I heart Jonathan Adler
February 29, 2008 // 2 Comments
I just finished reading/lovingly looking at the photographs of Jonathan Adler’s book My Prescription for Anti-Depressive Living. Most of his stuff is a little off the wall but how can you not like a guy who’s manifesto starts off with these lines:
We believe that your home should make you happy.
We believe that when it comes to decorating, the wife is always right. Unless the husband is gay.
We believe in carbohydrates and to hell with the puffy consequences.
One of my favorite quotes from the book was, “When you have your picture taken, rent a white poodle and eat Froot Loops–they’re more photogenic than oatmeal.” So random. A good read to say the least, and aren’t those fun interior pics of things he’s done?
What I know for sure
February 28, 2008 // 2 Comments
I’m feeling slightly inspirationless today so I’m going to tell a funny story instead of the usual.
I love Oprah. I love Oprah so much that I own her dvd set. I love Oprah so much that when her ticket phone lines were open this month (a rare occurance) I called nearly 500 times in one day. I love Oprah so much that when her magazine came in the mail the other day I marched around our house holding it above my head and singing a song I made up.
So here’s the story- last year Ryan and I were at the Provo post office (not the NY or Chicago post office where this could occur, but the Provo post office.) He jumped out of the car to drop something off while I waited. When he got back in the car he said that their was a woman in a parked SUV that looked exactly like Oprah, in fact he thought it might be Oprah. I laughed and we started driving off but then he convinced me that I needed to go check for myself, in case it was really Oprah. Okay, I convinced myself that I needed to make absolute sure it wasn’t really Oprah. So I got out of the car and pretended I was going into the post office just so I could glance into the SUV. I got all excited like it was really going to be her. When I looked into the car to my surprise I saw a woman who wasn’t even black and looked absolutely nothing like Oprah. I was heartbroken. Thanks a lot Ryan.
While I’m speaking about Oprah there’s another funny story involving her. One Christmas I was watching the E! True Hollywood Story of Oprah thinking that if other people wanted to watch something else I would change it. Pretty soon both my parents and my sister and her husband started watching it with me. My dad (who’s known for avoiding things like this) seemed really enthralled with the entire show. I didn’t have to change the channel once.
BTW, the picture is one of my favorite covers of her magazine. When I got this issue I laughed out loud. I love the fact that she’s on the cover of everyone of her magazines because if I had my own magazine, I would do the exact same thing.
Daily Dose
February 27, 2008 // 3 Comments
From a lot of my inspiration posts you might think that my future house will probably look like a coloring crayon box when I’m done decorating. The truth is, I really like a pretty neutral, crisp looking room with bright accent pieces. I love these chairs (the second one is a before and after) and I think they would just brighten up a room with a neutral couch and fun pillows. The third pic is a little bit more dramatic but it gives a great example of having neutral furniture with one great accent wall and a few fun chairs. I don’t know if I’d ever be brave enough to paint my wall turqoise…
Dear Coworker,
// 1 CommentIs it really necessary that everytime you walk past my office you have to look in? I don’t know why it bugs me so but it does. From now on, please just look straight ahead so we don’t have to exchange awkward glances 100 times a day.
The best idea ever
February 26, 2008 // 1 Comment
Please, somebody who lives in Utah go to this frozen yogurt place for me. I’ve been wanting good frozen yogurt for several months now and was excited to visit the local TCBY when I went home for Christmas but then Kelly informed me that it was closed. My dream crumbled before my eyes. But seriously, how can you pass up a place with that many toppings?! I would drive to Utah just to go to the Yogurt Stop, and to say hi to my family of course.
I first read about this on http://yourheartout.com/ which features everything hip and cool in the Salt Lake area. It almost makes me miss Utah. I never thought I’d feel this way.
I think I’ve been tagged…
// 4 Comments
Ryan told me I was tagged by his sister but now I’m thinking there’s a possibility that she could have been talking about a different Mel. If that’s the case, my self esteem just went down 10 notches. Alas, I’m going to write about myself anyway.
What were you doing 10 years ago-
I was in 6th grade wondering if a boy would ever like me, wearing high waters and jean vests and meeting Katie Stukey who is still my best friend.
5 Things On My List To Do Today
1. Don’t miss the bus.
2. Exercise.
4. Do about a trillion things for my boss.
5. Send a couple packages to my BFFs.
Snacks I enjoy:
cold cereal (my new favorite is Apple Cinnamon Cheerios), York Peppermint patties, peanut butter M&Ms, seven layer bean dip
What I would do if I were suddenly a millionaire:
Quit my job, invest wisely, pay off student loans and, let’s be real here, I would go shopping
Three bad habits
1. I’m a nail biter; trust me it’s been my New Year’s resolution to stop for the last ten years.
2. I always have to have dessert.
3. I interrupt people, especially my husband. Sometimes he talks slow.
Five Places I have lived
1. Great Falls, MT
2. New York, NY
3. Provo, UT
4. Lawrenceville, NJ
5. Denver, CO
5 jobs I have had
1. Paper girl (since I was 8 years old- one of the many bragging points my dad brought up when Ryan asked him if he could marry me)
2. Ice cream scooper (All you can eat ice cream all summer long)
3. Delivering ads at BYU (I got to drive an awesome van)
4. Intern at Wunderman (Madison Ave, NY- Yeah, it sounds cooler then it actually was but I miss it)
5. Account Coordinator
Five things people don’t know about me
1. I like when I have to wait in a doctor’s office if they have good magazines. It’s my only chance to read People and not feel guilty about it.
2. I wish I could go back and change so many things about my wedding day, (why didn’t I do something better with my hair!?) but the fact is nobody probably remembers it or cares besides me.
3. I used to assign genders to inanimate objects. The spoon was a girl who was dating the knife and the fork was really jealous.
4. I’m afraid that my kids aren’t going to be cute.
5. I think Q should be somewhere closer to the W, X and Y in the alphabet.
I tag Karen, Jill, Natalia and anybody else who wants the opportunity to tell the world about how cool they are.
I’ve never met a Toby that I didn’t like
February 22, 2008 // 4 Comments
This is Toby, the cutest nephew I girl could ever have. His mom, my oldest sis, requested that I think of some ideas for his room. Now, I’ve thought of a lot of ideas this week, so brace yourself. I’m not saying that all of these ideas need to be implemented because that would result in a room of total chaos, I’m just giving Michelle a lot of things to pull from. So here we go!
I love the idea of having a mobile hanging up. Here’s some ideas on how to construct one yourself. Doesn’t Gina know how to do orgami? The first one you can buy at this store. 
I think there definitely needs to be shelves with cute pics, books and fun little items on them. A homemade sock monkey is definitely in the works from me. 
Speaking of fun prints, I’ve found a few. Wouldn’t it be great to have cute framed book covers. The Barbar one is especially colorful. (These can be found on allposters.com)
I love this print although it is pricey. They also have cute number cards that are cheaper and could easily be framed. 
It’s not the dresser I’m liking in this picture, it’s the framed print. It glows in the dark to show dinosaurs made from the stars in the sky. You can see more of the artist’s prints here, sadly most of them are sold out but there will probably be more coming. Once again, a little pricey but really cool. 
Wow, wouldn’t a colorful alphabet be fun? Another DIY project. 
Okay, just one more. I think the idea of chalk board paint is super cool. Even if you just did a small square on the wall or the closet. A fabric covered bulletin board is also easy to assemble or a framed magnetic board to display T’s art. 
Okay people, now tell me what you think!
Design inspiration overload
February 21, 2008 // 0 CommentsI have a lengthy list of design inspiration I’ve spotted over the last couple of days and it keeps on growing. These are just a few pictures of things I’ve loved but there will be plenty more to come.
This first pic was spotted on Design Mom. If I’ve said it once I’ve said it a thousand times, green is my fave.
I love, love, love this room. I want a green chair exactly like that. I’ve been looking on Craig’s List but all I find are hideous southwestern pattern recliners. I’ll keep looking.
This pic isn’t anything too exciting but wouldn’t it be fun to have a ginormous calendar like that?
Flats!
February 20, 2008 // 0 Comments
In my last post (like 2 minutes ago) I mentioned I wanted new flats so I did I quick look for some cute ones and look what I came up with! So exciting the trends this season. Does anybody want me to go shopping with them? I would be your personal stylist free of charge.
FYI: First pair is from Target. Middle two are from Old Navy. Last two are from Piper Lime.
The Sartorialist
// 0 Comments
The Sartorialist is an amazing blog filled with pictures of people dressed beautifully that the photographer runs into on the street; mostly in NY, Milan and Paris. Mind you, a lot of the outfits are not really my style and cost more than my entire life’s savings but that doesn’t stop me from being inspired or from admiring the beauty of the photographs. A lot of these people look like they belong in a magazine. Ahhhh, Some people just have it together.
Above are a few looks that inspired me. I love the lady in the black dress because of her blue shoes. Randomly I’ll be posting pics like this that inspire me so next time I go shopping I have something to draw from. I find that if I have a few items in mind when I go shopping, the trip is much more fruitful (just a tip). Right now I’m on the hunt for some inexpensive, colorful flats for spring. They just brighten up any outfit.
Eventually one day when I move back to NY I will be on the sartorialist. Of course, my goal at BYU was to get into the Daily Universe and that never happened.
FYI: sar·to·ri·al –adjective 1. of or pertaining to tailors or their trade: sartorial workmanship. 2. of or pertaining to clothing or style or manner of dress: sartorial splendor.
(Thank you dictionary.com)
