Luxe for Less: Artwork!

One big thing we've realized since moving into our new house is that we didn't have nearly enough things to fill up all of our walls!  We got advice to avoid rushing to fill every room right off the bat, and to instead invest in special pieces over time, but in the meantime, we don't want to live with blank walls so it's time to get creative!  We want to find things to put on our walls that will feel homey without breaking the bank, and then we can add nicer pieces into the mix as time goes on.

Enter Home Goods.

Let's call a spade a spade, I get a legitimate rush of excitement every time I am about to walk into a Home Goods store, I'll admit it.  The fact that I might stumble upon something great, at an inexpensive price, makes me really eager to start looking around to try and find some goodies!

One of my recent Home Goods finds was these gold frames.  I immediately loved their pizzazz, but they had matching watercolor quotes in them that said "EAT CAKE FOR BREAKFAST" which I wasn't too crazy about for our living room.  There were 2 important details I looked for:

1.  The openings were a standard 4x6 size.

2.  Their backs weren't sealed so it would be easy to put new artwork into them.

I decided to order two vintage postcards showing places that have sentimental value to us - one is from Nantucket and one is Biddeford Pool, Maine - and, voila!, they turned out great!  I found a wonderful selection of vintage postcards on a site called https://www.cardcow.com/    

Here was what they looked like before:

And here is what they look like now:

{close-up of Biddeford Pool, Maine postcard}

{close-up of Nantucket sailing fleet postcard}

Aaaaaand I'm back!

Hi!  It's been three years since I last posted on Ins and Outs and Whereabouts, but I've decided to resurrect this labor of love and start blogging again!

One big reason I am excited to start blogging again is that PRG and I recently bought a house in the burbs, and this little blog will be the perfect place for us to document the experiences that unfold as we turn this house into our home, one project at a time.

To kick things off, here we are in front of our new house -- it snowed the day we moved in!

Welcome to Ins and Outs and Whereabouts 2.0!  I hope you'll come in, put your feet up, and hang out for a while!

Thursday 3

{true!}

{amazing butler's pantry}

{pretty!...wish I knew where this is from}

Luxe for Less: Bamboo Bangle

I came across a gold bamboo bangle on Pinterest and loved it immediately so tried to find where it was from.  Turns out it was Gucci and costs a whopping $4,359 at Saks.  Ummm kind of out of my bangle budget to say the least.  I knew I had to be able to find something with a similar look and feel for less so I started to hunt around. I found it at C.Wonder for $28!  I'd say that's a pretty big difference.  Granted, it's not Gucci, but I'll take it anyways!  And the C.Wonder bangle comes in lots of fun colors making it perfect for stacking.

Gucci bangle                                   C.Wonder bangle 

Thursday 3

I've seen some other bloggers do a "Friday Favorites" post series so I thought I'd start a series like that of my own! Here is my first installment of Thursday 3, showing 3 images that have caught my fancy:

Can you tell I've got elephants on my mind?

{Painting by Caitlin McGauley}

{Plate from c wonder}

{Garden stool from one king's lane}

Keep home close to you no matter where you go

Here's a great gift idea for someone who is about to move far from home...or for anyone who takes great pride in where they live, where they have lived, or where they're from.  Such a fun way to keep your roots close to your heart, no matter where you may travel.  

Maya Brenner's state necklaces:

{had to represent with my home state of CT!}

{for those who want to add a little bling}

{for those who prefer silver}

The perfect laptop bag for traveling!

I do a lot of traveling for my job, and one fun item on my 'to do list' has been to find the perfect laptop bag for traveling.

I had some very specific criteria this bag had to fit:

• had to be lightweight
• had to have a shoulder strap
• had to be durable and not stain easily
• had to have a top zipper
• had to fit nicely beneath an airplane seat without having to be put it on its side
• had to have multiple compartments to keep my belongings organized
• had to easily fit my laptop, tablet, wallet, etc without looking too bulky
• had to look professional so I can bring it into client meetings

I'm happy to report that, after going into countless stores and spending lots of time browsing online, I finally found it!!  I present to you, the perfect laptop bag for traveling, MZ Wallace's Bedford Nylon Bag in black:

{side 1}

{side 2}

{love it!}

This bag has:

• 4 outside zip pouches of all different sizes
• durable shoulder straps plus a detachable cross-body strap
• 10 interior pockets to fit everything from your cell phone to your business cards to your iPad
• a detachable mini purse
• 2 side pouches to hold your drink or an umbrella
• gold hardware and a red interior to make it stylish
• and the list goes on....

And, to top it all off, it's made from a durable nylon that is both water and stain resistant!  You could use this as a baby bag, a gym bag, a laptop bag, or just as an every day purse.  It doesn't get better in my book and I couldn't be happier with my purchase!