Beautiful Things

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t’s hard to believe that Valentine’s Day is in only 2 weeks. And one of my favorite stores, Crate and Barrel, has some wonderful Valentine’s Day kitchen items to help get you in the mood.

From Valentine heart plates to heart-decorated dish towels, they have it all. I’m a fan of the Barefoot Contessa, so right away I noticed C&B’s Barefoot Contessa red velvet cupcake mix with cream cheese frosting.  Make the cupcakes (and use the Valentine heart cupcake liners) and then, with Valentine decoratifs, you can embellish your cupcakes.

Crate and Barrel also has Valentine cupcake stencils (pictured). For only $5.95 you can decorate your cakes, cupcakes or cookies for Valentine’s Day. They also have heart-shaped springform pans, cake pans and pancake molds!

I’m  loving the spring Ballard Designs catalog! There’s a ton of beautiful new stuff in it and best of all, they are offering free shipping through this weekend if you spend over $50.One of my newest favorites finds is their new Couture Pillows. I love the look of these pillows and also the fact that they come with a hypoallergenic insert. No more feather inserts that I’m allergic to!

These are classy pillows, in a beautiful neutral color with braided cording and embellishment. They cost a pretty penny at $99.00 each, but they’re luxurious and simply beautiful!  The pillows are made for Ballard by luxury design firm Ankasa.

Photo: Ballard Designs

I may have mentioned that I discovered Facebook recently (I know, I know, where have I been the past 5 years?). It’s been quite interesting reconnecting with old friends.  And I was thrilled to find a few old friends on Linkedin as well.

Part of me thought, why not leave that in the past? I mean, let’s face it, my good friends and work colleagues have stayed with me all along. But it’s not always possible. Life gets in the way and before you know it your lose contact with someone. That doesn’t make you (or them) a bad person. It’s just life.

 Even if you haven’t talked to some in a decade, there’s something fun about reconnecting  with them on a social network, seeing photos of their family, etc. It’s better than a high school reunion if you ask me.  I’m  simply loving it!

One of my favorite things to do on a lazy Sunday afternoon is to go and tour the new construction model homes in the area. Besides getting some awesome decorating ideas, it’s fun just to dream. 

I’ve picked up ideas for the latest paint trends and  window treatments. Have you noticed that most model homes have neutral paint color, and it’s often the same- or similar- color throughout the house?

Then there’s those fun kid’s rooms. There’s usually an untra- girly girl’s bedroom and a themed boy’s room or a nursery. My kids love seeing the creatively decorated kid’s rooms.

The basements are usually finished, giving me ideas for our own basement playroom. We saw one home with a mini basketball court in the playroom. Very cute!

If you’re into home décor, touring model homes is a fun way to spend an afternoon. And best of all, it’s free! 

Okay, so you may have to really be royalty to afford this one, but I thought it was so unique I just had to share it with you.For your perfect little princess, check out this gorgeous White Chocolate Castle from Chasing Fireflies (www.chasing-fireflies.com).It’s made of solid white chocolate and sprinkled with sugar crystals and adorned with sugary pastel flowers. The castle measures 11” in height and can be displayed on a cake trivet. Okay, so at $140 it’s definitely pricey, but it’s a stunning confection for an ultra-fancy princess celebration! I bet it tastes good too.It’s so pretty, I wouldn’t have the heart to eat it though!

You’ve probably picked up on the fact by now that I’m big on accessories, especially easily changeable accessories like throw pillows. But let’s face it, sometimes I spend way too much time searching for the perfect pillow, be it due to the size or the pattern I’m looking for. And I rarely replace entire pillows– I usually just change out the covers, which can make the process all the more difficult because I’m limited to a particular size. If you like to sew, check out the fabric by the yard selections on some of the more popular home decor websites.  Both Potterybarn and Ballard Designs offer fabric by the yard. I am especially impressed with Ballard Designs current selection of fabrics. They have some beautiful floral prints right now, which can enable you to easily coordinate your pillows and window treatments with high quality fabrics. And you gotta love that! 

Such a little thing, but it makes all the difference. I like to use all white towels in my bathrooms. To me, white represents fresh and clean and it even makes doing my laundry easier because everything is white so I can just do a whole load of towels together.  But I like to add some color when it comes to hand towels, especially in my powder room.Pretty hand towels with a splash of color are a great and inexpensive accessory for any bathroom. You can buy hand towels anywhere from Target to a high end department store, and the effect will still be the same. A pretty, bold print will give your bathroom great personality.Look for bold floral prints , modern stripes or just vibrant solid colors- whatever suits your decorating style. 

It’s a breath of fresh air- literally –when you get an unexpected warm day in the middle of winter. That happened to us yesterday, in the northeast.

The temps went into the 50’s in my area—hardly a heatwave, but it was warm enough to melt most of the snow and allow the kids to play outside and  ride their bikes. I still wore a winter coat, but it was my lighter quilted one, not my parka.  That brief warm up is enough to lift my spirits and remind me that spring is just around the corner. And now today we’ll only be getting into the low 30’s, but I sure enjoyed yesterday and I’m thrilled to know that there will be many more days like that coming up soon.

Once the Christmas clearance is cleared away at Target (and yes, I got some 90% wrapping paper), it’s time to fill that space with some stuff to get us in the mood for spring.

Every year, Target’s Global Bazaar line is like a breath of fresh air. The line features coordinating furnishings and accessories to help us beat the winter blues. All at reasonable prices!

This season features lots of pretty pillows in blues and greens, beaded table runners, decorative mirrors, lamps and other accessories. I love the dark wood furniture, too.  It makes putting a room together easy for the decorating-challenged because everything is right there!

If you haven’t seen this year’s line yet, get to Target now. The Global Bazaar line sells out notoriously fast. After all, Target has to make room for the patio furniture soon!

Take a look at this PRETTY bedding from West Elm.  It’s called the Shadow Leaf Organic Duvet and Shams. What I like most about it? It’s gorgeously simple. Not too masculine and not too feminine, and it’s a nice, neutral color.

I love West Elm’s quality. This set is made with 300 thread count organic cotton. Yummy—and soft!

I also love that most of West Elm’s bedding is machine washable, this line included.

The duvet ranges in price from $89 to $119, depending on the size you need. Shams are available in both standard size and euro size, which is another plus (I think euro shams are sometimes hard to find).

You can also buy comforter inserts from West Elm.