More Temptation

I came across another website today that is full of stuff I want to buy. Maybe you've heard of it (or not - like me)? It's called Ballard Designs.


The site provides European-inspired home furnishings and accessories. In just the short amount of time I spent browsing the site, I found a thousand things I wanted. Some of the prices are "reasonable" and some are a bit pricey. But it's inspirational and fun if nothing else.

Here are a few items I liked.

1. One-of-A-Kind Lock ($25): Each style is patterned after a found vintage lock and comes with decorative key. Use them to start your own collection and then collect more on your own. You won't know which type you'll get until it arrives in its own drawstring jute pouch, so it's a fun surprise. (Love this.)


2. Shell Shadowbox (Sale $24.99): Individual sea shells are always beautiful, but massed together, they create stunning natural art. You can purchase a 2-section, 4-section, or 8-section box. Each option is shown in the picture.


This would be a great DIY item...I pinned it to my DIY board!

3. Set of 12 Hanging Label Holders ($16): Crafted of metal with a slot for your own labels and a hole for a ribbon or twine hanger (not included). Antique bronze finish. I love to organize!!!


4. Custom Stamps ($40-$60): This is a totally customizable stamp that adds a personal touch to notes, letters and packages. The personalized design produces thousands of impressions. I want this ASAP! Here is 1 of the many designs they offer...

There are a ton of personalized items to purchase on this website.

5. Carriage House Chandelier - Small ($129): This would be ideal in an entry or small dining area. It can be hung or semi-flush mounted. It comes in bronze (shown below) or white. I want this light in the white semi-flushmount version for our downstairs hallway.


6. Rattan Step Basket ($45): Designed to rest at the bottom of your stairs, so you can fill it with things that really belong upstairs. Small organizer basket inside has three compartments and lifts out. Larger step-shaped basket has one deep well for taller items. We need this for our stairs!



I could shop and shop and shop at this website. However, my pocketbook prevents me from doing so. In the meantime, I'll window shop (computer monitor shop?) ... and plan for Christmas presents in December.

Also, there are only a few store locations in the U.S. (none of them near me), but they have an online catalog for browsing/shopping and you can request catalogs to be sent by mail for FREE. I love the word "free".

Just thought I'd share the world-wide-web-love with you. XO!

Long Story Short (or not)

It's story time. So, I hope you have a few minutes to spare me. Ahem...

On Friday, I mentioned that one of my goals for the weekend was to hang up some pictures/artwork over the many bare walls in our house in hopes of making the space feel more like "home". And since Joey was going to be M.I.A. all weekend, I found it to be the perfect opportunity to plan out a course of action, get the materials needed, and get to work (while listening to Disney princess music...I guess the Royal Wedding put me in the princess mood). Anyhoo...

As I mentioned, included in this "plan" was the intention of running out to local stores - Target, Hobby Lobby, Marshalls etc - to hunt for bargains, find what I was looking for in the art/pictures/frames department, and implement it. I was stoked.

Well, starting Thursday or Friday (I forget which day), our one and only car starting having major issues. Like transmission-type issues (although the transmission is actually fine). When driving the car it sounds like the inside is going to fall out onto the road and the car may break down at any moment and you're hoping no one is watching you as you loudly pitter-patter down the road at 20 mph. Not good.

With no real plan of action (yet) regarding said car, Joey exits the state for the weekend with his friends and leaves me home alone with the "car". His final words to me are as follows, "Feel free to try and drive it, but remember I won't be able to come help if you break down on the road."

Whomp. Whomp. Not encouraging.

I did make one attempt to drive the car on Saturday, but I only made it about 1/2 mile before deciding to turn around and go back home - all the while planning a course of action in my head should the car suddenly stop working in the middle of the road. Thankfully, I made it back to the driveway, but I didn't make it to any stores this weekend. Boo.

Trying to stick to the plan, I made a small attempt to hang a few items using what I had on hand. So, I'll share a few pictures with you that I took of the living room. Just keep in mind that this is still very much a work in progress. But something is better than nothing, right? Right.

Here is the picture I shared with you on Friday. It's the blank walls of the room. The other walls not shown do have some decor on them.


And here are the walls with a few additions I added this weekend. The wall space in-between the 2 windows on the left still seems a little bare, but that's intentional. I need to leave room on either side of the windows because the plan is to hang curtains (sometime soon) there. So, please use your imagination and think about what the wall would like like with curtains filling up some of the empty space. I still plan to add more decor. I'm just hesitant to add it until the curtains are up. Make sense?


Here's a close-up. The items I hung on the left wall include 2 keys from a Pottery Barn set of keys that I bought a while back, a picture frame (missing the picture that will go in it) and a plate sporting a little bird on branches. I bought the frame and plate super cheap at Marshalls a few weeks ago.


Above the swing arm lamp, I hung a picture of Joey and I from when we were dating. Yes, it's like 7-8 years old. But I love it. It's in a Pottery Barn picture frame. It's been hanging on a wall in every place we've lived since we got married. I refuse to change the picture.


Before & After (a small improvement)



Here are a few other snapshots around the living room, including some spring/summer decor I added to the bookshelves by the fireplace.


The small plate on the top shelf is also from Marshalls and coordinates with the large plate hung on the wall. The glass hurricane has some sand and beach-y items in the bottom of it.


Below is a wreath my mom made for me. It adds a spring flower vibe to the room. The little nest in the center fits with my birdie theme in the room.


I bought a bronze wreath hanger (from Target) to hang it on the door in the living room.


I hope our yard has real flowers like this someday...



So, that's my (long) story for now. I also hung some items in our den and bathroom. More to come on that as I have time. I'll also update you as I finally make it out to stores to get a few additional items I need in order to implement other projects.


Now it's your turn to tell a story. Have you hung anything on your walls recently? Are there any pictures/items that you refuse to get rid of because are you living in the past like me? Ha.

Royal Obsession

Was anyone else besides me totally obsessed with this Royal Wedding thing on Friday (and Saturday and Sunday)?!

Initially, I thought the whole thing was "no big deal". I didn't even think I would watch any of it.

Then I slightly changed my mind and decided I would at least DVR it - just in case I wanted to check out "the dress" or something.

Then Joey was gone all weekend (playing paintball with friends), leaving me alone with the TV and DVR. I starting watching this wedding ordeal about 7 pm Friday evening . . . . and I could not get enough of it. I was hooked.

The wedding ceremony details in and of themselves were enough to grab my attention for the full 4 hours (the ceremony was beautiful), but I also love European history, and so while I was watching the wedding on TV, I was at the same time reading through the official website of The British Monarchy.


The website includes all the facts regarding the history of the British Monarchy and its traditions. It answered many of my questions: What is a Duke? an Earl? a Countess? Who is "so and so" in relation to the Queen? Why isn't Queen Elizabeth's husband called "King"? What do these people do all day? Who lives in which castle? Who is related to whom? (I'm slightly nosey.)

The website also includes little peeks into the Castles and Palaces owned by the monarchy. And if you don't know by now, I'm a teensy bit obsessed with houses of any kind. Bring a castle into my view, and I just might go nuts. The sheer size of these castles alone is enough to boggle my brain, but then you add the architectural and historical details of these residencies and I die.

The website gave the most information about Buckingham Palace, and that's what I'm going to share with you today. So, if you're not interested in castles, you can stop reading here. Otherwise continue...

For much of the year, Buckingham Palace is used by The Queen and members of the Royal Family for official functions and events. The State Rooms of the Palace are open to visitors during the Annual Summer Opening Her Majesty is in residence at Balmoral Castle.


Buckingham Palace has 775 (!) rooms. These include 19 State rooms, 52 Royal and guest bedrooms, 188 staff bedrooms, 92 offices and 78 bathrooms. In measurements, the building is 108 metres (354 feet) long across the front, 120 metres (394 feet) deep (including the central quadrangle) and 24 metres (78 feet) high. Here are a few snapshots of the rooms available online...

1. The Grand Staircase: Designed by the architect John Nash for George IV, the staircase was augmented by Queen Victoria when she added portraits of her immediate family.


The dome, which allows daylight into the Grand Staircase, consists of 40 panes of glass, engraved and etched by the firm of Wainwright.


The decorative scheme of white and gold was introduced by King Edward VII soon after his accession in 1901. The plaster decoration, including the reliefs of the Four Seasons, were designed by Thomas Stothard.


Queen Victoria had full-length portraits of her immediate family fitted into the walls of the upper part of the stairs; these include her parents, the Duke and Duchess of Kent and her predecessor to the throne, William IV and his wife, Queen Adelaide.



2. The Throne Room: The Throne Room is used principally for the reception of formal addresses on important occasions. John Nash designed the interior, in which everything is designed to focus the eye on the throne and canopy. Queen Victoria was the first Monarch to make use of the Throne Room as the setting for balls. In the 20th Century, the Throne Room has been the setting for official wedding photographs, including the marriage of Queen Elizabeth (and Prince William and Princess Kate's photos).



3. The Blue Drawing Room: George IV intended this room as a ballroom, but it was superseded in that function by Queen Victoria’s Ballroom in the south-west wing of the Palace. The room is 21 metres (68 feet) long and divided into bays by giant Corinthian columns. The blue flock wallpaper now in the room was hung by Queen Mary in the early twentieth century, while the Corinthian columns were re-painted to resemble onyx in the reign of Queen Victoria.



4. The White Drawing Room: The room is used for receptions and audiences and has been used as the backdrop for a number of formal photographic portraits of members of the Royal Family. John Nash reserved one of his most original ceiling designs for the White Drawing Room.


At each end of the room two pairs of ebony-veneered cabinets with gilt-bronze mounts are built into the wall beneath tall mirrors. One of them is incorporated into a concealed door . When opened, the mirror and cabinet open as one to to provide members of the Royal Family with a discreet means of entering the state rooms from the private rooms beyond.



5. The Green Drawing Room: No information about this room on the website, but I like that you can see the Thrones Room through the doors.



6. The State Dining Room: I counted and I think there are 24 chairs around the table. That would be great for nice family parties!



Does this interest anyone else as much as it does me?

I could keep going with pictures of Windsor Castle, St. James's Palace, Balmoral Castle, Frogmore, Clarence House etc ... but I'll stop here for today.

Holla if you want to see more!

Oh, and to check out virtual views of these rooms yourself, click HERE.