What do you do if you want to decorate a tree this holiday season but don’t have space for a tree? This chic, space-saving wooden wall tree from west elm is a great way to add a little Christmas spirit to your home or office without sacrificing floor space (or having to clean up pine needles…or water off your floor). There are tons of variations on the wall tree, but what drew me to this one is that it could quite easily be a fun little DIY project using craft sticks, popicle sticks…heck, you could probably even walk outside and gather some sticks off the ground and create a more rustic version! Make it easy on yourself and use hot glue if you’re going the DIY route, and be sure to add a few layers of “branches” so you can hang some lightweight ornaments. And don’t forget to stack your presents underneath!
(Update: the wooden wall tree from west elm is no longer available on their website so I did some searching and found some other inspiration — see here and here — plus a great DIY for a wooden wall tree from Swoon!)
Following all the recent home furnishing store events lately (see here and here), I’ve become even more obsessed with accent chairs. Here are some of my favorites:
Sedwick Recliner from west elm: Mumbles often talks of wanting a recliner and my mind always conjures images of big, frumpy ones with boney wood construction, worn-down cushions and buttons popping off (not to mention the matching remote control holder slung over one arm…or an elastic magazine pocket on the side. Woof.). But, I think I’ve found the perfect compromise in this sophisticated recliner.
Sedgwick Recliner via west elm
Mrs. Mercado and I couldn’t take our eyes off of this beauty while waiting in line at the West Elm Grand Opening event. We both loved the clean lines and neutral colors but worry a bit about any furniture with a major amount of white. (I like red wine. A lot.)
Everett Striped Chair from west elm
Strandmon Chair from Ikea — I don’t necessarily have room for this in my living room and I don’t have a library room that I envision this in, but that doesn’t keep me from getting excited about the debut of this re-issue based on a classic Ikea Chair. Check out the video on the chair’s story:
These lively lemon yellow Tabouret Chairs from Overstock.com are a huge steal at $300 for a set of four. They have other colors, too, including the traditional industrial look of metal, vibrant red, and a clean, modern white. Plus, they stack to save space! I love the yellow ones as a pop of color in our patio area.
Tabouret Lemon Metal Stacking Chairs from Overstock.com
On the much less practical end, I think this chair from CB2 is so whimsical and I love it — perhaps because I can picture it in our spare bedroom (if there was room!).
Club Chair with Piping from CB2
Target makes the list with a lot of affordable varieties from upholstered chairs to club chairs. We have the Avington Armless Slipper Chair in this festive print, which works well because our living room is a mash up of a lot of these colors. Sometimes, though, I wish for something a little bit more refined like a leather club chair. This set of two bonded leather club chairs is more affordable than one chair at most retailers if you’re looking for a value option.
Avington Armless Slipper Chair – Whimsical from Target.com
Mumbles has a funny friend named Matt (technically Mumbles found him first but what’s yours is mine, right?) who came to visit one day and we somehow got onto a story or subject that led Matt to introduce us to the glorious awkwardness that is the Missed Connections section of Craigslist. Have you been there before?! Brace yourself if you haven’t. There’s lots of good, free content to keep you entertained for hours (hours!), and while there’s definitely a creepy factor of 14 on a 1-to-10 scale, sometimes you come across one that’s actually a little adorable, and other times you learn things like you shouldn’t ever make eye contact with anyone at the gym. Ever. Also, sometimes it’s like a game and folks will say something like “…if that was you, send me an email and I’ll know it’s you if you can tell me what color my hat was” and I think desperately that if I ever got really bored and nothing seemed funny, I could probably answer a bunch of these with guesses.
While we’re at it, let’s not forget that the stories of inopportune moments is a great subject for movies (see: Serendipity and the so-bad-it’s-good On The Line featuring former N*Sync’ers Lance Bass and Joey Fatone, and smokin’ hot lady Emmanuelle Chriqui).
Missed Connections: Love, Lost & Found book with illustrations by Sophie Blackall
So, next time you’re looking to fill a void in your heart, need to appreciate the collective ridiculousness of people that live near you, or you just have some time to kill: crank up “Escape (If You Like Pina Coladas),” grab a cup of coffee and head on over to the Missed Connections section of Craigslist. Oh, and if you have a friend like Matt who truly appreciates the art of the missed connection, you might want to invest in a few copies of this insanely awesome book.
Do you have any missed connections stories to share? Leave a comment below!
P.S. Did you know that there’s a Craigslist section of Rants & Raves?? How did I not know about this before?! And now that I’ve told you about that, I can further confess that there are quite a few folks posting in the Missed Connections section who should be told they’re inappropriately posting a Rant and should therefore redirect their ad to be classified correctly. I mean, you’re going through all this trouble, right?
I have just three of my favorite duets to share today as part of my music obsession series, but I would absolutely love it if you’d share some of your favorite duets so I can add them to my playlist.
“Baby It’s Cold Outside” by Willie Nelson & Norah Jones. This magical pairing is so cheeky and fun and actually comes from a Norah Jones album called Featuring, comprised of all duets with some artists you wouldn’t expect like Dolly Parton, Outkast, Q-Tip, Foo Fighters and Ray Charles. Check it out here. I also just have to say Will Ferrell and Zooey Deschanel singing this song in Elf is also totally awesome. ‘Tis the season, right? Download Willie and Norah’s version and impress all your holiday party guests.
Next is one of my favorite duos who — after recently getting some major awards and recognition — announced they are breaking up. Sad face. I think I first noticed The Civil Wars singing this song, Poison & Wine, on some tv show (this is a common habit of mine: looking up song lyrics online as they play during television shows) and immediately downloaded it. It’s such a lovely song and their voices pair so well together. Let’s hope they patch things up right quick and get back to making great music.
The last one is an incredible performance that usually leaves me a little teary, with some major goosebumps. “How Great Thou Art” by Vince Gill & Carrie Underwood — watch the video below. Have tissue handy. Carrie also performed this at The Grand Ole Opry and you can download that version on iTunes (like I did) and be moved by her powerful voice every morning when getting ready (like I do).
Please leave a comment with your favorite duet below!
Stick Girl JAM 