Anthro Hack!

(image: George Marks: Getty Images)

Everyone loves Anthropologie, including me. But not everyone can afford to shop there, including me.

Because the nearest Anthro is a plane ride away from me, I don`t have to be tempted too often.

I told you about my first ever visit to the store here, and believe it or not, I am still waiting to hang my $24 tea towel in just the right spot. And when I say hang, I mean as art. Because who buys $24 tea towels to actually use?

So, the whole concept of not being able to buy the cool things they offer really got me thinking. Everything one has a twin somewhere, we all know that. And if people can have clones, then so can beautiful products.

Now, I am not going to try to convince the die-hard Anthropologie faithfuls. And those who sniff at decorating with knock-offs will sniff at my hack job. But for the rest of us, who make it our mission to achieve stylish looks for less, we can have just as much fun saving our money!

Anthro Hack #1

Take these two gorgeous pair of boots...

and meld them into this pair:

Both pairs of Anthro boots are over $200 each. And trust me, I would LOVE to own the first pair with the ruffles. Love them so much my husband even encouraged me to get them. But I found these at Target.

Leather? No. But they are gorgeous and masquerade as distressed leather and I love the orange along the zipper. And they cost $35!! For someone who doesn't wear boots all that often, they are a happy compromise.

What else does Target have? Well, I love this bedding from Anthropologie, but again the price is steep.

So I rooted around on the Target website and found this bedding:

I actually saw this bedding on the shelves of Target and the quality is nice. The Dwell line is great and Anthro fans might also enjoy the Liberty of London line:

I also found this sweater on the New York and Company website:

Tell me it is not prettier than this one from Anthropologie:

And don't get me started on Ruche, where you can get crazy-beautiful clothing that gives Anthropologie a serious run for its money! Priced reasonably, their clothing and website will amaze you!

(And no, I am not being paid for any of my recommendations. I am simply calling it as I see it!)

Moving Backwards...

(My new blue chairs, embellished with number decals from the fabulous Leen, the Graphics Queen!!)

I have had a style epiphany of sorts. It seems that at a time in my life when I should be seeking out quality and making furniture investments, I am doing a bit of a backslide. I read many blogs where they are purchasing "quality pieces for their home" and mulling over each buying decision with as much thought as they plan their retirements. Cheaper make-do furnishings are being given away or sold to make room for newer, more permanent, quality additions.

So. what is wrong with me?

Even if I could spend the kind of money to purchase "better," I am not sure that I would. With two teen-age sons, university costs are looming and, technically, I am not "there" just yet. It seems silly to wander furniture stores when real-life expenses like that are almost upon us.

But that's not the point.

This picture (I bought it from from Kiki and Polly.com) depicts me in this time of my life:

Need/Want, need/want, need want...

Sure, as someone who sees many things I like, I have pangs to actually go out and get them. But I have matured in some ways and realize that just because I want something doesn't mean I need it...or deserve it.

And then there is the simple fact that I am pretty fickle when it comes to style. I can easily become lured in by a beautiful object, fabric or piece of furniture and it can set me to daydreaming about change. Luckily, budget and good old common sense can keep it in check for the most part, but I LIKE CHANGE!

So, even if I could spend $300 (or more) on a chair for my dining table, well, I need six!

And then what happens when I get tired of that look and want or need change?

I think IKEA is the place for people like me. Sure, there is a snobbery to some that IKEA is for college students or those on a tight budget...those who don't crave quality.

But I say this: sometimes quality is (dare I say it?) boring. Maybe not at first, when its shapely form or plush fabric seduces you from across a room. But let's face it. The shine comes off everything after a while and becomes vegetable lasagna.  And I haven't been disappointed by an IKEA piece, yet!

So what have I done?

I have embraced my inner college student and stored my perfectly fine but perfectly boring (read, unstylish) dining chairs and bought these $20 cuties from IKEA, in the softest shade of blue!

Seriously fun and sturdy, they can be easily cast aside and put to use elsewhere in my home when I fall for the charms of something else.

Something better? More quality, perhaps?

We'll see.

For now, I will go back to my flower and the want/need approach to decorating. Some things are worth the wait, for sure, and some things are just good, cheap fun!

Special Delivery!

Mrs. Limestone's amazing designs!

I'll be back tomorrow, but for now, head over here to see Mrs. Limestone's take on doing Christmas cards right. She blows the roof off store-bought greeting cards! I LOVE planning my Christmas cards, so I just might take a page out of her book for mine this year.  Good things are worth doing well!

Oh, and did I mention she is hosting a give-away of her custom-designed holiday cards?

Check it out!

Collections, Etsy and Distractions...

As I find myself seated in front of the computer altogether *too much* these days (write, write, write :-), I am a bit like a kid stuck in a classroom daydreaming out the window and passing notes and doodling to pass the time.

I am easily distracted.

Because, I am a last-minute Sally, and was always the girl writing her essays at the last minute.
Indeed, I am an all-over-the -place kind of girl.
(At almost forty, can I still call myself a girl?).

Enter Etsy.

Enter the idea that I will search a single word on Etsy and see what comes up.

Enter the word matryoshka.

Or matriushka (the way I have always spelt it).

What is a matryoshka/matriushka, you might ask?

According to "take their word for it" Wikipedia: A set of matryoshkas consists of a wooden figure which separates, top from bottom, to reveal a smaller figure of the same sort inside, which has, in turn, another figure inside of it, and so on. The number of nested figures is traditionally at least five, but sometimes more.

As a little girl, I wanted a matriushka ever so much. I first saw these Russian nesting dolls on everyone's favourite, Sesame Street, which had a segment using them to help teach youngsters to count. I couldn't believe my eyes. I have always loved little things, and the way these little dolls could climb inside one another, ending with the mama, seemed magical to me.

When I had my daughter, I decided to order a matriushka for her/me and tucked it away in  her closet for the day I could introduce her to its charms. Move after move, the little doll(s) made their way with us, unopened, until this year when she came home from school describing a friend's recent purchase of "little dolls that tuck inside one another."

So, out came my/her matriushka and my obsession was reawakened.

Thank you Etsy.

Or not.

Because now I am pining after this, these and this, and these.

In one of my fits of distraction, I decided to being a collection based on my girlhood quest to own one (which I never did until I bought the one for my daughter). Except, I didn't want a big collection of dolls everywhere. So, for me, the little matriushka collectibles Etsy turned up are perfect for me. I have also rooted out some other ways to satisfy my new collecting bug. Because, you know, I don't want my new collection to be tacky and all-consuming. What's the point of that?

I picked up these key covers at Smeeks:

These nesting drinking glasses at Biscuit in Halifax:

and these (measuring cups) at Urban Outfitters.

And if I had a baby, this would definitely find its way to me:

And I love this pillow, found here:

So, I think my collection will stay rather small.

Oh, and if you are thinking that matryoshkas are sometimes also referred to as babushkas, you would be right.

And while we are on the topic, the word babushka always makes me think of this Kate Bush song.

(Loved her, but could never quite hit her notes. Shrieked along anyway. My poor mother!)

An all-round trip down memory lane!

So, has Etsy forced you into a new collection?

B-b-b-Back to School Fun!

Because of the heat wave we are having, we decided to have a back-to-school pool party. The girls had a great time and I kept it really easy. I filled little milk bottles I got at the Christmas Tree Shop with chocolate milk, served hotdogs with a  side of chips and made ice-cream sandwiches using school bus cookies I bought at the grocery store. Little ice-cream cone shaped lip glosses and bubbles made for fun favors (both bought at Micheal's). 

Kids here returned to school today (which I think is stupid, given it is the Friday before Labour Day), and we are preparing for a windy, rainy day on Saturday as we get the tail end of Hurricane Earl. Still raging hot, the kids did cannon balls into the pool the minute they got home. It is so hard to believe summer is "ending", but I am looking forward to the routine so I can focus full days to writing for HOLIDAY. As fall tries to rush in, some of the stores already have their Fall/Halloween stuff on the shelves, yet I can't even look at it.

I am so. not. there!

Now:

A fun back-to-school meal awaits and that rounds out the big events. What do you do to make back-to-school special for your kids?

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