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Current Obsession: Laura Ashley Home Decor

March 2, 2019

So Francesca and I were texting each other the other day about adorable things we found on the Internet - as we do - and all of a sudden we found ourselves on Etsy and eBay, going down a total vintage Laura Ashley wormhole.

You know Laura Ashley, of course. Your mom probably had Laura Ashley bedding with roses all over it in 1984 (mine did, too).

But what you might not know is that the vintage Laura Ashley look - all those florals and lace and the feminine everything - all of a sudden feels super fresh. See that dress laying across my bed up there? It's a 1970s lace Laura Ashley nightgown with big belled sleeves (found it on Etsy), and I plan to wear it alllllll over the beach this summer.

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Decor

Couch Problems, Take 4,253 (And A Solution)

February 11, 2019

Couch | Pillows | Top Rug (machine-washable) | Bottom Rug

Alright, so fiiiiiiine, the white family-room couch wasn't my smartest-ever purchase. I rationalized it because a) it's Ikea, and that's where my budget tapped out, b) there was only one Ikea style that I really liked, and c) that one style only came in dark grey (too dark), pink (too pink), turquoise (just no) and - yes - white.

But I figured we'd be able to collectively hold it together for at least the minimum of two years that I feel like you should be able to get out of an Ikea sofa. ...Right?

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DIY Projects

What To Do: Hideous ’70s Linoleum Floor

February 4, 2019

Oh heyyyyyy

I spent yesterday in Malibu, doing a little renovation consult for a friend who recently purchased a trailer home right on the ocean (more on the trailer home thing in a bit; it's a super cool story). It's an interesting undertaking, because the house is going to be torn down and rebuilt from the ground up in a couple of years, so the renovation is more about making the house pretty and livable for the short term, without spending tons of money on things that'll ultimately end up getting tossed.

So. My advice was to figure out what amount of money per month was a comfortable amount to spend on general Life Happiness (meaning an amount that creates no financial stress whatsoever, but that feels "worth it" for the lifestyle improvements it'll confer), and multiply that by 24 to arrive at a budget for the mini-reno that'll take him through the next two years. Certain things are OK to spend a little more on, IMO - appliances that'll make the jump to the new place, and so forth. But when it comes to structural features, things are a little trickier.

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Decor

Couch Boat, Take Two

January 7, 2019

Couch | Pillows | Throw | Nude Beach Print

I remember when I bought my first Grownup Couch™; for all the fuss I made about the thing, you probably do, too. That couch lives with Kendrick now - I kept the consignment-store set that used to be in our old living room, and that is now dying a slow death thanks to the fact that it is white (rrrg, also totally my fault).

Our division of assets was eminently fair - way beyond fair to me, honestly; I kept the vast majority of our furniture after our split. But I did still have a moment of mourning for our old Couch Boat when I moved into my new place and discovered that the new family room is an absolute behemoth of a space, and would have been the perfect spot for the thing. And the amount of money I had available to spend on couches after, you know, lawyer's fees and mover's fees and such was something like $2.

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