Loving the Rustic Glam Trend

As I mentioned, I've been on a mad organizing (and, inadvertently, redecorating) spree.  Since most of our focus was on the wedding over the last 2+ years, we've really neglected our house to do list and I'm excited to get back to focusing on it going forward.  We're in this weird place where we're deciding whether it makes sense to sell our house and move on, or continue pouring money into our current house and stay for the long(er) haul.  I lean towards the former and the hubs towards the latter, but either way I'm itching to do some house related things so I'm proceeding as best I can using as little money as possible while we decide.

The inspiration that has been driving my recent efforts is what I like to call the "rustic glam" look.  Mirrored pieces mixed with rustic wood, more modern items pieced together with items that exude character and history, California chic meets European sensibility and tons of texture and mixed metals are calling my name!

This look is more difficult to pull together than it would seem, though, so I'm slowly but surely wrapping my head around getting the look without spending too much or having it come across as hodge podge.  I think the key is having at least 2-3 "hits" of each variety (modern, glam, rustic, etc.) so everything has something play off of but also something to relate to, and having a neutral backdrop to provide the eye a chance to rest.  Here are some images that have been inspiring me:

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 Gorgeous no?  Stay tuned to see how I am trying to achieve this look in our home!

Hello Again!

Where does the time go?  Just when I was getting into the blogging thing, life takes a huge turn and then all of a sudden it's almost two years later!

So much has happened since my last post that I wish I would have blogged about it so I could remember it all!  Many changes at work (more aptly put, mass upheaval), some good and bad, but a lot more responsibility came my way and some great travel opportunities to Asia and Europe took a lot of my attention.  Lots of vacations as well - to Ecuador, Thailand, New Orleans, Las Vegas, Turkey and the Maldives - tied me up the times I wasn't traveling for work.  Oh yeah, and the wedding that pretty much sums up my whole 2014! Phew!

But, I'm back.  I've been kind of itching to do something new and different and thinking this could be the creative outlet I originally intended it to be once again.  No promises on posting frequency, topics, projects, etc., just more of an ongoing musing/tracker/online diary to help me organize my thoughts and ideas and keep track of my life.  Hopefully someone is still reading along ;)

New Patio Plans

Life has been hectic over the last few months, but I'm glad there's some normalcy returning to our lives.  Part of that normalcy is more house work - we have grand plans for phase 1 of our backyard renovations this year and it is all very exciting.  As we iron out the nitty gritty on the bigger (not so glamorous) parts of the project (like fence, patio and shed work) my head is spinning with the more fun details that will help make the space feel like an extension of our home.  Here's an idea of where I hope to take our backyard over the coming weeks/months!  I'll be back with some before and progress pictures soon!

patio by wpolanco on Polyvore

Santa Baby...

...I've been an awful good girl...

Holiday Wish List by wpolanco

What's on your holiday wish list this year?

Christmas Chez Nous

I'm totally anti Christmas this year, but Esposito decided he wanted to decorate so decorate we did.  Here's a peak of how we brought the festive to our house:



garland, ornaments, apothecary jars and a cloche adorn the dining room

i like my trees to sparkle (with - literally - 1000 lights)

vignettes even made it to the ornaments - a bird and his birdhouse

the stockings were hung with care... and greenery and candles and framed NOEL



sticks in a vase make the perfect card hanging spot... now if only we'd start receiving cards...

a welcome wreath lights up the foyer



my first ever attempt at a seasonal planter... or the planter in general

esposito even got on the roof and hung lights ... only took 4 years and 11 months



it is so pretty to look at all together, i must say

It's feeling mighty festive around these parts.  How do you decorate for the holidays?

One Thing Leads To Another (Dining Room Edition)

My sister and I are switching dining room tables because I need one with a leaf and she feels like hers is too big for her space.  Here is what my new-to-me table looks like:

It's an antique, solid wood and fits 10-12 when expanded (if not more).  Perfect.  The switch is scheduled to happen tomorrow.  Eventually we will have it refinished in a darker wood tone, but for now, I think this will work just fine.

Of course, a new dining table means a new dining room plan.  And today I found (and purchased) a new rug.

It is big (8*11) and $10 at Lowe's (here).  I can't attest to the quality, but I figured for $10 I can give it a shot.  It's more traditional and not the color scheme I normally veer towards, but upon closer inspection it has some of the grays and greens in my house already and I think I can make it work.  I'll try to at least.


Of course, this fabulous dining room immediately came to mind (don't you just love Sarah Richardson?)

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And so I started working on a design plan for the room. 

dining room by wpolanco on Polyvore

I'm trying to find a way to make it less country and more modern since this new plan also has to work with a very modern (new-to-me) black leather couch in the adjacent (totally open) living room.  Let's see how that works out.  Not sure if I succeeded, but I think it sure is pretty.  Thoughts?

Bar Cart Love

Early Saturday morning, for some reason, I decided to browse through craigslist and found a listing for a vintage bar cart for sale for a song by my mom's house.  A quick drive later, and I was loading it into my car.  It's brass with black accents, has two glass shelves, and is surprisingly sturdy for being on wheels.  Behold my new-to-me bar cart (excuse my blurry Iphone pic, please!):

I'm super excited to style it up - I just have to find a place for it in my house first!  In the interim, a few images of inspiration.  I love it when bar carts house "bar accessories" and not just alcohol - makes it more interesting to look at and more practical.

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Source: thelifestyledblog.com via Wendyjp on Pinterest



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Stay tuned for my final product!

Zara Home

I'm sure you've all seen a plethora of posts on the introduction of Zara Home for the US market, but I couldn't help myself but to look through the site and see if anything caught my eye.  Lots of pretty, texture and goodness among the products and pricing seems pretty decent.  I'm not sure that there's anything I absolutely have to have, but I definitely welcome another source for items for my home!  Lo and behold, my fave Zara Home products.

Zara Home by wpolanco on Polyvore

Have you checked out Zara Home?  Anything you're dying over?

Once You Go Black...

A few weeks (months? years?) ago, I picked up a gallon of black paint from the ooops pile at my local home depot.  I think it spent a few days rolling around in my trunk, and then a few more (days? weeks?) stashed away in our garage awaiting the perfect project.  Then yesterday, on a whim, I decided I was going to redo one of our guest bedrooms and quickly remembered that I had a gallon of black paint stored away.  And thus, one of my walls went black (I don't have a before picture, but I had, at some point, painted some haphazard grey and white stripes on the wall).  Excuse the crappy Iphone pictures too ;).

I decided to paint the sloped part of the ceiling as well so that the wall would read as one. The rest of the bedroom walls will be white since, this being a fairly small room, I didn't want it to feel too cave-like. Now I'm all kinds of excited for the moody, glam feeling I'll be able to create in here for my guests. Behold some inspiring images:



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Of course, this being a totally impromptu project, I'm working within significant budget constraints - meaning I'll be using mostly things I already have around the house to pull the room together.  Behold my inspiration board:

Guest Bedroom by wpolanco on Polyvore

Stay tuned for the big reveal!

Friday's Fancies - Short & Sweet

As part of my (non-intentional) blogging hiatus, I've managed to miss out on some fabulous Friday's Fancies themes.  But I think I came back just in time, as this week's theme is Short & Sweet.  I imagine a lot of outfits will revolve around shorts, but one trend I'm really loving lately is high-low skirts and dresses, and, in my mind at least, they are totally applicable to the Short & Sweet theme!

Friday's Fancies - Short & Sweet by wpolanco featuring diamond bangles

I would totally wear this out for dinner and drinks with Esposito or a group of friends, and love how the girliness of the skirt is contrasted by more masculine accessories. Head on over to Long Distance Loving to see the other Friday's Fancies posts!

Loving Lately ~ Potting Benches

One of the best things about summer is spending time outdoors, and Esposito and I really try to make use of our yard by grilling dinner and eating al fresco every night that the weather permits.  Though our patio area has taken a backseat to other house projects we have pending, now that we are making more use of our yard, we are starting to long for a prettier space to enjoy.  Of course, budget considerations won't let us do too much too soon, but I am looking forwards to making it a prettier space no less.

One look I'm loving lately is potting benches.  Now, I don't have the greenest of thumbs so I don't do much gardening (you should see what my herb garden looks like now - poor plants!) but I think a potting bench could be so useful for entertaining as a place to put beverages, utensils, and food while still serving its utilitarian purpose when not entertaining.  Plus, a potting bench tends to look so charming when staged.  Behold:

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I must figure out a way to make one of these ... stay tuned! Do you have a potting bench?