Thursday's Material Wishlist Vol. 19

This week has been amazing yet exhausting! Last night I didn't make it back to my house until 1:30 AM - a very late night for me! Thankfully, I made it into work just half an hour late this morning. I take Piper to daycare on Fridays so I dropped her off and planned to leave the office around 3:00 in order to get home at a reasonable hour and kick off the weekend ... only to discover today is NOT Friday!

As today is Thursday, a Material Wishlist is in order! Today's wishlist is hereby dedicated to J.crew. The new catalog came in the mail and it was filled with beautiful holiday items!

1. Polka dot back seam tights. LOVE!

2. Velvet skirt. The charcoal color is TO.DIE.FOR.
3. Plaid Eliza tee. It doesn't get more "holiday" than red & black tartan.

4. Merino lace tank. Perfect for layering under a velvet blazer.

5. Leather and wool herringbone oxfords. Not necessary but totally unexpected and cute.

6. Gold cowl neck top. Again, perfect under a blazer or sweater.

7. Jeweled sash.

8. For daytime: fair isle sweater.

9. Last but not least - draped sleeve top.

Christmas List

Dear Mr. K,

I've been good this year.

Project: Kitchen Remodel 2010 (update)

I would say at this point our little project is about 80% complete! We just have to put on the finishing touches (backsplash, hood over the range, curtains, area rugs and furniture) and we'll have a completely brand spankin' new kitchen!

Here are some images of what we started with:

1. A very cute puppy ... and ugly linoleum. We learned when we ripped it up that this wasn't even the original ugly linoleum. There was another layer beneath!

2. A lovely mother/daughter duo "complemented" by hideous 1980s wood trim and a window valance stuffed with tissue paper. Blech.
3. The "Kristiyns" posing in front of almond colored appliances, faux butcher block counters, and honey colored cabinets with brass hardware. A pretty rough looking backdrop!

And the after!!

1. The view from down the hall - white cabinets, hardwood floors, granite counters! Updated and welcoming!

2. A refrigerator and freezer combo that are spacious and actually OPEN! Stainless appliances, white window trim ... everything is pretty and newwwwww!

3. Appears we'll also need to add lazy susan reinstallation to the to-do list! It is the black hole in the corner. Other than that - NEW NEW NEW!

4. A close up on the granite. Disclaimer: I am not a photographer!

Philosophical Friday: Part 5

I'm fresh off a business trip to California and though it's been over a year since we've had a "Philosophical Friday", this sign warranted one! I saw this one in a ladies' room while visiting a dairy farm located just south of Fresno, CA. Don't ask what I was doing there!

Trick or Treat! Piper - Halloween 2010

Hope everyone had a great Halloween! This was our third Halloween in our house but the first we were actually home to see trick or treaters come! We had a ton of kids and Piper really enjoyed guarding the candy by the door and waiting for the next kids to arrive.

We had SO so many kids come! My husband said he saw a hayride full of kids driving through the neighborhood ... they definitely made a drop off on our road. Thankfully we were stocked with a huge variety! We had so much we even have some left over.

Happy Halloween!

Shark Attack!

Thursday's Material Wishlist Vol. 18 (Friday Edition)

TGIF! And to make it even better ... J.crew factory online is open! While I have noticed that a lot of the factory items are retail store items from last year (2 "factory" sweaters I bought retail last year for $98 each), there are still a few items that I LUST!

The ruffle jacket. So sweet. Quite a versatile piece too.

The ruffle scarf. Hmm, do I like ruffles?
Ombre pearl cluster necklace.

Fair isle cardigan. I think I blogged about my love for fair isle last winter ... this sweater might have been blogged already!

Asymmetrical bow neck sweater ... available in a few colors but I like this punchy coral.