This is Where I Get My Auntie Mame Swerve On

2 posts in 2 days.  Can I get what what??!  Well gee wiz.  Thanks for all the ORC love.  As I mentioned yesterday, things in my room are generally the same but I am an insufferable fiddler.  I tweak things all the time, and I already have plans to change up a few things - but not the paint color - for those of you wondering what it is like to live with such a pigmented color in real life.  Still drinking the color koolaid for now.  If you are wondering whether or not to join the next ORC linking party round on April 3rd, I am here to tell you JUST DO IT.  Do not pass go.  Do not collect 200.  And do not miss out.  You won’t regret it.  Best motivation there is to get a room done when you have a ton of peeps cheering for ya.  I cannot tell you how many people I have met through this experience, many of whom I now consider friends, even though we’ve never laid eyez ballz on one another.  So consider yourself memo’d.

In breaking news, I stumbled across the most divine panel of vintage Chinoiserie fabric.  It is definitely showing its age in spots but it is seriously the stuff of which my Auntie Mame dreams are made.  Patrick, I will now be taking my cocktails in the loo.  There is just enough for me to fashion a smashing shower curtain right after I give it a proper cleaning, courtesy of some expert advice from the master himself, one Mr. Eddie Ross.  NBD.

Joe Nye's bedroom with my all-time fav Le Lac via

  

Having long adored this gorgeous drapery in Joe Nye's bedroom that was featured in House Beautiful in 2009, I have in mind a tailored situation.  Gave my vintage fabric a test drive this afternoon to make sure I had enough material.  While I don’t have enough material to do a top treatment, as I have been wanting to do, or two panels with the center open, I am still going to fancy the shiz out of this.   Because it is so happening. And my mister is so going to HATE it.  But me no care.

Don't accuse me of being psychic but I am sensing a bathroom redo in my future.

All photos and styling by Emily Vanderputten unless otherwise noted

kisses,  mrs. V

A Layered Retreat - My ORC Room Now

Hello!  Boy have I been going through ORC withdrawal.  I was pumped when Linda suggested that we do a 'where are they now?' type of linking party for the One Room Challenge Now.  Can not wait to see how everyone's spaces have evolved since we have last seen them. As for my bedroom, I am happy to report that it has remained much the same since the big reveal in November with only a few tweaks here and there.

If you will recall, I chose our master bedroom for the makeover.  It had been woefully ignored in the design hierarchy of our home and I decided it was high time to have a refuge in which to retire at days end - one that appealed to both my girly girl magpie sensibilities and those minimalist contemporary leanings of my mister.  Oh who was I kidding?!  I do not do minimal.  Armed with a vision of an adventurer's British Colonial-style retreat that skillfully juxtaposes the traditional with the exotic, shiny with muted, and masculine with glam set against a theatrical backdrop of layered pattern and color along with collected things, my goal was to create a cocooning space. With absolutely zilcho redeeming architectural interest, I decided to go totally dark and glossy resulting in paintmaggedon that threatened to end in divorce. #jokingnotjoking.  For that sob story, go here and click through WK1 through WK5 links.  Because seriously, I did not have paint on my walls until 3 days before the reveal and it was getting sporty.

What is new in this shot is that you can actually see the true color of the walls which is a deep green.  It was raining cats and dogs the day I shot for the reveal so a lot of folks thought the walls were black.

wall color - Ralph Lauren Deep Pool VM120 mixed in Benjamin Moore Aura semi-gloss | trim - Benjamin Moore White Down OC131 mixed in Aura semi-gloss |vintage chandelier - Vintage 937 | jute rug - Rugs USA | persian area rug - Home Emporium | chintz curtains - IKEA | woven blinds - Home Depot | abstract art - Jenny Andrews-Anderson

New here is my vintage ceramic Italian cheetah.  I am quite smitten. After lamenting over a missed zebra last year, I swooped him up like he was the last loaf of bread at Publix during a polar vortex.

ceramic Italian cheetah - Pedigree Consigments | dresser (old) - mine from childhood | knobs (old) - Anthropology | vase turned lamp base - Pedigree Consignments | lamp parts - Grand Brass

headboard - Tuesday Morning | foo dog lamps - Jonathan Adler for JC Penny | lampshades - IKEA | Ranarp sconces - IKEA | etchings (old) - Brass Armadillo | sidetable - Target | diamond matelasse duvet & bedskirt (old) - Target | mirror (old) - Home Goods

Looky loo.  After fawning over the abstract portraits that Kerry Steele whipped up for her gallery wall during the last ORC, I am over the moon to now have one for myself. Seriously. Sort of in love with how the modern abstract lines play against that old ornate frame that I picked up years ago.  Hording has its privileges.  And for those that follow along on Insta - you will recognize my busted bust that I smashed while trying to shoot this reveal in November.  I could not bare to part with her so she has assumed a ravished Juliet vigil under her modern day Romeo.

vintage chair (old) - Brass Armadillo | pillow (old) - custom | ceramic elephant (old) - from my childhood home | floor lamp (old) - Ballard Designs

compote - vintage | tray & teal stack bracelets (old) - Furbish Studio | candle - Diptyque | all other jewelry - vintage

euro pillows - custom | dragon tassel lumbars - handblocked by me | needlepoint pillow (old) - custom | coral shams - Stein Mart and monogrammed by me | crewel throw (old) - custom

stool - Home Goods | DVF tray - TJ Maxx | candle - Heyland & Whittle

The mister thought I was bonkers throughout the whole process but in the end, all the disparate pieces came together and totally work for us. In spite of all the layers, he loves it as much as I, and convincing him of the dark color, let alone the chintz curtains, was no small feat!  In fact, he thinks the rest of the house now looks like a dump.  Wha wha wha…

Head over to Calling it Home to see what's new with everyone on the One Room Challenge Now.

All photos and styling by Emily Vanderputten

kisses,  mrs. V

Pink Ombre Cake

The neverending winter of snow, frozen tundra, and prolonged sub zero temps.  That about sums 2014 so far.  This is the longest short month EVER.  Last year I joked about the things that winter does to a person in the Midwest.  Little did I know what we were in store for this year.  Crikey.  I’m just going to get in line with the dodos.

To beat the winter blues, I fancied up another cake on Friday to celebrate Valentine’s.  I am happy to report that I survived the encounter.  Y’all know I love to cook but baking is just not my jam.  Too precise for this cavalier cook.  But I love a good challenge so I keep torturing myself.  Icing is Public Enemy numero uno.  Outside of catching the oven on fire with overflowing batter on more than a few occasions, icing almost always gets me down.  Too many fails to chronicle.  And don’t even get me started on royal icing.   Middle finger to royal icing.  Those decorated Martha cookies of my dreams will remain squarely in the land of nod.

Any who – this time worked out just fine using a few tricks that I employed last year for my Cupid’s Arrow cake.  Tip one:  box cake is your friend.  Tip Two:  use smaller pans to give the cake a boutique bakery look. Tip Three:  make your cake the day before - after cooling completely, wrap your layers tightly with cling wrap and refrigerate.  Tip Four:  homemade frosting will go a long way toward fooling your guests into thinking you spent hours in the kitchen whipping up the cake from scratch.

 

Click here for specifics from my Cupid cake last year including an easy buttercream recipe that I used for both cakes.  This year I split the icing into 3rds to create a loose ombre effect using gel food coloring.  I don’t remember the exact amounts but I used about 15 drops of red gel to get the dark fuschia and 5 drops of red gel + 2 drops of yellow gel to get the lighter pink.

This cake would also be perfect for a shower, Easter, or Mother’s day, tinted accordingly.  Now go do your best Martha impression and get your box cake on.  Oh, and please excuse my tarnished silver, Momma. I couldn't find my way to the polish.

Do you ever cheat and use box cake?

All photos and styling by mrs. V.

kisses,  mrs. V

I'll Have Mine With a Side of Blue and White

No better reason to return to regularly scheduled blogging than with a bang.  I mean, a bash.  The lovely and talented Jennifer of The Pink Pagoda is hosting another blue and white bash today and I’m crashing the party, albeit late.  Seems fitting as blue and white seems to be a staple in my design diet.  Seriously slam the blue and white shizzy sauce on errythang.  Case in point…

Blue and white makes a great vessel for flowers.  Duh.

here we have a side of blue and white aka blue dub anchoring a vignette

scattered, smothered, and covered with blue dub

a towering blue dub confection

that blue dubs is a logo ho as she requires liberal slathering on all serving pieces

holidays bring out the best in blue dub

she pairs nicely with a full bodied chinoisy dish

she can be a bit of a camera hog though

eager to prove she's no diva, she is willing to give brass her rightful place as the one true saucy dish

not content with just lamps and plates, she must flaunt all her glory on candles too

admittingly the underdog come turkey time, blue dubs was thankful to be served up with dessert

she's a right tasty amuse bouche in the sack, as blue dubs insists that I print my textiles in blue

just like msg, blue dubs is a tricksy ingredient that can sneak in, even in the tiniest doses

And now I am out of food references.  You get the point.  I use it everywhere even though I gave it up like carbs for a few years in a fit of granny rage, meaning I felt it was too dated and overused.  But here I am again, claiming to enjoy it in moderation, but in reality am full force on the blue dub sauce once again.

Click on over to the bash to see how everyone else serves up their blue and white sauce.

All photos and styling by mrs. V

kisses,  mrs. V