This Week's Quote

Tate Update

Tate just had his 4 month birthday on the 20th and I figured we were due for an update. He is growing like a weed! It is hard to tell on a day to day basis, but when I go back and look at photos from when we first brought him home, I cannot believe how quickly he has grown! He weighed 4.7lbs when we first got him and he now weighs 9 lbs. I have taught him sit, down, and wait, and he has also learned leave it and drop it at puppy school, which he attends once a week.


He is a total lovebug, though he has a mischiveous streak and will get into anything if you let him. He has started chewing on things because he is teething and while he has plenty of toys and chews to relieve the discomfort, he seems to prefer our household items! I was so upset two nights ago because he chewed up the corner of one of my orange throw pillows. I searched for so long trying to find the perfect shade of orange and finally found them at the Crate and Barrel outlet nearly 3 hours away! Oh well. Tate has brought so much joy into our lives and we couldn't love him more. Our whole family is crazy about him and our parents treat him as if he were their first-born grandson! I have also given him plenty of nicknames, as I tend to do for the people I love. I call him Tatey,Tater Tot, T, T-Tot, Baby Boy, Big Boy, B-Boy, Beebs, and so on. Poor guy! I think he understands that they are all meant for him because he answers to most of them.

Fabian asked to be cropped out of these. Ha Ha!

Tatey looks like Chewbaca here.

He is getting so big!

This was taken right before bed time, hence my glamorous get-up. He looked so cute that I couldn't resist posting this picture, just excuse Tate's hot mess mama.

I dare you not to smile.

This has to be the most original wedding entrance ever! I couldn't help but smile from ear to ear while I watched this. Have a fun weekend!

Fabulous Room Friday 07.24.09

This week's fabulous room comes from fellow blogger, Caitlin Creer. I have followed Caitlin's personal blog about her lovely family for some time now, so I was really excited to learn that she recently started an interior design business and a blog to go with it! She recently posted an adorable room that she did for a girl on a shoestring budget. All of the bedding, accessories, lighting, and art were purchased for less than $250! I absolutely love the cheerful color palette, the use of vintage items, and of course, the upholstered headboard and trellis fabric in Kelly Green. Caitlin's inspiration board is pictured above and it really shines through in the finished product, don't you think?

All images via CC Interiors

Vintage Style for the Masses

So, we all know that Pottery Barn has made a name for itself by making popular styles more attainable to the masses. Yesterday, I found that I had received PB's newest catalog. As I leafed through it, I was a bit flabbergasted. Pottery Barn has taken the leap from selling vintage and antique-inspired items to actually selling "found" items. I must admit that I am feeling about dubious about this. How many demijohn bottles could Pottery Barn have bought from this "collector" that they can tout them to the millions of people who receive their catalogs? They also have coffee sack pillows and dough molds like the ones my dear friend Carolina had at the Urban Market after carefully scouting them herself. Can the items in the PB catalog truly be vintage? I have had my doubts about certain items being advertised as "vintage" or "antique" online, in antique stores, and at markets and certainly have my doubts about these new PB items. By the way, PB's "found" items are available through internet/catalog only and are selected for you. Isn't half the fun of buying a vintage item picking out the one that feels just right?

Is this development good or bad? Is it a complete turnoff to know that items like these are now being sold by a commercial chain like Pottery Barn? Does knowing that so many people could wind up having the same item as you make it less desirable? After all, think about how many items or looks are found in publication after publication, blog after blog, yet people still love them. Is it a positive thing that these items are more easily accessible and more affordable? Take the demijohns for example, the antiques market is pretty much saturated with them, yet some people still charge and arm and a leg for them. When something is so readily available, doesn't it become less valuable? I fully understand when an antique item comes with a high price tag because it is completely unique and it makes the buyer's heart sing, but when you find the same things in booth after booth or store after store, prices must come down. Supply and demand, people! I must say that I don't like the fact that independent antiques dealers now have to worry about contending with a retail titan like Pottery Barn, but I feel as though there might be some positive aspects to this newest development. At the very least, it might open up the average person's eyes to a new way of accessorizing. However, now that PB is carrying items like these, does it mean they are completely over? What do you think will be the next hot vintage accessory?

Found Demijohn Bottles

Woven Demijohn Bottles

The dough molds are not on the website yet, but you can see one on the console table along with some demijohn bottles.

Pillar Candles Resting Inside of a Found Dough Mold

Vintage-Inspired Baskets

A Set of Hand-Carved Wooden Scoops

Vintage-Looking Cubbie Organizer

A Close-Up of the Cubbie Organizer

I couldn't help but think of the Friends episode where Ross, Rachel, and Phoebe had opposing views of Pottery Barn and treated it like a huge moral dilemma. Where do you stand on the issue?