Style Lush

Style Lush Cribs: Orange-striped bedroom

By Sarah

Just about forever ago, I posted a call for help and asked for your recommendations as to what color I should paint my bedroom. Fast forward 6 (okay okay, 8) months and it's finally done! I love what everyone recommended (lots of bright colors!) but in the end, I was totally swayed by this demo video I saw on DIY Network. Once I saw the orange stripes there was no going back -- I knew it's what I had to do.

If you recall, here's what the room looked like before:

Splotchy brown and blue, ick

And here's the room now!

Orange! Stripes!

The stripes were actually surprisingly easy to achieve (with the use of a laser level and someone with a steady hand to hold the laser level, of course.) The hardest part was figuring out where I wanted the stripes to start and how thick I wanted them to be. Once everything was primered and the base color was down, it was pretty quick and painless to paint the stripes.

To make it easy on my un-savvy self, I decided to pick four colors that were all from the same swatch. The colors I chose (from lightest to darkest) are Pale Ecru (this covers most of the walls), Crab Bisque (smallest stripe), Indiana Clay (middle stripe) and Field Poppy (biggest chunk of orange at the bottom.) All the colors are by Olympic.

So there you go! I am really pleased with how it turned out and like that it's something unique, while not being overly busy-looking. (Although now I'm basically obsessed with stripes and it's all I can do to stop myself from striping the entire house!)

For more pictures, check out the Style Lush Cribs Flickr pool and add your home decor pictures to the mix if you want!

{Photo credits: Me}

Embellished tees

By Sarah

I love, love, love a good t-shirt (I know, who doesn't, right?) However, as much as I like to pretend cheapie ten dollar tees are appropriate work, they're just not. Enter the embellished tee! These t-shirts are still comfortable, but add a little something extra to make it look more dressed-up. Here are a couple of my favorites:

From left to right: Women's Beige and Light Brown T-Shirt {$32.95}, Wear-ever, Whenever Top {$59.99}, and Merona Women's Artist Tee {$14.99}

How do you dress up while still staying in the comfort zone?

{photo credits: etsy.com, modcloth.com, and target.com}

Wedding anniversary gifts

By Sarah

Mine and my husband's second wedding anniversary is in a few days and to celebrate, we're heading up north for a long weekend of rest, relaxation and food (always food). Since we're springing for the trip, we're not buying one another any gifts -- at least I'm not buying my husband anything; if he gets something for me, I'm going to feel like a major jerk -- but I thought it might be fun to pick out some traditional second wedding anniversary gifts.

Unfortunately fun isn't really on the agenda, as the traditional second wedding anniversary gift is ... cotton. I know, why couldn't it be diamonds, right? In all seriousness, cotton as a second wedding anniversary present perplexes me. Two years isn't nearly enough time to burn through all the towels and sheets we received from our wedding registry, so what am I supposed to buy my husband? A t-shirt? Socks? A jumbo pack of sterile cotton balls? I honestly do not know.

Luckily we have something to look forward to next year; the traditional third wedding anniversary present is leather and I can think of plenty of leather items I'd like: handbags, boots, many leather-bound books, a saddle, chaps, oh wait, now this is getting out of hand.

What about you? How do you celebrate significant anniversaries with your loved one? Does anyone really stick to the "traditional" gift-buying guidelines? And since I'm asking so many questions already, what is the best gift you've given/received?

Bud vases: Not just for flowers!

By Sarah

I wish I could take credit for this one, but unfortunately, I can't. My mom was the cool lady who turned me on to the idea of using bud vases as champagne flutes and I LOVE IT.

As someone who is notorious for breaking glassware (I broke a pint glass yesterday morning, no joke!), I am always on the lookout for cheaper, everyday-use items that won't cause me to shed a tear when I inevitably break them.

Enter bud vases. You can buy one for less than $2 at your local craft store and if it breaks? No worries, it was only two bucks!

These are great for entertaining, as well. Use these and there won't be any reason to be worried about a guest breaking your stemware.

I'm not sure if volume-wise, bud vases actually hold more liquid than a traditional champagne flute, but I like to think they do. And an added bonus? You can even use these bud vases to display flowers! Who knew?

Now I'm interested to know, what items serve a dual purpose for you?

{photo credit: yours truly}

Currently Coveting: Funky cocktail rings

By Sarah

While I tend to be fairly conservative with my jewelry, I have a thing for big chunky cocktail rings. Since I usually dress in all black, I'm drawn to the more over-the-top styles, and why not? Adding a funky ring definitely turns a boring ensemble on its head. Here are a few of my favorites:


From top to bottom, left to right: Cha Cha Ring {$45}, Cross The Line Ring {$30}, Titanium Quartz Cocktail Ring/Weapon (that made me laugh out loud) {$48}, and Gold Knot Wire Wrapped Ring {$17}

{Photos via: etsy.com}

That's a wrap!

By Sarah

I'm sort of obsessed with wraps. Like, to the point that I'm a little worried people think maybe I'm that strange cape-wearing lady. It's just that I really like to stay warm and think wraps are more professional than, say, a hoodie. Which is what I used to wear to work. (My mom is so embarrassed right now.) Anyway, allow me to wrap up a few of my favorite styles for fall! (Pun totally intended; couldn't help myself.)


From left to right: Alternative Apparel The 5th Ave Wrap in Oatmeal Heather {$48} and Cascade Ruffle Cardigan shown in Charcoal, but also available in Chalk and Navy {$69.50}

I'm also digging this one in purple, as well as this one, but I worry leopard print is a bit too much. It's not, right? (Something tells me I'm soon going to be the crazy-cat-cape-wearing lady.)

{Photo credits: piperlime.com and gap.com}

Currently Coveting: Nine West Shoes

By Sarah

Summer has finally arrived here in Northern California (108 degrees today, so help me), but of course all I can think about are fall shoes. It's been almost a year (one year!) since I bought new shoes, so I'm in desperate need/want of some new kicks. I always have good luck with Nine West; their shoes aren't over-priced and they're comfortable. Well, as comfortable as 4-inch heels can get, right? Here are a few not-so-practical shoes I'm currently coveting:

From top to bottom, left to right: Smooch {$89}, Heelsup {$99}, Noletta {$99}, and (for practicality's sake) Zalta {$79}.

(Please note: Three out of four of these styles are only available for pre-order and won't ship until later in the fall. This is good for my bank account, obviously, but terrible for my feet. That being said, Nine West is currently offering $5 flat-rate shipping on all orders. Happy coveting!)

{Photo credits: ninewest.com}

In Season Now: Tomato & Avocado Salad

By Sarah

Thanks to a trip to Costco which yielded a HUGE bag of avocados, plus a nice neighbor who dropped off a HUGE bag of ripe tomatoes, I was in desperate need of a recipe -- quick and in a hurry! Tomatoes and avocados are natural BFFs (hello guacamole!), so I thought a simple salad would be great.

What You'll Need:
2 ripe avocados, diced into 1/2" cubes
2 or 3 (depending on size) tomatoes, diced into 1/2" cubes
A few thin slices of red onion
Juice of 1 lemon or lime
Salt, pepper, and olive oil to taste

What You'll Do:
Mix everything together and enjoy!

Seriously, this is the easiest recipe EVER, and it's delicious. If you're feeling frisky, you can add black beans or corn, but honestly, this salad stands up great on its own.

What are you doing with the end-of-summer ripe fruits and veggies?

{Photo credit: ME!}

My thoughts on Maybelline Volum' Express the Falsies mascara

By Sarah

I've always been a Maybelline mascara devotee. I started with Great Lash in the green and pink tube, then I moved on to the Volum' Express line. Up until recently, I was 100% happy with the Volum' Express Turbo Boost, until it just up and decided to stop working for me. Whether I was using a new tube or an old tube, it didn't matter. Things had changed.

Then I noticed Maybelline recently came out with a new mascara, Volum' Express the Falsies. It was completely sold out at one drugstore, so when I saw it in stock at another store a few days later, I grabbed a tube, convinced it would be great.

And. Well. It's not my favorite.

I had really high hopes for this mascara. First of all, it's Maybelline. Then there's the fact that it's still part of the Volum' Express line, my favorite. And of course, it's got an adorable name; that counts for something, right?

I'm not sure if it's the actual mascara goo (technical term), the wand (they call it "spoon-shaped"), or a combination of both, but it's just not working for me. Instead of individually defining each lash, it clumps multiple lashes together, causing the always-unattractive spider lashes look. Then the mascara sets so hard, my spider lashes feel like little twigs and I'm forced to pick, pick, pick away at my lashes. Not good.

I wanted so badly to love this stuff, so I'm kind of bummed it wasn't my favorite. Maybe I should revisit the good old green and pink tube, what do you think?

Have magazine, will travel

By Sarah

The Internet is obviously the best place to go to for fashion, beauty, and style advice, but sometimes it's just not as practical, nor as fun, as paging through a good old fashioned glossy magazine. Plus, how are you supposed to know what the new Chanel perfume smells like through your computer, am I right?

My favorite beauty magazine is Allure. I've been a loyal subscriber since high school and love how they're heavy on the makeup and light on the $1,000 shoes. (Because that's how I am? Too much eye-liner in Target shoes?)

If I'm traveling somewhere, I usually need to purchase another magazine to keep me entertained and so my second favorite is In Style. I feel like they're the perfect blend between celebrity pop culture, fashion, beauty, and home decor. Plus, their August issue features Zac Efron; can't go wrong there.

As summer slowly comes to an end, I'm sure many of us have travel plans on the horizon. Whether you're sitting on a plane or in a car, by the pool or by the ocean, there will be plenty of time to sit back and page through a magazine, so I must know: What's your favorite? (And if it's Us Weekly, that's totally cool...I uhh, subscribe to that one, too.)