August 12, 2011

friday eye candy: mens suiting

do we not love our men in a suit?

not sure about you,
but my guy is either in his work uniform
(go navy)
or in his workout clothes,
the fitness machine he is.

but 
oh boy,
mr. man had to step
up his game.

recent on-the-job travels have opened up the 
doors o' fashion for 
him and his suit section of his closet 
which is currently housing very fashionable,
circa 1995 suits and ties to match.
lovely.

latest home project:
find-a-suit
was in full operation.

this was the look i was going for...


modern
slim
contemporary

then i get this
ad from
banana republic


hot diggity,
mad men.

 my work was done.

 can't go wrong
 here
  clean lines

 slim fit

 seeeeexy

smooth

what do you think?
thanking on-the-job travels.



August 10, 2011

craigslist tutorial


we've heard about mr. craig and his list,
however, 
not all of us are sold
(pardon the pun)
or familiar with his benefits and rewards

i wanted to offer you a 
novice walk thru
from someone who's dabbled.
warning:
i am not a professional.

i'm sure if you searched you would find someone
far more suited, craftier and more clever
to offer their expertise.

once again,
i am not a professional.

but here is my humble take on the process:

rather than donate a good piece of furniture,
a decent household item or even a collectible to
your local goodwill chapter
we now have a new money making alternative.

craigslist is a local online classified ad
(if you will)

you can buy, sell, trade or even give away 
items through craigslist.


remember this post?
my girls wanted to 
replace their too-small bicyles for
new and improved beach cruisers.

so here we are.
selling the old ones on,
you guessed it,
craigslist.

step one:
pricing
you want to price your item correctly.
first we must research: 
click over to your area-specific
craigslist and actually search the item
you are attempting to sell.
we are looking to find out what
we will price our own item for.
*don't price too low, 
don't price too high.
i looked up 24" bike
and found bikes priced between 
$25 and $75.

looks like our magic price will be someone in the middle.
step two: 
photos

take close up, 
clean photos.
(doctor them up on picnik, 
if you are feeling it)
*see this post if you have no idea what picnik is


i will post these two shots to represent the three bikes,
attempting to be sold.

step three:
post
click back over to your area craigslist.
select the category in which you will post.
for sale, jobs, personal, etc.
once there, click the 'post' button 
up in the right hand corner
here we go...
if you don't have an account yet,
you will need to do this now.
it's okay.
walk into the light.
once you are good to go and have your account, 
you will follow the prompts to post your item.
top three headings are:
posting title
price
specific location 
then you will write a brief description of your item.
be specific, concise and direct.
*refer interested listers to your email only.
do NOT list your cell phone.

finish following the prompts until posted.
presto!
done.  
you will then get a link to your post from craislist.
good job.
do you feel like an accomplished money maker now?

here is a look at my final product.

now just a few things to keep in mind
as you bargain, haggle and show your item for sale... 
-once contact has been made with you by an interested party
(via email, because that is all you have listed in your post, right?)
you can eventually give them your cell phone.  
only do this when you are 
sure they are a serious buyer.

-only accept cash
(and make that be known in your email exchanges)

-when it comes to actual sale of item, 
 chose to meet in a public place (starbucks is always good) if you item
is small enough to shuttle in your car.
if not, meet
 in front of your house. 
be wary of letting people into your home.
if your item is simply too large, 
i would suggest hauling those larger pieces into garage
to eliminate going into your home at all.  
i have been known to drag piece of furniture into driveway to eliminate
going inside at all, even the garage.

if unavoidable and item is in the house, going nowhere, 
make sure hubs is home, or call a friend for reinforcements
as a stand by when potential buyer need to go in your home.  
oh and bring rover inside too.   make his presence be known.

i hope i covered it all.
good luck.

for all you out in blog land who are experts
and have gone through this process already,
would love your thoughts.

feel free to add anything i might have forgotten,
or things i perhaps don't know at this point.

would love to know your success stories,
or pitfalls to beware of.

as always,
thanks for being here.

 

August 8, 2011

input needed:

asos

ladies and gents
(are there any gents out there reading 
my dear old blog?)

need your help here.

been on the serious scavenger hunt for 
the perfect event attire.
think:
evening,
san diego,
honoring a most respected and accomplished individual
(more on that to come)

need to find just the right
"i feel fabulous" 
outfit.


ann taylor




nordies

want comfortable,
wear-again-likability,
and sass.

what do you think?
know of any good,
evening dresses
that capture it all?

pictures if you have them
would be lovely.

waiting for your thoughts...


August 3, 2011

first official dinner guests

we had our first 
official 
dinner guests. 

these guys.
 we were so happy to open 
our home.
feed them.
laugh with them.
raise a glass with them.

these guys 
are the kings of hospitality.

this was really just pay back for
all they've already given to us.


we drank up


 and filled our bellies.

no shots of the actual food.
i was too busy shoving it down
and enjoying the table talk.

thanks,
brictor,
for a 
splendid evening.

looking forward to more of the same.

share with me
great memories 
made 
at your 
table.

love this stuff...

August 1, 2011

welcome gallery wall

are you like me?
 you are invited to someone else's house.
you check it out.
love it.
come home
and zjoush up your own spaces for
the upteenth kazillionth time?

yeah.
that's me.

zjoushing
rezjoushing
and more rezjoushing.

this is what i came up with
after heading to a neighbors and seeing their
most fabulous wall o' photos.
 

this is what it used to look like.

 so much better, 
don't you think?

now you can actually 
see grandma on her wedding day 
at the ripe old age of 17


also added a little plant life.
plant life is always good.


ignore the unuly wire hanging off 
the desk.
still working on that one.


also swapped out the lime for a little robin's egg.

check out 
and give me your thoughts.

tell me what you think...

July 26, 2011

slightly obsessed: pinterest

okay.
i've known about this site for a while.

never bothered to actually head over...

but once i did.

hello.

slightly obsessed.


you get to "pin" stuff you like:
cool home interiors,
fashion,
projects.

the options are limitless.

this is from my 'fashion' board
do we not love the casual yet chic look?
see what i mean?
inspirational?

here is another pin.
i want to make these and put them in my house


 love bold stripes.

another pin,
from my indoor/outdoor board.

see what i mean?

idea file
inspiration

pretty much 
anything you find cool or worthy of pinning.

you can pin anything.  
you can make a board for anything. 

it's like your own personal idea file.

i use to keep this humungo binder of all 
these cool ideas or inspirational looks 
i've pulled out of magazines over the years.

magazines, you ask?
you remember those things we used to 
get in the mail.
they had articles, ideas and glossy ads?

i know.  
they are a dying breed.

well, this is my new and improved humungo binder...
only on my computer.
no ripping pages....
just pins and boards.

if you are interested 
here is a taste of what 

and here are my boards.


you can even click the little red link
if your little heart desires.

we can get inspired together!

it's cool...
and addicting.

so i must
 caution you.
you can get lost here and 
wonder where your time has gone?

never say i didn't warn you...

have fun 
and most definitely
let me know your thoughts.
did you like?
or no go?

July 22, 2011

family room reveal: take two

reworked a few things
(I always do)

here is living room:
take two


 added slated wood chair







 added plants
hello, life-to-a-room
stay a while


 reworked the mantel a tad

would love to know your  thoughts.
new and improved?
or better before?