Pencils of Promise

Paloma from La Dolce Vita has gotten a huge group of bloggers together in an effort to raise money for Pencils of Promise, a non-profit organization devoted to building schools for young children in desperate areas in developing nations. Over 75 million children don't have schools to go to and Pencils of Promise is doing all the it can with its partnership with local communities & organizations to make sure that this number decreases. A child with an education & a school has so much more hope for a better life- a future, more security, a creative outlet, the feeling that they can do more one day.

Now, we can all easily join the cause by clicking here. All of the money raised through the blogging community today will be going towards the building of dorms for about 200 Laotian girls who need a safe place to stay to replace the dangerous makeshift bamboo huts they currently live in. They're taking a huge risk by living in these huts just so they can attend school & today we could elminate it for them. They For more information on Pencils of Promise, click here: http://www.pencilsofpromise.org/ .

This blog is devoted to making our homes & lives simple, beautiful and happy & often focuses on trivial things like pretty fabrics and floors... but we all know that life is about so much more than that. If we can all just give a little- even a $1- the blogging community can make a huge impact & change the lives of so many kids... helping them have a better future, more like the one our own children have ahead of them. If you have the time, please consider it.

xoxo,

lauren

Before & After: Our Entryway

Ours was one of the worst entryways I'd ever seen. (below) The sickly light from the too-small 70s fixture cast an off-yellow glow on everything. I tried to keep it off so as not to scare guests away but I'm not sure a really dark entry helped either. The walls went up & up and anything I already owned that I attempted to put up there felt dinky. And the dirty linoleum was just the icing on the cake!

So we replaced the light fixture, the floors, painted & added some art & finally, here is is now:

I wanted something really special when you first walk in... Something unexpected & a little crazy. The 30 Leonardo DaVinci sketches were originally intended for the living room but once the beautiful stencilling went up I realized I couldn't cover it. Our sweet friends Amy & Greg came over & helped us hang the sketches. I had a really crazy week last week & was supposed to take it easy, so I literally just sat on a chair at the top of the stairs and watched & guided & tried not to be too bossy ;) as the three of them -Dave , Amy & Greg- "randomly" hung up the prints.

All together this was about an 8-10 hour project- split between both Dave & I, it didn't actually take this long but that's about how long it took man-hours-wise. We bought the book Da Vinci's Notebook and I cut & tore out the sketches along the original worn & jagged edges. We used a variety of different subject matter & for some reason I can't help being drawn to the "grotesque" studies he did of people. Da Vinci believed that to be able to recreate beauty you had to have an understanding of ugliness & what made someone "grotesque." Dave just kept shaking his head as I cut out more "old men" sketches from the book for the wall.

But with 30 frames to fill, we definitely got our fair share of pretty drawings:

And everything in between:

The custom 20" x 14" antique gold frames (approx $20 each from here) came in pieces & Dave put them together. (With 30 frames, this took HOURS but the price made it all worth it to us.) I ordered uncut white matting for the frames and just mounted the sketches right onto the matting. My big dilemma was: would I hang them in a perfect grid or fo for a more Alice in Wonderland feel? Clearly the grid would be safer but I've always loved Alice in Wonderland and try to take risks when I can. (And the installation was so much quicker!!! No laster levels, just friends & some hammers & nails!)

The floors are now seagrass & here is an older pic I have of them (below.) We have a little Ikea storage bench for putting on shoes & it's where Christian waits when we're all leaving the house in a rush. The cushion is really easy to recover and I plan on switching out the fabrics whenever I feel like it:

And below is a view of the entryway looking up:

And here it is now (below). I couldn't be happier with how the 4-feet high Minka- Lavery caged lantern from Bellacor works with the frames. (I got it for around $200 on sale!) ...I don't know if this makes sense to you (and this may be the synesthete in me speaking) but when I look up at the entry it reminds me of tinkling chimes. I can't explain it but something about the frames & the lantern & the light is musical to me... It's weird to say but I can almost hear it. (hahah okay I hope you don't think I'm on crack, but do you see at all what I mean?)

And finally, one last photo of the whole thing from the living room. The frames aren't spaced evenly and we just eyed the prints creating a crazy entryway of "randomness." I know this might not be pleasing to everyone, butI'm so glad I decided to go this way instead of with a grid... the risk was worth it.

Needless to say after last week & all of our holiday decorating frenzy, my face & ankles & hands swelled up & I got cankles!!! eeeeeek :) They're gone right now but try to come back whenever I'm on my feet fro more than a little bit. I'm almost ready for this baby!!!
xoxox.
lauren

-Exact frame purchased: Radius Colorcast- Antique Gold  (RC23)

How To Handle Gifts You Don't Like

Sometimes I take risks when giving gifts. These "risks" are either perfect or awful. For example, my husband is an awesome ice hockey player & loves skating & rollerblading. We were at the airport a few years back & we saw kids flying around on heelies & he said "I want those! How fun would the grocery store be with those?" I thought, "That would be amazing!" So a couple of months later I surprised him with an adult pair for his birthday. hahahahhaha i can't even not laugh when thinking about how bad it was.

He looked at me like "What the-?" before proceeding to try them on & tell me he'd been kidding about heelies. And then he attempted to "skate" in them. In the kitchen. And he fell. HARD. a couple of times. It was bad. I mean hysterical, but bad. I returned them the next day.

You win some, you lose some. I tried. It happens to the best of us.

SO, this brings me to: what do you do when you GET a gift you don't like? A reader emailed me with this question specifially asking about home decor items.

When I get a decorative accessory of some sort that I really don't like, I thank the person for their gift & am very appreciative of it. I then take it home & hide it somewhere in my house for a while. What happens when they come over the next time? Do I take it out & display it so they think I love it? Nope. I'm not that sweet. I eventually exchange or donate it.

This may sound harsh, but I'm also not flying a sign that asks for more decorative gifts either. As tempting as it is to display items that you hate when people come over, I don't think it's the best idea because then they think you love what they got you and they WILL BUY YOU MORE.

I remember hearing a story about a bride at her bridal shower who received something she couldn't stand. I think it was something like a fruit salt shaker set?? And she said something like, "I love it!!!" and went on about how fake food was so cute. And from that point on, people thought she was into porcelain food & started giving it to her at every occasion. Soon she had a whole collection displayed in her home out of guilt & I don't know how many years it went on like this until she had to tell the truth. Let that be a lesson. WOW

I'm always genuinely thankful & appreciative when I receive something, because the person giving it to me put time & energy & money into their gift, but I don't think that means I need to hang it in my house. I appreciate the gift & the thought, but I am way too picky about my home to display things I don't love. I would never want to hurt anyone's feelings but I don't think it's something that's very fair to be hurt about either.

As a gift-giver, I want the person I give a gift to to really like what I've given them. And if they don't, I want them to exchange it and/ or give it away. I would feel terrible if they displayed something in their home that they didn't like just to please me. Because that's not what the gift-giving is about: It's about pleasing the receiver, not about you as the giver. (Can you imagine poor Dave trying to learn to use his heelies & wearing them all the time just to please me & make me feel like he loved my gift??) It's just not a fair thing to expect of gift-receivers and if a person expects to see their gifts displayed around your house when they come over then I would say they're giving you the gifts for themselves as well as for you. (Of course it feels good to give a gift but that isn't why we give.)

You wouldn't wear something that didn't fit you right just because it was a gift, would you?

Well, I say the same goes for something in your home. If it doesn't "fit right" you shouldn't feel guilty about not displaying it.

And, now I have to admit that it's been a VERY long time since I've received a gift I didn't like. It seems my family & friends have caught on to how defined my tastes are and may even slightly FEAR buying me decorative accessories. (eeek!) But seriously, in the past few years, the people around me have learned how picky I am about something that's going to go on my wall or a table top or a shelf. I've been up front in conversations explaining how I am & I think they've also worked really hard to find things they know I'd love. (For example, my aunt just gave us this HUGE awesome scary guy doorknocker & I LOVE it!!)

My mother-in-law is awesome about decorative accessory-type gifts. She's a realtor & is always coming across things at house sales & buying them because they're great deals. If she thinks I might want something, she shows it to me & asks if I want it. There is no pressure here & love this! And, since she knows I'm comfortable telling her that I don't want something, if I do take something from her, then she knows I really love it. It's a win-win for both of us.

**And a quick note to any friends or family who might find a gift of theirs stashed in a closet somewhere in my house: it doesn't mean I don't love it, remember how I switch out my things all the time? It's probably just off-season ;)**

So, my advice is to be vocal about your tastes so you can help others avoid giving you something you won't like. (This may sound selfish but I honestly think people are happier when you love their gifts... and it's so much less awkward when opening them! ;) And when you get something you really love, don't be shy about telling the giver how great it is & why you like it so much. And, if you do get something you don't like, of course be gracious & appreciative of the thought but don't fall into the trap of displaying things you don't like... or you will get more.

xoxo,

lauren

ps- to any friends or family members: If you checked the closets & the storage room & your gift is still nowhere to be found.... uhhhhhh ;) ;) ;) love yas!

Our Dining Room: All "Done!"

(Above, some nuts in a vintage jello mold.) Well, since Jonie showed the evolution of our dining room in her recent post, I thought I would share our finally "done" dining room with you! As you might remember, here's what it looked like when we first moved in:

And here it is now:

I finally made & hung my last set of frayed linen curtains & ordered Sears' roman shades in 'natural' for all of the windows:

I went with a totally white scheme with a few hits of green. I wanted it to be insanely neutral so that I can do whatever I like on the table & have fun with colors:

Right now I have my painted white thrift store bust sitting on a stack of magazines. We use the dining table a lot as a place to just hang out: read, use the computer, etc..

The chairs are from Ballard Designs & of course they're machine washable slipcpvers. (No other type of whit would last in this house!) The thing I love most about them is that I got the ones on casters & they are So convenient!!! They're great for pulling out one-handed when you've got something in the other hand and for pulling into the living room for extra seating. I didn't even know how much we'd love them.

And notice the little gray goat skin on the left chair... (above & below) Dave tried to surprise me for our anniversary with this "rug." He ordered it off of ebay & was thinking it would fit under our lucite coffee table before we had anything under there. Not knowing, this I came home with the cowhide one day and he told me that he'd ordered me a rug for an amazing deal (like $40 I think?) & could I return mine. (I couldn't.) He said his was a goat. I asked if it was a really big goat?? He said he guessed so. Anyway, I felt really terrible until the "goat" arrived & it was about the size of our dog. So now it just gets moved around the house like the rest of our stuff. And below, I'm finally 100% satisfied & loving my cocoa bead chandelier. It really nheeded the heft of the skirted parsons chairs underneath I think:

Thank you all so much for the wonderful emails & comments & "gifts!" Have an awesome weekend!!!

xoxo,

lauren