Well, well, well…Here I am, after much teasing, I am finally on my way to a kitchen reveal. I think this space was the hardest for me to finish because it’s been completely liveable for a long time. After living in apartments for years with cabinets that had been painted so many times that only half of them closed, tile countertops, no garbage disposal, no dishwasher, and subpar appliances – this kitchen felt so much nicer so I just wasn’t inspired to make it any better. That, and when we made the decision to renovate the kitchen, it was under much financial duress so the finishes weren’t anything to write home about and I knew I couldn’t justify changing them. Before we get too far into that though, let’s talk about where we started: PHASE 1: THE BEFOREFile this under: “one of a million examples of LA real estate not even trying to sell clearly overpriced homes”. This is what the kitchen looked like when I walked through the house, completely despondent, and ready to give up house hunting for good. For more about my psyche when we were searching for a home in 2016 you can read about it here. It is a small, galley kitchen, with a strange walk-through…closet? I don’t know how to explain it. The door you see in the back there used to be the back door to a small covered patio that is now a laundry room. Truthfully it wasn’t much worse than any other kitchen I had rented. My last apartment had Pepto Bismol pink tile countertops and the one before that had banana yellow. Both were over 100 years old and there’s just no way to make them ever look clean. Shoutout to basically every renter in LA. FYI: I hear these are coming back?? I mean, they can be cute in photos but clearly whoever decided on that trend never lived with them. The GROUT! Blech. At least these were new-ish counters and kinda looked clean. When we made the decision to buy the place I was like, “I’ll just paint the cabinets myself and live with it until we save up money.” We needed to get the back house not just to a livable condition, but as nice as we could afford so we could rent it out for a premium to help pay for our mortgage. The plan for the front house was to do what we had always done: make the most of what we were given, as we did with our rentals, and slowly do the renovations over time. Of course, things did NOT go to plan, and slowly renovating didn’t happen. I really really wish I could have lived with the kitchen that was there and had the time and money to renovate it right the first time. I am a big advocate of living in a space for a year and seeing how you utilize or *want* to utilize the space before you make any big changes. Unfortunately, they found mold in the kitchen. I forget why they were looking for it at all, maybe a leak in the sink? Of course, I am happy that I didn’t live with black mold, but having to make quick and as-cheap-possible decisions did bite me in the butt a little bit. This is going to be a story about how I made my “meh” kitchen into a fully functional and pretty kitchen without renovating again. Hopefully, this is helpful for people who live in “good enough” kitchens that really don’t need to be ripped out but aren’t very inspiring. PHASE 2: THE INITIAL, FORCED MAKEOVERLet’s talk about the kitchen’s first makeover. When purchasing this house I wanted to go with finishes that were timeless and not too particular style-wise because the long game for this property is that both units are rentals. I recognize now that it is a very VERY long game because having the financial ability to keep this property and buy another one would mean something life-changing happened with our careers. However, a girl who has yet to feel the cold slap of adulthood can dream! I wanted the style to be simple, something most people could see themselves living in and making their own, despite my own pull towards the more dramatic. It was the spring of 2016 (didn’t end up signing papers until Oct – long story) so of course, we ended up with black hex floors and subway tile. This was back when you thought of those things as timeless and they hadn’t *completely* overrun all of social media. Subway and hex tile are also very affordable, as were simple white cabinets and the 3 slabs of quartz I found for $300 each. I needed a slab and a half for each kitchen – this is where it became apparent that this was going to be a lot more affordable if I choose the same finishes for both kitchens. My plan was to use IKEA cabinets because I had heard good things. My contractor insisted he could do higher quality for less and honestly, I’m pretty happy with them. They aren’t fancy but they are made with good plywood and didn’t have that extreme off-gassing that cheap cabinets have. I was in complete financial trauma by the time we were told the kitchen had mold and we needed to renovate both kitchens. I honestly don’t remember much from the process other than trying to pick the best I could for as cheap as possible. There was not a lot of joy in it. I do remember noticing the lack of joy at the time and feeling a bit sorry for myself. I love design and I love making a home but I didn’t love anything about this part of the process because it didn’t feel like I really had options. This was not the romantic idea I had of my first home in my head. The kitchen era of the reno was a dark era for sure. That said, even though I was completely stressed about how we were going to pay for all this (which at this point was $100,000 OVER what I was bid and would go higher), there were a few things I put my foot down about that I am very pleased with to this day: I wanted the wall between the kitchen and this strange closet/walk-through to be taken down and I wanted a dishwasher. My contractor was really against me putting in a dishwasher because of how much cabinet space it eats up, and he wasn’t wrong – he just underestimated what I was willing to sacrifice and what I could make happen in such a tiny space in order to have a dishwasher. I. Love. My. Dishwasher. I use it every single day with absolute abandon and literally, NO ONE can make me feel bad about it. After hand washing SINCE LEAVING MY PARENT’S HOUSE, I know FOR A FACT that handwashing uses more water and 100% is the worst. My heart goes out to people without one (I see you 99% of LA renters) and I will not gaslight you as my friends who had dishwashers and washing machines and AC did to me. Your life will get at least 80% better simply with modern conveniences. You can be “flirting with financial disaster” (quote by my friend Lauren to me about this time period) and walk into your new house with a dishwasher, washer/dryer, AC and be like, “I’M RICH!”. Taking down the weird wall was a must. That closet/walk-through space was practically unusable and made the space feel tinier than it already was. The general layout of the kitchen is the only way to do it, so all appliances stayed where they were. My house is very economical and there’s not one bit of unused real estate, meaning there’s no wall you can break through to make more space. Behind the stove on the left is the hall closet (one of two closets in the whole house), and the bump out after the fridge is our bathroom. We had to keep this odd, narrowing galley, the only thing we didn’t need was the doorway into the closet thingy. For the life of me, I can’t figure out why it was there to begin with. As you can see in the first photo, the previous owner had a piece of furniture in there to give themselves more storage and it’s not on the other side of the space because there’s a window in the middle of that wall. I actually really wanted to use the wood underneath the tile floor but turns out it was literally the subfloor, like between the cracks you could see down under the house. Unfortunately for insulation reasons, we needed to put something on top. If I could turn back time I would have ripped up all the floors and put matching new wood throughout the entire space because I love wood floors in the kitchen. There are original wood floors in the living/dining and one of the bedrooms and to save money I wanted to refinish them and only tile the space that didn’t have original floors but now, of course, the original floors are falling apart and I have to replace them. Le sigh. I digress, back to the point: the renovation was easy in the sense that it was “put new cabinets exactly where there had already been cabinets, minus the uppers on the sink side because I want open shelving there”. Spoiler alert: I still don’t have open shelving there. Because the space where the walk-through closet thing was more narrow, we couldn’t continue with normal cabinets and also…I couldn’t afford them. I told myself I would find the perfect vintage piece to put there, perfect being 36” high to match the counters, only 15” deep as to not block the doorway to the laundry room, and 38” long to make the most of the space. Spoiler alert: I did not find the perfect piece. Let’s take a look at how the kitchen has looked for most of the past 6 years: For funsies do you want to see the matching back unit kitchen? Fine, right? It’s fiiiine. A million times better than the before but, you know, whatever. Things I loved: being able to feel like my kitchen was clean, new appliances, a garbage disposal, and the natural light in here is really, really good. The plan was to put open shelving up but because the tile was put up without thinking about *how* the shelving would be installed – it’s proved to be tricky. Now after living without it for years I’m afraid that it will feel like it’s too visually busy. I get the draw of no uppers, it makes the space feel bigger than it is. That said: Mama could really use a little more storage. Also, I have a lot of pretty things, it kind of comes with the stylist territory and it would be nice to have some of them out. PHASE 3: SOLVING STORAGE PROBLEMS (OR ATTEMPTING TO)The piece of furniture I found at the flea market was too deep, too short, and too narrow. Doesn’t look too bad here and actually, the inside of it was super helpful for organizing so much so that we kept it until 2020. I really wanted the top to be flush with the countertop so the kitchen would feel more continuous so I did the basic IKEA Ivar cabinet hack. We painted the cabinet with leftover paint from our dining nook (and cut a piece of reclaimed wood from Ross Alan Reclaimed Lumber to be the exact length of the space). Two of the Ivar cabinets were perfect for leaving just a teeny bit of space on either side for our folded-up step ladder on one side and a few extra cutting boards on the other. We attached them directly to studs in the wall so they are technically floating, no feeties, and are completely flush with the rest of the counters, which is what I really wanted. The Ivar storage is basically our pantry. Pretty much all of our food storage is here and about half of it is cookbooks at the moment:) Stay tuned for the final reveal and I’ll show the organization because those shelves are not deep (11.75”) and we make it work. Because I know you will ask: cabinet pulls on the Ivar are Lostine. The beautiful vintage rug is Jean Palmer Home – you’ve seen it in my office reveal because I hadn’t found the perfect vintage rug for my cats to puke on in there yet, but I have now:) Pulls and handles for my original kitchen cabinets are an Etsy find, not sure if they have the exact ones anymore, mine were brass not brushed brass. We did the cabinet in 2020 and apparently, I could not stop myself from continuing to add boards to every wall. Here’s a very unstyled, lived-in moment from last year: Notice how a wine rack in the corner and Lomi composter on the washing machine were added to the mix. V pandemic of me. The kitchen was absolutely FINE however, it always bothered me ~a lot~ that the cabinets above the stove didn’t go all the way to the ceiling and didn’t incorporate the area above the fridge. Not only were the upper cabinets unsightly, but the lack of them was also a huge waste of space. I still didn’t feel like I was optimizing my space in the area before the laundry room, particularly the wall on the left – that area is tricky because you have to leave space to walk through. Additionally, we had put in a very fancy convection oven/vent/microwave from KitchenAid but we didn’t use it for anything other than reheating leftovers. It was not great at being a vent for the oven and stuck out way too much for how small this space is. The idea was to mount it to keep it off the counters thus more counter space but how bad it was at being a vent was driving me mad. Half of the time we cooked our smoke detector would go off. Another thing that always bothered me visually was the way the kitchen sink sat in the cabinet. I bought that sink because it was cheap and I didn’t think about how it would work with the cabinets – clearly. Listen, I know these aren’t real problems – that’s why I couldn’t bring myself to do anything about it. I’ve had bigger fish to fry over the past 6 years. There was also just a lot of creative problem-solving that would help, some of which I did, like the Ivar Cabinet hack. Oh, one nice thing about my fridge nook is that there’s a perfect hiding place for brooms, Chom Chom roller (best thing for pet hair removal!), etc. Side note: I bought all the appliances for both units in 2016 on Black Friday. Highly recommend buying appliances only on a big sale. I’ve lived with these KitchenAid (pre-Cafe era) appliances for 6 years and my honest opinion is: they’re good. No real complaints. I had some issues with the dishwasher but after having it serviced a few times I think they’ve figured it out. Currently, the ice maker has stopped working in the freezer and I need to have someone come and look at it but I’m busy so I’ll use an ice tray and I’ll deal with it later:) I assume after 6 years things like this will start to happen. Haven’t had any issues with the stove or oven and the microwave was fine besides the fact that I didn’t feel like it did a good enough job as a vent. What was I talking about? Oh, how my issues with the kitchen were dumb and not a big enough deal to make me do anything about it until these three things happened: 1. I Marco Polo’d so often during the pandemic with my phone resting in the window facing the stove that the cabinets not hitting the ceiling and wasted space over the fridge became a daily fixation. Example below: 2. I found the PERFECT shelving unit to fit the long blank wall on the left. I can’t over-emphasize how perfect this shelving unit is for that space. I had such specific dimensions that it had to fit. The depth is 10.25”, I could *maybe* go to 11” the length is 78” which is just right in order to walk through without feeling crushed. I love that there is some closed storage, a little surface area, and then open shelving for pretty storage. It’s also nice that it’s mounted to the wall, it feels lighter in the space. Let’s take a sneak peek, shall we? I personally love the banana styling in this iPhone pic. Both the bananas hanging from the wine rack AND the rotten bananas on the cabinet waiting to be made into banana bread. Oh, also the single butternut squash in a bowl. Obviously, this pic was taken to send to Andrew to show how proud I was for figuring out how to hang this by myself. It hasn’t fallen down yet! As you can see in this picture, the quartz countertop continues a bit into the space that starts to narrow, which makes the walkway feel cramped. This is why I needed the Rejuvenation cabinet to not be too wide. I’m thinking I could continue my ridiculous cutting board collection next to the cabinet since that won’t take up much space. I hung the cabinet so that the top of the cabinet is the same height as the countertops which makes that space feel like another surface to work on. In our case it’s turned into our drink station (coffee, matcha, alcohol, all three at once, etc.) if you look closely you can see another Rejuvenation beaut, their Brookside Rail System that holds all of our drink accouterment – but don’t look too closely! This is a sneak peek! FINAL PHASE: THE “MUCH BETTER” KITCHEN PLANThe final straw that made me finally finish this kitchen is: 3. My friend Rebecca started a company making cabinet fronts (and boxes) and got really sick of me complaining on Marco Polo about the space above my cabinets (I think it bothered her too). I met Rebecca when we were working on Orlando Soria’s HGTV show “Build Me Up” (RIP) pre-pandemic. She’s an amazing designer, design producer, and friend. Designer friends don’t let friends have weird spaces above their cabinets! Her company Design by Numbers (website coming, check out her insta) will make new cabinet doors to fit any boxes and it’s basically magic. You scan your space with an app on your phone, tell her the style and color you want and then they send you this and your jaw hits the floor: WUT?? THERE’S A CAT ON THE WASHING MACHINE! All of our jobs (and cats, I guess) are being stolen by computers. I mean what is even the point of shooting a reveal post, I’ve basically given it away. As you can see, the microwave is gone with a built-in real grown-up person vent in its place, cabinets that go to the ceiling that also include the refrigerator, and why yes, we have changed the color and style of my cabinets. The color I chose is “Puddy” (one of Rebecca’s paint options) and it’s a greenish taupe? I’m bad at describing colors. We lovingly refer to the style as a “baby shaker” because it has a tiny version of a shaker border. It’s classic but feels a little more modern and fresh. After I was like, “HELL YEAH,” I double-checked their measurements by hand (take that computers!) and they made and shipped them to me. It was that easy (for me anyway). As the company is launching they are offering 3 styles of cabinets: shaker, baby shaker, and slab. They can do just doors or cabinet boxes and doors. If you are interested in getting more info, you can email [email protected]. We were able to keep all my original lower cabinet boxes and the inside of the drawers, we just replaced the fronts. Design by Numbers provides the info to purchase the matching paint or ship the paint depending on state regulations. I purchased and had the cabinets professionally painted because as I have mentioned before I *will* DIY if necessary but something like this, no thank you. As far as the uppers, I had to recycle those. Since they were in good shape my contractor was able to take them out to reuse them elsewhere. I also donated the microwave. There was a bit of tile patching behind the microwave that needed to be done but nothing too hard and because I had cheap subway tile, it cost practically nothing. Design by Numbers made the new boxes for the uppers and they fit like a glove – the measurements were perfect. I don’t want to give too much away because you will get to see it all at the final reveal which is coming soon! I’m waiting on a few stray things to come in to put everything together including a new dining room table! This reveal/refresh will include the dining nook, kitchen, and the laundry room and will be live next month! In the meantime here’s a screen grab from my Marco Polo with Rebecca and Orlando mid-cabinet installation ? Stay tuned. Opening Image Credits: Design by Emily Bowser | Photo by Sara Ligorria-Tramp | From: Another MOTO Reveal: Emily Bowser’s Happy Dining Nook (With Custom Cat-Friendly Banquette, Because Duh) The post Years After A Forced Budget Kitchen Reno (Due To Black Mold And Out Of Control Renovation Costs)…Emily Bowser Is Designing The Kitchen She Actually Wanted appeared first on Emily Henderson. Originally from Emily Henderson https://ift.tt/EFpGAcC
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Tis the season of overwhelm, but it’s different this year. As one of my best friends put it last week, “My strategy is to prioritize the balls I don’t want to drop, and hope for the best with the rest.” She has a very demanding corporate career and two kids. She’ll hold on to the kids (not compromising there), prioritize the work projects that can’t get neglected, then phone it in, delegate, or push off everything else. The overwhelm can be real. As a Q4 content creator, I thought I was in one of only a few industries with this unreasonably busy season. And then I started talking to EVERY SINGLE WOMAN I KNOW. This year I have a strategy that I hope to god works. On top of the holidays, which rely heavily on the labor of moms, unfortunately every industry is at its most busy in Q4. It’s gnarly. The biggest challenge with 2022 is that the world, all industries, and society at large are treating us like we are still in 2019. We aren’t. And we can’t go back. What we’ve learned about priorities can’t be unlearned. So much came into focus during those two years that we can’t unsee. It’s this expectation and pressure to hustle, to do all the things, keep every ball in the air, scramble, feel scattered, and yet be ok with being exhausted as if it’s just “normal”. I feel like my friend is right – Either some balls are going to drop or we are. Before 2020 I was maniacally just doing it all because that’s the expectation. And while I would take a full week or 10 days off between Christmas and New Year’s, most of that time I felt I was recuperating (to be fair my kids were also much younger, and so much more exhausting). Christmas of 2020 was the first full season that was so slow and as we all know, such a different experience (with different highs and lows). This year I was already on the chaos train in early November, and it was driving recklessly. So I put on the breaks, hopped off, and came up with a plan to slow down. So here’s my strategy to cope or better yet AVOID the overwhelm – advice I’m giving myself and thought I would share (and I think it’s working!!) Rebrand Some “Holiday events” As New Years Events (And Push Off Til January)Example: A few years ago we were behind on our holiday gifts for our clients (we would send our clients fancy boxes of 6 chocolates). We missed the shipping deadline and after throwing my hands in the air and beating myself up we sent them as “New Years’ gifts instead”. They were all ELATED and actually had time to enjoy them, reach out, and connect with us in January. These might have even gotten overlooked during the holiday season. We did this three years in a row and it proved to be a far better gift marketing strategy (I think they noticed us more, tbh). Since Covid, we stopped doing client gifts altogether because managing addresses was impossible (who is remote? Who is in office? Who quit? Moved companies? Did the office close down?) THAT IS OK! Too. The same principle goes for New Years’ family photos/cards and even New Years’ neighborhood potlucks or cookie drop-offs. Shove it to January. Plan your service efforts in January. We want to be the family that does meaningful service projects to help others during the holidays, but the truth is that I never get my shit together, and then I beat myself up. But listen, so many organizations and churches are helping the underserved in December (one of the reasons I wish I belonged to one), and maybe a January or February project would be more impactful when there’s typically less help. This could also easily turn into a really great resolution where you help more throughout the year and not just for the holidays. Reschedule every optional personal appointment for January. This could be a lunch, a non-urgent doctor’s appointment, a girl’s night, or your pet grooming. Unless it’s holiday-specific or urgent, reschedule anything from December to January. Of course, we can’t let people down and we are scared of hurting people. You’ll say to yourself, “it’s just an hour of my time” but nothing is “just an hour”. You have the time to get ready, the commute, finding parking – everything is a thing. I went through my calendar and rescheduled so many appointments and I feel SO MUCH BETTER. I got like 15 hours back in December plus the brain space that would have been sucked into those appointments. Turn any work event into a long lunch or 3 pm happy hour, not a nighttime event. My team loves doing this – meet up early on Friday and have fun DURING work hours. They’ll thank you, I promise. Those that want to roll it over into dinner will:) Lower Your ExpectationsYou can’t be disappointed if you have low expectations. This means for your house, your food, less personal gifts, and your hosting abilities. I’ll go first! Done is better than perfect. Our tree this year is cute but definitely not “there” as far as design content for the internet. So my options are: 1. Stress about making it better but like REALLY FAST (was supposed to shoot tomorrow), spend a ton of time, and money, rearrange all the ornaments, DIY a garland, etc. Or 2. Shoot it unsatisfied and tree shame myself or have people disappointed in it not being up to par (both are guaranteed to happen), or 3. Not shoot it at all since there are no sponsors involved and just leave it as is. I’m definitely not doing 1, but not sure if I want to do 2 or 3. The pressure to be perfect is back/real – and I feel responsible for other people feeling that way, too. Did we OG design content creators create this holiday monster of everything looking so chic and perfect on the internet so that even we are disappointed if it looks just OK even though our kids couldn’t be happier???? I’m SORRY!! Which brings me to: Don’t Feel Like You Need To Post On Social Media Unless It Brings You HappinessRelease all your self-imposed social media posting obligations and take yourself out of the comparison culture hunger games. Example: I saw Brian trying to write a post for me on Facebook for my birthday while we were having such a fun family day and I was like, “oh, no, you don’t have to do that, I promise, just come hang out” and he looked at me, with hope in his eyes like, “really???” We were both so relieved that we made a pact to not have to tell the world in a poignant yet funny way how we feel about each other, our kids, our holidays, or every single occasion. Only post if you want to:) I’m taking my own advice on Christmas Day and maybe I’ll photo dump at the end of the day or end of the week but no, I will not be on social media when I don’t feel like it, which is often these days:) Employ The Genius Of The Potluck (Say Yes To Offered Help And Even Ask)I know that this might be a regional difference, but y’all I have found that when we lived in LA we felt this pressure to provide it all, cook or cater the whole meal, “Just bring yourself.” So if we have a get-together this year (which will be small -I’ve learned my lesson re large party panic attacks), I am going to try answering the “What can we bring?” with “A cheese plate or chips and guac would be great!” (with hopefully some notice). If your friends know you they’ll understand that you are busy and not think twice which also gives them permission to do it themselves. If you are busy and have no time to make something, we wrote a whole post about Trader Joe’s appetizers here – they are GREAT and your real friends won’t care where it’s from. Stock Up, Buying Once The Stuff You’ll Use A LotStock your pantry full of 10 good but generic (universally appreciated) hostess gifts that don’t take up a lot of space. I’d suggest something consumable (local wine or candle) so as to not make someone else store/donate something that might not be their style. DONE. Stock up on biodegradable and compostable cups and plates. I truly don’t like promoting anything single-use, but if you are having folks over give yourself permission during the holidays to have an easier cleanup. Obviously, stay away from plastic or styrofoam if you can, but if that’s not in your budget just do your best! There are a lot of options out there now and we can’t be perfect all of the time or we are all going to actually explode and splatter our guts all over our faux wreaths. And then they’ll never biodegrade:) Set Boundaries And Be Firm (To Protect Mental Health)I try to only schedule two or three social or holiday “events” a week (even that is a lot). This year we are doing the Hood River Santa Train, Elf The Musical, Zoo Lights, and two crafting/cocktail parties with different kid friend groups before we leave on the 16th for two weeks (where we’ll see Santa at Skypark!). Book in recovery time for just yourself or your family, time to clean the house, do laundry, and meal prep – Just say you are booked. This is a personal limit, I know, but for me limiting my social schedule has helped my depletion greatly. Yes, I see my friends/family less than I used to this time of year, but they are so busy, too! Maybe this is an age thing, maybe post-covid life shift, living in the suburbs (which I love), or maybe I’ve always needed these boundaries for myself but was socializing so much that I would sacrifice my own health to have a good time (pretty sure it’s all of those things). Let yourself be the person you are, not the one you want to be. I want to be the family that sings carols door to door, but I don’t really think that’s for us. I want to be the family that bakes cinnamon rolls like our family did, but it’s just so messy and I’m terrible at baking. I’m good at decorating, messy crafting, filling the house with spirit, and making big batches of soup/grilled cheese. All the rest is someone else’s expectation of me which I’ll fail at and then feel bad about myself. Lean into what you enjoy because that is what you are going to be good at, which will make you feel better, not worse about yourself (general life lesson). Any other good holiday hacks to help prevent (or cope with) overwhelm? Brian’s therapist gave him the best tool that we use all the time now – “Expand your timeline” – which has helped us not only slow down but also take the pressure off doing everything “this year”. Opening Image Credits: Photo by Jayme Burrows | From: Christmas Through The Years The post On Preventing (Or Preparing Or Coping) With “Overwhelm” During The Holidays (And A Letter To The Universe On Behalf Of Women) appeared first on Emily Henderson. Originally from Emily Henderson https://ift.tt/fJamuOG For those in the US who celebrated, we hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving surrounded by people you love (or at least like:)). And now that it’s been a few days since, we also hope that your kitchens have recovered. Also, we really want to know in the comments how decorated your home is for Christmas if you celebrate. Is it a full-on winter wonderland or are you still needing a minute before thinking about a tree?? Both are valid!! Also if you are interested in our Black Friday Sale post (that will be updated for Cyber Monday) check it out here! Ok, link time… This week’s house tour (via Cup of Jo) is a happy visual break from the browns and rusts that consume this time of the year. However, not only is it a joyous celebration of color and pattern, it’s full of awesome finds from a local “Buy Nothing” group on Facebook. You have to see what renter, Marcelline Balfour, created for her and her two daughters:) Enjoy! From Em: This time of year we recommend lots of “things”. I honestly have a hard time with it because I know at least for me I’m trying to buy and have less stuff. However, we know how helpful our guides are to you all so we try to do it as responsibly as possible (i.e. recommending things we actually own, have seen in person, are from shops we trust, etc.) But I love the idea of gifting an experience, service, or something consumable. Hence when I saw this graphic on @becomingminimalists‘ Instagram I immediately reshared on my stories. There are clearly so many great ideas that I wanted to share here too! So if buying stuff isn’t what you want to do this year I hope this helps. I know my team loves Groupon. It’s a great place to start if you’re feeling stumped to find something local and will also give you a great deal:) From Caitlin: I know I’ve recommended it before, but it’s gift-giving season and I cannot sing the praises of my Aer travel backpack enough!!! I bought it in 2018, have road-tested it on hundreds of flights, and it still looks and feels brand new. (I mean – look at it! So clean! How?!) It fits a ton, I’ve backpacked (in winter!) through Europe with it as my only bag, and it’d just be a GREAT present for the frequent flyer (or road-tripper) in your life. I’m currently on a fun little overseas trip hitting up a few cities and lemme tell you – this is a true Mary Poppins bag that makes traveling so much easier (I also welcome recommendations for Passau, Linz, Vienna, Graz, Bratislava, or Budapest if you have them!!!) From Ryann: My husband would like to tell you all about his slacks that go with everything. In his words “they can be dressed up or down–although I always wear them dressed up with GH Bass Weejuns. The inseam is shorter so they will show a little bit of the ankle and the taper is unmatched. They are a slim fit and the waistband is elastic and has a string tie so you don’t need to wear a belt with them.” And there you have it! I will say these from a woman’s perspective, these pants do look incredible and they look more expensive than they are. From Albie: Okay, while I’m on this gardening kick…I would be remiss if I didn’t tell yall about my new favorite garden-related Etsy shop from @See.Val. Create. I started following Val on IG earlier this year and had the pleasure of actually meeting her at The Meridian Experience. I was super geeked when she launched her shop a few weeks ago — one, because I’m always on board with someone chasing their big ideas; and two, because it meant I could support her while also getting some goodies for my garden. I’ve already gotten some veggie stakes & herb stakes from her, and plan to order some fruits + some custom ones. She also created a few other items & I’m looking forward to seeing this part of her business grow and flourish. From Jess: I can’t remember how I came across her (typical), but I found an artist on Instagram, Adèle Beaumais, that makes plates I’m completely in love with. I would LOVE to have some hanging in my kitchen. What a dream. Also From Jess: Likely because it was how I was raised, and the fact that I don’t have kids, but I am very adamant about not decorating until after Thanksgiving. Buuuut I was at Target last week and bought two boxes of this wooden bead garland for when I do decorate maybe this weekend. I’ve seen it in the light wood tone before but since I’m leaning into deeper browns in my home, I love that it also comes in a walnut color. Very excited to hang it up:) Also Also From Jess: Naturally I also picked up a Target candle. I loved this one because it’s super woodsy but not “holiday” if that makes sense. Plus it’s pretty! It’s the same style as the one Em used on a shoot a month or so ago. From Mallory: I gotta give it up for my favorite workout class that I recently go into…Rumble boxing!! They have a billion locations and it is SO much fun. It’s definitely the “soul cycle” of boxing (lots of lights, the teacher wears a headset microphone, bumpin music). If you like to SWEAT, this will get you there. I leave feeling crazy good every time and it’s how I’m planning to stay feeling healthy through the crazy holiday season. That’s it for us today. Have a wonderful week. See you tomorrow! xx Opening Image Credits: Design by Corbett Tuck | Styled by Velinda Hellen, Erik Kenneth Staalberg, Emily Edith Bowser, and Julie Rose | Photo by Sara Ligorria-Tramp The post The Link Up: Em’s Favorite List Of “Clutter-Free” Gift Ideas, Caitlin’s All-Time Favorite Travel Backpack, And A Candle Scent We Love appeared first on Emily Henderson. Originally from Emily Henderson https://ift.tt/OKgGk3Q Happy Saturday folks. We hope your bellies and hearts are still full from Thanksgiving (if you celebrate), and perhaps today we can fill you up even more with this special roundup of small design shops we adore. These are the shops we go to for inspiration, a boost in creativity, and for those exceptional decor pieces that bring in so much character. Many of them are Portland or LA-based and if you live in either area we highly recommend visiting them in person. But if not, we wanted to put their online shops on your radar so you can browse virtually and maybe even find a few really good gifts. Let’s begin. 1. Moon Friend Studio: Jumbo White Speckle Mug | 2. Nightwood Studio: Ambrosia Maple Serving Board | 3. Minimum Design: Ecotool Wooden Planter Mantel PDX: Mantel has really beautiful ceramics by Portland artists, stunning jewelry, and all-around great finds like these pastel vases. That serving board is functional art as far as I am concerned. The circle handle makes it really special. This is also where Emily got a ton of decor for the Portland Project. 1. Gigi Candlestick | 2. French Floral King Bedcover | 3. Medium Marguerite Pendant Light Alder & Co PDX: This lovely shop originated in Portland but is now housed in an 1876 farmhouse in Hudson Valley, New York which is quite apropos considering the selective antique and vintage-inspired inventory they offer. They are experts in curating truly timeless decor, fashion, and accessories, like that handmolded ceramic candlestick. But the bedcover is what’s on the top of my list. 1. Harvest Moon Trinket Dish | 2. Mini Kettle Basket | 3. Matte White Ear Vessel Midland: Midland is an LA-based gem where you can find handmade and small-batch ceramics, plus a wide variety of home goods and clothing. That woven basket is very good, and wouldn’t that trinket dish make a really great gift? They are having a big sale so go check it out! 1. Eclipse Rug | 2. Palace Pillow | 3. Bertie Blanket Block Shop Textiles: Block Shop Textiles is a textile, art, and design studio and chances are you’ve seen their designs before. They excel in making playful abstract art designs for wallpaper, rugs, pillows, blankets, and prints (oh my!). Today they are having a sale of 30-50% off table linens, prints, pillows, robes, rugs and more with minor imperfections! 1. Iron Wall Candle Holder | 2. Handmade Patchwork Quilt | 3. Brass Salt Mill June Home Supply: I don’t think I’ve seen a sexier salt mill. June Home Supply has a breathtaking inventory of elevated home decor pieces including this pitcher featured in Emily’s Farmhouse kitchen. 1. Pair Of Danish Pine Nightstands | 2. Moro Dabron, Augustine Candle | 3. Large Bobbin Mirror In Green Nickey Kehoe: The whole EHD team went in person to the new and improved Nickey Kehoe shop here in LA and let’s just say, just being inside is so inspiring. They carry a huge inventory in-store that is seriously worth checking out. We saw that mirror in person and it really is something special and is a splurge for sure but so lovely. 1. Tangent 3 Light | 2. Beni Ourain Morrocan Rug | 3. Grand Mogul Candle Lawson-Fenning: Not only does Lawson-Fenning make truly stunning furniture (remember the Moreno sofa from Emily’s LA living room??) but they also do collabs with independent artists and makers, and carry timeless pieces like this Allied Maker 3-arm pendant light. 1. Farmhouse Cushion | 2. Brick Lidded Jar | 3. Stack Candle Lost & Found: Lost & Found is an LA staple that sells everything from handmade pottery to colorful textiles (did you see this pillow from Emily’s gift guide??) to stylish fashion for women, men, and children. This is probably one of our favorite places to find special vessels and small objects to style a shelf with. 1. Canopy Self Watering Planter | 2. Botero Bird Vase | 3. Sisteron Throw Goodee: Goodee is a Black-owned design shop that emphasizes sustainability and fair trade practices. They stand by the statement that “A GOODEE stamp of approval means that every item we offer is transparently sourced, ethically made, and designed to last.” So every purchase from them actually feels good. Emily has this tray in oak and loves it. 1. Simple Wood Arch Cutting Board | 2. Liba Watering Can | 3. Woven Bench Hawkins New York: Hawkins partners with producers, family-owned manufacturers, and collectives all over the world that make stylish homewares. You might have spotted these lovely salt and pepper grinders in Emily’s farmhouse kitchen. They are also offering 20% off site-wide with code ILOVEHNY until 11/28. 1. Black Still Life Pitcher No. 1 | 2. Leather Rectangular Tray | 3. Fauna Oil + Vinegar Cruet | Virginia Sin +COOP: During our last team outing in LA, we stumbled into COOP+ which is located right by Nickey Kehoe (and there we had a chance encounter with EHD alum Tessa Neustadt–further proving that this store is where all the stylish people in LA go :)). We all fell in love with the store immediately. Those oil and vinegar cruets by Virginia Sin are would look pretty in any kitchen. 1. Diani Natural Storage Basket | 2. Round Accent Table | 3. Luxury Lamp 54Kibo: 54Kibo carries a curated selection of home decor and furniture from designers whose work is inspired by traditional African design. Remember that accent table from Emily’s LA living room update? It’s such a dynamic, sculptural piece that makes a huge impact. I also have had that storage basket on my wishlist for two years so it might just be the time to snag it since they are having a sale. 1. Sand Bowl | 2. Milk And Cobalt Grid Blanket | 3. Lidded Marble Bowl March SF: This one is for all of you Bay Area folks out there! March is an AWESOME design shop located in San Francisco near the Presidio that has a vast selection of beautiful decor. Have you ever seen something more “EHD” than that blue grid blanket??? The sand bowl and lidded marble bowl are also obvious winners. 1. Metal Planter | 2. Rustic Jug | 3. Reclaimed Wood Pyramid Decor Effortless Composition: Effortless Composition is a Black-owned shop that carries a stunning inventory of home decor by truly gifted artisans and makers. The founder, Brittiny, created this shop with the belief that creating a home you love should be effortless, so they do the footwork so finding quality decor to fill your home is a breeze. How cool is that wood pyramid object?? 1. Farmhouse Serving Bowl | 2. Silverlake Dinner Set | 3. Colbalt and White Vase Sheldon Ceramics: Founded by ceramicist Peter Sheldon, this studio located in downtown LA creates gorgeous pottery and ceramics. We love that serving bowl something fierce and can you imagine enjoying a meal using that stunning dinner set? Oh and remember all of those beautiful vases on this dining room table?? Yep, all Sheldon Ceramics. 1. Nester Throw | 2. Stone Bookends | 3. Granite Colander Bloomist: We love Bloomist for their inventory of beautiful objects that make styling a room so easy and fun. This granite colander is so lovely and is one of those pieces that is functional, and would look really pretty styled out on a kitchen counter. And good news! With code: BLOOM25 the whole side is 25% off until 11/29. 1. Water Hyacinth + Rattan Floor Vase | 2. Rainbow Loop Lumbar Pillow | 3. Abaca Rope Pendant Lamp EcoVibe: Ecovibe is a Black-owned design shop that has an incredible selection of home decor and furniture (they have the cutest Holiday decor and Christmas ornaments, too). Emily has this tassel pillow in two colors. 1. Azumaya Tea Pot | 2. Bottle Natural | 3. Japan Porcelain Objects (Set of 2) Tortoise General Store: Tortoise General Store (located in Venice, CA) carries curated vintage and new Japanese housewares. Head here if you want to browse through an insane collection of vintage and antique objects that look like they belong in a museum. 1. Omo Bath Set | 2. Abren Napkins | 3. Bertu Mini Pillows Bolé Road Textiles: New York-based designer Hana Getachew started Bolé Road Textiles out of a desire to merge her love of Ethiopian handwoven fabrics with her career in interior design, and it’s no wonder why this shop has blown up. The designs are minimal yet refined with a hint of playfulness and the quality is superb. We love these sweet minimal napkins that could make a great gift for someone who loves hosting dinner parties. 1. Antique French Canisters | 2. Olivia Floral Pillow | 3. Ceramic Decorative Bell Casa di LaValle: Curated by Interior Stylist and Founder, Cassandra LaValle, this shop is the place to go for warm, vintage-farmhouse-inspired accents (just in case those antique french canisters didn’t already give that away). 1. Butter Dish | 2. Antique Bronze Platter | 3. Ceramic Water Dispenser Notary Ceramics: Here is another Portland staple and if you love well-made ceramics, this is the place for you. What was once a one-woman operation is now a successful women-run business that creates really beautiful handcrafted pieces. Do you see that butter dish?? It’s so so pretty and perfectly understated. 1. Lilith Rockett Orb Container | 2. Haws Plant Mister | 3. Tilt Salt Dish Canoe: The CANOE concept is to offer simple, beautiful, and functional objects that can be used and enjoyed every day and they emphasize selling products that are made to last. I seriously don’t know anyone who wouldn’t love that orb container (including myself! wink wink!). 1. Low Table | 2. Golden Pig | 3. Marbled Mug Woonwinkle: Here’s another Portland design and gift shop that Emily loves for their passion for color. Their inventory is stocked full of colorful postmodern furniture and exciting vessels and vases. Also, who wouldn’t want a golden pig statue?? 1. Winter + Summer Cotton Coverlet | 2. Sidnie Lamp | 3. Maple Peg Rail Schoolhouse: While Schoolhouse is bigger than ever, we felt we needed to give this Portland-based company a shout-out because we love their products and love working with them even more. You have no doubt seen this iconic coverlet several times on the blog as Emily has had and loved it for years. The Sidnie Lamp is another staple we love and have styled in many rooms. They are giving 20% off sitewide in case you wanted to get anything:) Some of these shops may have updated sales so be sure to check them all out! Also if you have any small design shops in your area please shout them out in the comments below. Thanks for stopping by and have a great rest of your weekend. xx *Opener Image by Ryann Trombetti The post The Small Businesses We Love With REALLY GOOD Stuff appeared first on Emily Henderson. Originally from Emily Henderson https://ift.tt/6bKpvnP Black Friday Has Arrived And These Are All The Sales You Need To Know About Hand Delivered:)11/25/2022 I hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving. I was offline with my family which continues to be the best way to spend time ? A huge thanks to Jess for pulling together this post. If you are wondering where our sale queen, Miss Caitlin Higgins is, she is enjoying a MUCH-DESERVED holiday vacation with the one and only Brenda…her mom. Let me tell you that these posts are no joke in terms of the time they take to put together and she never says a peep about it. So in honor of her, I promise to work just as hard, bringing you the crème de la crème of this year’s Black Friday sales (with updates as they roll in). And as a reminder, these posts are not to promote reckless spending for the sake of scoring a discount. They are here to provide welcomed savings for the things and potentially gifts that you were planning to purchase anyway. That’s our plan at least:) So shop intentionally and have fun! Who doesn’t love getting a discount?! And if you need some gift ideas here is a link to our gift guide page which has a ton of thoughtfully curated ideas! Home & Decor54kiboDates: Through Monday, 11/28 AllModernDates: Through Monday, 11/28 Annie SelkeDates: Through Wednesday, 11/30 AnthropologieDates: Through Monday, 11/28 (if it’s like every other year:)) Apt2BDates: Through Friday, 11/25 Artfully WallsDates: Through Monday, 11/28 (maybe longer so will update!) ArticleDates: Through Monday, 11/28 Barnaby LaneDates: Through Monday, 11/28 Bespoke BinnyDates: Through Friday, 11/25 (maybe longer so will update!) BloomistDates: Through Tuesday, 11/29 Boll & BranchDates: Through Friday, 11/25 Boutique RugsDates: Through Monday, 11/28 BrooklinenDates: Through Monday, 11/28 Build.comDates: Through Monday, 11/28 Burke DecorDates: Through Monday, 11/28 CB2Dates: Through Monday, 11/28 The CitizenryDates: Through Monday, 11/28 Food52Dates: Through Monday, 11/28 Foundation GoodsDates: Through Monday, 11/28 FramebridgeDates: Through Monday, 11/28 Industry WestDates: Through Friday, 11/25 The InsideDates: Through Monday, 11/28 Jayson HomeDates: Through Friday, 11/25 Johanna Howard HomeDates: Through Monday, 11/28 Lulu & GeorgiaDates: Through Sunday, 11/27 ParachuteDates: Through Monday, 11/28 Rebel WallsDates: Through Monday, 11/28 SchoolhouseDates: Through Monday, 11/28 Serena & LilyDates: Through Wednesday, 11/30 Hope you got some great deals and check back for updates! Opening Image Credits: Design by Sarah Zachary | Styling by Emily Bowser | Photos by Sara Ligorria-Tramp | From: A Historic Mid-Century Modern Home That Was Completely Brought Back To Life (Hope You’re Ready For Some COOL Original Details) The post Black Friday Has Arrived And These Are All The Sales You Need To Know About – Hand Delivered:) appeared first on Emily Henderson. Originally from Emily Henderson https://ift.tt/5gjIH9L This list always looms out because there is a LOT of good stuff out there and it gets harder and harder to keep this focused. I feel this odd pressure to make it epic, but the older I get the less I love, need, and want. So this year I released the pressure and after the kids went down, I would throw on Love is Blind and pin from all of my favorite sites. My strategy was if my reaction to it was “ooh I want that” then I’d pin it (I liked a lot more, but tried to not go overboard). So it’s pretty specific to me and could be much much bigger (and I might do a follow-up post). Last year’s lists are still REALLY good and more comprehensive so go check those out here and here – and then at the end, I link up all of my favorite brands that I tend to shop from (they don’t change these days). *A holiday gift guide statement – we can’t be all things to all people at all times, so we are curating our gift guides differently this year. Everyone shops/consumes differently based on their location, budget, needs, and wants. We truly want to give ideas, with an editor’s eye and be a service to all in an attempt to help you find stuff you will actually use/love long term – regardless of budget. This shopping post (and a couple of others this coming week) are for those shopping the big sale weekend at larger retailers, but we have many others with small businesses, gift kit ideas, thoughtful gifts, and of course my favorite things (still working on it). If you don’t like shopping at big box stores, skip this post and come back again – there will hopefully be one for you ? 1. Striped Long Sleeve Tee | 2. The Ranch Cardigan | 3. Over My Head Ribbed Balaclava | 4. Je T’Aime Vintage Tee | 5. Merino Beanie | 6. Cherry Coke Tee FYI my new favorite t-shirt is the one from Nordstrom (from my mall post) but I usually buy 1 of these (#4) a year. Just make sure it’s the “vintage” fit. 1. Intentionally Blank Mika Platform Heels | 2. Grande Fanny | 3. CAVERLEY Pollie Boots | 4. The Transport Saddlebag I don’t dress up very often these days but man these shoes are CUTE. Now, I do love a fun bag that can easily make my very casual outfits much cooler. The Grande Fanny from Clare V is so fun and practical. I love mine and Jess just got one and is also a huge fan. They come in other color options too. I also love my Madewell bag and think those thick straps make them more comfortable and more fun to wear. 1. Polar Sherpa Color Block Jacket | 2. Clean Elevation Legging | 3. Pippa Packable Pullover Puffer | 4. LENZING™ TENCEL™ Modal Pajama Joggers HOT TIP: #2 – those elevation leggings are game-changing for me. On the site, it said they have a “suede” feel which sounds constricting so I wouldn’t have ordered it. While doing the mall shoot, I tried them on because I could feel the fabric in person. The description I’d use is “melted butter”. The fabric is INCREDIBLY soft and buttery and yet not constricting, totally breathable, hides what’s underneath, and yet isn’t super thick either. It does NOT cut in (has a nice thick waistband). I wear a medium (so size up). And yes, it has a pocket at the waistline. I ordered two so that I could live in them this winter without having to wait for the wash – and they look nice enough that I even wear them out with tall boots ALL the time. And those pajamas are my favorite (look for the Tencel modal fabric, specifically – so soft, breathable, and thin). 1. Kallia Clogs | 2. UGG Sunburst Tall Boots | 3. Emu Platinum Outback Scruff Slippers Brian laughed at this over my shoulder, but it’s indeed what I want to wear this winter (indoors, mostly). I’m a house shoe person:) 1. Charlotte’s 4 Magic Steps to Hydrated & Glowing Skin Set | 2. Jo Malone Pomegranate Noir Bath Oil | 3. Vitamin C and Hyaluronic Acid Serum Ampoule I sent all of these links to Brian for Christmas – Jo Malone is my bath oil which smells incredible (and lasted for over a year with me bathing 3-4 times a week). #3 has been game-changing for my face – I’m SO DRY and if I put it on in the morning my face is happy, if I don’t it’s not. And I’m very excited to try this Charlotte set (I use her face illumination primer every day when I want to look naturally glowy). I also love this Merit lip oil (it feels so good and the colors are so soft and pretty). 1. Natural Cotton Slub Tassel Pillow | 2. Stripe Bolster | 3. Tasseled Cushion Cover I have #1 in two colors, and when it comes to styling out my family room sofa want to splurge on #2 – I saw it in person and it’s SO SOFT. 1. Waffle Bath Towel | 2. Classic Duvet Cover | 3. Organic Bath Towel Brian doesn’t like waffle towels but those are so much prettier than terrycloth IMHO (#3, which we have – get bath towels, not bath sheets – almost too big and take up so much space in the dryer!). If you know anyone who recently moved or is on a bedding budget, Brooklinen is still my favorite percale out there (not sponsored – it’s just that good). Go for the duvet and fitted sheet (skip the flat, IMHO). 1. Ceramic Match Striker | 2. Reflection Fashion Glass Candle | 3. Medium Wood Matchbox #2 is the candle I’ve been burning for years in my bath and it smells very good and is long-lasting (and looks so high-end). 1. Wood Asterisk Candle Holders (Set of 2) | 2. Swedish Oil Lamp | 3. Stoneware Candlestick | 4. Stack 03 Candle | 5. Modern Moroccan Candlestick | 6. Wood Asterisk Candle Holders (Set of 2) I want that Swedish oil lamp badly and #5 would look great in our kitchen. 1. Blue Glass Carafe + Mug | 2. Bedside Carafe | 3. Orskov Carafe with Tumbler This is a holdover from my stylist days – a bedside carafe is such a pretty thing to have in a guest room. 1. Ziggy Vase | 2. Farmhouse Pitcher Eggshell | 3. Colorful Iron Bud Vase | 4. Off-White Novah Pitcher | 5. White Walnut Tulip Vase | 6. Stoneware Pitcher #6 is GREAT for the price. I’d take all of these for my inventory ? 1. Natural Tadelakt Centerpiece Bowl | 2. Oval Wooden Tray | 3. La Struttura Terracotta Sculptures | 4. Lilith Rockett Orb Container | 5. Extra Large Ceramic Bowl | 6. Norr Tray These are all so pretty and special. I have #6 in the oak color and have used it so much. 1. Courbe Green Ceramic Table Lamp with Rattan Shade | 2. Britta Metal Floor Lamp | 3. Seta Wicker Table Lamp | 4. Bibelot Wavy Black Metal Mini Table Lamp with Rattan Shade Yes to all of these for me…I’ve had these on my nightstands for years, FYI. 1. Farmhouse Spice Jar | 2. Tuscany Cruet | 3. Hammer Grinder | 4. Rings Oil Bottle | 5. Farmhouse Pottery Silo Garlic Keeper | 6. Oak Wine Stopper I want #5 and #6 now (I’m pretty sure garlic can be in a bowl with my onions, but how cute is that?) 1. Briar Dinner Plate | 2. Food52 x Dansk Købenstyle Butter Warmer | 3. Verve Artisan Citrus Juicer | 4. Enamel Ice Cream Scoop | 5. Washed Natural Linen and Leather Apron | 6. Enamel Citrus Press Always shopping for pretty kitchen accessories (did you see the post last week?). Sent #2 to Brian to get this week and hoping it works with our induction top! I want #3 because it’s so pretty (but admittedly too expensive so #6 is a better bet). 1. Brass Ladle | 2. Mini Cheese Set | 3. Stainless Steel Flatware As a soup lover, I would love a pretty brass ladle like #1? 1. Tap Stackable Tumblers (Set of 4) | 2. Gregorian Wine Glasses | 3. Rainbow Set Cocktail Glasses I bought really big wine glasses that even I hate drinking out of so #2 is a nice compromise – a stem but not too high or fancy. Ok, so here is where I frequently shop (and we are promoting more small businesses that we love and sell online on Saturday so be sure to come back for that). Fashion
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And if you have missed them and hoping to shop this weekend – Here’s Brian’s Mall shopping post (with good dude pics), Our kid’s wish list, Last year’s epic kid gift guide, my favorite things from last year here and here (most still current and way more than here), our favorite Etsy shops and so much more to come (small business, gift kids, and consumable gifts + more). Opening Image Credits: Photo by Sara Ligorria-Tramp | From: Our Scandinavian (And Easy, Mess-Free) Holiday Living Room Reveal + How I Finally Figured Out My Biggest Styling Problem… And Solved It The post My Gift Wishlist (SOME Of The Good Stuff On The Internet – ROUND 1) appeared first on Emily Henderson. Originally from Emily Henderson https://ift.tt/PpY8mAT There’s a strange sort of sound that escapes a man’s mouth when he hears the phrase, “Let’s go shopping.” It’s somewhere between a grumble and a wince, a gwince, and it usually indicates his reticence to hold spaghetti-strapped paper bags while sitting on an uncomfortable chair waiting for his partner to look at something they’ll never buy. I know that’s a massive generalization, that there are plenty of men who don’t gwince when asked to go shopping. I acknowledge that those men are better than I. Because usually, I’m a gwincer. Which is a total bummer for a spouse whose job is literally shopping for things. Emily spends hours perusing the aisles of antique malls, vintage stores, and flea markets, and she specifically looks at vacation destinations to make sure there’s an antique shop in town even though she almost never purchases anything, she just likes to look! Just for inspiration! It’s truly baffling to me, and after all these years, you’d think I’d be better at tagging along, but as we say to our children when they encounter a rude kind of person, I’m still learning how to behave. So Emily has resorted to bribing me. Like I’m a toddler. When she proposed this particular journey to the mall, to gather ideas for a gift guide, she said in a tone usually reserved for training a puppy, “We can go to lunch, maybe get you a beer.” It totally worked. After some delicious soup dumplings and a frosty IPA, I was the happiest kid in the mall! I mean, look at me! We didn’t buy a ton, mostly just looked, and you know what? It was fun. I told Emily I’d remember not to gwince the next time she says let’s go shopping, that I would do my best not to act like a spoiled little man-child. But I’m still learning. American EagleSuper Soft Plaid Flannel ShirtI was pretty surprised by this one, I never thought of myself as an American Eagle kind of guy. The store, I mean. I’m totally an American eagle guy in like wildlife terms. Those things are majestic as hell! But I was shocked to find this blue and white plaid flannel that is totally my vibe, fits well, is super soft, and very affordable. I’ll be checking them out for future finds. And watching them scoop fish out of lakes. J. CrewMidweight Light FlannelIn my younger days, I’d scoff at how “preppy” J. Crew was, but now I feel right at home in it. They definitely got the “cool dad” game on lock. Their plaids are classic and kind of fit all types of dudes. Like this subtle flannel. I’m big into flannels again and I think Eddie Vedder would approve. Rugged Merino Wood CardiganOk, you’re gonna see me do this a lot with my arms. I know I just said I was a child, but this isn’t me pretending I’m a big airplane. It’s something I didn’t even know was a habit until Emily pointed it out. Apparently, I do this after putting on every garment, I test the sleeve length. See, I have long arms and some things fit on the torso but hike up too far above the wrist, which is an automatic pass. So I do my little airplane to make sure it’s not a waste of time buttoning. This super cozy cardigan was not a waste of time. It may be on top of my Xmas wishlist. Heritage Cotton Rollneck SweaterWe asked what their signature item was for men, and they pointed us to this roll-neck sweater. It made me feel like a cool French film student. Sherpa-Lined Corduroy Shirt-JacketI really like this lined shirt/jacket thing. I know shirt/jacket things are super hot right now and there’s a word for them but I don’t want to look it up. Just know that this corduroy shirt/jacket thing is nice. Oh, and I’m doing the airplane again. Eco Nordic Shirt JacketNordstrom – ClothingSkogsö Water Resistant JacketHere I am explaining my long arms to Emily in this super dope winter jacket by a brand that is fun to say – FJÄLLRÄVEN. Water Resistant Quilted Jacket with Corduroy TrimI’m always on the hunt for a warm, water-resistant jacket. This one has style and was super comfy. I could wrangle some horses in this. Marled Organic Cotton & Cashmere CardiganI’m a big fan of cardigans, especially in the morning. I tend to wear a lot of t-shirts, and when I wake up I’ll throw on some sweats and a tee, then wrap up in a warm cardigan. This one is very soft and would go well with my morning cup of coffee/scramble to pack lunches and get kids out the door. Legend Plaid Flannel Button-Up ShirtMore flannels. Both (here and here) are the softest things I’ve ever felt, and both passed the airplane test. The Movement Flannel ShirtBut wait, you’re probably saying, “Enough tops, what about a couple of pictures of you trying on pants and looking like you just rolled out of bed hungover?” Don’t worry, I got you. Legend SweatpantsI would lounge in these sweats all day, they were sooooooo cozy. Everett Airluxe Slim Straight Commuter PantsAnd these are Nordstrom’s signature men’s pants, they come in tons of colors and apparently made me want to look at my own butt. Nordstrom – ShoesNuptse® 550 Fill Power Down Mule and Wicked Good Venetian MoccasinSlippers are the one thing I never seem to have but always want. Especially on these cold winter mornings, my feetsies need some warm love. I put both of these on my wish list. The North Face ones are very warm, and good for snowy climates and the L.L. Bean’s are great for around the house. Madewell For MenSpeaking of feetsies, if there was one pair of shoes I could live in for the rest of my life, it would be these Red Wing Iron Ranger Boots (not pictured, sorry). I get so many compliments on them from other dudes, it’s crazy. They’re sturdy, comfy, and make me feel more badass than I actually am. What more could you want?? Dick’s Sporting GoodsVRST Men’s Essential Pocket TeeLike I said, I wear a lot of t-shirts. These pocket tees are my favorite in the whole wide world, I own about ten of them and wear them pretty much every day. They’re super soft and stretchy without clinging to my beer belly. They come in a bunch of colors and last a long time. Love these things. Stanley 40 oz. Adventure Quencher TumblerNot clothing but important nonetheless, these Stanley mugs are pretty rad, and just like the box from the old McDLT, they keep the hot side hot and the cold side cold. Look at that happy toddler. He got a few Xmas presents and had fun shopping! No more gwincing for him, he’s an enthusiastic shopper and will be from here on out. He swears. Oh, and the flannel I came in is a favorite of mine. It’s from Target, super cozy and affordable. Ok, bye! *Photos by Kaitlin Green The post Brian’s Cool Dad Gift Guide (It’s Another In-Person Mall Review!) appeared first on Emily Henderson. Originally from Emily Henderson https://ift.tt/Gc0bLyn Today’s post is all about the appliances we chose for our kitchen. I’ll give you a tour inside each so you can get a sense of their capacity and how functional they are so you can gauge whether or not they are right for you. Or if you aren’t in the market for appliances you’ll get to snoop inside my fridge:) I approached Build with Ferguson for this partnership because I loved working with them in the past, I knew that they carried most of the appliances for the whole house that we wanted, and y’all, their showrooms are absolutely spectacular. They are a one-stop shop for everything you need (and they have way more than just appliances – faucets, lighting, flooring – anything to renovate, remodel, and even a lot of decorative elements). For me, I like my appliances like I like my men – intuitive, easy, nice looking, and high quality enough so they don’t break down. Unlike my men, I like them integrated or panel-ready if possible, or if we are going to see it – then ideally it’s a beautiful feature. We actually prefer less bells and whistles than maybe some other families as our needs are relatively simple. Plus it’s a farmhouse, not an episode of The Bear and so we skipped some of the more techy options there intentionally (which I get into later). I wanted the range to be the star (and it is) and the rest to be hidden but this is all just a personal preference and only you know what is best for your family. We are EXTREMELY happy with all of them thus far, so let’s get into it. The 48″ Aga Elise Induction RangeNow we shot a whole story for you about how cooking with induction and convection works, along with some learnings so stay tuned on that. More and more research is coming out FAST and hard about gas ranges, with different states enacting more regulations (including Oregon now), so if you are shopping for a range or are going to remodel soon, then induction is great to think about. The long and the short of it is that we love this range very much and are extremely happy with our choice. THANK GOODNESS. I was nervous, not going to lie, and yes, there was a short learning curve on temperature and speed – as was assumed, just like switching to an electric car. But we are so happy with it. Not only is extremely stunning (which is very important to me) but cooking on it has been GREAT and way less of a challenge to learn than I predicted. The quick concerns we had were about capacity and cookware, and neither has proven to be a problem at all. Sure, we had to buy some induction non-stick pans, but all of my former soup pots work on this. Additionally, we had to buy smaller cookie sheets and often use two instead of one for large batches, but we knew that going into it and it’s not annoying at all. There are three ovens – a convection, a multi-functional (that has a traditional oven as well as convection, defrost, and more), and a broiler drawer. It’s all easy and GREAT. The only thing to call out is that you can’t put a massive turkey in the oven – To test this we fit a 13lb turkey on a 9×13 roasting pan but we haven’t been able to find a larger roasting pan that fits due to the handles that stick out (I’m still on the hunt, btw). So even though you have 16″ of horizontal width, the handles make them too big. More on this later, but essentially for us, this is totally fine as we don’t host Thanksgiving and if we ever decide to (with a ton of people to warrant a massive turkey) we’ll likely buy a countertop electric turkey roaster. You can fit everything else:) We love that this has multiple ovens and we use two at a time very frequently (double ovens FTW). It’s just so gorgeous, the top is so easy to clean and after a day of trying out every single feature (and even testing the speed of water boiling) we are so excited that they all work really easily. We bought the brass knobs separately, FYI. After doing so much research I’m happy to report that this 48″ induction range is the most beautiful on the American market right now and it works wonderfully. I will say that it can use a better “guide to cooking” rather than just a user’s manual, which is what my next post will hopefully help serve as… Faber Inca Pro Plus 42 Inch Wide Insert Range HoodThis was a last-minute purchase because we kinda forgot about the hood. Induction will do that to you:) Technically you still need one by code, but there are no gas fumes which is nice. I burn things a lot (not more on induction – I just historically burn things and need to use a hood to stop the fire alarm). This one is good – we opted against anything splurgy honestly because you can’t see it and it’s not something we felt was super important to us, therefore a place to save. FYI you can go slightly smaller than your range when it comes to your hood (our range is 48″, the hood is 42″ insert and the build-out of the hood looks the same as the range). 30″ Refrigerator and 24″ Freezer Bluestar Panel-Ready ColumnsThis is our first foray into the columns versus the fridge on top and freezer on the bottom and we are very happy. Stylistically the side-by-side is simple and pretty, with less lines (almost looks like a piece of furniture). We wanted more capacity than we had before because we, like everyone, leaned into staying home more (even post covid) and we cook every meal with a ton of fresh produce. Both have ample capacity for our family of four. The fridge has almost 17 square feet of capacity, btw if that’s helpful to you. We talked through it a lot and decided that for us, any bigger of a fridge would mean that things just get lost and then mold/go bad unless we are very, very on top of it – which we aren’t. We live very close to many grocery stores and really thought about how often we’d shop (one big shop on Sunday mornings – and a second shop for randoms mid-week). So we don’t need to hoard for two weeks and if we did it would just go bad (because of the size of our family). The natural reaction after covid is to go bigger and hoard more, but I’m telling you that for us we ended up buying more food at once, then it go bad or we couldn’t find it, so we’d buy more, waste what we had and then feel so bad about it. So the 30″ column is perfect for us. Whereas a larger capacity freezer means you can freezer hoard – and freezer goods obviously have a much longer shelf-life. Our 24″ freezer column has so much capacity which is such a good thing (cut to many a night where I make a big soup that no kid in the world would eat and the kids get some sort of chicken strips, pizza, fish sticks). We love a big freezer ? In the fridge, you can adjust the shelves to fit your needs – we made the top one lower to make room for bottles of white wine. We obviously styled it out (you know, the “orange drawer”) trying to show you scale with products in a neat way that gave you a sense of its space. But they are all around 8″ deep which allows for one thick layer of produce or dairy – a block of cheese for scale. The freezer has so much space – we can’t seem to fill it, or maybe we go through it so quickly with our fish stick/carrot stick menu… I actually wish I had put in a 2-gallon jug of milk so you get a better sense of scale – it’s a LOT of space. That berry basket of tomatoes is actually really large:) All in all, we are very happy with them and of course, you know they come panel ready like ours (which look like cabinets), but also BlueStar has over 1000+ different colors as well as stainless steel. I’m currently convincing my brother to buy BlueStar and he’s into it. We got these straight from BlueStar in exchange for services because the columns were new to the market, but Build also carries a ton of BlueStar appliances that you can check out here. I’m truly such a fan now. Our 24″ Marvel Fridge DrawersThe emergence of the drawer fridges is one that I fully support – gone are the days of the garage fridges. Is this a necessity? Nope. Does it get used all day every day – YES. And “amount of usage” is what I am placing value on these days to help me make decisions. Technically you don’t NEED hardly anything to live, and there is a level of convenience that for better or worse we love in this country and this convenience can enhance our day-to-day experience in our home. So we really tried to be as responsible as possible (not perfect, y’all we are not perfect) and gauge how much we will actually USE something before committing to it. On that note, we use these drawer fridges a lot. These are for drinks, mixers, and kids’ fruit/snacks. We forewent the wine fridge because they usually don’t get as cold as we like them (because white wine isn’t supposed to be ice cold, we know, we know but I’d like a word with the wine fridge industry) so we have some white wine in here, too (lying down). But between beer, sparkling waters, and even some weeknight non-alcoholic “cocktails” these drawers are full. These are solid additions if you are remodeling and you entertain a lot (or like us, work from home). Our 15″ Pebble Ice MachineThe VIP of drink appliances IMHO. It’s a very old joke amongst my team (and family) that I love very, very, very cold water. Another appliance that gets so much use and makes every drink feel more fun. We have this exact model at the mountain house and love it so much, so we repeated it in this kitchen, too. Our 24″ Integrated Viking DishwasherTo the left of the sink (a much-heated debate on location), we have our integrated panel-ready dishwasher that cleans like a dream. As you can see we have a pull-out flatware drawer which we haven’t had before and really love it. They all stack so nicely and neatly (see below). We usually don’t have that much flatware so the left side is for cooking utensils. As you can see it has a row for wine glasses (which we don’t really use because I’m the only one that has wine, so just one glass) and but I wanted to show you the function. Without the wine glass leaning you have an additional row for glasses. All in all, we have ZERO negative things to say about this dishwasher. We use the “normal wash” every day which does the trick and the kids can easily load and unload. It has a lot of other features, but we usually hand wash our pots and pans so we don’t need it. Every. Single. One. of these appliances is GREAT and while it’s not like I’ve tested every dishwasher on the market, we are genuinely happy with all of them. The ones that you can see shine (the range) the ones that just need to function do so perfectly for our needs. A huge thanks to Build with Ferguson for partnering on this kitchen. We have loved working with them over the years and pitched them this partnership specifically with these appliances in mind. We did a trade for PR, photography, and social media services but I’ve done this a long time and know what brands and products I want to put my name behind. These are them. xx Thanks for supporting the partnerships that allow us to document our projects so thoroughly. I hope you gleaned some valuable information. Head to stories to see more! Kitchen Resources: *Design by Emily Henderson and ARCIFORM The post All About Our Appliances – What We Chose, How We Integrated Them, And How Much We Love Them appeared first on Emily Henderson. Originally from Emily Henderson https://ift.tt/naYhJH7 These gift guides are hard because IMO gifts are personal to the person and their interests, needs, homes, bodies, etc., and buying people a gift they don’t want or need is a massive bummer for a million reasons. So by nature making a list for “her” or “him” feels harder every year. But if I reframe it as just “ideas” that could spark other more personal ideas I can get excited. So in an attempt to gather ideas and understand what might be both specific and thus possibly universal for kids, I did what most moms would do on a Monday night in November, and offered to pay my kids a quarter for each solid gift suggestion they think a lot of kids would like. They understand the blog now and we made it a family meeting, which was actually really sweet doing it together. We all really went for it and I still need to settle up 2 dollars each, which I admit is totally weird parenting but oh well). FYI our kids are 7 (girl) and 9 (boy) and if your kids, or your gift recipients, are younger I highly suggest you check out last year’s gift guide which is still extremely relevant – all toys our kids genuinely played with a LOT. Many of them still to this day. Squishmallows1. 16-Inch Large Navina The Narwhal | 2. Plush 8″ Plush Mystery Box Three Pack | 3. 14-Inch Green Spotted Jellyfish First off, I’m calling rank right now as they call me their #1 Squishmallow, because as they say I have a pretty darn great jelly belly (I know how much kids love the softness of their mamas and it’s really sweet). While these inanimate competitors are extremely squishy, snuggly, and cute stuffies (who don’t have my “love pillows”), our kids are obsessed with how cuddly they are. OBSESSED. They also want you to know that Jellycats are still the best (but not as soft as Squishmallows). Squishmallows are BIG THOUGH, which makes them a great gift because size matters to kids but you are warned that they take up a lot of real estate:) Crystals, Gems, And Prisms1. Color Hanging Crystal Prism Suncatcher | 2. 19 pcs Crystal Kit | 3. Moon Amethyst Crystals Suncatcher Both of our kids really love anything that feels like a gem. They collect them and cherish them as something special. I think they recognize that they are earth’s real treasures. We have also given these as gifts to their school friends which are always a HIT and so affordable (tie a string to it so they know to hang it in the window). Not bad for a dollar a piece. DronesReally hard not to think these are cool. The cheaper ones will die/break faster unless you really know how to control them. But Charlie specifically loved his (until it broke after a few months). Pokemon CardsI feel like they are speaking a different language, but they are obsessed with these trading cards and it does keep them quite occupied. They sit in their room talking about them for hours with their friends. So when I asked for what kind of Pokemon cards they both looked at me like I truly will never get it and said “VSTAR and VMAX”. And so it begins. Rubberband Jewerly Kit1. Loomipal Mega Combo | 2. YITOHOP 12080+ Loom Bands Kit | 3. Rainbow Loom Craft Kit Neon Edition Our kids play with these A LOT. Both of them. They made bracelets for all their friends (and us). So cute. On the same note, Birdie got this one for her birthday and has made SO MANY bracelets since then. Many of them with “I love you mama” on it, which I highly endorse and encourage to potentially get to experience. Fuse Beads1. Perler Fused Beads 11,000/Pkg-Glow In The Dark | 2. Perler Harry Potter Fuse Bead Kit for Kids and Adults | 3. Perler Bead Fun Fused Bead Kit Brian’s worst nightmare is tiny beads everywhere and yet we keep buying these because our kids love them so much. The key to these is to get a lot of the fun stencil shapes (not just circles and squares). Our kids will do this for hours and yes, it’s messy but their creations are just that – their creations, usually full of color with so much personality. ATM Piggy BankY’all. These are 3 or 4 years old (I originally put them on a holiday gift list years ago) and they still love theirs and have all of their tooth fairy and chore money in them (and they get a lot of use and haven’t broken down). They are ugly big pieces of plastic but they are a homerun that your kids will like (and include a special pin number so they feel like grownups). Plus they have to put their money somewhere, right? Birthstone Anything1. Mini Zodiac Crystals Gift Set 2 Piece | 2. National Geographic Birthstone Dig Kit | 3. Birthstone Necklace Birdie just got into birthstones and they feel so special to her (I guess opal AND tourmaline are both her birthstones and y’all Tourmaline is NOT a cheap stone, so we are leaning into opal). Charlie is actually into them too! She also loves this jewelry box where she keeps her jewelry treasures. Her box is the medium size and is kinda spendy but hopefully will go on sale this weekend! For her, I take her vintage/thrift shopping and buy her costume jewelry. Thanks, Sue Sue for giving her the idea. Cozy BlanketsIt seems like a lame gift but it’s not. I’m not sure what is normal but our kids are obsessed with extremely soft blankets. They each have their “cozy blanket” which gets A LOT OF LOVE. They drag them from their bed to the sofa every weekend and prefer them over clothes in the morning. My only beef with this type of fabric is that after you wash it a couple times it isn’t as soft (I think that’s just the nature of faux fur). So our kids avoid putting them near food/water so they NEVER have to wash them. Both disgusting and adorable. But yes these soft blankies are always a huge hit. Sewing MachineThis is pretty specific but they INSISTED I put it on the list. For Birdie’s birthday, she asked for a sewing machine so I got her a $30 machine that not-so-shockingly stopped working on our 4th pillow (Day 1). The kids BEGGED (and begged and begged) for a real sewing machine and I was honestly hesitant to buy one (while secretly SO EXCITED to start quilting with them). Since we bought it they have spent hours upon hours sewing pillows or clothes for their stuffies (after watching these super slow and sweet YouTube tutorials). I’m bragging here for sure, but they learned how to thread the needle and bobbin and do it all by themselves. Obviously, this is personal to the child. I wasn’t surprised that Elliot loved it, but Charlie loved it equally if not more. I think most kids like “making things” and a sewing machine (when not framed as fashion design or even “crafting”) is a cool machine with engineering and sharp needles that helps them create something that satisfies their inner world. We went to a local store and after talking to the passionate salesperson, was recommended Baby Lock Joy. It’s only been two weeks but I feel good recommending it since the salesperson was so adamant that for our skill level and our desires, this was/is a solid machine that will last. Some ideas that Charlie is into but we haven’t tried – night vision binoculars and lava lamps (dear god). Gel BlastersI cannot vouch for these gel non-nerf guns but I’m extremely excited about these because you don’t have to keep track of the bullets when outside and these “bullets” are biodegradable (we won’t allow these inside, I hope). IT’S ABOUT TIME. If anyone has experience with these please leave your tips in the comments, but these are going to be a family present for all four of us because we like to play these kinds of games outside, and this time no hunting for foam bullets afterward! Paint By Number For Kids1. Paint By Numbers, Moonlit Unicorn | 2. Pony & Mother Paint-by-Number Kit | 3. Beginner Easy Acrylic Watercolor Number Painting Canvas Arts for Kids Birdie really wants this and I kinda want to get one for me too. Disco Ball Party Pack1. Large Mirror Disco Glass Ball | 2. Disco Ball Light | 3. UO Exclusive Disco Ball Light Up Wireless Speaker Our kids (with friends or without) love to throw on the disco ball, ask Alexa to play The Greatest Showman, or now Marshmellow, and dance/sing and feel like they are in their own world. For a year we had out the drum machine which was awesome (and we need to set it back up). They could plug in their favorite The Greatest Showman song and play along. We added a karaoke mic one year which was fun while it lasted (but didn’t last long enough IMHO). My Favorite Affordable Big Impact PresentProbably the most fun-for-the-price gift I ever gave them was for Birdie’s rainy birthday party last year. I went to Goodwill (which admittedly was before Halloween so the getting was good) and bought $100 worth of costumes, including hats, jewelry, and crowns, and shoved them in a trunk we already had. WHAT A HIT. The kids played with it consistently for 8 months and still do when friends come over. So much imaginative play and a LOT of giggles. I mean, I would love a treasure trove of costumes, too. Stocking Stuffer Ideas1. Mad Libs | 2. PAW Patrol Pez Dispensers | 3. Toothbrushes (Frozen and Star Wars) | 4. Cute Band-Aids | 5. Hair Scrunchies | 6. Fun Socks The specific products above are just examples of Mad Libs, Pez dispensers, toothbrushes, cute band-aids, hair ties, and fun socks! All of these are great, easy, mostly practical, and are what goes in our kid’s stockings. They are always a hit. And just as a reminder… The “No-Fail” (In Our Personal Experience) Kid Gifts We Own1. Magna-Tiles 100-Piece Clear Colors Set | 2. Straw Constructor STEM Building Toys | 3. Squigz Starter Set | 4. 3in1 Safari Wildlife Tree House Building Toy | 5. Rad Rainbow Craft Case | 6. Napping Nipper Dog Stuffed Animal Lastly, I hope it doesn’t feel disingenuine to keep recommending the same stuff year after year but I’m telling you, Magna-Tiles, Straw Toys, Squigz, LEGO anything, Craft kits, and of course, Jellycats. Well, there you have it. Gift ideas directly from Charlie and Birdie that they think most kids will really love (because they want them too:)) Hope this helps! xx Opening Image Credits: Photo by Sara Ligorria-Tramp | From: Emily’s “Messy” But FULL Of Memories Christmas Family Room The post I Paid My Kids 25 Cents Each To Help Me With The “Kids Gift Guide” – Here Are Their All Time Favorite Gifts (And What They Want This Year, Of Course) appeared first on Emily Henderson. Originally from Emily Henderson https://ift.tt/da3PVRe Shopping can be hard. Knowing what is actually good online can be harder. So this year I thought it would be fun/useful to take you to the mall and physically try on all the things – the staples and the current cult favorite pieces in an attempt to recommend affordable (and some not) pieces I really love. You see, I’m full up with stuff and I don’t really want to recommend anything I haven’t tried or seen in person, nor do I want to do the buy-online-ship-and-return waste cycle just for a blog post. So I went with the intent to not buy a thing, but as you’ll see there were a few things that were just extremely good. So here are my favorite things from the mall, in 2022. Shout out to Washington Square:) Also before I go into it you need to know I kissed a lot of frogs. I tried on so many clothes. I didn’t want to body shame myself or design shame a store so I’m not showing you all the stuff out there that sucks in fit, style, and quality. That’s all to say, what made it is because it’s legit good. *A holiday gift guide statement – we can’t be all things to all people at all times, so we are curating our gift guides differently this year. Everyone shops/consumes differently based on their location, budget, needs, and wants. We truly want to give ideas, with an editor’s eye and be a service to all in an attempt to help you find stuff you will actually use/love long term – regardless of budget. This shopping post (and a couple of others this coming week) are for those shopping the big sale weekend at larger retailers, but we have many others with small businesses, gift kit ideas, thoughtful gifts, and of course my favorite things (still working on it). If you don’t like shopping at big box stores, skip this post and come back again – there will hopefully be one for you ? My Mall Outfit: Jacket (similar) | Denim Shirt | Jeans | Boots | Bag J. CrewI tried on a ton of different pieces here and many were mediocre, TBH, but then I asked a salesperson what were the most popular and she pointed me towards these three things: Magic Rinse™ Relaxed Crewneck SweatshirtI’ve been wearing The Great for 8 years (since it started I think) and have some of the OG sweatshirts but always nice to find more affordable versions. J. Crew’s slouchy sweatshirts are so good because the seaming (a diagonal) makes the right drape shape – it allows space near the tummy, but cuts in near the armpit with a wide neckline. These details are crucial to a good slouchy sweatshirt that looks cool and not frumpy. I wish these came in more colors (the cream is good and red is great for the holidays but I would love an off-black, a stripe, a heathered gray, etc). The fit is excellent. I’m wearing an XS here but could have sized up to an S (so it’s a bit oversized but not crazy oversized). Quilted Sherpa Fleece Half-Zip PulloverIt is very good. If I didn’t have enough fleeces already I would have absolutely bought this one. We all agreed it was VERY VERY GOOD. Tissue Turtleneck In StripeAdmittedly I’m not selling it in this photo, but it’s a perfect layering piece. When the salesperson told me that these were cult favorites I tried it on and was sold. These are so thin but forgiving (maybe because of the pattern) – it didn’t even really show my bra strap. Not too tight or constricting totally breathable and kinda just felt like an undershirt, but since it’s a turtleneck you get that cute pattern at the neck and sleeves. PERFECT for layering under sweaters, sweatshirts, jackets, and coats. I wish they made them in every stripe possible. 9″ Vintage Slim-Straight Jean In Daisy WashJeans. SOLD. As you know I have a short torso and big boobs so I can’t do the high-waisted mom thing which I know is “in”. These remind me of my Rag and Bone boyfriend jeans but with the 40% off, these were $70 versus the usual $225 (when did that become normal?). Such a good fit without holes, not crazy low-waisted (a 9” inseam), and didn’t cut in but sculpted a bit. On my trip to Thanksgiving, these were the only jeans I brought. BIG FAN. Nordstrom – ClothesJaro Plaid Wool Blend JacketLike I need another one but once I put it on all of us were like, “oh that’s good and so you”. I asked Brian for it for Christmas because I feel too guilty adding another shacket to my collection (and this one was expensive which I didn’t realize until I tried it on – whoops). But this one is SO GOOD!!! The cut is excellent. It’s lined and falls well in a non-stiff yet structured way. And obviously, that plaid has Emily-Farm-Henderson written all over it. Again, I didn’t get it but it might be under the tree if Brian actually reads his texts from me:) Plaid CoatThe thing about trench coats is that you can leave the house looking cool while wearing something really basic underneath. No secret that I love a plaid coat (I’ve been wearing this Madewell one every time I leave the house lately – over sweats! I look so pulled together but secretly wearing athleisure!). This coat is GREAT. Had I not had that Madewell one I probably would have bought it. The plaid is cool without looking bathrobe-y. This one is a bit oversized (it’s a medium because they didn’t have a small). Pockets. Great collar. Just a solid investment IMHO. Oversized Mixed Media Faux Shearling JacketI know that this is what is cool and in – super oversized, sherpa, etc. If someone gave it to me I’d be psyched but I think I felt a bit silly in it. Kaitlin (our photographer who has with me but has a younger/cooler style) loved it hard. So I think it’s for a younger demo. We both agreed that the white isn’t the best for kids and that you must know it adds bulk – which is “in” right now but just not my thing. Anyway, it’s a splurge but we liked it enough to show you. Abrazo Half Zip Fleece JacketYES. So many yeses. If you are in the fleece market this is a GREAT one. It’s a mid-weight (not thick like some NorthFace but not cheap and thin). The color blocking is great. Arena Fleece Cropped PulloverWe all really liked the color blocking on this one, too. It felt cheaper, TBH, but I think on sale it could be a good gift for a Gen Z gal. Again, good shape and colors. Breton Stripe Henley Cashmere SweaterShe’s good, boxy, with slight bell sleeves, extremely cozy and soft. If I were in the market for a new classic sweater this would be IT. They didn’t have a small in store so I’m wearing a medium here which is slightly too big so it seems like it runs true to size. Big fan. Lucca Cable Knit Quarter Zip Organic Cotton SweaterIn my mind, this looked way better on me haha. If you have a lady in your life that is picky, this is a great classic quarter zip that is thin enough to layer over (again, not bulky) but warm in itself. Target has a pretty awesome version right now, too. Mayslie Coated Ankle Straight Leg PantsOn the other hand…These pants clocked in as one of the things I didn’t “need” but couldn’t not get. The shape of the leg. The finish of the fabric (waxed so a bit shiny but in a high-end way). They fit low on hips and those large rectangular pockets ALWAYS play with the eye and reduce the size of your stomach and hips (if you are into that). The structure of the leg is wonderful – not tight, but tailored. These were expensive so I’m hoping that they are on a Black Friday sale. I couldn’t not get them and am excited to wear them when I need to look like I know my style and care (in a comfortable casual way, of course). The Roller High Waist Wide Leg JeansYeah, we agreed these are awesome, cool, comfortable, and with volume in the right place. They are Mother jeans, which if you don’t know specialize in a specific level/chemistry of stretch making them far more comfortable while still keeping you retained. I’m a low-waisted gal myself, but I could totally see dressing these up or down and looking cool. Anna Crewneck T-ShirtKaitlin picked this out for her but I tried it on and was like “oh shoot”. This is a GREAT t-shirt and I thought it was going to be one of those annoying $120 shirts, so was happy it was $59 (not on sale yet). Yes, that’s still a lot but the cut, fit, fabric and wash are really good. The cuffed sleeves are great for those of us a little self-conscious about our upper arms (it flares out giving the illusion of a smaller arm) and the wash doesn’t wash me out! Pure black cotton often just makes me look extremely extra pale, but this wash doesn’t. Thank you, Kaitlin! And yes I bought it. Nordstrom – ShoesNordstrom was at first none too pleased with us taking photos so I had to be really brief and sneaky. I asked Kaitlin and Emily M. what shoes were “in” so they divided and brought them all to me. Lug Sole Chelsea BootThis style is obviously everywhere and we love them – plus I think they are PNW-friendly. This pair itself was comfortable, and cool, with a not-too-tight (but still tight) ankle. City Montreal SneakerWe all really like the colors of these sneakers but since I also have these and these from Madewell I didn’t need them. But they would be perfect for an elevated “super causal” look:) Brex™ Waterproof Chelsea Boot (On The Ground, Second From The Left)If my bootie collection weren’t still deep I would have absolutely bought these and part of me still might. These are so much cooler than what I have had for years, can be dressed up and down, add instant edge and youth, and still feel like me. Gosh, I’m convincing myself right now that I should own them (fun fact, to assuage my consumer guilt my sister is selling all my clothes on Poshmark right now, saving for a house for her and her two boys – head over there to see it). These are awesome and would still be great in rain or snow. Shoot. I need them. Hayle Platform Chelsea Boot (On The Ground, Third From The Left)The famous Steve Madden boots that were sold out last year and now I see why. These give height, are chunky but so comfortable, and tuck in REALLY NICE with the cloth ankle. So good. Tried to convince myself I needed them but I love my new Madewells that are also waterproof and have a heel. These are just a bit more edgy and cool. Creepers Wallaby Platform LoaferOOF. These are so dope. I’m a huge Ganni fan so I wasn’t surprised that I loved these. I want these very bad and am hoping that Brian will buy them on Black Friday/Cyber Monday should they be on sale. DEAR LORD, they make you look cool, even if you are wearing sweats. Does my farm life need them? Nope! Which is why I didn’t buy them for myself. But would I be bummed if they showed up under the tree? NO, I WOULD BE VERY EXCITED. It’s not like they’re delicate velvet ballet flats. These souls can handle some rain. But I just feel cool in them, and feel like they actually work great into my lifestyle and capsule wardrobe. We, of course, found more affordable versions out there because these are crazy expensive – check out these and these. Corbin Platform Loafer MuleI think the platinum loafer mule combo is a pretty darn great one. These were VERY cute. Oversized Quilted JacketThis had a really good shape (sorry hard to see with my pose) and flares out with the front and back longer than the sides (in a good way – like tails). This came in a couple of different colors and is a cute affordable gift for sure. CoatNever not trying on a plaid coat. This is great – a bit bulkier than the Rails one above, but for those who like the bulky oversized look we got you. Abercrombie & FitchCurve Love Ultra High Rise Ankle Straight JeanOk, these are the famous Abercrombie jeans everyone is talking about (I hear). I absolutely get it but they aren’t for me. As a 43-year-old mom, I don’t think that mom jeans are doing me any favors. I do, however, understand why these are cool for the younger crowd. The shape of the leg, the stiffness of the side seam, the height of the inseam, the length – it’s all cool. I think if you have a Gen Z daughter they’d likely love these. As you know the 90s are very back and cool – just some of us may not want to revisit it. Tailored Wide Leg PantsThese pants are famous and now I TOTALLY SEE WHY. A flowy trouser is in and my lifestyle doesn’t really warrant needing this, but these are just so comfortable. They have light elastic in the back which you can’t see, making your butt kinda pop out in a really good way. They fit and then flare out. The front pleats are super flattering (sorry – so hard to see here – just check the site for detailed photos). Excellent, excellent, excellent. Let me know if you are into this type of fashion shopping/review post in the comments (no need to say that you hate this post, y’all) and if so I’ll go back and do a second one – this mall didn’t have Anthro, Urban, Madewell, or Zara – but I’d be happy to play dress up again ? And stay tuned for Brian’s post very very soon…Off to get a Cinnabon:) *Photos by Kaitlin Green The post I Went To The Mall, Tried On A Million Things And Here’s What I Loved (And Bought) appeared first on Emily Henderson. Originally from Emily Henderson https://ift.tt/zOkZnhe |
Author Kimberly ReedDesign Consultant at Furnishing Knowledge:KI Archives
April 2023
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