin Pendant, Rejuvenation
  schoolhouse shade w/ 14″ diameter (6″ fitter), $275
3. Alcazar Pendant, Anthropologie
  12.5″ diameter, $398
4. Suspension Light, Peter Behren, 1st Dibs
  9.5″ diameter, $2500
5. Casablanca Pendant Lamp, Anthropologie
  8.5″ diameter, $298
6. Gale Large Pendant, Thomas O’Brien, Circa Lighting
  15.5″ diameter, $840
7. Precision Large Pendant, Kelly Wearstler, Circa Lighting
  17″ diameter, $1470
8. Modern Schoolhouse Pendant, Michael S Smith, Homeclick
  20″ diameter, $1155
9. Hudson Valley Dutchess Pendant, Lamps Plus
  12″ diameter, $299
10. Xavier Large Pendant, Ralph Lauren, Circa Lighting
  20″ diameter, $1540
11. Parisian Architectural Milk Glass Brasserie Pendant, Restoration Hardware
  9″, 12″, 15″, or 18″ diameter, $239-$369
12. Hudson Valley Washington Pendant, Lamps Plus
  20″ diameter, $700
13. Vintage Art Deco Chain Pendant w/ Tiered Skyscraper Shade c.1935, Rejuvenation
  11″ diameter, $765
November 30, 2016
Pleated Lamp Shades

I ordered a few different styles and brands of black chandelier shades for our new sconces.

We can talk a bit more about those once they’ve been installed. (Soon!) As far as the shades go though, I ordered a bunch to gauge quality (Royal Designs ftw), and among the options were black pleated shades. I loved them! Brandon hated them! Friends gently suggested that they looked dated, and Brandon said they belonged in a hotel. Since nobody liked the dated hotel look (except me — I forever and always love granny details), I went with sleek paper shades. They look fine. They look great, actually. But I’m still longing for a pleated shade.

There’s a whole lot to love about this room designed by Miles Redd, but that pink pleated shade is particularly lovely.

More pink pleats from Miles Redd.

And Summer Thornton delivers too.

I noticed when I was browsing table lamps for this post that I passed right by the one below on the left, but instantly gravitated toward the one on the right. It’s a smidge more traditional than I would typically go for, but oh, the difference a shade can make.

Yep. I’ve got to get some pleats in my home. I’ll leave you with a couple of vignettes from a room designed by Hamish Bowles to further make the case for granny details.

September 26, 2016
Design Books to Pick Up Now
Oh, fall. The time of year that all the best design books come out and I want them all! These are tops on my list right now.
- Beautiful: All-American Decorating and Timeless Style
  Mark D. Sikes, photographed by Amy Neunsinger
  His take on traditional decorating is fresh and unpretentious and I cannot wait to dig into this one.
- John Derian Picture Book
  John Derian
  The original, unaltered images that he pulls from. Yeesssss.
- In the Company of Women: Inspiration and Advice from over 100 Makers, Artists, and Entrepreneurs
  Grace Bonney
  A creative and inspiring group of women have been included in this book and I’m eager to hear what they have to say.
- The Finer Things: Timeless Furniture, Textiles, and Details
  Chritiane Lemieux
  A primer on recognizing quality and investing in things that will endure.
- Ladies Drawing Night: Make Art, Get Inspired, Join the Party
  Julia Rothman, Leah Goren, and Rachael Cole, photographed by Kate Edwards
  Because this sounds like the best kind of night!
- Living with Pattern: Color, Texture, and Print at Home
  Rebecca Atwood
  I’m a big fan of Atwood’s prints, and her eye for pattern in interiors is fantastic.
- Domino: Your Guide to a Stylish Home
  Editors of Domino
  Their first book all those years ago was so good. Time for a companion piece!
- The Perfect Bath
  Barbara Sallick
  As the co-founder of Waterworks, she should know. Teach me your ways…
- Gardenista: The Definitive Guide to Stylish Outdoor Spaces
  Michelle Slatalla
  For all my next-year-big-garden-dreams.
September 21, 2016
Awesome Framed Art Under $25

IKEA’s $18 RIBBA frames are approximately 24″x36″ with a perfectly sized mat for Cavallini’s 20″x28″ wrapping paper sheets. And once you’ve got the frame, each new sheet of paper is just $4, so you can swap things out seasonally (there are some that would be great for Halloween), or just whenever you’re ready for a change.

Below are some of my favorites, and there are a bunch more over at Paper Source.

September 12, 2016