{5 Lovely Things on Monday}

 

What I'm Most Proud of Accomplishing Prior to the BIG 3-0

      As many of you probably recall I made a "30 Before 30" list last year...well I'm officially 30 now- it feels great btw. Here are the 5 loveliest things I'm most proud of accomplishing from that list!

{1} Visit New Zealand: tick!

(in NZ they say "tick it off your list" instead of "check")

     Since my dear friend, Sarah, returned to her homeland over four years ago I had wanted to visit NZ. Last fall I was at the gym stretching when I got a Travelzoo email alert that flights were on sale. Right then & there I knew I had to pull the trigger-- & what a great decision it was to do so.  It was fantastic to meet her growing family & explore the land of Kiwis land with my favorite travel buddy (aka: the boyfriend).

{2} Develop Sea of Lovely Branding

     Thanks to my artsy sister, Jenna, the Sea of Lovely logo was born.  And after much fine-tuning-- & cursing at WORD while formatting labels-- I developed a labeling process that I'm quite proud of.

{3} See My Family More Often

My sisters & I all live in different states while mom & pop are still in the Motherland 

(aka: MT). I cherish the fact that I was able to make Thanksgiving dinner for my parents- barring the minor turkey mishap- & spend Christmas under the same roof 

with the entire Lechner clan.

Turkey Day weekend

Christmas Day chaos at the cabin

Mom & Dad came for my Dirty 30!

{4} Give Only Handmade Gifts

While I didn't finish my plans for handmade 2011 Christmas gifts I can report significant strides since the turn of 2012.  Sea of Lovely gifts are out in full force!

Look Whoooooo's 1?
Baby Adele & her new "Owlivia" 

{5} Live 5 Minutes from Work

While going through some significant life changes in 2011 I also found my 

beloved vintage apartment. Very few things make me happier than being able to 

run home at lunch to say hi to my Willis :)

{5 Lovely Things on Monday}

Guilty as charged...my lovely Mondays have been on a bit of a hiatus.  Between working extra hours to pay the bills --until you all start ordering handmade goodies from me-- & life in general blogging has been neglected. I'm not proud of it but am prepared to redeem myself.  This Monday I want to share the plans I have for my living space.

{1} Chairs a la Craiglist

I snagged these antique chairs a while back on CL with plans for them to be my first experiment with Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint. If you aren't familiar with this product please refer to my very enthusiastic post about this amazing discovery.

Arles=vintage mustard shade that = LOVE.

{2} The Key to Even Cuter Chairs

Giving these chairs a fresh coat of paint will do wonders for them but this adorable fabric I snagged on sale @ www.fabrics.com to recover the seats will make them suitable for resale. However, I'm keeping them :)

{3} Cheery Prints

Have you noticed I have a thing for yellow? While I always have, I feel as though my newfound self has made me embrace bright hues even more. I'm going for a teal & yellow theme in my apt's living space along with some grey to keep it from getting too busy. 

Here's my palate:

{4} The Furniture

I'm in love with my coffee & console tables from World Market and my couch from LazyBoy (of call placed). I'm very proud to have a few pieces that aren't from a thrift store or handed down. Don't get me wrong, I love those things too but there's something to be said when you are able to purchase non-IKEA furniture; it feels so grown up ;)

{5} Sea of Lovely

Ok, so this really has nothing to do with my living room but I'm finally going to start making tags to put on my handmade items. Thanks to my baby sister, Jenna- the artist, I have this gorgeous logo!



What do you think?!! Adorable, right?



     With that being said I'm really going to start putting myself out there in the months to come so if you have any requests for things you'd like to see my make or possibly buy, let me know!!

*lucy.

A "Make it Work" Kitchen

With the New Year comes resolutions & a focus on getting your life organized. This week I couldn't help but notice how many articles I came across regarding "organize your home one room at a time" or "storage for your personality". It only seemed fitting to put my two cents in & share how I made my euro-style flat's kitchen a workable space. Here's a little refresher on what I was up against:

An overabundance of counter space...

Ok storage but it's not always convenient to use a stepstool to get things down...

At least I have a gas stove & oven!

So with a very white slate I began. Step 1: IKEA. If this is how Europeans make their apartamentos work I can too!

Shopping List:

1. something to go above the oven

photo cred: IKEA
Bekvam Spice Racks x2
{these will be a snap to paint & "spice" up}

2. more space to show of the Fiestaware

photo cred: IKEA
After my dad saw my handiwork with an electric drill to mount this
GRUNDTAL wall shelf he said, "Watch out Bob Villa".
{I know he was very proud.}

3. something to dry dishes sans counter space

photo cred: IKEA
The GRUNDTAL series strikes again-- genius.

4. somewhere to hang my pots & pans

photo cred: IKEA
Some hooks for this GRUNDTAL rail & we're set!

{drum roll for the grand reveal...}

Yes, that's a fresh cobbler baked by moi

Thanks to a score from my good buds I have
instant additional counter space & storage!

My handiwork has made my kitchen so workable
even a man can cook in it :)

Thanks for reading. I'm sure even Tim Gunn would be proud of my "make it work moment" with this circa-1890 kitchen!

*lucy.

p.s. The first time I posted this entry I forgot to include these pictures:

Thank goodness for my lovely bf who mounted this rack with industrial strength!
It's definitely not going anywhere

{5 Lovely Things on this Fall Tuesday}

Many of us got out down comforters out last week and you know what that means...fall is indeed upon us.  And that, my friends, is why today is all about fall loveliness!!

{1} Foliage Reports!

This shot was taken by moi near Mystic, Conneticut
Yay for my friends who got married in CT a few years ago
so I could experience the Yankee foliage!

I think it's absolutely wonderful that Foliage Reports really exist. Take a minute out of your busy day & perusing the many slideshows that show off autumn's masterpiece. A good one I stumbled across this weekend featured
"The Top 25 Foliage Towns in New England".
Gorgeous. Can I go back...Like now?

{2} Fall Beverages

From mulled cider to Autumn-Inspired Cocktails, who can resist?

p.s. The Normandy looks promising & will be making an appearance at a 

progressive dinner come the end of October.  I'll let you know how it turns out!

{3} Early Season's Greetings
Today glo.com featured ETSY's top picks for 
autumnal handmade greeting cards. So cute!!

Photo cred: Stacy Rogers of stacyscards on ETSY

{4} Natural Decor

BHG strikes again! Check out their article to make adorable 

(& affordable!) fall decorations.

This is so simple & unique.
Plus it would work for any season-
what a great way to spice up your decor!

{5} Fall Chow
This loveliness wouldn't be complete without what our fall harvest brings...
I tend to save the best for last :)

Pumpkin-Sage Cream Sauce= YES PLEASE!

What's for dinner? Go here to see Delish.com for 15 Fall Recipes to see!

Now I'm hungry. 

toodles,

*lucy

p.s. hopefully the food & drink recipes make up for me having my epic fail of not posting yesterday ;)

{5 Lovely Things on This Monday Evening}

          Moovin, moovin, moovin...I hate it.  And that would be why today's post is so late. Thankfully I had today off so I was able to create some semblance of order- at least in my bedroom. This is the first time I've lived solo & while I miss my roomies I am finding it very liberating.  Funny it took me until 29 to have my own place.  But didn't someone once say better late than never? ;) Anywho, I can't wait to finish what Jade calls "Maraizing" my new space.  Now let's get down to brass tacks...

{1} My Landing Pad

THANK GOD FOR GIRLFRIENDS!

 These past 6 months have been a whirlwind of emotions- not to mention transitions. I'm not sure I would've made it out this intact without my ladies Jade & Stacy.  I snapped this pic yesterday before heading to my apartment to spend my first night there because I loved the reflection in the window.  Something about it spoke to me; perhaps there is a lot of loveliness on the horizon...

{2} My New (really old) Pad

This archived pic is tacked above my mailbox.
1899...can you believe it?
If only these walls could talk...

{3} Canine Neighbors

Our complex is full of dogs, dogs with some serious character.  From the Pit bull who basically lays out his window to keep watch or the deaf Australian Cattle dog who not-so-gracefully shoves his snout out the window blinds whenever anyone walks by.  This crew is a hoot & seeing everyone out walking these pups inevitably reminds me of this scene from "101 Dalmatians". 

{4} A Good Alternative to Paint

This morning I was greeted by an FB post from my friend, Ellen, suggesting I could use removable wallpaper in my apartment. While I can paint here this could be very fun...once I save up enough $$

Photo cred goes to Jordan Ferney of Babble.com
who shows off this Sherwin Williams design

{5} Rediscovering Your Treasures

No picture necessary.

I've been pleasantly surprised to re-realize all of the awesome stuff I had boxed up!

sweet dreams,

lucy.

{5 Lovely Things on Monday}

{1} MY NEW HOME.

Click to view some raw footage with moi narrating.

{2} Smokey Slate Boudoir

Ok, so it's not really a boudoir but that sounds much sexier than a bedroom.

The very sweet boyfriend helped me paint...AND PAINT...over a glossy coat that covered 9' ceilings & 100+years of "colorful" plaster work which made no clean edges to cut in. We think it looks pretty damn good.

BEFORE SHOTS

AFTER VIDEO

{sadly the video cut off prematurely as my camera died}

{3} The Fiesta is Out!

Obviously this display nook will be much fuller- this is just a sneak preview :)

{4} Anna Maria Horner's Pressed Flowers
from her Drawing Room Line

I have grand plans to cover a sad, patched up chair
I scored @ Gdub for $15 with this oh-so-lovely pattern. Photo cred goes to Kate.

{5} I Want. I Need. This Rug.

Have I mentioned how much I <3 West Elm?
And can you tell yellow is going to be a theme in my new joint?
Now I just have to wait until it goes on sale...

I hope your Monday treated you well.

nitey-nite.

*lucy.

{5 Lovely Things on Monday}

          It's a big week! On Thursday I'll get the keys to my new apartment. Some of you may be surprised that this will be the very first time I've lived by myself- well, Mr.Willis will be there too of course. And while I'm sad  to make the one minute move from my roomies I'm really looking forward to my own space and getting all of my things out of storage.  It's time to make a new home for Will & I :) Speaking of storage, living in a circa-1899 apartment does not= storage. And that my friends, is why today's lovely things focus on fun storage & organization projects.  I call it: "Storage Sanity Solutions":

{1} Label Loveliness

Let me start this by saying Better Homes & Garden sends me the best "idea" emails.  Their newsletters are always inspiring and a big hit on my Pinterest boards.  At the end of August they had a mailer on "Get Your Home Organized for Fall". Check out these adorable Free Printable Storage Labels:

{2}Shoes in Your Ottoman-

why not?

I want.
Thank you, ocd4life blog for introducing me to Lilly Pulitzer's $600 shoe ottoman...
but I bed I could make it myself.

 
{3} Pseudo/Custom Armoire
For those of you who know me, you know these closets will just not do!
                             

But with the powers of my large dresser & one of these bad boys I'll be set!!

Originally in Domino magazine- which I greatly miss-
and re-posted on Style & Focus Lifestyle PR blog

{4} Busy Wall Storage

Finding this gem on Pinterest was a lovely surprise!
Sadly, I don't know who to give photo cred to the image originates from a random property management's site.

{5} Kitchen Spacemaker

BHG strikes again

*lucy.