And here she is... my first legit publication

I know it's been two months since the July 2012 Real Living issue came out featuring Noah's Room. When my mom visited last month she brought me a few copies from the Philippines but with all the traveling I couldn't get it up here until now.

But anyway, here are the pictures of the actual magazine, in July I posted pictures of the electronic version. Nothing like the real thing tho :)

Obviously the cover page

Page 24... first cover story of the lot!

Et voila! Noah in his jammies lol.

 

 

The write-up... if you can read it :)

 

Noah lounging in his chair. That hair, yeah, that's why I stopped cutting his hair, so he won't hate me for the rest of his life haha.



If you click on the image above (or any of the other images) a close-up of it will pop up for easier reading.

Thanks for joining me in this fun ride of creating a happy space for Noah. In the next month or two we may be moving out of our current rental and into another home... which means another kids room challenge may be in the horizon!

New Year's Resolution & Bucket List Accomplished!

Last year one of my New Year's resolution was to get one of my home projects published in a legit magazine. Well, I couldn't make it happen last year, but that's completely irrelevant now because I made it in this month's (July 2012) issue of Real Living magazine (Philippines publication)!!! And a two-page spread at that! Not bad for a first timer :)

There's my darling N sitting in the chair that I added nailhead trim to.

Early this year I finally got around to taking pictures of Noah's room. I've blogged about it here and here so I'm not going to kill this topic by going into it again. Back in May Real Living contacted me about featuring the room, of course I agreed and the rest is history.

I ordered a few copies of the magazine from my mom who will be visiting me from the Philippines very soon so I have yet to hold the magazine in my hands. Naturally I couldn't wait for her arrival so thanks to a copy I found online, I get to read the article for myself and see the picture of Noah my mom spoke of over the phone.

Here is a close-up of the text. I think if you click on the image, a better quality of it will pop up.

LEFT

RIGHT

Another reason why July has been kind to me - a few weeks ago I got to cross off an item on my bucket list! Confession: I've never been to a real live concert. When I say "real concert" I'm not counting the times when up-and-coming bands performed at my college, nor occasions when major DJs like Tiesto and Paul Oakenfold made appearances at Avalon in Boston (yup, I was once a frequent clubber), and certainly not the days when our local church choir had a X-mas concert. No, I'm talking about true stadium style seating concert with mega-crowds by the thousands flocked to witness and be wow-ed by an iconic singer's (only the kind that could fill a stadium) performance.

So when last-minute someone was trying to get rid of tickets to Madonna's concert in Istanbul of course I grabbed them without hesitation. I figured I lost any chance of witnessing in person the genius of Michael Jackson, and gone along with him was the chance to hear the gifted voice of Whitney Houston. I wasn't going to pass up this once in a lifetime opportunity to witness equally influential Madonna perform her latest album and (more importantly) her 80's hits to fans in Turkey. Even if it meant hauling myself (and my family) all the way to Istanbul for her MDNA Tour. She may not always be known for her voice, but in her 30+ year singing career she's managed to maintain her position at the top of the crop, and at 53 yrs old she's still hitting the charts. God bless her!

Here are some shots taken as we were entering the stadium.

 A few feet in front of us Turkish paparazzi was snapping shots of local celebrities. People watching would've been a joyous activity had I known who these celebrities were.

Crowds slowly flocking in. Was surprised that no one dressed up as Madonna. The next thing closest to dressing-up as her was seeing her face on t-shirts.

So that's more thing crossed off my bucket list I wanted to share. Let's hope I can keep this momentum going :)

Window Shopping

Came accross this window decal today at my favorite furniture store here, Mudo Concept:

I love it, I want it! But I dont know where I would put it. Perhaps our bedroom? I recently resumed my bedroom makeover project which was on hold all Winter.  Now that Spring is here I've been feeling motivated to work on it again. We have one free wall where I could put this decal, but I just wonder if it's too juvenile for the look I'm going for in the room? Oh well, a little bit of whimsy cant hurt the space :)

Room Tour: Noah's Room

Almost a year ago I blogged about painting a tree mural in my son Noah's room. Well, I've finally taken photos of not just the finished mural but also the rest of the space.

With all the possibilities for Noah's room, I really had a hard time honing in on a concept. Shopping one day, I came across a rug (pic above) in neutral colors which tied in nicely with the existing flooring in his room. It had a playful tree bark texture which gave me the idea of incorporating nature and the outdoors. Slowly a concept for the room started to come together.

IKEA Lack table Rehashed

A few weeks ago I was browsing through some really creative repurposed IKEA products on Ikeahackers.net. Being an IKEA hacker myself, I was inspired to submit my repurposed Lack side table. I waited, and waited, and waited for my hack to be posted but it never showed up, that is until yesterday.

A more recent picture of the table

Magazine Files: Mediterranean Villa

The other day at the bookstore I picked up this month's UK edition of '25 Beautiful Homes' magazine. I was pleasantly surprised to see that one of the 25 homes featured is located along the mediterranean coast of Turkey (representing!). Very rarely are homes in this part of Europe featured in international shelter magazines so this is a big deal, for me anyway :)

Coincidentally, this villa is located in Kalkan, a vacation town I visited with the Mister a few years ago. According to the article Kalkan is supposedly the "Beverly Hills" of that part of the Mediterranean which I didn't know at the time I was there. I'll include my pictures from that my, but first I want to show you this villa.
This 8-bedroom home was built from scratch by a gentleman from the UK. It took 2 years to be completed because local restrictions prevented him from doing any construction work in the summer. Interesting fact. Of course my favorite thing about this place is the spectacular view of the turquoise water, or turkuaz as locals would say. Here are the photos of the villa and a glimpse of one of Turkey's many, many gorgeous summer destinations.

~ That view, that view, that view! A-mazing. On that note, I think I would have preferred to see glass balustrade to maximize on the view of the sea from those comfy looking lounge chairs ~

Ikat Invasion

Not all interior and fashion trends in the States make their way to Turkey. The color 'grey' for home interiors, and Pantone's color of the year 'honeysuckle' for example have remained on the other side of the pond, for now anyway. Hence I was really surprised to see a lot of ikat prints appearing in shelves of home and fashion stores around here. Bathing suits, tea cups, trays, rugs, you name it, its got ikat all over it.

I think more than any other print this season the ikat stands out the most to me because I studied the technique in a Textiles class. I won't bore you with the details (well, that and I cant remember the exact process), but naturally when I walk into a store the print is the first thing that catches my attention. Anyway, here are pictures of some ikat items that I've come across in my window shopping expeditions, starting with a bikini below...

A catalogue picture of the bikini

DIY: Tree Mural

UPDATE: This tree mural is finally complete!!! If you want to see a more recent blog about this please click here.

I wanted to share with you a sneak peak of a project I've been working on for Noah's room.

For the longest time I didn't know what direction to go in his nursery. It wasn't until recently when we finally found a decent rug for his room that I felt like I had a good starting point. The rug (pic below) is neutral and has a playful texture similar to tree bark.

DIY Project: Napkins to Throw pillows

I'm so happy to blog about a DIY project I recently completed. The other day I was looking around Zara Home and came across these table napkins with a unique ethnic print. As soon as I saw the pattern I knew they would make the perfect throw pillows to update our tired sofa. Table napkins to throw pillows you ask?

I recalled a blog from Centsational Girl (check out her blog for some seriously creative DIY projects) where she sewed napkins to pillows. I followed her simple instructions and was done in no time. Minimal effort, optimal results, and a really affordable project. The total dent to my wallet was $6 per pillow. No damage done there!

 

Love the subdued colors and eye-catching print.

 

Overnight transformation from above picture to this...

 



Voila!

 What do you guys think? I'm so thrilled with the results I keep looking over at them as I'm doing chores around the house. My husband's compliment was "Are you going to start selling them?" :). Do you think you'll try this?

Oh and side note, I blogged about these curtain tie backs a few months ago and in the last picture you can (sort of) see them installed in case you were curious what I ended up doing with them.

Outcome of my repurposed furniture

UPDATE: Click here to read a more recent (newer pics) post of this Lack table.

So it didn't take a day to build the frame for my repurposed IKEA Lack side table as promised by the metal shop (referring to previous blog post). But I'm not complaining because it was well worth the wait. In 2 days my IKEA side table was transformed from THIS:

TO THIS:

What do you think? Are we a furniture designer in the making? Just kidding. But honestly it's not bad right?! Certainly a vast improvement from what it was before.

Dont forget to check out this more recent post on the above table.

Repurposed Furniture

I have a thing for side tables with metal frames. I like the industrial-chic look and the juxtaposition of the warm wood and the metal. Also the streamlined design helps make any small space appear larger which is just what I need for our multi-purpose living room!

Crate and Barrel Atacama Side Table

Crate and Barrel Frame Side Table

West Elm Framed Side Table

Unfortunately, I can't seem to find this style of side table in any of the furniture stores here. So I decided to reuse our old IKEA Lack side table to create a similar look.

We unscrewed the legs of the table, and handed the top surface to a metal shop for them to build the metal frame. I drew a quick sketch of how I wanted the metal portion to look, I hope they're able to create it exactly as I envisioned. I thought the job would take at least a week so you can imagine my excitment when they told us it would be ready by tomorrow! If this little project is a success I'm going to have them build a similar frame for a dining table.

Here are cute pictures of my two men taking the table apart. Noah looks so serious in the first pic and I got a good chuckle out of the second photo where he's bossing his Poppa around.

Check back in a few days to see how our family project turns out!

UPDATE: If you want to see the final result click here.

Updates for the Week

Since I haven't posted in the last few days I thought I would share with you what I've been up to lately.


First and foremost, I tackled my first sewing project in decades (yes, I'm that old!). I've been wanting a sewing machine for years so 2 weeks ago hubs and I finally picked one up. Here's a pic of Noah assisting us with our sewing machine purchase.

My first sewing project was to add a removable fleece lining to a JJ Cole Bundle Me Lite which I got on sale. The fleece lining will allow Noah to continue using the bunting bag through the winter. The project took a couple of days but the results are pretty impressive, especially considering the last item I sewed was probably a Barbie outfit when I was 10 years old. I'll have to take a picture of it soon but for now here is the JJ Cole bunting bag which matches our infant car seat and our stroller's red seat cover.

In other news, I just had to share this fantastic find. We recently bought curtains for our living room and these tie back hooks would be perfect for them! I got them for a mere 5YTL (approx $3.50) each at a flea market. The metal tone and texture will compliment our new curtains. If you want to see how they look installed check out the last picture in this link.

 Don't you just love the glass balls?

 

And then this evening the family stepped out for dinner at a nearby resto called Midpoint. Here is a photo of moi and Noah entertaining one another, if you can make us out in the dark.

  

During dinner Noah did something new for the first time. He was pointing at objects that he wanted to bring to our attention. Noah loves all kinds of lighting so he was pointing out the lovely chandelier above us. Apparently while I was finishing up my sewing project yesterday, hubs was teaching Noah how to point at a toy he wanted, and hubs would give it to him. So this is where this act came from. My boy learns fast!

After I put Noah to sleep, I re-organized our shoe closet and had a little bit of fun photographing Noah's teenie tiny Puma sneakers next to mine. It's been pretty chilly lately so we bought Noah a pair of Pumas for him to wear out in the cold. Socks are no longer enough to keep his feet warm and we couldn't wait for his shoes to arrive in the shipment.

 And then I thought it would be fun to add Papa Bear's sneakers into the mix. I think M's Pumas are in the shipment but these Hugo Boss shoes get the point accross.

Here is a priceless picture of M's shoes next to Noah's. Looks like it belongs to a giant, doesn't it? Wouldn't it be brilliant to document Noah's growth by photographing his shoes next to his dad's as the years go by? And then maybe for Noah's birthday each year we can include it in his birthday album.

That's about it for now. Stay tuned for tomorrow - I'll be posting Noah's pic of the week.

Window shopping adventures

Yesterday Noah and I spent some time at a nearby mall while hubby was out car shopping. My goal was to get an idea of what's available for home furnishings to decorate our home with. Took some pictures of items that gave me some ideas/inspiration. Thought I would share what I've found so far.

PS photos were taken with my phone's camera so quality may not be the best. Also, I'm never sure if I'm allowed to take pictures in stores (most likely not) so these were taken in a rush, I apologize for poor styling/composition. Here they are:


Stepped into Zara Home. Until I came to Turkey I had no idea Zara had a Home store, did you? I love the texture on this bleach white bathroom set.



We are in desperate need of curtains at home. At the present time we have borrowed curtains installed. I've been debating on whether to purchase neutral colored curtains or add a pop of color. Saw the tan striped curtain in the middle (top photo), and the light mocha on the very left (bottom photo) which both work with a neutral color scheme, however prices are not cooperating - I think they were selling at $100 each! I thought the concept behind Zara was trendy yet affordable?!


Also need to replace our light fixtures for all our rooms. The trend in Turkey seems to be crystal chandeliers which is too formal for my taste, and prob wouldn't mesh well with my not so high-end furnishings. I'm looking for a simple, oversized pendant lamp shade. Saw these lanterns in Pasabahce (our version of Crate and Barel) and thought it would be fun to convert the tall, round lantern into a pendant light fixture. It's not a lampshade but it's oversized which is what I'm looking for. Wouldnt that bring character to a room?


This picture makes me wish I had taken a proper camera with me because it doesn't do the colors on the mugs any justice. Color and pattern would make a great jumping off point to decorate a room.


This display was at the entrance of the mall. Good thing Noah was napping when we passed this because he would have been terrified for life at the sight of these maneqins or whatever on earth they are. My guess is this is a display on the history of fashion, but for heavens sake, are those monster-like mannequins necessary? Check out the arm on the left dummy and the Egyptian cat face on the "lady".


Here's a pic of my local GAP store. The display is a bland black and white, a far cry from the colorful window display I'm used to at Copley Mall. Hey at least we have GAP right!


Last but not lease, a pic of mama + baby taking a coffee break. The barristo made my day - when asked how old I was I asked him to guess and he said 24! Hey at least he didn't say 15 which is what the guy at my (former) local CVS said.

Noah's Nursery

We've only just started apartment hunting but I'm already bursting with excitement for Noah's room. In our last apartment we shared our one bedroom with Noah. In our next apartment our baby will be getting his own room and I finally get the chance to decorate a nursery.

I've been pulling inspiration from different websites and TV shows. I love, love, love Sarah Richardson's HGTV show called "Sarah's House". In one of the seasons she designed a simple nursery and added visual interest by use of patterned fabrics.







I cannot express how much I am in love with this room. The furniture is simple, the color palette soothing, she manages to make all the magic happen with the combination of fun fabric patterns on the drapery, chairs and ottomans. Let me not forget to acknowledge the creative use of the alphabet on the walls and the split wall colors. I am almost tempted to duplicate this exact room, but that would be shameful considering my "design" background.

I'm going to continue pulling inspiration from other sources. My next target is to sift through Ohdeedoh's website (Apartment Therapy's sister site). I've already taken a sneak peak at the nursery tours and am already tickled with excitement. Noah's room, here I come!

What about you, if you could design a nursery what would it look like?