Daylight Desk Pics!

As promised, photos of my new desk in daylight!! Ohh, I'm so in love with it! Believe it or not, I've been longing all day to sit at it!! And here I am! Time to get some painting done! The desk has actually inspired me!!!

DREAM FIND!!!!

I am amazed at what people throw out in New York City!!!

This afternoon, walking down the street, and on turning the corner I stopped gasped out loud! I saw this beautiful desk just sitting there on the curb with the trash!!! It's just beautiful, and just the desk I had been dreaming of!!! There wasn't even a split second where I even considered leaving it!!

And so, the wonderful man with me (thank you!! ;) ) picked it up for me, and we dragged it to his apartment, where later on he popped it into a cab and I took it off to my apartment! I'm so happy with it!!!

In the above left photo it's pre clean, and as soon as I walked it in the door!! The desk has some varnish or something which was spilt over it the top of it (see the above right photo), and down the front too, which did make the top drawer stick (but that was fixed with a bit of clever man power!!). The spilt varnish has chipped off in places, and with encouragement, patience and a lil' elbow grease, I hope it should all come off without too much trouble! The only problem area I think will be the black top... I'll delicately do my best with it, but I think this will eventually just have to add a little character to the desk!!!

I will be taking daylight photos soon too so you can see it better, but well, I couldn't wait to share the best find ever!! Below are the photo's of it a bit more settled into my room! 

I really am amazed what people throw out in the trash though!! What's that phrase? 'One man's trash is another man's treasure' ? Oh so true!!!! I LOVE my new desk!!!!!

Sweet, Sweet Love...

I. Am. In. Loveee.

I was cruising blog Decor8 yesterday, and as soon as my eyes were caught, so was my heart..

The post (here!) was featuring Knack Studios, based in South Carolina.

Secretly, I've got a dream of owning my own shop where I give flea market finds and old furniture and home stuffs a fantastic new life... and so you will see why I'm so deeply in love with Knack Studios!! I am totally in heartfelt longing for the cream dresser in the above left photo! And I'm a total sucker for mismatched old plates too (below)!! Hey... I love it all, what can I say!?!

"Knack Studios was born of a passion for discovering home products that reflect a distinctly urban professional lifestyle. With and eye for detail and a talent for repurposing found objects, Knack offers an eclectic selection of furnishings that are sleek yet warm, detailed but relaxed. Clever design. Easy Style. Uncommon Expression." From the Knack Studios Website.

Also Knack studios has a Blog and a fantastic Flickr set! Check them out!!

Oh, To Be Grey...

So I've been seeing a lot of grey around recently, and I feel it only my duty to participate! Some might think it strange, but I've liked grey for quite a long time! I do love how it can flip flop from being cool to warm, and masculine to feminine, either by it's tones or just by the right accessories... 

Most of all, I love grey with earthy warm tones, natural woods and stone, and with metallics, creams and bright whites, it's just beautiful! The mix of textures in the accompanying pictures is what I love the most!

So here are a few of my favorite grey interiors and still life photographs. Clockwise from the top left, Living Etc, (sorry, I don't know this one!), Skona Hem, Shootfactory, House to Home, and Glen Proebstel.

Happiness Is...

Happiness is... a long drive out into New Jersey on a warm early spring Saturday afternoon... ;)

Update - Empire State Building!!

Ah, at the top of the Empire State Building!

It was my very good friend Kara's Birthday a few days ago, and she'd never been to the top of the Empire State Building, so at her request, we shot up there to finally tick off one of those NYC things most tourists hold high on their lists of things to do! As locals, it was quite fun to 'act the tourist' for a few hours!! 

The last time I was up there, I was about 13 years old and with my Sister, Brother and Dad on a trip to the city. I remember being up there and calling my Mum in England from a cell phone you could purchase for a few minutes to make a call anywhere you wanted - and in those days, cell phones were no where near as prevalent as they are today!! It was like a huge novelty item back then!!

So returning once again, put a touch of perspective on my life, and made me think back to all thats happened in the last 'few'(!) years!!! Back then, I never had a clue I would be living in this city now, or how far I've come... sometimes life plays those funny tricks on you!

We had a great time, and of course, as one could imagine the city looked somewhat beautiful from so high, all sparkly lights and the rows of streets and avenues that stretch out below you.

And as a local, there are of course parts of the city one tends to avoid, one of those for me is Times Square. I hate it! Too much tourist bustle, flashy lights and not enough NYC for what it really is (sorry tourists!! - I'm sure you think the same of me when in your towns and cities!!).

At any rate - from the top of the Empire State Building, Times Square looks better than one could hope.. and even possibly quite pretty with it's glowing lights rising in between the buildings! Check out the above left pic!

Above right, and below right, are some pics of the streets to the east and west, and in the below left picture is the view all the way downtown! Bridges, avenues and all - I live down there!!!

Update - Vegas!!

Time for a little update! Not so long ago, I zoomed out to Vegas for the weekend to spend some time with my Dad!! It was a wonderful trip, and we had a lot of fun as we always seem to do!!

Of course, it was way to short, and I would have loved to have stayed there longer with him, however, work called me back to the city...

We stayed in the Flamingo hotel, and our view looked out onto their gardens, which, if you look closely in the above pic, you can see the pink flamingos through the trees!

And in the pic on the left is my cool-as-you-like Dad!! We had a blast, and we both needed a good 'get away from it all' to a sunny warm destination. 

And of course, as usual, we played a ton of roulette, and although lady luck wasn't going crazy for us, we didn't do half bad! Through all my playing, I left with $20 more than what I went with!!!

Flu...

Well folks, I've been sick... and not your average kind of cold either, the flu got me this time. I haven't had the flu for over a year!

So anyways, my schedule is becoming a bit more even these days (even if I think I said that last time) but my jet setting weekends have come to a (temporary!) end, and although every week these days seem to be packed full, and my weekends are gone in a blink of an eye, I cannot neglect my blog any more!! (I'm even getting my Mum worried!! Sorry Mum!!!)

So, all will be coming thick and fast soon! (and with my new piece of artwork too!)

Also, I had to share the above ecard (from someecards.com) from my very good, and very funny, friend Kara! Oh you know me toooo well dahling!!! ;)

Virginia Beach!

Thinking of warmer weather... I want to live HERE!!!!! Lake Drive, Virginia Beach... I've got a soft spot for Virginia as it is, and this little cutie is screaming at me to move in!! Ha!!

I'm loving it's lake side location and view, the gorgeous, big and bright sun room, the baby porch at the front, the reading nook in the master bedroom (once you get rid of the tv!), the light in all the rooms, the deck out the back, and it's cosy warmth! A perfect little beach house!

Built in 1948, this three bed, two bath, cottage is a little gem... few changes I would make though.. change the kitchen appliances to stainless steel and a gas stove (and buy that gorgeous mixer next to the cooker from the owner!!), change the countertops too. I'd rip out the wall between the dining room and the living room which strangely has a cut out for the stairs (?), and have a new staircase made - a really nice one, but in keeping with that cottage feel. And of course, I would add my own touches here and there to make it just the way I like it!!!

For a better look yourself, check out it's listing here, and also have the guided - and panoramic tour here! (where you can see the stairs, and all of what I'm talking about a little better!!!)

This Weekend!!

Ah yes, it's that time again, where I run away from this cold snowy weather to a warm 70 degrees of Las Vegas desert heat... mm, not bad!

This Saturday morning, I shall be relaxing at the Flamingo's Garden Buffet with my wonderful Dad (after jumping the line because of his platinum card!!) And we'll chat away, and look out onto the Flamingo's in the garden as they bask in the sunlight...

Hm, not a bad way to spend a weekend I would say... in fact, I'd say, I CAN'T WAIT!!!!

Last Weekend!

Well I have been a busy bee lately! Last weekend I went crazy on cleaning and revamping my apartment, trying to bring in Spring quicker with some dusting maybe?!!

Anyways, over the past few months, the number of books I own has greatly increased! I had no idea I had gained so many until I started picking them up from all around the apt and piling them up!!

So first thing first! It was high time my bookshelf got a through dusting, and the additions to my collection were correctly placed - and yes in color order!! What other way IS there??!! ;)

From there, I went from a complete clean, from washing the floors, to organizing my tubes of paint!! me? a little o.t.t.? no!

Above are two pictures of my shelves completed (I have a huge shelves in the living room for bigger books and all of my art books) And below is the 'before' picture! Right after my huge apartment redecoration in Spring 08! (see that post here, here, here and here!!)

I just Love how they're looking now, and with my inspiration pin board too! (which will need a spring revamp soon enough as well!) I'm still looking for the perfect desk (which I posted about here) as well as some nice curtains... I'll get on that soon!

Another thing in my bedroom I just love is my dresser! I remember it from when I was a child in my Dad's house, my Sister had it for soo many years! It's got different pulls on two out of the five drawers, has a huge chip out of the second one down and the paint is crackling in places! It's hitting Shabby Chic, and I adore it!

Check out the photo below on the left! - On the right is a photo I just stumbled across, though I can't remember where from! (If anyone knows, please tell me!!) It completely reminded me of my own dresser!! A little different, a little similar... And I do soo love my antique mirror!! So gorgeous and so perfect on my dresser!!