House Updates and Stuff I like

 New England Home

Hey y'all! That's not my house, but I like it. It's giving me inspiration for our own exterior, specifically, the shutters around the arched window and the potted boxwoods on either side of the door.  I bet this house looks really pretty at Christmas.  That's kind of how I judge houses now - would they be a place I'd like to spend Christmas?  The previous owners of our house loved Christmas so much that they left me a giant 6 foot tall Santa to display in our arched window.  I know, I know, it's rude of me to brag.  But really, 6 ft Santa's should come standard in every home.

Moving on, I have kind of a random post today.  If you are a liker of Belclaire House on Facebook some of this may be redundant so I apologize.  Sometimes it's nice to show the non-likers what they're missing so then they'll come like me.  Also, sometimes I write weird status updates that I later wonder if I should have kept to myself so you definitely don't want to miss out on that. 

So, first, some house stuff:

I'm not totally sure I like this pillow situation.  I spilled red wine on one of my white Pottery Barn jute braid pillows that apparently you can't wash or dry clean.  When I went back to get another one, these blue pillows were on sale for $18 and the white capiz shell pillow was on sale for $8 - all together less expensive than my one white pillow.  So I bought those instead because you know the old saying, "the more pillows, the closer to God."  Yes, it's a saying.  I just said it.  The big sham in the middle is an old Ralph Lauren sham that I already had.  Our sofas are not in the greatest shape so clearly I'm trying to cover them with pillows in an effort to hide them.  Is it working?

I am sure that I love this Erica Heather plant situation happening in front of my sink.  I found these at the grocery store, and they seem to be doing better than the basil and rosemary that I had in there previously. 

The curtains look a bit wonky here (I need to rehang them), but I am very pleased with my new white dupioni silk curtains, also picked up on sale at Pottery Barn.   The need for drapery was semi-urgent.  Our lab has an unhealthy obsession with the neighbor's lab and she sits at the window staring into their living room for hours on end.  I imagine she's sitting there singing Eric Carmen in her head, "when I was young, I never needed anyone ..."

In the spirit of trying to do some things on a budget,  I attempted an almost free Thanksgiving table for my girl's dinner on Saturday using nuts, candles and some yummy scented pine cones from Target.  I'm normally not a fan of scented anything at the dinner table, but these were very light and seemed to compliment the meal. 

pardon the iphone-ness of this photo, but I took it with my iphone

And finally, I painted the front door! We had a gorgeous weekend in Kansas City, and I decided I needed to just go ahead and do it myself. 

Before:

After:

The color is Benjamin Moore Twilight (totally appropriate for this Team Edward house). 

Ignore the sad lonely pumpkin.  It's just sad.  Sad pumpkin aside, I love the color.  I'm excited to zhuzh up the front porch area now. 

Ok, one last thing because I know y'all have more important things to do than read mah babblin', but I'm always looking for gifts for myself for others, and One King's Lane has a ton of fun gifts for friends and family and myself.

Such as,

Mint Julep Cups for $20

Pink Lacquer Keepsake Boxes

A snow leopard throw blanket (I can't get enough snow leopard lately) 

This coral chinoiserie tray (they call it coral, but it looks red to me)

And lots more.  Good hostess gifts, too. 

Just thought y'all would like to know. 

Ok team have a lovely day!!

When I was young
I never needed anyone
And makin' love was just for fun
Those days are gone

All by myself
Don't wanna be, all by myself anymore
All by myself
Don't wanna live, all by myself anymore

Blue & White in Matchbook

Morning y'all! I got so excited about all of the prettiness in this month's Lonny (here and here and here) that I forgot to post on some of the blue and white prettiness I saw in the latest issue of Matchbook.  So here 'tis!

First, there's this silly little "Setting the Thanksgiving Table" bit where they pair a table setting with an outfit to match.  I appreciate the creativity and prettiness for page layout purposes even though matching your outfit to your table is a little ridiculous.  But I loved everything on this page: the blue and white mixed with the polka-dot china, silver and white turkeys (or as Edward calls them "tookeys").

Unfortunately, I would never wear a dress that fancy for Thanksgiving even though it's super cute.  Thanksgiving is not a joke y'all.  It requires special stretchy pants and/or and muumuu a la Mrs. Roper.  Does Valentino make muumuus?

Moving on, I loved this Savannah townhouse apartment from Robyn Mizrach McClelland.

Love all of the color, chinoiserie and mixed elements - lots of pretty things on display (on display, on display).  Also loving how she styled the fireplaces.

And finally, Matchbook tells you how you can get the look: 

And I'm telling you, there's a plethora of gift ideas right there.  A plethora.

(this is literally where I learned the word plethora) 

More Lonny Loves

I thought I'd share a few more images that inspired me from the November issue of Lonny.  It's hard to beat The Fabulous Mr. Sikes, as I now call him, but I did find a few other bits of prettiness to motivate me.

First up, this chintzy twin canopy bed bed action from Sister Parish's private summer house in Maine.

Pretty Pretty. 

In more twin bed action.

Totally different than the chintzy goodness in the first image, but I loved the rich, velvet upholstered headboards against the white walls and white beds.  I also loved the whimsy of the fake fireplace.  It adds a little bit of warmth and shelf space to the room without adding a large piece of furniture.  I will be pinning this to the Edward's Big Boy Room board whenever I get around to starting one.  Also, love the elephant pillows. 

And then there was this fabulous Indian-themed dinner setting from Cathy Kincaid for an Irving & Fine dream room at the Downtown Nieman's in Dallas.

Cathy Kincaid is so amazingly creative and elegant.  I always love to see her work and how she incorporates blue and white. I just love this. 

I also loved this peek at Heather Clawson of Habitually Chic's apartment. 

It's that little pink plate that gets me.  I love it.  Looking forward to her new book.  She always has great images on her blog. 

Finally, this candle from The Laundress needs to live in my home and all my friend's homes.

 

Such a perfect gift for the holidays.  I developed a strange candle allergy after I had Edward.  My face starts to turn red and itch if a candle is lit within a 5-mile radius of me.  It's so random and makes holiday shopping very tricky.  My forehead is itching just thinking about it. 

P.S. My grandmother used to tell The Suze and I that all of your candles should look like they've been used at least once.  Meaning, you should immediately light a candle for a few minutes when you put it out.  She felt it looked trashy otherwise.  Kind of extreme, but that was just her thing. 

Ok y'all, enjoy your Tuesday!

Janie & Jack

This weekend Edward attended his future wife Greta's 1st birthday party.  She is a miracle baby who was born early and weighed only 3 lbs and now she's a thriving, squishy no nonsense little lady who I'm pretty sure will whip Edward into shape should he ever fall out of line.  She's the cutest! So I completely ignored her parents' request not to bring a gift because I love to shop for little girls.  I was soo tempted to buy these Janie and Jack fancy frocks for my future little girl (if I'm blessed with all boys, you can bet I will be borrowing The Suze's old Tootles doll to dress up.  I played with dolls and Barbies waayy later than most girls.  Like I had to play in secret because I didn't want my friends to come over and see.)

Embroidered Silk Dress

Metallic Plaid Duppioni Dress - On Sale! 

Pleated Velveteen Dress - On Sale! 

Silk Duppioni Dress - On Sale!  

Tiered Georgette Dress - On Sale! *

As you can see most of them are on sale now too! These would be lovely gifts for the little girl or future little girl in your life.  

*Friends of MFAMB she'll take the last one in a size 6-7 ... I would totes buy it for her if I wasn't already in trouble for all of the purchases I've made this Christmas.  I'm so dreading the post-New Year's Come To Jesus budget talk.  This is why I would be a great billionaire.  I would be like a Secret Santa for everyone! People would be all, "who bought this car that's in my driveway?" Meanwhile, I'd be hiding in the bushes next door smiling to myself knowingly.  Basically, I'd be Oprah, but creepy and hiding in bushes.  

Giftress Guide: For the Blue & White Lovers of America

Finally! I love gift guides so I'm excited to get to do one for the blue and white lovers of America (really the world because all of this stuff you can order online).  I tried to find a wide range of prices and it's all stuff I wish Santa would bring me.  Nobody is giving me anything for this.  It's all from the cockles of my heart.  I hope it's helpful to somebody out there! You can find my other gift ideas here.  I'd love to know what gifts you are giving or wishing to receive this year!

Obvsies, who doesn't love a blue and white ginger jar. And this one from Furbish is affordable too.

Blue and White Ginger Jar 

Also from Furbish, how cute are these guys? I want some! 

Blue Staffordshire Dogs

Pretty matches - I never think to buy stuff like this for myself.

iomoi

I have this ornament and it will always be very special to me.

Hadley Pottery

I don't have this rooster, but I would like him :)

Hadley Pottery

This Navy Pillow with Ribbon Border would look pretty in anybody's house who loves blue and white.

Luxury Monograms  

I'm not really a fashionista, but I feel like this top would be really flattering on anyone.

Madeline Weinrib

Pretty lingerie bag also from Madeline Weinrib

Gold Bee & Blue Silk Lingerie Bag

A monogrammed handkerchief for your man.

Julia B.

Love this personalized iPhone cover for the person who's obssessed with her iPhone.

Plum Street Prints

Woot Woot! Stubbs & Wooten for your fancy friend.

Stubbs & Wooten 

Personalized anything is always thoughtful.  Love this tray! 

Swoozies

Who collects Herend? This starfish would be a great way to start your collection. 

Taigan

Everybody likes a monogrammed bag.  Everybody.

The Well Appointed House 

I love to go to Williams-Sonoma for gift ideas.  This is also something I don't think to buy for myself.

Assorted Kitchen Towels, Set of 4 

Speaking of Williams-Sonoma, this dutch oven is on major sale.  major.  I love this color and the cobalt. 

Le Creuset Signature Round Wide Dutch Oven 

Speaking of sale, so is this blue and white porcelain tray!

Wisteria 

Also from Wisteria, this would make a nice hostess gift. 

Blue & White Floral Candle Jar 

That's what I have for now. I'll share more ideas as I come across them! By the way, I loved hearing from all of you who love White Christmas as much as I do! I was so happy watching it the other day (although I was very concerned about the size of Vera Ellens thighs).  I made Edward do a dance routine with me to The Best Things Happen While Your Dancing.  I'm very glad no one was here to witness it.  I'm not as graceful as I used to be.  Someday I want to learn this dance and the full Single Ladies dance. It will happen. Probably while my kids are at school and then they'll come home with their friends and be like, "Ugh, Mom's in her leotard again. Maybe we should go to your house."