I've been inspired....

...by Real Simple. Yes, a magazine has inspired me. I read an article in the March issue called "What's Your Decorating Style?" Apparently I'm "Vintage Eclectic". I, of course, am loving this and completely agree. I mean it says I should be shopping at Anthropologie, (my favorite store), and should be inspired by designspongeonline.com, (a website Breanne turned me on to years ago). So, this works out well. Here's the description:

"A rich, layered look combining flea-market finds, furniture designs from various time periods, (including Victorian pieces and 18th-century French styles), and a diverse collection of accessories of artwork. Dusty colors, timeworn or handmade textiles, and collected objects create a lived-in feel. Think Paris flea markets, Granny's teacups, the film Grey Gardens." Yes, please. Anyway, this article inspired me to wander around my house and take pictures of all my favorite things. I've always LOVED decorating, and taking photos of my favorite furniture, art, accessories, etc., made me very happy tonight. I feel pretty materialistic, but also very happy with my taste and my home, and very thankful for all these "things" that mean so much. I just want to start off by saying I'm obsessed, okay, maybe not obsessed, but I really, really, really dig red lipstick. I've always loved Gwen Stefani, and whenever I wear it, I feel like I'm rockin' her signature style.

I'm loving this designer called "Papaya". They make the most beautiful cards, wall hangings, journals, magnets, and gifts. I've bought this stuff for myself and for friends. Best of all, the designer is originally from Ashland, Oregon. Yay! Check it out here... I'm also a huge fan of Pink Martini, a now world-famous band originally from Portland. One night Mike and I were walking around downtown a couple of years ago, and we found dozens of these posters out in the trash behind a Borders bookstore. This is now hanging over my dresser. It's the album cover for "Hey Eugene"... and old photo from the 70's that the band loved and used for the cover art. Love them, love this! Now, if I could just meet China Forbes or Thomas Lauderdale... Dear freaking LORD. I cannot find the name of this artist online, nor can I read her name on the back of this little piece of artwork! I traded some jewelry for this panel a couple of years ago at a street fair. Anyway, this now hangs in my bathroom and I LOVE IT. If anyone knows the name of this artist -- please comment and tell me who she is! I bought this piece in college and still love it. I'm a fan of these vintage advertisements in small doses. This is a big one, but it's the only one I own. I'm a huge fan of dried flowers. You'll find them all over my home, in wreaths, tucked away in little vases on the wall, inside books, littered throughout my bookcase that holds some of the things I cherish most, and in this big arrangement on top of our TV case in the living room. Dried lavender makes me happy, and this dried lavender makes me especially happy because it has a great memory attached. There's this crazy guy, the best kind of crazy guy, who goes to street fairs all summer and hands out giant bunches of lavender to everyone he passes by. One of my dearest friends, Kelly, and I got bunches at the Mississippi Street Fair last summer. It reminds me of her, of how happy the lavender guy was, and how such a small act could bring such happiness to so many people. I also heart my vintage bicycle and rock salt candle holders. They're beautiful when they're lit up, so naturally pretty -- and when you like them, they're salty. Yummm... I love this chair. I love my guitar, (even though I never play it). 'Nuff said. Awhhhh, the wine rack and our beautiful wine glasses. Mikasa sets for martinis, champagne, white and red wine... wedding presents... and the little wine wrack we put in. It was the first "home improvement" project Mike and I did together when we first moved into the condo. I love this pillow, (it was actually in that same issue of Real Simple), and this family heirloom quilt is on our bed. I have no idea who made it, which side of the family it came from, or how old it is. But I love it, and it reminds me of how awesome my family is. The bookshelf that holds all things beloved. Sometimes Mike catches me gazing at it with love. My awesome racks... the best jewelry storage devices ever. They're from Saturday Market, a great artist who's still there each Saturday. A postcard I framed, (this is actually one in a set of three hanging over the piano). I love birds and flowers... and some sheet music is mixed in there, too. I bought this wreath for my Mom when I was a freshman in college. Every year on campus there was this HUGE arts and crafts fair. She loved it, and it was hanging up in the living room year round for 7 years. I got it from our house in Carson City this last year when we started the process of taking important things from the home, before Dad moved up here. My Mom's treasured piano. That's a picture of my Grandma and my Mom and her brother, my Uncle Mike. This piano is like having my Mom in my living room all the time. It kind of freaked me out when we first moved it in here last summer. It was like a constant reminder that she's gone, and now I have the one thing that was most important to her. My Grandpa Mel bought this piano for her when she was 6 years old. If you open up the top, on the inside is the credit receipts he used to pay for it. I don't think there was very much credit happening in the 1940s... but he bought it brand new for $600 on credit. It completes me. My favorite rug. This thing is totally falling apart, but I've never found another rug even close to how awesome this one is. So, it stays forever! My cookbooks and the glorious aqua-colored KitchenAid mixer. I'm getting more and more into cooking, and this thing is sooo much fun! I traded jewelry for this little watercolor painting last Spring at a craft fair. It says "Beauty is when you grow old." I just love the rose and how it floats in the black frame. Scarves. Scarves. Scarves. I could write an entire blog about scarves. And one about shoes, too. I'm sure those will both happen sometime in the future. I LOVE wearing scarves... this is my collection... spread across the bed. I think there are 17. Definitely room for more. :) Pink tulips remind me of our wedding. I love them, and I love having fresh flowers in the house as often as possible! Whew! That's it! That's a LOT of stuff! But everything has a memory attached to it, making all of this "stuff" a lot more than stuff to me. I look forward to continuing to collect my favorite things, and someday have a house full of stuff that's just "me".

In the meantime, when I wasn't running around taking pictures of the condo tonight, earlier today I was super productive, building new earring cards from misprinted business cards, and dropping a TON of jewelry off at What's Upstairs on Northwest 23rd Avenue. I mean, seriously, I dropped off like 50 pieces this afternoon! They look great in the store, and I talked to the owner about maybe doing a hosted jewelry party at the store sometime next month. That would be so much fun!! Be sure to stop by the store, and check out my stuff, as well as the awesome consignment, (a lot of them designer), pieces inside!

Anyway, the earring cards look like this. Thanks again to Tanya for creating the graphic look for Katery Designs!!!

Sorry the picture's all blurry. Lame. My new camera is great, but I can't take close-ups at all with it. My old camera's busted. This means I haven't been able to take good, close-up shots of jewelry in a long time; hence, my Etsy doesn't get new stuff, just jewelry that's been listed, refreshed. Ugh. I'll work on a solution soon.

That's it for tonight. That was one long post!!

'Night, night...

Love,
Katery