Effortless Style Blog

18 Apr

Treat yo self…Belquist Pillow

Posted on April 18, 2013 by effortless

Jon always thinks I’m “finished” with a room in our house and then I get to surprise him and tell me that a. I will never be “finished” and b. I have something new I want to do.

Hudson’s toys have been taking over our living room. I’ve been trying to figure out different ways to hide them so they are out of site, but easy for Hudson to access when he wants to play.

Enter a wooden storage trunk that has just been floating around my house with no love being given to it. It was filled with CD’s, but since we never really use them I decided that the CD’s were out and Hudson’s toys were in.

I gave it a new lease on life with some high gloss green paint and then realized the top had a perfect insert for a little cushion. I went with leopard and all seemed right with the world and dare Jon say it, but it looked finished!

Well then I stumbled upon the beautiful new pillows in Brittany’s new shop. Brittany has amazing line of globally inspired pillows that are crafted in India. Now normally when you hear the words global, eclectic, ethnic the word glamorous doesn’t come to mind. Well Brittany changed that because all of her beautiful pillows are filled with gold/silver accents and even rhinestones!

Of course after viewing her pillows I had to break the news to Jon that we weren’t finished and we needed a pillow on top of the oh so pretty leopard cushion.

Enter the Bruge pillow in magenta:

The pattern on the pillow is actually applied with rhinestone trim! It’s so delicately placed and will stay put for good because it’s sewn on not glued. Trust me Hudson gave it a good run for it’s money and it’s still perfect.

I also had fun moving the pillowall throughout my living room and it works everywhere!

As a sweet treat for all of my readers Brittany is offering 20% off your entire order with coupon code ES20!

Now the pillows range from $85-$115 and they have piping, invisible zippers and down inserts included! Now when you think about the yardage, trim, zipper, piping and down insert the pillows are at a really great price point for a designer pillow.

Posted in treat yo self | 3 Comments

17 Apr

What you need to buy at Ikea…

Posted on April 17, 2013 by effortless

You know when you go to Ikea to pick up one specific item and end up wandering around and adding way too many items to your cart and then pick up a chocolate bar (damn the diet!) on the line because it’s oh so long and then leave to get your car and realize you will now have to do some crazy balancing act to get everything to the car because you didn’t bring a bag (You were only going for one thing) and then you get home all proud of yourself for actually getting everything home in one piece and realize you picked up the wrong version of that one initial thing you needed!!!! Ah! Just me?

I’ve been to Ikea more times then I can count these last couple of days for one reason or another and today I will have to go back again to return the wrong item I picked up and pick up the correct one. In all of my trips I ran through the market place a bunch of times and found some stylish items that everyone should be picking up Ikea.

No. 1: Of course a polka dot item had to catch my eye. This rugcome in black and orange in the 4″ x 6″ size and is only $20! It’s low pile, but not super thin. It actually looked really nice made and like it would hold up to a lot of traffic. I could see it in a lot of different space and if you need something bigger simply pick up 2 rugs and butt them up to each other. It has a teeny binding around it so you shouldn’t see much of a seam.

No. 2: I have patio’s on my mind and have slowly been trying to piece together what I would like to do in my backyard. By the registers at IKEA they have a ton of summer items and this table stopped me in my tracks. A lot of outdoor furniture is made out of iron and has tons of scroll work on it. Not my cup of tea. I loved the clean lines on this table and that it was available in either black or white and didn’t scream outdoors. Plus it was a large size (39″ W x 80″ L) and only $169!

No. 3: Inexpensive window treatments can be hard to come by. In my sourcing I do find lots of $10 a panel options, but let’s face it they are not the nicest options out there and most of ones by me always have some sort of iridescent sheen on them. So, Ikea is always a great source for classic aka all white panels that are nice to look at it and feel. Normally I dress them up with some sort of trim, but these panels already have that done for $15. Love the stripe action going on here and they while they are a bit see through it would be easy to get them lined (My seamstress charges around $20 a panel) or DIY with a no sew option by applying white felt to the back with spray adhesive. Just cut to size, spray glue and set. With felt you just need scissors and you will have clean lines/no fraying.

No. 4: I purchase a lot of sconces at IKEA for clients and myself, but of course I always tweak them with either a paint job or custom shade. One this beauty I think I would leave the outside as is, but add a touch of gold to the inside of the shade.

No. 5: Line a hallway or a staircase with this beauty (Also available in black) heck at the $10 price point you could use it to upholster a bench and anything else in between. A good stripe needs to have good spacing between the stripes and this pattern is perfection.

Good finds, right? I was surprised that my round up ended up mostly black and white because I’m such a color lover, but these classic items don’t need a pop a color to make me smile.

Posted in great buy | 4 Comments

16 Apr

In a Boston state of mind…

Posted on April 16, 2013 by effortless

{Boston Needlepoint Pillow}

Yesterday started out like any other day. Feet were dragging a bit in the morning as I tried to get into my typical Monday routine and head out the door for Hudson’s music class, ran some errands after class, had lunch and then prepped for a business call and continued to work away while my mom had Hudson and I had uninterrupted hours to work on design clients plans and blog duties.

I was so in the work zone that I didn’t click over to any of my social media time suckers like facebook, twitter, instagram until late in the afternoon. When I did my feeds were all filled with love being sent out to Boston. My stomach dropped as I clicked over to CNN to see what had happened. Pure sadness hit me when I read about what occurred at the marathon and and then sadness turned to fear because I know a good amount of people that live in Boston and look forward to Marathon Monday and all of it’s festivities. Luckily all of the people near and dear to me are okay and accounted for, but I know not every one is that lucky. My heart goes out to Boston today and to all of my fellow bloggers and blog readers that are dealing with this horrible tragedy. I have no words other than you are all on my mind.

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

15 Apr

Scenes from my weekend…

Posted on April 15, 2013 by effortless

This weekend started out right with my new bedding from Crane and Canopy. Can’t wait to show you guys what I picked! I’m dying to put the new duvet and shams on the bed, but I’m also terrified Hudson or the dogs are going to get it dirty in a matter of seconds.

Went over to Grandma and Grandpa’s and had a little fun:

{Love that Hudson’s new raincoat coordinated with my parents toss pillows! Room reveal on their family room coming real soon. It’s been done for months, but I haven’t gotten pictures done yet.}

Cleaned up the shoe section of my closet and realized there were too many pairs that I never wore so I started to take older pairs out for a spin. Took these cute heels out on Saturday.

Took my shoes for a spin to pick up wood for some decking Jon is building for a new shed we picked up.

{Hudson was obsessed with helping Jon this weekend. From helping Jon remove trees and clear up area for the shed to pushing the cart with wood this little guy was smitten with being Daddy’s assistant. }

Came home to fun a package with my latest find from Belquist:

{Can’t wait to show you what I picked out!}

Sunday I had the rare treat of taking a couple of minutes to myself and taking a shower while my men played outside in the yard. No, little man busting in bathroom or screams from the other room. Just peace and quiet.

We also got to work on some painting projects that have just been waiting for nice weather in order to paint outdoors.

We still managed to sneak out and eat some lunch at our favorite bakery/cafe.

No trip out to lunch is complete with a side trip to the park on the way home.

When we got home I did a little work, clean up the house a bit and played decorator in my own home while figuring out where to put this new to me lamp.

Jon continued his work outside and I’m now getting in more excited to see the new shed go up so all of my vintage furniture finds have a home while they get some TLC. Plus once the shed is up we can concentrate more on the deck!

Of course Jon wrapped up work outside while we still have some daylight to space so we got to a play a bit before dinnertime and then bath time/ bed time madness began.

{Playing drums on Daddy’s head…I think I have a rocker on my hands.}

Here’s to a productive and hopefully quick week ahead of us. I need another weekend ASAP.

Posted in weekend recap | 6 Comments

12 Apr

IN HER SHOES: Blue Chickadee

Posted on April 12, 2013 by effortless

I came across today’s featured lady from one of my favorite pals, Chassity from Look Love Linger. Chassity lives in Charleston and is surrounded by some super talented friends. One day she had a picture of some art by her friend Way Way a fellow artist and resident of Charleston who is also a blogger at Blue Chickadee. I was smitten. I’ve been obsessing about the beautiful pieces of art she produces and one of her pieces is at the top of my upcoming birthday wish list. I think you will enjoy a peek into her life and I’m now determined to get myself down to Charleston. Such pretty scenery, amazing weather and a fab group of ladies that are oh so effortlessly stylish.

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Hey there, I’m Way Way of Blue Chickadee blog and I am thrilled to be participating in this “In Her Shoes” segment! I am a wife and momma of two young boys. I’m also an artist and run my small business through a shared studio space, Novel., in downtown Charleston, SC with three of my closest artist/creative friends (Lauren Lail of Library: Archives of Fashion, Liza Cleveland of Bon Vivant and Jane Pope Cooper of Balboa Jewelry and Jane Pope Jewelry). I have been a long time follower of Effortless Style so this is very exciting for me to be participating in this segment!

A day in the life…

6:00 Alarm goes off…sleep walk into the shower. I have to get up before my boys and get myself ready or else I’m scrambling all morning!

6:30 COFFEEE can’t enter my mouth fast enough and a show for the boys….

8:30-Out the door to school

9:00 Head to my studio, Novel., to paint. Novel. is my happy place! I am so lucky share this beautiful studio space with three of my nearest and dearest friends. Two days a week I work here at the studio from 9:00-3:00 and the rest of the week I am a stay at home mom. Here are a few of my latest works (on board and the last three shots on paper)….

1:00 While taking a few minutes to eat a bite of lunch, I peruse Fab for some vintage goods that one of my besties happens to be showcasing!!! Lauren also just so happens to be one of the original founders of our studio space, Novel.!

At 3:00 I head home, but first make a pit stop at Celadon, ( one of my favorite home and accessories stores in town) and I spy some awesome pillow covers!!! A couple may have made it home with me!

3:45 I head home finally and let the boys get into a little backyard mischief…

and then decide we need to get our pants on and take a golf cart ride down to our neighborhood boat landing to do a little exploring and boat watching. This is one of the many reasons why we love living in Charleston!! We are just a stones throw from the water!

6:00-Get home and have supper, bath, and story time.

While daddy’s reading, mommy slips in a few minutes on Pinterest (supposed to be cooking supper for us-whoops!!!!)

8:30 Finish cooking and we sit down to eat and talk about our day…

Wine of course is happening at this point….

9:00 Clean up the house and off to do laundry-the worst part of my day in my opinion!!!!

(This pic was before I dumped all the dirty clothes on the floor!!!)

After laundry is finished the hubs and I plop down on the sofa to watch a little of the boob tube. By 10:45 I hit the sack. I’m tuckered out from a full week of work and play!

Thank you Camila for having me talk about my day!!!

XOXO Way Way

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Thanks so much Way Way!If you want to stay up to date with all of the happenings at Novelmake sure to check out their blog.

Posted in In her shoes | 1 Comment

11 Apr

Treat yo self: Petite Plates

Posted on April 11, 2013 by effortless

This weeks treat yo self pick is a great little gift for yourself or a friend. It would make for an especially good bridal shower treat. I stumbled upon a set of monogrammed petite plates when I was browsing through Mandy’s shop and I think you will agree that they are a must have. For only $15 you will get 2 petite dishes with your initial that you can use throughout your house.

I got gifted a lovely set from Mandy as a little thank you for featuring her last week and I’ve already put them to good use.

What would you do with a set? If you want to pick up a set for yourself or anything* else from Waiting on Martha(*Monogrammed cell phone cases & Monogrammed lucite trays not included) use coupon code ESLOVES for 10% off your order.

Hope you go over and treat yo self to set as well. If you remember to send me pictures and show me how you used them.

Posted in treat yo self | 5 Comments

10 Apr

Outdoor Living: The Before

Posted on April 10, 2013 by effortless

This year it felt like Spring was never going to get here, but this week it finally looks like Spring has hit our neck of the woods. I was out in bare legs today and dare I say it I actually complained for a second that it was too hot. Ah the grass is always greener, right.

Seriously though I’m so excited that Spring is here and I can spend some time outdoors. Of course thinking about spending time outdoors made me think of our lack of usable outdoor space.

{My oh so pale legs need a little dose of sunshine.}

I have decided that this is the year we will actually build some sort of patio in the backyard. I have been saying this for the past 3 years and something always happens whether it be an unexpected and huge veterinarian bill, or just being so busy that we simply never had time for it. I decided to blog about my plans so that you guys would keep me honest and uphold me to making this outdoor living space a reality.

The main urgency for a patio/deck of some sort is that this year Hudson is moving all over the place and one of his favorite places to run around and play is in our backyard, but currently our patio area is in a really sad place.

AH!

Here is the make shift patio we made a couple years back by removing massive amounts of bushes and laying bluestone and it just isn’t working. Add to that the fact that at the end of summer I told Jon we should trash the old patio set that was a hand me down from some neighbors we now have no chairs/table to put on the sad patio.

On the opposite side of the sad patio there is an equal amount of empty space and currently that’s where Hudson has been deciding to hang out.

Yup that’s Hudson sitting on a plank of wood that we placed over a window well because we were having issues with flooding during really heavy rain storms.

The ideal goal is to build a deck that goes the entire length of the house and give us a small seating area and a dining area. What is your ideal outdoor living situation? Concrete, composite wood decking, real wood decking? Brick pavers? What’s a girl to do?

So, there it is the sad before that will hopefully be transformed in a matter of weeks. Now to find the funds to get this project going…

Posted in outdoor living | 2 Comments

09 Apr

The inner workings of a NYC studio

Posted on April 9, 2013 by effortless

In NYC apartment rentals typically come in one of two sizes, tiny or teeny tiny. When it comes to actually buying an apartment you are pretty much stuck in the teeny tiny zone, but since you are in NYC all of your friends and family are insanely jealous of your teeny tiny space so it’s all good.

My sister’s boyfriend just bought a studio apartment in Manhattan and I’ve been enlisted for my decorating services. Now having a client that is a good friend and dates my sister has it’s up’s and down’s. On the up side I get to help furnish a space that my sister will eventually be moving into which is nice. I tend to decorate a bit more on the feminine side so it’s nice to flex my design muscles with a more gender neutral design. On the down side since it’s not the typical client/designer relationship there are times when we are both stubborn and my strong willed client won’t give in to my design vision. Normally all of my design clients are more than happy to take on all of my design advice and there are very few changes. We shall see how this whole design process goes. It will be interesting to see what we end up.

Here is a peek into the process thus far…

Before:

{This is the living, dining and sleeping area aka everything. There is also a walk in closet and bathroom off of the front door.}

{The kitchen opens up to the main room and doesn’t have a lot going on. It wasn’t even large enough for a full sized refrigerator.}

One of the first decisions that had to occur in the space was the new floor stain, paint for the walls and the kitchen.

Dark floors were the number request by my closet so the floors went from honey oak:

To dark walnut:

Since the floors went dark and the space is about 400 sq ft the question of going dark on the paint was discussed numerous times. I loved the idea, but didn’t want to push too much, because dark would make it feel a bit smaller, but I thought it would add more charm so I pushed for Holiday Wreath by Benjamin Moore. Numerous samples went up and in the end Holiday Wreath won! Yay!

Take a peek:

I love it and so does my client!

Once the floors and paint choices were made the kitchen was next. There wasn’t a big area to work with in the kitchen. The previous owner was only able to have a college sized refrigerator and my client wanted a full size one. The contractor was able to move a wall and take space from the walk in closet in order to put a full size refrigerator in.

{ During a trip to IKEA I fell in love with their new kitchen model, Sofielund. It had this great gray/taupe white wash look to it and I quickly became obsessed with it. Having it on both the upper and bottom cabinets felt a bit too modern, which is why we went with white instead.}

Stay tuned for more progress pictures..Now that the basics are done we get to start the fun part and pick out furniture, rugs, accessories, etc.

Posted in effortless style | 8 Comments

08 Apr

Scenes from my weekend…

Posted on April 8, 2013 by effortless

Hi All,

Yet again another weekend has come and gone way too quickly. Here is what we were up to.

Like all exciting weekends we kicked off ours at Home Depot Friday evening:

{We had to get some supplies for picking up a shed and Hudson decided he needed a little something too }

I also need some paint swatches for a client so Hudson helped me with that as well:

Here is what we ended up with:

{Navy, mint, coral, cream, light grey oh my! }

On Saturday most of my day was spent at a bridal shower for Hudson’s godmother:

I decided to get a little more use out of my baby shower dress:

{Necklace from Keti Sorely and is only $28. P.S. Get 10% off if you follow them on facebook.}

While Spring was in the air a bit this weekend it was still windy so I put a little pep in my step with some bold pink tights:

Of course my favorite part was the yummy desserts:

{Instead of a cake they have loads of funfetti cupcakes making up a wedding dress shape. So pretty!}

I got a happy surprise when I arrived home. A fun day with a package from Waiting on Martha!Did you happen to catch her In her shoes feature?

{Any guesses on what I got?}

Once I got home I spent the rest of the day figuring out a gallery wall installation in our 2nd floor hall way:

We spent Sunday morning reading books:

Plus laying on the floor with Hudson like we were one of the dogs and starring up at the ceiling:

{So happy I grassclothed the ceilings. Still love them.}

I also worked on a little photo shoot for the blog:

Along with some client work:

Ran an errand to Target for some essentials and of course ended up in the jewelry dept:

{Who doesn’t love a bejeweled animal charm?}

I also got some lovely thank you flowers from my sissy and enjoyed arranging them in my one of favorite vases:

So sad to hear about the passing of Lilly Pulitzer.I have always loved their colorful frocks full of bright hues and patterns. Such an inspiration. I try to inject a bit of Lilly in all of the rooms in my home.

{Peek at my vintage Lilly dress that was a lucky score at a thrift shop. Love the scalloped neckline on it.}

Whew! I’m exhausted just recapping it all for you. What were you up to? Has Spring weather already hit your area?

Posted in weekend recap | 3 Comments

05 Apr

IN HER SHOES: Waiting on Martha

Posted on April 5, 2013 by effortless

A couple of weeks ago I found Waiting on Martha a new-ish online home decor shop that had page after page of goodies I wanted to come home with me. Whenever I find a new online shop I always go to the their about section, because I love learning about how they came to be and who is behind it. Well this lead me to Mandy and her blog Waiting on Martha. So, what came first the shop or the blog? In Mandy’s case her bracelet shop led to her blog,which then led to her online shop with plans for a brick and mortar location in the near future. I fell in love with Mandy’s explanation for her company name. Waiting on Martha isn’t about a person it’s about an idea. It’s about wanting to do whatever makes you happy and live the life you have always imagined for herself. In Mandy’s case she is inspired by Martha Stewart herself and how she is involved in all the parts that make your life more beautiful. I adore Martha too and knew I had to email Mandy to say hello! Of course my hello email also included a plea for being part of In Her Shoes. Mandy said yes and here we are! Hope you enjoy a peek into her life!
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Happy Friday Loves! My name is Mandy, however many of you may know me as Waiting On Martha. Waiting On Martha is a lifestyle blog and boutique, focused on creating a beautiful everyday. I was thrilled when Camila asked me to partake in her amazing In Her Shoes series, and share what my everyday looks like. So without further ado…

7:00 am…alarm clock goes off. I continue to hit snooze about 5 times. My goal for the month of April is to become a morning person, which I SO am not. Eventually I roll out of bed around 7:30, make the bed, and head downstairs. My morning ritual is coffee and quiet time before I start my day. I plop on the couch (still in my pajamas) write in my gratitude journal, read from Jesus Calling by Sarah Young and plot out my day using my Whitney English Day Designer for the Creative Entrepreneur and my Lara Casey Power Sheets. Being a relatively new small business owner I’m really working on cultivating my vision for Waiting On Martha and planning what the next year will look like!

8:30 am…check emails and all of the shops (the boutique, the bracelet shop & the craft shop), answer immediate customer service questions and inquiries. Make sure my blog post went up as planned and tweet and facebook the link out. I’m working on getting an intern and hopefully adding a full time employee by the end of the year, until then it’s up to me to manage Martha. Peruse my other favorite blogs, pin some things, and chat on social media for awhile. Drink coffee. Start laundry.

9:30 am…work on a recipe for the blog…skillet cornbread. Shockingly it turned out delish on my first try, just need to tweak it a tad for more for spice. While the cornbread is in the oven I move on to tackling emails and uploading product pictures to the boutique. I’m still in my pajamas. Drink coffee.

11:00 am…workout, finally shower and get dressed like a normal human being. Photograph the cornbread for the blog, then head to a meeting with Jezebel and the Atlantan to discuss all sorts of future goodness and they surprised me by putting me in the April issue. Have a Skype meeting with Allyson of ACPR to discuss upcoming strategy and the exciting things happening with Martha. I wish I could share the details but I’ve been sworn to secrecy so you’ll just have to stay tuned.

1:00 pm...arrive back home to about 10 boxes of inventory piled up on the porch. Drag them into the house and begin opening, documenting, making sure nothing is broken, etc. Of course a couple of items are broken and backordered…I’ll deal with that later right now I need to prep outfits for my upcoming photo shoot with Rustic White. We do 4-5 outfits in one day because neither of us have time to do a photo shoot each week. I also plan for our upcoming summer entertaining shoots by dealing with locations, color schemes, theme ideas and preparing my vendor list. Check emails.

2:00 pm…walk Addison to make sure she gets her steps in, the vet said she needs to loose 2 pounds. I think she looks perfect. Pick up the house because we have one of my husbands best friends arriving on the 10:00 pm plane from Chicago that night.

2:30 pm…begin prepping packages for shipment. My dining room table turns into a makeshift workstation about 4 days a week. I prep everything and print shipping labels then when the Mr. gets home he packages everything and takes them to the post office the next morning.

4:00 pm…work on bracelet orders. Every time someone orders a bracelet I make it specifically for them. I think I have about 15 bracelets to make tonight. Drink more coffee and jam out to Pandora while the beading magic happens.

5:30 pm...done with bracelets but they’ll have to be packaged later. Right now I have to get ready to meet my gal pal Jacin (Lovely Little Details) who is in town from California. This seems to be my go to outfit lately…

6:30 pm…cocktails and gossip with Jacin!

9:00 pm…arrive back at the house. The Mr. is gone to the airport to pick up his pal. I package the bracelets so they can be shipped out first thing tomorrow morning.

9:30 pm…work on tomorrow’s blog post and schedule it for email.

10:30 pm…the boys arrive back from the airport, I say a quick hello and tell them I’ll join them for a drink in a moment. I still haven’t finished my post!

11:00 pm...finally done and I can sit down and catch up for a moment. Have a glass of vino.

12:30 am…leave the boys to plan their next couple of days which includes baseball and golf. I head upstairs to catch up on some DVR and put on my favorite Marigot pajamas. I heart pajamas!

2:00 am…tv off, scroll through Instagram and finally doze off around 2:30 am (see I told you I was a night person!)

Thanks Camila for letting me me share my day with you! xo

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A big thanks to Mandy! Hope you enjoyed a peek in her life. Happy Friday All! Do you have a Martha in your life?

Posted in In her shoes | 5 Comments

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