I’ve been gone so long from blogging that I forgot my log in and password. spank! spank! bad.

A lot has gone on in the last few months: moving the week before Christmas, frantically unpacking and repacking to head to Dallas for Christmas, unpacking and trying to tidy up before my mama came for New Years, figuring out that old toilets clog like whoa, more unpacking, busy projects at Target, kitchen remodel (about to begin construction), sitting on the floor under sleeping bags to watch the tube since we have no furniture yet (ghetto), eating a lot of frozen burritos since all we have is a mini fridge and a microwave, spending no cheese on clothes since house shit costs too much, blah blah blah, I’ll stop boring you and making lame excuses. bottom line: I’ve been a busy bee.

So what’s this random mood board you say? Why, it’s my plan for our entryway.

WhiIe we’re bracing ourselves for the kitchen construction bids, I thought I’d start decorating the entryway since it’s the first place you see when you walk in and it sets the tone for what’s next. Long story short, Mike has agreed to let me put in a cheetah carpet runner on our stairs. At first he thought I was nuts but now he has accepted it and it’s goin’ in. This was my inspiration pic—Real Simple’s editor in chief Kristin van Ogtrop. hot runner, right?

A runner wasn’t all we needed. We had to get rid of the sad beige wall colors. We decided to have the entire entryway painted in Benjamin Moore’s Wickham Gray. It’s a lovely, fresh, happy gray that’s subtle, light and has a touch of blue in it.

Next up: replacing the light fixture that looks like it’s from a bad 70s salon. Since we’re going a little wild with the cheetah, I wanted to keep the fixture classic and period appropriate for the 1926 house. This basil flush mount has been in my dreams for a while so I think we’re gonna go for it. Our ceilings are low so it’ll make a statement without knocking anyone out.

And what guest wouldn’t wanna check out their backside in that blue, lacquered pagoda mirror? That’s going up to the right of the cheetah stairs.

We had to find a rug to keep our toesies warm. I knew I wanted something funky classic to go with the cheetah and the pagoda mirror. I was searching for a colorful tribal/turkish/oriental something and knew I could trust in the pattern mixing genius, Jamie Meares, to help me. I sent her a photo of cheetah and pagoda, she sent me a photo of this baby. I was smitten. sold! It’ll be perfect next to its cheetah runner friend.

Here’s a picture of me taking a picture of the sample cheetah and the pagoda.

I’ll post a pic of the completed entryway once it’s all pretty. xo

P.S. If you wanna see all the other stuff I heart but don’t have time to photoshop into mood boards, follow me on Pinterest!

Post By: Quinn Risdall

It’s been a busy couple of months. We finally sold our condo and bought a house! I couldn’t be happier. I’m so sick of having to prop, style and vacuum myself out the door everyday just so a random can walk through and take a brochure. Now we’re anxiously waiting to close so we can take our little brown boxes and move ‘em on into the new abode. Despite the stressy moments, we’ve had fun talking about all the grand plans we have for renovating and decorating. I think Mike is ready to slap me silly because I will admit, I’ve been interneting like mad lately looking for fun things for the house. I swear I spent 7 hours on the ‘puter the other day oogling at pretty things.

Speaking of pretty things: there are two shops in particular that win my heart and keep me glued to the interwebs. Chic Shop LA and Furbish Studio.

Chic Shop LA is owned by the lovely Hillary Thomas, an interior designer based in Santa Monica. She effortlessly mixes high end with vintage resulting in an eclectic mix that’s unique and thoughtful. Some of my favorite things from Chic Shop: the stone finials—the perfect accessory to pump up your lamp’s style. the foo dogs—put them on a shelf with books or wherever. They’re sure to stir up conversation. the chinese dragon door knocker: I just purchased this for our new home. I can’t wait to hang it on our door and knock knock away.

Furbish Studio is another must see shop. It’s owned by the colorful and cool designer, Jamie Meares (another pretty blonde). I swear she’s the goddess of pattern and color. I love the way she glams up a room and mixes patterns and colors you’d never think to put together. Her interior design business and shop is based in Raleigh, North Carolina. Jamie makes a room look so happy, hip and chic. Her ability to mix traditional with modern. old with new, high with low amazes me. If you haven’t checked out her blog: DO IT! Some of my favorite things from Furbish Studio: the snakeskin trays My sister-in-law, Sarah has one of these babies and believe me, it’s great. Put one on your Santa list. They’re affordable and cool. the custom dog beds: as soon as I get my Soft-Coated Wheaten Terrier pup, Cookie, she’s getting one of these beds. You can mix and match the fabrics and piping and make it your own. the asian-inspired lighting: these are an easy way to add some global flair to a room and they fit in a traditional or modern space.

Now that I’ve talked your ear off, check out more items I heart from both shops (featured above). Then go buy them as Christmas prezzies. Someone deserves a chic bauble.

one Chinese Dragon Door Knocker two & three Get Off My Cloud finial & Orange Crush finial four Palm Beach earrings five My Boyfriend’s Back Initial Pillow six La Florentina Pillow seven Cane Glasses eight Chiang Mai Tray nine Large Turquoise Foo Dogs Post By: Quinn Risdall

Most tie-dye is psychedelic, loud and crazy. Beklina proves that it CAN in fact be soft, pretty and chic. I need that dress!

(Rogan Quasar Dress, Shabd T-Shirt + Shabd Mini Skirt)

I just got back from a fantastic long weekend in Tucson with Mike and his parents. Every time I go to Tucson, I get so excited about visiting my favorite shop, Bon.

Bon is a lovely boutique filled with clothing, cards, fanciful chandeliers, Don Carney ink drawings, John Derian poufs and furniture, Matteo bedding, stuff for the kiddies, Barbara Wiggins clutches, crocheted pillows, cool shoes, unique jewelry—pretty much everything unique and wonderful you’d ever want from a boutique.

Bon has two locations, and of course, I visited both. I only got pictures of the smaller shop (damn it) but you’ll get the idea. The larger shop, on Broadway, is even more fantastic with more space and more goodies. The shops are owned by Bonnie and Crystal Flynt—a mother/daughter team. I was so glad I got a chance to chat with Bonnie while perusing the Broadway store. She is one of the most inspirational women I have met in a while. She’s super stylish, natural, down to earth and cool as can be. I can’t imagine a more ideal existence—owning a fabulous store and traveling to fun cities on buying trips with her daughter—talk about a dream job. I still have yet to meet her daughter, Crystal but I’m sure she’s just as fabulous as her mom. I did find out she used to work for Anthropologie Corporate—no wonder she has such a good eye for style.

If you ever get down to Tucson, give this shop a visit. You’re sure to walk out with something one-of-a-kind. This time, I left with a cute brass horse head hook for our guest bathroom, a Patch NYC crocheted pillow (pics to come), a sweet little tshirt and a Barbara Wiggins black clutch. I did some damage, and Mike’s mom was nice enough to treat me to a few items. I’m sure I’ll be calling the shop soon for some bedding or maybe a Don Carney ink drawing if I’m lucky.

Enjoy the pictures. xo

I’ve done enough girly posts—now it’s time to give some love to the men.

Mike was perusing the internets last night and came across the magical online shop of Union LA. He stopped on the above zig-zag sweater and I about lost it. How adorable! I said “get it. get it!” then I saw the price—the massive price on that damn, adorable, snuggly sweater. Why do you tease me, Union? Mike’s probably not gonna be buying this sweater anytime soon but I hope some other man out there who’s willing to make a naughty purchase does. It’s too cute to be stuck on the internets. buy it, boys! I can totally picture it with scruffy hair, skinny cords and sneakers. cozy!

After seeing that to-die-for sweater, I had to look at all of their other goodies. I love that everything on their site is fashionable, yet totally wearable and comfortable. They prove that comfort for men doesn’t have to be sweats, jerseys, frumpy tees and bad sneakers. I picked out some of my favorite things from the site. enjoy and spend if you can!

(the scoop on the pricey goods: 1. Zig Zag Knit Cardigan in blue 2. Canby-Zebrawood Sunglasses 3.Booze Mug Cup 4. Captain Pocket T Shirt 5. Vans Era in Desert

visit!
Union LA
110 S. La Brea Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90036

Every time I’m back home in the KC area, I must make a stop to visit The Curious Sofa. It’s such a perfect little place. Everything is casual, vintage, slightly French and beautiful. They carry a lot more than just sofas, as you can see. I was so excited to find out they now have an online store! The above pictured items are my favorites after sifting through all the finds.

I love when special, little boutiques carry holiday stuff. It’s hard to track down Christmas decor that’s tasteful (and neutral since I’m not a red gal). I’m so sad that the cute little vintage Santa mugs are already sold out—they would make such a perfect gift. If anyone knows where I can find more of these cuties, let me know! Anyway, check out their site, and if you’re ever in KC, you must visit the store.

I was in San Francisco this past weekend as part of my 1 year anniversary trip with my husband. Of course I had to go shopping and check out some of SF’s boutiques and I fell in love with Carrots.

I read rave reviews about Carrots in Gwyneth Paltrow’s GOOP blog and had to check it out for myself. Of course GP was right—it is quite possibly my favorite new place. The moment I saw the store front, my heart was fluttering—oversized, tall, wooden doors and a rusty, chic sign reading “Carrots” in a simple font. Ahhh. Continue reading »