LuxAholic!

sincerely....

2011-11-17T10:21:00.000-08:00

Source: Living, etc

most holiday seasons i have the grand plan, i want to be super woman...fantastic home, gourmet food and just all around hostess with the mostess...

but while i can usually get the food thing done and get the flat fitted out with lights and other bells and whistles, sending out greeting cards usually totally slips thru the cracks...

so this year, i am hoping a few apps on my good ol iphone will help a sista out...

here are some of the apps (and notes from their download pages) that i am testing out (well in advance?) that will send the cards out for me (winning)!

Red Stamp - Just voted Best Of the Web by InStyle Magazine.

Email, text, post, or paper mail personalized cards, notes, invitations + announcements effortlessly, right from your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch.

Snap a photo + share the gratitude of great gifts as they are being opened. Give your host instant gratification on a well-thrown party as you head out their door. Mail fresh, modern, expertly designed invitations, announcements and holiday cards to your list of 1 or 189 in mere minutes. With just a couple of clicks, Red Stamp will print a high-end, eco-friendly paper postcard and mail it directly to your list of recipients, postage included.

Holiday Cards by Sincerely Ink - Featured in Fast Company, Mashable, Techcrunch and more

- Over 30 photo cards and illustrated designs
- Religious, non-religious, Christmas, Holiday, New Year & Hanukkah themes
- Personalize with your photo, family name & personal message
- Send cards to your whole Christmas list in under 10 minutes
- Stress-free delivery. Backed by the Sincerely Guarantee
- Large 5x7 inch cards for as little as $1.69 each including postage!
- Cards are printed on thick, glossy 5x7 inch photo postcards at 300dpi resolution
- Cards are delivered to US, UK, European & Canadian addresses in under 7 days. Rest of world takes 2-3 weeks.
- Easily add addresses online at sincerely.com/addressbook

Instajoy - just released on 11/15, so they are still getting it up to snuff but it is an email greeting card app that you can instantly email a greeting in just two touches from.

Cards from Apple - The new Cards app from Apple lets you create and mail beautifully crafted cards personalized with your own text and photos — right from your iPhone or iPod touch. Take a quick snapshot and with a few taps and swipes, an elegant thank you note or “wish-you-were-here” card is on its way to any address in the world.

Choose from 21 designs and customize your card with a personal message and photo. Then select an address from your Contacts and place your order in seconds.

All your cards are saved automatically, so it’s easy to send an invitation or birth announcement to more than one person.

so, i am going to play with them all a bit and i will hopefully get to post how they work out...

holiday decor...

2011-11-07T21:41:00.000-08:00

i have decided that i will not get crazy and buy a lot of stuff this year...

last year macy's sucked me in with all the pretty displays (like the one in this picture i snapped the other day) and i purchased a bunch of very expensive new ornaments.

since even before i did that, i had a bunch of simple balls, etc in my holiday color of choice, silver, i am just going to make due with what i have...

but that doesn't stop me from oohin and ahhin stuff like this funky feather wreath which might just make me break this self imposed rule, but at just $19 it's a break i can deal with.

fall colors..

2011-08-16T16:30:00.000-07:00

i was in one of my fav second hand stores when i came across these beauties and fell in love with them.

the colors are fall perfect...

a trip to home goods

2011-06-19T18:27:00.000-07:00

i headed out to one of my fav home decor spots, home goods, and here are some of the goods i spotted...

i had this in the cart, i loved it so much but in the end, there was no way i was luggin it home on the bus...le sigh...

same thing for this globe...i love it but i couldn't carry it...

and besides, i am supposed to be on a budget and these things were/are not in it..

but budget or no budget, i may go back for this figure....i just love that she has such full hips....like me!

my fav home decor blogs

2011-06-08T18:08:00.000-07:00

my google reader runs really deep with home decor/ living blogs that i love...

i tweeted that i was going to go home and catch up on a few of them and got several requests to share some with my tweeps.

the great thing i love about blogs in general is the varied views, even if its about the same subjects, there is always a way to put a unique spin on them...

in no particular order, here are some of my favs...

of course you should subscribe to my home and hearth paper.li ;-)

http://paper.li/Curvatude/home-hearth

oh and check out the ones in my sidebar

http://savvyhome.blogspot.com

http://www.remodelaholic.com

http://www.bellemaison23.com

http://www.bobbyberkblog.com

http://www.centsationalgirl.com (she does the most fabulous refurb jobs)

http://www.davidlebovitz.com (food, food, paris and more food)

http://decor8blog.com (holly has been in the decor game for a long time, she also has a blog for her home in germany)

http://www.designshuffle.com/blog

http://freshhomeblog.com

http://www.housetweaking.com

http://blog.cb2.com

http://home23duncanboys.blogspot.com

http://isabellaandmaxrooms.blogspot.com

http://makingitlovely.com

http://www.thenester.com

http://thehappyhomeblog.com

http://theinspiredroom.net

http://www.allthingsthrifty.com

http://kjerstislykke.blogspot.com

http://madebygirl.blogspot.com (love jen, she seems like a really cool chica)

ok, i think that's enough for now!

please feel free to leave your favs if they are not listed!

thanks!

painted mason jars

2011-06-08T17:43:00.000-07:00

i have seen this simple craft all over the web, so since i have a bunch of lagunitas jars that were used for a promotion at one of my clients, i decided to make some myself.

this project took all of five minutes.

i used some semi gloss paint that i have been using in the front room redo...

and ta da....

Christian Lacroix for Designers Guild

2011-04-18T19:33:00.000-07:00

this is a most awesome collection full of color and whimsy...

luvs it...

hooked...

2011-03-24T13:31:00.000-07:00

i can not count the number of home decor/diy blogs that i follow and i thought that i had all the biggest and best covered but today thanks to the nate berkus show i was introduced to Rashon Carraway aka Mr. Goodwill Hunting

i have 5 pieces in my house that i have collected in recent months that i am supposed to be making over that have just been sitting around collecting dust and he has added the needed spark to my up and down home decor fire...

he created his blog for the purpose of as his tag line states, "helping you live your BEST life through thrifting"

i'm sold!

check out some of his fab spaces...

check out this clip of his time on the nate berkus show today

new treasure

2011-01-06T20:25:00.000-08:00

i made an impromptu stop into one of my fav second hand stores and happened upon this baby...

overall its in incredible condition...

there are just a couple of places on one side that will require a little extra love

and the top will require a good sanding...

i am still debating if i want to stain it or paint it, although painting is probably the route that i will go.

we shall see...

project upgrade is heating up...and now i just need to figure out where i am going to tackle these new projects at..

since it's winter here, i may have to get creative and use my heater and bathroom...

oh and i almost forgot about the side table that i got off of craigslist a few weeks ago...

i am getting very excited..

deck the halls...

2010-12-19T18:14:00.000-08:00

images - livingetc

for the love of colors

2010-11-30T11:15:00.000-08:00

so, i am still debating (months later) what color to put on the living room walls...its really at this point becoming beyond urgent for me, considering i still have these big splothes of color on the wall...

not to mention some new ones that i added recently because the colors green and orange have been calling out to me...

but now i realize that i really want to go back to my original inspiration, which was this Alexander Henry fabric that i purchased over two+ years ago...

it's so colorful and crazy...i love it...

the browns and creams and the cutenesss...

so, i am just going back to the drawing board and keeping it simple and going with white...the whitest white i can find...

why?

because i think it will be the great backdrop for all the other hues that i want to bring into the room like in these pics....

the white is such a great stage for the other tones to come to life...so i am just going to go for it...

Apartment Therapy 20/20 Home Cure

2010-10-17T17:38:00.000-07:00

for a couple of years now, i have been saying that i wanted to do the apartment therapy home cure and so i decided that this is the year!

this year they have shortened it to 20 days and just 20 minutes a day, which sounds really doable.

Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan fills in the details below..

the windows...

2010-10-17T12:58:00.000-07:00

months ago i posted what i thought would end up being the solution to my window issue.

i lived with the window film just taped up for months because from the moment i put it up i realized that i hated it.

it was just too opaque and too dang white...

my goal was to have light not turn the windows into big white blobs

here they are with the window film up.

so fast forward to a few weeks ago and the idea of frosting came to me, but there was no way that i could actually use glass frosting on the windows

low and behold a simple web search delivered my solution via lifehacker

glaze!

plain ol faux paint glaze, sans the paint...

you can see what a great difference it makes as far as privacy goes when you compare the bottom treated window to the top untreated...

Same here. Left side treated, right side not.

brilliant!

now i can have light without having to expose my everything.. and trust me sometimes it's truly my everything!

thank you lifehacker!!!

let the sunshine in

2010-08-04T07:43:00.000-07:00

i am always lamenting that my apartment is so dark, so i like to live vicariously through features like this one from living, etc

le sigh...

cheating on fashion...

2010-05-27T20:25:00.000-07:00

with furniture...

the clothes weren't the only wonderful things in Sex and the City 2.

the sets also gave you visual stunnernness...and here's a few reasons why..

the infamous couch of Carries discontent..

Carrie's fantastic closet

Carries old apt bedroom

Check out the rest at Elle Decor

Charles & Marie

2010-05-09T13:55:00.000-07:00

one of my favorite online shops is charles & marie.

they have some of the coolest, most unique products around..

check out a small sampling of some of the goods..

Icirus Lamp

gold fish trash bags

crazy eye clock

doily news coasters

calendar tape

, contemporary, conversation pieces...

sign up and invite your friends for a chance to earn loot to spend.

quick update

2010-04-27T08:05:00.000-07:00

the window film has been purchased and taped to the windows..

while i like the privacy that it will represent, i am not all that thrilled with the blank white color..

i may cut it into some kind of design..

still thinking about that.

i have also been looking at paint colors..

these are the three that i put on the wall a week or so ago....

intially i loved them...

now..not so sure..

the room will be "grounded" around this piece of Alexander Henry fabric, which i am hanging..

so, i don't know about the colors...

i may have to go back to square one on that..

operation windows wide open...

2010-03-01T06:44:00.000-08:00

ok, so i have purchased some window film but i actually ended up getting the gila frosted because it offers 24 hr privacy and that's really what i wanted.

so now i am just deciding how i want to hang it and by how i mean if i am going to cover the full windows or just the bottom panes and even if just the bottom, if i am going to cover the full pane.

i have this idea of leaving the outer edges somewhat exposed but i will probably tape it up and live with it for a few days before i decide..

i am excited to be actually making some progress on this..

Jayson Home & Garden

2010-02-26T10:01:00.000-08:00

One of the most fab home and garden stores is having a sweet upholstery sale!

apartment into home..

2010-02-08T22:47:00.000-08:00

revamp ideas..

ok at the beginning of the month i decided to take my dark affectionately called "cave" of an apartment and turn it into a light, warm welcoming home.

here are some of my planned changes..

i am going to start where i can have the biggest impact first, so that means the windows.

because the apartment is technically a rear apartment, it is sandwiched between two buildings and basically to have even a bit of privacy, i keep the curtains and blinds drawn most of the time..otherwise i am staring into my neighbors place and they are watching me traipse around in my sexy flimsy things.

so operation windows wide open plan will start with the following..

-window film. the goal is to bring in the light but not look cheesy or like a church.

at the moment my heart is set on using the Gila Mirror Privacy Window Film

but we shall see..

Upgrade..

2010-01-03T13:07:00.001-08:00

you...

i live in an apt and i dont know how much longer i will be in it but it's way overdue to make it more of a home..

a place that feels like me..

stay tuned..

home decor..

2010-01-03T12:40:00.000-08:00

love bazaar..

this list of all of the blogs that were up for this years Apartment Therapy The Homies 2009 award is a treasure trove of hundreds of home decor blogs..

Real Simple: Craft Store Holiday Decorating

2009-11-30T20:09:00.000-08:00

lovely, simple ideas to add holiday cheer to your lux abode

<--more-->

mantels..

2009-11-29T09:10:00.000-08:00

etsy...

2009-11-29T08:40:00.000-08:00

holiday...

these are a few of my favorite things...

z....

2009-11-03T23:20:00.001-08:00

gallerie...

Dining on...

2009-11-01T21:00:00.000-08:00

eames..

lay your head on my..

2009-11-01T20:37:00.001-08:00

Dining on...

2009-11-01T20:28:00.000-08:00

a vine..

Organize it...

2009-11-01T20:06:00.000-08:00

in birch..

pumpkin faces

2009-10-18T09:35:00.000-07:00

in high places..

lounge..

2009-09-17T16:29:00.001-07:00

have a..

2009-07-27T07:53:00.000-07:00

setee

vintage love.

2009-07-26T12:59:00.000-07:00

in chicago

its hammock time.

2009-03-19T21:24:00.000-07:00

lounge with me..

>

sit a moment.

2009-02-01T19:59:00.000-08:00

lovely new chairs from target

what a..

2009-01-29T15:43:00.001-08:00

bath..

oh sweetheart..

2009-01-29T12:07:00.000-08:00

for the love of..

2009-01-28T06:55:00.000-08:00

alexander henry.

lay your head on my..

2009-01-24T11:46:00.000-08:00

pillow

look at the man..

2009-01-24T11:11:00.000-08:00

in the mirror

quote it..

2009-01-16T06:22:00.000-08:00

timber..

2009-01-16T06:02:00.001-08:00

a little teapot..

2009-01-14T22:15:00.002-08:00

stash your cash..

2009-01-14T22:02:00.001-08:00

in a bankabank..

so adorable.

you say vase..

2009-01-14T21:29:00.000-08:00

i say vase.

listen with your..

2009-01-14T19:57:00.000-08:00

ears..

and your heart..

light my fire

2009-01-14T19:13:00.000-08:00

beachy...

2009-01-08T12:55:00.001-08:00

oh how i would love to be here.

reflections..

2009-01-05T18:44:00.000-08:00

simply...

2009-01-05T18:30:00.000-08:00

dine...

winter...

2008-12-18T15:10:00.000-08:00

wonderland...

almond..

2008-12-11T18:18:00.000-08:00

and joy..

almond breton biscuits

the only..

2008-12-11T18:16:00.000-08:00

rules that i live by are the ones that demand that you be uniquely you..

what about you?

not there yet?

perhaps you can try it..

i guarantee you will love it...

the simplicity of it all..

2008-12-06T22:29:00.001-08:00

all that glitters..

2008-12-06T22:08:00.000-08:00

is silver and gold!

wreaths

2008-11-10T07:13:00.001-08:00

simply..

2008-11-06T09:25:00.001-08:00

Eames Crosspatch Wall Graphic by Blik Surface Graphics

Chilling with Eames Print

Films of Charles and Ray Eames: Box Set (2005) - DVD

Wood Covered Eames Address Book

Eames Stamp Kit [Paperback]

coastal living..

2008-11-06T08:13:00.000-08:00

2008 Idea House

walk softly

2008-11-02T18:14:00.000-08:00

and(no need to) carry a big stick..

light up my world

2008-11-02T08:02:00.000-08:00

branch out..

2008-10-27T22:40:00.000-07:00

in blue...

moMa..

2008-10-27T21:46:00.000-07:00

rekindle..

2008-10-27T20:39:00.000-07:00

love..

oh tamara

2008-10-27T20:14:00.000-07:00

you thrill me..

i want to read with you..

nap with you...

cuddle up with you...

define it.

2008-10-27T18:52:00.000-07:00

its a relatively new term. completely made up and up for interpretation.

i use it to describe those things that make me feel giddy inside, in particular things for the home that make it the only place that i want to be..

so, this blog will be all about home, decorating, living, design, fashion, fun..

just things that i love.

that call out to me.

in muted, colorful, understated, wild, mysterious wonderful ways..

welcome..