I jumped on this bandwagon

So....something happened on December 20th. I was perusing my google reader when I happened upon two similar posts by Effortless Style and One Love.  It was about the deal of the day at HauteLook, a reproduction Eames rocker for $79 plus $20 shipping.

I have never really lusted over this chair, or a rocker version for that matter, but the thought of owning a reproduction of something that had such a cool history in design really appealed to me, so I whipped out my credit card before the deal expired in a couple hours.  Considering this same item was more than 5 times that price everywhere else, it seemed like a great opportunity to own this interesting piece!  Then I kind of forgot that I ordered it.  It came unannounced in mid-January in a huge box on our front porch.   

It's hanging out in the living room right now, I added the Crate and Barrel throw because without it, the men in my life seem to think it looks like a handicap chair for the shower.  Ouch!  My thoughts: this chair is not very comfy to sit in.  I probably wouldn't offer it up as a seat to a guest.  But, it looks cool and will be good for a modern nursery someday, so that is where it will most likely end up. 

Would I buy it again?  Probably, just for the fact that it's a great conversation piece.  And for under $100, I consider it a cool accessory.  Anyone else buy the HauteLook deal of the day?

CSN Giveaway Winner!

The Random.org Gods have spoken, and self-proclaimed 'lucky' girl Cassie from Primitive and Proper is the winner of the CSN gift card!

Here's her right-on comment:

i am feeling lucky! :) i am enjoying your blog and thanks for the chance to win!

January 24, 2011 6:39 PM

Thanks to everyone for your comments.  I love finding new blogs via my comments, so PLEASE make sure your profile is visible to the public and there is a link to your site.  Smooches!!

CSN Giveaway

To coincide with the Packers BIG WIN yesterday....

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....I'm happy to give away a nice chunk of change for CSN's 200+ online stores to one lucky reader!   If I had to pick my favorite CSN wares, I would probably chose the modern decor sold at All Modern, but I don't hate on their other fabulous sites, either.  I've always been so pleased with the items I've received from CSN.  If you win, you can take $65 and buy whatever you want with it!

Giveaway details:
The prize: one $65 gift certificate to any of the 200+ CSN Stores!

How to enter: just leave a comment on this post. Please make sure I can contact you by either an email address in the comment, or a link to your email on your blog. 

How to enter again: if you want to blog about my giveaway, I will give you an extra entry! Please leave a second comment with the link to your post if you do this.

Deadline: The giveaway will close on Wednesday January 26th at midnight. I will pick the winner using Random.org.


GOOD LUCK!!

A decision is made

Thank you for all the amazing comments on my last post.  Even though so many people recommended it, Sandals was just out of our budget.  We couldn't find a trip at any of their resorts for less than $3800, which was a little too much for my taste.  I'm not someone that vacations well, I agonize over every expense and hate elaborate dinners, handing out money for shuttles, drinks, snacks, and extras.  We ended up following a suggestion a few of you made, and booked Couples Negril which came in at $3100 for 7 nights including airfare from Milwaukee.  Even though the CHEAPO in me does the math and realizes that is a whopping $442 a night, I think it will be worth it to not have to pay anything extra when we get there.  I loved that the Couples resorts are completely all-inclusive, and no tipping is allowed.  That makes me feel good that I don't have to hand out bucks to the staff to get good service.  The grounds look beautiful!

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More pluses for this resort:

Gorgeous beach and pool

Free shuttle from the airport to the resort, no crazy cabbies!

Free honeymoon gift of sparkling wine and 30 minute his/hers massage

Premium brand liquors included (you know this is important!)

Golf greens fee and transportation included

No surcharge or reservations needed for any of the restaurants

Free shuttles to nearby attractions

Free sunset catamaran cruise

Stocked mini bar in all rooms (YAY!) 

I booked it tonight, we could not be more excited!  Unless someone offered to pay my credit card bill.  That would definitely do it. 

Help me please

We are getting married in less than 4 months.  Yikes!  We still haven't picked a honeymoon destination because I'm paralyzed with indecision.  We know what we want:

Mexico or Caribbean
All-inclusive
Adults only
A fantastic beach for relaxing
Some sort of nightlife to enjoy a couple nights of dirty dancing
6 or 7 nights
Around 3k

(Villa Premiere in Puerto Vallarta - a front-runner!)

SO.....can anyone recommend a place?  I have never been to an all-inclusive, so I have no idea which ones are good.  HELP ME!

Ramsign Winner!

Thank you kindly to all who entered the Ramsign giveaway, I'm happy to announce that Meagan is the lucky winner!

Meagan, I will be sending you an email shortly!

Ramsign Giveaway

Don't you love pretty house numbers?  Well, the generous folks at Ramsign would like to offer a personalized name or number sign to one lucky reader! 

I would love one of these signs for our front door. 

They add a classy touch to any home. 

All the signs are hand-cut and enameled in Denmark, and sent to you in beautiful packaging. 

Ramsign offers 5 different styles, including the Metropolitan:

The highlander:

The Arrowhead: 

The Lighthouse:

And the Engelhardt:

You can choose from these different colors, shapes and fonts to create a sign that is customized to your home - valued at $49 and up!

To enter, go to the Ramsign site and pick out your favorite style.  Then simply leave a comment on this post about which one you'd choose before Thursday, January 13th at midnight central time.

I will choose the winner using Random.org and announce it on Friday.  Please make sure you have your email either in the comment or on your blog/profile...many times profiles are blocked, so please make sure I can see it!  Thanks so much to Ramsign, and good luck!!

Source list updated

Happy Monday!  I have exciting news if you were ever interested in my paint colors, light fixtures, accessories or furniture - I have updated my source list from last year, you can get to it by clicking on this sweet photo link on my sidebar: 

I also updated all my picture 'buttons', so they look a little more uniform and pretty.  Hope you like the changes! 

Master bedroom today

I feel that our bedroom deserves a new post due to the new addition we've had since May.  After picking up a Pottery Barn Moorish Tile rug in 'Clementine' for our master closet, I didn't sleep well until I had procured an 8x10 version for our bedroom.  You see, they weren't in production anymore, and there were only about 9 on Ebay at the time.  I finally broke out the Paypal when there were only 2 left.  It is glorious, and Shaun claims it's his favorite rug ever.  I totally agree. 

It makes me so happy everyday.  Is that shallow?  Yes, but isn't it better than a cheaper rug that makes you go 'Meh' when you wake up?  You can see the old Craigslist rug in the first post about the room.  The best part is that I paid $200 for the old rug, and I got most of my money back when I sold it to a nice couple for $150.  Craigslist ninja!

The new guy is quite striking when you walk in the room, I think it's totally worth the $440 price tag.   

Oh yeah, and the last bedroom post didn't have the chandelier!  I get SO many complements on this fixture. 

The chair corner is not my favorite, but I'm not bothered enough to really do anything about it.  Have I ever sat in the chair to read a magazine?  Hell no.  And I have to keep it covered with a blanket at all times because the cats scratch the piping.  Ugh, at least it was cheap. 

Sitting on the bed, you can see all the way through to my dressing room with the yellow Moorish Tile rug.  I guess it's safe to say I think Pottery Barn's people are morons for discontinuing this rug!  I would probably buy it in every color. 

I can't wait for all our floors to be espresso - that line is so annoying.  This trunk was an Ebay find about 7 years ago.  I keep out of season shoes in there...just in case you were wondering.  At least I think that's what is in there.

I love the new rug, and I love our room. 

The end.

Christmas loot

A little late, but I still wanted to let you all know that Christmas was good for us this year.  I'm sure you were biting your fingernails in anticipation of this post, let's not delay any further!  We got a fantastic gift from Shaun's parents, in the form of this beauty:

We used to store our tools like this:

And this:

And this:

The cardboard box is my favorite.  There was always a lot of guessing, swearing, yelling up the stairs, and stomping around whenever we needed to find a tool.  Now, I can never say "Why don't we have any damn screwdrivers in the house!" again....sheesh. 

I also can find a screw, nail, or fastener without tearing apart a junk drawer or plastic bin.  Although they aren't arranged in any pretty order, they are all in one place now. 

We lined the drawers with this black rubber drawer liner from Menards.  It is really perfect for this application.  It should be, since we're lining drawers.  So...anyway.

I also got some sweet Canon accessories for my baby, including this amazing Speedlite flash:

I played around with it in a pitch-black bathroom at my folks house.  I hope this will make my house shots just a little bit better in places that we don't get much natural light.  The flash bounces off the ceiling, walls or anywhere you want to provide light without harsh shadows.  Sounds good to me!!

I also am the proud owner of a new tripod.  I'm imagining lots of self portraits without the camera in front of my face once I get a decent remote for the camera.  After all, who wouldn't want to see more of me on here??  Don't answer that.

Hope you got everything you asked for!