Me, you, and the guy in the Carhartt hat

Fashionistas, the time has come! We are officially off on our mini vacation, and i had to update you quickly with two very important things. 1. My new Prada bag will be flying by my side! I wish I could get her own seat, but you know who wouldn't support that idea. Instead, I think I'll just hold her on my lap the whole time, as we don't want her catching any infectious airplane diseases or residue on the floor. And 2. On Prada's first day out, guess who got extra dressed up for the occasion?!  The husband. And by dressed up, I mean he chose my least favorite hat. By Carhartt. That is faded grey and looks like it belongs to a grandpa. We do not appreciate this! This is supposed to be a big moment for the whole family but he had to go and ruin it with the Carhartt hat. And this inappropriate comment t 5am: "I don't even want to know where or when you got that bag." 

Now, this is odd because I specifically asked if I could get this bag back in May. He said no, and then I bought it anyways. (It was truly a once in a lifetime opportunity. I know most people use that phrase when they get into Ivy league schools or something equally melodramatic, but I reserve it for TRUE accomplishments, like a successful buy at an exclusive sale! This bag can be worn cross body AND top handle - so really - I'm topping the charts on the achievement scale.) Maybe he just remembers saying no, and I just joyfully recall the glorious afternoon I hid her in the back of the trunk until I could break the news? And maybe I forgot to break the news and just went forward with my usual scheme of "transitioning" items into the house. I had a super sly move earlier this summer where I actually utilized friend's extra big closet to store 2 pairs of shoes until the timing was "right." (Special thanks to Lulu for her discretion and her storage space.)

our first photo together - this must be love!

So, maybe this hat is karma for my sneaky ways. Now that I think about it, if the husband had asked me if he could buy this hat, I would have definitely said no! And he would have come home with it anyways. (Notice - there was no asking - this thing just showed up in my beautiful light blue, cream and chocolate schemed bedroom one day, perched on the dresser like it belonged there? I think not.) 

Prada vs Carhartt. Truly, a match (or battle) made in heaven. Wish us luck this weekend...

M stands for Mudroom

I know... I'm a terrible blogger! I've left you out of nearly two years of my oh-so-fascinating life and let me tell you - a lot has happened. New job, new car, obviously new clothes, shoes and handbags, but who's counting those? My fellow fashionistas, of course! Don't worry - photos of my favorites to come in future posts. (I can't wait to introduce you to some new delicious friends named Gucci, Fendi and Prada...) I will point out I do have the same husband, and we have recently worked on his wardrobe as well, so that's a win-win for everybody (alleluia that he is not so chummy with my friends mentioned above, or else we would really be in trouble).

But I'm back (for now) and am going to try harder to "commit" this time. If you're still here, thanks for reading and thanks for waiting for me. Sometimes sticking to something is hard to do... Like when remodeling the smallest room in your house turns into something much bigger. Bigger project, bigger budget, bigger marital dispute, or just all of the above!  Mini Mudroom definitely turned into major endeavor.

Yes, this near-clinical type A person recently allowed a DIY home improvement project to take place in her home. Actually, "DIY" is the wrong term; the husband is a general contractor, so this was hardly a little craft project from the Real Simple magazine I pretend to read each month. We took the tiny room off our kitchen door and frankly, made it a (teensy) masterpiece! But not without a pretty price (from both my checkbook and my sanity). I'll share my findings during this super special time in our marriage.

Here's what I learned:

• deadlines are my obsession. They are not, however, a friend of the husband's. Actually, I think until he married me, he maybe did had never heard the word.
• one more difference between us: I always thought "1 weekend" meant 2-3 days; he apparently interprets it as 4+ weeks. Is this kind of like a fortnight where no one really knows what that means?
• painting is way harder than it looks and makes my arms tired.
• if you paint while drinking wine, it just gets harder and looks worse. Dang.
• men should never select paint alone. This creates a mean(er) wife and multiple trips to home depot.
• I am always right. (Funny how this seems to be a recurring lesson in our marriage.) What color did we paint the tiniest room in the world? Creme brûlée. EXACTLY what I said from the beginning. Spotted it amongst a million little paint samples and it matched the kitchen perfectly.
• just because the room is literally 3x3 does not mean the mess can't spread across multiple floors and multiple rooms. This is simply torture for someone who can't sleep unless the house is dusted almost daily.

Take all of the above plus 5 weeks of my gentle "reminders" (aka psychotic ranting and nagging), and wa-lah! There is a darling little room that I come and go through every day. Yesterday, I learned how much the whole thing cost, and if there is such thing as "designer" mudrooms, I've got one! It's functional, and of course it's fashionable...

This handy set of hooks holds my my aprons (that I have never worn, but they look adorable, don't they?). They're  both from Anthropologie - check out the darling new ones here . (I must say - they are great gifts for brides-to-be who have aspirations to be great housewives - like I once did!)

The white hooks (steal of a deal at Target) also house my reusable totes. Yep, I am "green" now! (Don't even get me started on the annoying bag ban in Seattle though.) This is my favorite shopping bag, so I keep it on display and stuff the others inside. I found this one and a few others with fun prints at TJ Maxx - only $3 each and they hold a ton! (Just remember to tell your bag boy at Safeway not to FILL the bag - holy smokes - you could throw your back out when the bozo packs it full of bottled water.) It is so much more fun to be green when you can look good doing it (obvi). 

Last but not least - here is a great shot of the Creme Brûlée shade of paint! Isn't sweet? My vintage milk sign and bottles are from Cost Plus World Market (LOVE that place!), but I feel like they definitely look like an antique store find. I'm sharing my secret with you though, so you too can have cute accent pieces without spending your weekends trolling dusty, overpriced antique warehouses (that can be fun, but who has the time? Especially when World Market is right by the mall).