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Notable Purchases, Vol. 4

August 28, 2024 by jessica Leave a Comment

Working at a university on the cusp of fall is kind of invigorating. There’s a buzz in the air with students moving back to campus, and the thrum of excitement as events and large-scale meetings ramp up for the semester. Plus, it definitely puts a girl in the mood for back-to-school shopping — even if lecture hall days are long forgotten!

Here are this month’s most noteworthy purchases:

  • Sezane “Nicia” dress in black – Over the summer, I wore my black linen shift just about every week. It was just a matter of time before I found its cold-weather counterpart. This is such a beautiful dress and it’s really made me want every item in my wardrobe to be as pretty and well made as this. The wool is substantial and, while hard to see in the stock photos, there are darts near the bust to give it some shape.
  • Sezane “Freja” sweater dress in charcoal – This dress is so cute and cozy with a pair of tights and flats — and since my office is on the casual side, I’ll be able to wear this sweater dress to work (which is how I’m justifying the cost). Joking aside, I’m really happy with the quality of this Sezane piece and I expect it to get a lot of love this fall. I’m considering the green one, too.
  • Madewell “Greta” flats in studded ecru – I don’t buy a lot of trendy pieces. It’s not that I don’t enjoy them; it’s just that I feel like it was a waste of money when the trend fades away. When I do indulge, I try to make sure it’s a piece that’s versatile enough to wear with other items and has a core feature that I tend to gravitate toward regardless of trends. In the case of these Madewell shoes, the Mary Jane strap and studs caught my eye, but the flat sole kept me enamored enough to buy a pair. What can I say? I love my flats.
  • J.Crew mid-rise cropped kickout jean in super-stretch – I can’t begin to express how happy I am that J.Crew brought these back. I had a pair in a nearly identical wash that I had to retire because they ripped in the thigh. This Madewell pair was close, but not as good as the O.G. I genuinely might need to buy another pair to keep on reserve.
  • Better Homes & Gardens vintage-inspired fan (more styles here) – I have to give it to targeted ads because minutes after seeing these affordable fans, I went over to Walmart of all places to buy not one, but two! Most of the fan is metal, with exception of the knobs and it’s a shame they overlooked that detail, but they made up for it with a fabric-wrapped cord.
  • Athleta seasoft mid-rise straight crop pants in black – I wanted a new pair of pants for neighborhood walks or long-haul plane rides that weren’t yoga pants. I like a legging as much as the next person, but sometimes you just don’t want something digging in, you know? These are surprisingly flattering and feel lightweight and soft. However, do be aware that these are more of a charcoal grey than a true black. They run a little on the large side, but not enough that I had to size down.
  • Paravel “Main Line” duffle – Without exaggerating, this duffle bag was on my wish list for years. A recent sale was enough for me to take the plunge and add it to my ever-expanding Paravel collection. It’s so beautiful! And it’s a lot lighter than my leather duffle bag. Now we just need to book a weekend away!

Find previous “Notable Purchases” here and click here to see what I’ve added to my wardrobe this year.

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Filed Under: Recent Purchases Tagged With: Bought and Loved, Notable Purchases

Notable Purchases, Vol. 3

July 31, 2024 by jessica Leave a Comment

A few more recent purchases that are worth keeping on your radar:

  • Boden ribbed striped long-sleeve t-shirts (also available with a v-neck) – I bought one of these Boden long-sleeve tees on sale back in November and loved it so much that I refreshed the page almost daily to see if other colors would come back in stock. They never did, so you can imagine my delight to see this style part of the new pre-fall arrivals! I immediately ordered it in navy and yellow, along the the v-neck version. I go up a size so it’s not too snug across my midsection. I’ll likely buy another navy one to replace an old J.Crew tee that I’m not too keen on.
  • Undo Hairware claw clips – These are the prettiest claw clips that I’ve come across and they’re comfortable for all-day wear. (I hate when you can feel claw clips poke the back of your scalp!) They come in a variety of beautiful shades and are handmade in Italy. Yes, they’re pricey for what they are, but I’m over the moon with them. The 2″ clip is my favorite for securing a low bun. I’m planning to order the espresso one for autumn.
  • Monica Vinader turquoise pendant necklace (also available here) – This necklace was the only thing that tempted me into making a purchase at the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale. It’s dainty, but the turquoise shade is so bright that it’s still eye-catching.
  • H&M printed dress – This is such a great dress for late-summer and early-fall when you’re eager for fall colors, but the temperature doesn’t support wearing heavier materials. Plus, this is such a unique color combination that you don’t find often.
  • metal slat platform bed (also available here) – As I shared in a recent post, we’re working on our guest room and bought a bed! This was tricky because I wanted a platform bed that felt sturdy, was a combination of traditional and modern, and didn’t cost an arm and a leg — and would arrive before my parents stayed with us recently. Enter this bed. We bought it over the Fourth of July weekend when it was on sale for $520, which is about what I’d recommend paying for this. I will say that the quality is better than expected, and it doesn’t creak or otherwise make noise when you’re lying on it. I’m really happy with this purchase and appreciate that it goes with a more classic aesthetic without feeling old-fashioned.
  • Cocofloss – I realize that floss is such an odd thing to add to a roundup of notable purchases, but hear me out. I first heard of this brand from a dental hygienist and since I’m one of those odd people who actually likes to floss their teeth, I was intrigued. It’s thicker than your standard floss, but unlike most drugstore brands, it’s not overly waxed and slick. I wouldn’t say it’s gritty, but you can feel and see the fibers in the strands. This helps to remove plaque more efficiently. I’m on my fourth refill.

Find previous “Notable Purchases” here and click here to see what I’ve added to my wardrobe this year.

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Filed Under: Recent Purchases Tagged With: Bought and Loved, Notable Purchases

The Coveted: Items I Love, Own, or Would Love to Own

July 26, 2024 by jessica Leave a Comment

ONE | TWO | THREE | FOUR | FIVE | SIX | SEVEN | EIGHT | NINE | TEN

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Thanks for visiting! As a reminder, I may earn an affiliate commission if you buy an item through my links. This is at no cost to you. I appreciate your continued support!

Filed Under: Style, The Coveted Tagged With: the coveted

On the Right Foot: CopenPay, the Best Books of the 21st Century, Europe Travel Inspiration & More!

July 22, 2024 by jessica Leave a Comment

Above: Who could have predicted that a predominately concrete home could look so luxe? The green trim is perfection.

The Devil Wears Prada is getting a sequel!

The only item I bought at the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale.

While other countries are tightening restrictions on tourism, Copenhagen is rewarding eco-responsible travelers with free activities, drinks, and meals through CopenPay.

The best books of the 21st century.

Pairing a missed opportunity to buy a puffin sweater with the power of the internet yields this heartwarming story.

Burst tomato pasta is a summer hit.

Making progress on the guest room, which is even further along now. I’ll share another update soon!

A fantastic little drink table.

11 trips to inspire European wanderlust.

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Thanks for visiting! As a reminder, I may earn an affiliate commission if you buy an item through my links. This is at no cost to you. I appreciate your continued support!

Filed Under: Lifestyle Tagged With: On the Right Foot

We’re Finally Tackling the Guest Room

July 10, 2024 by jessica Leave a Comment

It’s amazing how quickly time slips by after you’ve purchased a house and how some of those “we’ll get to it eventually” projects are still on the to-do list years later. It’s not all that unexpected, of course. Houses are expensive and it takes time to save money again if you’re unwilling to shell out even more right away for renovations or furnishings. And then there’s the sage advice of urging you to live in your space before you make real changes. It gives you time to consider how the space is utilized and the opportunity to pinpoint the things that drive you crazy. And, if you’re like me, your style evolves along the way.

One of our spaces is the guest room — or, rather, the room on our second floor that makes sense to be a guest room but hasn’t actually had a bed in it since we’ve moved in seven years ago. The idea of spending money on a bed and mattress when we were in our mid-30s wasn’t something that we wanted to take on when we had other priorities: our own bedroom and a two bathroom renovations. Something recently switched for us and we’ve been more intent on furnishing that space. We’ve ordered a bed and a mattress, and I have plenty of products pinned to round out the room.

Before we get to all that, I wanted to share the guest room’s progress starting from our inspection through today.

Here’s where we started:

At some point, this house was a two-flat and the guest room had some kitchen cabinetry in it. We removed this within the first four hours of having the keys to the house and eventually put it up in the garage for added storage. On the left, you’ll see a doorway that was boarded up with an inoperable door and brackets. We also removed that right away, leaving us with an “open concept” space between the guest room and main bedroom that we ended up living with for a couple of years.

We had our floors refinished a couple of weeks after closing on the house. The timing worked out well as we had about six weeks left of our apartment lease while we were doing some cosmetic updates to the house, which included painting as much as we could manage. We were going to the house every day after work and painting until it got dark, then driving to the apartment. It was draining, and it’s what likely led me to go with this paint color initially:

I swear it looked grey in the swatches, but I didn’t take the time to put multiple samples on the wall to evaluate how it changed with the light. Instead of a pretty dove grey, it was lavender. I didn’t bother repainting right away; it was a space we weren’t using and we needed to solve this doorway situation before I was willing to spend a couple of hours repainting.

We eventually filled in the gap in the doorway with a shallow built-in on the main bedroom side (see it here). Our carpenter also created baseboards to match the original trim in order to fill in and repair the missing trim along the floor.

Also worth noting is that this area of the wall is now thin; it’s the depth of a piece of drywall and a layer of wood on the back of the built-in. There won’t be anything hung on the wall here because the nail will go right through the back of the built-in.

For paint, I decided to go in a completely different direction. Our main bedroom and office on the second floor are light and airy. Since the guest room doesn’t get a lot of light, I wanted to lean in on the coziness and go for something dark, yet classic. “Billiard Green” is one of the historic colors at Sherwin-Williams and I appreciate that it doesn’t skew too blue or yellow as many greens tend to do.

It was like that room was always meant to be green — just not in its previous iteration. It’s a beautiful color and I love how it looks on the original plaster walls.

(Oliver! I miss that little guy!)

After getting the walls squared away, we swapped out that ceiling-fan bracket for an actual light fixture and went with this one. It’s a $60 dupe of a more expensive West Elm fixture.

Now, the fun part! I don’t have a design fully fleshed out, but here’s what I’m thinking:

A metal bed is traditional and echoes the ribbed texture of the ceiling fixture. Plus, the bed is a a great price at $620 for a queen. Our style is very much traditional-meets-midcentury, so I’ll opt for a vintage-inspired nightstand like this one. We have a vintage dresser that I’ll keep, which has a similar wood tone. I haven’t settled on this lamp yet, but I do like the mix of wood and ceramic. I’m still exploring options for bedding, but I can’t wait to show you how it’s coming along!

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Thanks for visiting! As a reminder, I may earn an affiliate commission if you buy an item through my links. This is at no cost to you. I appreciate your continued support!

Filed Under: Guest Room, Home, Interiors Tagged With: bedroom, Guest Room, home design, home renovation, Interior Design, renovation diaries

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Hello!


Jessica Hamm
Hello there! I'm a first-time homeowner updating a 1920s house in Madison, Wisconsin. I have a penchant for travel and a love of costume jewelry.

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Our guest room wasn’t a design priority until la Our guest room wasn’t a design priority until late last year when we finally bought a bed, mattress, and a set of sheets. We used some of our own extra bedding (tucking in the generous overhang of our king blankets under the queen-sized mattress) and old bedside lamps from our bedroom: functional, but not quite the charming space I’d envisioned.
 
That started to change when I purchased the Popcorn Grid Coverlet from Schoolhouse — an item I’d been eyeing for years — plus some graphic floral pillows. Then came a bright blue round cushion and the sweetest Teig lamp, both generously gifted by Schoolhouse, and the room finally started to come together. You can shop my picks here: https://liketk.it/5f322

#Ad #SchoolhousePartner #SchoolhouseSpringStyle #SchoolhouseLiving #InteriorInspo #SlowDecorating #GuestRoom
Growing up in northern Wisconsin, lilacs always hi Growing up in northern Wisconsin, lilacs always hit peak bloom right around my birthday on May 30. My mom would fill a large crystal vase with fresh-cut stems, and their scent would waft through the house. 

Now that I live a few hours south and lilac season wraps up earlier, the blooms actually mark the start of my birthday month.

#Lilacs #LilacSeason #SpringFlowers #InBloom #BirthdayMonth #MayBirthday
Snapshots from the past week: • Spent quality t Snapshots from the past week:

• Spent quality time with my favorite cat

• Biked for Pacificos, chips and quac, and tacos at @bandit.tacos 

• Loved how the rain collected on the Lady’s Mantle I planted last year

• Dipped my toes (quite literally) into this year’s mesh shoe trend

• Snapped a lot of Lily content

• Drove home with a new lilac in the passenger seat
Finishing our guest room has been a focus of ours Finishing our guest room has been a focus of ours this year, and the cute Teig Lamp from Schoolhouse is such a charming addition to the space. It’s named for the German word for “dough,” which is perfect for its soft, petite shape.

Find this and the other Schoolhouse items we’re using in the space here: https://www.shopltk.com/explore/bedknobsandbaubles/posts/e01ae8c9-38af-11f0-b5c2-0242ac11000b

(The lamp and circle pillow were gifted. I purchased the other items.)

 #schoolhousespringstyle #schoolhousepartner #ad
Stripes, windowpane, floral, and a single polka do Stripes, windowpane, floral, and a single polka dot of bright blue to punctuate our guest room bedding. 

#guestroom #bedding #schoolhouseliving #schoolhouse #landsend #homedesign
I’m challenging myself to get through a backlog I’m challenging myself to get through a backlog of travel photos before we book our next trip. First up, photos of the gothic York Minster. I’m not religious in the slightest but I can’t resist stunning architecture and the opportunity to climb hundreds of cathedral stairs for a city view. This one only had a single rest stop about halfway up the flight of 275 steps for a closeup view of the flying buttresses — and a waiver you had to sign before your ascent to promise you’re healthy enough to make it.
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