antler diy

Lately I've been obsessed with antlers in home decor (seen here). Antlers can be kind of expensive, unless you have an amazing grandpa that had a whole box of them, like mine :) 

However, after I got the antlers, I was a little confused on how to hang them. I prefer the "floating" look, as opposed to antlers on a mount. 

I finally figured out a way to achieve this floating look. Follow the steps below!

Before:

All you will need is wire and a pair of scissors:

Wrap the wire around the base of the antlers and around each individual antler:

Use a picture hook to hang the antlers by the wire:

Then use a grouping of fake flowers, such as peonies or gerber daisies, to cover the wire wrapped around the base of the antler (I only had one flower lying around the house, but plan on making a trip to Hobby Lobby to buy neutral colored flowers). 

before & after: star trek chairs

Remember these chairs I bought a couple weeks ago? Pretty ugly, I know. But I found the perfect chevron print fabric on fabrics.com for $5 a yard to bring them some new life. I can't believe how updated and modern the chairs now look. 

Scroll down for the "after".

Isn't it crazy what a 1/2 yard of fabric can do? I'm a little obsessed with them...

fiddle leaf fig trees

After searching all around the coast for a fiddle leaf fid tree (only to find them for $80 +), I finally found my tree in San Luis Obispo for $33. Paired with a pot from Ikea, it is the perfect addition to our bedroom corner. When it grows tall enough, I plan on trimming it similar to the pictures found here. My biggest fear is killing this beautiful tree, so I check it's water content every day. Have you ever killed a house plant?

mad for chevron print

Remember this post about the Star Trek chairs I bought at the Alaemda Flea Market? Well, I decided to recover them in a grey chevron print fabric that I found on fabrics.com. And it finally arrived! For only $5 a yard, it was well worth the week wait. I can't wait to get started on them this weekend.

leather vs. leatherette

I've wanted leather pants for a while, but could never justify buying them because I thought they were too trendy for the price. But, after seeing this year's New York Fashion Week, I think leather pants are here to stay. I can't decide if I want a pair of real leather pants or a pair of denim pants that are dipped in a wax finish.

The first pair below are real leather pants by Paige and retail for $299. The second are a pair of wax finished denim by Citizens of Humanity (my favorite denim line). They retail for $229 and got major reviews on Piperlime. And did I mention I have a 20% off coupon?

Which pair would you buy? Do you think leather pants will stand the test of time?



jacket envy

How fabulous is this jacket? I think I need it for the leather dress I just bought. Only problem is it's sold out (and probably way out of my budget). Has anyone seen any look-a-likes? I would love to find one with short sleeves.

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dress envy

I'm dying over this dress. It makes me want to have a garden party. And wear beautiful David Yurman jewlery. A girl can dream, right? Happy Friday!



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s'mores bars

When I think of s’mores, I think of my hair and clothes smelling like campfire over the next couple of days. So I was super stoked when I found this recipe for peanut butter s'mores bars. I wasn't quite in the mood for peanut butter, so I only used peanut butter on half of the recipe.
Let's just say these s'mores bars are amazing. I let them cool in the fridge over night, and they weren't as messy to eat. If you have a party to go to, double the recipe and use a standard size baking dish. I promise they will be a hit.

I don't have a KitchenAid mixer, so I use this hand mixer.

Put your graham crackers in a gallon size ziplock bag and use a rolling pin to crush them.

I used 60% dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate.

To make the top layer of crust, use the foil wrappers from the chocolate bars to get the perfect shape for an 8x8 baking dish.

Peanut Butter S’mores Bars

Author: Pinch of Yum

Ingredients

• ½ cup butter, softened
• ¼ cup packed brown sugar
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1¼ cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 6 graham crackers, crushed into fine crumbs
• 2 Giant Hershey’s milk chocolate bars, 7 ounces each
• 1 jar marshmallow cream, 7 ounces
• ½ cup peanut butter

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a square baking dish with parchment paper.
2. Beat the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and mix well. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the graham cracker crumbs.
3. Press ⅔ of the dough into the bottom of the baking dish. Press the chocolate bars on top of the dough. They should make an even layer in an 8×8 pan. Melt the peanut butter for about 30 seconds in the microwave and drizzle it over the chocolate bars.
4. Spread the marshmallow cream over the chocolate and peanut butter.
5. Roll the remaining ⅓ dough onto the chocolate foil wrappers (or some other nonstick surface). When you’ve made an even square, gently peel it off and press it on top of the marshmallow cream.
6. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown on top. Let cool for best serving results (see notes).

rag & bone denim and leather jacket

While out in San Francisco on Saturday night I spotted a lady in the most amazing denim and leather jacket. I had to know where it was from, so I walked across the bar and complimented her on this wonderful find. Of course she says it's by Rag and Bone. Ugh. Instantly I knew this jacket cost an arm and a leg. And when I googled it, Gisele and Rihanna are spotted in the supple leather and denim combo. Luckily, this $500 wardrobe staple is sold out, but Nordstrom is already pre-ordering the winter version. I'm hoping to find a knock-off version. Would you save or splurge?

images via and via

just for fun

I couldn't resist...I had to write a post today.

How cool are these pictures? An artist in China photographed bikers on city streets going about their day. Then he digitally cropped out the bikes. Kind of magical, right? And pure awesomeness.

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the dry bar

There are some things one comes across and thinks, “Why didn’t I think of that?!” Well, The Dry Bar is one of those things I wish I had thought of first. It is such a simple and cool concept that I believe most women will love.

I think one of the best parts of going to the salon is getting my hair washed and blow-dried. At The Dry Bar, that is what the stylists do! Shawn and I had such a great time getting our “hair did”. We were served wine, watched The Devil Wears Prada, and had our hair styled for a night out in San Francisco.

Need a gift for the woman that has everything? Get her a gift certificate to this amazing place!

The coolest light fixture ever:

Flipping through the style book to choose which look I wanted:

P.S. I'm going to cut down my blogging to three to four days a week. It's crazy how much time goes into creating a blog! This will also allow me to create more quality blog posts and spend more time with the people I love :)

s.f. weekend style

This weekend Ryan is headed to Vegas to celebrate his brother's 30th birthday. So I decided to head up to the city. Why not, right? Shawn and I are getting our hair did at The Dry Bar. Have you heard of this place? All they do are blow-outs, so it's perfect for a special date or a girls night out. Because we all know that our hair is never styled the same after we get home from the salon. Boo.

One of the things I'm most excited about for the weekend is to wear my new leather dress. It's a classic shift dress, similar to the one Jennifer Aniston is wearing below. I plan on wearing it with color blocked high heels and a statement necklace. 

When I think of going to San Francisco and what I'm going to wear, Olivia Palermo comes to mind. Isn't her style so classic and effortless? 

What are your plans? Cheers to the weekend!

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