What's a BEFORE without an AFTER

Do you recall me asking you to give me a week or so to provide decent 'after' photos of our guest-room-turned-master-bedroom?  Well, I meant six weeks.  Procrastinator Virgo, remember?  And although I can't honestly call these 'after' photos, as I change things so frequently, I shall call them 'afterish'--how's that?
First, here's one {or three} before photos: 

  
:::drumroll:::  And here are the afterish photos:

A few notes about the room:

• We painted the walls a peachy hue which is very complementary to our skin tones, we've noticed ;)
• We replaced the outdated fan/light fixture with the same one we put in the old master bedroom
• I majorly paired down the wardrobe in order to fit everything in the {much smaller} closet
• I swapped out the drapery, replacing the IKEA curtains with scarves that I got from Target and H&M
• Other than the wall paint, we didn't spend a dime on this room; everything in it was taken from other rooms in our home. I love free!
• The wooden box in the last photo was already being used as a doorstop, and just so happened to fit all of my flip flops perfectly in it. Score! The rest of my shoes are hiding behind the bedroom door.

Things still to be done:

• Hang the dressing mirror on the wall
• Patch the hole in the wall where the previous owners had {I'm guessing} intentions of installing an outlet
• Hang art on the walls!  I mean, the headboard looks nice and all, but it's the only thing on any of the walls.  That just won't do.
• Get curtain for closing off closet, even though my stuff looks so pretty and organized... ;)
• Someday get bed linens that actually match.  Maybe.

That headboard and I have a love-hate relationship.  I made it out of plywood, muslin, and batting when I moved in to my first place 5+ years ago--back when I was on a staple-gun-craft-rampage--and have considered chucking it many-a-time.  I think, 'I would rather have a nice sturdy modern graphic headboard from like West Elm or somewhere,' but when it comes down to it, I can't part with my labor of love.  So, to give it new life, I drape a piece of fabric over it to make it work with the space.  Thank you, domino.

Hubby loves the new room.  Dogs seem content there.  All is well.  Don't be surprised to see more {completely different} afterish photos of this room in the future, though.  It's just what I do.

Mario Batali's EATALY is open!

Can I please get locked in here?  I could really do some damage.

In his own words, Mario tells NY mag, "We’re not a food hall. We’re a grocery store with tasting rooms and restaurants. We don’t want you to just come and eat and walk away. We want you to come and taste some things and then take them home and cook them." {source}

Oh, Mario.  You adorable, brilliant man, you.  I'm going to look at flights to NY. right. now.

{sources: 1. gothamist.com; 2.  slashfood.com; 3. GQ; 4. seriouseats.com; 5. NYmag}

Technology is not my friend right now

Last night while performing a routine file-renaming on my beloved Free Agent Go, an earthquake shook my perfectly organized world.  Okay, so not literally, but metaphorically...Bah! I don't even know how it happened, but while viewing a file whose name I noticed was misspelled, {'Askansas' instead of 'Arkansas'} I right-clicked on the file name to fix it--like any anal perfectionist Virgo would do--but rather than just fixing that one file name, all the files in the containing folder were renamed!  I hope at least one of you reading this feels my pain.  I know I sound dramatic, but there is no fixing this!  I tried for hours {literally, this time} last night to restore the original file names, which contain pertinent information such as the source/my reason for saving the file/whose work it is/etc., and I think I made things worse.

At this point, all I can do is rummage through every file in my computer's downloads folder and hope some of these files' original names are still stored there.  From the looks of it, I lost the data for the past six months {up until my last driver backup I performed in March}, and because I save an average of four images a day, if you do the math you will realize how big of an issue this is.  I am mostly upset because I pride myself on my diligent research and proper sourcing.
Grr!  Too many interjections. Too few solutions.

Anyway, that is my sad little story.  There are worse tragedies, I know.  Please cut me some slack in the future if I share a photo for which I do not have the source.  In such a case I will be referencing this post, and asking for your help.  Fo. Sho.

Ya'll enjoy the Labor Day weekend!

Fabric: Look 4 Less

Ever since seeing Barrie Benson's perfect home featured in domino, the hubs and I have coveted F. Schumacher's Chiang Mai Dragon fabric {in aquamarine}, which Barrie used to cover her dining room chairs. 

domino: October 2007 issue {be. still. my. beating. heart.}

After contacting a distributor to the public in NY last year and requesting a quote for a couple of yards, I came to the realization {barring a miracle} that I would not be able to afford the real thing anytime soon.  Even scraps on ebay were expensive.  I searched for a decent replacement for a few months with no luck.  Until, browsing the shelves of Joann Fabric one glorious day, hubby found this.  I think the pattern looks more whimsy online than it does in person, honestly.  Here is a photo I took to give you a better idea:

The name of the fabric is "Koto" and is made in Japan by Calico.  At under $7/yard, it is a steal.  I snagged three yards and used it to cover the dining chairs of our mid-century Swedish dining set, and used some scraps to cover the light switch on the wall behind the dining area--super quick DIY style.  

By the way, the dining set might be up for sale soon.  It used to be my favorite MCM piece I own, but I have always preferred the aesthetic of the dining set on the TV show Friends, with the worn table and mismatched chairs.  I have told you about my obsession with chairs I'm sure, so I look forward to hunting and gathering to accompany the distressed farmhouse style table hubby plans to build out of reclaimed lumber to replace this dining set. 

So, Koto vs. Chiang Mai Dragon... Sure, the Calico craftsmanship does not even touch Schumacher, but for us frugals this fabric achieves a comparable look.  What do you guys think? 

WEDding WEDnesday: If your hubby-to-be's got style...

...let him pick out and purchase the jewelry for your bride ensemble.

Thanks, babe.

That's all this week. :)

{all three necklaces are J. Crew. headband is Urban Outfitters. earrings are vintage cameos}