New Orleans - Round 2.

Several weeks ago we returned to New Orleans to celebrate a friend's 30th birthday.  It was quite a bit different than the trip we took back in June to celebrate our anniversary, which I blogged about here and here.  It was fun to see different parts of the city, and we had a blast celebrating Jeremy's birthday with a group of friends!  

We stayed at the Roosevelt Hotel, which was a block away from the French Quarter.  It was absolutely gorgeous on the inside.  In fact, the hotel's lobby is an entire block long!  Fun fact: in 2005, the hotel underwent a $145 million restoration.

Since there was seven of us, we had two connecting rooms.  Here are some of my favorite parts of the rooms:  There was a television in both of the bathrooms.  It was nice to put on makeup/dry your hair and have the TV right there. 

The claw-foot tub.  (For the record, I don't take baths in hotels, but I can still appreciate a pretty tub.) 

The embroidery on the sheers.  So fun! 

Check out the chandelier over the table.

The gold-toned striped couch (it had a vintage-vibe to me).

We also had some pretty great views from the rooms:

Okay, so we didn't spend all of our time enjoying the luxurious accommodations.  Once everyone got into town on Friday night, we headed out for dinner.  And we got to experience the craziness that is Bourbon Street.  Wow -- there is some great people watching.  A quick rain shower came through as we were walking around, but lucky for us, we sought cover in a daiquiri bar.

During the day on Saturday, the group did some touring around the French Quarter.  Meagan (with the help of Kevin) designed some pretty sweet t-shirts as party favors.  Look how cute the guys look in their matching shirts!   Too bad Justin didn't get the memo to wear gray shorts.

A little later in the day, we hung out at the hotel's pool.  I have no idea what they were doing, but I thought it was funny they were doing a similar pose.

That night we went to Mother's for dinner.  We had plans to go to Upperline, but the birthday boy decided he preferred something a little more low key.  And of course that was fine with us -- we went to Mother's during our last trip and loved it!  Seriously, it doesn't photograph well, but their jambalaya is so tasty!

Here we all are at Mother's:

(Despite how he looks, Sean is happy -- he just refuses to smile in pictures.)

After Mother's, we cruised over to Harrah's for a little gambling.  Neither Jeremy, Meagan, nor Amanda had ever been to a casino before, so we had to go!  I am still trying to block out how much money Justin and I lost in a very short period of time at the blackjack table.  But we had a blast anyway.  After some casino-action, we headed to back Bourbon Street for round two.  First stop, Pat O'Brien's for a hurricane (and singing happy birthday to Jeremy at midnight).

It is hard to get a good shot of a group of people on Bourbon Street.  Here's Justin's best attempt. 

And the craziness that is Bourbon Street. 

The next morning we headed to Oceana Grill, a place nearby the hotel, for brunch.  Evidently, Adam Gertler (from the Food Network) featured the restaurant on his Fine Living Network show, Freakiest Foods, for their nutria and ghost pepper caviar.  Thankfully, no one ate either of those things.  After another delicious meal, we had to catch our flight back to Houston.

We had a great weekend celebrating Jeremy's birthday!  On a sappier note, it was also our last weekend with Meagan and Jeremy before they moved to Austin.  But we made lots of fun memories!  And we are already thinking of places for the next big birthday!    

Temptation City.

One of our friends recently purchased a high-end designer showroom complete with lots of eye-candy.  (Can you say jealous?)  Justin helped her set up her computers and get the network hooked up.  Of course, I was okay going with him because I knew I could spend the whole time drooling over all of the incredible goodies in the showroom.

I didn't bring my camera, but here are some of my favorite pieces that were there: 

(photos: LewisMittman)

How amazing are these chandeliers? 

(photos: marjorie skouras design)

You can see it in all its glory here:

(photo: the love list)

and here:

(photo: apartment therapy)

And one of my absolute favorite things, this amazing chandelier.  It was hanging over the desk area.  I kept wishing I had one of them over my desk.  I'm pretty sure it would totally increase my productivity!   

(photo: studio steel)

Kitchen Lighting.

So I have been drooling over the Calais chandelier from Z Gallerie for quite some time now.  We were originally considering it for our sitting room off the master, but we were concerned it would hang too low.  Not one to be deterred, I convinced Justin to try it out in the kitchen.

It's not completely hung yet (we were just testing it out to see how it would look in the space).

The close up:

And what was there before:

What do you think?  The glass chandelier or the pendant?

Office Inspiration.

I must have offices on the brain given my crazy work schedule recently. But how great is this office?  It seems very soothing.  Love the wallpaper, light green desk, and of course, the amazing chandelier! 

(photo: decorpad.com)

I am headed back to Dallas for the fifth time in 15 days . . . glad it's a quick flight!  

Sarah's House: Family Room, Living Room, and Kitchen & Dining Room.

I have got to get caught up on Sarah's House since a new series started this past weekend!

Up first, the family room.  I like the masculine feel, but it's not overwhelming manly (i.e. no super dark colors or an over-sized leather couch).  In my opinion, brown and blue will always be a classic color combo.

I love the simple light fixture and the blue chairs are amazing!

Next is the gorgeous living room.  I love the color palette and am glad Tommy convinced Sarah to incorporate pink.  How adorable are the striped ottomans? 

The kitchen also turned out great (of course).  Can you believe the cabinets and counters are from Ikea?  I love the idea to paint the upper cabinets white and leave the bottom ones the beige color.  It definitely breaks up the beige color (and I love white kitchen cabinets).

And last but not least, the dining room.  My absolute favorite thing is the chandelier.  Love it!  I would have never ever thought the table would work, but with the updated chairs, it does. 

(all photos hgtv.ca)

Dining Room Update.

I realized I hadn't posted a complete picture of the new and improved dining room with the chandelier, lamps, chairs, and new art work all together.

And for those who pay extra attention to the pictures on the right side of my blog, I have updated the picture of the dining room there too.

Dining Room Updates.

I recently snagged some new wall art for our dining room at High Fashion Home. I wasn't looking for anything in particular, but as soon as I saw these, I knew they had to come home with me. And, the decision was even easier since they were 50% off!


Here is a close up (click to enlarge to see the detail):


We also found some great new buffet lamps at Z Gallerie (they are the constaletti lamps). The other lamps I had were too much with the pearson chandelier and the other one was too short (see this post). These are just right. I wasn't crazy about the color of the lamp shades at first, but I like them now (and their shape is perfect). You can also see the new art in the mirror!

Chandelier Input Needed.

I need some advice on which chandelier to go with in the dining room. I think part of my problem is that I am not used to the pearson chandelier, so it still looks different/off to me. What do you think?

Here is the chandelier we originally purchased for the dining room:


Here is the new pearson chandelier:


I know I will need to get rid of the lamps on the buffet because it looks to "shady" with the 3 big drum shades in that room. And that is totally fine, I think the lamps will look perfect in our bedroom (with their original white shades). Maybe something like this below without the big lamps. Sorry for the poor lighting (clicking on the picture makes it a little easier to see).


Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

I heart Pure Design.

I am home from work today because I had to get a sacroiliac joint injection this morning (it is as fun as it sounds). (side vent: Why do they have you get to the hospital at 6:15 a.m, if they don't take you up to pre-op until close to 9:00?)

Any who, being home today has led me to one conclusion: daytime TV is terrible. Even HGTV and Food Network (my go-to channels) didn't have good shows on. Thankfully, I had some shows recorded, and today was a perfect opportunity to lounge around (and nap off the pain and sedation meds) and watch them.

I previously blogged about my obsession with Pure Design here. I was glad to see that a new season started recently. On the episode I watched today, Samantha redid a young couple's living room/kitchen.

How great are the Louis chairs, the ottoman, and the photo wall?


Love the kitchen chandelier and the pillows.


But my favorite part of the room is the trellis wallpaper behind the open shelving. Love it!