make over my house: my sofa.com experience

Sofa.com, via Shopping's My Cardio

Friends, remember that colossal house redesign I showed you all a few months back? While we were working on the plan, our designer implored us – begged, even – to get a new sofa. She wanted a bit of warmth and color, she thought the scale was wrong, yada yada yada. But I nixed it for budgetary reasons. Real world design realities, y’all.

So, when I got an email from Sofa.com inviting me to try out their utterly gorgeous sofas, and have their help in custom designing one for my living room? You can imagine how quickly I hit “reply”. Based in London, Sofa.com just opened a new showroom in NYC and now delivers across the US. They make the most gorgeous, custom sofas in all sorts of comfy, modern shapes, with a “Hey, buying a sofa should be fun!” attitude I couldn’t resist.

To get started, I spent roughly a million hours on their website, perusing all of the designs, fabrics, and trying out every possible combination. Then, I ordered my “comfy pack” (okay, there may have been three comfy packs) - the most adorable collection of swatches ever to arrive at my door. Read on

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off the rack: the spring styles that actually made it into my closet

spring-buys-preview

As I think you know by now, I’m a big believer in finding ways to make trends work for me, instead of having to change my wardrobe and comfort level to suit the trend. The truth is that I’m at that point in my life where I know what I’ll wear, what flatters me, and what belongs in my closet. And I worked hard to get here! Sure, I find a piece or two to push the envelope just a bit every season, but overall, running blindly after every trend that struts by just isn’t my thing.

To wit, I thought you’d like to take a peek at what I’ve actually been buying so far for spring. Ready for a little stroll through my closet? Read on

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must read: maya’s notebook

allende must read: mayas notebook

Friends, a couple of weeks ago, I had one of those life experiences that gets me really excited about writing. More often than not, those experiences involve meeting other writers. But this time, it wasn’t just another writer – it was Isabel Allende.

For those of you who aren’t familiar, let me say this: if you ask me for a book that will change you – really and truly change the way you think about reading and about writing – I will send you a copy of The House of the Spirits. (No, really…I’ve sent it to at least a half dozen people.) Her writing is like nothing else. It is lyrical, epic, and more full of imagination and impossibilities than anything I’ve ever experienced.

So, when I heard she was giving a lecture nearby to launch her newest book, Maya’s Notebook, the wonderful people at Harper (her publishers) were kind enough to let me attend. And it was remarkable. Read on

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comments fixed! talk to me

Remember when you were in college, waiting for a guy to call, and you kept checking your phone to see if it was working? And you were tempted to call the phone company, but that sounded altogether too pathetic. And in reality, of course, the guy was just a douchebag who hadn’t called.

Well, this time, friends, it turns out the phone WAS broken. Or, more specifically, the comments function here at SMC had gone haywire, and none of your comments were getting to me. Luckily, one of you lovelies (thanks, K!) finally spoke up with a “Hey dude, quit blocking my comments” to let me know. All this time, I was sitting here like the nerdy girl who got ditched for prom, thinking you’d all abandoned me for some senior with a fancy car and rich parents.

So, please (pretty please?) start commenting again. Honestly, if you’re not talking back, it’s a little like I’m the crazy lady on the subway, muttering to herself about shoes. Also, know that I respond to each and every comment you leave, because I love seeing them, and hearing from you makes me so very happy. So if you ever don’t hear from me, sound the alarm, will you?

xox,
B

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shopping is my cardio…and it’s mindy kaling’s too!

Oh, the emails you have sent me this week, friends. The tweets, the Facebook messages, the Instagram tags…! You are almost (almost!) more excited about this than I am, and for that, I adore you.

In case you missed it, this week on The Mindy Project:

mindys pink shopping is my cardio tshirt 479x580 shopping is my cardio...and its mindy kalings too!

Image via WornOnTV & @mindykaling on Instagram

Do you think she’s a fan?

Sadly, as most of you know, the line isn’t mine – it’s a Sex & The City relic. But it’s a goodie, and I’ve happily usurped it. I’ve seen this tee roaming the interwebs this spring, but now that Mindy has catapulted my little catchphrase back to its proper standing, I’m feeling a surge of validation.

I’m also feeling an itch to make a better version of this tee (naturally, completely sold out in pink, but you can still nab one in white). While I love the sentiment, it seems like the delivery is…lacking, no? I think we could do better.

So, the question is this: If I designed a better, chic-er SMC tee, would you want one? Tell me in the comments, yo!

Oh, and happy Friday! Have a wonderful weekend, everyone.

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get gifting: mother’s day

mother's-day-2013-PREVIEW

I was lucky enough to end up with one of the very best moms (no, don’t even try to argue!). So, I really look forward to scouring the WWWs each year for the best Mother’s Day gifts my fictional fortune can buy. Some of these are splurges I only dream of treating my mom to, but others are so inexpensive ($4!) and so thoughtful (flowers!), it’s a snap to show her how fantastic I think she is. Read on

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eye candy: épice scarves and blanca monros gomez

That’s right, I have a pair of eye candy goodies this week. Because two is almost always better than one. Also, how could I possibly choose between these lovelies? It’s like a Twix bar of retail delights – and you get both pieces, my friends. Dig in!

A gauzy pile of new Épice scarves for spring has appeared at Una, one of my all-time favorite Portland haunts. If you’re not local, you can call the shop and they’ll happily ship one (sales tax-free, I might add) right to your door. There’s no need to tell you how much temptation is going on in my head right now.

epice eye candy: épice scarves and blanca monros gomez

And then, there’s the matter of these beautiful, impossibly delicate new baubles from jewelry designer Blanca Monros Gomez, which just arrived at Steven Alan. Consider my pennies being counted, friends.

gomez eye candy: épice scarves and blanca monros gomez

 

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