go green

why does going green have to be so expensive...it's recycled right? so it should be less because its scraps-free scraps. this amazing light fixture is made from wood veneer scraps and is priced at $695. maybe i can make one?

via green depot featured on lolalina

love, love, love

i often stress over the fact that i can't decide what exactly my style is. i love modern, but then i love classic/victorian/vintage. i think this room sums up my style...i think.
i would like to have a very modern chair with an antiquey table like this. i also enjoy the shag poof on the left and the huge, dramatic, very unique chandelier. i guess this room hits all the points i am looking for. can't wait to move so i can do this...or something like this!

sidenote: i just noticed that the small table in the far left is an ostrich, i think-love it even more. muah!

i saw this beautiful room via a perfect gray where she found it here (both fabulous blogs)

bent wood table

this used to be in my living room, then i painted it and it is now in storage until we move. whenever that will be. we had to de-clutter to prepare for showings at our condo.

looks so much better, right? i always liked this piece, but wanted it to look cleaner and a bit more modern.

too much pbs?

pbs, you know- public broadcasting (s)? i don't know service maybe. anyway, my 2 year old, jaxon, loves some of the shows on this channel. he was watching curious george and so into it and then sesame street came on. he was in his chair eating, so i went to check on him and he was licking the water he spilled on his tray. yes, my son would rather lick water from his tray than watch sesame street. guess it's not as hip as it used to be back in the day.

like i said he likes to watch his shows, like dora and diego etc. the entire ride home, he was talking...the entire 40 minute ride home! during his dialogue, he said some words in spanish and i was like- oh he's so smart! then he said "only at pbskids dot org." kind of embarrassed because that would mean he watches way to much tv- to actually recite the commercial for their website. so, yes, he repeats everything!

btw- he picked that flower for me from my parents' front yard. so sweet! xoxo

tip of the week

so, i made these yummy pancakes on sunday. there was a little leftover, so i packed them up in a ziploc and put them in the fridge. i always put leftovers away and never want to eat them the next day-so wasteful, i know. i decided to heat these babies up this morning because they were so good the first round and i am glad i did!

here's the tip: wrap three small sized pancakes in parchment paper and pop them in the microwave for 30 seconds. they were so delicioso! almost as good as the fresh ones. re-heating pancakes and waffles can end in disaster-literally. back when i was preggers, i re-heated some homemade waffles in the toaster and almost choked to death because they were so dry the next day. all i could think was "oh my, i am going to die from eating a waffle-and while i'm preganant!"

here's the recipe, courtesy of food network's, alton brown. enjoy!

oh, by the way: i don't pre-make the mix. i just cut the dry ingredients by 1/3 to equal the 2 cups of pancake mix.

lovely

wouldn't it be nice to walk along this path today? i love this time of year!

have you heard??

can you believe i got these for free! well... either the top photo of toddler shoes or the nike shoes i got for free.

here's the scoop: nordstrom rewards! i use my nordstrom visa kind of like a debit card and put everything from groceries to gas on it and pay it off each month. for every $2,000 i spend, i get a $20 rewards certificate that i can use at nordstrom or nordstrom rack. i love it because it gives me a reason to go out and buy something for myself. plus, before using this card, i was using another company's visa which was giving me nothing back so this was extra good for me. it takes me a few months to get enough to buy something small. just thought i would share.

healthy treat

i used my plain greek yogart today to make this. i of course had to sweeten it with sugar and probably added as much into it as i was trying to avoid. trying to keep it healthy this week.

can you believe that the starbuck's yogart parfait has about 300 calories and like 40 grams of sugar. you think you're getting something healthy and it turns out to be as bad as a big mac! scammers.

p.s. not sure of the exact amount of calories and sugar but you get the point.

the 8th deadly sin?

while i was at my parents' house yesterday, we watched color splash, starring david bromstad (who i love btw). i sometimes wish i could be friends with him. i do that a lot when i watch reality tv. for instance, i would like to be friends with khloe and kourtney kardashian, jeff lewis (from bravo's flipping out), tori spelling-well maybe not her...she doesn't seem as fun when i watched her show last week on oxygen , and giuliani rancic...the list could go on forever but you get the point.

anyway...back to watching color splash. so they were re-designing a fireplace and painting the brick, while giving it a tuscan look. my dad said "painting brick is a sin" and he was serious and got a little upset. funny, right?

in my opinion, painted brick totally updates the room in some cases, even the exterior of a house can look better painted, giving it a clean, modern look. i always drive by this house and think: "if only they painted the brick and siding, this house would look so much better!" (less barnish)

like this house near my neighborhood

obsession: interior design

i have had a recent obsession with interior design...with my imaginary home. here's the deal: we put our condo in the city on the market roughly two months ago and i am very anxious to move. you would be anxious to move too if you had been waiting to move since 2006! i am so excited that we have decided to make the move to the SUBURBS! now we just need someone to buy our condo...any takers?

i find myself looking through tons of design blogs and taking notes for my home- as if we will be moving next week. i am currently obsessed, in particular, with one house. it is not the largest, nor in the best shape, but that is right up my alley. i love to be able to choose the floors, light fixtures, countertops etc. i have already re-designed the house in my head and it is fabulous!

note: i am obsessed with this house but only in my dreams-i wish we could afford something like this.

are you indecisive?

why did it take me over 30 minutes to pick out a coffee maker at target? is it really that big of a deal? apparentlly yes. and i feel bad for my mom who has to go through this with me each time i am picking something out...like my cell phone color (white&red or black&green?)

i went with red.

or what greek yogart to buy at trader joe's. i am CRAZY. i think it literally -or as rachel zoe says "lit-trally"- took me a good 10-15 minutes to choose. i was trying to get a vanilla yogart with a low amount of sugar. it doesn't exist so i just bought the plain kind and sweeten it up myself with honey and a little sugar.

what is strange though is that a huge decision...like, oh let's say...naming your child was made in minutes. the same thing happened when i picked out my kitchen cabinets/countertops when we moved to our condo. i knew what i wanted and just went with it. these are big items and it was a no brainer...not to mention the kitchen is an expensive item and a child's name lasts a lifetime-hello...

**the doozie...i am taking back the coffee maker that i decided on for 30 minutes because i found a coupon for a mr. coffee coffee maker and i know it is a better brand that hamilton beach -in the coffee world. i'm a psychopath!