Style Lush

Entryway Storage Problem Solved! (and a Sad Goodbye)

By Sara

Wow. So this is it, friends. Our last week of posting (for now). It has been a pleasure to see you here every week for the past few years, and I'm really going to miss you. Before I say goodbye, I wanted to share something I've finally checked off my To Do List. Let me take you back to 2010 and my desperate plea for help in dealing with our complete lack of storage in our entryway. Here are the photos I posted to show you what I was dealing with:

You'll notice a lack of closets, hooks, pretty much anything that resembles coat/shoe storage. It was a...problem. I improvised these past few years with an over the door rack on the basement door but that was cumbersome and provided hooks for only a few coats. On New Years' Eve a few weeks ago, my husband and I sat down and came up with a House To Do List for 2013 and at the tippy top of that list was "entryway storage plan". I'm proud to say we actually came up with a plan, executed it, and are now enjoying a much more welcoming and organized entryway.

First, my husband and I installed faux board and batten on the short wall separating the living room and dining room and parallel to the stairway:

 

I say "faux" board and batten because we cheated and didn't actually install the "board" part which would sit behind the "batten" or vertical pieces of wood. We attached the vertical wood trim pieces directly to the wall and painted it all in a semi-gloss white to match the existing trim. I won't go into detail on our process since there are already great detailed DIY tutorials on the web but suffice to say it required triple measuring, quadruple leveling and a loud nail gun. 

The hooks and bench are from Ikea and the basket for shoes is from HomeGoods. The new front door is from Home Depot and we installed that sucker last winter ALL BY OURSELVES. Why yes, I am feeling rather smug and proud of us. To combat the influx of mail and give us a place to drop our keys, I moved a console from the living room into the entry:

The bottom baskets hold our hat, gloves and scarves in the winter and then sunhats, sunscreen, and sunglasses in the summer. A console like this is really functional in the entryway and if you have the room, I highly recommend one. 

I have a few more improvements coming for this space and I hope you visit me over at my personal blog Belle Plaine to see the final reveal. Again, thank you all for making Style Lush one of your daily reads. It's been a fun three years and I look forward to seeing you all again!

xoxo.

Etsy Shop: Flow Designs

By Sara

I'm always on the look out for pretty, sophisticated and well-made jewelry. Yes, yes, there is a place for a trendy find from Francesca's or Target but sometimes you just want something you know was made with a little love and good design. I stumbled across Flow Designs and really fell in love with some of the designer's pieces. They're classic, timeless and have that handmade element that I enjoy so much.

 

Lido Necklace, $42

Sona Earrings, $34



Rialta Necklace, $46

Vero Earrings, $32

Let's just say I'm a sucker for a gold hammered finish and a shimmering stone. Find Flow Designs on Etsy.

(All images courtesy of Flow Designs.)

 

Cheap Beauty: L'Oreal Voluminous False Fiber Mascara

By Sara

A while ago, I claimed that L'Oreal Voluminous Full Definition mascara was the end all, be all of drugstore mascaras. Well, I lied. A lovely friend of ours, Marianne, one half of the duo from Looks Good From The Back, reviewed another L'Oreal mascara and I was pretty blown away by the results. See for yourself. That right there is the L'Oreal Voluminous False Fiber mascara and I am here to tell you (again) that it really is amazing.

This stuff lengthens, separates AND builds body into my meager lashes. I wore it to work yesterday and had no less than three people compliment me on my "long lashes". The last compliment came at the end of the day when my usual mascara would have worn off hours before. Now, I have never ever had "long lashes" a day in my life so this stuff MUST be good. At less then $9 and available pretty much everywhere, trying this mascara is a no brainer.

(Photo: drugstore.com)

Splurge vs. Steal: J. Crew Classic Pave Link Bracelet

By Sara

I'm completely 100% smitten with the Classic Pave Link Bracelet from J. Crew. I borrowed it from a friend a few weeks ago to dress up a casual outfit and it added the perfect touch of sparkle and trend to my look. Sadly, the J. Crew bracelet is $125 and out of my price range for a costume-y bauble. Isn't it so pretty?

I would be sad but then I found a gorgeous knock off from T Plus J Designs for...$25 less.

Not a GREAT discount but then add on a $10 off coupon for new customers and it starts to veer into steal(ish) territory. Then the angels sang from above and the online shopping gods decided to be extra kind because I found a good substitute from ILY Couture for...$49 on sale!

Here's the breakdown:

SPLURGE: J.Crew, $125 but no free shipping and doesn't ship until February 11, 2013;

STEAL(ish): T Plus J Designs, $100 plus $10 off coupon for new customers AND free shipping;

TOTAL STEAL: ILY Couture, $49 (half off regular price of $99).

Go forth and glimmer and gleam with a new gorgeous bracelet.

Nursery Tour: Chloe Elizabeth

By Sara

Now that my wee baby is a walking, talking, sassing toddler I thought it high time to photograph her nursery for the memory capsule. Her room isn't perfect; it's small, it's usually a mess of books and stuffed animals but it's full of pieces made and collected over the years just waiting for this little girl.

Welcome to Chloe's nursery.

This dresser was in my nursery when I was a baby and was formerly a blonde wood that I refinished in a semi-gloss white. I love the faux bamboo detail so very much. The curtains are made from flat sheets I found at HomeGoods and then had lined and hemmed into curtains by a local drapery fabricator. I also chose to trim them in a grass green grosgrain ribbon.

From left to right: Tiny little boxes for her first tooth and first curl gifted to her by her great-grandmother. The lamp was gifted to us by my mother and has the sweetest little painted bees and flowers. The elephant "piggy" bank was a gift to Noah when he was born but I thought it worked better here than in his big boy room (and it's from Tiffany so...baby's first Tiffany, hooray!).

The mirror is another HomeGoods find that I bought in 2007, well before children. It started out hot pink which I promptly painted white and tucked it into the closet for 5 years until it found its current home. The book, Chloe by Peter McCarty, was a gift from my aunt and sits nicely behind a sweet floral cross stitch I made and framed. Lastly, the ceramic bird house is from West Elm (2011) and was the FIFTH I had sent to me after the first four arrived broken (I have another one stashed in the closet to be hung on the wall when we get around to it.)

The glider is hideous yet hideously comfortable which is why it survived from Noah's nursery. I would have loved to have replaced it with something prettier and fully upholstered but I knew it would just get covered in spit up. I plan to retire it soon since she refuses to let me rock her now. She's too busy doing who knows what to sit nicely with her mama. We keep bins stashed full of books and a basket for her "stuffies" that she rotates through on a weekly basis. The lamp and table are from HomeGoods (it seems I was on a tear at one point).

Here you have your ubiquitous embroidery hoop "art" installation made with a random assortment of fabrics. My mother thought it genius and completely unique. I didn't try to correct her. 

This is the pencil eraser monogram I made. You can find the very-simple-I-can't-believe-I'm-calling-it-a-tutorial tutorial here.

This is the gallery I've begun over her crib. The pink open frame was a gift on her first birthday and holds a card and her party invitation. The shadow box holds a vintage knit baby bonnet that my mother bought a few years ago and tucked away with the hope of a future granddaughter. The "Believe" art is by Katie Leese bought last month on my trip to New Orleans. I loved her work the minute I saw it near Jackson Square and made sure not to leave without picking up one for each of the kids. I plan to add to this wall as I come across the perfect pieces. 

Oh look! Here's the little lady herself, Miss Chloe. The crib is the classic (and cheap!) Jenny Lind. We also have the matching changing table that I got off Craigslist for FIVE DOLLARS. I think that was my best Craigslist buy to date.

I'm truly surprised she wasn't attempting to scale the crib at this point. 

Chloe's room is one of the happiest in the house and we love spending time in there reading and playing. I hope you enjoyed the short tour of her little room.

 

A Great Photography Gift for the Parents/Grandparents

By Sara

This past summer my siblings and I decided to get together to have some professional photos taken to gift to our parents for their anniversary. My sister, being the clever Pinterest-obsessed girl that she is, came across a great idea: each person holds up a letter to spell out a word. We chose the word 'family' and the result was really pretty great,.

We had the second version blown up and printed on a canvas (at Costco of all places! Great prices and super fast shipping.) My mother, the stoic woman that she is, had a little tear in her eye when she opened it. The bonus is that we can gift this same print to our grandparents for Christmas as well. 

Or you could try it this way too (all in a row, of course):

The first way worked better for us but the second could be really cute in a frame with multiple openings. I think family photos are always the perfect gift and a sure winner with the grandparents.

(My apologies to my husband and siblings for posting their (pretty and handsome) faces all over the internet! All images are mine.)

Anastasia Eyebrow Pencil

By Sara

Over the past few months I've noticed my eyebrows thinning and becoming rather patchy. I've always had dark, thick, somewhat unruly eyebrows that took regular grooming to keep in shape so this new development was unexpected. I don't know if it's age (early 30s), post-partum hormone wackiness (baby is one though...that ship might have sailed), or just A Thing That Happens. Regardless of the cause, I had to find something to make my brows look well-groomed and polished. A quick trip to Ulta and I snagged the Anastasia Beverly Hills Eyebrow Pencil.

(image from anastasia.net)

I love the formula. It's not greasy or oily and looks much like a powder when applied. The tip stays sharp and can do great light, feathered strokes to mimic real eyebrow hairs. I can build up the color as I go and fill in more or less wherever needed. The built-in brow brush on the other end is great for taming any rogue hairs and blending in the pencil. I never feel like this pencil makes my brows look drawn on; instead, I feel like it gives me that polished and groomed look I've always liked. You can also read more Style Lush discussions on eyebrow grooming here. 

Holiday Cards from Cardstore.com

By Sara

I was alerted to a new-to-me photo card site that is running some incredible deals right now, just in time for holiday card season. Cardstore.com has a nice, condensed selection of holiday cards ranging from classic and traditional to modern and contemporary. 

 

 

 

 

Cardstore.com has easy to navigate customization and the ability to upload any number of photos so you can "try out" different looks. Check back with them daily to catch their current deals!

Fresh Sugar Lip Balm in Passion

By Sara

A while back I wrote about my three favorite lip balms and I still stand by that (short) list. In fact, I love one of the brands so much I now own it in four of the seven variations. Meet my new favorite:

That's the Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment in Passion. Passion is a sheer red that has an almost chamelon-like affect on different people. It reads bright and cheery on me and a deeper red on my sister. You can swipe it on for a light wash of color or layer it for a deeper shade. I love that it's not thick like a lipstick but is still obvious you're wearing some color. I find this to be a perfect shade for a date night out on the town. 

You can find Passion (and the six other amazing shades!) at Sephora. These make great stocking stuffers for sisters, moms, teens and ME. Hint hint. 

(Photo credit: Sephora)

Reader Question: Custom House Portrait

By Sara

A lovely reader, Brandi, recently wrote in with a great question. Her parents have recently moved to their retirement home and have sold the home where they raised their family. Brandi wants to gift her parents with an illustration or painting of their old house and forever imprint their home in their hearts and on their wall. When the question came in, I immediately thought of Patricia van Essche of PVE Design. Patricia's work has been featured around the web and in the blog world for years and I've always adored her hand drawn and whimsical interpretations of people and places.

pve design, custom home illustration

 

pve design, custom illustration

Emily actually wrote a post back in January highlighting the beautiful work of Rebekka Seale.

And in terrible news, it looks like Rebekka has been overwhelmed with custom illustration requests and isn't able to take on any new ones at this time. So sad but understandable because her work is just lovely and loved by many. 

There are many other talented artists out there. How about the simple and crisp illustrations from House Love Shop? This special little shop has been featured on Apartment Therapy and Design Mom (those who KNOW).

House Love Shop custom illustrations, 8 x 10, $65

Or how about the whimsical watercolors and mixed media pieces from The Art of Michelle:

The Art of Michelle, custom pieces starting at $150

I also found a beautiful illustration from Mary Jeter Art that is in a similar style to PVE Design:

Mary Jeter Art, custom illustrations starting at $160

Then we have the modern interpretations from JPress Designs:

JPressDesigns, custom illustrations starting at $99

I hope these beautiful illustrations give Brandi some great ideas and resources to consider when planning her custom house portrait. I know her parents are going to love it and she'll definitely win Daughter of The Year!