Every Heard of C. Wonder?

It was brought to my attention that I misspelled fiend. My apologies, I’ll do better next time. Please note that I googled it before I put it in my title, so many others have misspelled it as well.

I was reading a post on a blog I follow, My Style Vita, and she mentioned a new store she just started frequenting, called C. Wonder. Have you guys every heard of it before? Am I just behind the times?

I clicked on the link and bam… #awesomeness!

Not only did I like the fashion items, but the home decor area was pretty impressive too.

Things I would have come home with:

Bamboo Nesting Bowls, Ikat Nesting Bowls, Tapered Lacquer Bowl,  Wheel Decorative Plate, Ikat Turtle Cylinder Ginger Jars (I want all three!), Foo Dogs, Colorblocked Paper Straw Tote, Initial Necklace, Saffiano Leather Double Wrap Super Skinny Belt … and the list could go on.. There are so many items I wish I could add to me cart! (This is my first time using a gallery for viewing, not sure how cooperative that is in a reader, give me some feedback!)

Currently all of their fall sale items are an additional 50% off with code FALLFIFTY.

What do you think about the nautical decorative plate? There are three different styles on the site, an anchor, a wheel, and a compass. Would these look good opposite of the anchor mirror (seen here) in the bathroom? I could mount 2. Thoughts? I’m not sure because they might be too dark and I’m thinking I need some color.

Anything you can’t live without on the C. Wonder site?

PS.. Funny story.. I wrote this post this morning. When I came home from work there was a stray dog in my yard. Being an A+ neighbor I greeted the dog and asked for his name and phone number. He showed me his collar, which was from C. Wonder. Long story short he ended up belonging to my new neighbor that just moved down from New York. Never heard of C. Wonder and I came into contact twice in one day.. #CRAZY!

Friday Favorites / 2

New set of Friday Favorites for you guys. Enjoy! Hope you all have a great weekend!

1. Book Collection from charliesnest on Etsy
2. Orlando from Hommemaker Instagrammed this amazing Blue Velvet Chair!
3. Tabitha Earrings from DahliaLynn on Etsy
4. Excursion Quilted Vest from J. Crew
5. Brass Letters Freestanding from gaugenyc on Etsy
6. Industrial Metal Parts Box from charliesnest on Etsy
7. Vintage 80’s Tall Black Leather Boots from JustusVintage on Etsy
8. Jacques Table, Gold from One Kings Lane
9. Delaney Haircalf Stacked Platform Pump from Ann Taylor
10. Everything In Its Place by David McLeod on Society6

Craigslist Fiend

I love furniture. It makes or breaks a room, a house even. It can be a little pricey. One day when I earn those big bucks, furniture is close to the top of my list, behind traveling the world and paying for my kid’s college. That being said, I need to find another career, being an engineer is not going to get me to the top of the food chain, not even close. Can I just dream about being Emily Henderson and buying all the furniture I want?

Snap out of it MB, let us talk about the present. Currently I try to find awesome furniture for my space on the cheap, usually using craigslist. This means used furniture that sometimes has a few defects and isn’t perfect, I view this as character. I try to stick with the 50+ year old furniture. I love thinking about all the stories the furniture could tell, that is, if the pieces could talk. I suffer from thinking of inanimate objects as people, please forgive me. This explains why I name my cars and become so attached to them. (I’m not the only one; Orlando from Hommemaker shares his suffering here.)

Back to the purpose of my post, I recently bought a new piece of furniture for my dining room. I had been looking for something with character that could store my kitchen overflow and keep the room bright. It is competing with an amazing yellow 1950’s diner table, so it needs to hold its own.  My walls are white and grey, so I needed something as close to white as possible so that it wouldn’t stand out and scream, “I am cream!” I searched long and hard. This included a lot of waiting for the perfect piece and the perfect price. I originally was looking for a vintage sideboard kind of like this from Etsy’s cbensten,

or this from Etsy’s paintedcottages.

But then I found this beauty.

The fact that this picture is taken in my dining room means it is no surprise that I bought it. (Please disregard my lack of decorating in the dining room, that is on the list of future projects.) I fell in love with the queen anne legs and the glass front. There is storage on each side of the door which means you can also hide some unsightly stuff. When I went to check out this piece I was the weirdo that borrowed one of the seller’s big red wine glasses to make sure it fit.

I have basic woodworking skills enough to restore simple furniture and I can paint a solid color on anything, but when it comes to a distressed polished look, not my cup of tea. Nick, the seller, was very enlightening when it comes to painting techniques. Painting at this level is definitely a science, a science that I hope to learn one day soon. He spent a half hour going through the process in detail, and I couldn’t get enough! When he was done I didn’t have the heart to talk him down on the price (which was a first). I could see the love and care he put into it and I almost wanted to overpay him (not really). I knew that paying his full asking price was still a steal for this piece. Nick has a blog of his own; you can check it out here.

Just like Etsy, Craigslist comes full circle; you buy some and you sell some.

This little guy was just posted by yours truly today, check it out here. It is a piece that held my TV and components at my old house. It is a little small at my new house and it screams, “I am cream!” It has a great teak top on it that just needs a little love.

You guys also craigslist feens? Found anything good lately?

PS.. If you went and checked out Emily Henderson’s One Kings Lane sale last week you saw brass antelope bookends that were identical to mine. $125! Crazy! (yea, I have the app on my dying cell phone.)

PSS.. Emily Henderson’s store is going to be an online store. She reveals this here. So, no amazing road trip in my future after all.

PTripleS… My darling Lucy sold that I mentioned here. She was amazing! I hope she is loved by her new owner.

Updates to Home Wish List Page

I’m still in the process of creating and branding my blog (bear with me). This is most visible when you click through my pages.

To eliminate one of those eye sores, I have put together a short wish list for my home.

I moved-in in June of this year so my house is very much a work in progress. I have very specific ideas for some areas, not a clue for others. My list below will live on my ‘Home Wish List‘ page. I’ll continue to update it as my house evolves so make sure to check it out periodically. Feel free to provide ideas and suggestions. Also, let me know if you stumble upon a great deal for any of my desired items.

Without further ado…

Curtains for the Living Room

I’m fully aware of the propensity (thanks dad) of curtains to transform a room, however I have never owned any. The main reason for this is that they are always the last thing on my list and I end up moving before I get around to finding the perfect curtains. My new house has a pretty wrought iron curtain rod already installed in the living room. The black rod against the light walls is like a eye magnetic that screams, “you really don’t have curtains?”

I need something that keeps the room bright. The curtains can be solid or patterned (already a lot of patterns though). Some texture would be nice. Maybe white linen? To boring?

(Disregard the bare walls and extra lamp, we’ll be addressing them later.)

Rug for the Foyer

I don’t think foyer is the right word. It is a small room you pass through to enter the bedrooms and bathroom. A hallway room? Whatever it is called, it needs a rug. My house was built when heaters in the floor were the norm. When the owners upgraded to central heat they chose to cover the hole in the floor with an unsightly peice of wood. It can be seen from the outside! Since I am a renter a rug is the only option (enlighten me if this is incorrect). Sadly the bad wood is not centered in my hallway room. This will be a challenge.

Industrial ‘M’ 

I bought this awesome industrial ‘h’ from an antique fair at the fairgrounds (Raleigh term for flee market). Since I am a sucker for initial pairing I want an ‘m’ to match. I want to hang them both in the corner of the living room, one on each wall. The ‘m’ needs to be big! The measurements of the ‘h’ are 5″ deep and 24″ square. An ‘m’ with some color might be nice.

Side Table for Big Leather Chair

I have this big leather chair in the corner. I would much rather prefer something with a little more character considering I have a three piece set of this leatherness. But since I don’t have any where to store any of these pieces and I won’t live here forever I don’t want to separate the set in case I sell the one piece I’ll need when I finally own a home. So, for now I have this big chair in the corner. This chair needs a side table to add some color and to look pretty. Might be nice if it was functional enough to put a glass and maybe a book on. What do you think of a ceramic garden stool? Do they make those tall enough to compete with a 30″ high armrest?  (Disregard the slop bucket I have here currently that holds dog toys.)

Awesome Industrial Light for my Office/Etsy Room

The office/Etsy room is the room of chaos. This room defines a mulipurpose room. There are many things accomplished sitting at this desk. What it needs is an awesome light to go on the desk. I’m half blind and need lots of light when I do things. Something amazing with character please!

Lots of White Picture Frames

I want to do a collage wall. I’m not sure which wall is going to be graced with this creation yet, but frames are a necessity. I need to start collecting now!

Shade for Lamp

I shared this awesome lamp with you that I got for free from my dad’s house. It needs a great shade to go on it. I have a modern arco lamp in my living room, so I thought maybe something that played on that shape, but I’ m open to suggestions.

Fabric for Stool

I need some awesome fabric for the stool I also got for free from my dad’s house. I think I am going to put it in front of my halltree that looks like a throne so bright fabric is essential and pattern is a must. Color options are navy blue, yellow, orange, red, or grey.

I think 8 things for today is plenty. I’ll be adding more on the Home Wish List page, don’t you worry.

Do you guys have anything on your home wish list you want me to keep my eyes open for?

PS.. You can check out the rest of the Charlotte trip instagram photos here.

Charlotte Trip

This weekend I visited the Queen City. I had a conference for work (nerdy engineer alert) so I decided to make a weekend out of it since I have some BFFs in Charlotte. We always end up with lots of photos however for some reason we never really seem to take pictures with us in them.

So below are the highlights via instagram complete with: a skyline, some amazing finds, the Festival in the Park, and some love for my office’s Charlotte location.

My trip isn’t over yet. I’ll be hanging out today and taking the train home tonight, so make sure to keep an eye on my instagram, @mymorningcoffeeblog. I’m super stoked about the train, I apologize in advance for the excessive photo sharing.

PS… What do you think of the white and blue canister with lid to go on the bathroom shelves?

PSS… I have a secret obsession with Hungry Howie’s Pizza. Did anyone know they have a food truck version?

PTripleS… I’m posting from my phone, so if things look a little different, I’m sorry!

Friday Favorites / 1

I wanted to have something that I do on a weekly basis. Kind of like the fiber of my blog, keeps it regular. I decided to go with ‘Friday Favorites.’ Every Friday I am going to provide you with a handful of my favorite items from the week. Let me know what you think. Here is attempt #1.

1. TOPSHOP ‘Cheetah’ Shirt
2. Design Darling {the boutique} Corrin Bracelet
3. Hay & Clara von Zweigbergk’s Kaleido Trays
4. estateelectic’s Vintage White Porcelain Elephant
5. Hindsvik’s Mid Century Glass Credenza
6. The Limited, Striped Split-V Blouse
7. mollymattin’s NORTH CAROLINA Digital Illustration of North Carolina State with Cities
8. yosalvovendo’s vintage Dart eagle mirror (Also known as Federalist Convex Bullseye Eagle Mirror, I know this is a replica, but check out the price!)
9. jennarosehandmade’s Yellow Honeycomb Bucket

Nautical Splurge

When I started Project #1: Beautification of Bathroom Shelves (here) I didn’t share with you my $100 budget. I knew that baskets were a little on the expensive side and I wanted my shelves to have some character. Sometimes character has a large price tag, so $100 was my bar.

I’ve already bought baskets for $36.32 (here, cheaper than I expected). My purchase today made staying within my budget almost impossible unless I obtain everything else for free. I might have cheap tendencies, but that probably isn’t going to happen.

So what did I buy?

AWESOME, right?

When I saw it on Etsy, I fell in love. Not with the price, but with the awesomeness it is going to bring to my bathroom! I bought it from a shop called Estate Eclectic. You can see more pictures of my new mirror here. That link doesn’t divulge how much I paid for it (but if you know how to see that once items are sold on Etsy, please fill me in!).

I actually discovered this beauty Tuesday night. By Wednesday at 2pm I realized I wasn’t going to be able to stop thinking about it. So what did I do? Moved some of my shopping budget for next month into this month’s budget and hit PROCEED TO CHECK OUT. I’m currently still not regretting it, so I know it was meant to be. I’m sure I’ll love it even more when I have it hanging in my bathroom (any every other bathroom I own until the day I die).

Since I shared some expenses, let me share some income too: The perfect (but not working) brass clock  I shared here found a loving home, and someone also purchased the antelopes I introduced you to here. Its just a big Etsy circle, some in and some out.

PS.. Design Sponge, another blog I follow, highlighted some great bookends yesterday and the antelopes made the cut! Go check it out here.

PSS.. I wish I got that much for my antelope bookends!

Short and Sweet

My day was just ruined! I found this awesome clock about two weeks ago.

I was so excited that today was going to be it’s big debut on Etsy! When I started fiddling with it and taking measurements in order to get a spot-on description I realized that it DIDN’T WORK! It appears to just be missing a knob, but I’m not really sure. I was so pissed at myself for not testing it out when I found it. I still posted it on Etsy (check him out here), I hope that someone will adopt this little guy and either repair him or use him as a great home decor accent.

I also posted this little lady.

I found Lucy at an estate sale and fell in love! This is the perfect small feminine size that I love my watches to be. It has some great character! Check her out here.

You can find both of these items in my Etsy store, The Union Jill.

PS.. Emily Henderson’s sale has been changed to the  20th over on One Kings Lane. She corrected the date and gave another sneak peek at some of her items yesterday on her blog. More on Emily here.

More Deets Please!

As promised on a previous post regarding blogs I follow, here are a little more deets on Emily Henderson.

Not only does she have a blog.

A TV show, Secrets From a Stylist,

An account on Open Sky,

A sale coming up on One Kings Lane (sneak peeks here and here),

But she is also going to be opening her own vintage store! It was a side comment in a recent blog post (read the very bottom). Once the details are released, I’m hitting that up, no matter the distance!

So go and stalk her obsess about being her check her out!

Don’t forget to put her One Kings Lane sale on your calendar, September 18th.

PS.. Another blog I read, formerly “Post College Working Girl”, newly THE FINDS BLOG, also just recently started selling items on One Kings Lane. See her big announcement here.

PSS.. Did I mention that One Kings Lane is on the top 5 list of stores I love? Can you tell? If you haven’t already, make sure to ‘Like’ my Facebook page for a chance to win a $25 gift card (see details here).

Project #1: Basket Update

Happy Saturday!

I introduced you all to Project #1: Beautification of Bathroom Shelves earlier this week. Check out the post here.

I wanted to update you guys on my progress.

Since the ability to store objects on the shelves was a high priority to me (can’t be giving away my beauty secrets by displaying all my junk naked on the shelves) I went basket shopping first. The two baskets I put on the mood board were a bit expensive.

1. Modern Weave Round Basket from west elm for $14 a pop
2. Braided Console Basket from west elm on sale currently for $24 a pop

Since my shelves are 30″ long and I have three of them I’m going to need a lot of baskets.  I don’t want to fill the shelves with baskets but I don’t want them to look like a display case either. I’m thinking 5-6. So these two options were not in my price range. (Maybe I’m cheap, but $90 for baskets seemed astronomical!)

So, I went in search of different baskets.  I checked some of my regular fav stores and I soon realized that my height and depth restrictions were going to make this a little tougher than I thought. My baskets can only be 8″ deep with a max height of 8.5″ if I want them to be able to fit on every shelf. In order to find something that would work I also decided I needed to broaden my search to all storage bins, not just baskets. My third stop on the basket train was The Container Store. I had never hit up The Container Store before, but my friend, Elizabeth, was recently raving over some baskets she bought there to store her collection of magazines in so I thought it was worth a try.

I won’ t lie, I was  a little underwhelmed when I got there. I expected there to be a plethora of options. With my size restrictions, this was not the case. Here were the first options I stumbled upon, note the prices:

Here were my thoughts:

1. The wood media bins were nice but the price, $14.99, was not!
2. The Tribeca woven bins looked cheap to me.
3. The knit type Hughes bin looked like it wouldn’t hold its shape, would just look messy all the time without clean lines.
4. Loved the Kiva bin, especially with the brass/gold undertones but the black tint wasn’t going to fly in my bathroom. I’m liking the price a little better though, $9.99.
5. The navy blue bin was pricey and I think it would make my bright and open shelves look too dark.

But then I ventured to the cheap, not made in america, back shelves, and check out what I found in all shapes and sizes!

These look vaguely familiar, right? The two types of small baskets were $5.99 and the large one was $7.99. These prices are a lot closer to my idea of cheap!

I also found an awesome recycling bag to go in my kitchen while perusing (grey is one of my kitchen/ dining room colors).

So here is the short and sweet of what happened.

Baskets for shelves = $36.32

The Container Store nor west elm were associated with this post in any way.