and we're off!

Finally, its the Friday! We are off to Savannah, GA for a weekend girls trip! We have never been there before and are so excited to explore. We will share pictures and deets of our adventures next week. I am hoping for some amazing antiquing...If you have any of you fabulous gals have any suggestions, lay it on us! See you next week!

And, just because I can...the ultimate celebrity of Savannah, GA.

Have a great weekend!

Rug Upholstered Ottomans

Soooo, I have been moderately unhappy with my ottoman/coffee table for sometime now. It is one of those pieces that has lingered long after college has ended. It does its job, and my dogs certainly like it, but I could not be more underwhelmed by the shape and color. Solution? Rug upholstered ottomans! I recently spotted this trend and knew this was the one for us. I wanted something sturdy and heavy, yet not a wood coffee table.

So I got to thinking, why could I not do this myself? I have scoured the internet for a few tutorials, and I have my eye on a few. I am thinking of buying a table off of Craigslist (I could build one, but I mean why re-invent the wheel? I mean come on, folks.), and filling it with the appropriate foam and batting and then upholstering it with a fun rug. I am so excited about this DIY, I cannot even stand it! Until then, here are some amazing ottomans that are inspiring my little project!

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Favorite Room Feature: Chic Coles

Hey Sadie + Stella Readers! We are so excited to be sharing pictures and details about our favorite room and hope you enjoy the before and after! The room we chose is a bedroom on the second floor of the home. The house is a cottage in the White Mountains of New Hampshire that is used as a rental house. This is the exterior of the house:

When we first started restoring the house, everything was kind of run down.  A new roof had to be added, a new furnace, the siding of the house had to be replaced and of course the interior needed a new paint job and some TLC. This is what the room looked like {before}:

It was then transformed into this (there was no art over the bed): 

Since the house is a rental, it was important for us to keep in mind that there had to be multiple room set-ups for different rental families. This twin room is perfect for two friends or young children who want to share a room but do not want to share a bed. The two floral headboards are re-upholstered using fabric from {Good Goods} in Darien, CT. I really think they make the room young, fun and it really fit in with the rest of the house. The picture above the beds is a watercolor of the hotel {Peckett's on Sugar Hill} that used to be on the property from 1907-1969. It is a great piece of history and fun to include in the room! Finally, here's what the room looked like as a final product:

This is what the room looks out at, and it is obviously a very special place for our family!

I would have to say the bedroom is my favorite place to decorate because it is one of the most important room in the house. Although it might not be the one that all our guests see, it is the one where you spend a lot of time. I really enjoy a bedroom that is cozy, romantic yet sophisticated enough that anyone would want to stay there! I hope you enjoyed reading about the transformation of our favorite room! Please come and check us out at Chic Coles!

S+S E-Design: Rustic Cowboy Chic

After much deliberation, we have arrived on a theme for the baby's nursery. Baby Miller's design style has been deemed: Rustic Cowboy Chic. When I first told my girlfriend that I wanted to follow a cowboyesque theme, she was less than on board. It took a few weeks of coaxing and me promising that it wouldn't be entirely Marlboro man chic, to finally rope her in. No pun intended. I assured her that other elements would be peppered in. So, this is the final inspiration board.

Cowboy: First lets start with the straight up cowboy aspects. I wanted the art to have a cowboy feel, hence the Pottery Barn Cowboy plate wall. These are circa 2008 Pottery Barn and can be found on eBay. The graphic cowboy print can be found on Etsy. Love the personalization for baby Miller.

Rustic: What is rustic without some antlers on the wall? As you all know, this is a big trend right now and I just love this for the genre we are looking to achieve. The lighting is a rustic lantern that I feel completely brings the elements together. The reclaimed wood bench, is the most! My friend was looking for something functional for storage, as well as, serve as a seating unit. Her husband is apparently Bob the Builder and may be fashioning a copy of this bench. More power to you, Bob! Last but not least, the rustic star.

Chic: Cowskin rug. Ahhhh!! This was basically the building block of this room. As soon as I got the go ahead with the cowskin rug, it was go time! To pull all of these elements together, a chic chevron print for bedding was much needed. Tres Cowboy Rustic Chic!

monday musings: nurseries...boy oh boy!

Good morning lovelies! We hope you all had a wonderful weekend! Today we are talking about boy nurseries. One of my absolute dearest friends is pregnant with a baby boy. As of late, we have been talking about design schemes for the room. We are totally teetering back and forth on a few themes and are trying to pull a few ideas together. Maybe I can be like Emily Henderson Design Star on HGTV... I shall marry 16 completely unrelated styles. Are you ready to hear what is style is? Baby boy's style is: Zoological rustic glam circus chic. Rolls right off the tongue. 

On this glorious Monday morning, I am sharing with you some inspiration for my inspiration boards. Redundant. I know.  

This amazing image comes from Melanie over at Your Style Scout! She is a KC girl and she knows her style! Love this image. It is so over the top and glam! The colors are just killing it. No matter what theme I arrive upon, these colors will be weaved in!

{your style scout}

Loving the simplistic, rustic feel of this room. As you all know, we cannot resist any ceramic animal bust on a wall. I am really loving the grey tones mixed with the Texas Longhorn orange. Super fabulous for this handsome baby. 

So basically, every image I have come up with includes greys, stormy blues and a variation of a reddish orange color. So what? The heart wants what the heart wants. What child would not want that horsey in their room? So simple yet so lovely. 

I can hardly resist an animal theme. The only thing holding me back from this idea is that my friend did the animal theme for her first born, Henry. We can't repeat, folks. Need the lighting though. Immediately.  

{decor pad}

Here is a vintage circus theme. Probably not my favorite theme, but again with the colors. I. couldn't. resist.

{creative baby nursery rooms}

Later this week...the finished inspiration boards, a guest post from the fabulous Chic Coles and more! Also, us girls are off for a girls trip to Savannah, GA this weekend. Any suggestions on places to frequent are much appreciated!

spring settings

With Easter quickly approaching we decided to play with some table setting ideas of our own. We believe either would be perfect for a brunch or early afternoon event, complete with quiche, mimosas and maybe even a little hummingbird cake. As usual, we put pieces we already had lying around the house to use to pull our settings together. Take a look, we hope you find some inspiration for your springtime celebrations!

Happy Easter to you and yours!

Love, Sadie + Stella

S+S chow: PW's quiche

Do you love the Pioneer Woman? We do. I mean seriously, her recipes are always incredible and the pictures are so gorgeous they make ya drool. This quiche is to die for. Bacon, onion, artichoke, mushroom and cheese all baked in one golden, deliciousness. Yes, please! For those of you hosting, or attending an Easter brunch, this recipe is for you! Enjoy!

{via the Pioneer Woman}

Ingredients

• ¾ pounds Thick Cut, Peppered Bacon
• 1 stick Butter
• 1 whole Large (or 2 Medium) Onions, Very Thinly Sliced
• 2 boxes (5 Oz. Each) White Mushrooms, Washed And Sliced
• 1 can (14 Oz.) Quartered Artichoke Hearts
• 1 whole Pie Crust, Or Half A Recipe Of "Sylvia's Perfect Pie Crust"
• 7 whole Eggs
• 1-½ cup Heavy Cream
• 2 cups Grated Swiss Cheese
• Salt And Pepper, to taste
• Optional: Fresh Parsley, Fresh Chives

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In a skillet, fry bacon until crisp. Crumble and set aside. Pour out excess grease but don’t clean the pan.
Melt butter in the same skillet. Add onions and cook for a few minutes. Add mushrooms and artichokes and cook for a few more minutes. Salt mixture to taste. Remove from heat and allow to cool for about 20 minutes.
Roll out pie crust and press into deep dish tart pan. (May also use 2 standard pie crusts for this recipe.) In a large bowl, beat eggs with cream. Add grated cheese, salt and pepper, and set aside. (Add cayenne pepper if you’d like a little kick.)
With a slotted spoon, add mushroom mixture into egg/cream mixture. Stir together. Add bacon and stir. Add parsley or chives, if desired.
Pour into pie crust and press to submerge ingredients. Cover loosely with foil, place on a baking sheet, and bake at 400 degrees for 1 hour. Bake for slightly longer if quiche is overly jiggly.
Remove from oven and allow to set for ten minutes before serving. Remove quiche from pan and slice into wedges.

Favorite Room Feature: Nuestra Vida Dulce

We've adored Joi over at Nuestra Vida Dulce since the moment we laid eyes on her blog. Her home is jaw dropping! She and her husband have transformed it into something that expresses their style perfectly and we can't get enough! We also are big fans of her 'What's Good in Your Hood' series. We've snagged a few of her finds in our area. We'll let Joi take it from here...

Hola! I'm Joi from Nuestra Vida Dulce and I'm honored to be posting about one of the most favorite spaces in our home: the kitchen + dining room! : )

The space that used to look like this:




Now looks like this:

It took a couple years and multiple changes before it felt just right! One of the first things we did when we moved in nearly 6 years ago, was paint the cabinets a rich white. We decided on Sherwin William's Alabaster in an oil-based finish and have not been disappointed. Many people don't like to work with oil-based paints because of the clean-up; but we love its durability, minimal to-no brush strokes, and its wipability once cured is unbeatable.



We lived with the laminate green countertops for a couple years and then made the move to replace them with Corian's private collection in the color Sandalwood. I was and still am impressed with its resemblance to the veining in some of my favorite {but too $$$} marble selections.

Over the years my tastes started to change and I requested that my father-in-law build David and me a dining room table! The man did NOT disappoint and it's one of the best things in our whole house! If you're interested in plans, feel free to drop me an email at NuestraVidaDulce at gmail dot com. : )

Soon after, I had seen an image with a kitchen island in a similar set up like our kitchen and my father-in-law was back in action to make us a great island. Looking for the tutorial on those paper flowers? Find it here!

Finally, the most recent of changes have been changing the wall color to a deep brown-gray and adding striped wall opposite the kitchen cabinets with a campaign dresser serving as a buffet. The "art" you see is a DIY silver leafed canvas and the rest of the items were mostly thrift store finds.

I hope you enjoyed our kitchen metamorphosis! I'd love for you all to hop on over to our blog to see some more transformations! Thanks for having me, Sadie + Stella!

xoxo

- Show quoted text -

Fabulous Finds: Nell Hills

On one of my recent trips back to my hometown, Kansas City, I decided to venture in to one of my all time favorite home interior boutiques, Nell Hills. Just a little background on this unique store, it has been a Kansas City landmark ever since I can remember. They used to be only located in a very small and historical town, Atchison, Kansas and I remember driving over an hour with my mom to make a day trip up to this magical decorators retreat. At the time, they had several stores spread out within this little town, including a home decorating store and a bedding boutique. I have such fond memories of shopping there with my mom, and the tradition has not ceased over the years.

Since then, the owner, Mary Carol Garrity, has built a larger store in a closer location to Kansas City and it has been quite the success. In addition to her stores, Mary Carol has also started a paint line, as well as, published design books and also designed her own home decor. She is so accessible for questions and even small talk to all customers that venture into her stores. I had the pleasure of speaking with her myself, and still after all of these years, she remembers my mom and me. She is the epitome of class and I absolutely adore her style and business savvy.

Here are some action shots that I got of her amazing store in Kansas City, MO. These photos do not do this store justice. Disclaimer: Please excuse the sorry Blackberry camera.

This ottoman is OUT. OF. CONTROL. They had the cutest idea at Nell Hills.  They used framed pictures as an alternative to trays. I absolutely love this idea. So creative!

These prints are so glamorous. I just picture them in a little girls room. They are all vintage Barbie prints. I wasn't even fond of Barbie as a little girl, but this might have changed my mind.

I didn't exactly get a clear shot of this amazing piece. This is the most unique sink unit. Hello farmers sink. I cannot seem to get enough of the reclaimed wood look.

Someday, I will have a library. When I do, this piece will make its way into my home. 

Fortunately, Nell Hills is now online for all of us non-Kansas Citians. They have such affordable price points for such amazing products. Here are some fabulous pieces that we have picked out to showcase.

Like we could go without showing you guys an amazing garden stool at an even better price, $60. Major. Steal.

Garden Stool

I definitely snagged these blue and white porcelain dog bowls for my girls.

Dog Bowl

We are still loving anything Mercury Glass and what more glamorous way to display your favorite liquer. 

Mercury Decanter



Custom made furniture? We will take it! They have the most amazing selection in fabrics I have seen. It includes at least two rooms that are completely dressed in every fabric your heart can desire.

If any of you ever find yourself in the heart of Kansas City, we strongly urge you to stop by this little place I like to call, paradise.