My Sentiments Exactly.

New Yorker cartoon by Joe Dator 2008

Alex McCord =

Clutch Cargo.

Oh, don't tell me I'm the only one who's noticed. Actually, I like Alex this season which just goes to show how far the RHNYC has deteriorated. And I would happily have loaned her some balls for her little speech to Jill.

Oh, Jenna.

from the May Coastal Living

Yes, I still want to know everything about her. And if you're into J. Crew, you know it's the extra 20% off spring sale (through Friday). Shop on...

Beauty & the Beach: Boxwood Home.

Another gorgeous shop has opened on beautiful Baltimore Avenue in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware: Boxwood Home at 39 Baltimore. Those chairs with the octopillows are meant for my family room. In addition to being beautiful, they are sooooooo comfy.

The Oly bed above about kills me with its raffia and nailhead upholstery.

An Oly sofa upholstered in a DDG (drop-dead gorgeous) fabric with white leather chairs.

The barrelback chair is upholstered in burlap with nailhead trim. The blue baby alpaca octopus throw is by Thomas Paul.

You can see one side of the Bungalow 5 Calista mirror and some of the John Derian collection of decoupage. It hasn't even been open two weeks yet so they're getting new things in all the time. They have a brand new blog here which you can keep checking for new info as well.

Say Hello to My Leetle Friend.

You've seen and admired and adored this chrome pig bank from the sidebar of Cococozy (read the story of her pig here). It was created by New York artist Harry Allen. Something you may not know about me is that I have a fondness for pigs and wee beasties in general (remember my guinea pig which lived to be 9 years old?) dating back to my birthplace of DeKalb, Illinois, home of Barbed Wire and Cindy Crawford (that's a whole separate post just like Texas is a whole other country).

Gold pig bank; photo James Merrell via Cococozy

An illustration of my love of pigs: When I worked in creative for Marshall Field's advertising department, I wore a Heinhold pig racing watch. (I know, how cool was I?)

Gold pig bank Elle Decor March 2010; Nate Berkus decor; photo by Mark Shaw

Now, to the point: I found this here ugly pig at Home Goods for $6.


I purchased this here chrome paint at the Farm & Fleet (actually, there is no Farm & Fleet here and I miss it so. I miss the sweet, slightly toxic smell of gasoline, fertilizer, Wrangler denim and new tires):


I sprayed that there pig like this here and voila:


Now you tell me that's not one handsome piece o' plasticized pork. It also only measures about 8 inches long and 4 1/2 inches high (whereas the original is quite large [18"Lx10"H] because it was cast using the remains of a naturally deceased* pig); perfect for my sideboard at the beach. Oh, and did I mention $6.50 + $4.50 for paint = $11.00 vs. $190.00 for Harry Allen pig bank. Now, mine's not a bank and I'm not trying to make a starving artist out of Harry, but you see my point...

*No pigs were harmed in the production of this post; however, some resin was wildly abused and spray painted into submission.

Gone Fishin'.

I am off to the beach for a very long weekend. Have a sunny, warm one and an ice cold one on me. (photo via Kelly Green)

Feed Your Soul.

The face of hunger has changed. And while middle-class poor seems like an oxymoron; it no longer is. Before you say "It could never happen to me," read Roxanne Reynolds' story. She didn't think she would ever be homeless and hungry either.

Middle-Class and Homeless Isn't Easy

By JACOB NELSON
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Roxanne Reynolds is typical of the new homeless. Two years ago, she earned more than $100,000 in a tech job that's gone away. When that job went away - and nothing filled its place - she wound up on assistance. As smart and ambitious as she is, she's not great at being homeless. Now, she and her two sons get by on subsidized housing as she goes back to school.

Click here for entire article.

The Washington Post ran this article last fall, "Whole Foods to Food Banks," also illustrating how some of the formerly affluent have ended up in such dire need as to require food assistance. Read the article here.

If you would like to help those in need (who knows? it may be someone you know), click on the April Food Day icon above to make a donation to the blogger's fund. Or click here for information and education about Feeding America.

Monday Jackpot: Craigslist Booty, Before and After, and a New DIY.

I spent the first few days of this year reading blogs that were new to me. First, I stumbled upon Brooklyn Limestone and read every post in her blog detailing the amazing transformation of her house from haunted to hubba-hubba.

If that didn't make me feel like a founding member of Underachievers Anonymous, I started reading Little Green Notebook. This young designer mom with two toddlers and a newborn kicks DIY ass and takes designer names on a weekly basis. Talk about feeling the need to step up your game.

My first project of the year was a small DIY of recovering the kitchen chairs with faux croc from JoAnn fabrics. Then I moved onto the project of making roman shades from mini-blinds as found on Little Green Notebook combined with a real roman shades project from Martha Stewart. I never realized how simple (if time-consuming) it is to make roman shades.

But when I saw the photo above on isuwanee and the project below from High Street Market, I fell in love and knew I had to get me some faux bamboo.


Here's how she found it:


Then when I saw this black version on 1st Dibs for $4500, I began my frenetic search.

So, I scoured Craigslist until I found this in Boston - a full set of Henry Link Bali Hai circa 1972 or so:


After weeks of waiting for its delivery, it is now mine. I really only needed the dresser or chest for our bedroom but I can use the rest around the house or at the beach. I also found a shipping company that will ship items up and down the eastern seaboard for reasonable prices. Email me if you'd like the info because I just noticed a dresser and chest on Craigslist in High Point, NC (apologies to MFAMB for getting dangerously close to her territory).

So, now I just need to get a power sander and get to town on this project. Either the dresser or chest is going to go in the Imperial Trellis project bedroom. What do you think: Dresser or chest? Black or white?

Friday Flashback.

Thirty-five years ago this week, this song appeared on the Billboard charts. Probably on Casey Kasem, American Bandstand and The Midnight Special, too. "Sister Golden Hair" makes me want to hop in my parents' Bonneville convertible and drive with the music blaring, daydreaming of suntans and spring break...

Who else is old enough to remember this? And if you weren't even born yet? Keep it to yourself. :-)

Make This Headboard.

Now that I am feeling all DIYawesome, I am ready to take on anything (and I know you are, too). I really loved this headboard from A Single Man. It would be so easy to make a very similar version by copying Grace's headboard from Design*Sponge. Remember this?:

First, you need this fabric available at Decoratorsbest.com for $37.50/yd. (I think it's also at Calico Corners):

Laura Ashley Tilbury in Lapis

Then you need to watch this:



Then you need to send me a picture so I can ooh and aah.

Happy 70 Degrees!

I thought it would never get here - this gorgeous spring week. So, I am outta here. If I had to be stuck inside, though, I would love to be stuck in my new favorite kitchen ever.

This kitchen was designed by Tish Key for the 2006 San Francisco Decorator Showcase and shamelessly swiped from Deliciously Organized. I am not really feeling the upside down bouquet of dead flowers light fixture but I love the rest: taking the tiling up the wall, the cabinetry, even the skirt is adorable! And I don't care what you say about I.T., the yellow just looks like a sunny day.

Have a great, warm weekend wherever you are.

Rice, Rice, Baby.

I'm learning to cook Japanese and in learning about rice I ran across these photos of a village in Japan called Inakadate that has a crazy festival every year which began as a community revitalization project and is now a tourist attraction for the small village. Hundreds of people gather to plant different varieties of rice (which grow in different colors) in patterns. And they're not just any patterns but painstaking reproductions of famous works of Japanese art. The following shows the planting to harvest.

This is the harvest of a different field but you get the idea.

Isn't that just all kinds of excellent? Makes you feel pretty lame about the pot of tomatoes you're about to plant on the patio, doesn't it?

Cheers to you on this other Paddy's Day. And remember, don't drink and blog.

(Most photos came from tofugu.com)

Things I'm Watching on eBay.

Remember this gorgeous Pieces chandelier? It sold for $1750.

Pieces Pagoda chandelier via Cococozy

This pagoda chandelier on eBay is a very close second. Add a new coat of paint, new or painted candle sleeves and round bulbs. The current bid is $202.50.

I would totally be bidding on it but I don't really have a need for it. So, somebody please buy it, doll it up and send me a photo.

I was also watching this Hermes small porcelain Chaine d'ancre trinket/change tray but missed the final bidding last night while I was making dinner. The winning bid was $103.49 - more than I was willing to pay but much better than its original price tag of GBP 400-something. At least I thought so until I found this website, Park Avenue Gifts, wherein you can buy an entire 5-pc. place setting of the pattern for $336. Or a cup and saucer for $89. And when you're not drinking from it, you can just leave it lying around to class up the joint.


There's a smaller, nautically themed Hermes tray currently up for bidding on eBay and the current bid is only $24.99.

It ends today with no reserve. A nice little knickknack for the beach house, don'tcha think?

Here are a few things I was watching and decided against bidding on. My bidding strategy is to wait until the last minute of bidding and put in my maximum bid. It's take-no-prisoners on eBay.

The first two sold for more than I was willing to pay anyway but I think the person who listed this last item was being greedy. The bidding was up over $800 and it still hadn't met the reserve. And even though this is vintage (which can sometimes mean "smells like my grandma's cats") you can get it new for $1050 from the Gilded Mirror.

I do think eBay has really been stepping up its game lately. How about you? Have you seen anything great on eBay lately?