5 Things I Love

Crawfish Season

This.

Hot pink Cambridge Satchel. SO bright!

These necklaces from Fresh-ink. Too cute!

The most precious angels, my niece and nephew.

Not technically my nephew, but my sister's dog Moses is a doll. Love you too Moses!

Mad Men Obsessed

I love everything about Mad Men. The show is moving well on into the 1960's now and I am obsessed. I love the clothing, decor, jewelry, and especially Don Draper.

I'm not one to lust over guys but he is SO fine. Kind of not a good person on the show but SO fine.  

Some of my fav Betty Draper looks

I think that I would have enjoyed living in this era except for the whole "man controlling my life" thing. Other than that I would have fit right in! I wouldn't say that I have a set style when it comes to clothing. But the shapes and fit of "retro dresses" tend to look better on me than more modern cuts. Piperlime is one of my go-to sites when I'm in need of an outfit. Here is one Mad Men inspired outfit that I put together from Piperlime that I would die to add to my closet! I think adding a nude pump would made this a perfect Easter outfit.  

Dress-Trina Turk, Earrings-Sabine, Bracelet-Tinley Road, Shoes-Steve Madden

These vintage glasses from Etsy are so "Don Draper having a cocktail in the middle of the day in his office". They would be the perfect addition to any bar cart. 

Here we go! Yes, please! Vintage 1960's earrings from eBay. Just a tad bit over my budget. 

Here is a slightly more affordable retro earring from Baublebar. Adding them to my wishlist right now.

You could pair either of them with this Milly dress for a modernized Mad Men look. 

I can't wait to see how this season of Mad Men unfolds. Until then, I'm off to channel my inner Betty Draper. But a nicer, sweeter version that Don will like. 

Just not the case

I am no stranger to iPhones or their cases. I think that I am on iPhone number 207 at this point. I've broken them, lost them, and even had them stolen. I just keep going back for more. You would think with my past experiences that I would go for an Otterbox case to make sure that my phone is protected. Just can't do it. I've tried different Otterbox cases but they are SO bulky and just not cute. Last year, I fell in love with this Kate Spade case and bought it immediately. I was very surprised at how long it lasted because I tend to drop my phone quite often. It lasted about 6 months and I was very pleased with my purchase.

Unfortunately, Mrs. Spade did not consider Oxford wedding weekend extravaganzas when she designed this case. Needless to say, it did not survive the weekend but my phone and I did so all is well. I'm looking for a new case to get me through spring and hopefully summer too. Since I was happy with my first Kate Spade case, I figured I would check her site first.

Love this one! Too cute! Except that I don't play tennis. 

A friend pinned this and it might just be the one. Not from katespade.com

This case from Etsy is super cute but too busy for me. I would probably get tired of it, take it off my phone, and then shatter my phone because I didn't have a case on it. 

Yes, that's Dumbo. Too strange not to share. 

Found this site on Pinterest. So many options! I like #6 but in the cursive option.
It reminds me of a recent outfit of Blair's from Atlantic Pacific. You can't go wrong imitating her.


There are tons of options of iPhone cases out there. Some of them are really, really weird. But it's what ever floats your boat!


Which one should I get?

Just Blah

Things are moving along nicely around our house with the exception of our master bedroom. The drapes are ordered, art is on the way, and the landscaper is drawing up plans for the front and back of our house. We're getting there!

 I have a feeling that the next project is going to be a favorite of mine because I really don't like the way this room is right now. Our guest bathroom/powder room is just a sad, little space. I'm just not feeling it. There is nothing going on in there. No focus or direction. Just blah.

I think a powder room should be special and have something exciting or glamorous going on. These are a few of my fav guest baths/powder rooms. 

Our guest bath is such a small space that I want to keep the color simple and soft so that the print doesn't overpower the room. I'm thinking bold, printed wallpaper in a neutral shade and glamorous, new mirrors will liven up this depressing room. I went to Seabrook yesterday to check our their new Candice Olsen wallpaper book. Our dining room wallpaper is also Candice Olsen so I knew that I would be able to find several samples that I liked. I looked at the book online, but I really needed to see it in person to make a decision. Here a few that I'm considering.

The front runner.

Pretty texture.

This is my REAL fav but it's just too crazy.

I'm leaning towards the sample in the first picture. It's both fun and glamorous in my opinion. I love that the flowers are raised and give the wallpaper a soft texture. I plan on asking our painter how many coats it will take to paint the cabinets white. I'm so afraid to hear his answer because I really really want to paint them white! I've also decided on these mirrors to replace the ones we have now. These update are going to change this room so much! So excited to see how this room turns out!

Monday's Must Have

Smell Good Stuff

We are dog people. I've always loved animals and have had several dogs in my lifetime. But I never thought that I would become one of those crazy dog people. The people who post pics of their pups on Facebook all the time or pull out their phones to show friends pics of them. But I am. I got Gus right before Cam moved away. I lived alone in Oxford for two more years after that. Needless to say, Gus and I are very close. He has made the ten hour drive to my parent's house every time I've gone since I got him, flown with me, and has been put into a bag and sneaked into many, many hotels. Gus can read me better than Cameron can. It is not unusual for our friends to ask us how Gus is doing. He is just the best dog ever. He's like a person. I sound so crazy right now.

Baby Gus

Look at that face

After having Gus for almost four years, I finally persuaded Cam to get another pup. I love our little Rosie but Cam is obsessed.

So now, not only are we crazy dog people, we are also crazy Cavalier King Charles Spaniel people. It's like a cult of something. While they are cute and precious pups, dogs smell. There is just no getting around it. I'm very serious about keeping our house from smelling like a crazy dog person's house. There is one product that I have relied on for a while now.

Archipelago Room Diffusers are AMAZING. They are completely worth the money because they literally last for years. I gave my mother-in-law the lavender diffuser for Christmas in 2009 and it's still working! The scent's aren't too strong or "in your face" but you can definitely smell them when you enter the room. I have the arugula scent in our living room and peony in our bathroom. If you want the scent to be a little bit stronger to freshen up your room, just flip the little sticks around. I think they would make great hostess gifts!

My new favorite product is Downy Unstopables In-Wash Scent Booster. You just pour a little bit into the washing machine along with your detergent. Easy peasy. The fresh and clean scent lasts for a surprisingly long time. Especially with our sheets because Gus tends to sneak into our bed during the day and if we leave it for a second at night. He will take your spot for sure. I buy it in bulk from Sam's and now use it for everything I wash. Here's a coupon for it. Click here.

Armageddon

Well, I sure am glad we went to Ross Bridge last weekend because we were definitely thrown a curve ball this week. During the torrential downpour Wednesday in Jackson our master bedroom flooded, again. It happened the first time last July while were on a week long vacation at my parent's condo in Fernandina Beach/Amelia Island. We were devastated to come home from a relaxing week to find our bedroom reaking of mildew and the hardwood floors buckling. Really devastated. Like seriously, I screamed. We were so close to having all of the construction and remodeling finished in our home to then have to rip up the hardwood floors, dry them, spray for mold, and have new hardwood floors installed. It was really upsetting but we got through it and decided not to completely lose our minds when things go wrong with our house in the future. We're still new at this whole owning, remodeling, and decorating a house thing.  I freak out.

So long story short, we thought we fixed the flooding problem and put down new floors. Fast forward to Wednesday afternoon.

My husband, Cameron walks into our bedroom and stepped into a puddle. He immediately thought that our defiant, new puppy Rosie had gone to the bathroom in the house again.

Yes, she looks sweet. But you have no idea what she is capable of. 

After further inspection, he realized that water was coming up between the slats of the hardwood floors and causing our floors to buckle. We immediately started drying the floors and hoping that maybe it would stop or a miracle would happen or something. After ten minutes or so, I ran into the laundry room to get more towels and that's when I smelled "it". Rosie had gone to the bathroom in our entryway and "it" was larger than she was and like nothing I had ever seen before. If I hadn't of caught her in the act, I would have never believed it was from her.

Sweet little Rosie after the clean up. 

 I called Cameron in to come help me wrangle her out of the way so that I could clean "it" up. Rosie, knowing that she had done something VERY VERY bad, decided to run from Cam. He started chasing her and being the awkward, lanky puppy that she is, slid her entire body into and through "it." She then proceeded to run around the house with Cameron trailing behind her. At this point, with our house and dog covered in poo and our hardwood floors buckling, the only thing we could do was laugh. Cam said that it was like Armageddon in our house for a while there. He went back to drying the floors and I went to work on cleaning up Rosie and the mess she made. I screamed again but this time I was joking and Cam loved it. I do a great Kacie B. from the Bachelor impression. Don't watch this if you really hate curse words. It's edited but still.

Having your bedroom flooded twice in eight months is not an ideal situation but we will get through this. I'm very happy to say that we handled the second flooding way better than the first even with the Rosie incident.    Proud of us. Hope y'all have a great weekend! I'm off to buy some lotto tickets and research tiled bedrooms!

Scarves & Art

Two walls down. two more to go!  Jackie Ellens is starting on our sunset piece for over the mantle this week so we should be able to add that to the room soon. I can't wait to see it! We have one bare wall left in the living room and one in the entryway. Click here for pics of the rest of the living room.

 I want something fun and different for the wall in the living room and something more traditional in the entryway. I've decided that I want some type of printed scarf to frame for art on the living room wall. At first, I was dead set on finding an affordable Hermes scarf after seeing them framed and used as art. 

 This pic is from one of my fav blogs Fifi Cheek. Check her out!

 I searched Etsy and eBay for a while and found several scarves that I liked and was very surprised how reasonably priced some of them were. I printed some of them out and taped them to the wall like I did the Gray Malin photo's but they just didn't seem to fit in with the rest of the room. I think they were a little too formal for the space. The next scarf designer that came to mind was Emilio Pucci. After looking online today, I've learned that Pucci scarves cost much less than Hermes. No shocker there. Along with being cheaper, I think their designs are more fun, relaxed and fit the room much better. Here are a couple that I'm considering now.

This is my fav and I might have already bought it on eBay :) I'm way too impulsive & competitive when it comes to auctions. I want to win! If I hate I can just resell it. 

Recharged

This past weekend the Hubs and I traveled to Birmingham to stay at the Ross Bridge Marriott Golf Resort & Spa. We had a free nights stay because of our Marriott Rewards Program. I strongly recommend signing up for a hotel rewards program. It's a no-brainer. Especially if you travel as much as we do.

 It was only a three and a half hour drive from Jackson but just far away enough to feel like a vacation. Since getting married, it has become very important and at times, necessary that we get out of town and away from distractions so that we can just focus on each other. It is a time to remember why I fell in love with this person and kind of a time to recharge our batteries.

We started off the weekend with massages Friday afternoon as soon as we arrived. Perfection. This is definitely going to be a new tradition for us. If you purchase a spa service, you are also welcome to use the other spa amenities such as the whirlpool spa or the steam room. I'm not one for the steam room because of my hair. I come out looking like Bob Ross or Richard Simmons. Not cute. So I opted for the whirlpool.

Also, this is an Aveda Spa so there are huge bottles of their rosemary mint lotions, shampoos, conditioners, and scrubs that are also free for spa guests to use. Fabulous!!

After our afternoon at the spa, the last thing I wanted to do was get dressed up and go to dinner. Lazy, I know. So we ordered a ton of room service and ate and watched TV. Simple happiness. 

Saturday was spent laying by the pool and eating some very healthy food. HA! 

We went to dinner Saturday night at the hotel restaurant Brock's. The service was great but definitely make a reservation. I highly recommend taking your time with this restaurant. We started with the four cheese flat bread and devoured it. Then we ordered the best thing I ate all weekend, the antipasti tray. It was so fun to pick and choose what we wanted on the antipasti tray from their large list of options. I love options! I won't bore you with the rest of the meal, but everything was delicious and we ate EVERYTHING. 

Gorgeous entry to the hotel. Loved the flower arrangements. 

I love these getaway weekends and end up never wanting to leave. Ross Bridge was the perfect weekend and I left feeling rested, recharged, and ready to take on anything that comes my way back in Jackson.