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About Simply Styled

Hey there! I'm Becky, a design obsessed California girl, who lives in San Francisco. I have an eye for anything pretty, I love a good DIY, and I'm passionate about finding inventive ways to recreate a space on a budget. I love fashion almost as much as I love food, and I believe a good glass of wine can cure almost anything.

The Tale of the Quatrefoil Mirror


Photo courtesy of jpmdesign
This is a long story so grab a cup of coffee… it will may be a while.

It starts with my love of this room, that mirror, and Target (pronounced Tar-shay… it’s french). This store continues to amaze me… its huge – the frozen food is a few aisles over from shoes which is a few aisles over from makeup which is a few aisles over from toilet cleaner which is a few aisles over from home home decor… it’s awesome.  Each time I come out with a new bikini, a plunger, candle sticks, and a bag of Doritos (for the ride home, obviously), or some combination eerily similar to that.

And can we give props to their inventory department? Everything is continually updated, which on one hand is great because there is always something new, exciting, and fun.  Unfortunately, things sell fast, so if you don’t snap something up while you are there, someone else will.  This is where my story of the quatrefoil mirror starts…

A few weeks back, while browsing the home goods department for fun, I spotted a fabulous quatrefoil mirror hanging among the picture frames.  “Twenty bucks?” I thought… “Great deal!”  But alas, Kris has me on a “budget” and so, in an attempt to be good, I thought, “This will still be here a few weeks from now.  I’ll sleep on it, and I’m still wanting it, I’ll go back for it.”  TERRIBLE IDEA!  Damn budget!

Who knew this mirror was in such high demand?!  Over the weekend, I headed back to Target to pick up three of the quatrefoil mirrors to hang above our bed.  What did I find? Empty shelves.  Some sneaky bargain hunters had beat me out!  “Deep Breaths” I thought… “I’ll find it online.”  And what did I find?  A whole lot of nothing.  I turned to eBay, Amazon, random Google searches and what did I find??  Super expensive mirrors identical to the one I passed up at Target!  Dah!

$150 on Ebay
$60 from Lowes
$229 Ballard Designs
$385 Amazon
$329 Shades of Light

NOOOOOOOOOO!

I am a resilient girl… I picked myself off the floor after 2 good hours of crying, and picked up the phone.  I called Target headquarters.  A very pleasant woman with a southern accent picked up, and I calmly described the mirror.  She said “Oh honey, we have a lot of mirrors that look like that across our stores… can you be more specific?”  Um… it was around twenty dollars?

Apparently that tidbit of detail helped, because 30 seconds later, we had a sku number, and she was listing off stores that showed availability.  Each store showed that they had one left.  Oh man, my work was cut out for me.  Sneaking out of work a bit early last night, I headed to the first Target.  None.  Next Target… they had one – SCORE!  Next target SCORE – they had one too!  Next Target?  Bust. It was 9:00 at night, I had already been to four Target stores, I was hungry and annoyed, but I just needed one more and I was home-free. I think someone in the heavens was rooting for me, because at my fifth store, I won.

Game over, mirrors acquired.

Along with the mirror I left with two blue and white chevron pillows, a sweet little scroll pattern breakfast tray, a new bikini, the DVD box set of Mad Men, and some girl scout cookies… just to show Kris what he can do with his “budget”.


Rent the Runway

This site has blown up in the past year, and while I have yet to use it, all my friends have been saying FABULOUS things about it forever.  With my twenty-eighth birthday just around the corner, I think this might be the time to test it out.  In short the concept is: pick an occasion where you want to look jaw-droppingly stunning, rent a dress, pay 10% of the full price, no penalty for damages, cleaning, etc.

Not too shabby when they are offering up Zac Posen, Herve Leger, Halston Heratage, Badgley Mischka… you get the idea.  My birthday is just about two weeks away, and so I have some serious decisions to make… I’ve narrowed it down from about 40 options to about 7… not bad.

Variations of Sweet and Flirty:

Sassy Versions of the Carrie Dress
Something a Little Sexier
So each category is pretty different, right?  One is more demure, one screams I’m going to party my way from 27 to 28, and the third is somewhere in the middle.  All the dresses have great reviews, so I am really torn.  Perhaps I should do two?  Oh the woe’s of trying to stick to my “budget”.

Blog Redesign: New Blog Header

So, I’ve been logging some serious hours re-designing my blog header.  While I loved the greek key’s, I realized that it was so similar to several other blogs that I had seen, and as frustrating as it was to head back to the drawing board… it was a must.

Take a look at the finalized iterations that have gone live on the blog – oh how they have evolved!

Aside from fully overhauling the header, I also went to work on the fonts, colors, and blog backgrounds.  I still loved the burnt coral I had before for the links and titles so that stayed.  I’ve also been harboring an unhealthy obsession for navy, so I’ve decided to keep those bold accents within the right hand navigation menu.  Outside of that, everything changed from the font, to the font sizes, to the template, to the shading, to the width… oye vey!  I picked a dark grey/blue color for the gutters (is that the word for it?) because it reminded me of dusk.  An easy decision, but I needed to find a complimentary color for the header that didn’t clash with all the other colors.  A Grey header felt drab and too matchy-matchy, and burnt umber was overkill… WAY too much orange.  After many MANY versions, I settled on the lovely aqua trellis pattern with a muted navy stripe.

I am happy with it for now.  I think the aqua compliments the coral (aqua and coral… after so much talk about it, I couldn’t resist), and it brightens up the whole page.  A little fading here, a little shadow there, and a little reflection to give it some personality…  Give it another few weeks, and I’m sure that I will have tweaked it some more.  As in life, nothing is ever “perfect” or “finished”… it’s always a work in progress!

Dreamy Photography: Paris

Paris Photograph, Laduree Shop Sign, Macarons, Mint, Pistachio, Green, Pastel, Romantic, Feminine - Sugar, Sugar
Photos courtesy of Eye Poetry Photography
While I am still 100% in love with the Paris prints I ordered from Etsy, I am re-thinking these prints for the bedroom.  I truely believe that the bedroom should be a sanctuary that prepares you for sleep – keep TV to a minimal, maintain soft colors etc. While these prints are not “loud” and I am not shrouding the room in red, I worry that these pops of bright color will derail the soothing vibe I want to keep.

I mentioned before that the rest of the house stays within taupes, tans, greys, and blues… and one of my favorite photographers (in fact the very one who snapped the “red” portraits of Paris) has added to her gallery, and there are some dreamy photos with blue’s and soft colors, soft focus lenses, and its all dreamy loveliness.  So pretty.  I think they are keepers, and I think my bedroom vision is about to change!
Folie - Paris Photograph, Versailles Detail, Romantic, Feminine, Robins Egg Blue, Gold, Home Decor

Le Petit Zinc - Paris Photograph, St Germain Des Pres, Cafe, Bistro, Chairs, Home Decor, Fine Art Print

Rococo - Versailles Door, Paris Photograph, Pastel, Shabby Chic, Romantic, Feminine, Baroque, Renaissance, Baby Blue, Spring Home Decor

Chandelier photograph, Paris - The Secret History -  Versailles, Hall of Mirrors, France, French Style, Glamour

Speaking of Paris… city of lights… Kris and I watched Midnight in Paris this weekend.  While I enjoyed it, I wasn’t in love with the plot, however, it made me want to go to Paris so bad, it hurts!  Kris and I have been talking about planning our vacation this year, and I think Paris just flew to the top of the list.

I’ve only been there once, and it was in the dead of winter.  I brought my warmest coat, but being from California, I clearly had no idea what to expect.  It was bone chillingly cold – the coldest wind you can imagine!  Dark gray skies… very moody.  At the time, I was backpacking through Europe with my best friend Kira, and despite our strict budget, we ended up ducking into lot’s of overpriced cafe’s to warm up.

Our trip through Paris is actually pretty laughable, but it’s another story for another time.

Now, to start work on a new vision for our bedroom!

Dream Engagement Ring

Dream ring!

Isn’t this ring stunning… I mean STUNNING?!  Love!

Clearly I’ve got rings on the mind.  It’s odd – I go through phases where I don’t think about it, and then this wave of engagement fever hits! What’s a girl to do?!  Clearly, a girl is to indulge in her obsessions a bit.

Over the past year, my tastes in rings have changed, and changed again… and changed again, but I think I’ve reached a point where I’ve settled on two engagement ring types that I love:
    – Ideal #1: Classic…
    – Ideal #2: Classic… with a twist

Ideal #1: Classic
What could be more classic than a round solitaire?  A round diamond has several benefits – one, the way the facets are cut, round diamonds outshine all other diamond shapes, proving to be the most sparkly…  awesome… what else?  Round diamonds also offer the largest surface area per carat of all cuts.  Super awesome!  As a girl who loves everything that glitters, would I settle for a plain band?  Of course not – so there it is… round diamond on a micropave diamond band. Simple, elegant, timeless, and yet… it brings a wow factor that is hard to beat!

         Classic Round Solitaire with micropave band:

     
             
        
        

Ideal #2: Classic with a Twist
Ok, I might need another cup of coffee on this sleepy Monday morning, but I swear this is a category!  I am not talking contemporary settings.  On the contrary, this “classic with a twist” is actually a blend of contemporary diamond cutting and vintage styles (halo settings actually became popular in the 1920’s and 30’s when glamorous art-deco aesthetic dominated the day).  Becoming popular again, I have sort of fallen in love with the revamped micropave halo setting.  I love them to frame either a very symmetrical cushion cut diamond, or a round stone.  As opposed to the more ornate vintage styles, I am drawn to the cleaner more contemporary halo’s, thus the classic… with a twist… ha!

         Round Micropave Halo:
         dream ring.
         My dream engagement ring :)
         
         

Cushion Micropave Halo:
         LOVE LOVE LOVE!
         
         
         Cushion Cut Micro Pave Engagement Rings Ideas images


So there we have it… a bit of diamond porn to start your week off!  And for any men looking for engagement ring inspiration and / or advice, print out this post, take it to a jeweler and start pricing these babies out!

Happy Weekend!

City Scapes
Photo courtesy of whipped style

Happy Friday!!  It was a short week for me at work, but it felt long!  Trying to fit five days of work into four takes it’s toll, and this week was jam packed with social events.

(as a side note, my mema – my grandmother on my mother’s side – used to say “Packed Jam” instead of “Jam Packed”… I always think of her when I say that…)

It’s been in the low 70’s in San Francisco (end of February what?!) and I am loving the sunshine and warm weather!  Today, I think I got a bit of a tan at lunch, ha!

Enjoy the fun links below, and have a fabulous, happy weekend!
xo

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

A gorgeous by non-traditional engagement ring

The least boring grey sideboard in the world

The sweetest engagement video from McKenzie Miller

A totally delicious, easy, and indulgent late night snack

Stunning wallpaper made out of the most unconventional material

Neon statement necklace

Gorgeous chandelier

Fashion Inspiration: Aqua & Coral

I am 100% obsessed with the combination of aqua and coral (in case you couldn’t tell from all my Valentine’s Day posts).  Pink and blue is such a natual combination, and as the seasons change from winter to fall, warm sunny days totally call for a splash of color.  The weather isn’t yet warm enough for a full summer outfit, so a jacket will most likely be required for the days, but how perfect for work, or brunch, or just a stroll about town.  
Keep scrolling for wardrobe inspiration… you will find yourself fully enamored with how easily aqua and coral pair up!
aqua & coral I

Dress, €22
Madewell denim jean jacket, $118
Two Lips platform sandals, $70
Zara leather clutch handbag, $159
Miss Selfridge yellow gold bangle, $16
Chloé enamel jewelry, $495
ASOS bullet earrings, $5.37

aqual and coral II

Quiksilver polyester shirt, $30
Jeans, £16
Salvatore Ferragamo leather shoulder bag, $1,075
Chain necklace, $11,500
Dorothy Perkins gold bangle, $11

aqua and coral III

Topshop sleeveless blouse, $64
Alberta Ferretti slim blazer, $1,290
Carven skirt, $406
Jimmy choo shoes, $425
Chloé summer tote bag, £1,545
Diamond ring, £1,465
LORD & TAYLOR square earrings, $700
J Crew j crew jewelry, $28


Brussels Sprouts: AMAZING Recipe

Oh man, of all the vegetables I hated growing up, brussels sprouts topped the list.  I still believe that there is nothing worse than a steamed brussels sprout, however, I have discovered that with a teeny bit of fat, and a super hot oven, these little morsels can end up pretty tasty!  In an honest effort to combat their bad rap, here is a fool proof recipe that will make even the pickiest eater gobble them down, and if all else fails, throw in some bacon… it solves everything…

Maple Cayenne Roasted Brussels Sproutsadapted from Everyday Food magazine
2 pounds Brussels sprouts, halved lengthwise
1 Tablespoon olive oil
salt to taste
1 Tablespoon pure maple syrup
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1. Preheat oven to 400*F.
2. Toss Brussels sprouts with olive oil and salt and spread on a rimmed baking sheet.
3. Roast 15-20 minutes, stirring halfway. They should be tender and browned.
4. While the sprouts are roasting, in a small bowl, combine maple syrup and cayenne pepper.
5. Pour the maple syrup/cayenne mixture over the sprouts, stir to coat, return to oven for one more minute.
6. Serve and enjoy!

Cocktail Hour – we are bringing it back!

The boomer generation really knew how to live – cocktail hour at 5:00 each day?  Yes please!! Let’s be honest…after a long day at work, I’m dying for a glass of wine, or a strong drink.  In our apartment, the wine bottles are displayed in a wine hutch in the dining room, but the liqueur is hidden out of sight – dark alcohol in the cabinets, clear in the freezer.  Honestly, Grey Goose and Makers Mark have left something to be desired in the packaging department, but few decanters easily bring elegance back to the scene. 


Highstreet Market

sketch42blog.com

If you want to splurge, check out Macys or Bloomingdales for the ever classic Waterford or Lenox.  If you are like me – on a strict budget (thank you honey) – check out Homegoods or Ross for a cut glass version – you could probably score something in the $20 range.  You aren’t going to get that rush of, “wow I own something fancy” when you purchase, but you will get the rush of “wow, I just saved a ton of money for something that looks darn close to crystal.” 
Think a bar cart isn’t really your style?  Think again!  “Retro” is back in a big way – the theme of every wedding I see is “Vintage”.  I am seeing more and more patterns on fabrics, pillows, and wallpaper that I recognize from my grandmother’s house.  Heck, Banana Republic came out with a Mad Men inspired collection this year!

To the core, my taste is classic contemporary, HOWEVER you have to admit that retro inspired pieces always look super interesting and totally cool!   It’s totally out of my comfort zone for decor, but its exciting, and I kind of love it… in my humble opinion, it’s a total compliment to classic OR modern decor.  LOVE!