ambience inspired interiors

Imaginary friends

This past few weeks have been those "when it rains, it pours" weeks. Lots of good and some bad, but mostly just a lot of things going on that inflict intense exhaustion and brain overload...

I would give examples, but suffice it to say that between car repairs, a death in the family, two birthdays and a party, a horrible cold, three bouts of stomach flu, and other misc. stuff, our household has been pretty wiped out. This has meant that Bridget has had some time to play by herself while I cope with what life keeps dishing... The result of her play is Stuart. Stuart the imaginary mouse.

I met Stuart the other day after picking her up from the kids play area at the Y. She held up her cupped hand in the noisy room and introduced us. I couldn't really hear her, and I thought she was handing me pretend food, soI grabbed it and put it in my mouth. Horrified, she shouted that Stuart was her "little buddy" and that I should not eat him; it's not nice to eat your friends.  Feeling like a jerk, I pulled him out and kissed him, telling her that I was just kissing him "hello." I'm sure the ladies at the Y felt that all of their suspicions about me were correct after they witnessed this little exchange. Yes, I'm sometimes off my rocker. I sure hope my kids think that's a fun quality...

I decided that I have imaginary friends too. Mine don't scamper or play, and I never really talk to them unless you count gasping in awe as talking... They usually just project their beauty onto my brain and dance around in my head like those visions of sugarplums in "Twas the night before Christmas." I fantasize about pretty objects and lovely things.. Some of my most favorite things didn't even cost that much, but they sure do inspire...

Here are a few things I have been watching on Etsy and Ebay. They are things that I will probably never own, but that are so beautiful that just having their images locked in my brain is fun...

 

I think this would make a fantastic addition to my right hand!!!

 

http://www.etsy.com/listing/87616387/french-diamond-and-rubies-and-sapphires

The above could take turns occupying my right ring finger with these pretty stacking rings:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/88115607/antique-italian-modular-stacker-set-of-4?ref=sr_gallery_37&sref=&ga_search_submit=&ga_search_query=stack+rings&ga_order=most_relevant&ga_ship_to=US&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_page=3&ga_search_type=vintage&ga_facet=vintage

Anyone who has visited my blog before knows how much I love rocks... Jade trees are superfun...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/290673299393?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

 

I have a thing for glass too, so this crazy-cool number caught my eye - how delicious is this!?

The auction on ebay for this item has ended, so the link is kaput.

 

Speaking of glass... This isn't a great photo, but I collect these Czech glass flowers, and they are pretty great in person. (This auction has also ended, but they wanted more for this piece than I was willing to pay anyway...)

And I know this isn't ebay or etsy, but this in a new take on a sectional that I happen to think is quite cool! Pick your fabric (or send in your own!) and this beauty can stylishly make use of an awkward corner!

Check it out at www.ballarddesigns.com

Hello? (hello... hello.... hello....)

Is anybody here?! I'm so sorry, my little blog. I have abandoned you for too long! I don't have any good excuse, except there are just times in life when the computer and I don't have much alone time. I have had travels, clients, appointments, and always my darling family keeping me from you.  I hope you understand. I also have made a new friend... Pinterest. Pinterest is very nice, but is a bit needy in the time department. She's kind of a show-stealer, really. She's good at one-upping Facebook, which I think is cool. I would love to introduce you two. Check it out at:

www.pinterest.com... I am ambienceii, if you want to follow along...

I think about you often... I see things as I shop and explore that remind me of you... They make me say to my self "Self, wouldn't Blog love to get a load of that?" Or, my kids will do something funny, and I'll wish you were there to share it with me.  Well, good thing we're the kind of friends that still love each other, even when we haven't spoken for a while...

So let me catch you up on where I've been; what we've been up to...

1) We went to MN over Christmas. I was all nostalgic for snow. It was brown there. We got snow on the very last day, which was enough to build this guy. He topped out at 8" tall including his funnel hat.

2) I tried to teach Little Miss a thing or two about the cold and flu season. We had been at a public place where she did a lot of public place touching, and I asked her to wipe her hands with an alcohol wipe. She declined my invitation, saying that it was OK. She had already licked the germs off of her hands. Wonderful idea darling... Wonderful.

3) So Mr. Man has had a hard time at school since coming back from Christmas. He tells me he is discontent at school, due to the fact that he "wastes his whole day learning." Well, dolly-pants... Get used to it. You've got 16 more years of this, assuming you stop at your undergrad.

4) I found these. How awesome are they? You know how I love birds; peacocks especially...

Of course, this means I was shopping at Anthropologie again...

5) OH! that reminds me. I got this new paper from Anthro too! I plan in have it installed in the entry. It's pretty awesome in person.

Go figure. It's birds again...

Well, That's just a little snippet. I know you're probably a little miffed that I've been away for so long. I will make it up to you by getting back into a routine visit - how about that? I'll sneak away in between trips to the park, the chiropractor, the gym, the schools, the grocery store, church, etc. Well, routine might be a loose term...

Hack Job

I am kind of a hack when it comes to my kids' bedtime. Try as I might, something always goes "wrong" and today was no exception...

My husband, the chef of the house, came home with a massive migraine and went straight to bed. The $$$ tuna steaks that had been ready to grill for dinner were now my responsibility, as were the kids, their every happiness, and the well-being of the house. I kept it all together quite well, and was applauding my off-the-cuff execution of a delicious meal that resulted in Mr. and Mrs. Pickypants actually EATING the tuna (I maybe fibbed and told them it was "meat" but that is just details...) I was even a bit puffed with pride as I gloried in the fact that, for the first time, they played nicely with each other for about an hour-and-a-half, and nary once a fight or spat! The kitchen was clean, the kids were fed, the tuna was yummy, and I was the domestic goddess of the world...

Then came the bath.

I sort of got distracted when a friend called and I decided to multi-task by chatting and putting away laundry while they blew bubbles and splashed in the bath. Forgetting that the tub in their bathroom has significantly less capacity than the one in our bath (in which they normally bathe)I chanced past the doorway just in time to shout out for my son (who usually does this on his own) to shut off the water as it had reached a critical level and needed to be shut down NOW.  He complied and on I went with my mission to have all of the clothing put away while they played.  I passed the railing that leads downstairs and thought I heard a pitter-patter, but assumed it must be the dishwasher. I had started the dishwasher, hadn't I? 

No. No, I hadn't.

Apparently the people who built our house were hacks too. But they hacked the plumbing, which is way more offensive, in my humble opinion, than hacking bedtime. A nice pool of water had formed on our hardwood floor, and more "rain" was falling from the vent in the ceiling. Awesome.  Apparently the overflow drain isn't plumbed correctly and I now have water stains on my ceiling to prove it!

No major damage was done, and we still got our bedtime snuggling in. There was much to-do over who I would snuggle tonight since Daddy was MIA, and as a result we may, or may not, have forgotten the brush/floss routine...  However as I lay with my daughter, her sleepy cheek resting sweetly in my palm,  I decided that (as jacked as it can get) we still have a pretty good routine. Oddly, my kids' routine is almost identical to mine; only a couple of hours and a few details separate them.  We can only hope that, in the future, neither routine includes more puddles... *Sigh*

 Them:                                                                Me:

Bath salts available at http://kneippus.com/

Them:

www.potterybarnkids.com

Me:

www.victoriassecret.com

Them:

www.macys.com

Me!:

Market Street mug from www.katespade.com

Them:

Chamois blankies at www.potterybarnkids.com

Me:

Mohair throws www.yvesdelorme.com

 

 

Sizing up the competition

It was about 6-8 months ago when I started to notice that things were being moved. I would spend (an obnoxious amount of) time working out where things would go, and then turn around and find they'd been moved. The bedside photo frame was now near the bathtub. The little jade tree I got in Charlotte would be on a different table, in a different room. The pillows on the leather sofa were now on the blue sofa...  There would be things missing; or things added. It was weird.

At first I thought it was my husband messing with me, since that's totally something he would get a kick out of.  I would quietly move the item back to it's designated (by me) location so that he wouldn't have the thrill of me telling him he had gotten my goat. Back and forth we went. I was having a silent war of wills with whomever it was that thought it was funny to trigger my OCD by tweaking my stuff. Then, one day, I figured it out. It was the tiny yogurt-smeared hand prints that gave it away. It was her. SHE was my competition. That small person with the shiny golden locks. She is the one who thinks she knows best where the coral bunch should go in the bathroom. SHE is the one,besides me, who actually is LOOKING at the coffee table books (yay! maybe she is a budding artist!) My two-year-old is my competition. Pint-sized, but we know who thinks she's queen. She even leaves her calling card (aka crown) behind just to prove it.

There's that un-finished wall again. BAH. Maybe my competition can convince her daddy to get on that...

Goll Darn Gone and Done It (again)

I have seen this sellers things before on etsy, but just came across them on ebay tonight while I was scouring the cyber-world for sconces for my dining room. I have enjoyed many pieces they have to offer on etsy in the past, and they've gone and done it again today!  If you love all things French and like a little whimsy and lots of pretty, check out pariscoutureantiques on ebay. What a great collection! These caught my eye today:

 

Tore up from the floor up

I had a moment of panic today when I (rather than Daddy) took Mr. Man to school. Daddy had been up late and was running a bit behind, so I threw a sweater over my t-shirt/pajama pants getup, slipped into some non-matching ballet flats, and sheparded our little dude into the car.

It seems that whenever I'm in a hurry, everyone around me is annoying. Slow cars, too many cars, why the giant white truck that I can't see around to know if I can pull out?! Who even needs a vehicle that big to commute to the office!? MAN! DON'T YOU ALL KNOW I AM IN A HURRY!?!?!

My insecurity was not that our son would be late/tardy/get in trouble. My freak-out was rooted entirely in the fact that at 7:45 they lock all of the doors except the front door. That's right. I would have to get out of the car and check him into the office it my hot-mess outfit. I could not allow ANYONE to see me like this!!! I looked well enough with my smoothed hair to be seen through the window of the car, but that was it. It wouldn't take but two seconds for someone to know I was wearing my PJs. Even the more noble workout gear would have been ok, as it would somehow imply that I was motivated - not a total slouch.

I think of my house this way too. We have been here long enough for the outstanding projects have been addressed, yet here we are without baseboards on the main floor, and no trim around the sets of pocket doors in our entryway. Weeks have flown by, and aside from picking out the trim, we haven't made any progress at all. As capable folks with the right pneumatic equipment to finish the job ourselves, it is hard to justify paying someone to complete the task - but clearly we're not getting the job done! I have put off entertaining because of it; I don't want anyone to see my pink striped pajama pants! Only my well-curated outfit with appropriate accessories can be presented without panic and stress. (Especially considering that it is my work/passion to make homes look good, you can imagine the pressure is just that much more intense for my own home. I fear the judgement of the critical eye...)

So, I am going to use this moment to do a little therapy for my high-maintenance-ness. I am going to (gasp!) post a photo of my un-finished space and find a deep sense of relief in the fact that I am not pretending to be perfect and hope that you'll still be my friends.  After all, you now know that I wear my PJ's to school...

PS - if you haven't used the Photosynth app for the iPhone, you really ought to get it. It's a virtual tour app that makes panoramas - so cool!!!

Cherry, Cerise, Ruby.... RED!

As the holidays approach, I find myself enjoying a dash of red. I am seeing it everywhere, as we do at this time of year... The weird thing is that, for me, red is good for shoes, lips and handbags. With my dark features I am "supposed" to look good in red, but I have only one red piece of clothing in my whole closet. And, as much as I love red, there are only a very few dashes of it in my home! Have I been neglecting red? Well it is time to make up for it. Here are a few ideas:

 

DEEEEE-LISH!  Don't these just scream out for a spot in my dining room?! The answer is YES.
http://vandm.com/Lacquered-Piano-Chairs-Attributed-to-George-Hepplewhite-1970s/3_266_product=315563.aspx

These sweet little flats are a steal at $14.99. I had to buy up 1/2 size due to strange sizing, but they are comfy and cute! Shoe snobs may not like this choice, but target.com delivers if you need some patent ruby slippers!  Ona ballet flats at www.target.com.

 

 

Chanel Rouge Allure in Excessive - available at www.chanel.com

A LOVELY bit of red for a spot in my home.  www.krieart.com for this and more lovely abstracts. This image is used with express permission from KrieArt - copyright KrieArt. This image cannot be reproduced in any form.

vintage ornaments from jaditekate at www.etsy.com

And how about this to pin neatly to a winter scarf or hat?

from vintage4vintage on www.etsy.com

  

 

 

"Need and want are two different things" - Husband

Yes, the ever brilliant and oft-repeated quote from my husband has been ringing in my head as of late. As I move forward with the decorating of our house, I keep weighing the ROI (return on investment) of each purchase. Will we get more pleasure from a new headboard or a new sofa? Will I grin from ear-to-ear over that lovely old silver bugle or that hand-painted lacquer floor screen? (It's true - floor screens and vintage silver bugles have the ability to make me smile...) My deco-priorities are in my face, and questioning them is sometimes cause for indecision and paralysis...

The fact is, none of these are needs. They're all wants. And wants are where I tread lightly because the guilt of an expensive want is a bit of a burden to my practical-minded self... Great examples abound, including my over-the-weekend purchase of 2 Razor scooters for $6. That's right. Son says "I want a scooter with red wheels." Sure that I could find one during our neighborhood garage sales, I loaded him into the car and we tooled around until we lit upon a sale with two scooters laying there. One had red wheels. Mission accomplished. Now Daddy and Son both can scoot-tour around the neighborhood, and Mommy gets to keep $150 in her pocket! Yay us!

So, after conferring with my nagging practical side, I have decided to spend less on the headboard, and stash more for the sofa. I think that's a wise priority. I feel like items that are mostly-looked-at-but-rarely-touched can be secondary in their priority. They don't have to be junk, but they don't need to be $tip-of-the-top$ either. Lamps, side tables, headboards, etc. are things don't need to be spendy to be useful and pretty.  For example, re-wiring a pretty old lamp can be one of the best ways to avoid spending tons, but the rewards are huge! See this lovely pair of marble lamps we found for a client:

They look like a million bucks, but the pair was (admittedly a fantastic deal) $120.00. A couple of shades and some new wiring and they were ready to go! I've seen singles of these in antique stores for $350. Oof.

As for seating, buy as much as you can afford. The investment in a great chair (even one of quality from a thrift store!) or sofa can bring years of use and pleasure, and is worth saving up for and splurging on.  They need to be heavy, well-made pieces, with a style that suits you. If you can lift one end of your sofa with one hand, you're looking at a cheapo. It ought to take two stong folks to move any seat worth buying.

So, here is the headboard and the sofa that I have decided to "skimp" and "splurge" on... (If a lovely vintage Chesterfield presents itself before my dream sofa is in the budget, I will certainly give it consideration!!!)

Tall Grid-tufted leather headboard from www.westelm.com

Milo Sofa, from www.anthropologie.com

Clues and Musings

I've been contemplative today. Thinking things through, questioning things...  These aren't design-related topics, so if you're dying for a design fix, I'll be back to that in my next post.

Things I pondered:

1) How many times will I have to tell my two-year-old not to run in high heels, and that riding a scooter in high heels is a bad idea, and that you can't wear high heels to the park? When will I take my own advice as given above?

2) Clue: I have probably not done a good job in the vegetable department when my five-year-old whines that he has peas, carrots, corn and pickles in the veggie compartment of his plate. By "pickles" he means "green beans." Oops.

3) Clue: I'm pretty sure my daughter has seen "Despicable Me" too much. On cue, she stood up and yelled, with arms overhead, "MAGNITUDE!" at exactly the right moment as if to agree with Vector that she, too, does things with direction and MAGNITUDE! I'm with her on that magnitude thing. That tiny blonde can sometimes measure on the richter....

4) I think it's weird that people can look you right in the eye and not return your smile.

5) I have learned to love and appreciate "blessings in disguise." Most of the time they're just blessings that are obvious, but I'm too stupid to recognize them as such until a (much?) later date.

6) My husband is a good daddy, and that makes me so very grateful.

7) People really can surprise you. This can be good and bad, but it's surely not boring.

8) I have limited domestic capabilities. I admitted such and now have a lovely lady who helps me out every other week. Why do I feel compelled to clean before she comes over?

9) Am I the only person over age five that feels an almost un-restrainable compulsion to wave at passing firetrucks? And similarly, am I the only parent who has told her kids to behave at a restaurant because there is a table of police officers just a few steps away? (It totally worked, btw.)

10) If the only sure thing is change, then why have I not come to terms with it when it happens over and over?

Surely I had more thoughts than these... I think. (You're just lucky these are the only ones that you have to hear about. Some are much weirder.)

Screening Room

That's right. Our house has a screening room. I never in a million years thought we would need one, since we don't even have a television in our house, but it sure has gotten a lot of use since it was put in place... Thing is, we watch shows on our computers (Hulu, Netflix, etc.) and we have an iPad for the small people to use. We don't seem to find much programming on TV to be worth watching, and when we do find something that cracks us up - House, Modern Family, etc. - we watch it at our convenience, not at the regularly-scheduled time...

So, when this screening room became part of our house, I hardly expected it to become such an in-demand space. In fact, it was more of an annoyance, since it is huge and cumbersome and in the way most of the time.  I know. You're probably going to want to call social services on me, but my children are quite delighted by their new room, completely outfitted with pillows, blankets, and a footstool! (Not sure how the footstool got in there...)  As I type, my daughter is in there shouting her request for popcorn (it's not even 9am!!!) and watching Clifford the Big Red Dog. 

Who knew?