chic.ed // 2

"So, what's with this whole chiced series?" you may be thinking. It's kind of like this: "Look, I chiced it!" Yes, I know I just made up a word, but let's just go with it, ok?

Remember this post? No? Well, I can't blame you. It's one of those projects that I really wanted to happen, but it never did. Until yesterday. My original idea was to handmake the flowers myself. That would mean going out and deciding on fabric, then designing the flowers and putting it all together. That's what usually stops me from getting my endless list of projects accomplished (besides the obvious, that the list never ends). I usually choose the most time consuming process. Yesterday, I just decided to get it done. It wasn't that hard:

1. I already had the mounted antlers. I got them from Tumbleweed's Odd Shop when Doug and Beca (and their furry babies) still lived in San Diego.

2. I bought the flowers at Michael's instead of waiting to make them. I didn't let myself even look at the one's at regular price- only the ones on sale (which is a lot right now).

3. As soon as I got home, I immediately got to work. This was the key to my last chic.ed project. Do it right away! How many times have you gone to the craft store to buy all of your materials, but didn't do it when you got home? When you don't get to it right away, what happens? It stays in that plastic shopping bag (receipt and all) or becomes a small pile (which we see as more clutter or mess). This bag or pile is either sitting out, haunting you every time you walk by it or by now you've stashed it up in the closet because it's been so long.

There you have it. All of that wasn't difficult, it wasn't expensive, and now I can cross this pretty project off my list. (except for the part of where to put it.)

vol. 2

In no particular order, here's a little of what happened last week:

1. I was grateful to have two plates on the breakfast table. This only happens on the weekends, as Philip is at work during the week.
2. Patrick had lots of playtime at the park. This is his new friend Noi, a little Australian Shepherd puppy.
3. We picked up some beautiful ranunculus at the farmer's market (and realized just how affordable they are there compared to the grocery store).
4. I enjoyed a lot of lunches at home.
5. We got out new bulbs for our international customers.
6. We played around with some beautiful piano remains for a special project we're working on.
7 + 8. We had breakfast with some friends who were downtown for the day. This is my favorite breakfast at Craft + Commerce (and in San Diego).

on the menu // brunch

Technically, this was my breakfast. However, since I slept in and didn't eat until around 11:30, why don't we just call it brunch?

I'm not the best at making sure that I drink a lot of (if any!) water during the day. Since I started keeping this bottle full (with water and herbs) and with me at all times during the day, I can't stop drinking water! Not only is it making me drink water, it's helping me keep track of how much I've been consuming. It's really amazing how small things like having it in a cute bottle make me remember to do things I don't enjoy. That's how I get myself to take my vitamins as well. I always put my them in a mini ceramic pie dish that I think is adorable. I'm not sure why these things work for me, but they do. 

This was a pretty typical breakfast for me. I normally have an egg, toast, coffee, and some sort of fruit. What does breakfast look like for you?

closet mixology // a rainy day

Outfit details: 

chambray button up: H&M

cardigan: H&M

scarf: Forever21

watch: thrifted

leggings: Forever21

scrunch socks: Target

shoes: Forever21

(umbrella: Target)

Today is a rainy day here in San Diego. Rainy, but not freezing. I got away with wearing a light cardigan and a big scarf in place of any sort of heavy duty jacket. I've been wearing this scarf just about everyday because I love the chunky texture and the color. I've also been rocking the top knot everyday. It's just so easy and it's helping me cut back on my prep time in the morning (most mornings I haven't even dried my hair). When you look at where all of these pieces came from, you'll notice that I'm basically a walking billboard for the mall/ big chain clothing companies. But hey, that's what I can afford and what makes up a lot pf my closet, so here it is.

Philip needed a day of relaxing, so that's exactly what we've been doing. We had coffee and visited at Influx, bought new windshield wipers, and took Patrick out for a walk. That's it. We don't give ourselves many days like this, so we're being very intentional about doing practically nothing (and not feeling bad about it).

I added a about 5 new book lamps to the website this week (I'm currently working on putting them in our Etsy shop as well.) We want to keep adding more so that we can offer a larger variety. If you're looking for something specific, keep in mind that we always do custom requests (and a lot of them).

American Wit and Humor

Today I took a lot of product photos and am in the process of listing each one. I just had to share this one. Maybe it's the olive and gold accents or the torn edges, but this one has stolen my heart.

all in the details // my desk

I haven't really had much time to decorate. Also, nothing is finished, so it would seem backwards to decorate now. It's like the finishing touches (and a reward for me). In the meantime, I do spend a lot of time at my desk, so I made sure that I have a few things to enjoy looking at.

Vol. 1

Last week was sunny and mellow. This a little bit of what happened.

1. I took too many walks to count. Patrick loved it.
2. We received our March/April copy of Mountain Living, where one of our book lamps was featured.
3. We ate at the Lincoln Room twice. They have filling and yummy $5 dinners during their Happy Hour.
4. Both of those dinners were followed by a trip to Cremolose where I discovered their cappuccino flavored mousse.
5. I did a tiny bit of decorating.
6. I did a lot of business planning, brainstorming, and sketching.
7. I got to see William Fitzsimmons at Anthology thanks to Jessica.
8. I got reacquainted with my camera and the blog.
9. We went to Noble Experiment where I had the best mojito. They aren't joking about their well balanced drinks. Absolutely fantastic.
10. Once we realized that Noble Experiment didn't serve food, we reserved a table in The Neighborhood for dinner.

styled.

1 | 2 | 3

I really admire styling that looks so effortless. Although beautiful, don't these photos look so casual and inviting? I also love the pops of color in each one.

I have been missing my camera lately. Now that we live somewhere with so much natural light, I have been inspired to start taking more photos. I've always wanted to try my hand at styling, so I think I'll start with food. If you follow me on instagram, you know that I love eating and photographing what I eat. What a better place to share these photos than here?

chic.ed // 1

I decided to start this new series for the blog. The whole idea behind chic.ed is thrifty shopping, smart repurposing, and practical redesign. This means I'll be sharing a lot of different things like DIYs, up-cycled pieces, furniture makeovers, repurposed objects, and smart purchases (including thrifted/ second hand items).

These two pieces were definitely smart purchases. I found myself wandering around Hillcrest yesterday while my car was being worked on. I decided to go into Buffalo Exchange. I went in with a good mindset and a game plan: be practical about what I look for and stay within the budget of my gift card. What's practical for me? Look for pieces that I've been wanting for a long time, if possible, stick to good brands I know and love, and make sure that whatever I find will go with a few other things that I already own.

Confession: I unintentionally went outside my gift card budget. I thought I had $40 on my card, but apparently had less than that. I was very surprised when they rang me up, but just paid the difference. Next time I'll check my balance before they ring me up.

top: $8.25

skirt: $11

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total: $19.25

This skirt is originally from H&M and I remember it costing somewhere around $20. It's actually one that I had been wanting for a long time right around Christmas and New Year's. Anytime I was in H&M (which was a lot because I was Christmas shopping) I always looked for it in my size. I never found one, so I just forgot about it. When I saw this yesterday, I snatched it off the rack and was so excited when I discovered it was the right size. What are the odds?!

Although it was the right size, it was still a little too loose. The first thing I did when I got home was take in the waist a little. If I didn't do it then, who knows how long it would have taken me to actually get to it. Because I did it right away, I actually got to wear it last night when we went out to drinks.

I love everything about this sweater: the neutral color, the metallic accents, and those shoulders. How could I say no to those? When I saw that it was $16.50, I wasn't sure if I could bring it home. I know that's not a lot, but there is a noticeable hole right in the center of it near the botom. (Make sure to always inspect clothing  for damages when thrifting or buying second hand. You don't want to be surprised when you discover it at home and it's something you can't fix) Normally, I would never buy something that was damaged like this one was (the hole was in a spot that wasn't fixable), but I really really loved this top. I knew that I would most likely only wear it tucked into a high waisted skirt. I have a lot of those, so I just needed to know what kind of discount I could get for it being damaged. They said they would sell it to me for 50% off. Sold!

Buffalo Exchange is my go to spot when I'm in a shopping mood, but my wallet isn't. Where do you like to shop?  Do you like buying second hand or new?