Pouf!

On May 1st (Sunday!) Target will launch its Calypso St. Barth's signature island-inspired aesthetic for the home and I cannot wait to get my hands on one of their metallic poufs. These things sell for a pretty penny elsewhere, but at Target they will be available for $59.99. Not exactly a giveaway price, but definitely a steal compared to the Moroccan leather real-deals. I can't wait to prop my freshly pedicured feet up on one of these bad boys and dream of the Islands. Where's my piña colada... 

Compare to these Horchow beauties, retailing at $199 each!

And if you're a little bit of a risk-taker you could purchase these faux leather poufs that ship straight from Egypt but will only run you $29.99 (and then $15 for shipping).

 Joi from Nuestra Vida Dulce bought two and they look fantastic in her office.

Anyone else feeling the pouf love?

Giveaway Time!

Yes friends it's about that time again. Liz from Bon Temps Beignet is offering up one of her customizable destination/bus roll/subway art posters to one lucky reader. You choose the size, wording and colors and she designs the rest. All posters are created in Photoshop and sent via email in a digital file. That way you can have them printed locally at a print shop such as Staples or Kinko's. You can choose from any design in Liz's Etsy shop or you can choose to collaborate with her and come up with your own customized print.


Here's just a sample of what you can choose from:

And here is a sample of her printed work living it up in a reader's home:

To enter you must:

1. Become a FOLLOWER of this blog if you are not already. You will not get any email updates or other weird spammy things, just the pleasure of letting me know you care.
2. Leave a COMMENT on this post with an email address I can reach you at. Bonus points if you mention which print you would like to get your hands on.

The Giveaway will close at noon on Wednesday (the 4th), the winner will be picked at random using Random.org and announced later Wednesday afternoon.

Good luck everyone!

P.S. There is a great Giveaway going on at A Snippet of Things so head on over and enter yourself before April 30th!

P.P.S. If you would like to offer up one of your own prints (or other creative item/service) send me an email at mysocalledhome@yahoo.com!

Have a great weekend everybody!

A Different Kind of Before and After

This may not pertain to our home per se, but since I live in our home doesn't that count? I say it does. And since I kinda write the posts around here, what I say goes. And it sure did GO. All of it. My hair is official Summer-fied and I couldn't be happier.

Before:

Taken in our driveway on my way to the salon.

After: 

Please excuse the weird lighting. It was nighttime and my Mac gives off a super bright flash in Photo Booth (anyone else have this problem?) and I tried to color correct. I mean I'm already white enough as it is, I don't need any extra brightness to wash out my sunless pale skin. Come on sunshine!

Unfortunately my hair wasn't long enough to donate (I had my hairdresser measure it beforehand just to make sure) but I wasn't about to endure one more day of blowdrying suffocation in our AC-less bathroom. This probably goes without saying but I love being able to wash, dry, and style my hair in a third of the time it took me before. Most days I just threw my wet hair up in a pony tail because I couldn't stand sweating to death in the mornings. Now it is easy and breezy and I love it.

DIY Yarn Wreath

This project may be totally 2009 but I finally got around to DIYing one of my very own yarn wreaths that I have been wanting to make for some time. Dan works late on Tuesday nights so I made the trip out to Michael's after work to pick up some needed supplies and got right to work when I got home, knowing I'd have a few hours of mindless TV watching and yarn wrapping ahead of me. I followed this tutorial from Fresh Home but really any site pretty much has their own variation of the same thing. Here's what I started out with:

Straw wreath form (already wrapped in plastic), 3 sets of 3 colored felt, and a ball of green yarn. Obviously you could switch up the colors to anything that tickles your fancy. The green, white, and gray scheme felt Springy so that's what I went with.

To start I tied a loop around the wreath (keeping the plastic on) to give myself a secure starting point 

as well as a loop to hang it by. 

Then I just starting wrapping. And tightening. And wrapping some more. All while watching an episode and a half of (what else) HGTV. I'd say total wrapping time was about 45 minutes and it took me almost the entire ball of yarn. I was worried about halfway through that I wouldn't have enough but the yarn is pretty stretchy so it made it just fine with a little cat-sized ball of fun left over.

To make the felt rosettes I started with varying sized round cutouts and then wavy-cut (as opposed to straight cut) a spiral, leaving a little circle at the end. The spiral is then wound around itself leaving the little circle at the center for attaching purposes and the wavy edges really drives home the "petal" look. 

Here's how our entry door looked before, shamefully sporting our Fall foliage all the way into April (as well as a few battle scars from moving heavy furniture up the four flights of stairs):

And here's how it looks now with its new Spring yarn wreath:

And a close up of the rosettes:

I'm really glad I got around to making this fun wreath and it only cost about $8 total in supplies. It could've been even less if I had a Michael's coupon with me but since the biggest cost was the $3.50 ball of yarn I didn't find it necessary to scour the internet and print off a 50% off coupon. Anyone else ever made a yarn wreath? Or maybe a coffee filter wreath? That may be next on my "I'd Like To Try That" list.

Awesome Afters

Hey guys I'm back with another Awesome After and trust me this one is awesome. My sister's good friend Marcella moved into her house a few years ago and got busy right away decorating the home and putting her personal touches in every room. Every room except the kitchen that is. She left it as-is up until a couple weeks ago when she decided to finally tackle the country red paint and the rooster wallpaper border. Check out her awesome before and afters:

They replaced the flooring with a darker, more modern chestnut "snap-lock"

The cabinets got a fresh coat of white paint and new hardware- what a difference!

The cork board was an anniversary gift from a friend and hangs above their opening to the dining room, flanked by two vintage food maps of regions in Italy.

The key holder on the right was a crafty solution to hide a bright red oil switch. She bought a wooden box lid at the craft store, painted it the color of the living room to tie the spaces together, then screwed on key holders. Genious!

The pops of green were the perfect compliment to this updated kitchen. Great job Marcella! It's stunning.

Marcella and her husband are also freelance photographers so if you are in the Bucks County PA area, check them out over at J&M Photography where you can view their galleries and even purchase custom prints. Here's a sample of their work:

Didn't she do such a terrific job! Told ya it was awesome.

I ♥ Kilim

And what is kilim you may ask? It is basically just a type of flat woven rug or carpet that is mostly decorative because there isn't any pile or bulk. This style can vary in ethnicity from Turkish to French to Native American. The kinds I like waver a little more into the Native American-esque look and are perfect for layering over wall-to-wall carpet (like we have going on) or can be used by themselves for decorative purposes.  Here's an idea of what I'm talking about:

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And if you only wanna add a little hint of kilim, you could get your hands on a chic throw pillow or an ottoman (although some of these may run you more than the rug itself):

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So are there any other kilim lovers out there? 

It's Lovely! I'll Take It!

This site kept me laughing page after page and is just filled with ridiculous MLS real estate list photos. If you've never heard of the site, check it out at lovelylisting.blogspot.com and get ready to smack your forehead and wonder, "What were they thinking?!" The best part is that these are real list photos, and are not doctored in any way, aside from the snarky titles and commentaries. Here's a taste of what literally made me LOL and wonder why, people, why?

"No, I don't know why I have insomnia. I just sometimes get this feeling like someone's... watching me."

"Make s'mores in bed!"

"Have heart-to-heart discussions in the intimate conversation nook!"

"This Charming Chelsea Apartment Includes:

A windowed kitchen and modern appliances.

A full bathroom."

"Somehow they forget to mention that the windowed kitchen and the full bathroom are occupying the same spot."

So if you've never had the chance to check out this site, head on over and get ready to laugh.