Sofa King Awesome!

New Sofa Being Delivered Today!!

 Jonathan Adler Lampert Sofa
...A girl can only dream.

The day has finally arrived.  After a year of living with the most despised couch in Baltimore, I am being relieved of my hatred with a most divine replacement.  I spent a month with my nose to the grindstone searching every store in a 50 mile radius and every furniture website looking for exactly what I wanted for exactly the price I'd pay.  Then it occurred to me, with President's Day Weekend in February, I'd make the plunge and purchase something then so that I'd get the fab discounts.  The Thursday before President's Day I scouted all the online sales and made lists of the best deals and my favorite choices, but having bought not-so-comfy seating online previously, I decided that a trip to DC was needed to sit my tush upon the likes of Z.Gallerie's and West Elm's options.

Hours and hours.  That's how long I toiled over 3 particular sofas.  Going back and forth from Z.Gallerie to Macys (West Elm got knocked out early), calculating and re-calculating prices, discussing every possible way I'd regret my decision with the ever-patient BF, calling my mom hours away to walk me through making a decision...  And finally, when it was all said and done, I left DC after 8 long hours with a beautiful and crazily discounted sofa rug.

...that's right, I said it. Not a sofa, but a rug.

This 5 x 8 West Elm Jaguar Rug to be exact that somehow we stole for $60!  (I'm not asking questions.)

But... finally Sunday night of Presidents Day Weekend at approximately 11:55pm, I took the plunge and purchased this sofa online.

Home Decorators Collection Boxer Tufted Sofa

To understand how I came to this decision, you have to know what I was looking for and why...

1.) In a heavily trafficked area and with our need to throw large parties often, a dark color was most practical, but...the most annoying part of our couch now is that all of Addi Roo's tiny white hairs are drawn to it and a dark sofa would always look covered in hair. (My dream sofa would be a light grey so that Addi's hair doesn't stand out but it's dark enough to cover any spills.)

2.) I wanted tufting.  Lots of tufting, but it turns out lots of tufting is expensive so I was fine with at least SOME tufting.  However, I preferred for tufting to NOT be on the seat, because Addi's hair would get stuck in all of the crevices, and I preferred the seat to be one long continuous cushion for the same reason.  (By the way, Addi Roo is NOT allowed on the furniture, but none-the-less her hair is everywhere and it drives me CRAZY!)

3.) I preferred NOT to have microfiber and really wanted velvet (which this sofa says it's velvet, but I'm convinced 99% of the sofa's in our price range are microfiber so we'll see what this one is when it gets here.)

4.) I preferred legs over a skirt.

5.) Price Range = or < $1200 (including shipping).  This was mainly because I knew it was possible during the Holiday Sale.

I did compromise my wants slightly. There's not as much tufting as I'd like and the color is darker than hoped for, but I did get a grey velvet tufted sofa with legs in my price range.  In fact, the deciding factor was price.  The damage was an incredible $560, a fraction of our budget and $400 cheaper than our other options.  At that price, we have lots left over for new tables, chairs and lamps...especially considering we got the rug for a steal as well.

Californication

I just got back from a 6 day spur of the moment trip to California.  It was my first time really exploring in California, and the whole thing really blew my mind.  We started and ended in San Diego, and it was beautiful.  It felt like we were in a Eurpoean city where everyone spoke English.  Some parts really reminded me of Sydney, Australia, the laid-back beachy attitude that I've missed so much.  Other parts, including Balboa Park and the architecture reminded me of Barcelona, Spain.  

And, if you're going to visit San Diego someday, I would suggest you make time to do these three things.

1.) You absolutely must visit Coronado.  It is my new favorite place in the United States.  It's beautiful, with it's Spanish Colonial architecture, pristine beaches, perfectly manicured neighborhoods, and whimsical little shops.  The most important sight to see in Coronado: the Hotel Del Coronado. (See pics below.)

2.) Next, you must visit Children's Pool in La Jolla.  La Jolla in itself is a dream, but there are many beautiful beach communities in the US, and what makes La Jolla special is the sea lion viewing that happens at Children's Pool.  The sea lions are everywhere, snoozing in large cuddly piles stranded atop rocks in the ocean, frolicking and splashing in the waters right below the viewing pier, or sunbathing on the beach just a few feet away from onlookers. (See pics below.)

 

3.) Lastly, you must eat South Beach Bar & Grill fish tacos.  The food in San Diego is pretty delish. I might be a little more partial than most, because my two favorite food groups are Mexican and Seafood, but in general I'm very particular about my food and California came to play.  But, I can honestly say, that South Beach Bar & Grill has one of the best things I've ever eaten in my entire life: Mahi Mahi fish tacos, and if you ever make your way to San Diego, you have to look this place up so you can get a taste for yourself.

Other noteworthy food and drinks: In N Out Burger - Double Double. La Puerta - Devil went down to Georgia (drink).  Extraordinary Desserts - Chocolate Chai Latte and Chocolate Shortbread.

As for the rest of our California adventure, we went to Hollywood and saw the sign (which was nestled up on a hill through narrow windy neighborhood roads that reminded me a lot of Granada, Spain), went down Hollywood Boulevard to see the obligatory Walk of Fame and Grauman's Chinese Theatre, made our way down Sunset Boulevard, past The Viper, The Roxy, and The Whiskey A Go Go, and drove down Mulholland Dr and through Beverly Hills.  We ate lunch at the always paparazzi-drenched Ivy and lazied down Rodeo Dr.  But as a whole, I found LA, Hollywood, and Beverly Hills to be underwhelming.  I had hoped Beverly Hills would have lived up to my lofty aspirations of a star-dripped town tortured by the surrounded scenery of obnoxious wealth and perfection and that West Hollywood would be gritty and grimey with mangled storefronts decorated by unknown artists, but alas it was a shadow of a town with not much energy nor surprising wealth (other than the cars, which I'm positive I saw 17 year olds driving Maserati's).

We drove to the Santa Monica Pier, which was a lot like a Jersey Shore Boardwalk, and we drove down the Pacific Coast Highway which went through iconic beach towns such as Huntington, Newport, and Laguna, but once again I was not awed as I thought I was going to be.  

Our spur of the moment trip to California was action-packed and much-needed.  I hope that I will make it back to San Diego someday soon, and that eventually I will make it to Northern Cali.

Holiday Wine and Cheese Party

I love coming up with reasons to have everyone over, so with the holidays quickly approaching, I decided to have a little party to celebrate.  Because I've been so busy decorating, Christmas shopping, and preparing for a trip back home to Kentucky, I wanted to make it as easy on myself as possible...so wine and cheese it was.

Here's wishing you all a Happy Holiday Season!

 

Egg Nog

Wine Station

The Hosts

Addi Roo in her Christmas Best

The Tree

Sunburst Mirror Project

Remember this sunburst mirror project I blogged about in October?

You can DIY too, check out the step-by-step over at the blog Isabella & Max Rooms.

Well I finished it a while back and I finally have the pics to prove it.

I think it turned out pretty good, but it was much larger than I anticipated, so it actually doesn't really work over the couch as I had planned...it's hanging in the dining room at the moment.  I went for a metallic silver, and one of these days when the dining room is repainted, the frame molding finished and a wine service station set up underneath, I think it'll fit in perfectly.

Hiding in a store near you...

Yesterday while doing some last minute holiday shopping, I stopped into Burlington Coat Factory and found, hidden behind some holiday trinkets, these whimsical porcelain beauties.

The owls were marked at only $13 and the artichoke was marked at $20!

Because I promised, and I've had people ask for them...

Here are some pics from this year's Halloween party...a month later.

The Hosts

 

The BF and I as El Dia de Los Muertos couple.

Other Clever Costumes

Wilma and Fred

Sushi - Her gloves are the wasabi

Zoro

And the winner of the Best Costume Award - Buddy the Elf

The Food

The food table - a slightly different set-up than last year

Bone Breadsticks and Bloody Marinara Sauce

A classic - Dirt Pudding

Veggie Pizza Graveyard

Mummy Dogs

String Cheese Witches Fingers

Ghost of Monte Cristo Sandwiches

And just to be fair to the holidays, I'll have Christmas pics coming soon.

Here's a peak at what's to come.

Blue Velvet Tufted Club Chair

A few months ago I saw this beauty sitting in Homegoods for only $250.  I didn't really have a place for it, but I loved it so much I snapped a picture.

Now, in the Dec/Jan issue of Elle Decor a very similar chair is listed as "What's Hot" for this month.  The biggest difference?  The price...a whopping $2,350!

Canvas

My favorite detail about these chairs (other than the tufting, of course) is the rich jewel-tone blue.  Here are a few examples of just what blue velvet tufting can do for a room.

Decorpad

Decorpad

Decorpad

Sorry for the long pause...

Alot has been going lately, but just in an attempt to start somewhere here's a project that I finished a few weeks ago...

Burlap and Muslin Ruffle Pillows

For the pillow project, I luckily didn't have to buy anything.  I already had the pillow inserts and leftover burlap and muslin from other projects.  I cut four squares of burlap slightly larger than the pillow insert.  Then I cut four long pieces of muslin, hemming all the edges.  I gathered and sewed two muslin strips each to two of the burlap squares creating a ruffle effect.  Then to cover the seam, I just hand-sewed a thin piece of burlap down the middle.  After that it was a breeze.  I took one of the decorated burlap squares and matched it up with a plain square sandwiching the ruffles in the middle.  I sewed around the edges of the two squares leaving a large opening on one of the sides to insert the pillow.  Then I turned the whole thing inside out, inserted the pillow, and hand-sewed the opening being careful to keep the rough edges on the inside.  It was fairly simple, but took a few days to finish just because my sewing machine didn't like the thick burlap fabric and my thread kept breaking, but all-in-all I'm happy with the outcome.