Category Archives: Find

etc. / Find

Window Shopping – Floor Poufs and Ottomans

July 22, 2013

I’m trying to make my living room a more modern space. I’ve painted the room a crisp white and I got a new chair. In an effort to make the space feel brand new without spending very much money, I’m on the look out for some great accessories that pack a whole bunch of style for very little cash.
I want to be able to relax and unwind at the end of the day in my living room.  I love the casual feel of flour poufs.  And many of these bring fun texture to the table as well. The gold Moroccan one is to die for, I kind of love it.  
Do any of these catch your eye? What makes a space comfy to you? I think being able to put your feet up is important. 

etc. / Find

Instagram iphone Case Giveaway

July 3, 2013

This giveaway is sponsored by INK361, but my words and opinions are all my own.


I’ve got a fun giveaway for you. I have two totally customizable iphone cases to giveaway. INK361 allows you easily take your favorite instagram images and turn them into fabulous iphone cases.

I turned one of my favorite instagrams of Olivia into this iphone case. I took this picture one evening outside one of our favorite Mexican restaurants while we waited for a table. That’s the beauty of instagram, you may not always have your camera with you, but you probably will have your phone. And then you can slap on a fun filter and share your shot with the world.

You know I’m a huge instagram fan. I’m on it all the time, posting pics and checking out what everyone else is up to. But some of my favorite shots of my kids and adventures are just stuck in the virtual world of instagram. It’s nice to be able to bring them to life in print.  INK361 offers professional photo prints, elegant fine art prints,  photo cards, mosaics, canvas prints and iphone cases.

For a long time I’ve used the INK361 widget to display my images in the sidebar of my blog. They offer a great instagram web viewer where you can like, comment, share and organize your instagrams.

So here’s how you can enter to win one of 2 iphone cases from INK631. Simply follow me (@jeranmcconnel) on instagram and then leave me a comment below with your instagram handle so I can check your instagrams out as well.  For additional entries, just share this giveaway on twitter, facebook, pinterest or instagram and then leave me a comment telling me how you shared. This giveaway will be open till Sunday, July 7th noon.  I will announce the winner on Monday, July 8th.  Two lucky readers will get to head over to INK361 and make their own instagram iphone case.

Find

Thrifting Thursday – Vintage Alarm Clocks

June 20, 2013

While I was in Idaho, the week before last, my mother in law and I checked out a mini vintage flea market. It’s a new vintage show run by Two Chicks in a Barn.  They’ll be holding another event in September, so all my Idaho friends, be sure to check it out.  This California girl was impressed with Idaho prices.

I came away with a couple fun, very inexpensive treasures. These vintage alarm clocks just had to be mine and for just $5 for the pair, it was meant to be.  I think they’ll look really cute together on my bedside table, or maybe I’ll put them in Riley (my vintage trailer) since they are wind ups and no batteries or electricity is needed. And maybe this a collection in the making, we’ll see.  For now I’m happy with these two little guys, but if I see a third, I might need to get it.

This octagonal one is my favorite. Octagons are the new triangles, right?  I still love my triangles, but I have a feeling could love this new geometric shape just as much.  

Have you had time to hit any garage sales or done any thrifting this summer? Tell me about your best find lately.

Find / Travel

The Brooklyn Flea

Well, I’m FINALLY back. Thanks for your patience friends, this was a much needed break that both my family and I needed.  We have been all over the place the last couple of weeks.  We drove to Idaho (a 14 hour trip), to visit Lon’s family. Then while we were there, Lon and I left the kiddos with his very generous parents and flew to NYC.  We got to spend FIVE days there, all by ourselves. Then we flew back into Idaho, spent a few more days with fam.  Then early Monday morning we drove to Lassen Volcanic National Park and met my parents there.  We spent yesterday exploring the park (it’s fabulous and I’ll be sharing that with you as well), and then this morning we drove to my parent’s place in Eureka, CA.  The kids are fantastic travelers and we are having a great summer. And there’s still a lot more Summer traveling adventures to come.
We are celebrating our fifteen anniversary this summer and wanted to do it in a big way. It was BIG friends – New York City big. We had such a great time and packed in tons of great stuff and lots of yummy treats. I’ll be sharing some of our NYC adventures in the weeks to come. Today I’m sharing our first destination in NYC – the Brooklyn Flea.  My husband is a good sport, and even though he is NOT a shopper, he does enjoy wondering around a flea market.  
Denali would have loved one of these brass owls or cats.
The view of Manhattan from the Flea
I’ve long been a flea market fan. If there’s one happening near by, I’ll be there (from France to Santa Fe to the Rose Bowl and everything in between).   The Brooklyn Flea did not disappoint. It was small and quaint and was a great mix of great old stuff and also local artisans work.  And probably some of Brooklyn’s best food was there. I wish I would have been a little hungrier, because there were many treats that tempted me, but I just couldn’t justify stuffing another thing into my face (especially People’s Pops, so I may need to buy their cookbook).
Lon’s favorite treat of the day was a Lemon Poppy Seed Donut from Dough. Oh my, it was warm and just a perfectly light yeast donut. They had lots of unique flavors like Passion Fruit Cocoa Nibs and Blood Orange Glazed.
I went for the more dainty, lady like treat – Grilled Maple Bacon Stick from Landhaus. It was the generous hunk of bacon, grilled to crispy perfection, then drizzled in maple syrup and topped with some yummy smoky salt of some sort. One stick was a meal. 
There was definitely a limited selection of furniture and vintage knickknacks, but what was there, was of high quality.  It was like a well curated Flea Market, without all the tacky junk.  I ended up coming home with a handmade mug as my souvenir. I couldn’t resist this cute fox piece by SKT Ceramics.  It was hard to choose from all her cute animals and gorgeous pastel glazes.  
Brooklyn was probably my favorite part of NYC. If I had to choose a place to live, Brooklyn would be it. It’s hip, young, artsy and is rapidly being refurbished. I love the potential of the place and the people who see that potential. And an added bonus is that Brooklyn has a healthy bike culture.
If you’re headed to New York anytime soon, I recommend you take a L train Sunday morning and spend a couple hours at the Brooklyn Flea. 

Design / Find

House Plants

May 29, 2013

Well, I have to admit, I’m not the best with house plants.  Truthfully, I haven’t invested in any that are very big, because I’m afraid they just won’t last.  But, I really like plants and would love to have some in our living room or dining room.  I’ve been doing a little research and I’ve found a few that I really like in the homes of some of my favorite bloggers and designers.

photo source: Making it Lovely
This first one is a Bird’s Nest Fern in Nichole’s (of Making it Lovely) living room.  It’s a nice size and I like that it’s not terribly tall.  It could be nice on a table or bench against a wall. 

photo source: Making it Lovely

This tall, handsome plant is a Fiddle Leaf Fig Tree also in Nicole’s home.  I’d love one of these beside the windows in my dining room.

photo source: Emily Henderson

And this last group of well styled plants is in the home of Bri Emery (of Design Love Fest).  Emily Henderson recently teamed up with Bri to makeover her living room.  It is a fabulous space with beautiful splashes of color.  But, I think it’s the plants that brought the room to life.

Are you a house plant kind of person?  Can you recommend any plants that are easy to care for and look beautiful all year long?

I’ll be going to my favorite local nursery this afternoon, and I better be on the look out for some stylish pots as well.

DIY / Find

Thrifting Thursday – a nightstand in need of a makeover

May 23, 2013

Well, I finally found a little dresser to use as a nightstand for the hubbies side of the bed.  Ever since I found and fixed up the one on my side of the bed, I’ve been on the hunt for another piece.  I kind of thought I wanted something round or a different shape, but when I came upon this piece, the storage element won me over.  That’s the adventure of Thrifting, you never know what you’ll find and you have to be ready to change your plan when something great is spotted.

This was definitely a little spendy for me, I paid almost $50 for this little dresser. But, it is solid oak and really a new piece of wood furniture is going to cost me at least $200. And after I gave it a makeover, I have no regrets at all. I think it looks more like a $300 piece of furniture now, and it’s one-of-a-kind. No one else owns this piece of furniture!

I used my How to Paint Laminate Furniture method, even though this piece was wood, and it worked really well. From start to finish, I had this piece sanded, painted and moved into the room in 24 hours.

I debated on what to do to the piece, what color to paint it or stain it. It wasn’t going to stay that yucky oaky color, that was for sure. I didn’t want to paint it the same as the other dresser, trying to make them look like a set, when they weren’t. Plus, I think that’s just too matchy matchy for me. So, I turned to my Instagram friends for help and advice. They had some great ideas and I actually ended up going with my stylish friend Julia’s idea and did the opposite paint job of my bedside table. I also gave the old hardware a good sanding and then sprayed them with a metallic gold spray paint. This grey, white and gold combo is really quite sophisticated.

Come back tomorrow and I’ll share pictures of it in our bedroom.  Are you working on any furniture projects? Do you own some pieces that could use a makeover?  I’d love to hear what you have in the works.

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Thrifting Thursday – Pyrex Pitcher and a Ceramic Bowl

May 16, 2013

It’s been way too long since I hit a thrift store.  I love thrifting, but for the past few months I’ve restrained myself because I really needed absolutely nothing at all.  But, on Monday, I couldn’t stand it any longer.  What if there was some really great treasure out there that I was missing out on?  So, Olivia and I headed to our local Salvation Army.  
My first attempt to get there was foiled.  While stopped at a red light, we were rear-ended my a big full-sized truck.  My little Toyota Matrix got hurt pretty badly.  Olivia cried, I think mostly because she was scarred, and I ended up with a fat lip and some sore muscles.  I am pretty bummed with the whole situation.  I love our little Matrix and it’s totally paid for.  Now I am just waiting for the police report (which takes over a week) and then we can see what the insurance company wants to do.  
But, I didn’t let this stop me.  The next day I headed to the thrift store in our truck (I’m so grateful we have 2 cars, we didn’t for the first 13 yrs. of marriage).  And I came home with this cute Pyrex Pitcher for $3.84 and this beautiful hand made bowl for the same price.  Did I really NEED these items?  No, but I think this was a pretty harmless $8 to spend.  And I know I’ll use both, and probably often. 

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Window Shopping – Coral Accents

May 8, 2013

I’ve been loving coral colored flowers this week, if you follow my instagram, you may have noticed.  And seeing this color with all the grey and green in our home, I’m total digging it.  It’s my new favorite color combo coral, grey and green.  It would sure make a pretty party palette as well. 

Ombre Pillow // Giraffe // Coffee Table
World Map // Bird Print
Rectangle Print // Paper Flowers // Bowl
So, I thought I’d do a little online window shopping at my favorite stores and pick out some fun coral accents that would look good in my living room.  Now that I have a new chair, I’m really wanting to modernize and update our living room.  I’m thinking a few splashes of coral might be nice, what do you think?   Is there anything in this round up that catches your eye? 

Design / Find

Window Shopping – Toddler and Tween Shared Bedroom

February 21, 2013

Most of the time, I love my little 1920’s California bungalow. But, recently I’ve realized our tiny home is not ideal. The problem is that my daughters, Denali and Olivia, have to share a room.  This doesn’t seem like it would be a big issue, but there is a big age gap between them. Denali is 11 (going on 16) and Olivia is just a year old. I want them to have a space that is appealing and organized for both of them. I don’t want the room to look like a nursery, or on the other extreme, like a mature teenage space either. The room does have furniture, but really no defined style. The bedding, rug and walls are grey and light pink and I do love that color combo.  But, beyond color, there isn’t much else. I’m struggling to give my toddler and tween the space and design that they each need. I want their room to be a place that they both love. We need function and funk folks. 
I put together an inspiration board of fun pieces that I think could help bridge this age gap in design. I think The Land of Nod has beautiful pieces that will provide my toddler and tween with the unique and quirky style that I’m looking for.
  
Flamingos Print // Gold Dot Sheet Set //  Fur and Glasses Print
Grey Herringbone Pouf // Storagepalooza 
White Leather Chair // In the Loop Grey Duvet Cover // Amethyst Print
They both have vintage beds. Denali’s is a full sized metal frame from Lonnie’s Grandparent’s farm and Olivia’s crib was my Jenny Lind crib from when I was a baby. Obviously our house is also old, but I think the space needs a splash of modern and playful. Denali helped me pick out the prints, she particularly loved the Flamingo and Cat prints. And I LOVE the gold dot sheets. There is something both classic and fun about polka dots. I think they’ll look great with Denali’s grey bedding. I also would love to get Denali the beautiful leather desk chair. It’s sleek and modern and she just has an old stool for a chair at her desk now. The Land of Nod has a well curated catalogue. It’s such a treat to flip through the pages, there is a sense of nostalgia and the creative touch of artists.  
Over the next couple of weeks I’m going to attempt to makeover my Toddler and Tween’s Shared Bedroom. I’ll be sharing what I find along the way and what works in this space.  So, stay tuned for more. Do you have a space in your home that has to serve two functions or accommodate multiple people? 

Find

Window Shopping – Decorating with Pink

February 12, 2013

Pink has definitely had a strong appearance here on O + P the last couple weeks, with my geometric heart, Valentine’s party and decor around our home. My love of the color is really quite a new found affection.  I really credit Denali, my 11 year old. While I was not a very girly girl as a child, she definitely is. Her love of pink has finally rubbed off on me.  
I’ve gathered up some pretty pink pieces that would be great in many spaces. I think these are fun, grown up accessories that don’t have to just be in a little girl’s room.  Yes, pink is traditionally feminine but, I think it’s can now be a playful, modern color for the home. What do you think?
Dhurrie Rug // Coat Rack // Ombre Desk via
Pillow // Arrow Peg Hook
Pink Moose // Paper Roses // Rug
You can see more of my pink finds on my Pretty Pink Pinterest board. Is there something in this collection that catches you eye or you could see having in your own home?