must have: office

Don't we all need an office? The super organized sunroom in our current apartment is perfect for right now, but I can't wait to have our own room that we can close the door and not have to keep clean all the time! Here are some current office inspirations...

if we had to share it with a guest bedroom...

If we lived in New York City, this is what our office would look like:

Which one's your favorite? I think I'm going for this one.

i'm breaking my cardinal rule...

Blame the cold weather for getting me fantasizing about Christmas decor in October, but... I'm absolutely in love with these lanterns! You can do so much with them, and I'm really really wanting a whole collection with the pine cones, candles and everything! Maybe if we had a HOUSE with a FIREPLACE, it would look great there.

Can you tell what's on my mind these days? Hmm..the extra large one is $99. That's a little ridiculous. I'm going to spend my afternoon looking for a cheap alternative! :)

still must have: fireplace

With this Texas cold weather bursting in, it really makes me daydream about having a fireplace someday. I know I've already posted a ton of fireplace pictures, but I can't help that I'm desperately needing one! :)

A day like today would be awesome for making smores over a crackling fire...

Anybody with me?

would love: reading nook

Not that I'm a huge reader...but I bet I'd read more often with a special, cozy little reading nook! Well, maybe I'd just bring my laptop there instead :)

totally inspiring: fall decor

The Inspired Room has done it again... I'm in love with these fall-themed pictures. Can't we have a house NOW?!?!

quiz answer:

Well Elaine won (kind of) :) Right now, the only way I could think to use this was to hold my perfume and earrings. Any other ideas?

quizzing you...

This wedding gift is part of a dark brown wicker collection at Crate & Barrel. I absolutely love the whole collection, but didn't know how to use this particular item. It's supposed to be a flatware caddy, but who uses those? :)

Can you guess what we use this for?

Hint, it's in our bathroom.

(P.S. If you've seen this in our bathroom you can't guess!!!)



Also, if you can think of a good use for this (in any room), please let me know! :)

today's find on ebby.com

Found this home within our price range that meets all of our requirements... and just like last time, I'm going to list my likes and dislikes about each room!

Curb appeal likes:
love the brick/stone combo
nice landscaping
two trees

Dislikes:
could use more colorful flowers
fence looks a little worn

Living room likes:
nice fireplace & mantle

good size

nice paint color

carpet's in good shape

bright windows

Dislikes:
could have wood floors?
would like crown molding

Formal living room likes:
light and bright
good size
chair rail
good sized window

Dislikes:
do we really need one?
wood floors would be better

Breakfast nook likes:
window seat
open to kitchen
good size
tile floors
bright windows

Dislikes:
light fixture
that's it!

Kitchen likes:
granite countertops
lots of cabinets
island
newish appliances
bar with stools
tile backsplash
walk in pantry

Dislikes:
wood looks weird and too light
stainless steel appliances would look better

different paint color

Dining room likes:
arched entries
looks like there's a window

Dislikes:
looks a little small
needs wood floors
new paint color
is there room for an 6-seater table and china cabinet? hmm.

Study likes:
French doors
wood floors
chair rail
windows
right off of entry

Dislikes:
wall color

Master bath likes:
separate tub & shower
double vanity

Dislikes:
can't see a lot of storage
hoping there's a big closet
hoping there's tile floors
hoping there's a linen closet

There were no pictures of the backyard or other bedrooms/bathrooms, so this would definitely be one we'd need to stop by and tour before considering it any further. But I like it in general! :) What do y'all think?

would love: bedroom with fireplace

Okay I'm sure that none of the houses in our price range would have this, but wouldn't it be awesome to have a cozy fireplace in your bedroom? I think so too! Although honestly, how many times a year can we Dallas-ites really use that? Maybe there's a good week that it would be nice :) Either way, I think it would be really cool (or warm I guess!)

Check out some of my favorites:

Would you actually use it if you had it?

oh hello there...

Speaking of focusing on one holiday at a time, I am super intrigued by these fall accessories from West Elm. Soooo warm & cozy :)

these wood-framed lanterns are so simple and look great as a set... although wood frame? fire? probably not smart.

how cute are these acorn boxes? they'd look great on my leaning bookshelfs!

oh how i wish i had a huge dining room table to display this candelabra on! think how cute that would be with christmas-y stuff around it! maybe someday.

absolutely genious. i love this pinecone garland!!!

ohhhh i heart fall.

soap box: holiday decorating

So I get really irritated when people start decorating for Christmas when it's not even mid October yet! I refuse to listen to Christmas songs and I refuse to decorate our apartment for Christmas until the day after Thanksgiving. I pretend to not see festive holiday decorations that are in stores already, and I can't believe people are buying them this early!

I love decorating for Christmas just as much as the next person, but let's focus on one holiday at a time, people! Right now is Halloween. Go ahead and put out your pumpkins and fall decor. Next month you can decorate for Thanksgiving. Go wild. And then the day after thanksgiving, feel free to bust out all the tinsel, twinkle lights and snowmen to your heart's content. Just WAIT until it's the actual holiday season! I understand getting a head start on your gifts (heck, I'm doing that too...spreadsheet and all), but I don't want to see a single snowflake until Friday November 28th. Anything before that is just. too. early.

On that note... yayyyy for pumpkin season! Go getcha some candy corn and go to town! :)

today's crush: club wing chair

Okay, I already know Ryan will hate this one, but I can't help it. I love this chair. I think it would be perfect as an accent chair in an office or cozy living room. Houndstooth is very in right now, and I think this should be called the "cozy read-a-book-on-me chair."

fall decor: fun and cheap!

See this apothecary jar (left) from my mom's kitchen? Well, I told her that it needs more "fall-ish" looking items in it, like pumpkins, gourds, leaves and berries. So we went to Hobby Lobby and spent probably $3 on three or four little sprays of fall foliage. We spent less than five minutes arranging them in the jar, and it came out like this (right).

SO much more fall-ish don't you think???

We also re-did the table in the entry way to look more festive (see below). I think it looks great!