BEDKNOBS & BAUBLES

The Coveted

March 20, 2018 by jessica Leave a Comment

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I didn’t intend to go on a week-long hiatus from the blog, but the last few days seemed to get away from me! I was incredibly sleepy in the morning thanks to the time change and still too tired after work to put any thought into worthwhile posts. That paired with my unhealthy obsession with watching the NCAA tournament led to an awfully unproductive week!

That said, let’s talk about this outfit, shall we? I feel like I’m finally settling into my personal style groove and this outfit is such a testament to that. I consistently fall back into to a modern classic aesthetic and I’m working to streamline my closet to fit with that vision and to bring some of my old favorites to the forefront again. I’ve had the dress for eight or nine years now, the coat is a favorite from a few years back, and while the bag and loafers are new, they’re such versatile pieces. I’m also rediscovering my first sartorial passion: vintage jewelry. I’m a costume jewelry die hard in all of its forms, but nothing is better than finding a special vintage piece. It feels really good to have a streamlined vision for my closet again and while I’ll dapple in the occasional trend, I’d much rather keep my focus (and spending) on the pieces that will get the most mileage year after year. Granted, this will lead to a lot of repeat performances of individual pieces on the blog, so I hope remixing items is just as inspirational as coveting new arrivals!

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Style Steals

March 12, 2018 by jessica 1 Comment

Under $50
cami | sunglasses | pants | bag | slides

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Weekend Links

March 10, 2018 by jessica 1 Comment

Happy Saturday, everyone! We made it through another week, which means spring is that much closer. (Don’t forget to “spring ahead” and move your clocks an hour forward tonight.) We have absolutely nothing on our must-do list this weekend and I couldn’t be happier about it. Yesterday afternoon was a busy one, though. I was on the phone for almost two hours scheduling companies to give us quotes on tree trimming and widening the end of our driveway. I also scheduled an appointment for someone to come in and discuss adding roller shades to our dining room and bedrooms. They don’t look difficult to do on my own, but I want to feel all of the material choices and have someone else measure and install them so I don’t screw it up. We’ll look at adding drapes down the road. For now, I just need our bedroom to be dark!

Weekend Links:

Daylight Saving Time starts tomorrow. Even though I find the concept asinine (even more so after reading this), I’m excited for it to be light out longer after work.
Exploring the history of leopard print clothing.
Lydia linked to this post about the early days of blogging in her “Peaks of the Week” post last Friday. Does anyone else miss the days where we were all eager to support each other and share the great things one another was posting? It made the blogging community so fun! I’d like to become better about doing that myself.
Mattel’s Barbie brand is honoring a new group of women in its “Shero” collection. The collection was launched in 2015 with dolls “based on women who break boundaries in sports, politics and entertainment.”
Did you see Bozoma Saint John’s amazing Oscar look?
These shoes look way more expensive than they are. Plus, you can take 40% off this weekend with code FRIENDS40.
How to estimate the cost of a renovation.
A tangerine, ginger, and chocolate tart looks like an amazing choice for an Easter dessert.
I discovered the whimsical work of Janet Hill Studio this week.
These are such good tips for having a date night at home. (I’m guilty of wearing loungewear … making a mental note to correct that!)

Finds Under $50:

I stopped by Old Navy yesterday to buy this dress in grey. It’s going to be so comfy for our international flight! I then spotted this dress on my way out. I was wearing layers and tights and didn’t want to go back in the dressing room, but it looks like it’s good quality and it’s really cute!
This tie-front dress is perfect for spring!
I always feel conflicted about designer knockoffs, but these affordable parrot earrings are pretty amazing.
A simple dress with a twist.
Brighten up your kitchen with a colorful collection of juice glasses. (While we’re on the topic of colored glassware, I’m thinking about this pitcher for the tray on top of our bar cabinet. It’s so pretty!)
A sophisticated menswear-inspired nightshirt.

Earlier This Week:

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image via Unsplash

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Mini Moments: February 2018

March 9, 2018 by jessica 2 Comments

Last month, I mentioned that I wanted to bring back a roundup of “Mini Moments” from the month prior and share some of my goals for the month ahead. I dropped the ball on getting this up closer to the first of the month, but hey, there were still a few things worth reminiscing about and sharing with you! I’ll have this week’s “Weekend Links” post up tomorrow.

Mini Moments (top to bottom, left to right):

I finally bought the Gucci bag I’ve been saving for! It’s ridiculously indulgent, but goodness, I’m so happy with it! (If it’s on your wish list, you can see what fits inside here.)
Dave and I went out for date night drinks at Robin Room in Madison. Their cocktails are amazing and you know I’m smitten with the pineapple neon sign in the window.
I finally got around to painting the door frame of my closet. I’m sure it comes as no surprise that I was anxious to cover up that tan color with crisp white paint! Also, I can’t stand it when hardware is painted over. (Apparently you can boil the hardware in water to loosen the paint. Latex paint should peel right off and lead-based paint should crumble off. That’ll be a project for an upcoming weekend.) A quick tip for removing stubborn screws that have been painted over: position your screwdriver in the groove and hit the base with a hammer. The extra force should shake some of that paint loose. I also used a razor to remove the paint at the edges of the screws.
I participated as a judge for the Madison Reading Project’s READ(y) to Wear fashion show. It was basically a Project Runway unconventional challenge with paper.
An outtake from this post cracks me up.
I played hooky last Tuesday when the temperature crept close to 60 degrees. I treated myself to sushi for lunch, picked up tulips, and wandered around our neighborhood on a 2.5 mile walk. (You can snag the trench coat here and similar loafers here.)
I’m all kind of obsessed with this gingham cutie for $28.
I had been using dollar store salt and pepper shakers for the last 10 years. We finally upgraded to these marble and brass beauties.
We checked out Forequarter for their happy hour menu of sliders and tacos. It was delicious, but the cocktails were too expensive for what they were (as far as Madison pricing goes). I’d rather stop here again for happy hour snacks and get drinks somewhere else.

Upcoming Goals:

Start painting the upstairs hallway.
Replace the light fixture in my closet. This was actually on my goal list last month, but the fixture I ordered from West Elm arrived damaged with a scuff in the brass base and two chips in the globe. (It also arrived in two boxes and after three weeks of continuously asking for a second mailing label with a different tracking number, they finally had to send someone from UPS to pick up both boxes. It was such a frustrating mess. I’m not exactly pleased with West Elm’s customer service when a problem crops up as we’ve had a few additional annoyances, but that’s a story for another day.) The new one just shipped out, and I hope it’s actually a new one and not just the old one coming back to me because I do really like the shape of it.
Finalize my packing list, shopping, and itinerary for London! I’m doing my best to not over-pack this time and bring extra pieces just for outfit photos. I’ll likely do an outfit roundup when I get back to show you how I remixed pieces during the 10-day trip. I hope it comes off as inspiring rather than boring!
Get a quote on laying additional concrete by our garage for a parking pad. We have a long driveway between our house and our neighbor’s house and a one-car garage. I can park to the side of the garage door to let Dave in and out, but it’s easier for me to turn around before driving out rather than backing out the length of the driveway. I was able to do so on our lawn with the ground frozen, but that’s not going to be doable much longer!
Have someone come in to discuss replacing the window shades in our dining room (they’re a dingy beige color) and adding them to our upstairs bedrooms. We’re going to add roller shades now and look at drapes later.

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