Randomness.

A couple of random updates and completed projects.

I finished my first berry hat (to me it sort of reminds me of an eggplant) and I'm a big fan of these and the ease of the pattern. It's free and available here. I plan to add this for sale to my etsy store.

I also finished a chunky scarf.  It is the second scarf I've ever made but I love the texture and colors of the wool.  Too bad it is a little too warm for this time of year but it will make a nice Christmas gift if I decide whether or not I can part with it. 

And in non-knitting related news...I am obsessed with this hallway.  A friend gave me Santa Barbara magazine and it is my new favorite thing to look at.  Maybe I could love the west coast after all when I looked at all those designs...

I love the dark and the light colors and the sheen on everything.  But mostly I love how they took oversized mats and framed those teeny tiny egg prints.  I want some.

A little more lucite.

I saw this amazing lucite trunk in a magazine from an antiques catalog.  There was no price listed so I can only imagine it was out of my price range.  But I did a little search and realized that there are some great looking copy cat ones out there.  Would you consider using one of thse?  I certainly would if I hadn't just bought a new coffee table! 

The only downside is that you can't fully utilize all the storage it affords you unless you can keep it super neat!

Check out this other vintage one I found...not only is it a trunk but it actually doubles as a bar.  That'd be a conversation piece for sure!

I found my second favorite dream job.

Next to an interior decorator, I think a party planner might be my next favorite thing.  Not to be confused with a meeting planner for big conferences like some of my friends do (I don't have the stomach for all that stress!).  But instead, smaller, one time events where people have oodles of money and you can focus on friends, food and ambiance...a few of my favorite things...

Plus, unlike decorating a room in your house, you can go overboard with different decor themes which otherwise you'd tire from.

All parties in the images above planned by Toast, Santa Barbara.  More on their website.

Reflection

ShopTen25's mirrors are fab.  I can't say the same for their prices but I love how unique a lot of the pices are.  I don't care how long they've been around...I love a sunburst mirror and am in the market for one to put over our bed.  Some of these could be contenders.

Furniture with a Soul

Have you heard of this shop?  Great pieces and unbelievable prices.  I put the cost under each of the pictures.  Can you believe it?!

Pink Console $118

Green Cabinet $197

Chair $363 

Red cabinet $372

Yellow chair $275

On top of great prices, Furniture with a Soul boasts that their pieces are:

• Never mass-produced

• Never what you'd find at a large chain or big-box store

• Never cookie-cutter or flavor-of-the-month

• Never "assembly required"

More on their website here.

• Never boring







Founded in 1991 by Tom and Ryoko Nadeau, the company's original mission was to not only sell exceptional home furnishings but to provide matchless value with deep product knowledge and personalized customer service at low, wholesale prices.



We travel abroad extensively throughout the year to find, design and procure handcrafted, solid wood furniture with the most interesting silhouettes, functional styles, innovative finishes and materials built to last. Variety is a priority for our buyers, and it's evident in our 6000+ different pieces, many of which are one-of-a-kind designs.



Nadeau's site.
Because we present a distinctive selection of ever-changing inventory, there's no waiting the usual four, six or eight weeks for an order to arrive like you would with most other retailers - you can take your Nadeau purchases home with you the same day! Eliminating exorbitant shipping costs, along with our unique approach to supplier relationships and distribution, keeps our pieces extremely affordable.



Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Nadeau currently has 14 retail storefronts and four open-to-the-public warehouses located in 12 states and seven of the top 15 US major markets, with more growth planned for 2011 and beyond.

The New Melrose Place

I fell apart at the end of Knitting and Crochet blog week.  I got busy and wasn't feeling the post topics nor was I feeling particularly creative.  Maybe I'll do better next year...

Back to design and decor talk. 

Originally I went to The Melrose Project Site to follow up on a picture in a magazine with some cool monogrammed bedding.  Don't worry...not for me.  I think I've met my monogrammed quota for the time being.  Besides, my husband told me that if I put my "brand" on one more thing then we are going to have issues. 

But isn't it cool?

The rest of their products had nothing to do with branding - er, monogramming.  But they had some of the coolest pieces of furniture I've seen in a long time!  I am obsessed with the benches.