Inspiration Candy

Tired of calling it eye candy, its also inspiration candy. I don't know about you but I just soak all of this stuff up. Blogs, websites, magazines, photos, HGTV shows, etc. I literally get "creatively" recharged when I look at these things. Like plugging my battery in. Funny as it may sound I NEED it. Its good for my soul. Its what makes me happy (well besides my family), but you get the idea.

Well, in the past few days I have come across some AMAZING inspiration. I mean jaw dropping, get a cup of coffee and sit down for an hour to soak it in type inspiration.

Well without further adeu (I have no idea how to spell that word) I'm just going to send you there. Click HERE to visit A MOBILE HOME interior (you will not believe your eyes)...

...and then go HERE for a blogger's most amazing, step by step girls trip to Paris EVER! But, make sure you start at the beginning of her trip!

A girl can dream...a girl should dream...go HERE to find out why. You won't regret it.

Time for Treasures on Etsy

I've been hard at work getting my Etsy vintage goodies together and listed for sale! Here's a sneek peek at some of the lovelies that will be up for sale this week...

Old books.....

Tiny silver plates perfect for a wine bottle coaster.........

Silver cups with the perfect aged patina...

Vintage makeup that reminds me of old Hollywood -- so glamorous!

Come visit my shop here

Valentines Ideas

Its not too late to bust out some Valentines decorations or last minute treats!
Photo from Martha Stewart.com photo from tatertotsandjello.blogspot.com

How stinkin cute is this wreath made from cupcake papers?? Photos from Flickr

Craig's List or Not?

I don't know about you, but I have always have good luck with Craig's List. Now, my husband has a great deal to do with that, but good luck none-the-less. My favorite category to watch is the Antiques. Oh, If I only had a spare $300 the other day I would have snatched this Antique French Wine Cage that holds 200 bottles of wine!!! Ok, #1 I love anything French and antique is a huge bonus, but I looked up how much this beauty was going for and people....

on 1stdibs.com which is where alot of the designers shop, it was $2400!!! I sulked for a good little bit that day....

And here is a perfect example of what you can get for FREE from Craig's list. Yes we got this concrete table with steel base for FREE off Craig's List. I just love it! FREE people, FREE!!

I found a few examples to share of awesome Craig's list deals...

This hutch was $50

This German antique table was $125...

This antique apothecary cabinet was $1100...

These old perfume and French bottles were $20...

This old cabinet was $375...

This shabby chic dining set was only $350 for all of it!

This antique bed was $350

This shelving unit in L.A. was $150

And if you like things a little more modern this Eames fiberglass chair was $175

This cool hutch was $175

I keep seeing this cool chair pop up and its $125

Look at this $100 antique desk!

and this $50 couch! How cool would that be with a slipcover?!

Or a $50 iron bedframe

Or this desk for $20 -- HELLO!!

Happy Treasure Hunting!!

Diamonds and Pearls...

The party on Friday turned out so great! Everyone had a really good time and the rain let up enough all day and night, we only lost 1 luminaria to the rain and I had to keep relighting the candles outside, but other than that is was a perfect evening! Couldn't have asked for anything more, especially a very happy guest of honor (who had NO idea what we had been planning)!

The party was a collaboration between my friend's husband and myself. I threw some party "themes" out to him and he chose navy and white with pearl, diamond and ice accents. I ran with it from there! He did most of the shopping, took care of the rentals, etc. and I did the decorating.

Thought I would share with you a few of the very scary "before" pictures at about 11:00am!

And this was at 6:00pm...

The chocolate fountain I borrowed from a friend and we had biscotti, pretzels, pineapple, peanut butter rice krispie treats (which are really easy just add peanut butter at the end -- I cannot believe I have lived this long without them!), homemade marshmellows, again easy once you have made them a couple times, recipe from here

Centerpieces with hydrangeas, sweetheart roses, mums, lisianthis, tulips, orchids and curly willow. I used hanging crystals that I had to hang onto the curly willow...

I used some iceicle branches I had left over from Christmas in a niche in the entry along with ALOT of candles...loose ice and pearls were also with alot of the decor...

I wanted to set up the favor table right at the front door so I cleared off their entry table, made 2 boards with bulletin boards that I had, covered them in navy fabric, taped them to the mirror with a bow and pinned the favors on so they could be easily removed.

The favors were little bags of assorted chocolates from Trader Joes. I purchased little bags from Michaels and some pearl white cardstock for the tops of the bags. I strung 5 pearls on regular white thread, taped it onto the back of the cardstock and hot glued it to the top of the bags. I used regular sewing pins with the pearl tips to hang on the bulletin boards...

I used 3 cake stands that I had to add some height in between the 2 boards and it also gave me an opportunity to use up the leftover candy I had from filling up the bags. I printed out letters on my computer and cut them out on the pearl cardstock and taped them to the edge of the cake plates. I found this favor concept on Amy Atlas Events. She has some great party ideas, alot of the candy buffets!

The cake was from Cathy's Rum Cake and it was outstanding!

I brought all of my glass containers, silver trays, pearl necklaces, anything that was glass, pearl or silver! They added alot of sparkle, especially with the candles!

The centerpieces on the dining tables are what gave me high blood pressure. I had been making ice vases all week and I was so paranoid that they would not make it to the night of the party. All was good! If you would like to see how to make them, look here.

Their family room (sectional and tables removed) turned into a dining room with 5 dinner tables...

The outdoor space decorated with $1.99 sheets from IKEA

More ice vases and luminaria bags at the entry...

Me and the guest of honor....