We have a good friend from college getting married this weekend in Cape May, and I'm thrilled for them (and for me, since so many people we adore will be there). It's our last wedding of the season and my first weekend as a non-Durham resident. HELLO DC. Some thoughts on goodbye to Durham next week. In case you'll be imbibing this weekend and want some literature to go along with your booze, here's the origin of some popular cocktail names. I found this article to be heartbreaking, which I don' t think was the intent. I'm a realist in almost all ways, but doesn't your affection for loved ones supersede your initial affection? I'd leave that guy real quick.... Terry Gross is such an exceptional interviewer- I liked this interview of her for a change.Follow the Fresh Air podcast if you miss it on NPR! To go along with my have kids/don't have kids article from last week, I present this. Um this is incredible. I'm not a huge fan of her or her music...until she's doing incredible impressions.
Please ignore the rest of the mantle set up- we haven't decided how to style it yet. I was skeptical about veering off from my rectangular preference, but after 4 months of looking at hundreds of mirrors, it was about time to pull the trigger. We had to drive almost to Baltimore to pick it up, but the seller brought the price down from $125 to $100 when he learned we were trekking it up to him, and took off another $20 in-person. Besides, we used the drive to jointly catch up with my sister (shout out bills!) and check out the fall foliage along 295, which was incredible. I'm currently accepting (slash begging for) suggestions for how to hang it. We were all about the lean, but the decor on the bottom isn't in perfect shape (as you can see in the picture) and it's small enough that we would like to center it further up the wall. The brick behind is painted. We're renters, so we aren't super interested in drilling into the brick, but if it's easily patch-able (at least visually) I'd be game. Our Home Depot consultant recommended some heavy duty double sided tape, but we would need to use 60 inches to reach the weight requirement, which was definitely not going to work. Command strip hooks were also suggested, but again, most of those max out at 5lbs. Give me ideas please?? Here is something similar, albeit a bit more expensive and white. Then again, it won't have any dings or cracks. I for one think those add character, but others (ahem, D,) do not.
We have been hunting for a mirror since July. Mostly on Craigslist, due to how expensive it would be to ship something so fragile off of Ebay, but I did take a look at a few retailers to see if anything would work. First thing to decide was shape and size. We have 4ft by 4ft of space above our mantle, and I really wanted a mirror that would fill the space. Initially I wanted something huge, like dis:
But as we taped off the space we realized something this full would be very heavy visually. In such a small home, we needed to go a bit more delicate. We didn't want a round mirror, since we have a circular dining table right next to the fireplace (more on that later), and I was hoping to vary the shapes. Most of our furniture is clean-lined, tailored mid-century modern pieces, so I thought we could go a bit more ornate and feminine for this. We were willing to look at all finishes, with the understanding that I would gold leaf anything that wasn't already gilt.
Before I show you what we went for, let's see the eye candy I used as my inspiration.
CRAZY TIME for me at work. Two straight weeks in SF, with weddings capping off each weekend. I normally travel week on/week off, so back to back kicked my butt in terms of workload. Anyway, I recovered at home and will have D in town this weekend, then back to NorCal and DC for a week. Can't wait to feel the fall air in the district! An ingenious trick for finding the best online prices. I've never put yogurt in a slow cooker. Perhaps I need to this weekend. “Perel’s ideas are … instantly familiar because they resonate deeply. It’s all rather terrifying in its intuitiveness and its pure rightness.” — The Observer (UK). Esther Perel's TED talks are here and here, and you should listen. 300 awesome free things. Would love to see a Gap comeback. Really interesting article. Opting out of motherhood. A thoughtful piece.
There are few things I like more than scooping up a piece of furniture or decor that has great bones, giving it a little love, and then selling it to a loving home and financing my next craigslist find or thrift store haul. Some day, this will be my full-time occupation...even if it's not until retirement.
I found this great old piece at our local Salvation Army for $10. It was super sturdy and heavy, but of course looks like an office chair with that fuzzy thick blue upholstery. I hate the blonde wood, too, but that ended up staying when I ran out of time (and ventilated space) to sand it down and re-stain.
I stripped that baby down to bare bones. The foam was in excellent condition- I swear, that blue office fabric is like a coat of armor, nothing is getting through it. I reupholstered in this pretty blue and cream linen, ordered it years ago from Jo-Ann Fabrics because I'm a hoarder.
I love how it came out- D even said we should keep it (although our new square footage convinced us not to). I sold it to a sweet couple for $180, and put all that money towards our new marble coffee table. The best home purchases are the ones financed by other home purchases that we have improved. It's like furniture-flipping.
The back is my favorite part. Cool bones, right? If this was a darker wood I'm not sure I would have let it go.
Friday again! Aren't we lucky. D and I are heading to our first of three weddings this month in Charlottesville, VA. I've never been to UVA, so we plan on checking out campus and the cute downtown area. Any other suggestions for us? I'm sure we all remember the famous "Why Women Can't Have it All" article from the Atlantic in 2012. She did a follow up that I'm looking forward to reading this weekend. Every year, Fortune releases their list of the Most Powerful Women in business. I enjoyed seeing these stats on where they all went to school. Sounds like the caliber of school isn't as important as continuing your education (only 9 went to ivy league schools, but almost 60% hold graduate degrees). A new use for Yelp. Incredible. Do you have feelings about these HBO shows? I am currently in the middle of the following shows: The Wire (love), Breaking Bad (good), House of Cards (getting worse), Game of Thrones (love), Downtown Abbey (so sweet), Revenge (don't bother it's terrible). Price paid is different than price charged at colleges. Fun to look up your alma mater.
