what if...?

what if you could live IN an ikea?? or rather, a home made up entirely of things found in an ikea store?

but what if that home was only 52 square meters... and in the middle of a Paris metro station??

well that's exactly what 5 Parisians did for 6 full days last month! check out the assembly of the apartment and the roommates living together (not to mention being on public display 24/7!) below:

do you think you could live in this sort of situation, even for 6 days? i think it would be super exciting at first, and then become fairly claustrophobic and uncomfortable.

but honestly, if offered this unique opportunity, who could turn it down!? so neat.

insta-gallery

how about this for an idea? you hang a piece of children's art, (or some doodle of your own if you're that kind of talented, which i am... not) to your wall(s), and hand-paint and sharpie detailed frames around the pieces. the result? instant gallery space. beautiful and original!

(sparkling here)

living room love

i'm loving the palette and understated elegance of this open living and dining room. the balance of the overall romantic details with the more severe table makes the room look so unique. and that candle display hanging over the dining table doesn't hurt either. i'd love to relax and entertain in a room like this, wouldn't you?

(sparkling here)

kitchen love

just a little kitchen love to get your 3-day weekend started!

(sparkling here)

here's to a happy 4th of july and hopefully more time spent at the grill than in the kitchen.
even if yours is this beautiful.

no fireplace?

no problem!

a salvaged mantel can be transformed into an eye-catching display bookshelf. 

i bet a salvaged bookshelf could be transformed into a mantel too, sans fire, of course. 

oh! if only i had the time, resources and creativity. owning a house would also be a step in the right direction.

 

(shelf/mantle reincarnation sparkling here, of course)

business as usual.

hello! i'm back from my trip home to the bay area. it was such a great weekend, but ultimately bittersweet in that having such a fantastic time makes leaving again that much harder. fortunately, i am not too far away from home and will only be up in washington for another month before making the (at least semi-) permanent move back.

because my camera was sort of out of commission, i was only able to take pictures on my super high-quality blackberry camera, so while i won't be able to post any photos from the trip, i'll just let you know that i:

• sat through the worst baseball game ever. (3 runs walked-in, giants? really??) but still had a really great time.
• had some seriously quality bonding time with my mom. she's the best.
• got to see my wonderful boyfriend and have a relaxing night out with him.
• met my family's new (and first) dog, rowley, the cutest, sweetest papillon-long haired chihuahua mix ever. i am obsessed.

so yeah, pretty awesome. much like this shot:

(sparkling here via here)

be back tomorrow for Wedding Wednesday!!

i want to get back...

... to my city by the bay!

thanks to inspiration from journey, some help from my mom and a time-sensitive flight voucher, i am headed home to the bay area today! i am SO SO excited to be back in that beautiful place for the weekend and have been sending my mom, boyfriend and friends endless emails about all of our my plans, which will include some combination of the following:

• a giants game
• a trip to the beach
• this movie
• a trip to see this exhibit at the MoMA
• and some of my favorite east bay food haunts (authentic burritos, deep-dish pizza, and fro-yo among them)

(fantastic etsy print sparkling here (such an awesome shop!!) via here)

see you next weekend! have a great one!