Spring Mix

The title of this post sounds like a salad, right?  No, no discussion of salad here, at least not today.  But here's a mix of spring items I'm loving right now.  Last Sunday, I checked out the J.Crew Factory/outlet.  I do this from time to time in hopes of finding something I missed last year.  And sure enough, I lucked out and found the below lace blouse and striped skirt.  The blouse was 25% off (eh...not the best sale but it's so pretty in person!) and the skirt was 50% off.  Yeah, they were going home with me :)  The glasses are from Warby Parker and I think I'll be getting the pair below, 'Ainsworth'. I really liked it when I got to try it at home for free.  The Coach bag below is perfect for both spring and summer.  The sandals will go with just about anything casual in my closet. And they really look comfy, don't they?  Hope you like this version of spring mix as much as I do :)

a.J.Crew Factory Scalloped Lace Tee; b. J.Crew Factory Pleated Printed Skirt; c.Warby Parker Ainsworth in Walnut Tortoise; d. Coach Legacy Leather Penny Shoulder Purse; e. Arche Pumps Mityam Elastic Mid Heel

Monday E-Design: Hunting for Coffee Table

Happy Monday~~  Hope you had a great weekend.  We are officially in the month of March and gettin' closer to spring.  

I've been loving the recent trend of reclaimed wood coffee tables.  They have this masculine industrial look and edge about them. I am on a hunt for one that doesn't look too woodsie or industrial.  Ha - always looking for that perfect combo! Here are the four I found and pinned on my Pinterest home decor board.  

Home Decorators $289

Restoration Hardware  $895

Overstock  $360

West Elm  $349

So, did you do a double take between the Restoration Hardware and the Overstock table?  And then another double take at the difference in price?  Even the background of the photos look, well, almost identical!  But how not identical are the prices?!  This goes to show you that you must research, research and research before you spend your money!  If you are curious, I'm liking the West Elm one the most.  Me being me, I love the light beige-y color of this table.  It'll go with just about any colored sofa.  What do you think?  Do you have a piece of furniture you are looking to replace? 

p.s. Excuse the not too cute or sophisticated social media badges on the side.  I'm in the process of making some design changes to the blog and hopefully, I'll get the help I need and this place will look better in the near future :) 

TGIF - Whatcha Up To?

image via here

Oh boy~  It's TGIF and I seriously thought it'd never get here!!

I had a week that started out slow and just exploded into total busy-ness at work.  The highlight of the week was seeing my parents in Philly for a random sushi dinner (despite me circling around the same 3-4 blocks to find the parking lot where my parents were waiting for me). Of course, my mom made all this banchan and spicy chicken for Randy, which makes Randy so happy as he is more Korean than I am. 

Not much going on this weekend. I am definitely going to be making more fig jam.  Remember last Friday I talked about making it? (see here) It turned out so yummy!  I ended up giving the entire thing to my mom so I need to make some more. It was seriously the easiest recipe ev-ah. 

I'm also seriously going to try to eat better and exercise more.  I've been complaining of feeling really tired all-the-time and it's TIME to really focus on my health.  I even went to my doctor and am in the process of making follow-up appointments, which I NEVER do.  I am also going to try to cut down on my sugar and caffeine intake. (I know, I just talked about making more fig jam, but I swear, I'm really going to eat just a little bit at a time!) I have a friend who's doing a sugar cleanse and she said she has so much more energy than ever before.  AND her skin is like glowing!! Now, that alone is motivation for me!!

Hope you guys have a wonderful, fun filled weekend~~

p.s. I didn't know this but this week was/is National Eating Disorder Awareness Week.  I found out when I came across this lovely blog, "Or So I Feel".   I think most, if not all girls have at some point struggled with or continue to struggle with body image.  I know I have and continue to, like every day.  And this post and the rest of Or So I Feel touches on this issue in such an enlightening and REAL way.  I'm definitely going to be checking in with her via her blog to keep myself in check and not to be so hard on myself.    

West Elm's Bombastic Sales

West Elm is having bombastic sales throughout its site, including dinnerware sale, and I really couldn't resist but snatch up these beauties below.  How can you resist the 20% off and FREE shipping offer!!  In fact, I even called my friend Nancy to spread the excitement and won't you know it, she's been eyeing some of these beauties herself! Yup, a total girlfriends shopping enabling moment happened on a random Wednesday night. 

Out of these, I'm most excited about the twig salad server set (in silver - the twig like color set is a bit too twiggy, no?). 
I am so embarrassed whenever guests come over and I use two regular small forks to serve them salad.  No more of those moments!!  Check out the rest of West Elm's tableware and linen sale here and treat yourself to something cute (like $6 ikat bowls)!!

Happy Thursday, we are almost there!! 

And the Winner Is...

Or ARE the following ladies (in my very humble opinion):

I have to say, there weren't too many Oscar dresses that wow'd me but the above were very pretty, I thought.  All of these images are from Vogue.  I saw some online photos of amazing and sexy outfits worn at the after parties.  For those, check out People Stylewatch, here.  These people really know how to have fun on a Sunday night!!

Monday E-Design: A Lady's Room

If I could, I would have a room of my own, and in it, would be a perfectly tufted white sofa, and a little bit of pink and gold peppered throughout.  Something like this...

Artwork by Lola Donoghue// Kendall Ivory Sofa// Floor Lamp// CB2 Peekaboo Clear Coffee Table// Tray  

And I would have to be extremely be careful not to spill anything on the sofa! I'll have clear plastic on it, haha (just kidding!).  

Hope you have a great Monday and rest of the week!!

p.s. Did you watch the Oscars?  Let's talk about the dresses later this week~

TGIF - Whatcha Up To?

TGIF!! Thank goodness,seriously!!  I had a 24 hour stomach bug that left me completely immobilized on Wednesday.  I still feel kinda weak from it but seeing that I was able to eat dinner last night, I'm definitely on my way to feeling better. 

While we are still braving through the days that peak at 20-30 degrees in high temps, I am itching for warmer and sunnier days.  I know it's got to be coming soon, right?  When it does, I really want to have a plant on my balcony, which right now looks pretty dusty and consists of nothing but 2 old ikea chairs. BLAH. I think a little arrangement like below will be perfect!  

find this parisian home via here

I recently got into Instagram and have been following Mai from 'A Cup of Mai', who has like the cutest and most fabulous closet in the world (check it out here). (As for me, I have no such fabulous closet to show you, but for what it's worth, you can find me here, or search for "beautiful_elysium".) A couple of days ago, Mai posted a self-made sandwich with fig jam.  FIG JAM? OMG, right?  So I went looking for a recipe and here's what I found from 'The Kitchn':

fig jam recipe via here

Did you check out the link?  The recipe is like 1-2-3-Bam!  I can't wait to make this jam~  

Lately, I've been craving margaritas.  Now mind you, I RARELY ever drink margaritas.  I think it's because I've been obsessively thinking about warmer and sunnier days. When that time comes, I will be ready, sorta.  I need to get some margarita glasses.  Whenever I am in need of any basic glassware (or kitchenware in general), I look to Crate & Barrel and usually find something in the right price range and style, like the ones below.  

margarita glasses via here

So, I'm going to get through the rest of the winter by checking out whatever is left of winter sales, hoping for something fabulously stylish but ridiculously low priced (always!), and keeping a list "what I want to do when the weather gets warmer"! 

Have a great, fun and relaxing weekend, friends!

~jp~ (yes, my initials)