BEDKNOBS & BAUBLES

Weekend Reading

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Weekend Reading 06.23.17

Nope, not sick of this bag yet!

What a week! On Tuesday, we closed on our house. It was actually kind of anticlimactic to receive the keys after signing off on all of the paperwork. I think I was expecting to feel intensely elated and while I was certainly happy, I was mostly just ready to move on with it and start working! We’ve made some pretty impressive progress for the first week (after we were able to actually get into the house — some of our keys don’t work and there’s a trick to opening the front door). We removed the kitchen cabinets in the upstairs bedroom from when the house was converted into two apartments, pulled out remaining carpet, removed carpet finishing staples in the staircase, primed and painted the wood part on the front of the house (scroll over to see the original), and primed the railing and column on the front porch. We’ve been working for a few hours on the house after work every day and would like to finish those outside projects today so that we can start painting inside before our floors are refinished in two weeks. And I wish I could say that the walls and floors were all we needed to do in this house. There are a lot of projects that I’ll be documenting over on Curated Couple (and the blog once I have time to sit down, pretty it up, and add content). It won’t be the most glamorous Instagram feed, but I really wanted it as a way to document our progress and our mini successes. In more exciting house news, I ordered this jewelry cabinet for my closet. ::heart-eyes:: It arrives on Tuesday and while it’ll sit in its box in the kitchen until the floors are done, I can’t wait to start seeing the place come together.

WEEKEND READING:

FIVE UNDER $50:

ICYMI:

Jump Around

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jumpsuit

I bought this deeply discounted jumpsuit at Anthropologie in November and it sat in the closet with the tags still attached until it was finally warm enough to wear it last weekend. Bathroom acrobatics aside, it was such a fun, eye-catching piece to wear! Plus, it was a practical choice for a windy day because I didn’t have to wrestle with a hemline threatening to cause what I call a “Marilyn moment.” 😉 Next time, though, I’ll style it differently with these statement earrings, pearl sandals (in this post) and a black DVF clutch (seen here).

jumpsuit

Anthropologie jumpsuit (also love this one and this one in yellow) | Cult Gaia bag | Sam Edelman sandals | Karen Walker sunglasses | Hermes bracelet | vintage necklace

We bought a house!

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First House

I wanted to pop in to share that we’re now homeowners! We closed on our house yesterday and spent the better part of the day embarking on our ambitious to-do list. We pulled carpet out of the coat closet, removed dozens and dozens of nails and screws from the walls, ripped out hundreds of tiny carpet staples that were left in the stairs (when the house apparently had ’70s gold carpet), and removed kitchen cabinets from one of the bedrooms upstairs. We didn’t get to everything we wanted to do on day one, but we’re feeling pretty good about the progress we did make. I’ll start posting on our shared Instagram account for the house at @curatedcouple soon and we’ll get our home blog up and running, too! Until then, things are going to be on the quieter side ’round these parts. We really need to get the painting done in the house before the floors are refinished in three weeks.

First House

Left to right:

  • A light globe we found at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore for $1. We purchased two. One is going in my upstairs walk-in closet, which the city assessed as a fourth bedroom in the house. We’ll need to have the house reassessed since you can’t actually fit a twin-size bed into the room and still walk in and around it.
  • Our closing-day selfie! I look jazzed and Dave looks like he’d rather we put down the phone and get to work. 😉
  • Adding some life to the place — literally. The most recent owner purchased the house in 2001, but then started dating a woman and moved in with her, leaving the home all but abandoned. We met our neighbors who said prior to his ownership, students lived there and even earlier, there were drug dealings. I’m not sure how true the last one is, but who knows. A house built in 1929 probably has plenty of stories within its walls — and maybe old pot, too. (Kidding!)

The Best Woven Bags Under $100

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The Best Woven Bags Under $100

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ll know that this summer’s “It” bag is a vintage-inspired woven one and, as is the case with many trends, these often come with an inflated price tag. Fortunately, there are plenty of on-trend, affordable bags to get your hands on this season. (After I put together this collage, I actually came across my favorite affordable woven bag: Caterina Bertini’s mini bucket bag. It’s lined with a drawstring pouch, has a leather handle, and comes in four colors.)

Clockwise from top left:
Sam Edelman Isabella Straw Tote, $74 | Hat Attack Macrame Small Tote, $95 | Caterina Bertini Metallic Fringe Straw Tote, $78 | Sam Edelman Milly Straw Minaudière, $86 | Buji Baja Woven Tote, $99 | H&M Straw Shopper, $25 | Kayu Mini St. Tropez Tote, $59 | Space Rocket Store Birkin Basket, $69

Weekend Reading

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Weekend Reading 06.16.17

image by Hanny Naibaho

It’s our last weekend of R&R before we’re homeowners! I have packing tape in bulk and piles of boxes to pack, but we’ll likely spend as much time as possible this weekend lounging by the pool and going for walks. We’re not actually moving out of our apartment until the end of July, so we may as well relax before we need to spend every weeknight and weekend working on the house. In the meantime, I’ve spent hours looking at furniture and decor to figure out what direction our house will go in. We love a lot of Scandinavian and mid-century modern pieces, punctuated with unexpected, cheeky or glam details (think brass pineapples, a tufted bench, or this print that I want to put above a bar cabinet). I’ve jokingly dubbed my style “Glamdinavian,” but it totally fits.

WEEKEND READING:

FIVE UNDER $50:

  • Pink satin slides for $20.
  • I just placed an order for this dress in the dark floral print. I found reviews indicating that it runs large, which should make for a comfortable, breezy dress on hot days. Plus, the color scheme will transition to fall nicely. (I know, I know. Let’s not talk about autumn yet.)
  • A pair of statement-making gold drop earrings to wear with all of your summer dresses.
  • Tory Burch’s nautical rope-print scarf is being price matched right now.
  • This pinstriped peekaboo-shoulder top is preppy perfection.

ICYMI:

Have a wonderful weekend!