{new office rug + layout}

A few months back I bought these lamps for my office, but they didn't quite fit underneath the shelves in the previous layout.  I loved these lamps so much that rather than return them and find something a few inches shorter, I decided to re-arrange the office to make it work.  You can see the original layout here.  I actually like this layout much better especially since my desk now looks out the window, but the room still didn't feel "finished" yet.

RugsUSA offered to send me any rug of my choice and this completely solved the uncompleted feeling I was experiencing with this room.  It's crazy how much a rug can pull together a room in an instant.  After agonizing over which rug to choose, (see those options in this post) I went with the safe bet on a trellis pattern in creme and deep navy.  This rug is 100% wool so it has a plush feel to it, but it's not too fussy to be inappropriate for the office.  I also figured that if we ever move to another place without a 2nd bedroom then this rug will easily fit it with our decor in other areas of our place (navy has clearly become one of my favorite colors to decorate with after all).

Right now RugsUSA is offering 65% most off their rugs so you can scoop this guy up for less than $200!

{vintage milk glass and frame from Target} 

 {acrylic note cube from The Container Store & Russell + Hazel tape dispenser}

{office rug shopping}

I recently went on a little shopping expedition on RugsUSA specifically looking for a rug for our 2nd bedroom which serves as my office/closet (and if we are being honest- I take up way more than just the closets in this room- it feels good to admit it. thats all.)  I recently moved around the whole set up in this room, but you can see how it originally looked in this post.

This room happens to be on the corner of our building and is consistently 10 degrees colder than other rooms in our place which can be an issue in the winter so rug would definitely make it a bit more cozy. It took me months to finally decide on a rug for this room- mostly because I don't think we will have a 2nd bedroom in our next place so I wanted to choose a design/color that could work well with our other furniture.  Here are a few of my favorites that I debated between and be sure to check back next week to find out which one of these I eventually chose!!

clockwise from top left: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 

{new additions}

It's been a while since I did a little new additions round up on the blog and I have some fun things to share that I have picked up recently (in addition to yesterday's feature on our new piece of furniture!):

 {Over the past year or so I have purchased about 3 or 4 of this same case and while I do still love it- it was time for a change (maybe something not plastic that I end up breaking every 3 months!) and when I came across this new J. Crew case on sale this past weekend I knew I had to go for it! I actually like the Iphone5 colorway even better!}

{I have a weird obsession with rare or unusual pieces of vintage Gucci & Louis Vuitton (like this garment bag or this clutch). After I purchased my new Macbook almost 6 months ago, I started scouring eBay for a vintage blue Gucci portfolio shaped bag to use as a laptop case and one finally popped up last week! You can find a similar one here or here} 

 {This summer, I have been determined to finally figure out a set-up that I like for my office (you can see the previous set up here, but I have since decided that wasn't working for me!).  I picked up a few accessories for my desk recently including this gold frame from Target & a vintage hobnail milk glass candy jar}

 {all three of these new additions to my shoe closet were major sale scores- the two on the left were both from the last days of the Zara sale ($29 each! can you believe that?!?!)}

 {I bought my first pair of Christian Louboutin's a while back after searching for them on eBay for years (not exaggerating.)  While a lot of people think that Louboutins aren't comfortable, I beg to differ and think that these which are the "Declic" cut are the most attractive and comfortable cut he has.  Ever since I bought the first pair, I have been patiently waiting for another pair to pop up on eBay in my size/desired colors.  These dove grey suede beauties turned up a few weeks ago and I thought they would make for a more traditional compliment to my first pair!}

 {I have been coveting J. Crew'w tassel necklace from this season, but I ended up I picking up this similar version from Akira}

{affordable Slim Aarons artwork}

I have been obsessed with the fabulous images captured by Slim Aarons for what feels like forever. He captures another time and place in a way that makes like you are sitting right inside the image.  Adding a Slim Aarons print to our art collection has been on my wishlist forever, but for the size of print I would want the price is pretty steep.  Also on my wishlist for a while now are the Slim Aarons coffee table books which I had never actually seen in person.  Recently I found out the books are pretty massive (as in 11" by 14"!!) with a lot of full page photos in them that are void of text or captions.  I thought maybe if I could find a used version of the Poolside book for a good price, I would be willing to cut it up and use my favorite pages for a little Slim Aarons gallery shelf in my office.

I purchased a used version of the book for only $25 that had some dust jacket damage, but was otherwise in perfect condition!  After spending almost an entire evening enjoying the gorgeous book, I took note of some of my favorite shots and then picked up some corresponding frames.  All the frames (except for the one on the far right and very middle which are vintage) are from Target right here.  I would have preferred to have them all in white, but Target doesn't make the larger frame in white so I figured I could buy the black and paint it later on if it bothered me (for now I sort of like the contrast).  You can find all white frames in practically every size at Ikea right here- I was simply not willing to spend half a day going all the way to Ikea for 4 frames.

Besides the time I took selecting my favorite images, the most time consuming part of this little project is to use an exacto knife to "cut out" the photos from the book.  In order to use the full page photos in an 11" by 14" frame you will need to cut the pages as close as humanly possible to the binding.  Using an exacto knife, a ruler and a cutting mat makes this entire process relatively easy. Simply push back the book binding as much as you can, place the cutting mat under the page and then place the ruler close the binding.  Slide the exacto knife in between the ruler and the binding while using the ruler as a guide for the knife you can easily cut out the pages.

I am pretty obsessed with how this turned out and love that I have such beautiful images to get lost in while sitting at my desk!

 {slim aarons poolside book available used here}

 {exacto knife and cutting mat will make this project significantly easier}

 {it was so difficult to narrow it down to only five choices!}

 {frames from Target: smaller one here and larger one here}

 {displayed in the office on shelves from Ikea}

{target lamp from right here}

{a library of stationary}

If it wasn't already pretty apparent, I reaaaaaally love paper goods, especially beautiful stationary and correspondence cards.  People so rarely send regular mail these days that it makes the act of sending and receiving notes that much more special.  I have always had a pretty large box filled with stationary for any occasion (most of which was leftover from my high school job working at a paper store believe or not), but all the events of the past year have really been cutting into my supply of cards.

I have had my eye on this set of Russel + Hazel stationary for some time, but the price was just a bit higher than I would prefer to pay.  Until recently when the entire set went on sale at Nordstrom and I scooped up a box of each different design and two boxes of the "thank you" set! Links to the individual stationary is below each photo so you can get some for yourself (unfortunately the "change of address one is the only one still available on Nordstrom's website).  If you don't already have a good stash of cards then this is a great place to start- the designs are simple, but the color combinations are amazing.  Plus all the envelopes are lined in corresponding colors!

 {these simple thank you notes are what first drew my attention to this line of stationary.  I love that all the cards in the set are a simple flat card rather than a traditional folded version.}

 {gold foil gets me every time. every. single. time}

 {I love the unexpected citron color of the "oh how did you know" set. The "fancy that" set reminds me of something you would see in a Kate Spade store.}

 {The playful phrases on the "oh how did you know" and "fancy that"cards could really be used for an array of purposes- especially just a spontaneous note to say hello}

{I love this layout for a "change of address" announcement- this little box would make a great gift for newlyweds who will be re-locating}

{The only blank notecard in the set is also the one that is hot pink with a fabulous gold foiled edge.  I love that even though this card has no phrase or graphics it still has ton of interest from the over saturated paper color.  Perfect for any note that doesn't conveniently fall into one of the other sets.}

{chicago guest room + GIVEAWAY!}

One of the things I was most excited about decorating in our Chicago place is the 2nd bedroom which we decided to turn into more of an office/closet rather than a traditional guest bedroom.  Our previous loft barely had one real bedroom so the idea of having a whole second room at my disposal to decorate had my head spinning with ideas.  We decided to paint the walls in fresh white and picked up all the white furniture from Ikea to go along with it. There are still quite a few things on my wishlist to complete in this room such as finding the perfect white rug as well as a white desk chair or completing this little project on the white curtains.  Since we have been so busy in the last few months and my wishlist of projects will not be completed anytime soon with all the holidays plans around the corner, I decided I wanted to share photos of where the office is as of now.

And as a special bonus I have a little tassel garland giveaway for you today from The Flair Exchange at the bottom of this post!!

{one of my favorite images from our wedding printed on canvas} 

 {white "Lack" shelves above the desk}

 {brass tray from here and acrylic desk accessories from The Container Store & Russel + Hazel}

 {vintage milk glass and a boxwood topiary}

{another to do item on my project list for this room is to paint that eagle in the top left gold} 

 {artwork I have had since high school & an artificial lemon tree brighten up the shelves}

 {white ceramic finial jars I scored at Bash, Please's garage sale}

{expedit shelving unit, storage boxes & magazine files all from Ikea}

 {collection of vintage milk glass containers we used for the sweets table at our wedding now 

hold an array of washi tape, sharpies & address stamps}

 {you might recognize this big gold frame from our loft- it is now re-purposed as 

somewhat of an inspiration board & place to display photos/invites}

{somehow even these two closets aren't quite enough space for me as I also use half of the closet

 in the master bedroom- they say the first step is admitting you have a problem...}

{attempting to keep my closet more organized by arranging by color} 

 {garland from The Flair Exchange above my closet- scroll down to win one for yourself!}

{new gold edged business cards}

Carmen from The Flair Exchange who I purchased my tassel garland from has generously offered to giveaway a strand of tassel garland to one lucky reader today so you can adorn your own closet or party or whatever you desire with a garland of your choosing!


Simply leave one comment on this post letting me know where you would plan to use your garland! Winner will be selected by random number drawing on Tuesday December 18th at 11:59pm.


Please note: one entry per reader and this giveaway is only open to US residents. 
Garland will not ship until after Jan. 1st 2013.


**no compensation has been offered from The Flair Exchange to host this giveaway. I just fell in love with my tassel garland and The Flair Exchange has generously offered to giveaway a strand to one of  my readers!!!