A Very LA X-mas

For the first time in 5 years, I am not going home for Christmas!! (Home being the great-cold state of WI.)  I know, its rough having to stay in warm, sunny LA in December!  Not being at my parents warm, comfy home with a blizzard outside did not stop me from being festive.  Below, you'll find a collection of photos taken at my apartment this holiday season.  Most of the items purchased are from - yes - the 99 cent store (gasp!) I found some great pieces to go along with what I already had.  You'll notice that I do not have a tree.  Don't worry...a tree did take place, just not at my place.  More on that later.
 

 

 

 

Sylar's position during the Xmas decorating session.

-Carli Jo 

Happy Holidays from Santa Monica!

poster image available at Brooklyn Limestone

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas!

Be warm and well,
~Ashley

A Girl can Dream...

I love Polyvore. It is a fantastic tool for brainstorming. The other night, laying in bed, I started thinking about dreams and and the concept of dreams and then it hit me! I could use Polyvore to effectively express a concept or any kind of inspiration, really. First up in what will surely be a series of Inspiration Rooms is the idea of Dreaming. I broke my Dream category down into three Room Ideas, the first of which I call Sleepyhead.

For Sleepyhead, I wanted a room that was plush and lovely that anyone would be happy to get their zzz's on in. I'm kind of obsessed with light blue, so the wall color choice was a no brainer. I loved the glittery stars in the art above the bed and how the pillows mimic the starts with their metallic buttons. I used grey, soft gold, and navy for accent colors. I also love how the yellow flowers really pop in the room. This room is a little glam, but completely comfortable at the same time.

The next room is called Sweet Dreams. I wanted to create the most feminine room ever, that I'll never have. I once painted a room pink after I got the idea from a Mariah Carey Cribs episode. Does anyone remember that one? My parents and I painted my purple sponged walls a pepto bismal pink that I was sure would dry lighter. Uh no. No subtlety there! This room is candy colored and sweet as can be. I love the princess canopy bed, the seafoam rug and the mixed metals from the bed, mirror, and chandelier.

The last room up is my Nightmare Room, which is really more sexy and vampy than anything. The lacquered red walls, the tuffted leather sleigh bed, the grey zebra print rug. Va-Va-Voom! Can you imagine wearing that robe and slinking into this room to have your way with, well, I'll leave that up to you. This room is so sexy, it's almost intimidating. It's like, you have to have a good time while you're there or ELSE!

So that's the first installment of my Inspiration Rooms. What is your "dream" room like? Are you more a sweetie pie, or do you have a little devilishness in your eyes?


~Ashley

Fabulous Fall Sunday in LA.

I woke up today with thoughts of rain.  The forecast called for a wet weekend but to my liking I woke up to a sunny,  fall LA day.  Its days like this that I cherish living on the west coast,  it was finally feeling like fall with its chilly, crisp air but still sunny and warm enough to not mind being outside.  As some of you know, this time of year brings out LA's "fall fashion."  girls in scarfs, hats, even mittens (more for looks than warmth) whereas if any Midwesterner or East-coaster had a day like this, they would probably be in shorts and a t-shirt.   Where am I going with this?  Oh yes, my perfect Sunday.  I headed into Hollywood to check out this thrift store called JetRag.  On Sunday's they have something called "dollar Sundays," basically 3 rows-piled high of wear-it-again or vintage clothes for only $1.  I ended up buying 9 articles of clothing for $9!!!  See, I decided (more like a New Years resolution) to start sewing again.  So,  I picked out articles of clothing that could be used for making things such as bags.  I could have gone to a fabric store and bought $20 - $40 worth of fabric, but why when you can use recycled fabric?  I haven't sewed since college so this is going to be a bumpy road, but I am excited to get started.  Check back for updates and progress on my new project!

Tweet-a-leet!

We are now live on Twitter!

Currently tweeting any decor, design, fashion, food, celebrity, or otherwise interesting (to us, ha!) news of the moment.

http://twitter.com/realitydecor

~Ashley

Best Desked

A woman's desk is a very personal space. It's where work gets (or doesn't get) done. It's where we keep some of our most personal mementos, the things that make us smile. My desk at work reflects this. My desk at home...not so much. But it's still a pretty little space that my eyes go to and smile.

I got this West Elm desk in a desk swap with a good friend. She needed a huge desk for her sound equipment, and I wanted something a little daintier. It didn't hurt that I have an obsession with white furniture. I slid my old DIY makeover old chair new chair under along with a cheap Ikea floor mat.

I added a few pretty vases and hung up a couple of etsy prints. The first documented here, the second an etsy find by Simply Hue Designs.

 

I adore the colors and the symmetry of this print. It also makes me think of packing up and jetting off on some fabulous vacation (a girl can dream). The photo in the silver frame below the hanging picture is one of my brother, sister, and I. This picture was taken by a good friend of the family and I cherish it not only because she took it, but because we so rarely get the chance to all be together. This year's Christmas will be one of those occasions and I'm so pumped! My mom, dad, and sister will all fly to Los Angeles on Christmas Day to spend time with Tim and me. I've been brainstorming all sorts of holiday decor ideas. I really want to make this year special. It's the first Christmas we'll be hosting in our beloved apartment and I want to make it feel as homey and cushy and warm and squooshy as possible.

future Christmas Card processing station.

 So there's my tiny (and not totally tidy) "home office."



 *Also big news, we bought a dining table and chairs last night!! This has been one HUGE To Do on my list that now has a giant red checkmark through it! Admittedly, it needs a little work and I'll be posting the before and afters as soon as I can get to down to business on it.

Happy Writing,
Ashley

Masking Tape Art

I needed to replace the flower picture in our guest bath with something that grooved a little better with our Morrocan theme. I wanted to do this quickly and cheaply and because I'm kind of impulsive and reclusive I wanted to do it with items I already owned so I wouldn't have to leave the house. Well, it may not have as many uses as duct tape, but I had masking tape handy so I decided to roll with it.

I grabbed an old canvas and got to work with the tape.

I just began taping in straight lines trying to make the lines as even as possible while still trying to stay random, if that makes any sense at all.

I used an old can of spray paint left over from a failed bookshelf painting experiment and went to town on my 8x10 canvas.

I immediately removed the tape to get my lines as clean as possible and left the canvas to dry for an hour or so.

Here's the finished "artwork" in the guest bath. The green is just so fresh and fun and for a grand total of $0.00, I don't think I could've done better!

Voila!

Happy Halloween Everybody!

~Ashley

Fall Festivus

Last weekend I started thinking that maybe it was time to inject a little of the holiday spirit into our casa. I don't usually go overboard with the seasonal decorating, but I thought a few groupings here and there would give our place a little fall punch, if you will.

I picked up the woven copper colored plate and candy at (shhhh, don't tell) the 99 cent store. I'd never been in before, but at CJ's urging we checked it out. That. place. is. AWESOME. They have everything, and no joke it's all 99 cents!

Jeff and I headed to Salvation Army on Saturday and I scored this adorable little cloche for $1.99! I threw in a few pine cones I'd collected on a long ago Griffith Park excursion. It's fall, but subtle, which I really like.

While at Salvation Army I also grabbed this beautiful heavyweight candlestick holder for $2.99 and topped it with a beautiful 69 cent gourd from Trader Joe's.

Here's a slightly scarier tableau in a little cubby off the dining room. I bought the plate last year at Target and used a stamp and marker on an old canvas to create a little Halloween "art." The vine covered glass was a gift from my mom and the orange candle is from Ikea. I bought this perfect white pumpkin at the grocer's and added a little jadeite bowl filled with Tootsie Rolls. Please tell me there's someone else out there who craves Tootsie Rolls? Because I'm certainly the only in my house who does. The orange place mat is a reversible number I snagged at Anthropology in the sale section a few years back.

And a little closa, a little closa...(I make things up in my head from time to time.)

Anyone else sprucing up for the season?

Happy Trick-or-Treating,

~AJ

à moitié la salle de bains

("half bath" in French, one of Morroco's national languages)

We moved into our new apartment months ago. I've wanted to have a cheery, welcoming half bath for our guests to use since day one. Well, I had some time off recently and made the trek all the way across the city to Glendale. If you live in L.A. you know that the 22 miles separating my little Santa Monica townhouse from the home goods mecca Home Goods (hehe) can take an easy hour and a half.

Totally worth it!

I came home with under $15 worth of items that have totally transformed our itty bitty half bath.

First up is this adorable hand soap and lotion set on clearance for $3.99! I saw, then smelled this beautifully packaged almond ginger set and knew I'd hit the jackpot. My Moroccan themed half bath idea was ignited.

This little hand towel with the gold string and ball theme was also on clearance for $3.99. How perfect and polished is that?! I only needed a solid accent color to tie everything in. Enter the coral Ralph Lauren bath towel for a cool $5.99.

Jeff said, "It's pink." "No babe, it's coral." The color is a bit off in the photos, but it really is a beautiful vibrant true coral color.

Our cheapie, previously purchased Ikea rug works oh so wonderfully with the other accessories. It really feels like a finished room, probably the first one in the whole house to be honest...

...almost. I want to add a candle, for obvious reasons, and am searching for a really great textile print to replace the flower in the frame. If you know of one, please clue me in!




I'm quite pleased with my little half bath and even more pleased knowing it was done on an uber thrifty budget :)

~AJ

Kitchen Make-over

Having my new TV Stand finished and up for display inspired me to de-clutter my Kitchen area.  In all honesty - it had no flow, whatsoever. So, first things first - I took everything out of the space and cleaned my floors.  Then one by one I started to put back the pieces like a puzzle.  Moving things here, moving them there until I felt that "zen" feeling.  My kitchen table use to be pushed up against the wall and frankly  un-usable.  It was more of a clutter holder than anything else. See Photo below.

Table where it use to be - pushed against the wall. 

Photo of from before the make over

After - Table is usable (sitting on it as I blog) and on the left you'll see my bar stools FINALLY in use.  This space has really became an area to hang out in.