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Category Archives: less is more

decorating with white

September 22, 2011 by ilene in color inspiration, home style, less is more

All white living room by simple thoughts on houzz.com

I love the look of an all white room. Especially shabby chic and comfy with just a couple of pops of color, if any. This probably won’t happen at my house during my life time. With 3 kids, a husband, 2 dogs and a cat, I’m lucky if I can get the chocolate milk stain out of the carpet. I am not a huge fan of the modern look but cement flooring does have its appeal. This year I replaced both my family room and living room couches. During my younger (more stupid) days, I decided to get light (mostly white) slip covered couches. I thought wow how great I can pop them into the wash whenever they get dirty. Which I didn’t realize would be daily! I finally broke down and got a brown leather couch for the family room and a taupe chenille couch for the living room. I’ve always avoided leather because I don’t think it is quite as comfortable, but I do have to say it was a great choice. It never gets dirty, ever! My only issue is that pillows and throw blankets always slip off. My chenille couch in the living room hides the dirt and dog hair well. As most of my friends and family know, as soon as I win the lottery, I am going all white. I may have to buy the house next door for the rest of my family but my space will be awesome! And there will be a cute victorian playhouse/office in the backyard, no kids allowed! And maybe a fairy garden since the dogs will be at the other house. A girl can dream can’t she?

This bed looks so comfy. Linens by Pom Pom at home.

Love the cute detailing and pop of color.

A mere $24,000 at PoshTots, but I could live here, so cute!

Some of my favorite sites for getting ideas, making purchases or just daydreaming:

Anthropologie – best window displays, so amazing

Am I missing one of your favorites?

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Friday Finds: Cool bike racks

August 12, 2011 by frances in favorite finds, inspiration, less is more, random goodies

I’m keepin’ it real right now by saying I don’t ride a bike around town. I love my car and am not comfortable enough on a bike to coexist with Silicon Valley car traffic. I wish I was, as the whole “spare the air” thing is a lovely idea. Not to mention the exercise! I’m sure I’d instantly drop pounds if I biked everywhere. And what about the cool bike racks popping up? Here are a few that are making me reconsider the whole car thing.

giant comb

I remember carrying a smaller version of this comb in my painter pants all through the 7th grade so I could brush out my Charlie’s Angels feathers at any given time. Artists Joshua Howell and Kagan Taylor of Popup Design turned this iconic comb into a fun and functional bike rack. I dig it!

colorful fish

Wouldn’t it be fun to park your bike on a colorful fish every morning? The kids at a the Piedmont Avenue Elementary School get to do just that every day. I love the bright colors and fun shape.

your bike is safe with fido

We all know dogs are our loyal buddies, so your bike will be in good hands (paws?) on this dog bike rack. Musician David Byrne is a long-time bicyclist who has designed bike racks for various New York neighborhoods. This one was my favorite!

I also did a little research on the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition website, where I found lots of good info for biking around the area. I’m going to pump up the tires on my bike and give it a try this weekend. I’ll let you know if I’ll be ditching my car in the near future.

Photos:
Comb- http://knowhowshopla.tumblr.com
Fish- http://oaklanddailyphoto.blogspot.com
Dog- http://www.davidbyrne.com

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huesday: ombre wedding cakes

July 26, 2011 by frances in color inspiration, favorite finds, inspiration, less is more, random goodies

A new trend in wedding cakes is ombre, which is a French term meaning “shaded”. Fashion designers have been producing ombre fabric for years and the trend has now crossed over into cake design. I’m currently in love with this idea and am considering making a mini version just to see how it comes out. I’m also considering a vow renewal (can you do that at 16 years of marriage?) just to have one of these while they’re still popular! The ombre look is simple yet so stunning. Imagine one of these beauties gracing your wedding.

Shades of yellow

Pretty in pink

You can even bake ombre inside of your cake!

I love the floral layer over the gradation of purple

Lovely ombre ribbon pattern

Cake credits:

Yellow cake found at Style Me Pretty
Pink cake found at Inspiration Wed
Pink interior cake found at Call Me Cupcake
Purple cake found at Maggie Austin Cake
Turquoise cake found at Bobbette & Belle

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milfy monday: teen angst

April 18, 2011 by erin in less is more, MILFy Stuff, musings, random goodies

Now that my littlest baby is thirteen (and a couple of inches taller than I), I am officially the mother of three teenagers. Ack. This article is not about their angst, they are actually all pretty mellow, happy kids. It’s about my angst in regards to being the mom of kids that are growing up way faster than I can handle. This is all about me, my vanity and my purpose in life.

I have one in college, one in high school and one in middle school. So when I visit the college kid and sit with the other parents in the stands at a game I feel relatively young. Hip even. Some of those parents already have grandchildren and their coed is the baby in the family. When I’m in the stands at the high school events, there are lots of moms my age, some are smokin’ hot and working their age like it’s their bitch. Others, not so much. Then I go to the middle school, and I’m in the “experienced” parent category. Translation: Effin’ Old.

Thank goodness I have other interests in my life besides the size of my ass. Now that my kids are so independent I have time for ambition, gardening and going to the gym. And while my looks are a priority because how I feel and how I look are strongly tied to each other, they aren’t THE priority. I get a great smile from being happy. And a confident woman with many interests is damned sexy.

It's time for someone to give it up. Not sexy. At all.

I was looking for examples of great looking women who dress age appropriate and somehow spiraled down into the black hole of the internet and wound up on peopleofwalmart.com which was much more inspiring than the original photos I was looking for. I’m actually feeling really excellent about my big ass right now.

So my advice to those who are in my saggy-old-mother-of-teens boat is:

1. hang out with people who are older than you and make sure you have a life outside of your kids

2. then hang out with people who are younger than you and enjoy your kids while they are still at home

3. don’t worry about the size of your ass so much, there are big asses out there. I promise.

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designer kids: cut the clutter

February 24, 2011 by julie in home style, kids stuff, less is more

You know how every house has that certain room that you explain to guests as the “junk” room, and you keep the door closed and act like there is toxic waste inside? That’s my son’s room. It is smaller in size with a whole lotta stuff, so organizing it was a challenge. First, we went through everything and made 3 piles. One pile for keep, throw away, and donate. That way you can see what is left over and pick out storage to accommodate it. I love the locker room style trend of some of the storage bins and I found these cute ones at Target on sale and they were really affordable.

I love these because you can put anything in them from really small cars to larger stuffed toys and games. The locker style bins come with a label so it will be easy to locate items. If your little one can’t read yet, draw a picture of what is inside on the label. This cubby system is really convenient and saves space. Also found at Target was this cute wall shelf to hang jackets and backpacks. I placed it low enough on the wall for my son to reach in the event that he would actually hang something up. Now there is a place for everything and everything in its place.

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