Update on the little guy & FOOOOOOOOD

I wanted to thank everyone so much from the bottom of my heart for all the kind comments, well-wishes & encouraging stories. Christian is doing really well & really doesn't even seem to mind his "big owie nose." He still seems to love dogs and has seen a few since the accident and he smiles & waves, so I guess he's not scarred emotionally, haha. (I think he'd have to get unscarred pretty quickly once we got home anyway... we have a dog, Ashby. He seems to miss her and has asked about "Happy" (how he says 'ashby") the "nice doggy." hahaha)

We takes walks by the lake everyday and he wears this adorable visor to shield his nose from the sun. (As soon as I can fix my computer I'll upload some pics) He hasn't gone in any water yet but is having fun playing in the sand.

Things are better between my dad & Dave... It's been rough for everyone but I'm hoping it's settling down... So, anyway, I wanted to tell you about one of my FAVORITE restaurants ever because we're going soon!!! It's Port Edward Restuarant in Algonquin, IL.

It's super-themey and even has a boat and a pond inside & I absolutely love it. It was opened in 1952. They have an amazing wine lounge and I can't even begin to talk about how awesome the food is. There are cool little secret rooms & lofts & as a kid I used to love walking around with my stepbrother & stepsister exploring. Christian is going to love it!!

Anyway, they have the best Sunday champagne brunch and every year we come we take the boat out in the morning and take the 3 hour boat ride to Port Edward and FEAST!!! You have to stay for hours and just take your time... So yummy!!! I love it because the long boatride in the morning feels like such an adventure... and I love the ANTICIPATION of all the great food!!! When we finally get there we're so hungry and it just hits the spot perfectly.

We're headed there soon & as soon as I can upload pics I'll show you what we've been up to.

xoxo,

lauren

Really Tough Day

Well, we made it to the lakehouse safe & sound - After driving all day Sunday- 13 hours later. Early yesterday morning around 6:00 (mon) my dad's dog bit Christian in the face. Christian was about a foot away from her and stuck his tongue out and she just launched at him from on the couch. Thank God Dave was right there and pulled her off. (I had noticed the dog acting a bit skittish around him the night before & we'd decided we would keep them separate but in the AM, so early, it didn't really register that she was on the couch & we should put her in another room... we were there for 2 seconds before it happened.)

We rushed to the emergency room in our pjs (and we're out in the country so it was like 45 mins away in Wisconsin) and his nose just looked like raw hamburger meat. He handled it so well. He stopped crying within a couple of minutes and just kept saying "doggie owie." It was the worst feeling trying to get there because we were following the GPS and roads were closed off and my little baby's nose was just covered in blood. We prayed & realized how much worse it really could have been- eye, throat, etc.

When we got to the hospital, they had to strap him down in one of those papoose things and he was amazing. "I'm tough" he said, haha. He had 4-5 bites and the one that worried me the most was this huge flap of skin on the top. It was so rough watching them stick the anisthetic needle in all of his wounds because he definitely screamed when they kept poking it in. Then they stitched him up for about 15 minutes and he kept saying "all done." I had to help hold him down on his tummy and it was just so hard to look into his little eyes and see how scared/ hurt he was. Just before the end of the stitches I got really dizzy & almost passed out so I had to sit down. It was almost like this weird relief that he was going to be okay and then just I couldn't stand anymore... or like all the adrenaline left and there was no more juice. They finished up and he played with some toys while they briefed us on the situation.

From there we got him some "eggs" (his big request) and went to a reconstructive surgeon who had helped my dad and she took a look at his "owie." She said it wasn't pulled as closely together as it should have been but the only other option was to put him under and have her redo the stictches. Not worth it. We're going back to see her in a week to check on everything.

Once it was all over and Christian was asleep in the car, the crying started. (haha from me) All we could do was thank God that he was okay. At the restaurant we stopped at when he woke up, everyone stared. It's kind of funny to watch the people who pretend they're looking somewhere past you as they slowly swing their heads around & take a good look and then another good look at nothing to your left. haha I really don't blame them-- it's not pretty and was seriously bloody. We have to keep the wounds uncovered but he can't go in the sun so he has a little visor to wear. No lake for a while so we're hoping it heals quickly so we can get this little guy some fun. He's doing great & is loving his new indoor basketball hoop Dave picked up at the drugstore.

Anyway, we're all in a strange spot right now--- insane relief tinged with some serious regret/ guilt/ anger/ sadness. My dad feels horrible--- both of his dogs are at a kennel right now and Quais (the one who bit Christian) is in quarantine. From now on whenever we come here, they'll be kenneled. I know Dave is upset that my dad's not going to put Quais down... I know it's just not in my dad to do it... So there's just a lot of tension right now. (pic below before)

Anyway, I usually only write posts when I have a strong feeling about something- be it happy or excited or something like this that I feel I need to get off my chest... So I'm not sure how much I'll be on for a bit... sometimes it's therapeutic so we'll see. Just check back & hopefully we get to some of the wonderful places I can't wait to show you. Oh, and also, my dad keeps doing stuff to his house. (haha I know, the audacity- HIS HOUSE! haha) But, really bad design choices and it's driving me crazy. It's a simple (beautiful) farmhouse frame with a wraparound porch and he's covering the outside of it in Victorian details- wagon wheels in the corners, ornate spindles with 2 paint colors, an Italiante fountain in the front yard... And I can't even get into the issues on the inside... So not sure if I'll have anything to show you in here. hahaha

ok, talk soon.

xoxo,

lauren

Our Living Room: Going Green!!!

Well, I took the plunge. We decided on a bright mossy velvet for our sofa reupholstery. I can't find an image that looks like it exactly... It's a bit less limey/ more green than the pic above (house beauitful) and the cotton velvet is super-rich with lots of tonal variation.

We're doing a pair of these tight-back arm chairs from Martha Stewart in the ferny fabric (above) on the reverse (again, color is off):

Here's the exact shape of the sofa (Atlanta Bartlett)... and you must've known I'd have to have a back-up plan... We're also getting a white washable slipcover made for the sofa (exactly like the one below) for warmer months, kids, and so we can bring in any color scheme we want. (Ok, so I can bring in any color scheme.. hhahaha a like my husband really gets to the urge to reaccessorieze! ;) --- We're waiting on having the slipcover made until I feel the urge.. because I'm definitely really exited about the green right now. And... just so you don't think I'm really crazy with money/ flippant I should explain: We got the sofa off of craiglist for really cheap & the current fabric is really dirty. I really wanted to do white slipcovers, but we would have had to reupholster the fabric anyway because it was dirty/ old/ and striped, showing through the slipcover... SO I decided to reupholster it in a fun color so I could have the option to take off the slipcover. Now we'll just wait a few months for the slipcover.



We went with green because we really feel that it's true to the house and its connection with the outdoors. Green greets us from every view and I really want the interiors to be all about the views. (It's also both my & my husband's favorite color ;)



There will still be tons of white because you know I need that:



We bought these glass lamps from Arteriors Home for next to the sofa:







The plan is to tear out the carpet & do hardwood floors. We'll probably start out with seagrass rugs and eventually I'd love to find the perfect worn, antique (or antique-looking, I'm really not picky) patterned rug to layer over the seagrass in the living room. I also want to layer my favorite green fabrics and/ or use them as a skirted table in the open dining room. I want to bring on some old-fashioned florals:



Below is a room with a green sofa from the Martha Stewart furniture line:




Our Living room will be a bit softer, more blended but just to give you an idea.. I love how you can mix virtually any color with green- blues, aquas, pinks, browns, etc... getting pumped!! Since I'm crazy about green rightnow I figured it was time to join the Hooked On Houses blog party. Check it out!! Anyway, we're off to visit my dad at his lakehouse for some (finally!!!) rest & relaxation!!!!

I cannot wait to sit on the dock and swim & go boating & tubing!!! (notice how i'm screaming in the pic below and my husband is just relaxing .. hahahah)

Will be posting from there & hope to get lots done at the lakehouse to show you!!!

xoxo,

lauren

A Sweet Surprise: ( a casual) Tablescape Thursday

Saturday morning one of my best friends, Alissa, stopped over while we were gettting our lower level wall-to-wall seagreass carpet installed. I had to miss a little party some of our friends were having because I had to stay & supervise the install, so she brought over BREAKFAST!!! I've been meaning to do Tablesapes Thursday with Between Naps on the Porch for a while now & figured this was the perfect opportunity! (This one is definitely more food/ friend focused!)

Below is Alissa withher delicious goodies!!!

Now my husband's always said the way to my heart is through food. (He used to bring me beef jerky, not flowers, in college. hahaha) Anyway, the breakfast looked so pretty- being the blogger that I am- I had to make everyone wait to dig in so I could get a couple of pics. It was so simple but so perfect- fresh fruit, o.j., bagels, croissants and I toasted & loaded mine with hot ham & cheese mm mm. (I will now crave that sandwich all the time..)

The pink zinnias in the old jam jar (from my garden- yay the one thing I haven't killed!!) were already there & worked perfectly with all the bright colors in the fruit. I've been dying to use the pitcher that the o.j. is in: It's cut glass with palm trees on it that I found at a thrift shop for $4. The plates are Pottery Barn Classic white and the bowls are vintage soup bowls with a pretty green design on them from Lucketts for $4. So thanks so much to my Tikie Torch (just a nickname for Alissa)- we love you!!!

Hope you enjoyed!! There are so many beautiful tablescapes waiting at Between Naps on the Porch, so go check it out!!

xoxo,

lauren

Natural Elements: Driftwood

I love bringing nature indoors. My favorite accessories are typically natural objects and driftwood is right at the top.

(image above from House Beautiful.) It's so sculptural and its dull gray finish is coveted by many... Furniture manufacturers work so hard to get the perfect dull-gray/ limewash finish of driftwood on their pieces today. It's not an easy finish to replicate because it comes from exposure to years & years of water & sun & often salt. Today I wanted to share with you a few resources & inspiration pics for driftwood furnishings & accessories. Check out http://www.nautilusdesign.co.uk/index.html for some beautiful & unique driftwood pieces like this mirror below and sculptures, lamps, etc. The creator of Nautilus, David Holmes, writes, "From an early age I have been fascinated with driftwood, combing the beaches of Pembrokeshire and Cornwall in my holidays.This interest has never wavered, I still collect driftwood; I love the fact that each piece has it's own inherent texture, shape and colour. The unique quality of each piece of wood inspires my handmade designs."

I love this piece of driftwood he has just casually leaning in a corner. There are so many beautfiul images on the Nautilus website so check it out if you have a minute.

The items below are by another artist, Carl Woodland Jr., also known as "Sonny" who learned the art from his father while growing up in the Florida Keys as a boy. He now continues the business with his wife and daughter. Their website is http://www.alldriftwoodfurniture.com/ and the prices are REALLY reasonable. I WANT this sunburst mirror: (how gorgeous?!!)

LOVE this too:They come in all shapes & sizes & they even do custom:

Their tables are so beautiful & they do dining tables, consoles, coffee tables, end tables, you name it. Just cannot get over this dining room table:

They also do lamps in all shapes & sizes & the prices even compare with mass-produced pieces.

Here is Pottery Barn's driftwood lamp (below) for $299 and while I think it's gorgeous, I'd rather have one handmade by an artist who makes his living doing it. (above)

Cote de Texas recently posted this photo below on her beloved linen post. I am gagga for this entire room. Notice the driftwood/ limewash finish on the coffee table. And I can't even handle that lamp.

My dad is a bass fisherman in Illinois (it's his lakehouse we're going to in a week!!) and has lots of fish mounted on driftwood. He always found his own driftwood from the lakes and some of them are HUGE!!! To be honest, I like the driftwood better than the fish.

We've been renovating the lake cottage so right now the entire unfinished basement is like a Grandma's attic: full of junk & treasures. As I was nosing around in there, I came across all of his old mounted fish, collecting serious dust. And I was naughty. hee hee hee hee heee... I'm seriously giggling right now thinking about it. hahahah Well, I ripped off some of the fish & hung the driftwood around the house & used it on tables & window sills. Check out the HUGE piece he found below... I snapped the pic before I even pried off the little thing that holds the fish on. I DOUBT this is still hanging now that I've left, or if it is, there's probably a fish on it.

Here's another little piece I love in the same room:

The only piece I have in my home in Virginia is the one in the shelf below. My dad mounted my first bass on it when I was 4 years old. The poor fish is really beaten up right now (I still have it somewhere) but the driftwood is still in perfect condition and I move it around all the time. Here is in the old basement:

And here it is now (below) in our dining room:

There are lots of websited that sell driftwood if you're not in a spot where you can find your own. Here's one of them: http://www.amazonmoosey.com/ (image below)

Also try this one: http://antlerflowers.com/bases.html (image below)

And one more last pretty pic from House Beautiful. LOVE the candelabra!!! (below)

Do you have any driftwood at home or any ideas what to do with it? Would love to hear!!

xoxo,

lauren

Eddie & Jaithan are coming to town!!

I KNOW everyone knows that Eddie Ross & Jaithan Kochar are touring around the US taking people on flea market tours, but I just wanted to remind any DC-area readers that they're coming here in September & to sign up fast before all the spots are taken!!

WASHINGTON, D.C.Big D.C. Flea

Saturday, September 19 — 11:00 am (I'm going to this one)

Sunday, September 20 — 11:00 am

Check out more details & also dates for other cities here.

We met Eddie & Jaithan last fall at their very first flea market tour in NY. There were only 7 of us & it was just so much fun!! Check out Eddie's post on the trip here. I had literally started blogging the month before & Eddie & Jaithan were so great at encouraging & inspiring me to stick with it. (That's at the point where pretty much only my grandmother & mother-in-law were reading it. haha) My take on the trip is here (found some AWESOME (cheap!!) things.)

We all had such a great time that we got together again in the city just before they moved to the country. I was so excited to see them again, and-not gonna lie- their apartment in person!! It really was amazing to see what they did with such limited space. The ceilings were high and they used the most gorgeous gray- Brompton Gray by RL- on the walls. Mirrors & tons of white made the place sparkle like a little jewel box. I really loved it. They made us this awesome antipasto (which is actually my FAVORITE) with prosecco & pomegranite juice- yum!! and then we went out to this great little local restaurant where they were so sweet & served amazing food.

Eddie & I are both pretty high-energy and Jaithan & Dave are both really laid-back so Dave was laughing later on about how Eddie & I were just going nutty switching from subject to subject... It does get a bit ADD when you have so much to talk about with other design-lovers. haha (same with meeting Camila!) Also, before I'd met them, I had no idea how much Jaithan knew about design. He went to school for itand has an amazing eye and his knowledge (like Eddie's) is insane. It's no wonder they've taken off!!! They're both so sweet- when we were considering buying the farm house, Jaithan gave me the lowdown on living in a farmhouse, they've been so great about encouraging me to get my work out there & helping along the way, and they've been great friends to just get excited with. Hahaha ok, before this sounds stalkerish, I'll go.

When we went to their place last time, I was just getting into blogging & forgot to take any pics, but I definitely will in September when they come to stay with us for a night at our new place!!! (Really gotta get my house, above, in shape before September ahh!!! haha ;) We can't wait, as they really are so much fun to hang with. It should be a busy fun-filled weekend!!! I'm planning on going to the Saturday flea market tour so sign up!!! If you're going to be there, send me an email!!! :)

xoxo,

lauren

My Favorites: Linen Florals & Toiles

I'm looking for the perfect fabric for a pair of chairs in my living room. I'm leaning towards a linen or linen-look fabric with a pattern. I want it to have a hint of old-fashioned in it... something that reminds me of my Grandma Maestranzi's antique flowery china. I plan to put it on clean-lined upholstered pieces for a fun mix of modern & vintage. I also might use one of these fabrics on the reverse since they're linen and can be just as beautiful when they're all muted & washed-looking...

***Unfortunately I haven't figured out MOST of the manufacturers for these fabrics but found most of them through Greenhouse Fabrics and P. Tree Textiles when I was browsing around for ideas. (SO if anyone knows any that I don't name, please let me know!! :) Most of these fabrics are fabrics I love but the ones with ***s above them are ones I'm considering.

The first batch of fabrics is green. Now, many of you know me by now... And you know how much i LOVE neutrals and being able to switch up my throw pillows & accessories. So the green sort of nixes that... BUT maybe when it became time for a change, I could slipcover the chairs and then have the option for green or neutral??? Anyway, since I was little, I always thought about that drapery fabric from the Sound of Music that Maria uses to make the kids' clothes out of. (below) I even found a dress in college (still have it, but preggers belly is keeping me out of it this year!! ha) that reminded me so much of it that I had to have it. I love that fabric. Remember it?? ps- green is my FAVORITE color ;)

Anyway, I'm not in the mood for a damask but some of these fabrics (below) remind me of it AND my Grandma's china.

This next one gets **** It's Braemore's "Chiara" in pistachio linen:

*** Definitely need to order a sample as this is the same fabric: ( i love both though)

Braemore also makes this cute cane fabric that I thought I'd share. I'm not into that much matching but it is really great:

***Another of my favorites, This one of by Richloom, "Confection" in umber, again linen:

*** oooohh love this one too!! Don't know the manufacturer (anyone please??!!) I actually love this in all it's colorways so I'll call it "PRETTY FERNY FABRIC" I found it at Greenhouse Fabrics and they call it '"moss"

Another Greenhouse fabric: i'm a paisley-lover too

Mirage in kiwi found at P. Tree Textiles:

Greenhouse floral:

"Jungle Vine" in green by Waverly:"Picture Perfect Petal" found at P.Tree Textiles:Black & white Greenhouse floral:

*** I have to say I really love this fabric in black too. Again, if anyone knows the name of it, please email me!!! :) ...

*** LOVE this... Although I have to say this isn't a flattering picture. ;) ;) But really, the repeat is huge in person and this was the fabric I love on the reverse too. It's Richloom's "Confection" in charcoal. Currently this is at the top or close to it. Would use it on the reverse for sure...

**** Another Greenhouse mystery. They call this one "spa" and it does actually have a very pale aqua background.... I'd rather it in more of a gray as it's showing up on my computer. SO mabe it comes in other colorways?? Does anyone know who makes this?? It's a linen..

Greenhouse, but I think the name might be "sunroom" because I found a yellow version from P. Tree Textiles:

Greenhouse: (love this one too-- anyone know the manufacturer??)

Oh Greenhouse again! Greenhouse: (shocker!)Here is Chiara by Braemore in robin's egg. Really pretty:Another pic:Another unnamed Greenhouse fabric:

*** love this one.. a Greenhouse mystery, sadly. They call it "porcelain"... anyone??

The pretty ferny fabric again:

*** Here's the yellow version of the one higher up. It's called "sunroom" in camel and I found it at P.Tree Textiles.. anyone know who makes it?

Greenhouse:

Greenhouse:

Ooooo a favorite of mine that I've used a time or 2... I found it at Greenhouse but it's by Richloom and it called "aviary" in surf. This fabric is STUNNING in person. Check out what I did with it here.

So pretty, and now we move into birds... I would love any of these for throw pillows if I did go neutral... (All found at P. Tree Textiles)

ok, so there's my list right now. I add to it all the time. If anyone knows any of these manufacturers, let me know!!! thank you soooo much!!!

xoxo,

lauren

ps- I also have to apologize because I am so insanely behind on emails. If anyone has sent me a question in a comment or email that I didn't answer, please send me an email with it again!! I'm really sorry about this!! thanks!!