Bebe scored herself a new sweater for cold days and was especially thankful. I bought my first bunch of ranunculus for the year. Peanut stole my new Hudson Bay Caribou throw. I had the best time speaking at Chirps & Cheers for their Real People series! The latest addition to Womb Gallery. This Green Tea with Coconut has changed my life. Rainey the kitten turn one – not a girl/not yet a woman. Also, I’m fairly certain she’s actually Bebe’s cat. I bought the cutest little yellow ceramic bowl.
Among the long list of things required for my upcoming move is prepping my house for sale. Oh, the intimidation. I always knew I wouldn’t be in this home for that long in the grand scheme of things, so most updates and decor decisions were made with that in mind. The few places I strayed were my guest room, my front door, and my hall bath – which I painted a Tiffany blue the weekend I closed on the place. While I love the pop of color it brings to the windowless room, I realize that potential buyers may not feel the same way.
When Sherwin-Williams asked me to team up with them once again for National Painting Week I knew this was the room that needed my attention most. My goal was to have it blend in a bit more with the rest of the house’s relaxed and muted palette while still retaining the feel of being light and open. The wall color was close to the above blue, but kickier with a touch more green. (Just trust me for now.)
The way I saw it I had three options. One was the obvious route of straight-up white. There’s something innately refreshing about a blank canvas, and surely that would appeal to buyers when they were trying to envision themselves living here.
The second was a neutralizing grey. Something light with some yellow undertones for warmth that would pull in the dappled brown floor tiles. Plus, nearly everything goes with a good grey.
The third option would be to stick with the blue, just tone it down a bit. Blue bathrooms always seem to have a spa-like quality to them that no other color comes close to.
I’ll be sharing my full bathroom reveal April 7th. SWPaintingWeek.com will be sharing inspiration, ideas, and more to get your creative juices flowing for your own painting projects all week long so be sure to check in. There will also be projects from 14 other design bloggers celebrating National Painting Week, so get ready for things to get colorful!
Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Sherwin-Williams. Though I have been compensated, all words and opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that help keep Design Crush going!
Poppy Barley could not have reached out to me about their made-to-measure footwear at a better time. I’d just returned from a conference where some errant cream puff filling had left my lone pair of knee-high boots stained beyond redemption.
The premise behind Poppy Barley is you design, you measure, we deliver. By creating made-to-measure footwear you’re guaranteed to have a great fit – and if you don’t they’ll go back and remake them! I was intrigued and all in.
About a week later their measuring kit showed up in the mail. Inside was a measuring tape, a foot measuring guide, and a selection of leather swatches. I got right to work figuring out numbers for all facets of my lower legs and feet with the tools Poppy Barley had given me, and entering all of that info into their site where I had already decided on the Uptown Boot. I went with Kaki on Kaki coloring because I believe a good medium brown boot can go with just about everything.
When my boots showed up several weeks later (as is to be expected with custom-make shoes) I was ecstatic. As I opened the box and removed the cloth bag containing my new footwear the warm scent of leather greeted me. I immediately took one out, slipped my foot inside, and zipped it up. Like butter doesn’t even do the experience justice – these bad boys fit like a glove.
They have the perfect amount of room in the calves, which is always my problem area when it comes to buying boots. They’re also the perfect height for this 5’2″ girl. My Poppy Barley boots really do look and feel like they were make just for me.
Disclaimer: I received product in exchange for this post. As always all words and opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that help keep Design Crush going!
So let’s get real. I love talking about my pets, an embarrassing amount really. I adopted my two oldest cats, Roxy and Peanut, when I was in college. I have almost an entire photo box full of their first few years of life, but then this thing called digital photography happened. Which meant that a decade later when I adopted my dogs Piper and Bebe, and my kitten Rainey, everything had changed. Yes my iPhone is full of photos that I will most definitely whip out and gush about to you, but I don’t have any printed photos of my furry loves.
Peanut’s huge, manly tomcat toes make a cover appearance.
I first became acquainted with Kolo as a grad student, in fact I used one of their Newport album as my art direction portfolio right out of school! I love the clean lines of their photo books and the beautifully smooth, high-quality paper within. I swear, they have the ability to make even mediocre photography shine.
Just hanging out in a clothes basket, as you do when you’re a cat.
Kolo has grown as a brand since being founded in 1999, and now offers a great range of products. What really stood out to me is that they can “load” an album for you. You upload photos to their free unlimited photo storage, fill the album of your choice with the images, and Kolo prints it all using Canon technology with stunning clarity and color trueness for a super reasonable price. Trust me, these are not the cheesy photo books you’re familiar with. They’re quality in every way, including the environmentally friendly raw materials used in all Kolo products.
Piper uses those amber eyes to get every single thing she wants.
I filled the Noci with 24 photos of my five furry children between its Ivory covers. This was my first experience with Kolo’s Canon printing and I’m completely impressed. Not only do the colors pop right off the page, but the paper feels substantial and luxe. The Noci is the perfect size to create a brag book or remember a specific event, or for business it would work great as a small portfolio or product catalogue.
Bebe playing boss on Halloween and Rainey snug as a bug in a rug.
You’ll also be happy to know that most of Kolo‘s albums are available as printed books or as classic albums where photos can be swapped out. The Noci Original is the same price empty or loaded, which is crazy! My plan is to eventually have several of these cloth-bound albums lining a bookshelf in the fantastic color palette offered, they all work really well together because they’re designed to.
Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post. All words and opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that keep Design Crush going!
It’s been almost a week since the last snowfall, so I’ve decided that spring is definitely almost maybe here. Probably. Anyway, I thought I’d do my part to urge it on by starting some spring updates around the house.
My first refresh is the art in my master bedroom, because it’s been several years since I hung a large-scale photograph by Kelly Lynn Jones above my bed and called it a day. This room is my sanctuary and I really wanted to add to that vibe, especially considering my office is directly across the hall.
I went with four prints from Minted that gave me that daydream-filled, relaxing feel that’s so necessary to helping me unwind at the end of each day. The color palette helps reflect it as well, while the white frames I chose for all four pieces hold everything together cohesively.
To keep things interesting I made sure to select varied sizes – 30 x 40″, 24 x 18″, and 16 x 16″. To be honest, this is the most art I’ve had in this bedroom. Ever. I was nervous that it might start to feel cluttered or just be too much but it really isn’t, and I couldn’t be happier with the end result.
This post sponsored by Minted. As always all words, opinions, and experiences are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that keep Design Crush going!
If you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time you might know that I’m originally from Pittsburgh, PA. I’ve mentioned it here and there and I’m definitely not lacking when it comes to hometown pride. My entire family (other than my mom and stepdad) still live there, and I’ve missed it since the day I packed up my bags and headed off to college 16 years ago.
So last November I made the decision that I’m making the move back to Pittsburgh.
Everything is still very much in the early stages. Only last Friday did my realtor – the very same one who sold me my current home nearly six years ago – stop by to kick things into gear. I have yet to decide whether I’m going to buy or build (I’m crossing my fingers for the latter), and I still have to do preliminary things like see how much money I’ll be approved for. I bought this house, my first, when I was still working for a design firm and now that I’m self-employed things are bound to be a little different. The good thing is my realtor says that everything is in great shape – only a few paint touchups and packing up my personality before the house can go on the market. He doesn’t anticipate it will last long once listed, so it’s really a matter of figuring out my living situation in PA and then putting it up for sale. NO PRESSURE.
While I’m definitely looking forward to be closer to my family and back in my city, this entire move feels very bittersweet. Oklahoma City has been my home off and on for the past 16 years. In fact, I’m more entwined in it than I ever was in Pittsburgh because I became an adult here. I’m a part of the creative community. I get incredibly sad when I think about leaving, but the fact is the only things truly holding me here in OKC are my mom and stepdad. And they decided to move back to Pittsburgh, too! So the story wrote itself, really.
I have no plans to turn Design Crush into the trials and tribulations of moving halfway across the country, but I’m sure there will be a moving themed post occasionally since it’s about to become such a big part of my life. I hope you’ll hang around throughout the process, and if you live in Pittsburgh say hello. I’m looking to build my future community starting now!
In January I had a conversation about blogging as a profession, and it went something like this. “If you’re only having fun, you’re not really a blogger.” Because really, blogging its work. It’s a job. And if I’m being honest I don’t like all aspects of it – invoicing, analytics, weird hours.
But here’s the thing. I wouldn’t trade my job for any other profession, because I love it that much. If you feel the same as I do and want to take the next step, join me and a slew of other pros who know what they’re talking about. The Business of Bloggingis Alt Channel’s day-long schedule of online classes Thursday, March 20th full of ten hours of knowledge dropping. I’ll be talking about growing your readership, and you can check out the schedule in its entirety right here. Hope to see you in my class on the 20th!
It was unseasonably cold (like everywhere), and I took full advantage of my puffer coat.
I received the best valentine from my friend, artist Rebecca Rothfus.
I’m two months into my #365quotes project and haven’t missed one yet!
I found out I love blush colored roses.
I ate waaay too much sugar, specifically grocery store cupcakes.
And these macarons from Dana’s Bakery.
Peanut spent most of the month cuddled up to a fuzzy blanket on my bed.
I made bread for the first time ever! And it was so good.
My mom gave me this sweet little salt cellar.
Rainey is 11 months old now, and a super affectionate little kitty.
Piper’s been restless for warm weather and more outside time.
I’m so excited that spring is just around the corner.
I’m excited to share that I’m teaming up with one of my favorite Oklahoma City shops! Come to Chirps & Cheers Saturday, March 8th at 2pm as we kick off their REAL PEOPLE series. The premise behind it all is that in today’s internet-addled world it’s easy to know people without really knowing them. I’ll be talking about how Design Crush got started, sharing some secrets, and answering your questions. It’s free to attend and no doubt the socializing will be top-notch. So if you’re in the OKC area please stop by, I’d love to meet you!
I look forward to Warby Parker‘s seasonal frames like some kids look forward to Christmas morning. After years and years of contact lens wearing that began in the 7th grade, I’ve reverted to wearing glasses most days. My eyes feel incredible, more relaxed than they have in years even after hours behind my laptop screen. And let’s be honest, I love all of the affordable stylish frames.
The spring 2014 collection features six everyday frames and three pairs of sunglasses. I went with the Marcel in Aurora. The frames are large without being too large, and round without being too round. In other words, they don’t overwhelm my face. And the dark tortoiseshell is a great dappled whiskey brown that makes my hazel eyes pop. It goes without saying that they’re become instant favorites – I’ve worn them every day since they arrived! Now I’m eyeing these Absinthe green Quimby frames for sunny days this spring.
Disclaimer: I received a pair of Warby Parker eyeglasses. As always, all words and opinions are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that keep Design Crush going!
