Brooklyn Flea

As usual, I have more things I want to do than time to do them, but I was finally able to get to the Brooklyn Flea this weekend.  This Sunday it was in very trendy, very hipster Williamsburg and my immediate thought upon entering the tented area was that I should have opted for an outfit other than a white collared shirt and bright green cable knit sweater.  I tried to blend in by trying on the lens-free eye glasses at one of the multiple stands selling them, but I decided it was a losing battle and just owned my lack of trendiness.

The flea market was a lot of fun and I enjoyed the beautiful view of the Manhattan skyline.  However, unless you're going for a very Bohemian look, I think you're better off sticking to Manhattan fleas for your treasure hunting.  There were a few things I did love, though, and could have seen in my home if I weren't currently on a spending freeze...

Shop Around the Corner

One of my favorite things about living in NYC is all of the choices you have right at your fingertips.  For instance, if I'm cooking dinner and find suddenly that I am out of eggs, I have about eight stores within a two block radius from which I can choose to restock.  Although the advantage of being within short walking distance of about 75,000 chicken eggs is a little bit difficult to define, this abundance of choices happily extends to furniture stores, which I find has a measurable, direct positive correlation with the productivity of my Saturday afternoons (sadly, it also has a direct negative correlation to the balance in my bank account).

One of my new favorite furniture and home decor shops is right around the corner from me and is one of several locations in NYC and LA of the wonderful Olde Good Things company.

Unloading a shipment of circus animals?  Not sure what that's about but I think I like it.

 I want to go back this weekend and take some pictures of my favorite items but I also plan on heading to Brooklyn for their famous flea market so we'll see if I can fit both in!  Check back soon for my favorite flea market finds!

Inspired by Central Park

Maybe it's because I'm living in a city for the first time in my life and I'm desperate for the sight of a blade of grass, but I just can't get enough of Central Park.  I try to go for runs with my sister in the evening but I have to stop every few yards to take another picture.  The past two days here in New York have been absolutely beautiful, with buds popping out as fast as the sidewalk cafes.  I'm already loving my first summer in New York!

Living in New York!

The past few months have been a crazy time for me, moving my home, my cat and my office but I've finally settled in an adorable apartment on the UWS and I'm ready for life to get back to normal!

I thought my room in Virginia at 10x11 was about as small as a room could get but I was wrong!  My new room in NYC is just 7.5x10 and I still insist on keeping my queen sized bed!  However, I found a wonderful new roommate to apartment hunt with and we just couldn't resist the tall ceilings, big windows, and spacious living room and kitchen of this apartment.  I thought rather than try to fight a losing battle against the size of my bedroom I might as well embrace the miniature aspects and make a cozy little sleeping den out of it.

The whole apartment came painted white which I actually like for increasing the effects of the natural light.  I decided in my bedroom I wanted to increase the charm a little, though, with a accent wall of trellis stencil done in a very light grey.  I basically wanted to copy the look here so I bought the Moroccan Stencil, spent a Saturday covering myself in paint and got this:

Another thing I love about my new room is the big window, which I cute-ified with gauzy white curtains tied back with big navy polkadot ribbons.

Pumpkin Carving Season!

Halloween has never been my most favorite holiday...I'm fairly certain my mother and sister scarred me deeply when I was little with their creepy soundtracks of dragging chains and screaming that started on October 1 and played steadily until November 1.  Our house was known to feature a graveyard of foam headstones with friends' names, skeletons leaping out of closets that literally sent children running into the woods, and ghostly decorations that caused the Jehovah's Witnesses down the road to finally give up on us. 

Maybe because I grew up in such a creepy crawly-obsessed family, I have always been more partial to "cute" Halloween decorations.  Like smiling pumpkin cookies and balloon ghosts rather than blood-stained candlesticks and bowls of eyeballs.

To celebrate my kind of Halloween, I've complied some of my favorite CUTE pumpkin carving ideas from this year.  HAPPY Halloween!!

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Benjamin Moore Razzle Dazzle

I just love this pink.  Not sure I could handle it in a full room, but in an entry hall I think it is very Razzle Dazzle!

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My salmon pink dining chairs DIY!

I can't really remember the last time I was this excited about a set of dining chairs.  Perhaps never.

I have to say I was pretty nervous about this move...painting my mom's old dining chairs bright salmon pink in extra high gloss was a bold move.  But now that they're finished and amazingly reupholstered by my mom in Ralph Lauren chintz, I don't know if I've ever loved a piece of furniture more.

Pairing with a glass-top table I think helps prevent too much going on in a small space.  I also love the way my grandparents' silver tea set looks, lending some polish without adding any additional color saturation.

Adding some wall decoration is the next step.  Perhaps the cat portrait from my post below...?

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The view from my kitchen

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And the before...

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The chairs were a whitish cream color before.

Here they are set up in my parents' front yard, ready for a good sanding!  Emily is going to help...

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Yes, this is the upholstery color from before.  No, it did not ever appear this way in my mother's house.

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Source: picasaweb.google.com via Sarah on Pinterest

I ended up doing all the painting with a flat oil paint brush. It allowed me to apply an even layer around some of the trickier turns and corners. Plus, I sometimes like when you can see some brush strokes (as opposed to spray painting) because I think it gives things a handmade quality.