Category Archives: Perfectly Placed

Trolley

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If I told you the number of hours I’ve spent searching for the perfect industrial-styled cart for our eclectic living room, you’d roll your eyes and call me crazy. But here’s the thing about decor in my home…I need my furniture and accessories to speak to me. Just like the mannequins who spoke to Rebecca Bloomwood in Shopaholic, I must connect with every piece that comes into my little castle. While on vacation this past weekend, the communication lines were definitely open! For starters, I knew this metal trolley would have a passenger seat on our drive home the minute I saw him! Then, I met baby turtle in a store appropriately titled Hissyfits. I wanted mama turtle, too, but J put his foot down and I decided I’d do us all a favor and forget the tantrum I felt like throwing. And oh did I cave when I saw the Turkish towels as Patchouli’s.

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So the trolley has found a new home nestled in between our vintage wingback chairs, replacing the bachelor’s chest that will have it’s own new spot (to be announced soon).
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Styling the cart requires balance, and making baby turtle a focal point was a priority. John’s Gentleman books and his great-uncle’s vintage pocket watch were the perfect combination for his whiskey collection. Nothing says Southern like a mint julep cup filled with peonies.

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The Turkish towel pops with its bright blue against the industrial grey.

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Trolley:Tracery, Rosemary Beach; Wooden Turtle Shell: Hissyfits Boutique, Rosemary Beach; Turkish Towel: Patchouli’s; Coasters: Kate Spade; Wine Bottle Coaster: Pottery Barn

Disclaimer: No baby turtles were injured in this process. Killing sea turtles is illegal, people. Baby Turtle is handmade, carved from wood and stained to replicate an actual shell.

A Fresh Coat

Posted in Perfectly Placed, Styled, True Love by

After purchasing our 1957 ranch-style home four years ago, we have experienced the highs and lows of home ownership. Always the couple searching for a new project, we have found ourselves to ALWAYS have something to do. For us, the interior was what we wanted to tackle first, and the exterior was just a paint peeling, 1,500 square foot, brick building. After a few quotes from painters, we decided we’d just have to live with the chipped pieces. Then, the home renovation angels began to rejoice for my dad volunteered for Freeman Home Improvement Project 2012! Hallelujah! My dad is not one for hearts, butterflies and long walks on the beach, but I can tell you that working from before the sun came up until after the sun had long set to make sure everything at our house was just perfect before he left is just one of the many languages of love my dad speaks to me. I’m a lucky girl to have such a talented dad who gives so generously of his time. Enjoy!

The front door and wreath (after).

Before: As you can see, the dark shutters and dark door do little to give our house the personality of the people who live inside. It’s simply flat and boring. Also, I failed miserably to capture how terrible the paint looked. I also failed to snap any during pictures. Which you should thank me for that because dad, mom, John and I were one dirty and paint-covered bunch. Anyway, aside from a few blooming plants, it’s rather dull and boring.

Before, again.

This just makes me shout, “TADA!!!!” A front porch with personality! I’m slightly obsessed with the front door. When I applied the first coat of paint, Dad and John’s eyes looked the size of softballs. After the third coat, we all agreed, I was RIGHT…as usual.

New numbers on the front gable.

Jack couldn’t be more excited about our new porch benches. We do hope you’ll stop by, enjoy a glass of sweet tea and visit with us for a while.

The inside of our little castle has even more personality…more on that later.

Potted hydrangeas on the front porch.

What I really need to say is a GIANT “THANK YOU” to my parents for all of their hard work this past week. I should also probably say “I’m sorry,” to all of our neighbors. Please forgive the loud pressure washer you heard every night until around 11PM. The before and after shots really don’t do all the work justice, thought it does explain why I’ve been MIA for two weeks (week one was the laundry room redo…more later).

Unfortunately, my dad didn’t have a relaxing Father’s Day, but we did buy him a new orbit sander. I cannot promise I do not have a project in mind! Here’s hoping your dad had a Happy Father’s Day!

Mother Knows Best

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Nashville-based mom, Laura Graham passed her love for Apple products onto her adorable son Fenn. At under two-years-old, Fenn needed a little help taking care of his iPad, so mom got to work with an old iPad case, two stroller latches and some duct tape. After her handmade prototype was a hit with other moms, Laura went back to the drawing board and perfected her product giving your tiny techies the iLatch.

Now, I’m kid free, but I’ve already grown attached to my iLatch. Seriously, you can hang it anywhere! Ive attached mine to my kitchen cabinet so my counter space is free while I’m cooking. My recipes are now eye level, and I’m no longer dropping flour or tomato sauce on my beloved iPad. My iLatch commitment won’t be stopping here. While the weather is too pretty to workout indoors right now, my iLatch will definitely accompany me to the treadmill for runs during the sweltering summer days in our near future.

For all you super cool moms out there, the iLatch attaches an release easily to the headrest of your car, your strollers, your pack and play…really it attaches to ANYTHING! You can find Laura and the iLatch here. And you’re just in time to vote for the iLatch to make it on the shelf at Wal-Mart.

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Label Me

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While my life can get pretty chaotic at times, there’s not much that can make me happier than having everything organized and labeled. I was a fan of Martha Stewart long before I ever worked on her television show, and since then, I’ve only gotten more categorized and color-coded. There’s something about that bird’s egg blue and the accents of red that are a match made in heaven for me. So, imagine my joy when MS announced her home office line exclusive to Staples. As I rushed out to the nearest Staples store (I had to see it in person), it was SO difficult not to buy everything! So, I came away with a few must-haves…chalkboard labels, elastic tags, food labels (that don’t leave a sticky residue, yea!), a dry erase stick-on decal, a red binder and lots of goodies to place inside it. Make sure to check out the collection for yourself.