In My Defense...

Last Friday, Philip had his turn, poking fun at Urban Barn. In order to provide a balanced perspective, it only seemed fair to share the photos we took of some of the Urban Barn products we loooved. Yes, we did feature Urban Barn another time recently, and no, it's not the only place we shop, but we love it! Also, we were too early on our Spring product preview, because they only just released their Spring line and it is fabulous! We're obviously biased as lovers of yellow, and their two feature colors this year are Wasabi (green) and Dijon (yellow), with a base of Charcoal to ground everything. So very Spring-like! 

Urban Barn is interesting, because I feel like it's going through  bit of a style change, as am I. When you first get married and move out, you have to kind of find your style. At least I did. Most of what I like is shaped by what my mom decorated with (she has amazing style and probably should have been an interior designer - we will do a house tour there one of these days so you can see some of what shaped our style), but since moving out I've definitely felt a shift towards things with more personality. Philip loves color, especially as someone in Marketing with a knack for graphic design. The move towards more fun items, and towards color, is leading me towards some of the more fun things that Urban Barn has to offer, and before you know it I might even be buying some of the crazy products Jonathan Adler sells. I would definitely say that my style is easily influenced. Often blogs I read, things I see on Pinterest, etc. can have a big influence on what I like. I wouldn't necessarily say that I'm a trend follower, but it definitely happens on occasion. Pinterest can't convince me of all things, I would still say we have contemporary style rather than rustic or country, however I am moving more to the eclectic end of the spectrum. 

Here are some of the great items that Urban Barn has to share in their Spring collection (click this link to view the entire Spring Collection). 

Charcoal base, I love Charcoal...especially when paired with yellow.
You can tell by our wedding invitations! 

Philip made our wedding stationary, including invitations, thank you cards, wine labels, menus, & programs! All with a grey and yellow theme. 

We've been thinking of a clear chair for our small office.
This one is pretty cute, there's also one at Ikea we don't mind. 

I like the graphic pattern of this chair, with the Dijon throw -
it's a match made in grey and yellow heaven! 

I almost always love the placemats & cloth napkins at Urban Barn. These are my new loves, I think they would work for all seasons! Summery with the right table setting, or definitely fall like with settings more in the browns and oranges. 

I don't know if I'm such a fan of the affirmative sayings pillows,
but "Don't Forget to be Awesome" is a pretty good reminder.
Maybe for a wall print?

Color dipping is everywhere these days, I'd be nervous about DIYing it, and the resulting non-dishwasher friendliness. However, I'm thinking of trying this on our martini glasses that we never use (we aren't really big drinkers), it would dress them up in the glass cabinet, and if we used them washing 4 cups wouldn't be the end of the world. 

These cups glow from a distance, they're just 4 tiered cups and up close on their own they look pretty much like normal glass, but from afar they look almost ethereal. 

The numbered items theme is also pretty prevalent these days.
I definitely appreciate a good numbered item. 

A little more rustic than we go for, but spray painted high gloss white?? These squirrels that "press hands" are my cup of tea. 

Yet another set of napkins/placemats that I love. These ones a bit more Spring & Summery. 

Last but definitely not least, this blanket is drool worthy.
If I'm sick and cuddled under a blanket all day - this is what I want to do it with. Mentally adding this to my birthday list (mothers reading this take note).

Disclaimer: We are in no way paid or compensated by Urban Barn for these posts, we just love their products and have yet to find another store that embodies our style so well. Ceramic Gorilla Butts and all - they speak our language. 

Window Shopping Wednesday: EQ3

Over the long weekend, between having a belated Valentine's date lunch at Joey (be mine, California Chicken Club) and picking up my mom at the airport, we had the opportunity to stop in at EQ3 Polo Park. Here are some of the great items we found - but didn't take home!
(Oh, and check it out: Philip made our little weekly event its own logo. So cute and pink!)
Now, back to the lusting over overpriced decor being totally content with the things we have! (While admiring a few things that reflect qualities we appreciate.)

Don't be surprised if we come home with this when we renovate our kitchen/dining area. We were both crazy about it. Our dining room at the condo also had an EQ3 barrel light, but this was definitely tugging on both of our heartstrings. Also last night - I guess I must have been thinking about this post - I had a dream about this light. It was mixed in with nightmares about hospital catastrophes, but at some point during  the madness I bought a knockoff of this light at Costco, but then it turned out it was more expensive! Talk about a nightmare.

If I didn't live with a boy and could have all pink and purple glasses...
this is where I'd start...

This might be showing my lack of green thumb, but I am totally loving the idea of these herb cutting scissors. They have 6 blades so you can easily just chop away! 

I really like the subtle pattern on this pillow.
Maybe another daybed addition.

This last piece is no where near a new arrival, Philip & I have been wanting it for 2 years...but it's a bit more than we can justify spending. The shelves are all angled differently so it looks like an optical illusion a bit close up.

What's your favourite? Done any recent shopping at EQ3? Our entertainment unit and coffee table are from there, making a good mix between splurges and cheap finds in our living room. 

After this next week we don't have any Window Shopping Wednesday's in the hopper, any stores you'd like to see us explore? A weird number of sites don't have online shopping options - Crate and Barrel, Ten Thousand Villages, Pier One Imports, Superstore, etc. so I'll have to make some journeys - which could be dangerous on the wallet. Today I'm going to Ikea again so maybe I'll take a few photos. Hope you're enjoying this new series and it's inspiring you in your own home design pursuits!

Winter 2013 Scramble

Well, according to our to-do list, Winter 2013 ends with this month. We took a bit of time to make some updates to the sometimes ominous list, as we finished some things that weren't scheduled for weeks, while leaving others for a later date. Our list now is more reflective of what we actually think we can accomplish for now. We'll have to keep updating as we go, but this leaves you with an idea of what we have to accomplish this week to stay on track and what is coming up next.

In order to get refocused, I wrote out on paper the Fall 2012 & Winter 2013 goals that we had. I checked off anything we've completed, and then went to work making little notes about if the things were accomplish-able by the end of February-ish or if they should be pushed to Spring and beyond. Once Philip was in agreement with my list, it was time to make the necessary amendments to our official list. 

Go ahead and head over to the To-Do list section of our site to see comprehensive changes, but for now I'll explain the changes we made.

Right now this week and the end of Winter 2013 (not by the Groundhog's calendar, but by our To-Do lists standards) look like:

• Install Living Room Blinds (complete!)
• Install Hallway Light Fixture (we think we can squeeze this in this week because we already have it thanks to a friend's free giveaway, and it won't take long to do)
• March Banner Update!

This means a lot was pushed to Spring, but luckily we didn't have much slotted into that time, just some yardwork, so it shouldn't be too much of a problem. 

Spring 2013 (this looks slightly different than the To-Do list you'll see on our page, primarily due to paraphrasing):

• Cut Insurance Rates/Address Inspection Issues: There are a couple of things left to get checked off the old inspection so we can bring it to our insurance company and get our rates lowered (since we didn't have an inspection originally they just gave us basic rates that they'll adjust with an inspection but we figure we'll get rid of any concerns the inspector had first). 
• Rehang our Interior Doors
• Regain some Master Bedroom Sanity by moving the extra furniture out and starting to hang some artwork and things like that. 
• Finish our 3rd Bedroom
• Start dreaming up ideas for the rest of our house (deck, kitchen, basement, and the very far reaching idea of an en-suite bathroom and walk-in closet).
• Brace the Basement Stairs (when we gutted the basement the stairs lost a bit of their strength - they're still super safe but we're just going to make sure they're as safe as possible). 
• Plow unwanted flowerbeds
• Sod open spaces
• Plant flowers/bushes/trees/etc.
• Finish Bathroom (this is obviously higher on the list than this - I was even nervous to move it to the Spring category because that technically gives us till May to complete - but I'm hoping no more than a month and it'll be ready for a nice bath). We had planned to finish insulating this past weekend but have ended up needing to hire that out - we'll update on our bathroom progress this week!

What did you accomplish this Winter? What do you hope to do this Spring? Any ideas on how we should update our banner for March? I don't want to keep doing holidays but I suppose St. Patrick's day is an optional theme. 

Spring Shopping Preview: Urban Barn

One of the new series type blog posts that I'm thinking of venturing into is some online or real time shopping posts. Here I can share some of the great new products I've seen lately that you can check out if you like. 

Philip & I are huge Urban Barn people. I actually avoid it at certain times of day because one of the sales girls always notices us and remembers that we always come in! We have to wear shades when we go there so that we can act mysterious.

Here are some of the things from their "New Arrivals" that I'm digging right now:

This pillow is bright and happy and will look great in our mint guest room
along with a variety of other pillows on our day bed. 

Loving these new canisters in all shapes and sizes. 

I love the wood grain pattern going on here, they also have plates and such,
but that might be a bit much for me. 

I'm loving something about this dresser, and I don't think it'd go out of style or be something you'd get tired of. 

Philip really needs a new office chair...and this floats my boat. 

Nice and simple side table. 

Glass and Chrome, a bit more glamorous but still simple.

Anyone else addicted to Urban Barn and get sidetracked on their way to Regent Superstore? Made any recent purchases there? It's not the cheapest, but things go on sale and the pieces seem to be quality. We haven't actually purchased much there, but definitely love to do some window shopping. What's your favourite accessory/furniture piece on Urban Barn's website right now?