tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41031837486343818442024-03-13T19:03:52.747-04:00Sarah Bridger DesignSarah Bridger Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15546577517528035613noreply@blogger.comBlogger176125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4103183748634381844.post-9443485443249836482016-08-04T10:22:00.001-04:002016-08-04T10:24:13.257-04:00Natural Neutral Bedroom<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I grew up in suburban Northern Virginia and have gradually made my way closer to urban life as I've grown up. As a kid, my family took the same vacations every year, one to the beach and a couple to visit my grandparents on their 5 acre property in a rural area of upstate New York. The <a href="http://www.sarahbridgerdesign.com/2016/07/grown-up-preppy-bedroom.html" target="_blank">grown-up preppy bedroom design board</a>, which I showed you a few weeks ago, is representative of the side of my personal style that is closer to my somewhat urban lifestyle. There is part of me, though, that thinks about what it would be like to live out on land, in an old farmhouse or cozy country cottage with room for the dogs to run, to host family kickball games, and to have a big vegetable garden like my grandfather's. I like to think that this bedroom design board represents the more "country" side of that lifestyle dichotomy. It is light and welcoming, natural and fresh. It feels both together and easy-going. I picture natural light pouring in open windows, bouncing off the mirror over the bed while the unlined linen curtains sway in the breeze. </div>
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<a href="https://www.onekingslane.com/p/3597276-maje-wingback-bed-talc-linen" target="_blank">Bed</a> (<a href="http://www.wayfair.com/Upholstered-Platform-Bed-DBHC7948-DBHC7948.html" target="_blank">Similar</a>) | <a href="http://www.potterybarn.com/products/pb-essentials-duvet-cover-sham/" target="_blank">Duvet Cover</a> | <a href="http://www.target.com/p/threshold-all-over-stitched-chambray-quilt/-/A-17319786" target="_blank">Throw</a> | <a href="http://www.potterybarn.com/products/morgan-400-thread-count-duvet-cover-sham/" target="_blank">Euro Pillow Shams</a> | <a href="http://www.potterybarn.com/products/pippa-floral-duvet-cover-sham/" target="_blank">Standard Pillow Shams</a> | <a href="http://www.potterybarn.com/products/wilhelmina-suzani-pillow-cover/" target="_blank">Lumbar Pillow</a> | <a href="http://www.serenaandlily.com/reese-side-table/natural/42313.html" target="_blank">Nightstands</a> | <a href="http://www.westelm.com/products/west-elm-rejuvenation-colored-table-lamp-tall-w2330/" target="_blank">Bedside Lamps</a> (<a href="http://www.wayfair.com/Mimic-25-H-Table-Lamp-with-Drum-Shade-21024WH-LO4664.html" target="_blank">Similar</a>) | <a href="http://www.rugsusa.com/rugsusa/rugs/rugs-usa-medieval-tracery-bd22/Dark-Blue/200RZBD22A-406.html" target="_blank">Rug</a> | <a href="http://www.crateandbarrel.com/larsson-8-drawer-dresser/s343522" target="_blank">Dresser</a> | <a href="http://www.crateandbarrel.com/dalton-table-lamp/s632920" target="_blank">Lamp on Dresser</a> | <a href="http://www.potterybarn.com/products/jensen-wall-mirror-round/" target="_blank">Wall Mirror </a>| <a href="http://www.minted.com/product/wall-art-prints/MIN-5U5-GNA/summer-flowers" target="_blank">Flower Print</a> | <a href="http://www.potterybarn.com/products/belgian-linen-drape/" target="_blank">Curtains</a> | <a href="http://www.potterybarn.com/products/beachcomber-round-handled-baskets-totes/" target="_blank">Baskets</a> | <a href="http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/40287887/" target="_blank">Full Length Mirror</a> | <a href="http://www.westelm.com/products/glass-shadow-boxes-d1399/" target="_blank">Jewelry Box</a> | <a href="http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/product/37760402.jsp#/" target="_blank">Elephant Jewelry Dish</a> | <a href="http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/grayowl" target="_blank">Paint Color</a></div>
<br />Sarah Bridger Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15546577517528035613noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4103183748634381844.post-53520487524837138282016-07-20T08:49:00.000-04:002016-07-20T08:51:09.835-04:00Happy Adoptiversary to Fred The Hound!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-R0jzMPyG9Ag/V473yOUBxHI/AAAAAAAAFcs/un0oOvbnXgklakjBb32kwDFT7tRNhpRsQCEw/s1600/IMG_1769.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-R0jzMPyG9Ag/V473yOUBxHI/AAAAAAAAFcs/un0oOvbnXgklakjBb32kwDFT7tRNhpRsQCEw/s1600/IMG_1769.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-R0jzMPyG9Ag/V473yOUBxHI/AAAAAAAAFcs/un0oOvbnXgklakjBb32kwDFT7tRNhpRsQCEw/s640/IMG_1769.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<i>See more pictures of Fred on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/fredandsophie/" target="_blank">instagram @FredandSophie</a>.</i><br />
When we bought our house last year I was ecstatic about two things: 1) I could redesign a house the way I've wanted to forever and 2) The light at the end of my dog-less life tunnel was finally in sight. I love my job and am so happy with my switch to an interior design career, but if someone had told me that I could only choose one of my childhood dreams to come true, I would've taken a dog in a heartbeat.<br />
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Today marks one year since we adopted our big, goofy hound, Fred. We had been married less than a month and I was still job hunting, and with my days mostly free, it seemed like a great time to bring a dog home. I had wanted a dog my entire life and Fred was the embodiment of that life-long desire. Weighing in at a solid 70 lbs, Fred was (and still is) an unruly, too-friendly boy who tested my patience more than I care to admit. He was also intensely loving and immediately bonded to us. The first night we had him we couldn't get him to sleep in a crate quietly. He refused to rest anywhere but our bed, tossing and turning the whole night, sandwiched between the two of us where he insisted on being while we attempted to sleep. The next day I finally got him to rest with me on the sofa, immediately breaking my no-dogs-on-the-sofa rule and marking the first of many snuggly naps together.<br />
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Our house was Fred's fourth home almost two months. He was in a new, unfamiliar place, wracked with separation anxiety. He barked his hound bark almost relentlessly when we left and we feared our new neighborhood would hate us. When I got home he would curl up next to me on the sofa with his squishy hound face and immediately (perhaps for both of us) all would feel right with the world. We worked with him and gradually the relentless barking turned into one or two barks when we left. Training him quickly became my new hobby. He still needs A LOT more training but I'm proud of the progress we've made together.<br />
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With graduation and getting married, adult responsibility was old news for me by the time July rolled around. Still, never before had anything, human or animal, depended on me with its life. It was a little terrifying. Was I capable of giving him a better home than he had before he was in the shelter? Will I do this well for both of us in the long term? Thankfully, Fred and I figured out how to take care of each other. He's my best bud when Kyle works long hours, and I've learned to trust my instincts to protect and take care of him when he shows me what he needs. Kyle and I have worked out a routine to care for a dog, which has been a learning/growing experience for both of us. But we got so comfortable with it that we decided to add another canine member to the family in December, our little lady Bella Sophia (Sophie).<br />
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One of my grandpa's favorite sayings was, "Don't sweat the small stuff...and by the way, it's all small stuff." That always seemed silly to me. Sometimes life throws you challenges that are by no means small stuff and to say otherwise seemed unreasonable and dismissive. Fred has helped me understand that attitude better than I did when my grandpa recited it. I've let go of things I used to care about much more--throw pillows neatly in place, a pretty marble coffee table that doesn't support canine wrestlemania--and I don't miss them. Our house and life don't require micromanaging and I'm happiest living in this environment of loving imperfection.<br />
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On a deeper level, Fred's resilience and willingness to forgive help put my own attitude in perspective. In the past 18 months Fred went from living with his family in West Virginia, to a rural shelter for 4 months, to Washington DC and multiple foster families, and finally to us. This dog has had a rough life, but even on days when I regrettably leave him in his crate longer than I intend or I can't squeeze in the walk he needs and deserves, his tail is perpetually wagging. It's a simple, constant reminder to have faith that despite challenges, things will always eventually be OK.<br />
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It's crazy to think about that first night with Fred in our home while I look at him now, sound asleep in his dog bed on our bedroom floor next to Sophie. I can't help but think that this year will always be near to me, newlyweds in our first little home with our loyal, goofy hounds. Happy adoptiversary Fred!<br />
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<i>Fred and Sophie were both adopted through <a href="http://www.citydogsrescuedc.org/" target="_blank">City Dogs Rescue + City Kitties</a>, a wonderful animal rescue organization in Washington, DC responsible for saving the lives of both our beloved pets and many others. They have an incredible support network of alumni and volunteers and do wonderful work towards their mission to rescue animals. <a href="http://www.citydogsrescuedc.org/donate.html" target="_blank">Consider donating to City Dogs Rescue today</a>. </i></div>
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<br />Sarah Bridger Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15546577517528035613noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4103183748634381844.post-88651538560075558452016-07-18T09:19:00.002-04:002016-07-18T20:09:13.587-04:00Grown-Up Preppy Bedroom<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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As an interior designer, there are so many ways to engage in the trade (one of the reasons I love this field so much!). When I was in grad school I worked for a <a href="http://arlingtonhomeinteriors.com/" target="_blank">great local designer</a>, and we primarily helped homeowners furnish their spaces. Now my day job primarily involves more interior architecture, including kitchen and bath design, working out interior trim details, helping clients choose finishes, and supporting the construction process of residential renovations. Plain and simply, we don't do furniture. I love my job, but sometimes I miss the furnishing side of the business and wish I could work on a whole house project from architecture through furnishings (kind of like <a href="http://www.laurenliess.com/" target="_blank">this notable local designer</a>). To satisfy that craving and keep my portfolio fresh, I've started creating a series of design boards and I plan to post them here as I finish them. I'm also hoping to start a little e-design side gig and I'll keep you posted on that once I make more progress in that department. </div>
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This design board shows a grown-up version of a preppy, feminine bedroom. It's primarily a neutral space, with strong navy and white contrast drawing attention to the bed. The green and pink pillows and colorful artwork add a playfulness to the space, while the gold, white, and grey furniture help the space feel more modern and refined. </div>
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<a href="http://www.wayfair.com/Sinclair-Upholstered-Headboard-MCRR4946-MCRR4946.html?piid[0]=16215020" target="_blank">Headboard</a> | <a href="http://www.pbteen.com/products/suite-organic-duvet-cover-sham-all/?pkey=cgirls-duvet-cases" target="_blank">Duvet Cover</a> | <a href="http://www.potterybarn.com/products/morgan-400-thread-count-duvet-cover-sham/#" target="_blank">Euro Pillows</a> | <a href="http://www.potterybarn.com/products/morgan-400-thread-count-duvet-cover-sham/#" target="_blank">Pillow Shams</a> | <a href="http://www.worldmarket.com/product/lilac+mist+velvet+lumbar+pillow.do" target="_blank">Pink Lumbar Pillows</a> | <a href="http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/product/kate-spade-new-york-this-is-the-life-throw-pillow-in-green/1046235688" target="_blank">Green Pillow</a> | <a href="http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Sterling-Shagreen-Grey-Side-Table/10605597/product.html" target="_blank">Nightstands</a> | <a href="http://www.westelm.com/products/nailhead-upholstered-storage-bench-g159/" target="_blank">Bench</a> | <a href="http://www.westelm.com/products/geo-lacquered-6-drawer-dresser-h2034/" target="_blank">Dresser</a> | <a href="http://www.pbteen.com/products/chic-border-rug/" target="_blank">Rug</a> | <a href="http://www.westelm.com/products/roar-rabbit-faceted-glass-sconce-single-white-w2340/" target="_blank">Sconces</a> | <a href="http://www.wayfair.com/Safavieh-Lola-Column-30-H-Table-Lamp-with-Drum-Shade-LIT4150-FV47231.html" target="_blank">Lamp</a> | <a href="http://www.potterybarnkids.com/products/harper-roman-shade/" target="_blank">Roman Shade</a> | <a href="http://www.target.com/p/round-mirror-brass-28-threshold/-/A-50301089" target="_blank">Mirror</a> | <a href="http://www.super-rural.com/shop/for-like-ever-pink-red" target="_blank">Poster</a> | <a href="http://www.brittbass.com/prints/copy-of-navy-geo-print" target="_blank">Navy Geo Print</a> | <a href="http://www.crateandbarrel.com/acrylic-block-picture-frames/f23183" target="_blank">Acrylic Picture Frame</a> | <a href="http://www.westelm.com/products/faux-shagreen-box-charcoal-d2419/" target="_blank">Decorative Box</a> | <a href="http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/silverbells" target="_blank">Paint Color</a></div>
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<br />Sarah Bridger Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15546577517528035613noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4103183748634381844.post-73570941891817365002015-11-24T08:23:00.001-05:002015-11-24T08:23:35.110-05:00Current State of the Living and Dining Room<div>
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This is the first in a "current state of" series about the various rooms in our house and how they look now that we've lived here for a few months. These are by no means "after" pictures, but we can call it progress. Eventually we will be ripping out the wall in between the dining area and kitchen and completely renovating the kitchen, so this is phase one of decorating the first floor. </div>
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It was incredibly difficult to photograph this room so don't judge me too harshly on that front, I'm still learning how to use my DSLR. </div>
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The room is challenging in that it is long and pretty narrow, and it needs to accommodate both a living and a dining area. I used rugs and a buffet with shelving above to separate the spaces. The u-shaped seating area in the living area further separates the spaces and provides plenty of seating in the small space. </div>
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In terms of style, I've always wanted a home that feels classic and collected. I love when someone's house not only speaks to their style but the life they've lived in it. My taste can run a little overly-feminine and I tried to be mindful of that while designing a space for a man too. Budget played a major role in some decisions, and I'll get to more of that when I touch on the various pieces. </div>
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The living room rug is an <a href="http://www.wayfair.com/Safavieh-Monaco-Red-Rug-MNC207C-FV53069.html" target="_blank">8x10 Safavieh rug</a> from Wayfair. I searched high and low for a vintage rug for this space but just couldn't find the right combination of color, size, and price so I finally gave up and started looking at new rugs. I selected this one because it has the vibrant colors you see in older rugs but trends a little more red/blue than some of the other colorful ethnic-style rugs on the market. It hides dirt really well and is stain-resistant, both of which are super important since this rug is right inside our main entry. </div>
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We went with the <a href="http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/S89033827/#/S99033817" target="_blank">Ikea Stocksund sofa</a> in Nolhaga grey-beige for the sofa and I would totally buy it again. It's the perfect scale for our small space and I find it to be plenty comfortable. It also hides dog hair pretty well and is easy to clean with loose back and seat cushions. </div>
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I bought the <a href="https://www.onekingslane.com/product/60928/1333286" target="_blank">navy blue velvet chair</a> on One Kings Lane when they had a sale recently. It's by Skyline Furniture and they sell a version of it at <a href="http://www.target.com/p/skyline-custom-upholstered-arm-chair/-/A-15185360#prodSlot=_3_19" target="_blank">Target</a> and <a href="http://www.wayfair.com/Elena-Arm-Chair-5505-CSTM1867.html" target="_blank">Wayfair</a>, but the upholstery choices seem to vary based on the vendor (One Kings Lane was the only vendor selling it in Navy Velvet). Honestly, the quality of the chair is not where I had hoped it would be. I didn't expect very high quality but the seat cushion is so uncomfortable and I always feel like I'm falling forward in it. The fabric feels super cheap, but it's holding up so far. It's really too bad because I love the shape of the chair, but I definitely wouldn't buy it again, at least not for a space that we use all the time. </div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8gnUsNAbOYs/Vk6C6-8v_KI/AAAAAAAAFGs/PY2p9mCjF0k/s1600/ikea-stocksund-living-room.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8gnUsNAbOYs/Vk6C6-8v_KI/AAAAAAAAFGs/PY2p9mCjF0k/s1600/ikea-stocksund-living-room.jpg" /></a></div>
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The two chrome chairs were vintage purchases from <a href="http://chartreuseandco.com/" target="_blank">Chartreuse & Co.</a> (a barn sale in Frederick, Maryland). They are actually little larger than I'd like but since we've used them both with friends over I'm planning to keep them there. Wayyyy down the road I may put one in the eventual nursery because they have arms and rock like a rocking chair but take up very little space.</div>
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The "media stand" is a vintage piece I bought on Craigslist. I think it's a buffet but I'm not really sure. I absolutely love the lines and the beautiful wood grain on it, and it fits on that wall perfectly. The coffee table is part of a set of marble-top tables I bought on Craigslist, finally ending <a href="http://www.sarahbridgerdesign.com/2013/01/a-tale-of-four-coffee-tables.html" target="_blank">my search for a marble coffee table</a> after all these years. We are using the other two tables as nightstands in our bedroom. Eventually I would like to paint the base of the coffee table black or graphite, but I haven't had a chance to get to it yet. </div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8BkB_lrVb38/Vk6C6z8nhjI/AAAAAAAAFGo/CpPBc9nC1JA/s1600/antique-buffet-media-stand.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8BkB_lrVb38/Vk6C6z8nhjI/AAAAAAAAFGo/CpPBc9nC1JA/s1600/antique-buffet-media-stand.jpg" /></a></div>
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The buffet between the living and dining areas is also vintage from Craigslist. I would've put my <a href="http://www.sarahbridgerdesign.com/2013/02/pinterest-challenge-gold-etagere.html" target="_blank">gold Ikea Vittsjo</a> unit in that spot but we really needed some closed storage for serving platters, bowls, cheeseboards, and other fun goodies we got as wedding presents. To visually divide the two spaces and provide a spot for some pretty things, we hung the<a href="http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/76696009/#/56696109" target="_blank"> Ikea shelves</a> over the buffet. </div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QDxjMoEe04o/Vk6C6yABUhI/AAAAAAAAFGk/WVQKvvssfIU/s1600/midcentury-bar-and-shelves.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QDxjMoEe04o/Vk6C6yABUhI/AAAAAAAAFGk/WVQKvvssfIU/s1600/midcentury-bar-and-shelves.jpg" /></a></div>
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The rug in the dining room is an indoor-outdoor rug from Target (no longer available). It was pretty affordable and we will probably go with something else when we redo the kitchen but it totally works for now. The table, which is actually table 2.0, was a steal of a find at Chartreuse and Company for $35. It fits the space SO MUCH better than our previous table and has two leafs stored in it to add some space when we entertain. The chairs are antiques from my grandparents' house and I would actually like to get a set of four that match, but I am patiently waiting for the Craigslist gods to deliver me the perfect set (these chairs will then find other homes in the house or my parents' house). </div>
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So that's the living/dining room...for now at least. Stay tuned for more updates about the other spaces in the house!</div>
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Sarah Bridger Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15546577517528035613noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4103183748634381844.post-25831397554607789672015-10-29T09:31:00.000-04:002015-10-29T12:50:17.995-04:00New House TourIt's been well over a year since I've written anything here but I've decided it's time to revisit this little blog of mine. I'll get into my long break from blogging eventually, but for now I just wanted pop in with an update.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-I6mdDm8EHT0/VjF2OjFKgeI/AAAAAAAAFEY/3RiY4iEXZc8/s1600/under-contract.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-I6mdDm8EHT0/VjF2OjFKgeI/AAAAAAAAFEY/3RiY4iEXZc8/s1600/under-contract.jpg" /></a></div>
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2015 has been a pretty big year over here. I earned my MA in interior design in May and we closed on a house the next morning. The boy and I got married in late June and moved out of his parents' basement (where we lived for about a year) into the new house after our honeymoon. If you even remotely follow me on <a href="http://instagram.com/sbridga/">Instagram</a> you know that we adopted our goofy walker coonhound, Fred, in July. I got to spend a few weeks at home with Fred before starting a new job in August working for a residential design+build firm in Alexandria. It's been a wonderfully busy year: graduate degree, new house, wedding, honeymoon, new dog, new job. I really don't know how I got this lucky but life is good and I am grateful for it.<br />
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For today's post I thought I'd give you a quick "before" tour of the new house. The place is modest at barely over 1,000 square feet so the tour is a pretty quick one. The front yard has a little landscaping and I'd like to do a big overhaul of it eventually but for now it's low on our list of priorities. This picture was taken after we let the grass grow a little too high during the final wedding countdown weeks...whoops.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5ohJ8GrLvZ8/VjF2u6-JxcI/AAAAAAAAFEg/m1nFYZq1ick/s1600/front.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5ohJ8GrLvZ8/VjF2u6-JxcI/AAAAAAAAFEg/m1nFYZq1ick/s1600/front.jpg" /></a></div>
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The first floor has the living/dining area, kitchen, a laundry/utility/storage space and a door into the back yard. The hardwoods are original and were hidden under carpet for many years. They were refinished right before the house went on the market and are in pretty good shape. I love that they aren't a pre-finished style and that the stain is a natural color. The finish hides dirt pretty well and appears to hold up to the wear and tear or a dog slipping and sliding on it.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4xz0P_CMOV8/VjF4pmLwo6I/AAAAAAAAFEw/BA9RHZPu1Wc/s1600/LivingRoom2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4xz0P_CMOV8/VjF4pmLwo6I/AAAAAAAAFEw/BA9RHZPu1Wc/s1600/LivingRoom2.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The main living area has space for a seating area and dining room table.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ER0Drr1I4D0/VjF4pqYLF2I/AAAAAAAAFEs/p2I8UXGF8Sc/s1600/Living-Room-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ER0Drr1I4D0/VjF4pqYLF2I/AAAAAAAAFEs/p2I8UXGF8Sc/s1600/Living-Room-1.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You can't see it in this photo but there is a nice little coat closet off the stair landing. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fQuc0N_sZm0/VjF0i4yfMJI/AAAAAAAAFDs/uc2s6DaeCKI/s1600/Living-Room-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fQuc0N_sZm0/VjF0i4yfMJI/AAAAAAAAFDs/uc2s6DaeCKI/s1600/Living-Room-3.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The nice big window in front gets great light...when we actually have the shade open. The shade can open from the bottom up or top down and we have it open at the top most of the time for privacy and to keep Fred from getting too amped up by anything outside. </td></tr>
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The kitchen isn't original but it's definitely old...like, doesn't have a dishwasher old. Many of the houses in the neighborhood have been renovated to add a half or three-quarter bath on the first level and we plan to do the same at some point. We're hoping that kitchen and laundry/utility/storage area will get a complete overhaul sometime next year.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-P1eDl253V0Q/VjFxZsSgRPI/AAAAAAAAFDE/ItIJqVGJZnM/s1600/Kitchen-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-P1eDl253V0Q/VjFxZsSgRPI/AAAAAAAAFDE/ItIJqVGJZnM/s1600/Kitchen-1.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">See that range hood? It's plugged into the outlet on the wail near the sink, along with the stove. That silver thing on the wall is the original vent for the stove. It's essentially just a fan in the wall with a cover on it but it actually works pretty well. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xViFbXfc5YI/VjFxZnEEiYI/AAAAAAAAFDI/F2KsH3n4pew/s1600/kitchen-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xViFbXfc5YI/VjFxZnEEiYI/AAAAAAAAFDI/F2KsH3n4pew/s1600/kitchen-2.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No matter what I do this kitchen never looks clean. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ARx4MAzmP48/VjFys-u71gI/AAAAAAAAFDY/k3XbWgs7oc0/s1600/storage-area-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ARx4MAzmP48/VjFys-u71gI/AAAAAAAAFDY/k3XbWgs7oc0/s1600/storage-area-1.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the storage/utility area with an ancient washer and dryer. Many of our neighbors have a bathroom at the very end of this nook, with a door opening onto the dining area. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-plTPRUOoxPo/VjFys32ruPI/AAAAAAAAFDc/ykCrdMwjlMY/s1600/storage-area-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-plTPRUOoxPo/VjFys32ruPI/AAAAAAAAFDc/ykCrdMwjlMY/s1600/storage-area-2.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Three locks on a door with a big window on it. Once upon a time this neighborhood was pretty rough. It's much better than it was 10 years ago but still has a little ways to go. </td></tr>
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The second floor has two decent-sized bedrooms and one tiny bedroom. One of the things that sold us was that the upstairs is configured for three bedrooms while many of the other houses in our price range/target locations had two upstairs and one in the basement. We realized that if we plan to stay here for 5-7 years, three bedrooms on the same floor would allow us to have two kids without a newborn and toddler having to share a room. Not that kids are anywhere in the immediate future, we were just thinking about farther down the road.<br />
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We are currently using the tiny bedroom for an office (aka storage area) and the second extra bedroom as a guest room/second TV watching room.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tKJPFan0Yyo/VjF0uyTquWI/AAAAAAAAFD8/GV3nYCySftc/s1600/bedrom-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tKJPFan0Yyo/VjF0uyTquWI/AAAAAAAAFD8/GV3nYCySftc/s1600/bedrom-1.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tiny bedroom/current office</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9GXzR8MQh64/VjF0u5AvwTI/AAAAAAAAFD4/26bWJVXMF50/s1600/bedrrom-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9GXzR8MQh64/VjF0u5AvwTI/AAAAAAAAFD4/26bWJVXMF50/s1600/bedrrom-2.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Second bedroom/guest room </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HTfoQZXOdkw/VjF0u3GL9DI/AAAAAAAAFD0/YUAYtL3mYDE/s1600/master-bedroom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HTfoQZXOdkw/VjF0u3GL9DI/AAAAAAAAFD0/YUAYtL3mYDE/s1600/master-bedroom.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our master bedroom is on the front of the house and gets a lot of light. We leave the shades open at the top so we can get good morning sun (or what little we have at 7:00 am right now). </td></tr>
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The second floor also has the only bathroom, complete with the original black and white tile and an intriguing skylight that opens and serves as the only vent in the space.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OzRMbjCwrHk/VjF1zlaKZjI/AAAAAAAAFEQ/HqUyQyk1xhw/s1600/bathroom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OzRMbjCwrHk/VjF1zlaKZjI/AAAAAAAAFEQ/HqUyQyk1xhw/s1600/bathroom.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eventually we will redo this bathroom but it is not a priority. I actually really like the tile but it is old and dingy. I'll likely replace it with something very similar. </td></tr>
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Our back yard isn't huge but it's large enough for a patio and some gardening space. The fence is new and this photo was taken when we began taking down our deck, but I'll discuss that more in a later post.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8xIIBn85Bn0/VjF9_mlFcTI/AAAAAAAAFFI/80RgHltrwJ4/s1600/back-yard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8xIIBn85Bn0/VjF9_mlFcTI/AAAAAAAAFFI/80RgHltrwJ4/s1600/back-yard.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This deck was so small that it was basically useless so we decided to take it apart. </td></tr>
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I mentioned buying the house because of the three-bedroom setup and kids down the road earlier. That was really the hardest part of house hunting for us, finding a house in our price range that felt like it suited our lifestyle now <i>and</i> our lifestyle 5-7 years down the road. I think we managed to do it. Although the house is definitely small, it's configured to work for us for just long enough. I really love our neighborhood and know the house is a great investment. We are a $10-$15 Uber ride to all our favorite nightlife spots and can get to some fun neighborhoods like Old Town, Alexandria in 10 minutes. We can easily walk into Del Ray, a charming neighborhood in Alexandria with a thriving main street, and get dinner or take Fred along to pick up some frozen custard and a puppy pop at our favorite dessert spot. And a Metro station is planned to be built about a mile from our house...fingers crossed, it happens before we move!<br />
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It's safe to say that we are loving this little life we've built for ourselves so far and we're looking forward to what the future holds...especially a new kitchen.<br />
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I'll be back with an update about what changes we've made since we moved in but until then, here's a Fred picture because that's all I take right now.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9AC67U7bEX0/VjF9BtYwx0I/AAAAAAAAFFA/k-aAqLHDb6Y/s1600/fred-the-hound.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9AC67U7bEX0/VjF9BtYwx0I/AAAAAAAAFFA/k-aAqLHDb6Y/s1600/fred-the-hound.jpg" /></a></div>
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Sarah Bridger Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15546577517528035613noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4103183748634381844.post-34340774317455612302014-03-04T09:38:00.002-05:002014-03-04T23:38:10.770-05:00Rustic + Glamorous Living Room<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's been a while since I've posted a mood board so I'm very happy to get this post up today. This living room is meant to capture a rustic glamorous feeling--to incorporate some of the glamorous elements popular in today's trends but use more rustic elements to make it a comfortable, accessible space. </div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tCnH7zfLnDg/Uxap97S6ybI/AAAAAAAADys/rmnHlMtBX-E/s1600/rustic-glamorous-living-room-mood-board.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tCnH7zfLnDg/Uxap97S6ybI/AAAAAAAADys/rmnHlMtBX-E/s1600/rustic-glamorous-living-room-mood-board.jpg" /></a></div>
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The elements in this space are definitely a mix of high and low. The sofa is about $1,300 (which really isn't all that high when it comes to sofas, but it is on my budget) and the side chairs are only $169 each. Some of the decorative boxes are in the $50 - $70 range while other decorative items are less than $20. Although the items aren't all inexpensive, they are definitely on the lower end of investment in a space using retail pieces, and it's a space that someone on a budget could build over time. There are also elements like the media stand that you might be able to find vintage or used. The artwork is a print from Minted and can be printed and purchased in a range of sizes. This room actually makes me wish the boy and I were moving into our own place sooner because we both totally love this look. Here's a list of sources if you want to replicate it:</div>
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<b>Furniture</b></div>
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Sofa : <a href="http://rstyle.me/n/f6ydasd8n" target="_blank">Blake Down Filled Sofa in Performance Velvet, Otter - West Elm</a></div>
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Side Chairs: <a href="http://rstyle.me/n/f6yfasd8n" target="_blank">Threshold Swoop Chair in Velvet Overcast - Target</a></div>
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Coffee Table: <a href="http://rstyle.me/n/byauwsd8n" target="_blank">Marble Oval Coffee Table - West Elm</a></div>
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Media Stand: <a href="http://rstyle.me/n/f6ym6sd8n" target="_blank">Conway Long Media Stand - Pottery Barn</a></div>
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Left Side Table: <a href="http://api.shopstyle.com/action/apiVisitRetailer?id=432265212&pid=uid1225-9225965-36&utm_medium=widget&amp;utm_source=Product+Link" target="_blank">Lucida Side Table - Crate & Barrel</a> </div>
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Right Side Table: <a href="http://www.wisteria.com/Moroccan-Table/productinfo/W9330/" target="_blank">Moroccan Table in Obsidian Black - Wisteria</a></div>
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<b>Rug</b></div>
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<a href="http://rstyle.me/n/eui6xsd8n" target="_blank">Torres Wool Kilim in Iron - West Elm</a></div>
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<b>Art</b></div>
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<a href="http://www.minted.com/product/wall-art-prints/MIN-KOA-GNA/bejeweled?ccId=99868&org=title" target="_blank">Bejeweled in Myrtle with Distressed Charcoal Stained Frame - Minted</a></div>
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<b>Lighting</b></div>
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Table Lamp: <a href="http://api.shopstyle.com/action/apiVisitRetailer?id=431654318&pid=uid1225-9225965-36&utm_medium=widget&amp;utm_source=Product+Link" target="_blank">Emery Laurel Table Lamp - Crate & Barrel</a></div>
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Floor Lamp: <a href="http://api.shopstyle.com/action/apiVisitRetailer?id=364091997&pid=uid1225-9225965-36&utm_medium=widget&amp;utm_source=Product+Link" target="_blank">Jerrard Floor Lamp - Crate & Barrel</a></div>
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<b>Pillows</b><br />
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Sofa: <a href="http://rstyle.me/n/eq2fbsd8n" target="_blank">Phulkari Embroidered Chevron Pillow in Marine Blue - Pottery Barn</a><br />
Sofa: <a href="http://api.shopstyle.com/action/apiVisitRetailer?id=442563273&pid=uid1225-9225965-36&utm_medium=widget&amp;utm_source=Product+Link" target="_blank">Tryst 16" Pillow - CB2</a><br />
Side Chairs: <a href="http://rstyle.me/n/f6znesd8n" target="_blank">Jacquard Leaf Silk Pillow Cover in Light Pool - West Elm</a><br />
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<b>Accessories</b><br />
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Picture Frame: <a href="http://rstyle.me/n/f6zrnsd8n" target="_blank">Nate Berkus Glass Frame, 3"x3" Gold - Target</a><br />
Decorative Box:<a href="http://rstyle.me/n/f6ztssd8n" target="_blank"> Eduardo Garza Crystal Box - West Elm</a><br />
Succulent: <a href="http://api.shopstyle.com/action/apiVisitRetailer?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.crateandbarrel.com%2Fpotted-4-succulent%2Fs482005&pid=uid1225-9225965-36&utm_medium=widget&amp;utm_source=Product+Link" target="_blank">Potted 4" Succulent - Crate & Barrel </a><br />
Coasters: <a href="http://rstyle.me/n/ds8nwsd8n" target="_blank">Agate Coasters in Natural - West Elm</a><br />
Tray: <a href="http://rstyle.me/n/f6z3asd8n" target="_blank">Nate Berkus Wood and Resin Hexagon Tray - Target</a><br />
Decorative Box: <a href="http://rstyle.me/n/f6z5wsd8n" target="_blank">Nate Berkus Decorative Tortoise Shell Box - Gold</a><br />
Decorative Box: <a href="http://rstyle.me/n/f6z7nsd8n" target="_blank">Agate Jewelry Box, Small in Natural - West Elm</a><br />
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<b><br /></b>Sarah Bridger Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15546577517528035613noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4103183748634381844.post-52385894895493149532014-02-08T12:29:00.004-05:002014-02-14T13:23:08.322-05:00Design-Savvy Art Prints and Stationary at MintedThanks again for all your kind comments and well wishes after our <a href="http://savvyyoungsomething.blogspot.com/2014/01/big-news.html" target="_blank">big announcement</a> last week! We feel so lucky to have so many wonderful friends and family supporting us.<br />
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Before we really dive into wedding details, there's something else I'm excited to plan for in the nearer future. The boy and I plan to move into his parents' basement when our leases are up so we can save some money while we're engaged. Part of the moving in together/getting married business is that for the first time in my entire life, I have to share a bedroom with a boy. That aqua paint and <a href="http://savvyyoungsomething.blogspot.com/2014/01/art-collection-favorite-fashion.html" target="_blank">fashion print wall gallery</a> in my current bedroom that I love so much? Yeah, probably won't translate well in our new digs. And I'm a little bit regretting buying him Americana artwork over the years...<br />
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So I was pleasantly surprised when <a href="http://www.minted.com/referral/landing/dtxzw5" target="_blank">Minted</a> approached me to review their new collection of <a href="http://www.minted.com/wall-art-prints" target="_blank">art prints</a>. Minted is a website that sells stationary-type products that are designed by independent designers all over the world. I still plan to have a gallery wall in our new room, but it will need to be a better balance of masculine and feminine styles. Minted has a great collection of design-savvy limited edition art prints, photography, and typography art that could easily work their way into our new space. Here are a few prints I'm eyeing for our new room:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.minted.com/product/wall-art-prints/MIN-LEW-GNA/the-rapids?ccId=112950&org=title" target="_blank">1</a> - <a href="http://www.minted.com/product/wall-art-prints/MIN-01U-WNA/me-you?ccId=63842&org=photo" target="_blank">2</a> - <a href="http://www.minted.com/product/wall-art-prints/MIN-LNO-GNA/modern-ikat?ccId=108798&org=title" target="_blank">3</a></td></tr>
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In addition to their art prints, <a href="http://www.minted.com/referral/landing/dtxzw5" target="_blank">Minted</a> sells tons of great stationary and I'm hoping I'll get to use one of their great designs when we choose some save the date cards. I'm especially loving the place-based designs.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_rr2xmmonyo/Uv5WWA4IJ0I/AAAAAAAADwI/ujVRk4lhKHE/s1600/nyc+save+the+date.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_rr2xmmonyo/Uv5WWA4IJ0I/AAAAAAAADwI/ujVRk4lhKHE/s1600/nyc+save+the+date.jpg" height="214" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.minted.com/product/save-the-date-cards/MIN-WTP-STD/love-and-a-city?org=title" target="_blank">via</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XoVFufz716o/UvZmbIdvGcI/AAAAAAAADvI/CTRDQPYQeb0/s1600/MIN-UY9-STD-001_A_PD.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XoVFufz716o/UvZmbIdvGcI/AAAAAAAADvI/CTRDQPYQeb0/s1600/MIN-UY9-STD-001_A_PD.jpg" height="214" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"><span id="goog_236817302"></span>via</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MP6n-fPARL8/UvZma7uDP5I/AAAAAAAADvE/8-vpys1SIFU/s1600/MIN-3CM-STD-001_A_PD.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MP6n-fPARL8/UvZma7uDP5I/AAAAAAAADvE/8-vpys1SIFU/s1600/MIN-3CM-STD-001_A_PD.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><a href="http://www.minted.com/product/save-the-date-cards/MIN-3CM-STD/state-stamp?org=photo" target="_blank">via</a></td></tr>
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Minted also writes a blog, <a href="http://www.minted.com/julep/" target="_blank">Julep</a>, that has some really cute Valentine's Day craft ideas in addition to a bunch of other fun paper/graphic ideas.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TKwmB0luyw8/UvZoCoo-NSI/AAAAAAAADvg/qGeYnJHjccQ/s1600/be+mine+minted.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TKwmB0luyw8/UvZoCoo-NSI/AAAAAAAADvg/qGeYnJHjccQ/s1600/be+mine+minted.jpg" height="400" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.minted.com/julep/2014/01/30/painted-hearts-valentine/" target="_blank">Painted Hearts Valentine</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WDcTJW6QdCI/UvZoCxV21DI/AAAAAAAADvk/egAm_Un-XZk/s1600/HeartToppers12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WDcTJW6QdCI/UvZoCxV21DI/AAAAAAAADvk/egAm_Un-XZk/s1600/HeartToppers12.jpg" height="400" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.minted.com/julep/2014/01/28/printable-present-toppers/" target="_blank">Valentine Present Toppers</a></td></tr>
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Be sure to check out <a href="http://www.minted.com/referral/landing/dtxzw5" target="_blank">Minted</a> next time your in the market for some graphic goodness!<br />
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<i>This post has been sponsored by Minted.com. All opinions included in this post are my own. </i></div>
Sarah Bridger Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15546577517528035613noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4103183748634381844.post-7143056067748166072014-01-30T11:46:00.001-05:002014-01-30T17:28:50.720-05:00Big News!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Big news, friends -- I'm engaged!<br />
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I debated writing this, at first thinking I should maybe keep it between the boy and me, but this blog functions as a journal of sorts for me and I want to look back in a year and read this again. I also know that most of the people reading it are my friends, many of whom I won't get to see or talk to very soon, so it's nice to be able to spread the word this way. <br />
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Oh, there's also the fact that the boy did a really great job putting together a memorable weekend for the two of us. He planned everything perfectly and was so thoughtful and he kind of deserves to have all our friends and family know just how wonderful he is. Sorry, am I gushing? Anyway, let's get to the story. <br />
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<strike>Once upon a time,</strike> Kyle was out of town for work during the week, and our plan was for me to pick him up from the airport on Friday night and then grab a bite to eat together in Old Town, Alexandria. His parents were (supposedly) out of town for the weekend, so we were going to head over to their house after dinner, something we do once in a while when we want to have a nice staycation and get out of our respective group houses.<br />
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Per usual, I was running late and hardly had time to freshen up and pack a bag before I headed to the airport to pick Kyle up. The whole way there I was stressing that the poor guy was standing out in the cold because I was late. I pulled up to our usual pick up spot at the airport, he through his bags in the car, and we headed to Old Town.<br />
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This is where I probably should've picked up on things. He told me that he had a Groupon for Jackson 20, a nice restaurant in the Hotel Monaco. In the back of my mind I was thinking, "A Groupon? Man, they must not be doing well." He was also kind of irritated about the parking situation after we circled a few times and had trouble finding a spot. I just figured he had been traveling all day and was in a bad mood so I didn't think much of it.<br />
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Once we got in front of the Hotel Monaco things started to change real quickly. As we walked through the doors he stopped and admitted that we were actually staying there for the night. I got excited and walked towards the check-in desk, but he directed me towards the elevator bank. At that point I knew exactly what was coming. When we got to the room he had rose petals on the floor, champagne, and that's when he proposed.<br />
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Wait, what? I know you want to know how he didn't even have to check in and did this moments after stepping off the airplane. Well he actually had gotten in at 2:00 pm, picked up his car, gone to the hotel to check in and prep the room. After that he drove to his parents's house and his mom--who was in town, by the way--drove him back to the airport with a suitcase so I could pick him up at 6:00 pm like we had planned all along. He even called to tell me he got bumped to a flight that connected in Philly so that if I checked the arrivals (which I tend to do to see if there's a delay), I would see a flight that was coming in right around 6:00. <br />
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OK, back to the proposal moment. <br />
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I was thrilled! But I'm also pretty sure I was super awkward for about 30 minutes as evidenced by the photo above. During really important moments I can kind of get stuck in my head and at that point my mind was racing through thoughts like <i>oh my gosh this is awesome and I hope I seem happy enough!</i> Or <i>I can't believe he did all this for me!</i> And <i>how can I possibly give the reaction that this deserves?</i> And, <i>wait a minute, he doesn't have a Groupon.</i> For a while I just sat there asking questions and saying, "Kyle this is so sweet!"<br />
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It was fun to sit in that gorgeous room together drinking champagne and just taking in the moment between the two of us, so I kind of dragged my feet when it came to calling everyone. I wish I could explain why I don't love making phone calls to a bunch of people even when I'm super excited. I'm pretty introverted and the idea of calling people, even my own family, to tell them news that places me right in the center of everyone's attention feels overwhelming to me. I also feel like there's a lot of pressure to be reacting in the way everyone expects me too, so there's an intimidation factor there, especially when I'm constantly over-analyzing things. But I'm glad Kyle encouraged me to start making phone calls because once we called everyone, the reality of the moment set in and I was in celebration mode. Shortly afterwards we got dinner at The Wharf, a restaurant down the street. Oh yeah, funny story, Kyle had no idea until after he made the reservation that his parents ate at the Wharf the night of their engagement too. So that was cute. <br />
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Kyle surprised me with another plan he had in the works that night. In addition to our amazing room at the Hotel Monaco, he had booked a room for Saturday night at a bed & breakfast close to Charlottesville, home of my alma mater and generally one of my favorite places in the world. So on Saturday morning we briefly stopped at our houses to pack a bag and then drove to Charlottesville where we walked around UVa's Grounds and the Corner. Kyle knows how much I love Charlottesville and it always makes me happy to walk around and marvel at the Lawn, so that was a really thoughtful move. Once we were sufficiently frozen and had picked up a few souvenirs from the bookstore, we headed to our accommodations in nearby Louisa.<br />
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We stayed at The Prospect Hill Inn, which is an historic property in Louisa, Virginia. The Inn consists of a large manor house that is home to the dining room, a few other main rooms, and the owners' family residence. The buildings on the property date from the late 1600s and the entire property is on the national register of historic places. It's also part of the Green Springs National Historic District.<br />
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Can we just pause for a moment and take in how amazing it is that Virginia is dotted with little places like this, built pre-Revolutionary War and still standing and operating today? I love this place. <br />
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The guest rooms are in the smaller buildings that surround the manor house. We stayed in the second-oldest building on the property, which was originally built as a residence for the family who lived there. It's also the cabin Kyle's parents stayed in for a few nights of their honeymoon. The bedroom had no TV, no wi-fi, and a wood burning fireplace. The little cottage also had a sitting room and a bathroom, which was SO COLD. The rooms had baseboard heat, but they didn't really keep the place very warm so we were happy to get the fire up and going...which took a bit longer than we expected. But that was just part of the experience. Once it was finally roaring we sat down in front of it and talked for a while. It was so much fun to say things like "someday when we're married we should..." and "one day when we have a family I really want to..." and know that whatever we said wasn't just a hypothetical statement put out into the universe, but something that we could very easily accomplish some day together. Sitting in front of the fire together in that gorgeous little building out in the countryside was easily the most romantic part of the whole weekend. <br />
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Although the B&B part was awesome, Prospect Hill is especially well known in the area for their food. They serve a <a href="http://www.prospecthill.com/restaurant.htm" target="_blank">prix-fixe four course meal</a> for dinner on the weekends, and you don't know what they'll be serving until they announce it right before they serve the first course. Guys, this meal was AMAZING (or "amazeballs" as they say in Kyle's favorite commercial). Everything was great, and the main course had the best pork medallions I've ever tasted. I highly recommend eating there even if you're not staying there, which you can totally do by the way. I think only two of the five couples in the room were actually staying at the B&B.<br />
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The next morning we had breakfast delivered to our room. It was also delicious and we felt so pampered having it delivered to us.<br />
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Sunday morning we drove home and got dinner with both our families to celebrate. I haven't really started any planning. I really wanted to make sure I focused on how meaningful the engagement was before we dive into wedding logistics. But within the next week or so we're going to start thinking about the big things so that I don't consume all my free time perusing the internet for venues and vendors in the area and actually start working towards something.<br />
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Thanks to everyone who wished us well and to our friends and family for helping Kyle orchestrate everything and keep it a secret. We are so excited for what's to come and it's so wonderful to have the support of everyone. Rest assured that this blog will not be full of wedding details, and I hope to get back to some good ol' design posts in the near future. Thanks again for your support!<br />
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<br />Sarah Bridger Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15546577517528035613noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4103183748634381844.post-5702109514830569682014-01-24T08:00:00.003-05:002014-01-24T08:00:32.852-05:00Family VisitFriday I traveled with my brother and parents to New York where we met my sister who came in from NYC. We spent the evening with my cousins and then ventured to our hotel room where we came across this weird room-width mirror over the headboard. While it actually did come in handy when my sister and I had to get ready the next morning, it still felt a little uncomfortable. My family likes to do hotels on a budget, so that generally means that I share a room with both my siblings and a bed with my sister. At least this place had two queens instead of two doubles.<br />
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Saturday we hung out all day at my cousins' house. We played a little bit of heads up and watched basketball through most of the day and ended the evening with our traditional meal of pizza and wings, and played a spirited game of Trivial Pursuit. And, by the way, my team totally lost and the winning team had everyone in my immediate family<i> </i>but me on it. My dad was the captain. What the heck, John? At least there were our favorite chocolate chip cookies.<br />
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Sunday morning we packed up the car and headed to about an hour west to visit my grandma and hang out at my aunt's house nearby. Last year my grandma, although confused and tired, was able to leave her assisted living facility and hang out at the house with all of us for an afternoon. This year that wasn't so much the case. Now my grandma lives in a nursing home. As a designer I think the space could be greatly improved, but the real draw of this places is that my aunt works in the same health complex and can drop in on her regularly. Seriously, how lucky are we? How many families have that luxury?<br />
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The rest of my dad's family lives closer and sees Grandma more often. They warn us, "It's <i>really</i> bad. Like <i>really</i> bad. Just be ready for it." They do a wonderful job managing my expectations because I felt like for 89 with dementia, my grandma seems way less "Is that person still breathing?" than most of the people I've seen in the two facilities she's been in. She can still kind of hobble her way through a conversation. She relies a lot on reacting sarcastically or playfully saying something like "oh phooey" to the stuff we tell her. She also likes to be silly, like hen we told her to smile and she crossed her eyes and made a silly face instead. She spent the better part of our visit asking us how we were all able to get off of work and did we all come there <i>just to see her</i>?? It's quite confusing to her because apparently her work schedule is pretty inflexible and she has to work weekends a lot. Her mind spends a lot of time back working as a nurse. Whatever, we roll with it.<br />
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Perhaps my favorite moment of the entire trip was seeing her light up when my dad walked in while she said to him with a big smile "hey, there's my son!" I suspect that within minutes of us leaving she forgot we were even there, but for the time we were there she seemed happy and even touched by the idea that we all came just to see her.<br />
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Sunday afternoon we did more visiting with family. I got to play with my cousin's son who is six and wildly imaginative. I cracked up when he said things like , "Mommy, can I have a pretend blanket to tuck in Monkey?" and (to my mom) "And you know what? I love you." We did lots of "exercising" and I'm pretty sure my mom caught many lovely photos of me crawling around on the floor.<br />
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Monday morning we packed up and, after dealing with a pretty major train delay with my sister, headed back to VA.<br />
<br />Sarah Bridger Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15546577517528035613noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4103183748634381844.post-18242408082715861922014-01-13T10:37:00.000-05:002014-03-03T14:28:16.547-05:00Art Collection: Favorite Fashion & Figurative Prints<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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My hands-down favorite part of my bedroom is the gallery wall over my dresser. I pieced it together over the years with everything from notecards to antique artwork to framed fabric swatches, but my favorite pieces are the fashion/figurative artwork. My sister liked one of the prints by Leigh Viner so much that she asked for a set of three of her prints to put over her bed for Christmas.</div>
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I'm kind of picky when it comes to figurative artwork. I don't really like to see open eyes illustrated. I think there's something about the eyes closed or the back turned that makes the featured woman a bit of a mystery and lets you fill in the blanks about who she is and what she's thinking and feeling. I also find it makes it a little easier to see yourself in the artwork, which is nice when you are bringing feminine artwork into one of the most person and feminine places in your home (well, at least if you are still living sans boy like I am). </div>
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Here are some of my favorite prints by my go-to artists for fashion illustrations. Most of these artists sell their items via Etsy. If you don't see a size you like, it's always worth it to message the artist directly - most of the time they will print anything in a custom size for you. Enjoy!<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aLGWHAutMWI/Us9w_bMZ5rI/AAAAAAAADps/R8JuIkbGTo8/s1600/favorite-fashion-figurative-artwork.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aLGWHAutMWI/Us9w_bMZ5rI/AAAAAAAADps/R8JuIkbGTo8/s1600/favorite-fashion-figurative-artwork.jpg" /></a></div>
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Row 1: </div>
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1. <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/164146952/about-a-pearl-fashion-illustration-art?ref=shop_home_active_1" target="_blank"><i>About a Pearl</i> by Leigh Viner</a></div>
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2. <a href="https://inslee.net/shop/product/ombre-print/" target="_blank"><i>Ombre</i> by Inslee</a></div>
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3. <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/82395572/figure-art-print?ref=shop_home_active_20" target="_blank"><i>Figure</i> by Leigh Viner</a></div>
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1. <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/94319158/watercolor-fashion-illustration?ref=shop_home_active_3" target="_blank"><i>Backstage</i> by Jessica Durrant</a></div>
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2. <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/170012908/abstractions-aside-fashion-illustration?" target="_blank"><i>Abstractions Aside</i> by Leigh Viner</a></div>
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3.<a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/80090088/watercolor-fashion-illustration-the-geek?ref=shop_home_active_13" target="_blank"> <i>The Geek Next Door</i> by Jessica Durran</a>t</div>
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1. <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/77187623/favorite-place-8-x-10-giclee-art-print?ref=shop_home_active_8" target="_blank"><i>Favorite Place</i> by Clare Elsaesser</a></div>
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2. <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/98292532/the-yellow-trench-print-version?ref=shop_home_active_23" target="_blank"><i>The Yellow Trench</i> by Jessica Durrant</a></div>
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3. <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/69654093/ebb-and-flow-8-x-8-giclee-art-print-of?ref=shop_home_active_9" target="_blank"><i>Ebb and Flow</i> by Clare Elsaesser</a></div>
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<br />Sarah Bridger Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15546577517528035613noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4103183748634381844.post-36174114518417166362014-01-07T11:32:00.003-05:002014-01-07T12:28:17.183-05:00A Semester in Review: Fall 2013Since grad school is a huge part of my life, I thought I'd share what a semester of an Interior Design Master's program entails. Interior Design is a field that is often shrugged off as something that involves "picking pillows" or a field that is just so "artsy" that it's not something you can study. I'll admit, sometimes it does involve picking pillows, but Interior Design is much more analytical than most might think and that's why I'm drawn to it. It is involves concept development, careful space planning, lighting considerations, and a whole host of furnishings and finishes that must function well in addition to supporting the design concept. Studying interior design at most university levels is similar to pursuing a degree in architecture, so much so that many undergrad programs throw architects, interior designers, and industrial designers in the same classes and studios during their first year of study, and many interior design professors are architects by training. <br />
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This semester I took four classes. That's one more than a typical full-time grad school load. I did this for one primary reason: One of the classes I took was at NOVA--an undergrad prereq that I was allowed to satisfy at the much cheaper community college in the area--and I needed 9 credits at Marymount in order to get health insurance through the university. So I had to take three classes at MU whether I was taking the class at NOVA or not. Oh, health insurance. It's fun being a grown up, isn't it?<br />
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My favorite class that I took this semester was my graduate level hospitality design studio (hotel design). The professor was wonderful. She was respectful of us as adults and let us develop a project and work on it throughout the entire semester, so we all got really invested in our hypothetical hotel designs and connected with our work.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Yg-7GAEkLBg/UsMgpRwG5LI/AAAAAAAADkw/i6ooKRJh_cU/s1600/IMG_0543.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Yg-7GAEkLBg/UsMgpRwG5LI/AAAAAAAADkw/i6ooKRJh_cU/s640/IMG_0543.JPG" height="425" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I designed this entire floor plan within the constraints of the outer building walls and columns. We had requirements for minimum room square footage, number of fire stairs, certain distances from doors, and a number of other things. </td></tr>
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The assignment was to design the first floor of a hotel. We picked the location of our hotel and then created a concept inspired by that location to carry through the space. I decided to place my hotel in Nome, Alaska. Nome is most notable for being the finish point to the Iditarod sled dog race, and my concept capitalized on the idea that virtually everyone staying at a hotel in Nome had traveled for a long time and weathered the elements to get there. Whether they came by sled or by plane, this hotel would be a beacon guiding them to the end of their long journey. I also knew that a race like the Iditarod brings people of all ages and cultures together in this small town for a brief period in time, and I wanted to create spaces for people to develop relationships both in one-on-one settings and group settings. I called the hotel "Tribe"-- a nod to tradition of the native cultures of the region and the idea that the long journey to Nome and the experience there lays the foundation for people to create and nurture their own informal tribes.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lUakXUjvAp8/UsMgvrfifsI/AAAAAAAADk8/Qyf5b-1xVjY/s1600/IMG_0535.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lUakXUjvAp8/UsMgvrfifsI/AAAAAAAADk8/Qyf5b-1xVjY/s640/IMG_0535.jpg" height="640" width="428" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We had to create a finishes board as part of our final presentation. I love the feel that this board gives off but it's a little too crowded and would be easier to understand with labels. </td></tr>
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I supported my concept by creating pockets of warm and cool color contrast--the warm glow of a fireplace surrounded by soft navy and aqua upholstery, copper/rust-colored table tops surrounded by grey banquette seating--to draw attention to gathering points throughout the space. I also used directed light to draw people through a space--a dropped ceiling with lights peaking out from underneath it to light a path through the space and directed pendant lighting to call attention to stationary seating areas. Finally, I chose furniture and finishes that have a modern twist on traditional tribal motifs. Although some of those motifs are admittedly are more Native American-inspired than Inuit, the overall palette created the feel I wanted in the space.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VCm788uLe1E/UsMiWOCrLcI/AAAAAAAADlM/t6Xfa64L7xw/s1600/lobby+elevation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VCm788uLe1E/UsMiWOCrLcI/AAAAAAAADlM/t6Xfa64L7xw/s640/lobby+elevation.jpg" height="368" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is a hand rendered elevation of my lobby space done with design markers and ink. The chairs you see are surrounding a low trough-style fireplace enclosed in glass and surrounded by granite with a metal arch drawing attention to the feature from across the room. The darker blue you see is actually a curved banquette on the other side of the fireplace and the walls are supposed to be leather. </td></tr>
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Guys, my renderings (that's what we call pictures of our spaces in the design world) are TERRIBLE. I actually took an entire prerequisite undergrad level class in rendering this semester and they were still awful. While I plan to work on beefing up my hand rendering skills, I'm really hoping that we are able to learn more about digital rendering because there is no way I can have a portfolio of images that look like this. Also, it's 2014 people. From what I've heard, hand rendering is fine for the ideation phase, but in the real world, unless you hire a watercolor artist to render a fancy hotel or residential interior, your renderings are almost always digital.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CY6VLHPqwi8/UsMiwRcyIOI/AAAAAAAADlc/ZDeS_ciFrXM/s1600/IMG_2138.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CY6VLHPqwi8/UsMiwRcyIOI/AAAAAAAADlc/ZDeS_ciFrXM/s640/IMG_2138.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I was actually most happy with this rendered floorplan of my hotel lobby. The feature in the middle of the space is the one you see in the elevation above. The goal of rendering a floor plan or an elevation is to bring a third dimension, depth, to a style of ink drawing that is flat--only reflective of length and width. I was best able to achieve that goal in the floorplan above. </td></tr>
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The other two classes I took at Marymount were Revit and Sketching for Ideation. I briefly mentioned my sketching/rendering class already. Revit is a really cool type of computer program called "Building Information Modeling" software (BIM for short) that stores all kinds of information about building modeling, so when you go to build construction documents, all the specification information like wall types, door types, light fixtures, flooring, etc. can be easily generated into lists that are a critical portion of construction documents. It also creates pretty awesome 3-D models that I hope to get more experience with over my remaining semesters in the program. Oh, and you can also build your own furniture models in it.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PQSo6gCAPsE/UsG11L77cmI/AAAAAAAADj8/9yLqoOsmops/s1600/Learning+Revit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PQSo6gCAPsE/UsG11L77cmI/AAAAAAAADj8/9yLqoOsmops/s640/Learning+Revit.jpg" height="640" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is a model of the <a href="http://brightchair.com/ProductDetails.aspx?item=980" target="_blank">Jett Chair by Bright Chair Company</a> that I created as a family in Revit and placed in my floor plan so that I could generate 3-D images of the furniture in the space. </td></tr>
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The class I took at NOVA was Materials and Sources, the focus of which was textiles. After learning about various textile construction and materials, I had to create a binder that inventoried all kinds of fabrics, and included samples of each type. I also had to do a report on two textile designers (I choose Lauren Liess and Caitlin Wilson), and I had to design four textile patterns and apply them to a piece of furniture. Here's one of my designs, which I called "antlers" (really creative) created using an antler silhouette flipped and arranged in a repeated pattern. I created the design in Photoshop Elements and applied to image to a piece of furniture from the 3-D warehouse in SketchUp. I might get a yard or two printed through Spoonflower but I'm kind of low on funds right now so that's a back pocket project.<br />
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The next semester starts in a weeks and I'm again taking four classes in an effort not to be a graduate student forever. I'm taking a commercial office design studio, a lighting class, a history of architecture and interior design class, and a research class to lay the foundation for my thesis project. It will be a lot of work, but I'm already excited about what I get to learn this spring!Sarah Bridger Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15546577517528035613noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4103183748634381844.post-17707525994166904162014-01-03T14:21:00.002-05:002014-01-03T15:16:37.878-05:00Christmas Wrap Up<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I gave my last presentation and took a final exam at 8:30 am on Monday, December 16, so I really didn't get to do much Christmas stuff until then. I was able to put up all our decorations immediately after I got off the plane from Florida on Black Friday and did as much shopping online as I could so I wasn't totally behind by the time school was over. My decorating was very similar to last year since I was on a limited budget and didn't have much time to dedicate to rethinking the process.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3RtYAA7AAJo/UscIlNmMkxI/AAAAAAAADo4/E7P76ULlA24/s1600/christmas-bookshelf-styling-german-smokers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3RtYAA7AAJo/UscIlNmMkxI/AAAAAAAADo4/E7P76ULlA24/s1600/christmas-bookshelf-styling-german-smokers.jpg" /></a></div>
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I can't even begin to describe the feeling of freedom that I have when school isn't in session. I work part time so I go from basically working/being in class for 12 hours a day, four days a week to having Mondays completely to myself and getting off of work at 3:30 pm during the rest of the week. The Monday school was over I spent the afternoon baking a family favorite: English Muffin Bread. My dad makes it every year at Christmas to give friends and family. I grew up eating it every time we visited my grandparents in New York, so I have a definite sense of pride when I bake up my own batch and give it to friends.</div>
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The other thing my dad makes every year is English Butter Toffee. I decided to try my hand at it this year and I actually did a pretty good job if I do say so myself!</div>
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Bro Brennan and I went Christmas shopping together to pick up some gifts for the family and spend some quality sibling time together. Here he is lamenting the fact that Lego Bionicles are so much cooler now than when he was a kid. </div>
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The boy and I checked out the National Christmas Tree in President's Park, something we did the first Christmas we were together but haven't done since. A few things have changed since then...</div>
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I had most of my wrapping done by Saturday afternoon and finished wrapping some gifts that trickled in the night before Christmas Eve. I used leftover silver and gold wrapping paper and picked up an extra roll from Target to finish things up. </div>
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On Christmas Eve I headed over to my parents' house after picking my dad up from work (my, how times have changed). We went over to my grandma's house like we have done every year since I was a little kid. We also did something new this year: my family went over to the boy's parents' house and we spent the rest of the evening there with a couple other families. Our families haven't really hung out together thus far (kind of crazy considering how long we've dated) so it was nice to get everyone together and have a good time. And I was able to offload some leftover Sweet Clover merchandise during the white elephant gift exchange. </div>
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The boy and I each spent Christmas morning at our parents' homes opening presents with family. In the afternoon my family went over to my grandma's where we had dinner and opened more presents. The boy joined us there which was a lot of fun. My mom picked up some musical Christmas Crackers from the Christmas Attic. I'm not sure what she expected would happen when she gave eight people whistles, but these two certainly had a good time:</div>
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Afterwards the boy and I went over to his house to spend the last few hours of Christmas together and exchange our gifts. The boy knows I'm a huge fan of Kate Spade Jewelry so he got me a couple gorgeous necklaces, including this statement necklace. </div>
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The boy also knows that if I could live on two foods for the rest of my life they would be tacos and macaroni and cheese. Being the thoughtful guy he is, he gave me these silly TacoPropers (microwave safe!) and this awesome mac & cheese cookbook written by the owners of a Homeroom, a Mac & Cheese restaurant in the San Francisco Bay area. I already cooked the most basic recipe, and it was delicious! It's definitely an indulgence, but I'm looking forward to trying more of the recipes. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">via <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/160774466X/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=160774466X&linkCode=as2&tag=savvyounsome-20" target="_blank">Amazon.com</a></td></tr>
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Both of us were off of work between Christmas and New Years. We used the time to lounge around and have a good time with friends and family that were in town. For New Years we decided to forego the expensive parties downtown and instead went out to a nice dinner together followed by wine at home by the fire (there may have even been a couple rounds of Battleship). It was by far the most low-key New Years celebration we've had together to date, but we enjoyed it and saved about $250 (probably closer to $300 with cab fare), so I'd say it was a success. </div>
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Yesterday I dragged the boy to the U.S. Botanic Gardens so I could see their exhibit of DC landmarks and World's Fair structures completely made out of plants. The detail was amazing.</div>
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They also had a clever sculptural exhibit that showcased various spices and dried plants that you could lean over and smell. I love a good interactive installation!</div>
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Today the boy is back to work and I am trying to get all the things done that I wanted to get done before I have to go back to work and school starts. We'll see how that goes. Tomorrow I'll take down the decorations, but since it snowed overnight I think the outdoor ones will stay up for a little while longer. I kind of hope everyone else decides to keep their lights on in the snow!</div>
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Hope you had a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!</div>
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Sarah Bridger Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15546577517528035613noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4103183748634381844.post-59632157694600345022013-12-31T11:21:00.002-05:002013-12-31T11:21:11.874-05:00Do Less, Accomplish More in 2014Guys, it's that time of year again when I get all reflective and in touch with my inner-self and I think about what the last year has been like and what I want for the new year. It almost feels silly writing a post about this because I feel like I've been in this state of mind all freaking year and you have had to listen to me drone on about my life decisions and milestones and what not. But part of the reason I write this if for accountability, to hold my feet to the fire, and because at the end of 2014 I will enjoy looking back on this post to see where I was and how I've grown.<br />
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Speaking of looking back, I did just that a few moments ago and I am so very thankful that I took the time to <a href="http://savvyyoungsomething.blogspot.com/2013/01/grace-and-gratitude-in-2013.html" target="_blank">write out my thoughts on 2012 and the coming 2013</a>. So much has changed since then, things I never would have predicted, and that makes me so very excited (and perhaps a little terrified) for the coming year. When I think about what I am most thankful for in 2013, so much of it involves opportunities, and I kind of hope that every year, or at least those in the near future follow suit. I liked last year's exercise, so I think I'm going to do it again, but with one addition: a motto for 2014.<br />
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As has become obvious through a few of my more recent posts, I took on quite a bit of responsibility in 2013. I found myself occupied nearly every moment of every day, to the point where I felt guilty to sit down and watch TV and I perpetually felt I was failing at something even when I was getting other things done. I realized that all my activities were <a href="http://savvyyoungsomething.blogspot.com/2013/12/being-sick-on-vacation-and-streamlining.html" target="_blank">actually affecting my health</a>, so I decided to let some things go. Letting go was difficult since I like to think that I can do absolutely everything and be an overachiever and everything will be perfect. That mindset works for some people but is terrible for me because 1) I am not even remotely type-A, 2) I need more sleep than the average person, and 3) I'm a total introvert and if left to my own devices I would probably see my friends like once a month. I knew I didn't want to let go of my ambition and desire to build something for myself, but I also knew that current operating conditions were not sustainable, nor were the making me happy. So my moto for 2014 is this: "Do less, accomplish more." I want to be more selective and deliberate with what I do with my time instead of filling it with activities to get done just for the sake of doing something.<br />
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So let's review 2013, shall we?<br />
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<b>Things I'm Proud of in 2013</b><br />
1) Making the difficult decision to <a href="http://savvyyoungsomething.blogspot.com/2013/08/marymount-interior-design-transfer.html" target="_blank">transfer to Marymount's Interior Design Program</a> and continuing to pursue my graduate education in interior design<br />
2) <a href="http://savvyyoungsomething.blogspot.com/2013/07/life-updates-new-ish-jobs.html" target="_blank">Landing a paid interior design assistantship</a> at a local residential design firm and taking the risk of leaving my better paying government consulting position<br />
3) <a href="http://savvyyoungsomething.blogspot.com/2013/06/sweet-clover-vintage-barn-sale-this.html" target="_blank">Selling my furniture out of a space in the Sweet Clover Vintage Market</a><br />
4) My sister getting a full time job<br />
5) My brother doing a great job working at the Christmas Attic (following in the footsteps of his older sisters)<br />
6) The boy getting a promotion in his current office<br />
7) Completing some pretty cool studio projects (at least I think so)<br />
8) Learning a few new computer programs including Revit and Quickbooks<br />
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<b>Things I'm Thankful for in 2013</b><br />
1) The opportunity to learn how to run a small interior design business<br />
2) The opportunity to <a href="http://savvyyoungsomething.blogspot.com/2013/07/life-updates-new-ish-jobs.html" target="_blank">work for a furniture picking and painting guru</a> and learn more about that process<br />
3) Two new roommates who have been very easy to live with<br />
4) Having a great time at a number of weddings this year, especially my cousin's wedding with the rest of our family<br />
5) My family recovering from a few major health issues and scares with flying colors<br />
6) Being welcomed to spend a few holidays with the boy's family, including the <a href="http://savvyyoungsomething.blogspot.com/2013/07/4th-of-july-weekend-recap.html" target="_blank">4th of July</a>, <a href="http://savvyyoungsomething.blogspot.com/2013/12/thanksgiving-vacation-florida-style.html" target="_blank">Thanksgiving</a>, and Christmas Eve (my family joined in the Christmas Eve festivities too)<br />
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<b>Things I'm Looking forward to in 2014</b><br />
1) NOT feeling the pressure of selling furniture in any venue<br />
2) Starting my own interior design consulting business<br />
3) Beginning work on my thesis!!! (I am super excited about this one for some reason)<br />
4) Learning about commercial office design in my upcoming studio<br />
5) Continuing to work on great residential design projects for Arlington Home Interiors<br />
6) Carving out more time to spend with friends and family<br />
7) Visiting my sister in Brooklyn (I haven't been to NYC in two years and that's ridiculous).<br />
9) Nearly finishing my Master's degree<br />
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Last night I was making a calendar of classes for my upcoming semester and realized that because I won't be taking as many studio classes as I was last semester (studios meet twice a week and lecture-based classes meet once a week), I will actually be spending 5 fewer hours in class each week than I did last semester. Subtracting my work for Sweet Clover from this weekly time equation, I will have many more hours to dedicate to school work and "other"--friends, family, design work, etc. There is a lot of change on the horizon in the coming year, but I am pumped to live my life more deliberately in 2014. Bring on the growth.<br />
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<i>All pictures were taken by me and featured on my Facebook page. Want more updates from Savvy Young Something? Follow me on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/SavvyYoungSomething" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="http://instagram.com/savvyyoungsomething" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, and <a href="http://twitter.com/SavvyYoungSarah" target="_blank">Twitter</a>. </i><br />
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<i>*Note that I did not coin, nor do I own the phrase "Do Less, Accomplish More". It appears to be widely used in other articles. This is my own interpretation of the phrase and does not represent the views of anyone else who has used it in their own articles. </i><br />
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<br />Sarah Bridger Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15546577517528035613noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4103183748634381844.post-41102536581778795512013-12-18T10:02:00.001-05:002014-03-03T14:28:40.914-05:00Gift Guide 2013: Gifts for HimWith Christmas a week away, we're really down to the wire for Christmas shopping. Struggling to find a present for that special boyfriend, husband, brother, or dad? Here's a quick list I've compiled. As far as I can tell, they're all still available, and ship from places that can overnight stuff before Christmas.<br />
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1. <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/59900099/micro-buck-small-deer-trophy-white-or?ref=shop_home_active" target="_blank">Cardboard Safari Buck Cardboard Animal Trophy</a> - I especially like the Micro Buck. At $13, he would look great on a gallery wall accompanied by another micro animal trophy friend like <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/59900824/micro-fred-small-moose-trophy-brown-or?ref=shop_home_active" target="_blank">Micro Fred the Moose</a> or <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/130204588/micro-tex-small-longhorn-trophy-brown-or?ref=shop_home_active" target="_blank">Micro Tex the Longhorn</a>. Just make sure the gift receiver doesn't mind a puzzle because these guys can be a little challenging to put together. Although if you're like me and you love puzzles, you can absolutely put it together for him. I got one for the boy a while ago, and he had his friends convinced for a bit that I made it myself out of a pizza box. </div>
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2. <a href="http://www.patagonia.com/us/product/mens-bivy-down-vest?p=27585-0&pcc=1120" target="_blank">Patagonia Men's Bivy Down Vest</a> - I absolutely love my down vest, and the boy wears the one I bought him last year all the time. This one is a little retro in the best of ways. It's a bit pricey at $179, so if you're looking to get the man in your life some winterwear on a discount, check out websites like <a href="http://rstyle.me/n/3dysd8n" target="_blank">6pm.com</a> or <a href="http://rstyle.me/n/rvbsd8n" target="_blank">Nordstrom Rack </a>for quality brands at a discount. </div>
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3. <a href="http://rstyle.me/n/c448isd8n">Stag Bookend Set</a> - This set of stag bookends from Target are both manly and stylish, and at $14.99, they're reasonably priced enough to give to just about anyone on your list. Not so into the bookends? Check out the rest of Target Threshold <a href="http://rstyle.me/n/crwwcsd8n" target="_blank">Decorative Stag collection</a> and see if there's something he might like.<br />
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4. <a href="http://rstyle.me/~1bQup" target="_blank">Abingdon Weekender</a> - The boy has been eyeing this canvas and leather duffle for a while as an upgrade to his usual weekend travel solution which is the backpack he carried in college. It's a classic travel piece that will last for a while, and it easily suits anyone from your college-aged son to your dad. It's a bit out of my range at $198, but J.Crew is currently running a 30% sale with free shipping, so it's definitely the right time to snag it if you can afford it!<br />
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5.<a href="http://popchartlab.com/products/grand-taxonomy-of-rap-names" target="_blank"> <i>Grand Taxonomy of Rap Names</i> Poster</a> - I bought Pop Chart Lab's<a href="http://popchartlab.com/collections/prints/products/the-very-many-varieties-of-beer" target="_blank"> <i>Many Varieties of Beer</i></a> poster a couple years ago when my dad was into brewing, but I really love the merge of dork and cool that this one exhibits. Quite honestly, any one of <a href="http://popchartlab.com/" target="_blank">Pop Chart Lab's</a> posters would make an excellent gift. They've got one for <a href="http://popchartlab.com/collections/prints/products/a-visual-compendium-of-guitars" target="_blank">guitar lovers</a>, <a href="http://popchartlab.com/collections/prints/products/a-meticulous-metric-of-baseball-team-names" target="_blank">baseball fans</a>, <a href="http://popchartlab.com/collections/prints/products/migratory-patterns-of-fresh-princes" target="_blank">throwback TV show fans</a>, and many, many others. Their tag line is "Data + Design = Delight" and I basically want to be their best friends. This specific print is $28. Order by December 19 if you want it framed, and December 20 if you are just ordering a print. If you're in NYC, these guys are at the Union Square Holiday market booth C18 through Christmas Eve.<br />
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6. <a href="http://www.elizab.com/product/LM/LM-126-Motif.html" target="_blank">Embroidered Belt</a> - If you've stepped foot into a gift shop at the beach, you have very likely seen these belts. Leather Man Ltd., the same company that manufactures Eliza B., offers these leather and canvas embroidered belts for an affordable $35., and the entire site is 20% off until December 19. You can custom design an option from the many different embroidered motifs they offer, and you also get to pick the canvas color.<br />
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7. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000AK2LKW/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000AK2LKW&linkCode=as2&tag=savvyounsome-20" target="_blank">Crockpot</a> - Three of the four guys that live in the boy's house have their own crockpot, and the boy loves "crocking", especially in the winter. It's definitely one of the easiest ways for a guy to make sure he has meals for a week, and it might even prompt them to cook for you!<br />
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8. <a href="http://www.sprestondesigns.com/minimalist-ballparks/" target="_blank">Minimalist Ballparks Art Prints</a> - This minimalist art print by S. Preston that gives a nod to the Washington Nationals is also on the boy's list this year. S. Preston's series of prints that feature baseball stadiums around the country were featured on Deadspin and in Sports Illustrated (where the boy first saw them), and are pretty reasonably priced. $25 will buy you an 8.5" x 11", but if you feel like splurging, you can buy a 24" x 30" for $175. If you want one, order it today to get it by Christmas!<br />
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9. <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0316154709/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0316154709&linkCode=as2&tag=savvyounsome-20" target="_blank">Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls</a></i> - David Sedaris always delivers hilarious books, and his latest collection of essays is sure to be great. It seems that our family always lays around naps/rests after opening Christmas gifts, so it's nice to have a book to read or thumb through during that time.<br />
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10. <a href="http://rstyle.me/n/dydumsd8n" target="_blank">USB Phone Charger</a> - When I first saw these on-the-go phone chargers, I thought they were a little silly. And then I found myself tailgating at a concert or working the Lucketts Spring Market and wishing I had one to give my phone some extra juice. This would be especially practical for someone who loves hiking and camping (even without cell service, some of those apps come in handy), or your frequent tailgater. They're not exactly something he probably wants to carry around in his pocket, so don't be surprised if it ends up in your purse (am I the only person that happens to?).<br />
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11. <a href="http://rstyle.me/n/cwt6nsd8n" target="_blank">Mason Jar Shaker</a> - Good ol' boys and hipster dudes alike will appreciate the vintage twist on this classic bar tool offered up by West Elm for $29.<br />
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<br />Sarah Bridger Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15546577517528035613noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4103183748634381844.post-14320442960264513602013-12-16T12:11:00.002-05:002013-12-16T12:11:36.769-05:00Georgetown Jingle 2013Since 2006, local designers have worked together to produce the Georgetown Jingle, an event which auctions off Christmas trees created by local designers to raise money for the Pediatric Hematology, Oncology, Blood and Marrow Transplantation Program at Georgetown University Hospital. The 2013 Georgetown Jingle trees have been on display at the Four Seasons in Georgetown since November 27, and last night they were sold at an auction during the 2013 Georgetown Jingle Gala event.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption">Another amazing tree by Corcoran Students Whitney Osterhout + Ramzah Khan</td></tr>
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I learned of the Georgetown Jingle through the student ASID chapter at the Corcoran last year. Corcoran students participate in the Jingle by building a tree, and in the past the student tree has been extremely popular. I follow the Jingle on facebook and saw last week that they needed volunteers to help out with some last minute stuff over the weekend. Now that classes are over and I actually have time to do things at my leisure on the weekends, I sent an email volunteering to help out. Selfishly, I also wanted to head over to Georgetown and check out the trees.<br />
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Saturday I spent a couple hours stuffing gift bags for the event, along with a bunch of other volunteers from Junior League of Washington and a sorority at GW...kind of awkward that I was the only person to show up unaffiliated, but whatever, I had a good time. After I was done volunteering, I headed over to the lobby of the Four Seasons and checked out the trees.<br />
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Some designers did traditional trees, basically decorating regular green artificial trees with unusual ornaments. Others like to think outside of the box a little and reinterpret the traditional Christmas tree. My favorites trees were those that weren't constructed like a traditional artificial tree, which is also the type of thing the Corcoran students do each year.<br />
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I snapped some pictures of my favorites with my iPhone and tried to get the detail since I hadn't seen a ton of pictures of them online. Hopefully one day I'll get to participate in the event!<br />
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Darlene Molnar's tree was built from cones of paper and lit from the inside. It's inspired by the chocolate truffles that her partner vendor makes and sells in their restaurant. We can call this little area the Corcoran floor since Darlene is a Corcoran alum and professor. <br />
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I really appreciated the simplicity of Michael Roberson's design, but the coolest part about it is that it's constructed of your generic, builder-grade, brass chandelier.
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Camille Saum, who has done the Jingle previously and had a room in the 2013 DC Design House, did a traditional tree packed with color and texture. It was beautifully done, but I scoffed at it a little because was a traditional tree. And then I got closer to it. I've seen a lot of...interesting..DIY can-related Christmas decorations (Mom - Tuna can angel? Diehl family - crushed can santa care of Pack 'O Fun magazine?), but these ornaments made from soda cans were amazing. Seriously, I want her to sell them, unattached from the tree.</div>
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Bill Enright, a floral event designer, created this silvery "Gatsby" tree, and I found myself completely drawn to it. I love the way the light plays on the silver and peeks out through the white feathers. This is also a great demonstration that all artificial trees are not created equal. Check out the number of lights on this tree. Most artificial trees have about half as many lights, and this tree would look very different if that were the case. </div>
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I wish I had been able to snap a full picture of Elizabeth Krial's tree, but there was a group of people sitting by it so I didn't want to be obtrusive. Instead I tried to get a close up of the tree-topper made of book pages. We've seen a lot of things made out of rolled book pages lately, but I definitely haven't seen that trend in this form. </div>
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If you want to see larger pictures and full descriptions of each tree, check out the <a href="http://dcbydesignblog.com/events/georgetown-jingle-2/" target="_blank">Georgetown Jingle feature on DC by Design</a>. </div>
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<br />Sarah Bridger Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15546577517528035613noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4103183748634381844.post-44457204270119672432013-12-03T10:13:00.001-05:002014-03-03T14:29:41.379-05:00Being Sick on Vacation and Streamlining My ObligationsYou guys. I mentioned yesterday that I was quite sick during the beginning of my trip to Florida last week, but that doesn't even begin to describe how awful it was. I seriously don't ever remember being that miserably sick for such an extended period in my life.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">When my mom saw this picture on Facebook her reaction was "Oh honey, I can tell you don't feel well in this picture." Ouch!</td></tr>
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I started feeling bad at the beginning of the week but figured I had caught whatever cold was going around the boy's house. Wednesday I woke up with such a bad headache that I took my first sick day since I started at Arlington Home Interiors in April. I dragged myself to school and left early because I felt so awful, went home and promptly fell asleep at 6:30 pm. The next morning I woke up feeling worse, and to make things more painful, it seemed that none of my over-the-counter drugs were helping. My usual go-to for headaches, Ibuprofen, was useless. Finally I found that Exedrin worked a little bit. Since I was leaving in the morning for Florida, I went to the doctor to see if they could figure out my ailment and give me something, <i>anything</i>, to make me feel better.<br />
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The LPN I saw diagnosed me with a sinus infection and gave me meds. I went to bed hoping I'd start to feel better, but instead I was up almost hourly throwing up (should have warned you that this is a gross story). Friday around 5:00 am I called Kyle and told him I wasn't sure I was going to make our flight to Florida, but by some miracle I mustered the strength to shower and get myself out the door. I felt so miserable by the time we got to the airport that the first thing I did when we arrived was puke in a trashcan. Like a small child. I seriously don't think I've done that since I was about eight. Once we made it through airport security and to our gate, I basically just sat at a table and cried while the boy tried his best to get me to eat something so that I could take some more Exedrin to feel better. Half of a smoothie seemed to do the trick, and I was feeling well enough to eat a whole bagel (whoa craziness) by the time we touched down to catch our connecting flight in Atlanta.<br />
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At some point on our drive from the airport to our hotel in Rosemary Beach, the Exedrin started to wear off and I went back to the dark place. I got sick again right before we got to the hotel (so close!), and after not-so-discretely disposing of that in the fancy hotel lobby trashcan, I took another Exedrin, and laid down for a quick nap so that I could hopefully have a little time to feel better before the Friday night pre-wedding festivities. When I think about how terrible I felt at points on Friday, I'm amazed that I was lucky enough to rally for anything that evening, let alone a nice cocktail party (sans-alcohol for me) involving a LBD and heals. As I was getting ready for the cocktail party the boy noticed a small rash running along the right side of my back around to my ribs. I didn't think much of it--probably connected to my mystery sickness, but nothing major.<br />
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Friday night into Saturday morning I was again in excruciating pain. I woke up and puked throughout the night and the headache I had was unrelenting. By the time the sun came up Saturday morning I knew I needed help. The sinus meds weren't helping at all, and if anything I felt worse than I did when I walked into the doctor's office on Thursday. Instead of walking around Rosemary Beach and enjoying the town on Saturday morning, the boy and I headed to an urgent care clinic in Panama City Beach.<br />
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By the time the doctor saw me I was starting to feel better thanks to my good ol' Exedrin. I told her how I had had a miserable headache for five days, that I felt achey, nauseous, and that nothing seemed to be helping. And oh yeah, this weird rash popped up on my back yesterday. That little rash that I thought nothing of was the key to my misery. The second she saw it, I had my diagnosis. "Those are definitely shingles," she said.<br />
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Shingles?! What am I, 65?! A little blood work and one trip to Publix later, I had my prescription painkiller, nausea meds, and the precious anti-viral meds that were going to make me feel so much better by the next day. I ended up missing the wedding ceremony of our friends, but I managed to make it to the reception.<br />
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Shingles is a re-activation of the chickenpox virus that causes deep nerve pain and a myriad of other symptoms, including the notable shingles rash that tends to run in a line around one side of your mid-section, and the migraine and nausea that I was experiencing. Shingles are pretty uncommon amongst young people, and they only emerge when your immune system is weakened for some reason. The lab looked at my blood work to make sure I didn't have something else lurking like Lyme disease that was weakening my immune system, but everything came back clean. So this is where the scary reality comes in: I probably got shingles because of the insanely high stress levels I've experienced lately.<br />
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When I think about it objectively, my life is no more chaotic than a lot of other people's lives, and I only have myself to worry about as opposed to a whole family. So this was partly my body's way of saying I best get my anxiety level in check. But natural anxiety levels aside, this is my own fault. I have been operating under a "Say yes and figure it out later" mentality for the past six months, and it finally caught up with me. With working my day job, completing my homework, picking, painting, and setting up my space at the barn, and trying to find time to spend with friends and loved ones, I have been a mess. I thought I could handle it, but having my decisions actually affect my health in such an obvious, painful way was a real wake up call for me. I can't believe I made myself that miserably sick and nearly ruined part of what was supposed to be a nice vacation for the boy and me. I can't keep this up. Something has to go.<br />
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Friends, I'm sad to announce that this weekend's December sale at Sweet Clover is going to be my last. My job is a must and school is a must, but the barn is the one thing on my list that isn't a necessity. As much as I love picking and working on furniture, knowing that I need to get a great dresser within the next week so that I can put something in the barn Saturday, even though I have class every night but Friday-Sunday and a project due Monday, stresses me out <i>so much</i>. Leaving the barn after a bad month where I hardly even made rent while living off my severely cut salary that I took to get a job in interior design stresses me out <i>so much</i>. Not ever having an entire weekend to dedicate to chores and schoolwork stresses me out <i>so much</i>. The reality is that I don't make much money at the barn, and that I can put lots of work into something with no guarantee that I'll see any profit from it--in fact, the only guarantee is that I'll spend money doing it. This is not a shock to me, I knew it going in, but I guess I didn't realize how much of a weight it would be on my shoulders.<br />
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Please please please know that this is by no means a knock against Sweet Clover. It is has wonderful business owners who work their tails off for the business and it's full of amazing stuff created and curated by very talented vendors. It's just that the nature of the handmade marketplace is that there's a lot of investment of time and money up front and a lot of uncertainty in the sales and profit. That's a little different than selling a service like interior design, where you have more certainty that you'll be paid for your time and your profit doesn't hinge upon you investing $X up front to buy and resell something.<br />
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If I had more time and if the boy and I had weekends to spend out in places like West Virginia and Pennsylvania I would expand my picking efforts and put another 6 months into this effort, but my reality is that I just can't. When I look at my various business opportunities, I realize that given my busy schedule and my limited resources, I'm probably wiser to provide a service than to try to buy and resell stuff. <a href="http://missmustardseed.com/2012/12/getting-off-the-merry-go-round/" target="_blank">I'm not the first person</a> to face this kind of a decision.<br />
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When I first realized I needed to let go of my space at Sweet Clover and perhaps my furniture refinishing obsession altogether, I was really bummed. I don't like to admit that I can't handle everything because I know there are so many intelligent women far more organized than I am who handle ten times what I do. But this is what will work for me, and the more I think about it, the more relieved I am. I can get off this merry-go-round of trying to find great stuff and painting it and hauling it and hoping and praying someone will buy it. I am ready to stop hoarding craft supplies and fabric and materials just incase I need something for the barn. I am ready to organize the wayward "stack" of magazines cascading from the side of my bed and to have clean underwear before I'm forced to wear my least favorite pair and to get my life in order.<br />
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The thing I'll miss most about being part of the Sweet Clover market is the very reason I got into it to begin with--the community. I have met great people there and I will miss seeing them on a regular basis and collaborating with them to make the business great. I will definitely keep in touch with those people and continue to shop at Sweet Clover, and I hope you will too!<br />
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Speaking of shopping, the good news for you is that my stuff will be on sale this weekend in an effort to get rid of as much of it as possible, so come get something if you like it! All the stuff in my booth with a red bow on it is on sale, and I've marked down lots of accessories too. Many other items will be on sale this weekend throughout the barn in an effort to clear out things that have been sitting for a couple months and make way for fresh, new pieces for the January sale, so it's a great time to come snag a deal. Hope to see you there!Sarah Bridger Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15546577517528035613noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4103183748634381844.post-41903762430522718232013-12-02T10:48:00.002-05:002013-12-02T10:48:19.734-05:00Thanksgiving Vacation, Florida Style<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!<br />
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As you may have noticed if you follow me on <a href="http://instagram.com/savvyyoungsomething" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, the boy and I spent last week in Florida. On the Friday before Thanksgiving we flew down to Ft. Walton Beach in the Florida panhandle and drove to Rosemary Beach to celebrate the wedding of a couple friends. We splurged a bit and stayed at <a href="http://www.thepearlrb.com/" target="_blank">The Pearl</a>, the luxury boutique hotel where the bride and groom has reserved a room block. It was AWESOME. We don't get to travel much, and when we do it's always on a budget. So when we walked into a hotel where they immediately offered us champagne and gave us a tour of the facilities while the valet parked our car and the bellman took our belongings upstairs made us feel slightly like Kevin McAllister in Home Alone 2. <i>Make it three, I'm not driving.</i> I was looking so grungy after our six hour indirect flight and drive to the hotel that I seriously expected them to say, "I'm sorry, I think the budget motel you're looking for is down the street." Thankfully, they didn't.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Turn down service comes with fresh baked cookies, naturally.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The bathroom had a TV in the mirror and the boy was OBSESSED with it.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Rosemary Beach town square was all lit up and gorgeous.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My hair looks like shiznit in this picture which is a total result of being so sick that I slept as long as possible and basically stuck my hair in a damp pony for the wedding. NOT a proud moment.</td></tr>
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I was actually quite sick for the beginning of the trip, so unfortunately I could hardly enjoy our plush king bed and the wonderful little shops and restaurants at our doorstep (more on that sickness to come later). I also struggled through the wedding reception and had about one glass of champagne all weekend. Lucky for me, I started to feel much better in time for us to drive from Rosemary down to Clearwater on Sunday, where we spent the rest of the week with the boy's parents who live down there during part of the year.<br />
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It was the first Thanksgiving I've ever spent away from my family which made me sad, but I was happy that the boy and I could spend our first real holiday together. After spending countless Thanksgivings in Syracuse with family I'm used to seeing my first snow over Thanksgiving, so it felt kind of funny eating turkey with a palm tree right outside our door. Although considering the kind of weather the rest of the east coast was getting over the holiday, I'm happy I was able to stay warm(ish) and dry in Florida.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the view from the boy's grandma's apartment in a retirement community. Not bad, eh?</td></tr>
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Despite being sick and enjoying unseasonably cold weather in Florida, I had a great time. Now I'm home and kicking it into high gear so that I can get all my grad school projects finished in the next two weeks. Wish me luck!Sarah Bridger Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15546577517528035613noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4103183748634381844.post-19306452864364886552013-11-15T09:17:00.002-05:002013-11-15T09:30:10.342-05:00Barn Sale This WeekendHi friends! If you haven't seen already on my <a href="http://www.facebook.com/SavvyYoungSomething" target="_blank">facebook page</a>, the <a href="http://www.sweetcloverbarn.com/" target="_blank">Sweet Clover Vintage Market</a> is open today - Sunday, 10am - 5pm!<br />
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I really love all the pieces in my space right now, even though I know that they don't necessarily all quite fit together. That's OK...they're all representative of my personal style, which I'll tell you a bit more about next week.<br />
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I styled this really cool navy blue campaign chest as a sexy mid-century bar, complete with vintage whiskey bottles, champagne glasses with gold trim, brass swans and a shiny trophy-style champagne bucket. </div>
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This Duck Egg blue dresser is actually quite old. You can tell because it has pin and crescent drawer joinery, a style that was used as an alternative to hand-cut dovetails before dovetailed joinery was mechanized. It likely dates to the late 1800s, and I bought it from someone who pulled it out of the original owner's estate in New Hampshire. I'm pretty sure the hardware isn't original, but I kind of like the way that it breaks the lines down the front of the drawers. </div>
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I LOVE coming across dressers like this because they always look amazing painted. I try to be very careful not to put the paint on too thick in the details so that they stand out. I painted this one ASCP Paris Grey, which looks especially cool since this piece comes with a mirror and it amplifies the silver mirrored effect beautifully.<br />
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<a href="http://primitiveandproper.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Cassie</a> pulled a bunch of prints from my space to decorate the Cottage behind the barn, which is decorated in a "Bohemian Christmas" theme for this month's sale. It showcases an assortment of architectural prints, a couple paint-by-numbers landscapes, and a needlepoint peacock. I try to have an assortment of artwork at each sale since gallery walls are one of my favorite ways to make a space feel collected and lived-in. </div>
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My little herringbone table has gone completely retro. I have refrigerator boxes, vintage Nestle promotional gift boxes, and a junior marksman handbook. I'm not really much into guns and none of my immediate family hunts, but I have an appreciation for this little book that teaches children how to use their guns safely, namely by not pointing and shooting your gun at other people. Let's just say that if Ralphie had this little book, his mom might not have been so worried that he'd shoot his eye out.<br />
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Vintage Shiny Brite in original boxes...**swoon**. This is the Christmas Attic employee in me coming out in full color. I get so excited when I find vintage Christmas goods at estate sales. A quick education in Shiny Brite: Prior to World War II, a significant portion of glass in the US was imported from Europe, especially hand-blown ornaments. During the War, a lot of those glass imports came to a halt so American manufacturers were quick to fill the void. Shiny Brite was one of those brands that emerged at that point in time. It continued to be the most popular blown glass ornament manufacturer in the US through the rest of the 1940s and 1950s. Christopher Radko bought the rights to the Shiny Brite name in more recent years, so you can still buy fun reproductions at places like The Christmas Attic, but you can't beat the old stuff. Vintage American-made ornament goodness! </div>
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This little book stand has come in handy for displaying my architectural prints and other knick-knacks. I have no clue where it came from, but I imagine it in a Sunday school classroom for some reason.<br />
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I gave my rattan lamps a bit of an upgrade with a fresh coat of gloss black paint and new shades. I have a pair of them if you're interested!</div>
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I bought this chair a while ago with the intention of keeping it for myself, but I just don't have a place for it. When you lift the seat off you can see that it originally had a hand-caned, which leads me to believe that it's pretty old. It also makes me miss my dear Grandpa quite a bit (explanation <a href="http://savvyyoungsomething.blogspot.com/2012/03/un-caned-chair.html" target="_blank">here</a>). I thought about reupholstering it, but I think I like the needlepoint seat for now. It would add a hand-made, aged look to an eclectic living room.<br />
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This pretty gold mirror would also make a great tray for greenery and mercury glass in the center of your Thanksgiving table!<br />
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Vintage Christmas bulbs, 3 large or 4 small for $2. I love all the colors. I also have a few strands of vintage lights that work and are so fun and colorful. Just be careful, those bulbs get hot!<br />
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Can you believe I found this cool, painted pallet on the side of the road near my house? It was perfect for an ornament Christmas tree.<br />
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The bottom table is a vintage Lane table with two felt-lined drawers. I am such a sucker for brass hardware. And you can see my grey and gold love in both my paper pinwheels which can be used as ornaments or gift tags, and my French Linen table with gold accents.<br />
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I'll be at the barn on Sunday. Definitely come say hi if you're there!!</div>
Sarah Bridger Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15546577517528035613noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4103183748634381844.post-61757173763739564982013-10-28T10:55:00.000-04:002013-10-28T11:07:38.824-04:00Decorating for Christmas a Week before HalloweenThis weekend, November 1 -3 is the Holiday Market at the Sweet Clover Barn. It coincides with the Holiday Market at Chartreuse & Co. (another awesome barn a few miles down the road), and I know a bunch of places are having holiday open houses this weekend too. It seems early, but for a place that will only be open a handful of times before Christmas, we want to give you as much time as possible to prepare for the holiday season!<br />
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The Christmas season starting early is no foreign concept for me. Even though I enjoyed Halloween candy as a kid, I was never super into a holiday that centered around scary stuff--to this day I'm not a fan of scary movies and you definitely won't catch me at a haunted house. I was known to play a Christmas song or two on a rainy day in September when I was "in the mood" and always kind of saw Halloween as a hurdle to clear so I could get into the warmth and coziness of the Thanksgiving - Christmas - New Years season. When I started working at the Christmas Attic when I was 14, I learned very quickly that in the (Christmas) retail world, you hit the ground running November 1st.<br />
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The boy was out of town this weekend when most of the Halloween celebrations were happenin' around town, so I took it as an opportunity to forego celebrations altogether, save some money by staying in, and focus on getting stuff together for my space at Sweet Clover.<br />
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Over the past few months I've hit tons of estate sales, which means I have a whole host of cool "smalls" in my space right now. I hit the jackpot on architectural prints, which are always a great addition to an eclectic gallery wall or leaning against a bookcase. As for my Christmas decorating, I picked up cool Christmas decor when I saw it, but I mostly focused on buying up lots of vintage ornaments and vintage C7 and C9 bulbs. I love decorating with bulbs and ornaments because you can scatter them all over your house in little bowls, on cake plates, and in cloches and feel Christmassy without the decor being too in your face.<br />
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I think my favorite part of the space is the tree I made out of ornaments on a palette that I picked up on the side of the road. The palette isn't for sale since I think it'll be useful in displaying art and such in other seasons, but all the ornaments are available for $1 each. You can check out more pictures of the space on my<a href="https://www.facebook.com/SavvyYoungSomething" target="_blank"> facebook page</a>.<br />
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You can tell it was dark by the time I finished up and shot photos. I stayed wayyyy longer than I planned but I'm pretty happy with the way the space turned out. Hope to see you there this weekend! We'll be open 10am - 5pm Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Check out the <a href="http://www.sweetcloverbarn.com/" target="_blank">Sweet Clover website</a> for more information and directions.Sarah Bridger Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15546577517528035613noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4103183748634381844.post-60904833493638330592013-09-24T17:33:00.004-04:002013-09-25T11:18:16.183-04:00Sweet Clover Fall Sales and Special Blogger EventPlease forgive me if you're sick of the <a href="http://www.sweetcloverbarn.com/" target="_blank">Sweet Clover</a> posts...with school in full swing, I've hardly had time to do any projects except those that end up at the barn. But I am working on something for our house that I hope to finish and share with you sooner than later.<br />
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For now, here's another Sweet Clover update. First, we're having a couple events this fall, which means we'll be open more! Here are the sale dates through December:<br />
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<li>October 5 - Special event, details below. </li>
<li>October 18-20</li>
<li>November 1-3</li>
<li>November 15-17</li>
<li>December 6-8</li>
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On October 5, Sweet Clover is sponsoring the Hometalk Halloween Hunt, a special blogger barn tour presented in partnership with <a href="http://www.hometalk.com/" target="_blank">Hometalk</a>. The event features the Sweet Clover Barn, as well as three other local vintage markets: <a href="http://chartreuseandco.com/" target="_blank">Chartreuse & Co.</a>, <a href="http://onawhimantiques.com/" target="_blank">On a Whim</a>, and the <a href="http://www.luckettstore.com/" target="_blank">Old Lucketts Store</a>. </div>
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You'll start your day at Sweet Clover, where we'll be serving a light breakfast, and Hometalk will be giving out tote bags. From there, you'll get your map, which will also feature many local shops and restaurants if you want to extend your trip. <a href="http://thegraphicsfairy.com/" target="_blank">Karen, the Graphics Fairy</a> will be around to meet and chat with you (location TBD).</div>
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Here's the special blogger challenge:</div>
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Buy something, <i>anything</i>, from one of the four Hunt locations, take it home, do something fun and creative with it, and blog about it. Then, on October 23, link your blog post to the The Hometalk Halloween Haunt Link Party on Cassie's blog, <a href="http://primitiveandproper.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Primitive and Proper</a>. The Sweet Clover team will choose the best project and that blogger will win a package of vintage and handmade goodies from the Sweet Clover vendors! Love me a good blogging contest. </div>
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Sweet Clover will be open from 9am - 5pm that day, and <b>you certainly don't have to be a blogger</b> to come by and shop. The more, the merrier! If you plan to come, we encourage you to <a href="http://blogspot.us7.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=9210adbd73165e5d4348a5407&id=3baca314a3&se=blog_reg&tk=fw7ls9" target="_blank">RSVP</a> so that we have an idea of how much breakfast and how many totes we need to supply. </div>
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Many of the vendors will be around on Saturday to meet and chat with you. I would LOVE to be there, but I will probably be working one of my multiple jobs that day. I have a little plan to make sure you know which space is mine. </div>
Sarah Bridger Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15546577517528035613noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4103183748634381844.post-40490999244368923312013-09-18T09:27:00.001-04:002013-09-18T09:27:22.362-04:00September Sweet Clover Barn Sale PreviewHi friends! I've been crazy busy with school and work lately, but I wanted to stop in and show you a few pictures of my space in the <a href="http://www.sweetcloverbarn.com/" target="_blank">Sweet Clover Barn</a> in Frederick, Maryland. The Barn will be open this weekend and will feature many new vendors in the newly renovated upstairs portion of the barn. I won't make it to the sale this month but I definitely encourage you go check it out!<br />
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The barn will be open Friday - Sunday, 10am - 5pm. Happy treasure hunting!!</div>
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<br />Sarah Bridger Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15546577517528035613noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4103183748634381844.post-13034966933968930072013-08-22T09:46:00.000-04:002013-08-22T09:46:17.606-04:00New School Year, New SchoolThis time last year I was <a href="http://savvyyoungsomething.blogspot.com/2012/08/interior-design-graduate-school.html" target="_blank">attending orientation and preparing</a> for my plunge into Interior Design school at the Corcoran College of Art + Design. The last year was challenging, but I am SO happy I decided to make the transition. A year later, I really feel like I'm on the path to do something that makes me totally happy and will continue to provide me opportunities to grow.<br />
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Even though the late nights working on projects and the many hours I still had to spend working my day job were stressful at times, no busy schedule can stress me out like money stresses me out. Deciding to go to the Corcoran, cut back my consulting job to 30 hours/week, and ultimately take a lower paying position as a design assistant weren't exactly putting me in the "financially secure" column.<br />
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When I decided to attend the Corcoran last summer, I did it mostly because I liked that the faculty was largely made up of adjunct professors who were out in the field running their own businesses or working for local design and architecture firms. If I was going to completely diverge from my career path, I wanted as many connections as possible so I could easily find a job when I graduated. And there was also the fact that going to the Corcoran and getting a fancy arts degree sounded really cool.<br />
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I enjoyed the Corcoran, I made good friends there, got involved in the student chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) and the U.S. Green Building Council, and had some great professors who do amazing work in DC. But when <a href="http://savvyyoungsomething.blogspot.com/2013/07/life-updates-new-ish-jobs.html" target="_blank">I got my job</a> at Arlington Home Interiors, started working with Kelly at Stylish Patina, and <a href="http://savvyyoungsomething.blogspot.com/2013/06/sweet-clover-vintage-barn-sale-this.html" target="_blank">took on my space in the Sweet Clover Barn</a>, I realized that I had completely underestimated my own ability to connect with people in my field. I also realized that I have no real intention of going to work for the architecture or design equivalent of the company I previously worked for. I like working in small businesses and owning a business because I get so much satisfaction building something for myself or helping those that I know personally build something.<br />
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Starting a business is expensive, and owning one can be pretty risky. I started looking at how fast I was wracking up debt in student loans and realized that the very decision I made to give myself freedom to pursue a new profession might also be the decision that would prevent me from doing so in the way that would make me happiest. Being saddled with student loans isn't exactly freeing, and I knew I needed to re-evaluate my decision.<br />
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It crossed my mind once or twice to drop out of school altogether, since you don't need a degree to do residential decorating in Virginia. I don't want to do that because there are so many opportunities to use design in ways that I haven't been exposed to, and I want to continue my education so that I can learn more about things like healthcare design and aging in place. Instead, I made the difficult decision to transfer to Marymount University's graduate interior design program. Their program is great and I know a few people who graduated from their undergrad program and were very happy there. After running the numbers, I determined that it would save me over $20,000 (!!!), and that doesn't include the fact that it's closer to my house and that parking is about half the price. Since I had already been admitted to the program the year before, it was just a matter of filing some paperwork and meeting with the department chair.<br />
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I'm going to miss the Corcoran and the friends I made there a lot, but I'm also confident that I will make new friends at Marymount, and I might even be able to take some of what I learned from my student involvement at the Corcoran to Marymount's program. I feel a little sheepish because this is actually the second time I will be a transfer student (I transferred into UVA in undergrad), so that means I will have attended four schools to get two degrees. But it would also be quite silly of me to stay at the Corcoran just because I don't want to transfer again. I'm already sleeping better knowing I'm saving that much money. Classes start next week--wish me luck!<br />
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<br />Sarah Bridger Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15546577517528035613noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4103183748634381844.post-14193260154434845572013-08-14T09:56:00.000-04:002013-08-14T09:56:32.584-04:00Fresh Air, Clear MindCommitting to be part of the <a href="http://www.sweetcloverbarn.com/" target="_blank">Sweet Clover Barn Sale</a> means I often take two-to-three trips up to Frederick, Maryland every month from my house in Falls Church, Virginia. It's about and hour away without any traffic. The thought of that is a little daunting, but as I get closer and closer to the barn, I always get happier and happier.<br />
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There's this stretch of I-270 as you approach Frederick where you crest a hill and the mountains (mountains? hills?) are right there in front of you. Every time I see those mountains I take a deep breath and smile.<br />
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As I near the barn, the views get better. The very last stretch of the trip involves winding through an industrial park but don't let that mislead you. Behind those buildings is a gorgeous view of <a href="http://bluerainstallions.com/index.html" target="_blank">Springdale Farm</a>, the property the Sweet Clover barn sits on. And check out those mountains off in the distance.<br />
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I grew up in the full-fledged suburbs and the only camping I ever did was when I was a Girl Scout. Aside from wandering around the creeks near my house with the kids in my neighborhood, I wasn't so much of an outdoorsy girl. Although my upbringing was definitely more city than country, my dad was raised in a fairly rural area, and I always loved going up to New York to visit my grandparents and play in the creek by their house among other things.<br />
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There's something I love about being out in the country, especially out near the Appalachians where you can see the green rolling hills and the blue mountains in the distance. I felt the same way when I was in college in Charlottesville (check out some of the views there in <a href="http://savvyyoungsomething.blogspot.com/2012/10/charlottesville-weekend.html" target="_blank">this post</a>). I love the fresh air, the animals, and the space to explore. I'm in constant awe of how beautiful these areas are.<br />
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Part of what makes selling at the Sweet Clover Barn Sale so much fun, and what makes visiting the many other barn sales and antique stores around the area so much fun, is the sense of adventure that comes from treasure hunting out in the country. Plus, there's a ton to do if you want to make a day of it, and I plan to write another post about it all soon (if you have any suggestions, definitely let me know!). It's not always easy to make the trip up to Frederick from the DC area, but I highly recommend that you think of it as an adventure, not just a regular shopping trip. Imagine how gorgeous this view will be in the fall!<br />
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<br />Sarah Bridger Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15546577517528035613noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4103183748634381844.post-51482028310669661912013-08-14T09:42:00.002-04:002013-08-16T10:13:08.385-04:00August Aqua Dresser<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Last month I did a <a href="http://savvyyoungsomething.blogspot.com/2013/07/duck-egg-blue-dresser.html" target="_blank">pretty dresser with a mirror</a> in ASCP Duck Egg blue and absolutely loved how it turned out. Something about aqua over dark wood is just gorgeous when the wood peaks through a little bit, and I'm noticing that Duck Egg has a really nice depth to it.<br />
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Given that one of my favorite colors is aqua and my space at Sweet Clover is full of bright colors, I couldn't help but do another one this month. Aqua in a room is kind of like a great pair of blue jeans -- it looks good with just about any other color and works with many different styles and ages.<br />
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To paint this piece, I removed the hardware and drawers and gave the entire piece two coats of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Duck Egg blue. I tried to go light on the areas on the side of the piece with the carved detail because those are especially nice when the wood shows through. Once the paint dried, I went over it with a high grit Ultraflex softback sanding sponge to a smooth finish all over the piece. I am in love with these sanding sponges because they seem to be finer than any of the 3M superfine sanding sponges at Home Depot, and they prepare your piece so that it takes wax or poly much better. I also use the sanding sponge to pull off some of the paint over the edges and the carved areas. The sanding sponges are great for that because they pull off paint but they generally don't remove the finish on the wood, which means you still get that beautiful dark color peeking through instead of the natural wood. The Ultraflex sanding sponges are available at <a href="http://www.stylishpatina.com/theshop" target="_blank">Stylish Patina</a> if you're interested in picking a few up!<br />
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After sanding, I gave the entire piece a coat of Annie Sloan Clear Wax and buffed it out. Then I reattached the hardware.<br />
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This dresser is REALLY solid. The frame and drawers are solid wood, and there are drawer guards in between each drawer. It was made by Kindel Furniture Company, which still produces high end historic replicas of furniture today. According to the information I could find about the style of the stamp on the inside of a drawer, it was made somewhere between 1930 and 1950.<br />
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I wish I had taken a better picture of the original hardware because it's seriously cool. The large metal knobs have a flower motif on them. Even though the detail of the hardware probably would've looked cool painted, I couldn't bare to paint it.<br />
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This piece will be available during the August <a href="http://www.sweetcloverbarn.com/" target="_blank">Sweet Clover Barn Sale</a>, Friday - Sunday, August 16-18, 10:00 am - 5:00 pm. Hope to see you there!<br />
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Sharing at: <a href="http://missmustardseed.com/" target="_blank">Miss Mustard Seed</a>, <a href="http://www.elizabethandco.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Elizabeth & Co.</a>,Sarah Bridger Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15546577517528035613noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4103183748634381844.post-78201556809497887512013-08-12T10:00:00.000-04:002013-08-16T10:13:17.691-04:00Mint and Brass TableI'm a sucker for furniture with great brass hardware, so when my mom found this table with great brass pulls and caps on craigslist, I eagerly snatched it up. It sat in my living room for a bit while I debated what color to paint it.<br />
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I even asked everyone's opinion on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=535621003172350&set=a.472413712826413.1073741826.256241581110295&type=1&theater" target="_blank">Facebook</a> and got a few votes for emerald. Loving the green and gold combination, I decided to mix my own emerald green ASCP using the combination I used on my <a href="http://savvyyoungsomething.blogspot.com/2013/07/chairs-and-more-chairs.html" target="_blank">Eastlake</a> table. My original mix was Antibes, Florence, and Aubusson, but I didn't have much Florence, but I figured that Antibes and Aubusson would do basically the same thing. Unfortunately it turned out much smokier than I intended, so I decided to go a different direction and make a mint by adding some Pure White and Provence. It was a happy mistake because I absolutely love the way the mint and brass turned out, and I think it works better in my space than emerald green does anyway. <br />
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This table will be available at the Sweet Clover Barn Sale this weekend, August 16-18.<br />
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Sharing at: <a href="http://missmustardseed.com/" target="_blank">Miss Mustard Seed</a>, <a href="http://www.elizabethandco.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Elizabeth & Co.</a>Sarah Bridger Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15546577517528035613noreply@blogger.com6