Sweet Sanity

Style Me Pretty Feature!

Exciting news around these parts. My cousin's fabulous wedding was featured on Style Me Pretty!  It was so much fun being INVOLVED with the wedding frills and to see everything unfold the way she wanted. Her palette was soothing and elegant and her incredible photographer {Valerie Duque} captured it all. With shades pulled from succulents ~ steel greys, washed out greens and touches of strong navy she achieved a beachy chic look. We did the placecard tags over here at Sweet Sanity and once tied around a starfish they became little take-home-trinkets! They were one of my favorite details...

For the rest of the photos from Meghan and Adam's incredible day visit Style Me Pretty!
Style Me Pretty

A Quick Party Backdrop!

When setting up a little party spread, sometimes the 'backdrop' can be tricky.  I was recently looking for a place for a small folding table with party items and there wasn't a plain wall in sight.  Plus that's sort of boring anyway!  I think that's why you often see nice backdrops behind table settings in magazines. Hanging FABRIC behind a table does wonders.  It screams the 'party is over here'!  

How to hang it is another story.  Every location might be different, but wanted to share a super simple method that worked miraculaouly for me! This three item solution was also cheap and fast.

First I popped a couple of over-the-door-hooks on some double closet doors.  This might even work on a single door, if you spread them far apart.Next I used an adjustable tension rod, this one from Bed Bath and Beyond.  I just twisted it out to the length I wanted, and draped the fabric over it.  Then just cradle the bar in the hooks.  These rods are nice a strong, so they can extend pretty far out without support.  The fabric might pucker a bit but just tug and adjust.  I used this adorable red and white searsucker print fabric, and about 3 yards was plenty.

And that's it!

If you take some memorable shots of your party, close ups look great with a the backdrop as well.
Remember this is not only a good cover-up technique but it really adds some fun color, too!

Valentine's Day Sweets!

It's 3:59pm peeps and I'm not gonna lie I need something sweet. I've come up empty handed and that herbal tea bag rolling around my drawer isn't fooling anyone. The next best thing was eye candy ~ so view these glorious Etsy finds. Valentine's Day is the perfect time excuse to send someone buy for yourself  dainty creative treats that look like they've been decorated by a tiny fairy.  All on Etsy, all 15-30ish bucks.  God bless those who are creative AND can bake. YUM.

{Clockwise: Flying Heart Cookies, Love Letter Cookies, Red Love Cookies, Chocolate Covered Oreo, Cupid Brownie Cookiewich, Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups, Strawberry Marshmallow Fudge Brownies, and Elegant Pink and White Cookies.}

Taming the Sheets!

Does anyone else feel like all they do is wash sheets?  This fresh but messy pile appears on my bed every Sunday...

Thankfully a little tip I read about years ago helps fold that annoying fitted sheet.  After folding the easy stuff, I take two corners of the fitted sheet and do 'pancake hands.' 1 Just put a hand in each corner and clap your hands together.  2 Flip one hand over the other to nest one corner into the other.  3 That side is all set, so move to the other side and do the same. 4) Lay the sheet flat and let the natural curve sort of make a corner. 

Now its a manageable rectangle. Just continue to fold in half over and over to the size you want.

A nice tidy stack!

But I won't leave you hanging there.  Martha suggests slipping them into one of their pillow cases for organizing (left). Clever idea, but its never worked well for me. I feel like there's an awful lot of material left. And not sure I like the pillow case that open and exposed. 

Instead, I think ribbons are a simple way to organize. They can help you color code who's sheets are who's (if you've got a lot of beds in the house to make!)  Or use colors to code set sizes. How about red for the King set, and purple for Queen? :)  Stack them in the linen closet with the ribbon-side showing so you know which to grab.

If you're leaving a set of sheets out for a pullout couch or air mattress for quests,
a ribbon looks sweet around a stack as well.


Or just tie them up for next weekend to make your chores a little sweeter!

Tops of 2011

Happy New Year everyone!  Hope your holidays were great.   I did lots of eating and my body responded in the form of spontaneous narcoleptic episodes on the couch. Well, some self care is always nice and it's back to reality this week!

I love checking Google Analytics this time of year. It's full of such incredible data about site traffic and it continues to amaze me that people are visiting. :)  I thought I would share the top posts of 2011  based on the most hits so here they are!

Hiding the Wireless Routers

* This one still continues to get tons of comments both good and skeptical ~ many people are concerned with ventilation and overheating, as they should be!  I definitely suggest making the holes in the back nice and big for ventilation, and if you can make more on the bottom and sides depending on your set up, all the better. For the first few days or weeks I would just walk by and open the boxes to ensure nothing is getting too hot and to see if your ventilation is adequate. I still occasionally touch my hand to it as I pass by and everything is a-okay on my end.

Adding Nailhead Trim to a Chair

Two Tone Treatment on a Ikea Dresser

"Jar of Happiness" Project

X Benches

And just for fun, I checked out where all of you are reading from. :)  Most of you are in the US but it is neat to see the next 5 countries, too!

1. Canada
2. UK
3. Philippines
4. Australia
5. Netherlands

And the top 10 world wide cities...

1. Chicago
2. New York
3. Naples
4. Los Angeles
5. Houston
6. San Diego
7. Dallas
8. Charlotte
9. Washington
10. Melbourne

Now if I could just visit any of these in 2012 we'd be off to a good start! :)  Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas from Blogland!

Can't believe Christmas is practically here.   As usual, blogland really inspired me this year.
Here are some holiday ideas that really caught my eye ~  maybe for next year?!  

Clockwise...

• A little gingerbread house display inside of a lantern from Less-Than-Perfect Life of Bliss
• A phrase from your favorite carol written on a chalkboard from Pewter+Sage
• Simple greenery by the bar Cottage&Vine
• A peppermint candy wreath! (Tutorial from Gwynn Wasson Designs)
• LOVING THIS -  a Hot Chocolate Station from Bower Power
• A mix match of yarn and string trees from Cranny and B
• Gorgeous silver balls hung from a chandelier from Bower Power.
• And finally an idea for my old strings of vintage lights via JCrew! 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! XO

It's a Wrap! {Simple Paper, Sweet Toppings}

Have officially wrapped the last gift for Christmas!   Now I can relax this week before the traveling and UN-wrapping begins.  I have always been drawn to very simple paper  so that I can have free reign with the bows. Plain paper let's me splurge a bit on nice quality ribbon!  Nothing looks more luxurious to me than a real fabric ribbon. Yum.

If you go with nuetral paper, the leftovers can also be used with different colored ribbon for non-holiday gifts throughout the year.   I choose a gold polka dot paper this year with some green ribbon. The paper also really went well with some brown sheer ribbon.

Loving the ideas below as well...Again, more simple simple paper with the special touches in the toppings! Pompoms, pine cones, and bells - too cute! Bakers string with a button is a neat simple idea. And how about that pasta for a cookware gift? Too cute.  Martha used ribbon wrapped around a few times for a peppermint candy look.  Even using kraft paper, newspaper and even old sheet music can still look chic with a great ribbon. And finally a use for old brooches!

{Photo Credit: Bugs and Fishes, HGTV, Casa Sugar,Real Simple, Martha Stewart, Martha Stewart, SalvageLove, Country Living, Design Sponge}

Hope your wrapping is coming along!

Holiday Link Up Party 2011

Bring on the evergreens, cranberries and twinkle lights - I'm ready to see some decorations! I took the day off of work today to go SHOPPING on Michigan Ave with a latte.  Cannot wait.  And woke up to a dusting of snow so very appropriate for our Holiday Link Up Party.  I will kick us off!!

I love drinking up the tree and remembering all the stories behind the ornaments. This fat santa belly ball gets me everytime, the superwoman costume from a girlfriend reminds me how can get thru anything (gotta love your girlfriends) and the little silver milkbone for my beloved Trooper!

I love the crisp greenery and touch of a red poinsetta against the white mantle, and my growing collection of bronzy mercury glass for the table.  And "pinecone village" keeps cropping up each year...

And lastly one of my prized collections!  The official White House Ornaments, a new one issued every year.  Each year they design a new one with a little story book describing it's significance.  This Yankee Doodle has collected each one since 1999!  (They are a great gift if you have a history buff on your list!)
Now it's your turn!  Share the love! ♥

This Holiday Link Up Party is very open - share you favorite decorated spots, a holiday craft project, the front door, or the family dog under the tree ~ you name it! If you've got a blog, you can link up. Here’s how it works:

1.Scroll down til you are the next in line and see the “add your link” button.

2.Click that link and give your link a descriptive name (this will show so give people a good hint!)

3.Link up to your holiday post, (be specific so we don't have to go hunting!)

4. You've joined the party!

X Benches {Part Two: The Reveal!}

Hopefully you caught X Benches {Part One} and my xbench collage overload!  I also promised I would show you a do-it-yourself project.  As I mentioned before I was searching online for an affordable xbench and stumbled upon a post from Living Livelier about how they found cheapy cheetah benches online at Sears.  They were $59.99 each. {Update: Now on sale for $51!}   I actually loved the style of the dark brown legs, and while I would have to recover them, I still figured they whole project would be less than most benches out there. So here's the reveal!

I wanted two benches to replace a dusty orphan ottoman that was supposed to be a 'temporary' fix ages ago...

First off, I order 2 benches from Sears and assembled everything.  They got a big thumbs up for being super easy to assemble.  Just don't bother screw down the cushion if you are recovering...

Already happy with how they filled in the length of the couch.  However, while never opposed to animal prints, this one had a fuzziness that reminded me of a child's little fleece footsie pajamas.  Didn't really scream quality upholstery.  :)

 

Fabric Time.  Remember my field trip to the Textile Outlet?  Well while there I told my friend I wanted to pick something out for these that would be bold and fun and out of my comfort zone. She would nudge me on whenever I stopped at a cream and white striped linen!   So with her encouragement I bought 3 yards (probably too much) of this bold circular print!

 

 

A good old staple gun worked great for attaching the fabric to the back.  No magic here, just stretch it and kept checking the front to make sure it was straight.  For the corners, I tried to tuck the excess material inside a bit and almost wrap it like a present.
I later realized I should have been a bit more careful with where the holes were on the cushion. Some were covered a bit by the fabric so I just snipped it. You need them nice and visible when attaching the base with the long screws.

It went pretty fast!  Note I did not bother with the buttons, just covered them right up.

They are a really nice dimension to fit a good size tray perfectly!
Still getting used to the bold pattern but with some new pillows they are starting to grow on me!
($59.99 x 2)  + $30 of fabric and less than 1hr of labor = woohoo!

X Benches {Part One}

Before I flip the switch to holiday madness wanted to squeeze in one more recent house project. It turned out great and was WAY affordable. I hope you will enjoy! It's a two part-er.... :)

I have loved X Benches forever and ever. Not sure what it is - partly how neat and tidy a pairing looks at the foot of a bed or as a substitute coffee table.  And because they come in millions of styles.  Or maybe I love that because they are tiny and mobile you have free reign to make them into punchy little pieces with a bold color or a crazy print that you might not have the guts to do on a big chair.  I would never run out of places to put them! 

Time to get you excited, too.  Have collaged my little heart out below.

{Photo Credit: Decorpad, BHG, Style Carrot}

Even in just simple white...

{Photo Credit: Decorpad}

Look how happy X Benches have made this family? :)

{Photo Credit: The Lenoxx, Real Simple}

Felt, velvet, wood, metal, tufted, nail head, piping, curved legs, straight legs, upholstered or not...
you name it!

{Photo Credit Row by Row: Wisteria, 1stDibs, 1stDibs, Cococozy, 1stDibs, Houzz, Productsnob, Red Papaya, FerrickMason}

Tory Burch apparently even loves them in her shops (left column hot pink and purple)
And under a console table just gets me every time.

{Photo Credit: House Beautiful and Tory Burch Store via Marcus Design}

Now the bad news....I see them on blogs, in catalogs, and in magazines, and yet it seems sort of hard to actually find them to buy.  Scratch that, have found where one can buy them but they are pricey!!  Case in point:
Jonathan Adler - $595.00
Serena & Lily - $650.00 - $850.00 (Gulp! Remember they look best as a pair!)
Ballard Designs - $179.00 - $369.00 (one of the best priced I have found, depending on fabric you pick.)

 

If you are game I have found a work around!  So stay tuned for my sneaky success....
Next posting. Can't wait! XOXO