ottoman empire

No, no, no .... not talking about the Turkish empire that was the center of interactions between the Eastern and Western worlds for six centuries, you history buffs. I'm talking about the ground that is getting covered by these classic pieces of furni. Unique styles of ottomans are trending, so don't be afraid to add some flair to a room with these props. From high gloss white, to traditional, to shoe storage, to rattan, to fabric patterned... I can't help but love 'em all. I have to say I am most intrigued by the Lilly Pulitzer Home shoe storage ottoman. I mean, what girl with a ridiculous shoe collection wouldn't want that? So efficient. See for yourself!

love. love. love. You otta get one.

P.S. Sorry I haven't been on top of my blog posting game, followers! Distractions, vacations, volunteering, and job searching stresses have gotten the better of me. I promise more posts very soon!

my first estate sale

An all time fave- Soulshine by The Allman Brothers


Our adventure began this morning with a trip to "the neighborhood" in Newnan to look through antiques, trinkets, old furniture, and other junk at my first estate sale excursion! Mom [the veteran] and I [the newby] entered into an older brick house that smelled of moth balls and old. It wasn't pleasant, but we scanned the house for any potential deals or objects we just had to have. Mom was disappointed about the lack of old tools while I found a charming ceramic elephant and an old chair. The elephant is one of those old objects that can become contemporary in the right setting. It has a signature and an old piece of paper with "Delphi, Greece" written on its underside. We assumed that it had been a souvenir from the couple's travels. I've always had a slight fascination with elephants. I won a Jack Hanna drawing contest when I was little by submitting a drawing of elephants. I was pretty proud of that. The next item up for bid was an old chair with the most heinous cushions I have ever encountered. The wood frame, however, was in strong shape and just needs some TLC. I can see it with a new coat of paint + high gloss finish and new, less stinky, more beautiful cushions! It sits slightly back in the perfect comfy, cozy lounge position. I'm excited about this DIY project. Stay tuned for the results!

I have a feeling I'll want to go to another estate sale soon... And I'll probably need to have my own show.. something like "American Pickers" meets "Devine Design."

lovely little jewels

To go along with the jewelry theme, here's Ryan Adam's Pearls on a String. Check out the new "listen here" Grooveshark widget to the left!

I made more examples of the rings I posted about in "shoulda put a ring on it" and even got as adventurous as moving on to bracelets and earrings! I'm keeping it simple with this continuous jewelry project: only wrapping, no tricky clasps or backings. On these bracelets, I used tiny glass beads in gold and seafoam. I've started collecting different kinds of bead chips also like amethyst, coral, and pearls. Round beads don't work as well on the rings, so I go for the natural and randomly cut stone pieces. I hope y'all enjoy looking at these lovely little jewels, and I will post more pictures as the project continues! 

How cute are those little paws?

ole parí

Double tune day because I couldn't decide:
Joe Purdy - Paris in the Morning
Carla Bruni - Quelqu'un m'a dit

I wanted to add some more photos from the Eurotrip on the bloggle. We didn't have a lot of time to spend in Paris, so we hit the big spots and took a river boat tour at night. Main things I will always remember from Paris: 

• Intricacy of the Eiffel Tower
• Most annoying street peddlers I've ever encountered
• The never-ending Louvre
• The Mona Lisa was a lot smaller than I imagined
• Cheap pashmina heaven
• Listening to a harpist play while overlooking the city at the Sacre Coeur
• Mom's attempt at ordering/eating a crepe

Paris was on the last leg of the Eurotrip and by then, mom and I were in serious need of the English language. You can only travel around feeling like an uneducated idiot for so long. When all else failed, we went to McDonald's. True Americans. Here are some of the pictures I took at the most famous landmark in Paris..

We could have spent months at the Louvre. It was impossible to see everything in one visit, and we found ourselves lost frequently. I love the modern meets ancient aspect of the Louvre Pyramid as the entrance/exit to the museum. 

Ancient Egyptians used to worship cats...

pre.painting

Regina Spector - Us puts me in an artsy, painting mood. And reminds me of 500 Days of Summer. Great movie.

For Christmas, I wanted a huge canvas to paint something abstract on that I could eventually see going above my couch in my contemporary|eclectic|whimsy someday apartment. I've never painted anything that was extremely abstract minus doodles and small studies for architorture class. I have only begun painting on this bad boy, and it's pretty difficult. Putting the first line of oil paint on made me super nervous. The more layers of paint the better, so I'm hoping it will turn out the way it should eventually! But for now, I'm only going to show you the pre-painting, my little feline artist assistant, and my inspiration for colors, shapes, and proportions via photographs I took in Italy [Cinque Terre, Italy coastal town + Sorrento, Italy lemon tree seascape]. 

Look closely, and you can see the outline of Mt. Vesuvius in the background of the lemon tree picture! One of my fave shots of the entire trip!

Check back later to see the finished product: post.painting.

a la evie: chicken rice bake

..fun springtime country song from Blake Shelton- Honey Bee

I decided it was time for another recipe, a la Evie special. The joke used to be on my mom when she would "test" her own recipes [usually because we never had the right ingredients, so she was "being resourceful"]. I remember times when these mysterious recipes didn't quite turn out as planned, and my dad would say "well, that was definitely an a la linda" when he really meant "that kinda tasted nasty." Now we use it in everyday cooking lingo to mean we're just guessing what'll taste good without using recipes. Tonight I had the idea for a chicken rice bake: chicken casserole meets chicken pot pie meets chicken and rice. My roommate and I used to buy the Stouffer's frozen ones, but I decided to guess at it on my own. Also, I don't have to worry about the chicken being questionable. [I'm really weird about that.] 

1. boil chicken [1 breast]; boil white minute rice [1.5 servings]

2. cut up the chicken into small pieces

3. gather other ingredients: 1 can cream of chicken soup, 1 can mixed veggies [or just peas or any kind of veggies you want], ritz crackers, 3 spoonfuls of sour cream

4. mix ingredients: chicken + cream of chicken + rice + veggies + sour cream [add salt and pepper to taste]

5. spread it in a baking dish; top with crumbled ritz crackers

6. bake it in the oven on 375 degrees for 20 minutes

7. make a side salad

8. voila! a la! serves about 4

raise the roof

I took thousands of pictures on the Eurotrip that Mom and I took after my graduation. One stop was in Luzern, Switzerland. It is a gorgeous city surrounded by the Swiss Alps and right on the lake. Right when we got there [by train] I see this massive modern building with a roof that cantilevered farther out than anything I've ever seen in person. It was amazing! After we took a ferry that made stops at different ports on Lake Luzern, I had to get up close and personal with this thing. Check out some of the pictures of the KKL [culture and convention centre by Jean Nouvel] along with other shots I took from Luzern. 

Swans were all over this lake! They made my photos so much better. To see more of Jean Nouvel's architecture click here.