Monday, February 25, 2013

opinions please: new curtains!

I'm 99% sold on these new curtains for my living room ... what do you think?

Official deets: Ivory/white, semi-sheer, with jute stripes that look like gold from afar. $20/panel from Cost Plus World Market.

Replacing: the ivory floral sheer curtains that came with the house.

I love the idea of stripes in that room, as well as how the curtains fit the white and gold theme in a more neutral way. I'm less than enthused about the mismatching stripes when the curtains are closed (for me, that's 50-75% of the time). But is that enough of a dealbreaker? I haven't found anything else I really love.



Sunday, February 10, 2013

find your prize

Fellow home blogger and college friend Meredith and I visited Hunt & Gather (famous for "find your prize") yesterday ... to celebrate her new house!

I found a new (old) crystal drawer pull for the desk in my dining room, some Valentines's Day cards, and about a hundred other things I sadly couldn't bring home.

I also picked up some pillow forms at JoAnn's for my other new favorite things ... Pillow cases from Zara Home. I found them when I was in Paris for work last November and they've been mocking me from their folded perch on my bedroom chair ever since. It was time to put them to good use, brightening up my living room couch on this icy, snowy weekend.

Prizes found.






















Sunday, February 3, 2013

miracle mineral oil

I'm a die-hard fixer of things I love ... boots get re-heeled, shoes get re-soled, scuffed leather gets moisturized and polished. It's no different with the architectural pieces of my house that can't be so easily replaced as a pair of heels.

Take my kitchen cabinets. Custom-built mission-style wood that almost seems to glow from within (thank you, previous owners). And I love them to pieces.



Except for the worn and torn edges near the sink and stove. Most of the staining is from water (near the sink) and dry air (from the oven, and the house in general). Not the most inspiring thing to look at every time I'm at the sink:


But a few minutes with a soft cloth and a bottle of mineral oil, and everything looks as good as new.


I discovered mineral oil a few years ago when I was given a beautiful handmade wooden cutting board as a gift. Someone told me the best way to minimize the appearance of knife cuts on the board would be to treat it with mineral oil (available at stores like Bed Bath & Beyond or your hardware store). It's food-safe and not only works like magic on minor scuffs and scratches but also restores the wood to its original color (without messing up the stain, if there is one).

So if you have a wooden cabinet, desk, chair or cutting board that could use some TLC, there you have it. My secret revealed.

xoxo, LG