Dablet and Babyletto

Our friends, or more like the really cool girls you gaze at from across the lunch room in high school, over at Layla Grayce and Zinc Door mentioned that we should check out some BabyLetto furniture for Dablet's nursery face lift. So we did! Turns out that these ladies not only know their stuff (as if we didn't already know that), but they're pretty friendly too! Dablet wants me to tell you she's saving her pennies in her cupcake bank! (Yes, her "piggy bank" is shaped like a cupcake because she wanted to be different!)
Here's what my little diva thinks would look great in her nursery with what she already has!

We are in desperate need of a glider upstairs, and this is sleek and looks comfy!

While we already have a changing table, it does transition into a bookcase and could always find a new home in her playroom. I love the drawers on this and think Kyle would like moving an changing table downstairs so we avoid "accidents" on our bed!

 I LOVE tree bookcases!  They would go so well with her modern safari theme, and as the daughter of an English Major Dablet is destined to always need more space for books!

The next find was a collaboration I did with Dablet. She's not always going to be our only as we'll probably have another baby sometime soon (or at least start the "process") so she and I picked out a crib for the new addition whenever he/she decides to join us!

Is it really a surprise to anyone that it's grey? I have been seriously crushing on grey tones recently, and have a strong feeling you'll be seeing them as a perfect designing canvas color on our walls pretty soon! That is, unless Benjamin Moore decides to throw me a curve ball I fall in love with!
Dablet and I hope you like our BabyLetto finds from Layla Grayce and come back to dabble with us soon!

Happy Designing!

Dabble (& Dablet)

Definition of Self and Style

As some recent Twitter, Pinterest, and Blog love might show, I am a huge fan of Layla Grayce and Zinc Door! What do I find most fabulous about these brands? Their founders and owners! Tiffany and Wendy are two women you feel as if you grow to know through the offerings of their e-commerce sites. From the favorite picks, to the interaction with social media (including some recent "product testing" at the High Point Furniture Market seen on Instagram), the brands they have built are representations of what I feel innovative women strive to achieve. Do you have to be a designer? Of course not, that's not the point! The point is that you follow  whatever passion drives you to simply be yourself!
I think that part of my "issue" with design ADD, besides the fact that cohesive design takes time, comes from my desire to "wow" the people that walk through my front door. If I cannot decide what defines ME through expression in design, how will any client get an idea of whom they are working with from my space? I've been focusing too much on appealing to the masses, and not enough on appealing to myself. Now, if I were trying to develop an e-commerce brand such as the above mentioned ladies I would need to expose the target market to all of the options within my "style definition". Until I have my definition of self, I will never achieve a definition of style.
I told Kyle yesterday (and warned Courtney, our Nanny), that I had a new game plan for our house re-decoration. To be honest, it's more like a decoration, because we never really pulled ourselves together after we moved in, we were too busy figuring out marriage, starting a business, getting pregnant, and then being new parents! Here's the plan:

• Go room by room and pick a vision - this can be inspiration boards (made easy by our friends at Olioboard)
• Collect your favorite patterns, colors, furniture...and then do some old fashioned editing
• Set a budget for the entire house - or however many rooms you want to do
• Prioritize the rooms in your house
• Break your budget down by room
• Edit again if needed
• REMOVE EVERYTHING FROM ROOM
• Start with canvas - paint and wallpaper
• Move furniture back in
• Decorate with accents

Here's the KEY to making this work:

• IF IT DOESN'T HAVE A SPACE IN YOUR NEW ROOM....IT DOESN'T GO BACK IN...IT FINDS A NEW HOME OUT OF YOURS!

Here's something I "whipped" together for a living room for the Benjamin Moore challenge using some great finds from Zinc Door:

Click here to see the items in this picture, and just as importantly to VOTE for it in the contest!
Maybe one of these days I can make my own "before and after" version of a home makeover show. Unfortunately, I might not be able to afford to do what needs to be done to our ~3,500 sq. ft. of space in the way my inner designer would love to, but I can promise you one thing:

I will find my definition of self , I will find my definition of style, and I will share my before and after photos!

To Layla Grayce and Zinc Door, I thank you for all of the love over the past few days. I am more than "design crushing" on you, so I beg that you continue to accommodate the love I pour your way for your brands and your inspiration to a working mom wanting to make her dreams work for her family!

Dabble

Tech done Chic

I have been drooling over Apple products for as long as I can remember! Now, with this new venture upon me, and a constant need for on the go organization and ability to showcase designs to clients, I am in need of a tablet. Could it be that I could possibly write this off as a business expense? Let's go one step further and talk about the iCloud. You mean I can sync all of my "potential" Apple devices together and share the same information among them? YES!!! Let's talk about the iPhone too! There is also an aspect of the iPhone that I am coveting and that is Instagram! I can start taking pictures of my favorite looks, rooms, and elements to share  them with clients and, above all, myself!
So here's how we can make a new phone a statement and pay homage to some of our favorite (at least my favorite) brands:

#1,2,3 can be found at Layla Grayce and are designed by Petunia Pickle Bottom, Johnathan Adler, and Lily Pulitzer respectively.

#4 & 5 are by one of my favorite ladies Tory Burch

#6 & 7 are from Kate Spade

Because a girl can never ever choose just one, just like you can't eat just one chip, I had to delve into the world of tablet cases as well! 

Here we have "our girls" Kate (1 & 4) and Tory (3) again talking to good 'ol Michael Kors (2). All of these can be found at Nordstrom in their Tech department. I am a HUGE fan of the "Equestrian Orange" Tory uses. First for the sentimental aspect coming from my competitive riding background, and the fabulous pop of color it brings to everything! Kate is always good with patterns, stripes and polka dots, and the great sayings like this "out of office". Clearly it's a travel case, but there's the innuendo that you've "checked out" just a bit! Of course Michael has given us a classic envelope clutch look in a tablet case. Do I need 4 tablets? No....But this girl will be dreaming of cases!

Enjoy your Chic Moment with your gadgets!

Dabble

Designing ADD

Part of the reason I am enjoying this part of life as much as I am is that the freedom I have in my schedule allows me to satisfy my ADD nature when it comes to designing. I think this is part of the reason my house isn't finished pulling itself together yet. I say that like I expect the house to come to life like a Disney movie and whisk itself into shape and full decoration. A girl can dream right? It's either have magic take over, or turn into an episode of Hoarders. If I tried to satisfy my every design obsession I'd end up in a conundrum of overcrowded and broke.
Rather than travel down the dark road to overcrowded insanity, I think I have found a way to satisfy changing seasons, trends, and desires without totally breaking the bank. Pillows! I fell in love with the modern edgy style found at Zinc Door through its sister company Layla Grayce. Every mom who has a desire for design will appreciate the home, mom, and child related items brought by these companies.
Here are some of my favorites:

DL Rhein Cross Hatch

Dwell Studio Ogree Azure Pillow

Trina Turk Ogee Pink Embroidered Linen

Jonathan Adler Medallion Pink Orange Bobo Pillow

Kyle would be the first to tell you that I have a minor obsession with throw pillows, as well as accent chairs. Anytime we are out wandering through furniture stores you can find me sitting in accent chairs and magnetizing myself to unique pieces of furniture. Maybe I'm on the quest to find the perfect accent for the empty space left in our bedroom now that Abby is upstairs. Then again, maybe I'm just satisfying my innate desire to dabble in everything that gives me a Chic Moment in my day, even if it's just in daydreaming!

Dabble

Mother's Day Dreams

So every girl has the talent to leave hints. If you're about to be engaged, or have been talking about it, you leave hints for rings.Getting Married? You leave hints for the special touches. Living together? It's birthday gifts, anniversaries, and for me this year it's Mother's Day!
The art of leaving hints has become INCREDIBLY easy thanks to blogging and especially Pinterest! Here are a few of my favorite things, small and large! After all, there's nothing wrong with dreaming big!
If you didn't expect the first things to come from Lush, you need to read the blog more!
First up:

This Serenity Gift Box will run baby daddy (in my case Kyle) $37.95 and includes 5 stress reducing items.
If you've been a really good mom, or maybe have more than one kiddo running around the house, it might not hurt to leave a "hint" for this $89.95 wonder known as Tickled Pink with 10 fantastic items and a GREAT box!

Just as practical, I am going to give a hint to my favorite "house wine" of ours. Yup, it's less than $15 for a double bottle, and you can buy it at Target (or at least you can in NC), but it's a great blend of a Shiraz and a Cabernet...what mom doesn't need a glass of wine or cocktail every once in a while?

Of course, I had to include a piece of jewelry. Given that we are a family of three, this interlocking pendant necklace from Tiffany & Co. is a special sentiment to my first Mother's Day with my daughter. If (read WHEN) we have more children, most likely only one, this wouldn't make complete sense. I enjoy being able to pay special attention to Abby while she is still my only. Do you have only one (even if just for now?) Take a look at this here:

I love the rose gold! This comes in three sizes, and is in celebration of their 175th anniversary!

To dream even bigger (and I'll be honest, pretty unrealistically but I just had to!), I'm going to show you a favorite on my furniture wish list. Now that Abby is up in her own room, we have a large space next to my side of the bed, and I'd love to have a chaise to read in. Here's the Taylor Scott Chaise from Layla Grayce, and it can be found here it has several fabrics available for slipcovers

To all you moms out there, enjoy your day! That includes moms-to-be alike. Also, I would like to give a special nod to all of my friends and family on the quest to become first time parents, or add another to their brood. Motherhood is a miracle and a blessing that gives you an entirely new understanding of yourself and your capability to love!

Until Next Time
Dabble