new blog.

I've moved blog locations. It you follow this one, please update your bookmarks and references to this one: http://kellieanne.wordpress.com/.

Thanks everyone!!! XOXO

san francisco trip

Heading to San Francisco today! It will be a quick trip- arrive there around noon today, head for home Saturday afternoon.

On the agenda:

• Ferry ride
• Semi-aimless walking around Chinatown, pier, Ghiradelli Square, flea markets, etc
• SF MoMA
• Aquarium
• Shopping
  
• Ciopinno
  
• 65 degree temps= boots/skirts
• Union Square
• Wine tasting
• Fish Eye camera fun
• Stationary stores

happy weekend & some inspiring things on the web

A great way to start a Saturday is spending an hour drinking coffee while lurking around new {to me} blogs for fun inspiration. It gets me in the mood to tidy up the house, put on some blush and brush my hair, make my to-do list {to include something random like "dye white skirt purple"}. Creative people inspire me to do just a few more things I wouldn't think of on my own and I love that.

Here are some particularly inspiring things I found while following a breadcrumb trail of pretty things on blogs I had never seen before. {It always amazes me how many great things are out there on the Web.}.

1. The most perfect living room {via Simplygrove}:


2. One broke but stylish gal's daily outfits for our viewing pleasure {Darling Dexter}:


3. Sewing room in a closet {olivetti studio}:


4. Another pretty gal's style {shoes, especially}, posted often {Some Girls Wander}:


5. Fantastic photographer series {Simply Hue}:

fall wishlist

The buying hiatus ends September 1, which means fall will be right around the corner. I love fall fashion. And maybe because it used to mean back-to-school season... that time of the year still signifies looking for new boots and hoodies. It also means piling on lots of funky layers, wearing just some smokey eye makeup, and drinking lots of lattes.

I typically only buy a few new things each season. Here's what's on my {MK Olsen-inspired??} wishlist for fall. I can't buy it all but I'm certainly considering many of these, especially that plaid shirt (and it's a bargain!) and those sweet boots (which will take some budgeting...)

Plaid tunic, Owl Face ring, Belt, Skinny jeans, Necklace, Grey slouchy tee, Boots, Dress, Bomber jacket

dining room re-do

Almost a year ago I posted about how I plan to incorporate a more neutral palette into my house; tone down all that color I initially thought I wanted. I put together a design board for my dining area, that was, at the time, sporting some lime-green chairs and orange pendant lights {see?}.

I switched the orange pendant light covers for white a while ago, but the lime green chairs have been there until I found the perfect replacement chairs. I was leaning toward the natural woven ones, or something black and metal like on my design board, but hesitant to spend the dough. Yesterday I decided to keep up with my "use what I've got" spirit and re-do the dining area on a tiny budget.

Here's what it looked like before I got started, for reference:



I spray painted the chairs an ivory color. I didn't want everything to be super white, and black just seems to need to be dusted every single day. I do enough of that. I switched out some accessories, too.



Now with a more blank canvas, it seemed a bit naked. I rearranged and added mostly* things I already had around the house to the table top and shelf.

*I ended up breaking my buying hiatus with more than a few cans of spray paint. I bought this bell jar at Pier 1 for a screaming deal. I've always wanted one so I broke down and splurged to complete my dining room makeover. I think it's the best thing since Elvis.



Finally, I needed some height and white up on that black shelf, so I added a framed piece of scrapbook paper. I used a frame and sheet of paper I already had on hand. I would have chosen something completely different had I bought something brand new, but working with what I had brought out something more creative and unexpected.



Here's the final result. I actually love how it turned out.



Total cost: $40.

sucks.

Late last week my desktop computer crashed. EFF EFF EFFitty EFF!

Saturday I took it to the geeks down the road to restore and *hopefully* recover some hard drive contents. Particularly my something like 10,000 mp3s. Over a year ago I went digital with all my music and sold every CD I owned. Luckily I backed up everything on an external hard drive the same day. But since? I've only downloaded my music, and (shamefully) never got around to backing up my music collection or photos. I suck.



Thank goodness for Flickr, and the fact that I actually have been pretty consistent about backing up all my photos. It'd be devastating to have lost all those pictures of jell-o shots.



Guess what I DIDN'T lose? Homework for my Econ class... this is the LAST WEEK of class and I've been working from my laptop since I got it in June. PURCHASE: VINDICATED! ♥ ♥ ♥ you, new laptop. But I am backing up my school shiz to a thumb drive right now just in case.

san francisco trip

I am itching to go somewhere, so... I am planning a short {budget-friendly} trip to San Francisco for September {and kidnapping my husband if I have to}.

{source}

I love planning trips!!!

First, I am planning to get the $59 city pass, which includes tickets to:

• Unlimited cable car 7 day pass
• California Academy of Sciences
• Blue and Gold Fleet Bay Cruise {a one-hour cruise along historic waterfront}
  
• Aquarium of the Bay
• San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
• Exploratorium

I also want to:

• Visit Alameda Flea Market
• Walk around Fisherman's Warf, Union Square & Chinatown
• Shop at the cute little boutiques & eat at the cute bakeries

SFGirlByBay's "If you're going to San Francisco" tagged posts are giving me lots of ideas!

Anyone have any other good suggestions?

bright eyes - lua

I love this song. It reminds me of a great friend and coffee chats.

more boho

Man, I dig some of these shots.

what i'm wearing this week, too-much-black edition

I took a break from this last week, and could tell the difference each morning when I was standing in my closet in my pajamas... I am definitely someone who benefits from some prior planning. I was literally late for work every single day.

Nothing notable this week except Friday, hopefully a shirt from tonight's TOOL show at the ESA. Stoked!

I was inspired to do all black this week by The Uniform Project. This girl has committed to wearing the SAME DRESS every day for a year, or at least 7 of the same dress, just accessorized differently each day. Amazing, seriously, I am totally in awe. Donations through her website funds a project that gives kids living in the slums of India school uniforms and supplies. Read about it here.

She posts a picture of every outfit and is well in her 3rd month. Here are a few of my favorites:

{I kind of have a girl crush on her.}

"no retail" update

My "no retail" challenge is going pretty well so far, 19 days in. That's almost 1/3 of the way!

I haven't been perfect. I've made a few spending justifications, like:

• A thrifted pair of jeans, but they were a swanky name-brand pair for $11. Had to do it, right? They are this exact pair ($187 retail)- HA!!! This is the best thrift find I've ever had.
  
• A pretty fern for my house for $2 at a nursery
• New bag for my laptop... I got a good deal on Amazon.com and bought it the night before my no-retail challenge but it didn't show up on my debit card for a couple days... Grrrrrrrrrr

This whole thing really has me thinking about money, however. Like, those few things I did buy don't make me feel guilty because they weren't impulsive. This makes me really think through my purchases, which has stopped me from picking up a shirt here, sandals there.

Another thing I've noticed is, I don't put entertainment costs in the same category in the least. A few frames of bowling with friends, a movie with the hubby, having people over for dinner and a few pitchers of mojitos... I don't give it much thought, but I also don't feel much guilt over it. I think experience costs are worth it, in moderation. But I do need to put a bit more effort into slashing this bill, too.

Today I'm working on an official budget I'm going to try to stick to in August........

image via fffound

///cajun dinner club, plus more me on the internet...

Last night was cooking club, Cajun-style, at Steph's house. It was awesome! Seriously, people down south know how to eat, YUM. We had crawdad po' boy sandwiches, etouffe, jambalaya, candied sweet potatoes, grilled kabobs, red beans and rice, bread pudding... oh man.

Today I'm setting up a blog for the cooking club so we can swap recipes and photos. Check it out- Appetites Anonymous. Still rough, but it will be totally awesome.

I made mint juleps {posted the recipe here} and red beans and rice. I'm not a fan of the mint julep. It was too sugary for my liking. Apparently it's a Kentucky Derby staple beverage, so maybe I was just missing the giant hat.

{Photo source}

bohemian bedrooms

I am trying to pay better attention to what decor style suits me best. I am always drawn to interiors with a bohemian/global/eclectic vibe to them, even though in my own home I have a tendency to remove clutter constantly and keep things simple.

Still... some manage to get it perfectly right- just the right amount of color and pattern to be interesting but not chaotic, with lots of pretty old things mixed in. I am totally loving these bedrooms {and I'm inspired to play around in my own today and see what I come up with....}.


LoVe the pallets and old door as a bed! {via Design*Sponge}


Interesting patterns, and still really calm and zen-like. {via i Suwannee}


Lots of decades represented here, but it totally works. {via Remodelista}


Really colorful and pattern-y and makes me want to sew. {via Made By Girl}


Why don't I use more yellow? {Country Living via Made By Girl}


I like the black elements here and there. {Canadian House and Home via Made By Girl}


Low beds have an instant boho vibe. I like the neutrals. {via Apartment Therapy}


I could soooo live here. Perfect amount of color. {via Apartment Therapy}

And with that, I'm headed to the swap meet. {HAPPY WEEKEND!}

happy birthday, bro

Happy birthday, Kev! You're the best brother in the history of brothers.

a quote. just because.

"I've got a great ambition to die of exhaustion
rather than boredom."

Angus Grossart