Early Summer Sale at Ballard Designs

Hooray! Ballard Designs is offering 15% off all merchandise through midnight tonight (June 16)!

Like many of you, now that summer is here (well..almost officially here), Erica and I have had the great outdoors on our minds.

Here are some of my favorite outdoor items at one of my favorite retailers:

Outdoor chair cushion
Christian and I have a hand-me-down metal patio set from Christian's parents, which I plan to refinish in black! I'm loving blues and greens right now, so I'm trying to decide between one of the following patterns...

Indigo Batik (I must admit that right this second I am leaning toward this pattern)


Capri Stripe

Phoebe Green

And finally, who am I kidding, I also still love black and white damask, despite the fact that it is completely over-saturated in the market.



9' Auto-Tilt umbrella
Of course, I would need a matching umbrella for my new set :-)



Extra large Grecian Urn
Love this in all three colors. A girl needs something to contain all of her gorgeous flowers! For example, check out the pink dahlias I scored at a local nursery a few weeks ago. There are no fewer than 12 beautiful blooms on each plant right now -- they are thriving!



Bamboo Place Mats
Aren't these fun? Not only are they perfect for summer, they come in antique white and are on sale for $14.99. Only trouble is, I can't quite tell how many is in a set (1, 2, 4?).
What are you planning to buy at Ballard Designs during this sale??

Waverly, Lovely Lattice

Just got a package with three yards of Waverly's Lovely Lattice indoor/outdoor fabric:



I plan to use about a yard for some extra details on the hutch I just refinished. (Post coming soon.) And save the leftover fabric for future use... I might make pillows or place mats in a few weeks. This print comes in several other colors, check them out here. I ordered from HouseFabric.com because the price per yard was around $11 and shipping was a flat fee of $10. You might try Joann Fabric as well because they typically have online coupon codes (I've seen up to 50% off a yard before.)

Warehouse Sale: Mitchell Gold & Bob Williams

Hey DC-area readers, we just heard about a Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams Sample Sale happening this weekend at the Arts District Hyattsville. Details and address below:


Check out their furniture and accessories on their web site. I recently bought a tall chest for my bedroom and two slipper chairs for the man cave -- both on sale -- so I will definitely stop by this weekend to check out the available samples. Here's hoping they've got some great accessories at affordable prices!

Annual Sale at Calico Corners

I just received a postcard from one of our favorite fabric and home design stores -- Calico Corners -- which is holding its annual Spring Sale now through March 28, where you can save:

• Up to 50% on fabrics, trims, and home accents
• 20% on window treatments, hardware, and bedding
• 15% on furniture, reupholstery, slipcovers, and more

When I was last there in January, I managed to score my lovely (and large) fleur de lis lamp for $85 -- it was originally $285!


I know I'm going to stop in this weekend. If you go there as well, tell us about your findings!

Shh..."Secret" Sale...

Any J. Crew fans out there? I just received an e-mail from my favorite [clothing] retailer about a "private" sale now through Friday.

To get 20% off your order of $175 or more, enter the code "SECRET" at checkout.

Now if I were to participate in this sale, this is what I would want to bring home:

Posie Patent Peep Toe:


Carmen Satin Peep Toe:


Cotton Sateen Gateau Skirt:


Cotton Cashmere Ruffle Cardigan:


Stone Bead Ribbon Necklace:


What would you pick? Do tell!

FYI: Z Gallerie Store Closings

Maybe this isn't news to you, but I just discovered that Z Gallerie announced last weekend that they are closing 25 stores. For those of you who live in the Northern Virginia area, head on over to the Tyson's Corner location to get your Z-fix one last time, or just to take advantage of major discounts.

Yesterday I stopped in to check out some window treatments and overheard the store manager talking about a sale. When I asked him for details he clued me into the store closing and said as of now, all regular priced merchandise is 40% off. They haven't been told when exactly the doors will be closing so you still have time to shop.

When will the bad news start getting better? I will continue to support the economy in anyway that I can, but there is only so much shopping one woman can do. And to be honest, I only buy quality items that I absolutely love... maybe businesses should start producing them! And if they smack an honest "Made in America" sticker on the back, they will already have one customer lined up!

Room off of the Kitchen: Update

Back in January I began planning what to do with the "room off of our kitchen" and put together this moodboard. From there I started shopping for items in the plan or like-items that would work for the space. While it's great to have a plan when shopping for your rooms, it's just as important to keep an open mind. For example:

Originally I planned to save up for the Ryhs Console table from Pottery Barn. Then one day I stopped by Target during my lunch break and saw this Tobias Console table on the floor during their Home Design Event. I snapped a picture with my phone and left the store but for the next few days I kept thinking about how perfect the table would be for our room. The long legs create an open feeling that won't eat up space in our small room and it has just enough room for storage in the drawer space. After a few days of thinking about it I went online to target.com and found an offer for free shipping on furniture plus 30% off of everything in their Home Design event. So, for $154 we were able to find a great peice of hardwood furniture that will really open up our room. We essentially saved ourselves over $500 by having a plan and keeping an open mind.

Good Buy EXPO, Hello Hardware, Part II

After reading Erica's post about the awesome cabinet hardware deal she scored at the soon-to-close Expo Design Center, I had to pay a visit to see if they had black hardware in stock, which I plan to add to my what-will-be-freshly-painted-creamy-white kitchen cabinets this summer.


Luckily Expo Design Center had matte black knobs and handles available, so I grabbed a basket and picked up what I needed.

Originally $1.99 each, the knobs were marked down to $1.19, saving me 40% off the original price!


I also noticed they had the same polished nickel knobs that we installed in our powder room last summer, so, knowing that I will paint the rest of our bathroom cabinets at some point over the next couple of years, I picked up enough polished nickel knobs to finish off the rest of our bathroom vanities.

Total spent: $52
Total saved: about $20

I love a good deal :-)

Buy 1, Get 1 - Bath Vanity Double Scones

When it comes to bathroom vanity lights I have two things to say:

1.) Builder grade bathroom lighting is hid-e-ous.

2.) Attractive bathroom lighting ain't cheap!

That being said, we've been searching for something to replace our hideous builder grade lights for a few weeks now. We started at Lowe's and Home Depot and found a few options but wanted to keep looking. While the styles and selection at both home improvement stores were attractive, we felt we could find a better quality option elsewhere. Prices ranged from $60 to $100 on the styles we liked. We made a few more trips to two different lighting specific showrooms in the area and were shocked by the price tags. Most lights were close to $100 a piece. I figured $60 was the lowest we'd be able to spend.

That's when I happened to visit Restoration Hardware's website. I knew their prices would be pretty much the same we'd been seeing but I thought I might get lucky. Low and behold, I did! I found these great double sconces on sale for $59.99, down from $119, and since we need two, I practically got one for free. Check them out!


The Haines Double Sconces are simple and sleek and exactly the look we were after. We will be installing these along with two handsome new mirrors in our master bath next weekend. (At least that's the plan!) Hopefully we'll have some before and after photos to share in a few weeks.

Good Buy EXPO, Hello Hardware

I'm sure by now you've all heard that Home Depot is closing the doors to their Expo Design Centers in an effort to maintain focus on their "orange box" stores. We decided to visit the showroom near us to see if there were any deals to be had. Our hope was to find two vanity lights for our master bath but we had better luck with cabinet hardware.

All of the hardware was 30% off so we selected simple knobs and sleek pulls to update our kitchen cabinets.


We left with a bag full of goodies: 18 knobs and 10 drawer pulls for only $40 total.
Too bad we aren't ready to install these just yet. This spring we are planning to refinish our existing oak cabinets with a coat of creamy white paint to better compliment our wall color. So we'll have to exercise a little patience and store these in a safe place until the paint job is complete.

False Alarm

Remember how excited I was about converting the armoire into a fun workspace? Not gonna work. Due to it's massive size and our tiny stairwell, it just won't fit down the stairs to our basement. Major bummer.

Sadly, we just don't have any other rooms in our house where this could work. That being said, I'll give it another try...

Anyone interested in a beautiful, large armoire? It has tons of potential, just take a look at my dreams for turning it into a fabulous workspace for a creative mind:

Hidden Office - by coffee22 on Polyvore.com

Feel freel to leave your name and email address if your interested... the price is right, only requirement is that you move it out and haul it away yourself. (tear.)

This Just In... Grandin Road

Yesterday's mail brought an exciting new (at least to me) source to turn to for affordable home decor. I received a copy of Grandin Road which is a member of the Cornerstone companies and is a direct marketer focused on upscale home and gift merchandise. I visited there website and wasn't surprised to find out that other members of the Cornerstone companies include Frontgate, Ballard Design, and Smith & Noble, to name a few. The layout of the Grandin Road site is very similar to Ballard's, so it's easy to find what your looking for.

Here are a few items that struck my fancy:

Beveled Glass Mirrors: I've seen similar ones from other retailers but these are very affordable and would look great on an accent wall in my dining area.
Ara Pedestal Table: This classic pedestal accent table would work well next to any club chair. Perfect for setting your drink within arms reach while you curl up with a good book.

Lattice Bookcases: These tall bookcases look almost like they could be built-ins if you situate them in the right space. Unlike a built-in though, you can take them with you if you ever up and move. The lattice detail adds a touch a class to an otherwise simple looking set of bookcases

I was pleasantly surprised with most of the merchandise advertised in the catalogue. However, when I visited their website I was not so pleasantly surprised by a few odd ball items available.

Check these out:

Photo Pillows: Really? Are you serious here people? The only heads that ever need to be on a pillow... are actually heads... resting on a pillow. I'm sure you love your dogs and you have the most beautiful children in the world, but maybe try showing your love in a way other than blazing their mugshot on a pillow! (Same goes for the personalized throw blankets.)

Set of Three Cedar Leaves: Hmmm? These babies leave way too much to the imagination. I looked at them and saw corn-dogs mounted on the wall. I showed Jared, and he thought they looked like something else entirely. (I won't spell it out for you but be creative. I never said we were mature!)

I just thought I'd share this home decor site with you in case your bored of the same old stores. You might find something at Grandin Road that is well within budget and looks strikingly similar to something you've seen elsewhere.

Williams-Sonoma Home: Extra 20% off

Did you see that Williams-Sonoma Home is taking an extra 20% off their semi-annual sale merchandise when you shop online through Sunday, February 1. Unfortunately I can't participate in this sale because of a little spree this weekend, but hopefully one of you, our faithful readers, can!

(I'll tell you about this weekend in a future post...but let's just say progress was made in the master bedroom and basement/Man Cave!)

If I were able to buy something during the W-S Home semi-annual sale, here are a few things that caught my eye:

The Greek Key table lamp

The Faux Fur Throw in Mink

And the Satin Stich Cotton Table Linens in Khaki.


Does anything strike your fancy at Williams-Sonoma Home this week?

Online sale at Ballard Designs

Hurry, hurry! Ballard Designs is offering an additional 20% off all items in their Estate Sale when you order online. Today is the final day so if there is anything you've been eyeing, take advantage of this discount!

Gap Sweaters: Buy One Get One In-store and Online

Gap is giving holiday shoppers something to smile about this week -- all "holiday" sweaters are buy one, get one free in-store today and tomorrow!



On-line, the sale's not as sweet: Sweaters are Buy One, Get One for 50% off.



I definitely know a certain someone who likes his half-zip sweaters in the winter. Hope I can score two for the price of one for Christmas!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Pottery Barn - Two Day Sale

Thanks to my very generous sister-in -law, I have a birthday gift certificate to Pottery Barn and it is just burning a hole in my pocket. I have my eye on a few things but wondered if I could take advantage of any post-Thanksgiving sales this weekend. I did some sluething and found out that PB is having a two-day sale!



Who knows if what I'm looking for will be a bargain but I did find something that I know my sister-in-law would enjoy for herself! I read some where that every room in the house needs to "show a little skin" and this skin is $50 off for just two days!

Banana Republic Black Friday Sale?

This weekend a little birdie told me that Banana Republic will allegedly offer a 40% discount on all in-store and online merchandise this Friday, November 28! I finally have a reason to hit the mall early this weekend :-)

Operation: Black Friday

The holiday season is upon us… and it’s not even Thanksgiving yet! This year I’m making it my mission to do as much of my Christmas shopping as possible from the comforts of my own home. To prepare for next week’s Black Friday, I am seeking out sales early. Here are a few links you might take a peek at to get yourself ready, too: BlackFriday.Info, TheBlackFriday.com, Black-Friday.net.


Oddly enough, while previewing sites for gifts to give, I’ve found a few things I’d love to get! (Whoops!) Like this uniquely wonderful Victorian Globe Vase from Wrapables.com. But in the spirit of giving I won’t get carried away with my wish list here. If anyone has some insider information to Friday’s rock-bottom sales please, do share. Happy shopping everyone!