{vintage dining hutch turned bar}

In our past places we have used our painted credenza as our bar area - see it in our Chicago place here and our old DTLA loft here.  In our new place, I had my heart set on getting a bart cart to switch things up a little bit.  After checking out a few options online and in person it became clear to me that we have way too much liquor and bar accessories for a tiny bar cart.  I started searching around on Craigslist for other options and happened upon a total gem of everything mid-century called Sunbeam Vintage.  Located on a little downtown street in Highland park, Sunbeam vintage has an adorable storefront as well as a big warehouse around the corner filled with tons of goodies at great prices (if you follow them on Instagram you can check out new pieces as they come in!).  

In their warehouse, I discovered this vintage dining hutch that was severely on sale and decided it would be the perfect size for a bar.  I thought we might want to paint it or add some interesting molding or maybe even a wallpaper backing, but after getting it home and placing all our bar items in it I decided I like it plain and simple.  We may add some brass door pulls to the two doors at the bottom, but for now I'm going to keep it as is.  It feels so good to start completely areas of our new place and I can't wait to share more of it in the following weeks!

 {Z Gallerie Oxford Bowl & vintage flamingo print}

 {a selection of our bar books:  PDT, Old Mr Boston's, The Bar Book.  See more of my favorite cocktail books right here}

{Tiffany cut crystal decanter & vintage cylinder decanter both with vintage liquor labels} 

{custom monogrammed old fashioned glasses we received for Christmas}

{etsy faves}

After my unsuccessful trip the beautiful Paris flea markets, I consoled myself with a little trip down the black hole of Etsy shopping.  Since I found about 100 things I want to purchase immediately on Etsy, I thought it might be fun to round up some of my faves that are actually affordable (not to mention purchase-able from the US!).  I'll take one of each please...

1. Black & White woven hammock  $89

2. Pair of Brass Pineapple Urns $189

3. Brass pocket change tray $25

4. Pair of Swan Vases $68

5. Peony Print $50

6. 10 yards of navy Ikat fabric $86

7. Vintage highball caddy set $89

8. Black leather miniaudiere $90

9. 36" by 48" Floral Poster $50

10. Infinity Handle coffee mug $39

{new additions}

It's about that time again for a little round up of some new additions around our place and my closet! Check out previous round ups right here.

 {Target has a whole line of jewelry boxes like this one in a variety of patterns and sizes.  This one is the medium sized one of the bunch and I love that the gold is more subtle against some of the more metallic gold pieces in our home}

 {hard to see in the photo, but another great find from Target (seriously so much good home stuff in stores right now!) this glass bottomed black lattice tray.  We previously used a solid white tray from CB2 in this spot, but I really like how this one allows you to see through to the bottom shelf of our coffee table} 

 {while I would loooove to own a Chanel 2.55, the price tag is just insane to me at this point in life.  This purse is a great alternative that I stumbled upon randomly while shopping on Amazon and the affordable price doesn't make me terrified to bring it out of my home-plus its genuine leather! With Amazon's generous return policy I decided it was worth a shot to check it out and I was extremely surprised at how well made this purse is. }

{I am obsessed with bright pink lipstick and finally treated myself to this YSL one I have had my eye on for some time}

 {a vintage cocktail napkin holder my mom found for me in the estate sale wonderland that it california wine country}

{muji's new bowls from C. Wonder. dogs gotta get fancy too right?!?}

{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}

{new flea market finds}

{slat bench found at The Vintage Bazaar}

In our first couple weeks here in Chicago, we have been having a lot of fun checking out all the little flea markets and vintage stores around the city.  I have no idea why, but the selection at the flea markets here is really amazing and extremely reasonable.  The very first flea market we checked out, we found this amazing slat bench (above) for the end of our bed.  We scored this great bench for only $120 and I am sure it will be the type of piece that always finds a great home in any place we live.   Here are some of the other fun finds we picked up recently:

 {I have been looking for a black trophy vase like this forever. I can't wait to see it filled 

with deep fuchsia peonies next spring!}

{selection of vintage drink stirrers for dressing up cocktails.  I especially  love the pink

 flower ones for a girls night}

{a pair of vintage frames which I spray painted gold for our black/gold bathroom.  Chris and I spent a solid 30 or 40 minutes searching around on google images trying to find the right set of photos for these. I love the muted/faded look of these two images contrasted with the rich gold.}

{alright so this isn't vintage, but it is from a cute little store in the downtown area next to our place and I love it so I'm sharing it here.  I'm not sure how much more summer weather we have left here so I plan to take full advantage of wearing this as much as possible before it gets too cold!}

{diy bridesmaid's hangers}

 {image via Cherry Blossom Girl}

One of my favorite pictures from weddings are the ones of the bridesmaid's and bride's dresses hanging all lined up (like the gorgeous image above from MLH).  I recently spotted a great deal on a set of vintage gold hangers on Etsy and I immediately knew what they would perfect for (similar hangers available here).  Rather than use whatever hangers are lying around on the day of the wedding, I decided to take a few minutes and make some more photogenic hangers.

I picked up two different colors/sizes of lace from Target Trim and then whipped up a little girly graphic which I personalized for each bridesmaid and printed onto a plain white cardstock.   After cutting out each graphic, I affixed it to the lace with a small dab of hot glue.  If you would like a copy of the graphic I used email me and I will send you a file that you can personalize yourself.